Ji Han Liu Zhang

At that moment, Liu Zhang was waiting for the summer harvest to have enough grain before he could mobilize his troops, while Han Sui was trying to recruit and gather the bandits from Liang Province. Both sides were busy preparing for the future war. For a while, the situation in Longyou was calm, without a single ripple.

But even this eerie calmness, in the eyes of discerning people, is nothing more than the hot and humid peace before a thunderstorm. When the time comes, heavy rain, howling winds, and thunder that shakes the earth and sky will descend.

Du Ji was one of those people with a discerning eye.

At the beginning of the year, Du Ji and a group of companions who had drifted to Jingzhou decided to return to their hometown Guanzhong, and head towards Chang'an from Wugu Pass along the Dan River. Now Du Ji has arrived in Lantian, only a step away from Chang'an.

From the first moment he set foot in his hometown, Du Ji carefully observed the current situation in Guanzhong and collected information from the surrounding areas of Guanzhong, especially the news from Longyou, which Du Ji was particularly concerned about.

Now that Guanzhong has been settled, Du Ji concluded that the next target of the Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu must be Liangzhou. Why? Liangzhou is located to the west of Guanzhong. Although the population is sparse, there are many independent forces that have not been twisted into a rope. However, Liangzhou has strong soldiers and is especially good at fighting. If Liangzhou is not stable, it will be like a pack of wolves living by your side.

Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu is aiming to dominate the world and will go east from time to time in the future. How could he allow any trouble to break out at any time behind him? He would eliminate the bandits in Liangzhou as soon as possible, wipe out the Qiang and Hu in Liangzhou, and make Liangzhou a logistics base.

Although the war between Guanzhong and Liangzhou has not yet broken out, Du Ji infers that there will definitely be a major war within this year, and the outcome of this war will be related to the future stability of Guanzhong, and therefore to him.

Du Ji, who had finally returned to his hometown Guanzhong from Jingzhou, naturally hoped that Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu would win the battle. In this way, Guanzhong could enjoy peace. If Han Sui won, the war between Guanzhong and Long would be prolonged, and Guanzhong would find it difficult to have a stable environment.

After resting for a day in Lantian, Du Ji left Lantian and came to Chang'an. He wanted to join the court of Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu and contribute to his efforts in pacifying Longyou.

As for matters like taking up an official post, it would be most appropriate to find someone to recommend you. After all, without a guarantor, no one would be sure of your abilities, and Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu would not invite you to see him for no reason.

After Du Ji had been groping around in Chang'an for a day or two, he decided to look for his good friend Zhang Shi, a native of Hedong. As a famous scholar in Sanfu, Zhang Shi was highly valued by Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu at that time and was about to be appointed as the prefect of Zuofengyi, and would go to Zuofengyi soon.

Du Ji stood at the door of Zhang Shi's residence in Chang'an, handed his business card to the old servant guarding the door, and then stood at the gate waiting for Zhang Shi to come out to greet him.

Not long after, just as Du Ji expected, Zhang Shi, the governor of Zuo Fengyi, opened the middle door and walked out quickly. Zhang Shi had a smile on his face. When he saw Du Ji, he stepped forward, took Du Ji's hand and said, "Bo Hou, when did you return to Guanzhong? You came just in time. If it had been a day or two later, I would have set off for Fengyi County, and we would have missed each other."

"I just arrived in Chang'an these few days and heard that brother was appointed as the prefect of Zuofengyi County, so I came here to bother you and congratulate you." Du Ji smiled and congratulated Zhang Shidao.

Zhang Shi smiled radiantly, and he laughed loudly: "What's the point of bothering me or not? Come, come, let's go in first. We haven't had a drink together for a long time, so today we should get drunk."

After saying this, the two of them walked into the house hand in hand, and the servants brought the things needed for the banquet.

"Bo Hou, drink a full glass first." Zhang Shi raised the glass and gestured to Du Ji.

Du Ji smiled in return, and he also raised his wine glass to greet Zhang Shi. Then he drank the wine in the cup generously and turned the glass upside down to show it to Zhang Shi.

"Bo Hou's alcohol tolerance is still the same as before. It's quite strong." Zhang Shi said admiringly.

After a few drinks, Zhang Shi asked Du Ji with concern: "Bo Hou, you have returned to Guanzhong from Jingzhou. Do you have a place to stay now?"

Du Ji shook his head and sighed, "When I first returned to Guanzhong, I had no place to settle down. Now I am temporarily staying in the apartment."

"In that case, then you can stay at my house first. This residence is full of people of all kinds and it's not a good place to live." Zhang Shi said this sincerely. At the same time, he waved his hand to interrupt Du Ji who was about to refuse, without giving Du Ji a chance to refute.

Seeing this, Du Ji had to stop trying to refuse, but he still found an excuse: "Brother, aren't you going to be the governor of Zuo Fengyi? When you leave, I will be alone in this house. It would be better for me to make more friends and travel around in my apartment to pass the time."

