Fu Song

Chapter 636 A softie is not an idiot

The Jiangning New Song Dynasty established under the leadership of Xiao Cheng abolished the two-management system of the old Tokyo Song Dynasty, which was dominated by two governments and three divisions, and replaced it with a cabinet plus six departments.

Among the six ministries, the one that ranks first is undoubtedly the Ministry of Officials.

No matter when, the department that manages people always has the highest status.

However, Cheng Shao, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, is in name only.

Everyone's evaluation of Cheng Shao is that this guy is a softie.

Indeed, he is soft.

But he is not stupid.

On the contrary, he is smart enough.

Because of his softness, when he was the envoy of the Huainan system, he did not want to have any conflicts with the puppet Qi, and only wanted to keep his own one-acre three-point land.When Xie Hong and Liu Jun brazenly launched a surprise attack on Xuzhou, he did not send reinforcements to them.

But because of his cleverness, when Xiao Cheng initiated the establishment of the New Song Dynasty on Jinghu Road, he was the first to respond and went all the way south to Jinghu Jiangling.

On this point, Xiao Cheng naturally has to accept his affection.

After all the dust settled, Xiao Cheng rewarded him, and the position of Minister of the Ministry of Officials fell from the sky and fell on his head.

As the former envoy of the Huainan system, he is qualified to hold this position.

His immediate boss is Cen Zhong.

His servant Zuo Shilang was Zhou Wei who had served as the judge in Qianzhou. This person was also Xiao Cheng's old acquaintance. Xiao Cheng took his place when he went to Qianzhou.

Therefore, Cheng Shao knew his position very well.

After taking office, there are only a handful of days when he goes to work in the official office. Most of the time, he finds various excuses to be too lazy to be a director.He would not arrive unless he, the Shangshu, was required to be present, and when he arrived, he was basically a respondent.

Anyway, he said whatever Cen Zhong said.

He really didn't expect that the title of governor of Fujian and Zhejiang would fall on his head so inexplicably.

This is just a transfer at the same level, but the importance of the two positions is completely different.

In the court, he was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and he was not free.

Cen Zhong, who was in charge of the official department, was on the top, and Xiao Cheng, the first assistant, and Junchao, the second assistant, naturally stared at him, just wanting to grab him for some big reason and throw him off the stage.

As for the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, this is a serious official in Xinjiang.

The re-division of administrative regions that Xiao Cheng has been trying to do has not been implemented in the past because of the strong opposition of Si Junchao and others from the Jiangnan faction, but this time, Si Junchao and others finally backed down.

Jiangnan East Road and Jiangnan West Road no longer exist.

Instead of roads, provinces are directly set up as counties, and in some important nodes, prefectures are set up.

The more complex administrative systems such as roads, government, military, supervision, prefectures, and counties in the past will be canceled and replaced by vertical management systems such as provinces, counties, and villages.

The province has a governor who is in charge of the civil affairs of a place.

The governor, on the other hand, manages one or several provinces according to the actual situation.

For example, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, who is about to take office, has Fujian and Zhejiang provinces under his jurisdiction.

And the biggest winner this time is Xie Hong. As the governor of Liangjiang, he has Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi under his jurisdiction. These are all really good places.

"Shoufu, Shao knows that he is not capable enough, and he really can't bear the heavy burden of governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, so please take back his life!" Cheng Shao bowed to the ground, his voice earnest.

Xiao Cheng laughed, and said: "Chenggong, sit down, Cifu wants to buy you a drink. I only have tea here. You can always have a cup, right?"

Cheng Shao smiled wryly, sat down cross-legged, and watched Xiao Cheng brew tea there in an orderly manner.

"Do you know how the outside world evaluates you?" Xiao Cheng pushed a cup of tea in front of Cheng Shao.

Cheng Shao blushed slightly: "I know, everyone says I'm a softie."

Xiao Cheng nodded, picked up the small teacup, turned it slowly in his hand, and said slowly: "Sometimes, being softer is not necessarily a bad thing. Chenggong, I will not hide it, this time If I want to use you as the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, I just like your softness."

Cheng Shao blushed immediately, looked up at Xiao Cheng, his eyes were full of grievances.

Xiao Cheng went on to say: "The governor of a place, the military administration, and the civil administration can be said to be one-handed, with great power, and in Fujian and Zhejiang, there will be new governors who will take office in the future, and the governors will be in charge of a province. Although the governor is their immediate boss, But the right to appoint the governor is also in the imperial court, and the governor can also directly submit the papers, so if the governor and the governor below work against each other, I will still be the one who suffers from the headache."

