Chapter 243 Prime Minister Zheng stared at Du Min, ...
Prime Minister Zheng stared at Du Min, who calmly returned the gaze.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't interfere with my decisions?" Prime Minister Zheng scrutinized him. "Are you testing me?"
"No." Du Min naturally denied it. "I didn't expect you to be so selfless. I don't have your magnanimity and never thought of making Zhengzhou the first pilot city. That's why I disagreed with you."
Prime Minister Zheng waved his hand and said, "Stop pretending. You have little respect for me. Stop using those 'you' and 'sir' titles. They sound harsh to me."
"I'll listen to you," Du Min readily agreed.
"You really want to listen to me? Then let's start in Zhengzhou." Prime Minister Zheng probed.
“Alright.” Du Min seemed easy to talk to. “However, Zhengzhou is your territory. You can stomp your foot and the splattered mud under your feet won’t dare to disobey. I don’t need to be a spy. We’ll split up. I’ll go to Youzhou first. This way, we can avoid the officials in the court from linking our actions together.”
Prime Minister Zheng looked around, then grabbed a rotten peach and threw it at Du Min.
Du Min didn't dodge. He took the peach, pinched the skin with his fingers, and his hand was covered in sticky juice.
"You're like this soft peach, sweet on the outside but disgusting on the inside." Prime Minister Zheng was so disgusted by Du Min's flip-flopping that he wanted to get up and leave. For the first time, he felt an urge to curse Du Min.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Du Min left, giving Prime Minister Zheng some space to vent his anger.
After a short while, Du Min came in, his hands clean, and brought over a plate of crisp peaches.
Prime Minister Zheng glanced at him and warned, "I took on this mess, not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I'm already branded a traitor, so I need to gain something from this perspective. You'd better cooperate properly, or you'll regret it."
“If you just want me to cooperate with you, I will definitely keep my mouth shut and not say a word. But if you want me to cooperate with you, you have to allow me to speak,” Du Min said.
"Didn't I ask for your opinion in the first place?" Prime Minister Zheng slammed his fist on the table in anger.
"I was just trying to be polite, but I didn't expect you to be so impatient." Du Min was afraid of infuriating someone.
Prime Minister Zheng clenched his fists and sighed inwardly, "I'll give you one more chance. Speak properly to me."
Once is never enough, twice is never enough, Du Min nodded knowingly.
"Why are you so determined to go to Youzhou?" Prime Minister Zheng asked. "Did your father-in-law write to you these past few days?"
"What do you mean?" Du Min sensed something amiss. "What happened in the court that involves the Lu family?"
Seeing that he seemed genuinely unaware, Prime Minister Zheng said, "On the day I submitted this memorial, Prime Minister Liu recommended Lu Shaoqing of the Court of Judicial Review to replace Lady Wu of Wu to supervise the administration of Huai Prefecture. Lu Shaoqing had suggested that someone else be appointed as the prefect of Huai Prefecture to prevent you from neglecting your duties while in office."
Du Min sneered, "So, I'm definitely going to Youzhou to cause trouble for the Lu family."
Prime Minister Zheng frowned.
"At first, I wasn't determined to go to Youzhou. In fact, I would have been fine with anywhere, just not a prefecture or county near Luoyang. However, I was concerned that if it were too close to Luoyang, news would travel too quickly and lead to too much interference from officials in the court," Du Min explained.
Prime Minister Zheng reluctantly believed him, "So, according to you, we'll mainly operate in the northern prefectures and counties?"
Du Min looked at him probingly for a moment, "Prime Minister Zheng, do you have absolutely no foresight? How come you don't consult with your advisors before taking any action?"
Speak like a human.
Du Min pretended not to hear and bluntly asked, "Are you at a loss? Don't know where to start?"
Prime Minister Zheng did not answer, but said, "Just state your thoughts."
“No wonder you insisted on dragging me along as an accomplice.” Du Min stood up and sighed, “I thought I could hide behind you and slack off for once, but I didn’t expect to have to worry about you. I’m just not destined to enjoy life.”
Prime Minister Zheng was extremely patient at this moment, letting him ramble on.
Seeing that he seemed to ignore the advice, Du Min lost interest and sat down to get down to business: "I learned about the military system from books when I was studying, but it wasn't until I came to Huaizhou that I truly understood it. Over the years, I've also heard northern merchants talk about the military service situation of northern people. Due to the war, it's not uncommon for able-bodied men to flee with their families to avoid military service. Once they leave, all the land is sold off, leading to increased land consolidation. The allocated land is seized by powerful clans and wealthy families, and the government can't reclaim it, making it impossible to allocate land to newborn able-bodied men. This problem further exacerbates the exodus of people. I've been thinking these past few days, if this cycle continues like this, when will the northern tribes launch a major invasion and we still have enough troops?"
"The problem of population loss in the northern regions is indeed obvious, but the Tang Dynasty has sufficient military strength and ample military power, so your worries are unnecessary," said Prime Minister Zheng.
“But four years ago, our dynasty suffered a crushing defeat in the war against Tibet, with 100,000 soldiers being wiped out. We haven’t recovered from that loss even today,” Du Min retorted.
Prime Minister Zheng shook his head, "You don't understand the situation. The reason for the defeat was the discord between the generals and the soldiers. Moreover, our soldiers were at a disadvantage in fighting on the plateau. We were at a disadvantage in terms of timing, location, and popular support."
