Do you know that it starts with Meng Tong?

However, this hope lasted for less than five months and was quickly dashed.

Ever since he learned that Wei Chen was promoted to the top official in Henan Province and was called to the capital, Wang Yaochen clearly realized that Wei Chen was about to be promoted again, and he was still far away from catching up with him.

Thinking of this, Wang Yaochen couldn't help but look at Wei Chen with melancholy, even a bit resentful.

How did Wei Chen know that Wang Yaochen had so many mental activities? After chatting with him for a few words, he turned to look at Sheng Changbai, who was sitting silently aside, and saluted with a smile: "Brother, I haven't seen you in a few years, how are you doing lately?"

Sheng Changbai glanced sideways at Wei Chen and said indifferently: "Who is your brother-in-law? Wei Zhizhou is a very powerful person now. How can our little Sheng family be worthy of marrying you!"

Wei Chen was slightly startled when he saw Sheng Changbai's angry expression, and immediately realized that Bo Lan was blaming me for not visiting immediately after I came back, and was angry with me!

He then explained with a wry smile: "Zecheng, the state is busy with official affairs and cannot be separated from people for a moment. It took a lot of effort during the handover, so the departure date was missed.

I hurriedly hurriedly and slowly arrived at the city I entered yesterday afternoon.After returning to Bianjing, you have to go back to your hometown to meet the teacher first, right?

After dinner with the teacher, it was getting dark.It's late at night and it's hard to come to your house to disturb you.

The next day is the Hajj banquet again. As you know, as a summoned foreign official, I have to come. I really can’t get away from this and this... "

Chapter 253 Calling

After hearing Wei Chen's explanation, Sheng Changbai's expression softened slightly.Lan

He did not suspect that what Wei Chen said was false.

Yesterday, Wei Chen hung up his nine-faced title card and entered the city, which caused the city's officers and people to rush to tell each other, causing quite a stir. Sheng Changbai also heard about it in the Hanlin Academy.

Zhuang Jun was at home, so it was natural for Wei Chen to go back to see his mentor first. If he rushed to Sheng's house in a hurry, it would be a real matter of priority.

As soon as he thought of this, most of Sheng Changbai's resentment towards Wei Chen disappeared.

Wei Chen caught a glimpse of his uncle's expression and immediately struck a chord while the iron was hot: "Zecheng, don't you like Wang Mojie's paintings the most? I just happened to find a painting of Wang Mojie's "Snow Stream" by accident in Yuzhou. I don't know. Could you please take the time to help me verify the authenticity of this painting?"

"Wang Mojie, Snow Creek Picture?" Sheng Changbai's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Wang Mojie was Wang Wei, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty. He admired Buddhism and liked mountains and rivers. He was extremely accomplished in poetry and was known as the Buddha of Poetry.Lan

In addition to poetry, he is also particularly good at painting, and combines the two art forms of poetry and painting. There is painting in the poem, and there is poetry in the painting.It had a great influence on later generations of literati paintings.

The Snow River Picture mentioned by Wei Chen is an example of Wang Wei using snow to paint and write poems with painting.

Sheng Changbai was a die-hard supporter of Wang Wei's poems and paintings. When he heard that Wei Chen had Wang Wei's painting of a snowy stream in his hand, his self-cultivation could not help but be reduced, and his eyes flashed with unconcealable joy.

"Where is the painting?"

Sheng Changbai asked impatiently, and kept looking into Wei Chen's arms, as if expecting Wei Chen to take out the painting and show it to him on the spot.

Wei Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he saw this, so he could only say: "The painting is still in my house, don't worry, I will have someone deliver it to you later."

Sheng Changbai also realized that he had lost his composure. He coughed lightly, straightened his appearance, and then nodded calmly.Lan

Seeing this scene, Wang Yaochen couldn't help but smile and shook his head.

