Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 177

Chen Qingsi looked at Liu Rengui in front of him. The biting cold wind blew and the snowflakes hit his face, bringing a biting chill.

Underneath that thin and exposed skin is the unyielding iron bones.

In order to get rid of traitors and traitors, Liu Rengui faced death and talked and laughed calmly.

Faced with Yuan Gongyu's coercion and inducement, Liu Rengui smiled and ignored it.

Faced with the humiliation of Wan Guojun's personality and spirit, Liu Rengui regarded the other party's incompetent rage as the most enjoyable thing.

This is the kind of person you are talking about who cannot take it away during a big festival!
Such a character makes one have to respect him.

This time of farewell, I don’t know when we will see each other again.

There is no other poem more suitable for today's Liu Rengui than "Don't worry about the road ahead without friends, who in the world doesn't know you?"

Liu Rengui's eyes lit up.

Who in the world doesn’t love fame?

Liu Rengui was no exception. He held Chen Qingsi's hands tightly and said, "It's worth living in Dali Temple if I can get a poem from Mr. Chen."

Laiji also stepped forward to join in the fun and joked: "If I had known about this kind of treatment, I would have accepted it on Zhengze's behalf."

People around could not help but listen.

Chen Qingsi's poems have long been well-known to every household. Everyone collects and reads them, but most of them are collected after the fact, and very few of them are seen in person.

Just like Master Yu, he experienced the birth of "Yellow Crane Tower" on the spot, which he boasts about to this day, and attracted a large number of tourists to Yellow Crane Tower. Some people even called it Qingsi Tower.

Under the spotlight, Chen Qingsi read out "Farewell to Dongda" that came to mind.

Especially the last sentence: "Don't worry, you will have no friends in the future. Who in the world doesn't know you?"

As soon as this sentence comes out.

Laiji wanted to say words of appreciation but his words were stuck in his throat. He couldn't say a word and felt inexplicable sadness in his heart.

If the previous sentence "If you stand up for justice, you will accept it" was just a joke, but now he really hopes that it can become a prophecy.

After today, and thousands of years from now, the name Liu Rengui will be remembered for a long time because of the phrase "Don't worry, you will have no friends in the future. Who in the world will not know you?"...

The people around him also felt the same way, but were silent for a moment.

There was also a hint of excitement in Liu Rengui's eyes, and he smiled generously: "After TOEFL today, no one knows about me Liu Rengui."

Only then did Laiji and the others come back to their senses and congratulated each other.

Liu Rengui bowed deeply to everyone, "It is a blessing to be able to work with you as close friends. I say goodbye today. Regardless of whether we meet by fate or not, our friendship will last forever. I say goodbye."

Liu Rengui was originally a free and easy person, so he no longer missed him, got on the carriage, and drifted away.

Chen Qingsi, Lai Ji, and Yuan Zhixin returned in twos and threes.

There were actually more people gathered around Chen Qingsi than Lai Ji, who was the prime minister.

Even Lai Ji came closer intentionally or unintentionally.

It is so popular to have a good relationship with Chen Qingsi. If you are not careful, your reputation will be passed down for thousands of years. Who can resist this temptation?
But I don’t know who else can be worthy of it except Liu Rengui?
Without the cat Li Yifu, the atmosphere in Chang'an would be great.

The cronies supported by Li Yifu are either being demoted for the same crime, or they are trying to find another way out with their tail between their legs.

Naturally, the one who benefited the most this time was Xu Jingzong. This old fox who was watching the fire from the other side easily took over part of the power of Li Yifu.

Surprisingly, Master Xu Yu followed closely behind.

Master Xu Yu was the latest to become a prime minister and had the least qualifications.

However, Li Zhi obviously wanted to give him a heavy responsibility, and assigned all the vacancies that were implicated by Li Yifu's party to Xu Yushi's people.

Master Xu Yu, the prime minister, finally had the confidence to speak in the court.

