Chapter 343: Minister of Rites (I)
Young and energetic. Qian Qing gave Luo Yiren this evaluation in his mind. Luo Yiren himself didn't care, he already knew what kind of evaluation he would get. The key at the moment is not the evaluation, but what can be gained.
Qian Qing thought for a moment, then asked, "Xiao Luo, do you look down on people in the world?"
"Commander Qian, I can't control what people think. If I respect people, they will do what I want. Don't worry, I will respect people very much. Everyone will seek benefits and avoid harm, but most of them are ignorant of what is benefit and what is harm. Most people think that being hungry is harm, and having good clothes to wear and having a lot of things is benefit. In my opinion, people in the world probably think so."
Qian Qing was a little unhappy, "Do you think everyone is a fool?"
Luo Yiren didn't know whether Qian Qing was pretending to be unhappy or doing it on purpose. At this point, there was no point in retreating, so Luo Yiren simply told everyone what he had learned during this period, "Everyone is not stupid, but they think they are not stupid. Your Majesty talks about management and improving productivity. It can be seen how lofty your Majesty's ambitions are. I have heard a saying that you can't get rich without killing the poor. I just thought it was right. After learning from your Majesty, I finally understood. The rich have to deprive the poor twice, that is, two layers. First, they have to take away the means of production for the poor to make a living, and then they have to tie the poor to the countryside. In order to survive, the poor can only sell their own productivity. After the two layers are stripped, the gentry will collude with the government to brutally suppress the poor who dare to overthrow this system, and this situation will be created. So, not killing the poor to get rich is not out of malice, but out of a sophisticated calculation."
After hearing this, Qian Qing was silent at first, then he chuckled, "If you were to tell this story to others, I don't know how much blood and gore it would cause."
Luo Yiren was overjoyed and answered decisively: "Commander Qian, the world would have been completely overthrown long ago. If those gentry officials had not committed sins, how could they have received the retribution they are receiving today?"
Hearing this, Qian Qing was sure that Luo Yiren was not a good person. Even Huo Chong was just training internally. Luo Yiren, however, wanted to completely subvert the world system and pointed out everything Huo Chong said.
Qian Qing himself had struggled out of an oppressed fate, so just by comparing himself, Qian Qing understood what such anger would bring. Whether Huo Chong wanted to be the emperor, or really wanted to completely destroy this old world, it actually made no difference to Qian Qing.
If we don't talk about Qian Qing's personal loyalty and gratitude to Huo Chong, as long as Huo Chong launched a fierce attack on the Qing Dynasty, Qian Qing would follow Huo Chong. Because before knowing Huo Chong, Qian Qing himself had an irreconcilable hatred for the Qing Dynasty. The same is true for those poor people. When the poor people understand that their poverty is not due to bad luck or the malice of some bad people. Their misfortune comes from very realistic people and systems. The anger caused by misfortune will inevitably cause bloody storms, and these evildoers must be completely destroyed.
Family members know their own affairs. Qian Qing felt that his killing intent had dissipated a lot recently. Even so, if all the Manchus and Manchu officials were killed, Qian Qing would not show any mercy, nor would he feel any regret.
Of course, the issue at this moment was not to consider those Manchus or Manchu officials. Qian Qing sighed, "Alas, Xiao Luo. You have a promising future. But I think you are too impatient. Even if you are an official, you will be promoted little by little. If you really get promoted to a high position in one or two years, do you think you can stand firm?"
Luo Yiren felt that his goal had been achieved, and did not talk about promotion. He just asked, "I wonder where Commander Qian wants me to start first."
"You said you wanted to recruit troops in Lianghuai, and Gong Yu also felt that you had the same idea. Both of you should go. But let me tell you first, it is important to arouse hatred, but in the final analysis, we still have to let everyone live a good life."
Luo Yiren answered frankly, "Of course. Your Majesty said it well, you can deceive a few people for a long time, or deceive the majority of people for a short time, but you can't deceive the majority of people for a long time. The local people in Lianghuai live a cruel life, they are not stupid. If they were stupid, they would have been tortured to death long ago."
