Chapter 287 What a Courage
Mr. Ding told him that after discussing with several old gentlemen, he thought that the current Caotang Academy did not need to be so big. They had reserved enough land when enclosing the land, and planned to expand it after two years depending on the situation. We should save as much as possible.
This made Zhao Yulin speechless. Saving and thrift are traditional virtues. He told Zhao Feiyan that there was a budget of one million, so the extra money should be invested in other states.
The little girl nodded happily.
Liu Yuru told them that Caotang Academy would make extensive use of new materials developed by Guigu in Cuiping Mountain and new ceramic tiles fired in Jiajiang. After its completion, it would definitely be the best institution of higher learning in the world.
Lord Ding was delighted to hear this, and said with a smile: "It depends on the teacher. If the teacher teaches well and the students work hard, it will be great if there are many students all over the world."
Zhao Yulin looked at the busy construction site and the numerous houses and thought that the main works here should have been completed. He said to Ding Gong, "How about we move all the buildings in Jinguan City and use them to build the Central Government Affairs Council ?"
He told Mr. Ding that he had already visited the area and found that most of the places there were dilapidated sheds and workshops where textile machine workers lived. We should build a resettlement community in Baihuatan and then build an industrial park in Shuangliu, using the water power of Fuhe River to drive new textile machines for weaving and embroidery.
The mechanics who were willing to live in the city were settled in Baihuatan, and those who were willing to follow the workshops were moved to Shuangliu Industrial Park. After Jinguan City was completely cleared out, the core of Chengdu was built, the central government council of the New Song Dynasty.
Mr. Ding was immediately excited. He nodded several times and said that this was a big deal for us Sichuan and Shu, and we had to plan it carefully.
Zhao Yulin said, "Of course. Not only do we need to plan carefully, but the staff of the Transportation and Production Department also need to plan carefully. Chengdu is carrying out such a large-scale construction, so it is just the right time to establish our Ministry of Industry."
Mr. Ding was stunned immediately.
It's time to make careful plans again.
When he got back, Zhao Yulin saw Changji Nima walking in the yard. He excitedly shouted "Changji, Changji", ran over, picked him up and spun him around. He put Changji down and asked if everything was okay.
Changji patted his chest vigorously and said that everything was fine and he could ride a horse to the battlefield again.
His father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law all came out laughing and told him that Tianlong Temple had indeed saved Changji.
His sister-in-law Ram sweetly leaned on Changji and said that Changji could eat and sleep well now, and was as strong as a yak. Everyone laughed.
It’s fine as long as Zhao Yulin has agreed. He won’t be traveling far now. He should go back to Baoning Prefecture to serve as the garrison commander and guard Baoning for his father.
Changji immediately agreed, “Yes, yes.”
Zhao Yulin was in a good mood. He accompanied Tuvapengcuo's family to the Wenjun Restaurant in Qintai for a welcome drink and told them that his father-in-law Yangjin was about to come back to serve as an official in charge of reforms in the Ministry of Revenue.
Old Tuva was very happy and told his son-in-law not to worry, he would go back and govern Baoning Prefecture in peace.
The family was still having dinner when the guard reported that Master Lu was coming.
Zhao Yulin knew that there must be another urgent matter, so he followed the guards to Master Lu's carriage. Old Lu secretly told him that Xu Zhiyuan was a spy, and it was not yet confirmed which side he was on, but this person had been involved in the core secrets of Chengdu Shunfeng and must be captured.
He had already informed Dongmei and made preparations, and was about to arrest him when the Shunfeng Office and the Inspection Bureau were discussing matters in the government office.
When Zhao Yulin heard this, the situation became complicated.
He said that Xu Zhiyuan represented the Imperial City Bureau of the previous dynasty, and that it was not just him who had surrendered, but hundreds or even thousands of people behind him, so he had to be cautious.
Lao Lu told him that Xu Zhiyuan's access to documents without authorization and opening Dongmei's safe without permission was a crime, and he could not deny it because of the certification and physical evidence. The undercover personnel of the Lin'an Imperial City Division that he was responsible for contacting were suddenly exposed, and he was not immune from all this, so he had to deal with it.
Zhao Yulin and his companions arrived at the government office, and Lao Cao and Ding Gong were also there.
After a brief exchange of views, officials above the rank of deputy envoy of Shunfeng Office and the Inspection Bureau were ordered to go to the government office to receive orders. Dongmei brought her Emei female guards and Zhang Guoan's Eight Vajra to protect Ding Gong and Lao Cao from accidents.
A thief is always guilty. As soon as Xu Zhiyuan entered the room and saw Lao Cao's unfriendly eyes, he suspected that he had been exposed. Then he saw the eight Vajra guards who rarely appeared on duty standing on both sides of Dongmei and were already on guard.
When Lao Cao was yelling at Xu Zhiyuan to admit his guilt, the fellow suddenly jumped up and rushed towards Mr. Ding, intending to take him hostage. Mr. Ding was so frightened that he sat on the chair in a daze. The guards on both sides, including Zhao Yulin, rushed over to protect him.
However, after running three steps, the fellow suddenly retreated, rolled on the ground and went to the corner on the west side, shouting: "Master, I have done my duty." Then he began to tremble, and soon his body fell motionless on the spot.
Zhao Yulin had just protected Mr. Ding. When he came to his senses like everyone else, he saw Xu Zhiyuan lying on the spot and said: Oh no, that guy must have committed suicide by taking poison or biting his tongue. Let's check it out quickly.
The guards used swords, sticks and clubs to turn Xu Zhiyuan over and checked him. They found that black blood was gushing out of the corners of his mouth. He had indeed committed suicide by taking poison.
