Chapter 254 Er Cao's name turned to ashes

In the Boya Building, everything was quiet, and Ge Hong, who had generously resigned just now, had already pursed his lips and bowed to the ground at this time, hanging his head, not daring to look at Zhao Heju.

He bowed down after reporting the name of the person he recommended, and Zhao Youju didn't say anything, just looked at him, and it was a full five minutes.

"Get up." Zhao Youju finally spoke: "Get up and talk well." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ge Hong's body was weak when he got up, but Zhao Heju moved quickly, reached out and grabbed him, and after Ge Hong confessed, he sat down.

"I feel very curious, to be honest, I don't understand why Qing would recommend this person." Zhao Youju returned to his seat, picked up the tea, took a sip slowly, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and asked Ge Hong.

"Although the minister is not as good as Cui Xianggong, he also has a three-point public heart." Ge Hong replied simply.

"So...... Can you tell me why Qing didn't recommend Qiao Xingjian? Zhao Youju said slowly.

Ge Hong's face did not change, and he still replied very simply: "The minister thinks that this person is more suitable than Qiao Xingjian." ”

Zhao Youju didn't speak for a long time, staring at the still steaming teacup, and after a while, he asked slowly: "Before Chu Qing was in the palace, he reprimanded Huo Chongcheng in a good manner, didn't he remind Huo Chongcheng to keep an eye on Qing?" ”

Ge Hong's face finally changed.

"The last time Qing entered the palace to thank him, why did he swallow the words back to his mouth, could it be that he still can't believe me, thinking that I will still remember the fact that Huayue Huazixi sent people to assassinate me in the Qiandi?"

When Zhao Heju's words came out, Ge Hong could no longer control himself, and left his seat to worship the landlord, and said with a pause: "The minister is a capital crime, a capital crime!" ”

"Get up, you are indeed guilty of a capital crime, but if I really want to investigate, what is the name of Liu Xianzhang with Qiao Xingjian and Qiao Xingjian's student, you would have already gone to the underworld with Shi Songzhi." Zhao Youju said quietly: "Get up, the ground is cold, you have an old bone, if it is cold, who will I go to find trouble?" ”

Ge Hong didn't want to get up yet, but he was picked up by Long Twelve, who had been signaled by Zhao and Ju, and sent back to the chair half-pressed and half-pushed.

Zhao Youju looked at him with a sharp gaze, and stared at him for a long time before he said: "Ge Hong, Ge Hong, you are smart, not only do you not offend Qiao Xingjian, but also pass the news to Huo Chongcheng, do you just expect that I will not pursue you?" ”

"Minister...... Capital crime. ”

Except for these three words, Ge Hong didn't seem to be able to say the rest of the words.

Although he was also prepared in his heart, knowing that sooner or later the Son of Heaven would turn over the old accounts and settle accounts with him, he always had some luck and felt that the Son of Heaven might not be held accountable. After all, until just now, the Son of Heaven had not shown that he knew those old things.

"Capital offense? If death can be absolved, wouldn't it be cheaper for you? Zhao Heju sneered: "To tell the truth, you and Qiao Xingjian, I attach great importance to both of them, you Ge Hong is an honest official, he Qiao Xingjian is dedicated to the public, Qiao Xingjian once said, no children and no grandchildren, all other people's things, there are flowers and wine, and talk about the joy of death...... Hehe, I really appreciate it. ”

Ge Hong could hear the taste of gritting his teeth in Zhao Youju's words, and he regretted it slightly, but he immediately understood that even if he didn't hint at Huo Chongcheng, the Son of Heaven would track them down sooner or later.

"I have long known that Liu Xianzhang is by no means a good type, for the sake of his own fame, not to mention it, he actually instigated profiteers to hoard Juqi, instigated the rebellion of the foolish people, and bribed the traitors in the army to cause chaos...... Zhao Youju sneered: "I have never picked this matter out, do you know why?" ”

"Minister...... It is still useful for His Majesty to be equal to His Majesty. Ge Hong said in a trembling voice.

"Yes, what you recommended today makes me sure once again that you and Qiao Xingjian are still useful to me, so I will allow you to come to this time. After you go back, go directly to Qiao Xingjian and tell him my words, do you understand what I mean? ”

"If you want to live, if you want to continue to live in a high position and fulfill your life's ambitions, you must let me know that you are still useful to me." When Zhao Youju said this, he finally changed color: "When I feel that you are useless, then I will investigate you for the crime of treason!" ”

"Yes...... Be! ”

Ge Hong wiped a cold sweat, a little happy in his heart, a little happy, although Zhao Heju said fiercely, but the implication was also obvious, he and Qiao Xing, Jian Huayue and others plotted to help King Zuoji assassinate the Son of Heaven, who was still the heir of King Yi, and the official family did not pursue it for the time being. This made Ge Hong breathe a sigh of relief, and the stone that had been pressing on his heart for a long time finally lightened a little.

