Chapter 82 Abilities [Second Update]
The first day of the fifth month in the seventh year of Yongsheng.
Su Qing, a Hanlin scholar who was only twenty-two years old and served as a councilor in the Ministry of Revenue, reported to the Ministry of Revenue.
She wore a dark crimson silk robe with eleven gold and jade belt buckles at her waist, and her official robes were embroidered with peacock patterns.
When she arrived in Beijing, many people had two guesses.
One option is for her to return to Guanglefu and remain the local tyrant of the area.
The second option was to stay in the capital, receive a nominal promotion but in reality be demoted, and be given a minor official position with no real power.
But after all that trouble...
The Empress Dowager recommended him, and officials in Jiangnan strongly recommended him.
In addition to her own abilities.
Not only did he stay in the capital, but he also became a powerful official.
This is the Ministry of Revenue.
In charge of the nation's household registration, land tax, and finances.
If we say that the local household registration offices are the money bags of each prefecture.
The Ministry of Revenue was the nation's purse.
Among the six ministries in the capital, it would be among the top two.
The office where Su Qing worked was among the top offices under the Ministry of Revenue.
With such a wide jurisdiction, the Ministry of Revenue naturally had many subordinate offices.
These were the General Affairs Office, the Censorate, and thirteen provincial offices.
The Thirteen Provincial Offices correspond one-to-one with the thirteen provinces, each in charge of the Civil Affairs Department, the Tax Department, the Housing Department, and the Granary Department.
The document archives of the Zhaomo Office were in charge of managing the archives within the Ministry of Revenue.
The frontmost office, the General Affairs Office, was responsible for overseeing and canceling the administrative affairs of various departments.
It was equivalent to the secretariat of the Minister of Revenue and the Left and Right Vice Ministers.
In addition, it also manages customs and security for entry and exit.
Su Qing went to the office of the clerk.
He was one of the two political senators.
The one who came to greet her was naturally Lord Fang.
However, since Lord Fang was in charge of the archives at the Zhaomo Office, he was not considered Su Qing's direct subordinate.
"You really are my superior." That was the first thing Lord Fang said.
Su Qing laughed: "No, we're not in the same department."
"That's true."
Lord Su is a fourth-rank official, while he is only a fifth-rank official. How can they be the same?
However, among all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue, only Lord Fang appeared, while some clerks doing odd jobs were trying to observe the situation discreetly.
Other officials, especially another councilor from the Department of State Affairs, did not appear.
These officials didn't need to attend court.
They should be in the government office right now.
There was no indication that other officials or subordinates from the Secretariat would appear.
Even Lord Fang, who was greeted at the office, was about to leave.
Su Qing reassured him, "It's not like it's your first day as an official, don't worry."
Having been an official for six or seven years, if I still can't see through this little thing, then I'm a fool.
Lord Fang was relieved.
Indeed, this is Lord Su Qing!
What is she afraid of!
Even so, he still reminded him, "Sir, please don't take any harsh words to heart."
Su Qing laughed at those harsh words.
Sure enough, as soon as I stepped into the office, I heard someone say in a sarcastic tone, "It's good to be a woman, you get promoted faster than others."
"She didn't need to study or take the imperial examinations. She just took over her father's official position."
"She's already twenty-two and still not married, she's an old woman."
"What if the person she wants to marry is in the palace?"
Su Qing thought about Yan Zhengzhou.
He used to be in the palace, but he's not anymore.
The others burst into laughter, their eyes fixed on Su Qing out of the corner of their eyes.
Then another councilor, Zhao, spoke up: "Aren't you going to work anymore?"
Zhao, the councilor, looked up at Su Qing with a grim expression: "Councilor Su."
He then pointed to the seat next to him and said, "You can sit here."
Su Qing raised an eyebrow slightly, smiled, and cupped her hands in thanks: "Thank you."
Su Qing sat down leisurely and glanced at the group of people who had been chatting earlier: "Which department are you from? What do you do? What are your names? What is your experience?"
This isn't Su Qing's first year as an official.
This isn't the first time he's tried to manage his subordinates.
