In the bright spring day, in the Jinxiang Palace, besides the intricately carved window frames and piles of documents, the green trees swaying gently in the wind add a bit of vitality and warmth to everything.
Jingniang walked past the study and saw Zuo You and other ministers looking up at her. They were speechless. She walked in silently and came to the secret room inside. This room was jokingly called the secret room by the people in the palace because it had no large windows and some of the emperor's personal belongings were placed there.
The door was not closed, and Guo Shao seemed to be waiting for someone to meet.
Jingniang stepped over the threshold and was about to speak politely when she saw him sitting in front of a full-body mail armor. He was actually wiping the shoulder armor of the armor with a handkerchief himself. After all, there were too many people working in the palace, and there was really no need for the emperor to do such trivial things.
Jingniang was about to say the polite words, but she couldn't help but look at Guo Shao.
This room only has one small window, which is located very high, so the lighting is not good. A ray of light comes in through the small window, and the light is like a cloud of fog, making this quiet wooden house seem to be shrouded in a halo of light and fog.
A large colorful map was hung on the wall, with the territory controlled by Daxu dyed yellow. On the table next to the map was a wooden model of the Mulan warship presented by the Southern Han people. In this scene, the scene of Guo Shao wiping his armor made Jingniang suddenly feel the burning ambition of this man, even in such a quiet cabin.
Jingniang's heart tightened, as if something had touched her. In fact, she had no interest in how big the territory of the Great Xu Dynasty was. In Jingniang's mind, the royal family's wealth was already inexhaustible and she couldn't even understand why the emperor was so enthusiastic about expansion.
However, the ambitious Guo Shao made her a little obsessed, and she had no idea why. Perhaps it was his focused eyes, the way he looked at the armor that had once been worn on the battlefield, that made Jingniang feel a certain kind of sentiment from him. She was not interested in any sentiment, but was very interested in men who had such sentiments.
Jingniang. Guo Shao turned his head and glanced at her, then put the handkerchief he had just used to wipe his armor to his lips, coughed lightly, and then put it into his sleeve pocket.
Jingniang came back to her senses at this point, her movements a little flustered, and she hurriedly clasped her fists and said: "I am here to see you, Your Majesty, in compliance with the imperial decree."
Guo Shao nodded and pointed to a waist-high stool covered with a cushion next to the table: Sit down.
Jingniang followed his instructions and stepped forward, unable to help but whisper: Your Majesty is not feeling well.
Guo Shao frowned slightly and said: It's just a little uncomfortable, but people are like this. As long as there is a little discomfort in one place, it will affect the whole body and mind.
Just then, a tall and strong eunuch walked to the door. Jingniang was often comfortable with the eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the palace, and recognized him as Yang Shiliang.
"Your servant greets His Majesty." Yang Shiliang knelt and kowtowed as soon as he entered, which made Jingniang feel that her respect was far from enough, and it seemed that some people were not completely wrong to say that she was spoiled because of her favor.
Get up, get up, Guo Shao said casually.
Yang Shiliang stood up and bowed, not daring to sit down unless he was asked. Guo Shao seemed too lazy to waste any more words.
Jingniang and Yang Shiliang both stayed in this small room respectfully and were silent for a while. At this time, Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said: I just talked to Jingniang about something that made me uncomfortable. The same is true for the dynasty. If there is a problem, the entire empire will be implicated.
Yang Shiliang held up his whisk and said: Your Majesty is absolutely right.
Guo Shao's eyes swept across Jingniang's face. His expression was solemn and his eyes were full of determination; but his heart was always paying attention to Jingniang, and he saw a hint of subtle tenderness in those determined eyes.
Jingniang probably understood why her heartstrings occasionally trembled. This ambitious man who held the power of life and death and the authority of violence was not violent. He often showed his gentle side.
She listened attentively to the magnetic, low and gentle sound in the heavy voice:
So I want a way to let me know what went wrong, even if it is a small problem.
Jingniang and Yang Shiliang still didn't quite understand the emperor's intention at this time, but they didn't rush to ask, but calmed down and listened.
The light coming through the small window shone on his face, and his sweat hair and the texture of the material on the white lining collar were clearly visible. It seemed as if Jingniang was looking at Guo Shao so carefully for the first time.
Guo Shao looked calm, his eyes like a pool of deep water, and continued, "The court has censors of various titles, but these people do not necessarily tell the truth. Because of the interests involved,
He thought about it, and then said more specifically, for example, the Censorate and the Privy Council may have no authority involvement with the six ministries, and no one can control who. However, if the son of a Privy Council official and the nephew of a vice-chancellor of one of the six ministries are classmates, or if two officials are old friends, or even when it comes to some national policies, the families of civil officials and even civil and military officials have the same interests, then they will breathe the same air. The hardest thing in this world is human relations.
