Chapter 1120 Selfishness!

Facing Cui Shao's earnest teachings, although Zhang Juning still had his own ideas, he was powerless because his higher-ranking official could overwhelm others...
Moreover, although on the surface he was only one level lower than Cui Shao, the Minister of the Left, Zhang Juning was very clear about his actual position in the court. He was far more than one level lower than Cui Shao. Therefore, under Cui Shao's gaze, Zhang Juning could only pretend to be convinced and said:
"Your Excellency Shangshu, you are right. It is my fault for not considering it carefully enough!"

Cui Shao smiled and said:

"Ju Ning, you have good intentions, but the Ministry of Revenue must focus on the overall situation when doing things!"

Zhang Juning nodded his head repeatedly upon hearing this, and at this moment Cui Shao paused for a moment, then said with some emotion:
"Ju Ning, I'm getting old and I'm afraid I won't be able to carry the burden of the Ministry of Revenue for much longer. When the time comes, it will all depend on you!"

After saying this, Cui Shao patted Zhang Juning on the shoulder. Following Cui Shao's action, Zhang Juning's heart couldn't help but skip a beat, but he still spoke very modestly:

"Sir Shangshu, you are still in your prime and you are not old at all. The Ministry of Revenue still needs you to take care of the future. Ju Ning still has a lot to learn from you!"

Hearing what Zhang Juning said, Cui Shao smiled and did not continue the topic. Seeing this, Zhang Juning was very tactful and took the initiative to leave.

Looking at Zhang Juning’s departing figure, Cui Shao’s eyes, which had been full of interest, immediately turned cold...
As early as the period when the Fengwu Army was dormant in Liaoyang, Zhang Juning was promoted by Ye Mingsheng and was specifically responsible for the financial work of the Fengwu Army. All the accounts and funds of the Fengwu Army, big or small, had to go through his hands, so Zhang Juning has always been known as the God of Wealth in the Fengwu Army!
Cui Shao, who was in charge of overall government affairs, became Zhang Juning's direct superior. However, Cui Shao was very clear that his subordinate was actually a thorn planted by Ye Mingsheng!
Ye Mingsheng has always been very self-aware. In military and political affairs, he has always only focused on the general direction, and he has left the specific implementation to the civil and military officials under his command.

Let professionals do professional things. This is also the experience of Ye Mingsheng, the commander of the Fengwu Army!
However, although Ye Mingsheng would delegate power, he was extremely conservative when it came to the two powers of financial power and personnel power, and he held on tightly and would not let go at all!
In Cui Shao's view, Gu Sansi, who is in charge of personnel transfers, Zhang Juning, who is in charge of the finances of the Fengwu Army, and the General Staff, who is responsible for the overall coordination of the army's daily affairs, are the important means for Ye Mingsheng to control personnel and financial powers!

Ye Mingsheng not only had to be responsible for government affairs himself, but also had to use Gu Sansi and Zhang Juning to share his power and check and balance himself!
Although Cui Shao felt a little helpless about this, he was able to accept his position after adjusting his position!
However, ever since Zhang Juning was appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Cui Shao discovered that he, who had always been law-abiding, seemed a little restless, and his eyes seemed to begin to covet the throne of the Minister of Revenue...
Just like before, on the surface Zhang Juning was worried about the financial situation of the Fengwu Army. In order to prevent the debt from getting bigger and bigger, he intended to levy taxes from Yunbing, Guanzhong and other places to increase the Ministry of Households' fiscal revenue and reduce the Ministry of Households' fiscal deficit!

Although it seems that there is no problem at all, Zhang Juning's worries are not unreasonable. Debt has always been a potential hidden danger for the Fengwu Army and a problem that must be solved sooner or later!
But the problem is that Cui Shao doesn't believe that Zhang Juning doesn't know why Ye Mingsheng doesn't collect taxes from these places. He would rather the court tighten its belt and give these places a tax-free period to allow these places affected by the war to recuperate!
Cui Shao would rather believe that Zhang Juning's seemingly harmless worries actually concealed Zhang Juning's selfish interests!

Once taxes are collected from enemies such as Guanzhong and Yunbing, the pressure on the local governors will increase dramatically, but the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue will look much better. If the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue look good, it will naturally highlight Zhang Juning's ability, allowing him to gain the Marshal's recognition and sit on the throne of the Minister of Revenue!
Thinking of this, Cui Shao's expression showed a hint of disdain. In his opinion, Zhang Juning was able to manage the Fengwu Army's finances in an orderly manner, so he must be capable, otherwise Ye Mingsheng would have replaced him long ago and it would be impossible for him to be the God of Wealth of Fengwu Army for so many years.

