It was sunset outside the door, and Aning was about to come in to serve tea. The moment he opened the curtain, the light of the setting sun also came in. Sheng Shaoqing was dazzled by the suddenly stronger light.
Ji Wenxuan was standing with the backlight at this moment, and the afterglow of the setting sun shrouded his body like a layer of gold.
But the power that burst out instantly in his eyes was more dazzling than the sun.
"Queen Mother..." Ji Wenxuan suddenly stopped.
"I think the matter of Fengchun can be left to Mr. Xia with full authority."
Sheng Shaoqing was so stunned by Ji Wenxuan's sudden turn that he almost lost his mind. Do all big bosses think like this?
She thought Ji Wenxuan would say something...something else.
The secret idea came to nothing, and Sheng Shaoqing could only nod in agreement, "I think it's very good too."
Xia Yuhuai let go of Songshen. He thought Prime Minister Ji was going to pack him up and sell him, but he still accused him, "I am the Prime Minister of Xiayi County, so how can I interfere in Fengchun..."
"It doesn't matter. From today on, Li Lingfeng will no longer be the Prime Minister of Fengchun County. He will be replaced by Mr. Xia. Isn't it justifiable?"
Xia Yuhuai hesitated and said, "Then Xia Yi..."
Ji Wenxuan said in an unquestionable tone, "You will still serve as the magistrate of Xiayi County for the time being. After the chaos subsides, we will discuss your whereabouts when your merits are rewarded."
Xia Yuhuai felt relieved and replied firmly, "Thank you very much, the Queen Mother. I trust you. I will repay you with my life and swear to quell the demon society!"
Sheng Shaoqing saw that what Ji Wenxuan said was what he thought, so he did not interrupt Prime Minister Ji's arrangement. He only looked at Xia Yuhuai with a smile and gentle and reassuring eyes. Is her vase still qualified?
After Xia Yuhuai had left for a long time, three cups of tea had been replaced on the table. Seeing that the atmosphere in the room was getting colder, Sheng Shaoqing asked, "Prime Minister Ji, what do you think of this matter?"
Sheng Shaoqing felt that he was quite like the great detective Di Renjie at this moment. This sentence "Yuanfang, what do you think?" was definitely a true biography of Mr. Di.
However, after saying this, Sheng Shaoqing felt a chill in the already spring air slipping into her sleeves, with a whooshing chill sweeping through her whole body.
Ji Wenxuan's fierce momentum just now disappeared without a trace, and now he still looked sick and weak. Seeing Sheng Shaoqing asking, Ji Wenxuan stood up and replied, "I wonder what the Queen Mother is asking about?"
"It's just about Fengchun. However, Prime Minister Ji, your news is really fast. I only met Xia Yuhuai at noon, so the Prime Minister only knows about it?"
Ji Wenxuan hesitated a little, but then continued, "Did the Queen Mother forget?"
The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to be a little colder.
"forget?"
Ji Wenxuan frowned imperceptibly and hid his doubts well, but Sheng Shaoqing still used the system functions to find some emotions that he had not yet restrained.
surprise?
Confuse?
What is Ji Wenxuan surprised about?
Soon, Ji Wenxuan personally answered this question for Sheng Shaoqing.
"The sky-colored stone has become popular, probably in the past two years, and when it really caused disaster, it was not long after the death of the late emperor last year."
"At that time, Mr. Xia had already started playing, but..."
"At that time, the Queen Mother was unable to deal with the Fengchun territory, so she specifically asked the ministers to ignore it and wait and see what happens."
Sheng Shaoqing:…………
Not long after the death of the late Emperor? At that time... it seems that the Queen Mother was not her yet???
Sheng Shaoqing had no choice but to find reasons for his "amnesia", but Ji Wenxuan was very considerate and said, "The Queen Mother is so busy with household affairs that she forgets about it for a moment. I don't think it's strange. It's just... I don't know why the Queen Mother suddenly doesn't worry about hurting the Qinghe Palace."
To save your face, you want to go down with the force of thunder?"
"This...that...I..."
Sheng Shaoqing heard Ji Wenxuan continue, "However, no matter what, it is not easy for the Queen Mother to make this determination, so..."
Ji Wenxuan's words came to an abrupt end, as if hinting at Sheng Shaoqing's answer. Sheng Shaoqing was still analyzing why Ji Wenxuan was so abnormal. He always spoke half of what he said today, just like playing riddles, so he naturally ignored this.
For the "most important" part of answering the conversation, I wholeheartedly look forward to Ji Wenxuan announcing the correct answer.
Ji Wenxuan looked away with some disappointment. Sheng Shaoqing suddenly understood Ji Wenxuan's meaning and said softly, "So, it's best to catch them all without any personal gain."
Ji Wenxuan asked, "Since there is no personal favoritism, then those people before..."
"Similarly, if someone pleads for mercy, he will be punished according to his comrades."
