Chapter 554 Decentralization
Li Xiu looked up and down at Shangguan Yi in front of him, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional. This young man who was a few years younger than him was not only handsome, but also wrote good poems and essays. He even won the Jinshi with his recommendation. He can be said to be the most dazzling one among the new imperial examination candidates.
After all, the Jinshi class is known as the most difficult subject to take. There is even a saying that "fifty young Jinshi" is that the 50-year-old Jinshi is already very young. For example, in the Shangguan Yi subject, in addition to him, the youngest of the remaining Jinshi is also in his forties, and the oldest one is even nearly sixty, and his grandson is older than Shangguan Yi.
It can be said that Shangguan Yi was able to pass the Jinshi exam at such a young age, which is a miracle. What's even more rare is that he was unmarried, so many noble families in Chang'an City wanted to recruit him as their son-in-law. With his Jinshi background, marrying a noble woman would definitely be less struggling for decades. Unfortunately, Shangguan Yi was unmoved at all, which was very rare.
"Well, the lower-ranking official Shangguan Yi thanked the prince consort. Thanks to the prince consort's recommendation, the lower-ranking official was able to go to high school!" At this moment, Shangguan Yi finally couldn't help but thank Li Xiu. Today, they came to the Ministry of Agriculture to report and finally saw Li Xiu for the first time. However, after Li Xiu encouraged them a few words, he left him alone and watched him not speak, which made Shangguan Yi feel nervous, worried that the prince consort would have any bad hobbies.
"Haha~, you don't have to be polite. I recommend you just to give you a chance. If you don't have real talent and knowledge, I'm afraid the court will not choose you as a Jinshi." Li Xiu said with a smile at this time. The last time he recommended Shangguan Yi was just a whim. Unexpectedly, the other party not only passed the imperial examination, but also was assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture. It is estimated that someone saw Li Xiu recommend Shangguan Yi, thinking that Shangguan Yi was someone Li Xiu valued, so he specially assigned it.
Hearing Li Xiu's praise, Shangguan Yi felt flattered, and then he said a few more words. After thinking for a while, Li Xiu continued to say: "It is said that you can come to the Ministry of Agriculture, which is also our destiny. I believe you also know the importance of the Ministry of Agriculture. Although you are a Jinshi in high school, you are not familiar with the affairs of the officialdom, so you should learn more and read more in the Ministry of Agriculture. You must not be arrogant!"
"Thank you for your teachings from the prince-consort. I will remember it!" Shangguan Yi also saluted solemnly when he heard this. In fact, from the moment Li Xiu recommended him, he had already been marked by Li Xiu's sect. This relationship is very special and very strong. No matter how far he can go in his career in the future, he must have a good relationship with Li Xiu, the Eng-master.
While talking, Yang Dui suddenly came in to deliver official documents. Li Xiu immediately called him, then pointed to Shangguan Yi and introduced: "Yang Dui, this is the new chief Shangguan Yi, and he is also a new Jinshi. I will leave it to you in the future. He is relatively young. If you have any questions, please tell him more. No one is outsider!"
After introducing Shangguan Yi, Li Xiu then introduced Yang Dui to Shangguan Yi: "Shangguan Yi, this is Yang Dui Yang Yuanwailang. The Ministry of Agriculture needs to use a lot of agricultural knowledge, which is exactly what you are short of. Yang Yuanwailang just happens to be a master in this field. You must study humbly!"
When Li Xiu introduced Shangguan Yi to Yang Dui, he added a special sentence in the end, "Everyone is not an outsider", which also made both Yang Dui and Shangguan Yi understand what he meant. Shangguan Yi hurriedly saluted Yang Dui, and then Li Xiu gave a few more instructions and asked him to follow Yang Dui out.
However, just as Yang Dui and Shangguan Yi went out, Xu Jingzong walked in with a smile, holding a booklet in his hand and reported: "Mr. Concubine, this is the statistics on the growth of sweet potatoes by various prefectures in Guanzhong. Please check it out!"
"You can just deal with such a small matter, I can trust you!" Li Xiu did not accept the booklet in Xu Jingzong's hand, but instead smiled and stepped forward and patted his shoulder and said.
When Xu Jingzong heard Li Xiu's words, his eyes immediately shone. Although Li Xiu didn't say much, the profound meaning was intriguing. He immediately spoke: "Thank you for your trust in the prince consort. I will do my best to assist the prince consort in managing the Ministry of Agriculture!"
Seeing Xu Jingzong showing his loyalty again, Li Xiu nodded with satisfaction. Then he asked the other party to sit down, and then said with a smile: "Yan clan, we have known each other for a long time. You should also know that I am a person who doesn't like to manage things!"
"The prince-consort is elegant and not comparable to ordinary people. It is normal for him to not like these mundane affairs!" Xu Jingzong immediately agreed when he heard Li Xiu's words. In fact, he did understand Li Xiu's temperament and knew that he did not like to be plagued by mundane affairs. However, this also made him even more excited, because Li Xiu did not like to manage the affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture, and someone needed to take care of him. He was Li Xiu's deputy. The only person who could pose a threat to him was probably the only one Yang Dui, who was a member of the Ministry of Agriculture.
