Volume 1 The Wind Rises Chapter 11: Personal attention to detail
Yanhe Hall!
Cui Yan, the attendant of Kaifeng Prefecture, was waiting respectfully outside the hall.
I've been waiting for half an hour.
Behind him were three senior officials awaiting the hearing.
Cui Yan was accustomed to this situation.
Guo Rong had been on the throne for less than a year, and many people in the world did not know what the new emperor of the Great Zhou was capable of, or whether he was as steady and composed as his father Guo Wei.
After all, there are too many people who died in two or three generations. In the past fifty years, the Central Plains has changed more than ten emperors...
The emperor had little prestige at all.
Arrogant soldiers and generals are difficult to control, and powerful officials and civil servants each have their own thoughts.
All of the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han dynasties were short-lived, with internal troubles, military generals rebelling against their superiors, and the powerful and wealthy fighting against each other.
Is the Great Zhou an exception?
Be it the surrounding separatist forces or the military governors with heavy troops, they all have their own thoughts and are watching the Central Plains and the performance of Guo Rong, the Emperor of the Great Zhou.
Compared with the external centrifugal force, the power within the Great Zhou was gradually consolidating.
Guo Rong never concealed his ambitions and displayed the strength of a wise ruler. He gave unprecedented expectations to the civil and military officials in the court. They all believed that by following Guo Rong, they could get everything they wanted.
To achieve this in a very short time is inseparable from Guo Rong's way of doing things personally, paying attention to every detail.
In addition to court meetings, Guo Rong privately received officials at all levels, learned about their work assignments, and established a brand new look for the Great Zhou, .
Watching the Minister of Personnel walk out of the hall.
Cui Yan straightened his clothes and strode into the hall.
"Your Majesty!"
Guo Rong stared at the memorial on the table without raising his head, waved his hand and said, "No need to be polite!"
As he spoke, he closed the memorials in his hands, took a piece of oil cake that had been cold for who knows how long from the other corner of the desk, took two bites, and then asked about the formulation of the criminal law.
Cui Yan said in embarrassment: "I have convened officials from Kaifeng Prefecture to discuss this issue many times. Zhang Yue advocates using severe punishments in times of chaos to restrain the people with criminal law, which I quite agree with. However, Lu Bin advocates implementing benevolent policies and educating the people with lenient punishments and benevolent policies. This is the only way to stabilize the people's hearts. His opinion has been supported by many officials. Both of them make sense, but I am incompetent and cannot make a decision for the time being."
Guo Rong also frowned. He was impatient and acted in an extreme way. With his temper, he would directly impose severe punishment. Whoever did not listen would be killed, and then the whole group would be punished to see who dared to mess around again.
But just as he was getting angry, he thought of Feng Dao and his words, "Your Majesty cannot be compared with Emperor Taizong of Tang," and "Your Majesty is not Mount Tai!"
Calm down instantly!
Especially now, the four military governors and the surrounding separatist forces are under the watchful eyes of the public and can only suppress this impulse.
Guo Rong suppressed his anger and slammed the table, saying: "Kaifeng Prefecture was established for the people, and it is related to the people's livelihood in our Great Zhou. This most basic core system has not been finalized, how can it be? If they want to argue, let them argue. If they can't reach a conclusion, get out of here. Our Great Zhou does not support termites..."
Cui Yan was so frightened that he dared not say a word.
Just when he was about to ask Cui Yan to leave, Guo Rong suddenly thought of someone, Luo Youdu.
The incident between Wei Renpu and Zhao Kuangyin had caused quite a stir, so the Great Zhou Emperor remembered this name and had some impression of it. He casually asked, "How is Luo Youdu in Kaifeng Prefecture?"
Cui Yan did not dare to speak loudly, and said softly: "Like a fish in water! This boy is a smart person. Zhang Yue and Lu Bin, who don't like each other, both praise him. And he himself is indeed a talent. In just one month, he easily finished the "Da Zhong Criminal Law Classification", which is amazing."
Guo Rong also widened his eyes, looking incredulous.
As an emperor, he worked hard, and he could not sleep well until the system of Kaifeng Prefecture was decided.
He specially looked for "Da Zhong Criminal Law General Class" to read, and when he couldn't find it, he made the decision on his own.
It’s just that everyone has their own specialties, and the records on criminal law in the Da Zhong Xing Lv Tong Lei are messy, profound, lengthy and boring. It is difficult to understand for people who are not well versed in this field, and they really don’t have the energy to understand it all.
It is not something that most people can do to become familiar with the Da Zhong Criminal Law Comprehensive Classification in just one month.
Guo Rong asked with great interest: "What is Luo Youdu's attitude towards Yan Kuan's debate?"
Cui Yan said: "I guess he knows that he is still inexperienced, so he sat at the end of the three meetings and said nothing."
"Stupid!" Guo Rong shouted angrily, "What do you mean by inexperienced? How can a person who dares to kick Zhao Kuangyi's ass a person who read the Dazhong Criminal Law in a month not dare to speak because of his inexperience? I think that kid has seen through your indecisive nature and is unwilling and afraid to speak out."
Cui Yan was frightened and quickly knelt down and said, "I acknowledge my guilt."
Guo Rong looked at Cui Yan, who was trembling with fear, and sighed, shaking his head. He felt tired both physically and mentally.
There is a severe shortage of talent.
If there really was a suitable candidate, with Cui Yan's personality, he would definitely not be able to hold such a key position as Kaifeng Prefecture's Attendant under him.
But the world was in turmoil, military power was valued over literature, and the status of scholars was lower than ever before.
The streets were full of strong warriors, and there were hardly any scholars wandering around. The occasional one or two would walk with their bodies huddled low, so as not to anger the rough man on the street and get a beating.
There are many examples of uneducated military governors easily humiliating scholars.
In such an environment, an excellent civil servant is extremely scarce.
Although Cui Yan was indecisive and could not make up his mind, he was indeed very talented in criminal matters. If someone else took over, he might not be able to do as well as he did.
"never mind!"
Guo Rong paused and said, "How about this, bring him to see me tomorrow evening."
Cui Yan left the hall in a panic, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and let out a long breath. It was obvious that he was very scared.
When Cui Yan informed Luo Youdu that Guo Rong wanted to see him, he was completely confused.
"see me?"
Luo Youdu was filled with disbelief. How could a minor official like him, an eighth-rank official, be able to meet the Emperor of Zhou so soon?
Cui Yan was not surprised at all and explained, "The emperor is like this. He has to take care of many things personally. This is your chance, so seize it. What the court lacks most now is talent. If you are lucky enough to get the emperor's favor, you will be able to take off." As he spoke, he patiently explained to Luo Youdu the many rules of meeting the emperor.
Upon hearing this, Luo Youdu thanked him repeatedly and kept this kindness in his heart.
Cui Yan was a good man with considerable talents, but he was too indecisive. He was an efficient official but not a manager.
If he was the person in charge, the dispute between Zhang Yue and Lu Bin would have been settled long ago.
There was no chance for the two of them to start fighting, which turned Kaifeng Prefecture upside down.
But as a person of low status, if I intervene in this matter, it will only cause unhappiness on both sides. In this situation, the best way is to protect yourself.
Luo Youdu remembered that history books said that Chai Rong personally took care of every detail, and he thought it was an embellishment, but now it seems to be true.
As the king of a country, the emperor has to take care of everything personally. Who can bear such a workload?
