national surname chiming

Chapter 42 Knowing Huangzhou and Deputy Missionary Envoy

A few days later, in the capital, Shen's residence.

Everyone in the Shen family was ready to celebrate their promotion, and today was the day for a grand banquet.

To keep a low profile, there were no lanterns and festoons outside the gate of the mansion, but the inner courtyard was slightly decorated, creating a festive atmosphere throughout the mansion.

The appointment of Shen Tingyang has officially completed the process.Even the latest whereabouts of Shen Shuren has been determined.The father and son of the Shen family had no worries, and they had more confidence in facing the guests who came to congratulate them.

"Jiang Shilang, please take your seat. When you come to the humble house, it will be full of brilliance." Shen Tingyang moved in to a group of colleagues from the household department one by one with a smile on his face.

"Brother Ge, Brother Song, please hurry up, my younger brother will leave Beijing soon, I wish you all continue to make great achievements in Beijing."

Shen Shuren was on the other side, and also greeted Ge Shizhen, Song Mingke, Yan Hun and other fellow Ke Nian brothers one by one very decently.

A total of dozens of tables were set up in the mansion, the seven or eight tables in the inner courtyard were all officials and colleagues from all walks of life, and there were more than [-] tables outside for the attendants and staff.

The wine on the table was the top-quality lotus white from the capital, and Fen wine from Shanxi.

The dishes are graded according to the upper, middle and lower seats.

Shangguan and his colleagues had venison barbecue, mountain delicacies, dried seafood from the Bohai Sea, and lastly, they had to ensure that each table had a live-killed sturgeon.Jiang Shilang's table had to be three feet long, and the other tables had to be two feet long.

For the middle banquet for subordinates and staff, venison barbecue and sturgeon can be omitted, and other things must be included.

As for the next table for the relatives, there is no need for wild game, just enough chicken, duck and fish.

Looking at all these preparations, Shen Shuren himself felt quite emotional: the more the end of the world, the more complicated the rules, and the red tape must not be wrong, otherwise others will think that you are not honest.

The guests actually knew that they didn't want to eat this, but this is the rule for colleagues to promote and treat guests, so as not to ruin the dignity of the officialdom.

The banquet hadn't officially started yet, so Shen's father and son each greeted their guests. Fruit plates were placed on each table first, so that it was convenient for everyone to catch up and chat.

Shen Shuren was also surrounded by Ge Shizhen, Yan Hun and others, chatting about his latest appointment.

These same years have already learned that he is about to be promoted to the sixth rank, but they don't know much about more details.Some were happy for him, and some felt that this reward was not enough to commend the Shen family's contributions.

Ge Shizhen sighed: "If it were someone else, it would be an unexpected joy to be promoted to the sixth rank. But brother, you will try people who have already achieved the seventh rank before, and they will basically be mediocre after the exam.

Now to calculate the credit for the arrangement of the water transportation, it should be raised a little bit more.How come I heard that the imperial court also asked you to transfer money, which would damage your reputation and make things messy. "

Yan Hun on the side is now assigned to the Ministry of Officials, his attitude is obviously more serious, and he also persuaded after hearing the words:
"Brother Ge, why should you be unfair? The court naturally has difficulties. The key point is that brother Shen Xian is still young. If he rises too fast, he will not be able to convince the public. It may not be a blessing."

Shen Shuren was in a good mood, and said calmly: "Your Majesty's kindness is already extraordinary, my appointment, after all, was finally determined by the Ministry of Officials based on the actual situation, and I was awarded the sixth rank of Huangzhou Tongzhi.

Huangzhou is to the west of An and Lu, deep into the Yinghuo Mountains, and closer to the thief's nest of the fifth camp of Gezuo.It is also because of this that the original Huangzhou Zhizhou and Tongzhi were either martyred or captured and surrendered to bandits.

Therefore, although I am only a sixth-rank acquaintance, in fact, I have the same authority as a fifth-rank magistrate. The above-mentioned official position is vacant, and no one dares to go.Everyone is afraid of death, and dare not go deep into the thief's nest to become an official. "

Local officials at the "prefecture-level city" level in the Ming Dynasty coexisted with prefects and prefectures.The prefectures are generally under the direct control of the governor, but there are no restrictions on some of the lower ones. The level of prefects is always the fifth rank, and the magistrates have the fourth rank and the fifth rank.

Tongzhi is a deputy, corresponding to the magistrate/prefect and then lowered by one rank, the upper-level prefectures are the same as the five-rank, and the lower-ranked prefectures are the same as the six-rank.

Shen Shuren, who knows Huangzhou, is a deputy in the lower government and actually presides over the work.

In the final analysis, he still suffers from his age. He has traveled for a year and is only 19 years old.He will officially take office in two months, and he will be twenty years old at most.

