Chapter 320 Six Ministries
In this era, "ritual" is the foundation of everything. Therefore, although the Ministry of Rites is not the largest in terms of actual power, it is the undisputed first in terms of status. Therefore, the first place Jia Cong passed through was the Ministry of Rites.
After the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel is the undisputed department with real power. It handles most of the appointments, assessments, transfers, promotions, and honors of officials. It is also known as the Ministry of Personnel, and its power is naturally enormous. After the Ministry of Personnel, it is naturally the Ministry of Revenue.
The Ministry of Revenue controlled the entire country's purse, even the emperor's small treasury was under its control. In some dynasties, the Ministry of Revenue even had more power than the Ministry of Personnel.
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice were ranked later, and their powers were significantly limited in comparison.
Military affairs have always been a major issue in the court, but it is also because of this that the Ministry of War cannot make decisions on its own on most matters. It must not only look at the emperor's face, but also the face of military honors, so its authority is naturally much smaller. The same is true for the Ministry of Justice. On the surface, it is in charge of the laws and prisons of the world, but it also shares power with the Censorate and the Dali Temple, so it is naturally quite different from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue.
The last place in the ranking is undoubtedly the Ministry of Industry!
Although the Ministry of Industry is considered a lucrative job, its authority is far less than that of other departments.
As soon as he entered the Ministry of Revenue, an official came to greet him, "Greetings to the Marquis of Guanjun!"
"Well, I'm here to pay my respects to Minister Lin and congratulate him on his promotion. I wonder if he's available right now?" Jia Cong asked.
"Of course it's convenient. I'll lead you there!"
Afterwards, Jia Cong, led by the officer, went towards the second row of houses.
The first row of houses is where minor officials such as Langzhong, Yuanwailang, and Zhishi work, while the offices of several chief officials are in the second row.
The office of the Minister of Rites is in the middle of the second row. Lin Ruhai was the Left Vice Minister of Revenue, so he is in the first room to the left in the middle.
Outside the door, there was already a row of officials of various ranks waiting to pay their respects. However, when they saw Jia Cong coming, they hurriedly saluted and stepped aside. As a first-class champion marquis, there were not many people in the court with higher status than Jia Cong. Moreover, Lin Ruhai had already taken office, so how could a subordinate not know about the connection between Lin Ruhai and the Jia family?
After bowing to the people outside, Jia Cong stepped in!
When entering the main hall, one sees Lin Ruhai sitting upright, with several officials from the Ministry of Revenue sitting on his left and right.
"Meet Champion Hou!"
Lin Ruhai and the others all stood up and saluted. Jia Cong took two steps forward and said to Lin Ruhai with a smile, "Uncle, we are family, why should we be so polite? I came here to see the excitement because I knew you were going to take office today. Please don't blame me for causing trouble!"
Speaking of the government office, it is natural to talk about state etiquette, but this is also Jia Cong's deliberate act! If Jia Cong's status is lower than Lin Ruhai, it is natural to talk about state etiquette, but with Jia Cong's current status, the closeness and naturalness of his attitude towards Lin Ruhai will have a better effect.
"Come, let me introduce you to some of them. These are my colleagues from the Ministry of Revenue!"
"This one is the Right Assistant Minister Liu Shuang, and this one is Doctor Xiang Haoqi..."
Everyone stood up and saluted. Jia Cong smiled and said, "You don't have to be polite, my lords. Since you are my uncle's colleagues, we are all family. I will need your help in the future."
Everyone said they didn't dare, and at this time, an old man in a crimson official robe walked in. Lin Ruhai stepped forward and bowed, and said to Jia Cong again, "This is the superior, the Minister of Revenue Shu Yuze!"
"How are you, old Minister?" Jia Cong bowed and said with a smile.
The bundle of jade also returned the greeting, "Thank you for your concern, Marquis Guanjun. I am old now, but fortunately Your Majesty has asked Ru Hai to help me. Now I am much more relaxed!"
Liu Shuang and the others stood up and asked Shu Yuze and Jia Cong to sit down. Jia Cong chatted with everyone for a while, then stood up and said goodbye. The purpose of coming here today has been achieved. If you stay longer, it will only cause trouble for others.
After leaving the Ministry of Revenue, Jia Cong went to visit Jia Zheng of the Ministry of Works, and finally came to the Ministry of Personnel.
"Greetings, Master!" Jia Cong stepped forward and saluted after entering Fang Yao's office. Since the hunting trip , Jia Cong has been interacting more with Fang Yao, and he has also visited Fang Yao's house during festivals, which has completely confirmed his identity as a disciple. Fang Yao also gave Jia Cong a lot of advice on various matters in the officialdom.
"Ru Hai is taking office today. Are you here to see Ru Hai?" Fang Yao said with a smile.
Fang Yao and Lin Ruhai are old friends and can be considered to be half-fellow students, so they have a natural close relationship. And it is impossible for Fang Yao not to know about what is happening in the government office next door.
"Well, I'm free today, so I'll come and visit my uncle and master!"
Jia Cong sat down and started chatting with Fang Yao. After a while, a young official in a green robe came in, bowed to Fang Yao first, and then bowed to Jia Cong, "Your subordinate greets the Marquis of Guanjun!"
Jia Cong didn't care, nodded and sat aside to drink tea!
The official stepped forward, handed a document to Fang Yao, and then whispered a few words. Fang Yao took a look and then smiled and said, "My disciple, today this matter can be concluded."
Jia Cong was stunned for a moment, then he looked towards Fang Yao. Seeing this, the minor official hurriedly saluted again, "I am Xin Ci, the official of the Ministry of Personnel, and I am honored to meet you, Lord Marquis! This document is the document for Mei Dexing's candidacy for the Imperial Academy!"
"Before, because of the slight hindrance to Hanlin Mei's reputation, although he had been assigned to a remote position, the matter was suppressed after I reported it to you, sir. After all, the Ministry of Personnel should be thorough in selecting officials! Recently, someone reported that Hanlin Mei was buying and selling official positions, so I came to report it to you, sir."
Jia Cong suddenly realized, he didn't expect it to be this matter!
The last time Jia Cong surrounded the palace with his troops, he asked Lu Feng to investigate secretly, and naturally he found out that Mei Hanlin was the mastermind behind this incident.
Originally, Jia Cong wanted to find a reason to kill Mei Hanlin. However, he was stopped by Fang Yao. He did not object to Jia Cong's killing, but he also had to see if the other party was worth it! Compared with the Champion Marquis, Mei Hanlin was just a minor official. Was it worth such a big fight?
Besides, sometimes death is not a terrible thing, but living is more difficult.
After listening to Fang Yao's words, Jia Cong temporarily put Mei Hanlin's family aside. However, Jia Cong did not do it himself, which did not mean that others would not do it.
First of all, the Ministry of Personnel directly put Mei Hanlin's documents at the bottom of the box. No matter how Mei Hanlin came to the door to explain, Xin Ci just evaded the request. She accepted the gift and met with him, but she refused to do anything! Mei Hanlin wanted to continue to beg the Second Prince, but the Second Prince was slapped in the face by Jia Cong. Not killing Mei Hanlin was already a favor, so why would he care about his affairs?