However, Cui Shao believed that although Zhang Juning had some abilities, he was essentially just a minor official and was merely Ye Mingsheng’s accountant.
Zhang Juning did not have the vision and character that a senior court official should have. He only had some self-righteous cleverness and the abacus beads in his hand!

A person like him is most suitable to be a deputy, letting him take care of the abacus beads in his hand. If other important matters are given to him, he will not be able to handle them at all.

And in fact, Ye Mingsheng did just that. He had let him be the accountant of the Fengwu Army for all these years and had never given other matters to Zhang Juning to handle!

Did he think that by making the Ministry of Revenue's accounts look better, he could gain Ye Mingsheng's appreciation and recognition and possibly replace him?
Cui Shao had no doubt that if Ye Mingsheng knew Zhang Juning's idea, Zhang Juning would only be scolded!

To be honest, Cui Shao really expected Zhang Juning to bypass him and report his ideas directly to Ye Mingsheng, just like he often did before!
Cui Shao believed that Zhang Juning would calm down amid Ye Mingsheng's scolding and recognize his value and position in the Yijing court. Otherwise, it would be more difficult for him to do it himself.

Cui Shao picked up the teacup and took a sip, then he put Zhang Juning’s matter behind him and began to deal with other work. The Ministry of Revenue might be the department with the heaviest workload among the six ministries. Every day, there were a lot of things for Chi Shao to deal with. This feeling of holding power made Cui Shao both painful and happy...
Just as Cui Shao was checking the memorial submitted by Ma Runshan, the governor of Qi and Lu, a clerk came over and reported:

"Sir, the Youyan Governor Sun Jing'an wishes to see you!"

Cui Shao couldn't help but frown slightly when he heard this. Ever since Ye Mingsheng issued a transfer order to Sun Jingan, Sun Jingan had become a sinner in his eyes. The only suspense was whether Ye Mingsheng would kill him. So under such circumstances, Cui Shao didn't want to have too much contact with Sun Jingan!
When Sun Jing'an first came to Yijing, he wanted to see me on the pretext of reporting on Youyan's political affairs. At that time, Cui Shao also met Sun Jing'an.

And this Sun Jingan might have heard some rumors, so his report to him was false, and his real intention was to test the Marshal's attitude from him!

Cui Shao pretended not to understand and just kept practicing Tai Chi with Sun Jingan. Sun Jingan was helpless but could only leave in disappointment.
More than half a month ago, Sun Jingan went to his home to find him again. This time, Cui Shao used the excuse that he was not feeling well and did not see him, leaving Sun Jingan disappointed!

Originally Cui Shao thought that Sun Jing’an had been working in the officialdom for more than 20 years, so he should still have some political sense. He should be able to see that he didn’t like him and wouldn’t come to him again...
But he never thought that Sun Jing'an was determined to find him and would not let go. Thinking of this, Cui Shao's expression showed a hint of disgust.

Back then, Sun Jingan was a grass that welcomed the wind in Qi and Lu. He would go to the direction with stronger wind. It could be said that whoever fed him was his mother!

When the locust plague broke out, this guy was hooking up with Murong Yuliang and disgusting me. Now that he knows that he has been targeted by the Marshal, why would he come looking for me?

What did you do before? Buddha said that yesterday's cause sows today's fruit, and today's actions are retribution. You, Mr. Sun, deserve this disaster!
Thinking of this, Cui Shao was too lazy to see Sun Jing'an, and directly instructed the clerk who delivered the letter:

"Tell Sun Jing'an that the Ministry of Revenue is in a meeting and I don't have time to see him. Ask him to go back to the Youyan Provincial Government Office!"

"Yes!"

After the incident with Sun Jing'an, Cui Shao was in no mood to deal with Ma Runchuan's memorial. Instead, he closed his eyes and thought quietly.

Cui Shao knew that the Ministry of Justice had already sent people to Qilu to investigate, and according to past practice, Cui Shao believed that the Coordination Office would not be idle! So after calculating the time, Cui Shao thought that if the Qilu incident happened quickly, it would be before the New Year, and even if it was slower, it would definitely be exposed before the beginning of summer!
As long as the Qi-Lu incident happens, Sun Jing'an's term as Youyan's governor will be over. It is almost certain that he will be dismissed from his post and his property will be confiscated. The only suspense is whether the commander-in-chief will kill him...

