Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 192 Secretary Department

Pingkangfang, Youxiang Mansion.

Yang Zhao walked through the courtyard and saw the steward Cang Bi. He smiled and asked, "Is the steward here specially to welcome me?"

This attitude seemed very affectionate, but it was no longer as respectful as it was a year or two ago.

"Yes." Cang Bipi smiled, "Yang Zhongcheng, take off your boots and follow me."

Yang Zhao took off his boots and walked onto the corridor, looking left and right along the way. He will soon build a new house in Xuanyangfang, and is now referring to the layout of Youxiang Mansion.

It wasn't until he entered the meeting hall that he stopped being frivolous and assumed a serious and respectful demeanor.

"I would like to extend my greetings to you, Prime Minister Chun."

Li Linfu didn't see him through the screen. With a faint smile on his face, he asked, "What's going on with Yang? He's going back on his word and interfering in the affairs of the Zhongshu Province. Is it because he seems too kind recently?"

Yang Zhao's heart trembled, and he realized that he had been a little crazy recently.

Since the prince's military power was taken away, Suo Douji has not criticized his political opponents for a while... because there is really no political opponent in the court who can threaten him.

Today's question is almost like asking, "Do you want to take the lead?"

"The Prime Minister has misunderstood." Yang Zhao said hurriedly: "This matter is indeed not my brother's intention to participate in Zhongshu Province. It is actually...Xue Bai's request, and it is difficult to violate the holy will."

"A saint does not care about state affairs. If he wants to appoint Xue Bai as the school secretary, he will show his true nature."

"Maybe." Yang Zhao is no longer what he used to be. He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth and said, "Did the saint signal to the right minister?"

Li Linfu was silent for a moment after hearing this.

Yang Zhao apologized and said with a smile: "At the royal banquet in Ziyun Tower, Eleven Niang and others were probably there too. The saint said several times that he wanted to discuss opera with Xue Bai. How could he be released from the capital? Brother, I promise, this is just this time, next time Never again will the Zhongshu Provincial Committee touch the documents approved by the Right Prime Minister!"

This attitude is still good, and he gives in quickly. The most important thing is that Yang Zhao's cowardly appearance really makes Li Linfu look down on him.

This is not Wei Jian, Lu Xuan, Han Chaozong, Li Shizhi, Li Qiwu, Wang Zhongsi, Pei Kuan, etc. who are famous and talented and may threaten the position. The Yang brothers, one is a spitting pot, and the other is a fatuous and weak medicine pot, but they are blessed with high status.

"National affairs cannot be changed without authorization." Li Linfu said solemnly: "Don't let the truth be seen again."

"You must not dare!"

Li Linfu then waved Yang Zhao away.

Cang Bi came in immediately and said in a low voice: "Alang, Shihu has become a little too arrogant since he became the censor Zhongcheng and Duzhi Langzhong."

"I don't have much ability, but I don't think low of myself."

With this comparison, Xue Bai doesn't seem so crazy anymore...

Xue Bai used to be humble, and he never flattered when he came to Youxiang's Mansion. He was neither humble nor arrogant. More than a year has passed, and now when he walks through the corridor of Youxiang's Mansion, he still has the same attitude.

"Zhuzi is very scheming. Now that he has become the school secretary, what else can he do?"

"I have to give the Prime Minister an explanation to prevent him from blaming Uncle Guo." Xue Bai said: "I asked Uncle Guo to sit in Zhongshu Province in advance to avoid being released from the capital. These are state affairs and it is not appropriate for me to nag him as usual. I’m sorry to hear it, so I’m going to say it specifically.”

"If you dare to go against the truth, what can you say?"

"I just presented an opera. With your right prime minister's mind, you won't be angry with me because of a small official position."

Cang Bi broke into a cold sweat after hearing this, thinking to herself that Xue Bai dared to mock A Lang like this, he was really not afraid of death.

Unexpectedly, Li Linfu actually had the heart to tolerate changes in a ninth-grade official position.

Li Linfu said in a cold voice: "You should have found a way not to anger me."

"I can't marry Tong Kongzi, and I won't marry a daughter from a wealthy family, because I already have someone I want to marry." Xue Bai said, "I'm not afraid of offending aristocratic families all over the world. I refuse to be courted by the big names... I dare to be a lonely minister, but I wonder if the right prime minister can tolerate me?"

"The truth is that I think highly of you, so get out."

"Thank you, Prime Minister, and take my leave."

Xue Bai came today to show off his official attitude.

He is about to enter the officialdom, and under such a high-profile situation, what his principles are, where his bottom line is, what can be compromised and what cannot be, must be laid out from the beginning.

