Shang Cheng kept letting Qiao Zhun into the ear room on the right side of the main hall, and immediately sent a pot of good tea soup to someone.

Qiao Zhun, whose buttocks were only half on the surface of the chair, heard this, and immediately stood up and said, "Governor, just bitter tea." I like to drink ......."

Shang Cheng asked him to sit, shook his head with a smile and said, "I made a mistake about this." I used to think that I didn't know much about the making of tea cakes, but I only heard about the process of making tea from a tea merchant a few years ago. Oh, I made a big joke and hurt everyone. However, I still can't get used to drinking tea soup with salt and ginger. ”

Qiao Zhun didn't know how to continue this topic. wanted to compliment Shang Cheng with two sentences, "The general is simple and diligent", and as soon as the thought turned in his mind, he felt that it was too explicit; I want to follow the tea cake thing, but Lu Yu's "Book of Tea" has existed for two hundred years, and the tea making technology is known all over the world. Why did Shang Cheng say that there is another tea-making technique in the world? However, he is a person who knows that Shang Cheng's origin is strange, so although he is curious in his heart, he will not show it on his face no matter what. But he had nothing to say, so he had to laugh dryly.

As he spoke, a clerk came in with a wooden plate. On the wooden plate were two porcelain pots, a clay cup, a wooden box, and a small copper kettle; A few wisps of white steam rose from the spout of the dragon's head, steaming upward, and gradually disappeared......

Shang Cheng waved his hand to let the clerk out, stood up and said, "I'll show my hand today and order a cup of tea for Lord Qiao." ”

Qiao Zhun got up in fright, and wanted to thank him with his mouth open, but the words came to his mouth and swallowed back. He finally saw that Shang Cheng invited him over today, not to talk about his post, nor to hear what grievances he had complained, but just to catch up with him. In this case, he doesn't have to be restrained, just as he is as free as he does when he visits friends on weekdays.

Shang Cheng first took a wooden spoon and took two spoonfuls of tea leaves that had already been ground into fine pieces from a pottery cup, poured them at the bottom of the two bowls with open bellies, and then took the ingredients of fine salt and ginger shreds from the wooden box, and sprinkled them in the bowl...... Waiting for the white vapor in the lamp to disperse, he first examined the color of the soup in the lamp, and felt very proud, so he took one and handed it to Qiao Zhun and said, "Come, you taste it." This craft was learned by the teacher Zhu a few days ago when he accompanied them to the Longhu Temple in Xishan to worship the Buddha, I watched them compete in tea fighting, and I learned it from a teacher next to me. I don't know how well I learned to sell now. ”

Qiao Zhun is not proficient in tea art, he can only say that he has a little vision and knows how to evaluate. He took it, didn't rush to drink it first, shook it lightly on the mouth of the bowl with one hand, and swung the water vapor to see the soup. The color of the soup is clear and yellow, the soup flowers are clear, and the gray tea foam swirls and ripples on the soup noodles with the swirling hot steam. He shook his head secretly. After blowing the cool air and trying to drink, the guest is heavy and light, and the taste is faint, which is slightly better than the tea soup in the big pot in the wing. It's a shame that such a fine tea cake and fine seasoning.

"How?" Shang Cheng rubbed his hands and asked. "How does the tea taste like in my cooking? Can it be called a medium grade? ”

Qiao Zhunba smacked his lips and said, "In my opinion, such a good soup, it is not an exaggeration to talk about 'waiting'." For the sake of good tea and good ingredients, he gave this tea soup a pertinent evaluation of "wait and wait". However, he followed the ancestral precept of "miserliness", which is simply "waiting".

Shang Cheng raised his face and smiled, and said, "Wait? Ha, I'm afraid it's above 'wait and go', right? ”

Qiao Zhun still couldn't continue this, so he had to laugh two more times, bow his head and eat tea to hide his embarrassment.

Shang Cheng didn't like the miscellaneous taste of ginger, shallots, jujubes and oranges in the tea soup, so he still drank his own bitter tea, and asked casually: "Two days ago, the people from the Wei Mansion said that you are on standby now?" ”

"Yes."

