Fu Shanhe

Chapter 119 Fireworks in March in Yangzhou

After completing the entire ceremony process, Li Mu was still busy.

There's nothing but socializing.

Marriage between large families is a way of uniting two families and it is not a joke.

As both are wealthy families, the Jing and Li families have a lot of relatives and friends.

As a newlywed couple, Li Mu’s main task every day is to take his wife to get acquainted with these people.

It is not his turn to take over the personal connections, the main thing is to prove his identity.

This is to avoid a situation in the officialdom in the future where people of the same family start fighting against each other.

Some small favors within our capabilities, everyone will provide the best possible help within their abilities.

If your management skills are strong enough, you can turn the connections between the two families into your own, and the elders will not object.

……

"I'm finally done with my work. I'm so tired!"

Li Mu was startled when he heard the voice.

His gentle and elegant wife actually has this side of her.

Sure enough, marriage reveals people’s true colors.

After all, the children of nobles and the children of civil servants are different.

Even though he received an education in a scholarly family, he still retained his tough side.

If you look at my cousins, you will know that they are all good girls in front of their elders, but they are very lively in front of their peers.

If a girl meets a father who loves his daughter very much, it is normal for her to follow him and learn to fight with swords and guns from a young age.

In any case, in the Dayu Dynasty, there was reproductive isolation between civil and military officials.

They are all handled internally by themselves. There is no need to follow the rules of the literati families.

In order to avoid embarrassment, Li Mu deliberately increased the volume of his footsteps.

"Isn't it my husband who is coming? You two go and block him first. I'll clean up and come out later!"

Jing Yaqing said in panic.

No matter what, we can't lose our image.

As long as you are not caught in person, it doesn't count.

"Master, the lady is changing her clothes, you can't go in!"

Hearing the excuse of holding back, Li Mu couldn't help but want to laugh.

Reason told him that some things were better not to be exposed.

It would be embarrassing if he discovered his wife's other side and she got angry and simply gave up acting.

"Tell Madam to pack up in advance. We are going to Yangzhou in half a month."

Li Mu pretended to be ignorant.

Everything I had to do during this trip back to Beijing has been completed.

Not only did he solve this major life issue, but his application for cavalry expansion was also approved.

Relying on the power of his family and the connections in the Ministry of War, he was able to gain access.

Relying on money to pave the way, the doctor in charge of ordnance in the Ministry of War said that from now on everyone would be a family member.

As long as the money is in place, any equipment can be negotiated and it is guaranteed to be top quality.

High-quality military equipment is engraved with the craftsman’s name, so any subsequent quality problems can be traced back to that individual.

The craftsmen who made the weapons guaranteed the quality of the firearms with the lives of their entire family.

After seeing the truth, Li Mu could only sigh that this world was ridiculous.

Although the empire was capable of ensuring quality, the weapons, which were related to the lifeblood of the empire, were still filled with a large number of inferior products.

In addition to corruption, the court's lack of financial resources is also an important factor.

In the case of insufficient funding, quality has to be sacrificed in order to ensure output.

Especially in firearms, the direct harm caused by insufficient quality is the high rate of bursting.

Of course, there is still a basic bottom line for quality reduction operations.

Even if it is a defective product, it can still be used.

Generally speaking, the service life of firearms is greatly reduced, which increases the uncontrollability.

The ammunition cannot be fired, or explodes as soon as it is fired, so we dare not equip the army with it.

If a major disturbance occurs, the court will hold the responsible persons accountable, and the heads of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works will lose their heads.

……

Wenyuan Pavilion.

After the New Year, the controversy over laying off redundant staff once again swept the court.

In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the plan, the cabinet also set up a special working group to promote layoffs.

After all the trouble, the problem of redundant staff was solved, but there was no progress in the layoff plan.

The departments that were originally overstaffed are now extremely busy.

Although I don’t know what they are busy with, everyone is busy anyway.

Government offices across the country followed the lead of the various ministries in the capital, complaining about the heavy work pressure and hoping that the court would increase staffing.

In order to cope with the increased workload, some local government offices still hired a large number of temporary workers.

It seems that the court did not spend any money, but it increased the burden on the people.

This change made a number of cabinet leaders furious.

In normal times, it would be fine for everyone to fool the emperor together, but now they are fooling them too.

They all came up from the lower levels, so how much business there is in the yamen? How could they not know?

“The people below are doing things more and more outrageously.

