Zhenguan: I, Dou Fengjie, will not be the first cuckold.

January 30th.

After the court assembly, a message quickly spread through the Court of State Ceremonial.

Tang Jian, who was originally a third-rank official in the Court of State Ceremonies, has been promoted to the third-rank official position of Minister of Civil Affairs!

Inside the Honglu Temple office, a group of officials happily clasped their hands in congratulations to Tang Jian.

Congratulations, Minister!

Tang Jian gave Dou Fengjie a half-smile.

"For the sake of Dou Fengjie, Minister Lao has suffered."

Dou Fengjie sighed, his face filled with shame.

This was clearly a malicious act orchestrated by Princess Yongjia.

What appears to be a promotion is actually a way of removing Tang Jian from the position most suitable for him.

Of course, it's not that Tang Jian was incapable of serving as Minister of Revenue, but his lazy nature was incompatible with the busy affairs of the Ministry of Revenue.

His love of chess and hospitality, coupled with his neglect of official duties, became a pretext for others to criticize him.

"Not bad, you have some conscience. It wasn't for nothing that I put up with the pressure and strongly recommended you for the position of Assistant Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs."

Tang Jian smiled.

By using the relocation as an excuse to bargain, he managed to promote Dou Fengjie's official rank; this was also a form of bargaining.

If he doesn't react at all, others will think he's an easy target.

The affairs of the imperial court are actually quite similar to the business dealings of peddlers in the marketplace; in essence, it's all about exchange.

The position of Junior Eighth-Rank Clerk was originally set up with two posts, and Dou Fengjie occupying one post did not affect his mother's position.

The intriguing thing is that the imperial court did not appoint a new Minister of State Ceremonies, and the vast Court of State Ceremonies was only managed by two Vice Ministers of State Ceremonies.

In other words, Princess Yongjia's plan was only half realized.

It seems that the emperor's ears were only half-heard.

Dou Fengjie whispered two words: "Yanzhou".

Tang Jian's smile slowly faded: "My family's residence is in Anrenfang, Wannian County. You're welcome to come and play some games sometime."

He secretly wondered how Dou Fengjie knew that he was planning to ask Zhang Chenhe, the governor of Yanzhou, to help him buy the sheep he was raising in Yanzhou.

Regardless of how Dou Fengjie knew, this reminder forced Tang Jian to abandon the idea.

When it comes to risks, it's better to believe they exist than to believe they don't.

Therefore, Tang Jian, who rarely invited his subordinates to his residence, made a rare exception and spoke up.

Anrenfang is the third ward east of Zhuque Street. The second ward, Kaihuafang, was where Song Guogong Xiao Yu lived.

Tang Jian waved his sleeve, leaving not a trace of money behind.

After the imperial decree was issued and the official title arrived, the Diankeshu (official residence) was filled with congratulations.

The eighth and ninth ranks both wore blue robes, which saved them the trouble of changing into official attire.

Tang Jian's final arrangement was aimed at ensuring that Dou Fengjie would be promoted to the position of Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs after the festival.

As for the legitimate Clerk Zhao Dekai, he will naturally be given a different position upon his return.

Technically speaking, this behavior is called reserving a spot.

Manager Beimen Shuang laughed, his two rat teeth standing out prominently: "Ever since you entered the Bureau of Guests, I knew you were destined for greatness, and sure enough, you were promoted beyond your station."

"Extra promotion" means exceptional promotion, and given Dou Fengjie's one-month experience as an official, this term is quite accurate.

Dou Fengjie's own actions justified this promotion.

"The Bureau of Guests will follow the orders of its superiors without question." The mother of the Bureau of Guests, Zhan Cheng, smiled brightly, her small eyes almost disappearing.

It was expected; the only surprise was that it happened so quickly.

As long as her own interests are not affected, Mu Zhancheng doesn't care who holds the pawn order.

"If all my colleagues work together to do a perfect job, I will invite you all to a feast in the seventh year of Zhenguan." Dou Fengjie was not putting on airs.

"Good. Even if the mourning period is over, the acting head of the guesthouse must still strictly abstain from wine, women, song, and dance. This is the greatest filial piety." Vice Minister Liu Shan walked into the room.

This one sentence sets the tone: it wasn't that Dou Fengjie was stingy or looked down on people, but that he had filial piety in his heart.

The true filial piety lies in quietly upholding the precepts while performing duties.

