The officials in the two rows of Feng Pavilion below glanced up at the palace from time to time.

Master Di lowered his head to settle accounts, as usual.

As the prime minister on the spot, countless pairs of eyes, whether enemies or friends, were staring at him every move he made, guessing his motives and trying to figure out his thoughts.

Master Di has long been used to it.

No words for a day.

When the second quarter of the lunar month came again, Master Di left his seat and was still the first to leave the palace.

But this time, he slowed down a little, a little slowly. When passing by the censor's platform, he happened to meet Shen Xisheng, the censor Zhongcheng, who was also of low rank.

"Master." Shen Xi saluted.

Master Di put his hands behind his back, said softly "Hmm", and walked ahead.

Shen Xisheng followed calmly.

The two of them seemed to be on their way to Yingtianmen, and happened to avoid the large crowds on the main road.

During the short journey, Di Fuzi said a few words to Shen Xisheng without looking back.

The latter was slightly stunned, but before he could ask any more questions, the two of them approached Yingtianmen. Master Di stepped forward to meet Lord Zhu Zi, leaving Shen Xisheng behind.

The censor Zhongcheng looked thoughtful.

Early the next morning.

A young supervisory censor from the Censor's Office walked into the Tianguan Libu Department with his head held high, carrying a piece of paper.

The young censor requested that the performance test reports submitted by various states and counties in Jiangnan Province this year should be taken away in detail for the superior's review.

The Yushitai has the power to supervise all officials, including reviewing the official performance and promotion credentials, so it is not surprising that these files are used.

The official of the Department of Personnel glanced at the seal and signature of a certain Mr. Shen in the lower right corner of the document, confirmed it was correct, and then turned around and led the people into the warehouse to get the files.

…

The night is as cool as water.

In Jishanfang, there is a low-key and simple mansion. During the day, the busy traffic outside the door has dispersed, and it is not until late at night that it becomes slightly quiet.

At this moment, the lights in the prime minister's residence were sparsely lit.

This is in sharp contrast to the surrounding wealthy mansions that are brightly lit all night long, as well as the Luoshui River not far away, and the gorgeous Zhulou towers shining with colorful lights on the long street near the water.

That's right, in Luoyang, the prime minister and a skilled woman who loves to sweat can even live in the same neighborhood.

The streets in Luoyang City are criss-crossed, and the lanes are adjacent to each other. The special lane system facilitates management. Although there is a curfew, Luoyang City is the most prosperous place in the world, with a population of millions.

The curfew only restricts the movement of people between various lanes, and does not limit the special nightlife in single lanes at all.

The bustle of a brothel on the bank of Luoshui not far away did not disturb the silent atmosphere in a certain study room at all.

Master Di quietly read through the memorials and testimonies,

On the table, a single bright light dimly illuminated the names of officials from Jiangzhou, Jiangnan Province on the memorials and examination papers.

There is even a flash of the four-character name "Ouyang Lianghan" on one of the memorials.

All reports and memorials about Longcheng flood control and Zheyi Canal are here.

It also includes testimonials recording the evaluations and experiences of officials at all levels of state and county.

It's all about the construction and details of that folded-wing canal.

Although Luodu is thousands of miles away from Jiangnan Road, the whole process of a young county magistrate's silent construction of Zheyi Canal was gradually pieced together in the mind of the fat old man who squinted under the light.

Confucius Di never listens to this kind of thing.

Even if it is Xie Xun, Shen Xisheng and other close disciples.

"Ah."

Master Di chuckled lightly.

He read through the memorials reported by officials about the Broken Wing Canal, and somewhat understood why this work has made great contributions to the contemporary era and will benefit future water conservancy construction.

After it was reported to Luoyang, it did not cause even a trace of discussion in Tianguan and other three provinces and six ministries.

Except for the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Shangguan officials responsible for evaluating the performance of local officials neglected their duties.

There is also the reason why this entire channel for feedback on local officials’ performance is almost completely rigid and blocked.