At such a young age, it is impossible to justify it to the magistrate.To be given a deputy position is to say that it is urgent to follow the power during the war, and it does not hurt the dignity of the court.

Ge Shizhen, Yanhun and the others discussed the appointment, and said with concern:

"If there is no official position, Tongzhi can manage government affairs. However, in a land where bandits are chaotic, temperance of military power is the most important thing. Can Tongzhi manage the local regiments to practice village courage and restrain the soldiers guarding the soil? There is also no right to recruit troops according to the situation of the bandits. Right? Huangzhou is a mess."

Shen Shuren said confidently: "That's why the Ministry of Officials gave me a job as a deputy envoy of regiment training, which can control Xiangyong. Anyway, we have real power, but the grade cannot be higher than that of Tongzhi, so I added a deputy. In fact, there is no official job on it.”

The regiment training system of the Ming Dynasty was inherited from the Song Dynasty. There were also village warriors and militiamen in various places during wars, but they were not permanent.Under normal circumstances, there is no regimental training envoy, and at most it is replaced by a temporary military position such as "regimental training commander", supervised by the provincial inspector.

But Shen Shuren was a purely civilian official, and it was impossible for him to be the commander-in-chief of the regiment. After the Ministry of Officials made a calculation, they decided to be flexible and use those unpopular official names.

The younger brothers couldn't help laughing when they heard this name: "Huangzhou also set up a deputy regiment training envoy. This is because of Su Zizhan's name. What do the officials think?"

"Brother Geng Jie, who offended His Majesty by persuading and remonstrating against Yan Yan, is more worthy of the title than Mr. Dongpo who angered Song Shenzong. Well, let's not talk about these depressing words, come, let's respect Shen Xiandi with a glass, and wish him to follow the ancients. .”

Shen Shuren had a drink with everyone, talking and laughing freely: "Brothers, don't worry about me. I'm going to Huangzhou. I heard that Huanggang County, the prefecture, has not been restored and is still in the hands of thieves. Only Qizhou, which is close to An and Lu in the east of the prefecture Counties such as Qishui, Qishui, Huangmei, and Luotian are still in the hands of the officers and soldiers.

The Ministry of Officials has already greeted me. As long as I make meritorious deeds in the crusade against Lin Chengcheng and Liu Xiyao, destroy one of them, and recover Huanggang County, I will be granted the prefect of Huangzhou.If the entire territory of Huangzhou can be recovered and the thieves such as Lin and Liu can be wiped out, it is not impossible to consider sending troops to prepare for Taoism and assisting in the defense of the northern Han Dynasty.

When it comes to the place, it means that promotion is based on merit, and the capable will go up and the mediocre will go down. Since ancient times, military merits have been the most unfathomable.It also saves the intrigue in the court and the entanglement with political opponents. "

Huangzhou, where Shen Shuren was going, belonged to Huguang Province, and it was also the state capital on the border between Huguang and Nanzhili.Because Huguang Province is too big, it is not easy to assist defense in wartime, so some "army roads" will be split and set up between the province and the government.

For example, the three prefectures of Xiangyang, De'an (now Suizhou), and Huangzhou in the north of the Hanshui River were under the management of a single soldier.
Jingzhou and other places in the south of the Han River and the north of the river belonged to a Bingbei Road,

In the south of the Yangtze River, another military road is drawn.

The big cake drawn by the Ministry of Officials for Shen Shuren was very clear, and he was told in advance that it was also for the purpose of fighting chicken blood, and let him go to the place to work hard to make contributions.

Ge Shizhen and the others secretly admired him when he spoke so calmly:

How many civil officials are afraid of thieves like tigers, and they dare not become officials when they hear that there are thieves.Brother Shen Xian treats the thieves like nothing, and regards the Gezuo Fifth Battalion as a tool for making contributions. What a hero!

Everyone reflected and compared, and they all felt that they were completely inferior.

When they toasted Shen Shuren, their attitude became more and more admirable, and they regarded Shen Shuren as the spiritual leader of their class.

……

On the other side, at the main table where Shen Tingyang, Jiang Dejing and others were drinking, Shen Tingyang also maintained his friendship with Shangguan and colleagues very well.

There is more than one servant in the household department, and each servant is theoretically at the same level.But in fact, just like there is always a "executive deputy" in a bunch of deputy ministers in later generations, Jiang Dejing is now the executive deputy in charge of the work of the household department.

Shen Tingyang was far away from him when he was a member of Wai Lang, but now he is promoted to a doctor, and he is still the doctor of one of the divisions that His Majesty admires the most, and he is not far away from Jiang Dejing.

Therefore, while Shen Tingyang had to stand in line, he also had to maintain Shangguan's emotions so that the other party realized that he had no intention of finally taking Jiang Dejing's position.

After drinking for three rounds, Shen Tingyang took an opportunity to tell Jiang Dejing about Hou Xun who was imprisoned a few years ago.

