It should be said that no matter when and where, the power of the state machine is powerful and unparalleled.
Although the earthquake struck quickly and violently, fortunately, there were almost no aftershocks. In addition, the court was well prepared and the emperor was personally involved in everything. Under this pressure, all yamen erupted with extremely high levels of intensity.
efficiency.
In just a few days, there were basically no homeless victims in the capital. The officers and soldiers of Shuntian Prefecture and the Wucheng Military and Horse Division were still patrolling the streets, and various vendors and merchants gradually
Business resumed.
Except for the porridge shacks and disaster relief sites set up in the capital, as well as the collapsed houses, the capital has returned to its former prosperity, and there are not many traces of the disaster.
Of course, the deserted streets are certain, but to be able to do this is a sign that the court has tried its best.
The scorching sun hangs high in the sky. Although it is almost August, it is still very hot.
What is different from the past is that the city gate today is very lively. A team of hundreds of officers and soldiers are neatly arranged outside the city gate. In the middle is a carriage, with two guides at the front and rear.
, followed by eight people and dozens of attendants, holding an apricot-yellow umbrella, two golden sticks, and two large and small green fans.
Behind the carriage, there are eight green flags, four flying tiger flags, four apricot and yellow flags, and eight flag guns. In addition, there are military fists, wild goose feather swords, beast swords, tong sticks and other ceremonial guards.
Besides, there are many officials in scarlet robes and green robes outside the city gate, who display great pomp and power.
In addition to a number of officials from the Ministry of War and some military ministers from the Military Government, the top three ministers in scarlet robes were Yu Qian, the Minister of the Ministry of War, Shen Yi, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Yu Shiyue, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet.
Looking at the huge team in front of him, Yu Shiyue smiled bitterly, looked at Yu Qian, and said.
"Yu Shaobao, acting in such a high profile is not your style!"
When an imperial envoy leaves the capital, there must be a guard of honor.
However, in the past, Yu Qian had not never left Beijing on orders, but never once had he used such a large team.
Even the last time I patrolled the border, I went there in a light vehicle.
If nothing else, it’s too arrogant!
Yu Qian's status was unusual. He was a first-grade Shaobao, and he could use the ceremonial guard of a first-grade Beijing official. When he went out of the capital under orders, he naturally had to have an imperial envoy guard of ceremonial.
In addition, when he left the capital this time, he also carried the royal flag given by the emperor, and also had corresponding ceremonial guards.
With this set of rules, the ceremonial guard can almost compare with Wang Jia.
That's not all. Since the ceremonial guard was used, it was naturally impossible that no one would come to see him off. Especially after the news of the king's flag came out, Yu Qian's trip triggered all kinds of speculation. Civil and military officials from all over the capital came to see him off.
There are hundreds of officials.
So, just outside the city gate, there is the current scene.
This made Yu Shiyue, who originally wanted to come to see him off in a low-key manner, to smile bitterly.
However, Yu Qian was very calm and said.
"This time I was ordered to leave the capital. It was official business. If I were to follow him lightly, I would be losing the dignity of the court."
I didn’t see you saying that when you were patrolling the border last time...
However, this also has advantages.
At least with so many government and military guards, what happened last time will not easily happen again.
Yu Shiyue said, suppressing his smile.
"Yu Shaobao has to shoulder a heavy responsibility when he leaves Beijing this time. Local affairs are complicated. I hope Shaobao can take good care of it and never act recklessly."
In the past few days, Yu Shiyue has been thinking about the conversation between himself and Yu Qian. For some reason, he always felt that there was something Yu Qian had not revealed to him.
Although he didn't know what it was, he could vaguely feel that Yu Qian's trip must be extremely dangerous, so naturally he had to give a few more instructions.
Yu Qian still had a dull look on his face and said with cupped hands.
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Cifu. Since you are serving the imperial court, you should do your best."
Seeing this situation, Yu Shiyue sighed, knowing that his persuasion was in vain, so he could only nod helplessly and said.
"Then I wish you a smooth journey and success! I am here in the capital, waiting for good news!"
"I would like to lend you Jisuke-sama's kind words!"
Yu Qian cupped his hands as a farewell.
Afterwards, he did not leave directly, but turned his eyes to Shen Yi beside him.
Although there were many people who came to see him off this time, if we don't talk about military ministers and just look at civil servants, most of them are officials below the third rank.
For those of third rank and above, except for the two ministers of the Ministry of War, the rest of the ministries, courtyards, temples, and prisons are basically composed of Lang officials or Zuo Erguan.
Apart from Yu Shiyue, the only person who can truly be considered an important minister is Shen Yi.
It's not that Yu Qian's popularity in the court is not good, but that in this kind of situation, taboos should be avoided.
