For access to a complete chapter, you can subscribe to my patreon.com/caleredhair
The shouts of the soldiers in training echoed throughout the Qingzhou Grand Camp.
Looking at the high-spirited soldiers, Xiao Ming felt much more at ease. The saying “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun” has been true since ancient times. As long as he held the army, any enemy before him could be crushed.
Leaving the Qingzhou Grand Camp, Xiao Ming returned to his princely estate. At this time, he began to concentrate on writing books on mechanical engineering. The age of steam had just begun, and only by producing all the machinery of this era could he upgrade Qingzhou’s various industries.
Otherwise, with Qingzhou’s current industrial base, advancing towards the internal combustion engine and electricity era would face heavy resistance. After all, in this era, no one would provide him with ready-made industrial products to upgrade technology.
Taking advantage of the truce with Wei, Xiao Ming immersed himself in the internal affairs of the state. In addition to compiling mechanical engineering books, as he promised Niu Ben, he began teaching grassroots generals literacy at Bowen Academy.
At the same time, he officially began to split Bowen Academy and categorize its disciplines more specifically. Thus, Qingzhou formally established the Qingzhou Military Academy, Qingzhou Medical Academy, and Qingzhou Political Affairs Academy.
The original Bowen Academy became purely a comprehensive university for subjects such as chemistry, physics, astronomy, mining, and shipbuilding.
The reason Xiao Ming did this was very simple: to standardize Qingzhou’s education, so that those who pursued scholarship specialized in scholarship, those who engaged in politics specialized in politics, and those who engaged in military affairs specialized in military affairs.
In this busyness, three months passed in the blink of an eye. Qingzhou’s weather gradually turned cold, followed by heavy snow, and then another New Year.
However, compared to previous years, this New Year in Qingzhou had a different flavor. In the past, every New Year, officials and imperial relatives from Chang’an would always pay their respects to Xiao Wenxuan.
But this year, officials and imperial relatives from Chang’an all took the opportunity to pay New Year’s respects to Xiao Ming. The prince estate suddenly became much livelier. Of course, the purpose of many officials and imperial relatives visiting him was not simple; after studying at Bowen Academy for half a year, some of them were eager to resume their official duties.
Among them, what they were most concerned about was the position of cabinet minister. Currently, only two of the nine cabinet ministers were serving, and the remaining seven positions were still vacant. Everyone wanted to enter this supreme power institution of the state.
“Your Highness, officials are now discussing the cabinet positions quite a lot. Currently, among the nine cabinet assistants, only I and Elder Fiji are serving. As for the remaining seven, I do not know if Your Highness has suitable candidates. After all, the state’s affairs have suddenly increased with four more prefectures, and I and Elder Fiji are worried that it will become increasingly difficult to handle them in time.”
After New Year’s Eve, Pang Yukun and Fiji went together to the princely estate to pay New Year’s respects to Xiao Ming. After reciting the New Year’s greetings, Pang Yukun spoke first.
“Yes, Your Highness, as long as the nine cabinet assistant positions are not finalized, the hearts of the officials will not be at ease for a day. It is inevitable that there will be mutual infighting on weekdays, after all, everyone wants to show off,” Fiji echoed.
Xiao Ming’s eyes moved back and forth between the two. He said, “When did you two start colluding? Since you’ve said so, do you have candidates in mind?”
Pang Yukun belonged to the Legalist school, while Fiji was a staunch Confucian scholar. Because of this, although the two cooperated wholeheartedly in government affairs, they privately disliked each other.
Of course, this dislike was not personal, but rather directed at the schools they each supported, similar to how liberal arts and science students might not see eye to eye.
Although Xiao Ming had been busy dealing with internal affairs and resolving some difficult issues in the fiefdom during this period, he never slackened his supervision of the state, especially concerning Qingzhou’s developments, which he almost controlled in real-time under the surveillance of the Secret Guard.
Generally speaking, after adapting to the Qingzhou environment, the officials who came from Chang’an gradually began to clash with the local officials. During this period, quite a few officials visited Fiji’s residence.
Of course, there was also a reason for the behavior of these Chang’an officials, because ever since this group of officials from Chang’an arrived in Qingzhou, the local officials had been wary of them.
Simply put, they did not welcome these people. It was precisely because of this atmosphere of mutual wariness that the two factions of officials now disliked each other.
Before the New Year, he even received an impeachment memorial against the county magistrate of Dongyang County in Qingzhou for corruption and bribery.
“Your Highness, I have no candidates in mind. Since the political system has been established, it needs to be completed,” Pang Yukun said.
“I concur,” Fiji said.
He glanced lightly at the two of them and said, “I don’t have suitable candidates either for now. In any case, you two can still handle the current government affairs, so please bear with the hard work for now. As for the rest, I will assess the political achievements of each official. If I am satisfied, I will consider promoting them to the cabinet.”
Pang Yukun and Fiji exchanged glances. In fact, they didn’t want to ask about this either, but they were forced to by the officials.
Although they privately disliked each other’s revered schools of thought, their purpose of assisting Xiao Ming in achieving great things was the same. However, due to the chaos in Chang’an leading to a distinction between local officials and Chang’an officials, they were also quite helpless.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Xiao Ming had spoken, and the two no longer brought it up.
Looking at the fluttering light snow outside the main hall, Xiao Ming said sternly, “I know what you two are thinking, and I know what other officials are thinking. Mutual supervision is a good thing, but I cannot tolerate colluding to frame colleagues. I hope you will conduct yourselves well.”
Pang Yukun and Fiji’s hearts sank, and they both responded in unison, “Yes.”
As the two departed, Imperial Concubine Zhen entered the main hall, supported by Lu Luo. Looking back at Fiji and Pang Yukun, Imperial Concubine Zhen said, “It’s quite rare for Chief Grand Secretary Pang and Elder Fiji to come together to pay their New Year’s respects to you.”
In front of Imperial Concubine Zhen, Xiao Ming completely relaxed. He said, “Those two have bad intentions; they both want to put their own people into the cabinet.”
“Alas, officialdom is truly a double-edged sword. I never thought that someone with a straightforward temper like Pang Yukun would become so cunning now,” Imperial Concubine Zhen said, reaching out to smooth Xiao Ming’s wrinkled clothes. “I’ve also heard about the matter between the state officials and the Chang’an officials, but this is a good thing for Your Highness.”
“Mother Concubine is right. It’s not about fearing these officials undermining each other; it’s about fearing them protecting each other,” Xiao Ming said thoughtfully.
Imperial Concubine Zhen nodded, “Your imperial father once said that factional struggle is a double-edged sword. Used skillfully, it leads to smooth governance and peace in the land. Used poorly, it leads to internal chaos and nationwide slaughter. Whether it leads to smooth governance or chaos depends solely on your strategy.”
“Even so, I am still unwilling to see the existence of factional struggle,” Xiao Ming sighed.
Imperial Concubine Zhen smiled, “Officials are also human. As long as they are human, they have seven emotions and six desires. With desires, they will attract like-minded individuals. Moreover, ‘official’ has two mouths [a play on words for ‘official’ and ‘mouth’ in Chinese], so constant bickering is the nature of the court.”