The spring of the third year of Tai'an is the year of great plans.

The so-called grand plan refers to the performance appraisal of local officials once every three years, also known as external inspection. The assessment of the officials in Beijing is called Jingcha, once every six years.

There are two forms of planning: one is to order the magistrate to make a pilgrimage to Beijing, and the official department will teach the most (1); The second is to send officials such as the imperial historian to patrol the world to inspect the officials.

The criteria for the examination of officials are: greedy, cool, impetuous, incompetent, old, sick, weak and inactive, and careless. As for the punishment, it is to punish the old and sick people below the fifth grade, the frivolous and inferior ones are downgraded, the weak and unprudent ones are idle, and the greedy and cool ones are demoted to the people.

In order to prevent the destruction of the heavy code of the investigation, he was falsely accused and deposed during the inspection, and he did not make an exception to reinstate. Therefore, this time, Prime Minister Liao Cheng is gearing up to preside over the inspection, taking the opportunity of the party to fight against differences and attack political opponents.

However, the matter of inspecting officials has always been presided over by the Ministry of Officials, and this time it is natural that he will not back down. Therefore, before the grand plan began, the DPRK and China had a-for-tat battle over the selection of the host of the grand plan.

In the end, the court decided that it would be presided over by Shao An, the right attendant of the ministry, and assisted by Yu Chengping, the imperial historian of the Imperial Historical Observatory. The Ministry of Officials and the Imperial Historical Observatory sent officials to inspect the local officials.

After the candidate is decided, before the official start of the plan. Two high-ranking officials came to talk to Shao An, and the first one was naturally the boss of the headquarters, Sun Yi.

Sun Yi came to him, first congratulated him on being able to host the plan, then emphasized the importance of the task, and finally got to the point. He asked, "Do you know Yu Zhongping?" ”

"I don't know much about it." Shao An told the truth, his colleagues had been in office for nearly a year, and he and the imperial doctor of the dynasty were still like strangers.

"He used to be a foreign official, but now after he ascends the throne, he will be promoted to Imperial Doctor." Sun Yi explained, "But he doesn't seem to be a Taizi party, but he has gradually favored Prime Minister Liao." ”

Shao An nodded, he had already seen this. At the beginning of the noon gate, he, as the chief of the Yushi Terrace, did not speak up, but chose to watch coldly. Based on this alone, Shao An noticed the ambiguity between him and Prime Minister Liao.

Seeing Shao An's thoughtful look, Sun Yi immediately threw out another major news, "Moreover, he has impeached you." ”

Shao An had no impression of this matter, and couldn't help asking: "He has impeached the lower officials?" ”

"This happened before you joined the ranks, just when you were just getting the top spot. Yu Zhongping said that your name as the champion is not worthy of the name, and accused you of cheating. Sun Yi said indignantly, "Fortunately, the emperor is wise, so he didn't succeed in his trick." ”

Shao Anxin was like a mirror, and he saw the key at a glance. This Yu Chengping is probably in his name, but in fact, it is Sun Yi who is impeached. But he didn't say anything about it, he still sat upright and looked at Sun Yi unfazed, waiting for the following.

"So this time, Prime Minister Liao agreed that he would assist you, and his intention was quite profound. You have to be vigilant. ”

"Xia Guan understands. Thank you for your mention. ”

After dealing with Sun E, Shao An was stopped by the prime minister's mansion as soon as he left the ministry. The little guy said: "The prime minister has invited the adults to come over to the house." ”

Shao An smiled, and he was the one who wooed him. He will not refuse to come, and see what tricks Prime Minister Liao wants to play.

After coming over, Shao An found that Prime Minister Liao Cheng actually held a banquet for him alone, and hurriedly excused himself. Prime Minister Liao said: "This meal should have been invited to Lord Shao a long time ago." A few days ago, because of the impeachment of the old man, Master Shao suffered a lot of grievances, and the old man really can't stand you. should have said something, but in order to avoid suspicion, the old man didn't want to invite Master Shao over for a regular gathering. Therefore, it is only today that I can invite Lord Shao to express my heart. ”

As for how true or false the prime minister's words were, Shao Anxin knew how much he knew, so he didn't shirk anymore and sat down.

