It was easy for Shen Yi to get into the Zhao family. He didn't even need to be informed. When the Zhao family's concierge saw him, he invited him in directly, calling him Mr. Shen.
You know, this is the concierge of the Shang Shu family at that time. On weekdays, not to mention a low-ranking official like Shen Yi, who is a sixth- or seventh-rank official, or a court official who is a fourth or fifth-rank official, when he comes to the door of the Zhao family, he must be polite to the concierge.
Obviously, the reason why the concierge was so polite to Shen Yi was not because of Shen Yi's rank and status, but because Shen Yi had an unusual relationship with his master.
To put it bluntly, even if the minister of the Ministry of Revenue badmouths his concierge to Zhao Changping, Zhao Shangshu may not pay attention to it. But if Shen Yi says something bad about the concierge to Mr. Zhao one day, it is estimated that within a few days, this will happen. The minister's residence needs to be replaced by a concierge.
After entering the Zhao family's house, Zhao Shangshu has not come back yet, but Zhao Er and Zhao Jizhou are at home. After seeing Shen Yi, the second young master was very happy. He took Shen Yi to talk for a long time, and then He took Shen Yi to visit Zhao Changping's wife.
After meeting the Zhao family's mistress, Shen Yi had nothing to do, so he played a game of chess with Zhao Jizhou in the Zhao family's backyard because it was still a while before dinner. Shen Yi was quite talented in this area. After a while, Second Young Master Zhao had several chess pieces eaten, and he was so anxious that he scratched his head and scratched his head.
Just when Zhao Er was at a loss, a big hand picked up a rook on the chessboard and ate one of Shen Yi's cannons.
Zhao Jizhou was lost in thought, but when he saw this, he suddenly turned around, stood up quickly, and said with a smile: "Dad, when did you come back?"
Shen Yi had already noticed it. Seeing this, he stood up, cupped his hands towards Zhao Changping, and called him uncle.
Zhao Changping signaled his son to leave the table, and he sat opposite Shen Yi to play against Shen Yi.
Seeing Zhao Changping sitting down, Shen Yi glanced at the car that had just eaten his cannon, and said with a smile: "Uncle, I am a fool, but there is a horse watching over me."
Zhao Changping looked up at Shen Yi with a calm expression: "Just walk."
Shen Yi narrowed his eyes, lifted the knight on the chessboard, and ate Zhao Shangshu's rook.
Zhao Shangshu's expression remained unchanged and he continued to move.
Although he suffered a bit from this exchange, it made the situation on the chessboard come alive. As he moved step by step, the originally passive situation gradually eased.
Soon, the game of chess was over. In the end, Zhao Shangshu and Shen Yi were at the end of their rope and ended in a draw.
As Shen Yi packed up the chess pieces, he sighed: "Uncle, my chess skills are far better than mine."
Zhao Shangshu raised his head with a calm expression: "When I was young, I was obsessed with chess for a while, so I have some experience, but in this game, the second child is far behind..."
He looked at Shen Yi with a smile on his face: "Ziheng has at least three hands that can checkmate me."
Shen Yi's face was not red, and his heart was not beating. He smiled and said: "Maybe my nephew is not good at chess and has never seen these chess moves."
Zhao Shangshu chuckled: "You have a lot more thoughts than your teacher, but this is not a bad thing. Teacher Qi couldn't survive in the officialdom because he was too straightforward."
"You are more suitable for officialdom than him."
Shen Yi sighed: "This shows that the world is not good, otherwise, no matter how upright a person is, the court can tolerate him."
Zhao Shangshu was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Zi Heng is right, the atmosphere in the officialdom is not right."
After saying this, he looked at Shen Yi and asked, "Has the imperial edict been sent to you?"
"Um."
Shen Yi nodded and smiled and said: "He is the head of the Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War, but it is more like a name. He does not serve in the Ministry of War. Instead, he goes to the coastal state capital and is ordered to supervise the construction of warships and firearms for the anti-Japanese army."
"It's already very high."
