Prime Minister

Chapter 97 096 [Study]

In early April, the imperial examination for the Guiwei year concluded successfully, and the newly appointed scholars attracted widespread attention.

Xue Huai had little interest in this; in fact, after the imperial examination ended, he didn't pay much attention to the subsequent developments.

Although he was a co-examiner for the imperial examinations, this group of successful candidates had little to do with him. According to past practice, they were all disciples of Grand Secretary Sun Yan. However, considering Sun Yan's current situation, this teacher-student relationship was unlikely to provide much assistance to the new candidates.

Xue Huai's energy was focused on the matter of being sent to a post outside the capital. He needed to understand the officialdom and local customs in Yangzhou and even the whole of Jiangsu Province, while making full preparations for his journey south.

When the newly appointed top three scholars were being celebrated on the imperial street, Xue Huai glanced at the imperial edict for the Guiwei year.

A total of 74 people passed the imperial examinations, including those who passed the first and second tiers. The rankings were not much different from those in the metropolitan examination, which was enough to prove the fairness and impartiality of this year's spring examination. Xue Huai also felt a sense of accomplishment.

At the same time, he saw a familiar name on the list of second-tier teams.

Xie Jingyun.

That scholar from Yangzhou, who ranked only around two hundredth in the provincial examination, performed exceptionally well in the palace examination, crossing the extremely important threshold to enter the second class. It was almost impossible for a third-class scholar to enter the central government; in the more than one hundred years of history of the Great Yan Dynasty, there were only a handful of such scholars.

Recalling what he had seen and heard at the mansion that day, Xue Huai realized that he had underestimated Xie Jingyun's mental fortitude. It seemed that he was a young man born for big occasions.

Although their first meeting was not pleasant, Xue Huai did not pay much attention to Xie Jingyun because he finally received the imperial edict issued by the Ministry of Personnel.

"Xue Huai, courtesy name Jingche, was a reader in the Hanlin Academy and a native of Shuntian Prefecture, Zhili Province. He was of pure and honest character and well-versed in the classics and history. During his three years of service in the academy, he worked diligently on compiling the Veritable Records and drafting imperial edicts, and his performance was highly praised."

"I consider Yangzhou to be a vital city in the southeast, controlling the grain transport canals and crucial to salt administration. Therefore, I hereby appoint Xue Huai as the Assistant Prefect of Yangzhou, to assist in the administration of the prefecture, and to oversee salt tax collection and grain transport, so as to ensure the safety of the people and the convenience of commerce. You shall diligently perform your duties and live up to my expectations!"

Having received the imperial edict, along with his official appointment certificate, talisman, and fire token, Xue Huai put his mind at ease and went to the Hanlin Academy to formally resign from his post as the head scholar, Lin Miao, and bid farewell to his colleagues. Naturally, this involved arranging several banquets until everyone was thoroughly drunk.

When the sun was high in the sky, Xue Huai slowly woke up.

After washing up and eating, he went to the back room of the mansion and saw Cui directing the maids and servants to pack up six or seven large boxes.

"Greetings to mother."

Xue Huai stepped forward to greet him.

"Huai'er, when you go to Jiangnan, don't drink too much."

Madam Cui gave a warning and then said, "These boxes contain all sorts of things you might need. When you set off, have the servants carry them directly onto the official ship. There will be a total of twelve people accompanying you. Li Shun will bring the cooks and coachmen, Jiang Sheng will bring five guards, and Mo Yun will accompany you south. Hua'er is still a bit young and timid, so I can only feel at ease if Mo Yun takes care of your daily needs."

"Thank you for your concern, Mother."

Xue Huai did not refuse out of politeness; to him, there was no difference between ink rhyme and painting.

Madam Cui led Xue Huai back to the inner room of the main house, took out a box from the octagonal cabinet, gestured for Xue Huai to sit down at the table, then placed the box on the table and said gently, "Huai'er, the journey to Yangzhou is long, so I have prepared some travel expenses for you. Take this."

