Jia Min: Why neither the Ministry of Personnel nor the Ministry of Revenue?

That evening.

Xu Jin, a bureau director in the Bureau of Evaluations within the Ministry of Personnel, was also a civil official. Naturally, like the Lin family, he lived on Hanlin Street, less than half a mile away from the Lin residence. It took no time to walk there, especially since Lin Rui carried nothing conspicuous, arriving almost "empty-handed."

The gatekeeper had clearly been instructed and did not stop him upon his arrival, leading him straight inside.

"Sit down!" A moment later, in Xu's outer study, Xu Jin waved his hand as Lin Rui stood up to greet him. He only spoke after the servant serving tea had left, dispensing with any beating around the bush. "I have already arranged your matter over the past few days. When you were previously in Yangzhou, you held the concurrent post of assistant prefect under the prefect, but the official appointment records in the Ministry of Personnel archives had absolutely no record of you. It does not matter; these past few days I have had someone retroactively make and insert the entries. From now on, all references will be based on this."

"Many thanks, Official Xu!" Lin Rui hurriedly bowed.

By rights, the man before him was Lin Hai's closest friend, and he should have used an intimate address like "Uncle" or something similar. However, their last meeting had made it clear that the other man might not welcome such familiarity.

It was better to speak honestly; at least that way he wouldn't risk offending anyone.

"I had you come over tonight, so you surely understand," Xu Jin said, touching lightly on the main point. "The joint memorial reporting contributions submitted by the various offices in Yangzhou has already passed through the Office of Transmission, and His Majesty has made his notations after reading it. It fully details Brother Ruhai's merits, while lamenting that Heaven did not grant him more years."

Hearing this, Lin Rui's heart slowly sank.

Emperor Jing'an naturally still remembered Lin Hai and knew he had performed meritorious service. Yet, so much time had passed without a single mention of additional rewards or posthumous honors, nor any expression of condolence to the Lin family. Evidently, His Majesty already knew the inside story and had decided to cover it up.

barring any accidents, Lin Hai's "wrapping-up arrangements" would be issued one after another only after his own position was finalized tonight. But there was no need to expect too much. Since the emperor had already made clear his attitude of sweeping the matter under the rug, who below would dare to stir up trouble?

Just like their past "friendship"—most of it was gone now.

After all, Lin Hai had been away from the capital for too long; what could be maintained by mere letters alone? If he had still enjoyed the emperor's favor and been a trusted confidant of the Son of Heaven, things would certainly have been easy to discuss. But now that he was dead, expecting anyone to offer full assistance was pure wishful thinking.

No wonder Lady Jia had repeatedly submitted calling cards to the palace after returning, yet had never received a summons from the Empress. He had previously assumed the Empress was simply too busy; now it seemed she knew nothing could be done and had simply chosen not to express a stance, waiting for everything to settle into dust.

Or rather, waiting for Emperor Jing'an's attitude.

Now, that attitude was clear.

"Thank you for the reminder, Official Xu." After a long period of contemplation, Lin Rui stood up with a suppressed expression and bowed.

"As long as you understand!" Xu Jin sighed softly, evidently sharing the sentiment. "As the saying goes, 'Whether it be thunder or dew, all is the grace of the monarch.' Matters at court are not so simple. I have also inquired about Brother Ruhai's affair, and it is indeed somewhat difficult to speak of.

However, regarding your reporting to the Censorate and the Ministry of Personnel upon your return, I have already reported it to His Majesty through Grand Secretary Zhao of the Ministry of Personnel. Only after obtaining his permission did we proceed with further arrangements. It has been hard on you waiting all this time, but now it has finally borne fruit."

These words made Lin Rui feel even more oppressed.

Xu Jin had not gone all out to help him, but through his own channels, he had at least helped convey the matter to the imperial ears. Moreover, it was only after waiting for Emperor Jing'an's stance that he had officially operated to arrange Lin Rui's future post—at least he had not merely stood by as a spectator.

Fortunately, the current outcome was still acceptable.

"I wonder what this time—" Lin Rui could not help but ask, bowing deeply.

