At the end of the hour of Wei, Fu Xiaoguan left Dieyi Palace and walked towards the office of the Ministry of Personnel and the Secretariat.
This huge imperial palace is centered on Chengtian Hall and has Taiping Avenue as its central axis. On the east and west sides are the offices of various institutions.
The Secretariat is the first government office in the east. It has a good location and nice scenery, but it looks a bit old.
Fu Xiaoguan stood outside the office and looked around, then walked up the stairs and went in.
It was quite quiet inside, with only a middle-aged man in official uniform sitting by the fireplace drinking tea.
Fu Xiaoguan had not yet received his official uniform, and he did not know what rank the official uniform on the man represented. After careful recollection, he did not seem to have seen such a person at the grand court meeting, so he walked over.
The chief secretary turned his head and looked at Fu Xiaoguan. He didn't know him. He was so young and must be the son of a certain family. He came here at the beginning of the dynasty, probably to seek a future.
Qi Mei did not neglect him, because those who could come here were not simple people, and he, a small seventh-rank chief book, could not afford to offend them.
"Sir, please take a seat."
"Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome. Please have some tea."
Fu Xiaoguan sat down opposite Qi Mei and asked, "May I ask what your name is, sir?"
"Ah, my surname is Qi and my given name is Mei, which means "Qimei" (Qimei) as in "holding an account as high as one's eyebrows". Sir, you're a little early. The court just started today, and there was a big meeting this morning. You should take a nap when you go back at noon."
Fu Xiaoguan was amused and asked, "Why didn't Master Qi go back to sleep?"
"Hey..." Qi Mei put down the scroll in her hand, "Do you think I don't want to go back and take a nap? I'm on duty today. Even though there's nothing to do, I still have to guard this place. Who are you looking for, young master?"
“Oh, wait for Yeonjae.”
Qi Mei was shocked. Who is this kid?
"A date?"
"Um."
Qi Mei understood that this kid came from a very important background!
Can anyone meet someone like Yan Zai? Even if he works in the Secretariat every day, it would be difficult for him to meet Yan Zai. The key is that this guy actually has an appointment with Yan Zai. This is a huge honor.
"The tea is almost done. I still have a good cup of tea. Please wait a moment, little brother."
Fu Xiaoguan laughed, stood up and looked around, and saw the structural diagrams of various deployments hanging on a wall.
His Majesty is of course at the top, and below that is the Council of State. Under the Council of State, there are four divisions: the Ministry of Palace Affairs, the Ministry of Central Affairs, the Ministry of State Affairs, and the Privy Council.
The Secretariat was further divided into six ministries, namely the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice.
The Privy Council was divided into two departments: the Inspection Council and the Confidential Affairs Office.
It is simple, and has the same purpose as the three provinces and six ministries in the previous life.
Qi Mei brewed another pot of tea. Fu Xiaoguan sat back down and asked, "Are we busy?"
Qi Mei sighed, not noticing that Fu Xiaoguan was referring to our place. "Let me put it this way. Starting tomorrow, this will be the busiest place in the entire imperial city. You don't know this, but almost all the paperwork has to go through our place, whether it's from the Thirteenth Circuit or from higher up. In short, it's almost impossible to comfortably drink a pot of good tea like we do now."
Fu Xiaoguan gasped. How could this be possible? I still have so much to do!
"Are all officials... so busy?" Fu Xiaoguan leaned over and asked hopefully. He thought to himself that he was a fourth-rank counselor, so he shouldn't be that busy, right?
"Haha, the Minister of the Central Secretariat Shang has no time to spare all day long. Just imagine what will happen to those of us under him?"
"So, there's no way to be lazy?"
Qi Mei raised her head and glanced at Fu Xiaoguan. Could it be that this kid would enter the Secretariat?
It doesn't seem like it. There has never been such a young official in the Secretariat. Those who have made it to the Secretariat are all at least thirty years old like him.
"Little brother, let me tell you this. If you want to be lazy, then you have to go to the Nine Temples and Five Prisons. Life there, wow, wow, wow, is really comfortable."
"Ah... it's nothing like the Secretariat. They get up earlier than the chickens and sleep later than the dogs. If something big happens, staying up all night is commonplace."
Fu Xiaoguan's heart suddenly turned cold. He had fallen into Yan Beixi's trap!
No, I have to go see His Majesty. I can't hold this position.
I finally got a chance to live again and enjoy life, why should I suffer like this!
Thinking of this, he stood up and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master Qi. I will take my leave now."
"Hey, hey, hey, have a cup of tea before you leave!"
Fu Xiaoguan ran faster than a rabbit. He had just stepped out of the door of the Secretariat and hadn't even lifted his back foot when he saw Yan Beixi standing in front of him.
"Want to escape? Too late!"
Next to Yan Beixi stood an old man of the same age as him. The old man was quite wealthy. Although his hair was already gray, his face was rosy and he looked in good spirits.
The old man was looking at Fu Xiaoguan with a smile at the moment, and Yan Beixi said again: "Do you still want to disobey His Majesty's order?"
