The renovated Chongqing Hall is both magnificent and elegant, and there are more people celebrating the New Year in the hall than last year, and the food and drinks at the reunion banquet and tonight's Lantern Festival banquet are better than last year. But Ji Yunfei, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, Jiang Haoxuan, a member of the Criminal Department, and He Heng, the secretary of the cabinet, always felt that there were shortcomings, and they felt that this year was not as interesting as last year. The first time people came to Beijing to take the exam, they were very interested, and they recited poems while eating and drinking, for fear of being compared to others.

Liu Shanyang, the lifter from Jiangbei Hall, didn't come either, and only Bao Lingyun, a lifter from Rongchang County, and Ren He, a lifter from Ba County, came among the lifters who celebrated the New Year in the hall last year.

Bao Lingyun's demeanor is still the same, but Ren He has changed a lot. It's only been less than a year, and it seems that he has aged ten years, not only is he no longer sharp, but he has even become less talkative, and he does not live outside like last year, but lives in the guild hall like other people.

Just thinking about why he had changed so much, Ji Yunfei suddenly asked, "Qianli, why didn't Shi Zhen come to take the exam?" ”

Bao Lingyun hurriedly put down his chopsticks and said with a bitter face: "Master Ji, do you know, his father passed away and left on the night of November 17 last year." ”

"I see, this filial piety will take three years." Ji Yunfei sighed lightly and didn't say anything more.

Bao Lingyun didn't want to spoil Ji Yunfei's interest, so he hurriedly diverted the topic: "Master Ji, I heard that Wuchang City has been recovered?" ”

"Xiang Rong's report said so, but there was no mention of how it was recovered, and the emperor has ordered Zhang Liangji and Luo Bingzhang to go to Wuchang to handle Fusui matters."

"What about the bandits?"

"Rushing downstream, Xiang Rongzheng is leading his troops to chase after him, but judging from the Beijing newspaper banknotes these days, the situation is not optimistic. Lu Jianying, the governor of Liangjiang, who was supposed to meet and suppress Jiangning in the Jiujiang area, actually used the excuse of blocking Jiangning and entrusted Jiangxi and Anhui to ignore it, so that the commander-in-chief was killed. Jiang Wenqing, the governor of Anhui, hoped that no help could come, so he was angry and rushed to impeachment for 600 miles. The emperor was furious and issued an edict to dismiss Lu Jianying, but still ordered him to handle local affairs to see the after-effects. ”

"Master Ji, saying this, not only Anhui and Jiangxi are in danger, but Jiangning is also in danger!"

"Jiangnan's troops are soft and brittle, and there are people like Lu Jianying who are greedy for life and afraid of death, I don't think Jiangning can hold it, but can hold it for a few days."

There were many people in the hall, and He Heng felt that it was not good for these words to be passed out. Although he was also not optimistic about the war, he still pretended to be relaxed and said: "Master Ji, Lu Jianying is greedy for life and afraid of death, but Jiangning is not only him Lu Jianying, but also Jiangsu Governor Yang Wending Yang, and Jiangning General Xianghou. The day before yesterday, the emperor had allowed Lord Yang to play, and ordered the Jiangsu Domain, Yangzhou Pass, and Longjiang Pass to release the tax and silver to the Jiangning Domain Treasury for use as a blockade. ”

"What's the use of silver?"

"Not only silver, but also soldiers, Lord Yang asked to transfer 2,000 Shandong soldiers to help the emperor also agreed. Then the canal is blocked, the grain can't enter Beijing, those boatmen have nothing to do, and the sailors are all strong men, and the emperor also asked the military aircraft department to weigh whether to recruit those sailors to train in order to resist insults. If there is no malpractice, handle it at your discretion. ”

He Heng put down his chopsticks and said: "In order to boost morale, the emperor also allowed Xiang Rong and other ministers to play, and ordered the pursuit of the various ministers who prevented the thieves and bandits to specify the rewards, clear terms, and all the edicts. If there is a person who is the first to rebel, whether it is an official, a soldier, a civilian, etc., he must be rewarded with a huge amount of money. ”

"What about the rebels?"