"I understand. I will tell you your specific duties later. Go back and prepare first." Qian Qing finished the meeting and went to see Huo Chong. However, he saw the people from the Ministry of Works coming out from Huo Chong's place. Seeing them discussing enthusiastically, they must have received some instructions from Huo Chong.
When meeting Huo Chong, Qian Qing shared his judgment of Luo Yiren. Huo Chong was quite emotional after hearing this. But Qian Qing had been following Huo Chong for so long that he already knew all the details about Huo Chong. So he asked, "Sir, you hesitated to speak. Are you afraid that I will be unhappy after hearing your evaluation?"
"I know you hate Qing officials. But there are so many talented people in this world. Luo Yiren really amazes me. I think there will be many talented people in Qing. You will definitely be unhappy when I say this."
Qian Qing liked Huo Chong's frankness, and immediately replied: "Of course I won't be happy. But if you want to recruit rebels, I won't object. After all, it's not bad to take over the world sooner."
"It's not me who is recruiting defectors, but there will be special people who are recruiting defectors. You know, something happened in the Political Work Department recently. Many people think that there is something wrong with this department. I don't know how to deal with it. I have made a plan to cancel the name of the Political Work Department. Give it a better name. The Ministry of Rites."
"Ministry of Rites?" Qian Qing was stunned. The traditional Chinese bureaucracy was divided into six ministries: the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Rites.
The Ministry of Rites is a department with a long history, and in a country with a profound culture like China, it is indeed a very noble department.
However, being noble meant that one actually had no special status. The two most important tasks in the Ministry of Rites were to be in charge of the imperial examinations and various ceremonies. It was a bit inappropriate to put political work under the Ministry of Rites.
Huo Chong knew that Qian Qing was smart, but he had never seen the departments of a modern country. He simply told Qian Qing his plan, "I plan to cancel all ministries except the Ministry of Rites, leaving only the Ministry of Rites to highlight its importance."
"Is that so?" Qian Qing understood. Now, there is no enthusiasm for political workers in various departments, and there is another problem with political workers, which is their own authority. Many people regard political workers as positions like military supervisors, but in fact, political workers themselves have to take on work. This has caused non-political workers to feel that the work of political workers is perfunctory, while political workers think that they have done so much, but have not received the corresponding respect and authority.
"Abolish the five ministries and only keep the Ministry of Rites. The Ministry of Rites is no longer an official position, but a kind of identity... To put it bluntly, it is a faction. However, factions in history were formed by private groups or regional personnel. The Ministry of Rites is a party based on political ideas. Anyone who agrees with our ideas will be trained to become a member of the Ministry of Rites. Moreover, the Ministry of Rites is not an official position, but another identity. For example, members of the Ministry of Rites have to pay a monthly fee."
"…Isn't this impolite?"
"Paying the fee is not like accepting a gift, but using the money to organize learning. The venue, the staff of the Ministry of Rites..." After Huo Chong explained a few words, he suddenly understood what Qian Qing was confused about. "You still think that the Ministry of Rites is an official position. The Ministry of Rites is not an official position, but a kind of certification. And what percentage of the world do you think the number of people in the Ministry of Rites should reach? Tell me the ratio."
Qian Qing thought for a long time before he understood, and said tentatively: "If someone understands the truth, we should choose one in a thousand, if not one in ten thousand."
"Wrong! If possible, I hope that the whole world can pick one out of the twenty. Otherwise, how can we popularize our ideas..."
Qian Qing was completely stunned. Even though he had followed Huo Chong for more than ten years, Qian Qing could not imagine that one out of twenty people was from the Ministry of Rites. What would such a Ministry of Rites look like?
However, after following Huo Chong and seeing so many things, Qian Qing answered decisively: "Sir, I don't know what you think. But whatever you think, I will do it for you."
Huo Chong was very satisfied after getting Qian Qing's support. "Very good. Let's hold a committee meeting first and bring up the issue of splitting into five departments."
It was similar to what Huo Chong thought. The committee was very supportive of splitting the five ministries. More departments meant more positions. If there were only six ministries, there would only be six Shangshu and six Shilang. If it was split into more than a dozen ministries, there would be more than a dozen Shangshu and dozens of Shilang. This was very attractive.
