Yesterday was the last day of the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival. The end of the Lantern Festival made the officials finally accept the reality that the New Year holiday is over and start working seriously.
So today, an official raised a very important matter in court. Chen Di, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the ninth day of February is the first exam, but the examiner has not yet been selected. I don't know, Your Majesty.
Who do you want to choose as the examiner?"
‘Is there still twenty days to go before I can try it? I have been with my three wives and several children these days, and I have completely forgotten about it.’ Yunxi thought.
Although the current imperial examination is somewhat unsatisfactory, and not all those who pass the examination are suitable for officials, the most important point is that it gives hope to ordinary people. 'Be a farmer in the morning, and ascend to the emperor's hall in the evening', so
Things like this give ordinary people hope for advancement in their families and prevent a dynasty from becoming a stagnant water in the middle and later stages. Therefore, it can greatly maintain social stability.
Therefore, even if there are many problems in the imperial examination, they can only be repaired rather than pushed back to reconstruction; if the imperial examination was not suddenly abolished in the late Manchu Dynasty, and the civilian candidates who actually controlled the countryside were suddenly lost, the support of the scholars and scholars could have been much better.
Two years.
Yunxi thought about it for a while before realizing that he was distracted. He quickly gathered his thoughts and said, "I will think about this after I go to court and then make a decision."
Although Yunxi was distracted just now, everyone thought that Yunxi was thinking about candidates, so they didn't pay attention: as for the candidates, they had to go through many considerations, and it was normal not to decide on the spot.
Later, Zhao Yi, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, spring will begin in February. The Ministry of Industry did not repair the roads in the capital last year or in the 31st year of Hongwu. The roads need to be repaired this year. Please agree to recruit the people.
Served in corvee service.”
At this time, asphalt had not been discovered, and the cement that Yunxi had been thinking about for many years had not yet been successfully researched. Therefore, the main roads in the city were all stone roads, and the trails could only be dirt roads. Stone roads are easy to damage, and dirt roads become muddy when it rains and snows.
It is unbearable and must be repaired frequently. The dirt road is usually repaired casually by a few corvees recruited by the Tianfu, but the officials and nobles will not go there anyway. The stone road must be repaired seriously, so it is very expensive, and the Ministry of Works is in charge every time.
Yunxi said: "Yes."
Later, the chief officials of various yamen reported some matters. Some of them made decisions on the spot, while others did not.
There weren't many things going on today, and ordinary trivial matters weren't worth talking about in the morning, so I quickly said, "Retreat!" the waiter said.
Yunxi returned to the Qianqing Palace and saw the memorial handed over by the Secretary of General Affairs. He said softly: "There are still so few memorials."
Yunxi was a little dissatisfied: I have already increased your vacation from three days to fifty days, and there are even twenty days of vacation during the Chinese New Year. You are still slacking off like this. Do you really think I can't do anything to you?
Yunxi said to Wang Xi, "Come here with the message of Jian Yi." Wang Xi agreed.
When the fourth auxiliary officer saw that Yunxi came over to express his righteousness after saying this softly, he understood that Yunxi was a little angry, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable.
In particular, Zhao Yi, the left minister of the Ministry of Works, who was summoned by Yunxi to the Qianqing Palace, was even more embarrassed. Their Ministry of Works had no other memorials except the incident he reported when he went to court, which was the least among the six. But this
It's not his fault. The officials below are still on vacation and are getting better today. There is nothing he can do.
It would take some time for Jian Yixuan to arrive from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so Yunxi gave other instructions first.
"Zhao Aiqing,"
"I'm here."
"The Minister of the Ministry of Industry has been vacant for nearly a month, so I will promote you to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry."
"I thank the Lord for your kindness!" Zhao Yi knelt down and said happily.
Although he can be regarded as a direct descendant of Yunxi, and he had assisted Yunxi when he defended the treasure banknotes (Chapter 37), so it can be said that he is a sure shot at taking over as Minister of the Ministry of Industry, but he still feels uneasy. Now he is completely at ease.
.
It was said that there would be nothing to do with him after that, but Yunxi did not ask Zhao Yi to retreat immediately, but asked: "There is really nothing to build the road except stone slabs now?"
Zhao Yi was stunned. He didn't expect Yunxi to care about the details. Fortunately, he had been prepared beforehand and bowed and said: "Your Majesty, unless the road is paved with loess and then beaten thousands of times, it will be better than the stone road."
It’s better. But it’s so labor-intensive…”
Yunxi thought for a while and said: "Do you know the fire oil mentioned in Zhao Song Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Bi Tan"?"
"Kerosene? I know." Zhao Yi was a little confused as to why Yunxi suddenly mentioned kerosene. 'I remember that kerosene can be used to light lamps, but I didn't hear that it can be used to pave roads?' He thought this way.
"Then do you know where there are kerosene mines?" Yunxi's voice revealed a hint of urgency.
"Your Majesty, I don't know." Zhao Yi said.
Of course, Yunxi did not want to use oil to pave roads. Moreover, the current technological level has not reached the level of the second industrial revolution, and oil is not very useful.
What he is looking for is asphalt.
Asphalt is a very useful material, especially for paving roads than cement, so Yunxi wants asphalt.
