752 – It’s Not a Faction – 3

The minister is committing an eccentric act again.

The person who stayed in the mansion as if he would never work while on vacation, and the person who came to Taeyangjeon with all kinds of expressions when I called him, began to engage in external activities on their own.

This is difficult to understand. Even if we assume that the contact with the manager of the Department of Corrections was because of his dog his his, as the minister said, he is holding a meeting with new officials of the Ministry of Inspection and Inspection? What kind of meeting is this for a topic that even the managers directly below me don’t discuss often?

For a moment, I thought that the minister’s dog, Titi, had captured the hearts of all kinds of females by taking after its owner. I was suspicious that the meeting was being held because the females were all pet dogs of Ministry of Inspector General officials.

‘That can’t be right.’

However, no matter how unexpectedly things go in the world, there are degrees of that.

Probability that all new officials at the Ministry of Inspection own a dog. And the probability that those dogs fell in love with Titi. How extreme would it be for these two cases to overlap? It is a delusion that is not worth discussing.

That’s why it’s confusing. This time, there is no justification for contacting a pet dog for a romantic relationship. There is no reason for a minister who likes to stay in his mansion to lift his heavy body.

‘Hmm?’

While interpreting the minister’s travels by turning the fountain pen, the communication device placed on the desk briefly vibrated.

‘Huh.’

And when I checked the communication port, I was able to see something that would make me sigh.

[The Minister of Inspector General meets with low-ranking commanders and low-ranking knights within the military department. Academy graduates who had previously received a letter of recommendation from the Minister of Inspection were included. ]

Report that the minister’s actions were not limited to the Ministry of Inspection.

Confusion increased because the report was unexpected. Even meeting with new officials at the Ministry of Inspector General can be seen as an activity of the department’s top officer, but what about contacting the military?

Now that I think about it, right after the Great Purge War, the Minister tried to go to the military department rather than remain in the inspection department. Could it be that the regrets from that time still remain? Are we meeting with lower-ranking commanders and knights to start from the bottom of the military?

No, that can’t be true. The Minister has come too far to move the department now. In the first place, the minister’s transfer to the military is an act of insanity that neither I nor my father-in-law, the deputy commander of the Imperial Army, will accept.

‘I’ll just end it with a smile.’

I sighed without realizing it. I was delighted when I found out why the Minister had contacted the Director of the Department of Corrections. If the minister’s eccentricity had stopped there, everyone would have been happy, but why did they take two steps further?

It’s so sad. The story could have ended with everyone happy, but the minister kicked that opportunity away.

How deplorable is this. If things happen like this, I have no choice but to keep an eye on the minister’s actions.

-Long live your Majesty the Emperor. Carl, the head of the Crasius family—

“Minister. If you have nothing to do, come to Taeyangjeon.”

– …Yes, Your Majesty.

To be precise, I have no choice but to call the minister directly and ask him what he is doing these days.

If you look closely at what he’s doing, it seems like a few screws are loose, but surprisingly, when you ask him, he obediently answers as you ask. Unless they are preparing for treason, they will answer my questions properly.

“I wanted to encourage emerging bureaucrats and become a fence where they could fully demonstrate their abilities.”

“What?”

“If water stagnates, it rots, and if a stone doesn’t roll, moss grows. If something comes from below, the officials above will also be stimulated. Then, the entire administration can be healthy.”

However, even after hearing the explanation, the question was not resolved.

The minister is not wrong. It is important to retain talented people for a long time, but it is also important to use the promotion card appropriately. The basics of yongin art are to give the officials below the hope of being able to move upward, to give the officials above a sense of crisis that they might be caught by those below, and to place shackles on the officials above them that they cannot escape.

The organization must undergo appropriate changes. If the same thing continues for too long, side effects occur and it turns into a group of corrupt people with nothing new.

‘Why are you doing that?’

However, no matter how positively one thinks about it, it is not something the minister intends to do. Could it be that the Minister was the Minister of Personnel and not the Ministry of Inspection?

“Minister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It is indeed a beautiful and noble intention, but it does not seem like something a minister on vacation should personally handle.”

Then the minister fell silent for a moment.

As expected, there was another intention. I know for sure that the minister talks about a healthy administration and he is not the type to comfort new officials. How dare you try to hide your true feelings.

“…Actually, it’s also for my convictions.”

“Work for the Minister?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. If competent subordinates are active, wouldn’t even the top officials be stimulated? We need to train new officials so that Soshin, who was given an undeserved position at a young age, does not fall into arrogance and does not fall into the illusion that the position of minister always belongs to Soshin.”

At that moment, I thought, ‘That will be your seat forever.’ The words rose to the top of my throat.

Still, I endured it. Because I realized what the minister was feeling when he committed such a strange act.

‘You are dreaming of a future that will never come.’

A futile hope that the officials below will rise up and one day take their place. To be honest, it’s not hope, but regret.

The minister was blinded by that regret. I ended up betting on the present on a possibility that was insufficient even to say it was slim. It is truly a pity.

‘Let’s keep our mouths shut.’

I quietly touched the corner of my mouth that had begun to twitch.

Okay, for the sake of the minister, I’ll just keep my thoughts to myself. People need dreams to live, but isn’t the minister’s dream a lifelong dream that will never come true? A beautiful dream that will keep the minister running throughout his life.

“Big.”

“Your Majesty?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, but I quickly controlled it.

Isn’t the minister younger than me? As an older brother, you cannot trample on your younger brother’s dreams.

