The concubine is extremely cautious

Chapter 260 The Yao Family Falls 1

Imperial Palace, Yonghe Palace.

"Master, the nails were just delivered this morning." Lian Rui presented a secret letter.

Ning Wanyin had secretly sent a message to the spy in the capital to keep an eye on the officials from the Ministry of Rites, Hanlin Academy and Ministry of War who were sent out to Beijing to give lectures.

of course……

A list of these officials will also be submitted to the emperor for his review.

But Ning Wanyin always verified each other to ensure that there were no mistakes, so naturally she had to send someone to follow secretly.

Ning Wanyin opened the secret letter and scanned it.

The third batch of officials sent abroad include ten from the Ministry of War, ten from the Hanlin Academy, and eight from the Ministry of Rites...

Ning Wanyin's gaze paused on the Ministry of Rites' list.

Jiang Chengxu, Yang Quanren.

These two people...

After reading the secret letter, Ning Wanyin placed it on the candle flame, lit it, threw it into the incense burner, watched it burn to ashes, and got up to go to Qianxin Hall.

Wang Degui was holding an imperial edict and had just left Qianxin Hall when he saw Ning Wanyin bowing and saluting:

"I pay my respects to the Imperial Concubine! I was just about to go to the pagoda to pass on the emperor's order. His Majesty has granted your grandmother grace, allowing Madam Ning to continue praying for the country for another three years."

This morning, the official in charge of the pagoda submitted a memorial requesting instructions.

Madam Ning’s three-year blessing period has come to an end. Is it necessary to find another person to pray for her?

So the emperor issued another imperial decree, asking Madam Ning to continue praying for the country.

"Your Majesty, your grace is something that the entire Ning family is honored to have." Ning Wanyin responded with a faint smile.

Wang Degui smiled and congratulated him, then turned around and went out to convey the emperor's order.

Ning Wanyin entered the Qianxin Hall and bowed:

"I thank your majesty for your grace. It is a blessing for our Ning family that my grandmother has the honor to pray for the country."

"Get up now." Helian Qi waved at her, "Come and serve me with the writing brush and ink."

When he said he was serving the writing, he meant he was reading memorials with Helian Qi.

The emperor would occasionally speak to her, but most of the time Ning Wanyin would just watch government affairs in silence.

The Minister of Rites wrote a letter stating that the third batch of officials to be sent abroad had been arranged. Helian Qi was about to close the letter after reading it...

"Your Majesty, there are two people on the Ministry of Rites' list who are questionable," Ning Wanyin reminded.

At first glance, the officials on this list are all young officials, and you can't see any problems with them.

The memorial will not specify the specific circumstances of each official.

Unless the family backgrounds of all officials on the Ministry of Rites list are investigated in advance...

Among the three things that cannot be faked, age is the only thing that is difficult to fake.

The other two have loopholes that can be exploited.

Officials who do not want to go can say that they are ill if they catch a cold.

Or they may say that their parents are bedridden and have no one to take care of them.

Some people who meet the requirements find reasons not to go, which is difficult to define.

But if you assign someone who does not meet the requirements, it is obvious at a glance.

"Jiang Chengxu's father died early, and he only has a mother who is bedridden. His family is poor and has no servants. Logically, he is on the list of "three no-go places". Of course, if he bought servants in advance to take care of him and volunteered to go to the southwest, it would be fine."

What Ning Wanyin said was that there were doubts, not that it was definitely not possible.

The most important thing is whether Jiang Chengxu can arrange his family affairs properly and then volunteer to leave Beijing, rather than being forced to leave.

In comparison, the other candidate is even more questionable:

"Yang Quanren fell into the water last year and became seriously ill. He has been taking medicine all year round. If he hadn't suddenly recovered in a few days, he shouldn't have gone."

Helian Qi's eyes fell on the roster and his brows furrowed slightly.

The Minister of Rites obviously did not put his heart into the tasks assigned to him, which is why he dared to act so hypocritically.

There is a reason why Minister Yao doesn't take it seriously.

Compared to the Qilin Guard, which was also established by the emperor himself, this lecture was not led by an important official, nor was there a famous teacher. Only low-ranking officials were selected, so it didn't seem like a big deal...

There are many decrees issued by the emperor in the court every day.

