Chapter 643 Su Wei's New Officer
Chapter 643 Su Wei's New Officer
The period of the Two Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties was an era of great division, integration and chaos. On the one hand, warlords were fighting each other, people were living in misery, the Hu people were rampant in the Central Plains, and the Han people were slaughtered.
On the other hand, after the Han civilization integrated with the Xianbei Hu culture, it regained its vitality and created the brilliant Sui and Tang civilizations.
During the period of warlords' fighting, craftsmen with real talents and skills were often valued, even in the Sui Dynasty. Yuwen Kai, He Chou, Yun Dingxing, and Li Chun were all famous craftsmen who were highly valued by the rulers.
The whole society is extremely tolerant of technical talents and will never regard various technological innovations as strange and obscene skills as in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Many folk eccentrics are obsessed with various inventions and creations. Cao Yousi is one of them. He is obsessed with water power. Xiao Xia initially regarded him as one of the folk eccentrics.
It was not until Cao Yousi used connecting rod technology to solve the problem of converting left and right movement into forward and backward movement, and invented the water-powered spinning machine driven by belt. Although it was relatively crude, this advanced idea was extremely valuable.
Xiao Xia realized that talented people were hard to come by, so he decided to set up a hydraulic drive research institute.
In fact, the Neiwei also has an agency. Under the Shangshu Xingtai, there are the Mining and Smelting Agency, the Craftsman Agency, the Water Conservancy Agency and the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Agency. The military also has the Armory Bureau, the Crossbow Bureau, the Ship Bureau and the Firearms and Gunpowder Bureau, with a team of nearly 5,000 officials and craftsmen.
In addition, Jiangnan Imperial College was also planning to build an academy of mathematics to rival the imperial court's academy of mathematics.
Xiao Xia has been thinking about this issue these past two days, how to integrate these technical departments, fully realize technology sharing, and promote the development of Jiangnan technology.
Xiao Xia had actually already thought of the answer. To establish the Ministry of Works, he needed to ask the court for some talents, and this negotiation was a good opportunity.
That afternoon, Xiao Xia met with Su Wei.
This was the first time that Su Wei was received by Xiao Xia after he arrived in Jiangnan. Like Gao Jiong, Su Wei was experienced, capable, and well-connected, but they had one thing in common: they were old and did not have the energy to sustain high-intensity administrative affairs.
He is far inferior to the younger generation of officials such as Liu Wenjing, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.
What Xiao Xia wanted was the prestige and knowledge of Su Wei and Gao Jiong. The two old prime ministers of the Sui Dynasty, Gao Jiong and Su Wei, were both in Jiangnan. In the eyes of the people of the world, this proved his legitimacy.
Historically, Su Wei was highly valued by Yu Wenzhi, Li Mi, Wang Shichong and others, all of whom used him to prove their political legitimacy.
"Your humble servant pays respect to His Royal Highness Prince Jin!"
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "Old Prime Minister, please take a seat!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Su Wei was also in great torment during this period. The officials who came to Jiangnan with him were all appointed one after another. Even Han Sengshou's son Han Xiaoji was appointed as the chief historian of Zhongli County. Only Su Wei never got a clear answer.
Although Liu Wenjing comforted him that he was of high esteem and could not be assigned to other positions at will, he still felt uncomfortable being left out.
After much anticipation, King Jin finally received him, and Su Wei's heart was filled with anticipation.
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "I have been considering the official and government structure recently, so I have not used the old prime minister for the time being. I am sorry that the old prime minister has been wronged."
Su Wei's eyes were a little sore, and he quickly bowed and said, "I fully understand your highness's good intentions. After all, I am still on the emperor's wanted list. If your highness appoints me rashly, it may arouse the dissatisfaction of the court and the emperor."
Su Wei was quite considerate of himself. No wonder in history Su Wei successively served as the Grand Tutor or Prime Minister of Yu Wenzhi, Li Mi and Wang Shichong. He had the ability, but lacked integrity, which was also caused by his cowardly character.
Xiao Xia said slowly: "I have a Jinwang Mansion Council of Advisors. Currently, the five Advisors are all my senior staff, including Gao Jiong and Xiao Yu. If the old prime minister does not mind, he can also join."
Su Wei quickly stood up and said, "I am willing to serve Your Highness at my utmost!" Su Wei was still confused. He didn't know what the chief advisors did.
