Chapter 73: Prince An feels aggrieved, and he must speak...
Shen Zhiwei had only one thing to do with Gui Yang, and that was to let Gui Yang continue to spread rumors.
If this were a game, then the skill that Gui Yang's card maxed out would be to sow discord and spread rumors.
Shen Zhiwei silently labeled Gui Yang in her heart. She had her own way of employing people, which was to categorize them and label them, just like playing a game. When the corresponding situation appeared, she would look for the card with the corresponding label.
Of course, people cannot be simply measured by data, but this world is a huge playground, and we are all NPCs, so what's wrong with that?
Gui Yang didn't know what kind of person he was in the king's heart. He only knew to do everything the king asked him to do, including spreading rumors.
The Ranger Group is an indelible stain on Gui Yang, which makes many nobles want to avoid him when they see him. At the same time, it has also become a special part of him that is difficult for others to replace. As long as he has such a large number of people working for him, Shen Zhiwei will never forget this useful card of his.
After all the instructions were given, according to convention, Gui Yang could leave the palace to do her work.
Today was different from the past. Shen Zhiwei waited for Gui Yang to say goodbye but she didn't. Instead, she received Gui Yang's request to stay in Jingchang.
"Stay in Jingchang?"
"Yes, when Yang was away, the king had to send a letter whenever he wanted Yang to do anything. There were so many people watching along the way, and some matters were very confidential, so it was easy for mistakes to happen. If Yang had stayed in Jingchang, he wouldn't have had these troubles."
Gui Yang meant that in the future, Shen Zhiwei would not have to ask him to travel back and forth between Jingchang and Yongming. A round trip would take a lot of time, and some things were more urgent, so delivering messages would delay important matters.
Gui Yang really knew Shen Zhiwei very well. If he had said that he wanted to stay, or used the court situation to persuade Shen Zhiwei, Shen Zhiwei might not have been moved. But when he talked about it from the perspective of saving time and effort, Shen Zhiwei was immediately moved.
Shen Zhiwei didn't bother to care about the situation in the court.
Shen Zhiwei is very interested in reducing workload and improving work efficiency.
"It's just that you've done a great job as the Yongming County Magistrate. If you leave, who will take your place?"
Shen Zhiwei can't just think about herself, she also has to think about Yongming City and Biandi.
Gui Yang did a very good job as the county magistrate. In the past few years, Yongming City has developed better and better, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, which is Gui Yang's political achievement.
"I, your humble servant, am deeply saddened to leave Yongming City, but Your Majesty needs my loyalty even more than Yongming itself. Wherever I am, I will serve Your Majesty. Please allow me to overstep my bounds and recommend a talented person from the court to succeed the Yongming County Magistrate."
Gui Yang repeatedly emphasized his loyalty, not only to win the king's favor and let the king agree to let him stay, but also to prevent the king from being suspicious of his camp. After all, the person he wanted to recommend had a somewhat special identity.
"Just speak your mind, there is nothing wrong with that."
"Well, this humble servant recommends Qiong Yu from the Ministry of Personnel to be the governor of Yongming County."
Qiong Yu was the top scorer in the first imperial examination. When she entered the court, she was a sixth-rank official and was placed in the Ministry of Personnel by Shen Zhiwei. After she became familiar with the work at hand and made some contributions, she would be able to move up.
Normally, her official rank wouldn't be promoted very quickly, as newcomers always have to adapt to the officialdom.
"Upgrading from the sixth rank to the fourth rank, jumping two major ranks, will probably cause criticism from the court officials. Moreover, Qiong Yu is still young and may not be able to control the entire Yongming City."
Shen Zhiwei didn't think that the young Qiong Yu could lead the entire Yongming City, and she was not satisfied with this recommended candidate.
Gui Yang understood the king's implication and didn't expect that the problem would arise at this point.
I thought the king would be worried that officials from Wen Tao's lineage would control the entire Bian area and pose too much of a threat. But it turned out that the king was most worried about Qiong Yu's lack of ability and the delay in Yongming City.
The king truly cared about his people and the state of Bian, but this made Gui Yang, an official who had always been worried about court struggles, feel ashamed. He had been thinking too simply.
"Yongming has stabilized now, but many relics from the Bian Kingdom still remain. The good ones can be preserved, while the bad ones should be removed. We need a young and talented person to govern the area, so that we can completely eradicate the hidden dangers and restore peace to Yongming City."
Young people are fearless and have the courage to think and act which older officials do not have. When Gui Yang chose Qiong Yu to recommend her, she not only took Wen Tao into consideration, but also the needs of Yongming City.
He had also spent a lot of time and effort on Yongming City and couldn't bear to see it decline.
Shen Zhiwei's brows relaxed slightly. This statement made some sense. "But if we act too impulsively, won't it really bring disaster to the people of Yongming City?"
There is a reason why officials seek stability in everything. Being too radical and thinking that it is good for the common people is actually a very dangerous behavior.
Common people have a very poor ability to resist risks. The slightest disturbance can be like a mountain falling on their heads or a disaster from the sky.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Qiong Yu is the junior sister of the Prime Minister. She is steady and talented. Since she can become the top scholar, she is definitely not such a fool who doesn't know the importance of things."
Shen Zhiwei nodded slowly. The imperial examination papers had all passed through her hands. She knew that the candidates selected by the imperial examination would definitely not be those fools who acted frivolously. Moreover, Qiong Yu was the top scorer. There was only one top scorer among so many talented people.
There's nothing wrong with being young. When she first came here, Wen Tao was only seventeen or eighteen years old, and she had never encountered any major problems in her work. Qiong Yu is about the same as Wen Tao was back then.
"Well, do you have anything else?"
