Promotion Letter for the Chief Executive

After the matter of martial arts was handed over to Feng Yutang, Ping An suddenly became busy and could hardly find time to take care of him.

Ping An can only be thankful that he thought of it in advance, so he transferred Feng Yutang back, otherwise the matter of martial arts would have to be put on hold for now.

At this time, it was the summer of Xiping's 25th year, and God seemed to be against Zhao Can this year. First, there was a severe drought in the north for nearly two months without a single drop of rain.After the beginning of summer, there were continuous torrential rains in the south of the Yangtze River, and typhoons even blew up in the coastal areas, destroying many villages and fertile fields.

With the superposition of the two phases, the situation of Dachu at this time is naturally not optimistic.

After receiving the news, Zhao Can and Ping An have been working overtime to deal with this matter, and everything else can only be postponed temporarily.

This incident came a bit unprepared, but to be honest, it was just right for Ping An and Zhao Can.They started planning a few years ago, dug a big pit for King Qi and Prime Minister Xu Youtiao in Luozhou, and successfully lured them into the pit.Now, it's almost time to fill it with soil.

The only key is whether they can stabilize the court at this time.

After all, Zhao Can had only just ascended the throne, and although he carried great power, he almost overwhelmed everyone else as soon as he came to power, and there seemed to be no voice of opposition in the entire court.But in fact, it just looks like it.

It is impossible for everyone to be convinced by Zhao Can, and the undercurrents in private have never been less.

It's just that they didn't get many opportunities before, and they couldn't make much trouble, so they seemed peaceful.But now that such a big incident happened in Dachu, if it is not handled properly, these people can jump out immediately and reverse the situation.At that time, Zhao Can will be at a disadvantage, and many things will be out of his control.

Political games have always been like this, so at this critical juncture, naturally nothing can be distracted.

Zhao Can did the previous things very well.Disaster relief, tax exemption, these things are handled according to the procedures of previous years, and there will be no big mistakes.If there is food and drink, the common people will calm down and stop making trouble.When this period of time passes, as long as they don't become refugees and continue farming next year, the matter will naturally be over.

Especially since Zhao Can ordered the local government to open warehouses to release grain, the situation became even better.

But in this way, the large amount of stored grain has been reduced, and seeing that this year's harvest is not enough, where will the rations for the entire Great Chu come from now to next summer?This is the hardest part.

And it's fine for ordinary people to starve, after all, they are unarmed, even if there is a civil uprising, nothing major will happen.But the army is different. Once the food and grass cannot be provided, it may cause a mutiny, which is a very serious loss for Da Chu.

So now everyone is staring at this place, waiting to see where Zhao Can conjures food.

If this problem can't be solved, the emperor who has shown his iron and blood skills since the beginning of his position may be attacked by the crowd.

Fortunately, for this situation, Ping An and Zhao Can had anticipated it and made sufficient preparations for it.Although according to their thinking, they hope to wait for another two years and wait until they are fully prepared before doing anything, but now that there is a natural disaster, things will inevitably be brought forward.

Even if it is difficult for the time being, but as the saying goes, the time will never come again. At this time, the hidden dangers will be eliminated, so that you can let go and do things safely in the future.

Besides, that's all for King Qi, Xu You can be regarded as Ping'an's enemy, since he has reached this point, this hatred will be avenged easily, there is no point in waiting any longer.

It's just that this process is inevitably a little thrilling.

It didn't take long for them to receive a report from the Imperial City Secretary: The disaster relief food distributed by the imperial court was actually exploited layer by layer, and less than one out of ten actually went to the victims.

This is pretty good, after all, there are a lot of people sent by the court, and everyone knows that the court will provide disaster relief. If they don't send out at all, it will not benefit these corrupt officials to cause civil uprisings, so it is still "" Moderate".As for the grain stored in the local Changping warehouse, almost all of it was corrupted, and there was not a single grain left.

Anyway, how much food is in the warehouse, the people above will not know.Find an opportunity to smooth out the ledger, and naturally there will be no problems.

Although there is an Imperial City Division, corrupt officials are banned all the time, and there are always people who dare to challenge Wang Fa.Especially in this case, there are dozens of officials involved from top to bottom. Perhaps for these people, they think that the law does not blame the public, and if something goes wrong, the people above will naturally defend them, so they are naturally unscrupulous .

Of course, more importantly, they have forgotten that the current emperor is not like the first emperor, if it is just a small matter of corruption, the amount is not large, and he will often let it go lightly.

Zhao Can is missing one thing to stand up.