Xue Huai took the box, opened it, and saw a thick stack of membership tickets on top.

Cui explained, "This is a 10,000 tael bank draft from Guangtai Money Shop. If you need money after you arrive in Yangzhou, you can have Li Shun take the draft to the money shop to exchange it for silver."

Xue Huai asked in surprise, "Mother, isn't this too much?"

If we use the price of rice as the conversion benchmark, and considering that silver had not yet depreciated at this time, 10,000 taels was roughly equivalent to more than 6 million yuan in his previous life.

With so much silver on his way to his post, Xue Huai couldn't help but suspect that Cui Shi thought he had the potential to become a corrupt official, which was why she was taking such precautions.

Madam Cui smiled and said, “It is indeed a lot, but it’s always good to be prepared. I wonder how many years you will stay in Yangzhou. How will that little bit of salary support your staff and attendants? It’s never a bad thing to bring more. Now the Xue family only has you as a man. If the money our ancestors have saved up isn’t used for you, are we just going to leave it to rust in the storeroom? I don’t know much about the rules of officialdom. I only know that the reason your father was able to stay away from those corrupt officials was because our family was quite well-off.”

"In the end, it was my mother who was the most thoughtful."

Xue Huai picked up the ticket and saw several letters underneath. He looked at Cui Shi with curiosity.

“Besides the Shen family, your father also had some trustworthy old friends and acquaintances in Jiangnan. They were all respected elders in the area.”

Madam Cui gazed into Xue Huai's eyes and said earnestly, "Huai'er, if you encounter trouble, you can ask those elders for help. Don't be afraid to face it alone just because you're too proud."

Xue Huai was deeply moved; this was the meaning of a mother's worry when her son travels a thousand miles.

He closed the box again and said earnestly, "Mother, please take care of yourself in the capital. I will return as soon as possible."

"Well, mother believes you."

Cui's eyes were slightly red, and a loving smile appeared on her face, along with an unspeakable reluctance.

……

Buzhengfang, Ningfu.

The residence of the Grand Secretary is naturally extraordinary, boasting a grand layout of three lanes and seven courtyards, only slightly inferior to the residence of a prince. Three memorial archways stand at the entrance of the alley, with the main gate being a three-bay, five-framed, gilded gate with animal-face decorations, flanked by screen walls in the shape of the Chinese character "八" (eight). High walls surround the residence, with finely crafted bricks and joints, exuding an air of solemnity.

The front hall is a five-bay, seven-bay structure with a gable roof and spindle-shaped columns with stone bases, exuding the majesty of the chief minister.

Inside the hall, Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi sat in a grand chair, with a middle-aged official sitting respectfully below him, none other than the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Wei Zheng.

The Ning Party has faced numerous setbacks in the past six months, but Wei Zheng is an exception who is riding high.

Seven years ago, when the position of Minister of Works became vacant, he and Xue Minglun fought tooth and nail for it. In the end, Ning Hengzhi chose Xue Minglun. If he hadn't quickly recommended Wei Zheng as Vice Minister of Justice, the latter would definitely not have swallowed his anger, since his grudge with Xue Minglun dates back more than 20 years.

Two years ago, the former Minister of Justice retired due to old age. Wei Zheng thought he could take over smoothly and thus not have to be inferior to Xue Minglun. However, the emperor remained undecided and left the position of Minister vacant for two years.

Fortunately, Wei Zheng finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. After the imperial examination, the emperor decided to promote him to Minister of Justice, and the cabinet's recommendation, under Ning Hengzhi's supervision, naturally faced no obstacles.

What made Wei Zheng most proud was not just this. He had now become the Minister of Justice, while Xue Minglun had been humiliated and scrambled back to his hometown. If this man were still in the capital, he would definitely vent his pent-up resentment to him in person.

However, Wei Zheng did not lose his mind. He knew that the reason he was able to be promoted was mainly because the Ning Party lost two key members one after another, and Ning Hengzhi regained the emperor's approval and favor. Therefore, he remained respectful in front of Ning Hengzhi.

