Chapter 568: One step at a time, a series of twists and turns

Chapter 568: One step at a time, a series of twists and turns

Chapter 568: Take one step at a time, complications arise
Near noon,

After leaving the Ministry of Works, Xie Jin and Li Zhigang came to the Changqing Restaurant near the imperial city.

The restaurant covers a large area, with three floors, and looks quite grand.

Many palace officials would come here to eat after work.

Li Zhigang and Xie Jin also came here often.

Today, as usual, in a small private room,
There were four side dishes, two white cakes, and a small pot of sake on the table.

The two sat opposite each other.

The atmosphere was not as harmonious as before, but rather filled with dullness.

Xie Jin sat there dejectedly.
He drank sip after sip of wine with a somewhat empty look in his eyes.

Seeing him like this, Li Zhigang sighed softly and took the wine pot:
"Brother Dashen, sake may not make people drunk, but people get drunk themselves.

You have to go to the government office this afternoon, so don’t drink too much.”

"What government office?"

Xie Jin sneered, his face full of self-mockery:
"Since I came back from Jiangxi, His Majesty has not assigned me any work or government office."

"What's even more ridiculous is that I didn't understand what Your Majesty meant until today.
It turns out that he didn’t even read the book “Ten Strategies for Peace” that I took. ”

Li Zhigang saw his miserable appearance.
He knew that the biggest blow to him was not the contempt of others for "Ten Strategies for Peace" but the contempt from Your Majesty.

"Brother Dashen, the Tao Te Ching once said that governing a large country is like cooking a small fish.

The most important thing in cooking seafood is to control the heat, or the "degree".

The Ten Strategies for Peaceful Development is indeed a good way to govern the world, but it is difficult to control the degree.

Lord Lu is right. When the imperial decrees are passed down to local levels, most of them are insincere and difficult to implement.

If you make radical changes, you will only hurt yourself. Brother Dashen has walked himself into a dead end."

Xie Jin lowered his head, picking up food with chopsticks unconsciously, his eyes empty:

"Brother Yixing, even you look down on the Ten Strategies for Peace?"

Li Zhigang felt annoyed for no reason.
How come this person won't listen to any good or bad words?

“Brother Dashen, whether something is good or not is not determined by how beautifully it is said, but by how well it can be done.

I know you are not convinced.
Why is it that Lord Lu has been promoted repeatedly at such a young age, while you are just wasting time where you are?

To be honest, I was a little unconvinced at first.

But Lord Lu was a man who always got things done and was generous with his rewards to his subordinates.

In this case, if your superiors like you and your subordinates admire you, it would be strange if you don't get promoted.

So, listen to my advice, Mr.

The most urgent task is to do things down to earth.

No matter how well you do it, at least get moving.

You are a fellow Jinshi, and your family background is much better than mine. As long as you are willing to work hard, promotion and wealth will be a piece of cake. "

"Yes. I am just a fellow Jinshi." Xie Jin's expression became increasingly gloomy:
"As soon as I learned to read, I could recite by heart. At the age of four, I could compose poetry. At the age of nine, I kept a diary of ten thousand words. I passed the imperial examination in the 20th year of the Hongwu reign.

In my hometown in Jiangxi, I am undoubtedly the number one.

But when I came to the capital, I thought I could sing all the way.
Continue to become the champion and the number one scholar.

But what can I do? I ranked seventh in the provincial examination and tenth in the palace examination, so I am just a fellow Jinshi. "

Seeing his compassionate look,
Li Zhigang pursed his lips, speechless.

"Brother, there are many people in the six ministries and nine ministers of the imperial court who have not passed the imperial examination.
For Your Majesty, the imperial examination is not a must.

But to you, it is your life.

Listen to my advice, being a Jinshi is already a very good thing, and you will definitely be successful in the future.

Not to mention being an official in the six ministries, being a fourth-rank official is more than enough.”

"Fourth grade?"

Xie Jin suddenly raised his head, his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse:

"I have studied hard for nearly twenty years for the benefit of the people of the world, not to become a small fourth-rank official."

A small fourth-rank official?

