Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1006: Can I give suggestions to the Ministry of Personnel

Wei Xiyu was so angry that he just pouted.

The heavy rain was hitting his face randomly, and Jiang Zhiming was frightened and panicked. Finally, Zeng Tongshi pinched his philtrum hard and he woke up.

He sat on the ground, his head resting in Zeng Tongshi's arms, staring blankly at the dark sky. After a long while, he said, "I even submitted a memorial to commend him for his merits, hoping that Your Majesty would transfer him from the Dushui Supervisor so that he could seek a better future..."

Unfortunately, he didn't understand people's hearts and almost hurt everyone.

Xu Zhijie was the most knowledgeable about the conduct of officials in the capital. He squatted down to shield him from the rain and said, "Even if Lord Wei recommends him for merit, he won't be able to pass the Ministry of Personnel."

The transfers of many officials have been suppressed by the Ministry of Personnel. People with the character of Wei Xiyu might be demoted instead of promoted.

"Why don't you ask for credit for yourself?" he said. "Even if you can't get a promotion, your achievements will still be recorded. If you work hard for the country and the people, you will eventually move up."

Wei Xiyu was completely upset by Wu Ti's incident.

"Why would someone like me who can't judge people sit in such a high position?" He raised his hand and pounded the ground, mud and water splashing around his mouth. His expression remained unchanged: "Even if I get promoted, the person I promoted is just a pest in the court, harming others and himself..."

Jiang Zhiming had been a coward for a while, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help but comfort him: "Master Wei, please don't say that. Wu Ti is good at disguising himself. Even I was almost fooled by him..."

"Master Jiang, how dare you say that!"

Zeng Tongshi was furious. "If it weren't for Lord Shen's quick thinking and checking the water whistle again after noticing the anomaly, Wu Ti would have succeeded today! If the water was about to overflow the sluice gate tonight and the whistle didn't sound, who could we hide it from? And who would bear the blame?"

Jiang Zhiming had thought about it a long time ago.

If there are any mistakes in the project, Shen Zheng, the supervisor, will be the first to be scolded, and the promotion to the fourth rank that is right at his fingertips will probably have to be delayed.

He retracted his neck into his collar like a quail and kept apologizing.

"I already know my mistake." He glanced at Xu Zhijie quietly, lowered his head and said, "Even if Minister Xu wasn't here, I never thought of asking you to help me hide it. Since I made a mistake, I accept the punishment."

He had secretly thought about it long before he arrived at the Shen Mansion.

If he knew about the crime but didn't report it, he would be considered as harboring someone, but he later came to his senses and took the initiative to report Wu Ti. If the Ministry of Justice punished him, it would probably be a salary cut and a demotion.

A fifth-rank official, if he were demoted one or two ranks... I guess he would be a little better than a county magistrate.

I just hope he and his wives and concubines don't starve to death.

Zeng Tongshi took a deep breath, but could no longer utter any words of accusation.

Seeing that they had almost finished arguing, Shen Zheng finally spoke: "The rain is still coming down, let's go to the carriage and get ready. We can return to the capital when the rain stops."

After making noise for most of the night, everyone was tired. Xu Zhijie got on Wei Xiyu's carriage, while Shen Zheng was helped into the carriage by Hua Duo.

She took off her raincoat and just got in, but Hua Duo didn't let her sit. Instead, he lifted the seat and took out two neatly folded sets of clothes.

"Master, change quickly. It's easy to catch a cold in wet clothes."

Looking at the dry clothes, Shen Zheng finally understood why Hua Duo accepted Lin Fanyun's oil coat.

"Your clothes? You still have two sets?" She looked carefully and laughed, "Then let's change quickly. These wet clothes make me feel like I'm being licked by a dog."

After she finished speaking, she untied her belt and in a blink of an eye, she had taken off her underwear.

Hua Duo's ears turned slightly red, he put down his clothes and walked out of the carriage.

Her voice carried into the carriage along with the sound of rain: "I will be guarding outside, the master will change first."

After both of them changed into dry clothes, Shen Zheng yawned and fell into a light sleep.

I don't know how much time passed, the sound of the wind hitting the car became smaller, and the sound of rain hitting the roof seemed to be smaller as well. Faintly, I could hear voices coming from outside.

"Village head, come and see! The sluice gate has been opened, and the dike on the upstream side hasn't collapsed!"

"It's so scary... I was worried all the way, afraid that it would rain too hard tonight and something bad would happen..."

From their voices, it seemed as if they were finally relieved. Someone else said, "With this kind of turbulent water, if it were the old Huihe Dam, it would have collapsed. The dam built by the court is really suitable."

"Hey, look, there's a carriage over there."

There was a rustling sound of footsteps, and I don’t know whose soles had too much mud on them, but there was also a gurgling sound.

The villagers gathered around the carriage and lowered their voices, "The gate... must have been opened by them, right?"

"So, I seem to have heard bursts of whistles before. I'm afraid they were the ones blowing them, right?"

As he was speaking, the curtain of the car next to him was suddenly lifted, and the villagers jumped back half a step in fright.

The woman who lifted the curtain whispered, "Keep your voice down, the adults are all resting."

In the dim light from the carriage, the villagers saw her face clearly, their voices rising instead of falling: "I've seen you! You're Lord Shen's guard, the one with the broadsword! You're here, and that gate...wasn't it Lord Shen who opened it?"

After this shout, everyone woke up.

......

At the hour of Yin, Shen Zheng and his companions once again checked the sluice gate and the dam. After confirming that everything was correct, they boarded the carriage back to the city.

Shen Zheng took the initiative to invite Xu Zhijie to ride with her, intending to explore Jiang Zhiming's career prospects.

"Although Lord Jiang made mistakes, he realized his mistake in time and took the initiative to report Wu Ti to me. Lord Xu, I wonder what the Ministry of Justice will do in this case? If you want to demote him, where would you, the Ministry of Personnel... send him?"

She felt that although Jiang Zhiming should be punished in this case, it should be a light punishment, after all, he was not a bad person.

Xu Zhijie pondered for a moment and asked something she had never thought of - "Where does Lord Shen want to send him?"

"?"

Shen Zheng subconsciously asked, "I can send him wherever I want."

No one told her that she could have such great power after making friends with the Minister of Personnel.

"Lord Shen must have misunderstood." Xu Zhijie remained calm. "Since you are the assistant to the six ministries, you can still give the Ministry of Personnel some advice on the fate of officials."

"..."

What a great way to "give suggestions", but it also seems like an attempt to abuse public power for personal gain.

but......

"I haven't even taken up the position of Assistant Director of the Six Ministries yet, so it seems a little premature for you, Lord Xu."

"Not early." Xu Zhijie smiled. "As soon as the sun rises today, the Ministry of Works will submit a report on your behalf. His Majesty will personally write an edict, and then the Ministry of Personnel will review it. As long as those people in the Censorate don't make any complaints, there will be a result within seven days."

"Seven days?" Shen Zheng didn't know whether this was fast or slow.

Xu Zhijie, however, thought she was being slow, and earnestly admonished her, "I will personally oversee the review. It will take at least three to five days. Lord Shen, there's no time to rush. Just drafting the official document will take a day, and it needs to be signed by Cui."

What a “Cui”.

Shen Zheng clicked her tongue helplessly.

Although Prime Minister Cui does not have much real power, he still controls the promotions of court officials.