As the new year approaches, Chen Qingsi also starts to get busy.During the past six months, Chen Qingsi had been plotting to overthrow Li Yifu under the guise of serving as the Imperial Supervisor, and he did not care about the imperial examination at all.

In five months, spring is coming.

Chen Qingsi, the chief examiner, finally started working on the imperial examination. Fortunately, the imperial examination plans he drew on were historically successful policies, and there was no need to make detours, as long as he followed the script.

He wrote the entire process in detail into a plan and came to the Ministry of Personnel.

There are three provinces and six ministries, headed by the Ministry of Personnel.

As the department responsible for the appointment and dismissal, examinations, promotions, promotions, awards, and transfers of civil servants all over the world, one can imagine the heavy responsibilities shouldered by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Because it was Chen Qingsi's first time here, the guard outside the door dutifully blocked him at the door.

Chen Qingsi was not in a hurry. He revealed his identity and asked someone to report it.

Not long after, a familiar figure came quickly.

"Mr. Chen, I thought he forgot that he also serves as a merit examiner, so I planned to come to remind him."

The visitor's name is Yang Deyi. He and Master Xu Yu are close friends.

He was previously Dr. Si Xian, and it was he who fired the shot that brought down Li Yifu, so he was promoted to Minister of Civil Affairs, replacing Li Yifu's son-in-law.

Yang Deyi knew the relationship between Chen Qingsi and Master Xu Yu, and when he learned that he was coming, he came to greet him personally.

The two of them entered the room chatting.

Yang Deyi said: "Mr. Chen has not arrived yet, and there are some complaints within the official department. But it doesn't matter. I will go with Mr. Chen in person, and I won't cause any trouble for them."

The imperial examination was a major event within the civil service department. There had been endless debates and infighting within the civil service department about who would be responsible for the imperial examination in the coming year.

Chen Qingsi, an outsider, fell from the sky and picked peaches, which caused a small amount of dissatisfaction among the people.

Li Yifu's son-in-law Wei Ying was appointed as the Minister of Civil Affairs. Li Yifu was able to sell officials and get titles because of Wei Ying's power.

The relationship between Li Yifu and Chen Qingsi was not harmonious, so Wei Ying naturally did not say anything nice and provoked several times, which made the officials have great opinions on Chen Qingsi.

After Yang Deyi took office, he discovered this situation.

Chen Qingsi quickly expressed her gratitude to Yang Deyi.

The person in charge of the imperial examination is selected from the Ministry of Personnel, but this does not mean that they are under the control of the Ministry of Personnel.

The imperial examination is a brand-new independent institution, but most of its members are selected from the bureaucracy. It is really a headache if the top and bottom are really separated and do not cooperate well.

Chen Qingsi first followed Yang Deyi to meet with Tang Lin, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and then led him to the Gongfu Examination Department.

The Merit Appraisal Department is mainly responsible for performance appraisal and is the most popular position among the four departments of the Ministry of Personnel.

In the Tang Dynasty, the performance evaluation of important court officials above the third rank was conducted by the emperor himself. Those below the third rank were evaluated by the Department of Civil Service. Whether they were civil and military officials in the capital, the chief of a county, or the official in the border area, they were all subject to the performance evaluation of the department.

With the support of Yang Deyi, the three directors of the Examination Department did not quarrel with Chen Qingsi and acted very enthusiastically.

Of course, the main reason is that there is no direct conflict of interest between the person in charge of the examination and Chen Qingsi.

The five merit examiners, Wai Lang, looked at Chen Qingsi with a bit of unkindness.

If Chen Qingsi did not exist, the examiner must be one of them.

In this era, the examiners could go through the back door to determine whether they would be a Jinshi or not.

In the past, those responsible for taking exams would take this opportunity to meet high-ranking officials, exchange benefits, and pave the way for their promotion.

For some reason, every time after the imperial examination, the examiners will fight to the death for the next year's imperial examination.

Chen Qingsi's sudden arrival from the sky undoubtedly shattered their dreams.

(End of this chapter)