The so-called "connections" are not only available to Xu Xiang, the eunuch who holds the pen. Even the aristocratic families and noble families in the capital have "connections" to send their descendants to the court as officials, but they are all noble and idle positions, most of which are only prestigious, and the salary they get is actually not as much as they pay when they go through connections. It
　　's hard to explain the connections here. The Great Yin is not a new dynasty. It has a history of more than 150 years. There were more than a dozen emperors before Emperor Mingde. Although there were many stupid, cruel, and incompetent people among them, most of them were fair and peaceful. It's just that before Emperor Mingde ascended the throne, it happened to reach a period of poverty and weakness... The imperial power declined, and the officialdom was not very clean.
　　The fact that this dynasty has been able to continue to this day, and that it is becoming increasingly powerful, all depends on the careful consideration of the husband-and-wife partners Meng Zhen and Dong Lingjiu. If both of them are healthy and live a long life, they can protect the country's fortune for decades. In
　　the winter of the second year of Huining, when General Geng cleared the local "bandit disaster" and killed corrupt officials with the Empress Dowager's handwritten order, Zheng Yuheng received a green official uniform for the lowest-ranking bureaucrats.
　　The clothing styles of civil servants and medical officers are roughly the same, and the embroidered accessories on their bodies are not much different. However, the official uniforms of officials belonging to the Imperial Hospital are mostly within the range of one color. However, when it comes to the official uniforms of the six departments, the colors of the robes are greatly regulated, and such green-clad petty officials are not qualified to attend the court.
　　But this is also good, he was afraid that he and Meng Cheng would be embarrassed when they met.
　　Since Xu Xiang arranged a "way" for him, he naturally took care of his identity as well.
　　The official of the Ministry of Revenue held the official seal of the document, looked it up and down, and casually pointed at the clerk who was sorting the account books in the room, and said, "Take him to work in the Xuanhao room of the Ministry of Cangbu."
　　The clerk responded attentively, turned around and led Zheng Yuheng out. As soon as he stepped out of the door, his face changed. There was no smile on his face, as if he was very annoyed by such trivial tasks. He led the way and said coldly, "I said, I have never heard of any young man willing to come to the Six Departments. Who doesn't want to have an idle job in the Hanlin Academy? You look like this, I thought you were from an official family, it's really unlucky."
　　Just now, when he first saw Zheng Yuheng, he was shocked by her beauty. This person has always tried hard to please the Duke of the aristocratic family to no avail, and he didn't listen to the explanation, so he took him to the head of the Ministry of Revenue. After a detailed explanation, he knew the whole story.
　　This person lost face greatly, and his attitude towards Zheng Yuheng changed again and again, which can be said to be a master of changing faces.
　　Zheng Yuheng was not annoyed at all. His expression was gentle and calm. One could tell at a glance that he was a scholar with a good temper: "Thank you very much."
　　Seeing that he had such a good temper, the clerk did not complain or blame him. After taking him to the office, he knocked on the door and turned away.
　　Although this knock was rough, as soon as the door rang, a strange crackling sound exploded inside. Zheng Yuheng was quite surprised. He pushed open the door and was stunned on the spot.
　　Although the Cangbu Division was not large, there were several principals, many clerks, accountants, and clerks, plus subordinates, there were dozens of people in total, divided into several office rooms. When
　　he opened the door, in front of him was not a mountain of accounts and documents, and the backs of busy officials, but a huge table, which was about four pieces put together, with more than a dozen people around. There was no pen or paper on the table, only wooden cards and sticks for gambling, and pots of wine.
　　After hearing the knock on the door, these people seemed to be in a hurry to hide their wine and cards, and picked up some unknown piece of paper and book on the ground to cover it. As a result, when the door opened, a handsome man in green clothes and a small crown stood in front of the door. Judging from his age, he was not yet a young man.
　　Facing each other, they all looked at each other in shock.
　　"Hey--" The man sitting in the middle slapped his thigh, "I thought it was my brother who came to scold me. You scared us. Who the hell are you?!"
　　Zheng Yuheng held the official seal and had a deep doubt and mystery about everything in front of him. However, he had been watching and practicing in the Cining Palace for a year. He did not go up and scold him for dereliction of duty like a fool, but saluted politely and said in a clear voice: "I am the new head of the Cangbu Division. My surname is Zheng and my name is Junzhi."
