Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 406 Settling in the Capital Province
When Wei Xuxin and others saw Zhang Dai leading the Menxia Province working group to settle in the capital province, they were all very surprised.

"Zongzhi, why have you all come here?"

After Zhang Dai left the capital province that day, Wei Xuxin didn't take the matter to heart anymore. However, he obviously didn't understand Zhang Dai's style of doing things. When he saw Zhang Dai return, he was puzzled: Didn't we agree on this before?

Zhang Dai didn't bluntly say "use your position when you're working," but instead handed the order signed by his boss, Du Xian, to Wei Xuxin. He then said, "I had a conversation with Vice Minister Wei in the capital province the other day and benefited greatly. I felt that the capital province's meticulous approach to investigating past events was very appropriate."

Upon returning, I reported this matter to the emperor, and Prime Minister Du expressed his deep appreciation. Therefore, he ordered me to lead officials to the capital to assist in continuing the thorough and meticulous reform of old malpractices, so as to benefit the country greatly!

His attitude and tone were very polite, and he did not try to intimidate others or act like a bully.

In short, I'm here to help you, not to help you. Before, our job only provided the officials with a bowl of thin porridge, but if we do a good job this time, everyone can enjoy a whole braised pork knuckle!
"But, the Secretariat and the Chancellery already have five offices supervising the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel. This...this is unprecedented, isn't it?"

Wei Xuxin had served in local positions for many years and was clearly not yet adapted to the current personnel rhythm in the court: No matter how poor our Ministry of Personnel is, it is not like the Prime Minister would send a low-ranking official like Wei Xuxin to guide our work with a single decree.

This is clearly out of touch with the times. While the prime ministers of the Kaiyuan era were indeed combative and vying for power among themselves, their struggles actually brought more and more power into the hands of the prime ministers.

While prime ministers might mutually damage each other, the power of the position only grew stronger. By the end of the Tianbao era, Yang Guozhong, a complete idiot, was able to completely ruin the situation, not only because he was both stupid and wicked, but also because the prime minister wielded too much power.

If he were merely stupid and malicious, without the corresponding authority to cooperate, frankly, it wouldn't have directly caused such a catastrophic disaster. Even if this powder keg could explode at any moment, you need a small flame to light the fuse; you can hardly ignite it by simply fiddling with it.

"There is always a precedent for everything. In the case of the debt collection in the province recently, there should be no precedent to follow. The spirit of innovation is what people should be like today. My visit to the province is not to interfere in your cases, but to review old records in the hope of finding ways to apply them more broadly."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai laughed and said, while his gaze unabashedly turned to Wei Heng, who was standing among the provincial officials. "You're bringing up old grievances about border guards, so I'll bring up yours! We're all serving the country. Even if there are any conflicts or disagreements, let's be tolerant for the sake of the country and seek common ground while reserving differences!"

Wei Heng's face was naturally quite unpleasant. Dou E's visit a few days ago, where he revealed that Zhang Dai wanted to seize his family's property, had already made him wary. Now, seeing Zhang Dai wielding his authority like a tiger in the Ministry of Personnel, he naturally connected the dots in his mind.

This kid isn't here to help or work together; he's clearly trying to coerce him into buying his home and property!
The arrival of Zhang Dai and his party also caught Zhang Shuo's attention. He specially came out of the hall, took the letter from Du Xian from Wei Xuxin, looked at it, and said, "Since it is Lord Du's order, please make it convenient for him to sit in a hall."

Although the officials of the capital province looked grim, they could only lower their heads and obey Zhang Yue's orders. After all, Zhang Yue was the nominal head of the Ministry of Personnel and also served as the performance evaluation commissioner for this year; his words still carried weight in the province.

"Although you have come under orders, you are not officials of the capital province. The duties of each department are distinct, and you must not interfere in the affairs of the provincial departments without authorization. Any registers that you need to inspect must first be reported to the capital province. Once the capital province approves, it will send someone to fetch them. You must remember not to hand them over to any of the six ministries or departments!"

After accepting Zhang Dai and his entourage on behalf of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhang Shuo put on a stern face and said to Zhang Dai and his party, "Personal relationships are personal relationships, but official business must be handled officially. As the head of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhang Shuo cannot tolerate low-ranking officials from the Secretariat showing off their power here."

Moreover, as Wei Xuxin said, the Secretariat-Chancellery had five offices to handle the affairs of the six ministries of the Ministry of Personnel.

It is inappropriate for Du Xian to send officials from the Secretariat to directly interfere now. Although it is a special case, if other prime ministers believe that this is a division of power within the Secretariat and raise questions, Zhang Dai and others will still have to leave in disgrace.

Disrupting existing work processes and reforming personnel is certainly possible, but only if no one opposes you. If you can't withstand the pressure, who can you blame? When Zhang reorganized the Council of State, he made the final decision with absolute authority, and no one dared to oppose it.

The Secretariat and Chancellery are now in a three-way balance of power, not a one-man show by Du Xian. If Zhang Dai acts too recklessly and incurs the resentment of the other chancellors, things could get quite bad.

Upon hearing his grandfather's instructions, Zhang Dai quickly nodded in agreement. He hadn't originally intended to make a big fuss; he simply wanted to teach the relevant personnel a lesson. If he could recover some of the illegal income, it would also benefit the Ministry of Personnel.