She had seen at least a thousand or even ten thousand civil officials and clerks, so how could she be intimidated?
The seven or eight people who were speaking immediately stood up straight, and some of them were unconvinced: "They're in the General Affairs Office, so they must be from the General Affairs Office."
"We are all under Zhao, so we don't need to report to you, Su, right?"
Su Qing nodded slightly and looked at Zhao, the councilor: "My lord, then I will not say any more."
Upon hearing this, Councilor Zhao immediately retorted, "Nonsense! They are all from the Office of State Affairs, and they are all under our command."
"Hurry up and tell Councilor Su your identity."
This group of mediocre people has caused countless troubles in their daily lives.
If we force it under his name, who knows how many new charges will be added to his name?
Su Qing knew that if someone had no work to do during office hours, they were either marginalized or had powerful connections.
Those who dare to talk about me like this must be the latter.
Seeing that he couldn't fool them.
Seven or eight people stood crookedly, casually reporting their situation.
"Ruan Zuo of the Ruan family in the capital, a Jinshi of the sixth year of Yongsheng, ranked sixty-seventh in the second class. He is twenty-six years old this year and is currently serving as a sixth-rank Assistant Director in the Department of State Affairs."
“Zhou Fengnian of the Zhou family in Huai’an was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Yongsheng. He is twenty-nine years old this year and is currently a clerk of the eighth rank in the Department of State Affairs.”
Each of the eight people finished speaking.
Except for one Juren (successful candidate in the provincial examination) from the fifth year of the Yongsheng era, all of them were newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the imperial examination).
Ruan Zuo held the highest position, a sixth-rank official.
Zhou Fengnian started as a clerk of the eighth rank, the lowest rank.
But they have one thing in common.
They all come from prestigious families, have good social standing, and are young.
Of course, they are relatively young among the officials; none of them are over thirty-five.
Su Qing looked around and saw that there were ten people in the General Affairs Office.
Zhao, the councilor, was only about forty or fifty years old.
Everyone else, including myself, is quite young?
Seriously? There was age discrimination in ancient officialdom too?
This is actually the current emperor's preference.
It seems he really likes young officials.
No experience required, easy to handle.
Take these eight people for example. They believe everything they hear, and what they just said was exactly the effect the Emperor wanted.
They lived up to expectations and became the emperor's yes-men.
"All we need to know is their family background, name, age, what duties they've performed, what awards they've received, and any past experience."
Su Qing remained expressionless and continued to ask.
That, of course not.
They are all newly appointed scholars who have passed the imperial examinations!
Thinking of Su Qing's resume, and the awards she received, even her mother was granted an imperial title because of her.
The eight people hesitated to speak, as if they were inferior to her.
"You're all getting on in years, yet you've accomplished nothing." Su Qing chuckled. "If you were to pass the imperial examination, it would be the glory you could take to your grave, which is laughable."
What kind of talk is that?!
What does it mean to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi? Is it an honor that can be taken to one's grave?!
That's exactly right!
Is something wrong?
As they were talking, dozens of officials arrived outside the door; they were all officials from the Office of State Affairs.
I was out on business when I heard that Councilor Su had arrived, so I reluctantly came over to pay my respects.
Hearing the argument inside, I was unsure whether I should go in.
But what Councilor Su said was too harsh.
Passing the imperial examination and becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) should be a source of pride, shouldn't it? What's wrong with that?
Unexpectedly, Lord Su knew they were not convinced, so he added, "There are dozens of officials outside, as well as other departments of the Ministry of Revenue."
"Then, when you go to the Three Departments and Six Ministries, there are very few who are not Jinshi graduates. For them, this is just the starting point, not the end."
"Since you have taken office, you should look at what you have done that is beneficial to the country, instead of being arrogant and self-pitying."
Wake up, everyone.
Your Jinshi degree is now commonplace in the capital.
You've all become officials, okay? Who's going to compare their achievements with you?
And you're using that phrase to mock her?
Does she care about fame and fortune? Why not compare official positions or contributions?
