Lin Haoran is a person who misses the old love, in the past, when he was the prefect of Guangzhou and the deputy envoy of the Guangdong Patrol Road, he had a lot of dealings with Pan Jitao.

Although his relationship with Pan Jitao was not too close, it was an old acquaintance in Guangdong, and he immediately asked Lin Jinyuan to bring people over.

Pan Jitao is the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing's top three jinshi, the first Jiujiang Mansion magistrate, later appointed to supervise the imperial history, served as the Guangdong patrol according to the imperial history, served as the Beizhili Tixue patrol, and now is back to the fourth product of Dali Temple Zuo Shaoqing.

His career is smooth, although it is related to his personal ability, but in the current officialdom, if there is no strong backstage in the capital, it is impossible to stay in Beijing from the official of the seventh product to serve as the Zuo Shaoqing of the Dali Temple of the fourth product.

Pan Jitao's nobleman is none other than Dong Fen, the left servant of the high-ranking and powerful official of the dynasty. Pan Jitao and Dong Fen are both fellow villagers in Wucheng County, Huzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang, and once went to the county school together, and their careers benefited from Dong Fen's support.

No one thought that a famous minister in later generations would have such a close relationship with a big corrupt official.

Lin Haoran has taken a serious peek at Pan Jitao, and unlike most officials who pursue power, Pan Jitao is not keen on fame and fortune. His temperament seems wooden and honest, and he can be regarded as a typical scholar-type official.

Lin Jinyuan led people to the outer hall of the study, and Pan Jitao followed Lin Haoran's status to open a big gap, but he respectfully saluted Lin Haoran and said, "The lower official greets Uncle Shaozong!" ”

The official character and status of Shaoqing of Dali Temple are not low, but facing Lin Haoran, who is the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, he is already standing on a small hill and looking up at a mountain peak.

"Brother Shi Liang, please take a seat!" Lin Haoran still attaches more importance to this big celebrity in later generations, looked at this honest middle-aged man and pointed to the seat next to him and said with a smile.

Pan Jitao is a rule-abiding person, even if Lin Haoran's qualifications and age are not as good as him, but the status of the family is here, so he bowed his hand and thanked him in a proper manner: "Uncle Xie Shaozong!" ”

Lin Jinyuan knew that Lin Haoran attached great importance to this Zuo Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and he also sent good tea.

Lin Haoran took a sip of tea unhurriedly, and said straight to the point: "Brother Shi Liang, it is very rare for you to take the initiative to come to Beijing when you return to Beijing, this time I am afraid that you will not go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, right?" ”

Pan Jitao is not a good communicator, although he returned to the capital two years ago and previously served as the Beizhili to learn the imperial history and Dali Temple Zuo Shaoqing, but the number of active visits is not much.

"The lower officials really have something to ask for, and I also ask Uncle Shaozong to take a look!" Pan Jitao put down the teacup, reached out and took out a manuscript from his sleeve and presented it to Lin Haoran.

Lin Fu had been guarding the door, watching Pan Jitao approach Lin Haoran, but he was staring at Pan Jitao vigilantly. However, seeing that Pan Jitao did not act inappropriately, he guessed that this person should be an official.

Since many local governors are pushed out by the court, the nineteenth uncle, who has the right to vote and influence, has become the object of their own stammering, and this kind of door-to-door officials have long been strange.

Lin Haoran took the manuscript with a suspicious face, first glanced up at Pan Jitao in surprise, and then lowered his head to check the content of the manuscript by the candlelight.

But seeing that there was not only a lot of data on the manuscript, but also a superb river drawing, he didn't feel any problem in the end, and said suspiciously: "Brother Shi Liang, this is a very standardized project of water and sand flushing, and there is no problem with this drawing!" ”

Because of his appearance, this "water flushing method" has become a masterpiece of his, and he is resolutely the authoritative water conservancy expert of the Ming Dynasty. It's just that he looked at it carefully, and it didn't seem that there was anything wrong.

"Uncle Shaozong, I don't know if the total cost of the project is appropriate?" Pan Jitao had been observing Lin Haoran's reaction just now, but asked quietly.

Although Lin Haoran is not an engineer, after all, he is in charge of Leizhou Mansion, Guangzhou Mansion and Shuntian Mansion have all promoted engineering projects, looking at the fine expenses above, he nodded lightly and said: "Every expenditure here is very reasonable, this water and sand flushing project is about this amount, but the total cost of 100,000 taels is too ideal!" When I presided over the construction of Leizhou Wharf in the past, I had to rest for half a month before and after the typhoon, and I had no choice but to increase the cost by 10%. In the same way, this water and sand flushing project needs to take into account the situation that the weather delays the construction period, so it is more reasonable to increase the cost by 10%! ”

"Xia Guan has really found an expert, and he will go to Qin Tianjian tomorrow to check and strive for a more tangible amount!" Pan Jitao nodded thoughtfully, and then said seriously.

