Wu Zongrui rode his Uzhumu Qin horse and galloped towards Nanjing City.

This was his first time traveling alone on horseback. He was prancing forward all the way without conserving his horse power.

In just over an hour, the Nanjing City Wall appeared in front of us.

It was still early, and it had just passed a little while ago.

After entering the city, Wu Zongrui headed directly towards the Ministry of War.

Entering the Ministry of War, we went straight to Hu Yingtai's official office.

Hu Yingtai was alone in the official office, immersed in reading documents.

"Master Wu, you have returned to Nanjing so soon."

"I received the news yesterday that your Excellency was going to summon the official, and I set off from Chuzhou early this morning."

"Thank you for your hard work. Let's sit down and talk."

Before he could sit down, Wu Zongrui clasped his fists and bowed his head before speaking again.

"Congratulations, sir."

Hu Yingtai, who had a smile on his face, was not very polite and nodded with a smile.

"Okay, let's sit down and talk. I will leave for the capital tomorrow. Before leaving, I wanted to have a chat with you."

After seeing Wu Zongrui sit down, Hu Yingtai spoke again.

"Master Wu, it has been more than a month since I took office as the governor of Chuzhou. You can still adapt to it."

"Reporting to your lord, I can still adapt to this."

"Yes, Chuzhou has always been a bit difficult to manage. The six ministries in Nanjing are aware of this. It seems to be a good choice for you to serve as magistrate in Chuzhou. A few days ago, I also heard some rumors about you.

Doing things in Chuzhou is straightforward and neat, showing the authority of the government. The situation in Chuzhou is very different from the past."

"Thank you for your praise, sir. I just did what I should do."

"It's nothing. This is all your efforts. I invited you here today. Firstly, I want to ask you about your work in Chuzhou. Secondly, I want to ask you how you plan to govern Chuzhou."

Wu Zongrui thought for a moment.

After receiving the news yesterday afternoon, Wu Zongrui immediately made preparations. He already knew that Hu Yingtai had received the emperor's imperial edict, and immediately rushed to the capital to serve as Minister of Justice. It should be said that Hu Yingtai has since entered the core level of power.

Hu Yingtai served as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice for a long time. According to historical records, it lasted until August of the seventh year of Chongzhen. He finally retired from office due to age. It can be said that he was one of the few Ministers of the Six Ministry of Justice in the Ming Dynasty who died a good death.

Being able to do this is very extraordinary, and it shows that Hu Yingtai is extraordinary.

It is not clear why Hu Yingtai, the magistrate of Chuzhou, was summoned before he rushed to the capital to take up his post.

Wu Zongrui thought of He Fengsheng. Could it be that He Fengsheng said something to help Hu Yingtai summon him before leaving.

"It has been exactly one month since Xianguan took office in Chuzhou. Everything was done in accordance with the rules of the imperial court. When it came to governing Chuzhou well, Xianguan did not dare to do it. Now the main thing is to prepare for the collection of spring land taxes. Xianguan thought that the spring in the south

Unlike in the north, it happens to be the season of drought. Therefore, there is no need to rush in collecting the spring field tax. It needs to be done step by step. The collection can be completed by the end of June, allowing the people to rest and recuperate as much as possible. This does not violate the intention of the court, and it can be said to be the best of both worlds..."

Hu Yingtai's inquiry was too broad. It had been exactly one month since Wu Zongrui came to Chuzhou to serve as magistrate, and he was still in the process of getting familiar with the situation. It was inappropriate to talk about governance planning at this time.

While Wu Zongrui was speaking, he occasionally looked at Hu Yingtai from the corner of his eye.

Hu Yingtai's eyes were a little dull, and he obviously didn't listen. This made Wu Zongrui's heart skip a beat. It seemed that Hu Yingtai summoned him today not to understand the situation in Chuzhou, and the focus was not to inquire about how he was doing things.

After Wu Zongrui finished speaking, Hu Yingtai's face showed a smile again.

"Yes, I have been able to think of so many things in just over a month since I arrived in Chuzhou. It's not easy."

"Xiaguan has not been in Chuzhou for a long time. I had never been involved in money and food matters before in Yingtianfu Yamen. Now that I have arrived in Chuzhou, I know how difficult it is to handle government affairs. Please give me some advice."

"It doesn't matter, Mr. Wu, you are not old, you have to get familiar with many things slowly, and you don't have to be too anxious when doing things."

Wu Zongrui was a little confused. What did Hu Yingtai mean? He didn't care about Chuzhou's government affairs. He asked for advice. His words were ambiguous, neither affirmative nor completely negative.

"Sir, it is precisely because I am young that I sometimes do things with some impetus and do not think of so many consequences. I often remind myself that I need to pay attention to this aspect. What I just said was great. I am grateful.

If it is not enough, please give me more guidance."

The smile on Hu Yingtai's face gradually disappeared and was replaced by calmness. He looked at Wu Zongrui for a while, then slowly stood up and walked to the front of the desk.

"Master Wu, I have heard about some of your deeds before, and I am very concerned about it. The sixteen-year-old second-level Jinshi can be said to be the first person in the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty. Normally, the high school examination of this grade should be high-spirited and high-spirited.