He also understood that although the Son of Heaven would not pursue his affairs for the time being, only the Son of Heaven would be able to show his usefulness to the Son of Heaven in the future, especially in helping the Son of Heaven to invoke the officials of the Liuqiu family into the court, and they had to make great efforts. Like Qiao Xingjian was able to be appointed as the secretary of the Ministry of Industry last time, he relied on the fact that he recommended the person who was asked to be the servant of the Ministry of Industry.

Even so, he can finally die well, Qiao Xingjian......

I secretly calculated in my heart that if the Son of Heaven controlled himself and Qiao Xingjian, then there would be no voice among the courtiers who could forcefully oppose the Son of Heaven.

"Since Qing recommended Yelu Chucai to know the Jiankang Mansion, he will propose it at the next court meeting." Zhao and Ju said again.

"Yes!"

After Ge Hong left, Zhao Youju also breathed a sigh of relief, squinted his eyes and thought for a while, and then smiled faintly.

In terms of official ethics and even loyalty to the Great Song Dynasty, Ge Hong and Qiao Xingjian can be regarded as famous ministers, but at the same time, they are highly famous, and they have an unparalleled fanaticism for entering the court. The talents of the two of them are still there, although Ge Hong is old, he can use it for at least two or three years, and use these two or three years to use him to invoke the flow of officials into the court, which can not only calm down some of the opposition voices, but also make his own innovation more smooth - anyway, there will still be someone to hold his official position, rather than let a new official replace him, it is better to let this person who has the handle of raiding the family and exterminating the clan in his own hands to serve, and use his influence among the scholars, especially the influence among the so-called clean and righteous people, to make him use for his own use.

However, Ge Hong's sin can still be forgiven, Qiao Xingjian is really difficult to forgive, if you only look at the power technique, a living Qiao Xingjian is far more useful to himself than a dead one, but I am afraid that it will not be possible to establish a power without killing.

Of course, the surveillance of Ge Hong will not only not be weakened by this, but will be stronger.

As for that Liu Xianzhang, Zhao Youju didn't mention him, and Ge Hong didn't ask, because the fate of this person had already been decided, and for Zhao and Ju, he was a useless figure.

Five days later, a major news was published in the major newspapers of Lin'an, Ge Hong, the governor of the political affairs, and Qiao Xingjian, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, jointly recommended Yelu Chucai, a bachelor of Boya Building, as the industrial envoy of Jinling and the prefect of Jiankang, and received unanimous praise in the court discussion.

Moreover, under the strong proposal of Ge Hong and Xue, the Son of Heaven "reluctantly made it difficult" and agreed to take Jiankang as a special zone, and the appointment and removal of official positions and the administrative system were like Xuzhou, allowing Yelu Chucai to "act cheaply".

The appointment of Yelu Chucai can be described as a very significant victory for Zhao and Ju's innovation. The previous implementation of the new policy was either to seek such overseas islands, or to new frontier places such as Xuzhou and Jingdong. Jiankang, on the other hand, has always been entrenched by conservatives, and now it is equivalent to Zhao and Ju's innovations that began to march into the areas controlled by the conservatives after gaining momentum, and at the beginning they took Jiankang, which had an important position as the capital.

This is also a weather vane, indicating that it has become a consensus in the DPRK and China to accelerate innovation.

In the corner of a tabloid newspaper that reported on murders, madmen, and illegitimate sons recognizing their fathers, it was written that a man named Liu Xianzhang had been beheaded for "great rebellion", and the whole family was assigned to Nanyang.

Liu Xianzhang, who had stirred up countless storms, died quietly and silently, which is also the most in line with the interests of Zhao and Ju, although the fanfare trial and execution can cause a certain deterrent, but it is not in line with his fundamental interests.

As for Qiao Xingjian, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, because of "old age and illness", but he died in office after a month, the Son of Heaven was very sad, so he dropped out of the day, and asked the Ministry of Rites to draw up a good message, but the newspaper only announced the matter with an inconspicuous news, and Chen Guiyi, the son of the former Taishi and the Ministry of Works, was appointed as the new secretary of the Ministry of Industry.

Even the people of Lin'an did not pay attention to this trivial matter, let alone Jiankang Mansion. The officials of Jiankang Mansion were a little nervous, for the sake of the newly appointed industrial envoy and Jiankang prefect Yelu Chucai. For the scholars of the Great Song Dynasty, Yelu Chucai is not an unfamiliar name, not only because of his articles in the "Great Song Times Weekly", but also because of his book "The Wealth of Nations", in which he talks about how the national wealth is generated, how it grows, and how it is distributed to the people, so that it is endless, and has become a necessary statecraft enlightenment for scholars and doctors.

Moreover, rumors came from Beijing that the Son of Heaven allowed Yelu Chucai to choose his own officials, in order to remove the officials at all levels in the current Jiankang Mansion and appoint officials from Liuqiu's background. This made the officials of Jiankang even more panicked, they studied hard to get to today's position, if they were dismissed just because they changed a chief official, this would be too wronged.

