Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 271 People are a collection of multiple identities
Once the grand court meeting is held at the beginning of the year, it means that the work of the new year has officially begun. After leaving the palace and returning to their respective offices, each official will make further arrangements.

However, perhaps because the Ministry of Rites had just completed an important task, Liu Zongzhou was not too long-winded when making arrangements. After praising his subordinates, he generously gave them two days of vacation.

Huang Duanbo and other officials were grateful for their superior's consideration. Afterwards, they returned to their respective courtyards, made some arrangements, and then gathered together to go to the largest restaurant in the city.

This is understandable. Although the work of each person in charge rarely overlaps, conflicts are inevitable when they are in the same department. Under such circumstances, it is extremely necessary to take this opportunity to mend the rifts and build closer relationships.

Although these people usually see each other every day, they don't have much personal relationship with each other. So, after three rounds of wine and five dishes, the topic gradually turned back to business.

"Today's grand court meeting was held with great ceremony. The Department of Ceremonial Affairs has made a great contribution."

The person who spoke was Zhao Zhushi from the Ministry of Rites. Zhao Zhushi was about the same age as Huang Duanbo, but he had been transferred to the Ministry of Rites after serving in local positions for several rounds. Therefore, he was polite and flattering when speaking to his colleagues.

"I am unworthy of this, I am unworthy of this. This time, it was mostly handled by the inner court, and we only made some brief suggestions on the etiquette and regulations."

"Master Huang is too modest. This is just like marching in a war. Without your majesty to make plans, what can those soldiers do?"

After hearing such praise, the usually honest Huang Duanbo naturally had to be humble, but as soon as he finished speaking, Wen Zhushi from the Temple of Sacrifice and the Ministry of Personnel added a sentence.

Since the migration to the south, the power of military generals has grown day by day. Before the Tartars moved south, the imperial court's control over the various towns was only superficial.

Certain officials who are in local areas and have no effective information channels are naturally unaware of such situations, but how could those at the core not understand the inside story?
Fortunately, His Majesty turned the tide with his great strength, and the military leaders seemed to have become obedient again. However, what worried them was that the Tartars had retreated for such a long time, but His Majesty had only sent two civil officials, Yue Qijie and Wan Yuanji, to take charge of the Jiangxi war, and there seemed to be some signs that he would want to use military generals to take charge of other forces.

This situation was certainly not a good sign for the civil servants, but since none of the cabinet ministers or officials in the court had made any comments, they, the minor officials, could only vent their dissatisfaction in some obscure way.

Huang Duanbo was also a civil servant, so he could naturally understand the deeper meaning of this sentence. However, he was always honest, and although he felt that not restraining the military generals would lead to disaster, since his superiors had not expressed anything so far, he would not rush to respond. When the other party finished speaking, he finally just smiled kindly, as if he didn't know that the words were spoken to him.

"What Master Wen said is not wrong, but military officers and soldiers still need to fight for their lives, and those eunuchs are no match for them."

Faced with such a situation, Chief Zhao would not leave the conversation unanswered. After changing his mind for a while, he turned his gaze to Chief Wen, and then Chief Wen seemed to realize that what he said was inappropriate.

"You must drink three cups as punishment for your nonsense.

"Yes, yes, yes. You should drink three cups as punishment."

After such a laugh, they tacitly ignored this unsuccessful topic.

Normally, scholars and literati would invite some geishas to accompany them while they were drinking and having fun, but Huang Duanbo was a very upright person and no one had ever heard of any romantic affairs involving him.

As such, Zhao and Wen couldn't leave him alone at the table, so this banquet naturally became a simple gathering of colleagues.

But the only things these men talk about are politics and women. Now that there are no women around, they chatted about this and that for a while, and then the topic turned back to the affairs of the court.

"Have you heard? The castrated dog seems to be heading to Susong."

"Oh? Which castrated dog?"

Huang Duanbo didn't have any good feelings towards the eunuch party, so when the word "eunuch dog" came out of Zhao Zhushi's mouth, he responded very smoothly, obviously he often said it in his daily life.

"It is Ruan Dacheng."

"Is it about the case of seizing people's land?"

"Did you hear that too?"