"That's true." Zhang Shi nodded, but he did not give up his concern for Du Ji: "Does the Marquis Bo plan to serve as an official here? If the Marquis Bo is willing to serve, the Fengyi County Government is still short of a Gongcao. I wonder if the Marquis Bo is interested."

Gongcao was in charge of "selecting and appointing merits", which meant investigating, recording and recommending outstanding talents in the local county. This position had certain real power and was considered an important position in the county. Zhang Shi, the governor of Zuofengyi County, gave a good official position to his good friend Du Ji.

However, Du Ji shook his head when he heard this. Although he was slightly tempted by the position of Gongcao offered by Zhang Shi, he did not want to take it. To be precise, if someone else was the county magistrate, he would be willing to serve as Gongcao, but serving as Gongcao under his good friend Zhang Shi and having a friend to take care of him sounded like a good thing, but he was somewhat reluctant to see the relationship between friends become that of superiors and subordinates.

"I wonder if my brother can recommend me to the Grand Marshal. I want to meet him and then make a decision." Du Ji bowed and asked Zhang Shi.

Zhang Shi was not angry about Du Ji's refusal to take the position of Gongcao. Instead, after hearing Du Ji's request, he laughed out loud and said, "Bo Hou is planning to show off his talents in front of the Grand Marshal in order to seek a higher position. His ambition is not small."

After a teasing, Zhang Shi continued, "Since you, Bo Hou, want to meet the Grand Marshal, I will submit a recommendation. However, the Grand Marshal is very busy with official duties, and there are countless outstanding people in Guanzhong who want to meet the Grand Marshal. They all want to show their talents in front of the Grand Marshal, just like Bo Hou. Therefore, although I can submit a recommendation, I am afraid that I will not be able to meet him for the time being."

"It's okay. I can wait for a while, but I just want to see the Grand Marshal." Du Ji bowed and expressed his gratitude to Zhang Shi: "Here, thank you for your recommendation, brother."

"It's just a small matter, why thank me." Zhang Shi waved his hand, not wanting to accept Du Ji's thanks. At night, Zhang Shi invited Du Ji to stay overnight in his house. The two slept on the same bed and talked about what happened in the past few years. They each explained it until three o'clock in the morning, when they fell asleep.

On the second day, early in the morning, Zhang Shi dressed neatly and came to the Chang'an government office with a letter of recommendation. He handed the letter of recommendation for Du Ji to Cheng Yu, a clerk under Liu Zhang. After all, it was not a military intelligence document and could not be handed to Liu Zhang's desk immediately. Therefore, this letter of recommendation for Du Ji was collected and sorted by Cheng Yu, and would be handed to Liu Zhang's desk when Liu Zhang was free. Liu Zhang would decide whether to summon Du Ji mentioned in the letter of recommendation.

After a day or two, Zhang Shi, who was appointed as the prefect of Zuofengyi County, said goodbye to Du Ji and went to Zuofengyi to take up his post as soon as possible because there had been no prefect in Zuofengyi for a long time. Du Ji stayed in his residence in Chang'an, waiting for a possible summons from the Grand Marshal Liu Zhang.

Du Ji did not just wait in the residence, he made friends with other scholars who were staying in the residence. All the scholars in this residence came to serve the Grand Marshal Liu Zhang, so they had common topics to talk about and were willing to make more friends, so that they could have more opportunities.

Within two or three days, Du Ji got to know all the scholars in the residence and became friends with many of them, but at the same time he also had conflicts with some of them. After all, it is impossible for a person to be liked by everyone. If someone can be liked by everyone, then he is not a human being.

For example, there was a scholar named Wang Sheng who did not think highly of Du Ji. He thought that Du Ji was too magistrate-like and careless, not careful enough, and could only barely cope with the duties of a county magistrate or a government official. He would not be able to accomplish great things in the future.

Wang Sheng not only thought so in his heart, but also said in front of everyone: "With Bo Hou's talent, he can be a county magistrate or a county chief, but a slow horse cannot travel a thousand miles, and a salary of two thousand stones is not something Bo Hou can handle, nor is it something he can obtain."

Hearing Wang Sheng's words, Du Ji just smiled. He was not of a very gentle temperament and would normally argue with him, but facing a person as incompetent and stupid as Wang Sheng, he had no intention of refuting him.

However, although Du Ji didn't care and looked at Wang Sheng like an ant, Li Sheng, a good friend of Du Ji in the apartment, spoke up for Du Ji and said, "What Wang Jun said is not true. With the talent and knowledge of Bo Hou, it is easy for him to get a rank of 2,000 stones. It is unknown whether he will be awarded a title of marquis in the future."

"Oh, do you dare to bet? Let's bet on whether Bo Hou can be promoted to county magistrate within ten years. Whoever loses will return to his hometown and farm and study all his life." Wang Sheng looked annoyed when he heard this. He took out his future and made a bet with Li Sheng, determined to prove himself in front of everyone.

