A Journey Through the Worlds of Film and Television.

Chapter 893: Hanlin Questions and Answers

The next morning, Lu Cheng came to the Hanlin Academy to work as usual.

He arrived at the Hanlin Academy at the sharp end of the Mao hour and started working right after checking in. In less than an hour, he finished all the work at hand.

At this time, it was just past eight in the morning, and everyone else was still busy with their work and writing furiously. Lu Cheng did come to the yard, stretched his legs and fists, made a cup of tea, read a book for a while, and planned the future development of the Flying Eagle Gang in his mind.

Over the past few years, the Flying Eagle Gang has grown in power. The original canal transport team has also developed into a maritime transport team. In the process, it has also subdued two or three groups of pirates along the coast, destroyed two hostile maritime merchant families along the coast, and formed a powerful maritime transport team.

Today, this maritime transport team has captured some islands along the coast, occupied large tracts of land on the Gulf Islands and the Philippine Islands, and established strongholds.

These are things that Lu Cheng has done many times before. Now he is just repeating the previous operations, which is not difficult.

Moreover, as time went by, many members of the Flying Eagle Gang also achieved success in Chinese martial arts, and many masters of Ming Jin and An Jin emerged. Some orphans adopted by the Young Eagle Hall were also gradually growing up.

With a stable source of funds, large amounts of silver to mobilize, as well as elite personnel and abundant supplies, the Flying Eagle Gang naturally expanded rapidly.

Just as Lu Cheng was thinking about the layout of the south and planning how long it would take to change the world, a voice suddenly came from outside: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

Lu Cheng quickly collected his thoughts, stood up immediately, stood with other Hanlin scholars, and saluted the emperor.

"My dear ministers, there is no need to be so polite. Just go about your business and I will just take a look."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Emperor Changtai's eyes swept across the office area and soon fell on Lu Cheng. He walked straight to Lu Cheng and said, "Shouxin, have you finished your official duties?"

"Your Majesty, it has been processed."

"Oh? Come with me, I'll ask you a few questions. On the eighth day of this month, news came from Guide Prefecture and Huaiqing Prefecture in Henan that there had been a severe drought in both places for more than a month. How did I deal with it?"

"Your Majesty, there is an imperial comment on the memorial..."

"On the sixth day of this month, there were salt merchants in Suzhou and Runzhou..."

Emperor Changtai asked seven or eight questions in a row, all of which were about some memorials and documents that Lu Cheng had copied recently. Lu Cheng answered them all fluently, word for word.

Emperor Changtai nodded in satisfaction after listening to this, and then asked: "Suzhou's salt tax this year has dropped by 10% compared to last year. What do you think of the reason for the reduction in production mentioned by the Suzhou Salt Inspector?"

"Your Majesty, I think..."

Based on some intelligence he had seen before, Lu Cheng made a detailed analysis of the situation in Suzhou.

Then, Emperor Changtai suddenly spoke up: "Shouxin, what do you think of your teacher, Lin Ruhai, the Yangzhou Salt Inspector?"

"This...I dare not speak nonsense about my dear teacher."

Emperor Changtai smiled and said, "He is not only your mentor, but also your future father-in-law, right? Ruhai has worked diligently in Yangzhou in recent years and has achieved some results. However, this has not achieved the effect I want."

"Your Majesty, Yangzhou Prefecture has convenient water transport and a developed salt industry. There are many salt merchants and the relationships are complicated. Although my master has the ability to govern, he has a generous personality and is inevitably a little slow in handling things."

By this year, Lin Ruhai had been in the position of Yangzhou Salt Inspector for six years.

According to the current Ming Dynasty officialdom assessment system every three years, Lin Ruhai should have moved up long ago.

The main reason why I am still staying there is because the evaluation results are not ideal and did not meet Changtai's expectations.

In fact, this job is not an easy task no matter who does it.

The salt merchants had been entrenched in the local area for many years and had already established a network of relationships and formed a chain of interests. Even in the Ming officialdom, there were many high-ranking officials who acted as umbrellas for them.

If Lin Ruhai took too strong measures, he would probably be retaliated. He could only take some relatively mild measures, but mild blocking would not have the desired effect.

Moreover, although Lin Ruhai had certain talents, he was not the kind of decisive and skillful official who could govern the country. He could only be considered to be of average level.

Of course, there are some things that others can say, but Lu Cheng, the disciple and future son-in-law, is not in a position to say much.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Changtai glanced at Lu Cheng and asked, "If I let you handle it, what measures would you take?"

"Your Majesty, if it were me, it would depend on how much power Your Majesty would give me."

"How do you say this?"

"If we want to quickly rectify the salt business and increase tax revenue, we must take some tough measures to cut the Gordian knot. This requires a sharp enough knife. I have lived in Yangzhou for several years and I have some understanding of the situation there.

Many local salt merchants are very wealthy and have many servants and thugs in their houses. Some of them even have close ties with the local authorities..."

Since the emperor asked, Lu Cheng also appropriately demonstrated his youthful talent.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Changtai was silent for a long while before he smiled and said, "The method is good, but after all, he is a little young and not very prudent."

Lu Cheng naturally would not come up with any perfect solution. If his thoughts were too mature, thoughtful, and worldly-wise, he would not act like a young man.

Therefore, Lu Cheng appropriately displayed the brilliance of a young man who had achieved success at a young age, and mixed in two or three useful suggestions, which not only allowed Emperor Changtai to feel Lu Cheng's talent, but also made him see his immaturity.

In this way, Emperor Changtai can improve the suggestions put forward by Lu Cheng and achieve certain results.

This will also make Emperor Changtai appreciate Lu Cheng while also allowing him to train him with confidence.

"Keep your word. It seems that the work you have done these days has not been in vain."

"It is all thanks to your Majesty's teachings and the advice of my senior colleagues."

"Not arrogant or impatient, not bad, not bad."

Afterwards, Emperor Changtai looked at the second and third place winners of this year's exam and asked them some simple questions. However, the answers of the second and third place winners seemed too mediocre compared to Lu Cheng's.

After such a comparison, Emperor Changtai felt more and more that Lu Cheng was outstanding, and he already had the idea of ​​focusing on training him.

When leaving the Hanlin Academy, Emperor Changtai called the lecturer and casually instructed him, "Lu Cheng's ability to handle official affairs is different from that of ordinary people. He should be treated differently. You may as well give him more responsibilities and you should also guide him more."

"The minister obeys the order."

At this time, Lu Cheng didn't know that Emperor Changtai was going to increase his workload. After work, he went shopping leisurely.

After walking around the market, buying some saltpeter, and visiting several study rooms, Lu Cheng returned home.

The only things that scholars can do to make money, but which are not elegant, are calligraphy, painting, and writing books.

For calligraphy and painting, the artist must have a good reputation to be able to sell for a good price. Otherwise, no matter how good the calligraphy or painting is, it may not be able to sell for much.

Lu Cheng's title of this year's top scorer is quite impressive.

As for writing books, you also need to choose the right subject matter.