Chapter 1143 The world is unified!
After thinking for a while, Cui Shao wrote a "read" on Ma Runchuan's memorial, then found two other memorials from the desk. Cui Shao then called in a head of the Ministry of Revenue and instructed:

"I have read these three memorials. You go deliver them to the Ministry of Personnel and give them to Minister Gu..."

"Yes!"

The head of the Ministry of Revenue who received the order did not feel any negligence and went directly to the Ministry of Personnel. At this time, the Minister of Personnel Gu Sansi was also working at his post. When he heard that Cui Shao had sent him three memorials, he signed for them without hesitation.

Half an incense stick later, after dealing with the memorials on hand, Gu Sansi also checked the memorials sent by Cui Shao. After taking a quick look at the three memorials, a hint of doubt flashed in Gu Sansi's eyes.

Among these three memorials, except for the one submitted by Ma Runchuan, the other two were related to Hebei and Henan.
One is a report by Hebei-Henan Governor Murong Yuliang and Deputy Governor Zhang Zhiwen on the current status of dams, canals and other water conservancy facilities in Hebei and Henan!
The other one is a report on the current commercial tax situation in Hebei and Henan by Governor Murong Yuliang and Deputy Governor Zhang Zhiwen, who is in charge of commercial development.

There was nothing wrong with the two memorials. After reading them, Minister of Revenue Cui Shao should have followed the procedure and submitted them to the Ministry of Personnel for filing as a basis for official evaluation.

However, Gu Sansi felt that it would not be so simple for Cui Shao to put these two memorials together with Ma Runchuan's memorial and give them to him as a total of three. Cui Shao might have done it on purpose...

Thinking of this, Gu Sansi's eyes couldn't help but be fixed on the word "阅" that Cui Shao wrote on Ma Runchuan's memorial. Gu Sansi was also a smart man. After thinking carefully for a moment, he gradually understood Cui Shao's intention and knew why Cui Shao wanted to give these three memorials to him together!
If Gu Sansi's guess was correct, Cui Shao wanted to make a deal with him!
Cui Shao's bargaining chip is that he supports Ma Runchuan's request to calm down the situation in Qi and Lu as soon as possible, so that Ma Runchuan, as the governor, can gather the people's hearts and develop with peace of mind!
What Cui Shao wanted was probably to have his name included in the candidate list for the governor of Hebei and Henan, and that of Zhang Zhiwen, the deputy governor of Hebei and Henan!
Now everyone in the court of Yijing knows that the Marshal has asked him to draw up a list of candidates for the governor of Hebei and Henan, and then bring it to the cabinet meeting for discussion.

This list of candidates also touched the nerves of various forces in the court. Some people tried their best to get the position of Governor of Hebei and Henan!
At this time, Cui Shao handed over two memorials concerning Ji and Yu, written by Murong Yuliang and Zhang Zhiwen, as well as Ma Runchuan's memorial, to himself. It was hard not to have some fantasies!

As for why Murong Yuliang's name also appeared in the memorial, Gu Sansi identified it as Zhang Zhiwen, and the answer was very simple!
First of all, Cui Shao definitely doesn’t want Murong Yuliang to become the governor of Ji and Yu. Secondly, Murong Yuliang’s transfer to Huainan is almost a foregone conclusion. The order was sent to Ji and Yu yesterday, so there is only Zhang Zhiwen left...

Thinking of this, Gu Sansi couldn't help but think about Zhang Zhiwen's background. He had some understanding of Zhang Zhiwen. Zhang Zhiwen was a political rising star within the Fengwu Army. At that time, the Fengwu Army had just taken over Hebei and Henan, and the Marshal appointed him as the Deputy Governor of Hebei and Henan!
This move also made Zhang Zhiwen widely regarded as the next pillar of the Fengwu Army within the Fengwu Army, which also made Zhang Zhiwen's popularity unique within the Fengwu Army!
After Zhang Zhiwen came to Hebei and Henan, he also achieved some results. This made him a strong contender for the governor of Hebei and Henan after the local governor Wang Ke stepped down!
However, Zhang Zhiwen lost the competition to Murong Yuliang and continued to serve as deputy governor. After that, Zhang Zhiwen gradually became mediocre and was less and less mentioned within the Fengwu Army.

Thinking carefully about Zhang Zhiwen's resume and background, Gu Sansi became more and more confused. He wondered why Cui Shao suddenly took a fancy to Zhang Zhiwen?
Although Zhang Zhiwen is also from Liaoyang, Gu Sansi doesn't remember any relationship between him and Cui Shao. Could it be that Zhang Zhiwen is related to Cui Shao?
Although he was puzzled about the dealings between Cui Shao and Zhang Zhiwen, after understanding the content of the transaction, Gu Sansi secretly pondered in the letter whether this deal was worthwhile!

