Chapter 119: Going Down to Yangzhou in the Third Month of Spring

After completing all the ritual procedures, Li Mu was still busy.

Besides socializing, it was still socializing.

A marriage between major families, connecting the good of the two surnames, is not a joke.

As families of great wealth and status, both the Jing and Li families have a bunch of relatives and friends.

As a newlywed couple, Li Mu's main task every day was to take his wife to get familiar with these people.

He couldn't take over the human resource connections; it was mainly to show his identity as one of their own.

So that they wouldn't end up fighting each other when they met in officialdom later.

For some small favors within their ability, everyone would provide help within their capacity.

If one's management ability is strong enough, one can turn the two families' connections into one's own, and the elders won't object.

"Finally finished; I'm exhausted!"

Hearing this voice, Li Mu was startled.

His gentle and elegant wife actually had this side.

Sure enough, marriage reveals one's true colors.

The children of the nobility and the children of civil officials are ultimately different.

Even with the education of a scholarly family, they still retained a fierce side.

Referring to his own cousins, they were all good girls in front of the elders, but among their peers, they were all incredibly lively.

If they also met a father who loved his daughter and followed him around with knives and guns since childhood, it was also very normal.

Anyway, in the Great Dayu Dynasty, there is reproductive isolation between civil and military.

They are all internally digested; there is no need to follow the rules of scholarly families.

To avoid embarrassment, Li Mu deliberately increased his footsteps.

"It must be the husband coming; you two go block him first, I'll tidy up and come out!"

Jing Yaqing said in a panic.

Regardless, one cannot lose one's image.

As long as you aren't caught in person, it doesn't count.

"Master, the mistress is changing clothes; you can't come in!"

Listening to the clumsy excuse, Li Mu couldn't help but want to laugh.

Reason told him that it was better not to expose some things.

If he broke through his wife's other side and she became angry from embarrassment and just stopped acting, that would be awkward.

"Tell the mistress to tidy up in advance; in half a month, we are going to Yangzhou."

Li Mu said, pretending not to know.

All the things for this trip to the capital had been finished.

Not only was the major life event solved, but the application for cavalry expansion was also approved.

Relying on the power of the family, the connections in the Ministry of War were smoothly opened.

Relying on money to pave the way, the official in charge of military equipment in the Ministry of War indicated that from now on, everyone was their own people.

As long as the money is in place, any equipment can be discussed, and it is guaranteed to be top-quality goods.

Top-quality military equipment is engraved with the craftsman's name, and subsequent quality problems can be traced back to the individual.

The craftsman who makes the weapons uses the lives of his whole family to guarantee the quality of the firearms.

Understanding the truth, Li Mu could only sigh that this world is too ridiculous.

Clearly having the ability to guarantee quality, the military equipment related to the empire's lifeline is still filled with a large number of inferior products.

Besides corruption, the court's lack of financial resources is also an important factor.

In the case of insufficient funding, in order to guarantee output, one can only sacrifice quality.

Especially with firearms, the direct harm caused by insufficient quality is that the rate of barrel explosions remains high.

Of course, the quality reduction operation still has a basic bottom line.

Even if it's a defective product, it can still be used.

Generally speaking, it just greatly reduces the service life of the firearm and increases uncontrollability.

The kind of garbage that can't even fire ammunition, or explodes as soon as it's used, still doesn't dare to be equipped to the army.

Once a major mess is made and the court holds people accountable, the heads of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works will all lose their heads.

Wenyuan Pavilion.

After the New Year, the storm of cutting redundant personnel swept through the court again.

In order to make the plan proceed smoothly, the cabinet also formed a special working group responsible for promoting the downsizing work.

After a round of tossing and turning, the problem of redundant personnel was solved, but the downsizing plan had no progress at all.

The departments that were originally idling are now busy with their feet not touching the ground.

Although I don't know what they are busy with, everyone is very busy anyway.

Local government offices all learned from the various departments in the capital, one after another clamoring that the work pressure is high, hoping that the court can increase manpower.

Some local government offices, in order to cope with the increase in workload, still hired a large number of temporary workers.

It seems that the court didn't have to pay, but it increased the burden on the common people.

This change made the cabinet bigwigs furious.

In normal times, everyone fools the Emperor together, but now they are even fooling them.

Everyone came up from below; how could they not know how much business there is in the government offices.

"The people below are doing things more and more outrageously.