Shen Zhiwei wanted to nod, but then he thought he should ask Wen Tao and Qiong Yu for their opinions. What if they didn't want to leave Jingchang?
Gui Yang was fine, and this time he really said goodbye.
After he left, Shen Zhiwei called Qiong Yu and Wen Tao into the palace. Qiong Yu had just registered the transfer of the house at the Shangsi when she was called to the palace to discuss whether she should go to Yongming in the future.
It seems that she can't live in that house for even a day.
Of course Qiong Yu was willing. When she was in Jingchang, she seemed to be in a good position but was actually restricted in every way. It was not that others deliberately suppressed her, but because Wen Tao was above her, she could not be too prominent.
Being the top scorer in the imperial examination was already a great honor, but Qiong Yu would not do such a thing as deliberately failing the exam just to keep a low profile.
So this kind of frustrating situation should be changed. When she goes out, the sky is high and the sea is vast, isn't it possible for her to roam freely?
Seeing that both parties had no objection, Shen Zhiwei agreed. Then she asked Wen Tao what official position should be given to Gui Yang if she stayed in Jingchang.
The position of Grand Prime Minister previously belonged to Gui Yang. If Shen Zhiwei were to give Gui Yang another official position, it would definitely not be lower than that of Grand Prime Minister. Moreover, Gui Yang left Jingchang in order to accumulate experience. He had made many contributions, and those contributions should be rewarded.
Wen Tao directly proposed to return the position of Prime Minister to Gui Yang.
She didn't say what position she wanted in the future, because there were many vacant high-ranking positions in the court, and it didn't matter which one Wen Tao was transferred to.
The former high-ranking officials either resigned and returned home to retire, or kept a low profile and basically didn't care about anything.
There was nothing she could do. Shen Zhiwei had been in a bad mood recently and didn't tolerate those old guys at all. They wanted to use their seniority to bully others, or use their age to make things difficult for others. Shen Zhiwei hated those people who relied on seniority and age to bully others the most. Of course, she didn't let those people have an easy time. She took them all down one by one.
"You can give him the position of Grand Chancellor. You can become the Prime Minister? Or even the Grand Tutor?"
Shen Zhiwei hesitated between the two. She had wanted to give the position of Prime Minister to Wen Tao before, but the position was originally prepared for Gui Yang. Now that Gui Yang came back and did not become the Prime Minister, Wen Tao became the Prime Minister first. The two would definitely clash, which would be detrimental to unity.
The position of Taifu is quite suitable for Wen Tao, as she can inherit her father's career and give full play to her strengths.
Wen Tao also prefers to be the Grand Tutor. It would be better to leave the position of Prime Minister vacant for the time being because the cabinet has not been established yet. Being the Prime Minister would probably be busier than being the Grand Chancellor.
So the matter was settled. Qiong Yu went to Yongming City to serve as the county magistrate, and her original official position was taken over by her subordinates. Gui Yang came back to continue serving as the prime minister. After the cabinet was established, he could become the chief minister, and Wen Tao was transferred to serve as the grand tutor.
The title of Grand Tutor is now actually just a nominal position. Wen Tao's real official position is the Director of the Imperial College, which is mainly responsible for education. Shen Zhiwei thought about it and assigned the Censorate to her, so that she can become a censor in the future.
Wen Tao is a perfect fit to be a censor. Shen Zhiwei has always felt that Wen Tao is a little too serious, advocates the gentleman's style, and has an upright style of doing things. If he doesn't like some private matters, he will speak out directly.
Being a censor is a suitable profession.
Moreover, many officials in the court have some connection with Wen Tao. If Wen Tao impeaches them, they will not dare to pretend not to see it and will definitely change their ways honestly. Shen Zhiwei feels that this will reduce his workload and clean up the atmosphere in the court, killing two birds with one stone.
Wen Tao also thought it was good. Compared to being the Prime Minister, these two official positions were less stressful and less demanding. She didn't have to deal with a bunch of people every day. It really saved her life.
Gui Yang and Qiong Yu were also very satisfied, and the clerk who was promoted in the Ministry of Personnel was also very satisfied.
When everyone is satisfied, there will always be people who are dissatisfied, such as Jingchang's old ministers and the princes.
The old ministers first watched Hu Youan soar to the sky, then watched Wen Tao, Gui Yang and others emerge, and now even the students who passed the imperial examinations have stepped onto the big stage, while the power they can hold is getting less and less. They are almost being sidelined by Shen Zhiwei, and the young people are all stepping on their heads. It would be strange if they were satisfied.
The dissatisfaction of the princes has a long history. In the past, it was directed at Shen Zhiwei, the emperor who was destined to be the emperor and who was rightfully above them. Now, the King of the North has been added to the list.
Prince An Zhuo was very unhappy at this moment.
Before, he went out to compete with the King of the North, but a fire broke out in his backyard. Several big countries joined forces with small countries to rebel, and beat him so hard that he fled for his life. He almost lost his life, and even the life of Prime Minister An Qu was mostly lost. The vitality of An Qu was damaged, and An Qu became depressed for a while.
Later, he conserved his energy and did not dare to show up, thinking that he had suffered a lot.
When he saw that many cities of the Northern Kingdom were conquered by Jingchang, he was quite happy. He felt that he was stronger than the Northern King. After all the trouble he had done before, he only lost a few small countries that he had conquered before, and the original territory of An Kingdom did not suffer any loss.
Who would have known that the Northern Kingdom was so vulnerable and was attacked by Jingchang at its doorstep, while his prime minister, An Qu, who was unable to walk after recovering from his injury, actually persuaded him to go to support the Northern Kingdom!
King An was disgusted by the fact that he supported his former enemy, even if it was for the sake of national security.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
