My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 286 Su Gonglou Completed

Wang Jiaping, who is usually more outgoing, said:
"Brother Zilin, we both wish to be appointed to posts outside the capital."

Now it was Luo Wanhua's turn to be surprised.

Being selected from the Hanlin Academy to become a Hanlin scholar was the aspiration of countless scholars; this was the path to success through the imperial examinations.

Even those veteran scholars of the Hanlin Academy, who were enduring hardship within the academy, were unwilling to leave and take up "mediocre" local posts.

After Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei were successfully selected for positions at the museum, they took the initiative to request external appointments.
Su Ze looked at the two of them with amusement and asked:

"Brother Zhongbo (Wang Jiaping's courtesy name), Brother Mingcheng (Zhang Wei's courtesy name), why are you two taking up posts outside the capital?"

This time it was Zhang Wei who answered, saying:
"Brother Zilin, we want to be appointed to a post outside the capital, and it's because of your articles."

Luo Wanhua asked in confusion, "Brother Zilin's article?"

Zhang Wei said, "Brother Zilin said in the newspaper that this is an era of great contention. We have seen so many old scholars in the Hanlin Academy who have wasted their lives, and we really do not want to repeat their mistakes."

Zhang Wei said:

"So the two of us discussed wanting to take up a post outside the capital and make a name for ourselves."

Actually, Zhang Wei also gave half of the reason.

They are eager to be assigned to external posts, and also face pressure from competition among their peers.

Peer competition stems from pressure from those around them.

People generally don't compete with those older than themselves; those of the same generation, standing on the same starting line, are the best competitors.

Those who took the imperial examination in the same year were the most typical peers.

They all passed the imperial examination in the same year and entered officialdom. Zhang Wei and Wang Jiaping were also selected as probationary officials. In the entire history of the Ming Dynasty, this can be regarded as a brilliant starting point in officialdom.

Unfortunately, she encountered Su Ze.

Okay, even if Su Ze has surpassed his peers, the Jinshi of the same year no longer regard him as one of them.

What about Luo Wanhua, the top scholar in the imperial examination, who was in charge of the capital's largest newspaper and served as a lecturer to the Crown Prince? He completed the imperial textbook "Illustrated Explanation of Imperial Admonitions" in just two years after entering officialdom. How should we view this achievement?
That means Luo Wanhua was the top scholar in the imperial examination, and was granted a Hanlin Academy official position without needing to be selected by the Imperial Academy. His starting point was different from that of his classmates.

What about Shen Yiguan, a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites, who made a great contribution by going on a mission to the grasslands?
Don't even compare him to Shen Yiguan. Shen Zao, the Inspector General of Huguang, just made a contribution in the Chu Zong case. Wang Renzhong, the Outer City Patrol Inspector, stabilized the security of the capital region and just received a commendation from the Ministry of Justice.

Others who entered officialdom at the same time as me have accomplished nothing in the past three years. Many of my contemporaries who did not become probationary officials have also been serving in local positions for three years.

Under this pressure, Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei began to consider taking up positions outside the capital.

Of course, their choice to take up a post outside the museum after the selection process was also for the sake of their self-esteem.

If someone proposes an external appointment before the selection process, wouldn't that imply they failed the selection?

First, prove your abilities by passing the selection process within the Imperial Academy, and then request an external appointment. At the very least, you will have the qualifications to work in the Imperial Academy.

Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei took the initiative to request to be assigned to other posts, which Su Ze naturally supported.

The Ming Dynasty's cabinet system still lacked grassroots experience. The cabinet ministers after Zhang Juzheng generally lacked understanding of the situation at the grassroots level, and many of the Ming Dynasty's policies remained superficial and could not be implemented at all.

Su Ze knew the two men's abilities as officials, but having the ability to be officials did not mean having the ability to get things done.

Since the two had come to him for help, Su Ze was naturally willing to lend a hand.

he asked:
"Gentlemen, where do you wish to go?"

Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei were overjoyed. They wanted to ask Su Ze for help, hoping that Su Ze could persuade the important officials to allow them to take up their posts in other places.

The newly selected Hanlin Academy official requested an outside post, which was unprecedented in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

The head of the Hanlin Academy was Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Academician, while the head of the Ministry of Personnel was Gao Gong, the Minister of Personnel.

Therefore, the approval of these two elders is required.

As is well known, Su Ze had a close relationship with the two Grand Secretaries, Gao and Zhang.

But now Su Ze is not only willing to plead on their behalf, but also offers to help them arrange their whereabouts, which is naturally a pleasant surprise.

As everyone knows, Su Zilin's memorials are always approved.

Zhang Wei said:

"Brother Zili, I want to go to Shanxi to take a look."

Why Shanxi?

"Wool and coal, these things all come from Shanxi. The grasslands are in turmoil, and prices in the capital are also fluctuating. No province has ever been so heavily affected."

Zhang Wei said:

"So I want to go to Shanxi to see how coal is mined and how horse trading is done."

Wang Jiaping then said:

"Brother Zilin, I want to go to Fujian."

"As Brother Zilin knows, I am from Shanxi and have never seen the sea."

