Among the many physics disciples, the one with the highest official position has reached the rank of temple minister, and many others have been promoted to local officials.
Wang Yuan really has a headache as to who should be in charge of the Railway Department. There are many people who are capable but not qualified enough. Moreover, for the affairs of one department, mature and prudent people should be selected.
After much selection, Wang Yuan decided to use Zhang Cong, even though Zhang Cong was not a physics student.
Zhang Cong was a Jinshi in the 15th year of Hongzhi's reign. He is currently serving as a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy and is also one of the prince's teachers. Although he is only an official of the sixth rank, the Hanlin official was transferred to the ministry, so he is just right to be a doctor of the fifth rank. Moreover, this old gentleman
I am already fifty-three years old and cannot continue to waste time in the Hanlin Academy.
"Mr. Bingyong, would you like to be a doctor in the Railway Department?" Wang Yuan personally went to the Hanlin Academy to invite someone, because he was afraid that Zhang Cong would not be willing. Maybe you think it is a promotion, but others will feel wronged.
Zhang Cong had long been tired of staying in the Hanlin Academy, but he did not agree directly. Instead, he asked: "I have also heard about railways and trains. Is it true that you can travel thousands of miles in a day?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Not only can it travel thousands of miles a day, it can also transport countless people and goods at a time. The money for building the railway is directly allocated from the internal treasury; the stone and wood for building the railway are purchased from the Jieshen Treasury of the Ministry of Industry at a discount. Two years later
, is responsible for its own profits and losses, and the Railways Department has complete financial control. It only needs to give profit benefits to the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works to stop their messy claims."
"I'll go see the real thing first." Zhang Cong still felt unsure.
Zhang Cong is also a great Confucian, but he specializes in "Book of Rites" and the rest can only be regarded as bypasses. He is not as knowledgeable as Wang Yangming, Luo Qinshun and others.
If you want to know what kind of person Zhang Cong is, just look at his etiquette thoughts:
First, etiquette is based on human feelings. etiquette cannot take away people's feelings. Just because you observe etiquette, you cannot ignore people's basic emotional and physiological needs. Otherwise, it will be called etiquette cannibalism!
Second, etiquette is principle. It starts from justice, etiquette must be benevolent and righteous, and etiquette must be reasonable. The real great etiquette is that the world is for the common good, it must benefit the people, and it must be recognized by the public, otherwise it will be perverse principles and hypocritical etiquette.
Third, profit and loss should be made at any time. Etiquette is not static and should change with the changes of the times. Ancient etiquette cannot be copied. Otherwise, it will become rigid and self-destructive.
Fourth? Be honest and upright. No matter how the etiquette changes, you should abide by the basic bottom line of etiquette, justice and integrity. You cannot use etiquette and rules to do things that harm the people and benefit yourself at the expense of others.
Fifth? Cultivating ancestral laws and etiquette means systems and laws. The ancestral systems and laws of the Ming Dynasty? The core is definitely fine. It’s just that some details cannot keep up with the development of the times, and these need to be revised; some details are good in themselves,
But it was corrupted by later generations, and these must be restored - to put it bluntly, under the guise of ancestral system? To carry out reforms!
Zhang Cong was taken to the western suburbs to see the train. After learning about the theoretical speed and cargo carrying capacity of the train, he instantly became excited. He got on the train and tried it out for himself to feel the power of the steam monster. He agreed to Wang Yuan's request the next day.
invitation.
The chief officers of the Railway Department are as follows -
Doctor: Zhang Cong.
Yuanwailang: Wang Jiao, Xu Jie, Wang Chong.
In charge: Jiang Xin, Nie Bao, Ling Xia.
As soon as this appointment came out, all officials in the court, including Yang Tinghe, were dumbfounded.
Zhang Cong? The second best in the fifteenth year of Zhengde. Xu Jie, the second best in the eighteenth year of Zhengde. Wang Jiao, the third best in the eighteenth year of Zhengde. Wang Chong, an official in the Imperial Academy. The small Railway Department of the Ministry of Industry actually threw away so many "
"Prime Minister", doesn't Wang Yuan feel that his talents are overkill?
As long as he works hard for two more years, Zhang Cong is fully qualified to be a minister, and Wang Jiao, Xu Jie and Wang Chong can also develop better.
