Chapter 427: Kaifeng Prefecture Chief
When they got home, Hulan was still sorting out the gifts and gifts he received for his wedding. The young woman happily pulled him to see that the whole room was full of goodies.
Zhao Yulin hugged the little woman and said: I'm glad you like it, but you have to register it carefully. We have to return it someday. We can't just accept gifts without returning them, otherwise we'll be laughed at.
The little woman happily pulled down his head and kissed him, asking if she was that kind of person?
Zhao Yulin smiled and called Ke Zhenxie over, asked him to hand over the accompanying accounts to Hu Lan, and told them that Hu Lan would be in charge of the household affairs from now on. If they didn't have money, they could ask Sister Ma Ling for it, and don't hide anything if there was anything.
Hu Lan glanced at Ke Zhenxie proudly and continued to organize her gifts.
The guard came in to report: Minister Miao and the generals are back. Zhao Yulin hugged Hulan and kissed him before going out to the government office to discuss matters. On the way, all the brothers came running over with the clatter of their horses' hooves.
He asked everyone to go to the government office to discuss the matter.
The group entered the back hall of the government office, and Zhao Yulin told them that all future plans involving military operations against Mongolia would be planned in the government office to avoid putting Hu Lan in a dilemma.
The brothers were just blocked by him from going to the mansion and ignored his intention, but now they suddenly realized what was going on.
Miao Gui pointed to Xuzhou on the sand table and explained: Intelligence shows that the Mongolian army is mobilizing troops to attack Suqian.
Although our troops are concentrated in Yingtian and Kaifeng, it is not difficult to stop the Mongolian army. However, the Mongolian army is gathering in Xuzhou in such a large scale, and both sides are on high alert. In the long run, it will be disadvantageous to us.
Yang Xingyun thought that if we didn't guard against them, the Mongolian army would inevitably seize the opportunity to attack us if we relaxed a little. If we were to prepare for a long-term war and didn't take action against them, it would be too frustrating.
All the generals burst into laughter when they heard this.
Zhao Yulin nodded and told them to make their own decisions. There were hundreds of thousands of troops gathered around them. They could fight a big battle in Xuzhou, annihilate the main force of the Mongolian army and make sure they would not dare to spy on us again, thus consolidating the defense of the canal line.
After the brothers made a plan, Miao Gui shouted that our young master was getting married, and they had to go to the mansion to ask for a glass of wedding wine before they would let their brother go. A group of warriors came to the mansion in a noisy manner and set up a banquet and drank wine.
Hu Lan personally took part in the drinking and toasting with Zhao Yulin, and they drank to their heart's content before leaving.
Zhao Yulin carried the drunken Hu Lan back to the room. As soon as he put her on the bed, the little woman pulled him down and pressed on him. He knew that the woman was crazy again, so he had to let her torture him. The couple worked for most of the night, and Hu Lan finally fell asleep in his arms.
The next day, Zhao Yulin and his wife, along with Fan Zhong, went north along the canal to inspect Yingtian Prefecture.
In Xiangyang, Chen Chen cried after receiving Zhao Yulin's letter.
Zhao Yulin seldom wrote letters home, so this letter must be about something important.
However, after reading the letter, I had nothing to worry about. I just praised her for her strong logistical support, her good governance of Xiangyang, her ingenuity, and her ability to take on responsibilities and let go. Finally, I reminded her to obey the arrangements and dispatches of the Central Court.
Isn't this nonsense?
When did she stop listening to the Central Institute's orders?
Just when I was feeling depressed, an official document from Chengdu arrived: the Ministry of Personnel transferred her to Kaifeng as the chief eunuch. Chen Chen was stunned when he saw it.
It is true that when something is abnormal, it must be something wrong.
It turned out that Yulin'er wrote to her to appease her in advance. The Central Court remembered her previous mistakes and actually demoted her.
Chen Chen was unhappy and pushed things on the table, making a crackling sound.
She shouted loudly: It's obvious that you are humiliating me.
Woo woo, jade pig, damn jade pig.
The little girl resented that little thing for causing her to suffer shame and punishment, and after cursing it, she lowered her head and lay on the table and sobbed.
The maid was anxious and didn't know how to comfort her. She shook the document in her hand and said: Miss, here are the documents from Chengdu.
I kept shouting "Don't look at it, don't look at it" and threw it aside.
The maid knew that she was angry, so she opened her briefcase, took out the document and read it to her: Wow, our third young master is the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture himself, look.
Chen Chen grabbed the official document and saw the notice on it. Zhao Yulin was concurrently serving as the prefect of Kaifeng and Chen Chen was serving as the chief steward. It was obvious that she was being asked to go to Kaifeng to take charge.
The girl was delighted and her expression changed immediately. She jumped up with joy, grabbing the maid.
Even though it was just a downgrade to transfer Chen Chen to Kaifeng to be the chief steward, the Chengdu Central Court had discussed it repeatedly.
Initially, it was suggested that Chen Chen be made the prefect. But everyone felt that she had just been punished not long ago, and it was clearly stated that she would not be promoted or reused within two years. How could it be changed so easily?
Besides, Kaifeng Prefecture was the imperial capital of the Song Dynasty and its status was extremely important. How could a woman be allowed to be in charge?
This major problem was not solved until later when Yang Jin proposed that Zhao Yulin be made prefect of Kaifeng and Chen Chen be demoted to be the chief steward.
No one would have any objection to the demotion. When Chen Chen arrived in Kaifeng, he had Zhao Yulin's support, but he still had the responsibilities of the prefect.
The most important thing is that when Chen Chen arrives in Kaifeng, he can be with Zhao Yulin every day, so it doesn’t matter what official position he holds.
This is the fact. I was so happy about it that I packed up and left immediately.