If we don't take effective measures, our cabinet will become a decoration in the future.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Let's talk about it together!"

Pang Hengsheng said with as calm a tone as possible.

The reaction of the government offices at all levels is purely a clear-cut opposition to them.

"The people below dare to mess around, nothing more than relying on the law not punishing the masses.

They think cleverly that as long as they maintain a consistent pace, we can't do anything to them.

I think we should pick a few unimportant idle government offices and kill the chicken to warn the monkey first.

Especially government offices with severely overlapping functions; even if a few are canceled, it won't affect the operation of the court at all.

Don't the censors like to impeach? Now is the time for them to charge into battle.

We just need to watch the situation next; whoever pops out to make trouble first, we will press them to death first.

Most departments in the court have serious redundancy, but there are also some government offices that lack people, so just transfer the obstructive ones over!"

Lu Zhifan said with a sneer.

Thinking about it, it feels magical; the resistance from below actually made several cabinet ministers with different political views stand together.

In order to ensure the authority of the cabinet, they have to join forces at this time.

"These alone are not enough; the 'capital inspection' must also move.

If it weren't for the accident, the capital inspection should have happened last year.

Include idling into the assessment indicators; those who are anxious to increase manpower must lack management ability.

And those government offices with declining efficiency and frequent chaos, the ability of the main officials is also lacking.

Since the ability is not enough, then change to someone with ability.

Don't be afraid of causing chaos; if something happens, just change everyone.

Especially the main officials of the government offices, they must be removed from office immediately!"

Xu Wenyue said with murderous intent.

Last time in Yangzhou, he was pitted by the bureaucrats in Nanjing.

If it weren't for the changes later, allowing several parties to temporarily stop, he would have been squeezed to death.

Now the opportunity has been delivered to his door, so he just wants to send that bunch of bastards home.

"Cabinet Minister Xu is right; now is the time to use heavy codes!"

Shi Yuanhu said pointedly.

The matter of Emperor Yongning selecting regents is already an open secret among the high-level officials.

The cabinet is anxious to perform, besides the three fires of a new official, it is also deliberately done for the Emperor to see.

Regardless of whether it is brother-to-brother succession or adopting an heir, it requires key officials to assist.

Becoming a regent can ensure a dominant position in the next round of political reshuffling.

In the civil official group, besides the cabinet's five-person group, the six ministers are also candidates.

The obstruction of the plan to cut redundant personnel is inseparable from competitors pulling their legs.

The capital inspection began; pushed by the cabinet with all its strength, soon there were unlucky ones who became the chickens that were killed.

The main official of the government office that clamored the most for increasing personnel was the first to receive an "incompetent" evaluation, happily receiving an unqualified assessment.

The main officials of the government offices with declining efficiency and frequent chaos were labeled "frivolous" and "imprudent," and were also classified as unqualified.

These officials paid the price of their official careers for their recklessness.

The boss fell, and the younger brothers below naturally wouldn't have a good result.

Different from the slogans of the past, this time the cabinet was serious.

Taking the court's assessment standards, they made a fair and objective evaluation of their behavior.

All the messy things of the past were placed on the table, scaring the hundred officials into trembling.

The voices clamoring for increasing manpower disappeared from the court all at once.

It's not strange to maintain subordinates in officialdom, but you can't risk your own official career.

Having finally reached a high position, you can't be dragged down by a group of pig teammates.

Realizing that the people under them can't do anything and are the first to add chaos.

Some empty positions were quickly canceled, and everything returned to the original state.

Cutting redundant personnel is fine; as long as the knife doesn't fall on oneself, it is acceptable.

Some people chose to compromise, and some people chose to confront.

Sensing the change in the political atmosphere in the capital, Li Mu immediately changed his itinerary.

Originally planning to take office in half a month, it was finally pushed forward by five days.

The cabinet wants to cut redundant personnel, and it has nothing to do with him.

But the political struggle in the court could burn him.

The plan to cut redundant personnel proposed by the cabinet is limited to civil officials and has not yet affected military officers.

But with the intensification of political struggle, it is difficult to guarantee that a fool won't appear and propose a disarmament plan.

There are all kinds of birds in a big forest; there will never be a shortage of strange plans in the court.

If a voice for disarmament really pops up, as a newly formed regiment, it will definitely be the first to bear the brunt.

Of course, such an unrealistic plan is definitely impossible to pass.

