Since the prince met Liu Ruoyu, Tian Cunshan felt like fifteen buckets of water fetching water - up and down, and he was absent-minded all afternoon. Even if he was slow, he knew that there was an undercurrent in the East Palace, wanting to overturn himself to the ground, and he had to step on it.

This anxiety almost made him do his job, and then he woke up and concentrated on serving the prince in front of him first. However, speaking of this, the prince did not give Liu Ruoyu any duties, nor did he say that he wanted to restore his official status. This may be a blessing in disguise.

"Tian Cunshan." Zhu Cilang suddenly shouted.

"I am here." Tian Cunshan hurried forward.

"Give Zongxian another fish slip," Zhu Cixuan said.

The only guest in the warm-up pavilion was Li Banghua. He received the prince's oral order in the evening and saw him in casual clothes. After a few words, he was left to the prince to eat. Because of the prince's courtesy, the meal was quite comfortable, the rice was steamed very soft, and the dishes were suitable for the appetite of the elderly.

Especially the fish is smooth, the skin, bones, thorns are removed from fresh fish, and only the tail, back and gills are chopped into a paste, and the meat is mixed with ginger, wine, and made into pills. It is blanched in the broth and then eaten. It is smooth and delicious in the mouth.

The cost of this dish is not high. It can be regarded as a frugal side dish for the late Ming literati and official family that is highly enjoyable. However, this method has never been made on the market, so Li Banghua was quite surprised when he used it, which made the prince see the clues.

——Your Highness is so careful and considerate.

Li Banghua felt quite warm in his heart, and was grateful to the prince for treating him with the kindness of his country's hero.

Zhu Cixuan waited for Tian Cunshan to go out and said, "I met Shen Tingyang this afternoon."

Li Banghua put down the chopsticks, took the towel and gently tapped his lips. He had already turned everything he knew about Shen Tingyang in his mind, and said, "Does Your Highness want to prepare for Nan Xing?"

"Does Xiantai think Nanyue's proposal can be accomplished?" Zhu Cixuan asked back.

"I think it's worrying." Li Banghua was inspired by Zhu Cixuan in the daytime and was reflecting on himself all afternoon, but he actually found the righteousness of Haoran when he was in his prime. He said bluntly: "If you don't say anything, Chen Yan won't agree."

"Apart from colluding with the inner minister and bribing the news, Chen Yan will only make trouble!" Zhu Cixuan curled his lips.

Chen Yan was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi. In the 13th year of Chongzhen, he was very prosperous. He learned from the eunuch the questions the emperor would ask the next day, and carefully prepared. The next day, he answered them very well. Chongzhen thought he had gained extraordinary talent, so he was very happy and promoted him to the left minister of the Ministry of Rites and the Grand Secretary of the East Pavilion, and entered the cabinet, and he became famous from then on.

Two months ago, the former chief assistant Zhou Yanru lied about military affairs, deceived the emperor and violated the law, and was corrupt and abused the law... The matter was revealed and he was ordered to commit suicide. Chen Yan was promoted to chief assistant and became the leader of all officials. However, this person was only corrupt and had no talent for governing, and could not even figure out the intention of the superior. In Zhu Cilang's opinion, it was simply a mess.

Li Banghua smiled bitterly and said, "Since ancient times, villains have achieved things but not enough to make trouble. It is difficult for Chen Yan to do some political achievements, but it is easy to think of bad things with the head and assistant Yuan Chen." Some censors who make a living by singing the opposite tune, and many officials who claim to be strong will concentrate under this flag and persuade the emperor not to move the capital to Nanxing.

Zhu Cilang was also a little helpless: "To be fair, the ministers who were truly able to control all officials and were the leaders of the dynasty, were Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru. Unfortunately, these two men were fighting to the death, and they were all corrupt and despicable people, and they refused to follow the right path."

If the prince had said this ten years ago, Li Banghua would have probably disagreed. Now that he is getting older and has a weak heart for fame and fortune, he can objectively examine himself and others.

It is said that snakes cannot do without a head, especially in the cabinet system in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, a wise prime minister was more useful than a wise emperor. This means that Wanli could not attend court for decades, but the Ming Empire was still able to operate normally, and the emperor himself never lost control of the government.

The prosperity of the Ming Dynasty was mostly attributed to the efficient bureaucratic system, and the decline of the Ming Dynasty was naturally due to the defeat of this system.