Cheng Shao said dryly: "The first assistant wants me to be the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. Do I ignore what the next two governors are going to do? Don't you care about Zhejiang?"

Xiao Cheng laughed. The governor of Fujian belongs to him, but the governor of Zhejiang is still from the Jiangnan faction. Cheng Shao's question has some meaning, and the meaning of serving is already obvious.

"Cifu suffered a loss this time, holding back his energy and trying to get back on the stage. And Liu Mingyi was thrown out by the Jiangnan faction this time, so he was naturally not angry, and he would definitely do bad things. If you go to a governor with a hard personality, For example, Luo Gang, maybe he will fall into their tricks, and when the situation in Fujian and Zhejiang goes bad, I will inevitably be passive." Xiao Cheng said: "It's not that no one suggested that you go to Yunnan, Guizhou, and transfer Luo Gang. Come to Fujian and Zhejiang to rectify by thunderbolt means. Various systems in Yunnan and Guizhou have already been formed. If you go, Xiao Guicao can control the situation casually. But I think over and over again, I still think it is more suitable for you to go to Fujian and Zhejiang."

Cheng Shao cupped his hands and said, "I also ask the first assistant to make it clear."

"Fujian, Zhejiang and other places have always been regarded as backyards by Jiangnan factions. Over the years, I have worked hard, but I have only made a few wedges in it, such as the Zheng family. But Zheng Zeshi is only a squire after all. Moreover, he is a squire with a dirty ass, Zheng Zhihu has been at sea all year round, although the Zheng family has force, it is difficult to form a greater influence on the shore, Fujian, Zhejiang, and the imperial court have not formed a joint force in the end!"

"That's right, Shoufu, I really feel embarrassed by this important task!" Cheng Shao tried to evade with a bitter face.

Cheng Shao knew very well that Xiao Cheng wanted to clean up Fujian and Zhejiang from top to bottom of those who belonged to the Jiangnan faction, and take these two places back into his hands.

But is it easy to do?

Of course it's hard.

If one fails, it is not impossible to lose one's life.

I was in a hurry, but it was something that could be done by one person.

"You are called a softie, but no one has ever said that you are a fool!" Xiao Cheng said flatly: "Chenggong, being soft is just your attitude in dealing with things, not your ability to deal with things. And, go, the company They will also be at ease, thinking that with your temperament, you will not be able to make any major troubles. On the contrary, you will choose to calm down, muddle along and maintain the status quo. This is why they agreed to Liu Mingyi's resignation and you will take over. The reason. If Luo Gang is replaced, see if Si Junchao and the others will be reconciled, and they will inevitably cause even greater disturbances to force me to make concessions. They know very well that I don’t want this half of the country to really fall into civil strife. This is my weakness. It is also their must-kill move.”

"Shoufu, after all, he will see red with a knife."

"So I let you go, use softness to overcome strength!" Xiao Cheng said: "You are from Yangzhou. In their eyes, you can't be regarded as an outsider. If you go to Fujian and Zhejiang, you can talk to those local tyrants more easily. Come on, it's easy to split up and win over. Is it possible to change to someone like Luo Gang? He hasn't gone yet, and the way to deal with it is probably just a set of methods."

Cheng Shao sighed, looking at it like this, I'm afraid it won't work if he doesn't go.

"Cheng Gong, you are fifty-one this year!" Xiao Cheng said: "If you really live your whole life with the title of soft-headed, you have nineteen years left to serve as an official at seventy, and you should think about it for your children and grandchildren." Think about it, if you can completely turn Minzhe into the Minzhe of the imperial court this time, not only can you wash away your bad reputation in the past, but you will also become a great hero of the imperial court, even your children and grandchildren can also stand up from now on Hold your head up and be a man?"

"I'm afraid I'll screw it up!" Cheng Shao said.

"Whoever goes, there is a possibility of screwing up!" Xiao Cheng said: "After much deliberation, you are the one who is most likely to succeed."

"Yang Quan will really listen to me?"

"He is the governor of Fujian, and he is your subordinate!" Xiao Cheng smiled.

Unknowingly, Cheng Shao straightened his waist, "Shoufu, if that's the case, then I'll try it."

Yang Quan has always been Xiao Cheng's confidant, since Xiao Cheng said this, at least one of the two governors will listen to him.

"What requirements does the chief assistant have for Fujian and Zhejiang?"