"What's next for you? From now to the end of the year assessment, there is still more than half a year, are you ready to stay in Yanzhou all the time? ”

"I've taken a long vacation from the pastoral office and want to go home first." Qiao Zhun raised his head and said, "I have already thought about participating in the provincial examination competition next spring." Now I am on my journey, and when I get home, that is, in the middle of July, I will arrange things at home, and it should be the cool autumn season. At that time, I happened to go to Beijing. ”

"Are you going to take the test again?" Shang Chengleng paused. He had only heard about Qiao Zhun being on duty a few days ago; Qiao Zhun took a long leave to make a name for himself, he didn't know yet. He pondered for a moment with the teacup and said, "There's something I want to talk to you about." Originally, this matter should have been discussed by Lord Lu Jilu. But unfortunately, Lord Lu's old mother has been in poor health recently, and he himself accidentally got a heat cold because he had to take care of his mother...... It's an occasional chill. That's why they entrusted me with everything. ”

Shang Cheng was only halfway through his words, and Qiao Zhun's eyes suddenly lit up. The fire that had been extinguished in my heart also burst out with dazzling light again!

He heard it, and the things on duty had changed again!

So will he return to Yi County to be a county magistrate, or will he be transferred to other states and counties? No matter! Anywhere, you can do anything! As long as he doesn't wait, he doesn't care what he does! Because of his excitement, his hands trembled a little, and he sat on the chair, but his waist involuntarily straightened up, and his two eyes stared straight at Shang Cheng, waiting for Lord Admiral's next words. He was now solemn and solemn as if he had sat in the private school for the first time, with gratitude, staring at Shang Cheng with a look of admiration, waiting for the turn of fate!

But Shang Cheng didn't talk about him right away, but turned the topic to the side.

"In the first half of last year, Zhou Xiang, the former governor of Duanzhou, was transferred back to the Health Department to work, you know?"

Qiao Zhun nodded blankly. He'd heard about it. The contradiction between Zhou Xiang and Li Shen was very deep, and neither looked at each other unpleasantly, and in the end, Zhou Xiang was squeezed by Li Shen so much that he couldn't continue to work in Duanzhou, so he could only move places. Could it be that Zhou Xiang is now going back to serve as the governor of Duanzhou Mansion? It's quite possible. However, Zhou Xiang can't return to Duanzhou, what does this have to do with his stay?

"After the position of the governor of Duanzhou Mansion became vacant, the Ministry of Officials appointed a new magistrate ......"

Qiao Zhun also knew this. At that time, Li Shen was still there, and the command yamen of the right army was set up in Duanzhou, because he was afraid of this guy, when the post of promotion official was vacant, several officials who were qualified to sit in this position were all pushed, either they would rather not be promoted, or they would rather stay in Yanzhou until they were idle and panicked, rather than serve as the push official of Duanzhou Mansion. As a last resort, the Yanshan Health Department can only hand over the right to recommend personnel to the Ministry of Officials. But there wasn't much the ministry could do. Because everyone knows that Yanshan is a border town, and in recent years, it has been inseparable from the Tuqi people, and the two sides have come and gone, and Duanzhou City has been in an emergency several times; Therefore, the idle officials in Beijing are not willing to come and suffer. It wasn't until the end of last year that the Ministry of Officials found a new official for Duanzhou Mansion. The appointed documents were handed to Yanshan years ago, but for some reason, the magistrate did not arrive for a long time, until he was framed and escorted to Yanzhou, and when he passed by the state capital, he heard from an acquaintance that the new magistrate had just set off from Beijing......

But what does all this have to do with him?

"Lord Wang, you are the new governor of Duanzhou, he has been in office for less than half a month, and he received the news of his father's death. A few days ago, he had already complained to Ding Wei in the pastoral mansion and went home to mourn. ”

Qiao Zhun lowered his eyelids and didn't say a word. may not be Shang Cheng's meaning, let him be the governor of Duanzhou? But he immediately overturned this absurd idea in his mind. How is this possible? The state government official is from the sixth grade or the seventh grade, and he is the eighth grade; A civil official above the seventh rank must be a Jinshi, and he is a lifter. Besides, there are at least one or twenty people who can sit in this position in the entire Yanshan Weili, these people want to be famous, have political achievements, and have relationships......