It would be a waste to have so many outstanding reserve talents thrown out at critical moments to occupy important positions. Now they are all crammed into the Railways Corporation!
The ministers expressed their incomprehension, but Yang Tinghe knew that Wang Yuan wanted to do something again.
As for the three principals, Jiang Xin came from Wang Yangming's family. He followed Wang Yuan to Kaihai in Zhejiang and was the first principal of Hangzhou Industrial and Commercial School. He is currently serving as a provincial magistrate in Henan and was recalled by Wang Yuan in a letter.
Come.
Nie Bao was a student of Wang Yangming. He was the best in the country in the county magistrate examination and was half the teacher of Xujie. After this man was transferred to the post of censor, he offended three eunuchs in Fujian, one was the governor and the other was the chief envoy.
There is one deputy envoy to the inspection, two deputy envoys to the inspection, two chief secretaries participating in politics, one prefect, and four county magistrates. Their political achievement is to make Fujian's customs tax revenue surpass that of Zhejiang in one fell swoop!
However, Nie Bao's rectification of the ship divisions in various cities in Fujian touched the interests of too many powerful people. Even Liao Ji, the official minister, was not saved and was secretly promoted to Guangxi Zhizhou. Coinciding with the rebellion of the Guangxi chieftains, Nie Bao recruited the villagers to defend the country.
He defended the city for more than two years, but finally fell because he was outnumbered. He wanted to commit suicide but was stopped by his men, and was finally captured by the rebels. Although he took the opportunity to escape, he was still demoted. Wang Yuan took the opportunity to kill Nie Bao this time.
He was transferred back to the capital to be the head of the Railway Department.
Ling Xia is even more interesting. He comes from a craftsman family and has no fame.
Wang Yuan asked his disciples to develop steam engines, but everyone else gave up. Only Ling Xia persisted, and Ling Xia took the lead in developing today's trains.
It is simply a daydream to allow a craftsman to become the head of the sixth-grade Ministry of Industry without attracting impeachment. Liao Ji, the Minister of Civil Service, who had always had a good relationship with Wang Yuan, firmly disagreed this time, but the emperor forcibly appointed him.
Can't survive it.
There are also several eighth- and ninth-grade assistant officers, who are similar to Ling Xia. They are either scholars or not. But these appointments do not matter. The assistant officers can do whatever they want, and they can be promoted to the seventh rank in their lifetime.
Even a large number of officials are disciples of the Physics School!
A perfect interpretation of "nepotism", the Railway Department of the Ministry of Industry has become the backyard of Wang Yuan's family.
…
Wenyuan Pavilion.
Jiang Mian was reviewing the memorials of various ministries. He took a sip of tea and opened a memorial sent by the Ministry of Accounts.
"puff!"
"Cough cough cough cough!"
Jiang Mian spat out a mouthful of tea, then quickly shut up and held his breath, causing himself to choke and cough.
The other four cabinet ministers all looked over curiously.
Jiang Mian calmed down for a while, wiped his mouth and said: "The Ministry of Household Affairs reported that some rice has arrived in Tongzhou, and the first batch of 20,000 shi! Please release the treasury."
Yang Yiqing asked in confusion: "Where can we transport 20,000 stones at this time of year?"
"Could it be that it was postponed last year?" Yang Tinghe was also extremely puzzled.
Jiang Mian explained: "Tan Haibo brought back gold and silver from the far east, and directly bought rice in Nanyang through Jinyi Haiwei. Four hundred coins and one stone were packaged for shipment to Tianjin Port. This is just the first batch, and there will be several more batches to come.
"
"Four hundred coins and one stone are guaranteed to be shipped to Tianjin?" Although Wang Qiong likes to be a loser, he is very talented. He is very sensitive to various data and can even allocate materials through calculations, so that there is not much corruption in various projects.
space.
Jiang Mian nodded: "That's what the memorial says."
During the entire Ming Dynasty, when the price of rice was the cheapest, it was only three hundred coins per shi, but that was the price of rice during the harvest season in some areas of the south.
And this batch of rice costs four hundred yuan and one stone, and it is also guaranteed to be shipped to Tianjin!
Wang Qiong asked: "Who will pay if the ship sinks?"
Jiang Mian said: "Jinyi Haiwei guarantees compensation, and the compensation must be rice, not silver."