Li Zhigang stood there in a daze, looking at Xie Jin in disbelief.

He previously thought that this person was just a little arrogant and that he could do his job well if he adjusted his attitude.

I didn't expect that I would become so arrogant.

But the friendship of several years prevented Li Zhigang from leaving immediately.

"Brother, don't be too ambitious.
In the countryside you are a genius and a child of destiny.

And in the court, who is not a favored child of heaven?
You are now arrogant because of your talent, thinking that God is the boss and you are second. This is not acceptable.

Not to mention he was just a fourth-rank official.

Even a lowly fifth-rank official like me can produce many achievements.

What about you, my dear brother? What can you show us? A brilliant article? Or a list of your past achievements? "

"I have a way to govern the country and the people!"

"That's nonsense!" Li Zhigang was also a little anxious:

“In the court, you can’t just talk without doing anything.

Your methods of governing the country and governing the people are just empty talk as long as they are not put into practice.

What's more, that method is simply impossible to implement. It's you, my dear brother, who is short-sighted."

Xie Jin's eyes suddenly widened, and he drank the wine in the pot in one gulp, staring at him blankly:
"It is His Majesty who does not accept it!"

"You are confused, you have such a confused mind!"

Li Zhigang was also upset by him and spoke fiercely:
"It is precisely because it is impossible to implement that your majesty does not adopt it."

Seeing that he was about to speak again, Li Zhigang raised his hand to stop him:
"Don't argue, do you think you are smarter than His Majesty?
Or do you think that Your Majesty is foolish and deliberately refuses to adopt good policies for governing the country and deliberately brings harm to the Ming Dynasty?

Isn't this ridiculous!

Brother Dashen, you are looking at the world from a narrow perspective."

Xie Jin stood there in a daze, bowing his head and saying nothing.
The whole person's aura was extremely gray, as if his soul had been taken away.

"Brother Dashen, whether you want to listen to this or not, I have nothing to say."

Li Zhigang stood up, picked up the clothes hanging beside him and was about to leave.

But Xie Jin suddenly got a start and grabbed him.

There was an unprecedented look of confusion on his face:

"Brother Yixing, please don't leave. I still have some doubts in my heart. Please enlighten me, Brother Yixing."

Li Zhigang was stunned. He had never seen Xie Jin speak so modestly.

Finally, he sat down again.

But this time he directly picked up the pancake and ate it while saying:

"If you have something to say, just tell me. Don't talk about the Ten Strategies for Peace anymore.

You just haven’t done it. If you have, you know how ridiculous it is.”

Xie Jin's face flushed, he clenched his fists under the table, and a sense of awkwardness permeated his whole body.

"Brother Yixing, I want to know what I should do."

"What to do? Just work hard and don't think too much.

Especially your genius experiences in the countryside, talk less about them in the future, or others will get bored.

In official circles, blindly making enemies is the most foolish thing to do.”

"So what should we do?"

"Lord Lu has transferred you to Daning to be the county magistrate, so you should do your job well.

When I have the chance in the future, I will try to get you transferred back.

Besides, you have so many classmates, and you don’t necessarily need a small fifth-rank official like me to take care of them.”

Xie Jin's face flushed and he stammered.
"I really want to go to Daning"

"Once you've said something, it's time to take it back. Daning, you have to go, unless..."

"Unless what?"

“Unless you can find the six ministers or the nine ministers in the army to plead for you.

But, based on what you have done, I don’t think others will offend Lord Lu because of you.”

As soon as Li Zhigang finished speaking, he began to observe Xie Jin carefully.

Li Zhigang was greatly shocked to suddenly discover that he seemed to be able to listen to what was said.

Who is this?

You can't listen to good words, but only listen to bad words?
"Go to Daning, go to Daning."

Xie Jin muttered, with a flash of fear in his eyes for no reason:
"I heard that Daning is located outside the Great Wall and is a bitterly cold place."

Li Zhigang blinked his eyes and decided to give an admonition:
“Others can go, but you can’t?
You are just a seventh-rank official now, do you want to disobey the imperial court?

