The two-thousand-mile canal that connects the north and the south, Li You has already traveled twice, and there is not much freshness along the way. As long as he continues to be an official in his life, he will have to float around on this waterway many times.

At the beginning of August, I arrived in Tongzhou, Jingdong, at the peak of Cao Yun, and the Tonghui River from Tongzhou to the capital was only allowed to pass by boat. Li You's privileges were not enough for his ship to sail to the capital, so he disembarked in Tongzhou as usual and changed cars.

The family has a large population, and more than a dozen large cars are hired for this purpose, which is another big expense. Li You couldn't help but sigh again, if he didn't have the gray income of regular money, didn't have Aunt Guan who liked to do business, and didn't have a golden million sponsorship, and lived like Hai Rui, even if he could pay the full amount, he still couldn't afford to leave the office and go to Beijing to elect officials.

It is said that on the day Li received the edict in Yangzhou, he sent Zhang San to go to Beijing in advance to buy real estate, and designated the residence of Xiao Yongfang in the west of the imperial city, even if he could not buy the residence of Xiao Yongfang, it should not be too far.

Without it, as the saying goes, Yunxi is rich in the east, and most of the dignitaries and officials in Beijing and Cao live in the west. In particular, the hour Yongfang, close to the southwest of the imperial city, whether it is east from Chengtianmen into the palace, or north from Xi'an Gate into the inner Xiyuan is very close, so it is a prime location for Beijing officials to gather. This location is approximately equivalent to the Western Single Belt in later generations.

The source of Xigui is about to start in the early years of the Dynasty, because there is Shichahai here, the scenery is better than other places, and the Son of Heaven likes to be active in Xiyuan, and it is convenient to meet from Xi'an Gate, so high-ranking officials and dignitaries choose the location of their residences in the west of the imperial city. After a long time, the west of the imperial city naturally formed a noble area (note that it is not a rich area).

Living here is not only a status symbol, but also convenient for socializing with the officials who live nearby. Otherwise, running to the east of the capital to live will seem a bit different, which is equivalent to staying away from the mainstream of courtiers.

To be honest, living in the east of the imperial city, except for the fact that it is more advantageous to go to the eldest princess of Guide to cheat and go to the Jiaofangsi Hutong to carnival, there is not much benefit. As for the remote northern city and the southern city, which belongs to the outer city. That's not even something to consider.

Li You's visit to Beijing this time is not like last time, and he can find a place to rent at will. Put up the shelves in a serious way. In Tongzhou Station, I met Zhang San who came from the capital to greet him.

"Master, it's hard to find a suitable house, Lu Shangshu's family helped. Only then did I find two candidates, both of which were left by the outgoing Beijing officials. One is in that hour Yongfang, but there are only three rooms with three floors, and it is a little crowded to live in, but fortunately the backyard is a building. The other has three rooms and five floors. It's a bit wider, but it's not as good as the previous one. Zhang San reported to Li Youyu.

Li You thought about it for a while and ordered: "Then you have to go to the front, the place is rare, and the small one is small." There may be an opportunity to expand in the future. ”

After a night without words, he set off in a big car the next day, and Li You took a car with Liu Niangzi and Mei Zhi. Arrive in Beijing in the afternoon. Enter the outer city from the East Gate. Chongwen Gate also entered the inner city along Chongwen Neili Street.

Mei Zhi looked out of the window curiously, and in a sense, she also acted as the eyes and ears of Liu Niangzi, and commented to Liu Niangzi: "Miss, the streets of the capital are wide and straight. It's just a little dirty, and the ground is really dusty. ”

Li You smiled: "You look like a foreigner who has never been to Jingshi." Now it's almost the best season in Beijing. It's still nice to have a cool autumn atmosphere. When the wind blows up in the spring of the following year, you will know what it means to be dusty. Besides, the streets of Jingshi are as wide as these streets, and they are as narrow as the alleys everywhere. ”

Mei Zhi ignored the old man's ridicule, looked out, and continued to say to Mrs. Liu: "This house is red bricks and green tiles, and the flowers are very beautiful, which is different from my hometown." ”

The carriage swayed for another half an hour, stopped, and Zhang San, who had been leading the way, stood outside and respectfully reported: "Master, madam, this is here." ”…,

Li You got out of the car, the red door of the house had been opened, and there was a wall inside, and he couldn't see the inside clearly when he stood outside the door. Zhang San took out a few pictures and began to explain to Li You how to place them.