As the saying goes, success is Xiao He and failure is Xiao He.

Zhu Cixuan could only feel insignificant and powerless in the face of this huge civil service system. The only way was to loosen the system and then cultivate a new system that was efficient and honest. This was exactly the main work content of Zhu Cixuan's previous life. He was familiar with it, but the only problem was time.

No matter what era, it is impossible to create a business giant in just two days of training.

Even if Zhu Cixuan finds a genius who has not yet shown his mark and takes important tasks through his memory, he is very likely to "suppose" him. A person becomes a talent, even a genius, full of unknown possibilities, and will plant beans if he is not careful.

Only by irrigating with time, nourishing with patience, and letting things go naturally can we harvest the talents we need and play a role.

And now, what Zhu Cilang lacks the most is time.

With nine months left, Li Zicheng will be under the Private City.

Nine months left, the world will change hands.

With nine months left, Emperor Chongzhen could only hang himself in the coal mountain branches with Wang Chengen.

There are nine months left, which is the tragedy that was finalized in the historical script - Zhu Cixuan's family was destroyed.

...

In nine months, even if you let go, how many soldiers can you train? How much silver and grain can you raise? How many loyal people can you gather to sacrifice your life and shed blood for this elderly empire?

Tian Cunshan stood outside the curtain and heard a sudden sound inside. He raised his hand to stop the eunuch who was delivering food. He didn't know if he should go in. He looked through the crack in the door and saw the prince's face with a sad face, but no anger, so he waved and asked someone to follow him in to serve him.

No matter which dynasty emperor, it is impossible for people to leave. However, this prince always likes to talk to others alone. This puts great pressure on the eunuchs in the neighboring servants, as if the prince is not even at ease with his closest slaves.

"Don't be polite at Xiantai," Zhu Cixuan pointed to the fish slide that had just been sent in. "I know that many ministers are afraid of giving a banquet like a tiger, and are worried and unable to eat well. This is really against the will of heaven."

"The old minister, the vulgar man, how can you know how to be polite?" Li Banghua laughed at himself: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is just when he grows up and doesn't know how to eat."

"I haven't had a good appetite recently," Zhu Cilang said truthfully, "The so-called "knowing yourself and your enemy, you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. The epidemic is coming in full swing. I still have no real report and I feel unsure."

"I don't believe that your highness has no idea," Li Banghua smiled and said, "If the Inspectorate can do it, please give your highness a clear order."

"The Censorate needs to help me stabilize my position first," Zhu Cixuan also smiled. "I guess someone will persuade me to return to the palace tomorrow or the next day. I might as well give the Minister here: I would rather die than give up the whole family and return to the palace halfway."

Li Banghua's heart was thrilled and he thought to himself: The prince is indeed full of blood and can say such murderous words. However, it also shows that he is so determined that I am a person who wants to retire, so what else can't let go?

"The old ministers should do their best to do it on the Censorate." Li Banghua promised.

"Not only can I not return to the palace, I also have the right to temporarily take charge of the affairs of Shuntian Prefecture." Zhu Cixuan said: "In epidemic prevention, civil affairs are the main focus and military affairs are the auxiliary. If I have no power, I may be fooled by the cunning officials below."

"This..." Li Banghua pondered for a moment, "Actually, your highness's power is far greater than that of Shuntian Prefecture. Although Shuntian Prefecture nominally governs the five prefectures and nineteen counties, the capital is at the foot of the emperor after all. How could a third-rank prefecture confront the crown prince? If your highness is worried about the slippery officials below, even if he jumps over Shuntian Prefecture and sends people to implement it himself, it would be fine."

"Oh? Can you skip them?" Zhu Cilang was stunned and immediately realized. In this world, officials pursued "peace and nothing to do" and did not mind very much about the erosion of their own power. Especially this kind of power cannot bring benefits to him, so it is best to throw it all to other yamen.

"Old minister probably will probably pretend to be deaf and dumb." Li Banghua said with a blank expression: "But do your superiors have enough personnel to do it?"

"I want to expand the Eastern Palace Guard." Zhu Cixuan said.

Li Banghua said in surprise: "Can soldiers carry out civil affairs?"

"I will clearly understand all the statements. Those who practice hard will reward them, and those who violate them will be punished." Zhu Cilang said in a deep voice: "When this time of decay, we can only save them with severe punishments and harsh teachings."
Chapter completed!