Or are you going to shout about your "Ten Strategies for Peace" everywhere, hoping that Lu Yunyi will harm you?"

After hearing this, Xie Jin nodded in realization and murmured:
"Too."

Li Zhigang widened his eyes.
Suddenly he felt his scalp itchy and he scratched it hard. It was not until today that he realized that this gifted boy in front of him was actually a worthless person.

Seeing how distraught he was,
Li Zhigang laughed and shook his head helplessly:
"Going to Daning may not be a bad thing.
At least you can see what it looks like outside the pass.
Then you will realize how absurd your policy of governing the country is."

"Really useful?"

Li Zhigang sighed with emotion:

"You are from Jiangxi, born rich, and the people's livelihood is also very good.
Selling porcelain can provide people with food and clothing, and at least people will have something to do.

But in our Ming Dynasty, the people in most places want to do something but have nothing to do.

Daning is such a place, you will know when you visit it."

Xie Jin was still a little scared. He stammered and finally asked what was on his mind:
"If I go to Daning, will Lord Lu take the opportunity to target me?
If I die there, I might as well resign and go home."

"What?"

Li Zhigang was somewhat bewildered, his face full of helplessness, and he smiled and shook his head:

"Brother Dashen, not only do you not know how to behave as a human being, you also don't know how to behave as an official.

A ministry like Lord Lu's has countless daily affairs to deal with.

If someone can spare a cup of tea to talk to you, it means that he values ​​you.

What's more, I will transfer you to the place personally.

Last time, Lord Shen personally sent you to Jiangxi. Did anyone embarrass you? Maybe he treated you with great courtesy! "

Xie Jin thought about it carefully and it seemed to be true.
Li Zhigang did not give him a chance to speak and spoke again:
"It's impossible for you to wake up in this glamorous world of the capital, so it would be good for you to go to Daning to clear your head.

Don't worry. Lord Lu is the most talkative person I have ever met in the ministry.

As long as things are done well, the rewards will follow.

Of course, if you don’t do well, you will suffer the consequences.”

At this point, Xie Jin finally gave up his hope.
With a sad face, he nodded.
"I hope to see Brother Yixing again in Beijing in the future."

Lu Yunyi didn't take Xie Jin's matter to heart at all.

This renowned genius should still be in a confused stage at this moment.

For this kind of person, Lu Yunyi thought it would be enough to just let him work for a few days.

At this time, Lu Yunyi was looking at some documents of the company.

As the opening date gets closer, more and more troubles arise.

Zhang Yu naturally handled things very well.

The eight counties around Yingtian, namely Shangyuan, Jiangning, Jurong, Liyang, Lishui, Gaochun, Jiangpu and Liuhe,
Warehouses and transfer stations were built in each county town, and some local people were hired to run them.

There are more than a thousand villages near these eight counties.
So far, cooperation has been completed in nearly three hundred villages.

Every day, clerks rode their bicycles back and forth, and a lot of people were recruited, and they worked hard every day.

Moreover, cement roads have been built in several villages close to the county seat.

I have to say, the catfish effect is very useful!
On weekdays, we are all good friends who live a hard life.

Now that some people suddenly become rich and live a good life, it is really a mixed feeling.

Lu Yunyi could clearly feel that where cement roads were built, the villages were connected faster and more smoothly.

But the problem that followed was very obvious: there were not enough people.

Moreover, as the base number increases, more things happen.

Just like yesterday, a bloody incident occurred in Xiaomei Village, Liyang.

An official from the capital was beaten to death on the spot, but the accompanying soldier was in a better condition and survived.

The reason is that Xiaomei Village has the best soapberry trees in the surrounding area.

This tree is one of the main materials for making prayer beads.

The fruits of Xiaomei Village are of good quality and low price.
Several temples near Yingtian City like to buy fruits from Xiaomei Village.

This also brought money and business opportunities.

The local squire Wang has been in charge of this business.

He buys them from villagers at low prices, and then sells them at high prices in cooperation with temples, making a lot of money over the years.

This accident was caused by the trading company's desire to open up trade routes, which led to a conflict with the Wang family.

It was pretty much the same as what happened in Yunnan.