　　"Oh, what a name." The man sitting in the middle sat forward from his chair. His official uniform was disheveled and fell on it like mud. Only now did he clean up a little. "Bingjun is in power, and the state affairs are called 'Jun'. Your master is ambitious."
　　Zheng Yuheng thought, my master? My destined good wife, the one and only Queen Mother in the world, she is ambitious to begin with, do you need to tell me this?
　　"My last name is Wen, and my name is Wen Haocheng." He said lazily, looking like a dandy boy. "My eldest brother is Wen Haolan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a man that even the Shangshu has to respect. Since you are in the Ministry of Revenue, don't say you haven't heard of him... I am the head of the place." The
　　clerks, officials and others around him nodded repeatedly, and then raised their heads and chests, feeling proud, as if Wen Haolan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was their real brother.
　　Wen Haocheng got up from his chair, walked up to Zheng Yuheng, looked him up and down for a while, and thought he was a son of some noble family, but he had never heard of a wealthy family with the surname Zheng. He walked around him and asked, "Who did you come in because of?"
　　Zheng Yuheng said, "I was recommended by Xu, the supervisor of the Internal Affairs Bureau."
　　Wen Haocheng's face suddenly changed: "A eunuch's man?"
　　Zheng Yuheng remained silent.
　　The temper of this yamen official became visibly worse. A clerk shouted, "Wen yamen official, are you still going to play?" Wen Haocheng turned his head and cursed, "Play with your head, get up and find him a table."
　　Zheng Yuheng replied, "Thank you, Master Wen."
　　"Just follow them and call me yamen official." Wen Haocheng said impatiently, pointing to the most secluded corner and saying, "Go over there and don't bother me if you have nothing to do."
　　Zheng Yuheng remained silent, neither refutating or protesting, nor trying to get along. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, put away the documents, put the official seal into the fish bag, threaded the thread and put it on his body, thinking about the great cause he told the Empress Dowager in person before coming to the Ministry of Revenue last night, about the great cause of great ambition - well, what great cause, there is not even a page of book.
　　On the other side, they soon started drinking and playing finger-guessing games, and the noise was so loud that they coaxed the young master to pay, and then flattered and turned black and white.
　　Zheng Yuheng had no choice but to look for this year's granary accounts according to the years on the major bookshelves in the room. But this Xuanhao room was in a mess, with relevant records, books, and transactions piled up in a mess.
　　Wen Haocheng on the other side watched coldly, squinting at his back. The officials around understood his expression immediately and discussed in a moderately loud voice:
　　"How come there is a guy who wants to become a eunuch? That kind of inhuman thing tries to curry favor with someone and become someone's godson..."
　　"What do you know? This kind of poor scholar who can't learn anything can do anything when he is pushed to the limit."
　　"If he is really talented, and has passed the imperial examination and made a name for himself, he would still be here. Wouldn't he have gone to the Hanlin Academy long ago?"
　　"Hanlin scholars are all future prime ministers. This guy is quite young. If he wants to pass the imperial examination, he will have to study for decades more!"
　　Everyone laughed, and a clerk on the side immediately flattered him, "He is not as good as our young master, who passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen. His future is so bright. It's just that our young master disdains worldly affairs and lives in seclusion in the court."
　　The petty officials who flattered the powerful and bullied the weak and had been in the business for a long time started talking about Wen Haocheng so much that he wished he had three heads and six arms and eighteen heads. The young man in front of him was enjoying the praise and flattery, and he was immediately in high spirits. He wanted to make this young man who was ignorant of the world and dared to use the name of Jun suffer a little.
　　Wen Yanei winked at the person next to him and said, "Bring that thing that you can't even understand."
　　"Hey." The man said.
　　A moment later, Zheng Yuheng had just found the two accounts of the Changping Warehouse and Baishan Warehouse in the rows of large bookcases behind everyone when he was patted on the shoulder.
　　He turned around and saw an ordinary, smiling scribe holding a heavy box of official documents and account books in his hands, and put them on Zheng Yuheng's desk with a bang.
　　Even the old and fragile table of the Cangbusi creaked under the heavy weight.
　　Zheng Yuheng was stunned for a moment. He also heard a few words of the discussion of the group of people just now, but he didn't hear the words that Wen Yanei ordered, so he was a little surprised by the sudden change in the attitude of the person in front of him.