Prime Minister Liao Cheng ordered people to open good wine for 20 years, and let the dancing girl dance. After three rounds of drinking, Prime Minister Liao Cheng patted Shao An's shoulder and said, "Lord Shao, although you and the old man are friends in Pingshui, the old man has been paying attention to you for a long time. You are determined and a man of creation. ”

"The prime minister praised it falsely." Shao An said modestly.

"This court push, you were finally selected to preside over the plan, and the old man was very satisfied. I believe that Lord Shao will also handle this matter impartially. ”

"That's nature."

While cooking for Shao An, Prime Minister Liao said: "I heard that you and the Ministry of Officials seem to be old acquaintances?" ”

This kind of relationship has long been known to everyone, and Shao An does not hide it, "Exactly." ”

"The old man advises you to clean yourself." Liao Cheng said, "Sun Yi, the old man has already seen through it." He seems to be deeply favored now, and his official residence is from the first grade. But he has always been capricious, and even if the emperor reuses him, he may not really trust him in his heart. If you get too close to him, it's tantamount to getting into trouble, be careful of harming the pond fish in the future! ”

Shao An was suspicious and sloppy, "Really? ”

"Listen to the old man, he is not a good person." Prime Minister Liao Cheng said earnestly, "He is promoting you now, just to take advantage of you." In the future, if you overshadow him, he will let you die without a place to bury. ”

Shao An smiled slightly, "Xia Guan knows." ”

Prime Minister Liao laughed, and then greeted: "Come on, come on, drink, drink." ”

※※※※※

In February, the big plan begins.

The state and county have an annual examination and report to the government; The government verifies the annotation and submits the book to the Ministry of Officials, which is used as a proof for the inspection of foreign officials. Then it was carefully checked by Shao An, Yu Chengping's Ministry of Officials and Yushitai.

When Shao An inspected, he received two notes from Liao Hongxuan and Sun Yi. Not only that, but Prime Minister Liao also had a 100,000 taels of silver tickets in his note. Shao An looked at the silver ticket, then at the two lists with contradictory contents, and shook his head and smiled bitterly. Since the beginning of the first emperor, the party struggle between the DPRK and China has been fierce, and both sides have used the control of the big plan as a means for the party to fight against different parties, so that the meaning of the investigation has gradually been lost. Today's government officials should really be cleaned up.

Shao An was thinking about it, and when he saw Yu Chengping coming, he quickly put away the list of silver tickets.

Yu Chengping still pretends to be tall and upright. Seeing Shao An, he didn't salute, walked straight to the chair and sat down, slowly took out the booklet, and began to report the assessment.

Shao An didn't bother to care about it, he listened casually on the seat, and saw that most of the promotion candidates that Yu Chengping said were consistent with the list given by Liao Chengxiang. Shao An felt very funny, maliciously slandered in his heart, and he didn't know how much money he charged.

After Chengping's report, Shao An took the booklet and flipped through it casually, "This Hangzhou Zhizhou, why did you let him return to his hometown?" ”

Yu Chengping said seriously: "This person is already in his old age, and he is old. ”

Shao An was silent, and when he looked down, he saw that the Hangzhou General Judgment had also been demoted, "What happened to the Hangzhou General Judgment?" ”

"He can't do it enough, so he lowered his tone."

"Can't do it?" Shao An obviously didn't believe it, and continued to turn the page back, and was shocked to find that the officials in Hangzhou on this page were either transferred or dismissed. Shao An immediately understood that this Liao Cheng not only wanted to expand the party, but also wanted to install personnel in Hangzhou. It seems that he is not worried about King Jin, and he wants to send someone to supervise, crack, and even ......

Shao An didn't dare to think about it anymore, and he was indignant in his heart: this Liao Hongxuan protected and promoted his own people, so he just turned a blind eye and forgot it; But Liao Hongxuan is now going to target King Jin and wantonly suppress him, how can he sit idly by?

"The transfer of officials in Hangzhou seems to be quite big?" Shao An dropped the book and said, "All the assessment results of Hangzhou officials must be checked by this official." ”

Yu Chengping's expression was a little unnatural when he heard this, and he tried his best to persuade: "For such a trivial matter, just let the people of the meritorious service department check it." ”

Shao An sneered, he didn't know how many people in the Gong Gong Division had accepted bribes, how could he dare to let them investigate? Therefore, he made a final decision: "No need, the matter of Hangzhou will be investigated by the official himself." ”

Shao An checked for a few days, but did not find any inconsistencies. However, this seems to be a problem, but it is actually very problematic. Fortunately, Shao An has only been to Hangzhou for a short time, and he has a few contacts with Hangzhou officials, and he doesn't think there are many old officials. When I was visiting Hangzhou, I felt that Hangzhou was politically harmonious, and I didn't hear about corruption and oppression of the people.

