Chinese dining table

Chapter 1215 The Smart Wu Brothers

The Yun family is now a big family.

Although there are only five masters, there are as many as sixteen retainers, and each retainer is in charge of a certain business. In total, there are at least nearly ten thousand people who rely on the Yun family for their livelihood.

It is not easy to sort out such a large family business in a short period of time.

When Yun Chu returned home this time, he listened to the reports from the nine retainers at home and arranged what the Yun family should do next and the main direction of development. Not only were the things complicated, some of them were extremely annoying.

For example, Yao Chong is currently in charge of the development of the Yellow River Ring Road.

It would be impossible to develop these remote areas in the Tang Dynasty without military support. After all, who knows that in that bay of the Yellow River lives a group of people who are unaware that the Sui Dynasty was destroyed and replaced by the Tang Dynasty.

In order to support Yao Chong's work, more than 50% of Yun's armed forces were sent to the Yellow River.

Therefore, Yun Chu officially took office on the eighth day after returning to Chang'an.

The former Chang'an governor Liu Rengui went to Luoyang to serve as prime minister, leaving only seventeen deputy governors in the garrison, among whom five were princes of the Li family.

The only prince who could really take care of things was Prince Yong.

After figuring out the true nature of the matter, Li Xian was no longer the hateful person he used to be. He had found his position very accurately, which was education.

He is now still the chief academic officer of the Imperial College of the Tang Dynasty, in charge of all official schools in Chang'an.

There are now 127 official schools in Chang'an city, ranging from Hongwenguan, Chongwenguan to Guozijian, Taixue, Simenxue, Luxue, Shuxue, Suanxue and other higher education institutions, to Chongxuanxue which specializes in teaching Taoist knowledge, medicine under the Imperial Medical Bureau, veterinary medicine under the Imperial Household Department, astronomy and calendar science under the Sitianjian, agronomy, seed science, botany and so on all under the Eastern Palace.

Even the official elementary schools and classics schools in Chang'an were under the control of Prince Yong.

Among all the deputy governors, Prince Yongxian had the highest status.

Among the deputy governors, there is the Grand Commander of the Hundred Cavalry Division, the Purple Gold Guanglu Doctor of the Censorate, the Vice Minister of the Secretariat, the Attendant of the Ministry of Palace Affairs, the Ministers of the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War, as well as the two generals of the Sixteen Guards of Chang'an, and Yun Chu.

The emperor promised to let Yun Chu serve as the governor of Chang'an, but the appointment decree has not come down yet, so Yun Chu no longer has any hope.

When Yun Chu didn't touch other people's power, the deputy guards in the room were all a group of humorous and generous good people. They would not infringe on other people's interests. Even if there was any sign of infringement, they would be strangled to death by these people.

When it's one against sixteen, there's basically no possibility of passing any decree. Yun Chu doesn't have the ability to satisfy the appetites of sixteen gluttons at the same time and still issue a good decree.

There is no way to issue a good decree covering the entire Chang'an area, and Yun Chu will never allow these people to reach out to Chang'an. In the two counties of Wannian, if anyone makes a move in this regard, there will be a bloody scene of chopped off hands and feet.

After having several banquets with the sixteen deputy governors, Yun Chu was very sure that these people had become too fat and bloated in Chang'an and it was time to kill them.

Yun Chu felt a little bit reluctant to see the bloody fratricide in Luoyang.

After having several banquets with the sixteen deputy governors of Chang'an, Yun Chu felt for the first time that what Li Zhi did in Luoyang was right. If Li Zhi still wanted to revive Luoyang, Yun Chu believed that each of these sixteen bastards around him should have their three clans exterminated to justify their behavior in Chang'an.

The banquet was held in the back court of Wannian County. Because there was a lot of work to do, it lasted for four days in total before these princes and dignitaries were appeased. When they left, these people praised the canteen of Wannian County and decided to improve the canteen of their own department after returning.

Although it is impossible to compare with the canteen in Wannian County, at least we should not lose face when holding the banquet.

After four whole days, this was the only work content accomplished by the 17 deputy governors of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty. As for the small matter of drought relief and relocating people from extremely dry areas to places with water sources, it was rejected as expected.