In these memorials, more than half of the inspection officials from Jiangzhou Prefecture, as well as officials from several counties around Longcheng County who had been benefited, were generous in their words of praise.

But there are also some who talk in general terms, or some who praise but also criticize, such as Wang Lengran, the governor of Jiangzhou.

Let’s take a look, all the achievements and projects reported to the Heavenly Officials and Departments by other states and counties in the world are uniformly praised, and they work together in a tacit understanding, making the praises fly to the sky.

His political achievements were only three cents, but he was trumpeted as ten cents.

But this broken-wing canal is really good, it is a solid product and has a shining political achievement.

In the end, it didn’t go well with the results. There were also a group of people who secretly tried to hold back, and received mixed reviews.

In the eyes of the Ministry of Personnel Assessment Officers, a five-point score would be good. This also requires the assessment officials to have some knowledge of water conservancy and be considered knowledgeable.

The fat old man put down the stack of memorials, shook his head, closed his eyes and rubbed his brows.

After a while, he opened his eyes, turned his head silently, and picked up the mediocre memorial that was alone in his hand.

Look through it again.

This memorial is signed "Ouyang Lianghan".

It was none other than the chief official of Longcheng County, Xie Xun's beloved disciple.

However, among the many officials who presented memorials on their political achievements, he was the most outrageous one.

The chief officials in other places also knew that Mrs. Wang was selling melons to boast about herself.

This Ouyang Lianghan is good, he seems to have safely and boldly handed over the entire process of praise to the county magistrate, Diao Xian Cheng.

However, there were no words of praise in his memorial, and rows of numbers were pasted on it, as if he was afraid that the official of the Ministry of Personnel, who was leisurely drinking tea, could understand it.

The candlelight gave off an orange halo, illuminating the densely packed numbers like tadpoles on the memorial of a young county magistrate.

"interesting."

The fat old man suddenly laughed.

He pinched the memorial's finger and tapped the page cover subconsciously, as if he was moving a set of calculation chips.

This young man likes to throw around numbers. Coincidentally, he, Mrs. Di, is also most familiar with numbers.

"Do you also like to settle accounts?"

Ouyang Lianghan carefully calculated the accounts in this memorial.

He calculated how much silver and grain Longcheng County had saved for Jiangzhou and the imperial court during this disaster relief and flood control, and how many victims had been fed.

After figuring it out, he reversely supported several disaster-stricken counties around him, and even replenished the Jimin warehouse in Jiangzhou that had been gnawed away by rats.

He calculated how much hidden income he could increase for the people of Longcheng every year by recruiting rice merchants to invest and build the Zheyi Canal and the new ferry without spending almost a penny from the court, and how much official business taxes he could repay to the court...

Account after account, column after column of figures, were listed in this memorial in black and white by the young county magistrate.

This is the greatest show off of a local official.

However, this fact-based memorial had been lying quietly in the dark warehouse of the Tianguan Libu Department, pressed at the bottom of the box, as new as ever.

It was not handed over to Her Majesty the Queen or any of the political ministers.

If it hadn't happened that there was someone above Ouyang Lianghan, a famous Confucian mentor from the fifth surname and Qiwang who recommended him.

Master Di closed the memorial and sighed slightly.

"It is an excellent seedling that can be used as a cook. I almost missed it. I have to 'catch' it and not let it go."

"How should I arrange it? Should I transfer him back to the capital and train him closely and slowly, or should he be nearby...give him a way to reach the sky, although the risk to that family is actually quite high..."

He stared at the empty study room in front of him and was silent for a long time. He suddenly stretched out his hand and pushed the pile of memorials and examination papers in front of him three feet away from the front.

The fat old man's gesture of pushing his hands, asking you to do what you want, caused the breeze to fan out, causing the yellow candle on the table to sway, but it never went out.

He faced the empty room and showed a smile:

"It's up to you to choose."
Chapter completed!