Looking at the assessment of the officials, they are greedy and cool. There are many people who are old and unsatisfactory officials. I don't know what kind of dire situation the people of Hangzhou live in.

Thinking of this, Shao An called the officials sent to Hangzhou for the assessment to inquire. The official spoke hesitantly, hesitating, and knew at a glance that there was a ghost in this matter. Shao An scolded the man and decided to make another secret visit to Hangzhou.

※※※※※

After less than a year, Shao An came to Hangzhou again. This time, he learned a lesson, did not enter the palace of the King of Jin, and went straight to the garden where he watched the play with the King of Jin last time.

As soon as Shao An arrived at the door, he found that the theater was very lively, and it was simply full. Shao An was surprised, why didn't he clear the scene today? Could it be that King Jin didn't come? Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a young student on the stage singing. When he heard the familiar voice and the familiar figure, he was really stunned.

The little student on the stage is not an outsider, it is the dignified King of Jin - Su Jinqi.

"Oops, you can't go in." Su Jinqi had just finished singing and was about to remove her makeup, when she heard her little girl shouting to stop someone. I thought there were fans who broke through, but I didn't care. As a result, when he was slapped on the shoulder, he looked back inexplicably, and stared at the boss with his eyes, "Ah! Ann, Ann, Ann? ”

Shao An had a calm face, and said incredulously: "You are a dignified prince, you actually went to learn that drama and appeared on the stage and were in the company of Youling?" ”

"Why can't I sing the play?" King Jin pouted and retorted as a matter of course, "Are you like others who think this is a ninth-rate business?" ”

Shao An was speechless, and King Jin did not hesitate to say: "I like opera, I like to listen to opera, and I like to sing opera." I have to sing. ”

"Can you achieve this figure and singing skills?" Shao An expressed his suspicions, although he had just watched King Jin sing, he didn't know how to play, and he didn't know how King Jin sang.

King Jin also knew that Shao An didn't know how to play, so he said: "Look at how lively it is in front, they all came to see me." There are a lot of people who praise me. ”

"Is it to praise you, or to praise your identity?"

"I didn't claim that I was the prince, only the troupe knew my identity."

Shao An was speechless, how could there be so many people cheering on what King Jin had learned, and it was estimated that there were many people who knew it secretly.

"By the way, how do you think of Hangzhou?" King Jin asked as he removed his makeup.

Shao An said angrily: "Can't you come to play?" ”

King Jin raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "I believe you?" You have nothing to do but go to the Three Treasures Palace, it may not be good to come! ”

Shao An pretended to sigh sadly: "Oh, it seems that I came too often, which annoys me." ”

"Why, we haven't seen each other in such a long time. It's just ......," King Jin said pitifully, "as long as you don't tell my fifth brother, I'm still very welcome to you!" ”

It is said that since Shao An came here to investigate the case last time, the two have never met again. It was supposed to be a gathering of the princes back to Chang'an during the New Year, but because of the filial piety period, the emperor ordered that all the celebrations during the New Year should be simplified, and the princes from all over the country did not have to return to Beijing. Therefore, the king of Jin had to stay in the fiefdom boringly, and he didn't see the Hongyi he was thinking about.

Shao An promised not to tell the emperor about singing, and King Jin's heart was finally put back in his stomach. Shao An asked him when he started singing, and the king of Jin swallowed, grinding, and chirping, and finally held back a few words, "Uh, what, that's it...... Just came to this time. ”

King Jin's dedication to opera really reached the point of incorrigibility, Shao An sighed, what else could he say?

On the contrary, King Jin remembered something and asked excitedly: "By the way, how is Hong Yi?" Did he reply? ”

"Reply?" Shao An was shocked, he actually forgot about this stubble.

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(1) The most palace: In ancient times, the assessment of political achievements or military merits, the inferior class was called "palace", and the superior class was called "most".