Qing Yao

Chapter 231 The Grand Council complies

The grain transport commissioner was in charge of supervising the transport of grain.

During the Ming Dynasty, a grain transport commissioner was appointed in each provincial administration office, holding the rank of fourth grade.

During the Qing Dynasty, grain transport officials were appointed in each province along the Grand Canal. Except for the Jiangnan region, where two grain transport officials were appointed, each of the other provinces had only one official appointed.

Administratively, the grain transport commissioner was directly under the governor, but operationally, he was under the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, essentially having two superiors.

However, precisely because they had two superiors, the power of the grain transport commissioner became even greater, because in practice, the governor and the Grand Canal transport commissioner would shirk their "leadership" over the grain transport commissioner because of the other party's actions.

This resulted in a de facto "no man's land" situation for grain transport officials. The grain transport officials had their own dedicated offices, high rank, and the power to "assess grain production" over local officials. Therefore, although the grain transport officials ranked lower than the provincial governors, provincial governors, provincial judges, and provincial education commissioners, they were more lucrative in terms of personal gain.

In addition to being responsible for the grain transport business in the province, the grain commissioner also had an important duty: to be responsible for the collection, storage and distribution of grain for the Eight Banners and Green Standard Army soldiers stationed in the province.

In other words, the grain transport commissioner was the logistics minister of the garrison in a province.

Whether it's the Eight Banners or the Green Standard Army, if the grain transport official says he won't give you grain, then you won't get any!

This made the military dare not offend the grain transport commissioner, as the power of other commissioners of the same rank, such as the military transport commissioner, the patrol commissioner, and the salt transport commissioner, was not as great as that of the grain transport commissioner.

The two grain routes in Jiangnan were the Suzhou-Songjiang Grain Route and the Suzhou-Songjiang Grain Route. The Suzhou-Songjiang Grain Route originally governed the grain affairs of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang and Taicang Prefectures, but now it is actually responsible for the grain affairs of the entire Jiangsu Province.

The other Jiang'an Grain Circuit originally governed the grain affairs of ten prefectures including Jiangning and Anqing, but now it is actually responsible for the grain affairs of the entire Anhui province, although it is still called Jiang'an Circuit.

From this perspective, Jiangning is more like the location of the provincial capital of Anhui.

"Although Zhao Youlu holds the positions of both Inspector of Education and Censor of Grain Transport, his primary post is Professor of Yangzhou Prefectural School, a seventh-rank official. How could His Majesty rashly promote a seventh-rank official to the fourth-rank position of Grain Commissioner, Fu Zhongtang?"

As the Minister of Personnel, Sun Shiyi was skeptical of this appointment.

It's not that I doubt Fu Chang'an's ability to forge imperial orders, but rather that I question the appointment itself.

Officials serving as grain transport commissioners in various provinces had to be graduates of the second-class imperial examinations, have experience in prefectures and counties, and be proficient in financial and criminal matters.

There was a threshold for the Ministry of Personnel to select grain transport commissioners, which was that they had to have served in prefectures and counties for more than ten years.

The reason for such strictness is that officials serving as grain transport commissioners with outstanding performance can generally be promoted directly to provincial inspector or provincial governor, or go directly to the capital to serve as vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

In other words, the grain transport post was the preferred position for entering the ministry.

Such an important position, and you just casually give it to a seventh-rank official, and a seventh-rank official whose academic qualifications are too flimsy?

Sun Yat-sen felt this was outrageous. No matter how much the emperor valued Zhao Youlu, he couldn't allow the national system to be disrupted like this.

"This"

Fu Chang'an was also uneasy, because he hadn't heard what the emperor said clearly, only the words "grain supply route".

Based on the Emperor's order to the Imperial Guards to award Zhao Youlu a yellow riding jacket, he presumptuously assumed that the Emperor intended to promote Zhao Youlu to the position of Grain Commissioner.

But after Sun Shiyi said that, he vaguely felt that he might have misheard.

Zhao Youlu was now concurrently serving as the Imperial Inspector of Grain Transport, a position that involved supervising the grain transport routes.

So, is it possible that the Emperor was telling Zhao Youlu to keep a close watch on the grain transport routes to prevent the Grand Canal from being disrupted again by the grain transport gangs?
The possibility isn't just high, it's extremely high!