Xiao Xia saw his confusion and explained with a smile, "The post of advisor is not an idle position. Many important military and political affairs are decided by it, and the decree of the King of Jin is drafted. A meeting is held every five days. For example, in a few days, the Advisory Hall will discuss my political reform plan and the imperial examination plan. Everyone will discuss whether the plan is reasonable, where the drawbacks are, and how to improve it. Everyone will put forward their own opinions, and finally summarize and revise them. If everyone agrees, I will approve the plan for implementation."
Su Wei then understood that he was just a senior aide, but he seemed a little different as he could even draft the Order of Prince Jin.
At this time, Zhang Yunqiu came in and bowed, "Greetings, Your Highness!"
Xiao Xia pointed at Su Wei and said, "From today on, Prime Minister Su will officially become my advisor and hold the title of Jin Wangfu. You can take the Prime Minister to explain and visit!"
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Zhang Yunqiu waved his hand and said, "Old Prime Minister, please follow me!"
Su Wei bowed to Xiao Xia, stood up and followed Zhang Yunqiu out.
Walking out of the official room, Su Wei smiled and said, "It turns out that Mr. Zhang is with King Jin!"
When the Five Dragons fought for the throne, Su Wei was the Crown Prince Yang Yong's man, and Zhang Yunqiu was the crown prince's top aide. Su Wei certainly knew Zhang Yunqiu. Later, when the crown prince ascended the throne, Zhang Yuanqiu was appointed Minister of Personnel. Soon Yang Yong fell, and Zhang Yunqiu disappeared. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yuanqiu was actually by Xiao Xia's side.
Zhang Yunqiu smiled and said, "Birds choose good trees to roost in. Didn't the old prime minister come to Jiangnan as well?"
Su Wei nodded, "You are right. His Royal Highness Prince Jin is the hope of the Great Sui Dynasty. It is my honor to serve him."
Zhang Yunqiu smiled and changed the subject, "This month I will take over as the convener of the Council of State Councillors for a three-month term. The last term was held by Liu Wenjing, and the next term will be held by Pei Wen'an. The three of us will take turns. The old prime minister, Gao Gelao and Xiao Gelao are all old, so you don't need to take care of these trivial matters."
Su Wei asked again: "What does it mean that Your Highness said that I hold the title of Jin Wangfu?"
Su Wei waved his hand, and a black and red carriage slowly drove forward. Su Wei's eyes lit up and he said, "Isn't this the Lingyan Pavilion carriage?"
Zhang Yunqiu nodded, "Your Highness misses Lingyan Pavilion very much, so he built the official carriage of Prince Jin's Mansion to be the same as the Lingyan Pavilion's carriage!"
"I see!"
"Please come in, Mr. Su!" Zhang Yunqiu invited Su Wei to get on the carriage.
Su Wei sat in the spacious carriage and said with a smile, "Your Excellency has not yet told me what the title of Jin Wangfu is about?"
Zhang Yunqiu said slowly: "At present, there are two major government offices in Jiangnan, one is the Jiangnan Road General Administration Office, and the other is the Jinwang Palace. The Jinwang Palace is actually a staff agency, and under the Jinwang Palace there are two other agencies, the Zizheng Hall and the Staff Hall.
The Zizhengtang was responsible for discussing government affairs, while the Mulitang was responsible for executing government affairs. It was divided into first-level, second-level, and third-level staff. Those who did not have an official position in the Ministry of Personnel of the court were appointed to the Mulitang. For example, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Zhang Liang and others were all first-level staff.
Su Wei smiled and said, "I understand a little bit now. If it is arranged according to the court, the Jiangnan Road General Administration Office will have at most dozens of people, but in fact there are hundreds of people. The extra people will be appointed as staff officers in the Prince of Jin's Palace."
"That's right. Pei Wen'an and I were both rebels in the court. We had no official positions in the court, so the King of Jin appointed us two as Sima of the Palace of the King of Jin, Liu Wenjing as the Chief Clerk of the Palace of the King of Jin, and Lord Gao, Lord Xiao, and Lord Su as the King of Jin's Tutors. But in the court, Lord Gao was the only one who was the King of Jin's Tutor. The six of us all had the title of Counsellor, and we were senior staff members who participated in the discussion of government affairs in the Council of State."
Su Wei nodded, "Then is it possible for me to work in the General Manager's Office?"
Zhang Yunqiu smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Su is old, so he won't have a specific official position, but sometimes he will be assigned things temporarily, such as being the chief examiner of the imperial examination, presiding over some important ceremonies, and the King of Jin will also summon him temporarily to consult on some important government affairs, etc."
(End of this chapter)