In their panic, the passenger ship of China Merchants arrived at Jiankang Wharf.

A bearded man disembarked from the ship, accompanied by only two attendants, who looked curiously from side to side.

"In addition, the dock of this Jiankang Mansion is also very small." The youngest man pouted and said with some disdain: "How big can a ship dock with such a small dock?" ”

It is no wonder that the young man looked down on the Jiankang Wharf, not to mention that compared with the wharf that Lin'an expands year after year, it is a few smaller wharves than the newly built wharf in Huating Mansion. Ships with more than 2,000 husks are really troublesome to dock here.

The bearded man pulled out his pencil and wrote down in a pamphlet: The pier was too small and needed to be expanded.

He is naturally the newly appointed prefect of Jiankang Mansion, Yelu Chucai, who came this time, did not alarm others, nor did he bring a large number of people to replace them as the officials of Jiankang Mansion imagined. Yelu Chucai is cautious, knowing that it is not advisable to change too much when he first arrives, otherwise it will definitely cause a strong backlash, and because of his special status, he should not be too high-profile, so as not to arouse rebellion.

Like Lin'an City, Jiankang Province also has a hardened concrete pavement and four-wheeled carriages running on this pavement. Yelu Chucai waited at the dock for a while, and summoned a carriage to solicit passengers, the coachman looked like he was in his thirties, with a smile on his face, and he was very talkative.

"This road is okay, anyway, six roads in our Jinling City have been paved, and they are still on the seventh, but they have stopped because a new prefect has to come from Lin'an recently." When Yelu Chucai asked about the road in Jinling City, the coachman smiled.

"The road is narrow." Jeruchucai noted down the second point.

After leaving the dock, he passed through a low and scattered house, which looked very shabby, and most of the people who lived here were bitter men who leaned on the dock and worked hard, and in this winter, their clothes were still thin, which made Yelu Chucai frown.

"Don't these people have anything else to do?" Yelu Chucai saw that these people were gathered in groups of three or five, looking at the people who came and went boredly, so he asked again.

"What can I do, Jinling is too close to Lin'an, and all the good things have been taken up by Lin'an." The coachman said without complaints: "The guest doesn't know, there were some workshops in our area, but now they are all closed, first, the things made are not as good as Lin'an, second, they are not as cheap as Lin'an, and third, like raw silk, cotton, rice and wheat, etc., they would rather wait for the merchants who come from Lin'an to buy than sell to local workshops." ”

In the words of the Son of Heaven, in the market competition, those resources will naturally be concentrated in places with higher technology and better efficiency, and the survival of the fittest will be realized. He nodded, and wrote it down in his small notebook: "Make use of your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, don't fight with the strong." ”

After several years of advocacy, the pragmatic style of the Great Song Dynasty prevailed, so the criterion for evaluating an administrative official is not his personal prestige, but whether he can bring tangible benefits to the people's livelihood under his jurisdiction. Yelu Chucai knows his mission, and he also knows that for his personal career, the Jiankang prefect is only an important step in accumulating political achievements and prestige, this step can be taken well, and his career will be smooth sailing in the future, and even smooth progress, if it is not good, he will inevitably lose the hope of the Son of Heaven, even if he can become a close minister of the Son of Heaven, he can be insulated from the position of the sole leader or even the chief assistant.

"Your Majesty treats me as a national soldier, and I will repay him as a national soldier." He thought to himself.

After arriving at Jiankang Mansion, Yelu Chucai did not rush to take office, but turned around the subordinate counties of Jiankang Mansion one by one within the specified time. After officially taking office, the first thing he did was to announce that all the civil affairs officials in Jinling City must hand over their work to their deputies, and accompany him every day to supervise the expansion of the wharf and the renovation of the urban area of Jinling City.

On behalf of Jiankang Mansion, Yelu Chucai signed a loan agreement with Liuqiu Bank, taking 40% of the shares of the Jinling Smelter in the Great Song Dynasty under construction as collateral, and borrowing from the bank in five years, and obtaining a start-up loan of 2 million yuan in the first year and 1 million yuan per year thereafter.

When this agreement was submitted to the court for approval, Wei Liaoweng, the secretary of the household department, was extremely dissatisfied, not that he was unwilling to take out a loan, but felt that there was no need to borrow so much, and he suggested to Zhao Youju that the household department should lend 2 million yuan to Jiankang Mansion, but to occupy 20% of the shares of Jinling Smelter.

Before Zhao and Ju made a decision on Wei Liaoweng's sudden whimsy, something that surprised him even more happened, and the opposition to this loan agreement was surging in the court, and the reason for the opposition was not whether it should be loaned or not. What they disputed was whether it would be a blessing or a curse for the country that such a large share of the loan was controlled by the Liuqiu Bank.

Some people even bluntly criticized that the big boss behind the bank is the Son of Heaven himself, so this loan is the Son of Heaven competing with the people.