My father is Jiajing

Chapter 508 Can He Really Do It?

Meng Chong carefully brought up the prepared side dishes and snacks, and Zhu Zaigui and Huang Jin sat at two small tables respectively.

Zhu Zaiqi said: "Eunuch, please eat something first."

Huang Jin looked at the side dishes that had been served. He didn't act pretentiously. He thanked Zhu Zaigui again and then started eating with great appetite.

He might be the one who had the hardest time accompanying Emperor Jiajing on his trips to the Western Hills these days. In addition to serving Emperor Jiajing personally and taking care of his daily life, he also had to worry about the arrangements for the guards.

It can be said that Huang Jin has been very busy these days. Now he can finally take a break from discussing things at Prince Yu's Mansion and have a hearty meal. Huang Jin certainly won't have any psychological burden.

After all, over the years, he had been coming to Prince Yu's Mansion almost like going back to his own home, coming every few days, so there would be no problem in staying a little longer.

"Eat more vegetables. These vegetables were delivered from Shunyi early in the morning. There are many people in Shunyi now, and it's very lively. There are many glass greenhouses built, and the vegetables grown in them can't be eaten up at all."

Zhu Zaigui happily talked to Huang Jin about what was happening in Shunyi.

The current Shunyi Industrial Park has indeed changed a lot, and under Zhu Zaigui's deliberate operation, the Shunyi Industrial Park and its affiliated lands have been placed under the jurisdiction of the Beijing Special District.

Moreover, even the Beijing-Tianjin toll hardened road to be built this time has a line to the Shunyi Industrial Park to connect more caravans and goods resources for communication and circulation.

It can even be said that the current Shunyi Industrial Park is the most active commercial demonstration area in the Ming Dynasty, and is not inferior to the core location of the Beijing Special Economic Zone.

However, Zhu Zaigui also understood that this was only temporary. The reason why Shunyi Industrial Park became popular was because the industrial chain in Shunyi was relatively rich. But when the hardened road surface became richer in the future, there would inevitably be a separation between commerce and production.

Moreover, the Beijing Special Economic Zone also has a financial street and a one-stop service center that are not available in the Shunyi Industrial Park.

Therefore, you don’t need to think too much to know that even if the Shunyi Industrial Park continues to be popular in the future, it will still focus on production and manufacturing and new product research and development. The real business decisions and business activities will still be based on the Beijing Special Economic Zone.

Huang Jin ate these out-of-season greens and couldn't help but praise, "The chefs in the prince's mansion still cook delicious dishes. Even the imperial chefs in the palace can't compare to them."

Zhu Zaigui laughed, "You are joking, eunuch. The chefs in my palace were all trained by Meng Chong. How can they compare to the imperial chefs in the palace? These side dishes are barely edible at best for the imperial chefs in the palace."

Huang Jin also laughed when he heard Zhu Zaigui's words, "Your Majesty is so modest."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "Isn't this what I should do?"

Huang Jin ate another half bowl of rice and burped contentedly. He said with emotion, "These few days, I followed the Emperor to the West Mountain and didn't have a good meal. I have to thank the prince for eating so well this time."

When Zhu Zaigui heard Huang Jin's words, he immediately grasped the crux of the problem. It turned out that the old Taoist priest had quietly left the palace in the past few days. No wonder there was no movement in the palace almost a day after Zhou Yan's death.

"Thank you for your hard work, eunuch. It's so cold, but you still have to serve His Majesty. I am really touched and ashamed. As a son, I am already extremely unfilial that I can't serve His Majesty. As a subject, I still can't serve His Majesty and wait for His Majesty's orders. I am really unfaithful and unfilial."

Hearing Zhu Zaigui's sigh, Huang Jin quickly put down the bowl, "Your Highness, you can't do this. The Emperor and Your Highness are both real dragons that came to the world from heaven, and they are extremely noble! After respecting the Crown Prince, the Emperor believed in the words of the immortal Tao that 'two dragons should not meet' and stopped interacting with Your Highness. In fact, it was all for the sake of protecting Your Highness. And Your Highness's refusal to see the Emperor is a pure act of filial piety."

Zhu Zaigui nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, my elder and second brothers abandoned your majesty and me one after another. I can imagine how heartbroken your majesty must be. So my brother Jing and I have always followed your majesty's wishes and never made it difficult for your majesty. Even if the world laughs at my brother and me for not being favored by the emperor and not being filial, as long as your majesty is well, that's enough for me."

