Return to the Tang Dynasty to be a villain

Chapter 40: Finally an Imperial Official
As soon as Di Renjie said this, Wu Sansi's face suddenly turned gloomy.

He thought that what he said saved face for both Lai Junchen and Wei Yuanzhong.

He neither completely stopped Lai Junchen's idea of ​​recommending Qin Yi to enter the Yishiyuan, nor did he refute the fact that Wei Yuanzhong and Zhang Jianzhi pointed out that Qin Yi's virtue was not worthy of the position.

He was one of the few impartial people in the Liang Palace, but he didn't expect Di Renjie to not give him any face.

Except for Wu San who didn't understand what Di Renjie was going to do, the other people in Ganlu Hall had different interpretations.

Zhang Jianzhi and Wei Yuanzhong were naturally very happy. Di Renjie had always been at odds with Lai Junchen, and he must have stood up to support them.

Lai Junchen was a little nervous, after all, Di Renjie was deeply trusted by His Majesty the Holy Emperor.

This time when he walked out of his prison, not only was he reinstated, but he even went a step further and became the Prime Minister of Fengge Luantai, the real head of the prime minister.

He was worried that the other party would have a rift in his heart and opposed Qin Yi's entry into the Yishiyuan.

As for Wu Zhao, she felt that this was natural.

She would have been surprised if Di Renjie had not jumped out to oppose Lai Junchen and Wu Sansi.

With a playful smile on her face, Wu Zhao nodded at Di Renjie, indicating that he should continue.

However, what he said next made everyone in Ganlu Palace look at him in astonishment.

"Your Majesty, I have no objection to the promotion of officials to the Ministry of Personnel, which I am currently requesting."

"It's just that Your Highness Prince Liang said that Qin Yi's talent and learning were insufficient, and I still have some objections in my heart."

"Di Qing," Wu Zhao looked at Di Renjie with a puzzled look on her face, "How do you know if this Qin Yi has any talent?"

"Your Majesty, gentlemen"

As Di Renjie spoke, he reached into his arms and took out the two poems that he had asked Qin Yi to copy that day.

After taking the two pieces of paper with poems written on them presented by Di Renjie, Wu Zhao took a look at them and was immediately attracted by the content.

"Why don't men take Wu Gou and take over the fifty states of Guanshan?

Please go to the Lingyan Pavilion for a moment. How can a scholar be a marquis?"

"The military song should be sung with a big sword and a ring, and we swear to destroy the Hu Nu and leave the Jade Pass.

Just die for the country on the battlefield, why should you return your body wrapped in horse leather? "

Wu Zhao recited the poems on the paper softly, with uncontrollable excitement in her eyes.

He casually handed the two pieces of paper to Wu Sansi and asked everyone in Ganlu Hall to pass them around and have a look.

Except for Wu Sansi who was slightly inferior in literary talent, all the people in Ganlu Hall today were Jinshi graduates, so naturally they had outstanding literary talent.

But even Wu Sansi, who had been an official for so many years and had many talented staff members around him, could tell the quality of poetry and prose.

These two poems are not only full of heroic spirit, but also have neat rhythm and parallelism. They are truly rare masterpieces.

Yang Jiong, who wrote the first war poem of the Tang Dynasty, "Joining the Army," wrote two lines, "I would rather be a centurion than a scholar." In terms of momentum, his two lines, "I would rather be a centurion than a scholar," are slightly inferior to Qin Yi's "Please go up to the Lingyan Pavilion for a while, so that a scholar can become a marquis."

Not only Wu Zhao felt emotional after watching it, but even the other people were amazed after watching it.

When the last person, Zong Chuke, finished reading and put the two poems on the table in front of Wu Zhao again, Wu Zhao looked at Di Renjie with a puzzled look and asked.

"Di Qing, you mean, these two poems are..."

Di Renjie smiled and nodded, agreeing with Wu Zhao's guess. Then he took another step forward, picked up Qin Yi's poem and showed it to Wu Zhao.

