Fei Nian did not leave the palace, but entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
This place has become the news center of Qiguo.
The second prince's organizational reforms not only included the Privy Council Office, but also the inner courtyard of the palace - "going to the morning court" was regarded as a time-consuming and inefficient system, and has now been completely replaced by the Ministry of Records. Since the morning dynasty is gone, as the largest palace in the palace, it has naturally undergone drastic renovations.
For example, the main hall is divided into about a dozen small rooms, with huge bookshelves erected in the middle to store archive documents; any news sent to Gyeonggi will be dispersed into the corresponding small compartments according to explicit or covert numbers. Special reviewers sit in these compartments and will conduct further processing based on the urgency of the incident. If it is just a minor matter, the reviewer even has the right to reply on his own, as long as he reports the results afterwards and leaves relevant records.
This arrangement in disguise increased the manpower that could handle the news. In the past, only the ministers of various ministries or the emperor could answer memorials, but now lower-level officials could handle them. This has greatly improved Shangyuan City's intelligence processing capabilities. Small problems that used to take two or three days to complete the process can now be solved on the same day.
If Ning Weiyuan were to continue to sit on the throne, it would obviously be impossible to allow such innovations to weaken his authority to pass.
Only the Privy Council can establish an efficient and flexible government organization.
"Master Fei." Dong Mao, the chief official of the Department of Records in charge of this matter, bowed to him and saluted.
"Master Dong," Fei Nian immediately responded with the same courtesy - the man was over forty years old and considered an elder in the Privy Council. Although he was not a core member, he did not want to be rude, "Have everyone been recruited?"
"Everyone who can move is here. But... Do you really want to leave this kind of thing to the recording department?" He hesitated slightly.
"Why, are you worried that you have too much power and will be jealous of others?"
"If anything, I'm just worried about my limited ability and letting Qixing down."
Fei Nian said sternly, "These tasks seem to be more suitable for the headquarters, but the responsibilities of the headquarters are already heavy, and it is not appropriate to add more tasks. Moreover, the recording department should not just be the receiver, analyzer and storer of intelligence. , you can go one step further and take the initiative to collect the information needed by the Privy Council. This is also what the Lord Tianshu hopes to see."
"Okay, I'll do my best. Please follow me." Dong Mao led him through the apse corridor and into a relatively independent hall.
There were hundreds of people standing in the hall. They were of different ages and appearances, including gray-haired old men and young men of twelve or thirteen years old. Obviously, the vast majority of them are non-qi-sensing people, but today's Privy Council cannot do without the help of these people.
Feinian didn't ask their names.
They only have one name.
"spy".
"Master Dong must have told you the purpose of summoning you by the Privy Council Office." Fei Nian looked around and said, "Some of you are from the army, and some are from government offices, but from now on there will only be one service target, and that is the Privy Council Office. Seven Stars. This time is your first action on behalf of the Privy Council. I hope you can live up to expectations and lay a chance for success in the next plan of the General Office!"
Everyone bowed their heads without saying a word.
"Seven Stars needs intelligence, no matter how big or small. You can do your best to transmit the information you see and hear back to the command post; you can cause turmoil in the city so that the enemy has no time to distract; you can also bribe and frame Enemy, money is not a problem... As long as you can obtain effective information and substantially weaken the opponent's strength, you can get a reward of one hundred taels of gold!"
"You are all experts. I won't be specific about how to do it. Everything will be determined by the results!"
After Feinian finished speaking, he nodded towards Dong Mao.
The chief officer of the Department of Records clapped his hands and said, "When you walk out of this door, you are ordinary people. The official road to Jinxia has been confirmed to be open, let's set off now."
There was no pre-departure wine ceremony, and there was no scenic trip. They were all undercurrents hidden under the general trend, and history would not leave any record of them.
But this was a crucial step for the Privy Council.
As long as the intelligence is detailed enough, the general battle is just a chess game.
At this time, an alchemist from the Ministry of Records walked into the hall and whispered a few words beside Dong Mao.
"Oh?" Dong Mao pondered for a moment, "You happen to be here too, so why not let you make the decision."
"What's the matter?" Feinian asked.
"A Juren who came to Shangyuan for reference said he came from Jinxia City. He reported that the Prime Minister of Jinxia Prefecture was acting against the will, disrupting the rules, destroying the foundation of scholars, and intending to rebel."
"Oh? What is his identity?"
"According to the information entered by the Ministry of Personnel, this person has quite a family background in Jinxia."
"Okay, Mr. Dong, please arrange a meeting."
…
Half an hour later, Fei Nian met the complainant Zhou Sheng.
He looked dignified, but he was quite depressed and smelled of alcohol. He thought to himself that this person must have been having a rough time recently.
"I heard that you are from Jinxia City? How long have you lived there? What is your relationship with Xia Fan?" Fei Nian asked the other party to sit down and said slowly.
He naturally knew that the rebel would not be Xia Fan himself. The third princess, Ning Wanjun, was the key to giving him the confidence. However, the news had not yet spread, and the world did not dare to speak ill of the royal family.
"Sir, it has been at least ten years. I have nothing to do with Xia Fan... I am just a scholar and I can't stand the evil deeds he has done!"
"for example?"
"He opened a school in Jinxia and let Chunlou girls serve as his wives; the imperial court clearly sent a prefect to take charge of Jinxia, but he forced them not to dare to enter the government office! And... Xia Fan was also responsible for the pirate attack, in order to seize the Wang family Wealth, murdering local officials! Sir, everything I say is true, and there is absolutely no deception!"
To be honest, Feinian was not interested in these accusations. If he complained to the Privy Council as soon as he arrived in Gyeonggi, His Highness might be able to take precautions. Now that Xia Fan has become a wanted person, he dares to report it, and the value of the information is running low.
Of course, if you want a scholar to risk all your future to report a fourth-grade official for treason, you still have to do it before spring, which is really embarrassing for the other party.
What Feinian values is his identity as a local.
Since he was not from a poor family, his family must have certain connections in Jinxia City. This was very important to the spies, as it was equivalent to gaining a frontline stronghold. Although without Zhou Sheng, those people would have used bribery and befriending methods to get in, but obviously there are not too many insiders.
"Go back to Jinxia." He said.
Zhou Sheng was stunned, "S-Sir—?"
"It's not that I don't believe your words, nor am I driving you away, but I hope you can cooperate with the Privy Council to launch an investigation into Jinxia City."
"But Chunwei..."
"After Chunwei, you will only be a Jinshi, so it doesn't matter if you don't take the exam. And are you sure you will get the first prize?" Fei Nian smiled slightly, "If you can help the Privy Council, I will guarantee you a top three spot in the palace exam, how about it?"
Top three! A thunderbolt flashed through Zhou Sheng's heart. This is definitely an honor coveted by scholars all over the world. "Is it okay not to refer to it?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't go. You don't need to worry about these little things." Fei Nian repeated in a firm tone, "If you are worried, I beg His Majesty the Emperor to write a sealed edict to your head office, right?"
Zhou Sheng did not doubt the power of the Privy Council at all.
After the coronation ceremony, everyone has seen that the Privy Council is no longer a simple evil-eliminating organization.
"Then... please." He lay down deeply.