Chapter 49: Ministry of Works
The controversy over the Court Recommendation continued for some time, and in the end, it was decided that Gao Yunqu would be transferred to the position of Vice Minister of Works, still a Senior Third-Rank official. The Ministry of Works was the least powerful of the Six Ministries, responsible for all public works in the realm. The Minister, Cheng Ji, came from a collateral branch of a prominent family; she was a person engrossed in construction who didn't talk much and had no love for court politics. Although the Ministry of Works was not renowned, its affairs were numerous. Cheng Ji herself was unwilling to have Gao Yunqu come and implement any reforms. She was someone who buried her head in her work, and she most detested the back-and-forth of court politics.
Her superior was displeased, and her subordinates were intimidated, but Gao Yunqu was neither annoyed nor anxious. She simply clocked in on time every day, reading documents and records in the ministry office. When she encountered blueprints she couldn't understand, she would find someone to ask. From Minister Cheng Ji above to the artisans and laborers below, she asked them all with the same respect, and upon receiving a reply, she would offer her sincere thanks. As days went by, this made Cheng Ji feel a little uneasy. She felt she had been somewhat biased against Gao Yunqu, so her attitude improved. She started delegating matters of communication, which she herself was not skilled at, to Gao Yunqu. Gradually, Gao Yunqu found a way to deal with Cheng Ji.
"Lushuang, tomorrow I need to discuss the matter of repairing the canal in Yingzhou with the Ministry of Revenue. You will accompany me." Cheng Ji said, entering Gao Yunqu's duty room with several scrolls of documents in her arms.
"Repairing the canal in Yingzhou?" Gao Yunqu frowned slightly. She had just arrived at the Ministry of Works and hadn't gotten the hang of many things yet.
"Oh, you don't know yet. The Mao Canal in Yingzhou, the one built by the great hydraulic engineer Zheng Bai."
"I know of it, but hasn't it been abandoned for a long time? It's been several hundred years, after all." Gao Yunqu was a little bewildered.
Cheng Ji snorted. "If it were still in good condition, what would there be to repair? We've been pondering this matter for a long time."
Cheng Ji put down the documents and sat in the guest's seat. She directly opened the teapot to have a look, appearing ready for a long talk. Gao Yunqu sat down beside her and picked up the teapot to pour her some water.
"You must have heard that when Zheng Bai built the Mao Canal back then, it created a thousand li of fertile fields and ensured Yingzhou never had another lean year. However, times have changed. The soil in Yingzhou is soft, and today, several hundred years later, many parts of the Mao Canal have been destroyed by floods. It has long since lost its ability to irrigate and be navigated."
"Why rebuild it now?"
"It's not exactly a sudden idea," Cheng Ji sighed. "Yingzhou is Yongzhou's rear support. Yongzhou is the front line in the northwest. Although Emperor Yongchu repelled the Western Rong, these barbarians are like weeds; the moment you relax, they show signs of resurgence. In recent years, the pressure on the northwestern defenses has been growing, and so has the demand for military pay and provisions. Constantly transporting grain from Jiangnan is not a long-term solution. For the past two years, Chancellor Fan has been trying to encourage agriculture and increase military farming colonies in Yongzhou and Yingzhou, hoping to supply the northwestern army's provisions locally."
"But the land in these two prefectures isn't particularly fertile, so how much grain can they produce? It wasn't until I unearthed the blueprints and records of the Mao Canal from the archives that I began to wonder: if we could rebuild the Mao Canal and restore Yingzhou's thousand li of fertile fields, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
As Gao Yunqu listened, she opened the document Cheng Ji had given her. Inside were detailed survey reports of the Mao Canal and the repair methods the Ministry of Works had developed to date. It was a thick volume, and behind every word and sentence was the painstaking effort of everyone in the Ministry of Works.
"I've spoken to Chancellor Fan about this. She ordered us to first work out the details and come up with a preliminary plan before calculating the funds and labor with the Ministry of Revenue. Now is the time." Cheng Ji held her teacup, a smile on her lips and a light in her eyes.
She had exhausted her mind and energy on this matter for several years. For countless nights, she had worked out calculations over and over by candlelight. She had also personally traveled to Yingzhou to survey the site, tracing the old course of the Mao Canal inch by inch. She was only in her forties, yet there were already silver strands in her hair.
Holding the volume, Gao Yunqu was filled with solemn respect. She moved her lips, somewhat hesitant.
Cheng Ji saw the difficulty on her face and waved her hand, saying, "Just say whatever is on your mind."
"My lord, you are the expert. If you say it can be repaired, then it certainly can be." Gao Yunqu cupped her hands in a salute to her and added, "But are you planning to negotiate with the Ministry of Revenue using just this document?"
"Is that not acceptable?" Cheng Ji paused, then said, "This is how it's always been. That's why I wanted you to come with me. Those people at the Ministry of Revenue always find ways to make things difficult and can't understand my proposals at all."
"..." Gao Yunqu was silent for a moment. "My lord, the Ministry of Revenue manages finances and provisions. They don't care about how something is done; they care about how much investment is required and what the returns will be."
"Yes, yes, they always ask me that. But when I tell them how much silver is needed, they won't agree."
"How much did you report, my lord?" Gao Yunqu asked.
"Last time, for the city wall repairs, I reported three million, and they nearly ate me alive." Cheng Ji wore an aggrieved expression, like a child.