Asphalt is divided into two categories: ground asphalt and tar asphalt. Ground asphalt is further divided into natural asphalt and petroleum asphalt. What Yunxi is looking for now is natural asphalt. Natural asphalt is the result of long-term exposure and evaporation of oil seeping out of the ground.
Residues, so wherever there is natural asphalt, there will be oil (kerosene) underground. Asphalt was not well known at this time, but many people knew about oil, so Yunxi asked where there were oil deposits.
Yunxi was slightly disappointed when he heard Zhao Yi's answer, but this was also expected.
But at this moment, Qi Tai suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I know where there is a kerosene mine."
"What?" Yunxi asked in surprise: "Where?" As long as it's not a place like Daqing Oilfield, it's fine.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the Lijin County you passed by on your way north from Qingzhou during your northern tour five years ago?" Qitai said.
"Remember, there is a kerosene mine there?" Yunxi asked.
"Your Majesty, I remember that the people there used to dig kerosene mines from the ground to replace lamp oil." Qitai would answer.
'This is great, it really takes no effort at all.' Yunxi happily sat in his seat and thought.
"Zhao Aiqing, immediately send someone to Lijin County, Shandong Province, to look for a thing there. This thing is black or dark brown, and its texture is probably similar to mud. It is usually found in places where there is kerosene. I named it asphalt.
Asphalt can be ignited, but the lighting effect is not good."
"I'm thinking that it can be used to pave roads. It should be better than stone roads."
"I will also immediately send an edict to the Chief Envoy of Shandong, Binzhou Prefectural Government and Lijin County Government, asking them to start preparations immediately." Yun He ordered repeatedly.
Although everyone was half-convinced that Yunxi said there was such a magical thing, since Yunxi had already made the decree, they all bowed and agreed.
Yunxi asked Xia Yuanji to draft an edict, and then gave Zhao Yi a few instructions before letting him go.
At this time, Huang Lu came over and said, "Your Majesty, Jian Yushi is here."
"He's here? Let him in quickly." Yunxi said.
After a while, Jian Yi walked in and bowed to Yun Hei: "I have seen your Majesty, Jian Yi."
"Why are there so many gifts? It's not a court meeting." Yunxi said with a smile.
"The etiquette cannot be abolished." Jian Yi said calmly.
Jian Yi has long understood Yun Xi's temperament in this regard. Yun Xi is indeed informal, and he doesn't care if his subordinates have simpler etiquette with him in informal situations. However, if his subordinates insist on saluting, he will still be happy. Jian Yi just wants to catch him.
He bowed to him every time so as to increase Yunxi's good impression of him.
Yunxi was indeed a little happy, although it didn't show on his face.
Yunxi smiled and said: "The Imperial Censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate came to respectfully request that he resign and return to his hometown. Since he is already over sixty years old, I agreed."
Jian Yi's heart skipped a beat: 'Could it be...'
Before his heart could finish beating, Yunxi said: "I have thought about it over and over again and decided to appoint you as the Censor of Zuodu of the Imperial Procuratorate."
Jian Yi's heart instantly became ecstatic, but he still said on the surface: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I don't have enough qualifications."
Yunxi said: "You don't have to refuse the post of censor, regardless of your seniority. Since I have appointed you, I will never go back on it."
"Besides, you discovered the Jade Seal of the Kingdom in Henan with Chu Zhi and others before. You have made great achievements, and you are also qualified to be the censor of Zuodu."
Jian Yi stopped refusing this time and bowed to express his gratitude: "I thank you, Your Majesty."
Yunxi smiled and said: "I will hand over the Metropolitan Procuratorate to you. Please don't let me betray my trust."
Jian Yi said loudly: "I will never betray your majesty's trust."
"Well," Yunxi said with a smile, "I have a task for you now."
"You went to court today and you saw that three days have passed since the New Year's break, but the officials above the court are still languid. You let them know that today is already the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, and tomorrow will be the tenth day of the first lunar month.
It’s nine.”
Jian Yi hesitated: Yunxi clearly wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys and boost the spirits of the officials. This chicken is easy to kill, but...
"Your Majesty, at the end of last year, Your Majesty just cleared out the officials who violated the law in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If the commotion is too big this time, I am afraid it will cause turmoil in the court." Jian Yi said.
"There's no need to make too much of a fuss, just make all the officials nervous," Yunxi said.
Jian Yi thought about it and felt that he could not refuse, so he bowed and said, "I understand."
Yunxi gave him a few more instructions, and Jian Yi agreed to them one by one.
But just when he was about to retreat, Yunxi suddenly asked: "Do you think there are any problems with the current imperial examination?"
Imperial examination? Ask me if I have any questions? Jian Yi was a little unsure about Yunxi and said, "The imperial examination is an examination appointed by the late emperor, so there should be no problems."
After saying this, Jian Yi carefully observed Yunxi's expression, but did not see any change; and thinking that Yunxi didn't like big and empty words, he gritted his teeth and said: "But Your Majesty, I think the Four Books are too brief.
Should we increase our study of the Five Classics?"
Yunxi's expression changed, but Jian Yi didn't see what it meant.
Yunxi didn't give him a chance to observe carefully and asked him to retreat.