After dealing with the high-level matters, Yun Chu went to court in Wannian County.

The Wannian County officials beat drums to open the court. Because Yun Chu had a high official rank and was the deputy governor in charge of two counties, the officials of Chang'an County naturally had to come to the court to listen as well.

The people standing in the front were undoubtedly the two marquises Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi. Yun Chu didn't recognize any of the people standing within five feet behind them.

So he rudely asked everyone standing in front to get out of the way, and then he said to Lu Zhaolin and Yang Jiong who had appeared, "When I went on the expedition to the southwest, you were already the leaders of a department. Why are you now just the assistants?"

Lu Zhaolin stepped forward and said, "I am lucky. Because I am usually docile, I was trusted by the chief clerk and demoted by one level. Others are much more miserable than me. Many chief clerks are now worse off than menial servants."

Yun Chu stared at the Wu Chengsi brothers and asked, "Did you do this?"

Wu Chengsi spread his hands and said, "I am the magistrate of Chang'an, so I will not interfere in the management of Wannian County. Moreover, although there are personnel changes in Chang'an County, they are not related to the overall situation. More than 90% of the staff are old people, and I think they are quite easy to use."

Yun Chu nodded when he heard this. He believed that the Wu brothers should have this awareness.

Then, he cast his eyes on the anxious face of Wannian County Chief Clerk Lu Xiu, frowned and said, "You don't like them, right?"

Lu Xiu bowed and said, "Your Excellency, some officials in Wannian County have been in office for ten years, and there are many who have been in office for seven or eight years. For example, Lu Zhaolin and Yang Jiong have been in office in Wannian County for more than five years.

One person is responsible for one thing and cannot hold office for a long time. This is the custom of the dynasty."

Yun Chu listened to Lu Xiu's explanation and did not respond to him. Instead, he said directly to Lu Zhaolin and Yang Jiong: "Wannian County will be restored to the same state when I left Chang'an and I will be restored to the same state when I go to court again tomorrow."

Lu Xiu said anxiously: "My Lord, all personnel arrangements have gone through the procedures of the Ministry of Personnel, and the new personnel appointments have also passed the selection of the Ministry of Personnel and cannot be changed."

Yun Chu smiled and said, "There is nothing that cannot be changed. Just submit a new document to the Ministry of Personnel. If the person is not right today, we will bring him up again tomorrow."

Yun Chu knocked the gavel, which put an end to today's events.

When Yunchu went to the back hall, Lu Zhaolin lifted the hem of his robe, shook it heavily and said to Yang Jiong: "Fortunately, you didn't go to the army, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten this precious opportunity for promotion."

Yang Jiong smiled and said, "I still have to go to the army, but I can get more benefits after I get promoted."

Seeing the two men acting so arrogantly, Chief Clerk Lu Xiu came over and said, "I am the Chief Clerk of Wannian County appointed by the Emperor. Even if Marquis Yun is unhappy, what can he do to me?"

The Wu brothers looked at each other and felt that what was happening here had nothing to do with them, so they left first. They had known about the changes in Wannian County as early as when they came to Chang'an County to take up their posts.

Although Lu Xiu was the chief clerk appointed by the emperor, the Wu brothers did not think that the emperor would allow Lu Xiu to do whatever he wanted in Wannian County. The reason was that in Wannian County, Chang'an Xian's subordinate clerks could not be replaced by just anyone. They were all experienced clerks who were extremely familiar with Chang'an's rules and regulations and procedures, and were also well-versed in local affairs.

Not to mention, these petty officials were the old people who participated in the construction of Chang'an's rules and regulations. If Lu Xiu wanted to replace these old people, there were only two ways, one was promotion, and the other was honorary care. Of course, the prerequisite for both was to first train the people who would replace them.

Not only did the Wu brothers know this, but even those minor officials who were dismissed or demoted by the chief clerk also knew it. Therefore, when Lu Xiu dealt with the minor officials in the county government according to his own ideas, the minor officials had no complaints and simply turned around and left.

I have worked tirelessly in Wannian County for many years. Now, I would like to take this opportunity to give myself a long vacation. Wouldn't it be great if I could wait for your return and then come to serve you in your hall?

