Walking out of the royal study, Tie Mo raised his head and looked at the sky. He really didn't know what the cabinet was thinking about. The Ministry of Rites and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were in charge of the congratulatory ceremony. It was his turn as a foreign minister to intervene? What should I say?
There's nothing fishy in it, that's impossible.
It was still early, and I had doubts, so I unknowingly arrived at the office of the Sixth Ministry. I ran to the courtyard of the Ministry of War to find Hou Shangshu, but I only saw Chen Xinjia, the minister of the Ministry of War. Because of Hou Shilu, Tie Mo and Chen Xinjia had a pretty good relationship, so they
Pulling Chen Xinjia to sit in the side room next to him, he frowned and asked about the protocol officer, "Brother Chen, you have been walking in the capital for a long time, do you know what a protocol officer is like? The Ministry of Rites recommended Tie to be the protocol officer. Previously,
But I haven’t heard any news at all.”
Chen Xinjia was sipping tea slowly. When he heard Tie Mo's words, a mouthful of tea stuck in his throat. He quickly put down the tea cup and bent over and coughed twice. After a while, he looked at Tie Mo in disbelief and said with a wry smile: "My
Lord Superintendent, are you joking with me? I want you to be the protocol officer for this congratulatory ceremony? I just heard about it."
"..." Tie Mo was a little confused immediately. Even Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, had not heard anything about it. Could it be that it was really a temporary decision? There was no need for Chen Xinjia to lie about this matter. It was accurate.
It is said that Chen Xinjia and Wang Qia are different. Although they both belong to the Ministry of War, Chen Xinjia and Hou Shilu are grasshoppers on the same rope. Therefore, Chen Xinjia and Tie Mo are both of their own people and will never undermine their own people.
Chen Xinjia smiled bitterly for a while, then frowned. He said seriously: "This is not a good job. I really don't know what your Majesty thinks. Why should you hand over this bad job to the supervisor? You didn't tell Hou
The Minister has discussed it. It should be a temporary decision. When Minister Hou left for Tongzhou yesterday, he never mentioned this matter."
Because Sun Chengzong would arrive soon, Hou Shilu, as an old subordinate, went to Tongzhou to greet him in advance, and handed over the affairs of the Ministry of War to Chen Xinjia. If Hou Shilu knew about this, he would never hide it from Chen Xinjia. Tie Mo also frowned, with a heart full of pride.
He slowly calmed down, and looking at Chen Xinjia's face, he knew that things here were not that simple, so he asked for advice: "Brother Chen, can you tell Tie that there is some inside story about this morning celebration ceremony?"
"The inside story? I can't even talk about it. There are few people in the six departments who don't know it." Chen Xinjia thought for a while and then explained the matter. After listening to Chen Xinjia's words, Tie Mo, as a foreign minister, knew that the court
How deep is the water in He Dadian?
The Ming Dynasty's Congratulations Ceremony has a history of more than 200 years. Since the reign of Emperor Taizu, the Congratulations Ceremony has been held every four years. At that time, envoys from neighboring countries will rush to Beijing to congratulate each other. Since they come to congratulate each other, they must bring gifts.
Well, as a courtesy, the Ming Dynasty also had to make corresponding gifts in return. In fact, it was a bit similar to bartering. But the key is that the value of the barter was not equal. Many times, envoys from foreign countries just came with a bunch of local specialties, and the Ming Dynasty
But he had to give some pearl agate as a reward.
The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household also knew that they were losing money by doing this, but in order to show the demeanor of a great country, the Ming Dynasty did this kind of thing very happily. It was not only the Ming Dynasty, but counting forward, the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were also like this. Although they suffered losses, but
The Ming Dynasty never felt that there was any problem, but now, the problem has emerged. It is not that the Ming Dynasty does not want to show its demeanor as a great country, but that the treasury is really empty and cannot give out so many gifts in return.
The Ministry of Household Affairs had no money and did not want to pay from the internal funds, so the cabinet and the Majesty hit it off and turned their attention to Tie Mo. Tie Mo was appointed as the protocol officer, but there was no guarantee. It was clear that he would only provide supplies for the congratulatory ceremony.
It's all up to Tie Mo.
"Listening to your words is worth ten years of studying. Today Tie Mo discovered that compared to people like the court, I am just a country bumpkin. I just entered the capital for one day and I took on such a big job. The key is that there is no reward.
live!"
Tie Mo complained to Chen Xinjia. It was really uncomfortable to feel like he was being plotted against. Duofuhao was rich, and Northern Shanxi was also rich, but the money did not come from the strong wind. The congratulatory ceremony was not a trivial matter.