He is tough and stubborn, sympathizes with the poor, does not want to be manipulated by others, and is also unscrupulous. The Tang Dynasty is not completely intolerant of these characteristics. What is even more frightening is that he compromised today, changed his mind tomorrow, and accepted Gao today. The benefits of having a big family, but tomorrow I won't help them.

Express your attitude first. This is to first make things difficult and then make things easy. There are few tough people in the world, such as Zhang Bian and Yang Hui, who never fought when their fate was first decided.

In short, Xue Bai angered Li Linfu, comforted Li Linfu, and then showed that he had no knowledge of good and evil and would not be able to get far, and asked Li Linfu to let him fend for himself.

In fact, once it is proven that he is not Xue Xi's son, there will be no conflict of interest between him and Li Linfu, and getting the word "go" is a good result.

however.

"Xue Bai!"

Just after leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion, a call came from behind.

Xue Bai turned around and saw Li Xiu running over in a hurry, grabbing him by the collar without caring.

"Don't think that my grandfather can't see your thoughts!" Li Xiu said: "I advise you to think carefully. If you don't want to be the son-in-law of the prime minister's house, why should we keep you?"

Putting aside the harsh words, Li Xiu pushed Xue Bai and walked away.

~~

Xue Bai looked at the lintel of Youxiang Mansion again, shook his head, and went to Changshoufang to help his wife move.

Moving is not an easy task. He helped for three days in a row. He also recognized the door of the Yan family's main house in Dunhuafang and became familiar with everyone in the Yan family.

After all the items were placed, Wei Yun called over Xue Bai to give instructions.

"Are you going to the Secretary's Office tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"You don't have anyone at home to help you. When the materials for the official uniforms are given, I will bring them over and my wife will help sew the official robes for you."

"Are you afraid that it will be too much trouble for Master?"

"Don't bother me." Wei Yun glanced at Yan Yan, then turned back and said, "When your teacher first became the school secretary, I was already married to him. At that time, he brought back eight pieces of clothing material for me. Sew him an official robe."

Xue Bai originally wanted to say, "I'm not married yet, but I'm lucky to have my wife help me." He was usually very talkative, but strangely he couldn't say it today.

It should be because Yan Yan glared at her a few times.

The sun sets in the west, and the spring twilight shines on the quaint house, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Yan Yan walked through the corridor, glanced around, and muttered in a low voice: "I don't know how to do needlework... Qing Lan is obviously very good at it."

~~

The next day, the secretary went to the province.

The Secretary's Office is located in the southwest corner of the Imperial City, not far from the Cross Street of the Imperial City. Facing the street to the north is the Sinong Temple and the Yushitai to the south.

What is responsible here is the management and compilation of classics. Simply put, it is the library of the Tang Dynasty.

When Xue Bai arrived at the Secretary's Office, he looked around and found that compared to the bustle of the Yushitai in the south, the Secretary's Office seemed much quieter. There are no guards at the gate, only a concierge and two handymen cleaning the courtyard.

He stepped forward and revealed himself, and the concierge politely said, "The school secretary will wait a moment," and ran inside. After a while, a young man in his early twenties came out.

"I have heard about Xue Zhuangyuan for a long time, and I finally meet you today. My student Liu Taizhen, named Zhongshi, is a disciple of Mrs. Xiao. I am proofreading books in the Secretarial Department with my teacher. Please."

Mr. Wen Yuan is Xiao Yingshi, who is as famous as Li Hua. He is also one of Yan Zhenqing's genius friends. Xue Bai has met him once.

Xiao Yingshi became a Jinshi at the age of nineteen. He started as a secretary in Shengzhengzi, and moved to Jixian to be a school manager. Now he has moved to the sixth rank of Secretary Lang, who is Xue Bai's official.

Liu Taizhen is handsome, looks a little shy, but talks a lot. He leads Xue Bai inside and introduces him at the same time.

"During the Sui Dynasty, the Secretary's Office was located here. There were originally more than 80,000 volumes of books, but many of them were destroyed by war when the Tang Dynasty took over. In the fifth year of Emperor Wude's reign, Linghu Defen was appointed Secretary-General, and he purchased and increased the number of people to copy the books; After that, Duke Wenzhen of Wei was appointed secretary-supervisor to appraise ancient books..."

"The Secretary Province was once renamed 'Lantai', the secretary supervisor was called 'Lantai Taishi', the secretary junior supervisor was called 'Lantai Shilang', and the secretary prime minister was called 'Lantai Doctor'. In the past, the Publications Bureau and the Taishi Bureau were attached to the Secretariat Province. He is in charge of compiling national history, astronomy and calendar, which is very important..."