The brothers at Shunfeng went to check immediately and found that Xu Zhiyuan had only torn the cuff of his clothes and nothing else.
It turned out that this guy actually prepared a poison for himself at any time.
Just now, Xu Zhiyuan knew that there was no hope of escape, so he pretended to attack Ding Gong, but in fact he was buying himself the opportunity and time to commit suicide by taking poison.
Zhao Yulin was also shocked when he witnessed this scene.
Although he had seen countless spy movies in later life, none of them were as thrilling as the scene just now.
Xu Zhiyuan looked smart, capable and conscientious. But he was actually a spy. For the sake of his mission and loyalty, he committed suicide by taking poison right under Zhao Yulin's nose. How much courage did this take?
The deputy envoy in charge of keeping confidential documents at Shunfeng reported: Xu Zhiyuan opened confidential documents related to grain transport and judicial cases without permission many times, and secretly opened the confidential document box of Dongmei, the chief steward, to peek at the documents. Although he did not get any confidential materials, his identity as a spy was exposed.
Lao Cao told Master Lu that Chief Steward Dongmei was very tired and asked Master Lu to help with the affairs of the Imperial City Administration. He told Zhao Yulin that Madam Yuqi had been transferred back and the next burden would probably fall on Chief Steward Wu.
Zhao Yulin nodded, waved his hand and told everyone to go about their business.
After everyone left, Ding Gong drank a big gulp of tea to calm his nerves before saying, "The enemy is really everywhere. Who is the young master? I must find him and chop him into pieces."
Lord Ding was frightened by Xu Zhiyuan's fake move, and he asked the maid to help him go back tremblingly.
The next day, Master Lu told Zhao Yulin that they searched Xu Zhiyuan's residence and found that this man had always been single. There was no clue at the scene except for an exquisite cicada specimen. Judging from his love of drinking Yinsheng tea, this man had a deep connection with the Dali Kingdom.
Yinsheng tea is produced in Dali Kingdom, and it is natural to associate this person with Dali.
Because Shunfeng was an undercover agent in the Lin'an Imperial City Division, and he was reported and victimized when he was ordered to investigate the files of the former Censor-in-Chief, and the Censor-in-Chief also liked to drink Yinsheng tea.
At present, we can only explain that this person is of the same kind as the Chief Justice and the Inspector, both of whom are working for the young master, and he may be from the Dali Kingdom.
Zhao Yulin saw the round cake-shaped Yinsheng tea, which should be the famous Pu'er tea in later generations. This tea-making method is unique to Dali Kingdom. He felt very tired when he thought of these secret battles.
He said that it was up to Master Lu to decide what to do. Dongmei was pregnant and couldn't take any risks, so Master Lu should wait until Yuqi came back before going back to Cuiping Mountain.
Lao Lu nodded and admired Master Guigu's skills very much.
He told Zhao Yulin that Guigu of Cuiping Mountain had made a colorless developing agent, and Dongmei used it immediately.
She was worried that Xu Zhiyuan had just come over and could not be fully trusted, so she did not put the important confidential documents in her own confidential box. Instead, she laid a thick paper coated with developer under the carpet in front of the confidential box.
Xu Zhiyuan had no idea that Dongmei was so meticulous. He was eager to get all the confession records of the judicial inspector, so he opened the special confidential document box used by Dongmei as the chief steward. He did not stop after reading it for the first time, and opened it for the second time to search when the case was closed, which made Dongmei catch everything.
Zhao Yulin remained silent. People's hearts are really hidden.
Xu Zhiyuan's attitude towards joining Shunfeng was resolute and straightforward, and Zhao Yulin had great trust in him. Trust between people must be based on institutional constraints and long-term observation.
Two days later, Tuva Pencuo and his companions had left early, but Yangjin returned to Chengdu like a tired bird.
This girl's technique of acting coquettishly is really top-notch. As soon as she entered the room, she said that she felt weak all over and wanted Zhao Yulin to serve her personally when taking a bath. Her legs were raised high and she wanted him to rub her whole body without moving, and she would not allow any dead corners to be left.
Fairy, aren't you lighting a fire?
The next day, Duke Ding convened a meeting on the reform of the civil service system in the government office and announced the establishment of the first ministry of the new Song Dynasty, the Ministry of Personnel. Yang Jin was appointed as the deputy envoy to focus on the reform of the civil service system.
Yangjin immediately and energetically put forward her outline of civil service reform. She told everyone that from now on the Central Government Council would be in charge of state affairs, and several ministries would be set up under it to take over the tasks assigned by the Central Government Council.
She told them that all officials of the New Song Dynasty would be called state civil servants, without any other titles or rewards. They would be promoted according to the level of their positions, from the most basic clerks all the way up to state-level officials like Lord Ding, and would enjoy corresponding rights and obligations according to their level.
Then, I asked her maid to bring a large box, took out the piles of documents inside and distributed them to the seven directors and vice directors of the Central Council for discussion. After the suggestions were basically passed, they would be revised according to the draft.
Yang Jin took the Ministry of Personnel as an example and said: In the future, the Ministry of Personnel will have an office, a personnel management department, a personnel supervision department and a personnel training department. The office of the Ministry of Personnel will be directly headed by the Shangshu, who will be in charge of the overall situation of the Ministry of Personnel; the personnel management department will be headed by a deputy envoy, who will be responsible for the selection and appointment of officials; the personnel supervision department will be headed by a deputy envoy, who will be responsible for the inspection and supervision of officials; the personnel training department will be headed by a deputy envoy, who will be responsible for the training of officials and the personnel files of officials.