‘…Do you still believe that you will consider retirement if you get 100 people?’

A thought like that passed through my mind and I desperately bit my lip.

As a 26-year-old, I don’t know why I revert to the intelligence of a 6-year-old once I retire.

***

He withdrew from the Battle of the Sun with encouragement from the emperor.

With that encouragement, my hope grew even greater. Even though I worked hard to sow seeds for the future, the emperor said, ‘Don’t make a fuss, just be minister for life.’ If you say that, it will inevitably collapse. However, the emperor did not scold him and simply encouraged him to be strong.

This means that the emperor also understands and supports my feelings. It is an expression that if a new talent appears, he or she will be willing to make him or her minister instead of me, who is tired of seeing him all the time. It’s certain.

‘Thank you…’

I bowed my head slightly in the direction of Taeyangjeon.

As expected, the emperor was an asshole, but he was our asshole, not my asshole. Sometimes it was a dog that was useful.

‘Where should we go next?’

After finishing the short prayer, I thought about my next destination with a pounding heart.

So far, I have visited Gamchalseong, my home base, and Gunbu, the home of my heart. Both places welcomed me warmly, and I was able to find some pretty cool newbies.

‘Wouldn’t it be good for finance?’

Building on this positive momentum, the third destination to visit was the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Supervision was originally a department under the Ministry of Finance. I still have connections within the Ministry of Finance, so if you ask me to meet some fresh newbies, they will gladly listen.

Next, let’s go to the Ministry of Special Affairs. There are many people from the old Special Service in the Intelligence Department and Special Task Force under the Ministry of Inspector General. If you ask through those guys, something will work out.

‘It’s time for a change in the administration.’

In fact, if you want to escape on your own, all you need to do is take care of your observation skills. There is no benefit to me in taking care of new civil servants from other departments.

However, only by sowing seeds here and there will the miracle of ministerial replacement blossom, and only when a minister is replaced in another department will I have a justification for stepping down. Even if there is no immediate benefit, it is a 100-year plan that will pay off someday.

No. It’s uneasy to say it’s a hundred-year plan, so let’s say it’s a ten-year plan.

– Purr.

“Are you taking a walk?”

– Purung.

While walking around the imperial palace with a lighter heart, I made eye contact with the black horse raised by Sang-taek.

A black horse that was not confined to the stable provided by circumstances, but came out into the wide world of the imperial palace. I felt proud as if I was seeing future talents who would step out of my arms and become the pinnacle of Gamchalseong.

‘The inspection uniform is also black.’

The black horse in front of me is also black.

This will be Enen, the eternal blue sky and Constantina blessing my future.

***

Strangely, people are afraid of the cold, but not the heat.

We are afraid of fire, which can overcome the cold, but we are not afraid of water, which can overcome the heat.

In fact, you can overcome the cold by wrapping yourself up as much as possible. Thanks to this, the number of people dying from cold can be reduced.

However, no matter how much you take off, you cannot relieve the heat. Therefore, we cannot prevent people from dying from heat.

‘Drinking water incorrectly is more lethal than fire.’

Also, people avoid fire because of the immediate pain of being hot. On the other hand, you drink water, no matter how dirty it is, and only after experiencing discomfort in your body do you realize that it is painful.

Therefore, as a person who leads the Guhyulseong, and as someone who was once under the care of the Guhyulseong, I am more afraid of summer than winter. I am afraid because I think of the people who will die if I neglect my work. Because of that fear, when spring arrived, I started preparing to get through the summer safely.

Fortunately, it worked, but at the cost of accumulating a considerable amount of documents.

‘There’s no way to just get something.’

I clicked my tongue and looked over the documents.

The work was delayed so much that we couldn’t even meet with the new officials who came to Guhyulseong in the second half of the year. Of course, the minister is not talking to lower-level officials, but the meeting has not yet been held because even the department and manager levels are busy with work.

This is troublesome. However, this cannot be entrusted to a team leader…

…

‘There just happens to be a workforce playing.’

I quietly took out the communication device that was in my pocket.

There is only one person. There is someone who has the authority and ability to deal with bureaucrats, and who will gladly accept my request since I don’t have any specific work to do.

‘Minister of Inspection.’

A person who is clearly on vacation and snooping around here and there. A person who wanted to go around each department and see the faces of new employees.

Starting with the Ministry of Inspection, the Minister of Inspection visited the Ministry of Military Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Special Affairs, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Justice. There would be no problem even if one salvation was added here.

‘Good.’

Decided. Let’s leave the interview of new employees to the Minister of Inspection.

It is strange to entrust a meeting with my department to a minister from another department, but he is a minister who voluntarily does strange things. The only difference is whether I ask first or the minister asks first.

“Secretary.”

– Yes, sir. Please speak.

“I will be trusting the Minister of Inspection with interviews with new officials, so be prepared.”

– …To the Minister of Inspector General, are you speaking?

“Okay. Is there a problem?”

– If you entrust the meeting to a minister from another department… His Excellency’s control over the officials will be—

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

I shook my head firmly at the secretary’s words.

Losing control after giving up just one interview? A fool like that doesn’t deserve to be a minister. If he acted as a minister with that kind of power and authority, he should bite his tongue and die.

‘Thanks to you, I survived.’

Anyway, I breathed a sigh of relief. We were able to breathe thanks to the Minister of Inspector General’s misdeeds.

I don’t know why he does this, but he will definitely be blessed. Because good deeds come with a certain price.