Chapter 386 Allies
When Ou Zanghua led Fei Hong into the living room, everyone stood up, bowed and said, "Your subordinate greets Lord Fei!"

"No need to be polite, everyone," Fei Hong returned the greeting with a bow, and said warmly, "Like all of you, I am here to congratulate Jingyu on the birth of her son. Please don't put the cart before the horse!"

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed a few times in unison before sitting down.

Ou Zanghua was also a man who understood what was going on. He bowed to everyone and led Fei Hong to the study.

Fei Hong was not in a hurry to sit down, but instead began to appreciate the calligraphy and paintings in Ou Zanghua's study.

Ouyang Xun's masterpiece "Zhongni Mengdian Tie", Zhao Mengfu's "Picture of a Noble Scholar in the Shade of Pine Trees", works by Xu Zhenqing of this dynasty, and Ou Zanghua's own works
"When the moon is dark, you can see the fishing lights, like a single firefly. A slight breeze stirs the waves, scattering them like stars all over the river."

After Fei Hong finished reading, he said with some nostalgia: "There is a river in my hometown called Yushui. If you take a boat north along Yushui, you will reach Poyang Lake. I have left my hometown by boat many times, and I have seen this scene in the dead of night."

Ou Zanghua was making tea. When he heard Fei Hong's words, he looked up and felt a little embarrassed, because this poem was not written by him at all, but by Cha Shenxing, one of the Six Masters of the Early Qing Dynasty.

But Fei Hong was right about one thing: this poem was written by Ou Zanghua when he was trying to influence Wang Chenger and Wang Haoba in Shangrao, Jiangxi.

"When I was in Jiangxi, I saw the beautiful scenery of Jiangxi. It is indeed a place with rich cultural heritage." Ou Zanghua washed the cup and made tea again.

Seeing this, Fei Hong walked over and sat down, watching Ou Zanghua's actions with interest.

"This is Hengshan Cloud Tea, please try it, Lord Fei." Ou Zanghua poured a cup. The tea soup was like amber, exuding a fresh and pleasant fragrance.

Fei Hong picked up the teacup, blew on it before taking a sip, and said with a smile, "The tea aroma is refreshing, the taste is delicate, and the aftertaste is long-lasting. It's good."

"Thank you for the compliment, Lord Fei." Ou Zanghua said cheerfully, "This tea can only be found in Nanyue Hengshan. If you like it, I will ask my junior brothers to bring some more."

"Hahaha, that's not necessary. Normally, I prefer the mellow tea aroma of my hometown. Although it's not as good as West Lake Longjing or Huangshan Maofeng, it has a unique warmth that suits the taste of an old man like me."

Fei Hong shook his head, looked at Ou Zanghua calmly, and couldn't help but sigh and said: "Jingyu, the state affairs are difficult, and the Ministry of Revenue is even more difficult!"

Ou Zanghua immediately perked up, he knew the highlight was about to begin.

Speaking of the position of Minister of Revenue in the Ming Dynasty, it should be the most dangerous one among the six ministers.

In the early Ming Dynasty, there were no restrictions or regulations on the appointment of officials of the Ministry of Revenue.

But in the 26th year of Hongwu, for unknown reasons, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty suddenly stipulated: "People from Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Suzhou and Songjiang are not allowed to serve in the Ministry of Revenue."

However, the Jianwen Dynasty made considerable revisions to Taizu's system and personnel policies, changing Taizu's ban on officials in the Ministry of Revenue being prohibited from being from Zhejiang, Suzhou and Songjiang, and in the second year of Jianwen, an imperial decree allowed people from Suzhou and Songjiang to continue to serve in the Ministry of Revenue.

After Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, he restored the old system of Emperor Taizu, but people from Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Suzhou and Songjiang were still not allowed to hold official positions in the Ministry of Revenue.

However, our Ming Dynasty has its own national conditions, and ancestral systems are meant to be destroyed.

For example, in the ninth year of Zhengtong, Zhou Chen from Ji'an, Jiangxi, briefly served as the Minister of Revenue.