"Haha~, there is no question of high ambition, but I am very lazy and don't like to be restricted by some things. However, the Ministry of Agriculture has a great relationship, so before the death of Mr. Yang, I had to take on this burden. But now with you and Yang Dui, I can share more of my burden!" Li Xiu finally said his psychological words at this time.
The reason why Li Xiu recruited Xu Jingzong into the Ministry of Agriculture was to give Xu Jingzong some sweetness. After all, the other party worked very hard when eating locusts last time. Although eating locusts has not yet formed a trend, it has had a huge impact among scholars. I believe that one will change the ordinary people's mentality of fearing locusts as gods.
In addition, Li Xiu also took a fancy to Xu Jingzong's ability. He didn't want the affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture to restrain his hands and feet. Yang Dui was too young, so it was nothing to deal with internal affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture. However, the Ministry of Agriculture needed to coordinate with other government offices in the Tang Dynasty, so he lacked his abilities in this regard. However, Xu Jingzong was a versatile figure who just could make up for Yang Dui's weaknesses.
"Thank you for your respect. The Ministry of Agriculture is related to the food and clothing of the people in the world. The subordinates will definitely live up to the high expectations of the Prince of Agriculture!" Hearing Li Xiu tell him so bluntly that he would help share the burden of the Ministry of Agriculture was actually to share the power of the Ministry of Agriculture to him and Yang Dui, how could he not be excited?
Seeing Xu Jingzong so excited, Li Xiu couldn't help but feel a little worried. He decided to hit him, so he spoke again: "You and Yang Dui are both my deputy. Yang Dui is proficient in agriculture and is very familiar with the habits of corn and sweet potatoes. So in the future, the internal affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture will be left to him to handle, and the communication and coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture and the outside world will be left to you to handle. If you are unsure of your mind, it will not be too late to find me again!"
The reason why Li Xiu divided the matter so clearly was that he was afraid that Xu Jingzong and Yang Dui would compete for power. After all, this guy is not a good deal. In contrast, although Yang Dui is capable, when it comes to conspiracies and tricks in the officialdom, ten of them are not Xu Jingzong's opponents, so Li Xiu must explain it clearly.
Sure enough, hearing that Li Xiu was just handing over the communication and coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture and the outside world to him, Xu Jingzong also showed a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He thought that Li Xiu would let him monopolize the power of the Ministry of Agriculture, but he did not expect that Yang Dui would still be responsible for internal affairs. However, he quickly returned to normal and said: "Don't worry, the prince consort, the junior official understands that he will work with Yang Yuanwailang to manage the affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture in the future!"
"I feel relieved if you say this from Yan clan. You should worry more about it these days and be familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture. When you and Yang Dui can take on the important tasks of the Ministry of Agriculture, I feel relieved!" Li Xiu smiled again. Xu Jingzong was a smart person. With him under his control, he would not dare to do anything that crossed the line.
When Xu Jingzong was overjoyed when he heard that Li Xiu had just given half of the real power of the Ministry of Agriculture so easily, he thanked Li Xiu again, and then flattered Li Xiu a few more times, and then he went out happily.
When Xu Jingzong left, Li Xiu simply called Yang Dui in again and told him his plans again. In fact, Li Xiu had talked about these things to Yang Dui before, but he was not as clear as he said today. Now he was directly clear. Although Yang Dui was surprised, he accepted it quickly. After all, he was the person who knew Li Xiu the best in the Ministry of Agriculture. He knew that he would definitely not trap himself in the Ministry of Agriculture every day like his uncle.
After finally staying up until the afternoon, Li Xiu immediately packed up his things and went home. Xu Jingzong and Shangguan Yi usually lived in the Ministry of Agriculture. Now the locusts have just passed, which is the busiest time of the Ministry of Agriculture, so they sometimes have to light up the lights at night to work. Of course, Li Xiu, as the boss of the Ministry of Agriculture, naturally doesn't need to work overtime.
As soon as Li Xiu returned home, he immediately saw Ma Master holding a teapot in one hand and a fan in the other, enjoying the coolness under the sycamore tree in the yard. He seemed to be humming a small song in his mouth, which seemed very leisurely, which made Li Xiu curious. He walked up and smiled and said, "Uncle Ma, why are you so happy? Is there any progress between you and the princess?"
The relationship between Ma Ye and Princess Guanghua is becoming more and more stable, and she should have even gotten married, but Princess Tong'an has been reluctant to express her opinion. Ma Ye wanted to come to propose marriage several times, but Princess Guanghua persuaded her. She was afraid that if her mother refused, she would make Ma Ye unable to come to Taiwan, so she kept testing Princess Tong'an's attitude, but the matter was delayed.
"Hehe, you don't have to worry about the matter between the princess and me. You'd better take care of your Ministry of Agriculture. During this period, the caravans went out, and all parts of Guanzhong have to praise your Ministry of Agriculture for their merits. This is a matter of benefiting the world. Don't be careless!" Mr. Ma glared at this time and smiled proudly, and then praised the affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture.
"That's natural, but unfortunately Mr. Yang didn't wait until this time!" Li Xiu first showed a proud look, and then mentioned Yang Nong with a little sadness.
Chapter completed!