　　The book order said: "The chief is new, so it's not good to ask you to handle such a difficult thing right away. It just so happens that the Cangbu Division has a box of old accounts that have not been proofread. It was newly turned out when His Majesty ascended the throne last year. Because it is too simple and boring, no one takes it seriously, so it has been kept until now."
　　He opened the box, as if introducing some treasure to Zheng Yuheng, and said proudly: "Please learn to look at this first."
　　Zheng Yuheng felt that there was something fishy, ​​but he came to the Ministry of Revenue to do this. He was afraid that he would not be able to get in touch with the actual account discrepancies, so he agreed: "I will do my best, put it here."
　　On the other side, in the circle of drinking and gambling, Wen Haocheng took out a handful of money from his pocket and threw it up, letting them grab it at will. Hearing the conversation between the two, he sneered and snorted: Just you? This is a mess, even if the Yuanwailang comes, he can't figure it out. You are still young and arrogant! Sooner or later, I will make you get out of here.
　　...
　　Cining Palace.
　　The emperor sat beside him, with Dong Lingjiu at the top. Below him were several chairs. The important officials of the Secretariat, the old ministers, the Dali Temple, and the chief of the Censorate, about five or six people, almost all of them shared the responsibility of the prime minister.
　　This kind of discussion scene was rare even in the Cining Palace.
　　Dong Lingjiu never sat behind the curtain, but he did not speak to preside over the overall situation. He just sat there drinking tea and listening to the emperor's decision and the ministers' speeches.
　　Originally, this would not have happened. It was because the little emperor was scolded by the ministers yesterday and was so angry that he could not sleep all night. After seeing Geng Zhe's secret report, he discussed with the court officials for a whole day, and the dispute was endless, like a hawk.
　　These old ministers were also strong and energetic. They were not afraid of Meng Cheng's authority, and their opinions were different. In addition to arguing with the emperor, they also quarreled with each other's political enemies. In short, they were dissatisfied with other people's policies.
　　After hearing this, Dong Lingjiu said softly: "What insights do they have? Tell me, a woman in the deep palace, about them."
　　So this fight happened.
　　In this world, if Empress Dowager Dong is still considered an "ignorant woman in the deep palace", then all the civil and military officials in the court can dismiss themselves and resign.
　　All the ministers gathered together, and there was no rampant dispute as in the past few days. Several of those who were in poor health finally trembled and sweated profusely. A group of people discussed the strategy for dealing with the murder of the imperial envoy.
　　Dong Lingjiu sat there, flipping through a scripture, turning coral beads in her hands, with a relaxed and peaceful expression, as if she didn't hear what they were talking about at all.
　　"You are really biased." Inside the hall, Minister Gan, who was sitting in his original seat, stood up and said to the Chief of the Xiantai and Imperial Censor Wei Zefang, "We are talking about this matter today not so that you can first investigate violations of regulations and mistakes in the charter. General Geng hasn't even come back yet, but we have to judge his crime first?"
　　Wei Zefang shook his snow-white beard, half closed his eyelids, and said motionless: "Old Minister, how can this be biased? It is the responsibility of the Imperial Censorate to manage criminal law and correct the crimes of all officials. Doesn't it mean that he is not an official just because he is away?"
　　"That shouldn't be..."
　　"He beheaded two county governors in a row!" Wei Zefang said stubbornly, "Without the emperor's order, and without the official seal of the Secretariat!"
　　Gan Wenyi turned to look at the others. One of the Vice-Ministers spoke, but he was trying to smooth things over: "You two, don't be anxious. His Majesty mentioned this last night. Can't the general's merits offset the general's faults?"
　　"Qian Changji." Wei Zefang glanced at him coldly, "A merit is a merit, a fault is a fault. There has always been a way to make up for a fault, not to make up for a fault."
　　Minister Xu spoke slowly: "Old Wei, His Majesty said yesterday that the general only has merits, not faults. Aren't you disobeying me?"
　　"I'm..." "
　　Cough."
　　Dong Lingjiu covered her lips and coughed twice. Although she was in much better health, she still had an itchy throat occasionally in the cold and dry winter.
　　The hall was instantly silent, and the controversial words stopped instantly. Everyone turned their heads and waited for the empress dowager's instructions.
　　The empress dowager took another sip of tea, turned the Buddhist scriptures over a page, tilted her head to look at Meng Cheng, and said softly and gently: "Several adults, stop talking. Is it the emperor's turn?" Meng
　　Cheng woke up as if from a dream, and quickly sorted out the topic and told the prepared draft one by one.