Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 204: A small upgrade! (6K)

The Huimin River was completely connected and grain ships flowed into the city one after another.

Su Yun did not even have any verbal dispute with Cai Cun. He asked Cai Cun to demolish the fish pond and lotus pond on his own initiative, and asked the young man who accidentally killed someone to surrender voluntarily. He solved the uproarious matter like a gentle rain without making a sound.

For a moment, all the officials in the court looked at him sideways.

What is this called? This is called ability.

Some people connected the things Su Yun did after entering Nan Ya and were shocked.

Su Yun has accomplished so many great things in a short period of time. It may seem like he is just going with the flow, but upon closer analysis, it seems to be the result of careful planning.

First, he took in the heads of the six ministries, accumulated strength, and then destroyed the left and right offices in one fell swoop.

He then openly supported Li Qingchen, and when Li Qingchen was about to succeed, he attacked him halfway across the river and knocked him down in one fell swoop.

Not only that, he also took all the credit for managing the canal...

This guy has a deep mind and his methods are extremely vicious.

Some ministers were very unhappy.

This kind of young man is obsessed with profit. For the sake of his own credit, he will not hesitate to attack his colleagues. For such a person, who will be his colleague or subordinate in the future?
Su Yun also heard some similar news from Deng Qi, but Su Yun did not care too much about it.

Everything he did was just to protect himself. He was bullied by others. If he didn't fight back, he would become a handle for others to use against him.

For example, the matter of the Tongpan inspecting the treasury could have been glossed over, but Li Qingchen spoke about it in front of everyone. If Su Yun did not inspect it carefully and something went wrong, it would be a serious crime.

However, the left and right halls were too unchecked and had too many loopholes, so they all got in at once.

Can you blame him?
There is also the matter of Deng Qi. He was the one who came to trick him. If he didn't fight back, would he just be beaten passively? As for Deng Qi's decision to turn to the light, that was just a pleasant surprise.

As for the matter with Li Qingchen, I actually had no intention of revenge. I can only say that it was fate and time. Li Qingchen himself was too stubborn and self-willed, which eventually pushed things to this situation.

I don’t know whether there was any friction between the government and Li Qingchen. In fact, if Li Qingchen continued to do this, the Huimin River would eventually be connected.

As for the death of some people...it was not a big deal for the emperor and his ministers of the Song Dynasty.

But that is not what Su Yun should consider. He is in a low position and his words do not count, so it is better to just lie down and relax.

As for others saying that he is a jinx in the officialdom, no one will be his colleague in the future, and no one will be willing to have him as a subordinate... Hehe, who you become a colleague with is not something you can choose.

I will be a colleague with whoever the government wants me to be a colleague with. If you feel uncomfortable, then you can apply for transfer or resign, hehe.

As for promotion or not, I have two uncles and my father-in-law is Zhang Dun, two mentors with bright futures. Oh, and the emperor is looking after me. Do I need you to interfere?
Oh, yes, the key is that I just want to be a small official safely, and I really don’t care whether I am promoted or not.

So these rumors were like a breeze to Su Yun.

Su Zhe was a little nervous. He called Su Yun over and gave him some instructions, asking Su Yun to keep calm for a while and not to cause any trouble or mess with anyone again. If he really established this reputation and became a situation where everyone was afraid of him, it would be difficult for him to move forward.

Su Yun was quick to follow advice.

As long as no one bothers me, why would I meddle in other people's business?

I guess no one in Nan Ya will bother me now, right?

After some time, Li Qingchen was transferred to Hangzhou to serve as the prefect. Fortunately, his official rank was raised one level, which was a consolation to him.

But anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is a form of demotion.

The carp failed to leap over the dragon gate.

Before Li Qingchen left, he actually took the initiative to invite Su Yun to dinner, saying that he was making up for Su Yun's welcoming banquet. Before Su Yun came to Nan Ya, no one took the initiative to invite them to dinner, which was his problem. This time he was leaving, so he invited Su Yun to dinner to make up for it.

Although he said so, Li Qingchen actually came to reconcile with Su Yun.

