Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 107: Governor of the East Factory, Cao Bin

"Brother Wensu, it's the same thing again, it's the same thing again. That Xiao Zhang from our Hanlin Academy was just a farewell banquet among his colleagues, and Xiao Zhang paid for it himself. His family is Zhengzhou Prefecture. A well-known wealthy family spent their own money to treat their colleagues to a simple meal in Fanlou, and they actually let Cao Bin be arrested. It's a disgrace to their dignity and politeness!"

Fan Zhi nodded and said: "I really know about this. Zhang Zhe was a new scholar last year. After one year in the Imperial Academy, he had to be sent out to work as a general judge. Therefore, before taking office, he entertained his colleagues at a banquet. But although he The venue is in the Fan Building, but it is said that not only the dishes are extravagant, but also abalone, ginseng, wings and tripe are ordered everywhere, and the girl who is accompanying the wine is given a large reward on the fourth floor. It is really flamboyant and ostentatious. I provoked Cao Bin's stern face, knowing that he was spending their own money, so I didn't do anything to him, but I just asked him to pay attention to the impact."

"Pay attention to the impact? If Cao Bin doesn't do this, how will he have any impact? The impact is clearly caused by him."

Hearing this, Fan Zhi looked at Wang Pu happily and said: "What do you think you are doing with such indignation? What does this matter have to do with us? No one invited us to dinner. Besides, we have long since ignored the matter. That Who, didn’t His Highness King Qin ask you to help me write the meeting book? Put more energy into this aspect, it’s not better than anything else.”

Wang Pu was not happy when he heard this: "I wrote a picture book for him? I, a prime minister, wrote this for him? Who does he think I am? And he doesn't respect historical facts at all. He doesn't respect historical facts. What do you want me to write about?"

Wang Pu now spends most of his time sorting out the Tang Hui Yao, that is, sorting out the historical materials of the Tang Dynasty. Since the Song Dynasty, the prime ministers of all dynasties have been particularly fond of doing this kind of thing. They can just find the so-called emperor's skills from the historical materials. He came to present it to the official family. This habit started from him.

Then Zhao Guangmei thought to herself, don't waste it, just find him and ask him to help, and help write some romances about the history of the Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties or the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He will provide the outline and main plot, and Wang Pu will be responsible for writing. When the time comes, he will change what he wrote into opera and lyrics and perform it for the soldiers.

Then he said euphemistically: "It's all about sorting out historical materials anyway. The Tang Hui you wrote is still a mess. It's of no use anyway. My elder brother doesn't want to read it. Instead of wasting time on the so-called emperor's art, , it would be better to write an excellent historical novel that will last forever.”

Wang Pu was so angry that he wanted to beat him, as if the emperor's books he had worked so hard to compile were useless. Now Zhao Guangmei naturally looked at him more and more displeased.

Then Wang Pu said: "Of course I know that this matter has nothing to do with me. No one has come to invite me, I don't have the appetite, and I can't stand out as a scholar leader, but I'm just not satisfied, no. What? I, the prime minister, can’t participate in government affairs anymore? Can’t I say that I don’t like the King of Qin? "

Fan Zhi said: "If you can say it, of course you can say it. Officials have long said that the Song Dynasty will not be punished for words. Even Zhang Ai still acts as his Qingliu leader. Who cares what you say? No matter. Whether it is to avenge a private grudge or to make use of the topic, isn't this move by His Highness the King of Qin and that Cao Bin to rectify the official system and clarify the world? You still want to object? What is there to object to? Didn't you see that even Zhang Ai is being honest this time? Are you done? Are you a corrupt official?"

"Of course I am not a corrupt official, but Brother Wensu, the word "rectifying the administration of officials" is not mentioned in any dynasty or generation, but when is it not a gust of wind? After all, you and I also started in the state capital and have been doing this for many years. Zhang Ai and his ilk don’t understand the actual power of the prime minister, so how can we still not understand? The administration cannot be rectified, and the more it is rectified, the worse it will become!”

When Fan Zhi heard this, he was noncommittal. This was definitely an extreme statement, but it was actually not unreasonable.

"What I am worried about is Cao Bin and his prosecutorial committee. Will they have too much power? They are all martial artists. They do not read poetry and books, do not study Confucius and Mencius, and have no loyalty, filial piety and justice in their hearts. They don't know the etiquette, justice and shame, but they were selected by the merchants through voting. The imperial court had no restrictions or restraints on them, and their actions were not restricted by the imperial court at all. How is this inappropriate? Even if they are our prime ministers, they are There is still no fear in front of me, where is the majesty of the imperial court?”

Fan Zhi frowned and said, "It's just a small matter of eating and drinking. Why is it so serious?"