Huang Duanbo, who had already drunk several rounds, felt that he was being looked down upon by Zhao Zhushi's question.

After all, we are all the heads of the Ministry of Rites, and some fragmentary information may be known to you but not to me because of the different circles we are in, but the Minister of Justice is about to leave Yingtian, which can be regarded as the first big news of the new year.

Under such circumstances, even if Huang Duanbo knew nothing, he would be looked down upon by his colleagues.

"Of course I heard about it. That eunuch even spread the word that he would stick to the facts and not expand the scope."

"I have heard of this, but the eunuchs are always cruel and merciless."

Having said that, Manager Zhao paused for a moment, not sure whether he could understand why the usually ruthless Ruan Dacheng would have such kind thoughts, or why he would spread such a rumor.

To be honest, Huang Duanbo couldn't figure it out either.

Although he knew that there was a case in Suzhou and Songjiang where a big family colluded with the government to force people to sell their land, he had no idea where the case happened, let alone the inside story.

But since Ruan Dacheng has spread such rumors, he either really has such a plan, or he is trying to paralyze the target.

Under such circumstances, how could the local people believe that Ruan Dacheng, who was known for his cruelty and ruthlessness, would show mercy? How could they not be fully prepared to deal with it?

Thinking in this way, the rumor released in advance would be like adding unnecessary details and would not have any effect at all. It was understandable that Huang Duanbo was confused.

Which of the big families that have survived for so many years is not cautious in their actions? Does Ruan Dacheng really hope that such news can paralyze them?
Thinking of this, Huang Duanbo became even more confused, but just when his mind was drifting a little far away, the voice of Master Wen brought him back.

"Humph! How can we trust the words of a eunuch? Who knows how many good people he will harm with this excuse?"

Huang Duanbo did not comment on what Master Wen said. Although he was not from a poor family, he was from a small family.

With such a background, how could he not know what kind of people the good people mentioned by Master Wen are? How could he not know that the fight between eunuchs and good people is just dog-eat-dog.

Of course, with his current official position, if he could be promoted one or two levels before retiring, not only would his family no longer be a small family, but the entire Huang family would also have some respectability in the local area. Under such circumstances, he was probably just simply curious about Ruan Dacheng's personal action, and was not as indignant as Wen Zhushi.

"Alas~~~~, look at what a mess the Supreme has made in the court."

"That's right. The war is about to end and we should live in peace with the people, but Your Majesty insisted on sending such a bastard out." As he spoke, Zhao took a sip of the wine in the glass. Seeing that Huang Duanbo did not react much to his words, he continued, "I don't know if this will cause any trouble."

"It's not your Majesty's fault. The affairs of the court are complicated. You can take care of one thing but not another. And the elders...Alas~~~~!"

At this point, I don't know if it was because the two of them opened up to each other and had become closer, or if it was because Huang Duanbo, who seldom had social events, had gotten drunk. Although he was still trying his best to defend His Majesty, he couldn't help but reveal his dissatisfaction with several of the current cabinet ministers.

This is not surprising. Although these people are not very clear about Yuan Jixian's ability, as officials of the Ministry of Rites, how could they not know the level of Ma Shiying and Qian Qianyi?
But they were still in a restaurant outside, and the possibility of someone eavesdropping could be avoided, so after he let out a long sigh, Manager Zhao immediately followed up with a sentence.

"Let's not talk about this, let's not talk about this. These days, both of you have been burdened with a lot of work, and our Department of Reception and Justice has been extremely idle. If it weren't for Your Majesty's grace to make up for some of the salary that was owed earlier, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it through this year."

The salaries of civil servants in those days were pitifully low, but in addition to various gray incomes, the court controlled by civil servants would naturally find excuses to give some subsidies to the people working below.

However, the Ministry of Guests and Officials under Zhao was mainly responsible for the management of vassal states and envoys, which included some immigration, translation and tribute management.

In such a period of time in the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Rites and Officials naturally had no work to do. Under such circumstances, they naturally could not get work subsidies like other departments of the Ministry of Rites.

That's why he lamented that "I can't even celebrate the New Year."

"Aiya~~~, the Ceremonial Department still has some responsibilities, and our Fine Food Department is only slightly better than your Host and Guest Department, so don't complain in front of me."