The Wu brothers left the hall and naturally came to Yun Chu's official residence. Wu Chengsi poured a cup of tea for Yun Chu, then poured some for his own brothers, and then said to Yun Chu: "Your Majesty cannot kill Lu Xiu."

Yun Chu asked in surprise: "When did I say I wanted to kill Lu Xiu?"

Wu Chengsi took a sip of tea and said, "My Lord, please don't hide it from us brothers. Just now, we brothers saw the murderous intent in your eyes clearly."

Yun Chu shook his head again and said, "I won't kill Lu Xiu. She just did what she should do as a chief accountant."

Wu Sansi took a sip of tea and said, "Your Majesty is killing people in Luoyang, so is it true that he has spared Chang'an?"

Yun Chu spread his hands and said, "It looks like he should have let it go."

Wu Chengsi laughed and said, "As soon as you left Luoyang, why did the evil ghost Zhou Xing follow you all the way west?"

Yun Chu said, "Wannian County has been lacking a county magistrate for many years. I originally wanted to give this position to the county lieutenant Zhang Jia, but Zhang Jia is a piece of rotten mud that cannot be helped up. The Ministry of Personnel insisted that Zhang Jia was born in a lowly family and that giving him a seventh-rank county lieutenant was a precedent. They refused to give him a sixth-rank county magistrate no matter what."

Wu Chengsi seemed not to have heard what Yun Chu said, and said slowly: "There are corpses everywhere in Luoyang, how could Chang'an be spared? However, Chang'an is not your Majesty's residence, so you should treat it less favorably and let Zhou Xing, this evil ghost, come and clean it up, right?"

Wu Sansi followed up and said, "Your Excellency must have made a great effort in this matter, letting Zhou Xing be the county magistrate of Wannian County. In this way, Your Excellency can control the size of this disturbance, right?"

Yun Chu smiled and said, "I have already informed the princes in Chang'an that His Majesty has gone to Jiucheng Palace to recuperate."

Wu Chengsi laughed and said, "Is there any contradiction between recuperation and killing? I know the temper of our uncle. Although he is physically weak, he has a strong mind. Just look at the things he wanted to do in recent years. Which one did he abandon halfway? Which one did not get a response or result?"

Wu Sansi laughed and said, "Your Majesty has weakened the power of the Queen and the Crown Prince. Why is it that only their power has been weakened, while the people in Chang'an are safe and sound and making a fortune?
Today, everything else about Lu Xiu is bullshit, except for one thing, which is that one person should do one thing and should not stay in one place for long. "

Yun Chu smiled and said, "If we talk about longevity, who can outlast me?"

Wu Chengsi laughed even louder.

"How much did you pay for this, could you tell me clearly? At least, we brothers know that the Yun family only has 30% of the shares of Liushui brand. The Yun family's industries east of Luoyang and north of Huainan have been replaced and sold. All the staff have withdrawn and turned to Shuzhong and the southwest. In the vast Hebei area, the Yun family is probably left with only a big city, right?"

Wu Sansi filled Yun Chu's teacup with water and said, "So, Chang'an is about to face a disaster?"

Wu Chengsi added: "Your Excellency will not suffer losses in vain. Since it was lost somewhere else, it must be found in Chang'an.

So, if you want to kill someone, you might as well tell us. We may not have any other abilities, but we are good at adding fuel to the fire."

Yun Chu thought for a moment and said, "Chang'an needs to move to a higher level, become more prosperous, more powerful, and more vital."

Wu Chengsi nodded and said, "Your Majesty, you mean that anyone who becomes an obstacle to Chang'an's development will be eliminated? That's good. Only by removing those who hinder us can we set out on our journey with ease and move faster."

Yun Chu slammed the table and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Zhou Xing came here to serve His Majesty. I don't have the ability to touch such a wealthy family."

Wu Sansi nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Excellency is right. With Zhou Xing here, we all live in fear. We dare not add fuel to the fire, nor do we dare to take the opportunity to eliminate dissidents. We can only work honestly."

Yun Chu scratched his head and said to the Wu brothers as if he had a toothache: "I should have beaten you brothers to death back then, instead of letting you become a disaster now."

"hahahahahahahahahaha……"

The Wu brothers simultaneously burst into loud laughter, seeming to be extremely proud.

(End of this chapter)