Officials have their own way of judging whether a policy is important.

If it is presided over by an important official, it must be a major event.

It can be a big deal if it can be done by low-level officials and no important officials are involved.

For such a small matter, the emperor would certainly not be able to check the list of officials sent one by one, so there was room for arrangement.

Even if the emperor really discovered that the list was wrong and held Minister Yao accountable, Minister Yao would have his own way of dealing with it.

For these old foxes in officialdom, ability is secondary; dealing with the emperor is what they are best at.

The one who was sick said that he had almost recovered from the illness and that it was nothing serious, and he was determined to serve the court.

As for those who have mothers at home who need care, it is even simpler. He can just say that he will send someone to take care of them.

Even if he failed in his job, Minister Yao always had an impeccable excuse to deal with the emperor.

If something really goes wrong, the people below will also take the blame.

Many times, the emperor did not care about how to do it specifically, he just wanted a result.

"Send an order to the Qilin Guard to summon Jiang Chengxu and Yang Quanren to the palace to meet the emperor." Helian Qi said.

……

Outside the capital, on the official road.

Two young officials were sitting in a simple carriage...

"Cough cough cough..." Yang Quanren's face turned red from coughing.

Because he was seriously ill, other officials who were traveling to the southwest with him were afraid of being infected by his illness and did not dare to ride in the same carriage with him. Only a close friend of his went with him.

"Brother Yang, are you okay? I've implicated you..." Jiang Chengxu looked a little guilty.

He was a newly-qualified Jinshi in the previous imperial examination. After being assigned to the Ministry of Rites, he was targeted by Shangshu Yao because he had opposed some of his arrangements. He was later demoted two levels.

"I'm fine... No matter whether I'm implicated or not, the main thing is that I didn't... I didn't cough cough... I didn't give him any money..." Yang Quanren waved his hands repeatedly.

Those who could study and take the imperial examinations all had some wealth in their families. But one of them was sick, and the other's mother was sick, and all the money was spent on medical treatment.

The two men held low official positions, had low salaries, and were extremely poor.

Before Jiang Chengxu left, he could only ask a neighbor with whom he had a good relationship to help look after his mother.

This time he was forced to go to the southwest, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it might not be a bad idea.

"Going to the southwest may not be a bad thing." Jiang Chengxu looked at his friend and said in a deep voice.

Yang Quanren asked curiously, "Brother Jiang, why do you say that? These soldiers should not be able to pass the imperial examination, right?"

The Ministry of Rites was in charge of the imperial examinations and various schools. In the past, the Ministry of Rites had also sent officials to give lectures in some county schools...

If a few outstanding scholars can emerge from the school, it can be regarded as your teaching contribution and political achievement.

but……

What results can be achieved by teaching illiterate soldiers to read?

The officials of the Ministry of Rites were reluctant to go to the southwest, firstly because they thought it was too remote and not as prosperous as the capital, and secondly because they thought they could not gain any merit.

Many people discussed privately that lecturing those soldiers was like playing the lute to a cow!

Your Majesty's idea is too naive.

If there is no achievement by then, it will be a blessing if His Majesty does not blame me. Do you still expect to be promoted?

There are also some government decrees that are ineffective or even harmful after implementation.

It's obvious that this job won't be easy to get credit for.

"I personally think that your majesty's intention is not to let the soldiers understand a lot of knowledge." Jiang Chengxu analyzed carefully:

"The proposal for the Southwest Education Program clearly states that after we go there, we should call some scholars to join us in the military camp, teach them to read, and give lectures on the Book of Rites."

"Li Yan" is the official book of Dayan, which mainly writes about ideas such as loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame. It is also a must-learn for scholars.

"But they didn't say they were going to be taught to write articles... So I think if there really is an assessment standard, it would probably be whether they can write or recite the Book of Rites, rather than asking them to write articles, which would be considered an achievement."

As for what benefits would come from accomplishing these two things, Jiang Chengxu could probably guess.

He himself is a scholar, and he knows best that reading and knowing etiquette will indeed have an impact on a person.

Your Majesty is exerting influence...

In addition, learning to read can also help them learn military tactics.

He guessed in his heart that many people might underestimate the importance of being sent abroad to give lectures in the eyes of His Majesty.