At the banquet, Li Qingchen talked a lot with Su Yun, the main topic of which was to apologize to Su Yun.

He said that he had been thinking a lot these days and felt that he had been quite disrespectful to Su Yun. He had not been doing things impartially and instead had always been doing things with the mentality of a senior.

She even offended Su Yun without realizing it, and felt very sorry for it, hoping that Su Yun would forgive her.

Su Yun was somewhat surprised by Li Qingchen's change. If Li Qingchen was very angry, he could understand it. After all, based on his understanding of Li Qingchen, he should be like this at this moment. However, Li Qingchen's behavior made Su Yun feel somewhat surprised.

Seeing Su Yun's doubts, Li Qingchen couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Su Tongpan, today it's just the two of us, so I'll say a few words to avoid you misunderstanding me.

In the final analysis, this time, it was because I did not do the right thing, nor did I do it well. It was I who offended you.

Of course, I can naturally hate you and become your enemy from now on, but after all, given my official position, it is impossible for you to threaten me anytime soon.

But the old master has many nephews and nephews, and many of them are serving in the court. With your ability, you will probably become their superior soon.

The circle in the court is too small, and you see people everywhere. You never know when you will cross paths. If you have any resentment in your heart, then they will be in trouble.

Therefore, this is a little selfish of the old man, and I hope Judge Su will show mercy in the future."

Su Yun understood and thought this made sense.

Li Qingchen didn't want Su Yun to bear a grudge against him, and Su Yun naturally didn't want to be remembered by Li Qingchen, so he quickly said sincerely: "You are my elder, and there is really no problem with you teaching me a lesson, and I never think there is any problem.

As for the cleaning of Huimin River, I am not trying to take credit for it. I just don’t know why this matter fell on me.”

Li Qingchen said bitterly, "I understand. I can't really blame you for this. You have supported me from the beginning. You have allocated funds and manpower to me. You also advised me to proceed step by step. I was a little too eager for quick success. Alas.

But in short, there is no conflict between the two of us, and naturally there is no quarrel. If you pass through Hangzhou in the future, I will definitely let this old man entertain you well."

Su Yun naturally tried to please him actively.

Li Qingchen is gone.

Then Su Yun's official rank was raised one level to Xuan De Lang.

This rank of salary made Su Yun suitable for the post of Tongpan of Nan Ya. His previous position as Xuanyi Lang and Tongpan of Kaifeng Prefecture was actually a bit of a high ranking.

This was considered as a reward for his contribution in resolving the problem of blocking the river in Caicun. As for the fact that his official position was not adjusted, it was mainly because the position of Nan Ya Tong Pan was originally a high-level position.

For Su Yun, this position could indeed provide him with good training, so he was only promoted to a temporary rank.

Having said that, this already puts him far ahead of his peers.

Not only is there a gap in rank now, but in terms of assignments, Su Yun has become a real powerful person.

The new prefect of Kaifeng was Liu Zhi.

Book lovers may not be very familiar with Liu Zhi, but just by mentioning a few key words, everyone will have a general impression of him.

The first keyword is the Xining Reforms.

He was once highly regarded by Wang Anshi and was appointed as the Inspector of the Secretariat and Rites, but he soon opposed the new law and was demoted.

The second key word is the leader of the Shuo Party. It turns out that in history, after Zhezong ascended the throne, the Old Party came to power and split into three parties: the Shuo Party, the Shu Party and the Luo Party. Liu Zhi was the leader of the Shuo Party.

Therefore, analyzing from the perspective of composition, Liu Zhi is a typical member of the Old Party.

When Liu Zhi became the prefect of Kaifeng, there was quite a stir in the court.

An old party member, Hu Zongyu, left, and in came another old party hardliner, Liu Zhi.

At this moment, some people were saying strange things, saying that Su Yun was forcing the new law faction Li Qingchen to leave in order to make room for Liu Zhi of the old party, and that Kaifeng Prefecture would be the base camp of the old party in the future.

However, Su Yun was quite wary of Liu Zhi's arrival.

