Zuo Zongtang had retired and had been working as a consultant in the Party School and the Organization Department. These founders of the country had been famous all their lives. If they were asked to do nothing, they would not be able to stand it. Letting them be consultants did not mean that everyone had to listen to what they said. It was just to give these people a chance to speak.
Zuo Zongtang had requested to see Vézé several times recently. Vézé had been too busy recently, but the third request was submitted to Vézé with Wei Changrong's signature. "Let's listen to it." Vézé could only invite Zuo Zongtang to see him.
When Vézé first met Zuo Zongtang, Zuo Zongtang was already a middle-aged man. Now the old man was really old. His complexion was good, but his hair was almost white. The oppressive feeling of a lion's nose, wide mouth, and fierce face had been replaced by a calm and steady feeling. After the two sat down, Zuo Zongtang's straightforward way of talking didn't change. He went straight to the topic. "Your Majesty, let me ask you first. Do you have any plans to abolish the 'political untouchables'?"
Vézé did not answer immediately. "Political untouchables" was what Vézé called religious believers, old bureaucrat families, and old scholar families when he was young and vigorous. The mainstream society of the Min dynasty was not open to these people. If they wanted to enter the mainstream society, they had to go to university, take the civil service exam, or join the army. If these "political untouchables" wanted to enter these channels, then they could just go to sleep.
Zuo Zongtang advised, "Your Majesty, it has been thirty years since you started the war. Those people back then, those who should be killed have been killed. Those who didn't deserve to be killed have either died of old age. Or they are like me now, with only a few years left to live. According to the current age limit, their children basically have no chance to advance. Two generations should be enough to atone for their sins. "
"Old Zuo, you should know what I'm worried about. I don't have any personal grudges against those people. But feudalism is not so easy to destroy. "Vézé said slowly.
Zuo Zongtang replied calmly, "Your Majesty, I have something that might sound offensive. Your Majesty is treating these people like political pariahs. Isn't it feudal? "
Vézé's eyes lit up. Zuo Zongtang's words did not anger Vézé. Instead, it pointed Vézé in a direction. Recently, there had been a lot of resistance in dealing with the Shenyang Military Region. Naturally, there were many people who came to plead for mercy, but some of his comrades suggested that they should all be wiped out at the same time. Vézé also didn't agree. This was a matter of personnel management, not a matter of personnel struggle. What good would it do to Vézé to completely destroy the officer hierarchy in the Shenyang Military Region? Those who coveted the positions in the Shenyang Military Region, those who hoped to completely eliminate the Shenyang Military Region to complete the layoff of officers, Vézé had no intention of fulfilling their wishes.
But things did not develop according to Vézé's wishes. The Shenyang Military Region's internal reaction to this matter was very fierce. The number of officers who felt that they had been treated unfairly was much more than Vézé imagined. Vézé had no choice. The pace of disarmament could be slowed down for the time being, but the matter of abolishing the military industry was urgent. Vézé was very dissatisfied with the progress of this matter.
Zuo Zongtang's words did suggest a solution. If they could use more manpower to eliminate feudalism, perhaps this would be a better solution. Even if it did not have an immediate effect in the Shenyang Military Region, at least it could help in future problems. In the big picture, it might even promote the progress of the entire system.
Seeing Vézé's thoughtful look, Zuo Zongtang thought that Vézé had loosened his stance on the "political untouchables" issue. He continued, "Forget about the religious issue. I don't think there's anything wrong with the requirement that party members and officers cannot be religious believers. Religious belief is a personal choice. But as a son, it's not something that can be decided by an individual. Your Majesty, I think it's good that you don't want the old scholars to take advantage of the change of dynasty to have a chance to make a comeback. But it's about time. If we continue to do this, it will become a crime against those who are not from good backgrounds. I don't think this is Your Majesty's intention. "
"I understand," Vézé said.
"Oh!" Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but smile. He had lived through two generations and had a good performance in both. He had also witnessed China's rapid growth after the restoration of the Han dynasty. He felt that his life was extremely fulfilling. Now, if there was anything that could be called regretful, it would be that the literati had suffered a great blow. Zuo Zongtang had always been more brilliant than he was now. Ordinary scholars naturally couldn't enter his eyes. If half of the literati had suffered a blow, perhaps Zuo Zongtang would feel that there were still too many rubbish scholars among the remaining half. Now that all the literati had been kicked aside, Zuo Zongtang felt that some of the descendants of the literati had fallen far behind their parents and grandparents in the new era. It was a pity that these people had been delayed by their "political untouchables" background.
Vézé said, "Old Zuo, I can make the decision on this matter, but now is not the time to talk about it. I think you've probably heard some news. If I dare to deal with this matter now, a lot of things will be messed up."
