Chapter 144 If this matter succeeds, the paper...
Not only Du Min was disappointed, but Meng Qing was also disappointed. If this matter had been accomplished, the benefits and fame brought by the paper effigies would have reached their most glorious stage, like a grand bonfire that burns down to ashes. Afterwards, the flames would grow weaker and weaker, and it might not have played a significant role in Du Min's career.
Du Min paced back and forth in the room, calculating in his mind. For the Ministry of Personnel, the promotion of free schools could provide thousands of official positions, clearing out the unappointable candidates who had accumulated over the past decade. The salaries of these candidates could also be covered by the revenue from the free schools—it was entirely beneficial. For the Ministry of Rites, not only would it generate a profit of millions of strings of cash, but it would also achieve its goal of promoting simple funerals and suppressing extravagant ones. All officials within the Ministry of Rites would benefit.
Good heavens! Du Min felt more and more unwilling. He sat down heavily and said unwillingly, "Second sister-in-law, can you postpone your plan for ten years? Give me another ten years, and I will definitely climb into the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Personnel so that I can also grab a piece of fat meat."
“I might be able to wait ten years, but Minister Zheng can’t. He can’t wait. In ten years, the prime minister’s position vacated by Prime Minister Lu will probably have been filled by two different people,” Meng Qing said.
"Let me think about it some more." Du Min couldn't calm down. He needed to think carefully about how he could maximize his benefits in this matter.
“Okay, you think about it carefully, and I’ll think about it carefully too,” Meng Qing said.
Du Li and Wang Zhou also frowned and pondered.
"Sir, there's a case at the front office," the registrar called out.
Du Min could only attend to his official duties first.
"Is it time for class? Wangzhou, go to class." Du Li heard the teacher's voice and instructed, "Just listen to your mother and your third uncle's plan, but don't tell anyone else."
Wang Zhou nodded, "I know."
"Do you want to take a nap?" Du Li asked Meng Qing.
Meng Qing nodded, then leaned closer to him and asked, "Did I take too big a step? If I hadn't hired someone to take charge last year, and hadn't arranged for them to go to other places to establish schools, according to the previous plan, wherever the third brother went to take up a post, I would go to that place to open a free school. Perhaps we really could have implemented this plan ten years later."
“If we do that, it means that every time the third brother takes up a post, he’ll have to be treated like a plague god, visiting funerals every day, just like when he first arrived in Heqing County. Prefect Yin once said that the third brother has done a good job building the dikes, and with that achievement, he might be able to take over his position when his term ends. But what kind of place is Luoyang? Can he really stop the funeral procession of high-ranking officials and members of the imperial family to check if the burial goods are in violation of regulations? If he offends them all, his path to advancement will be blocked. Letting the big fish catch the small fish won’t be convincing, and his reputation will definitely be ruined,” Du Li said. “If he’s unlucky enough to offend someone he shouldn’t, he might have to go back to his hometown to teach.”
Meng Qing patted his chest, "Du Lao Er, you're quite something! You speak so eloquently, I hadn't even considered this matter."
Du Li grabbed her hand and complimented her, "I have to thank Master Meng for broadening my horizons. The more I see with you, the sharper my mind becomes."
Meng Qing chuckled twice. Following Du Li's words, she realized that paper effigies were no longer suitable as a stepping stone for Du Min's promotion, unless he could be promoted directly from county magistrate to an official in the Ministry of Rites.
"Don't think about it for now, go back to the room and rest for a while." Du Li put his arm around her and stood up. "Come on, I'll go get some water. You wash your feet and lie down on the bed for a while. I'm going to find my parents. They don't know that Master Konghui has already settled in Baima Temple."
Meng Qing followed his steps and said, "I don't want to think about it anymore. Let's see what the third brother thinks."
Du Min pondered for three days. Three days later, he said to Meng Qing, "Second sister-in-law, could you give me another year or two? I plan to finish the dike construction as soon as possible and try to get promoted ahead of schedule."
