novelcrest Chapter 273 Once a move is made, there's no going back.
Chapter 273 Once a move is made, there's no going back.
Shen Shixi smiled. "You want to defy the imperial decree?"
Li Fude chimed in, "Your Highness, by His Majesty's decree, the Imperial Noble Consort's decree is as I myself would. Why don't you express your gratitude!"
Consort Que cried, "Your Highness, please forgive me!"
Shen Shixi said, "I schemed against you, and you went all out, trampling the Emperor's dignity and Li Yuanyin's virtue underfoot. That's your skill. Now you turn around and scheme against me, and I don't blame you."
But the game has already started, and you're calling for a stop now? That doesn't make sense. Once a move is made, there's no going back. Go back to your room!
"I know I was wrong, Your Highness, please give me another chance!" Consort Que cried bitterly; she truly regretted her actions.
Shen Shixi didn't even bother to look at her. With a wave of her hand, Li Fude led his men up and dragged her out.
No matter how unwilling she was, the decree to promote her had already been sent to the inner palace, and the Empress Dowager had naturally heard about it as well. She was furious. She couldn't do anything about Shen Shixi, so could she not do anything about a mere concubine?
Immediately, the Empress Dowager claimed to be ill and ordered Que Chongyi to attend to her.
On a sweltering day, Consort Que knelt on the paving stones in the courtyard of Cining Palace, feeling dizzy and on the verge of collapse under the blazing sun, feeling as if she were dying.
For several days in a row.
With the Pei family's downfall, nearly half of the court officials also fell, resulting in a severe shortage of manpower. Various factions were vying for territory, and Shen Shixi had to carefully consider the issue of personnel. In any case, there simply weren't enough people.
At the morning court session, Shen Shixi announced her ideas: "The autumn examinations in August will proceed as usual. In addition, I would like to hold a special talent selection: one is to select people who are proficient in translation, and the other is to select people who are proficient in arithmetic. This matter will be handled by the Ministry of Rites."
Lu Shixun, the Minister of Rites, was the old man who had been frightened by his own reflection in the mirror. He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my ignorance, but the autumn examination papers this year already required a section on mathematics. Why is there a separate examination for it?"
Shen Shixi said, "This is different. This year is the first time that the content of mathematics has been added to the imperial examination. The difficulty of the test questions is not high. They are based on the basic content of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. However, the selection of special talents is for the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War to select specialized talents."
You officials should take a good look at the regulations drafted by the Ministry of Personnel and see which positions require specialized personnel. I do not want someone who is in charge of the warehouse and doing the bookkeeping to make mistakes even when setting the abacus beads, and whose bookkeeping is so bad that only he can understand it.
There are also calculations regarding the Ministry of War's finances and provisions. How many of you can accurately calculate the daily distance traveled by an army of ten thousand from the capital to Youzhou, and how much food and fodder they would carry?
"Your Majesty, I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness!"
As for those who speak the common language, they are naturally given to departments such as the Maritime Trade Office and special trade zones.
The main task for the imperial court in the second half of this year is basically the selection of talent. It is the responsibility of those in power to put people in the right place.
The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites were the busiest, and Shen Shixi also paid attention to Quanzhou.
The earliest Maritime Trade Office in history was located in Guangzhou during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. It served three purposes: first, to collect taxes based on the tonnage of ships, with a tax rate of about 30%; second, to manage these foreign merchants in a unified manner; and third, to act on behalf of the imperial court to monopolize certain special commodities, such as ivory, rhinoceros horn, and pearls, and to control their circulation.
During this period, the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office handled approximately 4,000 ships annually, generating 5% of the nation's tax revenue, demonstrating its importance.
Quanzhou was just a pilot project. After the Maritime Trade Office system was established, Shen Shixi also planned to set up Maritime Trade Offices in Guangzhou, Mingzhou, Huating and other places at the same time to carry out foreign trade.
Pei Yanli, along with his elderly mother and nephew, traveled south and arrived in Quanzhou.
At this time, Quanzhou already had the beginnings of a "city of people from all over the world". Many merchants from Arab, Persian and other countries traveled to Southeast Asia through this place. There were all kinds of people on the streets. Local wealthy families would also go out to sea to do business together, and the scene was very prosperous.
After witnessing it firsthand, Pei Yanli had to admit that the Imperial Noble Consort was a woman with unique insight and a very broad perspective.
He found the local charity, where a tall, thin boy of about thirteen or fourteen led him to the charity's manager, Lin Mao. Upon learning that he had come on the orders of the Imperial Noble Consort, Lin Mao treated him very politely.
"You used to work for the imperial court, and now that you're in the charity, these kinds of things are no problem for you. There are two important things to do here right now. One is to repair the dock, and the charity needs to send people over to help. I'll take care of that; I'm more familiar with personnel matters."
Another matter is that after the dock is completed, the imperial court will establish the Maritime Trade Office. Our charitable organization will definitely need ships to go to sea. Negotiating with the imperial court and securing a quota will be entrusted to you. However, as the boss should have told you, we are not opposing the imperial court; we are assisting it. If the imperial court prospers, we prosper!
Pei Yanli replied, "Yes, of course. I'm new here, so please guide me!"
Lin Mao smiled, looking very honest, but Pei Yanli knew that a strong general has no weak soldiers under his command. The people Shen Shixi used were capable of standing on their own and were definitely not as kind and easy to bully as he appeared.
"Don't worry, our charity accepts homeless people from all over the country. We don't ask about their background or origins. As long as they are harmless to the country and the people, we are brothers and sisters, and supporting each other is our top priority. Not to mention you, even if a complete stranger came to us for help, we would still help them."
Pei Yanli was immediately incredulous. "Does the charity have any rules to follow?"
Since it's the largest gang in the world, it must have some gang rules, right?
Sure enough, the twists and turns of fate never cease. Who would have thought that he, a former official of the imperial court, would actually join a gang?
Lin Mao smiled and shook his head, "First, no harm to the country and the people; second, no bullying the good and oppressing the kind; third, no laziness and not working; fourth, come and go as you please, free to come and go; and as I just told you, if there is still energy left, help each other."
Pei Yanli was stunned, and admired Shen Shixi even more. Based on these few points, it was clear that she had no selfish motives and created the charity hall out of pure goodwill, giving the homeless a place to live.
Anyone who leaves the charity hall will never forget it in their lifetime.
He saw that the charity hall had all kinds of people, including lonely old people, children less than three feet tall, men with complete families, and pretty young women. Everyone was working and there was no one slacking off.
"You only work four hours a day, two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. You get a day off every six days, but you can choose not to. There's communal meals, or you can cook for yourself after you get paid," Lin Mao explained to him.
Pei Yanli's heart was in turmoil. His family's rebellion had jeopardized his future. He felt resentful and unwilling to make his mark in the court. He was also shaken by the near-beheading. All of this was subsided.
A great man should strive to achieve great things and leave his mark on history, but isn't it also a waste to spend more time dealing with people in the court?
Doing practical things for the people in a down-to-earth manner and protecting more people with one's own strength, isn't that being a hero?
Lin Mao pointed to the young man who had just brought Pei Yanli to him, "This kid, you take care of him. He's very clever and capable."
The young man had an appearance of a different race. Seeing Pei Yanli's confusion, Lin Mao smiled and patted the boy's head. "He's the boss's man. If you trust him, you two can talk!"
He meant that Pei Yanli was the boss's man.
(There will be an extra chapter later!)