The villagers were deceived and thought that the merchant was out to steal their money.
He got into a fight with a company employee and ended up like this.

Although the real murderer has been brought to justice, he was captured by people sent by Liyang County.

But the person arrested was just a sixty-year-old man. This was only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution. It was obvious that he was someone who was pushed out to ward off disaster.

The company originally thought that the matter was settled.
Money has been prepared to compensate the officials and injured soldiers.

We are no longer planning to do business in Xiaomei Village.

But the people from Xiaomei Village went to Liyang County in a mighty way.
He insisted on getting an explanation from the company and even hired a lawyer.
It is said that the company's move is a move that adds fuel to the fire.

It will destroy the simplicity of the people in the capital area and make them pursue profits like merchants.

This rumor fermented over the next few days and became more and more widespread, with most of the scholars criticizing Tianshang Bank.

Today, Liyang County can no longer bear the pressure.
He brought his men to the Yingtian government office, ready to see how the government would deal with the matter.

Seeing this, Lu Yunyi's face became calm, but a cold light flashed across his eyes.

"Damn, so sanctimonious,

How can you keep your mouth full of greasy food and stink of money when the villagers are extremely poor and you still keep your simplicity? "

Lu Yunyi put the document aside and started reading the next one.
As he read through the letters one by one, time soon came to the beginning of the afternoon, which was the time to go to the government office.

The noise outside was getting louder and louder.

Lu Yunyi picked up nearly ten documents on the table and walked out of the yamen with his personal guards.

Soon they arrived at Yingtian Trading Company.

Yingtian Commercial Bank is located on Fudong Street, adjacent to Yingtian Prefecture Government Office.

Zhang Yu and his staff also had their offices on Fudong Street, not far from the business.

It is a three-story building with a small courtyard.
Used to park tricycles and bicycles.

At this moment, Lu Yunyi was riding on a warhorse.

Holding two pies in his hands, he ate while looking at the crowd gathered in front of the Yingtian government office.

Most of them were civilians in ragged clothes or wearing sweatshirts, and there were about a hundred of them.

Some officials in the government office were maintaining order.

They also put up a large awning for them to block out the sunlight.

In the adjacent Yingtian Commercial Bank,
This place was heavily guarded by the government office, artificially blocking the connection between the Yingtian government office and the business.
I guess they are afraid that they will interfere with the progress of the project.

Take in this scene.
Lu Yunyi quickly stuffed the pie into his mouth and headed towards the office of Yingtian Trading Company!

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Lu Yunyi saw an acquaintance.

"Zhang Fu, why are you here?"

The person guarding the door was Zhang Yu's son.

He was now wearing merchant clothes, holding a wooden stick in his hand, standing with his eyes narrowed, sweating profusely.

"Sir, the army is on holiday today, and my father asked me to come here to guard the gate."

Lu Yunyi looked at his dark skin and asked with a smile:

"Tired?"

Zhang Fu wanted to say that he was not tired, but he nodded.
"My Lord, I am a little tired."

"Hahahahahaha."

Lu Yunyi handed over the remaining pie in his hand:

“Here you go, I just bought it, this pie tastes delicious.

Take a rest when you are tired. You are young and it is the time for you to grow up. You should not work so hard. "

Lu Yunyi turned around and looked at Feng Yunfang, and ordered:

"Let's build a shed for the door. If it keeps being exposed to the sun like this, we'll get heat stroke sooner or later.

Oh, and get him a bottle of Coke to cool him down."

"Yes!"

After giving the instructions, Lu Yunyi walked straight in.

"Take it."

Feng Yunfang stuffed an exquisite kettle into Zhang Fu's hands and said:

"The adults still like you young people.
I don't even know what this thing tastes like, so drink it sparingly."

Zhang Fu looked at the item in his hand and thought that this kettle was good, so he handed it over tactfully:

"Brother Feng, please try it first."

"Drink it yourself. I'll build you a tent. Won't you get sunburned in such a hot sun?"

Feng Yunfang walked away muttering to himself, the sound of armor clattering against each other was heard.

(End of this chapter)