Return to the Tang Dynasty to be a villain

Chapter 41 The Elegant Qin

Lai Junchen was just bluffing and wanted to gain a favor from Qin Yi.

Seeing that Qin Yi no longer cared about it, he also suppressed the anger on his face.

He Zhizhang was asked to escort Di Guangsi out of the Jishiyuan, and other colleagues such as Wei Chengqing and Wei Xian congratulated Qin Yi one after another.

At this point, Qin Yi only knew who were the heads of the Yan'en and Tongxuan offices, in addition to Wei Chengqing, He Zhizhang, Wang Wuzhe, and Wei Xian.

The head of the Yan'en Division was Li Jiongxiu, and the head of the Tongxuan Division was Ji Hun.

Among them, Li Jiongxiu, the head of Yan'en Division, was a handsome and well-mannered man.

However, Ji Hun, the head of Tongxuansi, has an ordinary appearance. His appearance blends in with everyone else's, making it difficult for people to leave a deep impression on him.

After exchanging greetings with the two of them, Qin Yi couldn't help but sigh that although Lai Junchen was a treacherous person who did things to any end, he was also able to judge people.

Li Jiongxiu, whose courtesy name is Maozhi, just turned thirty this year.

He was originally a descendant of the Wuyang branch of the Longxi Li family.

He was originally a bastard born to a maid, but because he had literary talent since childhood and liked to make friends and drink, he was a leading romantic figure at that time.

Having such an extraordinary and heroic person as the head of Yan'en Division will naturally allow him to get along with everyone and move around with ease among those noble families and powerful people.

Ji Hun is the son of Ji Xu, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, and is 25 years old this year.

Ji Xu came from a poor family and entered the officialdom through the imperial examination. He was a man who would do anything to get promoted and make money.

Ji Hun has been influenced by his surroundings since he was young, so naturally he is a person who will do anything to achieve his goals.

Coupled with his extremely ordinary appearance, he is really a perfect choice to be a spy.

Qin Yi exchanged a few words with Li Jiongxiu and Ji Hun, and congratulated Wei Chengqing and He Zhizhang. Only then did he notice Lai Junchen looking at him with an apologetic expression.

"Brother Yi, that day in Ganlu Palace, His Majesty the Holy Emperor had already approved my letter."

"I never thought that His Highness Prince Liang would be so despicable as to privately offer slanderous remarks to Your Majesty."

"I originally wanted to recommend you for the position of Seventh Rank Director of the Recruiting and Admonishing Department, but this is the result."

Seeing Lai Junchen's hypocritical look, Qin Yi didn't bother with him.

After all, he was able to hold an official position today thanks to Lai Junchen's recommendation, so Qin Yi was naturally not an ungrateful person.

"Master Yuanzheng, what merits and abilities have I gained to deserve your favor?"

"To be where I am today is entirely thanks to your careful guidance and support."

"Qin Yi will never forget the great kindness and generosity of the Minister of the Court."

The two sides exchanged some perfunctory courtesy, and Lai Junchen asked the other officials to leave.

"Brother Yi," Lai Junchen waved and called Qin Yi to him, "You are an official now, so you should be more prudent in the future."

"From now on, think twice before you speak or act, and never speak or act rashly."

How could Qin Yi not know at this moment that Lai Junchen was reminding him of the gift he had promised.

Fortunately, before leaving home at noon today, Qin Zhong had already returned to Chang'an with the people and things he wanted, so Qin Yi naturally felt confident.

"Teacher," there were only the two of them in the hall at the moment, so Qin Yi naturally changed the way he addressed Lai Junchen.

"I would like to go to your residence tonight to personally thank you for your guidance. Is it convenient for you, Master?"

When Lai Junchen heard what Qin Yi said, he knew that Qin Yi was going to bribe his family, and his face was immediately filled with smiles.

"My home is in Yongxingfang, just across the wall from Chongrenfang where you originally lived. You can look for the newly opened Jimen Gate on the south side of the wall."

After taking his leave from Lai Junchen, Qin Yi returned to his official residence with his certificate, fish token, and a green robe of the eighth rank.

The official residence of the Recruiting and Censoring Office was located in a small courtyard on the right side of the main gate of the Imperial Court.

Among the four departments of the Imperial Household Department, the two departments of redressing grievances and soliciting remonstrations were tools used by Lai Junchen to frame others.

There were about one or two thousand officials, clerks, inspectors, and hangers-on.

The Yan'en Division was responsible for recommending talented people to the imperial court. It was a lucrative department with a staff of over a hundred people.

The only thing he did was to recruit the Censorate, which only involved submitting some articles praising the emperor's achievements. Lai Junchen did not take it seriously, and there was not much benefit in it. There were only more than twenty clerks in the entire department.

These clerks were all old students from the four schools of the Imperial College.

Because he came from a poor family, he was not eligible for protection and could not pass the imperial examination, so he could only work as a clerk in the government office.

As soon as Qin Yi walked into the courtyard of the Recruiting and Censoring Office, he saw He Zhizhang and a man about forty years old standing outside the government office waiting for him.

He Zhizhang had already changed into a scarlet robe of the fifth rank, and as soon as he saw Qin Yi, a bright smile appeared on his face.

The man standing next to He Zhizhang was about thirty years old.

He was of medium build, with a thin face that was almost skin and bones, and his eyebrows were tightly twisted into a ball, as if he was always worried.

When Qin Yi saw He Zhizhang, he hurried forward and saluted him.

"Master Changshi."

Before Qin Yi could finish his compliment, He Zhizhang had already lifted his arm with a smile.

"Young Master, there's no need to be so polite. We'll be working together in the future, so just call each other brothers."

