When the two arrived at the duty room, He Zhiyuan saw a middle-aged man about forty years old, with a square face and a short beard, and a slightly chubby figure sitting in front of the public case. When the man saw the father and son, he immediately got up to greet them, and said with a smile: "Brother Shaoyun, I've been tired all the way, sit down and drink tea quickly." Then he ordered the handyman to serve tea.

He Shaoyun hurriedly arched his hand and said, "Brother Wenxuan, I'm here to disturb you again this time." ”

Zhuang Yan glanced at He Zhiyuan and asked, "Is this your son-in-law Zhiyuan?" ”

He Zhiyuan hurriedly got up and bowed respectfully, and said, "The little nephew is He Zhiyuan, please see Shibo." ”

"No courtesy, I heard that the virtuous nephew was admitted to the middle school last year, he is really a young talent, please take a seat." Then he said to He Shaoyun: "This time I came to do something about Ding Zhuang in the village, right?" ”

"Yes, I'm going to go to the barracks to report the submission to Lord Zhang, and I specially listened to Brother Wen Xuan's opinion."

This matter was submitted by Zhang Tonghan of the military room, and it is estimated that it is difficult to approve it. That Zhang Tonghan has a close relationship with the Qi Yu family, the household secretary, and he will definitely make a hindrance from it. Although I am their boss, I have always been sensitive to military affairs, and I don't want to interfere too much. I can only inquire from the side, and after Lord Zhizhou arrives, I will take the opportunity to speak and help you speak. ”

"Yes, yes, Brother Wen Xuan has already helped me a lot, how can I embarrass you again." As he spoke, he took out two silver tickets of one hundred taels, put them on the copy, pushed them gently, and said, "Please Brother Wenxuan, help me show me the way, and use these silver taels to help me make one or two." ”

Zhuang glanced down and took a stack of manuscripts to cover. said: "Brother Shaoyun, every time you are so polite, this is what I will definitely help to the end." Now there's an opportunity you can take advantage of. ”

He Shaoyun immediately asked, "Please ask Brother Wen Xuan for advice." ”

Zhuang got up and walked outside the duty room, and said to the miscellaneous servants in the room: "There is nothing to do here, you can go to the front rooms and get busy."

After sending away the miscellaneous servants, he closed the door of the duty room again, and then returned to his seat and whispered: "Lord Zhizhou Liang will come to take office in ten days, and I heard that he has made meritorious contributions to arresting bandits during his tenure in Yanjin County, and he has been promoted to the governor of Juzhou." It is estimated that after taking office, they will immediately take action against the bandits in Ma Yashan, but there are only three or four hundred officials in the prefecture and the city, and it is difficult to maintain the security of the government and the city. Those servants are greedy for life and afraid of death, how can they fight those outlaws? There are too many vacancies in the guards, and most of them are corrupt and unusable. So you can only rely on the folk Ding Zhuang, if you recruit Ding Zhuang in the name of preventing bandits, isn't it a good opportunity? ”

He Shaoyun listened, and nodded incessantly.

Then Zhuang Yimu said: "You sent the submission from Zhang Tonghan today." You don't need to be dotted, just a routine. I have already compiled the case of the theft of your workshop here, and Lord Zhizhou will report it to him as soon as he arrives, and at the same time, I suggest that Lord Liang of Zhizhou instruct the military room to recruit and train Ding Zhuang, and this matter will naturally be much easier to handle. ”

"And among the members of the welcoming team on the day of Lord Liang's arrival, I added Brother Shaoyun's name as the representative of the governor of the state. Then you will have the opportunity to meet Lord Liang in person. You have to prepare some delicate but not too expensive gifts to present, and Lord Liang will naturally have an impression of you, and he will look at you differently. You must take care of the gift when you go back. ”

He Shaoyun was just about to get up and salute and thank him, but Zhuang Yimu motioned for him to sit down with both hands, and said: "There is another matter, the chief of Qi Liang has been cheating because of the unfair grain levy, and recently he has been killed by the grain levy, and the people are very angry, and it is estimated that Lord Liang will be adjusted after he arrives." According to the prestige of the family, you are also qualified for the position of grain chief. Brother Shaoyun must fight for it. ”

"This grain chief has always been recommended by the household secretary, and my family and the Qi family are at odds, I'm afraid it will be difficult to operate." He Shaoyun said worriedly.

"Brother Shaoyun, you don't know this. The secretary is an official, not an official, and it is good that he has the right to recommend, but the right to appoint is with the Lord Zhizhou. You know what I mean? ”

"Understood, understood. Thank you Brother Wen Xuan for your advice. It's just that the superior of the post of grain chief is the household, and this grain chief has to listen to the dispatch of the household, so can the Qi priest give me a good job? ”

"You can't worry about this, Ji Jiude, the warden of that house, has been a priest for three or four years, and he has been collecting black materials from Qi Yu's family for a day or two. Soon after the new Zhizhou arrives, he will definitely make a move, and Qi Yu's family will not last long. But you can't spread the word about it, only a few people in the state government know about it. I'll tell you today, you just have to know it. ”

"Thank you Brother Wenxuan for your advice. Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut. He Shaoyun got up and thanked him.

"Now go to the front barracks to find Zhang Tonghan. If I am not at peace with him, I will not take you there. Remember what I said, you don't need to do it, just do it, and it will be self-defeating. Zhuang Yimu received two hundred taels of silver today, and he was extremely happy, and then said: "After finishing business from the barracks, come back, and at noon we will go to the canteen together to finish the meal before leaving." ”

He Shaoyun was quite surprised and said, "I'm waiting for Xiaomin, is it convenient to eat in the Yanei canteen?" ”

"It's okay, it's just a light meal."

