"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Everyone entered the hall and saluted one by one.
Li Longji glanced at them casually and said, "You two came here together with a low-ranking official of the Railway Bureau. It seems that you are here for the Railway Bureau. I'd like to hear your opinion."
Ang Lee hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the Railway Bureau is very important to the Tang dynasty, and no accidents are allowed. This time, the escape of Wang Gui and Wang Hu from the Luoyang Branch caused a great loss to the railway transportation. Many businessmen went bankrupt because of the loss. It is said that a carriage of live marine fish from Yazhou was delayed, and the electricity on the carriage was used up, resulting in insufficient oxygen supply in the water tank. All the marine fish died and could only be sold as dead fish. The price difference caused the businessmen's income to decrease by two-thirds, which was a great loss! Therefore, the stable operation of the railway is extremely important. No matter what happens, the railway transportation must be guaranteed to be unimpeded. The railway transportation is the commercial lifeline of the Tang dynasty, as well as the guarantee of the prosperity of the Tang dynasty. It is also necessary for the prosperity of the Tang dynasty. Chaos is absolutely not allowed. "
"I know all these. Just tell me the key points."
Li Longji asked with a smile. It was not that he was impatient, but that Ang Lee's words were all nonsense, and he really felt that it was unnecessary.
"Your Majesty, the corruption in the Railway Bureau must be strictly investigated, but the appeasement work must be carried out at the same time. We can't let ordinary low-ranking officials and employees be affected. Because of the rich profits, the Railway Bureau has a large year-end bonus and a big gift package for the New Year every year. But this year, because of the accident of the Luoyang Branch, the year-end bonus hasn't been calculated yet, and the New Year's goods haven't been bought yet, which made many ordinary employees complain in their hearts. If this situation can't be changed as soon as possible, it will greatly affect the enthusiasm of the employees of the Railway Bureau, which will then affect the normal operation of the railway, the income of the businessmen, and finally hinder the prosperity of the Tang dynasty."
Ang Lee said.
Although it was a bit exaggerated, it was actually very reasonable. At this time, in the Tang dynasty, except for a few good means of water transportation such as the Grand Canal, only the railway could be used. The construction of roads was slow, and the cost of transportation was much higher than that of the railway. As long as the businessmen were not fools, they would choose the railway for transportation, unless it was a short-distance small batch of goods. Once there was a problem with the railway, the income of the businessmen would be reduced, and the tax revenue of the imperial court would be reduced. Naturally, the national fortune of the Tang dynasty would be greatly affected.
Hearing this, Li, Li Longji looked at Yang Guozhong and said, "Official Yang Guozhong, what's going on? Didn't I already say that the investigation should not affect the normal operation of the railway Bureau, including the welfare of the ordinary employees of the Railway.. Why haven't they prepared the New Year gifts when it's almost the New Year? "
"Your Majesty, this humble subject has just learned of this matter and has already sent people to deal with it. The year-end bonuses and New Year gifts of the previous years were all handled by the Fish Department. This humble subject has been investigating the case in the Railway Bureau for so many days, and no one has told this humble subject about this matter. Otherwise, this humble subject would have handled this matter properly."
Yang Guozhong quickly replied.
"So that's the case! How's the morale of the Railway Bureau? "
Li Longji looked at several petty officials of the Railway Bureau and asked.
"Your Majesty, since the incident in Luoyang, the situation in the Railway Bureau has been very bad, especially after hearing that there will be no year-end bonuses and New Year gifts. Everyone is unhappy, and there are even many who are slacking off. However, as long as the news of the year-end bonuses and New Year gifts are spread, the enthusiasm of the employees will return. Your Majesty need not worry."
A petty official said boldly.
"That's good. By the way, I heard that the businessmen have suffered a great loss. How much have they suffered? How are they feeling?"
Li Longji asked in concern.
Yang Guozhong rushed to answer, "Your Majesty, only a very small number of businessmen have suffered great losses. Most of the businessmen have not been greatly affected. Someone is already in charge of the railway operations in Luoyang, so there won't be any more chaos on the railway. The interests of the businessmen are naturally guaranteed."
"The Railway Bureau cannot be without a leader for too long. Do my beloved subjects have a suitable candidate in mind?"
Li Longji asked.
