Around noon, a large group of officials left the palace and several nearby office buildings. A small number of people returned to their respective departments or went to the Niangniang Temple, while the vast majority of them ran to the dining hall next to the palace.

Today's situation is special, most of them were shouted before dawn, and they didn't eat breakfast, so they have been busy until now. The high-intensity work has made many people already a little tired, and as soon as the meal arrives, they run out to find food.

Since there are so many people gathered here, how to solve the problem of eating has also become a problem.

For the first 200 years, that wasn't a problem. Because of frequent wars, a large loss of territory and a decrease in population, local administration has basically collapsed, and a complete administrative structure has become a luxury concept.

The Latin lords brought by the Crusaders, the local Greek magnates, the Bulgarians and Serbs who went north and south...... The participation of many forces in the already mountainous and small region of Greece can be regarded as completely destroying the country. The so-called Roman emperor, when he has some ability, is the co-owner of a group of land snakes, and when he is not capable, he is simply the mayor of Constantinople.

After so many years of tossing, Eastern Rome successfully evolved from a society that I don't know what it was called a feudal society. Naturally, there is no need for so many central administrative organs, and they cannot afford to support them.

When the Purple Horde began to rise, it established its own administrative system. In the beginning, the system was loose, but after two civil wars and the rule of three Great Khans and one empress dowager, the feudal lords in the country had little to no effect. The central bureaucracy controls the country's main affairs, and every day it runs the huge country like a spider in a web, through a huge amount of official documents. And the maintenance of the central institutions naturally requires a lot of material security. Therefore, the existence of this canteen is actually not surprising.

These office buildings were built during the reign of Basil III. The canteen, built only a decade ago, is the latest public building in the city to be built in the midst of a large number of renovated and rebuilt ancient buildings.

On the third floor of the dining hall, Wanhu Yeluxin asked people to find a single room for themselves, chose a position near the window to sit down, and told them to bring the tea set, and then they didn't have to come again. After another while, Prime Minister Wang Zhongren pushed open the door and walked in.

Yelukhin was standing next to the open window, looking into the distance, and when she heard a voice, she turned around and greeted him.

"Brother Zhongren is here."

"Well, here we are." Wang Zhongren looked a little dazed, and replied weakly.

"The tea is over there, Brother Zhongren can take it himself." Yelukhin gestured to the tea set on the table and said.

Wang Zhongren nodded, poured himself a glass, took a sip, cheered up, and walked to the window to follow his line of sight.

"Look, these children are really energetic." Yelukhin sighed.

"Oh?"

Wang Zhongren saw that a large group of people were gathered in a place a block away. They carried crosses and icons, and carried various tools. There were also a few people, carrying several large flags, on which were written words such as "Ming" and "Wu". Of the three people in the lead, two were tall and strong, but they were dressed in tatters. The rest of the man, shorter, dressed in a slightly brighter robe and a red turban around his head, stood with his hands folded.

"What is this doing?" He asked curiously.

"I want to eat." Yelukhin said, "Look. ”

He said, gesturing behind the crowd. I saw that there was a large cart there, which was already full. In the surrounding building, a few people also hurriedly came out, and the person who led the flag made a gesture to each other and began a dialogue.

It's a long way off, so I can't hear what is being said over there. Soon, however, the two sides could be seen comparing each other fiercely, and it seemed that the conversation was not very pleasant. A few of the people who came out turned their heads to go back, but the people from outside reached out and held him down.

Several other people who came out of the courtyard immediately took up arms. However, the people outside were not unhurried and waved their hands back. Hundreds of people immediately clamored.

Armed with sticks, axe handles, and iron forks, they struck the ground in unison, under the command of the leader, and shouted in a strange Greek voice:

"Lightning follows the eagle, the blizzard follows the giant bear, and the wealth and titles of the mortal world are nothing but the dust of the kingdom of God!"

"Look at how hard people are living in Rome and beyond, in ruins in rich Constantinople and desolate on the fertile Dnieper!"

"Our whole world is full of unrighteous people, and what Brother Tian has not been able to accomplish needs to be made up for by everyone!"

"Our good man, leaving his hometown to say goodbye to his parents, only for the brothers and sisters in the world, not for the lord and benefactor!"

A group of men followed the beat and roared loudly. The people around came to watch, and the officials who were eating on the first floor also came out, looking over there with great interest, asking each other what was going on.

