Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 314 The abolished Ministry of Industry!
That night, Su Yun learned from Su Shi that he had been appointed as the Minister of Works. The Secretariat had already started the process and the order would be issued soon.

Su Yun was a little surprised.

Minister of the Ministry of Industry?

Since Su Yun entered the officialdom, the name of the Ministry of Works has basically never appeared. Its presence is so low that Su Yun sometimes even fails to notice the existence of this department.

But logically speaking, after the Yuanfeng reform was completed, the functions of the Ministry of Industry should have been restored, right?
Su Yun asked Su Shi, "Who was the previous Minister of Works?"

Su Shi was stunned when he heard this and said, "It seems that Fan Zhen had held this position before, but that was before the reform, and it was just a salary-earning official rank. As for after the reform..."

Su Shi immediately fell into deep thought, and after a while he shook his head and said, "It seems, no?"

Su Yun: “…”

"What about the Minister of Works?" Su Yun asked again.

Su Shi knew it now, and said with a smile: "I know this. The first Minister of Works after the reform was Kumamoto, and the current Minister is Wang Kechen."

Su Yun was a little surprised when he heard this: "Kumamoto?"

Seeing Su Yun's surprise, Su Shi smiled and said, "It's normal that you are not familiar with him. Xiong Ben was quite active during the Xining period. He was one of the most staunch supporters of Prime Minister Wang Jiefu at that time.

After that, Wang Xianggong withdrew from the central government. Although Kumamoto was still used by the court, he basically went to the border areas to pacify the barbarians. He only returned after the reform. "

Su Yun nodded immediately, yes, a marginal official.

Su Yun asked about Wang Kechen's identity, and Su Shi smiled and said, "Minister Wang is a general. His ancestor is Wang Shenqi, a general who founded the country. He had been the governor of the northwest. Later, Wang Zhongzheng failed in his expedition to the west and accused him of tolerating his soldiers. As a result, he was exiled to Shanzhou. It seems that he has only returned in the past two years."

Su Yun's expression suddenly became a little strange: Another marginal official who is not taken seriously?
The Ministry of Works is clearly one of the six ministries, but there is no Shangshu to guard it. The two vice ministers before and after are both marginalized people who are unloved by their parents?
I see. This Ministry of Works is used to accommodate those officials who are not valued but need to be resettled!
Su Shi saw that Su Yun was not in a good mood, so he quickly comforted him: "Although the Ministry of Industry is a bit low-key, there are still many things to learn. You go to the Ministry of Industry and learn well. When the time is right, I will work hard to transfer you to another department."

Seeing Su Shi's concerned expression, Su Yun immediately laughed and said, "No, no, the Ministry of Works is fine, haha, it's fine."

Su Shi looked at Su Yun with some concern, wondering if his nephew was angry.

Well, come to think of it, he was clearly a rising star in the political arena, but now he is being ostracized and feared by others, and has been squeezed to sit on the bench in the Ministry of Industry. Anyone would feel aggrieved, let alone someone like his nephew who has achieved success at a young age.

Su Shi was afraid that Su Yun would lose his spirit, so he quickly said, "Although the Ministry of Works is low-key, it is one of the six ministries after all. You are now a minister, which means you are one of the few important officials in the court. When you make some achievements in the future, you can be transferred to the other six ministries, and you will become a popular official.

At worst, the Ministry of Industry is a lucrative government office. Although it is not highly regarded, it still controls a lot of money..."

Su Shi was unable to continue speaking, because he suddenly remembered that his nephew was not short of money, and what was the big deal? Wouldn't that be instigating his nephew to embezzle?

You have really lost your mind, caring too much and causing confusion!

Su Yun suppressed his laughter and said, "Uncle, don't worry, I really think it's great. Just wait and see, I can always come up with some fun things wherever I go.

Hehe, the Ministry of Industry is admittedly a bit low-key, but when I get there, the Ministry of Industry will be the most high-profile of the six ministries, just wait and see."

Seeing that Su Yun was in high spirits, Su Shi felt relieved immediately. As long as he was not depressed, it would be fine. As for the trouble - what kind of trouble could be produced from that shitty place called the Ministry of Works?
Su Yun was not trying to comfort Su Shi, he really felt that there was great potential.

What is the Ministry of Industry?
The national ministry in charge of the country's military farming, water conservancy, civil engineering, engineering, transportation, and state-run industries!

If it were changed to a department in later generations, it would be the functions of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plus the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Transport and other departments!

Hey.

Yes, the Ministry of Industry is not taken seriously nowadays, but whether or not to take it seriously depends on the people.

The Ministry of Industry clearly possesses tremendous power, but it is so low-key. Isn't this a joke?
The next day, Su Yun excitedly went to the Ministry of Industry to work.

Then Su Yun stared at the remote and old Ministry of Works headquarters in a daze. When he saw the aging Wang Kechen, Su Yun was even more stunned. The clerks of the Ministry of Works looked completely lifeless.

Su Yun: “…” Is this the Ministry of Works, one of the six ministries?
In Su Yun's imagination, such a national ministry, no matter how low-key it is, must be doing practical work, or at least extremely busy. But seeing how deserted it is now, Su Yun is speechless.

Su Yun asked the assistant officials and clerks who came to greet him to return to their posts, and then invited the old minister Wang Kechen to go to the detention hall with him.

Wang Kechen was smiling, looking like a retired old man who was content with his fate. He did not seem to be too respectful to his superior Su Yun, but rather treated him like an old man visiting.

Su Yun pondered for a moment and said, "Has our Ministry of Industry always been like this?"