If we don’t take effective measures, our cabinet will become a mere decoration in the future.

If you have any suggestions, please share them with us!"

Pang Hengsheng said this in as calm a tone as possible.

The response of government offices at all levels below was to openly go against them.

"The people below dare to act recklessly, simply because they take advantage of the fact that the law does not punish the masses.

We were so smart as to think that as long as they kept in step, we couldn't do anything to them.

I think we should pick out a few unimportant and idle government offices and make an example of them first.

Especially for government offices with serious overlapping powers, even if a few of them are abolished, it will not affect the operation of the government at all.

The censors love impeachment, so now it’s time for them to charge into battle.

Next we just need to wait and see the situation. Whoever shows up to cause trouble first will be killed first.

Most departments in the court are overstaffed, but there are still some offices that are short of staff, so we can just transfer those who are in the way over there!"

Lu Shoutong said with a sneer.

It’s magical to think about it. The boycott actually brought together several ministers with different political views.

In order to ensure the authority of the cabinet, they must not join forces at this time.

"These are not enough, the Beijing inspection must also be started.

If it weren't for the accident, he should have been examined in Beijing last year.

If overstaffing is included in the assessment indicators, those who are eager to increase staff seem to lack management capabilities.

There are also those government offices where efficiency has declined and chaos frequently occurs, and the chief officers are also lacking in ability.

Since you are not capable, then replace you with someone who is capable.

Don't be afraid of causing trouble. If something goes wrong, just replace everyone.

Especially the chief officer of the government office, he must be dismissed immediately!"

Xu Wenyue said murderously.

Last time in Yangzhou, he was badly cheated by the bureaucrats in Nanjing.

If an unexpected event had not occurred later, causing the parties to temporarily stop fighting, he would have been ostracized to death.

Now that the opportunity has come, I might as well send those bastards back home.

"Lord Xu is right. Now is the time to use severe punishments!"

Shi Yuanhu said with a hint of meaning. The matter of Emperor Tianyuan selecting a regent was already an open secret among the top leaders.

The cabinet was anxious to show off, not only because it was the first thing a new official did upon taking office, but it was also done deliberately for the emperor to see.

Regardless of whether it is a brother's successor or an adopted son, he needs the assistance of important ministers.

Only by becoming a regent can one ensure that he can take the initiative in the next round of political reshuffle.

Among the civil service group, in addition to the five-member cabinet, the six ministers are also candidates.

The plan to cut redundant staff was thwarted, and competitors were the reason behind it.

……

The imperial inspection began and the cabinet pushed it forward with all its might, and soon some unlucky people became the chickens to be slaughtered.

The head of the yamen who clamored most for increasing the number of staff was the first to be evaluated as "weak in talent" and was happily found to have failed the assessment.

The heads of yamen offices whose efficiency declined and problems arose frequently were labeled as "impulsive" and "careless" and were also categorized as unqualified.

These officials paid the price of their careers for their recklessness.

Now that the boss has fallen, naturally there will be no good outcome for the younger brothers.

Unlike previous slogans, this time the cabinet is serious about it.

Using the court's assessment standards, we made a fair and objective evaluation of their behavior.

All the bad things that happened in the past were brought to the table, and all the officials were trembling with fear.

The voices clamoring for more manpower suddenly disappeared from the court.

It is true that officials must protect their subordinates, but they cannot sacrifice their own careers.

It's not easy to get to a high position, you can't be dragged down by a bunch of stupid teammates.

After realizing that his subordinates are incompetent and are the number one troublemaker.

Some fictitious positions were quickly abolished, and everything returned to normal.

Just lay off redundant staff. As long as it doesn't affect you, it's acceptable.

Some people choose to compromise, while others choose to confront.

Sensing the change in the political atmosphere in the capital, Li Mu immediately changed his itinerary.

It was originally planned that he would take up the post in half a month, but in the end it was forced to be brought forward by five days.

The cabinet wants to cut redundant staff, but it is none of his business.

However, the political struggle in the court might burn him.

The plan proposed by the cabinet to cut redundant staff only applies to civil servants and has not yet affected military officers.

But as the political struggle intensifies, it is hard to guarantee that there will not be a fool who proposes a disarmament plan.

There are all kinds of birds in a big forest, and there is never a shortage of strange plans in the court.

If there really is a call for disarmament, the newly formed battalion will definitely be the first to bear the brunt.

Of course, such an unrealistic plan will never be passed.