Sheng Shaoqing finally made up her mind at this moment. In this slightly dilapidated county government office, under the even leaky roof, she stared at the candlelight dancing in front of Ji Wenxuan and asked, "Prime Minister Ji should also understand that I
Did you mean to suppress the matter in the palace before?"
Ji Wenxuan also looked at Sheng Shaoqing's face blurred by the light through the swaying firelight and said, "Of course I understand."
"Although the Li family is small, it is located in Jiangdong and has inextricable relations with Nanjing. Li Lingjiang is a direct branch of the Li family and is now in charge of the Li family. If you rashly touch him, not to mention Jiangdong's instability, it may also happen
It attracted the attention of many aristocratic families."
The boss is indeed a boss, and the fig leaf he found for her was so thoughtful.
In fact, the main reason why she wanted to avoid this problem in the first place was actually fear.
Some people are timid, but not afraid of things.
Some people are bold but very afraid of things.
And she belongs to the latter.
Even though she had become the Queen Mother at that time, she was still the same Sheng Shaoqing who just wanted to lie down and fish.
Being hesitant and timid are all her problems. She is too aware of her weight, and she is afraid that she will not be able to bear the consequences.
"But! If such a cancer is not eliminated, it will endanger the imperial court sooner or later. The Queen Mother must have realized that Li Lingjiang had evil intentions, so she asked him to leave Yuzhou. However, this method only treats the symptoms but not the root cause. Once he rebels in Yuzhou
It is immeasurable what he can do with the convenience of Yuzhou being close to Helian."
Sheng Shaoqing hesitated and said, "Li Lingjiang... doesn't he dare to think about it?"
He was just worried that he would fulfill the prophecy dream, so he thought about destroying Nanjing to avoid future troubles, but... Da Liang is his hometown, he would not...
"No! He will!"
Ji Wenxuan said categorically, "This man has a treacherous mind. If he can think of using Mrs. Li to steal, you can tell that he is definitely not someone who uses ordinary means."
"What's more, he has already used Hu Yushi to test who suppressed him and refused to allow him to join the Ministry of War. I guess he is gnashing his teeth in hatred towards the Queen Mother at this moment."
Sheng Shaoqing:…………
If I had known earlier I would not have admitted it publicly (bushi).
"He also did what happened to Hu Yushi??"
Ji Wenxuan nodded, "The Queen Mother thinks that anyone else cares more about joining the Ministry of War than he does?"
"It's really hard for Mr. Shen, he's still going door to door asking questions." Ji Wenxuan sighed helplessly.
Sheng Shaoqing:…………
"I'm still worried..."
Before Sheng Shaoqing finished expressing his worries, Ji Wenxuan continued, "Then why doesn't the Queen Mother consider following Nan Jing's example?"
Sheng Shaoqing:!!!!!!
If you tell me this, I won’t feel sleepy anymore!!
"There are many obstacles to the reform of the system in Nanjing. The root cause is that Emperor Jingming changed the rituals, not the system."
"The abolition of red tape and the selection of poor families went hand in hand. In the end, only the former was really promoted in Nanjing. And this was the source of resistance that caused the most headache for Emperor Ming."
Sheng Shaoqing thought about it. Selecting officials from poor families may still be acceptable to those officials, but it can make them change the etiquette habits formed since childhood. That is really a choice from the beginning... an extremely difficult mode!
Ji Wenxuan continued his analysis, "Actually, Nanjing's current situation is also foreseeable."
"Emperor Ming came from a humble background. He used to be a pariah who could only make a living by knitting straw sandals. He was also beaten because he often owed money for gambling and did not pay back. If Wang Mi hadn't saved him from a group of gangsters one winter, where would the Nanjing be today?"
Sheng Shaoqing gasped in surprise, why didn't Cui Yun talk about this before?
"Therefore, Emperor Ming naturally had no favorable impression of aristocratic families other than the Wang family. What's more, before Queen Wang married Emperor Ming, many people opposed the marriage between aristocratic families and Emperor Ming, who was born from a common people. After Emperor Ming became emperor, such a move was also
It’s not surprising.”
It would be better to demolish ten temples than to break up one marriage. These aristocratic families have no control over other people's wives. Emperor Ming hates them... so it doesn't seem so difficult to understand.
"But when the Jin Dynasty was defeated, most of the aristocratic families had moved south to Jiankang City. Emperor Ming's move was tantamount to declaring war on all the aristocratic families alone."
Sheng Shaoqing also sighed secretly after hearing this, no wonder Liu Zizhan was able to turn around, cheating all the way from a commoner to becoming an emperor, marrying Bai Fumei and reaching the pinnacle of life, but he turned around and was still a little person.
Liu Zizhan is truly a lonely and brave man!
