Chapter 243 Loneliness and Solitude
Soon, officials from the nine provinces south of the Xiao River who were reporting on their duties arrived before the winter hunt.
Before the war, the practice of state officials reporting on their duties was held every three years. State officials would return to the capital to report on their duties for three reasons: first, to pay homage to the emperor; second, to be assessed by the Ministry of Personnel to determine their rank and grade, which naturally involved promotion and transfer; and third, for state officials to lobby among central officials for their future prospects and terms of office.
As she pondered, she flipped through the memorials from various states—all of which had been reviewed in the council chambers of the six ministries.
Their memorials regarding the handling of state affairs during their term of office were sent directly to the Ministry of Personnel, where Wang Xiang presided over the Six Ministries Council to draft the preliminary examination results for the state officials. Then, all the memorials were submitted to the emperor.
For local officials to have a bright future, their efforts do not all lie in submitting memorials to the emperor.
In the past, such a major examination by the Ministry of Personnel could not have been decided solely by Wang Xiang; the Grand Tutor should have been involved at least. After all, since the Southern Xiao dynasty established its capital, all major decisions made by the emperor had been consulted by the Grand Tutor, the imperial tutor.
But at this moment, the emperor was ignoring the Grand Tutor, and Wang Xiang held absolute power. He certainly wouldn't pass up such a good opportunity, so he pretended to be stupid and kept the Ministry of Personnel's major examination firmly in his hands.
This is the main reason why almost all the state officials, regardless of their rank or how close or distant they were to the Prime Minister's residence, visited the Prime Minister's office.
Whether you meet with them or not, you must maintain the right attitude.
Xiao Qing understood the reasoning behind it, but remained silent.
She glanced casually at the preliminary examination list submitted by Wang Xiang, then went to look through the documents.
It's just a preliminary examination; such an important matter won't be decided in one fell swoop. Besides, the prefectural officials haven't paid homage yet, the winter hunt hasn't taken place, and the emperor's decision to take personal control and select concubines is also involved. Several important matters have all come together, so the results of the Ministry of Personnel's major examination won't be truly determined until after the winter hunt.
Xiao Qing herself felt that after the incident at the He family's residence, she had a subtle feeling of growing up in a day.
Perhaps they applied fertilizer, which accelerated the ripening of many plants overnight?
She carefully read the memorials from Jiangzhou, Yingzhou, and Langzhou, and found them interesting.
Jiangzhou, Yu Zaiting is back.
Xiao Qing felt a slight stirring in her heart.
In present-day Nanxiao, the position of Jiedushi (military governor) is practically a sinecure in local areas. Each prefecture has a civil administration system headed by the prefect and a military system headed by the governor, which cooperate and check each other. The Jiedushi has virtually nothing to do.
The title of Jiedushi (military governor) is just a higher rank and sounds nicer. In reality, the real responsibilities are usually assigned to the prefect or the governor. As for trivial matters, being assigned them is considered a favor.
When Yu Zaiting went to Jiangzhou, the job he was assigned was simply to supervise the construction of Wangbeipo.
Such a simple construction project could not possibly be completed in three years.
Thinking of Yu Zaiting bowing respectfully outside the carriage years ago, Xiao Qing slowly pressed down on the folding document.
He actually came because of one sentence she said.
Ma Hong, standing nearby, clearly sensed the unusual silence from the young emperor.
With Mingxiu absent, he took on all the responsibilities surrounding the young emperor, becoming increasingly perceptive of the emperor's every move.
Then let's look at Yingzhou.
The memorial submitted by Yingzhou was no different from those of other prefectures; it was nothing more than a report on achievements, a description of duties, gratitude for the emperor's great favor, and a few words of flattery full of literary flair.
Xiao Qing had read at least a thousand or ten thousand of these kinds of memorials, and was both familiar with and indifferent to this style of writing.
It seems that Feng Zhengmin, a civil official as upright as a rock in a latrine, also possessed considerable scholarly qualities...