"The Ming Dynasty has a vast maritime border, and the prosperity of its maritime trade is best seen in Fujian. I want to see what this maritime trade has brought to the Ming Dynasty."

Su Ze looked at the two of them.

Wang Jiaping, a man from Shanxi, was going to Fujian to see the sea.

Zhang Wei is from Jiangxi and is going to Shanxi to see the grasslands.

The two switched places, one from the north and one from the south.

Su Ze gently tapped his knuckles and said:

"In Shanxi, Wang Yongji, the governor of Datong, impeached the magistrate of Datong twice, and the court has dismissed him from office for two consecutive terms."

The Assistant Magistrate of Horse Administration was an official in charge of horse administration in Datong.

This is a local official of the sixth rank, while Zhang Wei, a seventh-rank Hanlin compiler, is more than qualified for a local post.

Of course, this was also a position that was regarded as "corrupt" by the Hanlin scholars. In fact, because the Assistant Magistrate of the Horse Administration had to handle money, it was considered to be a position full of the smell of money.

However, this position is very attractive to local officials.

The Datong Horse Administration Assistant Magistrate was in charge of horse administration in Datong, a highly lucrative and lucrative position as everyone knows.

This is also why Wang Yongji impeached the two men, who were then serving as assistant prefects of horse administration.

Seeing that Zhang Wei was interested in this position, Su Ze nodded.

Su Ze then looked at Wang Jiaping and said:

“Brother Zhongbo, recently, Fujian officials submitted a memorial requesting the abolition of the Penghu Patrol Inspectorate and its establishment as a county.”

This was a joint petition from several coastal cities in Fujian, and the reason is actually quite simple.

Penghu only has a patrol and inspection office, which has led to serious smuggling in Penghu, and this has affected the interests of Fujian ports.

Fujian province alone has three cities with open ports: Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Fuzhou, making it arguably the most developed province for maritime trade in Southeast China.

Because of lax anti-smuggling measures in Penghu, many merchant ships stop in Penghu but no longer travel to Fujian.

Thus, this memorial was written.

Wang Jiaping also said happily:

“Brother Zilin, I am willing to go to Penghu.”

Su Ze nodded; this was indeed not a difficult task for him.

Neither of these positions was highly competitive, and Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei's academic rankings and qualifications were more than sufficient for these roles.

The two bowed to Su Ze in gratitude again, and then said:

"Brother Zilin, if we are to be assigned to a post outside the capital, we will not participate in the allocation of housing within the Hanlin Academy this time." "Housing allocation within the Hanlin Academy?"

Zhang Wei replied:

"Brother Zilin, don't you know? The Ministry of Works has already built the first batch of new buildings. His Majesty has decreed that the housing problem for Hanlin scholars and censors be solved first. We originally signed up as well."

Su Ze then remembered that he had proposed building the new cement earthen building back in June, and Huang Zongyu, the head of the Ministry of Works, was in charge of the construction.

Now, three months have passed, and the first batch of Tulou (earthen buildings) has been completed.

Su Ze looked at Luo Wanhua, who said:
“Brother Zilin, you’ve been so busy. I was talking to you about this just a couple of days ago. The newspaper’s field reporter even wrote an article about it, which is going to be published in the next issue. You didn’t even notice it.”

Su Ze then remembered that Luo Wanhua seemed to have mentioned this matter, but he had been preoccupied with matters in the northern frontier and had not taken it to heart.

Su Ze thought for a moment and said, "Gentlemen, shall we go take a look?"
-
Xicheng District, Lanmian Hutong.

Lanmian Hutong is located near Caishikou. There is a small local shop that makes Lanmian noodles, which is famous in Beijing for its delicious taste.

After that, many more rotten noodle shops opened in the alley, hence the name Rotten Noodle Alley.

It should actually be called "rotten meat noodles," which is made by putting boiled, deboned meat into noodles.

This type of noodle dish is suitable for all budgets and can even include meat, making it a very famous street food.

It's not just ordinary people who occasionally buy these things; officials who rent rooms in Lanmian Hutong are the main consumers.

Sometimes a bowl of soft noodles can keep me full all night, saving me the trouble of cooking at home.

There was a vacant lot next to Lanmian Hutong, and Huang Zongyu chose to build five new cement earthen buildings here, along with the surrounding government buildings.

When Su Ze and his group arrived at Lanmian Hutong, they already saw these three cement earthen buildings.

After verification, the Ministry of Works determined that the best height for a Tulou (earthen building) was four stories. Based on the Ministry's planning, each floor was divided into four households.

There is a doorway to the north, one household on each of the east and west sides, and two households are crammed into the south side. In this way, a single earthen building can house sixteen households.

The five earthen buildings housed a total of eighty households.

It's no wonder that even young scholars like Zhang Wei and Wang Jiaping were eligible to be allocated rental housing.

Zhang Wei said:

"Many former Hanlin scholars actually rent rooms in the Hanlin Academy, but they are unwilling to move into the new-style Tulou."

"why?"

Zhang Wei said with a wry smile:

"They say that the upper floors of the Tulou are cut off from the earth's energy, have bad feng shui, and if you live there, you can forget about getting promoted."