"Jiang Shilang, have you heard rumors in the court recently that Wuchang Zuo Liangyu's supporter is self-respecting and timid, and has something to do with the former Shangshu Hou Xun who is still in prison?"

Jiang Dejing still wanted to "make progress". The old Shangshu Cheng Guoxiang did not work hard and was just dismissed by the emperor. Of course he wanted to replace him directly. Hearing the topic about Hou Xun, of course he was a little unhappy.

How can the old leader of the "previous term" come back again?Besides, Hou Xun didn't have any real skills, it was just that Donglin's internal status was relatively high, and his reputation was touted to be relatively good.

He calmly took a sip of his wine and lowered his voice:
"My officer has never heard of it. By the way, Shen Xiandi, you have been in the household department for seven or eight years. Before Hou Shangshu was imprisoned, you were already in the household department. At that time, it was just a matter. Could it be that you were quite Appreciated by Hou Shangshu?"

Shen Tingyang: "Where, when Quanzi was in Nanjing before, he entered the prison to donate an official, and had some feuds with Hou Shangshu's son Hou Fangyu, and Zhu Dadian's nephew Zhu Guangshi, and that Jiangzuo famous scholar Gong Dingzi.

I heard that Hou Shangshu had secretly made friends with Zhu Dadian. If Zuo Liangyu and Zhu Dadian rescued him and returned to his post, he would naturally reciprocate and ask the Ministry of Households to block the progress of water transportation reform.

I don't want to hide anything from my servant, it's my lifelong wish to change the water transportation to the sea, if the household department is taken over by those old people who have been away for many years and don't know the situation, it is really not a blessing in the world.If it can be taken over by a role model like the servant who is determined to forge ahead and have a bright mirror, it will benefit the country and the people. "

"Hey, what are you talking about? How can I be a minister? You can't be a minister." Jiang Dejing was overjoyed when he heard the words, but his mouth was very humble.

Although Shen Tingyang's official position is not high, he is rich. Even if other officials of the household department have been greedy for more than ten years, they don't have as much money as Shen Tingyang, who doesn't need to be greedy.

As long as Shen Tingyang is willing to help him dredge his joints, why not make progress?

However, Jiang Dejing still had some doubts. He didn't quite understand how high Shen Tingyang's final official expectations would be, so after being humble, he made some indirect remarks:
"Brother Shen Xian has saved so much money for His Majesty this time. In the future, the five-year period for water transport to sea will come. If he has outstanding political achievements, he may be able to look at the Minister."

Shen Tingyang also knew what the other party was worried about, so he also told his son the news he had inquired through the Ministry of Officials: "I am ashamed to say that the imperial edict for the promotion of your majesty was drafted by Quanzi, and Quanzi took it to the cabinet and the Ministry of Officials for handling. .

He helped to inquire about it, and His Majesty also knew that after the reform of the water transportation was successful, the credit could not be dismissed by a doctor.Now I give it to the doctor first, because I am afraid that I will not do enough to resettle the people in the future, so I have to wait and see.

If this year is done and there is no trouble in relocating Cao people, His Majesty will consider making an exception and promoting me to the Nanjing Household Department as a servant and in charge of the Jiangnan Division.The lower official was not born in science and education, but just a donated official. It would be impossible to walk to Taige in the capital in this lifetime.

Nanjing No. [-] Department, ordinary people think it is just a place for the elderly, but it is just right for a rich man with no ambitions like a lower official, after all, the rank is also noble enough.The lower official only wants to do things for the court within his ability, and change to a dignified and prominent position. As for real power, it is not what I want. "

After these words, Jiang Dejing completely attracted Shen Tingyang as his confidant.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were six ministries in each of the south and Beijing, and the six ministries in Nanjing were not low in terms of rank and treatment, but their real power was much smaller, so they were regarded as shelters for sending and distributing losers in political struggles.

Shen Tingyang was born as a wealthy businessman, and what he wanted was a high political status and reputation, not a real power grab, so there was no conflict with Jiang Dejing.

If Shen Tingyang insisted on staying in Beijing, it would be really impossible for him to be promoted to be a servant just a year or two after he was promoted to doctor.However, when he becomes a servant in Nanjing, the pressure of competition is much less, and his colleagues are happy to see his success, wishing to free up the powerful carrier secretary in Beijing.

Jiang Dejing immediately began to make a wish: "What's so difficult about this, after this matter is completed, naturally the whole household department will do their best to help my virtuous brother go to Nanjing to be a servant."

What he said "after the event is accomplished" of course refers to after he himself became a minister.

Shen Tingyang reached a deal with Shangguan, but he still had some doubts in his heart: Why did his son have to operate him to achieve rapid promotion by means of "going to Nanjing Six Departments"?

(End of this chapter)