Wang Pu said that the reign title was inappropriate, so he came up with one on the spur of the moment, but Guo Shao thought it was too flowery and difficult to understand. Wang Pu then said: An official recently wrote to the emperor about this matter, and the emperor can choose a suitable reign title. Guo Shao looked at the imperial desk, and there was another pile of memorials, but he didn't read them, not even yesterday's.
No one raised any objections to the title of the Empress Dowager. Everyone didn't seem to mind whether the title was vulgar or not, they only considered whether it was appropriate. But Guo Shao also understood that with his literary talent, the title he came up with on the spur of the moment was not that nice to hear.
After discussing for a while, Guo Shao asked Prime Minister Wang Pu to compile a list of the official system of the Great Zhou as soon as possible, requiring the names of all officials in the government offices and their duties.
The ministers left the Jinxiang Hall. Guo Shao sat at the imperial desk and looked at the memorials in front of him, which were all densely written without punctuation. In the back room behind him, there were many names of people he had pasted, as well as their files and archives. Moreover, the coronation ceremony was approaching, and many things had to be decided within a deadline.
He had been in ancient times for several years and could understand written articles. It only took time and patience. But Guo Shao, based on his own experience and intuition, could not do this.
He sat there for about a moment, thinking about something in his mind. The last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, was faced with a mess that was difficult to clean up. He was very diligent, but he had to personally supervise everything carefully. No matter how busy he was, he couldn't do much. Another Ming emperor who did things the opposite way was Jiajing. He spent a lot of time practicing Taoism and playing with women, but he played the officials around. Jiajing was able to control people, but he couldn't control the details of the empire's affairs in detail, and he planted the seeds of party struggles. The operation of the country in his hands was not good.
Guo Shao looked at the problem with the thinking habits of his previous life, and still felt that he had to control a huge object from the details, because everything was composed of the relationship between particles. Many diligent but powerless people have the problem of not having a plan, organization, and method.
It is just like when Guo Shao does something big, he is very organized in his insignificant life. Because he understands that people's psychological pressure tolerance is limited and they are easily affected by emotions. For example, an angry person is likely to say or do the wrong thing.
Someone come here. Guo Shao raised his head and shouted.
The eunuch Yang Shiliang immediately stepped forward, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, please give your orders."
Guo Shaodao: Send someone immediately, I want to summon Zuo You and Huang Binglian.
Yang Shiliang immediately agreed and went out.
Zuo You was in the Taichang Temple, and Huang Binglian was in Kaifeng Prefecture outside the imperial city. Even if they rushed to the palace, it would take a long time. Guo Shao completely ignored the memorials on the imperial desk, took out his own book, and began to organize and record recent events.
He wrote two lists, one for the urgency of time and the other for the importance of things. Then he made a comprehensive analysis and compared the two lists to re-list a comprehensive sequence. But things cannot be rigidly followed in sequence. Sometimes, if the opportunity is right, they can be done at the same time. Order in chaos is the way to be flexible. So Guo Shao wrote these things on slips of paper and posted them on the wall of the back room in disorder.
After finishing these things, he felt calm. Because he didn't need to make himself so exhausted, he could still do well. For example, among these notes, there was one: My second sister and others are about to give birth, prepare gifts for the baby. Guo Shao is in a very good mood now, because he thinks that if a person who does big things can take good care of his family at the same time, he must be a confident and calm person.
At this moment, Guo Shao was waiting for the person to summon him, and he didn't want to read the memorial. He was distracted for a moment, and some trivial things came to his mind.
He thought of his grandfather when he was a child, the one who loved him the most in his childhood. Probably because when he was born, people valued boys more than girls, and his uncles and aunts all gave birth to daughters, but his mother gave birth to a son, so his grandfather loved him especially. His grandfather's love was just an abstract concept that he could remember. His grandfather made a lot of small bamboo toys at that time. For example, one of them was very rare, a spring gun made of bamboo tubes and bamboo strips. The elastic bamboo strips could shoot small stones out of the bamboo tube, just like a gun, which was quite fun.
Guo Shao thought about a lot of things in a confused state, both recent and distant, all trivial impressions.
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Shiliang's shrill voice interrupted Guo Shao's daydream. Yang Shiliang said: "Your Majesty, Zuo You and Huang Binglian are here to see you."
Ask them to come in. Guo Shao said.
After a while, two people came outside and kowtowed and said: Your humble servant Zuo You and your humble servant Huang Binglian pay their respects to Your Majesty.
Yang Shiliang said: The official asked you to come in and talk.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Guo Shao looked at them. They were all people he had known for a long time. Zuo You was younger, thinner, and had a calmer expression on his face. Huang Binglian was a middle-aged man with vertical wrinkles between his eyebrows. Guo Shao said, "Your official positions will not change for the time being, but you can put aside your original affairs in the government office. I will give you new tasks, and you can do them for a while."