"Your Majesty, I want to show you more than just the contents of these two poems."

"Please carefully examine the handwriting of the copied poem."

After being reminded by Di Renjie, Wu Zhao picked up the two pieces of paper again and looked at them carefully.

As she became more and more engrossed in watching, Wu Zhao's face gradually showed more and more surprise.

"Di Qing, is this also the handwriting?"

"That's right," Di Renjie said with a smug look on his face. "Your Majesty, I've often heard that a person's handwriting reflects his character."

"Look at the handwriting on these two pages of copied poetry. The font is neat and the structure is rigorous."

"The brushstrokes are vigorous and powerful, the outer softness and inner strength reveal a majestic and magnificent atmosphere."

"This old minister believes that this young man from the Licheng County family is not only extremely talented, but also has a righteous character."

"And he also inherited the late Duke Ji's ambition to make great contributions to the country."

"This is a hidden gem that I, an old minister, have never seen in my life."

"That's why I spoke so rudely to His Royal Highness Prince Liang just now, thinking that his evaluation of Qin Yi was somewhat wrong."

These words reflect Di Renjie's shrewdness and foresight.

He did not participate in the dispute between Lai Junchen and Wei Yuanzhong at all, nor did he mention whether it was appropriate for Qin Yi to be the head of the Censorate.

He only wanted Wu Zhao to express one thing, that is, Qin Yi was not only a talented child, but also had good character.

How did Di Renjie see that Qin Yi had good character?

He also said that the handwriting reflects the character of the person.

Qin Yi's handwriting is dignified and elegant, so his character should not be too bad.

As to whether Qin Yi could eventually take the position of the head of the Recruiting and Censoring Office, it would be decided by Wu Zhao. As a prime minister, it was not convenient for him to make a comment.

This is the reason why Di Renjie was able to stand by Wu Zhao's side for so many years and remain unmoved.

He knew that Wu Zetian was a very suspicious person and liked to abuse her power and seize government affairs.

Therefore, when it came to personnel appointments and dismissals, he would simply evaluate the person's abilities and character, and would never make decisions on behalf of the Holy Emperor. After hearing Di Renjie's words, Wu Zetian pondered for a moment before approving Lai Junchen's memorial.

Lai Junchen was naturally very happy when he saw that Wu Zetian approved all the candidates recommended to him.

This not only means that he can ask for some benefits from those who have been promoted, but also proves that His Majesty the Holy Emperor still has great trust in him.

As for Zhang Jianzhi and Wei Yuanzhong, they originally opposed just for the sake of opposing.

They had never thought that they could bring down Lai Junchen through this incident.

It would be great if His Majesty the Holy Emperor could refute Lai Junchen's memorial, but the Jishiyuan was Lai Junchen's sphere of influence after all.

It was not their place to criticize the kind of officials appointed there.

As for Wu Sansi and Zong Chuke, they didn't care about this matter at all. As long as His Majesty the Holy Emperor approved, how could they dare not obey his orders?
So the matter was settled. Wu Sansi, as the Minister of the Chancellery, drafted the imperial edict. After returning to the yamen, Zhang Jianzhi, the Minister of Heaven, arranged for the Ministry of Selection to appoint officials to the three promoted people. Di Renjie, as the Minister of Fengge Luantai, was to push forward the process as soon as possible.

Our young master Qin Yi of Licheng County Mansion did not know at this time that in a few days, he would officially become an official of the Wu Zhou Dynasty.

Time flies, and three days passed in a flash.

Early in the morning, Qin Yi was called to the Jishiyuan by a minor official sent by Lai Junchen.

Today, the entire Yishiyuan was filled with joy, and the faces of the officials and clerks were filled with uncontrollable smiles.

Wei Chengqing was promoted from the fifth-rank chief secretary to the fourth-rank deputy governor.

He Zhizhang was promoted from a seventh-rank official to a fifth-rank chief secretary.

Both of them are now considered high-ranking officials in the court.

