GBP Chapter 584 The Prince Consort is a man of great taste!
Chapter 584 The Prince Consort is a man of great taste!
Li Shanchang was so angry he almost vomited blood.
If possible, Li Shanchang now would rather emulate Dou E and roar, "After I die, my blood will splatter on white silk and the moon will fly in June!"
Li Shanchang deeply hated his body.
What a disappointment! He's over sixty years old and still has no health problems whatsoever!
Why can't he just get a serious illness like so-and-so did?
Just as Li Shanchang was cursing in his heart that Zhang was shameless towards his father-in-law and son-in-law, and at the same time hating his own body for being so weak, Emperor Zhu said with a smile: "We've thought it over, let's set a retirement age today."
"No matter who it is in the court, they must retire when they reach this age."
"However, Zhu Chongba is not the kind of heartless landlord who would abandon everyone after they retire."
"So, those who retire after reaching a certain age can still receive their original salary until they pass away. This is our way of showing our appreciation."
Li Shanchang thought to himself, "I don't want your salary, I can even give you money instead, as long as you let this old man go home and live out his days in peace, okay?"
Liu Bowen simply drooped his eyelids and didn't want to speak.
You, Zhu Chongba, are certainly not the kind of heartless landlord.
After all, landlords and rich people are just heartless.
But no matter how ruthless someone is, they still have the will to do evil, while you, Zhu Chongba, have no conscience at all, so you can't even do evil to them!
Emperor Zhu continued, "Mr. Shanchang and Mr. Qingtian are both over sixty years old now, but the court cannot do without them for the time being. So, why not set their retirement age at over sixty?"
Liu Bowen sneered inwardly, but outwardly bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty is wise and sagacious."
Li Shanchang, with a forced smile, bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty is wise and benevolent."
Emperor Zhu chuckled dryly twice, "Don't rush to praise me. We know you've already heard about the re-employment matter."
Liu Bowen continued to sneer inwardly.
As long as you know.
"That bastard really did something wrong."
Li Shanchang continued to force a smile.
If your son-in-law is no good, does that mean you, Zhu Chongba, are some kind of saint?
"But we can't be as dishonest as him."
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen exchanged a glance.
Neither of you, father-in-law and son-in-law, should say anything negative about each other; either he's worse or you're worse.
Anyway, none of them are good.
Emperor Zhu pretended not to see the interaction between Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, and continued, "After all, they are old brothers of many years."
"We understand that everyone wants to enjoy their retirement years."
After a slight pause, Emperor Zhu held up two more fingers.
"How about this, let's agree on the term of the re-employment beforehand."
“For example, Mr. Shanchang, when you retire at the age of sixty, we will rehire you to continue serving as the Left Chancellor of the Secretariat.”
"However, the term of re-employment is calculated as five years, and only two terms will be re-employed."
"When they were rehired, Mr. Shanchang received a retirement salary and a rehiring salary. The Imperial Medical Academy specially assigned some imperial physicians to recuperate the old brothers who were rehired and above."
"In addition, we have also set aside the Wanshou Palace in Dengzhou specifically for the old brothers who have been rehired to live and recuperate, for one month each year."
“We’ve heard that there’s a pretty good place near Shanhaiguan, right by the sea, with beautiful mountains and clear waters, which is also a great place for recuperation. Once the border is more secure, we can get another place like that for our old brothers.”
"The government also provided accommodations for those rehired during their employment period."
"If they want to return to their hometown after their contract expires, we will arrange for local officials to visit them during holidays."
"..."
Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and others, who had been on tenterhooks for most of the day, finally died completely at this moment.
Re-employment is not a plan, but a fait accompli.
Zhu Chongba's announcement today wasn't a consultation with everyone, but rather a notification after everything had been settled.
But then, upon further reflection, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and the others felt somewhat fortunate, and even a little wanted to cry.
The prince consort is a man of great taste!
At least the prince consort still has some conscience, much better than his heartless father-in-law.
If it weren't for the fact that the Prince Consort had set a limit on the number of years he would be rehired after retirement, Zhu Chongba would have made everyone work themselves to death in office.
And that thing about living and recuperating at the Wanshou Palace, or being rehired after retirement and receiving an extra salary, was probably something the prince consort came up with.
Otherwise, given Zhu Chongba's stingy nature—he'd eat a soybean in hot water if he ever pooped out—would he be so generous?
Well, the prince consort does have his merits after all; he's not entirely insane.
Just as Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and others were secretly grumbling, Emperor Zhu chuckled twice and said, "Does anyone have any ideas? If you do, speak up quickly. If not, we'll pretend you don't have any, but then we'll just have to carry it out, won't we?"
Li Shanchang immediately stood up, cupped his hands in a salute to Emperor Zhu, and said, "Your Majesty is wise and sagacious."
Liu Bowen also rose and, together with the six ministers, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and others, bowed to Emperor Zhu, saying, "Your Majesty is wise and sagacious."
In fact, everyone present could see that the matter of rehiring retired employees was a done deal.
Li Shanchang valued re-employment even more than Emperor Zhu.
If someone were to oppose the retirement and re-employment, Emperor Zhu might not react much, but Li Shanchang would certainly go crazy first.
This is no longer just a matter of whether or not to retire.
It also relates to whether Li Shanchang himself can land safely.
Without the concept of re-employment after retirement, and considering the precedent set by Sima Yi, it would be difficult for Li Shanchang to land smoothly.
With the concept of rehiring after retirement established, even if Li Shanchang died in office, he wouldn't have to worry about being mistaken for Sima Yi.
To put it bluntly, a prime minister who has retired and been rehired is a completely different concept from a prime minister who is currently in office.
The former is a mascot, and everyone must respect him because he has already vacated his position, and maybe one day you can sit in his seat and enjoy the same treatment.
The latter, however, was merely an old and lingering Left Chancellor of the Secretariat, and might even be the next Sima Yi.
Emperor Zhu smiled and invited Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and others to take their seats.
But secretly, he was also pleased.
You're all quite satisfied, right?
We are very satisfied.
Anyway, we only said that the term of office for a rehired prime minister is two terms, but we didn't say that you can't be transferred to another department to serve two more terms.
For example, let's set up a cabinet advisory office, specifically to advise us.
Emperor Zhu smiled again and said, "Since everyone agrees, then this matter of re-employment after retirement is settled. We'll issue an imperial edict later, and the Secretariat will also issue an official document."
"This treatment shouldn't be limited to the old guard in the imperial court; local officials should also be included."
"Oh, right, let's continue talking about this restructuring."