Even the Grand Secretary Fu was a man of pride. How could he admit that he had misunderstood the Emperor? This would not only imply his incompetence but also that the Emperor's advanced age and declining speech made it impossible for his subjects to understand him. For the sake of his own reputation and that of the Emperor, Grand Secretary Fu could only perpetuate the error and insist that the Emperor's intention was for Zhao Youlu to be appointed as the Grain Commissioner of Jiangsu.

The Emperor is getting more and more senile. If this matter is delayed for a while, the Emperor himself will not be able to remember whether he originally said "supervising the grain transport commissioner" or "promoting the grain transport commissioner".

“Zhao Youlu was specially granted the title of Jinshi by the Emperor. This time, the Emperor appointed him as the Inspector of the Grand Canal, which shows that the Emperor intends to make great use of him. Moreover, Zhao Youlu is indeed talented. His memorials have a thorough understanding of the malpractices of the Grand Canal. This time, he also cracked a major case of the Grand Canal gang rebels. The Emperor is rewarding his merits by promoting him out of turn. What is wrong with that?”

Fu Chang'an spoke with a smile, appearing completely genuine, lest Sun Shiyi see the glint in his eyes and decide to go to the Emperor for clarification.

“Promotion without precedent is not impossible, but I always feel it is inappropriate to promote a seventh-rank official to a fourth-rank official, who is also the grain commissioner of a province.”

Sun Yat-sen felt it was best to ask for clarification. If the Emperor insisted on doing so, they, as his subjects, would have no choice but to comply. It would be best if the Emperor could heed their advice and prioritize the national system.

Rewarding merit and rewarding achievements is not impossible; promoting a seventh-rank official to the sixth or even fifth rank is also not out of the question.

Mentioning someone as a fourth-rank official seems a bit excessive.

He also had a vague suspicion that Fu Chang'an might have misheard, since apart from Heshen, everyone else was confused by what the Emperor was saying.

Seeing that Sun Shiyi was determined not to believe what he said, Fu Chang'an was also anxious. He was worried that Sun Shiyi would really go to the Emperor to ask. If the result was that he was supervising the grain transport route instead of being promoted to the grain transport route, then Fu Chang'an would lose face, which was a small matter. He would definitely not be able to escape the crime of falsely conveying the imperial edict.

Left with no other option, they suggested that they ask He Zhongtang, who was resting at home, to inquire again.

"Alright!"

Sun Shiyi agreed, because no one could understand the emperor's meaning more accurately than Heshen.

He immediately sent a scribe to invite Heshen, who was also busy celebrating the New Year at home, over.

Heshen's home was not far from the capital, and he soon arrived at the Military Affairs Office in a daze. After listening to the different accounts of the matter from Fu Chang'an and Sun Shiyi, Heshen glanced at Fu Chang'an, whose gaze was somewhat evasive. Heshen immediately realized that Fu Chang'an was probably also unsure of what his master was talking about.

After a moment's thought, he smiled and said to Sun Shiyi, "Since Minister Sun thinks this is inappropriate, then I will go and ask the master for his opinion."

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Excellency!"

Although Sun Shiyi was not part of Heshen's faction, he did not have any hostile intentions towards Heshen and was quite amiable in his interactions with him.

Even Agui, the chief military minister who was at odds with Heshen, openly acted the same way.

The only person who was completely at odds with Heshen was Wang Jie, the chief tutor of the Imperial Study and the "top scholar prime minister" in charge of the Ministry of Rites.

"Just a little thing."

Heshen smiled and went to the palace. Fu Chang'an wanted to say a few words, but seeing Sun Shiyi looking at him, he thought about it and decided to stay in the duty room.

After leaving the Grand Council, Heshen did not enter the palace at all. Instead, he sat idly at the Qianqing Gate for a while, and only returned to the Grand Council after glancing at the sky and deciding that it was about time.

Sun Shiyi quickly asked, "Lord He, does His Majesty really intend to promote Zhao Youlu to the position of Grain Commissioner?"

"Indeed, the Emperor has decreed that Zhao Youlu be promoted to the position of Grain Commissioner of Jiang'an, and after the New Year, an official will be sent to bestow upon him a yellow riding jacket as a reward."

After speaking, Heshen looked at Fu Chang'an and said, "The Grand Council shall comply."

(End of this chapter)