Jinling City, the place where Taizu of the Dakang Dynasty built its capital, is called Yingtian Prefecture, which is Jinling City.

In the southeast of Yingtian Prefecture, there is Jiangning Prefecture, which belongs to Dajinling City. One city has two prefectures, which is the characteristic of the Dakang Dynasty.

At the turn of spring and summer, the sky in Jinling has gradually become hotter, and people have disappeared under the high city wall of Liudu, located in the center of Yingtian.

The former emperor moved the capital to Shuntian, and Jinling established the Liudu. Liudu still retained six ministries: officials, households, rites, soldiers, punishments, and work. Each department had one Shangshu and two ministers.

In addition to the six ministries, the Censorate, Tongzheng Department, the Governor's Office of the Five Army, the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial College, and other institutions are also available, and the officials' ranks are the same as Shuntian, but the power is naturally very different.

Among all the institutions in Yingtian, the Ministry of Revenue, which has the greatest power among the six ministries, is responsible for collecting taxes and grains from Nanzhili and Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Huguang provinces, and is also responsible for the transportation of grain and salt.

You should know that the tax and silver in the four southern regions accounted for almost half of the Dakang Dynasty, so the power of the Southern Ministry of Revenue cannot be underestimated.

The Ministry of Revenue is very lively today. Ruan Jingnian, the Minister of Revenue, will soon be his 60th birthday. Local officials from the 15 prefectures of Southern Zhili, important personnel stationed in Yingtian from Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang provinces are all looking for various reasons to come and visit.

Lord Ruan’s home is in Changzhou Prefecture. He lives in a simple yard not far from the Six Ministry’s Office. He usually does not accept visits from guests, so he shows that he is honest. Therefore, any local officials who want to visit Ruan Jingnian must come to the Ministry of Revenue.

At the turn of spring and summer, the Ministry of Revenue is the most leisurely time. Ruan Jingnian welcomes and sees off waves of guests, and he is a second-rank minister. He is very patient when dealing with these social engagements. He personally sends off every guest. This is a scenery of the Ministry of Revenue.

Not far from Ruan Jingnian's office, there is a one-acre and three-point land of Lu Shanchang, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Lu Shanchang is the famous head of the Lu family in Jiangnan today.

The Lu family in Jiangning is such a big name. Only the Yingtian Gu family can compete with the Lu family. Both the Chen family and the Zhang family have declined. Although they still have the names of the four masters, they are actually far from the prestige of the four masters.

But the Lu family is different. Lu Shanchang is now the third-rank right minister of the Southern Ministry of Revenue. His eldest son Lu Lun was appointed as the Minister of the Honglu Temple in the capital. Although his rank is not high, it has a great impact.

Lu Ning, the son of the eldest grandson Lulun, was a high school Jinshi two years ago. Now he has been admitted to the Hanlin Academy and has great prospects!

In Jiangning, the second son Lu Qian was an official in the same dynasty as him. Now Lu Qian is the deputy envoy of the General Secretary of the Southern Dynasty, and the father and son of the Lu family are in the same dynasty. In Jiangning and Yingtian area, it has long been rumored to be a good story!

It is no exaggeration to say that Yingtian’s Ministry of Revenue is now in charge of two people. One is naturally the Minister of Shangshu Ruan, and the other is Lu Shanchang. Both of them are officials from Jiangnan and are both old ministers. Shen Jing, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, comes from the capital of the northern part of the capital, and does not know much about Jiangnan. He has just taken office for a long time. He can’t say much at the Ministry of Revenue!

Ruan Shangshu was busy until the beginning of Shen Shi. After he saw the last guest away, Lu Shanchang walked slowly to see him with a teacup in his hand. Ruan Jingnian was sixty years old this year, and Lu Shanchang was over 60 years old two years ago. Both of them were not young.

If they were not high and powerful, and were still trusted by the emperor, they should have been idle at home and enjoyed their grandchildren.

Although the rules of the Southern Dynasty were not as good as those of the capital, the work of the Southern Ministry of Revenue was very heavy every day, and it was a blessing that both of them were still strong, otherwise they would have been exhausted long ago.

"Shu Ruan Shangshu, the sixty years are coming, and this is a great joy. I have discussed with my colleagues in the ministry. We must celebrate it well back then. This is not only your great joy, but also the festive day of our entire Ministry of Revenue!" Lu Shanchang said with a smile.

Although he was two years older than Ruan Jingnian, he did not dare to be arrogant in front of Ruan Shangshu. Ruan Jingnian was an old minister of two dynasties, and the late emperor gave him a four-word comment: "Integrity and diligence."

In the ninth year of Xinde, he was appointed as the Minister of the Southern Ministry of Revenue by the emperor. It has been the tenth year since then. Among the six ministries of the Southern Court, no one has experienced more seniority than him.

In Liudu, there are not many ministers who can speak in front of the emperor, and Ruan Jingnian is definitely one. In this case, Lu Shanchang is not as good as others.

Last year, the Ministry of Revenue re-appointed a left minister from the capital. The position of Lu Shanchang, the right minister, was a little embarrassed. How much power he could hold and how much resources he controlled depends largely on the old minister Ruan Jingnian!

