This spring, the imperial court has just opened a department, and it will take three years to open a branch to take scholars, plus the Cantonese bandits have killed all the way from Jiangning to Zhili, less than three hundred miles away from the capital, the people in the capital are panicked, if it weren't for the ministers to dissuade the emperor from hunting the Rehe River in the north early, so this year's Spring Festival is not as lively as in previous years.

He Heng went to the camp in the south of the Yangtze River, and Ren He and others finally found a few people who had errands in the capital, worried that the Cantonese bandits would break through the encirclement and kill them from Jinghai to the capital, so they found an excuse to leave and returned to their hometown more than a month ago. The Chongqing Hall is not without a few people, but one is gone, but it has not become deserted because of this, but it is more lively than before.

Huang Zhongyin, the imperial historian of Huguang Province, Ji Yunfei, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, Ao Tongchen, the reviewer of the Hanlin Academy, Jiang Haoxuan, a member of the Criminal Department, Wang Zhirong, a member of the Household Department, and Ao Jixian, the secretary of the Hanlin Academy, who was just selected in April this year, although they all rented a house outside, they came to the hall more often than before.

Xiao Shandong was also very busy, and as soon as he saw Ao Tongchen walking into the hall, he greeted him and said with a smile: "Master Ao, all the upstairs and downstairs have been cleaned, and even the futon has been added with two new beds. ”

"All ready?"

"It's all ready, in the morning, Shopkeeper Wen also said whether he would go to Tongzhou to wait for two days, but I don't know when Master Han left from Shanghai, I don't know which way he went, I don't know when he can arrive."

Ao Tongchen couldn't help but smile and said, "Even if you still have a little conscience, Master Han finally didn't take care of you in vain." ”

Xiao Shandong grinned, welcomed Ao Tongchen into the flower hall, and was about to make a cup of tea before going to the gatehouse to move the brazier over, Wen Youyu followed up and bowed down and said: "Master Ao, all the things you and Master Ji have explained, if you don't come today, I plan to report to you later." ”

The New Year's Day, the big and small yamen are all sealed, although it is not a big deal for them to do, but it is not easy to do it so quickly, Ao Tongchen subconsciously asked: "It's really done, what about the things?" ”

"Here," shopkeeper Wen took down a bunch of county chronicles from the bookshelf, put them on the coffee table beside Ao Tongchen, and picked them up one by one and said with a smile: "Boil, master, look, this is "Wanping County Chronicles", this is "Liangxiang County Chronicles", this is "Zhuozhou Chronicles", these are the Fang Chronicles of Gu'an, Yongqing, Anci, Wuqing, and Bazhou, this is "Yongding River Chronicles"! ”

"I've really found it all, Shopkeeper Wen, I'm tired of you."

"What are you tired of, being able to do something for Master Han is a blessing that you have cultivated in the next eight lifetimes." Shopkeeper Wen took out a booklet like an account book from the bookshelf and presented it: "Master Ao, from the Yamen of Yongding River to the platform to the inspection, the names and resumes of various civil and military officials are all here. But it's all heard these days, and there may be mistakes, but even if there are mistakes, they can't be too bad. ”

"I'm bothering you," Ao Tongchen nodded with satisfaction, and as soon as he took the booklet, the voices of Huang Zhongyin and Ji Yunfei came from outside.

Just as he was about to get up to greet him, Huang Zhongyin smiled and said, "Jin Fu, you are just right, I just heard a news, and I was asking Bowen if I want Xiao Shandong to hurry up and talk to you." ”

"What's the news?"

"I went to meet Lord Jia in the morning, and I met Shi Zanqing at the door of Lord Jia's house!"

Ao Tongchen groaned: "This name sounds a little familiar......

Without waiting for Huang Zhongyin to speak, Ji Yunfei couldn't help but smile: "Jin Fu, Jin Fu, you are really a noble person who forgets things." When Lord Duan returned to Beijing to meet him the year before last, Shi Zanqing also happened to return to Beijing to receive the certificate, and he also came to our hall to have a drink. ”

"Thinking about it, he seems to be the same year as Lord Duan, but he didn't choose Shu Jishi in the museum, and he directly distributed it to the county magistrate and made up for it first."

"It's him," Ji Yunfei sat down and said with a smile: "After he arrived in Zhili, he first made up the Fucheng Magistrate County, and later acted Xian County, and then transferred to Zhengding and Lu Long, and when Lord Duan returned to Beijing to meet him, he happened to be promoted to the general judge of Lutai Fumin. ”

After listening to Ji Yunfei's resume, Ao Tongchen couldn't help but sigh: "If you don't choose Hanlin, you will suffer, he is probably the smallest official position and the lowest grade in his same year, and until now he is only a five-grade judge!" ”

"Compared with his same years, his official fortune is indeed not smooth, but it will not be a general sentence soon."

"I want to be promoted to any position," Thinking of Huang Zhongyin's return from the co-organizer of the university scholar, the chief master of the upper study, and the concurrently in charge of the Shuntian Mansion Yin Jia Zhenjia Mansion, Ao Tongchen asked again: "Brother Yongzhu, should he be in tune with the Heavenly Mansion, right?" ”

"It's not about tuning Tianfu, it's about transferring to the Yongding River Yamen."

"It's such a coincidence, he is now from the general judgment of the fifth grade, even if he adjusts the Yongding River, he can't be a Taoist."

"This is nature," Huang Zhongyin took the tea from Xiao Shandong's hand and sighed: "If nothing happens, he will be awarded the same knowledge on the north bank of the Yongding River as soon as the seal is opened." You know how to appoint the river members of Yongding River, not only does the current governor of Zhili, Shengbao, say that it doesn't count, but even Lord Peng has to give Lord Jia some face. ”

"He went to be the same knowledge on the north bank of the Yongding River, what should he do?" Ao Tongchen asked in surprise.