“Okay, let’s assume you’re right.” Du Min didn’t insist on arguing about this point. “The problem of population loss in the northern region needs to be solved, right? At least every able-bodied man should have fifty to one hundred acres of land under his name. Land can keep people tied down.”
Prime Minister Zheng was persuaded, "As you said, we'll start gnawing on the hardest part of the bone."
Du Min tapped his fingers happily. Prime Minister Zheng had a great virtue: he was good at listening to advice and was open to suggestions.
"Lord Du, the Lady of the County has returned," a guard reported.
Meng Qing was already outside the door. She called out, "Third brother, Prime Minister Zheng hasn't left yet, has he? I've come to thank him."
"Please come in, Madam," Prime Minister Zheng said.
As soon as Meng Qing entered, he bowed to Prime Minister Zheng and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Prime Minister. Thank you for standing up for me."
"What are you thanking me for? Didn't he bring this trouble upon himself?" Du Min snorted. "If he hadn't interfered, would I have gotten myself into this mess?"
"If you hadn't taken it upon yourself to apologize, would I have gotten into this mess?" Zheng Zai asked in return. "Du Min, let me tell you, you dragged me onto the boat by force. If I had fallen into the water, I would have capsized the boat. Stop nagging me and stop trying to take advantage of me. You'd better focus on official business."
Meng Qing looked at Du Min, who lowered his head and obediently agreed.
Prime Minister Zheng nodded to Meng Qing, "Madam, farewell."
"Where are you going? Aren't you going to stay for a meal?" Meng Qing asked.
Du Min followed him out and asked, "How can I contact you in the future?"
"My people will come looking for you. Just do your job well," Prime Minister Zheng instructed. He was self-aware that he was not as good as Du Min at governing local affairs. His advantage was the deterrent effect brought by his status and power. So he went ahead to intimidate and provoke hatred. After Du Min found out the details and gave him feedback, he would launch a surprise attack.
After seeing Prime Minister Zheng off, Du Min and Meng Qing returned to the governor's mansion. Du Min recounted his conversation with Prime Minister Zheng and asked, "I didn't expect him to come so quickly. I hadn't even discussed it with you yet. Second sister-in-law, is my decision alright?"
“The north is the stronghold of powerful clans. The two sages moved the capital to Luoyang to escape their control. You will likely face many difficulties if you go there,” Meng Qing said. “The powerful clans will probably join forces to deal with you.”
"This is exactly what the two sages wanted. Don't they just need an excuse to eliminate the powerful families?" Du Min was not afraid, since he wasn't the one walking in front of the wind.
Meng Qing smiled and said, "Your decision today proves once again that unstoppable courage is the most precious thing."
Du Min also smiled. He knew that his courage came from his smooth career. He would never have dared to be so unscrupulous if he had ever suffered setbacks in the officialdom.
"Second sister-in-law, has the magistrate of Xiuwu County come to see you?" Du Min changed the subject. "While I'm still here, I'll be your patron for the next month. Starting today, you will officially take over the administration of Huai Prefecture. I'll arrange for someone to deliver a message to the magistrates of the five counties to come see you."
"No rush. Once the official appointment documents arrive, we'll send officials directly to each county to notify them. Those who are interested will come to pay their respects on their own," Meng Qing said. "As for Xiuwu County, I've spoken with Magistrate Liu. We've estimated the distance, and the peaches will be picked and delivered ahead of time. The free schools in the five counties of Huai Prefecture can provide stalls to sell the peaches, as can the free schools in Luo Prefecture and Henan Prefecture. The academies, Meng Family Inn, and Meng Family Paper Horse Shop can also set up stalls. I can also help connect them with Meng Family Paper Mill, Huai Prefecture Paper Mill, Hemp Mill, the Prefectural School, and the schools in each county to buy peaches from Xiuwu County. These workshops and academies have many people, and the peaches they buy can be distributed to the workers and students."
"Xiuwu County also grows jujubes and hickory nuts. These are easy to store and can be transported to the paper mill, then shipped to the charitable schools in other prefectures, where they can be sold on your behalf," Du Min continued, expanding on this line of thought.
Meng Qing nodded, "I had the same idea. Generally speaking, Xiuwu County's products have no shortage of sales channels. As for how to operate and transport them, that's something Magistrate Liu needs to worry about. Speaking of which, the free school has played a really significant role; it can be used for economic matters."
"Everyone's here?" Du Li came in. "Dinner's ready, come back and eat."
"What are you holding in your hand? Whose letter is it?" Du Min asked.
"This is a letter from your sister-in-law. Jinshu is getting married and she wants you to come back for the wedding banquet." Du Li handed over the letter.
Du Min took out the letter and read it through. It was a long, rambling letter, but it could be summarized in one sentence: "My nephew wants to get married in style, and I'm asking my third uncle, who is a high-ranking official, to grant me some face."
"Prepare a generous gift to send back," Meng Qing said.
"Leave it to me." Du Min stared at the letter, a thought suddenly popping into his mind. Afraid that Meng Qing and Du Li would notice something was amiss, he quickly put the letter away and said, "Let's go eat, I'm starving."
Yin Caiwei and her two children were already waiting. Once everyone arrived, they started eating.
Du Min remained silent throughout the meal. Afterward, he went to his study alone and wrote two letters, which he then burned.
It took ten days for Du Min to seal the letter and send it out, after the prepared gifts had already left Huaizhou by ship.
-----------------------
Author's Note: There will be one more update tonight.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com