With the sudden emergence of Jiang Bin, not only was there no memorial to impeach Wang Yuan, but even the conflict between Yang Tinghe and Yang Yiqing seemed to have suddenly disappeared without a trace.
The emperor could indeed forcibly mobilize border towns to the capital, but civil servants could also defy the rule.
One word, drag!
The Ministry of War has been discussing for more than half a month, not to mention formulating specific plans, but is actually still arguing fiercely, just to give these troops who are about to enter Beijing a new and prestigious name.
The Ministry of Household Affairs said that it could not provide food and salary for the time being. Although the rebellion of Liu Liu and Liu Qi had been put down, Hebei, Henan, and Shandong all needed relief. In addition, there were still rebels in Guizhou, Sichuan, and Jiangxi, and riots began in Yunnan.
, these need to be paid in person.
For example, in Sichuan, the Ministry of Household Affairs has just allocated one hundred thousand taels of military pay.
Yang Tinghe has already reached a deal with Zhu Houzhao, but Yang Yiqing is still firmly opposed to Bian Zhen's entry into Beijing. He expressed his attitude by resigning twice in a row last month.
The chief assistant, Li Dongyang, really couldn't hold on any longer. His butt hurt so much that he resigned four or five times a month on average.
During the off-duty time, Wang Yuan led Yan Song to set off for Yang Yiqing's mansion.
Yang Yiqing also stood in the courtyard to greet him, holding Wang Yuan's hand and saying, "Scholar Wang is a rare visitor, please come in quickly!"
Wang Yuan introduced: "This is the top two Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi. Yan Song, Yan Weizhong, editor of the Hanlin Academy, and Ding Muyou have just returned to Beijing."
"I've seen Yang Zhongzai!" Yan Song said, cupping his fists.
"Zhongzai" and "Dazai" are both honorific titles given to the minister of official affairs.
During the years when Yan Song stayed in Beijing as an official, Yang Yiqing had been serving in the border areas, and he had no impression of Yan Song.
But since he is an editor of the Hanlin Academy, he should be treated with courtesy. Yang Yiqing smiled and said: "It turns out that I am an editor of Yan. I have admired my talent for a long time. Please come in!"
The three of them sat down and tea was served.
Yang Yiqing laughed and said: "Thanks to Wang Erlang's wax printing machine, the paperwork of various departments in the imperial court has become much easier."
Wang Yuan said humbly: "It's a small skill, I don't dare to take credit for it."
After the wax printing machine was promoted in all major yamen, the officials were happy at first, but then some people hated Wang Yuan to the core.
Since Yang Yiqing became Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he has proposed layoff plans several times, but only five unlucky ones were laid off last time.
When Wang Yuan's wax printing machine came out, Yang Yiqing immediately gave Yang Yiqing a reason to lay off employees. Only in the Dibao distribution system, the General Affairs Department, the Sixth Section, and Titang, eight officials were laid off, and 37 scribes were laid off. They were also preparing to lay off employees in various provinces.
There are more than 300 officials.
Scientific and technological progress has brought about a wave of layoffs of officials.
Wang Yuan handed over a newspaper with both hands: "This is the "Acta Physica Sinica" run by me, and I would like to ask Yang Shangshu to correct it."
Yang Yiqing glanced at the masthead and said with a smile: "Since it was compiled by Bachelor Wang, it must be particularly exciting, so you should read it carefully."
The two chatted a lot, and Yan Song couldn't get a word in the whole time, so he could only sit next to him as a backdrop.
I don’t know how long it took, but Wang Yuan finally turned to the topic: "Yang Shangshu, Yan Bianxiu has been reporting to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for many days, but has not been able to wait for the corresponding arrangements."
Yang Yiqing smiled and said: "Since I am the editor of the Hanlin Academy, what other arrangements can I make? When Ding You's term expires, according to the regulations of the court, he can be reinstated to his original position."
Wang Yuan also laughed and said: "It may be due to the negligence of the officials. Yan Bianxiu has no judges to be reinstated for the time being."
The smile on Yang Yiqing's face suddenly disappeared. The first thing he focused on as Shangshu was the administration of officials, hoping to improve the efficiency of various departments. Unexpectedly, his own official department was causing trouble, and even the editors of the Hanlin Academy dared to stop it.
Reinstatement.
"These thieves are so brave!" Yang Yiqing was furious. At least in front of Wang Yuan and Yan Song, he had to show his anger.
Wang Yuan advised: "Yang Shangshu must not be angry. It may be that he has been neglectful."
Yan Song was originally feeling happy, but after hearing what Wang Yuan said, he quickly agreed: "It's okay, a few days' delay is nothing."
This thing is indeed his own fault. How can he stop the editor of the Hanlin Academy from reinstatement? Yang Yiqing clasped his fists towards Yan Song and said: "Editor Yan, I will personally investigate the matter, but those who neglect their duties will not be leniently punished."