, quite a bit like giving guidance to the country, but if you don’t have these performances, it’s really not easy.”

"I will go to the capital tomorrow to take up my post. Before leaving, I thought carefully and decided to have a talk with you."

"When young people become officials, most of them have the idea of ​​​​achieving things overnight. They wish they could do everything to the extreme. Such ideas are good, but they must also be consistent with the actual situation. The so-called "too much" is too much, too much enthusiasm, and sometimes things go wrong.

.”

"As an official, every move attracts a lot of attention. Everything you do is related to the interests of the people, so you need to be cautious and think deeply."

"Although you are young, you have a calm demeanor in doing things. I still think highly of you."

...

The more Wu Zongrui listened, the more strange and uncomfortable he felt.

What is certain is that Hu Yingtai was by no means praising him, but deliberately reminded him. As for what exactly he was reminded of, he was reluctant to say it. This situation made Wu Zongrui very helpless.

This is probably a habit of officialdom. If you are not a particularly friendly person, no one is willing to tell the truth and speak directly. Even if you are planning to plot against someone, you will have to beat around the bush and keep you in the dark and guessing for a long time.

After Hu Yingtai finished speaking, Wu Zongrui slowly raised his head, and a ray of light flashed in his mind.

"Thank you for your teaching. I understand. I just mentioned the matter of governing Chuzhou. I forgot one thing. After I arrived in Chuzhou, I tried to find a way to get the support of the official and gentry families in Chuzhou. I thought that there would be no gentry and gentry in Chuzhou."

With the support of the official and gentry families, the lower officials will not be able to gain a foothold in Chuzhou, nor will they be able to do anything well."

Hu Yingtai's eyes instantly glanced over and looked at Wu Zongrui.

Wu Zongrui did not avoid it, and met Hu Yingtai's eyes with calmness in his eyes.

A hit hit the ground. It seemed that Hu Yingtai was dealing with the affairs of the Chuzhou official and gentry families.

Wu Zongrui's heart was already in turmoil. He thought that the official and gentry families in Chuzhou had become obedient, but who knew that things were far from that simple. He might have underestimated the power of the official and gentry families in Chuzhou.

Think about it, Chuzhou's official and gentry families have a strong foundation and have controlled Chuzhou for so many years. It's absolutely impossible that he can make the entire Chuzhou official and gentry family surrender after just one month in office.

When it comes to dealing with the affairs of Chuzhou's official and gentry families, Wu Zongrui left a backup force, which could be regarded as leaving a way out for himself.

There is no need to worry too much about money and food. Except for the Mei family, the other official and gentry families donated an average of less than five thousand taels of silver each, and the food they took out was only a few hundred dan. For these powerful officials,

As far as the Shen family is concerned, it's just a drop in the bucket.

With this little money, it is really not expensive to buy the government's free hand.

Finally, Hu Yingtai's eyes softened.

"Master Wu, the officials and gentry in Chuzhou have responded well to you. They have lived in Chuzhou for a long time, so they are naturally familiar with their own situation. Just let them do some things. The government does not need to interfere so much, don't you think?

"

"What your lord said is that I have remembered it."

"Of course, it's understandable that you can't think about it for a while. With the iron-clad camp and flowing soldiers, Mr. Wu will not be an official in Chuzhou for too long. It is understandable that he only wants to govern Chuzhou well. Sometimes, he still

Pay attention to your approach."

...

When leaving the Ministry of War, Wu Zongrui looked calm and showed no emotion.

When he returned home, Chen Lingyan and Yuhuan were extremely surprised.

Chen Lingyan was already pregnant and felt a little uncomfortable walking.

Seeing Chen Lingyan walking over with a big belly, Wu Zongrui quickly stepped forward to help.

"Madam, please pay attention to your health and sit down quickly."

"Why did your husband come back today? I thought your husband would not come home until tomorrow."

"I just went to the Ministry of War and was summoned by Mr. Hu, and then I went home."

Knowing a husband is better than a wife, Chen Lingyan felt Wu Zongrui's emotions.

"Husband, have you encountered any trouble? My family can't help with government matters."

Turning to look at Chen Lingyan, Wu Zongrui smiled.

"Ma'am, I'm worried. It's nothing. Mr. Hu went to the capital to serve as Minister of War. Before leaving, he asked me to handle government affairs well. Just now I was still thinking about what Mr. Hu said. There were some things I didn't think about for a while.

clear."

"Husband, please don't be lenient to me. I just felt your husband's emotions."

"My wife has thought too much. There really is nothing wrong. Think about it, Mr. Hu went to the capital. Before leaving, he thought of summoning me and asked me to handle government affairs. This is because he cares about me. Otherwise,

Mr. Hu, why bother talking to me?"

Chen Lingyan looked at Wu Zongrui and finally nodded slightly.

Entering the study, Wu Zongrui's expression instantly changed and became gloomy.

It should be said that in the contest with the Chuzhou gentry family, he won the first round, which can be said to be a complete victory. However, they came back in a blink of an eye and allowed Hu Yingtai to speak for him. The Chuzhou gentry family could be said to have won the final victory.
Chapter completed!