Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 301 Sima Lang: It’s Too Hard for Me
After three rounds of drinks at the banquet, everyone started talking about more relaxed topics, with many people looking forward to the future...
Sima Lang witnessed the rapid changes in Nanjing, and his heart was beating faster and faster, especially when... someone from the Ministry of Revenue came to talk to Sima Lang about the transaction between the Navy and Gongsun Kang.
Facts have proved that he was the one who was truly stupid when he thought half a year ago that "Bai Tu's plan to make a deal with Gongsun Kang was a pipe dream"!
Sima Lang could only hope that the cost of sea transportation would be higher, otherwise... trading horses with Liaodong would be more cost-effective than trading with Cao Cao in any way.
What’s even more frightening is that these people are complaining about slow development every day and blaming other departments for lagging behind, regardless of the fact that in Sima Lang’s view - you are all going to fly to heaven, okay?
This is also the most helpless point for Sima Lang. For other things, Sima Lang can still use the excuse that "it is not his job", but... observing the General's Mansion is the latest order given to him by Cao Cao.
This was a private letter from Cao Cao to Sima Lang secretly brought by the imperial envoy before the New Year, who nominally came to reward Bai Tu for returning the imperial seal.
Sima Lang could also feel that Cao Cao was eager to imitate Bai Tu!
There are special spies to uncover the secrets of the salt fields and iron smelting. What Sima Lang needs to do is to explore changes in other aspects of the General's Mansion.
However……
Sima Lang is now quite popular in the officialdom of Jinling, although his status is awkward and people are not willing to confide in him, plus there is an "Uncle Zhang" who always mocks him in various ways... But overall, he is still doing well.
But when it comes to the achievements of the General's Mansion...
Friends in the Ministry of Industry will tell him that these are all researched by us. Do you understand science and technology? The Lord said that science and technology is the primary productive force... As for other departments, they are just helping us. It doesn't matter whether they have them or not. A dog can do their work even if given a piece of white meat.
Friends in the Ministry of Civil Affairs would give him examples, saying that we built these canals, we tidied these rivers, and we taught farmers how to grow crops. Need I say more? What? The Ministry of Works only has lofty ideas, so we should do practical things. The Ministry of Personnel is a drag, and we will impeach them sooner or later. The Ministry of Revenue… collects money for us!
Friends in the Ministry of Revenue would complain to him that they were the only ones who plowed the land, while the others were the hungry wolves who sat back and enjoyed the fruits of others' labor. Without them, what projects could be carried out? What research projects could be established? Moreover, these people did not know how to be grateful...
The big boss of the Ministry of Personnel would only say with a proud face that without their diligent quarterly evaluation, would other departments work hard? Whose credit is it? Can't you see it with your vision like Sima Lang?
The humble gentlemen of the Ministry of Rites would use a cup of tea to express their courtesy and praise other ministries. They would then briefly mention how many officials of each ministry, especially the grassroots officials, were recommended or even trained by the Ministry of Rites, and that their small help was not worth mentioning, and they would talk about this for two or three hours.
The cold-faced guest of the Ministry of Justice basically hangs his head during the month of quarterly evaluation. At other times, he attributes the stability of Yangzhou to himself, and swears that the crime rate affects productivity and so on...
Even the pork seller Song Xian would call him "Brother Sima" and explain to him the logical dialectical relationship of "Without castrated pork, there would be no general's mansion". He would also tell him about the difficulties he encountered when raising pigs, how he recorded data every day, adjusted the feed ratio in each pen, and studied the best time to sell the pigs... As a result, when Sima Lang ate pork, he would always see Song Xian's shiny bald head emerging from the bowl!
Sima Lang, who has studied for many years, understands that you are just lying to me.
However...from Song Xian's face, and even from everyone's face, Sima Lang saw full of "belief".
In their hearts, they are not "competing for credit", but they believe this from the bottom of their hearts!
Regardless of whether Sima Lang believed it or not, he believed in their own words anyway.
This is exactly what is so scary about the General's Mansion. Every department is convinced that they are the focus and the greatest contributors to the General's Mansion.
Sima Lang believed that there must be someone behind this who was constantly praising them from all sides...
Unfortunately, Sima Lang's identity meant that he could only make friends with middle-level officials, and he dared not "investigate" Bai Tu's whereabouts. Otherwise, he would have found that Bai Tu spent a quarter of his time strolling around various government offices in Jinling, and half of his time going to government offices in other counties or on the way to government offices.
"It's so difficult for me...Huh? Anguo, what are you writing?" Sima Lang looked at Cao Bang curiously.
Cao Bang, who often left Sima Lang and Cao Pi speechless at banquets , has been very quiet recently. He often holds a small notebook and writes with a portable pen. He even doesn't eat more than one plate of dessert after dinner, which surprised Sima Lang.
Cao Bang quickly covered it up, which made Sima Lang very embarrassed.
"Ahem, Master Anguo, I won't peek." Sima Lang said seriously.
Cao Pi, who was standing by, stole a glance. Cao Bang was only concerned with guarding against Sima Lang and did not notice Cao Pi...
Only half of the first page was exposed in the palm of his hand, and some intermittent words could be seen: "The script describes the weak and sickly protagonist, who has dreamed of joining the army since childhood, but was limited by his physical condition... Later, his firm will was affirmed by the female chief of the Ministry of Industry, and he participated in the latest single-person weapons experiment of the Ministry of Industry... In the end, he died together with Qu Yi, who stole the research results of the Ministry of Industry."
Cao Pi's eyes trembled, and he thought it would be better if Sima Lang didn't see it!
