Every year, the most normal selection of officials would end after the Spring Festival. Some people would be promoted, while others would lose their official positions.
Other than Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, all the officials who were sent out were sent out.
According to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, Zhang Zhong still couldn't leave Luoyang and had to stay for at least another year. Li Longji didn't care about this. Luoyang was nothing more than a vacant position. If he had the energy, he might as well spend it on Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
After the morning court session ended, Li Longji had Zhang Shuo and Zhang Jiuling stay behind. As for Zhang Jiazhen, he didn't have a chance. He was no longer the Prime Minister. Who told his family to be in trouble? He was sent outside.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan couldn't protect everyone. There were many things that they didn't know, and sometimes, even if they knew, they couldn't change it. For example, Zhang Shuo insisted on making Feng Chan his own people.
At this time, other than the palace maids and eunuchs, there were only Li Longji, Gao Lishi, Zhang Shuo, and Zhang Jiuling in Xingqing Palace.
Sitting in a chair, Li Longji held a teacup in one hand and held the lid of the cup with the other. He drank tea, the hot steam covering his face.
Zhang Shuo and Zhang Jiuling didn't know why the Emperor wanted them, but they also drank tea. In their hearts, they kept thinking about today's morning court session. Was there something that hadn't been arranged yet?
"That's too outrageous. If Lishi hadn't brought the tea that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan gave you yesterday, wouldn't we only be drinking their inferior tea?"
Li Longji drank three bowls in a row and felt full. Only then did he stop to talk.
"Your Majesty is right. This subject will definitely have Xiao Bao send more good tea. But if it's during a bad year …" Gao Lishi responded. He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was very clear.
Li Longji wasn't an idiot. Recently, he gradually realized that the things he used weren't of high quality if they were related to the year.
"I know. It's because they are afraid that when I eat and drink well, they won't be able to produce the same thing every year. So be it, they will bring me the best every year. For example, this tea. If they can't produce it this year, I won't force them to produce the same quality. What do you think, Official Zhang?"
Li Longji was a reasonable person. When he was talking to Gao Lishi, he suddenly asked about Zhang Shuo.
Zhang Shuo was still waiting for the Emperor to say something. He thought it was something big, but after waiting for so long and drinking a cup of tea, the Emperor only talked about the tribute. Was there a need to look for the Prime Minister for such a thing?
Since the Emperor had asked, he couldn't not answer. "Your Majesty, I think it should be so. The Zhang Family and the Wang Family … don't have it easy."
Zhang Shuo really wanted to belittle the Zhang Family and the Wang Family at this time, but he took back his words. He knew that he had some conflicts with the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. If he suddenly added insult to injury now, not only would it be useless, but it would also make the Emperor look down on him.
Zhang Jiuling couldn't listen to this anymore. It was just a small matter. If he thought that the tea from the Zhang Family and the Wang Family was good, he could just ask for it from them. Why did he have to look for him? There was still work to be done in the department.
So Zhang Jiuling said, "Your Majesty, if it's just this, this subject also agrees. Does Your Majesty have any other government affairs for this subject to do?"
Hearing that Zhang Jiuling was unhappy, Li Longji wasn't angry. Indeed, it was just the end of the New Year. There was a lot of work to be done in each department.
"Yes, we still have something to discuss with the two of you. The Secretary of Baoxin County, Zhang Xiaobao, and the Deputy County Magistrate, Wang Juan, haven't been assigned a place to go this year. You two, tell me, where should they be assigned?"
Zhang Shuo and Zhang Jiuling understood. It was indeed a problem. Logically speaking, there had never been such a young person who was an official in this dynasty. Other than the Wangye who had an empty title under different circumstances, there had never been a child who had an actual position. There had been such cases in history.
Zhang Jiuling felt that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were capable enough, so he suggested, "Why don't we assign them to a place closer to the capital? Transfer them to Wannian County to be the County Magistrate."