Wang Kechen laughed and said, "It's almost the same. It was like this when I came here. Oh, maybe it's better now. Now we have you. The Ministry of Works with a Shangshu should be different from the Ministry of Works without a Shangshu."

Well, the only change is myself.

Su Yun took a deep breath and said, "When the Yuanfeng system was reformed, the power of our Ministry of Industry should have been returned to us. As far as I know, our Ministry of Industry is responsible for a lot of things, such as farming, water conservancy, and construction.

The Ministry of Works consisted of the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Military Farms, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Water Resources. The Ministry of Works was the head of the Ministry of Works, in charge of the government orders for construction and general affairs of the Ministry of Works; the Ministry of Military Farms was in charge of land reclamation throughout the country; the Ministry of Natural Resources was in charge of the benefits of mountains, rivers, and lakes; and the Ministry of Water Resources was in charge of water conservancy.

Logically speaking, even if our Ministry of Industry wasn't so busy, it wouldn't be as deserted as it is now, right?"

Wang Kechen laughed when he heard this, as if he was mocking Su Yun's naivety: "It is natural that this is the case, but there are not so many things in the world that are reasonable.

Before the reform, the Three Departments almost encompassed the relevant responsibilities of more than a dozen departments of the former Tang Dynasty, including the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Punishments, Palace Secretariat, Honglu Temple, Sinong Temple, Guanglu Temple, Shaofu Supervisor, Jiangzuo Supervisor, Military Equipment Supervisor, and Dushui Supervisor.

Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the Construction Bureau has taken away all the power of the Ministry of Works and the construction of the capital. All the work in the capital, including the eight pottery and tile workshops, the embankment workshops, the accounts of various warehouses, and the checking of the camps, government offices, bridges, bamboo and wood, rafts, etc. of various states, are controlled by the Three Departments Construction Bureau.

The preparation of materials required for construction, construction deadline, and allocation of materials and craftsmen are reported by the construction organization to the Three Departments, which make the decision.

However, since the previous emperor ascended the throne, he began to reduce the powers and responsibilities of the three departments. In the fourth year of Xining, the powers of the Chief of Works were restored to replace the responsibilities of the Repair and Construction Office.

However, it was not only the personnel from the Three Departments who participated in the construction affairs. The eunuchs also played an important role in the construction affairs, especially in the construction of palaces and temples in the capital.

When the imperial city was being built, the implementation of the project was supervised by the Iron Cavalry Captain and the eunuchs. Later, there were more and more examples of eunuchs supervising the implementation of projects. Therefore, can our Ministry of Works still take this area back?
The power of the Tuntian Division was also completely taken away during these hundred years. In the early period of the Ming Dynasty, the Tuntian Division had only one judge, who was an official without official duties. All the laws and regulations on military farming were under the jurisdiction of the three divisions, and the Tuntian Division had no control over them.

The Ministry of Works' Tuntian Division is no longer responsible for military farming affairs. All military farming laws are under the jurisdiction of the Three Divisions. The specific management of military farming affairs is the responsibility of the officials at the road level, the Transport Commissioner, the Director of the Ministry of Grain and Oil, the Director of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and officials at the prefecture level. It has nothing to do with our Tuntian Division anymore.

As for the Water Conservancy Bureau, the Water Conservancy Bureau under the Ministry of Works was originally in charge of laws regarding rivers, canals, bridges, and water transport, as well as planning and river dredging related to water conservancy projects.

In the early period of the Ming Dynasty, the Water Ministry was established, but it had become an idle organization. The Three Departments were responsible for various laws related to water conservancy. The various cases under the jurisdiction of the Three Departments divided the functions of the Water Ministry. The Shipping Case was responsible for the water transport on the Bian River, Guangji River, and Cai River, as well as the repair of bridges.

During the Huangyou period, the River and Canal Division was established at the suggestion of the Three Departments. It was affiliated with the Three Departments and was responsible for the embankment and material affairs of the Huang and Bian rivers. Its main function was to be responsible for the safety of river and canal embankments and specific matters such as the materials needed for river defense. Later, the scope of its authority was gradually expanded.

It was later abolished during the Jiayou period. Do you think this power was returned to our Ministry of Industry?"

Su Yun frowned and asked, "Du Shuijian?"

"what!"

Wang Kechen clapped his hands and laughed, "That's right, the court set up the Du Shui Jian on the same day, and all the functions of the Hequ Bureau were replaced by the Du Shui Jian!
Furthermore, because dredging the old course of the Yellow River was a major event for the imperial court, officials from the Ministry of Revenue were dispatched to inspect the river together with officials from the Metropolitan Water Conservancy Bureau. This was the Metropolitan Water Conservancy Bureau’s responsibility for supervising and inspecting the river course.”

Wang Kechen emphasized the word "Ministry of Revenue officials".

Su Yun was speechless. He was determined to abolish the Ministry of Industry!

Su Yun said quickly: "After the Yuanfeng Reform, the Sansi was completely abolished. Now there is no Sansi government office anymore, so the power should be taken back, right?"

Wang Kechen smiled and said, "It has returned to the six ministries. The three departments have split some of their powers and responsibilities and given them to other ministries, and the rest have all been merged into the Ministry of Households. Therefore, it still has nothing to do with our Ministry of Industry."

Su Yun frowned upon hearing this and said, "Since the three-province and six-department system has been restored, then the power of our Ministry of Works should be returned to our Ministry of Works. Isn't the Ministry of Revenue overstepping its authority?"

Wang Kechen nodded and said, "Who said that? However, after the reform, our Ministry of Industry no longer has a minister. We, the vice ministers, are inherently inferior to the minister. When we go to ask for it, we are sent back after just a few words. There is nothing we can do!"

(End of this chapter)