"This time, the confiscation of the salt merchants Cheng and He yielded a total of two million seven hundred thousand taels of silver." When Xu Jin mentioned this, it made Lin Rui's heart twitch. "It greatly replenished the imperial treasury and made many matters convenient for the court. Such a merit cannot go unrewarded."

The two major salt merchants possessed estates worth fifteen million taels, yet only two million seven hundred thousand taels had arrived in the capital.

Even so, this was just the current figure. When the funds were actually disbursed in the future, how much would truly be left?

Yet, even knowing this, what could Lin Rui do?

"This was only my bounden duty; I dare not claim credit," he naturally had to express this stance.

"Your former post was assistant prefect of Yangzhou, with a substantive rank of Senior Sixth Grade plus an auxiliary title of Junior Fifth Grade prefectural colleague," Xu Jin continued, seeing how tactful Lin Rui was. "Judging strictly by your merits, you deserved a promotion of two ranks. However, because you are being transferred to the capital, according to the regulations, you can only be promoted by one rank.

After discussions between myself and the Minister, and reviewing the current vacancies across various departments, we finally decided to assign you a substantive position of Senior Fifth Grade—namely, a bureau director within a department. It has been designated in the Ministry of War as the Director of the Bureau of Armaments. I believe you can understand."

Lin Rui was stunned.

The Ministry of War...... how should he put it?

To reiterate, the Great Zhou inherited the Ming dynastic system.

In terms of institutional setup, the imperial court theoretically had two offices in charge of military affairs—the Ministry of War and the Five Chief Military Commissions existed side by side. Originally intended as a check and balance, basically whatever function one side had, the other was guaranteed to have as well.

According to the founding Emperor's regulations, the former was roughly in charge during peacetime, while the latter was employed during wartime.

The problem was, how does one distinguish between peacetime and wartime? There was no domestic war, but did border conflicts count? When troop movements were involved, who approved the chits? What if the Emperor favored the Minister of War and ignored the Five Chief Military Commissions?

Especially as time dragged on, with the problem of "valuing civil officials and disparaging military officers" growing increasingly severe, the Five Chief Military Commissions, entirely controlled by the hereditary military nobility, had basically become obsolete. Aside from holding nominal titles to collect stipends, they could control almost nothing.

Fortunately, the imperial house was not foolish.

Beginning in the early years of the Retired Emperor, the Five Chief Military Commissions had practically been abandoned. The Minister of War was tacitly understood to be appointed from the military nobility. Of the two Junior Vice Ministers, one was invariably from the military nobility while the other was bound to be a civil official. If the former controlled military affairs such as promotions and merit-recording, the latter definitely held the logistics of finances, grain, and supplies.

However, this also created a rift between the Ministry of War and the other five ministries. Although they were all collectively referred to as the Six Ministries, the current Minister of War, Niu Jizong, was the sole military noble among the six Grand Secretaries. It would be a miracle if he could get along with the others.

Coupled with the fact that the two Vice Ministers belonged to the civil and military factions respectively, constantly undermining and tearing each other down, their internal infighting was famous throughout the entire court. Fortunately, the Bureau of Armaments belonged to the ordnance division, which naturally fell under the command of the Left Vice Minister of War.

There were four bureau directors under the Ministry of War, and this was truly a lucrative post—he was being well taken care of.

Clearly, those at the top also knew the inside story of Lin Hai's assassination, and this assignment was meant as compensation for him. The problem was that the entire Ministry of War fought like gamecocks. As a new bureau director who had purchased his office, lacked a traditional scholarly background, and had no solid footing in either the civil or military factions, was he truly suited for this?

"Many thanks, Official Xu!" Regardless of whether it was suitable or not, Lin Rui had no choice but to obey.

"It was precisely because he heard of your plight that Grand Secretary Zhao brought this up," Xu Jin said, paying no mind to his attitude. "Your merits in Yangzhou are known to the entire court. Leading troops is out of the question, but didn't you once develop a very useful type of firelock? Surely you are competent in matters of military equipment."

"Rest assured, My Lord, your subordinate will certainly give his all!" Lin Rui immediately declared his stance.

