Drunk House

However, after the old minister of the Ministry of Industry saw the painting made by his cousin in the meeting hall, he became concerned about it.

The old minister secretly pulled Cui Yanjin and said, "If the painting by the concubine was more detailed, it would be the topographic map used by the Ministry of Industry as a reference for flood control."

This picture is really important.

But it was hard for the old minister to open his mouth. After all, the concubine was busy working in the Ministry of Household Affairs every day. How could he have the nerve to ask the concubine for a more painstaking and detailed painting? After all, it is a matter of the Ministry of Works, so it would not be good for him to go to the Ministry of Revenue to trouble him with his old face.

But he was really itching and couldn't bear it. After struggling for a few days, he turned his attention to Cui Yanjin, trying to use Cui Yanjin's relatives to gain face.

The old minister said to Cui Yanjin with a grimace: "Master Xiao Cui, you and your wife are cousins. Why don't you go and beg..."

Cui Yanjin looked at the old minister and said honestly: "We are cousins ​​separated by a room."

"This..." Lao Shangshu paused, "Isn't your relationship bad?"

The old minister also heard about it, and Cui Yanjin and Zhou Gu seemed to be at odds with each other. On the day of the imperial concubine's banquet, the two cousins ​​even made trouble at the palace banquet. Cui Yanjin glared at Zhou Gu, while Zhou Gu had a dark face. If it weren't for Tai If the woman tries to mediate, she might even get into a fight at the palace banquet.

Cui Yanjin snorted, it was not a good thing before, but he knew the current situation and asked his cousin to apologize.

The old minister looked at him and said, "But the queen likes you very much. How about you follow the path of the queen? Go and beg the queen."

Cui Yanjin was embarrassed, "It's not a good idea to trouble my cousin for such a trivial matter!"

 Lao Shangshu puffed his beard and stared, "How is this a trivial matter?"

He preached to Cui Yanjin, "This matter is very important and a big deal. I saw the painting of the concubine. I can see from his painting that the concubine has personally visited those places. You Think about it, if the concubine could draw more carefully, such as rivers, mountainous terrain, how to divert water and manage it, build dams, how to dig or avoid mountains and forests, etc. With a more detailed picture of mountains and rivers, we would be able to draw more detailed pictures. It’s good to plan properly.”

“Our Ministry of Industry also has drawings from various places,” Cui Yanjin said.

"But those things, how are they like the things that the concubine took out? Besides, the Nangong family used to control Chao Gang. There were many places where the Nangong family was doing things. The Nangong family died, fled, and evacuated. Before Nanchu, many things were destroyed. Now, the things left by our Ministry of Industry are incomplete. In some places, the drawings submitted are also incomplete. In several places, people have to be sent to the field examination room to redraw the drawings. It won't take more than a year and a half, I'm afraid it won't be completed, it will be a waste of time, and there will be no way to advance this year's affairs. Besides, in a short period of time, who can know better than the concubine who has almost traveled all over Nanchu? ?" Old Shangshu sighed as he spoke, feeling that his beard had turned gray. The Ministry of Works has a lot to do, such as regulating river embankments, building embankments, and preventing floods. However, the primary drawings are incomplete and cannot be advanced in many places.

In particular, there has been a lot of rain this year, but it is predicted that although the hot summer has passed, it has not really rained enough. I am afraid that it will rain heavily in the autumn. If there are a few heavy autumn rains, the Ministry of Industry will still have to deal with it. Messy.

Currently, we only send people to some important places that are often prone to flooding, but there are many other places. Southern Chu has many mountains and forests, and landslides and other incidents occur frequently every spring, summer, and autumn. These areas that need to be managed are also the affairs of the Ministry of Industry.

As the head of the Ministry of Industry, Lao Shangshu has to coordinate water conservancy projects across the country. How can he not want a very detailed map of mountains, rivers and rivers across the country? But the Ministry of Industry does not have them now. They are either crude or incomplete. Before the Nangong family evacuated, they didn't think about Nan Chu at all. They took away what could be taken away and destroyed what could be destroyed. It was not unreasonable to say that the king hated those people in the Nangong family.

The old minister sighed, "Master Xiao Cui, isn't it because the Ministry of Works is short of people that you can be transferred to the Ministry of Works? Since you are from our Ministry of Works, you have to work hard for our Ministry of Works. Also, the Ministry of Works must make Political achievements, didn't you threaten to work more for the concubine? Why are you not willing to ask for a blueprint now? "

Cui Yanjin scratched his head, "Okay!"

So, he was persuaded by the old minister to take advantage of today's Qionglin banquet to go to the meeting hall to see the painting. It was indeed very good. No wonder the old minister was interested in it. Then, he came to the banquet and went to the banquet. I've been looking around.

Zhou Gu naturally refused to agree, "What do you want me to do about the Ministry of Works? There are so many people in the Ministry of Works, and those who are good at painting and drawing, what do they do for food? Not painting."

Cui Yanjin repeated what the old minister had persuaded him to do, and begged, "Cousin, it's time. The Ministry of Works is in a hurry. Even if those people are sent out, they have to measure it step by step before submitting the drawings of various places. Wouldn't this take at least a few months? Or more, a year and a half. In addition, I looked at the archives of the Ministry of Industry, which were retained in the past. What kind of painting skills are there? Many places are blurry. It’s such a mess that it’s hard to tell which is the mountains, which is the river, and which is the village.”

He sighed, "Take the time I went to the Ministry of Industry for example. There were those new drawings that were quickly submitted. The drawing skills were not as good as yours, and they were just as rough. I took them a while ago. The drawings and people from the Ministry of Industry went out on errands. How far is it from the royal capital? It's only two hundred miles, but guess what I found? What I drew on the paper and what I actually inspected with people are not the same at all. I can’t say it’s completely different, but it’s almost half the difference. It’s clearly a Liusha River, but it’s drawn into a stream. I’m really speechless. That’s it, it’s all water after all. But there are clearly two mountains, right? They are connected, with a ravine in the middle, but they were drawn so that the two mountains were so close together that the ravine could not be seen. As a result, the plan previously set by the Ministry of Industry would not work, and a new plan study would have to be done. , then everything has to be changed, and the reported budget will be a lot larger. I have to run back to the Ministry of Finance for approval, and then go to the Ministry of Accounts to ask for money. It’s a waste of time and energy.”

He spoke clearly and pointed to himself, "Cousin, look at me, I'm so tired and thin. The Ministry of Works is really having a hard time. Just help me!"

He tugged on Zhou Gu's sleeve and said, "Cousin, you have traveled almost everywhere in Nanchu. And you are so smart and have a good memory. What is the soil quality, water quality, are there any mountains and forests, etc., do you remember How clear is it? It can be seen from your painting. It would be a waste if you don’t use this painting for the Ministry of Industry to do work."

Without waiting for Zhou Gu to speak, he added: "It's something that benefits the country and the people, so just agree! If you agree, I will steal my father's private treasury for you to play with."

Zhou Gu rolled his eyes, what the **** is stealing? He looked disgusted and said, "No." (End of Chapter)