Shang Cheng said: "I discussed with Lord Lu and prepared to recommend you to the imperial court to be the magistrate of Duanzhou Mansion. ……”

These words were like a thunderbolt from the sky, and they exploded above Qiao Zhun's head. His ears buzzed, and everything in front of him became hazy and distorted. He wondered if he had heard it wrong! No, let him be this pusher, is it okay? Is this possible? Because he was so excited, he didn't hear what Shang Cheng said clearly. He didn't know how he answered......

Listening to his answer, Shang Cheng said solemnly: "So, you agreed to the recommendation of the Health Department?" ”

Qiao Zhun blushed as if he was drunk, and he only nodded vigorously.

Promise! Of course he agreed! How could he not agree?

"That's good." Shang Cheng patted an unsealed official document in his hand, "This is a joint submission from Master Lu and me recommending you to be the governor of Duanzhou, and the inspection department's examination of you is also in it, since you agree to take up this position, then I will hand it over tomorrow." ”

Qiao Zhun suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly stopped Shang Cheng, who was sealing the official document: "Commander, I can't be this pusher!" "How can he be a pusher? He's a lifter! He only has the fame of raising people, being an official diligently, and in the end, it is already the best result to be able to lead an official from the seventh grade to leave a blessing for his descendants, how dare he dare to think that he is the seventh grade? What's more, it doesn't matter if he is an official or not, it doesn't matter if the court gives him an evaluation of "delirium", he has plans to go home and farm anyway. The important thing is that because of his affairs, the Governor and Lu Mu can't be involved and punished by the imperial court......

Shang Cheng nodded, but still sealed the paperwork with wax oil and pressed it. He put the paperwork in a wooden box in the corner of the desk, turned around and said, "This is easy to do." He flipped through the case and took out a copy of the paperwork, which was also stamped with wax and put it in a wooden box. This document was sent to the Ministry of Rites. When you fill out the register in the Ministry of Rites for the record, you will have the fame of Jinshi, and there will be no problem in serving as a magistrate. ”

Qiao Zhun didn't believe Shang Cheng's words. Just a document can give yourself the fame and origin of a jinshi? How is that possible! It is the ancestral system of Da Zhao to take the official strictly, even if it is the clan", he does not dare to be clever in the matter of fame!

Shang Cheng nodded in agreement with his words. The cause of Liu Lingtai's case was because the clan cheated in the imperial examination, which shows that both the imperial court and the Son of Heaven have a very tight grasp of this kind of thing. However, he said that as soon as the clerk arrived in Jingqiao, he would inevitably be a jinshi, and he also had his reasons. He explained to Qiao Zhun: "You are from the examination room, you must know that in our Da Zhao system, in addition to the two levels of Jinshi and Cijinshi, there is also a kind of Jinshi, right?" ”

Qiao Zhun shook his head. He only knew the origin of Jinshi and Di and Ci Jinshi. In the bad Jinshi, there are only one or two hundred people every three years, even if there is an additional provincial test for the heavenly family such as the enthronement of the Son of Heaven, the number of scholars in the 120th year of Dazhao has not exceeded 10,000. Counting the Son of Heaven and the Imperial Court Jia'en who were admitted outside the Shijin Shi background, I am afraid that there are less than 30,000 people, where did they come from?

"According to the system set by Gaozong, Wei Zhen and all the big people have the right to recommend Jinshi background."

Qiao Zhun felt a cool air running down from the top of his head, and his whole body was like falling into an ice cellar in an instant. He glared at Shang Cheng as if he had seen a ghost in the daytime, his lips trembled, and it took a long time to spit out a sentence: "Are you crazy?!" ”

Of course he knew about it. But, but...... Suffer from the sissy plague! Since the existence of this system, how many of Da Zhao were born as Jinshi? In the past 100 years, there have been forty or fifty champions, and there are less than thirty Jinshi! Why are there so few Jinshi? Because the promoter made a mistake, the recommender was implicated, and he also had to walk around without eating! Not only that, but the recommender must also be "guilty of the first class"! him! This fake monk is not close to him, and he is far away, why is he so good to himself? Does this blind man know that if he becomes a jinshi, if he makes a mistake and loses his office, then no matter how light he is, he will be a gangster!

Shang Cheng didn't seem to have heard what Qiao Zhun said about a "fake monk", and he didn't seem to notice that he called himself a "blind monk" to his face, so he looked at him very seriously and asked, "Will you make mistakes?" ”

"No, it won't." Qiao Zhun said without hesitation. But he himself knows that he is not a decent gentleman, at least he will go to his boss for the sake of his career.