Zhu Zaigui and Huang Jin chatted so much, and Huang Jin finally talked about another thing that Emperor Jiajing had told him.

Huang Jin said: "The Emperor went to Xishan this time and saw the steam rail car made by Janwatt and Marton. The Emperor also took me on the train to experience it myself. The feeling of speeding at lightning speed is still unforgettable to the Emperor and me."

"So, the Emperor was very pleased and rewarded Janwatt with the hereditary position of Director of the Ministry of Works, and ordered him to continue researching steam rail cars in Xishan. He tried to get this car out of the test as soon as possible and gallop across the Ming Dynasty."

When Zhu Zaigui heard this, he couldn't help but laugh in his heart. At a speed of less than ten kilometers per hour, it was still lightning fast!

You have to know that in the era when Zhu Zaigui traveled through time, the high-speed rail at that time could easily run at speeds of more than 300 to 400 kilometers, and this was not the fastest. The fastest airplane could fly thousands of kilometers in an hour.

It's an unbelievable speed.

But in today's Ming Dynasty, just a slow-moving railroad car that has not yet been put into practical use has made Emperor Jiajing feel the speed of lightning. If he knew the speed of future airplanes, high-speed trains and rockets that carry spacecraft, wouldn't he think he had reached the fairyland?

Zhu Zaigui listened to Huang Jin's words very attentively, and hummed from time to time to support Huang Jin and let him continue speaking.

Huang Jin also felt Zhu Zaigui's willingness to listen, so when he talked about these things, he was also very excited and chatted with great joy.

Huang Jin continued, "After riding the rail car, the Emperor felt very good, so he asked Zhan Watt if there were any problems with the car and when it could be put on the road for testing. Zhan Watt said that the current steel is not hard enough, and he wanted to build a steel factory in Xishan to specialize in researching and manufacturing steel that can meet the needs of rail car operation."

"Originally, the Emperor was going to agree, but Teng Xiang added that the Prince was planning to set up a steel plant in Tianjin to meet future iron ore transportation needs, so the matter was put on hold for the time being."

"The Emperor wants me to ask you what your plan is for the Tianjin Steel Plant. The Emperor seems to be very interested."

When Zhu Zaigui heard this, he understood what it all meant.

Zhu Zaigui said, "My Lord, I am still planning this matter. When Zhang Juzheng submits the Dashun Tianfu plan to the cabinet and Your Majesty, and completes the unified planning of the administrative area, and then when Hai Rui and Pan Jixun finalize the plan for the Beijing-Tianjin toll road, I can send people to conduct an on-site inspection of Tianjin Wei, and then determine the specific location of the Tianjin Wei Steel Plant."

Huang Jin heard Zhu Zai's answer and nodded in agreement. It was indeed true. If the powers and administrative divisions of Shuntian Prefecture could not be unified, then even if more things were created, it would not be possible to solve all the problems smoothly.

Therefore, the prerequisites mentioned by Prince Yu are still relatively realistic.

Huang Jin asked again: "How are Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui doing with these things?"

Zhu Zaigui said: "There are already rules for this matter. After the New Year, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui will report this matter to the court, and let Your Majesty and the cabinet elders make the decision."

When Huang Jin heard that they could put this matter on the agenda after the New Year, he couldn't help but feel happy.

After all, it is only two days away from the Lantern Festival. Once the Lantern Festival is over, the court can resume normal duties and work, and all officials who are on holiday will return to their respective yamen to report for duty.

So this problem has been solved.

However, after this question was answered, Huang Jin returned the topic to the first question.

Huang Jin asked, "Your Highness, now that Zhou Yan has suddenly passed away, who should we recommend for the vacant position of Chief Censor?"

At this time, after thinking for a long time, Zhu Zaigui had a vague answer in his mind.

Zhu Zaigui said: "Although the Censorate does not have the real power of the six ministries, the power it holds to report on rumors is also a considerable power. If the wrong people are used, and the censors under their command are not able to handle court affairs in a stable manner, and they fall into a chaotic situation of mutual criticism and become a tool for certain factional struggles, then this cannot be considered a good thing for both the court and the people of the world."

"So I think if we want to select a reliable Chief Censor for the Censorate, we should look for an experienced and prudent official. Moreover, this old official should not be contentious and should be loyal to the emperor."

