"Actually, I admire you very much.”
Kong Yan's words caused the atmosphere to freeze.
If it was in the past, it would be a great irony for a small merchant to say that he admired the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Now, Kong Yan was sitting on the sofa while all the officials were standing.
Vaguely, everyone had almost forgotten his identity as a merchant. It was as if they were flattered by his praise.
Wang Zheng was a little confused. He looked at Kong Yan with a probing gaze.
Appreciate what?
Wang Zheng thought about his merits and finally couldn't help but sigh. In front of the ministers and even the founding fathers, his merits were like a shy bride playing hide-and-seek with him. He couldn't find them no matter how hard he tried.
The other officials who were familiar with Wang Zheng also started to look for Wang Zheng's strengths. In the end, they found that some of the strengths they found in Wang Zheng seemed to be mediocre in front of the ministers.
Li Shimin, who was in the Gate of Heaven Influence, also started to ponder. He had an impression of Wang Zheng. He was from Prince Qin's mansion and did not have much merit, but he was loyal. Back then, he was once roped in by the hidden crown prince Li Jiancheng, but he told him everything that Li Jiancheng had said to him.
"What does he admire about Wang Zheng? Loyalty?" Li Shi Min was puzzled. In terms of loyalty, weren't those old friends who participated in the Black Tortoise Sect more loyal?
Li Shimin thought for a while, but he still couldn't think of anything special about Wang Zheng. Usually, he could only praise such a person for his pure nature.
"What do you admire about me?" Finally, Wang Zheng asked.
He was curious, but more importantly, he was still hoping that he could change the topic and escape this disaster.
"There's a way to make money." Kong Yan smiled." As far as I know, you are the richest in the Ministry of Personnel.”
" This..." All the ministers looked at Wang Zheng in unison. Wang Zheng's face turned green.
"I don't think so." A certain official from the Ministry of Personnel was somewhat unconvinced.
"How did he make money?" Cheng Yaojin was curious.
The Cheng family was a big family in Chang 'an. He felt that he had some say in this matter, as long as he was not compared to Kong Yan.
In order to stabilize the people, the Great Tang actively reclaimed wasteland and adopted a policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce.
However, many dignitaries in Chang 'an City had their own shops and earned some extra money.
Cheng Yaojin was one of the best among them, and Qin Qiong and Qin Shubao were the corresponding ones. Perhaps he had used up all his luck during the establishment of the Great Tang. Not only was his body not very good, but his fortune was also surprisingly bad.
Naturally, this was also related to his personality.
In ancient times, Guan Yu was described as righteous. In this era, Qin Qiong could be described as righteous.
Putting in a knife for his brother, this allusion came from Qin Qiong.
At the beginning of the formation of the allusion, the original sentence was: Qin Shubao took a fork for his friend Liangli Village.
In the end, after some exaggeration, it became a knife for his brother!
Generally, if one was too loyal, they would not care much about the Gu family. Qin Qiong's residence could be said to be the most dilapidated of many founding heroes.
At this moment, Qin Qiong's gaze was also on Wang Zheng. He didn't think in the direction of money. He thought that Wang Zheng usually kept a low profile. Why was he involved in the corruption case?
From Wang Zheng's reaction, he could tell that Wang Zheng was up to something.
Kong Yan looked at Cheng Yaojin with a faint smile."You really don't know?"
Cheng Yaojin frowned and asked with uncertainty,""Should I know?"
"One of the brothers of the Cheng Cui Clan once came to you with a gift. How did you reject him?”Kong Yan asked with a faint smile.
Cheng Yaojin coughed heavily and said with a shocked expression,""How do you know that Cui…he looked for me?”
Kong Yan coughed dryly." That's not important. What's important is what you told Chui Chang."”
Cui Chang was from the Cui family of Qinghe, the elder brother of Cheng Yaojin's second wife.
Cheng Yaojin's face twitched, and he snorted,""I did ask him to look for Wang Zheng.”
"Then do you think Cui Chang can be an official?”Kong Yan continued to ask.
"You don't have any ability.”Cheng Yaojin was a little frustrated. He did not expect that a casual question about how to make money would actually burn him.