The eight men were humiliated by what they heard, but looking at Su Qing's official robes and position, they dared not actually offend him.
The dozens of people outside also looked unhappy.
Although Lord Su's words were harsh, they reflected their true feelings.
After much difficulty, he passed the imperial examination and came to the capital to serve as an official.
But being a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) is nothing special here.
Compare family background and connections.
These are the key points.
In the past, studying for the imperial examinations was as simple as working hard.
That's not the case now.
Otherwise, why would these people only be able to do odd jobs outside, while the eight people inside the gate can chat and joke around?
It's simply because of differences in social status.
A Jinshi degree holder?
It's ridiculous.
“Now that you’ve become an official, that’s a different matter,” Su Qing said slowly. “Here, I only look at ability, not background, not the ranking in the imperial examinations, and not even gender.”
"You lot are not fit to work under me."
"To put it bluntly, the scholars under my command are more useful than you all."
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Qing looked at the crowd outside the door: "Are you also from the Office of State Affairs? Come in and talk."
Thirteen people filed in.
They only considered ability, not family background or ranking in the imperial examinations.
When other officials say these things, people might think it's just polite talk.
But it was Su Qing who was speaking at this moment.
In terms of ability, background, ranking in the imperial examinations, and gender.
Who is at a greater disadvantage than her?
He is not yet in a position of political participation.
In her eyes, only talent matters.
Each person introduced their identity, age, and current job.
It served as the Secretariat of the Ministry of Revenue.
There is a great deal of work to be done.
This department should be very important.
But above them are three smaller secretariats.
Those were the civil officials and clerks under the Minister of Revenue, as well as the people under the Left and Right Vice Ministers.
Although they were also located within the Ministry of Revenue, they had their own offices.
So it goes down layer by layer.
All important matters have already been screened through the three places mentioned above.
When I arrived at their office, it was all about trivial matters.
Even when there were matters concerning the various departments of the thirteen provinces, people would go directly to the Left and Right Vice Ministers, without going through them at all.
As a result, their department, which should have been important, became useless.
The things everyone is dealing with aren't anything major.
These privileged individuals inevitably feel disheartened.
However, Su Qing knew a little more.
Last year's newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) included those with exceptional talent, such as Gu Congsi, who was also favored by the emperor.
Other examination results will need to be examined separately.
Those with excellent grades are most likely those who praised the emperor.
Those who did not perform well, such as Hui Rong and Qi Anping from Guangyuefu, were undoubtedly talented and learned, but their rankings in the imperial examinations were very low, simply because their essays were not favored by the emperor.
Hui Rong and Qi Anping were relieved by Su Qing's comfort.
Other highly learned scholars were frustrated.
If you rank poorly and aren't given important positions, it's a miracle you don't start cursing the court, let alone feel disheartened.
These thirteen people in front of us are just like that.
Having heard Su Qing's words, they couldn't help but feel hopeful.
The other eight, however, let out a cold laugh.
They probably thought Su Qing was delusional.
In local areas, political achievements can speak for themselves; but this is the capital.
Su Qing thought to herself.
Their thoughts were in line with the Empress Dowager's.
They think that since this is the capital, they must follow their rules.
Su Qing smiled faintly, ignoring their sneers.
At that moment, several more people arrived outside the office.
He was the chief clerk of the Zhejiang, Shandong, and Fujian departments under the Ministry of Revenue.
All the areas under their jurisdiction had coastal ports.
I've come here now for one thing.
Maritime Trade Office!
The hometown associations from coastal areas in Beijing all share the same idea.
With Lord Su gone to the Ministry of Revenue, she will naturally take charge of the Maritime Trade Office!
Although she could not personally go to various places to manage the maritime trade offices.
Yet he was able to remain firmly in the central government and coordinate the establishment of maritime trade offices in various regions!
Isn't this better than her staying in one place?
If we're going to manage it, then we should manage it all!
It's likely that people in other regions are unaware of Su Qing's current position.
Once they learned of this, any government office that wanted to make money from the Maritime Trade Office would petition Lord Su to take charge of the matter.
Nobody else can do it!
Only Lord Su can come!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
