Chapter 399 Layout

Fei Nian did not leave the palace, but entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

This place has become the news center of Qiguo.

The second prince's organizational reforms not only included the Privy Council Office, but also the inner courtyard of the palace. The "morning court" was regarded as a time-consuming and inefficient system, and has now been completely replaced by the Ministry of Records. Since the morning dynasty is gone, as the largest palace in the palace, it has naturally undergone drastic renovations.

For example, the main hall is divided into about a dozen small rooms, with huge bookshelves erected in the middle to store archive documents; any news sent to Gyeonggi will be dispersed into the corresponding small compartments according to explicit or covert numbers. Special reviewers sit in these compartments and will conduct further processing based on the urgency of the incident. If it is just a minor matter, the reviewer even has the right to respond on his own, as long as he reports the results afterwards and leaves relevant records.

This setup in disguise increased the manpower that could handle the news. In the past, only the ministers of various ministries or the emperor could answer memorials, but now lower-level officials could handle them. This has greatly improved Shangyuan City's intelligence processing capabilities. Small problems that used to take two or three days to complete the process can now be solved on the same day.

If Ning Weiyuan were to continue to sit on the throne, it would obviously be impossible to allow such innovations to weaken his authority to pass.

Only the Privy Council can establish an efficient and flexible government organization.

"Master Fei." Dong Mao, the chief official of the Department of Records in charge of this matter, bowed to him and saluted.

"Master Dong," Fei Nian immediately responded with the same courtesy - the other person was over forty and considered a senior in the Privy Council. Although he was not a core member, he did not want to be rude, "Have everyone been recruited?"

"Everyone who can move is here. But...should this kind of thing really be left to the recording department?" He hesitated slightly.

"Why, are you worried that you have too much power and will be jealous of others?"

"If anything, I'm just worried about my limited ability and letting Qixing down."

Fei Nian said sternly, "These tasks seem to be more suitable for the headquarters, but the responsibilities of the headquarters are already heavy, and it is not appropriate to add more tasks. Moreover, the recording department should not just be the receiver, analyzer and storer of intelligence. , you can go further and take the initiative to collect the information that the Privy Council needs. This is what Lord Tianshu hopes to see."

"Okay, I'll do my best. Please follow me." Dong Mao led him through the apse corridor and into a relatively independent hall.

There were hundreds of people standing in the hall. They were of different ages and appearances, including gray-haired old men and young men of twelve or thirteen years old. Obviously, the vast majority of them are non-qi-sensing people, but today's Privy Council still cannot do without the help of these people.

Feinian didn't ask their names.

They only have one name.

"spy".

"Master Dong must have told you the purpose of summoning you by the Privy Council Office." Fei Nian looked around and said, "Some of you are from the army, and some are from government offices, but from now on there will only be one service target, and that is the Privy Council Office. Seven Stars. This is your first action on behalf of the Privy Council. I hope you can live up to expectations and lay the groundwork for the next plan of the General Office!"

Everyone bowed their heads without saying a word.

"Seven Stars needs intelligence, no matter how big or small. You can do your best to transmit the information you see and hear back to the command post; you can cause turmoil in the city so that the enemy has no time to distract; you can also bribe and frame Enemy, money is not a problem...as long as you can obtain effective information and substantially weaken the opponent's strength, you can get a reward of one hundred taels of gold!"

"You are all experts. I won't be specific about how to do it. Everything will be determined by the results!"

After Feinian finished speaking, he nodded towards Dong Mao.

The chief officer of the Recording Department clapped his hands and said, "When you walk out of this door, you are ordinary people. The official road to Jinxia has been confirmed to be clear, let's set off now."

There was no pre-departure wine ceremony, and there was no scenic trip. They were all undercurrents hidden under the general trend, and history would not leave any record of them.

But this was a crucial step for the Privy Council.

As long as the intelligence is detailed enough, the general battle is just a chess game.

At this time, an alchemist from the Ministry of Records walked into the hall and whispered a few words beside Dong Mao.

"Oh?" Dong Mao pondered for a moment, "You happen to be here too, so why not let you make the decision."

"What's the matter?" Feinian asked.

"A judge who came to Shangyuan for reference said he came from Jinxia City. He reported that the Prime Minister of Jinxia Prefecture was acting against the will, disrupting the rules, destroying the foundation of scholars, and intending to rebel."

"Oh? What is his identity?"

"According to the information entered by the Ministry of Personnel, this person has quite a family background in Jinxia."

"Okay, Mr. Dong, please arrange a meeting."

…

Half an hour later, Fei Nian met the complainant Zhou Sheng.

He looked dignified, but he was quite depressed and smelled of alcohol. He thought to himself that this person must have been having a rough time recently.

"I heard that you are from Jinxia City? How long have you lived there? What is your relationship with Xia Fan?" Fei Nian asked the other party to sit down and said slowly.

He naturally knew that the rebel would not be Xia Fan himself. The third princess, Ning Wanjun, was the key to giving him the confidence. However, the news had not yet spread, and the world did not dare to speak ill of the royal family.

"Sir, it has been at least ten years. I have nothing to do with Xia Fan... I am just a scholar and I can't stand the evil deeds he has done!"

"for example?"

"He opened a school in Jinxia and let the women in Chunlou serve as teachers; the court clearly sent a governor to take charge of Jinxia, ​​but he forced the other party not to enter the government office! And... the pirate attack was also caused by Xia Fan, in order to seize the wealth of the Wang family and murder local officials! My lord, everything I said is true, and there is absolutely no deception!"

To be honest, Fei Nian is not interested in these accusations. If he had reported to the Privy Council as soon as he arrived in the capital, maybe His Highness would have been prepared. Now that Xia Fan has become a wanted person, he dared to report it, and the value of the information is almost gone.

Of course, it is indeed a bit difficult for a scholar to gamble all his future to report the fourth-rank official's treason before the Spring Examination.

What Fei Nian values ​​is his identity as a local.

Since he is not from a poor family, his family must have certain connections in Jinxia City, which is very important for a spy, equivalent to gaining a front-line base. Although those people would have used bribery and friendship to insert spies without Zhou Sheng, it is clear that there is no such thing as too many insiders.

"Let's go back to Jinxia." He said.

Zhou Sheng was stunned, "Sir--?"

"It's not that I don't believe you, nor am I driving you away, but I hope you can cooperate with the Privy Council to investigate Jinxia City."

"But the Spring Examination..."

"After the Spring Examination, you are only a Jinshi, so why not take it. And are you sure you can get it in one try?" Fei Nian smiled slightly, "If you can help the Privy Council, I will guarantee you a place in the top three of the palace examination, how about it?"

Top three! Zhou Sheng's heart flashed with thunderbolts, this is definitely the honor that all scholars dream of, "Is it okay not to take the exam?"

"It's okay not to go. You don't have to worry about these trivial matters." Fei Nian repeated in a firm tone, "If you are worried, I beg His Majesty the Emperor to write a secret decree to you, okay?"

Zhou Sheng did not doubt the power of the Privy Council at all.

After the coronation ceremony, everyone has seen that the Privy Council is no longer a simple exorcism agency.

"Then... I'll leave it to you." He leaned forward deeply.