After several days of deliberation, the rankings of the remaining departments were finally decided.

Forbidden City, Cabinet.

When the last word fell, I saw Yan Song put the brush in his hand back in place, looking at the paper on the bookcase, with the rankings of various departments, the whole person couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, I saw him stroke his beard, hand over the paper with the specific rankings of each department of the Ming Dynasty to Xu Jie, and then said: "Elder Xu Ge, take a look, is there any mistake in this?" ”

When Xu Jie heard this, he responded imperceptibly, and then took the paper from Yan Song's hand.

Because the ink on the paper has not yet dried, there is still a slight fragrance of ink, and the handwriting on it is very neat, fresh and elegant, like a swimming dragon.

After Yan Song took the paper with the ranking in his hand, Xu Jie browsed intently.

"Well, the rankings of the six departments here are officials, households, rites, soldiers, workers, and punishments, and the five temples are Honglu Temple in the first place, the twelve prisons are the ceremonial supervisors, and the five armies are ......."

Time passed slowly, I don't know how long it was, I saw Xu Jie put down the paper with the rankings of various departments written in his hand, nodded, and said kindly: "Well, Yan Ge Lao, I have seen the rankings in it, there is no problem!" ”

"Let's take a look at it, and when it's confirmed, we'll send it to the celebrant!"

After Xu Jie finished speaking, he handed over the paper with the specific rankings of each department to Hu Zongxian on the side.

After Hu Zongxian confirmed that the content was correct, he handed it over to Gao Gong, and after Gao Gong, they were Zhang Juzheng and Yan Shifan.

This piece of paper, which had the rankings of various departments of the Ming Dynasty, was in the hands of everyone, and after a turn, it returned to Yan Song's hands.

Immediately, I saw Yan Song summon a Xu official and instructed: "Send this list with the rankings of each department to the celebrant supervisor!" ”

When the official heard this, he didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, so he took the paper from Yan Song's hand very solemnly, and replied in a deep voice: "Yes, Yan Ge Lao!" ”

After this, the official did not dare to slack off in the slightest, and immediately left quickly.

After the official left the cabinet, I saw Yan Song pick up the teacup soaked in wolfberry water on the table, take a sip, and then propose to everyone: "Since the matter of the departmental ranking has come to an end, then let's start calculating the accounts of each department this year, and draw up the votes by the way!" ”

"Yes, Yan Ge Lao!"

……

On the other side, inside the celebrant prison.

At this moment, the celebrant was very busy, and from time to time there were officials in and out of the house.

I saw Feng Bao put aside the processed envelope in his hand, then got up from the seat and moved his limbs.

After moving his limbs, he saw Feng Bao sit back on the chair and complained: "Recently, there are so many more red songs, they are almost twice as big as usual!" ”

Huang Jin, the chief eunuch not far away, heard Feng Bao's words, put down the brush in his hand, chuckled, and comforted: "It's good to be busy for a while!" ”

At this moment, I saw a hurried official enter the celebrant supervisor.

After entering the celebrant supervisor, the official did not hesitate at all, and immediately came to Huang Jin's face, leaned down, and respectfully reported: "Father-in-law Huang, the matter that has been in charge of the cabinet recently has come to fruition!" ”

After the official finished speaking, he handed over the paper with the rankings of each department to Huang Jin.

"Oh, so soon!"

When the words fell, I saw Huang Jin take the paper from the hand of the official and browse it with great concentration.

"On the side of the sixth department, the official department is in the first place, and on the side of the twelve supervisors, our celebrant supervisor is in the first place, well, not bad......

Soon, Huang Jin finished browsing the contents on the paper, and he could see that the cabinet, in order not to cause too much controversy in the rankings of various departments, had already tried all his tricks.

Except for the rankings of the six subjects that need to be discussed, the rankings of the rest of the departments are also more reasonable.

The ranking of each department is considered according to its authority and responsibility, and then based on the efficiency of work on weekdays, as well as political performance.