"First, the income from sea trade will double after one year." Xiao Cheng raised a finger. "Within two years, complete the reorganization of the Forbidden Army and the Xiang Army, train [-] elite soldiers in Fujian and Zhejiang, and throw away all the other burdens. If you have completed the first two things, then, Presumably at that time, the political and official reforms in Fujian and Zhejiang had already been completed."

Cheng Shao drank the tea in his cup, stood up, and said, "I will do my best. Shoufu, I will take my leave now."

"At least three cups of tea?" Xiao Cheng pointed to the teapot and said with a smile.

"Let's save the aftertaste!" Cheng Shao said, "I'm going to drink Cifu's wine tonight, so I'll go back and think about how to talk to Cifu."

Xiao Cheng laughed out loud.

"Then I won't send you off!"

Just as Cheng Shao left, Yang Quan came out from the small room inside.

He could hear Cheng Shao's conversation with Xiao Cheng just now.

"Cheng Shao, is he really good?" Yang Quan sat down, picked up the cup Cheng Shao just drank, poured a cup of tea by himself, and drank it down in one gulp. "Shoufu, you have always had a good eye for people, and I admire that, but this Cheng Shao, really makes people dare not entrust him with such a big deal!"

"Everyone has their own shortcomings, and you have them too!" Xiao Cheng said with a smile, "But as long as you put it in the right place, you can make the most of it. Do you know why you were transferred to Fujian?"

"I am your direct descendant!" Yang Quan said with a smile, "If you tell me to go east, I will not go west. If you tell me to chase dogs, I will never kill chickens."

"It's the governor of a province, do you still think that you are the two hundred and five from Qianzhou?" Xiao Cheng said.

"Not to mention, I really doubt that time!" Yang Quan was full of melancholy: "At that time, the chief assistant was bold and merciless, and now he is the second person in the world, and he is timid in doing things. How did you deal with it back then? Ma Liang’s? Why can’t we deal with these moths like that now?”

"Can it be the same?" Xiao Cheng glared at him: "At that time in Qianzhou, even if I failed, it didn't affect the overall situation. Is it bad? But if I am not careful now, I will endanger the lives of tens of millions of people in the world. Do you think I can walk on thin ice?"

"Yes, I get it!" Yang Quan waved his hand and said, "You are sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, the chief minister. I will walk you out on this Fujian road. I am from a criminal background. Check him out. Replace Quanzhou prefect and Shibo department with our people, and then cooperate with Zheng Zhihu to crack down on smuggling and escort Hailiu. Within a year, I will definitely double Hailiu’s profit for you .”

"You charge forward boldly, and Cheng Shao will wipe your ass and stabilize the rear." Xiao Cheng said: "Don't underestimate this man, he is soft, but he has a lot of means. He was not sure about the form before, So he seems very useless, always thinking about leaving a way out for himself. But as long as he sees the way clearly, he also dares to take big strides forward."

"So, this time he is more optimistic about you, chief assistant, and decided to stand on our side wholeheartedly?" Yang Quan asked with a smile.

"Of course, Xuzhou won a big victory, and the east Xingyuan won a big victory. Our power has extended to the hinterland of Jingdong through Weishan Lake and other four lakes. The horses formed a flanking attack, and the soldiers approached Kaifeng. After these two victories, Li Chunfeng's emissary from Qinfeng Road came, and Li Shilong on Yizhou Road immediately sent food and money to Jiangning. Yes. Cheng Shao is not as stupid as them, how could he not see where the balance is tilting? So, now is the time for him to make a decision."

"They're all smart people!" Yang Quan shook his head and said, "It's because there are too many smart people like this in this world that it has become like this."

"Maybe, in a few years, you will become such a person!"

"I won't!" Yang Quan said decisively: "Because I only need a little cleverness, not a big one, just follow Shoufu. You are younger than me, Shoufu, and in my life, I will never follow the second Personal, so I will never make mistakes in the general direction, so, enough!"

Xiao Cheng smiled: "Didn't you go to see Tian Chou?"

"I'm not going, I'm afraid he'll embarrass him." Yang Quan said: "I'm the governor of Fujian now, and he's the prefect of Jiangning, but I'm half a block taller than him. Ten years ago, in front of him, I was still a small shrimp. ! In the past ten years, the development of the Yang family has completely overwhelmed the Tian family. So, is it gone? Unless we meet by chance!"

"Understood, why don't you meet me at my house tonight?"

(End of this chapter)