Of course, the pressure on the people on the scene is definitely not small. A few people in the house quickly confessed, nodded and stepped aside, and opened the door for them.

The crowd cheered, and a group of men came out and went to the house to move things, while the others also dispersed to the side, searching and pulling carts separately. In a short time, a pile of barrels was lifted out and loaded into the car with great speed.

"It's all wine." Yelushin commented: "With so many things hidden in one house, these people are really rich. ”

"They're making such a fuss, they won't fight with anyone again." Wang Zhongren looked like a frightened bird.

"It doesn't matter." Yelukhin said: "When I came, someone had already gone to the palace to complain. But Taiji said that this is a normal spontaneous fundraising activity among the people. Everyone is a good son of the Heavenly Father, but there were too many people affected by the disaster last night, and it was too cold in the winter, so people with good hearts will inevitably be anxious. ”

"And you see, it's not people running around over there, Wu Shizi and others are also there." He pointed to the flag there: "He also has a close relationship with the church, and the two sides have been in contact all year round. This time, with him taking the lead as a great benevolent, he must be able to do a good job in this charity activity. ”

"Oh, yes - I should have some winter stock at home, too. When I turned around, I asked Jing Xuan to open the warehouse and let it all go to the people. Wang Zhongren hurriedly said: "Let's get through the past few days first." We'll be able to buy it again. ”

"Haha, don't be nervous. Rest assured. When Yelu Xin heard this, he laughed twice and patted him on the back: "Your son is much more capable than my son." At the meeting just now, I heard Xiao Guo say that he had already opened the courtyard door and taken in a group of injured patients. The stone lions at the door were all taken to press tents for others. The Great Khan praised him. ”

"Okay, good, good, good......" Wang Zhongren took a long breath, and couldn't say anything else, so he could only keep repeating. may find that he is a little out of shape, and hurriedly drink a cup of hot tea to recover.

"You see you're nervous." Ye Luxin shook his head: "Hey, there are unscrupulous children and grandchildren in the family, although there is indeed a problem of discipline, but the family is big, and there is no way." ”

"Moreover, the ancients all knew that if Seong lost his horse, he would not be blessed. That's a good thing, if you want me to say. He said, "Now that it's going to happen, everyone can still handle it." If you turn around and make a big fuss, it's hard to say. ”

"Our Great Qin Kingdom is getting stronger and stronger now, and there are more and more people eyeing us. Nothing good will happen to you with these ill-intentioned people. They are all in the pillar country clan and pull their children into the water, how can they be satisfied with only a few sacrifices and make a little money? It's best to deal with this kind of thing quickly. ”

Wang Zhongren listened, was silent for a moment, and nodded.

"Lao Liu, you say, is there any news about you, specifically calling me out to say this?" He hesitated, but asked directly.

"There's nothing special about it." Ye Luxin said: "I'm ready to tell the old man, and I will talk to you all in advance." ”

"Huh?" Wang Zhongren was even more surprised: "Haven't you done a good job lately?" This time you came to report on your work, and I also looked at the documents sent over, which are all very good, huh? ”

"Oh, it's just to give the burden to the young man while it's still good." Yelukhin shook her head and said.

"There was such a story back then: In the last years of Emperor Tianzuo, he was addicted to lustful dogs and horses, and the ministers were also mediocre and incompetent, and the court was full of smoke and miasma. The Jurchen tribe rebelled, and Emperor Tianzuo's army had long been decayed and defeated. He told the story of history:

Emperor Tianzuo then summoned Wu Yong, the prime minister of the Southern Court, Yelu Dabeinu, the envoy of the Northern Privy Council, and the old ministers Xiao Chara, Ma Renwang, and Chai Yi to discuss military affairs. But the official system of the Liao State has been corrupted, these five people are all old and mediocre, none of them know military affairs, and they can't handle affairs on weekdays. When you go to court, you simply doze off directly in the court. The folk couldn't stand it, so they wrote a song and sarcastically said, 'Five Weng Weng are 400 years old, and they are sleepy in the south and north. I can't control my spirit, and I have a lot of mood to control the Jurchen. ’”

"The official system is the lifeblood of the imperial court, and if the old guys don't go to the stack, they will hold important positions all year round, and they will hurt the whole country." He said: "I thought I could do it for a while, but this time, looking at the plans made by these children and their performance in the crisis, I felt that it was time for us old men to quit and make way for them." ”

