Chapter 66: Web of Relationships

  It's said that there's something important, so Yun Zhen smiled and sat back down. Zhang Mengjiao carefully sat down in front of him, cleared her throat, and then said, "Master left at the end of February and didn't return until May. The stack of reports on my hand has become very thick. I roughly sorted through them and picked out the useful ones. Master, take a look first." As she spoke, she handed over a piece of paper.

  He took a look and found it was a string of official appointments:

  On the twenty-second day of the third month, Hu Bu Shilang Nengtai, who was previously the Sichuan Xunfu, failed to strictly supervise and instruct his subordinates, causing the people to suffer. Among his subordinates, there is not a single good official. If such a person remains as Shilang, how can we make clear rewards and punishments, and demonstrate encouragement and warning? It is ordered that Nengtai be removed from his position as Shilang.

  Sichuan Governor Bian Yongshi, was particularly incompetent and was dismissed. Jiangxi Inspector Wu Cunli was promoted to Sichuan Governor. Gansu Governor Shu Tu was incapable of handling affairs and extremely muddled, he was dismissed. Gansu Inspector E Qi was quite capable in his post and was promoted to Gansu Governor.

  March 28, Right Wing Vanguard General Hai Jin was appointed as the Commander of the Imperial Guard.

  On April 7, Taiping was promoted to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Qiu Zhao'ao, a scholar in the Imperial Academy, was promoted to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Chen Yuanlong, who had previously served as a supervisor, was appointed as the Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy and concurrently as the Vice Minister of Rites. Xiao Yongmao, the Minister of War, was transferred to serve as the Minister of Personnel. Ba Xi, an Investigating Censor, was promoted to serve as the Judicial Commissioner of Gansu Province. Langzhong Baozhu was promoted to serve as the General Manager of the Imperial Household Department.

  On April 12, Zhang Shengzuo, the former Guangxi Youjiang Road, was promoted to Jiangxi Buzhengshi as a Buzhengshi. Na Hantai, the former Guānglù Temple Minister, was promoted to Tongzheng Temple Minister and concurrently served as Guānglù Temple Minister. Wu Yifei, the former Dali Temple Shaoqing, was promoted to Guānglù Temple Minister.

  On April 15, Wang Yun was transferred from Minister of Works to Minister of War. Zuo Tongzhi was promoted to be the Vice President of the Supreme Court.

  Other officials were transferred, but Yongzheng didn't care much. He noticed two people: Hai Jin, who was the Minister of Imperial Guards, and Wang Xiang, who was the Minister of War. He drew a line under their names with his fingernail.

  Zhang Mengjiao stretched out her head and looked at him with some curiosity, asking: "What is the position of the inner attendant minister?"

  Upon hearing this question, Yongzheng couldn't help but burst out laughing. These positions, let alone a common folk woman like her, even ordinary scholars and low-ranking officials might not be familiar with them. He patiently explained: "Do you know about the imperial palace guards and the emperor's personal bodyguards? After our Qing dynasty entered the pass, we divided the Eight Banners Army into two parts: the Forbidden Troops of the Eight Banners and the Garrison Troops of the Eight Banners. The Garrison Troops were stationed in various places throughout the country, while the Forbidden Troops were stationed in the capital. The Forbidden Troops were further divided into Langwei and Bingwei.

  Langwei, the imperial bodyguard, including the Imperial Guard and the Inner Guards, whose members were selected from the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners. The Imperial Guard was headed by a Grand Minister of the Imperial Bodyguard, with six ministers of the first rank and six of the second rank, who commanded the Imperial Bodyguards, composed of the sons of the Upper Three Banners, namely the Plain Yellow, Bordered Yellow, and Plain White Banners.

  The Imperial Guard Division has jurisdiction over the Imperial Guards, with 60 First-Class Imperial Guards of the third rank, 150 Second-Class Imperial Guards of the fourth rank, 270 Third-Class Imperial Guards of the fifth rank, 900 Blue Feathered Imperial Guards of the sixth rank, as well as Fourth-Class Imperial Guards, Han Imperial Guards, and Imperial Army Captains, all of whom are selected from the Upper Three Banners.

  The duties of the Inner Guards Commander-in-Chief include selecting and training Imperial Guards, inspecting their archery and horsemanship skills, evaluating and promoting or demoting them, arranging daily guard shifts, attending imperial ceremonies, guarding the palace gates during imperial audiences, and escorting the emperor on tours.