."
"Thank you so much, Yang Zhongzai!" Yan Song seemed not to be good at flattering, and he even thanked him dryly.
After another round of chatting, Wang Yuan and Yan Song said goodbye and left.
Coming to the street, Wang Yuan asked: "Where does Yan Bianxiu live?"
Yan Song said: "A hotel outside the city."
Wang Yuan said: "Since we have no place to stay, why not move to my place. Anyway, the room is very empty, and it will be more lively if there are more than one person living there."
"I've already caused a lot of trouble to Bachelor Wang. I don't dare to bother you any more." Yan Song declined politely.
Wang Yuan said with a smile: "The official office in the capital is quite nervous. I'm afraid I won't be able to find a place to live for a while. Yan Bianxiu shouldn't refuse."
Hanlin Academy editors, editors, and sage scholars can live in official dormitories arranged by the Ministry of Industry for free, but they only have this special treatment for the first three years. Yan Song has long since passed the preferential treatment period, and there is no way to live in a unit room, so he has to
Find people to rent houses by yourself.
Not to mention Yan Song, even Li Dongyang, the chief minister of the dynasty, had a career of renting houses for decades.
It wasn't until Li Dongyang became the chief minister that the emperor realized that he was renting a house, and immediately rewarded him with a mansion covering an area of 30 acres.
By the way, Li Dongyang was considered relatively incorruptible among the chief ministers of the past dynasties. A colleague from the Hanlin Academy gave him a copper basin. When they met again more than thirty years later, they discovered that he was still using it.
Let’s talk about the housing issue. The official housing in the capital is actually sufficient, at least enough for officials from the Cabinet, the Sixth Ministry, and the Hanlin Academy to live.
But the officialdom is so corrupt that some officials continue to occupy the original houses after leaving office. They even leave Beijing and sell the houses to others, or blatantly rent them out. This is an illegal operation, because even if you buy the official house
, the ownership still belongs to the court and must be returned to it after retirement!
These are the rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang, and he even went out to serve as local officials. In order to prevent corruption and nepotism, officials were also prohibited from buying houses and marrying wives in the places where they served.
By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, many systems were in vain. Local officials could buy houses and occupy land everywhere, and there were very few official houses left in the capital. They were so embarrassed that even honest and important ministers needed to rent a house.
Wang Yuan was so enthusiastic that Yan Song couldn't refuse, so he stayed there until he found a suitable place to move out.
Yan Song, who had been treated coldly in the capital for a long time, was so grateful for Wang Yuan's kindness that he even took the initiative to help edit the manuscript of "Acta Physica Sinica".
The environment can easily influence people. People around them are studying mathematics and physics. Yan Song's curiosity was also aroused. Whenever he had free time, he would read "Mathematics", "Geometry" and "Physics".
A few days later, Yan Song and others came to return the official documents.
Not only was he reinstated, but he was also awarded the rank of "Chengshi Lang" in recognition of his filial piety to his mother.
Yan Song didn't say anything else, he only bowed deeply to Wang Yuan in an extremely dignified manner.
This stupid young man has obviously become Wang Yuan's die-hard loyalist, following behind Wang Yuan and waving flags and cheering.
At the same time, Wang Yuan received a letter from Tianjin.
The cotton spinning workshop has received the first batch of cotton and is starting to produce cotton yarn. However, due to two consecutive years of military disasters, the price of cotton this year is very high, and merchants from all over the country are competing fiercely. Even if they order in advance, countless people will take them away at high prices.
According to this situation, if hundreds of five-spindle spinning wheels are running at the same time, the raw materials will be used up in two months at most, and the rest of the time can only be suspended indefinitely.
This problem is very embarrassing. Those hundreds of refugees were recruited by Wang Yuan. Once work cannot be started, they will definitely choose to leave unless Wang Yuan allows them to take paid leave.
Wang Yuan immediately wrote to Tianjin, asking them to buy cotton yarn at a high price, and to write a good contract. If he reneges on the contract midway, he must pay ten times the penalty - a bachelor's degree student at the Hanlin Academy is not afraid of litigation.
Since there is insufficient cotton, we can buy cotton yarn and produce cotton cloth instead. Wang Yuan plans to develop a new type of loom.
The kind that increases production efficiency tenfold!
Due to many factors, the cotton planting area will definitely expand next year. Under normal circumstances, cotton supply exceeds demand, and cotton prices will fall next year, causing cotton farmers to suffer losses and reduce planting area, and the cycle repeats every year.
But with super looms, no matter how much cotton or cotton yarn is available, it just depends on whether the market can digest it.
If the domestic market is not enough to support it, Wang Yuan will consider overseas trade.
It doesn’t matter whether it can open the sea or not, let’s sell it first!