Naturally, there were eunuchs responsible for issuing imperial edicts, who took the imperial edict to their residences to announce it.

Only Qin Yi, the head of the Recruiting and Censoring Office, had his imperial edict announced to him by officials from the Ministry of Personnel in the Yishiyuan because his rank was too low.

After all, the person to be appointed was the head of a department, so all the people in the Yishiyuan gathered in the lobby.

The person who came to announce the decree was Di Guangsi, a doctor from the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Office. However, after he finished reading the decree, Lai Junchen's face turned gloomy.

It turned out that Wu Sansi had secretly advised Wu Zhao again, which put a stumbling block in Qin Yi's way.

In this imperial edict, Qin Yi's rank was changed from the seventh rank to the eighth rank, and his official position was changed from principal to acting principal.

According to Wu Sansi, Qin Yi was too young and had no qualifications at all.

Therefore, the affairs of the Recruiting and Censoring Office were still presided over by the Chief Clerk He Zhizhang, while Qin Yi learned about the relevant government affairs in the capacity of acting chief.

If he is able to do this job in the future, he can be promoted to the seventh rank.

But if Qin Yi's talent was not enough, he would not make any big mistakes with He Zhizhang watching over him.

Wu Zhao naturally felt that Wu Sansi's explanation was a frank and mature one, and was more prudent.

In addition, whether it is the seventh rank or the eighth rank, there is actually no difference in the mind of His Majesty the Holy Emperor, so he implemented it according to Wu Sansi's method.

The reason why Wu Sansi did this was naturally closely related to the rift between Wu Chonglie and Qin Yi.

However, it was also related to suppressing Qin Yi's career and not wanting him to rise too quickly.

Qin Yi is now a fake leader of the eighth rank. Even if he can make contributions in the future, as long as the word "fake" is removed from his title, it can be considered a compliment.

This created another obstacle in Qin Yi's path to promotion.

"Master Di," Lai Junchen looked at Di Guangsi with a look of suspicion, "What do you, the Ministry of Personnel, mean?"

If others saw Lai Junchen like this, they would have been frightened to death.

But Di Guangsi is Di Renjie's son.

Some days ago, when Di Renjie was imprisoned in the Jishiyuan prison by Lai Junchen, he was ready to impeach Lai Junchen in front of the Holy Emperor in the court and plead for justice for his father.

Such an upright person was ordered to come out on a mission today. He did not care at all about Lai Junchen's outward appearance of being fierce but actually being weak.

"Master Yuanzheng, the Ministry of Personnel is also acting in accordance with the imperial edict issued by the Ministry of Shangshu."

Di Guangsi looked at Lai Junchen calmly and contradicted him without leaving a trace.

"If you have any questions, you can ask His Royal Highness Prince Liang directly."

"you"

Lai Junchen was not really angry at first, but his promise to Qin Yi was discounted, and he felt a little embarrassed.

But when he saw Di Guangsi's nonchalant look, he was immediately furious.

"Sir," Qin Yi saw that Lai Junchen was about to explode and quickly spoke out to dissuade him.

"I am still a young official with little experience. The arrangement made by King Liang and Your Majesty is also a spur to me. Please don't get yourself hurt by your anger."

Qin Yi felt somewhat proud that he could finally call himself a humble official.

As for today's result, it was actually within his expectations.

Lai Junchen had already incurred public anger in the court. Not only did upright people like Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi despise associating with him, but even the Wu kings were irreconcilable with him because of his frame-up.

Although Wu Zetian favored Lai Junchen, she would never let the civil and military officials in the court feel dissatisfied because of him.

Therefore, Qin Yi knew that the possibility of him becoming the head of the Recruiting and Remonstrating Office directly was almost negligible.

He hadn't held out much hope to begin with, so today's result naturally made him overjoyed.

No matter what, he was finally appointed by the imperial court. At least during the night curfew, he didn't have to be locked up in the streets like the common people and unable to go out.

(End of this chapter)