  The attendants who served the emperor daily and stayed overnight were called Imperial Guards, slightly lower than them were the Qianqing Gate Guards. The leader of these high-ranking attendants was called the Minister in Attendance on the Emperor, usually appointed from among the imperial princes, dukes, and ministers to be in charge of the affairs of the Qianqing Gate Guard Office, actually overseeing the internal court affairs. Their duties included serving inside the palace, attending daily audiences with the emperor, managing the affairs of the Petitioning Office, inspecting officials entering and leaving, leading introduced officials into the palace, and following the emperor on outings as the Rear Minister.

  "En, I understand." Zhang Mengjiao nodded, "What's with this Wang Xun again?"

  Yin Zhen smiled lightly and said, "Heh heh, this person is the prince's confidant, his news should be paid more attention to in the future."

  Zhang Mengjiao nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Which party do the two Jiang governors, Gali and Zhang Bohang, belong to?"

  "It's hard to say." Yin Zhen took a sip of tea before continuing, "Gali, this person has marital relationships with both the Third Prince and the Ninth Prince. He is related by marriage to Peng Chun, the father-in-law of the Third Prince Yinxi, and Qi Shi, the father-in-law of the Ninth Prince Yinzong, who are both great-grandsons of one of the five prominent ministers of the early Qing dynasty, Hehe Erli. This person has always had dealings with the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, the Eighth Prince, and the Ninth Prince. He is absolutely not a neutral party; he is seeking to profit from his connections."

  As for Zhang Bohang, it's really hard to say. He is a student of Wang Hongxu, who has served as Minister of Works and Minister of Revenue. Last year, in the matter of publicly recommending the crown prince, he strongly recommended Eighth Brother, but was dismissed from his post and returned to his hometown with his original title. However, it cannot be said that Zhang Bohang is a member of Eighth Brother's party just because of this."

  "These officials' relationships are really too complicated." Zhang Mengjiao sighed softly before saying: "Master, I'm completely ignorant of these relationship networks now. Even if I want to help you, it's all in vain."

  "Hehe, don't worry, I'll take care of this. The relevant materials will be prepared," he said as he casually pulled Zhang Mengjiao into his arms. "Don't rush, we won't need it for at least a year. This relationship web is too big and complicated. Shouldn't we reorganize our own relationship web?" As he spoke, he leaned in to kiss her.

  The next day at 4 o'clock in the morning, Hai Feng, Zhu Yan Zhi, Xu Shi Zhen, Wan Jian Tu, Sun Chang Hao, Wu Tian Ming, Hu Cheng Kun and others all arrived on time to report to Liu Chun Garden.

  After listening to the report for a whole morning, it can be said that the progress of each construction site has been smooth over the past two months. There have been no shortages in personnel, funds, materials and other aspects. The relationship with local residents is also harmonious. In the afternoon, he personally visited each construction site and found that everywhere was bustling with activity. He asked some foremen and migrant workers on site about the distribution of wages, living conditions, food and other aspects, and everyone's response was not bad.

  After a round of inspection, Emperor Xianzong was very satisfied with Hai Feng and other officials. If this continues, he can be a hands-off boss. Yes, it's time to take revenge on those second-generation ancestors for the suffering they endured during the four years of quasi-militarized management in college.

  Just as Yinzhen was about to return to the city, a young man wearing a long gown with rolled-up sleeves and dust on his front and back came running over. "Student Gu Mingkai pays respects to Prince Fourteenth Beile."

  He was sized up from head to toe by a young man with a spirited look, then heard Hai Feng introduce him on the side, "This is a son of the Gu family in Shangyuan, a scholar, he came at the beginning of March and has been helping out at the ironworks."

  A scholar who can make such a mess on a construction site, Yin Zhen couldn't help but take an interest in him and smiled, "But what's the situation reflected?"

  "Reporting to the 14th Master, I have come specifically for the matter of the ironworks. The iron materials sent from various places include both white-mouthed iron and grey-mouthed iron, and the quality of these two types of iron also varies by region. If we want to cast cannons, we will need to re-melt them in the furnace. In that case, the location of this ironworks is a problem. It would be best to choose a location near a river, so as to take advantage of the water power to blow air."

  Hydraulic bellows? Yin Zhen was stunned as soon as he heard it, and now they're in a big mess. He regretted not having learned more about iron and steel smelting earlier. It was a big mistake to rush into designing without asking the blacksmith first. Who knew that hydraulic bellows were still used for smelting at this time? He couldn't help but glance at Hai Feng.