"Therefore, I say that Nanjing's reform is not about the system, but the etiquette. This may be effective, but it is too drastic. If you are not careful, it may lead to bloodshed... Even if Emperor Ming is so iron-blooded and has been fighting for half his life,
The emperor has recently been forced to have trouble sleeping and eating by the officials who hit the pillars and died one after another in the court."
"Otherwise, why would Wang Mi come with such generous gifts? How could he let Master Wei's eldest son return so easily?"
Sheng Shaoqing nodded in agreement. It seemed that her analysis was spot on. Nanjing was indeed in chaos.
"Then why did the Prime Minister say that he would imitate Nanjing?"
Ji Wenxuan showed a smile at this moment and said, "Although Nanjing is chaotic, we can still take the essence and transform it into use."
"We change the system, not the rituals."
The candlelight in front of him gradually dimmed, but Ji Wenxuan's cloudy eyes gradually became clearer, "Selecting officials from a poor family is truly a pioneering initiative. If our government can implement it, it will be able to maximize its effectiveness and benefit all people in the world!"
Sheng Shaoqing was also a little excited, what is this called? This is called heroes seeing the same thing!
"It doesn't matter where a hero comes from. Back then, Sun Shu'ao was raised in the sea, and Baili was ridiculed in the city. Why can't it be done now?!"
Ji Wenxuan's tone suddenly changed sharply, and he lamented, "When the late Emperor was here, my colleagues also had this discussion, but it's a pity..."
Sheng Shaoqing knew that Ji Wenxuan was trying to say that the late emperor died young, so he had no choice but to sigh, sincerely feeling sorry for his late husband who had the instinct to achieve great things.
However, Sheng Shaoqing did not expect that Princess Lin Yang tried hard to win over Ji Wenxuan through Ji Baochuan but failed, but today, it was him who took the initiative to stand in front of her.
A gust of wind blew through the hall, blowing the strands of hair around Sheng Shaoqing's temples. Sheng Shaoqing had no time to take care of it. He just brushed aside the obstructive hair and stared at Ji Wenxuan, waiting for his answer.
Ji Wenxuan said slowly, "Nanjing initially followed the old system of Daxia, where each township and county recommended Xiaolian, with the recommendation as the criterion, the examination as the supplement, and finally the Emperor Ming selected him."
"Is this... really useful?"
Ji Wenxuan shook his head, cleared his throat and said, "Now it seems that it is of no use. Even though Emperor Ming gave orders to the world and even ordered state governments to elect, most of the people elected were mixed, and many jokes were made.
Those aristocratic families who were watching with cold eyes were even more proud."
"Emperor Ming himself also knew that the so-called commoners had no chance of being elected, so..."
"Is he just making a gesture?"
Ji Wenxuan smiled and said, "Emperor Ming himself was a commoner before, so he didn't know the difficulties of the common people... So, he tried his best to correct etiquette and law."
"No wonder..." Sheng Shaoqing sighed, "No wonder he focuses on etiquette."
"Therefore, I think that our dynasty must not repeat the same mistakes. Otherwise, if the restructuring fails, it will be a small matter and be underestimated by the world's famous families. That will be dangerous."
"Then... why not try the universal unified examination?" Sheng Shaoqing asked tentatively, "Take exams by subject?"
Ji Wenxuan was stunned, "How does the Queen Mother know what her ministers are thinking?!"
Ji Wenxuan:!!!!!
The Queen Mother had already had this intention, why didn't she mention it earlier and let him test it for so long!!!
What a waste of time!!!
"I just read ancient books yesterday. In ancient times, it was inappropriate to say, "Those who take countermeasures are all selected before they are deposed." Since it is a matter of selecting talents, why can't those who have no talent be deposed?
"A few days ago, the Queen Mother chose a reading companion for His Majesty, which opened my eyes even more."
"The shortlisted candidates will take the exam together, and those who fail will not be appointed. This is the essence of official selection!"
Sheng Shaoqing didn't expect that he would become the target of Ji Wenxuan's flaunting. He was ashamed but also a little proud and said, "Prime Minister Ji really has an eye for all things and is knowledgeable about the past and the present. It's really..."
Before Sheng Shaoqing could say even two words of praise, Ji Wenxuan quickly waved his hands and said, "How dare I be the Queen Mother and praise you so much? I also...also..."
The two of them patted each other's rainbow farts together until Sheng Shaoqing ran out of words. Then they looked at each other and smiled awkwardly. Finally, they just said in unison, "Heroes think alike."
"But..." Sheng Shaoqing still couldn't help but asked in confusion, "Prime Minister Ji, why...why do you think of restructuring?"
Ji Wenxuan's suggestion was definitely not a random whim. After carefully recalling all the abnormalities in him today, Sheng Shaoqing finally came to realize that Ji Wenxuan had thought of this a long time ago.
However, Ji Wenxuan could originally remain stable in such a highly respected position, so why should he become turbulent again in the last days of his official career?
Ji Wenxuan smiled and said, "My lord, you only do what you think is right. It has nothing to do with status or time."
