***
The senior officials of Qin were generally not very old. For example, Yang Shen, the Minister of the Dali Temple, was only in his twenties, and Gu Yanwu, the Imperial Academy Scholar, was only in his thirties. Even Sima An, He Liang, Li Yuan, etc. were mostly between forty and fifty years old.
The average age of military generals is even younger, with the five military commanders and most generals being in their thirties.
This is basically the same as the situation when the dynasties were founded. For example, when Zhu Yuanzhang led a group of brothers to conquer the world, he was actually very young.
Even the Qing Dynasty in the north was no exception. Dorgon and others who controlled the Qing Dynasty were basically only around 30 years old.
Conquering the world requires drive and only a vigorous team can be enterprising and move forward proudly.
Deng Zhongnan was also very young, only 33 years old. He joined Qin Mu at the same time as Yang Shen, the Minister of the Supreme Court, and had a close relationship with Yang Shen. He was currently a Langzhong of the Ministry of Works, a fifth-rank official.
In the Ministry of Works, the next rank below a Shangshu is a Langzhong.
Shangshu and Shilang are in charge of the overall affairs of the ministry, and these Langzhong are the chief officers of the branch offices. Although they are only fifth-rank officials, they actually have great power.
Deng Zhongnan was in charge of all matters related to the cost of repairing and approving temples, palaces, city walls, government offices, mansions, warehouses, halls, and barracks. For example, most of the matters related to the construction of the palace city had to be approved by him before being reported to higher authorities.
Not only did he buy a mansion in Jinling, he also took thirteen concubines. Among these concubines, several were ladies from prominent families. After their property was searched and confiscated a while ago, Deng Zhongnan bought them for a small sum of money.
As soon as the triumphant Deng Zhongnan returned home, the beautiful girls in the house immediately surrounded him, vying for attention, pouring tea, massaging feet, wiping faces, and the fragrant breeze blew, and the beautiful figures danced.
"You guys go back first." Seeing the housekeeper Zhang Xi appear at the door of the flower hall, Deng Zhongnan waved his hand and drove Yingying away, leaving only his most beloved "Nian Nu".
"Zhang Xi, how much did you exchange today?"
"My lord, today we have exchanged 21,200 taels of silver. All the cash is gone. My lord, please take a look..."
Deng Zhongnan was overjoyed after hearing this. This meant that he had earned more than two thousand taels in one day, and he didn't have to spend a penny. In his joy, he hugged Nian Nu and pampered her, then said, "Don't worry about the cash. Li Yin will deliver it tomorrow, you can leave now."
"Then I feel relieved." Zhang Xi said and left.
"Master. I saw a pair of pendants in an old shop in Huaixi today. Cui'er said they looked really good when I put them on. Master..." The charming Nian Nu said coquettishly, her tall and soft breasts trembling;
Deng Zhongnan's heart melted, he reached into her clothes with both hands, and replied in a low voice: "It's just a pair of jade pendants, you just serve me tonight. I will give you the money to buy it tomorrow."
"That's what the master said." Nian Nu was born in a brothel, and she was trained to serve men since she was a child. She always made Deng Zhongnan feel ecstatic with her various tricks, which was why Deng Zhongnan favored her the most among all his concubines.
***
In Qin Mu's imperial study, Huang Lianshan continued, "Although there is no evidence to prove that Deng Zhongnan was responsible, Deng Zhongnan usually lives a luxurious life and has thirteen concubines. This incident is most likely related to him."
Qin Mu smiled but did not comment. He did not care how Deng Zhongnan lived or how many concubines he had.
Since the Chongzhen period, the world has been in chaos, and tens of millions of people have died in wars, most of them young men, leading to a serious imbalance between men and women.
If monogamy were practiced, countless women would have to remain widows their entire lives.
So as long as you can afford it, Qin Mu doesn't mind his officials taking a few concubines, as long as you are not greedy.
"Let's hand this over to the Ministry of Justice. Let them arrest that timber merchant...what's his name?"
"Reply to the King of Qin, call Li Yin."
"Well, let the Ministry of Justice try this Li Yin. If Deng Zhongnan is not involved, that would be the best. If he really did it, then no matter if he is a doctor or a minister, there is nothing to say."
"Yes, King Qin."
Qin Mu asked calmly, "Where is Cui Feng?"
Huang Lianshan quickly replied: "General Cui has led his army to Yueyang, and will reach Changsha in three days. After a short rest in Changsha, they can march to Guizhou. Ma Liuliang's 3,000 troops have already arrived in Yuanzhou."