When the people of Xiangyang learned that the prefect Chen Chen was leaving, young and old went to the government office to see her off. The garrison also specially allocated 3,000 well-trained new soldiers to send her to Kaifeng, in the name of supporting and guarding the border.
The little girl was intoxicated to see how popular she was. She joyfully stood at the bow, waving her hands and bidding farewell to the crowd on the shore who were seeing her off.
In Yingtian Prefecture, Zhao Yulin and Fan Gong were having tea and chatting with Yan Shilu. After seeing the current situation of Yingtian City, Fan Gong thought that Zhao Yulin's proposal was good and that the administrative settings of these prefectures, states and counties should indeed be reconsidered. He told Yan Gong that after the Chengdu Central Council discussed it, the Ministry of Personnel planned to transfer Yan Gong to Xiangyang to take up a post.
Mr. Yan was stunned and stared at them blankly. He thought to himself, Damn, it was really so fast that he was removed from his post just a few days after he returned to the Song Dynasty, and they dismissed him and asked him to hand over his power. In just one sentence, he was sent to Xiangyang, thousands of miles away.
Seeing that his face was very ugly, Zhao Yulin picked up the tea bowl and took a sip and said that Xiangyang was a prefecture like Yingtian, and had been recovered by the Shenwei Army many years ago. It was an important town at the barrier level in the Central Plains, and Mr. Yan would definitely be able to use his talents there.
Mr. Yan was unhappy and angry, so nothing Zhao Yulin said was of any use.
Seeing that there was no sound in the living room, Fan Gong felt uncomfortable to continue to be cold, so he introduced Mrs. Chen Chen's governance of Xiangyang, telling him how many prefectures and counties there were, how many people there were, and how much tax there was. He also tactfully said that although there were many affairs, the government offices at all levels were basically in order, and Yan Gong would definitely be able to create a new atmosphere for Xiangyang this time.
After this guidance, the famous calligrapher's frown slowly relaxed.
Zhao Yulin said with a smile that after Lord Yan left Yingtian, this place would be downgraded to a prefecture. He had already proposed to the Central Council that Lord Yan's nephew Yan Luming be appointed as the prefect. What did Lord Yan think?
Yan Shilu had no objection to this arrangement. At first, he thought that Zhao Yulin was going to demolish his bridge after crossing it, and would dismiss him from his post and punish his family like he did with other traitors.
When Yingtian was changed to a prefecture, his nephew was still appointed as the prefectural governor. No, haha.
Only then did Fan Gong get back to the point and began to perform his duties as the Minister of Personnel: he told Yan Gong that since he was an official of the New Song Dynasty, he had to abide by the laws of the New Song Dynasty. The New Song Dynasty was very different from the previous dynasty in that the government had to abide by the laws, and anyone who broke the law would be punished.
Mr. Yan immediately said in a righteous manner that it was natural. The previous dynasty was one that appointed people based on personal connections, and officials protected each other, which led to the laxity of laws and regulations, causing the country to be destroyed, families to be ruined, and people to live in misery. We cannot go down that dead end again.
Zhao Yulin saw that this person had gotten the point and knew that there was no need for him to say anything more, so he used the excuse of accompanying his wife for a walk and took Hu Lan to see the scenery of the canal.
Yingtian did not experience war this time, and the city was relatively well preserved, but it was still far behind the big prefectures in Sichuan and Shu. These places were supposed to be rich, but because of the wanton killings by the Mongolian army, the population was sparse, and the heavy burden on the government emptied the pockets of the people, so that the people could not make a living, and the entire economy collapsed.
The cold winter makes people feel particularly depressed. Hu Lan looks at this place and thinks it is a far cry from Chengdu.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said, "Chengdu has been peaceful for a hundred years and has never experienced war. How can it be compared with here? When we come here, we must ensure that the people here have food to eat, clothes to wear, and houses to live in."
The little woman leaned on his shoulder and said, "I believe you can do it."
He whispered in Hu Lan's ear with a smile: When will you become unable to do it anymore?
The little woman's face turned red immediately, and she laughed and scolded him: You're so annoying, so embarrassing.
Zhao Yulin burst into laughter when he heard this.
Inside the government office, Mr. Fan had completely convinced Yan Shilu. The Yan family handed over all their property and went to Xiangyang with their families to take up their posts.
Zhao Yulin said that deputy positions below the prefecture and county levels can be appointed first after inspection by Yan Gong, and then reported to the Ministry of Personnel for filing. Anyone with suitable sons at home can be recommended for the job. In our New Song Dynasty, people are appointed based on their merits, regardless of personal relationship.
Lord Yan said happily that he understood, Lord Fan had already given him some advice. He would definitely act according to the laws of the new Song Dynasty and would not disappoint the king and the officials of the Central Council.
Wow, this statement is very insightful.
Mr. Fan looked at Zhao Yulin happily.
Zhao Yulin was naturally very satisfied. He said that it would be better to keep the old house of Mr. Yan. The land should be measured by the government and then purchased at the current price. Mr. Yan is a noble man, and we cannot be without friendship. We must follow the rules.
Yan Shilu was so happy that he didn't want it and even said he didn't need it. He wanted to donate it so that more people could farm the land.
Having said that, Zhao Yulin still requested that the money be exchanged into new currency at the market price and sent to Yan's house.
The next day, Yan Shilu set out on the journey west to Xiangyang to take up his post.
After dealing with Yan Shilu's stay or departure, Fan Gong was delighted and said with great emotion that Yan Shilu had thought it through very carefully. Although Yan's land was not worth much money, we would pay for it without losing a penny, so that people all over the world would know that we in the New Song Dynasty keep our words and would never do anything to destroy our bridges.