"But in the first year of Kaiyuan, only the post of in charge of books was left, and it became Qingshui Yamen, which was clean but not expensive. At one time, even the official residence was occupied by the Yushitai, and the Secretariat Department almost existed in name only..."

Speaking of this, Liu Taizhen glanced at Xue Bai, as if he wanted to see if the school secretary just wanted to use the school secretary as a stepping stone for promotion.

Xue Bai's expression did not change, and he still had a calm and elegant attitude.

Liu Taizhen then smiled and said: "However, in the fifth year of Kaiyuan, the sage ordered more than 20 famous Confucian scholars to compile such giant journals as "Records of the Four Parts of Qunshu" and "Records of Ancient and Modern Books". The Secretarial Province was brought back to life. After that, , Supervisor He serves as Secretary Supervisor to make this place prosperous again!"

After that, he led Xue Bai through a courtyard gate and raised his hand to point. Ahead is a very open official courtyard, where many people are busy making paper, making pens, cutting paper, and sewing books. It is a lively scene. The smell of bamboo paper and ink is filled in the courtyard.

"Ten papermakers and upholsterers each, six penmakers, and twenty craftsmen."

Liu Taizhen introduced Xue Bai like this, clapped his hands and said loudly: "Gentlemen, guess who this is?"

"The Number One Scholar is here!"

An old craftsman who was making brushes turned around and immediately stopped what he was doing. He grinned and said, "Here comes the number one scholar who makes bamboo paper!"

The ten paper craftsmen immediately put down their tools and cheered.

"Hahaha, we are the ones Xue Lang should come to the most! Look at the bamboo paper we made!"

"Old man, let me tell you, the bamboo paper made by Xue Lang is so fast that the bamboo is inexhaustible, hahaha."

"..."

Seeing this scene suddenly, Xue Bai was a little surprised and didn't even know how to deal with the enthusiasm of these people.

Before he became an official, he believed that the Tang Dynasty had always been engaged in intrigues.

But I didn't expect that on the first day of joining the officialdom, the first craftsmen I saw who didn't even have official status were actually working diligently.

Not only are they diligent, but it can be seen from the sincere smiles on their faces that they sincerely hope that the price of paper will be cheaper and that there will be more books in the world.

~~

Passing through the yard where the craftsmen were, Liu Taizhen led Xue Bai through a long corridor.

"Look."

In front of him is a lobby, much larger than the halls next to it.

Xue Bai walked to the door and looked inside, and saw that there were probably hundreds of desks inside. There were people sitting behind each desk, copying books.

"There are six pavilion chiefs, eight palm masters, and eighty regular calligraphers!" Liu Taizhen felt proud every time he saw this scene, and murmured: "This is the secretarial hall of the Tang Dynasty."

After this sentence, he remained silent.

The wind blew through the treetops, and the surrounding area became quiet. What Xue Bai heard was the sound of "rustling" copying books.

The sound of the brush writing on the paper should be very soft, but the eighty-character regular script hand writing at the same time still converges into the sound of Wenhua inheritance.

"Swish..."

Xue Bai suddenly felt lucky that this was the first voice he heard after entering his official career.

~~

"Zhong Shi, where are you taking Xue Lang?"

After leaving the copy hall and walking for a while towards the official residence, in front of me, an old man in purple robe suddenly called Liu Taizhen from under the eaves.

Liu Taizhen hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Back to Prison Chen, I am about to take Xue Lang to see the teacher."

"I have been friends with Xue Lang for many years. I am just here to guide him. You can go on your own."

Liu Taizhen hesitated for a moment and had no choice but to bow out.

At this time, the purple-robed old man standing there was none other than Chen Xilie, the current Left Chancellor, Duke of Yingchuan County, Bachelor of Chongxuan Hall, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Secretary to the Young Supervisor, and Secretary to the Provincial Librarian.

Xue Bai was not surprised either.

He has already inquired about it. The current secretary supervisor is Li Guan, the grandson of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty and the son of King Xu Li Sujie. Li Guan, a member of the royal family, is just a fictitious leader and gets a salary. Chen Xilie, the secretary supervisor, is in charge of books. It can be regarded as one of the few powerful left ministers.

"I've met the left prime minister."

"Come on, it's your first time in the Secretariat. I'll show you around."

Chen Xilie stroked his beard and smiled, leading Xue Bai inside, and said: "Secretaries are economical and not expensive. They only care about books, but many Jinshi are flocking to them. Do you know why?"

"Books are an important thing that benefits all generations."

"Do you know how many famous ministers this secretary province has produced?" Chen Xilie said: "Linghu Defen, Wei Zheng, Yu Shinan, Yan Shigu, Ma Huaisu, He Zhizhang... Also, Zhang Jiuling, like you, is known as the school secretary. To start as a family official, from official to prime minister."