It is said that Liu Zhi was a very tough and serious person. After his death, he was posthumously named "Zhongsu".

During the Northern Song Dynasty, those with the posthumous title of "Su" usually had extremely tough personalities. For example, Bao Zheng's "Xiao Su" and Han Jiang's "Xian Su" were both loyal ministers of remonstrance.

Liu Zhi had this posthumous title, which probably means he was very tough and serious.

It is not easy to be a colleague with such a person.

However, the officials from the left and right halls that Su Yun had been waiting for never showed up. Only a prosecutor came, and this prosecutor's duties were still under the Tongpan Hall.

Su Yun didn't understand why this happened. Logically speaking, there were too many unemployed officials in the Song Dynasty. Now that several positions were vacant, someone should have filled them immediately. How come it has been more than a month and no one has come?

However, the answer to this question came from Zhang Dun.

Zhang Dun smiled and said, "The duties of the Left and Right Halls and the Tongpan Hall overlap. Before, the Southern Court had the Left and Right Halls, so there was no need to set up the Tongpan Hall. But now that we have the Tongpan Hall, it would be a bit cumbersome to set up the Left and Right Halls.

You have done a great job as a Tongpan, so naturally the court will not have any more left and right halls, and this is also the training of your majesty."

Su Yun looked a little worried. There were too many things to do in Kaifeng Prefecture. He had recently added some clerks to the Tongpan Hall, but he still couldn't handle some of them.

When Liu Zhi arrived, Su Yun did not give anyone any chance to hold him accountable and went to greet Liu Zhi. Liu Zhi encouraged everyone and did not show any difference to Su Yun. He even showed more respect to him than to Li Qingchen.

However, this is the correct approach. The Tongpan is not a subordinate of the prefect. In some respects, they are on an equal footing. Liu Zhi is a serious person, so he would not do anything out of line in this regard.

Therefore, during these days, both sides have been fulfilling their respective duties and no conflicts have occurred.

This made Su Yun feel a little more fun in being an official. Although the affairs were a bit busy, he could be considered leisurely every day, going to get off work and going home normally, and not having to fight with others for the time being. It was July, and the rainy season came with it. It rained for several days in a row, and the river water was much more abundant. However, the Huimin River had been dredged, so there was no need to worry about flooding this year.

However, the court has not been very peaceful recently. The biggest stone of the Yuanfeng reform has finally fallen, and the reform of the three provinces has finally been completed.

The result of the reform shocked the entire court.

Wang Gui was appointed as prime minister and served as Shangshu Zuo Pushe and Menxia Shilang. Cai Que was appointed as right prime minister and served as Shangshu You Pushe and Zhongshu Shilang.

But in the actual administration, everyone found that Wang Gui, who was the prime minister, had to obey Cai Que's orders.

This is because when the official system was first agreed upon, it was roughly modeled after the "Six Codes of Tang Dynasty". No matter how big or small the matter was, it would be approved by the Secretariat, reviewed by the Ministry of Palace Affairs, and executed by the Ministry of State Affairs. The three provinces were divided into shifts to report on matters, and the power belonged to the Secretariat.

Therefore, although Cai Que was nominally the second prime minister, he actually held great power. Although Wang Gui was the Shang Shu Zuo Pushe and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he could only obey his orders.

Wang Gui was quite angry about this matter, but there was nothing he could do.

Su Yun did hear some interesting things from Zhang Dun. He said that when the reform was first discussed, Wang Gui was reluctant to change it, but Cai Que said to Wang Gui: "You have been the prime minister for such a long time, you must be the Minister of the Central Secretariat."

Wang Gui believed this without a doubt.

But Cai Que said to the emperor: "The heads of the three ministries are in high positions and have great power. There is no need to appoint a chief. It is only necessary to let the left and right ministers serve as the assistant ministers of the two ministries respectively."

The government agreed with this, so the reform was finalized. Wang Gui really suffered a great loss.

Su Yun also regarded this as a joke. Regardless of whether this matter was true or not, the fact that Wang Gui was plotted against by Cai Que might not be false.