He Shaoyun and his son said goodbye to Zhuang Zhimu, and passed through the lobby again and came to the military room on the west side of the courtyard in the lobby.

When I entered the duty room, I saw seven or eight officials sitting in front of the copywriter in the room, and no one paid attention to the two of them.

He Shaoyun walked to the nearest clerk and said, "This official, Xiaomin is the chief of Hejia Village in Zhuchendian......

The officer said impatiently, "What's the matter with you?" ”

"Our village is close to Maqi Mountain, and bandits are rampant in the mountain, for the safety of the village, we hereby submit an application for the recruitment of Ding Zhuang ......"

Before He Shaoyun finished speaking, the little official pointed to a room inside, and said impatiently: "You can find Master Zhang for this matter." ”

"Thank you, sir." He Shaoyun thanked him respectfully.

The father and son came to the door of Secretary Zhang's duty room, knocked on the door and entered. Then he saw a fat man with a fat head and big ears, about fifty or so sitting in front of the desk, and the fat man looked up at the two of them, and then asked, "What is the matter with you?" ”

"Lord Zhang, Xiaomin is the head of Zhuchendian Hejia Village, our village is close to Ma Qi Mountain, and bandits are rampant in the mountain, for the safety of the village, we hereby submit an application to recruit Ding Zhuang to protect the villagers......"

"What about the submission?"

He Shaoyun presented the submission with both hands. But the adult didn't answer, and said, "Put it on the table." ”

He Shaoyun put the submission on the case again and stood there without moving. Master Zhang asked again: "Do you still have something?" ”

"Xiaomin wants to ask, when will there be an approval? There have been thieves in our village, and there have been cases of property loss, and the villagers are frightened, please ask the adults to ......"

"It's not like you can approve it quickly if you want to be fast. It is also necessary to report for approval layer by layer, there are many similar submissions in various parts of the state, and it is not certain whether it can be approved, so go back and wait for news. Master Zhang said impatiently, and waved his hand to let him leave.

After He Shaoyun's father and son left, he picked up the submission and threw it aside without looking at it.

The father and son walked out of the barracks, and He Zhiyuan said: "This Lord Zhang, what a great official." ”

"This has been the case since ancient times. The so-called 'door is difficult to enter, the face is ugly, and things are difficult to do'. If you don't have an acquaintance to guide you, you won't want to do it. If you find the wrong person, you just use the money, and it may not work. ”

The father and son passed through the lobby again and came to the Zhuang Officer's room on the left side of the second hall. After sitting down, Zhuang asked with a smile: "Zhang Tonghan accepted it?" ”

"I took it, but it wasn't certain if he wanted to see it or not. He said that it should be submitted for approval layer by layer, and it is not certain whether it can be approved. He Shaoyun replied truthfully.

Zhuang Yimu smiled slightly, and said: "This Zhang Tonghan can really be pulled, and Ding Zhuang's approval must also be approved layer by layer?" You can rest assured about this, maybe he will have to personally send the approval to your home. ”

Then, Zhuang Yimu said: "Brother Shaoyun, your soap workshop is in short supply now, and you are not short of those hundreds of taels of silver, I suggest that you donate a loose step." In the future, when you go out to do errands, you will have an identity, which will be much easier to do, at least you don't have to call yourself a villager or a small citizen. ”

"Isn't there a quota for this loose rank? Can you donate as much as you want? ”

"Hey, Brother Shaoyun, you have been lonely in the countryside, since the Chenghua period, the number of places in this scattered rank is basically unlimited, the yamen collects money, gives an identity, and the court does not need to give Yu Lu, the best of both worlds, why not do it." As long as you are interested, my brother can do it for you. As long as it is not really lacking, the loose level below the seventh grade can be done. ”

"Then next time I bring enough silver taels, I will ask Brother Wenxuan to handle it for me. Thank you Brother Wen Xuan for your suggestions. ”

While talking, it was lunch time, and Zhuang Yanmu said, "Let's go, let's go to the canteen to eat together." ”

When you read this, you may say, you're too good at, aren't you? There was a canteen in this Ming Dynasty?

Yes, you read that right, and I'm not either. To say that this canteen has a long history, as early as the early years of the Tang Dynasty, there was a canteen, and later generations have only been using this name. As early as the time of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, he ordered all yamen from the central government to the local government to set up canteens so that officials could sit and eat together. In this way, it is also a means to extend the office of the council.

In later dynasties, the canteen system was passed down. But the role of the parliamentary office is gone, and only food remains, so it is also called a canteen. This is a very intimate benefit for small officials and officials with meager incomes, so the people envy it and call it "eating public meals".

In the Ming Dynasty, the canteen was divided into grades, especially in local states and counties. For example, there are three canteens in the Juzhou Yamen, and on the left side of the second hall of the state yamen is the officials' canteen, and on the right is the officials' canteen. There is also a Xu Li canteen in front of the lobby in the front courtyard. Each of the three canteens is larger than the other, but the grade is inversely proportional, one lower than the other.

Even the canteen for officials is divided into two grades, the high-end ones are prepared for the economic officials, and the economic officials are regular workers according to modern terms, and they are organized. The low-grade ones were for non-economic officials. Non-economic officials are temporary workers in modern terms, and they are not staffed. It can be seen that in the Ming Dynasty, the concept of hierarchy was everywhere.

This meal time is also particular, generally the official canteen is the first to start eating, then the officials' canteen, and finally the Xuli canteen.

He Zhiyuan followed behind Zhuang and his father, thinking as he walked, this was fortunate that the official canteen started first, and if he started eating at the same time, although he was not in the same canteen, he might also bump into the officials outside. If Mr. Zhang, who was a big official, saw us eating in the official cafeteria, it is estimated that he would not have eaten well at lunch.