"If there's any good news, it's that this incident seems to have something to do with Xu You." Zhao Can said to Pingan.

Ping An was a little surprised, "Xu You? He doesn't seem like someone who would do such things at this juncture."

As for the "good news" that Zhao Can said, Ping An felt that if it was true, it could barely be counted.Anyway, they were preparing to liquidate Xu You, and this accusation came up as a pretext, so as not to spread the word in the future that Zhao Can couldn't tolerate people, and he would clean up the old officials left behind by the late emperor as soon as he ascended the throne.

Zhao Can said, "Of course it's not him. It's just that in his position, colluding interests behind him is no longer his business. Those involved in this matter are his students. He was also single-handedly promoted and recommended."

At this time, the law still pays attention to continuous sitting. As a teacher, if a student commits a crime, Xu You will naturally be implicated.Besides, in the conflict of interests, if it is said that the students have not respected him, no one will believe it.Xu You really had no way to prove his innocence.

"Then check it out." Ping An said, "It's also good for people to know that His Majesty is not so easy to fool. It will be much easier to do things later."

Zhao Can nodded, "I think the same way, but I haven't decided who to send to investigate. It must be someone with outstanding ability and will not bend the law for personal gain. It's a bit embarrassing."

Although Zhao Can has many cronies, most of them have only been in the court for a short time, their status is low, and their prestige is not enough. It is not appropriate for them to come forward at this time.

Pingan smiled and said, "Isn't there a most suitable candidate in front of me?"

"Who?"

"Gu Wenheng, Mr. Gu. He is a man left to you by the late emperor. He has been in other places for many years and has rich experience. He also knows enough about the dirty things below. He is honest and honest. He has no interests behind him. Your Majesty should be able to rest assured. ?” Ping An said.

Zhao Can was thoughtful when he heard the words, "Let him go to Yushitai?"

Ping An nodded, that was exactly what he meant.Zhao Can hadn't figured out how to use this person before, but Pingan thought about it and felt that this position was very suitable for him.And in the future, as the various reforms he wants to implement are realized one by one, the responsibility of supervision will become heavier and heavier, and no mistakes will be allowed.Leaving it to Gu Wenheng is also reassuring.

Seeing that Zhao Can also agreed with this idea, Ping An said again, "My idea is to let the Imperial City Division cooperate with his actions."

"What are you planning to do?" Zhao Can was keenly aware of the deep meaning in Ping'an's proposal, he pondered for a moment, and said, "Could it be that you plan to merge the Imperial City Division into Yushitai?"

"There is such a plan, but it is not that the Huangcheng Division is merged into Yushitai. To be precise, it is planned to merge the Huangcheng Division and Yushitai to form a brand new supervision department." The two seem similar at first glance, but It's actually quite different.

If it's just a merger, it's simply stuffing people from the Imperial City Division into the Yushitai for running-in.But with the establishment of a new department, official positions, functions, rights and responsibilities, promotions, etc. must be redefined.

What Ping An wants is not an expanded Yushitai, but a qualified supervisory department.

After all, today's censor has the right to "hear things and play things".In other words, if he hears a rumor, he doesn't need to care whether it is true or not, he can directly refer to the book.This kind of irresponsible rules made many censors more courageous and became dogs that would bite anyone they saw, which eventually brought down the atmosphere in the entire officialdom.

There are even many censors. When they were fledglings, they might be seeking fame or promotion. In short, adhering to the principle that they would rather kill the wrong than let them go, they caught all the important officials in the court and participated in it one by one.If he is unsuccessful, the important ministers will not be able to argue with him.If he succeeds by luck, he will become famous in one fell swoop, and it will be easy to rise to the top ever since.

The supervision department that Ping An wants is by no means like this.

It's the same when switching to the Imperial City Division.

The Imperial City Division, who was originally just looking for gossip in Beijing, was trained by Ping An to become an intelligence department.

But this kind of thing is more useful in wartime, and it is used more externally. If it is used internally, once it is flooded, it may cause panic among people, which is definitely not a good thing.Therefore, Ping An has always hoped to put constraints on the Imperial City Secretary so that they can't act so recklessly.

However, with his departure, this binding force gradually decreased.The current Imperial City Division is because the emperor did not really display their abilities, otherwise, it is bound to expand in a short period of time.Ping An cannot guarantee that all future emperors will be able to do this. After all, some emperors with a strong desire for control will never be willing to let the Imperial City Secretary use it.

So he simply took precautions before they happened, completely dismantled the Huangcheng Division and Yushitai, broke the original rules, purged some people, set up new departments, and established new rules.