Huang Jin heard what Zhu Zaigui said and agreed, "Your Highness is right, but where can we find such an old minister in such a short time? We can't transfer him from outside the capital, right? After all, officials outside the capital don't understand the operation of the court. If they are placed in such an important position from the beginning, the Censorate may become a tool for some people's factional struggles, which is unbearable for the emperor."

Zhu Zaigui also nodded and said, "You are right, so we should look for such an old minister in the capital. What do you think of the current Minister of Personnel, Ouyang Bijin?"

Zhu Zaigui finally said a name, which also surprised Huang Jin.

Huang Jin said: "Minister Ouyang has just taken up the post of Minister of Personnel. Isn't it a bit too fast?"

Zhu Zaigui said: "In urgent matters, we must act according to the will. Although the Ministry of Personnel is also very important, it also has its own set of operating procedures. Temporarily letting the Vice Minister of Personnel lead the Ministry of Personnel can also ensure the complete operation of the Ministry of Personnel."

"But the Censorate is different. The Censorate in the capital and Nanjing have always been in touch. Now that Zhou Yan is dead, although one day is not enough time for the news to reach Nanjing, if it is delayed for too long, the Nanjing Censorate will know about it, and they will definitely have some other tricks up their sleeves."

"And if their little tricks are combined with those of some censors in the Beijing Censorate, it will cause complications. So the best plan now is to cut the Gordian knot and arrange for the Chief Censor of the Censorate to be in place as soon as possible. Even if the Nanjing Censorate gets the information and wants to react, the dust has already settled, and they have to respect the arrangement of the new Chief Censor."

Huang Jin thought for a while, and then said: "Your Majesty is right, but is Ouyang Bijin willing?"

Zhu Zaigui said angrily, "Official positions in the court are originally determined by people, and people are appointed based on their talents. Whether he is willing or not does not seem to be the standard for the court to appoint people, right? Moreover, he is the Minister of Personnel, and he should be more aware of the overall situation than other officials. How can he cling to power and think that this official is good and that official is not good?"

"The Metropolitan Censorate is one of the seven ministries on the same level as the six ministries, and it also controls the power of the censors to report rumors and events. If we talk about ancient times, this is also a position of the Three Dukes. How is it unfair to him?"

After hearing what Zhu Zaigui said, Huang Jin couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, if we talk about the Qin and Han dynasties, the position of the Chief Censor is indeed comparable to the Grand Censor, one of the Three Dukes at that time. It is indeed not the intention to wrong Shangshu Ouyang for such an important position."

"But can he really do it?"

In the end, Huang Jin still asked this question.

Zhu Zaigui said, "If it was in the past, Shangshu Ouyang might not be able to do it, but now he can definitely do it. Shangshu Ouyang is a relative of the old Yan family, and there is some tacit understanding between the two families. Over the years, whether Shangshu Ouyang served as the Minister of Justice or the Minister of Works, he was always a model of diligence and hard work, and never caused any major mistakes in these two government offices."

"And Lord Yan has his own way of disciplining his subordinates. He will not allow certain people to act as troublemakers and interfere in the affairs of the court and His Majesty. Therefore, with Minister Ouyang's steadiness and Lord Yan's maturity, it is a good idea for Minister Ouyang to hand over the Censorate to him."

"Also, if Your Majesty feels that Minister Ouyang is not suitable, you can use him to transition in the Metropolitan Censorate for a while, and then identify one or two suitable candidates to fill the position."

After hearing this, Huang Jin completely understood what Zhu Zaigui meant. He saw that Ouyang Bijin was a coward who was prone to stirring up trouble. Although placing such an old minister in the Censorate would not completely suppress the censors in the Censorate, it would at least ensure that there would be no chaos in the Censorate during his tenure as Chief Censor.

This trick is really brilliant!

Huang Jin said: "The Ouyang Shangshu recommended by the prince is really excellent. I believe that after the emperor knows the goodness of Ouyang Shangshu, he will definitely be very pleased to put Ouyang Shangshu in a more important position and let him continue to shine for the court."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "Yes, old ministers like Ouyang Shangshu are all treasures. It is a blessing for Your Majesty that the court can have old ministers like them who are dedicated to their work!"

When Huang Jin heard this, he couldn't help but laugh. His mood improved and he finished another half bowl of rice!

------

Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)