After all, before this, Wang Gui was the prime minister and Cai Que was only the vice-chancellor. Now that Cai Que has become the de facto prime minister, it is conceivable that there must be some inside story.

In addition to the reform, the court had another major event, which was the war in the northwest.

I heard that the government recently considered using force against Western Xia again.

Therefore, there was a lot of controversy in the court.

Some officials in the court supported it and some opposed it. Among those who supported it, some had some reservations about the implemented strategy, while others were quite dissatisfied with Zhao Xu's use of people.

In particular, Zhong Yan on the front line had many complaints against Xu Xi, the Imperial Censor. He wrote a letter to accuse Xu Xi of only following orders to build the city, but he made many accusations about military affairs and even interfered in other people's business.

The Imperial Censor Xu Xi also attacked Zhong Yan a lot, reporting that Zhong Yan was domineering and dissenting. He not only did not support many of Zhong Yan's decisions, but even opposed them in public.

Zhao Xu was quite partial to Xu Xi, the Imperial Censor, which made many people in the court dissatisfied.

Zhang Dun was one of these dissatisfied people. He complained to Su Yun: "Xu Dezhan is just a commoner, neither a Jinshi nor a veteran general. He is just a flatterer who relies on his eloquence to get promoted. He is just a Ma Su.

The emperor was concerned about border affairs, so Xu Dezhang took charge of them. The emperor also worked hard to train him, and this time he asked him to help Shen Cunzhong build Yongle City.

Humph, this was originally a mission to let Xu Dezhuan go to understand the border situation on the ground, but I heard that Xu Dezhuan puts himself first in everything and even decides on the location of Yongle City without consulting Shen Cunzhong!

I heard that Yongle City has no water source. Isn't this ridiculous? How can a city without water be defended?"

Su Yun also frowned. The Battle of Yongle City was the biggest defeat Zhao Xu had ever suffered in his life. After the Battle of Yongle City, Zhao Xu lost his fighting spirit and died in depression.

The Battle of Yongle City caused great damage to the Song Dynasty. It is said that in this battle, the Song Dynasty lost as many as 200,000 soldiers and civilians!

Su Yun was puzzled and said, "From what you said, Xu Xi is just a secretary, and he is assisting Shen Cunzhong. Shen Cunzhong is an experienced frontier commander, so why would he let Xu Xi do whatever he wants? Oh, and there is also a veteran like Zhong Yan, who can't control Xu Xi?"

Zhang Dun shook his head and said, "Don't you understand what kind of person the emperor is? Think about yourself."

Su Yun was a little confused at first, wondering what this had to do with him, but then he smiled bitterly.

I am another Xu Xi!

Just look at his own experience and you will know that the emperor liked him, so he forced him to stay in Bian Jing. The position of Tongpan was actually a high position for him, and it was not an ordinary high position, but Zhao Xu used all kinds of means to push himself up.

Later, Li Qingchen did not even make any mistakes, but some accidents happened during the execution of the project. Zhao Xu immediately asked him to take the credit.

Now the two departments, the Left and Right Halls, which had been a constraint on him, had been directly abolished, leaving him with full power, and he could even compete with the prefect.

This is very similar to the relationship between Shen Kuo and Xu Xi.

Shen Kuo was an experienced border commander, but he was unable to control the imperial attendant.

Xu Xi, who had no work experience and was originally an assistant in supervision, became the person in charge of the Yongle City project from the beginning.

Finally, he became the actual commander of the Battle of Yongle City, commanding a large group of veteran generals to fight against Western Xia.

This is difficult to comment on.

From Su Yun's personal perspective, Zhao Xu's approach is naturally very beneficial to him, and he is a vested interest.

But Su Yun believed that he was not a rash person and would not over-trust his abilities.

But Xu Xi was obviously different from himself. He was obviously used to this way of doing things and thought that Zhao Xu sent him to take charge of the overall situation.

Judging from his own and Xu Xi’s examples, Zhao Xu’s way of training and employing people was actually somewhat radical. In other words, he lacked patience.