"This..." Qin Yi just hesitated for a moment, then stopped insisting, "Then, just as Brother He said."

"The elders in my family all call me Dalang. Brother He, please call me that too." He Zhizhang couldn't help but feel better when he saw that Qin Yi was no longer being polite with him.

He laughed and patted Qin Yi's shoulder, then introduced the person next to him to Qin Yi.

"Dalang, this is Niu Xianke, the chief clerk of our Recruiting and Censoring Department. Niu Xianke helps me handle the daily affairs of the department."

Niu Xianke had just been in the Tang Dynasty and had already known that this young man would be his future boss.

After He Zhizhang finished speaking, he hurried forward and saluted Qin Yi.

"Master Qin, please take care of me in the future."

"Niu Xianke?" Qin Yi's expression froze, and a storm of emotions rose in his heart.

This person is the only one in the more than 200-year history of the Tang Dynasty who started as a minor official and eventually ascended to the high position of prime minister.

It is said that Niu Xianke was an extremely cautious person, and his fighting style was very similar to that of Zeng Guofan in later generations. They both liked to build strong camps and fight stupid battles.

His greatest achievement in his life was that during the period from Wu Zhao to the early period of Li Longji, he served as the Jiedushi of Hexi and the Jiedushi of Shuofang successively.

During this period, Niu Xianke stabilized the situation in the western part of the empire while withstanding the constant harassment from Tubo and Turks from the north and south.

Looking at Qin Yi's stunned expression, He Zhizhang thought that he had some misunderstanding with Niu Xianke and quickly pulled him aside.

"Da Lang, don't underestimate this Niu Zhubu."

"Before me, the head of our Recruitment and Censorship Department was held by the current Wannian County Magistrate Fu."

"I heard that at that time, Chief Niu was deeply appreciated by County Magistrate Fu because of his loyalty and prudence."

"It was at that time that he was recommended by County Magistrate Fu to be the Chief Clerk of the Recruiting and Censoring Office."

So that's how it is! Qin Yi sighed inwardly.

In official history, Niu Xianke was originally a minor official under Fu Wenjing, and was deeply trusted by him.

When Fu Wenjing later served as the Longyou Yingtianshi, he brought him to Longyou Road.

It was also during this period that Niu Xianke demonstrated his outstanding military talent. Due to his outstanding military achievements, he was promoted to the governor of Hexi. From then on, he rose to prominence and eventually became the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Qin Yi's surprise was not because he looked down on Niu Xianke's former identity as a clerk, but because he did not expect that his first subordinate after entering the official career would be this legendary prime minister.

He quickly explained to He Zhizhang, telling him that he just admired Niu Xianke very much, which made He Zhizhang feel relieved.

Although he has now been promoted to the position of Chief Secretary, the imperial edict clearly states that Qin Yi is only the fake head of the Recruiting and Censoring Office, and the affairs within the office will inevitably have to be presided over by He Zhizhang.

If Qin Yi and Niu Xianke had a conflict as soon as he arrived, He Zhizhang would have to mediate between them in the future.

Seeing that Qin Yi had no grudge against Niu Xianke, He Zhizhang took them both into the hall of the government office.

Qin Yi first went to his duty room, changed into the green robe of the eighth rank, and hung the fish token on his belt.

He Zhizhang and Niu Xianke had only sat in the hall for a moment when they saw a young man with an imposing appearance and elegant demeanor coming up to them.

After the three of them greeted each other again, He Zhizhang introduced him to the specific affairs of the Recruiting Censors' Office.

With He Zhizhang's introduction, Qin Yi roughly understood the work content of the Recruiting and Censoring Office.

That is, at noon every day, he would lead the clerks to place the wooden box of the department outside the door of the Box Office.

At the hour of Xu, he would retrieve the letter and hand it over to Niu Xianke.

Niu Xianke would classify the poems and essays and hand over different letters to the corresponding clerks.

After the clerks had selected the articles that they thought were good, Niu Xianke would select them again and then hand them over to Qin Yi.

Qin Yi reviewed these articles again, selected several that were meaningful and of outstanding literary talent, and presented them to Lai Junchen.

Lai Junchen would select the most important points from them and have the chief secretary read out these articles criticizing current affairs in class at the court meeting on the first and fifteenth days of each month.

Isn't this just an editor's job?

Qin Yi had a preliminary understanding of his job responsibilities in his mind.

After He Zhizhang handed over the work to Qin Yi, he did not stay for too long.

After all, he is now the chief secretary, and Wei Chengqing still has a lot of matters to report to him.

"Da Lang," He Zhizhang said, looking at Qin Yi with a smile, "Although the Ministry of Personnel has currently allowed me to concurrently serve as the Recruiting and Censoring Department, this position of Chief Secretary requires me to be in charge of the affairs of the entire court."

"From now on, Dalang, you will be in charge of all matters within the department. If you have any questions, you can come and discuss them with me."

What He Zhizhang meant by this was that I will be very busy in the future, so don't bother me if you have nothing to do.

If there is something you really don't understand, come to me and I can give you some advice, but you are still the one to make the specific decisions.

He Zhizhang's words made Qin Yi feel a little surprised.

He remembered that in history, He Zhizhang was a wild and stubborn person, and was one of the "Four Ming Madmen".

When He Zhizhang was old, even Li Linfu, who was extremely powerful in the court, was no match for him.

But he was so polite to himself. Qin Yi didn't think that his titles of young master and senior student would make the other party so easy-going.

Sure enough, just when He Zhizhang was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly turned around and gave Qin Yi a cunning smile.

"Da Lang, if you come up with another poem like 'Why Don't Men Carry Wu Gou?', don't forget to copy it for me so I can appreciate it too!"

(End of this chapter)