Even the Ministry of Rites itself was split up. The part that was originally responsible for the imperial examinations was also split off to become the Ministry of Education.
The guys on the committee did not realize Huo Chong's intention to stay in the Ministry of Rites. Even Chen Mingtai and Luo Yiren, who met with him privately, did not notice it.
Chen Mingtai spoke highly of the newly announced organizational structure of the Chinese court. Luo Yiren couldn't help but laugh and said, "Did Mr. Chen also comment on the government in the same way when he was in the Qing Dynasty?"
"At that time, I was just a juren, so of course I didn't dare to comment. Now as the salt administrator, it is my duty to speak out." Chen Mingtai showed the consciousness of an official appointed by the court.
Luo Yiren laughed but did not make any criticism. As an official, he had such power. And Luo Yiren was also very interested in the division of power. After talking with Chen Mingtai for a while, they both believed that Huo Chong was not acting recklessly, nor was he simply preparing to give his subordinates official positions.
If it was just about appointing officials, there were many ways to do it. Chen Mingtai sighed, "Your Majesty really wants to carry out the method of ruling the country from horse to the end."
Luo Yiren agreed with Chen Mingtai's opinion very much, but laughed and said, "Haha, could it be that Mr. Chen still doesn't want to see this situation?"
Chen Mingtai nodded decisively, "Of course I don't like it. This method is too harsh. If military law is used, the person will be beheaded. This is harsh. However, if this military law cannot be enforced, people will only look down on them."
"Isn't that very interesting?" Luo Yiren couldn't help but answer.
Chen Mingtai glanced at Luo Yiren, his face looked unhappy. He originally felt that there was something wrong with Luo Yiren, but he couldn't say it. Now he understood that Luo Yiren had the character of watching the fun and not afraid of trouble. Even though Luo Renyi defected to the Chinese court, this character did not change at all. This statement only exposed his problem, and I am afraid that it will be exposed more in the future.
As soon as the Chinese court's announcement came out, the intelligence network organized by the Qing Dynasty in the area controlled by the Chinese court began to send this information to Xi'an as quickly as possible.
The speed at which the intelligence was delivered was beyond imagination, and the Qing intelligence personnel in Shandong tried their best to send the intelligence away.
At this time, Luoyang, which was very important in Henan, was still in the hands of the Qing Dynasty. The reason was not that the Qing Dynasty repelled the Chinese court's attack on Luoyang, but that the Chinese court did not occupy Hulao Pass.
The Chinese court was east of Hulao Pass, and the Qing dynasty was west of Hulao Pass. Luoyang was west of Hulao Pass, so Luoyang was still in the hands of the Qing dynasty.
The intelligence from Shandong was delivered to Hulao Pass. The person in charge of receiving the messenger heard the news from the guards and brought him out of the prison.
After reading the news, the Qing Dynasty contact personnel were very satisfied. After all, it was about the internal reform of the Chinese court. In the eyes of the Qing Dynasty contact personnel, it was indeed intelligence that only very high-level officials could obtain.
The messenger saw the satisfied look on the other side of the receptionist's face and was really looking forward to it. After all the effort, he must be rewarded handsomely.
However, the receptionist disappointed the errand boy. Not only did he not mention any reward, he also asked many questions. After he finished asking all the questions, the receptionist took out a money bag and threw it to the errand boy. "This is a reward for you. You should work harder next time. Also, the court knows that everyone has worked hard, and has given everyone a ninth-rank official position. The court will give you a letter of appointment the next time you come."
The errand boy was filled with joy, and felt that the money bag was not light at all.
When I got back to my temporary residence and opened it, I found that it was full of copper coins. There were about 2,000 coins. After searching for a while, I found that there was not even a bit of silver in it.
The errand boy was furious. He had gone through so much trouble to run so far, but he only got 2,000 wen for running errands!
But in this case, you can only take as much as others give you. And thinking of the official position given by the court, the errand boy still feels very excited.
After the errand boy left the front line of Hulao Pass, the person in charge of private surveillance returned to the receiving officer and said, "Sir, that man still seems unwilling to give up."