Zhao Shangshu looked at Shen Yi and sighed: "How old are you? At your age, you can become one of the eight chief officers of the Ministry of War. As long as you don't make mistakes in the future, even if you have to pass the qualifications, you can still be the Minister of the Sixth Ministry. When you retire, the imperial court will have to give you the title of Shangshu."
A sixth-grade master is indeed very high.
You must know that when the Shen family in Jiangdu was at its most prosperous, it was because Shen Yi's great-grandfather was an official in the imperial court, and Shen Yi's great-grandfather was only a member of the Ministry of Industry at that time.
He was only slightly taller than the current Shen Yi.
And Shen Yi's great-grandfather forcibly made the Shen family so rich that it was ruined for several generations. It wasn't until Shen Yi's uncle Shen Hui that the Shen family was almost completely defeated.
Even so, the Shen family still has a big house in Jiangdu.
Therefore, Shen Yi suspected that his great-grandfather did a lot of searching for money when he was in office.
While the two were talking, Shen Yi had already rearranged the chessboard, and then asked with a smile: "Master came back very early today. He used to go home at sunset."
"My family went to the Ministry of Household Affairs to look for me."
Zhao Shangshu moved his pawn and said with a smile: "I know you have something to ask me for, and there is nothing important in the ministry, so I came back."
This is the confidence of the yamen boss. Whether he is late or leaves early, it doesn't matter.
After saying this, he looked at Shen Yi and asked, "When will Ziheng leave to rush back to the coast?"
"The court did not set a time limit."
Shen Yi responded while moving: "But tomorrow, my nephew will probably go to the Ministry of War to report and see if the superior officer of the Ministry of War has any arrangements. If the superior officer of the Ministry of War has no arrangements, then it will be up to the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works and the Bureau of War and Warfare. When will the craftsmen be ready? Once these craftsmen are ready, my nephew will immediately take them south."
Hearing Shen Yi's words, Zhao Changping shook his head slightly and said, "Zi Heng just doesn't understand the ministry."
He said quietly: "You, as the head of the Ministry of War, have been appointed by His Majesty, and have already made it clear that you will be sent to other places to do things. In this case, no one in the Ministry of War will tell you what to do."
"They won't give you anything to do."
Speaking of this, Zhao Changping asked: "I heard that Ziheng you won battles in Taizhou Prefecture and Wenzhou Prefecture. How is the Japanese situation along the coast now?"
"There should be no more Japanese pirates landing in Wenzhou Prefecture in a short period of time."
Shen Yi lowered his eyebrows and said: "However, Japanese pirates are still rampant along the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong. The anti-Japanese army is still expanding. If everything goes well, the Japanese pirates along the coast should be eliminated in two or three years."
Zhao Changping looked at Shen Yi thoughtfully and continued to ask: "What do you mean by Zi Heng, in two or three years, the anti-Japanese army will be able to form an army?"
The formation of the anti-Japanese army meant that the Chen court had a brand-new navy. After this navy was formed, most of the Japanese invasion along the coast had been eliminated.
At that time, this navy will be "idle".
After it is idle, the court may find new uses for it.
Hearing Zhao Changping's question, Shen Yi immediately understood what the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue meant. He lowered his head slightly and said: "Uncle, that group of people has been entrenched in the Huaihe River for so many years. They are deeply rooted and powerful..."
"This matter needs long-term consideration."
Having said this, Shen Yi paused and continued: "Furthermore, there is something weird behind the Japanese invasion of Wenzhou a few days ago. My nephew and the Crown Prince of Jin both speculate that the imperial court's influence is involved..."
Zhao Changping moved the warriors on his chessboard, and then sighed slightly.
"The imperial court is a big tree with too many diseases."
"Some are new sores, and some are chronic diseases."
"I want to be cured of a serious illness."
Zhao Shangshu lowered his eyebrows slightly and said: "Your Majesty needs to forge ahead with determination."
He looked at Shen Yi again and continued.
"I need you young people to clean up the evil atmosphere."