"Hiss." Everyone present hissed in surprise. It was because Wang Sheng's bet was indeed too big. After all, betting his entire career on it was a bit too much.

Several good-natured people, who were among the many scholars present, tried to persuade Wang Sheng to withdraw his bet. At the same time, someone tried to comfort Li Sheng, asking him not to accept the bet for Wang Sheng on impulse.

Wang Sheng, who only proposed the bet, ignored the advice of the crowd. He loudly declared to Li Sheng: "You dare?"

"Why not?" Li Sheng, who had been persuaded by everyone not to accept the bet, suddenly became angry and agreed without hesitation after hearing Wang Sheng's word "scoundrel".

Under such circumstances, Du Ji, who had been staying out of the matter and didn't care about Wang Sheng, had to stand up. He grabbed Li Sheng and stopped him behind him, and said to Wang Sheng: "Mr. Wang, the bet just now doesn't count."

"Oh." Wang Sheng sneered when he heard that. He said to Li Sheng who was standing behind Du Ji, "The Duke doesn't even believe in himself, so why bother to stand up for him?" After that, Wang Sheng raised his head high like a victorious rooster.
"No." Du Ji shook his head and said to the complacent Wang Sheng, "I have a new bet. If I get the post of county governor within five years, I ask you to return to your hometown and study for the rest of your life. If I don't get the post, I will return to my hometown... As for the bet between you and Li, it is void."

"How brave." Wang Sheng glanced at Du Ji in surprise, but seeing Du Ji's firm expression, he admired him, and then he agreed confidently, "Just as Bo Hou said, let's wait for five years to see if Bo Hou, who is unparalleled in Li Jun's eyes, can ascend to the position of county governor."

At this time, there was a noise at the door of the residence, and a clerk in black clothes walked in. Everyone looked at him. After seeing the clerk's face clearly, everyone stopped arguing and walked forward quickly one by one to salute the clerk.

"Mr. Cheng." Wang Sheng ran in front. He stepped forward and bowed to the visitor with a very respectful attitude. There was no other reason. This was because the clerk named Cheng Yu was a close follower of Grand Marshal Liu Zhang and someone who could talk to Grand Marshal Liu Zhang. Secondly, Cheng Yu's background was also extraordinary. He was the eldest son of Cheng Ji, the prefect of Baxi County. Although he is still serving as a clerk now, he may be sent out in the future to at least be the magistrate of a large county, or the county magistrate, Gongcao and other important positions in the county government. Wang Sheng would not tolerate disrespect and was also a person Wang Sheng intended to make friends with.

Cheng Yu was a gentle man. He returned the greetings to the people who came up, and then he said loudly: "Who is Lord Du, Lord Du?"

"Hmm? Are you here to see Du Ji?" Wang Sheng was a little surprised. He turned to look at Du Ji, who was dressed in ordinary clothes and seemed to have no background in his conversation these days. His expression was a little uncertain.

"That's me." Du Ji stepped forward from behind. Everyone in the apartment unconsciously made way for Du Ji. Du Ji came to Cheng Yu with ease. He bowed and said, "What instructions do you have, Mr. Cheng?"

"No instructions, but my lord wants to summon Mr. Du. I wonder if it is convenient for Mr. Du now." Cheng Yu was a close friend of Liu Zhang, but he did not show any arrogance. He asked.

"I am free here and have nothing else to do. This is very convenient. Thank you, Mr. Cheng, for leading the way." Du Ji said with a calm expression and a bow.

After saying that, Cheng Yu led Du Ji towards the Chang'an government office. The people who stayed in the apartment watched Du Ji from afar until his back disappeared around the corner of the street. Wang Sheng was also watching from afar with a changeable look in his eyes.

After Du Ji left, everyone in the apartment continued to chat, and talked about Du Ji being summoned by Liu Zhang. However, Wang Sheng, who was usually talkative, was silent at this moment, as if he was thinking about something.

Time passed quickly and night fell quickly. As time went by, Wang Sheng became more and more uneasy. He was thinking about Du Ji. Du Ji was summoned by the Grand Marshal, and it would take a long time for him to be away.

At this time, everyone in the apartment was still chatting, and suddenly they heard footsteps coming from outside the door. Everyone looked over and saw that it was Du Ji who was summoned by the Grand Marshal during the day. Several people hurried forward, and among them, Du Ji's friend Li Sheng bowed to Du Ji and asked with concern: "Bo Hou, the Grand Marshal summoned you, what did he talk about?"

"Oh." Du Ji's face was calm, with only the corners of his mouth slightly curved, revealing a hint of smile, and he said, "My Lord, as Beidi County was newly established and lacked a governor, you appointed me as the governor of Beidi County, and I will take up the post soon."

Hearing this, everyone was surprised, and Wang Sheng, who was lagging behind the others, was even more stunned. (End of this chapter)