"Tsk, have you ever had a dog?" asked the responding officer.
The person in charge of surveillance shook his head and said, "My family is poor and we can't afford to keep a dog."
"When raising a dog, you can't let it eat too much. You have to let it go hungry often. Once the dog is full, it will not do anything. These people have to be like this. If you don't let them have hope, they won't be attentive. However, if you give them too much, they will think we are begging them. We must not let these people have such thoughts."
After hearing Shangguan's thorough explanation, the person in charge of monitoring nodded repeatedly, "Your Excellency is right, Your Excellency is right."
The latest news was sent to the court in Xi'an at the fastest speed. Hong Zhou read half of it and couldn't read any more. He just glanced at it and threw it on the table. "Liu Tongxun, you have read these, what do you think?"
Liu Tongxun's ancestral home was in Zhucheng County, Qingzhou Prefecture (now Gaomi City, Shandong Province), but he was born in Ningqiang Prefecture, Hanzhong Prefecture, Shaanxi Province. Liu Tongxun's grandfather Liu Bixian was a Jinshi graduate and served as a deputy director of the Guangxi Division of the Ministry of Revenue. His father Liu Qi was a Jinshi in the Kangxi period. When Liu Tongxun was born, he served as the prefect of Ningqiang Prefecture and was transferred to Sichuan as the governor.
After the famous officials of the Yongzheng Dynasty were killed in the previous wars, Liu Tongxun was promoted rapidly. At this time, as a minister of the Military Affairs Council, Liu Tongxun had already read the secret report and quickly replied: "Your Majesty , I think the bandits want to fight for power and profit, and Huo Chong set up so many positions in order to quell the struggle among his subordinates."
"You think so?" Hong Zhou was a little hesitant when he heard this. Although the Qing court would never say anything good to Huo Chong, Hong Zhou was unwilling to look down on Huo Chong. It was not that Hong Zhou was willing to do so, but that he did not want to make the same mistake as his father, Yongzheng. If Yongzheng had looked up to Huo Chong and sent someone earlier, he would have really killed Huo Chong. Then there would never be the current situation.
Liu Tongxun replied, "Your Majesty, I do think so. If Huo Chong had wanted to do this a long time ago, he would have done it long ago. I have read the previous secret reports, and it is clearly written that there are many new ministries here. They were previously named as departments, but this time they were all promoted to ministries. If there are other considerations, I don't think so."
At this time, Sun Jiagan, who was also a military minister, said, "Your Majesty, I think this matter is strange, but the current priority is Junggar. Why not send someone to find out the news from Huo Chong and then make a decision after the news comes in."
When Hong Zhou mentioned the Dzungars, he had a murderous look on his face. The Dzungars had always been a major threat to the Qing Dynasty.
Galdan, who was originally just a tribal leader, formally established a Khanate in 1678 by raising the status of the Dzungar leader's Taiji to that of Khan.
In 1688, the Junggar army invaded the northern desert. The Khalkha Tushetu and Chechen tribes were defeated and fled to Inner Mongolia and surrendered to the Qing Empire. In 1690, Galdan led his army into Inner Mongolia to pursue them.
The leaders of the Khalkha tribes were unable to resist, so they jointly asked Emperor Kangxi for help. Aisin-Gioro Xuanye led the Qing army to a decisive battle with Galdan's Junggar army in Ulan Butong. Although Galdan was brave and good at fighting, and invented the famous "Camel City" tactic, he was still defeated by the Qing army equipped with heavy artillery in the Battle of Ulan Butong. At the same time, Tsewang Arabtan led his army to attack Galdan's rear, controlling the entire area from the upper reaches of the Irtysh River in the north to Lake Uvs in the east, including Turpan, Kuche and other vast territories in Xinjiang, and formed an encirclement of Galdan's base in Kobdo from behind.
In order to deal with the Dzungars, Kangxi and Yongzheng fought against them. Now the Dzungars took advantage of the crisis of the Qing Dynasty and started a new expansion. This made the Qing Dynasty feel that they had to kill the Dzungars first.
