Chapter 110: The thoughts of the Dutong Mansion cannot be ignored. The princess' words...
It must be said that the princess' words hit the mark. Shuo Dai's heart was moved, but as an official for many years, he knew that any new policy was not that easy, so he just politely expressed his loyalty and did not promise anything.
After returning to the Dutong Mansion, Shuodai thought about it alone for an hour or so, but couldn't make up his mind, so he called his close subordinates in the Dutong Mansion over.
Soon, Deputy Governor Ha Feng and Assistant Manager Fulong'a came to the hall.
These two people can be regarded as the second and third in command of Guihua City. Among them, Deputy Governor Ha Feng has a more prominent position because he has a good teacher, the Shanxi Governor Gal, who was personally promoted by His Majesty in recent years, and he once had a teacher-student relationship with him. Guihua City is close to Shanxi, and many affairs cannot be separated from the help of the Shanxi Governor. With such a background, Deputy Governor Ha Feng is naturally in the limelight.
There is a tacit consensus among the naturalized officials that when Governor-General Shuodai retires, Deputy Governor-General Hafeng will take over.
Shuo Dai told the princess about her proposal, but before he finished, Deputy Governor Ha Feng slammed the table and stood up, saying, "This is ridiculous! How can such a young princess know how difficult it is to handle government affairs? The governor should give her some advice. A minister should give honest advice."
The implication is that the little girl is ignorant and you, Shuo Dai, at your age, don't know how to stop her. It's clearly flattery.
When Shuo Dai heard this, his face turned green, and he said unhappily, "You knew it before I even finished speaking?"
Deputy Governor Ha Feng frowned and said, "I am a little rude. I hope you can forgive me. I have no intention of disrespecting the princess. But, in the final analysis, the princess should not interfere in specific political affairs. This so-called franchise sounds good, but in fact it is just a polite version of bribery. Just like those bandits, I opened this mountain and planted these trees. If you want to pass through here, you have to pay a bribe. How can a government behave like this!"
Although his words were not pleasant to hear, they were also justified, and they choked Shuodai to the point of being speechless. Since he could not speak, he simply did not answer and looked at another official assistant, Fulong'a.
"Fulong, what do you think?"
When suddenly being called, Fulong A, showing off his big belly, smiled amiably: "It's all for the purpose of completing the tasks assigned by the court. Logically, the princess shouldn't be involved, but isn't this related to the Mongolian land in the northern desert? To be honest, most of this long post road is Mongolian post. The commander-in-chief must have asked the princess for this reason."
Shuo Dai stroked his beard and said, "Yes, that's why I went to the princess's mansion. Go on."
Fulong'a smiled and said, "The princess is indeed the son of the dragon and the grandson of the phoenix. She is so smart and kindhearted, and she even proposed this franchise method. It sounds very fresh to me, but it is too new, and I still don't quite understand it. As Commander Hafeng said, there are still many immature aspects. New things are prone to chaos."
"That's right, that's the truth." Deputy Governor Ha Feng nodded and said, "Please, Governor, teach the princess the truth."
Why don't you go and tell me! This black shorty is a killer!
Shuo Dai smiled and said, "Don't worry. In fact, some of what the princess said does make sense. For example, if the Mengdi Post Station is on a long-term conscription, it will easily lead to civil unrest..."
He told the princess what she said truthfully. This time, Deputy Governor Ha Feng listened to it in its entirety, but a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.
After Shuo Dai finished speaking, he said, "It's not easy to stir up a civil uprising. We have all been officials for a long time. Unless we are desperate, who would risk their lives to fight you? It's not easy to cause such a big fuss about corvée. At most, a few unruly people will flee into the wilderness. If we catch them and beat them with dozens of sticks, they will behave themselves."
Deputy Governor Ha Feng continued, "Your Excellency, she is a princess who made a casual suggestion. If it succeeds, it will be her reputation. Even if it fails, it is reasonable. His Majesty will not blame his daughter, but will only blame his subordinates for not doing their duty to advise her. We are different. We are wearing official robes and receiving salaries. If this new policy is really implemented, if something goes wrong, who will be the one to bear the blame in the end, huh?"
If this old bastard wants to go crazy, let him go crazy. He still has a long way to go.
Shuodai and assistant manager Fulong'a fell silent at the same time. Yes, their perspective as officials was different from that of royal nobles like the princess.
Shuodai looked at Fulong'a again, his eyes full of "say something".
Fulong'a cleared his throat and said, "This is a serious matter, we still have to think carefully. It would be bad if we make mistakes in a hurry, so it's better to be cautious in everything."
"Stability comes first," Deputy Governor Ha Feng clasped his fists towards Shuo Dai, "Don't seek merit, but avoid mistakes. Your Excellency the Governor is already this old. Do you want to plant some hidden dangers for yourself in the last few years?"
I don't know what this old man is thinking. If it were him, he would have rejected this absurd story when he first heard it in the Princess's Mansion. Why would he return to the Governor's Mansion and tell them so eagerly?
Shuodai stopped talking.
He didn't say anything, and the deputy governor Ha Feng continued, "Let's take a step back and say that even if there is some unrest about the conscription of postmen, there are many cases of resistance by unruly people. We can do what we did in the past. But if you really act according to the princess's words, and cause trouble, you will have to think of various ways to deal with it, just like Nuwa repaired the sky."