"No." Gao Lishi stopped Zhang Jiuling, "Wannian County is one of the counties in Gyeonggi Province. It's already not bad. If we transfer Xiao Bao, oh, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan here, it's just adding a few flowers to the brocade. The loss outweighs the gain. It's better to directly transfer them to the capital and put them in the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of War."
Li Longji also thought the same. If they really sent the two of them to the capital, it would be a waste of talent. "When Secretary Zhang Xiaobao and Deputy County Magistrate, Wang Juan met me a few days ago, they mentioned a few places. One was Fengzhou, and the other was Jiannan Province …"
"Your Majesty, we can't put them in those two places. If we put them in those two places, then, then … then they'll be too far away from home."
Zhang Shuo became nervous. He was afraid that the emperor would really put Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan in a certain place. Wouldn't that be inviting a tiger into the forest? Any place where their family's important property was absolutely not allowed.
Li Longji glared at him, "I haven't finished yet. It's not easy to meet them by chance. Naturally, I can't just say two places. There are two more places. One is Ci Zhou, and the other is Deng Zhou. I also mentioned the Andong Military Governor's Mansion. The two of them didn't directly refuse and only said that they wanted a place near the sea."
Only then did Zhang Shuo feel relieved. As for what the emperor said about meeting by chance, was he trying to scare fools? Two small officials could meet the emperor by chance. There were only four people in total. Why did he say that? The number of coincidences was too many.
Zhang Shuo quickly drove the emperor's insincere complaints out of his mind. He began to consider the places. Feng Zhou and Jiannan Province were definitely out of the question. Ci Zhou … was also out of the question. Li Yu was there, and there was also the investment of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, as well as Li Xun. The only place left was Deng Zhou, which was at the easternmost part of Henan Province.
"Your Majesty, Deng Zhou is the place where Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan plan to go. They bought a lot of land there, and all the land produces a type of stone. Now, a lot of it has already been sent to the capital. They're getting people to build a bathhouse, and they want to open a chain store. Why don't we let the two of them go to Deng Zhou? It'll be more convenient for them to manage the surrounding area."
Zhang Shuo thought of such an important matter. He also knew that the emperor actually didn't care about where Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were going. What he was worried about was that he couldn't immediately fulfill their wishes. It was as if he was competing with them like a child.
"Is that so? Oh ~! Okay, we understand. Is there a place near Deng Zhou in the Andong Protectorate? It's not easy to arrange in Deng Zhou, so we'll send them to the Andong Protectorate. "
Li Longji attached great importance to this information. He felt that he had won a big battle. It wasn't easy. After being schemed against by the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, he had finally gotten back at them.
Gao Lishi's expression was very interesting. He felt helpless and emotional. He could understand Li Longji. Although it was a little beneath his dignity to fight with two children, it was fine to fight. He believed that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo wouldn't care as long as they raised the grade of the stones.
Zhang Shuo felt that he had found an opportunity. He carefully thought about the situation in the Andong Protectorate and said, "Your Majesty, there's a good Jieli Province over there. It's very close to Deng Zhou. As long as we take a boat, it won't take long to get there. Moreover, that place is in need of development."
Zhang Jiuling, who was at the side, felt that Zhang Shuo was being too unreasonable. That place was indeed close to Deng Zhou, but even though it was a province, it couldn't be any smaller. It didn't have a population. There seemed to be two small cities, a puzi, and a town there. If they continued to search, it would probably be a village with only a few families.
Gao Lishi also knew about such a small province. He didn't want to send his godson there. He said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, that place is lacking in population."
Li Longji was really hesitant. How could he develop without population? Although he had schemed against Xiao Bao and Cuckoo once, he couldn't harm them.
"Your Majesty, who doesn't know about Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's capabilities? There's no need to worry about a small population. I believe that as long as they go to a place, they will definitely develop it well and increase the population."
Zhang Shuo was afraid that the Emperor would change his mind, so he praised Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan a little.
Li Longji didn't immediately speak. Weiwei closed her eyes and thought for a while. Finally, she made up her mind. "That's fine. We will let the two of them manage the entire province. One will be the Provincial Governor, and the other will be the Military Registrar. If they really can't develop, we will find another place for them."
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