" Yes," Kong Yan nodded and said," Lord Wang Zheng probably thinks so too. So, after he received the silver, he only sent Cui Chang, who was from the Cui family of Qinghe and was related to you, home to wait for news…"
"What kind of way to make money is this?" Someone asked.
Cheng Yaojin came back to his senses and asked,"You mean that if he accepts money but doesn't help others, then he has a way to make money?”
Wang Zheng's face turned red as he said weakly,""I was planning to return the silver to him.”
"The Ministry of Civil Affairs is in charge of the selection of literary works, honours, and examinations," said Kong Yan with a smile. With the three selection of talents to judge the world's talent, by body, speech, calligraphy, judgment, virtue, talent, use, labor and effectiveness to compare their advantages and disadvantages to determine their stay and release, for their annotation. Among the six yamens, the Ministry of Personnel was in the top three.”
"I said that Lord Wang Zheng has a way of making money because what he did was harmless to me.”
"What do you mean? Speak clearly." A certain official from the Ministry of Personnel was a little anxious.
Kong Yan patiently explained," The Ministry of Personnel has a great responsibility. It is in charge of the appointment and dismissal of officials, examinations, promotions, and transfers. It can be said that few officials dare to offend you, especially local officials. Once they come to Chang 'an, they will find an opportunity to hold a banquet and give gifts to you..."
What Kong Yan said was the norm in the officialdom. The Ministry of Personnel's evaluation affected the future of countless officials.
The officials of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs could decide the fate of countless officials with a single stroke.
"What you said is true, but Lord Wang has always been fair and impartial. How could he accept money?”The official from the Ministry of Personnel was puzzled and said," Besides, although the promotion of officials is managed by the Ministry of Personnel, do you think the Imperial Censor's Office is just for decoration? If anything went wrong, they would fight to the death!”
The Imperial Censor smiled but didn't say anything.
The Imperial Censorate was not as simple as having a censor. This organization was equivalent to the later generation's supervisory machine, supervising hundreds of officials. In all parts of the Great Tang, there were patrollers responsible for supervising local officials.
If the evaluation given by the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs did not match up with the Censorate, the official would usually become the focus of attention.
Therefore, although the Ministry of Personnel had great power, if the officials were not brave enough, they generally did not dare to collect much money.
"That's why he's the one getting rich, not you.”Kong Yan sighed and said," Who said that only people with problems will give silver?”
" This..." Many officials were stunned and could not react in time.
On the other hand, Zhangsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, and the others understood what Kong Yan was trying to say.
Wang Zheng laughed dryly. His face was flushed red with embarrassment, and he felt extremely guilty.
"Sometimes, officials give silver to ease their minds.”Kong Yan saw that most of the officials were still in a daze, so he could not help but explain," Lord Wang has always accepted the money sent by others, but he has done his job very well. Regardless of whether he accepts the money or not, he will never help others.”
"For example, a local official was worried that the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs would not give him a good evaluation and affect his future official career. He gave Lord Wang some money, and Lord Wang accepted it.
You know that I have a minister above me. I can only put in a good word for you. The final outcome is not something I can decide. If I don't help you complete the matter, the silver will be returned to you. Don't blame me for taking your silver but not helping you!”
"Lord Wang is very honest. He will return the silver to those who fail the assessment.”Kong Yan smiled." If you pass the assessment, the silver will naturally fall into Lord Wang's pocket.”
"We're both willing parties!"
“……”
The officials of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs fell silent.
It could be like this?
This was what they were thinking at the moment.
Naturally, this group of officials from the Ministry of Official Personnel did not include their minister.
Zhangsun Wuji!
He was the Minister above Wang Zheng!
Wasn't Kong Yan saying that everything that Wang Zheng failed to do was because he, the uncle and minister of the Ministry of Personnel, didn't give him face?
The officials standing at the back also fell silent. They looked at Wang Zheng with resentment.
It was obvious that they were not very confident in the past and had given people silver.
The most annoying thing was that they even gave him another big gift with gratitude!
"Motherf * cker!"
This was their common thought!
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