"It's normal to have this in mind." Shang Cheng nodded and said, "People go to high places and the water flows towards the ground, this is a natural law, we can't avoid it, and we must abide by it." Everyone has their own political ambitions, and there is no denying that. You see, although we are all ordinary people, we also have our own ideals and ambitions, and we all want to do something to prove ourselves. So, although you yourself say that you are not a gentleman, I think I recommend you to be a jinshi. It's better than recommending a gentleman. ”

Although Qiao Zhun was grateful for Shang Cheng's trust, he still hoped to persuade him to retract that crazy and ridiculous idea. He said: "But all the previous scholars were Confucians at that time with both talent and virtue!" ”

"You can follow their example and work in this direction."

"Do you think I look like a talented and virtuous Confucian?" Qiao Zhun asked angrily.

"It's like." Shang Cheng said sincerely.

"Like a fart!"

"This self-assessment is very pertinent, I remember it." Shang Cheng laughed and said, "If someone asks in the future, I will say, Master Qiao said it himself, he is like a fart." ”

A joke is a joke, and Shang Cheng quickly got the topic on the right track. When consulting with the Pastoral Government and the Inspection Department, the key reason why he strongly advocated that Qiao Zhun should be appointed as the governor of Duanzhou Mansion was that Qiao Zhun did a good job when he was in Yixian, especially in agriculture. Yanshanwei is a border town, and the handicraft industry and commerce are far less developed than those in the interior of the Central Plains, and the development of agriculture is also at a very low level. Carefully calculated, the economic situation of Yanshanwei is only a little better than that of several border areas in the southwest and northwest of all the prefectures and counties in Dazhao. And within Yanshanwei, the situation in the Duanzhou area is the worst. To investigate the reasons for this, the repeated invasion and destruction of the Turks is one aspect, and the successive officials of the Duanzhou Prefecture are not familiar with agriculture, which is also an aspect. If we want to reverse this situation, we must find a capable official for the Duanzhou area who understands agriculture and wants to do things.

This official is Qiao Zhun!

He recommended Qiao Zhun for a good reason. First of all, Qiao Zhun is a native of Yi County, a native of his hometown, and is familiar with the local situation; State and county officials in Duanzhou are also familiar with him. Secondly, this man has a very good approach to agriculture. This method is not to copy the successful experience of one person, nor is it to rigidly set the agricultural guidelines of the imperial court, but to adapt measures to local conditions in combination with local conditions, so Yixian's grain production has increased for two consecutive years, and this year is very likely to achieve the largest bumper harvest in the history of Yixian. All of this shows that Qiao Zhun is a capable person. If the Yanshan Health Department let this kind of capable official wait for him and did not let him play a role, it would not only live up to the trust of the imperial court, but also live up to the expectations of the gentry of the people of Yanshan. At the same time, this person is politically sensitive, with a far more sensitive sense of political smell than the average person, and such a person is generally able to stay out of the turbid vortex before danger strikes......

Lu Ji and Di Xu couldn't bear these two charges of "living up", so they had no choice but to agree to jointly recommend Qiao Zhun with Shang Cheng.

"You are waiting for the appointment of the imperial court in Yanzhou." When they were having dinner together in the public office, Shang Cheng said to Qiao Zhun. Now, they've talked a lot about it. Some of these things are how Qiao Zhun gets along with his colleagues in the future, some are how he deals with the garrison, and some of them include the grievances and grievances between him and the two brothers of the Huo family. Of course, what the two of them talked about the most was the future agricultural development of Duanzhou, and Qiao Zhun was the pusher, and the main focus was on agriculture. "You'd better sort out your thoughts on agriculture, write a submission, and hand it over to the shepherd as soon as the imperial court appoints you. Lord Lu will be your top boss in the future, and now you will have a good relationship, and there will be many benefits in the future. ”

Qiao Zhun didn't know how much liquor he drank, and said with a red face: "Do you want to send one to the Admiral's Mansion too?" ”

"No need. I've had enough of my worries! Shang Cheng waved his hand, as if he wanted to push the trouble aside.

Qiao Zhun held his chopsticks, wondering in his heart what could teach the governor his troubles.

Could it be some kind of bearded girl......