"No, Yanzai, you are trying to trick me!"
"Tell me where I cheated you?"
"Well... Yan Zai, let me put it this way. I'm used to being lazy. You brought me to such a busy place. If I make any mistakes, wouldn't it be embarrassing for you? How about... could you please show some mercy and let me go? I'll just be the Taizhong Doctor and that's it."
The sound at the door attracted Qi Mei over. He walked over and took a look. Oh my God, Prime Minister Yan and Minister Shang were both there, and the kid was still standing on the threshold.
It sounds like this guy is bargaining with Yan Zai. Who is this guy? Such a big face!
"I'm telling you, Mr. Fu, from now on, you belong to the Secretariat in life and to the Secretariat in death! Don't even think about it. His Majesty won't change his mind for you. Besides... aren't you quite capable? As long as you finish your work beautifully, I promise that Lord Shang will leave your freedom alone. How about that?"
"You are bullying me!"
Yan Beixi laughed and thought, so what if I bullied you?
Look at how you show off all the time. You don't do your work but spend every day doing trivial things to scheme against others. Those are just small things. The things happening in the temple now are the big things. Why doesn't this kid understand?
"Come on, let's go in and talk to you."
Fu Xiaoguan had no choice but to retract his forward foot, but Qi Mei's heart was in turmoil at this moment - this kid turned out to be Fu Xiaoguan!
No wonder the Prime Minister had an appointment with him. It turned out that he was going to come to the Secretariat to serve as the Imperial Counselor.
This kid is not even seventeen years old, but he is already a fourth-rank official!
I have worked in the Secretariat for three years, and now I am still a seventh-rank minor secretary. It is better to compare yourself with others.
He bowed respectfully to Yan Beixi and Shang Yu, and the other two walked into the office of the Minister of the Central Secretariat.
"This is your direct superior, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Lord Shang Yushang. From now on, you will be working under him. I have already discussed this with him. Your primary responsibility will be the twenty-word policy proposed by His Majesty today."
The concierge brought tea. Yan Beixi looked at the sullen Fu Xiaoguan and suddenly asked, "What are you thinking, kid? I know this is difficult, and Your Majesty knows it's difficult too, but if you can get this done, do you understand how great a contribution it will be?"
Fu Xiaoguan raised his head and asked, "Prime Minister Yan, what do you think is the purpose of becoming an official?"
"…for the well-being of the people and the prosperity of the country."
"Let's not talk about such profound things. I think being an official is all about money."
"You...!" Yan Beixi looked disappointed, "Is this all you've got? Okay, if it's for the money, then just say whatever you want to say!"
"What I want to say is... I'm not short of money!"
Shang Yu laughed heartily. Yan Beixi took a deep breath, and after a few breaths, he said earnestly, "You're not short of silver, but Dayu is! Go ask Minister Dong how much silver the Ministry of Revenue has left. You know there's a war coming up in the east, so how much silver will be lost? The Ministry of Revenue carefully calculates every ounce of silver, but every year there are all kinds of unpredictable things happening, such as disasters and wars."
"Minister Dong can't sleep at night because of silver, and His Majesty can't eat because of silver. And you... you clearly have the ability, so why are you unwilling to contribute to Dayu?"
silence.
Shang Yu also restrained his smile at this moment and stared at Fu Xiaoguan solemnly.
Fu Xiaoguan turned the teacup around in his hands for a long time before he looked up and said, "Prime Minister Yan, Lord Shang, it's easy to make money for this country, but it's also very difficult. The simplest way is war!"
Yan Beixi and Shang Yu were startled, then they heard Fu Xiaoguan say, "If you have a powerful army, taking the initiative to start a war and rob... is always the fastest and most direct way."
Yan Beixi and Shang Yu looked at each other in bewilderment. They could rob... but Dayu's army couldn't do it!
It’s good enough that other countries don’t come to snatch Dayu, how can you expect them to fight it out?
"What else can we do besides robbing?"
"It's very difficult to do anything except robbing."
"Tell me about it."
"Change the national strategy from prioritizing agriculture over commerce to prioritizing commerce over agriculture!"
Yan Beixi was stunned and Shang Yu was shocked.
"How is this possible? If agriculture is neglected, who will take care of the fields? How can we ensure food security? If there is no food to eat, is there any need for business to exist?"
Fu Xiaoguan laughed. "So, I'm not trying to shirk responsibility, but I really can't do it! At least we have to advance both commerce and agriculture!"
"My Lords, think about this: where does this silver come from? The nation's silver comes from taxes, and the annual tax statistics of the Yu Dynasty show that merchants pay far more taxes than farmers. If we want to increase tax silver without increasing the tax rate, we have to expand trade!"
"Only when trade becomes larger and more active, and merchants earn more silver, can the state's tax revenue increase. Therefore, I believe that if this national policy is not changed and the status of merchants cannot be improved, this silver...it will not flow into people's pockets for no reason!"
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