Gao Yunqu's breath caught. She slowed her speech and said, "My lord, the Six Ministries have different duties, so they view the same matter from different perspectives. From the Ministry of Revenue's point of view, every department is asking them for money. But the national treasury is only so large. If they gave it all away, how could the treasury sustain itself...?"
"But... but these projects aren't without their returns."
"Therefore, first, we must reduce expenditures as much as possible, and second, we must clearly explain the returns to them..." Gao Yunqu tried to break it down and explain it clearly to Cheng Ji.
But Cheng Ji covered her ears. "No, no, no, don't tell me. I've done the preliminary work; the rest is up to you. As long as you can settle this with the Ministry of Revenue, I will support whatever you do in the Ministry of Works from now on."
"...This subordinate is not versed in hydraulics. I cannot repair the canal." Gao Yunqu frowned. She knew her own limits and understood she shouldn't take on tasks she couldn't handle.
"No matter. You will be responsible for negotiating with the Ministry of Revenue. If there's anything you want to know, just tell me. This official will tell you everything I know."
"Then who will be responsible for the subsequent canal repairs?" Gao Yunqu relaxed slightly and asked one more question.
Cheng Ji winked at her. "Guess where the previous Vice Minister of Works is now?"
"You mean to say?"
"Precisely. The newly appointed Prefect of Yingzhou."
As Gao Yunqu had expected, the Ministry of Works' first negotiation with the Ministry of Revenue regarding the canal repairs ended with them returning in shame, thoroughly ridiculed by everyone in the Ministry of Revenue.
"Lushuang, now you understand, don't you? The Ministry of Revenue is not easy to deal with," Cheng Ji said, her heart still fluttering with fear.
"...I understand now." Gao Yunqu had observed the entire exchange and roughly understood where the crux of the problem lay. The Ministry of Works was insistent on getting more money to do a better job on the project, while the Ministry of Revenue was dedicated to cutting expenditures as much as possible. Each had its own stance, and neither could persuade the other. The people of the Ministry of Works spent their years buried in their work; their tongues were not as sharp as those in the Ministry of Revenue, so they were always suppressed.
"Lushuang, how about I leave all future negotiations to you?" Cheng Ji, a dignified Senior Second-Rank official in her Purple Robe, smiled fawningly at Gao Yunqu, making it clear just how unwilling she was to do this task.
"Very well. However, my lord, you must listen to me." Gao Yunqu considered for a moment, then agreed.
"Good! It's a deal!"
In Gao Yunqu's view, negotiation was about holding firm to one's own bottom line while probing the other party's, then reaching a mutually acceptable outcome through discussion. Therefore, the first thing she had to do was grab Cheng Ji and recalculate the costs, to calculate the minimum expenditure for each and every item. She needed to know what the Ministry of Works' bottom line was.
For several days in a row, the lights in the Ministry of Works office burned bright long after closing time. Everyone in the ministry who understood hydraulics and was skilled in mathematics was kept behind. Gao Yunqu was also burning the midnight oil with them. She had to use this time to grasp the key aspects of the project.
After ten days, she scheduled another negotiation with the Ministry of Revenue. Having won so easily last time, the Ministry of Revenue carried a faint air of arrogance. Cheng Ji, having shed her previous dejected appearance, strolled in with a smile on her face. When she greeted Shi Yan, the Minister of Revenue, she also looked to be in a very good mood.
Although she had said she didn't want to know, she was aware of all the arrangements Gao Yunqu had made over the past days. Gao Yunqu had assigned tasks while explaining the reasons, practically breaking everything down into the finest detail to teach everyone in the Ministry of Works. There were some things Cheng Ji felt she could never learn herself, but that didn't stop her from listening with delight. She could almost see Gao Yunqu leading the Ministry of Works to be invincible.
On this day, Cheng Ji came to know a new Gao Yunqu. This woman was always composed, her speech kind and gentle, the very model of an upright scholar. But in the clash with the Ministry of Revenue, she went from gentle persuasion at the beginning, to a string of witty remarks, and then to cold sarcasm. It was the first time Cheng Ji learned that a scholar could also slam the table and curse in anger, and was extremely skilled at using classical allusions to make veiled criticisms. The people of the Ministry of Revenue hadn't met a worthy opponent in a long time and were caught completely off guard by Gao Yunqu. Both sides argued until they were red in the face, spittle flying. Gao Yunqu alone fought four or five of them to a standstill.
As they walked out the gates of the Ministry of Revenue, the accompanying subordinate officials from the Ministry of Works looked at Gao Yunqu with eyes full of awe. Cheng Ji saw that her face was still flushed, took a small fan from her sleeve, and diligently fanned her. She advised, "Don't take it too much to heart. Getting too angry is bad for your health."
Once outside, Gao Yunqu returned to her usual appearance of a jade-like scholar. She replied, "I am fine. It was all within my expectations."
"Ah?" Cheng Ji was stunned to hear this.
Gao Yunqu smiled faintly. "Today was just the beginning. We needed to be forceful to let them know the Ministry of Works is no longer weak and easily bullied. Only by establishing our presence can we continue the negotiations."
"To think there were so many tricks to it..." Cheng Ji marveled.
"This is just the beginning. My lord, you must be prepared."
"With Lushuang here, what do I have to fear? Hahaha."
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