He was tormented by the thought of not being able to eat the meat.
Meng Qing looked thoughtful.
"Don't expand the charity school to other prefectures and counties anymore. If the charity school is too profitable this year, you should set aside a portion to buy shops and houses in other prefectures and counties first, and then make more money next year. At the end of next year, you should escort hundreds of thousands of strings of cash to the capital, and use this as bait to get the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel to agree to your plan." Du Min had already thought out his way out.
“Okay, I’ll give it a try,” Meng Qing agreed.
Du Min let out a long sigh of relief. He clenched his fists and looked dazed. "Finally, I can get a good night's sleep."
"I don't think so. If you're thinking about getting promoted early, how can you sleep soundly before you get promoted?" Du Li asked with a smile.
Du Min smiled and said, "It's good that I can fall asleep even if I can't sleep soundly. I haven't been able to sleep at all these past few days."
"When you accompany Caiwei back to her parents' home, remember to inform your father-in-law so he doesn't have to go to the trouble of paving the way for you," Meng Qing reminded her. "Judging from his previous remarks, he wanted you to take over the position of Prefect of Luoyang."
Du Min squinted, twirled his fingers, pondered for a long time, and said, "I'll tell him about this later and see what he thinks. If he can get into the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of Rites, he can at least become a doctor. By paving the way in advance and taking the lead, he might be able to get a piece of the pie."
“That works too. You don’t have many helpers here, and Wangzhou isn’t fully grown yet. It would be beneficial for you to maintain a good relationship with the Yue family.” Meng Qing had no objections.
Yin Mingfu's appointment as Prefect of Luoyang must be due to the Emperor's trust. If he can serve in the Emperor's presence, and if things go well in the future, when she seeks a reward, his words of praise for her will be far more valuable than Du Min's lengthy and elaborate writings.
Wang Zhou sighed deeply, also feeling anxious, "Why am I still so young? I want to be an official too."
“You will have your own destiny. Even if you don’t get to eat this hot meal now, you will still get to drink hot soup elsewhere in the future,” Du Li said. “As long as you study hard and pass the imperial examination, you will definitely become an official.”
"Don't worry, your official career is going smoothly. Your mother has paved the way and built bridges for you, making it virtually unobstructed. If the court accepts her plans, your mother will not only bring in millions of strings of cash for the Ministry of Rites, but also solve the problem of thousands of uneducated scholars without official positions or salaries. When you enter officialdom, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel will be your benefactors. If you leave the capital to serve in other places, you'll find many minor officials who have benefited from your mother's kindness." Du Min became more and more excited as he spoke. He walked to Wang Zhou's side, hugged him tightly, and shouted through gritted teeth, "Du Wang Zhou! You brat, you're so lucky! I'm so jealous!"
Wang Zhou's face was distorted from being rubbed, and he said indistinctly, "Third Uncle, your life isn't bad either."
"I can't compare to you!" Du Min hugged him and sobbed, "You're such a lucky guy."
Du Li and Meng Qing exchanged a glance. He looked at her protruding belly and thought to himself, "She's lucky."
Of course, he was also lucky.
After arguing with Wang Zhou, Du Min calmed down, poured himself a cup of warm tea, and said, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to buy land from the farmers to dig ditches and build canals."
"Take careful consideration before buying land. Use the terrain to determine the course of the river. Don't let the water flood the farmland when you open the canals. If you're going to do it, do it to the best of your ability," Meng Qing instructed. "Don't be afraid to spend money. If you run out of the donations you raised, you can ask the imperial court for more money."
Du Min nodded. "I have already written the memorial. I will borrow an official from the Ministry of Works who is knowledgeable in agriculture and water conservancy, and take the opportunity to report that I want to dig ditches and build canals, so that it will be easier to ask for money in the future."
Upon hearing this, Meng Qing said no more.
