Mortal Mage

I don't know how long it took, but a pretty maid about 17 or 18 years old came in with a cup of tea:

"Please wait a moment, sir. My master has had a cold these days and is resting in bed today. He will be here later."

After saying that, he placed the tea on the coffee table next to Zhang Mingxuan and walked out.

After a long time, I had drunk seven or eight cups of tea and it was past afternoon.

Normally, the Shangshu would have been entertained with fine wine and delicious food, and he would have come out and made an impassioned speech to win over the people's hearts, but it seemed that the Shangshu Mansion had no such plan.

It’s not like he’s leaving, it’s not like he’s staying.

"What kind of plan is this? We sent out invitations for the afternoon, and now it's getting dark, but there's no one in charge."

A trace of anger emerged on his face and he felt unhappy. After all, he was the champion of this session, but right now the Shangshu Mansion was really not treating him well.

-

"Cough cough."

While he was thinking, a cough was heard from outside the house. Zhang Mingxuan looked angry, but he still stood up and bowed to greet him.

A woman who was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old supported a gray-haired old man into the house.

The old man was dressed in a plain green silk suit, with two token-like belts hanging around his waist, one made of gold and one made of silver. He was leaning lightly on a gold snake-head cane in his hand. He squinted his eyes, looked haggard, and his frosty white goatee was a little messy.

Zhang Mingxuan raised his eyebrows and glanced at the woman.

The woman was dressed in bright brocade clothes, with a beautiful and gentle face. She helped the old man to sit down in the main seat with trembling hands.

"Wan'er, go back to your room and rest. Grandpa is fine. If you need anything else, let Jin'er come. You don't have to do it yourself."

"Well, Grandpa, if you have anything, please call me anytime. Jin'er is clumsy." Wan'er said and then walked out.

"Cough cough cough cough."

The old man clenched his fist, put it to his mouth and coughed a few times, then pressed his hand to signal Zhang Mingxuan to sit down. After a long time, he looked at Zhang Mingxuan and asked slowly, "My son, do you know that you are the only one who accepted my invitation in the recent examinations?"

This old man is the Minister of Revenue Wang Mingde.

In the past ten years, apart from taking exams, Zhang Mingxuan has been thinking about how to sell his calligraphy and paintings, copy poems and imitate songs to make some extra money. Whenever he has some free time, he would try to find a way to investigate whether this is a world of immortal cultivation. He has no time or mood to inquire about the affairs of the court.

Some of them I only learned about recently when I arrived at Taihe City.

Hearing what the minister said, he was slightly stunned, thinking: How can this old man stay in the position of the Minister of Revenue without falling when he is so poor in the court?

After a slight hesitation, he still replied respectfully, "I have been studying peacefully since I was young, and I didn't know about this."

"Well, never mind. I guess you are just a fool."

At this time, the maid who had just served tea to Zhang Mingxuan came in with two cups of new tea.

"Jin'er, tell Wan'er to go to bed early today. Buy Wan'er some frosted peaches and ice melons tomorrow, and remember to buy two for me as well."

Wang Mingde took a sip of the tea that the maid had just put down and gave casual instructions.

The maid stole a glance at Zhang Mingxuan, placed another cup of tea in front of him, bowed, responded, and left.

"You have come to my house, how much do you know about the affairs of the court?"

Zhang Mingxuan frowned slightly, feeling increasingly unhappy; I am a candidate from another place, how would I know what is going on in the court.

But the other party was the Minister of Revenue, so he replied stiffly, "I have no connections with the court, so I know nothing about it."

"Well, now the taxes in our dynasty have been increasing year by year, and it is difficult to make up for the deficit. The court has many bad policies." Wang Mingde stroked his frosty goatee, looking thoughtful.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know about the affairs of the court, but since you have been the first in the provincial, county, prefectural, and state examinations, you should be very clear about the affairs of the people. With your knowledge, what do you think our court should do to improve people's livelihood, eliminate bad policies, and fill the national treasury?"

He asked Zhang Mingxuan directly.

Zhang Mingxuan looked hesitant and recalled in his mind. He had lived in this world for eighteen years and knew that the bad policies of the Taicang Empire were a replica of the Ming Dynasty in his previous life. There were local separatism, the dictatorship of the Feather Guards, class stratification, political oppression, land annexation, and corruption. He dared not say any of these.

"But it doesn't matter."

Zhang Mingxuan's brows were twisted into a knot, he looked uneasy, and his mind was full of thoughts.

"You don't have to think too much. I just want to see if you have real talent and knowledge. After all, you ranked first in the five tests. You don't have to hide it in front of me." Wang Mingde saw that he was hesitant and said in a soothing tone.

"I, Wang Mingde, am the Minister of Finance and can directly hear the emperor. The current emperor has the ambition to reform, but he has no good plan."

"If you don't have a good idea, just give up."

Wang Mingde picked up the tea and took a sip slowly.

It means seeing you off.

Zhang Mingxuan gnashed his teeth in his heart; "This old man has such a straightforward character, he must have offended many people in the palace."

But he was sure to have the meal at Wang Mingde's house.

Putting away his chaotic thoughts, he organized his ideas a little, and recalled the memories and knowledge of his previous life. Zhang Mingxuan's face was solemn, and he uttered four words one by one.

"Reform, reform, open up, and release."

"Reform? Open up!"

Wang Mingde's narrowed eyes suddenly widened, as if he had heard some shocking secrets. He stared at Zhang Mingxuan in a daze, "What is reform and opening up? Tell me in detail!"

"First, land reform. Second, nationalization reform. Third, education reform. Fourth, economic reform. Fifth..."

Zhang Mingxuan slowly stretched out four fingers, but hesitated to extend the fifth one.

If you speak out about people's democracy, you will probably be beheaded.

“Fifth, sustainable development.”

Zhang Mingxuan's expression was angry and his tone was solemn.

As a top official in this country, Wang Mingde has character problems, but he is definitely not stupid.

"sustainable development!"

Wang Mingde's eyes widened, and he excitedly grasped the snake-head crutch with both hands, trying to stand up.

He had never heard of reform and opening up.

The government has been corrupt for a long time, and His Majesty has mentioned reforming the government many times, but he has tried all kinds of methods but it is difficult to be effective. He never thought that the young man's simple words would hit the nail on the head, and every word was precious.

“How to reform?”

This young man must have a good way to govern the country!

“Reform and innovation.”

Zhang Mingxuan responded calmly;

"Reform means to make planned and systematic changes to certain systems, policies, laws, culture or organizational structures of our dynasty in order to achieve more timely goals. Reform will focus on a specific field or industry. Reform is initiated by the six ministries or the emperor, and it also requires the joint promotion of officials and people from all ministries of our dynasty."

"Culture? Organizational structure? Planning? Specific areas? Industries?"

Wang Mingde looked shocked, and suddenly stood up with the help of his crutches. "What is culture? Organizational structure? Planning? Specific fields? Industry?"

"Well, it's a long story..."

Zhang Mingxuan came here today to have a free meal, not to brag to the Lord Shangshu.