Sheng Changbai always behaved in a dignified and rigorous manner in the Hanlin Academy. He was young and mature but taciturn. Only in front of Wei Chen could he open up his heart like this and reveal his true nature.

It was almost noon, and all the officials who were chatting with each other fell silent. They quickly stood up and left their seats, and kowtowed and sang in the direction of Jianji Hall.

The emperor has arrived.

"Your Majesty has a purpose!"

A chamberlain walked out of the palace to read the imperial edict.

"In ancient times, when emperors governed the world, they had to be broad-minded and wise to prevent obstruction. I know the importance of appointing officials, so I followed the methods of Yao and Shun and asked foreign officials to come to the court to inquire about their words and deeds and test their achievements in order to observe them. Is it possible? If you are successful in governing, you are considered a virtuous person. Why should the world worry if it is not cured?

】

Those who are qualified will be promoted; those who are ordinary will be reinstated; those who are incompetent will be demoted; those who are corrupt will be punished by law; those who have no virtue or talent will be exempted from being common people.Now I hand it over to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for merit examination, and the Qing Dynasty Civil Service Department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate will jointly inspect it. In three days, I will inform all officials and people! "

These punitive measures sound scary, but since Zhao Zhen is the emperor today, they are actually just like that in practice.

Moreover, now that Zhao Zhen is old and weak in ambition, he will definitely not make a big move during the Hajj inspection.

Therefore, the officials below did not take it seriously. They just respectfully accepted the order and thanked them, shouting "Long Live the Mountain". This was just a false response to the story.

The edict was read out,

The chamberlain shouted at the top of his lungs that the banquet was open, and all the officials stood up and took their seats again.

Then I heard a shout from the palace: "Xuan, Jiangning's colleague Xiang Shiyuan has come to the palace to see you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged official with a short beard stood up happily. All the officials at the table looked at him with envy.Lan

The so-called Hajj inspection naturally involves rewards and punishments. The punishments will not be announced at the banquet, otherwise it will be too shameful, but the rewards can be given on the spot, pushing the atmosphere of the banquet to a higher climax.

At this time, Jiangning Tongzhi Xiang Shiyuan, who was summoned, slowly walked into the Jianji Hall under the guidance of the chamberlain.

Zhao Zhen asked a few questions as usual, went through the formalities, and then conferred the official title.

After a while, the palace announced a decree: "Your Majesty has decreed that Xiang Shiyuan, the former Jiangning magistrate, be promoted to Jiangning magistrate, and he will be given a seat in the palace!"

Wei Chen looked at the high-spirited Xiang Shiyuan in the palace from a distance, and felt quite emotional in his heart.

Last night when the family was having dinner and chatting, Zhang Ming mentioned this person to Wei Chen.

In July last year, floods occurred frequently in Hangzhou. The former prefect of Hangzhou, Yong Qian, was incompetent and could only sit back and watch the people suffer. The court was very dissatisfied and transferred Shen Du to Hangzhou as the prefect to carry out emergency rescue and disaster relief.Lan

After the prefect Shen Du left, the official who succeeded Shen Du to temporarily take charge of Jiangning government affairs was Xiang Shiyuan, a fellow magistrate of Jiangning.

Jiangning is Wei Chen's hometown, and Jiangning's Wuquan Winery was Wei Chen's small treasury when he started his business, saving a lot of wealth for Wei Chen.

After Wei Chen became an official, he cut off the relationship with the winery and handed over all business matters to Zhang Ming and Wei Ruyi.

Of course, Wei Chen only officially no longer has a share in the wine shop. Zhang Ming and Wei Ruyi will not lose any of his share of the share, but it will be given to Wei Chen in another way.

For example, this time, we spent tens of thousands of taels of silver on organizing Wei Chen's wedding, purchasing a wedding house and a betrothal gift. Wei Chen didn't pay a penny, it was all paid by Wei Ruyi and his wife.