If you do it, 1.8 million taels of silver is just a base. Throwing so much money in, there will be no return at all. Not to mention that he feels sorry for someone, even the Chang family, the Qiao family and the British nobles in the capital will not be satisfied.
.
Chen Xinjia patted his forehead and sighed helplessly: "Superintendent, when His Majesty mentioned this matter, you should not have agreed. If you don't accept this matter, how can His Majesty force you? No matter what, you
I just thought that this kind of bad thing, Border Army Supervisor, would never be your fault. However, now that you have accepted this job, it will be difficult to refuse it."
"Hey, if you agree, let's find a way to get the job done. We can't lose the face of the Ming Dynasty. However, what I'm worried about is that the Ministry of Rites and the Metropolitan Procuratorate won't cooperate. What are those people thinking?
We don’t know clearly!”
Chen Xinjia nodded lightly, "It's right for the Superintendent to think so, but you don't have to worry too much about this matter. I have a plan that the Superintendent can try. It's a good idea for those foreign envoys to congratulate the grand ceremony.
Opportunities are also good opportunities for most officials in the DPRK. Let me talk about the simplest thing. When Fanbang enters the capital, even if you give gifts, you must have a way. If you don't put any thought into it, you will be blocked from the ceremony.
Now, how can you enjoy my return gift then?"
"So, the first thing Fanbang did when he came to the capital was not to give gifts to His Majesty, but to quietly contact those in charge of the ceremony. If the officer said this, does the supervisor understand what he did?"
Chen Xinjia raised his eyebrows as he spoke, with a hint of a bad smile in his eyes. How could Tie Mo not understand what Chen Xinjia meant? 80% of the people in the court took advantage of the ceremony to take advantage of the ceremony. From the Ministry of Household Affairs to the Ministry of Etiquette, everyone was probably there.
You know, it's like rain and dew. Since there is oil and water, it's easy to handle and it's profitable, so you don't have to worry about finding people to do the work. Aren't the people in your etiquette department just arguing and waiting for something to happen?
? If he really wants to compete with the Ministry of Rites on this kind of thing, Tie Mo really doesn't have much confidence. The Ministry of Rites has been doing this kind of thing for more than two hundred years. He is just uncomfortable trying to compete with others.
Then just go ahead and don’t hire people from the Ministry of Etiquette. There are quite a few people in Beijing who know this. Taiyuan College also has students who specialize in this area. You can temporarily form a team by yourself and just deal with it. Why waste money when you have it?
In the hands of outsiders? I am not afraid that the six ministries will have objections, but the cabinet and His Majesty asked me to be the protocol officer. Didn't they give me full responsibility? Then I can do whatever I want, and no one else can interfere.
After figuring out the joints, Tie Mo felt much better. He picked up the tea cup and joked: "Brother Chen, tell Tie the truth. In the past, you benefited a lot from congratulations on the ceremony."
Chen Xinjia coughed twice in embarrassment. He looked carefully and saw that there was no one outside. Then he leaned down and whispered: "No more, no more. I only give you a thousand taels each time, but the ones at the Huitong Hall can be divided into two thousand taels."
Just eat a lot more.”
"Hey, how about now that Tie Mo invites Brother Chen to temporarily serve as the steward of the joint library?" Tie Mo's words stunned Chen Xinjia. After a while, Chen Xinjia pointed to his nose and said with a helpless smile: "I
Iron Superintendent, please stop joking with me, how can this be done? I don’t even know how to work with you."
"It doesn't matter whether you understand it or not. The main thing is that the wealth will not go to outsiders. Just accept it and I will block other things. Nuo is a big capital. There are many people who understand etiquette, right? Besides, those foreign countries know this
Whatever it is, just deal with it casually."
"You..." Chen Xinjia hesitated for a moment, but nodded heavily. Tie Mo obviously had good intentions, and he was taking him to fish for money. Everyone is like a grasshopper on a rope.
He didn't care about offending some people in the cabinet because of this matter. Now that he was in the game, Chen Xinjia couldn't just wait and reap the benefits. He said solemnly: "Supervisor, I would like to recommend someone to you, Guo Wenli, the Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine. This is
He is notoriously unreliable, and he is willing to get involved in anything that is beneficial. It just so happens that this person specializes in teaching etiquette in the Imperial College. Sometimes the Ministry of Rites has something to ask him for advice."
"So, Guo Jijiu, who is the etiquette instructor, is actually a profit-driven master? The Imperial College is a prestigious place, and you actually dare to use him?" Tie Mo was quite curious. He raised a child in the prestigious Imperial College.
Such a master.
"Hey, Superintendent, you don't know something. This person is very knowledgeable about etiquette. He has a good attitude, so the Imperial College gave him a casual position. In fact, he secretly despises this person, but he doesn't care and insists on working in the Imperial College.