Master Li was impatient to listen to these mundane affairs, waved his hand and said, "You and Li Si are more diligent, arrange the wives and household belongings, and find a quiet house for the two Xixi." Just go back and talk to me briefly, and I won't ask in detail, sir. ”

Li You stood in the alley, looking at the east, west, north and south, and the neighbors were really Zhumen, which was worthy of being a place where officials gathered, and he had to visit when he was free. And I have to ask Zhang Sanduo to inquire about it, and if anyone next to him leaves office or is copied, he quickly buys it to expand the area of his house.

The second day was the fourth day of the eighth month, Li You continued to leave his family in the new house to settle and clean up, and he was anxious to take the post and go to the official department located directly south of Miyagi.

Li You was summoned to Beijing this time to accept the inspection at the end of his term of office and to use it, and the yamen in charge of the inspection were the Ministry of Officials and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so after entering Beijing, he had to take the initiative to report to the Ministry of Officials and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Asking Master Cui to help write the unveiling post is equivalent to a debriefing report from the previous life, and the main content is to report his achievements for investigation.

His new house is only more than two miles away from the six departments outside Chengtianmen, and it is still a very easy road to walk, which is really much more convenient than the apartment where he stayed in Beijing last time.

At the gate of the Ministry of Officials, it is still the same as the gate that remains unchanged all year round. If the court is like a market, the officials are the largest merchants in this market.

It is rare to find officials who have real self-employment at the local level, and there may be only seven or eight in a large county. But here it is bustling and crowded, and when a leaf swirls and falls, you may meet three or five officials. Whether you are the local sky or the parents of the people, you are an ordinary cargo here.

But I have to say that even standing in the pile of goods, Master Li is still eye-catching. Compared with the old guys who are mainly in their thirties and forties, such a young Zhengwupin is not a rarity.

The old officials in the hall of the Ministry of Officials were extremely impressed by Li You, and when they saw the heroic Lord Li stepping in, they were stunned for a moment, and took the initiative to greet: "It's been a long time, Lord Li!" ”

In all kinds of side glances, Li You cut in the line and put the unveiling post on the case, and asked, "Can Tianguan and Zuo Lang be there?" ”

"Yes, yes." The old official accepted the unveiling post and replied enthusiastically.

Li You nodded in thanks, and turned to the back of the ministry.

After the reshuffle of the imperial court in March last year, Xu Daohong, the former secretary of the ministry, was promoted to the rank of scholar of Jianji Hall and became a second assistant. And Zhao Liangren, the former imperial history of the left capital, moved to the Ministry of Shangshu, which is now the Tianguan Lord.

This old man Zhao Liangren and Li You are fellow villagers, and Li You is good friends with the Zhao family in Suzhou, so when it comes to relationships, they should be closer than Xu Daohong.

However, Zhao Tianguan has been a Fengxian official in the Metropolitan Procuratorate for a long time, and that kind of stern style that does not smile cannot be corrected for a while. The same is true for Li You, a fellow countryman who is barely a good fellow countryman.

So in the face of Zhao Tianguan, Li You felt that the degree of closeness was not as good as when he got along with Xu Cifu. However, he also knew that this was purely a personal feeling, and an official could never rely on superficial sensory perceptions.

Seeing Lord Tianguan and greeting him after the ceremony, Li You's mind turned. Decide to say a few less obtrusive personal things to increase the level of intimacy. "Master Guifu Yi has been at home for nearly three years now, and the original limelight has long passed.