This was already reflected when I woke up early.

However, this was related to Zhao Xu's early experience. When the Xining Reforms took place, most of the old ministers were opposed to the reforms. Out of desperation, he and Wang Anshi could only promote young people.

People like Lu Huiqing, Zeng Bu, and Zhang Dun did show their outstanding abilities, which made Zhao Xu form a habit of employing people. He liked to use young people who he promoted, and his training method was also quite radical. Many of them entered key positions right away.

Su Yun himself is a typical example. Right after he passed the imperial examination, he was immediately appointed as the Tongpan of the Southern Court. In just over a month, his official rank was raised by one level. If he continues like this, he will probably be promoted rapidly.

Su Yun said: "Father-in-law, didn't you advise the emperor?"

Zhang Dun laughed and said, "Of course not, I almost pointed at his face and cursed him, what can I do if he doesn't listen to me?
Oh, you have to work hard on your own from now on. I think I have offended the government this time. I may be fired in a few days."

Su Yun: “…”

Su Yun tried to ask: "What about my uncle Ziyou?"

Zhang Dun chuckled: "Ziyou scolded even more harshly, I guess he won't be able to keep the daily record for long."

Su Yun: “…”

Su Yun suddenly felt like the sky was falling.

No, you are all so willful.

But then Su Yun came to his senses. Yongle City was indeed a dead end. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that it was a big trap. Whether for the interests of the court or for the current opinions, he had to stand out.

If we support Yongle City now, and then suffer a great defeat, the court will be severely damaged and people will definitely look for scapegoats within the court.

If a vice-chancellor like Zhang Dun supports this matter, he will be held responsible.

Therefore, the harsher the criticism, the more likely it is that when Yongle City is defeated, he will not only be innocent, but may even have made contributions.

Ah, it’s just like playing stocks, some are bullish, some are bearish. If you short sell now, and then Yongle City fails, those who short sell will make a lot of money.

Of course, a person like Zhang Dun would definitely put serving the country before serving himself, and he would definitely care more about the interests of the country.

What could Su Yun say? He could only support her.

Zhang Dun smiled and said, "Fortunately, the marriage date has come out. In another month, you and Ruo'er will get married. Then Ruo'er won't have to follow me around.

With you taking care of them, Ze'er and the others can continue their studies at the Imperial College, so it won't be a big deal for me to go into battle."

Su Yun comforted him, "Father-in-law, don't make such a bad plan. The government may not demote you."

It was not certain whether Zhao Xu would demote Zhang Dun, but Su Zhe began to help Su Yun prepare for the wedding in full swing, which felt like arranging his funeral.

Nima.

Su Yun was speechless.

Su Yun originally wanted to advise Zhao Xu about the matter of Yongle City, but when he saw that the advice of Zhang Dun, Su Zhe and others was of no use, he shut up.

Not only that, Zhang Dun and Su Che's advice drew attacks from the censors, who accused them of being cowardly and surrenderist.

Su Che and Zhang Dun were not the type to be bullied, and they wrote articles to fight back. For a while, they attacked each other back and forth, and the atmosphere in the court was very serious.

Under such circumstances, Su Yun's wedding could only be kept simple. He just invited his family to a meal, and then brought Zhang Ruo home in a sedan chair carried by eight people, thus completing this complicated wedding, which was rather anticlimactic.

In the bridal chamber, Su Yun comforted Zhang Ruo and said, "Sister Ruo, I'm sorry for putting you through this."

Zhang Ruo chuckled and said, "Why call me Sister Ruo? Call me wife. Also, there is no grievance. The wedding is only for others to see, and the life is our own."

Zhang Ruo's arrival diverted Su Yun's attention and made him stop paying attention to the dirty things in the court.

To be honest, with his current lowly position as an official, he has no way to influence anything.

Such military and national affairs are no joke. Even Zhang Dun, the Vice Prime Minister, finds it difficult to influence them, so how can Su Yun be able to do anything about it?

But around August and September, Su Yun always had dreams of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and he often woke up in a sweat.

(End of this chapter)