"That's right. Then Mr. Huang will treat us to this meal."

"Yes, yes, yes. I would like to thank you for your kindness, brother Nian."

Zhao and Wen sang the same tune, making Huang Duanbo feel helpless.

Last year, the Ceremonial Department received more subsidies than the two of them, but his family was weak, and it was far from being like Zhao and Wen who could get some benefits from the family property.

In this way, when he heard that the two of them were going to use the money for the wine to his head, he immediately thought of diverting the trouble to someone else.

"Alas, I have only held three or four events here, how much subsidy can I get? Look at the Ministry of Works, and then look at the Ministry of War. Not to mention how much charcoal went into their pockets, after completing so many tasks, even the subsidies they received are much more than us."

"I don't know much about the Ministry of War, but I am familiar with the Ministry of Works. They seem to be busy recently, but they are all responsible for recovering the craftsmen from various families," said Zhao, smiling teasingly, and then continued, "Compared with the people I have offended, it's better not to have that little subsidy."

There was nothing wrong with what Master Zhao said. Those who could take the craftsmen away from the court must be either rich or noble. Even if His Majesty had issued a strict decree and Li Butang had supervised it very strictly, the people who were in charge of the actual work would inevitably offend some people.

Under such circumstances, if Master Zhao put himself in the other's shoes, he would naturally come up with such thoughts.

However, although everyone present was talking and laughing, someone was still concerned about the issue of wine money. Just when Chief Boss Zhao wanted to say something else, Chief Boss Wen interrupted.

"Don't fall for his trick of diverting trouble. Mr. Zhao hasn't accepted the money for today's wine yet."

"It's extreme, it's extreme."

If the situation had continued as before, Huang Duanbo would probably have been able to escape paying for today's wine. However, with Master Wen's intervention, the topic was brought back to the topic. Seeing that his first plan failed, he came up with another one.

"Look at how you two are so careless. Wasn't there a rumor a few years ago that His Majesty wanted to transfer the six departments to us? If that really works, what would these small subsidies mean to you?"

In terms of regulations, their Ministry of Rites is the head of the Six Ministries, but in terms of power, they are not even as good as the Ministry of Justice, which ranks last among the Six Ministries.

Once power is reduced, everything else will naturally become smaller as well.

Not to mention corruption and abuse of power, even if they are protected by the system and receive very little respect, they still can't get much.

Therefore, when Huang Duanbo brought up the topic of the six departments' officials, not only did the slightly blurry eyes of the two men instantly brighten up, but even the matter of the wine money was thrown out of their minds.

"This matter is probably quite difficult," Zhao paused for a moment, then remained silent for a moment before continuing, "I don't know what the Ministry means."

"The minister must have thought so too. Although he has great prestige among the scholars, he has no foundation at all in the court. Now that His Majesty is backing him up, how could he miss such an opportunity? But..."

As he spoke, Master Wen dragged out the words for a long time. When everyone else had focused their attention on him, he spoke the rest of the words: "But we still have to wait for the right time."

Having said that, not only did Huang Duanbo, who had initiated this idea, frown, but even Director Zhao looked as if he was thinking hard.

After all, when facing military generals, they were all civil officials; when facing the eunuch party, they would be close to the clean stream; and when facing other departments, they were people from the Ministry of Rites.

Now that they have the opportunity to increase their power, even if it will harm the interests of other civil servants, they will only think about what kind of resistance they will have to face in order to make this happen. How can they consider how the interests of the other five civil servants will be affected as a result?

This is just an ordinary thing, and it is not difficult to understand.

To put it bluntly, everyone is a collection of several different identities. Even family members will have some degree of closeness or distance due to various factors, let alone their situation?
As time passed, the expressions on everyone's faces gradually changed from frowning to thinking. However, when they were thinking about their own power, there was a noise on the street.

The leaders were naturally dissatisfied with having their train of thought interrupted. When they looked out of the window, they saw a large group of policemen and soldiers walking along the street towards the outside of the city.

"So the castrated dog is going south now?"

Civil servants also have personal interests, departmental interests and group interests. They will cooperate on some issues and confront each other on others. It does not mean that civil servants are monolithic.



(End of this chapter)