That’s right, recently the “Xianzhi Hall” under the Ministry of Rites is encouraging the public to write plays and is conducting a unified essay solicitation. It is said that after the works are adopted, they will be adapted into operas, with no restrictions on themes…
Xianzhiguan, which means "all the people know the news", is responsible for managing plays, vernacular novels, and the recently copied civilian gazettes, and other such matters.
It is said that there is no limit to the theme, but everyone knows that there are definitely limits on the theme, and it is best to be consistent with the values of the official repertoire. Cao Bang... is not only enthusiastic about participating in the competition, but also really understands these unspoken rules very well.
It’s just that Cao Pi didn’t know where to start to complain about this story.
What Cao Pi wanted to say the most was, why did the protagonist die together with Qu Yi in the end? Was the General's Mansion fighting with Yuan Shao? What about my father? What about your respected uncle? Was he killed by default? You will lose your dear cousins if you do this!
Afterwards, Cao Pi couldn't help but whisper to "Cao Bang": "In your book...where are my father and I?"
"Huh? No! Now the General's Office and the Prime Minister's Office are allied, so of course we can't write randomly!" Cao Bang said as a matter of course.
"Ah... so it's because of the alliance..." Cao Pi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After a while, Cao Pi finally reacted - if we don't form an alliance, the protagonist will die together with my father?
Cao Pi and Sima Lang were not the only ones who had mixed feelings...
Huang Yueying, who had her face towel turned upside down to cover the upper half of her face, was constantly making the dishes and desserts in front of her disappear. Her expression was gloomy at this time, but others could not see it.
After all, in the future envisioned by colleagues around him, they were all expecting to gain greater benefits from Jingzhou, and they all wanted to quickly occupy Jingzhou's industrial share, mainly the industrial population, before the Jingzhou gentry could react.
Although Huang Yueying did not have deep feelings for the Huang family and lacked a sense of belonging to the Nanjun family, she also thought of her own family, her aunt and her cousin at this time out of human nature...
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Bai Tu was traveling from Jinling to Shouchun, visiting military families and families of martyrs along the way. When he passed by a small county town, he was blocked by Huang Yueying.
"Huang Jijiu, isn't the Ministry of Works still on annual holiday? Why did you think of accompanying us for a visit?" Bai Tu asked curiously.
"It's not about your visit, it's another matter." Huang Yueying said seriously.
"Hmm?" Bai Tu was curious.
"Let's go to the office and talk privately." Huang Yueying looked around and said.
Although only two eyes are exposed, it can be seen from the white picture that Huang Yueying seems to have something really important to do.
Although it was said to be a private talk, Lu Lingqi still followed him. She had a good reason - what if you took out the hidden arrow when you went in and killed Bai Tu?
Huang Yueying did not mind Lu Lingqi's intention, but asked in a serious tone: "My Lord, what are you going to do with the Nanjun family?"
"Eh? Didn't I say that before? Treat everyone equally...it's just that they started slower than the Jiangdong families, so they always suffer some losses." Bai Tu said frankly.
It's good enough not to use them to provide benefits, but you can't let Bai Tu specifically suppress your old subordinates, right?
"My lord also said that he would not implicate his family, right?" Huang Yueying asked.
"That's right, what's wrong?" Bai Tu looked at Huang Yueying curiously. Although it might be difficult for other princes, Bai Tu felt that with his "personality" and credibility, he would not make Huang Yueying feel uneasy and ask for repeated confirmation.
Huang Yueying took a deep breath and said, "If my aunt and cousin are willing to surrender the state, would the lord be willing to reward them according to their merits and allow my cousin to stay in Nanjun forever?"
"Impossible." Bai Tu simply shook his head.
Huang Yueying couldn't help but ask angrily when she heard this: "Why? If they are willing to offer a state, a mere Nanjun..."
However, Huang Yueying's tone was more like "unconvinced" rather than dissatisfied, and it seemed that she was not dissatisfied on behalf of her aunt and nephew.
Bai Tu looked at Huang Yueying in surprise, and then he understood a little bit - although Huang Yueying was gifted in mechanical engineering and was intelligent, she was a little slow when it came to "fighting with others".
Permanently garrison Nanjun? Well, luckily it didn't say "permanently garrison Jingzhou", otherwise it would have become a joke, after all, Liu Biao himself couldn't garrison Jingzhou.
As for whether to govern Nanjun or not, it is obviously not a question for the prefect, but if Bai Tu agrees and really fulfills his promise, it is tantamount to promising the Nanjun aristocratic families autonomy.
"If it's just for your aunt and nephew, I can make them county marquises, with a fief of a thousand households and the same social status as Chu. It's a real powerful position and I will definitely not use it for trading, and there will be no 'permanent presence'." Bai Tu was not stingy. If it could really reduce the casualties of the army, the "fief" could be divided up.
Huang Yueying looked at the white picture in surprise, then shook her lips vaguely and said, "It's really the same as what the old man said..."
"What?" Bai Tu didn't quite hear it.
"My father came to me to celebrate the New Year, and I asked him to help me persuade my aunt to join the general's mansion. My father told me... to ask my lord about this condition. If my lord does not agree, he will think of a way." Huang Yueying said.
That’s right, only if you don’t agree will Huang Chengyan find a way.
The subtext is that if you agree, it means that this man is not trustworthy at all!
Bai Tu rolled his eyes - Good fellow, I was wondering why you came to tempt me with the offer of Jingzhou before Liu Biao even died, it seems like we haven't even started yet, and you're teasing me on New Year's Day?