"Nine times out of ten, Zhixing will go to act as the South Shore Tongzhi."

"Whether it's the same knowledge on the north shore or the same knowledge on the south bank, it's not all positive five products, just let Shi Zanqing do the same knowledge on the south bank, why do you want to change the order?"

"Zhixing is still on his way back to Beijing, and he hasn't gone to the ministry to get a certificate, which is not a change of order. What's more, Lord Jia Baoju Shi Zanqing is the north bank of the Yongding River and knows the truth of Lord Jia, after all, he is a river member, and he has to govern the river as the first priority. Shi Zanqing successively served in Fucheng, Xian County, Zhengding and Lulongzhi County, and understood river engineering and water conservancy. And the Yongding River will either not be flooded, and it will flood the capital as soon as it happens, and the imperial court asked him to do the north bank with the same knowledge to let Zhixing rest assured. ”

In the matter of preventing and controlling floods, the imperial court naturally has to prioritize, such as the Yellow River bursting, even if it is flooded, it will not flood the capital, so for the imperial court, the Yongding River is far more important than the Yellow River. When it comes to the Yongding River, the north bank is undoubtedly more important than the south bank. Thinking of this, Ao Tongchen couldn't help but smile bitterly: "So if adults don't worry about Zhixing, they didn't expect Zhixing to be able to govern the Yongding River." ”

"Is the Yongding River so easy to govern, if it is really so easy to govern, it will not be called Wuding River by the people, so this is not a bad thing for Zhixing." Huang Zhongyin smiled, and continued: "What's more, Zhixing's lack can be said to have been selected, if it weren't for Wu Tingdong's excerpt to ask for military training, Master Peng would not have thought of Zhixing." ”

"So the imperial court plans to let Shi Zanqing go to the north bank to govern the river, and let Zhixing go to the south bank to train troops?"

"After Shi Zanqing took office, he didn't just govern the river, don't forget that the eight counties through which the Yongding River flows, including Wanping, Liangxiang, Zhuozhou, Gu'an, Yongqing, Anci, Wuqing and Bazhou, are all controlled by the Yamen of the Yongding River Administration. Listening to Lord Jia's meaning, Zhuozhou and Bazhou, which belong to the south bank of the Yongding River, and Zhuozhou and Bazhou, which belong to the North Shore Hall, will all be under the control of Shi Zanqing. After the arrival of Zhi Xingling, although he said that he was a fellow of the South Bank, he could not manage anything other than military training. ”

"Won't that Zhixing become his Shi Zanqing's subordinate officer?"

"It's not that much, since the imperial court let Zhixing train the army, it is equivalent to letting Zhixing take care of the river camp, and it is not easy for Zhixing to ask about local affairs, and Shi Zanqing is not easy to meddle in the affairs of the river camp. Therefore, Zhi Xing is indeed a subordinate official, but not a subordinate official of his Shi Zanqing, but a subordinate official of Wu Tingdong. ”

Thinking that it is much more difficult to control the river than to lead the troops, Ao Tongchen muttered: "As long as the troops are trained, so as not to be affected by floods in the future." ”

"Jin Fu, in fact, I want to say that Zhixing is even if he is Shi Zanqing's subordinate officer, don't forget that Shi Zanqing and Brother Zhuoyun are the same year!"

"Brother Yongzhu, I know what you mean, but in my opinion, this is not necessarily a good thing for Zhixing."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it, Shi Zanqing and Brother Zhuoyun are in the same year, but Brother Zhuoyun is now a political envoy in Gansu, and he is not only only a good five-grade, but also a colleague with Brother Zhuoyun's Zhixing, he must not have a taste in his heart."

"You think of it, we can't think of it?" Ji Yunfei put down the teacup and said with a smile: "Shi Zanqing can't take office until the seal is opened, not to mention that even if there is Lord Jia's guarantee, the officials will also have to do activities, and this fee cannot be less, so I can't leave for more than ten or twenty days, so I can only stay in the inn." ”

"Ask him to stay at the guild hall for a while?"

"Not only invite him to come and stay for a while, but also invite him to eat and drink. He knew that Zhixing was going to be a Tongzhi on the South Coast, but he didn't know that Zhixing was the first thing of our Chongqing Hall that year, so he agreed and moved over later. ”

"It's good to say that he is willing to move over, we treat each other politely, and he can't help but give this face."

"That's what I thought, there's nothing to do today, and I'll give him a drink in the evening. I'm going to pay New Year's greetings to a few adults in the next two days, so I can only bother you to accompany you. ”

"Okay, I'll be fine tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

Master Yushi and Master Hanlin talked, and Shopkeeper Wen could only wait on the side and didn't dare to interject, until Huang Zhongyin and the others said that they were almost done, and then they couldn't help but say: "Master Huang, Master Ji, the champion room in the back has just been cleaned, so there is no need to clean it anymore, should I go to prepare the banquet first?" ”

"Let's get ready." Thinking of the rules of the hall, Huang Zhongyin subconsciously reached out to touch the money bag.

Ji Yunfei couldn't help but smile: "Brother Yongzhu, you and I don't need to pay for this banquet, hang the account first, and let Zhixing come out when Zhixing arrives." ”

"Hahahaha, this is on the point, how can there be a reason to help him make a good relationship and ask us to paste the silver. Besides, he was a salt official first and then a tax official, and he was very fat! Not only does he have to pay for the banquet by himself, but this charcoal is not less, I don't care if there is a year or not! ”

Thinking that these people in the capital were all counting on Xiang Rong and Han Si, Ao Tongchen couldn't help but smile and said: "Yes, there is no need to be polite to him, he must make up for this charcoal respect, and it can't be less than the Bing Jing brought before." ”