On the side of the six departments, the reason why the Ministry of Officials is ranked first is because the Ministry of Officials has been the head of the six departments since ancient times.

The Ministry of Officials is responsible for the evaluation and promotion of officials, and firmly controls the personnel appointment of officials, and has extremely heavy power, ranking the Ministry of Officials in the first place, which can avoid disputes to the greatest extent.

On the side of the celebrant eunuch, not to mention, the celebrant has eunuchs such as the commander, the palm seal, the pen, and the court, and the eunuch is in charge of all etiquette and punishment in the imperial city, as well as the management of errands and errands.

The eunuch with the palm seal is in charge of the internal and external chapters, as well as the royal pre-inspection of the talismans, and the eunuchs who are in charge of the pen and the eunuchs who follow the hall are responsible for the jurisdiction of the chapters and documents, and the votes of the cabinet are to be approved.

Therefore, the celebrant has always been known as the first signature, and his rights and responsibilities are not insignificant!

The celebrant is ranked first among the twelve eunuchs, and no one can find faults, and the rest of the departments are also ranked according to their powers and responsibilities, and the heavier the powers and responsibilities, the higher the ranking.

After that, I saw Huang Jin hand over the paper with the rankings of various departments in his hand to Feng Bao, and commanded: "Feng Bao, this ranking of various departments drawn up by the cabinet, you will personally send it to Your Majesty later!" ”

When Feng Bao heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, his face full of disbelief.

He couldn't believe that Huang Jin actually gave up such a good opportunity to himself in vain!

You must know that for eunuchs, the most important thing is to get the favor of the emperor, the closer to the emperor, the closer the relationship with him, the greater the power they can get!

This is the reason why Feng Bao had to take a huge risk to get ahead of everyone and report the auspicious fortune of the snow to the emperor in person.

And the result of the matter did not disappoint Feng Bao, he entered the emperor's sight because of this matter, and then took over Gonggong Shi's class smoothly, and sat in the position of the eunuch of the celebrant and the pen.

After that, I saw Feng Bao suppress all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, met the eyes full of envy from everyone, and took the paper with the department ranking from Huang Jin's hand with a grateful face, and said in a deep voice.

"Thank you, Grandpa Huang!"

Huang Jin didn't seem to care about this, just squinted his eyes, and said with a smile: "Okay, don't waste time, hurry up!" ”

"Yes, Grandpa Huang!"

After responding, Feng Bao did not hesitate at all, and immediately left the celebrant and walked in the direction where the Qianqing Palace was located.

……

On the other side, the Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

At this moment, Jiajing and Lu Fang were playing Go and chatting at the same time.

Hearing only a 'click', Jiajing dropped the black chess piece in his hand into the chessboard, then looked in the direction where Lu Fang was, and asked.

"Lu Fang, didn't I ask you to check before, who is behind the instigation of Guozijian's students, do you have eyebrows?"

"Your Majesty, the slave and maid have investigated clearly, it is the people over there in the matter who are secretly inciting the students of the Guozijian, and the slave and maid have ordered Dongchang to take down all the relevant people!"

After Lu Fang finished speaking, he picked up a white chess piece from the chess basket on the side and dropped it on the chessboard.

When Jiajing heard this, after pondering for a while, he turned to confirm to Lu Fang: "In the matter of the official department, I remember that it was the official named Hu Yingjia, the department he was in, and he was involved in several disputes between the DPRK and China recently!" ”

"At the beginning, together with that Ouyang Yijing, on the grounds that there were ghosts and gods in the Tribute Academy, Shangshu asked me to postpone the exam that was going to be held in the Tribute Academy!"

Lu Fang saw Jiajing's old affairs brought up again, and couldn't help but 'chuckle' in his heart.

As the closest person to Jiajing, Lu Fang naturally knew that the reason why Jiajing would override public opinion and hold an examination for the clan and nobles at the beginning.

The purpose is to use the examination to let the clan and the nobles return to the court, so as to check and balance those civil officials.