Zuo You didn't seem very nervous. He was familiar with Guo Shao and asked for the emperor's instructions.
Guo Shaodao: Here are some memorials, which are delivered every day. You will be on duty in Jinxiang Hall for a period of time in the future and help me read the memorials. This job will be divided into three steps: first, group and number the memorials of the day, such as the morning group of March 27, the first and second, and so on. You can also find a few clerks to help with this matter; second, summarize the content according to the number, one title and one paragraph, and be concise and straightforward. For example, if someone praises me in a memorial, you only need to summarize the content with two words: praise my merits or praise my virtues.
Zuo You couldn't help but smile when he heard this, and Huang Binglian glanced at him sideways.
Guo Shao didn't care and smiled, saying: You can't be careless about this matter. Memorials are related to national affairs and must be taken seriously. I may check what you wrote from time to time and compare it with the original. If any problems are found, you will be dereliction of duty. You must also be meticulous. There are some clichés in it, which may hide some rules and hints. You have to write them down. Of course, I will keep these things confidential and will not let outsiders see them easily.
Guo Shao said again: "Finally, you have to pick out the most important ones and put forward your suggestions for handling them. I will adopt them as appropriate."
Zuo You pondered for a moment and said softly: "Isn't this the prime minister's business? Let's take over the prime minister's business. People in the Political Affairs Hall will have something to say, right?"
Guo Shao shook his head and said: "It does not conflict with the duties of the prime ministers. The prime ministers will of course make suggestions and participate in decision-making, and they also have the power to implement these decisions and recommend talents for the court; and you are assisting the emperor personally, doing things equivalent to secretaries and consultants. Most of these things should have been done by me, and now you help me, can't I be lazy?"
Zuo You immediately laughed, and even Huang Binglian laughed along for a while. Guo Shao smiled, and went through the process of memorials in his mind: first, they were collected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and sent to the imperial desk; then Zuo You and others helped Guo Shao to read them, so he could easily understand them; then they were sent to the Political Affairs Hall for the prime minister to give his opinions; Guo Shao made decisions according to the suggestions of Zuo You and others in the Imperial Study and the prime ministers' opinions. Of course, according to the procedures, if the emperor's decision was really inappropriate, the Political Affairs Hall would send it back for the emperor to consider and re-edict.
Guo Shao's method was based on the systems of the Ming Dynasty's Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department, but he still held the power to approve documents, after all, the new rules were not yet perfect.
We thank the emperor for his trust. Zuo You and Huang Binglian bowed.
Guo Shao knew that they were sincere in their words. Compared to working in the Taichang Temple or being the prosecutor Huang Binglian in Kaifeng Prefecture, the two of them were now in contact with the most core power decision-making part of the country. As Zuo You said, they were doing the work of a prime minister. How could anyone with a little ambition not be happy at this moment
Guo Shao pointed to the memorial on the table and said: Let's start from today.
The sound of bells and drums at the hour of You echoed across the vast palace and temples. The officials in the imperial study came forward to express their gratitude and leave their duties. Guo Shao also packed up his things and was about to leave.
After he left Jinxiang Hall, he took a car to Zide Hall, where Fu Ermei lived. He could talk and eat with her and show some concern for her. Moreover, Fu Jinzhan was her elder sister and was also there to take care of her. While Guo Shao was accompanying his second sister, he could also see Jinzhan. Although they were both in the palace, he could only see her at this time.
The Zide Hall is usually occupied by noble ladies of the palace. It is also a magnificent building complex, but compared with the Jinxiang Hall and Wansui Hall, which only focus on the grandeur, it is slightly richer and more exquisite. The dining room is on the attic on the west side. The main hall is wide and gorgeous, but there is also an open hall for drinking tea next to it. In Guo Shao's opinion, it looks like a large balcony with pillars.
So the three of them finished their meal and moved to the open hall to drink tea. Guo Shao said some caring words. Fu Jinzhan said: Madam Li Yuan'er should also be brought to the palace and let her live in Zide Hall.
Guo Shao looked at Fu Ermei's belly and said: Yuan'er and Ermei are about the same time, I'm just afraid that the car will be a little bumpy.
Fu Jinzhan smiled and said: I used to ride in a big sedan chair, and I will send it to pick her up. It will be much better if it is carried by people.
The Empress's sister-in-law is so kind, Yuan'er must thank you. Guo Shao said with a smile. He pondered for a moment, and said, "There are some trivial matters in the court recently, and I would like to talk to the Empress's sister-in-law about them."
Jinzhan glanced slightly to the side, and the eunuchs and palace maids around her retreated.
The outside of this place is open, and it can be seen from outside the Zide Hall; there are people in the dining room inside. Even if Guo Shao and Jinzhan are sitting here alone to talk, it is open and aboveboard, and they are certainly not alone in the public eye. Fu Ermei also stood up and left, letting the two of them discuss something important here.