After the provincial officials who had gathered there dispersed, while the clerks were tidying up the hall, Zhang Yue summoned Zhang Dai into his own office and asked him, "What's going on here now?"

Zhang Dai then recounted the matter of the provincial government's previous pursuit of the border soldiers' allowances, and said indignantly, "Most of these border soldiers come from poor families and have already suffered greatly while guarding the border for the country. It is intolerable that the allowances they should have received have been withheld and demanded. Since this matter involves the salaries of the officials of various departments, I cannot openly refute it. I can only use this opportunity to punish those who have truly broken the law and to criticize the negligence and inadequacy of the finance department in handling the matter!"

"That being said, some old stories are inherently vague and difficult to trace. Too much involvement will inevitably lead to confusion. If someone with ulterior motives uses this to create momentum, it may bury the original intention. You are quick-witted and know how to weigh things, but you still need to be cautious in your actions."

After listening to this, Zhang Shuo pondered for a moment before speaking to Zhang Dai. Zhang Dai understood and immediately nodded, saying, "Father, rest assured. I am only investigating matters related to the capital of the government office ten years ago and will not arbitrarily involve anything else."

Hearing that Zhang Dai understood his meaning, Zhang nodded in satisfaction and waved for him to go and do his work.

Next, Zhang Dai officially began working in the Ministry of Personnel. He immediately ordered the officials to retrieve relevant documents about the capital of the government offices from before the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era, and to search for personnel clues from these old documents.

While he certainly intended to use this to put pressure on people like Wei Heng, he also genuinely wanted to investigate illegal activities. Whether delayed justice is true justice is another matter, but if evildoers commit evil deeds without punishment, it will only embolden and embolden them!
Not to mention Zhang Dai and his entourage buried in old documents, the provincial officials were also abuzz with discussion about their arrival.

Some felt that the Secretariat's blatant interference in the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel was an insult and a sign of contempt for the personnel of the Ministry. Others, however, felt that this might not be a bad thing; if Zhang Dai and his group could recover the stolen goods through this action, the officials of the Ministry of Personnel would also benefit.

While everyone was discussing the matter and disagreeing, Wei Heng was in a state of turmoil and anxiety. He wanted to tell everyone not to assume that Zhang Dai was so fair and selfless, because this kid's actions were aimed at him!

However, since the other party's reasons were too compelling, he couldn't directly criticize them. After thinking it over, he decided to tell his cousin Yuwen Rong the inside story.

Inside the Ministry of Revenue's office, Yuwen Rong was still extremely busy. It wasn't until the morning that he summoned Wei Heng, who had come to see him outside. Seeing Wei Heng's worried expression, he asked, "What's troubling you so much?"

"Is the Vice Minister still unaware that Zhang Zongzhi has taken up residence in the capital and is reviewing old records?"

Seeing that Yuwen Rong was still somewhat bewildered, Wei Heng immediately recounted the situation of Zhang Dai leading the provincial working group to the capital province.

"The Finance Department has its own plans for doing things, why should idle people interfere? This busybody interferes without even considering the seriousness of the matter, let him get out!"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong immediately frowned and shouted angrily.

Having long been in charge of finances, he regarded these matters as his own private domain. Even when the prime minister inquired about them, he did not want to share the power. How could he tolerate Zhang Dai's interference and provocation?

Moreover, he had been planning the matter of public funds for a long time and had a relatively complete action plan. The pursuit of the rewards given to border people was one aspect of investigating the misappropriation of public funds, while cracking down on the use of private funds to fund public funds was the next step in the plan.

Yuwen Rong's true intention was to restore the public office system through a series of actions and establish a more meticulous and comprehensive management system than before, thereby reducing the total amount of household tax collected and further reducing the overall burden on people in various regions.

In particular, a considerable number of the hundreds of thousands of households he previously oversaw at the household registration office have not yet resumed normal land production, and their five-year tax reduction will expire this year.

If the tax burden becomes too heavy, these people will be unable to bear it and will naturally flee in large numbers, thus greatly diminishing the achievements of the previous tax collectors.

Therefore, although he knew that pursuing the border people for rewards was somewhat unreasonable, in order to advance the whole plan and ensure that registered households would not flee again by reducing household taxes, Yuwen Rong allowed his subordinates to do so.

Zhang Dai's actions were twofold: first, to challenge Yuwen Rong's authority, and second, to disrupt his plans, which naturally greatly displeased him.

"Zhang Dai's actions this time were directly ordered by Prime Minister Du, and he also has Lord Zhang Yan backing him within the capital. If we forcibly expel him, we might make too many enemies!"

Wei Heng certainly wanted to get rid of Zhang Dai directly, but he also knew that doing so would offend too many people, especially since it was a crucial time for Yuwen Rong to make progress. If he became the target of public criticism, things would become even more difficult.

"How dare this brat point fingers at me and disrupt my plans! The prime minister is ignorant and makes poor judgments in choosing people; do you expect me to submit to him and be subservient to him?"

Yuwen Rong was still indignant, and even immediately got up to go to the Secretariat to complain to Du Xian in person.

Seeing this, Wei Heng immediately stopped him, saying repeatedly, "Cousin, please calm down, please calm down! Let me explain in detail! I suspect that Zhang Dai came here with ulterior motives..."

(End of this chapter)