As for the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, there are even more of them. Anyway, when Zhu Yuanzhang gets upset, he can just pull out the "Huang Ming Zu Xun" and beat them one by one. No one can escape. Why is the risk factor high for the Minister of Revenue?

According to the summary of modern historian Huang Renyu, after 1380, there were ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, of whom retired, were transferred to other positions, were dismissed, died in office, resigned due to illness or Ding You, were executed, were exiled and were not allowed to be employed for life, was sent to military service, resigned without approval, died on the battlefield, and died for his country.

As mentioned above, among all those who served as the Minister of Revenue in the Ming Dynasty, only a few retired normally. Most were dismissed, removed from office, demoted, caned, or even executed in serious cases.

Judging from the appointment and ending of the Minister of Revenue, most of them did not have a good ending.
This situation occurred, in addition to the emperor's personality, on the other hand, it was due to the Ming Dynasty's bizarre revenue and expenditure system, which kept the court in a state of being short of money all year round.

This is why Fei Hong, the second assistant of the cabinet, came to visit in person. At first, he did not pay much attention to the management of the imperial farm. It was not until Emperor Zhengde took drastic measures to renovate the Beijing camp and invested real money into it that he realized that Ou Zanghua could actually run the imperial farm so well, and 20% of the profits went to the Honglu Temple. He could no longer sit idly by.

God knows how much headache he feels when he wakes up every day and sees people from all over the world saying they are short of money.

Now there is finally someone who can share some of the burden with him. He has made plans to recommend Ou Zanghua to be the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue next time!
Fei Hong said with a melancholy look on his face: "It's only September, and the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Justice have already started to demand payment. Only your Ministry of Rites is still patient."

"Ahem." Ou Zanghua said somewhat embarrassedly: "Actually, I am still revising my memorial."

Fei Hong said kindly: "Jingyu, I have always had high hopes for you. I firmly believe that a young talent like you who is so talented and ambitious will definitely be able to solve the country's problems. Now is the time for you to display your talents."

"The imperial examination is to recruit talents for the country, which is a major national event. However, the Ministry of War had already made plans last year to replace a batch of weapons for border soldiers and recast a batch of artillery. Therefore, the Ministry of Rites can only take care of this imperial examination matter!"

"Lord Fei, isn't this inappropriate?" Ou Zanghua asked with a wry smile.

Fei Hong continued, "In fact, in addition to the Ministry of Rites, I have seen that the Honglu Temple and the Zhanshi Mansion have also become more orderly than ever before under Jingyu's careful management. In the Honglu Temple, envoys from all over the world are well entertained, and the court ceremonies are rigorous and elegant, demonstrating the majesty of our dynasty. The Zhanshi Mansion is also in good order."

Ou Zanghua held the teacup and seemed to understand what was said.

Fei Hong asked the Ministry of Rites to organize the imperial examination in the ninth year of Zhengde at its own expense. Apart from this, his Ministry of Revenue did not intend to be responsible for the expenses of the Honglu Temple and the Zhanshi Mansion.

Thinking about how Fei Hong had supported me many times before, it would be a loss if I created a rift with him over these things.

The expenses of the Honglu Temple have long been self-sufficient, and the Zhanshi Mansion now has no owner, so the expenses are not large.

The imperial examination next year would require more funds. But by that time, the dividends from the Weiyang Palace and the imperial farm would arrive, so it could hold on.

Ou Zanghua thought for a while before speaking: "I have never forgotten the love and care that Mr. Fei has shown me. I will do my best to help the country and Mr. Fei resolve the difficulties."

"Ah." Fei Hong raised his teacup and said with a smile, "I know Jingyu cares about the world and is a true gentleman. I will use tea instead of wine. Thank you Jingyu."

"Mr. Fei, please don't say that. It's embarrassing for me." Ou Zanghua quickly picked up the teacup and clinked it with Fei Hong.

The two smiled at each other and drank the cup of tea.

Then, Fei Hong asked about the child. After learning that the baby's name was Ou Qing, he looked at Ou Zanghua with even more admiration. Such a loyal and righteous person was exactly the ally he needed!
　I have to attend a kindergarten parent-child activity tomorrow, so I guess the update will be late. Please bear with me, bosses. Sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)