"Any new news from Guizhou and Yunnan?"
"That... not yet."
Qin Mu nodded to show his understanding. There were no mobile phones in those days. For a message to be transmitted back from Yunnan, even if it was transmitted through a non-stop channel, it would take at least ten days to half a month. This was already the fastest.
"What about Fujian?"
"To King Qin, not yet. Fenshui Pass and Xianxia Pass are tightly controlled by the Zheng family. I am building a pigeon station. In a few days, the news will be transmitted much faster."
"Well, you go down first. Don't forget to pay attention to the Tartars. Always remember that the Tartars are our main enemy."
“Yes.”
After Huang Lianshan left, the newly-appointed Empress Xiang came in holding the hand of Qin Ye, who had just learned to walk. The weather was quite cold, and the little guy was dressed very bulky. In addition, he had just learned to walk, so he took one step higher than the other, which made people feel nervous.
When Qin Mu saw his son, a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Come, come, let daddy hug you."
The little guy looked at him with his big eyes rolling, and immediately hid behind Qiao'er.
"Brother Qin, you are too fierce." Qiao'er lost no time in striking out.
"What's so fierce about it? Am I not smiling?"
"You are smiling but hiding a knife."
"Damn you, bring him here. I don't believe that I, as a father, can't hold him."
"No one cares if Ye'er cries."
"None of your business, this is a matter between us men."
"whee... ... ."
Qin Mu forcibly carried his son to the imperial desk, and as expected, the boy started crying. Qin Mu was in a panic and looked around, trying to find something to amuse his son. Unfortunately, his study was simply decorated and he couldn't find anything suitable for a while.
"Son, don't cry, don't cry, then, then, then... Daddy will give you the seal to play with..."
Only Qin Mu would do such a thing as giving the imperial seal to his son to play with.
The dragon carved on the jade seal was lifelike, with a green-yellow color, which looked extremely good. Qin Ye was struggling and crying, but he stopped crying as soon as he saw the jade seal. He turned his head to look at his father, then leaned forward with his upper body, and used his arms to move the jade seal towards himself.
"My boy! How dare you plot to usurp the throne? How dare you do that?"
Qin Ye ignored his father's threats, and kept touching the imperial seal with his chubby little hands. He was not satisfied and even bent down to bite it, making the seal covered with saliva.
"Ye'er, this is so dirty, I can't eat it." Qiao'er hurried over to grab it. She was probably the only one who thought the imperial seal was dirty.
No matter what, Qin Mu finally got the chance to hug his son properly, no matter how dirty it was, "Let him chew it, let him chew it, Qiao'er, don't snatch it away."
"Oh, Brother Qin, I won't let you hold him anymore." Yun Qiaoer put down the jade seal, snatched Qin Mu's son away, and disappeared.
Qin Mu smiled bitterly and looked at the door. A ray of sunset shone obliquely on the rockery made of Taihu stones. Han Zanzhou, who was waiting beside him, reminded him in a low voice: "King Qin, the dragon's body is important. It's getting late. It's time for dinner."
"Well, clean it up."
After Qin Mu finished speaking, he walked towards the West Garden alone.
The past two days have been relatively peaceful. The imperial examination in the Gongyuan has been going smoothly to the first day. There will be another one the day after tomorrow, and the joint examination will be over.
This time, the special examination is not only to select talents, but also to win people's hearts, so Qin Mu attaches great importance to it.
The first thing he asked about every day was the progress of the imperial examination. He had also thought a lot about the imperial examination. The abolition of the eight-legged essay was just the beginning.
How can we, through the guidance of the imperial examination system, make scholars pay less attention to theoretical matters and more attention to natural sciences, promote the rapid development of natural sciences, and surpass the West in all aspects? This is the most important thing.
But this thing can only be guided slowly, and it won’t work if it is twisted forcibly.
After walking around a corridor, Qin Mu suddenly thought of the hundreds of "Emperor's disciples" in Yuelu Academy. They were too young, and it would be inappropriate for them to transfer to the Imperial College or the Imperial Academy. They would be easily influenced by the students whose ideas had already been fixed.
Qin Mu thought about it and decided to build a royal academy in Jinling specifically for practicing new-style education.
**********
ps: I estimate that I will not be able to receive the royalties for May until the 10th. I have no money left, not even for cigarettes. I am so miserable that I am wandering around the whole day and cannot type a single word. It is so miserable!
I'd like to ask my brother to give me some monthly tickets. It's the last three days, please hold on.
.(To be continued..)
...