It's just a waste of getting that little salary. As for him, he didn't make any mistakes, and the Imperial College couldn't find any reason to expel him."
"He is really an interesting person. Come on, after I receive the teacher, I will take the time to meet this Guo Jijiu!" Tie Mo couldn't help but be attracted to this person. This kind of person either has far-reaching strategies or is really heartless.
people.
After leaving the Ministry of War, they made their way to the North Palace. When they came to a courtyard gate, Tie Mo said to the eunuch at the door: "Just send a message and tell him that Tie Mo, the general of the Xuan Mansion, is here to pay homage to the empress."
"Oh, it turns out to be Commander-in-Chief Tie. You'd better wait at the door. Your Majesty is waiting for guests right now!"
The eunuch squinted his eyes. Although he was talking, he had no intention of moving his feet. Tie Mo was very unhappy in his heart. Regardless of whether Queen Yi'an had guests or not, it was Zhang Yan who had the final say. You, a gatekeeper eunuch,
Why did he still make the decision for his master? Tie Mo never dreamed that when he came to see Zhang Yan, he would be blocked by a eunuch.
Zhou Dingshan frowned and raised his hand to slap the eunuch on the ground, but Tie Mo stopped him. After hesitating, Tie Mo had to take out a silver coin from his sleeve and stuff it into the eunuch's hand, "I'm sorry to bother you, father-in-law.
"
Seeing the silver in his hand, the eunuch immediately had a smile on his face and said, "Oh, the supervisor is too polite. Please wait a moment, and I will go and pass the message."
Watching the eunuch running away, Tie Mo finally understood what it meant to be a difficult kid. But the problem was with his relationship with Zhang Yan. How could Zhang Yan not tell the people under his command to be more discerning? But this eunuch was still the same.
It's really weird to dare to ask for money.
After a while, the eunuch returned and invited Tie Mo into the courtyard. Tie Mo was too lazy to talk nonsense and soon saw Zhang Yan in the hall. At this time, Zhang Yan was sitting alone next to the coffee table, making fragrant tea. How could there be half a person in the room?
guest?
With a wink, he asked Zhou Dingshan to guard outside. There were no other people around, so Tie Mo sat down next to Zhang Yan and wondered, "Weren't you just waiting for guests?"
Zhang Yan naturally leaned on Tie Mo's shoulder and hummed in surprise: "What are you talking about? Didn't I know you would come? My family had prepared tea in advance. Look at this room, it looks like there are guests."
What does she look like? Or do you think the Nu family is the kind of woman who is carefree? "
"Hey, hey, why are you still angry?" Tie Mo quickly hugged Zhang Yan's slender waist and comforted: "Isn't it strange that I don't feel like there are guests? The guy guarding the door just now said you were here
The waiter blocked me from the door, what the hell is going on?"
Speaking of this, he saw a hint of sadness on Zhang Yan's eyebrows, and his smile gradually faded away. Tie Mo's heart moved, and he hugged the woman in his arms tightly, "Tell me, did something happen?
"
"There are some things, but they are all trivial. I didn't want to tell you. Not long ago, some words came out in the palace, saying that the Ministry of Rites had proposed to let the slave family live in the West Palace. Although His Majesty did not agree, he did not reject it either.
"Zhang Yan smiled bitterly, "This palace is the most realistic place, and the warmth and warmth of people can be seen at any time. This is also a matter of time. These people in the courtyard are also smart people. No, many people have already thought about it.
I have to find my own way, how many people are willing to follow me to the West Palace?"
Tie Mo couldn't help frowning, feeling very dissatisfied. Zhu Youjian was able to come to power because he was favored by Zhang Yan. It was because of his kindness that he allowed Zhang Yan to continue living in the harem. Why would he change it now?
Attitude?
"Hey, it seems that you are too close to me, and His Majesty is still a little dissatisfied. Your Majesty may not fully understand the relationship between you and me, but he can always hear some rumors. West Palace, West Palace, as long as there is
I'm here and I won't let you suffer anything, but Your Majesty, please be more careful in the future, otherwise, I will take you away right now!"
Before Tie Mo could finish speaking, Zhang Yan covered his mouth, smiled and shook her head, "It's enough that you have this intention. Now we can't let you have any quarrel with His Majesty because of the slave family's affairs. The slave family
It’s nothing, it’s just that when I get to the West Palace, it’s a little inconvenient if I want to do something for you!”
"You, no matter what you said, you are better than anything else!"
Tie Mo turned his head, a cold light flashed in his eyes. Zhu Youjian, Zhu Youjian, can't you even tolerate a woman in your heart? No matter what, this woman also sacrificed her life to help you.