There are many officials in the capital, so there are naturally rules for welcoming people and sending them off.
The chief officials of each yamen came out to greet him, which was a treatment that only the emperor could receive when he went on tour. Even the prince did not have such qualifications.
If these important officials of the imperial court really come over, it is not certain whether Yu Qian will be able to go out to Beijing this time. He might even be able to take a one-day trip to the imperial prison.
At the same time, none of the court ministers who came to see him off would get any good results.
In fact, the current scene is already huge.
Ordinary imperial envoys traveling out of Beijing are basically officials from their own yamen, plus some old friends from the court to see them off, that's all.
But this time when Yu Qian left the capital, officials from all the yamen, from the Sixth Ministry, the Governor's Office, the Fifth Military Governor's Office, to other temples, prisons, Shuntian Prefecture, and the Five Cities Military and Horse Division were present to see him off, and even from every family
Many nobles have sent people here.
Although these people are not of high rank and their status is not obvious, their presence here represents a lot of themselves, but also the attitude of the important ministers behind them.
If the standard is raised any higher, it will not be a farewell, but a harm to others!
Now Yu Qian is deeply trusted by the emperor and has great power in his hands. They sent people here to make a good relationship, not to offend others.
Therefore, Shen Yi's appearance on this occasion seemed very strange.
Yu Shiyue had a deep friendship with Yu Qian, which everyone in the court knew very well. When the Yu family was in danger several times, it was Yu Shiyue who rushed around to help.
It was natural for him to come to see me off, and it was more out of personal friendship.
But Shen Yi...
"Yu Shaobao, it is difficult and complicated to rectify the military camp, and the situation in various places is changeable. I am afraid it will be hard for Shaobao to leave Beijing."
Facing Qian's gaze, Shen Shangshu said with a smile.
However, the other party did not answer his words and just looked at him quietly. Seeing this situation, the smile on Chen Yi's face froze. Then, he rubbed his hands and said.
"This is a major matter of the imperial court. His Majesty has already ordered the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs to work together. Naturally, the Ministry of Household Affairs will also help Yu Shaobao when he leaves the capital this time. So I thought that when Yu Shaobao arrives at the place, he will definitely
There are a lot of accounts to be settled, and many local officials have deceitful people, so they may not be able to use them smoothly. Therefore, I specially transferred a Langguan from the Ministry of Household Affairs to follow Shaobao out of the capital. I hope Shaobao will
Don’t dislike it.”
As he spoke, Shen Yi waved to the side and said.
"Zhu Ang, come here to meet Yu Shaobao!"
So, a young official carrying a baggage came forward and bowed his hands.
"My subordinate Zhu Ang has met Yu Shaobao!"
Looking at Zhu Ang who had packed his bags in front of him, Yu Qian frowned and was a little confused.
He knew this person. He was a doctor in the Henan Department of Hubu. He was good at accounting and was known as the golden abacus of Hubu. He was Shen Yi's right-hand man.
As for his shortcomings, he is that he is dull and very unsophisticated. If he had not had the ability to sort out complex accounts, he would probably have been unable to survive in the household department.
"Shang Shu Shen, what are you doing?"
"I just think that Yu Shaobao is short of people, so I want to help him in any way I can. Nothing else. Yu Shaobao doesn't have to worry about transfer orders. I will discuss this with Otsuka Zai."
The implication is that this is to kill first and then report?
Yu Qian glanced at Shen Yi suspiciously and couldn't help but feel a little strange.
Not to mention that he was about to leave the capital, what was he doing by suddenly inserting someone here? Simply speaking, this kind of behavior of inserting someone directly without adjusting the order was not in line with Shen Yi's approach.
This Minister Shen seems to be smiling every day, but in fact he is in the Ministry of Household Affairs, in charge of the world's finances, and he cannot be more cautious in his actions.
How could he do such a blatant violation of procedures and subject to impeachment?
Moreover, it is still so grand!
You should know that a doctor in the Ministry of Households has an official position that is neither big nor small. There are one minister and two ministers in the household department, and the one below him is the doctor in the thirteen divisions.
A doctor in a division may seem to have an inconspicuous official position, but he is actually in charge of a province's tribute, salary, salt class, banknotes and other matters, and his responsibilities are indeed very important.
Especially Zhu Ang himself is the most effective person around Shen Yi.
What does it mean to send him here at this time?
After pondering for a moment, Yu Qian shook his head and said.
"This is not appropriate. This time when Yu is leaving the capital, he has brought someone with him who is good at accounting. Zhu Ang is a doctor in the Ministry of Household Affairs. He has important responsibilities and cannot leave without authorization."
"What's more, without the emperor's decree, how can we..."
However, Yu Qian stopped mid-sentence, as if he had thought of something.