"Yu Chaoen of the Railway Bureau has shut himself in to reflect on his mistakes. Of the people under him, other than those who have been imprisoned, the rest have been sent to Luoyang. There are no suitable candidates. These days, this humble subject has been responsible for the management of the Railway Bureau with the help of his subordinates."
Yang Guozhong replied.
"That definitely won't do. We have more important matters for you to take care of. How can we let you be involved in the affairs of the Railway Bureau for too long? The Railway Bureau needs to choose a good person as soon as possible. We can't keep delaying it."
Li Longji said.
Yang Guozhong was naturally happy to hear this. The Emperor had said that there would be more important matters for him to do. Wasn't this hinting that he was going to promote him to the Right Minister? If he could really become the Right Minister, he would be overjoyed.
"Yes, Your Majesty. This humble subject will definitely choose a new Minister as soon as possible and get the Railway Bureau on the right track."
Yang Guozhong said.
Li Longji thought for a moment, then said, "If possible, we can have Yu Chaoen, who has shut himself in to reflect on his mistakes, help with something. He has worked in the Railway Bureau for so many years, so he has a good understanding of the business management of the Railway Bureau. Having him step forward might have the effect of stabilizing the hearts of the people."
"Your Majesty is right, but in what capacity?"
Yang Guozhong asked.
Ang Lee rushed to answer, "Why don't we let him be the Supervisory Bureau? He is specifically responsible for supervision and assistance. He has the right to supervise, but no real power. He can only make suggestions to the chief, but can't make the final decision. "
Li Longji looked at Ang Lee with satisfaction, then nodded and said, "Assistant Minister Li is right. It's settled then! Let Yu Chaoen stop shutting himself in to reflect on his mistakes and go to the Railway Bureau to coordinate the work. A new Minister of the Railway Bureau needs to be chosen as soon as possible. "
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yang Guozhong replied.
"Dear Minister Li, what's the progress of the Ten Thousand Miles Sound Transmission Plan? Tell me the truth!"
When Li Longji saw Ang Lee, he naturally wanted to ask about the Ten Thousand Miles Sound Transmission Plan. This plan was the one he cared about the most, and it was also a brand-new technology that the Tang Empire needed the most. It would play an immeasurable role in promoting the prosperity of the Tang Empire.
"Your Majesty, I also want to talk about this matter. The recent progress is quite good. It is estimated that the first small plan will be realized in two or three months. In another one or two months, the second step of the plan will also be successful. However, the various experiments of this plan are quite costly. If the national treasury can allocate more funds, the effect will be better."
Ang Lee asked for funds.
Hearing this, Li Longji said, "That's easy. A lot of money has already entered the national treasury after the investigation of the Railway Bureau officials. How much do you want, Dear Minister Li?"
"I don't need too much. Just give me one million strings of cash!"
Ang Lee said with a smile.
This request was something that the imperial court could afford. However, this amount was really not small. No department in the Tang Empire could casually ask for one million strings of cash. They must have detailed expenditure bills to get the corresponding funds.
However, since Ang Lee dared to ask for so much, he naturally had his reasons. He knew that the Emperor would definitely agree to this request, because no department was more important than the project Ang Lee was in charge of. The Emperor could not wait for Ang Lee to develop the telephone tomorrow. He was also looking forward to being able to communicate with people far away.
"One million strings of cash? Dear Minister Li, you are asking for too much! Well, since the national treasury now has money, it can't be piled up. I'll give you one million. However, Assistant Minister Li must do his best in the research. The sooner the research is done, the better. "
Although Li Longji was surprised, it was just as Li An had expected. He generously agreed to Li An's request. Only the Emperor could be so generous to approve a million strings of cash with just a word.
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will do my best to complete the Long-distance Sound Transmission Project as soon as possible. I will not let Your Majesty down."
Ang Lee said happily.
Later, Li Longji asked Ang Lee to stay alone and talk with him about some details of the Long-distance Sound Transmission Project. They also talked about whether Ang Lee had a better next plan that could surprise Li Longji.
As long as the technology of the Tang Dynasty continued to develop, Ang Lee would be able to come up with more interesting inventions. It was only a matter of time. However, for the time being, there was no great plan. Therefore, Ang Lee could only say that there was no plan. After all, some small inventions could not move Li Longji at all. It was the same whether he said it or not. For example, the solar barbecue stove last time was just a very common invention. It made no difference to the Tang Empire whether there was such a thing or not. Although the Emperor was very happy when he saw it and asked for one hundred in one go, he was only a little happy. He was not too excited. After a few hours, this excitement disappeared.