A department that pays attention to evidence and is bound by law, and will not develop into a monster that everyone fears.

Zhao Can was a little surprised and said, "The Secretary of the Imperial City is your own painstaking effort, I thought you would be reluctant." Besides, his behavior shows that he is not very satisfied with the Secretary of the Imperial City, but this is his own Built by hand.Are you denying your past self?

Pingan shook his head, "It's just to adapt to the needs of different periods, and this time the demolition and consolidation will mainly focus on the functions of the Imperial City Secretary. But all of these will depend on whether the adults can bear such responsibilities in the future, and then make a decision. "

After all, although the Yushitai is independent of the Six Departments and the Zhengshitang, and is directly responsible to the emperor, it is still an internal part of the civil service system and is inextricably linked with the adults in the Zhengshitang.Once it is moved, it will definitely attract a lot of attention and backlash.

Therefore, Pingan believes that the case of embezzlement of ink and food and silver should be settled first, and then Xu You and King Qi will be cleaned up. At that time, the court will definitely feel his deterrent power and tame him for a period of time.It is much safer to do it again during this period of time.

But the plan can be made in advance.

The matter was discussed and decided, Zhao Can immediately summoned Gu Wenheng to meet him. ——He is now in the Hanlin Academy, so it is very convenient to come from there.

Hearing the new mission entrusted to him by the emperor, Gu Wenheng took it without hesitation.

He became famous at a young age and was very talented, that's why he was valued by the late emperor and planned to leave it to the new emperor.But it's hard to say whether Xinjun will use him or not.After all, with the imprint of the former emperor on his body, who knows if he will be alienated because of it?

Especially during this period of time in the Hanlin Academy, it seemed that he had a noble position and was a close minister of the emperor, but in fact Gu Wenheng knew that he had no room for development at all.

Maybe he can continue to survive like this in the Imperial Academy, and after ten or twenty years, he may have a chance to make his mark.But that would definitely not be the path Gu Wenheng wanted to take.

Fortunately, he saw Ping An, Zhao Can can use one, so naturally he can use the other.So I always have a little hope in my heart.

Now that he heard Zhao Can leave this matter to himself, he understood that this was an opportunity for him and a test for him.If he can do it or even do it well, then the emperor will naturally use him.But if it doesn't work, there won't be another chance in the future.

The next day, Zhao Can issued an order to promote Gu Wenheng to the official position of inspector censor, patrolling hunting on behalf of the sky, on the surface, to deliver supplies, appease the victims, and show the kindness of the royal family.But in fact, it is necessary to secretly investigate the corruption of all officials, their connections with each other, and even go back to the person who manipulated this matter.

Of course, Gu Wenheng did not do this alone. Zhao Can had secretly ordered the people from the Imperial City Division to cooperate, and also handed over the part of the information he had obtained so far.

"Gu Qing just go and investigate, don't have any worries. I'm here to support you! But you also have to remember, what I want is solid evidence, so that they don't have any room for sophistry, understand?" He said Said to Gu Wenheng.

Gu Wenheng nodded calmly, "I understand, and I will definitely live up to His Majesty's grace!"

"Go, I'm waiting for you in the capital." Zhao Can let go of his hand and said very satisfied.

Gu Wenheng backed out with his head down, but the moment he turned to leave, he raised his head, and the solemn expression on Zhao Can's face flashed away in his eyes.

Gu Wenheng once again affirmed the meaning contained in Zhao Can's words: Even if the important officials in the court were found in the end, Zhao Can would definitely not tolerate it.All he needs to do is to investigate boldly, and everything will be borne by the emperor.

Of course, this is just the emperor's statement. In fact, in Gu Wenheng's opinion, the emperor may have already targeted a certain adult in Zhongshu, and this matter must be directed at the other party!Otherwise, he didn't need to explain so much to himself in advance.

What he was going to face was an important minister of a country, but Gu Wenheng didn't have any fear or fear in his heart, but was full of excitement.

Gu Wenheng became famous in one fell swoop at the age of 15, known all over the world!However, it has been silent for more than ten years without doing anything.I'm afraid many people have long since forgotten their existence.But now, he wants to use this incident to let these people know that Gu Wenheng, who was once amazingly talented and amazing, is back!

Is there a better chance than this?

Walking out of the original palace, Gu Wenheng looked up at the gloomy sky and took a deep breath—the sky in the capital is about to change.

No, it has changed a long time ago.It's just that many people haven't seen it clearly.

Gu Wenheng clenched the materials in his hands, took a deep breath, and quickly left the palace.