Lin Haoran pinched the lid of the tea with his hand and splashed the tea lightly, looking up in surprise and asked, "Brother Shi Liang, which one are you singing?" ”

Pan Jitao did not hide it from Lin Haoran, put down the teacup and replied: "The Yamen of the Governor of the River governed the Yellow River in the name of the method of harnessing water and flushing sand, but in the section of the river just now, the cost of my careful verification was only 100,000 taels, but the Yamen of the Governor of the River reported that it cost 800,000 taels!" ”

At the end of the day, his voice was clearly full of heartache.

Lin Haoran also sighed secretly in his heart, although he knew that local corruption was very serious, but he was quite helpless when he saw nearly 700,000 taels being corrupted by those officials.

At this time, he also understood that Pan Jitao took the initiative to find him not for personal gain, but wanted him, a "water conservancy expert", to help with the argument.

Lin Haoran took a sip of tea, and also had evil thoughts about this ink-greedy official, so he asked seriously: "Brother Shi Liang, who is the official in charge of this project?" ”

"Last year, the imperial court originally appointed Wu Chunfang as the governor of the river, but Wu Chunfang had just arrived in Jining and was reappointed as the governor of Liangguang, and the real person in charge of this project at that time was Zhou Yongqing, the same governor of the river!" Pan Jitao explained the situation.

Lin Haoran searched for this person in his mind, but suddenly realized: "But that official Zhou Yongqing who was imprisoned in Dali Temple because of the collapse of the White Horse Dam? ”

In fact, many things in officialdom can't be hidden from him, but a lot of information is stored in his mind and will only be recalled when needed.

"My lord has a good memory, it's this person!" Pan Jitao nodded lightly, and then added: "The lower officials heard that he was greedy for ink, so they conducted a deeper investigation into him, and found that this project is likely to have a major corruption problem!" ”

The corners of Lin Haoran's mouth were filled with a trace of bitterness, and he slowly pinched the tea lid and splashed the tea. But I don't know whether to condemn the corruption of local officials, or to praise the conscientiousness and responsibility of this Dali Zuo Shaoqing, and then discovered this big corruption case.

"In addition, the lower officials also found that the extravagance of the Yamen, the governor of the river, was very bad!" Pan Jitao has a very good impression of Lin Haoran, and some words that he will not have a heart-to-heart relationship with Dong Fen say to Lin Haoran seriously.

Lin Haoran's eyebrows raised slightly, and he answered: "Where do you start with this?" ”

"There are many officials in the Yamen of the Governor of the River who seem to be innocent, but they eat and drink extremely extravagantly! The lower officials learned from their former colleagues that the annual allocation of the imperial court was squandered by them, and the food was extremely luxurious, and every dish was appalling. Like they eat geese, but they drive a group of geese into an iron cage, burn charcoal below, drive the geese to practice it, the essence of the goose is all on the goose paws, cut off the goose paws, the whole goose can be discarded, a seat needs dozens or even hundreds of geese. Pan Jitao looked at Lin Haoran calmly, and said in shock.

At a time when Guangxi was eating raw mice in order to survive, these officials of the Yamen, the governor of the river, who were supported by the people, were so extravagant, which was indeed chilling.

Lin Haoran took a sip of tea, but said with an authentic attitude: "If the river workers are really so extravagant, this is not only a bad habit of the river governor's yamen, but also a serious dereliction of duty by the river governor!" ”

Although the power of the river governor is actually very limited, things have become so out of control that the river governor must have a considerable responsibility.

"That's right!" As if he had found a confidant, Pan Jitao nodded solemnly immediately.

Lin Haoran slowly splashed the tea with the tea lid, and suddenly asked: "Brother Shi Liang, do you think the method of harassing water and washing sand can cure the trouble of the Yellow River?" ”

"The plague of the Yellow River has plagued China for thousands of years, and this problem is almost unsolvable. Since this water flushing method can solve the stubborn problem of sand accumulation at the mouth of the Nanliu River, it will certainly also solve the great stubborn disease of sand accumulation in the Yellow River, but it is only so! Pan Ji pondered for a moment and responded seriously.

The method of bunching water and flushing sand is Lin Haoran's masterpiece, but he did not say against his will that this method can solve the shortcomings accumulated for thousands of years, but chose to talk about things. Controlling the Yellow River is not only about controlling desertification, but also about the problems that go far beyond imagination.

