In the Chongzheng Palace, after listening to Yan Su and Zhang Zongxiang, Zhao Zhen asked the Zaizhi on both sides with great interest: "There are also some of these novelties in the palace, which are indeed convenient and easy to use, have Zhongqing used them?" ”

Lu Yijian said: "There are a few lamps from Yongzhou in the minister's house, which are really easy to use." It's just that the kerosene used is not easy to buy outside, and it is very inconvenient. The glass is also a good thing, and it is very convenient to install it in the pavilion during the day. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "When the new field is built, everything will be easy to buy." Xu Pingjuan please set up seven shops in the capital to sell these objects, three shops in the inner city, and four shops in the outer city, which will be convenient at that time. ”

Wang Zeng said: "The things are good, but I still have to instruct the three divisions, carefully select the officials, and don't lose the capital." ”

Speaking of officials, Yan Su interjected: "The new ten fields are opened, and there are many officials needed. Xu Ping's meaning, transfer part of the new recruits from the various yamen, and restrain each other to prevent them from colluding and cheating, and Weichen also thinks it is appropriate. ”

"Weichen doesn't think it's appropriate!"

Han Yi, who had not spoken all this time, suddenly spoke out against it.

In addition to a few deacons in the palace, there are three envoys Kou Ying and Han Yi in the imperial history, plus Yan Su and Zhang Zongxiang who are two to be reviewed. Xu Ping's official position is too low, and he is not qualified to come to the Chongzheng Hall as soon as there is something.

It was originally a very relaxed atmosphere, but Han Yi suddenly objected, and everyone looked at him together.

Lu Yijian said slowly: "Why is Zhongcheng opposed? ”

Han Yi arched his hand: "Now there are a large number of public officials in the three divisions, colluding up and down, and there are many drawbacks, as evidenced by the collusion between the inside and outside of the goods business a few days ago. Since the new field affairs need to recruit people, it is better to select the three officials and relocate them. At the time of the ancestors, there were no more than 1,000 officials in the three divisions, but now they far exceed this number. Please ask the three officials to be thousands of people, carefully selected, the old, weak and incompetent people are eliminated and stopped, and those who can do more will be arranged to the new field, and so on. ”

Kou Ying was not happy when he heard this, and the supervision and personnel authority of the officials in the outside market had been slowly transferred to the Treasury Department, and as a result, something happened to the goods department, and the treasury department did not have a bad business, and in turn, the three divisions had to lay off employees.

Arching his hand to Han Yi, Kou Ying said: "Time has changed, the land was not as wide as it is today, and the official affairs under the rule of the three divisions were not as numerous as today, so the officials needed were naturally different, how could it be generalized?" The so-called set up people for events, Zhongcheng set the posts in this way, if there is a shortage of manpower at that time, what if the official business is delayed? ”

"If you set up people for things, then you also need the three divisions to list the political affairs before they can set up posts. The three divisions just said that there are many things, which things are many, which ones must be done, and which ones are not necessary at all, which must be sorted out first. ”

How could Kou Ying figure out what kind of yamen the third division was? Anyone who has anything to do with money, except for the emperor's inner treasury, is all under the management of the three divisions, and the three envoys can only grasp a rough idea, who can not care about the sesame and watermelon in their own hands?

Seeing that Kou Yang didn't answer again, Lu Yijian said to the two: "Han Zhongcheng has a point, but the elimination of redundant personnel can be done without urgency. Wait a few days, how about the Goshidai and the three divisions discuss again? As for the newly opened field affairs, they always have to be done step by step, and the required manpower is also in place one after another, and it cannot be delayed. ”

Han Yi and Kou Ying both listened to Lu Yijian's words, and they both reluctantly agreed. The matter was decided in this way, and before the end of the first month, the Imperial Historical Observatory and the three divisions discussed the selection of public officials again, and the results were reported to the government office. Based on this result, it is decided how many personnel to recruit for the newly opened field and how to recruit them.

Since he said this, Wang Deyong, who rarely participated in the discussion, said: "Next month, the Qiaodaoxiang army from Yongzhou will enter the capital, and how these people will be resettled and what things to do will be discussed with Zhongshu." ”

Lu Yijian was silent for a while, and said: "Let's discuss it when they come, the official road to Shaanxi is already unblocked, and if you want to build a road, it is not an official road, and it can't be decided in a hurry." ”

Yongzhou Xiangjun was originally Xu Ping's old subordinate, and it was appropriate to hand it over to him, but the rule at this time was that he was afraid that his subordinates would sit big, and Lu Yijian didn't want to hand it over to the third division.

Everyone talked about some miscellaneous things, and the topic focused on the products of the new opening business. Some of these things have been produced in Yongzhou, and ordinary people are naturally rare to see, but for these people in the Chongzheng Palace, it is not difficult to get them.

In the Chongzheng Palace, the emperor and the ministers were talking, and Xu Ping and several subordinates in the regulations editing office were also talking.

Wang Gongchen looked at the two kerosene lamps on the table, and sighed in surprise: "This is a good thing, with this lamp, you don't have to eat the black ash of your nose when you read a few pages of books at night." Recently, I don't know what's going on in the city, and there is no good lamp oil to sell. ”

Liu Xin smiled: "No matter how good this lamp is, can you afford it?" ”

"How expensive can it be? There's always a way! "Wang Gongchen is also a champion, and he is usually a little bit of a quick fisher.

Han Zong said: "What if you can afford a lamp? If you can't even light a grease lamp, don't even think about it. ”

A few people talked and laughed, and pointed out some of the samples that they brought with them yesterday.