Yang Yiqing sighed: "This Jinyi Haiwei, I originally thought it was His Majesty's entertainment, but I never thought it could be of such great use!"
"No, it's definitely not right," Wang Qiong shook his head and said, "In the past, ministers had disputes over water transportation and sea transportation. I also inquired about the price of rice in Nanyang. At four hundred coins per stone, you might be able to buy it occasionally, but you can never buy it all at once.
Twenty thousand stones, not to mention that this is only the first batch, and it has to be shipped to Tianjin! By doing this, even if Jinyihaiwei does not lose money, it can only maintain its capital. Is there anyone in Jinyiwei who is not greedy?"
Mao Ji smiled and said: "Mr. Wangge, you can't say this. We don't allow eunuchs. How can a military man have someone who can serve the country with integrity? In my opinion, Zhu Ying, the admiral of the Jinyi Haiwei, and Man Zheng, the commander of the Jinyi Haiwei, must be
They are honest and capable, and the court should commend them for their achievements and let them continue to bring food."
Wang Qiong said: "It is easy for one or two people to be honest. How many people are needed to transport 20,000 shi of grain? Are all of them honest?"
Yang Yiqing suddenly said: "I'm afraid these grains came from the wrong way."
"Is this coming from the wrong place?" Jiang Mian asked.
Yang Yiqing said: "It was just stolen."
Wang Qiong said: "They must have been robbed."
Jiang Mian said with a smile: "Don't make wild guesses. Since the grain has arrived in Tongzhou, we will give them permission to unload the warehouse in Taicang."
It was a bit disgraceful to say this, and the five cabinet ministers stopped talking about it. Don't take advantage of the bastard. It doesn't matter whether he stole it or robbed it, as long as he didn't exploit the people of the Ming Dynasty.
There were changes in the grain transportation during the Ming Dynasty. During the Zhengde period, the annual water transportation quota was four million shi.
This was an extra 20,000 dan, and it was only the first batch, which already made the cabinet bosses extremely happy.
Even Mao Ji, who had always opposed Wang Yuan, said with a smile: "Although Wang Ruoxu is a deviant, he has nothing to say about his ability to employ people. Zhu Ying and Man Zheng are both talents he promoted, although they are far away in Southeast Asia.
, but it is extremely rare to be able to transport grains to the imperial court loyally! If you have merit, you will be rewarded, and you can give it to Zhu Ying's son and nephew, Yin Guan, and give Man Zheng a military honor."
Yang Tinghe nodded and said, "That's all right."
Wang Qiong sneered and said nothing.
Yang Tinghe and Mao Ji were making small plans. Seeing that Jinyi Haiwei was of great use, they wanted to win over Zhu Ying and Man Zheng.
Wang Qiong, a person who is sensitive to data, knows how unbelievable it is to transport rice from Nanyang to Tianjin for four hundred coins and one stone. Moreover, the Jinyihaiwei is still overseas all year round. Logically, he should have been disobedient long ago. Think about those Ming Dynasty
The general will know.
However, the food was transported just like this. The emperor and Wang Yuan had extraordinary control over the Jinyi Haiwei. How could they be bribed by such small favors as Yin Guan and promotion?
In fact, Jinyi Weihai was not as obedient as he thought, and these guys were all so fat. Even Ning Botao, the spy installed by Wang Yuan, already had his own will and took many clan relatives to develop in Nanyang.
If it is allowed to develop, in another twenty years at most, Jinyi Haiwei will listen to the instructions and not listen to the propaganda.
Wang Yuan did it on purpose. Who wouldn't leave a way out for himself? What's more, he also wanted to carry out reforms. Since ancient times, few people who have carried out reforms have had a good ending.
No matter what, after the 20,000 shi of grain were shipped, no one in the court said anything bad about Jinyi Haiwei. Who dared to abolish Jinyi Haiwei? The cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue were absolutely furious. They still expected to continue to collect grain.
Peng Ze, the Minister of Household Affairs, was the first to get angry.
Of the 20,000 shi of grain that had just been put into the warehouse, the Railways Department directly took away 5,000 shi, saying that food was needed to build the railway and planned to recruit disaster victims and refugees to provide work in exchange for relief.
But Peng Ze's anger was useless. Although he was the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Zhao Huang, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, was a member of Wang Yuan, and Wang Yuan had always been stuck in the money bag of the Ministry of Finance.