Chapter 1030
Resigning in a fit of pique
Chapter 1030 Resigning in a fit of pique
Seeing that the lives of military households' children were getting better and better, Yu Qian naturally realized the impact of craftsmanship on people's lives.
Times have changed. Back then, the chaos had just been quelled, and bandits were rampant throughout the country. There were still many places that had not been pacified. Therefore, Emperor Taizu Gao established a strict household registration system.
But now that the country is stable, the strict household registration system has led to a continuous exodus of children of military and artisan families, increasing the number of refugees and eventually causing rebellions.
Yu Qian was not a stubborn person; otherwise, he would not have tried to stabilize morale by feigning compliance with Shi Heng and others despite knowing they had problems.
He was upright, but not stupid.
Therefore, after careful consideration, he solemnly said, "If it is beneficial to the country, it should be abolished."
"Tingyi, please think it over carefully. If the artisan register is abolished, the court may not even be able to find artisans to build bridges and pave roads!"
Because of their status as artisans, the imperial palace could issue orders to gather artisans from all over the country to serve in order to build or repair palaces, construct government offices, or repair bridges and roads.
“And then there are the imperial tombs,” Cao Nai said angrily, his voice low. “The late emperor’s imperial tombs need to be repaired, and the current emperor’s imperial tombs need to be excavated. If the artisan registration system is abolished, do you believe that the current artisans working in the imperial tombs will simply run away?”
Yu Qian sighed and said, "You have all seen the changes in the past two years. This year's newly promoted Jinshi may not have horses or sedan chairs at home, but which family does not have a bicycle? There are also telegraph machines being sent to various prefectures and counties. The people of Guangxi gathered at the county government this morning to resist the heavy labor service, and the capital will receive the definite news this afternoon. All of this is thanks to the craftsmen."
Yu Qian said, “It is unreasonable to expect the horse to run but not to feed it properly. His Majesty has just increased the salaries of the officials. We cannot turn around and dismantle the bridge that His Majesty has built. Doing so would not only cut off their livelihood but also our own.”
The Grand Secretaries remained silent.
After a long while, a person in the corner said quietly, "If three things are difficult to do, then let's put aside the most difficult one and do the other two first."
Everyone turned around and realized it was Hu Ying.
Cao Nai was puzzled. This old man was quite old and rarely came to the cabinet. Why was he here today? When did he arrive?
Yu Qian: "Does the old man mean to reduce the working hours of craftsmen and improve their treatment?"
Hu Ying nodded slowly: "It's difficult to cancel the artisan status in a short time, so let's do the other two things first."
Chen Xun couldn't help but say, "Reducing service time and increasing benefits—do you know how much this will increase costs?"
Hu Ying said casually, "Money, you can make it if you squeeze it out."
Chen Xun said irritably, "You're not from the Ministry of Revenue, so it's easy for you to talk when you're not in the same boat."
Hu Ying: "If you can't squeeze it out, then make money. I think it's because you don't use your brains or work hard. Before, the Ministry of Works was suppressing the craftsmen, but after the Imperial Advisor came, the craftsmen's treatment improved, and they made so many profitable things. Look how rich the Ministry of Works is now?"
"Your Ministry of Revenue is all about calculating, yet you don't even earn as much as the Ministry of Works. Minister Chen, shouldn't you reflect on your own actions?"
Chen Xun looked suspicious: "Lord Hu, are you speaking up for the Ministry of Works because they taught you the new papermaking formula and printing techniques? I knew it! Just look at how much silver your Ministry of Rites has earned from the Ministry of Revenue this year alone, based on paper consumption!"
Hu Ying: "Nonsense, slander! How can money sway my will? Aren't artisans citizens of the Great Ming? They simply possess ancestral skills and have contributed to the Great Ming generation after generation. Why should they be inferior to commoners? Among the master craftsmen in the Ministry of Works, Gong Fang and Zhao Zhen, who haven't made outstanding contributions? Yet they only hold the official ranks of seventh and sixth grade."
"Didn't Kuai Xiang become the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works? That's a third-rank official, not low at all."
Hu Ying: "He was only promoted this year. With his achievements, he could have been a minister."
"Does Lord Hu truly believe this, or is it because of his close relationship with the Imperial Preceptor? Everyone in the court knows that Lord Hu and the Imperial Preceptor are together every few days and have become close friends." Hu Ying's white beard trembled, and he said angrily, "The Imperial Preceptor and I are friends despite our age difference. A gentleman's friendship is as pure as water, based on a meeting of minds, and not involving worldly interests. You mortals should not try to understand a gentleman's friendship with your sordid thoughts."
Cao Nai looked bewildered and aggrieved, pleading for help from those around him: "What did I say that was so vile?"
"Isn't a relationship based on mutual benefit inherently sordid?"
Cao Nai said irritably, "Lord Hu, if you really wanted to cultivate immortality, you wouldn't continue to be an official. As long as you eat the emperor's salary, you'll be in this mortal world. Even a semi-immortal like the Imperial Preceptor can't escape the mundane. It's human nature for you to be on good terms with her and to favor her. How is that so despicable? I'm just against you favoring her!"
"Nonsense! When the late emperor was alive, I petitioned to retire, and last winter I again begged to resign and go into seclusion. It was His Majesty who forced me to stay, so I stayed," Hu Ying said, his beard trembling with excitement. Finally, he shouted, "You suspect me of having ulterior motives? Fine, I'll go and resign from my post with the emperor right now!"
After finishing his words, Hu Ying excitedly went out, intending to resign from his official post immediately.
His colleagues quickly tried to stop him, and Chen Xun even turned to Cao Nai and said, "Quickly apologize!"
Cao Nai's temper flared up, especially after Chen Xun asked him to apologize, which made him even more angry and heartbroken.
With tears in his eyes, he glared at Chen Xun: "You won't speak up for me, and you want me to apologize? I've really, really wasted my time associating with you!"
After saying this, tears streamed down her face as she said sadly, "You don't need to rush. It's just resigning from your post. Who still clings to power?"
Having said that, he bypassed the others, opened the door, and rushed straight to the Imperial Study.
Cao Nai went to the emperor to resign from his official post.
The emperor was bewildered. Cao Nai was in his prime, and he had made great contributions to the reform of the bureaucracy. He was at the time when he was being favored and relied upon by the emperor. Why would he resign?
Before the emperor could even ask why, Hu Ying rushed in despite the obstruction, angrily declaring his intention to resign.
emperor:……
Then, Yu Qian and other cabinet ministers arrived one after another. They advised the two men to talk things out and explained to the emperor the reasons why the two men wanted to resign.
emperor:……
so hard.
In addition to handling state affairs, he also had to deal with the quarrels among his ministers.
The emperor sighed, glanced back and forth between the two men, first comforting Hu Ying, then turning to comfort Cao Nai when he saw Cao Nai's face growing increasingly pale.
By the time the emperor had calmed the two down, it was already dark.
Hu Cheng knew that one of his memorials had caused two Grand Secretaries to quarrel and almost resign together. He quietly stayed in the Ministry of Works and didn't even move his sleeping place.
Pan Yun was overjoyed and gossiped with Pan Xiaohei: "In my timeline, it was Yu Qian and Shi Heng who were clamoring to resign and have the emperor judge their case. Unexpectedly, in this timeline, Shi Heng committed a crime and was dismissed, so he no longer has the opportunity to resign and compete with Yu Qian. The same thing happened to Hu Ying and Cao Nai. Do you think this is an inevitability of historical development or a coincidence?"
(End of this chapter)