But from Ye Mingsheng's perspective, Cui Shao believed that Ye Mingsheng would most likely not kill Sun Jingan!
After all, Sun Jing'an can be said to be a model of surrendering civil servants, and during the time he served as the governor of Qi and Lu, he and his cronies embezzled a lot of money in Qi and Lu.

However, everyone has witnessed Sun Jingan's achievements in Qi and Lu, and when raising military rations and tax silver during the previous wars, Sun Jingan also worked very hard and never failed at the critical moment. From this point of view, Sun Jingan has made a contribution, and it is a considerable one!
Moreover, there are a large number of civil servants in Jiangnan, Huainan, Guanzhong, Jingchu, and the future Sichuan and Shu who have not yet returned to the Yijing court. Therefore, if Sun Jingan is killed, it is likely that these people will feel that Ye Mingsheng is getting rid of him, and they will be even more worried about the future and will not work wholeheartedly for the Yijing court!

Thinking clearly about the key to this, Cui Shao also became thoughtful. As the saying goes, when you pull out a radish, you bring out the mud. The last time the Marshal dealt with Huo San, he also implicated Liu Zhengyue, and made himself very embarrassed!
I wonder who will be implicated when the Marshal deals with Sun Jingan this time?

If I remember correctly, Sun Jingan was very close to Rishengchang Bank!
One of the important factors that enabled Rishengchang Bank's business to develop so rapidly in Qi and Lu was that Sun Jing'an used his position and influence as the governor to support Rishengchang Bank in Qi and Lu!

From this point of view, it is hard to guarantee that there is no transfer of interests between Sun Jingan and Rishengchang Bank, and the relationship between Rishengchang Bank and Murong Yuliang is very close, so will Sun Jingan’s fall this time implicate Murong Yuliang as well?························
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Just when Cui Shao was thinking about Murong Yuliang in his heart, Murong Yuliang, who was having dinner with his wife Wang, received a secret letter.

There were not many words on the secret letter, but after reading the content, Murong Yuliang couldn't help but close his eyes in pain, his heart filled with sadness and apology to his elder brother Murong Lun!

Wang, who was standing by, saw her husband like this and asked with some distress:

"What happened to Yuliang?"

Murong Yuliang sighed and said:

“Zhengshan is gone!”

Wang was also very surprised when he heard this, and immediately asked back:
"Didn't Xiaohui let him hide out?"

Murong Yuliang smiled bitterly and said:

"Where can we hide? These lackeys in the Coordination Office are all dog-nosed!"

Feeling the hatred in her husband's heart, Wang said nothing but just pulled Murong Yuliang's clothes, signaling Murong Yuliang to be careful with his words as there might be eavesdroppers on the other side of the wall.

Although she is a woman, Wang, as a daughter of an aristocratic family and now the wife of Murong family, has been in the circle of power and nobility for decades and knows all too well the tricks involved...

Wang knew very well that with Murong Yuliang's current power, there would definitely be spies from the General Coordination Office in her house, and even people from the Internal Guard!

Feeling his wife's reminder, Murong Yuliang sighed a little aggrieved. Seeing this, Wang asked in a low voice with some doubt:

"The letter told you that Zhengshan was killed by the Central Coordination Office?"

Murong Yuliang shook his head and said:

"The letter said that Zhengshan was killed by a group of bandits, but I think these people are most likely disguised by the Coordination Office. The Coordination Office is best at doing this kind of shady things!"

"Over the years, the Coordination Office has done countless dirty work for him and killed countless people! But even so, Huo San just killed them when he said so!"

At this point, Murong Yuliang couldn't help but sigh again:

"I thought that after he banished Xiaohui and me, he would let Zhengshan go, but I thought he was too kind!"

"I should have known long ago that he was never a kind person, and he never had a kind heart. I actually still had expectations of him. I was really wrong!"

"I feel so sorry for my elder brother and even more sorry for Qingwu. I shouldn't have let Qingwu marry him in the first place. It's too late to regret this one thought!"

Seeing that Murong Yuliang was getting more and more outrageous, Wang was a little scared and quickly blocked Murong Yuliang’s mouth to prevent her husband from continuing speaking...

(End of this chapter)