"Why not? How not? All fools know that this is definitely just the beginning for His Highness King Qin. Is he just catching food and drink? Are all eight regulations required? If so, how big of a yamen will it be? It will have to hire people. How many people, and how much power do they need? They are indeed doing a good job now, but what if they become corrupt in the future? Are these people who are soldiers more honest than those of us who read books about sages? As for the supervisor, I think this is bullshit!"

"Pah, pah, pah" just as he was saying this, he saw someone applauding him. The two of them turned around to look, and saw that it was Zhao Guangmei coming over carrying a big food box. They couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed for a moment.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Guangmei said: "The Prime Minister is worthy of being an old prime minister who has been in officialdom for decades. This knowledge is indeed extraordinary. I just listened to it outside and I feel that I have benefited a lot."

Wang Pu's face turned red when he heard this, and he shook his robe sleeves and said in annoyance: "If Your Highness wants to ridicule me, just say so. If you feel that what I said is wrong, I will punish you. Why bother doing this weird thing here again."

"Yin and yang? I don't have it. Everything you said makes sense. Why am I so weird? Officials with a background in education are relatively more honest when it comes to corruption than people with a military background. Don't say you don't believe in voting. , I don’t believe it. The more people are elected, the more greedy they tend to be. However, this may not have anything to do with propriety, justice, and integrity. To put it bluntly, most of the successful people who can afford to study these days have wealthy families. Yes, they are not that hungry, but they also need face. They are all fat ducks, and those elected by the military are all skinny ducks who came hungry, and the warriors are definitely not as shameless as you civil servants." Fan Zhi and Wang Pu were shocked for a moment and couldn't help asking: "What do you mean, Your Highness..."

"I have just asked for the order from my eldest brother. In the next few days, a Discipline Department will be set up to be responsible for inspecting the eight regulations and the investigation of large-scale corruption. The members will come from the censor, the military, the palace, Especially when transferred from the Ban Zhi, the rectification officer is Zhang Ai, not Cao Bin. The Discipline Department is subordinate to the Censor, but it is not restricted by other yamen."

"What about Cao Bin?"

"Cao Bin, he is responsible for supervising Zhang Ai."

"........."

"The censor is responsible for supervising the officials, and the supervisory committee is responsible for supervising the censor. Isn't it good? Any person with good moral integrity, if he fails to report the knowledge, accepts bribes, becomes corrupt, and has no clear records, Cao Bin will be responsible for collecting them. Evidence, arresting people and interrogating people, the candidates are selected by the commercial bank, and they are changed every five years. During the execution, they are directly responsible to the eldest brother. Their office is located to the east of the palace, so the eldest brother gave the name, Dongchang, and Cao Bin is the number one of Dongchang. A factory supervisor."

Fan Zhi and Wang Pu looked at each other in confusion after hearing this. For a moment, they both felt that something was wrong, but they couldn't tell what was wrong.

Fan Zhi changed the subject and said, "But I don't know what the purpose of your highness coming to the political hall to find us two people from the previous dynasty."

"This is a very unpleasant thing to say. What do you mean by people from the previous dynasty? Who dares to say that you two are not the prime ministers of our Song Dynasty? I came to you two mainly for two things."

"The first thing is for you two to try the shochu brewed by our Fan Lou."

Fan Zhi was surprised: "Fan Lou, soju? Didn't it say that Fan Lou has closed the wine shop?"

"Close? No, it just merged with the wine shop of the trading company. Next, I plan to authorize the Fan Lou sign. Once we start this investment promotion, we will send the Fan Lou chefs to every corner store and shop. It is our mission to serve the restaurant so that people all over the world can eat Fanlou's high-quality, low-price, nutritious and healthy stir-fry dishes. Naturally, the prices of franchise stores will be cheaper than those of the main store of Fanlou. There are no rules, just pay a franchise fee and change brands. All franchise stores can buy my Fan Lou’s shochu and fruit wine at low prices. Except for Meishou, I have sold fourteen different prices and current ones in one go. The wine is enough for the franchise store, so please take care of me when the time comes."

The two of them looked at each other after hearing this, and they both felt that...the Thirteen Restaurant is probably going to die this time. Doesn't it mean that it has to go bankrupt?

"One more thing, Mr. Wang, you still have to revise the play you gave me last time. Li Cunxu resisted Yelu Abaoji. He was truly a hero. How could you write him so rudely? ?You have to change this for me. He is the protagonist of the Five Dynasties. That Li Siyuan. If you write him as a bad guy, just say that he killed Li Keyong. Write him as an old cunt and a big-eared thief. .”

"Absurd! Ridiculous! This is too ridiculous. I won't change it. You are turning things upside down and talking nonsense."

"I turned things upside down? Why did I turn things upside down? Why must Li Cunxu be a tyrant and Li Siyuan a benevolent lord? I think you are the one turning things upside down."

Then, the two started to quarrel.

(End of this chapter)