Xu Ping did not participate in their discussions, and was discussing some details of the new field affairs with Guo Zheng. The recruitment of personnel, the management of production, the construction of the premises, the establishment of sales and transit channels, all aspects should be taken into account.

At this moment, a public official came in from outside and saluted in front of Xu Ping: "Deputy envoy, a person named Gao Chengduan of the Salt and Iron Division, went home a few days ago to save his relatives, and came back yesterday, and he is asking to see him outside." ”

Xu Ping raised his head and asked strangely: "He is a principal, and when he comes back from vacation, he just goes to the Yamen to take care of things, what are you doing here to see me?" Could it be that I still need to arrange these major things? ”

The official hurriedly arched his hand: "That's not what I mean, Master Gao has something to ask to see." ”

Xu Ping thought about it, shook his head and said, "Okay, you let him wait for me in the side hall." ”

As a deputy envoy, Xu Ping had very little contact with his officials, especially with the Regulation Revision Office, the affairs of the Salt and Iron Division were basically handed over to Han Zong and Guo Zheng and others. This principal may have gone home for too long to take a vacation, and when he came back, he still didn't understand the situation, and he stubbornly insisted on seeing the director of the department first.

When I arrived at the side hall, I saw a middle-aged man about forty years old standing there, wearing a half-new cloth robe, wearing a lotus leaf scarf on his head, his face was calm, and he had a few mustaches.

Xu Ping entered the side hall, and the man saw Xu Ping's official robe, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "The little head of the Salt and Iron Division, Gao Chengduan, a native of Xiangyi, a few days ago, my father was not in good health, so he asked for leave to go home to save his relatives, and now he has returned to Beijing after the leave is full, and he has seen the deputy envoy." ”

Xu Ping saw that this person's demeanor was calm, and he exuded a capable energy from the inside out, and most of the unhappiness in his heart disappeared, and he nodded and said, "No need to be polite." ”

Sitting down on the main seat, Gao Chengduan stood respectfully not far in front of Xu Ping.

Xu Ping asked, "What is the important thing that you came to see me?" Seeing that you are an old official of this department, you should know that you don't need to come and report to me when you return to the yamen to manage affairs. ”

"Deputy envoy, the little one didn't come because of a leave." Speaking of this, Gao Chengduan hesitated, "It was because I came back and heard that the deputy envoy presided over the revision of the regulations of the three divisions, so I came to ask to see him." ”

"Why, you still know the rules?" Xu Ping smiled slightly and looked at Gao Chengduan.

The old officials in the three divisions, who is not familiar with the regulations of the division, how can they get up and down if they are not familiar with the regulations. Many regulations contradict each other, and they are the killer weapon that the old officials rely on to fool the officials, and they choose and use them according to their own wishes, and the officials who are not familiar with them are played around. This is the basic skill of the old official of the yamen, is it difficult for Gao Chengduan to be Xu Ping who doesn't understand?

Gao Chengduan's expression was a little cramped, and there was obviously some hesitation there, and after a while, he bowed his hand to Xu Ping: "Don't hide it from the deputy envoy, the little ancestors have been working in the three divisions for several generations, and they have been passed down from generation to generation." When I say familiar with the regulations of the three divisions, I do not only refer to the regulations in the yamen now, but all the regulations of the three divisions that have been handed down from the ancestors to the present for more than 100 years. ”

"What?" When Xu Ping heard this, he stood up and looked at Gao Chengduan.

The regulations of the past dynasties, even the three divisions of the yamen have been nowhere to be found, this is because of years of war, and the other is that the officials in the yamen deliberately destroyed. Without written regulations, the value of old officials is more and more apparent, which is also what makes officials hate itchy. I didn't expect Gao Chengduan to have it here, which is rare.

If you know how the various regulations of the three divisions have been changed step by step, and if you can know the reasons again, then you will have a clear understanding of the operation of the entire yamen, and even the operation of the entire country's financial system.

After pacing back and forth on the ground for two steps, Xu Ping asked Gao Chengduan: "What you said is not a lie?" ”

"No lie!" Seeing Xu Ping's appearance, Gao Chengduan was relieved. What he feared most was that Xu Ping, like some officials, looked down on public officials from the bottom of his heart and disdained all kinds of regulations.

"If everything is in accordance with the regulations, what else do you need officials to do? That's not an old official! This sentence is on the lips of many officials. This is not only a kind of conceit, showing the difference between officials and officials, but also a kind of helplessness, because they really can't understand the regulations.

Xu Ping has knowledge of his past life, so he naturally will not have the mentality of an angry little daughter-in-law. Familiarity with these can not only handle things efficiently, but also prevent some mistakes that should not be made.

Everything is in accordance with the regulations, which is really wrong for officials, and there is no point in their existence in doing so. But this is based on familiarity with the regulations, not with your eyes closed. Only when we have a thorough understanding of the various regulations and grasp the true nature of the matter can we break free from the shackles of the regulations and no longer handle the affairs of the yamen mechanically.

Among the three divisions, Xu Ping is now the most serious official about the regulations, and since he established the Editing Institute, he has collected almost all the regulations of each department and studied them carefully. But these regulations are incoherent and often confusing and distressing.

If Gao Chengduan really has all the regulations of the three divisions since the five generations, Xu Ping is confident that he can greatly shorten the time for compiling the regulations of the three divisions and compile a practical, clear and logical system of the three divisions.

(Note: Gao Chengduan's words were in the Jiayou period, and the time was advanced in the book.) (To be continued.) )