Mother Zhancheng slowly explained the matter of salary to Dou Fengjie.

The annual salary of officials in the capital, from the eighth rank to the ninth rank, was 52 shi of grain. The salary for spring and summer was paid at the end of spring, and the salary for autumn and winter was paid in autumn.

Officials of the ninth rank and above were given white rice.

Officials of the rank of outside the capital and above will be given rations for two more people;

Retired officials of the fifth rank or above received half the grain rations according to their rank.

Even low-ranking officials received additional subsidies for servants, food, and miscellaneous expenses.

For someone like Dou Fengjie who gets promoted, he still has to be paid the rank of a ninth-grade official for the first 29 days, with the additional rank of an eighth-grade official for one day.

"What about the regular rice allowance?"

Dou Fengjie asked questions when he didn't understand.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and the State Grain Administration distribute rice to various departments according to the first, middle, and last ten days of the month. The Ministry of State Ceremonies distributes rice in the first ten days of the month, usually the rice from the previous month."

Mother Zhancheng explained diligently and responsibly.

Got it. Work first, then get paid.

Under normal circumstances, the rice distributed by the Taicang Bureau is a mix of new and old grains. Unless it is a deliberate attempt to frame someone, it will not all be old grain.

If someone were to receive three years' worth of rice and wheat, or nine years' worth of millet, they would definitely offend someone.

-----------------

Back in Longzheng Ward, Dou Fengjie smiled at Tang Bugu, the ward's head: "I have not failed in my mission. Your son can now serve as a servant."

Tang Bugu's eyes widened: "That's wonderful!"

He could understand Dou Fengjie's rapid rise in rank, after all, he held the title of Duke.

Tang Bugu's eldest son is called Tang Shanzhan. He has big eyes and a lion's nose, stands slouching, and has a tattoo faintly visible on his collar.

"This humble man, Tang Shanzhan, greets you, sir."

Tang Shanzhan crossed his hands in a strange manner, clearly not understanding etiquette.

Dou Fengjie thought to himself, "I'm so lucky I wasn't beaten to death by the monks at Fahai Temple for having such a terrible name."

According to Tang Bugu, when he was born, they were hiding in the mountains to avoid the war, and there was only an oil lamp, so he was given this name.

Dou Fengjie muttered to himself, "Why not choose 'Hiding from Soldiers'?"

How old are you?

Dou happy inquired.

"I think he was 28 last year, so he should be 18 this year?"

Tangshanzhan gave a rather unserious reply.

Dou Fengjie labeled him as: an old man who doesn't speak the truth much.

"Take off your shirt."

Dou Shang coldly gave the order.

He's a bit muscular and a bit fat, and his horse stance is so awkward he's practically floating.

With two lines of text on his back, his tone was incredibly arrogant: "I fear neither the government in life nor the Yama in death."

"Yan Lao" was one of the titles used to refer to Yama, the King of Hell, during the Tang Dynasty.

Dou Shang casually slapped Tang Shanzhan's belly, and the layers of fat on his belly rippled like water, actually dissipating most of the force.

"Ouch! That hurts so much!" Tang Shanzhan plopped down on the ground and cried out absentmindedly.

"I understand, you're a wandering knight, right? The temple is too small..." Dou Fengjie raised an eyebrow. No wonder Tang Bugu was so troubled.

"No, no, no, I'm just demonstrating my abilities, not trying to extort money!" Tang Shanzhan jumped up, quickly put on his clothes, and spoke honestly to Dou Fengjie.

Tang Shanzhan's martial arts skills were even inferior to Dou happy's, yet he was one of the most well-known informants in Chang'an.

His intentions contradicted those of Ayetang Bugu. Although he also wanted the benefits of the servants, he did not want to be constantly tied to Dou Fengjie's side.

"I will put in a lot of effort to find out information about you, sir. I won't follow you around often to keep it a secret, so that it will be easier to get information out of others."

Tangshan Zhan explained earnestly.

Tang Bugu looked at his eldest son with worry, feeling that his statement was unreliable.

"Okay! But you need to come up with at least one piece of information that will be useful to me within February."

Dou Fengjie was decisive and efficient.

After all, apart from Longzhengfang and the Imperial City, the cost of setting up surveillance systems for the Weihuo system is too high; it's the kind of system that even twenty pieces of Sancai glazed pottery couldn't cover.