Wang Jiaping also showed a wry smile; these old scholars, having spent so much time in the Hanlin Academy, had become obsessed.

Su Ze was stunned for a moment, not expecting such an explanation.

Su Ze asked:

Are there many people like this?

Zhang Wei shook his head and said:

"Not much. The imperial court's policy has been implemented. The rent in Lanmian Hutong is three silver dollars a year, which is more than half the price of other places in Lanmian Hutong. People like my brother Zhongbo, whose families are not in the capital, can share a place. That would cost less than two silver dollars a year. This is truly His Majesty's benevolent policy!"

Zhang Wei was right; housing in the capital has always been a major problem.

High-ranking officials are better off, but low-ranking officials already have meager salaries and have to pay a large amount of rent each year.

No emperor in history had been able to solve this problem, but now, during the reign of Emperor Longqing, a glimmer of hope for a solution has emerged.

How could the officials not be grateful?

The group arrived at the building and happened to meet Huang Zongyu, the head of the construction department in charge of the project.

Upon seeing Su Ze, Huang Zongyu was extremely excited. He said to Su Ze:

"Su Hanlin, I know you are busy with official duties. I originally planned to invite you over after the project was officially completed, but I didn't expect you to come so soon."

Su Ze also looked at Huang Zongyu. He wasn't wearing an official robe, but rather a craftsman's clothes. His face looked much more weathered after three months apart.

It seems that this person in charge of the Ministry of Works is not a hands-off manager, but rather someone who personally spends every day on the construction site, which explains why the project was completed so quickly.

"Manager Huang, could you show us around?"

"Of course, please, Mr. Su!"

All five new buildings have been completed, with only some supporting facilities such as roads remaining. Huang Zongyu led everyone up the stairs from the north side and first arrived at the room on the fourth floor.

As Su Ze walked down the corridor, he felt both familiar and unfamiliar. The building's exterior resembled the tenement buildings of his previous life, but the interior was actually similar to a large courtyard house.

Su Ze soon learned why the Ministry of Works had only built four stories in the end.

Living on the third or fourth floor is actually very inconvenient because there are no pipes.

There is no running water supply, and there is no toilet either.

Three or four stories are already so inconvenient; if they were built even higher, it would be too uncomfortable to live in.

In addition, each room is equipped with a charcoal stove for fire prevention and winter heating.

However, charcoal stoves can only cook simple food, so living here is not very convenient if there are too many people in the family and they need to cook every day.

Sure enough, the life I took for granted before time travel actually contained a great deal of technology.

The new-style Tulou looks like a tenement building, but it is actually much worse than a tenement building.

Only people like Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei, who were officials serving alone in the capital, were suitable to live here.

But at least it's progress.

Su Ze also met several of the residents who had moved in. They were clearly very satisfied with the new-style earthen building and kept expressing their gratitude to Su Ze.

After the tour, Huang Zongyu said:
"Su Hanlin, in the capital, these buildings are all called 'Su Gong Building'."

Su Ze quickly and modestly replied, "I am unworthy of such a title, how dare I claim to be 'sir'?"

Huang Zongyu quickly said, "So what if Hanlin Su solved the housing problem for officials in the capital? People call him 'Lord' now. I copied Hanlin Su's 'Memorial on Providing Shelter to the Poor Scholars of the World' and hung it in my office to remind myself every day to make sure that all officials in the capital can move into new houses as soon as possible."

Su Ze glanced at Huang Zongyu, surprised that this seemingly honest civil engineer could speak so pleasantly.

Luo Wanhua and the others behind Su Ze exchanged glances. This official from the Ministry of Works was so "savvy" that Su Ze would definitely remember him, and his promotion was not far off.
-
September 26th.

In this issue of the Yuefu Xinbao, in addition to publishing the specific details of the grassland peace talks, the second page also published the progress of the new cement earthen buildings.

The five buildings in Lanmian Hutong have been completed and rented out at low prices to officials without housing from the Hanlin Academy and the Six Ministries and Censorate.

The newspaper also interviewed several officials who moved in, and all of them were very satisfied.

What Su Ze considered inconvenient was nothing to people of this era.

Since there's no sewer pipe, we'll just use urinals and chamber pots.

If there is no tap water, you can store water in a water tank.

Compared to this slight inconvenience, the advantages of the new cement earthen buildings are numerous.

The sound insulation of the cement brick walls is much better, unlike the noisy old courtyard houses, and each household has its own private space.

Cement floors are free of mosquitoes and will not get damp or moldy, making them cleaner and easier to clean.

The newspaper also published the Ministry of Works' promise that the Cabinet had subsequently approved the construction of ten new buildings at the old three military camps' drill ground in Jiaochangtou, with a focus on solving the housing problem for lower-level officials of the six ministries.

For a time, the capital was filled with voices expressing gratitude for the emperor's great favor and praising Su Gonglou.

However, with the return of the steppe delegation to the capital on June 29, the focus of attention in the capital shifted back to the issue of bestowing titles and rewards upon Wang Shizhen and others.

(End of this chapter)