The allocated food relief is completely sufficient.In the past, because some officials were greedy for ink, it seemed insufficient. Now that Gu Wenheng is going to investigate, every grain of food will be used on the victims of the disaster. It is definitely enough, so Zhao Can and Pingan's attention can be slightly diverted from this matter.

What they should pay attention to is the situation of grain reserves in other places.This part of disaster relief is not counted. The remaining food must be enough for everyone in Dachu to eat from this year to next year. This is considered to have overcome the difficulties.Even if a lot of preparations have been made before safety, there is no guarantee until the last moment.

Fortunately, Zhang Dongyuan soon brought good news.

At the beginning, in order to avoid the leakage of news, let the interested people notice in advance.Therefore, the promotion of new varieties of grain, only adopted two methods.

The first is military settlements, where the army reclaims land and sows seeds in their spare time.Because there is a lot of deserted land in the frontier, and the number of troops is also large, the land they reclaimed is naturally also a lot.Probably no one would have imagined that the barren frontier in their impression has already been filled with crops, right?

Even the sandy land was not abandoned, but two crops, potatoes and sweet potatoes, were planted.These can also be used as staple food to satisfy the hunger when necessary.

The second way is that Zhao Can will spend money from his private treasury to buy land in the frontier for reclamation and plantation.Because the matter was done strictly and the local government was not alarmed, the news has not been spread so far.

In the first one or two years, first of all, the newly reclaimed wasteland had poor soil quality, and the grain seeds had not fully adapted to the climate here, so the output was not much.But it also greatly reduced the grain and grass transported by the imperial court there.Later, the situation got better and better, and the output gradually stabilized.

Although the drought this year has affected the crops in the field a little, the growth is not bad, and the harvest should not be too bad.This drought-resistant variety can be regarded as having passed the test and can be promoted nationwide.

This part of the harvest was sufficient to supply the entire army, and perhaps a surplus.In addition, many of the production in previous years have been stored and not used, which adds up to a considerable amount, which should be able to make up for the part of the production reduction after the disaster.

In particular, the northwest region was originally a disaster area, but in fact the population here is small, and the land production is low. Most people do not rely on the ground to make a living.So in fact the loss suffered is limited.However, other places in Dachu were not affected by disasters, and they were barely able to support themselves.So after all, the place where the real grain production has decreased is Jiangnan.

In the south of the Yangtze River, the reason for the reduction in grain production is not just the disaster.In fact, in the past few years, the land used for farming in the south of the Yangtze River has dropped sharply, and its own food production has been decreasing rapidly.

So if you just want to fill in this part of the hole, although there is no specific calculation, Ping An thinks that the difference should not be too much.In addition, there are Changping warehouses to store grain in various places, so naturally there will be no problem.

With this kind of guarantee, Ping An's heart was finally relieved.

Because the disaster in the south of the Yangtze River is more serious, Gu Wenheng went here.As for the northwest, there is an army controlling it, and there is no particularly serious situation yet.Although corruption is inevitable, [-]% to [-]% of the [-]% of the food supplies will go to the victims.So there is no rush to use the knife on them for the time being.

In Zhao Can's private heart, he hoped that after seeing Jiangnan's reaction, they would take the initiative to spit out these things, which would save a lot of trouble.

And Gu Wenheng did not disappoint Zhao Can. From the moment he left the capital and entered the boundary of Jiangnan Road, the situation changed and the memorials flew like snowflakes.

Some of them belonged to Gu Wenheng, and every time there was evidence to participate in a certain or a certain group of officials.But more, it was the officials of Jiangnan Road who consulted Gu Wenheng, thinking that he was acting recklessly at this time to "shake the hearts of the people, and his heart can be punished", and made various charges to kill Gu Wenheng.

"Do they think I'm a fool?" Zhao Can sneered and dropped the memorial.

Ping An said, "Not necessarily, maybe it's just to build momentum first." He frowned as he said, "I'm afraid Mr. Gu's safety is very worrying." If these officials united to kill Gu Wenheng, when the time comes "The disaster victims were so angry that they killed them by accident," but the imperial court had nothing to do.

Because Ping An has reason to believe that gathering the people and instigating such an accident is by no means difficult for those people.

"It shouldn't matter if there are people from the Imperial City Division." Zhao Can said, "I also asked Tianshu to send a team of people to follow, just to avoid alarming others, and didn't reveal their identities."

Only then did Ping An breathe a sigh of relief, "That's fine, if something happens to Gu Wenheng..."

Before finishing a sentence, Xiao Fuzi ran in from outside the hall full of excitement, shouting as he ran, "It's done, it's done! Your Majesty is done!"