Mr. Ruan was honest and had no hobbies. Lu Shanchang's experience was to chat with him after taking time. The two old men talked about family matters, poetry and children and grandchildren, and the distance was closer without realizing it. Ruan Jingnian would hand over to Lu Shanchang what was happening at hand. Naturally, Lu Shanchang was the second person in the Ministry of Revenue!

Ruan Jingnian waved his hand and said, "Brother, don't be extravagant. It's not a good thing to do a birthday at our age. There are always a group of people in the court who are staring at our old ministers every day.

We are old, can we still leave the affairs of the court to us? Although the emperor doesn’t say it in his heart, we celebrate our birthdays every day. Looking at the emperor in the capital, Long Live thinks we are really unable to eat anymore!”

Ruan Jingnian said this and sighed lightly, "Brother Shan, actually, to be honest, you and I are all people who are about to die at such age. If not... hey, you are better. After all, the ancestors of the Lu family in Jiangning are virtuous, and you have four sons, each of them is extraordinary.

Especially Jing Xiu, it is rare for him to gain a foothold in the capital. With time, he may not be able to stand out! Look at my Ruan family again, how could he have a successor?

The Ruan family cannot compare with the Lu family, but we are also inheriting the family through poetry and books. Who would have thought that this generation is weaker than the other? Sometimes when I think about it, I can't help but sigh!"

When Ruan Jingnian said this, Lu Shanchang couldn't help but feel sank. Ruan Jingnian held on forever, and Lu Shanchang was even more so! The reason why the Lu family in Jiangning can still stand and have the current influence is because of his support!

Ruan Jingnian has no successor, so is the Lu family one successor? This is really like a person who knows the warmth and coldness of water.

Lu Shanchang turned these thoughts in his mind, but said calmly: "Sir Shangshu, I heard that you have a virtuous grandson who can write poetry at the age of three, five, and proficient in poetry and lyrics and essays at the age of ten. If you hadn't deliberately suppressed it, you might have become famous in Jiangnan for a long time, right?

However, even so, the end of this scientific expedition will be a victory in a row. Now it is estimated that it has become famous in the local area, right?"

Lu Shanchang talked about the topic and said that Ruan Jingnian was happy and that he had secretly inquired about Ruan Jingnian's wise grandson. In order to chat with Ruan Jingnian, he usually devoted himself to his own interests. He had special research on the matters of the Ruan family. Because of this, they often had a happy chat!

However, the atmosphere of the chat today seemed to be a little wrong. Ruan Jingnian's expression did not show any relief, but became extremely strange. He looked at Lu Shanchang deeply and said:

"Brother Shan, I'm making you laugh! My grandson is very famous in Changzhou, but it's not helpful when he arrives at the hospital for examination.

But you, brother, can you hide it deeply? The talented man from the Lu family is not revealed. Jiangning and Yingtian don’t know. At the critical moment, he will get a small three-yuan game, which will shock everyone and be famous all over the south of the Yangtze River!”

Ruan Jingnian said this, and he smiled and said, "There is another thing that I may not know. The prince of Qin also traveled in Jiangnan this time. He went to Changzhou to give my incompetent boy a warning, but later he fell in love with the son of the Lu family. Haha, Brother Shan, don't say that there is no successor in the future. Your Lu family is the tribe of the three princes, and has a profound background. It is not comparable to our small families!"

Ruan Jingnian said these words in a plain manner, but they were shocked by Lu Shanchang's ears. He had been struggling in the officialdom for a lifetime, how could he not feel the coldness in Ruan Jingnian's words?

The key is that he doesn't understand Ruan Jingnian's words at all. How can he not know the number of people from the juniors of the Lu family? How can he offend the Ruan family?

There were countless thoughts in his mind instantly, and Ruan Jingnian said again: "Brother Shan, this time, a new member of our Ministry of Revenue. Although Mr. Shen is young, I always calmly observed that he was in charge of his work. Moreover, His Majesty personally chose him to come from the north and south to take office. Can I, the Secretary of the House, throw him a pair of shoes? Isn't it suitable?

So, I am going to hand over the tax and salt induced by the Ministry of Revenue this year to him. I hope you can understand!"

"Uh..." Lu Shanchang was slightly stunned and said, "But Lord Shangshu, I have always been responsible for Zhili. If Lord Shen can't do this properly, wouldn't it be..."

"Haha! Brother Shan Lao, you and I are both officials from Jiangnan. We can't let the censors in the capital say that we can't insert needles and water in the South Ministry of Revenue?

I just said, you and I are all vain. You and I are still accused of being accused of being old. Why bother? Lord Shen is young and promising. When he is energetic and does his career, he can leave many things to him, right?" Ruan Jingnian interrupted Lu Shanchang. After he said that, he picked up the teacup and started drinking tea.

When Lu Shanchang saw Ruan Jingnian's actions, he couldn't speak even though he had a lot of words. He had served tea and saw the guests. What else could he say?

He immediately said, "Yes, Lord Shangshu! Don't worry, sir, I will cooperate with Lord Shen to do my job well and will definitely live up to my trust! If nothing happens, the official will surrender!"
Chapter completed!