"Of course! Of course! "Zuo Zongtang nodded repeatedly." Your Majesty, you and I know about this matter. Since Your Majesty has agreed, I can rest assured. As for when Your Majesty will do it, I won't ask again, and I don't want to ask again. "
After seeing off Zuo Zongtang, Vézé didn't think about those people with poor backgrounds. Vézé felt that Wei Changrong was getting more and more methodical in doing things recently, and even a little interesting. If it wasn't for Wei Changrong's suggestion to "listen and try", Vézé wouldn't really listen to what Zuo Zongtang said given his mood. Even though he knew what Zuo Zongtang said made sense, Vézé wouldn't listen to it.
After inviting Wei Changrong, Vézé poured a glass of water for Wei Changrong. "Changrong, you have a good view of Zuo Zongtang's matter."
Wei Changrong answered frankly, "That's because Old Zuo is right. Fourth Uncle, I think it's not that people don't understand a lot of things, but what do they understand, and what does it have to do with their own interests? Now we're an organization, and we're responsible for the evaluation of the people we hire. These are all related to everyone's promotion and evaluation. Whoever he appointed would be jointly and severally liable. Their future might be ruined. At this time, everyone would rather bear with it than admit it. Anyway, they will be in trouble regardless of whether they admit it or not. They might still have a chance if they take a gamble. "
Wei Changrong was talking about the Shenyang Military Region. The Shenyang Military Region showed that everyone was working together to resist stubbornly. Coupled with all kinds of people adding fuel to the fire, it was indeed a very tricky situation.
"I can't let you go to Shenyang." Vézé sighed.
"I also think it's not suitable for me to go, but Fourth Uncle is the most suitable. Now the Shenyang Military Region is in a mess. Someone said it was you who gave the order, but we still haven't found out who said it. I'm afraid everyone will believe it. If you go, you can clear up all the problems. As long as the Shenyang Military Region can be reorganized, the other military regions will follow suit. What do you think? "Wei Changrong said.
"That's probably the only way." Vézé accepted Wei Changrong's suggestion.
Wei Changrong continued, "Fourth Uncle, I invited you to see Old Zuo this time because I think he's right. Back then, we attacked the old literati class, so we used the means. The old literati class has no influence among the people now. If we continue to carry out the policy, it will become a blow to the old literati. This is a personal grudge. Political matters are political matters. We can talk about it openly. Once it becomes a personal grudge, there will be no room for reason. This time, the Shenyang Military Region's matter must not become a personal grudge. Only if you go can everyone feel that this is not a personal grudge. "
Seeing that Wei Changrong was so worried, Vézé smiled. "Don't worry. I don't want this kind of system and policy matter to become a personal grudge. When it comes to the system, everyone will at most complain about bad luck and bad timing. If it becomes a personal grudge, it will be a lifelong grudge. "
After confirming this, Vézé continued to deal with the discussion about the shareholding enterprises in the provinces. This was the most important thing.
Vézé made a summary. "I still say the same thing. This will not be included in the performance assessment. The country will not object to it, nor will it support it. This is something decided by the provinces according to the situation of the province. But there is one thing that everyone must be clear about. If something happens, the central government will definitely investigate it and will not let it go. "
If they did well, it would not be included in the performance assessment. If they did poorly, they would be punished. The leaders who were originally hesitant and even skeptical about this immediately retreated in their hearts. In fact, Vézé also had the same plan. Once this was treated as a performance assessment, it would only cause the local cadres to swarm around. If there were comrades who knew that they could not get any benefits from this, they were worth observing.
Before the meeting was completely over, a person appeared in everyone's sight. He even entered Vézé's field of vision. This person's name was Li Hongzhang. He was a cadre who had just been promoted to the director level. Li Hongzhang did not appear as a pioneer. From the current situation, Li Hongzhang played the role of a pitiful guy who was forced to fight back against the Ministry of Commerce.
The thin Li Hongzhang said loudly to the people in the meeting, "I propose to form a shareholding company for Korea. Now the Ministry of Commerce is almost forcing Korea to buy and sell. If this continues, there will be trouble! Only by forming a shareholding company can we change things. If we don't do this, there will be a mutiny in Korea in two years. "
Looking at the minister of the Ministry of Commerce, who was glaring at Li Hongzhang, Vézé only wanted to laugh secretly. Vézé once asked Li Hongzhang to write a thesis on the "feudal court" using Korea as an example. This thesis was well written, so Li Hongzhang was promoted to the director of Korea. Unexpectedly, Director Li had a conflict with the Ministry of Commerce.
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