You can use it as a political slogan to fool some fools.

If you take it seriously, you lose.

The desire for large-scale disarmament only exists in peacetime.

Going to disarm during the war years clearly showed that they didn't want to continue living.

Dayu’s border problems have become increasingly severe in recent decades, and Liaodong is just one of the problems.

In addition to Liaodong in the northeast, there is also the Guifang in the Mongolian grasslands, and the Wala who are entrenched in the northern desert and threaten Suzhou.

Looking further west, the situation in the Western Regions is also in turmoil.

The Samarkand Khanate, entrenched in Central Asia, is conquering cities everywhere and may move eastward at any time.

Tibet, which is adjacent to the Western Regions, is also unstable now.

The chieftains appointed by the imperial court were simply unable to control the situation.

If it weren't for the intimidating reputation of Dayu, those Tibetan living Buddhas might have gone to rebuild Tubo.

In recent years, wars have also occurred frequently in the Indochina Peninsula.

The Jiaozhi Provincial Administration is now just a name, as most of its land has been swallowed up by vassal states.

If Emperor Tianyuan had not been held back by the northern border, he would have deployed troops in the south long ago, given his style.

The situation in the southeast seems to be the most stable, but the pirates entrenched along the coast are also a considerable threat.

The imperial court is planning to recapture Liaodong. This is a strategy of deploying military force, and it is imperative to ensure the stability of the military camp.

"My dear, is Yangzhou really as beautiful as described in poems and books?"

Standing on the deck, Jing Yaqing asked curiously.

Like all northerners, she also has a dream of going to the south of the Yangtze River.

Apart from the discomfort of just leaving my family, all that was left was curiosity.

“The scenery in Yangzhou is naturally not bad.

The Jiangnan water town has a good cultural atmosphere, you will probably like it. "

Li Mu responded perfunctorily.

The immortal poet’s words “Fireworks in March in Yangzhou” brought a Yangzhou dream to countless people.

Unfortunately, although Yangzhou is prosperous these days, we can’t find the artistic conception described by the immortal poet.

Except for Yangzhou City, the huge Yangzhou Prefecture was undergoing difficult post-war reconstruction.

It is not known how many years it will take to return to its peak.

“Oh, that must be beautiful.

You said you would take me to visit all the streets and alleys in Jiangnan, don't forget it!"

Hearing his wife's addition, Li Mu wanted to slap himself.

It turns out that lust is a sword hanging over your head. He even dared to make such a promise.

"Of course, if I had the chance, I would definitely do it."

Li Mu immediately assured.

In this situation, it would be a good idea to agree to it first.

Dayuli had very strict management over officials, and military generals like him were not allowed to run around casually.

If he wanted to travel through the streets and alleys of Jiangnan, he had to serve in all the official posts in the region.

There is no doubt that this is impossible.

The lieutenant general was a temporary official, and under normal circumstances the imperial court would not allow him to serve in one region for a long time.

This was the main reason why the bigwigs in the court did not react much after they found out that he had "borrowed land" in Yangzhou.

In five years at the shortest and ten years at the longest, Li Mu will definitely be transferred away from Yangzhou Prefecture.

With this major premise, no matter how he struggles in Yangzhou, the final results will all belong to the court.

……

When the horn sounded, everyone on the dock turned their eyes toward the river.

When they saw the big flag with the word "Li" on the bow of the ship, everyone smiled. The target had finally been achieved.

Upon learning that Li Mu and his wife would arrive today, the well-informed gentry from Jiangnan ran to the dock early to wait.

Looking around, all you see are seas of heads.

Fortunately, the soldiers from the Yangzhou camp maintained order, otherwise with so many people gathered together, there would have been a stampede.

One has to admit that the top nobles have great power.

Just for Li Mu, the lieutenant general, he could welcome one-third of the current number of people, which was considered a courtesy.

If you observe carefully, you will find that a group of high-ranking officials from Yangzhou Prefecture are also among the crowd.

In addition to those who came specially to greet them, there were many more who came to watch the fun.

Usually, this kind of event, in addition to welcoming the real host, is also a good opportunity for everyone to expand their network.

After all, there were so many people at the scene, and not all gentry were qualified to come forward and talk.

If more people come, they can just become familiar faces, so that they can talk to each other when they encounter problems in the future.

"We've arrived in Yangzhou!"

The ship slowly entered the port, and Li Mu said as he supported his wife who was a little seasick.

(End of this chapter)