Guo Shao paused and said, "If I want an institution, I cannot leave it to the Privy Council. After much thought, I can only entrust it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Yang Shiliang asked carefully: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask what you want this government office to do for you."
Good question. Guo Shao praised, as if he felt that Yang Shiliang, the eunuch, had a clear mind. The government office could be called the Internal Factory Supervisor. The Japanese Iwami Silver Mine had many links from mining, rough refining, shipping, refining, to minting coins, and how many coins were minted. I must send my own people to monitor these links to prevent the loss of coins.
People should be placed in both the open and covert areas. After all, spies placed in the open are easy to be guarded against. The people used are not limited to eunuchs and palace maids. Some spies can also be cultivated as undercover agents.
Guo Shao calmly said, "From minting coins to the Haimao Bank, the Imperial Treasury holds the largest share. I have enough reason to send people to supervise. Moreover, the ministers of the Privy Council, the Cabinet and the Assistant Government also hold shares in the Haimao Bank; however, they cannot intervene in these affairs, so they cannot control their own profits. If I come forward to restrict, control and supervise, and protect the legitimate profits of the bank, this is also something that the ministers are happy to see."
He said thoughtfully that people are often willing to see actions that are in line with their own interests.
Yang Shiliang nodded seriously and praised respectfully: Your Majesty has a broad vision and is in control of the situation.
Jingniang finally couldn't help but speak: Your Majesty's implication is that you want to monitor Iwami Silver Mine's movements to the inner treasury bank. What does that have to do with the son of the Privy Council and the nephew of the Six Ministries' Vice Minister
Yang Shiliang couldn't help but look sideways when he heard such straightforward words, looking stunned. But Jingniang sat on the waist-round stool very calmly.
As expected, Guo Shao did not mean to blame him. He looked very cautious. After a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice that the Banking Supervision was just a starting point and a reason. The responsibilities of the Internal Factory Supervision were not limited to this. Do you know what the Privy Council Military Department was doing and how it was doing it
After hearing this, Jingniang and others nodded in unison like chickens pecking at rice. After a moment, Yang Shiliang seemed to come to his senses and realized that this was not in accordance with etiquette, so he quickly said: "Your Majesty, I understand."
Guo Shao's eyes became brighter, he looked at them and said: Even if you do that kind of thing, the difference is that your target is not abroad, but all kinds of people in various places, industries and levels inside.
He paused for a moment and continued: This office does not need to allow the Privy Council or any other government agency to interfere, and the accounts do not need to be made public. It only needs to report to me and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After hearing this, Jingniang inadvertently discovered that Yang Shiliang's expression was unusually tense and solemn. At this time, Jingniang also realized that the so-called Neichang Supervisor might be more dangerous and more sinister than Bingcaosi, because internal struggles are often more cruel than wars.
Jing Niang asked: If you need to get information out of someone, you can arrest and interrogate the target.
Guo Shao thought for a long time before saying: The Internal Factory Supervisor can only gather information and evidence, but has no right to torture.
Jingniang and Yang Shiliang both listened attentively.
Guo Shao picked up a booklet and opened it, saying calmly: "But you can place people in the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. If you need a confession, you can use the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to achieve your goal. If the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice cannot detain the person, I am afraid that the Neichang Supervisor cannot be easily moved."
The two of them bowed solemnly and said:
Guo Shao tore off a few pages from the book and put them on the table. I wrote down some ideas, you can refer to them. You can arrange and handle other things first. I have many things to worry about and cannot do this personally.
Yang Shiliang said: We, your servants, will do our best to share your majesty’s worries.
Guo Shao raised his robe sleeves and waved them lightly to the outside. The two of them then clasped their fists and bowed, saying: We will take our leave.
Jingniang retreated to the wooden door and turned to leave. She glanced inside again and saw Guo Shaozheng with one hand on the map on the wall and with the other hand holding a brush, drawing something on it. His face flashed before Jingniang's eyes.
Perhaps women are careful after all, Jingniang accidentally noticed that there seemed to be a hint of depression in Guo Shao's eyes. Moreover, his actions seemed to be different from before. Guo Shao was more confident before, and he believed that he could control the overall situation. Now, setting up the internal factory supervisor is a means of using power to assist control.
In Jingniang's opinion, now Emperor Guo Shao's throne is more stable and his power and prestige are greater. His military exploits and the prestige accumulated on the throne have made his prestige reach its peak. In the past, the general trend was only recognized by the domestic ministers forcibly, but now the emperor's military exploits are recognized by foreign countries from all directions.
But why is he worried
Jingniang walked out of the study and thought for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. She kept shaking her head, a meaningless gesture as if she wanted to put the doubts behind her.