For the emperor, there is no doubt about the loyalty of those clans and nobles, after all, no one wants to see the Ming Dynasty continue to exist more than them.

As long as Da Ming is still there, then the privileges on them are still there!

If the emperor wants to carry out reforms, with these clans and nobles, the resistance he will face will be much smaller.

In the past, those ministers and officials in the court united together to ask the emperor to postpone the examination on the grounds of ghosts and gods, which was tantamount to blocking the emperor's way.

In Lu Fang's opinion, not to mention how many people died in the Gongyuan at the beginning, even if it was a knife in the sky, this exam dedicated to the clan and honorable people would be held as usual.

And now, these clans and noble children who have passed the examination have been sent by the emperor to Banzhou to serve, and they only need to experience a few years at the grassroots level before they can be transferred back to the capital and then entrusted with important tasks.

"When these clans and noble sons and daughters take up important positions in the court one after another, I'm afraid the sky will change!"

After this, I saw Lu Fang gather his mind, come back to his senses and look in the direction where Jiajing was, and said comfortingly: "Your Majesty, be cautious, no matter how you say it, this Hu Yingjia is also a speech official, you must not ......"

Hearing this, Jiajing waved his hand and responded: "Don't worry, I know what to do!" ”

After Jiajing finished speaking, he picked up a black chess piece from the chess basket, dropped it on the chessboard, and said to himself: "I don't even need to come forward in person to do this, someone will do it for me!" ”

When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, a look of surprise appeared on his face, in Lu Fang's opinion, Yan Song and Xu Jie, the two must have received the message that Jiajing wanted to convey.

And they, too, will be used as a knife for the emperor, taking this opportunity to beat the group of speech officials fiercely.

Just as Lu Fang's thoughts were flying, he saw the guide eunuch come to Jiajing with silent steps, lean down, and report respectfully.

"Your Majesty, the eunuch Feng Bao asked to see him, saying that the cabinet has agreed on the rankings of various departments!"

"Well, I know, let him in!"

Hearing this, Jiajing took his eyes off the chessboard in front of him, waved his hand, and commanded.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After the guide eunuch responded, he bowed to Jiajing, and then left the Qianqing Palace without the slightest hesitation.

……

After a short time, I saw Feng Bao step into the Qianqing Palace, and after entering the Qianqing Palace, he knelt on the ground with a 'plop', and then took out the paper with the rankings of various departments from his sleeve, held it high above his head, and said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, here are the rankings of the various departments assessed by the cabinet!"

"Well, bring it!"

When the words fell, I saw Lu Fang step forward, take the paper with the rankings of each department from Feng Bao's hand, and respectfully hand it over to Jiajing.

"Your Majesty!"

"Hmm."

After Jiajing took the paper with the ranking from Lu Fang's hand, he browsed it with great concentration.

"The ranking of the six departments here is the officials, households, rites, soldiers, workers, and criminals, and the twelve prisons are ranked first by the celebrant supervisors, and the six departments are ranked first in the criminal department, and the second place is in the household department, and the rest are, engineering, etiquette, and military affairs, and the officials are ranked last!"

"The ranking of the departments drawn up by the cabinet is beyond reproach, well, not bad!"

After Jiajing browsed the rankings of various departments, he put them aside and said to himself.

Seeing that Jiajing recognized the departmental ranking drawn up by the cabinet, Feng Bao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and his face was full of relief.

At the same time, Lu Fang's face on the side was a look of shock that could not be concealed.

At this time, he had an inexplicable sense of crisis in his heart.

"Elder Yan Ge and Elder Xu Ge are really good at figuring out the holy will, Your Majesty just hinted at them with the front foot, and they did things properly with the back foot, Lu Fang, you must not relax!"

At this moment, only Jiajing's voice sounded, pulling Lu Fang back to reality: "Feng Bao, I have read this departmental ranking drawn up by the cabinet, there is no problem, let's announce it later!" ”

"In addition, when the news is released, it will be said that the year-end bonuses of various departments will be distributed together with this year's Yulu, and everyone will have a good year!"