"Very well, these are yours." Xu Jin smiled as he stood up, taking an envelope and a leather pouch from his desk drawer. "Your official appointment and seal are right here; take them back and look them over yourself. Your official uniform will need to be ordered through the Imperial Household Department, which I'm afraid will take some time.

All the paperwork at the Ministry of Personnel has been completed and dispatched, but internal adjustments within the Ministry of War are still underway, making it temporarily inconvenient. Since you have just returned from Yangzhou, you surely still have many personal matters to settle. As for assuming office, let us set it for the beginning of next month!"

In other words, his position had not yet been fully adjusted, and his predecessor had not yet handed over duties.

"Your subordinate understands!" Lin Rui finally let out a thorough breath of relief.

"That is good!" Xu Jin nodded, sat back down, and took a sip from his teacup.

"Your subordinate takes his leave!" Lin Rui bowed deeply, smoothly pulling an envelope from his chest and laying it down.

Xu Jin simply continued drinking his tea, acting as though he had seen nothing.

Lin Rui walked out of the Xu residence in silence, looking back with a complex expression as the side gate closed.

He understood that he would no longer need to come here.

At least, not for a short while.

His time at the Xu residence had not been long. When he returned home, he found the main room brightly lit.

Only three people sat in the hall: Lady Jia in the center, with Lin Daiyu and Miaoyu seated on the east and west sides respectively. One could tell they were waiting for him just by their expressions, as they naturally dismissed the maids knowing there were matters to discuss.

"How did it go?" Seeing him step through the door, Lady Jia could not help standing up.

"It's fine!" Meeting the gazes of the three before him, Lin Rui could not help but reveal a relaxed smile. Speaking as he took out the appointment document and the official seal, he gently placed them on the tea table. "Lord Xu handed them over directly. Although he didn't go all out to pull strings, he at least did his utmost."

The expressions of all three women lit up simultaneously.

"Brother Rui, is this the official seal?" Lin Daiyu was the first to "snatch up" the leather pouch.

"Uncle Lin had his own, haven't you seen one before?" Lin Rui was stunned.

Lin Daiyu gave him a sidelong glance, smiling as she and Miaoyu, who had squeezed in close, began examining it.

"Such an item is of the utmost importance, the very foundation of an official's standing in the world. How can you bring it into the inner chambers for women to play with?" Lady Jia spoke with severity, though she herself could not resist picking up the appointment document. Yet the moment she scanned it, her expression slowly turned serious. "The Ministry of War?"

"The Ministry of War!" Lin Rui nodded slowly.

"Why not the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of Revenue?" Lady Jia put down the document and muttered to herself.

Although the Six Ministries of the imperial court were always mentioned in the same breath, they actually differed in prestige and status. Nominally, the most prestigious was naturally the Ministry of Rites, whose minister was hailed as the "ancestor of literary culture," but most of the subordinate bureaus within it were sinecures. The two universally acknowledged best ministries were precisely the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue.

One managed personnel, the other managed finances.

The promotion post Lin Hai had ultimately targeted was Left Vice Minister of Revenue, and Xu Jin was a bureau director in the Ministry of Personnel.

At first glance, it seemed Lin Rui's most likely destination would be one of these two directions.

"To be able to secure a position now is already good enough." Yet he remained clear-headed, understanding the core issue.

"Ah, well!" Lady Jia sighed softly. "Though it is neither the Ministry of Personnel nor the Ministry of Revenue, fortunately it is placed in the Ministry of War. I still retain some connections among the various families of the military nobility, and furthermore, since you are taking charge of the Bureau of Armaments, it will be even more convenient for you in the future."

"Thank you, Madam!" Lin Rui was naturally pleased.

"When does the lord assume office?" Seeing that the major business had been discussed, Miaoyu asked with a smile.

"At the beginning of next month. The intervening time will be convenient for making some visits." Lin Rui looked toward the matronly beauty as he spoke.

"I will have someone send a calling card to the Rongguo Mansion tomorrow." Lady Jia understood his meaning.

In truth, the only people the Lin family could still address as "relatives" were temporarily residing over there.