As he spoke, he patted Xue Bai's back gently and said: "This place has been in decline for a time, and was even bullied by Yushitai. I led the Secretariat Department with Zuo Xiang, just to revive the reputation of Lantai! You have joined here Sect, we must work hard and add another minister to the Secretariat Province in the future."

"I hope I can live up to the high expectations of Prime Minister Zuo." Xue Bai responded casually.

They were all in power, and they had a tacit understanding that they did not mention the previous discord, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Entering the official hall, some officials from the Secretariat Department had been recruited by Chen Xilie to introduce Xue Bai.

"Secretary Cheng, Jiang Gong will be Ming, and his courtesy name will be Gong Liang."

Jiang Jiang will be over sixty next year. He has a square face and a forehead full of wrinkles. He looks very friendly and has the temperament of an old scholar. When we get along with him, there is no official intrigue.

There are four secretaries, among whom Xiao Yingshi is an acquaintance of Xue Bai.

The next person introduced was a short official in his fifties.

"Secretary, Chao Heng, is from Japan. His original name is...Abe Nakamaru. He admires the style of the Tang Dynasty and refuses to leave, hahaha."

"Xue Lang, I have admired you for a long time." Chao Heng was very enthusiastic. Although he had a high official position, his face was full of smiles when he met Xue Bai. "Mr. Mojie is also a good friend of mine. I often hear him tell your story. .”

Xue Bai's reaction was very dull and he responded politely.

He knew that Chao Heng was not a bad person, but he did not like Japanese people.

After that, it was time to release the information and some trivial matters. Chen Xilie had no airs at all and arranged all these himself.

Xue Bai is a ninth-rank official. His clothes are blue, his shirt and trousers are made of white cloth, as well as a pair of official boots, a hairpin, a futou, and a wooden slip and wat board.

"You must know that not every official is given clothing materials. This is the grace of the saint to you." Chen Xilie explained again.

Xue Bai accepted it, turned to the direction of the palace, and said, "I thank your Majesty for your kindness."

Chen Xilie nodded with satisfaction and said, "Look, an official needs ten pieces of silk to assemble four-season clothes. Nowadays, one piece of silk costs 480 yuan, and the clothing material alone costs 5,000 yuan. It's a whole Without the grace of a saint, how can a poor man afford it?"

"What the Prime Minister Zuo said is true."

"So, it is necessary for a well-known family with good intentions to help a poor family, but you lead them to cause trouble. Isn't it chilling?"

Xue Bai understood that Chen Xilie had no other means, so he planned to influence him in this way. Anyway, the left prime minister had plenty of free time.

"May I ask the left minister, how much is my salary?"

"I will take you to get it at that time. If I remember correctly, the school secretary's monthly lumi is converted into coins. Based on today's grain prices... it should be one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven yuan. This is the only official position you have? "

"Yes, this is the only official position."

The salary is less than two thousand dollars, but it costs hundreds of dollars just to get this official position. This shows that it is difficult to find an official position in the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty.

Others are not like Xue Bai who can invent stir-fry and bamboo paper, and I don’t know what they do for a living.

After everything was settled, Chen Xilie finally said: "Just wait until next month and you can come and take matters into your own hands."

"next month?"

"If you're busy, just wait until the next ten days and come back."

"Don't worry, Prime Minister Zuo." Xue Bai said, "I'm not busy. I can come and take care of things tomorrow."

"Are you in a hurry? The official uniforms haven't been cut yet."

Xue Bai said: "If you are working hard for the country, why should you be delayed just because you don't have the right clothes?"

Chen Xilie was speechless for a moment, so he could only stroke his beard and said: "It's a good thing for young people to be enthusiastic. It would be better if the family affairs can be taken care of first."

~~

Before feeding time, officials from the Secretariat Department were already having dinner in the side hall.

The dishes at the banquet are very sumptuous, with the same standards as those of Zhongshu Province and the Ministry of Officials. They include both meat and vegetables, which is very surprising. This is one of the benefits brought by the left prime minister leading the secretarial department.

After eating, the officials sat for a while and then went back to their homes. They seemed quite relaxed.

Xue Bai originally wanted to stay a little longer to communicate with the papermakers, but he had to go to Yanzhai to deliver the clothing materials first, so he had to go to work early on the first day.

The time-telling drum sounded in the imperial city. He walked under the sun with his clothes in his arms. He glanced back at the majestic government office and thought that it was time to bring a little change to this leisurely secretarial province...

　I also wrote 9 words today, nearly 9 words~~I will post the map in two days when I am free. I have been really busy lately~~Please give me a monthly pass at the beginning of the month, please give me a monthly pass~~

　　

　

(End of this chapter)