"Prime Minister, why did you agree to send Xue Huai to serve as the Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou?"

Wei Zheng asked, slightly puzzled.

Ning Hengzhi said calmly, "Why don't you agree?"

Wei Zheng said cautiously, "Prime Minister, Xue Huai is a troublemaker. He can cause so much trouble even while staying in the Hanlin Academy. Sending him to Yangzhou now would just give him the opportunity to cause chaos. Prime Minister, Jiangnan really cannot be allowed to descend into chaos."

Ning Hengzhi looked up at him, his calm gaze carrying an invisible pressure: "Can a mere Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou cause chaos in Jiangnan?"

Wei Zheng said with a forced smile, "It would definitely not work for others, but Xue Huai is different. Ever since he escaped with his life in the Jiuqu River last year, he seems to have become a different person. Some of his methods are not like those of a greenhorn who has just entered officialdom. He is clearly more skilled than many seasoned officials. Otherwise, Minister Xue would not have fallen into his hands."

Although he remained as respectful to Ning Hengzhi as ever, his occasional sarcastic remarks about Xue Minglun were harmless, and Ning Hengzhi, with his magnanimity, would not care about such trivial matters.

Ning Hengzhi ignored his last sentence and only asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Wei Zheng tentatively suggested, "I think we could perhaps create some hardships for him, so that he won't cause trouble in Yangzhou."

Ning Hengzhi remained noncommittal, picked up his teacup, gently blew on the tea leaves to disperse them, and then said softly, "Do you know why His Majesty allowed Xue Huai to be sent away from the capital?"

Wei Zheng recalled some rumors circulating in the capital and hesitated, saying, "Is it related to Princess Yun'an? I heard that because of the life-saving grace she received that time, Princess Yun'an has been getting closer to Xue Huai in the past six months. Perhaps His Majesty doesn't want to see this situation, but out of consideration for Xue Mingzhang, he can't blame Xue Huai, so he simply sent him far away."

"wrong."

Ning Hengzhi shook his head slightly and said plainly, "His Majesty has already decided to give up on Vice Minister Ouyang. The next step is to support Shen Wang. As Shen Wang's most valued disciple, Xue Huai's appointment of him is to pave the way for Shen Wang in advance."

Wei Zheng suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! Your Excellency truly has keen insight!"

"No need for flattery."

Ning Hengzhi put down his teacup and reminded him, "Don't follow in Yue Zhongming's footsteps. Doing your duty and putting His Majesty at ease is the most important thing. As for Xue Huai, let him go to Yangzhou in peace and don't cause any trouble."

Wei Zheng quickly agreed.

After discussing business for a while, Wei Zheng bowed and took his leave, while Ning Hengzhi remained seated in his armchair.

A moment later, a middle-aged steward approached, bowed his head and said, "Master, Minister Wei has returned."

"He's also a dishonest person."

Ning Hengzhi shook his head slightly, then said, "Write a letter in my name to the Governor of Jiangsu, and have him—"

The conversation suddenly stopped.

The butler, accustomed to this, stood quietly and waited.

After a long silence, Ning Hengzhi slowly said, "Tell him that the newly appointed Assistant Prefect of Yangzhou, Xue Huai, is a young and promising talent valued by His Majesty. His trip to Jiangnan is to accumulate experience and temper his character. He should take good care of him and not let anyone bully this third-ranked scholar."

The steward, understanding immediately, bowed and said, "I understand."

Actually, the key point of that sentence can be summed up in just four words: temper one's character.

The steward was familiar with Ning Hengzhi's speaking style and could see this clearly, while the governor of Jiangsu, being Ning Hengzhi's classmate and fellow townsman, could also understand the deeper meaning.

After he left, Ning Hengzhi slowly got up, walked to the window, raised his eyes and looked at a corner of the courtyard, his eyes calm and undisturbed.

"Your Majesty, you are being a little too hasty."

(End of this chapter)