This righteous old man refers to Zhao Liangyi, the second of the three brothers of the Zhao family. At the beginning, he resigned and retired to his home to avoid suspicion. I didn't expect to encounter the pain of a white-haired person sending a black-haired person, but fortunately, Li You helped him find his lost grandchildren, so he was comforted, and it has been almost three years. ..., Zhao Tianguan smiled bitterly: "My second brother is now dedicated to teaching his grandchildren at home, and he doesn't want to join the ranks." ”

Oh. Li You sighed a few words with him, and said gossip about his hometown, and then got up to say goodbye.

I came out and found the room of the left-sama of the middle left of the Buncho Shiro. He arched his hand to Zuo Langzhong and said, "Brother Zuo, don't come unharmed!" ”

Zuo Lang sat in the middle of the public case. If you don't return the courtesy, you can't get up, look at Li You very rudely and smile bitterly, and then say for a while: "At the end of February of the seventh year of Jinghe, you elected the official Jiangdu County." It's only been a year, five months, and twenty days now, and you're back. ”

Li You made an excited look and said, "Brother Zuo is so worried about it. Thanksgiving! ”

Zuo Langzhong said proudly: "This official doesn't just remember you. In his position, he is a politician, and the officials above the seventh grade in the world have all their resumes in my heart! ”

Li You was secretly surprised, and he didn't know if what he said was true or not, these people in important positions, sure enough, everyone had a few brushes, and complimented: "Brother Zuo has an excellent memory, and he is simply throwing himself to the ground." ”

Zuo Langzhong waved his hand: "Don't interrupt, I'm talking about you." I never thought that you would be deposed to a place, but after a year and a half, you would come back again, and you would be able to sit on an equal footing with me instead of ascending..."

Li You was a six-rank inner court official before, and when he went to other places to serve as a six-rank official, he was demoted by one grade, and his promotion to a fifth-grade magistrate was considered to make up for it. But if you move to Wupin Jingguan again, it will be promoted by one level, and it will be the same as Wupin Langzhong.

Obviously, he was relegated to the place, but he turned around and rose back to be on an equal footing with himself, so Lord Zuo, who has seen a lot of promotions, will be blatantly jealous. It's not just a joke, Li You's special encounter is indeed enough to make any official feel that people are more popular than others.

Li You said with a smile: "What did Brother Zuo say, you are known as the first five products in the world, who can compare with you elsewhere?" You just don't care about being promoted elsewhere, you can stay up for a six-year or nine-year term, and you can be promoted to a third-grade waiter, so why bother about a short period of time. ”

He hurriedly asked: "Before I came down, I heard that the imperial court was going to set up the Imperial Envoy of Wupindu to supervise the soldiers and horses of the five cities, and I wanted to ask about the details." ”

Zuo Langzhong frowned and said: "I knew that you came for this, the initial list was drawn up by me, and after that, it was the matter of the temple lords and the Holy Mother, and I couldn't make the decision." Now there are still five people left to be elected, and they have been pushed three times to play with the Virgin, but the Virgin has not been sent again and again, and it is still suspenseful. ”

Li You wondered: "What does the Holy Mother want?" ”

"This official position is equivalent to being in charge of most of the affairs of the capital, not only the civil and civil disputes are extremely fierce, but the relatives are also ready to move on this, so the Holy Mother is difficult to decide. However, I have heard that Our Lady intends to have five people to be chosen to be debated in the court in order to determine the candidates. ”

Li You was speechless, and he couldn't see that the old man of the Queen Mother was still very fashionable, and he could actually invent a campaign speech that surpassed the times.

Zuo Langzhong said with a smile: "Showing off your lips is your strength, and I think that the court debate is greatly beneficial to you." To be honest, how much effort did you put into the Queen Mother to win such an opportunity? ”