The Rise of the Cold Gate in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Chapter 145
The layout of Shangshu's Mansion is similar to that of Diao's Manor in Jingkou, but the scale is smaller. The steward walks in the front, bows to lead the way, passes through two corridors, and then turns east. You can faintly hear the sound of orchestral strings, but you can see the bright lights in the hall in front of you. Hui, beautiful shadows whirling, Xu is accompanied by singing and dancing.

At the gate of the courtyard, there were several guards in armor, and the person in charge came forward to whisper a few words, and saw one of them, took a closer look at Xiao Qin, cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Xiao, please."

Xiao Qinzhi nodded, passed through the gate of the courtyard, and followed the steps towards the hall, the orchestral sound became clearer and clearer, but it also indicated that the atmosphere in the hall was harmonious, and the guests and hosts agree with each other, so everything should be settled.

"Here, Mr. Xiao Xiaolang is here." Bu Qu stood in front of the hall, bowed and cupped his hands and shouted.

"Come in!" An old voice came out, not loud but majestic.

Xiao Qinzhi stepped up three steps slowly and entered the hall, and saw a dignified old man sitting on a high seat, with white beard and hair, and blazing eyes, this person is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Diao Yi.

There are two seats on the left side, the chief one is Xie An, who looks about forty years old, with green hair and shawl, elegant face, handsome expression, lightly raised eyebrows, soft and deep eyes, a few wisps of beautiful beard are casual, thin figure, dressed in a suit Loose Confucian robe, holding a stag tail, looking at Xiao Qinzhi with a wide smile.

The second seat is Wang Tanzhi, styled Wendu, Taiyuan Wang family, in his thirties, imposing manner, dignified body, with hair tied up and high crown, sitting upright, eyes like rocks, giving people a feeling that he is not to be trifled with, his father It is Wang Shu, the governor of Yangzhou, who is in charge of the Yangzhou army together with Xi Tan, the governor of Yangzhou. He governs Guangling. He is a real local official. This made Wang Xizhi very embarrassed.

"Xiao Qinzhi from the Xiao family of Lanling, pay homage to Diao Shangshu, An Shigong, and Wang Shizhong." Xiao Qinzhi bowed and saluted one by one.

"Mr. Anshi, Wendu, my little nephew, just came to Jiankang today, and made a joke. I hope you will forgive me." Diao Yi stroked his white beard and smiled. Although he said so, it was boastful. Using the title of Wu Zhi's nephew shows that he is very important.

Xie An held the tail of the stag, looked at Xiao Qinzhi carefully, and said with a smile: "It's not a coincidence that Xi's guest came, a few days earlier, Wen Du and I came just in time. Speaking of which, I have been friends with Qinzhi for a long time. , When I was in Kuaiji, I drank clear tea and tasted good articles. I often lamented that the years have passed, and I came from behind. It’s not a monster, it’s hard to bear, it’s my favorite, I can see it today, the little friend is straight and straight, just like the lotus in June, the pavilion is clean and planted, I’m so happy and comforted!”

"Mr. An Shi, Qin Zhi is still young, so he shouldn't boast like that," Diao Yi said.

"Xie An Shigong." Xiao Qinzhi bowed and said.

Not long ago, Yu Xi, who was scolded by Xiao Qinzhi, vomited blood and fainted. This matter was widely circulated in the Jiankang Biography. Shanshui, but seeing Xiao Qin's crown and face like jade, with a beautiful appearance, but not charming, is just what he likes, and asked: "This year, the state will be Zhongzheng, how many grades will you decide?"

"Return to the servant, the third grade."

"The West Manor has a move, can you go?"

The answer to this question is very challenging. Diao Yi remained silent, holding a glass of wine with An Shigong, and smiled quietly. Xiao Qinzhi remembered Diao Lun's instructions before leaving, not to make decisions without authorization, and said: "But listen to the world. Bo ordered."

It seems that he didn't answer, but he also answered. The current situation is clear, Diao Yi will not let Xiao Qinzhi go to the West Mansion, and there is a high probability that he will go to Situ Mansion, so Xiao Qinzhi's answer has a deep meaning, which is not to be taken lightly I don't show myself too much.

"Wendu, my nephew has come all the way, and I haven't rested yet. Wait for a few bites to fill my stomach before asking." Diao Yi said, pointing to the seat on the right, and said with a smile: "Qinzhi, sit down quickly."

Xiao Qinzhi gave a deep bow, then stepped towards the seat on the right, sat down, picked up the meat, chewed slowly, then poured wine, sipped slowly, every move was extremely elegant, mainly because An Shigong was present, he It was Uncle Xie Daoyun, who made Xiao Qinzhi a little bit reluctant to let go, lame.

During the dinner, Diao Yi continued to chat with An Shigong and Wang Wendu, while Xiao Qinzhi remained silent, listening while eating.

Suddenly, Xiao Qinzhi seemed to understand something, glanced sideways, Diao Yi was much older than An Shigong, although the Minister of the Ministry of Officials was a third-rank official, but Wang Wendu was in his thirties, and he was also a third-rank official.

There is also Xun Xian, the governor of Xuzhou, the youngest governor of the Jin Dynasty. He became a powerful official in his twenties. Compared with him, Xiao Qinzhi had a bold guess that Diao Yi's move might be a Deliberately, taking advantage of the power of the Wu people, attracted the attention of the overseas Chinese gentry, and the official position may be raised to a higher level. The official second rank records the affairs of the Shangshu, and can interfere with the affairs of the Shangshutai, which really involves the center of power.

If one more Kaifu Yitong Sansi is added, the nine-rank selection system can be bypassed, and the Jinling talents can be recruited directly by Kaifu. good thing.

Therefore, it is very possible that Diao Yi did not intend to get involved in the matter of Huan Wenwen and Qiao being captured by the gentry from the beginning, nor did he intend to break the balance between the two sides. It has aroused the attention of both parties, and in exchange for massive political capital.

On the other hand, Wu people don't necessarily pay anything, it's just a matter of shouting a few times, purely as a favor, to make a good relationship, after all, the geographical location of Jinling County, Sanwuka's death.

Diao Yi is a master of micro-manipulation. Judging from the attitudes of Xie An and Wang Wendu towards him, Xiao Qinzhi felt that Diao Yi had achieved the set goal. Otherwise, with the prestige of An Shigong and Wang Wendu, how could he take the initiative to come to Shangshufu to negotiate?

Next, Xiao Qinzhi had a hunch that there would be a wave of collective promotion for the Jinling gentry to increase their influence and voice among the overseas Chinese gentry. Judging from the previous wave of promotion, Yan, Dai, and Xiao all entered official positions. However, no one from the Hongnong Yang family entered the civil official group of the county government, obviously rejected by the Jinling gentry class.
One is that the Yang family of Hongnong had the experience of "Three Yang Rebellion" and rebellion, so they were not accepted by the overseas Chinese gentry;

It is expected that in this wave of civil servant promotions in the Jinling gentry, there is still no such thing as the Hongnong Yang family, and the Xiao family has no new recruits. Xiao Qinzhi has a strong feeling that the patriarch has put all the treasures accumulated by the Xiao family on deposit Therefore, Diao Taishou will take action to refute Yu Xi, and Diao Yi treats him like a nephew in front of An Shigong.

At night, after the banquet was over, Xiao Qinzhi went back to the room, feeling a heavy burden on his shoulders, without any sleepiness. On the one hand, it was the heavy responsibility of the family, on the other hand, it was the major marriage and personal aspirations.

Xuzhou has become a dilemma.

(End of this chapter)