Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 1194: Strike first to gain advantage, strike later to suffer disaster

Chen Mo smiled wickedly: "May I ask Minister Wang, in the entire Ming Dynasty court, who most wants to see the Grand Master suffer a setback?"

Wang Guangyang was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Who?"

Chen Mo chuckled and said, “Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince, the Duke of Han, the Marquis of Chengyi, the chief officials of various ministries, directorates, temples and academies, as well as the more than thirty provincial governors, plus more than one hundred prefects.”

"Besides that, there are dozens of county magistrates who came from Ningyang County School—in order to make the people under their jurisdiction rich, they even dare to compete with the magistrate for the name of local specialties. Where is there anything good?"

"Let me be frank, as long as you, Minister Wang, dare to take the lead in organizing a group to snatch people from Dengzhou University, it's hard to say whether other officials will dare to follow, but those dozens of county magistrates from Ningyang County will definitely dare."

Wang Guangyang stared blankly at Chen Mo.

You seem quite proud?

No, Chen Mo, you served as the executive deputy county magistrate under Yang Dianfeng for several years. Now, in order for the Ministry of Railways to have steel, you betrayed Yang Dianfeng without hesitation?

Furthermore, if you, Chen Mo, dare to provoke Yang Dianfeng, then those dozens of county magistrates from Ningyang County also dare to do so. The question is, do I dare to?

I don't want to end up like Li Shanchang, balding prematurely!

Wang Guangyang clicked his tongue and said, "If I lead the group, and those dozens of county magistrates from Ningyang County follow suit, we should be able to snatch the person. But what happens after we snatch them? Do you think Yang the Madman will let it go so easily?"

Chen Mo pursed his lips and said, "Isn't Minister Wang overestimating Dengzhou University?"

What?

Wang Guangyang's eyes widened, and he looked at Chen Mo with the kind of pity one would give someone with intellectual disabilities, saying, "Do you know what Dengzhou University means?"

Chen Mo nodded and said, "I know, there are more than twenty different colleges and dozens of different majors. They are the darlings of the Crown Prince and the eyes of the Grand Master and the Duke of Han. The Jinling University Medical School, which was just built a few days ago, is based on the Dengzhou University Medical School and its staff were drawn from there."

Wang Guangyang clicked his tongue and was about to say, "You, Chen Mo, know the importance of Dengzhou University," when Chen Mo interrupted, "You, Minister Wang, can confidently and boldly recruit people from Dengzhou University. The Master will certainly be unhappy, but he won't hold a grudge against you, Minister Wang, because of this."

After a slight pause, Chen Mo continued, "If Minister Wang really doesn't want to provoke the Grand Master, then I have another way—the Grand Master has recently been repeatedly schemed against by the Upper Lord, His Highness the Crown Prince, and the Duke of Han. Minister Wang might as well guess whether my Grand Master is feeling comfortable or not right now?"

Wang Guangyang unconsciously said, "That must be uncomfortable, but... to be schemed against by the Crown Prince, the Duke of Han, the Marquis of Chengyi, and even the Duke of Wei and the Duke of E, your master has enough to be proud of."

Chen Mo smiled meaningfully, "My master is not feeling well, guess what he will do?"

"If you, Minister Wang, dare to act before the Grand Master, and give them a good show, then getting a few people from Dengzhou University to the Ministry of Industry will be a piece of cake."

Wang Guangyang was immediately startled and asked in a trembling voice, "Who are you going to mess with? How are you going to mess with them?"

Chen Mo stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Of course, it's the entire court, especially the cabinet—you're using the Ministry of Industry's name to plan several industrial zones in Nanjing and Beiping, building factories in different areas. This involves land acquisition, relocation, water supply, road construction, housing, education, healthcare, and so on. A little fuss like this can involve a whole bunch of people."

"At the very least, the Cabinet, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Ministry of Infrastructure—no one can escape this responsibility."

Wang Guangyang was immediately impressed and gave Chen Mo a thumbs up, saying, "It has to be officials from your Ningyang County, not a single one of them is any good!"

Chen Mo's face darkened, and he snorted coldly, "Does Minister Wang know what it means to deceive one's superiors?"

Do you know what managing upwards means?

Do you know what social obligations are?

"Minister Wang, you've been an official for so many years, don't you know how to use other people's resources to do your own job?"

"You're taking advantage of Dengzhou University, and the people in power and the Korean public are happy."

"You've turned around and created a difficult problem for the court, which pleases the emperor."

Before Chen Mo could finish speaking, Wang Guangyang couldn't help but roll his eyes and said with a dark, sour face, "Yes, they're happy now. But once they come to their senses, it'll be like I've offended both sides and am now caught in the middle!"

Chen Mo chuckled and asked, "So what?"

"Minister Wang, don't forget that your superiors and the Duke of Han might cause you trouble if you mess up your job, but they won't cause you trouble if you do it well."

"Compared to messing up your job and ending up pleasing neither side, what does it matter if you, Minister Wang, do your job well or not?"

Wang Guangyang stared at Chen Mo blankly for a long while before gritting his teeth and saying, "Then this old man will give it a try?"

Chen Mo nodded and said, "Give it a try!"

"Moreover, Minister Wang can first send someone to deliver a letter to those dozens of county magistrates, as well as Zhou Jingxin, Xu Jingyu, and Wu Ju of Yangzhou."

"Especially Xu Jingyu and Wu Ju, these two are the most important."

Wang Guangyang hummed in agreement, and Chen Mo continued to fan the flames: "Minister Wang, don't forget that the Master was terribly schemed against by Shangwei and the Duke of Han not long ago. If you don't scheme against him first, he might very well scheme against you first once he comes to his senses."

As the saying goes, "He who strikes first gains the upper hand, and he who strikes last suffers the consequences..."

"After this is done, Minister Wang, don't forget the steel I wanted!"

……

"Ah~ Ah~ Achoo!"

Yang Shaofeng unconsciously rubbed his nose, then picked up the memorial he had just written and began to read it.

I'd like to see who among you will still be laughing after these two memorials are submitted.

Old Deng?

Black sesame glutinous rice balls?

Or is it you two old scoundrels, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen?

Quietly waiting for the ink to dry, Yang Shaofeng reached out and played the melody book again, then put it in an envelope, sealed it with sealing wax, and then ran to the backyard to find Jin'er and Yu'er, saying, "Take our little darlings into the palace."

Yu'er's eyes lit up, and she looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Husband, have you finished writing the memorial?"

Yang Shaofeng waved the two envelopes in his hand and said, "Not only are they written, but I've also written two copies."

"One document was directed at the Korean Duke and the Marquis of Chengyi, and it also included documents from various ministries, academies, temples, and monasteries."

"The other one..."

Yang Shaofeng smiled meaningfully and said, "You two take the baby to your mother-in-law's place first, and I'll go find your father-in-law."