In fact, Ma Runchuan had discussed this memorial with Gu Sansi before, and Gu Sansi also agreed with Ma Runchuan's idea. After all, Sun Jingan is dead now, and the affairs of Qi Lu have been investigated almost thoroughly, so it is time to think about how to end it······················

Secondly, Ma Runchuan was his senior brother, and he was the one who recommended him to the Marshal to be the Governor of Qi and Lu. This meant that he and Ma Runchuan would prosper and suffer together!
If Ma Runchuan does a good job in Qilu, Gu Sansi will also be proud of it. Otherwise, Gu Sansi will not be able to escape!
Therefore, Gu Sansi also supported Ma Runchuan's idea and wanted Qi Lu's investigation to be concluded as soon as possible so that Ma Runchuan could gather people's hearts and promote economic development!
Honestly speaking, Gu Sansi had expected that when this memorial reached Cui Shao, Cui Shao, as the Minister of Revenue, would most likely support Ma Runchuan's idea!

After all, Qi and Lu are now one of the important pillars of the court's finances. Ma Runchuan has boosted Qi and Lu's economy and increased tax revenue, so Cui Shao, the Minister of Revenue, can feel more comfortable!
In Gu Sansi's plan, since he and Cui Shao support Ma Runchuan's ideas, they will most likely be able to convince the Marshal to agree!
So Gu Sansi not only did not expect that Zhang Zhiwen would actually get in touch with Cui Shao, but he also did not expect that Cui Shao would actually use this matter to make a deal with him!
In fact, it stands to reason that as the Minister of Revenue, Cui Shao has a lot of say in the position of Governor of Hebei and Henan. If he speaks up, Zhang Zhiwen can also be included in the candidate list and discussed at the cabinet meeting!
In fact, two days ago, Gu Sansi had already asked several ministers including Cui Shao if they had any recommendations for candidates for the governor of Hebei and Henan. At that time, Cui Shao said that he did not recommend anyone. He never thought that just two days later, he would secretly play such a trick on him...
Although Gu Sansi was a little surprised by Cui Shao's actions, he thought about it and felt that Cui Shao's actions were completely understandable!

After all, after experiencing the Ye Baode incident, the Marshal will inevitably be more sensitive to the issue of forming cliques for personal gain. As the minister with the most say in the court, Cui Shao will naturally be more cautious in his words and actions and not easily express his opinions on personnel issues, so as not to be criticized and suspected by the Marshal!
Gu Sansi himself also felt that even if Cui Shao really recommended Zhang Zhiwen, although Zhang Zhiwen would be included in the candidate list, because he was recommended by Cui Shao, the Marshal would definitely not let him serve as the Governor of Hebei and Henan!

In addition, the former Governor of Hebei and Henan, Liu Zhengyue, was Cui Shao's close confidant. Cui Shao had fallen into trouble over this before, so it was understandable that Cui Shao was so cautious!
After a while of hesitation, Gu Sansi took out a piece of paper from the desk. Looking at the two names on the paper, Gu Sansi added Zhang Zhiwen's name at the end! Although he didn't know whether there was any relationship between Cui Shao and Zhang Zhiwen, Gu Sansi still decided to make this obscure deal with Cui Shao!
Although this decision was made because he wanted Cui Shao to support Ma Runchuan's idea, it was more because Gu Sansi himself was thinking about whether to put Zhang Zhiwen on the candidate list...
Although Zhang Zhiwen is somewhat quiet nowadays, he has made some achievements overall in his service as deputy governor of Hebei and Henan over the years, and his reputation among officials in Hebei and Henan is still very good.

In addition, at this moment there were not many candidates in the court who were capable of competing for the post of Governor of Hebei and Henan, so Gu Sansi was considering whether to include Zhang Zhiwen in the list of candidates.

Therefore, now that Cui Shao has this intention, Gu Sansi is also willing to do him a favor and add Zhang Zhiwen's name!
He and Cui Shao served as the Minister of Personnel and Minister of Revenue respectively, and there were many connections in their work. The two had to support each other sometimes, or at least not undermine each other, so Gu Sansi was also willing to reach some tacit understanding with Cui Shao!
Although Zhang Zhiwen's name is on the list, whether Zhang Zhiwen can successfully take the position this time still depends on his own efforts and the Marshal's thoughts!

