Although he has great ambitions, Li Linfu has been idle since he arrived in Chang'an, and it was not until his uncle Jiang Jiao also came to Chang'an that he had a bright day and could be regarded as a real official.

In the Tang Dynasty, there were three basic ways to become an official. The first is the imperial examination, as long as you are a scholar and can write poetry, you can participate in the imperial examination and obtain the qualification to be an official. However, the number of officials in the imperial examination is very limited, and there are only a dozen or twenty places every year. Therefore, in the entire officialdom, the proportion of people born in the imperial examination is quite small. In other words, while this is a feasible path, it is definitely an extremely narrow single-plank bridge. There is no very high level, don't even think about it.

The second way is miscellaneous inflows. After a long period of promotion, these officials can eventually enter the "official" class, that is, within the nine grades. The officials within the nine grades are called "officials in the stream", so if they are promoted from "officials" to "officials", they are called "entering the stream", otherwise they are called "not entering the stream". There are a large number of people who have been promoted through this path, but there is very little room for further promotion. According to the regulations, people who are miscellaneous can only be middle- and low-level officials, and are not allowed to be high-level officials. As a result of the long promotion of officials in the past, most of a person's life has been consumed. The Nine Rank Officials are only the starting point for most of those who are born in the imperial examination, but for most officials, it is almost the end. Of course, in the entire Tang Dynasty, there is one person who is an exception, that is Zhang Baoer, who took the road of miscellaneous inflows, and became the Dingguo Duke of the Tang Dynasty within a few years.

The third way is called the shade of the door. is the children of officials, you can start with some of the emperor's attendant guards, such as "Qianniu Preparation", "Prison Gate Straight Chief", etc., and then enter the officialdom. The starting point of these people is similar to that of those born in the imperial examination, but because their talents are generally inferior to those born in the imperial examination, the prospects of the eunuchs are not as good as those of the imperial examination. If some people who are good at officialdom and have powerful people to support them, those who are born in the shadow of the door will also have quite good prospects, and there are quite a few people who are born in the shadow of the door and become prime ministers.

Li Linfu was born from "Qianniu" and is a typical Menyin background. It is not easy to obtain the origin of a thousand cows. Only the children of the third-rank officials of the Tang Dynasty and the fourth-rank Qing officials are eligible. In fact, Li Linfu couldn't meet this standard, but Jiang Jiao helped him a lot.

Qianniu includes a variety of official titles, such as Qianniu Beishen, left and right Beishen, Prince Qianniu, etc., and the grades range from the sixth grade to the eighth grade.

After Li Linfu was promoted from Qianniu Bei to the prison gate, he soon became the prince Zhongyun and was on the fifth grade. Soon after, he was promoted again, made the prince's edict, and was under the fourth grade. Li Linfu was promoted three levels in a row, obviously thanks to Jiang Jiao's operation.

Whether it is the crown prince Zhongyun or the prince Yude, they are all officials of the East Palace, they are fictitious titles, and there is basically nothing to do. Although the official was promoted, Li Linfu was not satisfied, and he was not willing to live in an idle position.

Of course, Li Linfu knows very well that it is useless to rely on personal strength to be promoted, and someone must be promoted. Isn't it the credit of his uncle Jiang Jiao that he was promoted to the crown prince?

Jiang Jiao was deeply favored by Li Longji, and he was in power for a while, and the rewards he received included palace maids, horses, and treasures, which were innumerable. Li Linfu saw the charm of power from his uncle, and naturally he couldn't help it. So, Li Linfu set his sights on the actual position of Simen Langzhong.

Simen Langzhong is a director of the Criminal Department, in charge of the world's gates, Jinliang, roads, etc., although it is only from the five grades, but the future is immeasurable. Lang Guan is a position that is highly anticipated, and what the incumbent needs is both talent and hope. Obviously, Li Linfu does not have the conditions in these aspects.

Although Jiang Jiao is very popular in front of Li Longji, he is also unable to make his nephew get a more powerful position. Under Li Linfu's repeated requests, Jiang Jiao had no choice but to give it a try and promised him to find Yao Chong to intercede for him.

Jiang Jiao came to the Prime Minister's Mansion with confidence, and after a few greetings, he expressed his intention.

As the prime minister, Yao Chong understands his duties, and Yao Chong knows Li Linfu well, thinking that he is unlearned, and of course he will not abuse the power in his hands to engage in fraud for him.

Yao Chong said unceremoniously to Jiang Jiao: "The position of Lang Zhong needs to be done by people with good talent and morality, Li Linfu is a scoundrel, how can he take on this position?" ”

Listening to Yao Chong's words, Jiang Jiao was speechless for a moment, so he got up and said goodbye.

The news brought by Jiang Jiao was tantamount to a slap in the face for the ambitious Li Linfu, and Li Linfu's dream of promotion was shattered.

Zhang Bao'er listened to Jiang Jiao's story, frowned and said, "Shopkeeper Jiang, do you mean to let me go to Yao Chong to intercede and ask him to agree with Brother Lin Fu to be this Simenlangzhong?" ”

"No, no, no!" Jiang Jiao hurriedly waved his hand and said, "How could I make such a request to Zhang Gongzi?" I remember all the advice you gave me last time. Lin Fu has no mother since he was a child, and his mother asked me to take care of him before she died, but I promised him. I, Jiang Jiao, are from a business background, and my two sons are also in business, and I have no intention of officialdom, and only Lin Fu is involved in officialdom. This time, he suffered such a blow, I didn't know what to do, so I came to Zhang Gongzi for help. I know that Zhang Gongzi has always been very accurate in seeing things, so I want to ask you how Lin Fu should develop in the future. If he is suitable for a career in office, I will let him continue to be an official, and if he is not suitable, I will let him go into business. To tell the truth, Lin Fu knew that I came to you, and I was reluctant, but I forced him to come. In short, I believe in Zhang Gongzi, I just want to hear a word from you, that's all. ”

Jiang Jiao's words were sincere and sincere, without the slightest pretentiousness, and his trust in himself made Zhang Baoer very grateful.

Zhang Bao'er smiled at Jiang Jiao and said, "Brother Lin Fu can have an uncle like you, which is also his blessing." However, even if you are an elder, you can't have the final say, you have to listen to Brother Lin Fu's own opinion, the twisted melon is not sweet, you always understand this truth! ”

After that, Zhang Bao'er didn't wait for Jiang Jiao to speak, so she looked at Li Linfu: "Brother Lin Fu, what do you think?" ”

Li Linfu hesitated.

Zhang Bao'er looked at Li Linfu with a smile: "Brother Lin Fu, I think when we were in Luzhou, what did we say, if it was like now, wouldn't it be a mistake?" ”

After listening to Zhang Baoer's words, Li Linfu finally had the courage to say: "I still want to take a career in office, I think I am suitable for a career in office!" ”

"That's right, that's what you mean!" Zhang Bao'er paused and said, "Brother Lin Fu still remembers what I told you when I left Luzhou?" ”

Li Linfu nodded with a serious face.

"Didn't tell anyone!"

"Absolutely not!"

Jiang Jiao interjected on the side: "It's strange to say, my nephew never hides anything from me, but what you said when you persuaded him to leave Luzhou, I didn't say anything to him no matter how I asked, and I don't know what you told him to this day." ”