As time passed day by day, they entered the fifth month.
The Imperial Merchant Bureau also completed its formation. It established one chief official, a bureau director of subordinate fifth rank; two deputy officials, assistant secretaries of subordinate sixth rank; several directors under them, of principal seventh rank; and several clerks, of subordinate ninth rank.
Li Changxiao, formerly an assistant secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, was promoted to bureau director of the Imperial Merchant Bureau, while Luo Shang, Wang Zhenze, Lin Qi, Zhang Qingsong, Qi Ting, and Zhen Yang Shi, the Six Major Agents, entered the Imperial Merchant Bureau as directors.
The Ministry of Personnel argued internally for several days over the matter of the Six Major Agents serving as directors.
The main reason was Zhen Yang Shi. There were some women generals in Da Rong's military, but in the civil official system, there had never been a woman serving as an official.
For Zhen Yang Shi to serve as a director could truly be considered a first under heaven.
However, this had nothing to do with Yang Zhengshan. Yang Zhengshan had not spoken up for Zhen Yang Shi; after all, he could not currently manage matters over the Imperial Merchant Bureau. Don't look at the fact that he had proposed establishing the Imperial Merchant Bureau— in reality, the Imperial Merchant Bureau had not the slightest connection to him.
The Imperial Merchant Bureau belonged to the Ministry of Revenue's jurisdiction and was also supervised by the Directorate of Palace Servants within the Imperial City. Whether it was the Ministry of Revenue or the Directorate of Palace Servants, he had no say.
Therefore, he was already unable to interfere in the Imperial Merchant Bureau's affairs now, and naturally could not help Zhen Yang Shi either.
However, Emperor Yanping valued Yang