It's fine to take it out as a political slogan and fool some fools.

If you take it seriously, you lose.

Large-scale disarmament only exists in peacetime.

Disarming in wartime is clearly not wanting to live.

The border problem of the Great Dayu has become increasingly severe in recent decades, and Liaodong is just one of the problems.

Besides Liaodong in the northeast, there is the Guifang of the Mongolian grasslands, and the Oirat occupying the northern desert threatening Suzhou.

Looking further west, the situation in the Western Regions is currently in turmoil as well.

The Samarkand Khanate occupying Central Asia is attacking cities and seizing land everywhere, and who knows when they will move east.

The Tibetan region adjacent to the Western Regions is also unstable.

The Tusi enfeoffed by the court can't hold the ground at all.

If it weren't for the intimidation of the Great Dayu's prestige, who knows if those Tibetan Living Buddhas would have gone to rebuild Tubo again.

In the Indochina Peninsula, wars have occurred frequently in recent years.

The Jiaozhi Administration Commissioner now only has a name left, and most of the land has been eroded by vassal states.

If it weren't for being held back by the northern border, with Emperor Yongning's style, he would have used troops in the south long ago.

The situation in the southeast region looks the most stable, but the pirates occupying the coast are also a threat that cannot be ignored.

The court is planning to recover Liaodong, which is a plan to use troops, and it must guarantee the stability of the military officer camp.

"Husband, is Yangzhou really as beautiful as described in poetry and books?"

Standing on the deck, Jing Yaqing asked curiously.

Like all northerners, she also has a Jiangnan dream.

Except for the discomfort of just leaving her family, the rest is all curiosity.

"The scenery of Yangzhou is naturally not bad.

The Jiangnan water town and humanistic atmosphere are not bad; you should like it."

Li Mu replied perfunctorily.

The line "Going down to Yangzhou in the third month of spring" by the Poet Immortal gave countless people a Yangzhou dream.

Unfortunately, the Yangzhou of this era is prosperous, but you can't find the artistic conception in the Poet Immortal's pen.

Except for Yangzhou City, the entire Yangzhou Prefecture is undergoing difficult post-war reconstruction.

It is unknown how many years it will take to return to its peak.

"Oh, that must be beautiful.

You said you would take me to step through every street and alley in Jiangnan; don't forget!"

Hearing his wife's addition, Li Mu wanted to slap himself.

Sure enough, the word 'lust' is a knife; he even dared to make such a promise.

"Of course, if there is a chance, I will definitely do it."

Li Mu guaranteed immediately.

In such an occasion, promising first is definitely not wrong.

The Great Dayu Code is very strict about the management of officials. Like him, a military officer is not allowed to run around at will.

To step through every street and alley in Jiangnan, unless he can serve as an official in every region of Jiangnan.

Undoubtedly, this is impossible.

Assistant Regional Commander is a flowing official; under normal circumstances, the court will not allow him to serve in a region for a long time.

This is the main reason why the bigwigs in the court didn't have a big reaction after discovering he was "borrowing land" in Yangzhou.

Short as five years, long as ten years, Li Mu will definitely be transferred away from Yangzhou Prefecture.

With this major premise, no matter how he tosses in Yangzhou, the final result is the court's.

The horn sounded, and everyone on the pier cast their eyes on the river.

Seeing the big "Li" flag on the bow, everyone showed a smile; the target had finally arrived.

Learning the news that Li Mu and his wife arrived today, the well-informed Jiangnan gentry ran to the pier early to wait.

Looking around, it was all black heads.

Fortunately, there were soldiers from the Yangzhou Regiment maintaining order, otherwise, so many people gathered together, it would have been a stampede.

It must be admitted that the face of top-tier nobility is big.

Just for Li Mu, this Assistant Regional Commander, if the people welcoming him could be one-third of the current number, that would be giving face.

If observed carefully, one would find that the high-level officials of Yangzhou Prefecture were also in the crowd.

Besides those who came specifically to welcome, more came to watch the fun.

Usually, such activities, besides welcoming the main character, are also a good opportunity for everyone to expand their connections.

After all, with so many people on the scene, not all gentry have the qualification to step forward and talk.

More people just came to get familiar, so that when everyone meets later, they can talk.

"Yangzhou has arrived!"

The ship slowly sailed into the port, Li Mu said, supporting his wife who was a bit seasick.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 120 =====