"The same reward, this edict was copied and archived by me, and it is very clear, the emperor said, 'Under the heavy reward, there will be brave men, and I will not be remote'!"

Ji Yunfei was taken aback, and secretly thought that as soon as this precedent was opened, those ministers who chased down and prevented the Taiping bandits would have the right to elect civil and military officials, as long as the names of the civil and military officials to be selected were guaranteed to the ministry, and the imperial court would recognize them even if they did not recognize them.

Just when he didn't know what to say, Jiang Haoxuan suddenly said: "Zhixing is an official in Yangzhou Mansion, Jiangning is in danger, Yangzhou is so close to Jiangning, isn't Zhixing's situation very dangerous." ”

"Yangzhou Mansion is big, Zhixing is in Taizhou under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou, and it is not in Yangzhou City, so there should be nothing wrong." Ji Yunfei thought about it and said: "Although the Taiping bandits have captured Wuchang, most of the prefectures and counties in Hubei have not fallen, Qian Junchen can escape the catastrophe without dying, and Zhixing will definitely be fine." ”

If it weren't for Ji Yunfei mentioning Qian Junchen, Bao Lingyun couldn't remember the person Qian Junchen, so he couldn't help asking: "Master Ji, didn't Master Qian have experience as a political secretary in Hubei, it stands to reason that he should have been in Wuchang City when the city was broken, how did he escape the catastrophe?" ”

"Lu Jianying is greedy for life and afraid of death, Xiang Rong is not much better than Lu Jianying, saying that he chased all the way from Guangxi to Hunan, and then chased all the way from Hunan to Hubei. Before Wuchang City was surrounded by bandits, Qian Junchen happened to be ordered to raise grain and grass for Xiang Rong, and he was not in Wuchang City. ”

"Master Ji, how do you know?"

"Originally, I thought that he was martyred when Wuchang fell, but I never thought that I would see his name on Xiang Rong's report, not only escaped a catastrophe but also was promoted, and at this time I should be in Wuchang to help Zhang Liangji, Lord Zhang and Lord Luo Bingzhang, Lord Luo handle the affairs of Fusui."

He Heng also heard it for the first time, and couldn't help asking: "Qian Junchen has been promoted, what is his official position now?" ”

"When Wuchang fell, so many officials died, and there were so many vacancies, no one could clean up the mess, and Xiang Rong Bao promoted him to act as the general judge of Wuchang Mansion, and changed from five products to five products. Maybe it won't be long before I can be promoted, and it is possible to be a prefect. ”

"He's really blessed and fatal."

……

Ren He sat on the edge with a wine glass and was silent, but he was thinking in his heart that Qian Junchen had a great life, which did not mean that everyone was blessed with a great life. There were some expectations that the Taiping bandits would capture Jiangning in one go, and then take advantage of the situation to capture Yangzhou and Taizhou. If Taizhou is captured like Wuchang, Han Si will also be in great trouble.

He was thinking nonsense, and Bao Lingyun suddenly said: "Master Ji is right, Zhixing Ji people have their own natural appearance, and they will definitely be fine!" ”

"Yes, Zhixing is not only diligent and affectionate, but his superiors must value him very much, and they will not let him easily get into danger. What's more, Guo Peilin and Lord Guo should be about to take office at this time, with Yang Zhongcheng, Lord Qi and Lord Guo to support, not only will he have nothing to do, maybe he can also be as prosperous as Qian Junchen. ”

"What do you mean, maybe, I think it's certain! If you don't believe it, you can bet that if Zhixing is still only a nine-grade inspection by this time next year, I will invite you to eat and drink. ”

"Master Jiang, are you so optimistic about Zhixing?"

"If the peaceful years are put aside, 'three-year quasi-promotion, five-year quasi-transfer', foreign officials want to be promoted slowly. But now that the Taiping bandits are in turmoil, the world is not peaceful, the imperial court is at the time of employing people, and the so-called situation creates heroes, and a diligent and capable official like Zhixing will definitely be entrusted with important tasks. ”