However, Ang Lee had every reason to believe that if such a tool as the telephone was invented, Li Longji would never be excited for just a few hours. At least, he would be excited for several days. Even a few months later, his excitement would be slightly reduced.
After chatting for half an hour, Ang Lee left the hall and returned to the research and development center to take a look. Then, he went home.
Yu Chao En had been reflecting on himself at home for many days. His mood was incomparably gloomy. Although it was not that he was full of worry and wanted to cry, he was at least in a bad mood. Moreover, it was not a normal bad mood.
After all, not only did he lose the throne of the head of the Railway Bureau, but a large number of gifts he had received over the years were also taken away by the imperial court. Even a considerable part of the money he had worked hard to earn was confiscated by the imperial court. The money left to him had become even less.
The loss of money was naturally secondary. Yu Chaoen did not have children, so it was useless for him to have too much money. However, he could not accept the loss of his status. People needed face and tree bark. As a eunuch, he was physically defective and would be looked down upon by ordinary people. Thus, he could only find a breakthrough in his status to make himself more powerful. In this way, he would have a sense of pride. He would feel that although he was physically defective, his status was much higher than that of ordinary people. In this way, these ordinary people would instead admire him, and this would give him a good sense of satisfaction.
Ever since the emperor removed him from his position in the Railway Bureau, Yu Chaoen felt that he had lost everything. He felt that not only did he not have money, but he also lost his status. In this way, even if the emperor did not let him stay at home to reflect on his mistakes, he would not have the face to go out.
However, all of this was reversed after Ang Lee pleaded for leniency. The emperor agreed to let Yu Chaoen become the supervisor of the Railway Bureau, responsible for monitoring and coordinating the various departments of the Railway Bureau. As a result, Yu Chaoen's status rose again. At least, this meant that the emperor had forgiven him, and he also had the face to go out for a stroll. His mood suddenly became better. Although the loss of money was huge, as long as he had a position, even if he only received a fixed salary, it was still not a small amount. Moreover, occasionally receiving fewer gifts would not attract attention.
Yu Chaoen was naturally very grateful to Ang Lee for being able to return to work in the Railway Bureau. He knew that it was because of Ang Lee's good words that the emperor decided to use him again. Therefore, he had to thank him.
"Alang, a guest has come to visit. He says his name is Yu Chaoen."
A servant reported.
"Yu Chaoen, you came so quickly. You must be here to thank me. Quickly invite him in."
Although this fellow did not have much power and was only a supervisor, he had served the emperor for a few years and was relatively familiar with the palace. Ang Lee was on good terms with him, so he would know a lot of anecdotes that he did not know about the palace. There would definitely be a lot of interesting things, and there would even be a lot of inside stories that ordinary people did not know about.
For example, there were so many concubines and palace maids in the palace, but there were only eunuchs in the palace except for the emperor. How to solve the problem of loneliness? How to endure it? How did the emperor summon the concubines? Were there any taboos? When the concubines were bathing, could the eunuchs watch?
Would the palace maids look for the eunuchs when they were lonely? Did the eunuchs have feelings for men and women? Did they have no desire at all, or did they have a perverted desire? What was going on between the palace maids and the eunuchs? Ang Lee was very curious about these things. Usually, he did not dare to casually ask so as not to affect his status. However, since Yu Chaoen was grateful to Ang Lee, Ang Lee could ask these things that he was curious about.
"Assistant Minister Li, please accept this humble servant's bow."
As soon as Yu Chaoen saw Ang Lee, he excitedly knelt down and bowed to him.
"Fish Supervision Bureau, you can't do this. How can I accept such a big bow? Quickly get up and sit down."
Ang Lee warmly asked Yu Chaoen to sit down.
The environment in the courtyard was very good. It was surrounded by fruit trees. However, in the middle of winter, there was nothing on the fruit trees. Only a few withered leaves were stubbornly nailed to the branches, as if they were telling of their tenacity.
Next to the courtyard, across a wall, was Ang Lee's inner courtyard. It was also the place where Ang Lee and his wives rested. The best facilities in the mansion were in the inner courtyard. There were bathrooms and swimming pools. Everything that one could think of was there.
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