After sending out the official document, Du Min handed over the affairs of the yamen to Magistrate Sun, and then, along with the registrar, the chief clerk, and a group of yamen runners, wandered around the Yellow River and the nearby farmland to see where it would be suitable to build a large canal.
Half a month later, the location of the main canal was finalized. Considering the depth of the Yellow River, the canal was chosen to be adjacent to a sandbar across the river. A notch was built in the embankment at this location. During the Yellow River's high-water season, when floods occur, the water will flow through this notch into the main canal, preventing the sandbar from being submerged. Furthermore, the Yellow River's water will be diverted here, causing silt to accumulate in the riverbed, allowing the sandbar to be widened. During the dry season, laborers can walk on the sandbar to dredge silt from the exposed riverbed.
Du Min looked at the sandbar in the river and turned to the registrar, saying, "In the years to come, the area of the sandbar will gradually expand. If there is a severe drought and the Yellow River's water level drops sharply, exposing a large area of the riverbed, then it will be a good time to build dikes in the Yellow River to block the water and thus eliminate the floods downstream."
The registrar was ignorant of water conservancy. He thought to himself that if the dikes blocked the water, the Yellow River would stop flowing, and wouldn't the downstream areas have no water? He didn't know and dared not ask more questions. Besides, it was a matter of speculation, so there was no point in asking. He just smiled and nodded: "Sir, you think three steps ahead for every step you take. You are really amazing."
Du Min was unmoved by this nonsense. Looking at the river, he declared with great enthusiasm, "If I live to see this day, I will personally oversee the construction of the dike."
"At that time, Your Excellency will surely be adorned in purple and jade. If I were still alive, I would personally go thirty miles away to welcome you," the registrar flattered.
Du Min was satisfied with this statement. He glanced approvingly at the registrar and said, "It's mid-March. The spring wheat in each county is almost planted, and everyone is free. You can arrange for the yamen runners to go to each county to hire people."
"Yes," the registrar replied.
Du Min looked across the river. That old scoundrel, Magistrate Zhao, really had the nerve to sit still. The dike on the other side was the same one built in previous years, neither raised nor reinforced.
*
In early April, Du Min rode alone to Luoyang. He first visited Yin Mingfu and apologized, saying, "Uncle, I received a letter from my elder brother. My parents and my elder brother and sister-in-law are unable to attend my wedding. In the letter, my parents asked me to apologize to you and Aunt on their behalf."
"What happened?" Yin Mingfu frowned.
Du Min chuckled helplessly. "It's funny, we're from a water town, but my parents couldn't adapt to life on the water for long. As you know, the cabins on big ships are all below deck. When the ship is moving, people in the cabins can clearly hear the sound of the water. My parents are old and not in good health, so they couldn't sleep at all in the cabin listening to the sound of the water. They couldn't close their eyes day or night. When the ship reached Yangzhou, they couldn't take it anymore and threatened to jump off the ship and drown for a quick death. There was no other way, so my elder brother and sister-in-law had to take them off the ship in Yangzhou. They wrote to say that they plan to rest in Yangzhou for a few days before returning to Wuxian by land."
Yin Mingfu breathed a sigh of relief. "They are indeed too old to endure life on a ship. Tell your parents to prioritize their health. If they can't come, that's fine. When the opportunity arises, you can take Caiwei back to her hometown to visit her in-laws."
Du Min replied, “If my mentor can come, I will ask him to sit in the main hall on my behalf and witness my wedding with my wife.”
Yin Mingfu breathed a sigh of relief; it was enough that there was an elder present.
"I also plan to ask Governor Zheng to officiate my wedding, and I'm sure I'll make it a grand and spectacular affair," Du Min added.
Prefect Yin was satisfied. "Prefect Zheng has agreed? Should I personally extend an invitation?"
Du Min nodded; that was exactly what he was thinking.
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Author's Note: There will be another update at 12 o'clock.
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