When Feng Bao heard Jiajing's words, his expression immediately turned grim, and he bowed to Jiajing and said, "Obey, Your Majesty!" ”

……

After Feng Bao left the Qianqing Palace, soon, the ranking of the departments that had been reviewed by the cabinet was officially announced.

Among them, the rankings of each department were quickly posted on the bulletin boards of various places after being copied by officials.

On the cabinet side, the news of the official announcement of the rankings of various departments also quickly spread among the government and the opposition at a viral speed.

After all, the recent issue of the Cabinet judging the rankings of various departments based on their achievements over the past year and their work efficiency has long caused a stir in the DPRK and China.

And now, this extremely important event has finally come to fruition, how not to be exciting.

In order to get first-hand information as soon as possible, various departments have sent officials to inquire about the news, and those near the bulletin boards with departmental rankings have been surrounded by officials who rushed to hear the news.

At this moment, a large number of officials had already gathered on the bulletin board near the cabinet, and in order to see clearly, these officials were squeezing into the bulletin board with the ranking of departments on the bulletin board.

"Ouch, don't squeeze it, the official hasn't seen it clearly, doesn't the one in the back have eyes?"

"Which one doesn't have long eyes and stepped on the official?"

"Ouch, don't squeeze, don't squeeze!"

After the initial confusion, everyone finally decided to find someone to read the rankings of each department for everyone, so that the situation of pushing and shoving could be avoided.

Then, I saw a scarlet official in a scarlet robe stand up and volunteer to take the errand.

Seeing that the specific candidate had been decided, everyone made way for him.

After this, I saw that the official of the ministry came to the paper with the department ranking posted on it, and read the ranking on it.

"On the side of the six departments, the Ministry of Officials is in the first place, followed by the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Engineering, and the Ministry of Crime, in addition, the side of the six departments is the first place in the criminal department, followed by the household department, and the rest are, the engineering, the rites, the military department, and the officials ......."

The official of the Ministry of Officials had not yet had time to read all the remaining rankings, only to see the officials around him, with a dissatisfied face.

"Why can your Ministry of Officials rank first, it stands to reason that the contribution of the Ministry of War this year is greater, and the suppression of the Japanese Kou, the Imperial Tatars, and the Pingbanzhou Prefecture are all real achievements!"

"Hmph, the people in the military department are really thick-skinned, and they take any credit for themselves!"

"Long before the start of the war, our household department began to transfer ordnance, grain and grass, and all kinds of weapons, if there is no logistics for our household department to support logistics and transport baggage, can the soldiers on the front line win the battle?"

"If you really want to say that, our Ministry of Rites has also made a lot of meritorious contributions this year, whether it is the imperial examination or the preparation for the ceremony of canonizing the queen, it is not inferior to everyone present, right?"

"Hmph, your officials can be ranked first, it is nothing more than the light of Hu Ge Lao, who doesn't know that Hu Ge Lao is deeply valued by His Majesty, if it weren't for Hu Ge Lao leading your officials to perform well in the triennial plan of the imperial court......"

"I see, this departmental ranking is ranked according to the rights and responsibilities of each department, you see, the heavier the rights and responsibilities, the higher the ranking of the department!"

"Sure enough, alas, there is no way, I can only admit it!"

If it is said that the dissatisfaction of the officials on the side of the six ministries is only words.

The officials on the side of the six sections, after hearing the departmental rankings of the six sections, the dissatisfaction in their hearts is about to become substantial, especially the officials in the affairs of the bureaucracy.

In their opinion, their department is not only extremely efficient, but also has done a lot of practical things, but it has been ranked last by the cabinet.

Then, I saw an official in the matter stand up with an indignant face and said in a deep voice.

"It's unfair, there is a shady scene, why are we ranked last in the affairs of the bureaucracy, but in the second place in the affairs of the household department who have no achievements and have no corpse food, they must be playing some tricks in secret!"