"I've already agreed with General Cao." He told Wang Zhongren: "This time, the imperial court is really going to reformulate the plan and develop the Dadong and Dabei regions." When things are arranged here, we will go back to the north together. ”

"He was going to Ryazan, his daughter-in-law's maiden house. I was also going to go to Timur Sarai and go back to the place where I fought for the first time. He turned to look into the distance and said, "Our old faces still have some face. The imperial court also pities our hard work over the years, and will give us an idle post. In this way, it can also play its value in the end, scare the disobedient local snakes for the juniors, and help them town. ”

"Lao Wang, do you want to come along?" He took the initiative to ask: "The imperial court attaches great importance to the north, and is ready to re-establish a large province to manage the northeast of Kiev and south of Novgorod, which has not been covered before. It is also appropriate for you to retire and be sent to the province to serve as prime minister. ”

Wang Zhongren poured another cup of tea and looked out the window again.

The fundraising team under the banner of King Wu has already arrived at the gate of the next courtyard. This time, none of them took the initiative to ask for it, and the people in the yard took the initiative to bring out a large pile of cloth and food. The crowd shouted at the door, "Heavenly Father bless you!" He went to the next place.

"Is everybody happy to do that?" Wang Zhongren no longer hesitated and asked.

"Of course I do." Yelukhin said: "There should be a large-scale personnel transfer this time, because if the imperial court wants to organize elite officials to go to the hinterland of Rus', it must first conduct a large-scale investigation. Recently, it is estimated that some of them have been busy. ”

"You go back and ask your family Jingxuan, if you can't stay idle in the capital, you can come to my side and follow me to do something practical." "I think he's a man who can do things," he advised. Although it is very tiring to manage Dongyi, the imperial court has always attached importance to the actual effectiveness of governance, especially in this kind of place, and promotion is faster than that of the hinterland. Don't be afraid that he will be wronged, such a big person, not to mention, and I and Tokh don't spend it. ”

"Well, it's true that I didn't discipline well. Originally, I didn't dare to resign, lest everyone think that I was deliberately playing tricks and thinking that resigning from an official would exempt me from these responsibilities. Wang Zhongren sighed: "Everyone is willing to give me this opportunity, and I can't thank it too late." ”

"However, after I leave, who will be the prime minister, is there a definite number now? What is the opinion of the Great Khan? He asked again.

"The Great Khan proposes that Bu Shangshu of the Ministry of Water take over as prime minister." "I'm also supportive of that," Yelukhin said. If you think it's okay, I'll tell them when I get back. It is estimated that the 13-person meeting should be able to pass it at one time. ”

"Although Lao Bu doesn't have a dazzling record resume, he is very down-to-earth. He was in the north to build water conservancy and was promoted step by step. The people there are now praising him. Such a person has an overview of the work, and everyone is very relieved. ”

"That's good, that's good." Wang Zhongren understood: "I'm sorry for you, Lao Liu." When the time comes, I'll visit Lao Bu again and talk to him. ”

"It's fine." Ye Luxin said: "This plan is our Great Qin's hundred-year plan, and there are opportunities. And beyond that, the movement to the south will not change. Don't you have an eldest grandson who often fights with Miss Guo? ”

"Hey, that guy is so naughty, I don't dare to let him do anything." Wang Zhongren shook his head again and again: "And that's not a fight." How can he have this ability, it is almost ...... that Miss Guo beat him"

"Hey, kids, are you playing?" Ye Luxin smiled: "We happened to meet Xiao Guo's daughter-in-law today, she told us." ”

"Your grandson, although naughty, is not confused in major matters. Xiao Guo and his wife both felt that this was good. He told Wang Zhongren: "Isn't the eldest son of the Guo family preparing to go on an expedition?" They want to invite your grandson to come with them. ”

"Invite him to Egypt?" Wang Zhongren was still a little surprised.

"yes." Yelushin nodded: "You see if it's suitable, if you can, go with them." The grandson of General Cao and the eldest of the Li family will go with him. It's better to be peers and have something to say to each other than to be with us old men, right? ”

"Hmm." Wang Zhongren stroked his beard and made up his mind: "Okay, I'll tell that bastard boy when I go back, teach him a good lesson, don't make trouble for me again." ”

"You know, kid." Yelukhin said, walking to the door: "Leave the rest to themselves." As for us, we can eat first! ”

He opened the door and called the waiters to bring the food. Then he returned to the table and sat down.

(End of chapter)