Lin Haoran smiled slightly, and couldn't help but think highly of Pan Jitao, and asked with a straight face: "The extravagance of the river governor's yamen, and now there is such a big case of embezzlement of ink, and the position of the river governor of the Ministry of Works, Li Qian, is not guaranteed!" ”

"The lower officials have always done things right, not people, even if Li Qian is not greedy for ink, but he also wants to guarantee responsibility!" After all, Pan Jitao was born as a speech official, and he had the strength to sacrifice his life for righteousness, and he responded selflessly.

Lin Haoran knew that he had misunderstood his words, so he looked into his eyes seriously and said, "Brother Shi Liang, if I recommend you to be the governor of the river, I don't know what you think?" ”

Lin Fu, who was standing at the door, heard this, but he couldn't help but glance at Pan Jitao, and he had already begun to re-examine this official, who seemed to be wooden.

"This ...... Uncle Shaozong is afraid that he is laughing, how can he be a subordinate official, how can he be qualified for this position! Pan Jitao was directly stunned by this sudden remark, and immediately responded modestly.

Lin Haoran shook his head lightly, looking serious: "No, you are qualified for this position, and you are the most suitable person!" I ask you, what would you do if you were the governor of the river? ”

"If the lower official can serve as the governor of the river, he will definitely eliminate the extravagance of the yamen of the governor of the river, and implement the method of harnessing water and rushing sand to control the stubborn disease of the Yellow River!" Pan Jitao thought of the various inactions of the governor of the river over the years, and responded with gritted teeth.

Lin Haoran became more confident in this enthusiastic scholar-type official, and said solemnly: "It has been five or six years since I proposed the method of harnessing water and flushing sand, but the governor of the river, Yamen, has never been willing to fully implement it, and even applied to the imperial court for a large amount of river silver in the name of this law, and this official is also deeply disgusted in his heart. The reason why I want to nominate you as the governor of the river is not because of personal interests, but because I hope that I can do more for the people on both sides of the strait through you, and leave some more silver taels for the imperial court treasury to help the victims! ”

Pan Jitao is different from Zhou Youqing, Pan Jitao is from Dong Fen's side, and he is more like an outsider, so it is better to be a gentleman than to forcibly pull into his camp.

"The good intentions of the adults, the lower officials have understood it, but the lower officials are still underqualified, and I am afraid that they are not worthy of this position!" Pan Jitao hesitated, but refused.

Lin Haoran nodded lightly, knowing that Pan Jitao's qualifications were still worse, so he said with a face: "This is indeed a problem!" When Li Qian, the governor of the river, leaves his post, you first go to Dong Shilang's mansion and propose that you want to seek the position of the governor of the river, and then go to me, and I am sixty percent sure that I will push you up! ”

The Governor of the River is a fat shortage, and he is bound to be coveted by various forces.

It's just Dong Fen's support, coupled with the help of his side, even if Pan Jitao's qualifications are a little shallow, he should be able to win enough votes for him.

After all, although this officialdom pays great attention to seniority and prestige, it is more important whether there is someone behind it, and many important official positions are the result of negotiations between all parties.

"My lord, please let me think about it, this is not my way of being an official!" Pan Jitao hesitated, but he didn't want to get into this kind of fight, but he responded.

Lin Haoran sighed secretly in his heart, and asked directly: "I don't know what your way of being an official is, and I don't want to know!" I only know that now that the Governor of the River, the Yamen, is in vogue and the people on both sides of the river are suffering greatly from the flooding of the Yellow River, do you want this situation to continue? ”

Pan Jitao suddenly sighed, and arched his hand at Lin Haoran: "The lesson of the adults is that the lower officials will definitely fight with all their might, and please ask the adults to help!" ”

The two chatted for a while, and Pan Jitao stood up and took the initiative to leave.

"Uncle Nineteen, he doesn't seem to be involved in river work, do you really think he can be the governor of the river?" Lin Fu watched Pan Jitao leave, but asked suspiciously.

Lin Haoran turned around and went back to the study, but he glanced at Lin Fu and said, "He will do better than me as the governor of the river!" ”

"Uncle Nineteen, how can he compare to you? That person just now looked dumbfounded, and at a glance he knew that he wasn't a smart person!" Lin Fu was full of disbelief and expressed his opinion.

Lin Haoran reached out and touched his sour neck, but said sincerely: "Smart people often can't do things, and only people with one tendon can overcome all kinds of difficulties to get things done!" ”

bid farewell to Pan Jitao, but ushered in several protégés such as Wang Shiju and Li Tingchen.

With the township examination imminent, these protégés who have passed the college examination and scientific examination have come to the door. Lin Haoran also encouraged them a few words, naturally he didn't expect many of them to have many proud protégés, but he still had to put on a posture of attaching importance to protégés.

In the Ming officialdom, especially now that he is a high-powered Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites, he is destined not to have much personal time. He now has to put most of his energy into officialdom, and is slowly weaving a huge network of relationships that belongs to him.