The words of this official to the matter were quickly unanimously responded to by his colleagues, while the officials on the side of the household department were not angry.

I saw an official in the matter of the household branch standing up, his face was full of mockery, and he said slowly: "Hmph, this ranking is arranged by the cabinet elders, and everyone has no opinion, just you are special?" ”

"Could it be that among the six departments of the Ming Dynasty, the five temples, the three law divisions, and the twelve prisons, you are doing practical things for the imperial court in the middle of your official affairs, and all of us present are all corpses and vegetarians, and we are full of people?"

When the official in the matter heard this, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart, and pointed his finger at the official in the matter who was mocking, and said in a deep voice: "Hmph, it's really a strong word, everyone come with me, and teach these shameless villains a lesson!" ”

After the official in the matter finished speaking, he stepped forward and pushed the official in the matter to the ground.

Seeing this, the colleagues behind him also hurriedly joined the battle, and then, the two sides fought, and the scene gradually became chaotic.

……

At the same time, the cabinet not far from the scene.

In the cabinet, everyone is counting the accounts submitted by various departments and making votes.

"The Ministry of Industry's expenditure this year totals 5,675,329 taels."

"Among them, it cost 2,289,650 taels to repair the dikes along the Yellow River, and 1,295,360 taels to repair the dikes near Chun'an and Jiande counties in Zhejiang!"

"In addition, there are labor costs, 863,590 taels, and the remaining 1,226,729 taels are used to purchase materials for the construction of the embankment, as well as losses."

After Yan Shifan truthfully submitted the bill from the Ministry of Industry, Xu Jie, after confirming that it was correct and doing some mental calculations, nodded and signed his name.

Subsequently, I saw Gao Gong, who was in charge of recording on the side, and brought the account with his name to Yan Song.

After Yan Song carefully went through the accounts from beginning to end, he used a brush full of ink to write down his opinions on the slip of paper posted on the note.

After the opinions were written, I saw Yan Song put aside the letter with a note.

Subsequently, I saw Zhang Juzheng on the side holding the accounts of the Ministry of War and began to report this year's expenses.

"This year, the imperial court has used a lot of troops, and the expenditure of the military department this year is 12,263,290 taels."

Of these, the war with the Tartars cost three million two hundred and sixty-nine thousand three hundred and fifty-one taels in military salaries, the dispatch of sailors cost one thousand two hundred and twenty-three thousand silver taels for the war with the Tatars, and twenty new ships cost two ...... silver."

At this moment, I saw a servant hurriedly enter the cabinet.

After entering the cabinet, the official subconsciously looked in the direction where Yan Song and Xu Jie, leaned down, and reported in a deep voice: "Old Pavilion, there are officials outside who have a conflict because of the ranking of the department, and a fight has started!" ”

When everyone heard the news, their faces were full of surprise.

Immediately, I saw Xu Jie raise his eyebrows, look in the direction where the official was with curiosity, and asked, "Who started the fight?" ”

"Elder Xu Ge, it's the officials in the matter who are in the matter and the officials in the household department who are fighting!"

After Xu Jie learned the news, he waved his hand and commanded: "Well, I know, let's go down!" ”

"Yes, Elder Xu Ge!"

After the official left, he saw Xu Jie retract his gaze and propose to everyone present: "Let's continue, where did you talk about just now?" ”

Seeing that no one objected to this, I saw Zhang Juzheng take out the account books of the military department again, and then where he stopped just now, he continued to read: "Twenty new warships were repaired here in the military department, costing two taels of silver, three million two hundred and twenty-five thousand three hundred and ninety taels, and the rest ......."

After Zhang Juzheng finished submitting the bill from the Ministry of War, Xu Jie didn't even look at it, so he signed his name directly.

After that, the process was the same as before, and I saw Gao Gong, who was in charge of recording on the side, and brought the signed accounts to Yan Song, the head of the cabinet. (End of chapter)