Wait a minute, this doesn't seem to be a memorial written by Feng Zhengmin.
It is customary for the prefect to lead the memorial in such a public display, so why did Feng Zhengmin only sign his name at the end of the document?
Then a long list of names followed him.
Xiao Qing compared the handwriting and found that the person who drafted the memorial was Zhou Yuncheng, the prefect of Yingzhou.
As far as she knew, the power of a sub-prefect varied from state to state. The sub-prefect was the deputy to the prefect, assisting the prefect in handling state affairs. If the prefect was weak, the sub-prefect would mostly be in power; otherwise, he would be greatly restrained.
This Zhou Yuncheng...
Xiao Qing thought about it carefully and realized that she hadn't noticed this person when she and Fu Mingyi went to Yingzhou.
"I heard that Prefect Min of Yingzhou has not visited the Prime Minister?" Xiao Qing asked slowly.
Zhao Youchen was sitting below him. He had asked Number Twenty-Two to inquire about many recent news stories about Nanhua City and then report them to Xiao Qing, without using the Imperial Guards' official channels.
This number twenty-two is indeed quite capable, except for never saying a word...
Is he actually mute?
Zhao Youchen rolled his eyes inwardly, and then, thinking about how this person always looked at him like he was a weakling, he felt like he had swallowed a fly.
I really want to kill him on the spot!
Unfortunately, he couldn't win... The sadness came so frequently that he felt terrible.
“Exactly. Moreover, Prefect Feng has no property, no relatives or friends, and no connections in Nanhua. He now lives alone in the post station, and I hear he spends his days reading and drinking tea, neither visiting friends nor receiving guests. It is quite…”
Xiao Qing looked over.
"Lord Zhao Ziyuan went to visit him once, but he was scolded and driven away before he could even enter the door..."
Xiao Qing was very interested in this and gestured for Zhao Youchen to continue.
Zhao Youchen became increasingly helpless as he spoke.
The relationship between these two people was ambiguous and unpredictable, a love-hate relationship that fluctuated between them when they were in Yingzhou.
Zhao Ziyuan was so bored at home that he was practically going moldy. But when he heard that the stubborn old man Feng Zhengmin had arrived, his eyes lit up immediately.
He carried two hundred-tael silver notes, knew the way well, and eagerly went to the post station, behaving like a gangster boss. After asking for Feng Zhengmin's room, he happily went to find it.
He had a loud voice, and as he knocked on the door, he shouted, "Old Feng, your brother has come to see you!" His voice was so excited that the whole inn could probably hear it.
Feng Zhengmin felt his head was about to explode.
What brings this old scoundrel here!
He put down the book in his hand with a headache. He had borrowed the book from the post station. He had only been to the Ministry of Personnel to report on his duties, and he only wanted to stay in Yingzhou for the rest of his life. He didn't want to be promoted, so he didn't need to run around to find connections. He was also not very good at this kind of thing. So he sat quietly and read the book to pass the time, waiting for the routine arrangements such as paying homage to the emperor.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ziyuan, covered in lice, didn't seem to mind the itching and actually came to the inn to sing?
Feng Zhengmin looked disgusted.
Unfortunately, Zhao Ziyuan, who was outside the door, was excited and started shouting again.
"Old Feng, stop hiding inside, come on, let's go for a drink!"
Feng Zhengmin rolled his eyes inside the room.
"I don't drink alcohol," he said, offering a completely insincere refusal.
"Then I'll take you to hear some music~"
"I don't listen to music."
That old stubborn man is so boring.
"That……"
"I am very busy, Lord Zhao, please return."
Zhao Ziyuan rolled her eyes and said, "You old stubborn fool, you've come to Nanhua but you don't visit relatives or friends, you don't go to other people's houses or pay respects to your superiors. What are you busy with? Hurry up and come out here, I'll take you to have some fun! I'm afraid you'll be lonely and cold. Don't let your good intentions go unappreciated, like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing a kind heart!"
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