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Ye Mansion, in the study
Looking at the battle report sent by Guo Zhiping, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but smile. This battle report was the best news he had received in the past two months!
According to Guo Zhiping's report, although the newly formed 15th Division encountered some troubles in Chengdu, it finally successfully killed Hu Fei and took control of Chengdu. Ma Peng, who was separatist in Bazhong, saw that the Fengwu Army's entry into Sichuan was unstoppable, so after carefully weighing the pros and cons, he chose to surrender!
At present, the 15th Division is gradually taking over the defense of Sichuan and Shu. Sichuan and Shu are basically under the control of the Fengwu Army. After Sichuan and Shu fell into the hands of the Fengwu Army, some people in Guanzhong who were originally ready to make moves finally recognized the reality and were completely wiped out under Guo Zhiping's attack!
And as Sichuan and Shu were controlled by the Fengwu Army, it meant that the Fengwu Army controlled all the territories of the Great Zhou, including Liaoyang, Youyan, Yunbing, Qilu, Jiyu, Guanzhong, Yongliang, Anqing, Jingchu, Huainan, and Jiangnan!

Ye Mingsheng also realized his original ideal and led the Fengwu Army military and political group headed by him to unify the world!
This is of course very good news for Ye Mingsheng. After all, in his plan, a necessary condition for him to become emperor is to complete the unification of the Great Zhou Dynasty!

After completing this condition, Ye Mingsheng was only one step away from becoming emperor.

In addition to reporting to Ye Mingsheng on the 15th Division's battle results in Sichuan, Guo Zhiping also had some unfortunate news...
That is Zhang Hui, who was promoted to the general of the 15th Division. He was seriously injured in the battle of Chengdu because he led the troops. Although he saved his life with the full rescue efforts of the military doctor, he will no longer be able to do the job of general of the 15th Division in the future!

Therefore, Guo Zhiping also nominated to Ye Mingsheng that Cai Yaozu, the current deputy general of the 15th Division, would take over the position of general of the 15th Division. Guo Zhiping believed that Cai Yaozu played a very important, even indispensable role in the 15th Division's conquest of Sichuan and Shu. Therefore, after Zhang Hui was injured, Cai Yaozu was the only candidate for the general of the 15th Division!
Looking at Guo Zhiping's recommendation of Cai Yaozu, Ye Mingsheng fell into deep thought. After deciding to establish the 15th Division, Ye Mingsheng also gave Guo Zhiping the power to act at his discretion, allowing Guo Zhiping to appoint first and then report to him for approval.

When Ye Mingsheng received Guo Zhiping's memorial, although he understood Guo Zhiping's idea of ​​appointing Cai Yaozu, he still felt that whether to appoint Cai Yaozu needed to be discussed.

In the beginning, he appointed Gu Shouting as general because Gu Shouting had made great contributions in helping the Fengwu Army capture Yijing. Now, Cai Yaozu has made great contributions and was directly appointed as the deputy general of the 15th Division. This is unprecedented in the history of the Fengwu Army!

Although he felt that the appointment of Cai Yaozu needed to be discussed, Ye Mingsheng finally approved it out of trust in Guo Zhiping.
Ye Mingsheng did not have much hope for Cai Yaozu. He only thought that he was a tool to appease the surrendered soldiers of the 15th Division's Neiyuan Imperial Guards!

I never thought that he played such an important role in conquering Sichuan and Shu. This is a rare surprise!

Although Guo Zhiping praised Cai Yaozu a lot in the battle report, Ye Mingsheng felt that he still had to think long and hard about whether to let Cai Yaozu take over as the general of the 15th Division!

After all, no matter what, Cai Yaozu was a surrendered general. He was not a member of the Fengwu Army like Zhang Hui and Ye Dayong. Ye Mingsheng had never even seen him in person, and all his knowledge of him came from Guo Zhiping's reports!

Compared with other units of the Fengwu Army, the situation of the 15th Division is rather special. Most of them are former imperial guards who surrendered. So to be honest, Ye Mingsheng has concerns in his heart about whether to appoint a surrendered general to serve as the general of the 15th Division!
However, there are rules in the Fengwu Army that those who have made contributions must be rewarded and those who have made mistakes must be punished. Therefore, it is unreasonable not to reward Cai Yaozu for his great contribution this time!
Therefore, after thinking it over again and again, Ye Mingsheng felt that he should take a long-term view on rewarding Cai Yaozu and not make a decision blindly!

At least let Cai Yaozu come to Yijing first, so that I can see what kind of person he is and whether he is as good as Guo Zhiping said, and then decide whether to promote him to the general of the 15th Division...
(End of this chapter)