Sheng Boyuan said, "Fang Xusheng seems to care a lot about women. For example, the Law of Inheritance states that daughters also have the right to inherit. This is unheard of in Sheng Yuan Continent. If it weren't for the fact that daughters inherit less wealth than sons, this law wouldn't have been implemented at all. The Council is an important place in the country, and we discuss national affairs. How can we let women in? Don't mention this again. Old Man won't agree to a woman being a secretary of the Council even if he has to risk his life. "
Many officials nodded gently. They actually didn't like Fang Yun's constant promotion of women's status. Whether it was the establishment of the Women's Academy, promoting Zhao Hongzhuang to be an official, or allowing women to inherit or be a secretary of the Council, it all touched the fundamental interests of men.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Don't forget, among the hundreds of millions of humans, half are women. You may not have noticed that in some places with many workshops, there are more and more female workers. Even if we don't talk about the workshops, aren't women the majority of the workers in silkworm rearing, weaving, matchmaking, midwives, and other industries? Since we want to work for the imperial court and revitalize Jingguo, how can we not care about weaving silk? How can we not care about matchmakers and midwives? Moreover, many women also work in agriculture. The Council is to listen to more voices. Are men the only ones who can speak and women can't speak? Men are perfect, but women can't find problems that men can't find out? Why did Jingguo develop faster than some of the previous emperors in the past few years under the Empress Dowager's rule? Minister Sheng, if we men can have children one day, I will definitely support your decision. "
When Fang Yun mentioned the Empress Dowager, Sheng Boyuan immediately froze. If he refuted, it would be equivalent to denying the Empress Dowager. How could he protect the royal family in the future?
"Fang Xusheng, you misunderstood Minister Sheng. Minister Sheng is saying that women are less literate now. Instead of letting them be secretaries of the Council now, it's better to delay it for a few years. When more women are literate, they can enter the Council," said a minister from the Ministry of Rites.
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Yes, literacy is very important. So, among the first batch of female secretaries of the Council, we will only choose women who are literate. After a few years, we will slowly let more women join the Council. "
Many officials were secretly anxious. They were all thinking of what to say, but no matter what they said, it might not be good for the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager's grudge was secondary. If Fang Yun took this opportunity to abolish the 'Behind the Curtain' and let Fang Yun take over the reins, then Fang Yun would be able to control the Emperor and have no place for other officials.
Sheng Boyuan said, "Let's not talk about this for now. What rank should the head of the Council in the capital be?"
Fang Yundao: "Since the Senate listens to the voices of all the scholars in the country, it naturally can't just be a division. However, since it's just been established, it's not appropriate to directly promote it to a division. Therefore, the level should be Head Division, which is between a division and a division."
Sheng Boyuan said, "Cai He is already the Minister of the Ministry of Water and Soil. She is also the acting president of the Council. In my opinion, Minister Cai should either continue to be in charge of the Ministry of Water and Soil, or be transferred to the Senate. "
Fang Yun nodded and said, "That's true. I think Minister Cai should get rid of the word 'acting' and directly take over the position of the Senate. As for the position of Minister of Water and Soil, it should be Assistant Minister Sai. The vacancy left by Assistant Minister Sai can be filled by Minister Jiang Zhengming of the Law Department of Xiangzhou. In the Ministry of Personnel, having a Legalist Assistant Minister can make the reform of the Ministry of Personnel go more smoothly. "
When everyone heard this, they were very surprised.
Cai He had once been suppressed because of Fang Yun. After Kang Ha-chuan left, she was put in an important position by Fang Yun. She could even be said to be a true member of the Fang Party.
Although the Ministry of Water and Soil was a newly established department, according to various signs, the future Ministry of Water and Soil would be in charge of water conservancy and land. It could be called a small Ministry of Revenue, and its authority was rare among the other departments.
Everyone originally thought that Fang Yun wanted Cai He to take this position, but now he suddenly let Cai He be the head of the Council. There must be a reason.
One possibility was that in Fang Yun's opinion, the Council was more important than the Ministry of Water and Soil. But this possibility was very small, because the current function of the Council was only to submit suggestions and did not have any real authority.
The second possibility was that Fang Yun's relationship with Cai He was cold. Fang Yun wanted to transfer Cai He away, but he couldn't disappoint his old friend, so he let him be the head of the Council. At the very least, it was much better than his previous post in the Qingshui yamen.
As for the third possibility, it was that Cai He had been Fang Yun's abandoned pawn from the very beginning. Fang Yun was using various methods to promote his former subordinates to the capital through the new departments. Thus, Fang Yun had probably long planned this. His main goal this time was not to have Cai He become the head of the Council, but to have Jiang Zhengming move from Xiangzhou to the capital as the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Slowly, Fang Yun would use various methods to move the members of the Fang Party into the capital.
The officials didn't know how to object because Fang Yun was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and Jiang Zhengming met the requirements for promotion. Fang Yun had a lot of say in the change of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
The Ministry of Water and Soil was in charge of the Right Prime Minister, Cao Dean, but Cao Dean obviously wouldn't object.
The key was that the transfer of officials this time did not harm the interests of the major forces. As Xusheng and the Left Prime Minister, Fang Yun promoted more of his subordinates.
Sheng Boyuan said, "Left Prime Minister, I think that Minister Cai has performed well during his tenure in the Ministry of Water and Soil. Going to the Council is almost equivalent to demotion. As a minister, he is also a member of the cabinet. I would like to hear his opinion on this transfer."
Everyone looked at Cai He.
Cai He was fatter than when he first met Fang Yun many years ago. He smiled and said, "To be honest, no matter what, being a minister sounds better than being the head of the Council. However, I am a minister, and also an official of the imperial court. I am an official of Jingguo. In Fang Xusheng's words, I am a brick of the imperial court. I will move wherever I am needed. If the head of the cabinet thinks that I should work in the Council, then I will accept the order without any objections. "
Everyone carefully pondered over Cai He's words. It didn't sound like he was breaking with Fang Yun, but it also didn't sound like he was completely obedient to Fang Yun. It seemed that he was still a little unwilling.
Sheng Boyuan didn't expect Cai He to not object. He said, "Since Minister Cai doesn't object, then Old Man doesn't object either. However, Old Man has one last thing to ask. Can you clarify the main function of the Council? "
Many officials immediately felt clear-headed. They had talked for a long time but didn't get to the crux of the matter. Until now, they didn't know what else the Council could do other than accepting the leaders of various industries and submitting opinions.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "The main duty of the Council is to submit suggestions to the cabinet. Since we have to listen to the voices of people from all walks of life, then before some important government decrees are confirmed, it is only right that they be discussed by the Council. If their opinions or suggestions are good, the draft should be improved. "
"Isn't this the Civilian Cabinet?" Sheng Boyuan blurted out.
The hall was silent.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Minister Sheng, you must be joking. The final decision of all government decrees is still in the hands of the king and the cabinet. The Council has no real power. I think we should prepare for the Council as soon as possible. The Council has just been established, so it will be difficult to find people from all walks of life. It's better to find people from the groups with more scholars first. The others will slowly fill in later. I think we should first select some Council members from the heads of the various families in Jingguo. "
Many officials were surprised. They were even more aware of how shrewd Fang Yun was.
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