Shuo Dai sighed: "It's hard, she is the princess after all. The words have been spoken, are you going to go back and slap her in the face? Since you have such an idea, then go and talk to the princess."
Deputy Governor Ha Feng was a little annoyed. What did he mean by "he should go and tell the princess"? He was clearly talking about the trouble he had caused. He should go?
Although he privately thought that she was just a young woman, he did not dare to be disrespectful to the princess and offend her in public.
She is a legitimate royal bloodline. Although I had never heard of this princess being treated well by the emperor before she got married, she was able to make the emperor willing to build a princess's residence with her in Guihua. The Khan of the Tushetu Khanate loved her so much that he was willing to travel between the two places. Wouldn't offending her be the same as offending both sides?
Is he a fool? Well, let him do it.
Taking a deep breath, Deputy Governor Ha Feng said, "There is no rush to tell the princess about this. We attach great importance to what the princess said. We must understand it carefully and have people study it, and even go to the field to investigate. Each of these things requires a lot of effort. After a long time, the princess's interest will probably fade."
This is a tactic of procrastination. Shuo Dai did not comment, but just asked: "That's fine, but the imperial edict to urge you to do it is still here."
"Of course, we still have to do what needs to be done," said Deputy Governor Ha Feng. "We can first contact the Taiji along the way and build up the post roads as usual. Once the matter is settled, the princess won't be able to say much. I will also ask the governor of Shanxi to see if I can borrow some silver first."
Anyway, as long as the post road is built, it will be fine. As for corvée labor, debts and the like, he will be promoted and leave this place in ten years, so he doesn't care about them.
The officials of Guihua Dutong Mansion knew this tacitly, and for a long time they avoided the princess's mansion. Anyway, the princess was not a serious official, and there was a difference between men and women, so she didn't need so many social events, so it was easy for her to hide.
The head of the Princess's Mansion, Shi Musen, took the initiative to go to the Governor's Mansion to look for him several times. The first time he went, he said, "Unfortunately, the adults are out." The second time he went, he said, "Unfortunately, they just went to the grassland at Tumed Taiji's tent." When he finally saw him, he only had a quick glance and immediately said, "I'm really sorry, my dear brother. I have received a new decree from the court that needs to be handled urgently," and then ran away.
Mu Sen stood on the steps of the Dutong Mansion and sneered.
He was also a veteran in the officialdom, so he knew all the tricks. He just didn't know how to report to the princess.
It's obviously a good thing, although it has risks.
He stood at the foot of the steps for a while, watching several passers-by go by, including a peddler pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with goods, and a shepherd driving a few skinny sheep.
The shepherd must have walked a long way, his lips were dry and peeling, and he looked very tired. He saw a tree planted in front of the governor's mansion and wanted to rest under the tree. Just as he sat down, a guard came over and drove him away: "Get out, get out! Is this the place for you? If you don't get out, I'll make you suffer."
The shepherd was frightened and immediately struggled to his feet, protecting his sheep and walking away.
Mu Sen shook his head, jumped on his horse and headed towards the princess's mansion.
Strictly speaking, the princess's mansion is now located in the outer city of Guihua City. It used to be a wasteland and was not as bustling as the Dutong Mansion located in the center of the city.
But because the prince's mansion was built here, and there were residences for attendants and houses for more than a hundred dowries around it, and there was also a rammed earth avenue outside, gradually more vendors set up stalls on both sides to do business, and all kinds of shouting sounds came one after another.
"There are tea bricks, sugar boots--"
"Livestock drinking water and salt blocks are cheap—"
"Mutton sesame cakes, do you want hot, fragrant mutton sesame cakes--"
"Two mutton biscuits, please."
Mu Sen reined in his horse and paid for a mutton pancake. It was so hot that it was burning through the oil paper, but it smelled so good. He had skipped breakfast this morning to block the enemy and went to the governor's mansion. He was so hungry that he could not resist the sight of the burnt yellow pancake crust. He blew on it a few times and took a bite.
The boiling hot gravy splashed out with a "sizzle". Mu Sen took a deep breath, wanting to vomit but not willing to. The mutton filling was very solid, with just the right amount of fat and lean, and soaked in mutton fat. It was really delicious, but it was hot.
He finished eating the mutton pancake with a mixture of pain and joy before entering the princess's mansion.
A servant came to pull the horse. Mu Sen wiped his hands and face with a towel in the outer room, and then adjusted his appearance in front of the mirror before going inside.
The shouting outside did not become faint until the second day of the visit. The maids were worried that the princess preferred quietness and would be disturbed by the shouting. But the princess said that it would be good to have some noise during the day, so she let them do what they wanted.
After the announcement was made, a eunuch led him to the inner courtyard.
The princess was teaching her maids to recite poetry. When she saw him coming, she told them to take the book home and study hard. "You must study well before you can be a teacher."
I turned around and looked at him, and as soon as I saw his expression, I understood.
"Are you full of closed doors?"
"Princess, please forgive me," Mu Sen said with a folded hand, "You are a bunch of bitches."
His clear and melodious tone made Muxue laugh.
"I know you're angry, but there's no need to be angry. Everyone has their own thoughts." Mu Xue said with a smile, "If they want to drag me down, then we'll see."
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