When he raised his head again, he saw Shen Shangshu looking at him with a bitter look on his face and said.
"My Yu Shaobao, how can those people around you compare with Zhu Ang? He is the financial abacus of the Ministry of Revenue. No matter how complicated the accounts are, it only takes a while for him to get them into his hands."
"Besides, you know his character. He does real things and doesn't lie. He will only help you and will not cause you trouble. You can take him with you."
"Just...just think of it as you doing me a favor. This time, Shen owes you a favor, is that okay?"
Yu Qian looked at Shen Yi like this and said nothing.
After a moment, he turned his head, looked past Shen Yi, and asked Zhu Ang behind him.
"I want to ask you, why did Shen Shangshu send you here?"
"is for……"
Zhu Ang blinked and without much hesitation, he opened his mouth and said.
However, as soon as he said a few words, he was interrupted by Yu Qian.
"What I dislike the most in my life is people who pretend to flatter and deceive people with false promises. Just think about it for what purpose!"
As expected, after hearing this, Zhu Ang's face turned a little red, and he didn't speak for a while, looking at his Master Shangshu at a loss.
Seeing this situation, Shen Yi winked at him desperately, but pity him for a long time, Zhu Ang just didn't understand what he meant.
At this moment, Yu Shiyue on the side was still pretending.
"Oh, it's getting late, Yu Shaobao, if you don't set off, I'm afraid you'll delay the journey and miss the station. Set off quickly, don't waste time."
Although he was speaking to Yu Qian, Chen Yi couldn't help but clenched his back molars when he heard the tone of his words.
Looking at Zhu Ang still looking innocent and trying to understand what he meant, Shen Shangshu was even more furious. All the lessons he had learned before Daqing came were in vain!
Shen Yi glared at Zhu Ang angrily and said angrily.
"Look what I do, Yu Shaobao asked you something, tell the truth!"
"oh……"
So, Zhu Langzhong nodded, looked at Yu Qian and spoke sincerely, and said.
"Master Shangshu said that local officials are used to being carefree and will definitely not cooperate with the imperial government's affairs. This time Yu Shaobao left the capital. Since he brought the royal flag with him, he will definitely go to war. In addition to killing people, he will also ransack homes.
.”
"These people are very fat and must have a lot of property. In order to prevent the Jin Yiwei from sending all the confiscated silver into His Majesty's inner treasury, I asked my subordinate to follow Yu Shaobao and write down all these account books.
, after returning to Beijing, he will..."
"Stop, stop, stop!"
It must be said that there is a reason why Zhu Ang is so capable, but after staying in the Ministry of Revenue for so many years, he is still just an ordinary doctor.
Although Shen Yi told him to tell the truth, what he said was too truthful...
Seeing that this guy really had no clue what he was talking about, Shen Yi quickly stopped and a trace of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Sighing deeply, Shen Shangshu suddenly had some doubts as to whether he had made the right decision in sending such a stupid young man there.
But the matter has come to this, and there is no other way.
Forcing himself to pretend that what just happened didn't exist, Shen Yi looked up at Yu Qian, coughed twice, and said seriously.
"Yu Shaobao, rectifying the military garrison is a big deal and cannot be taken lightly, so it is better to be on the safe side. We might as well let Zhu Ang go with you. It would be good to be more sure, what do you think?"
Seeing Shen Yi trying hard to restore his image, Yu Qian felt dumbfounded.
However, after hesitating for a moment, he still nodded and said.
"Since Shen Shangshu insists, there is nothing wrong with letting him go out of the capital with me."
Having said that, Yu Qian did not mention anything about the imperial decree.
Although, logically speaking, when a ministry official like Zhu Ang leaves the capital, he must ask for an imperial edict. However, with Shen Yi's character, since he dares to take people out, he is afraid that he has already obtained the imperial edict he deserves.
, or at least, with the emperor's permission.
If that's the case, it doesn't hurt to bring it with you.
"Thank you so much, Yu Shaobao!"
Seeing this situation, Chen Yi finally smiled happily. Seeing this, he almost wanted to rush up and give Yu Qian a hug. Fortunately, he was an important official in the court after all, so he would not be so out of tune. But even so, Chen Yi still said.
"Don't worry, Yu Shaobao. This time, the Ministry of Revenue owes you a favor. If there is an opportunity in the future, the Ministry of Revenue will definitely repay you."
Yu Qian didn't speak, just breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at the ministers who came to see him off, and said.
"Everyone, it's getting late. I'll go ahead and take my leave!"
After saying that, he turned around and got on the carriage, and the mighty procession set off, attracting the attention of countless people. Looking at this long procession, everyone couldn't help but feel a feeling in their hearts.
Yu Qian's trip is destined to be difficult, with swords and swords...
This chapter has been completed!