The reason why Wei Chen confidently handed over the winery business to them was due to more than ten years of family affection and trust, but it was also based on practical considerations of interests.

Nowadays, the glycerin formula is no longer a secret. Once Wei Chen's protection is completely lost, Zhang Ming and Wei Ruyi will not be able to maintain their share of the winery with their own strength.Lan

This also determines that regardless of whether Wei Chen holds a share in the winery in name or not, he will have a decisive influence on the winery, not only on Zhang Ming and Wei Ruyi, but also on another partner Sheng Wei.

Let’s talk about Xiang Shiyuan.

When Shen Du was the prefect of Jiangning, he always took good care of Wuquan Winery because of his relationship with Wei Chen.

When Shen Du went to Hangzhou, it stands to reason that it was normal for people in official circles to take tea to cool off, so it was natural for Xiang Shiyuan to no longer take care of Wu Quan Winery.

But after Shen Du left office, Xiang Shiyuan, who succeeded him, opened the door to Wuquan Winery as usual, which made Zhang Ming a little uneasy.

After Wei Chen got the news in Yuzhou, he was a little strange. He wrote to Shen Du to inquire about the details of this scholar. Only then did he know that the position of Jiangning magistrate was vacant and that Xiang Shiyuan, a fellow scholar, had been seeking to become a regular official. .

Officials who are sent to other places must have connections in Beijing if they want to be promoted. One of the most effective ways is to make good friends with Beijing officials who were born in the area under their jurisdiction.Lan

For example, when Xiang Shiyuan was an official in Jiangning, he had to make good friends with the Beijing officials from Jiangning and take care of his family's property locally. In this way, the Beijing officials would facilitate his promotion.

This is power rent-seeking that is common in officialdom, and there is nothing unspeakable about it.

In fact, Xiang Shiyuan was able to get what he wanted today and was promoted from Tongzhi to prefect. Many officials from Jiangning and the capital contributed, more or less, including Sheng Hong and even Wei Chen.

The reason why Wei Chen did this was only secondary to the wine shop business, mainly because Shen Du gave Xiang Shiyuan a very high evaluation in his letter. In this case, Wei Chen was happy to follow the trend and give Xiang Shiyuan a thumbs up.

Of course, Wei Chen himself couldn't figure out how much Wei Chen's help played in Xiang Shiyuan's promotion.

Just when the officials were busy congratulating Xiang Shiyuan, they heard a loud voice from the palace: "Xuan Yuzhou Governor Wei Chen comes to the palace!"

Chapter 254: Bachelor’s Degree

Under the attention of all the officials, Wei Chen put down the wine cup in his hand and slowly stood up from his seat.Lan

The officials at the same table also stood up. Sheng Changbai and Wang Yaochen both bowed to Wei Chen. Wei Chen immediately returned the salute, nodded to the two of them with a smile, and then walked along the stone steps towards Jianji Hall.

Wei Chen walked leisurely to the corridor in front of the palace and looked into the palace door. He saw banquets on the left and right sides of the palace, and those present were the governors and governors of the 24 provinces of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

They were not within the scope of the inspection, but accompanied the provincial officials to Beijing to send their testimonials to the Ministry of Personnel.

The people sitting in the hall were all high-ranking officials who were in charge of a certain territory. Looking around, Wei Chen couldn't help but feel awe-struck in the palace, which was filled with noble and purple colors.

Officials of Honglu Temple led Wei Chen into the palace, walked up to the throne, and then sang praises.

"My lord, Wei Chen, see your majesty!"

Wei Chen saluted Zhao Zhen on the throne. He had not participated in such a grand ceremony for a long time, but the etiquette at this time was thorough and there was no mistake.Lan

Facing a room full of dignitaries, Wei Chen was serious and solemn, but he did not have stage fright. After all, he was originally a secretary of the Ministry of Finance and had met many important cabinet ministers. This kind of scene did not scare him.

After standing up after the ceremony, Wei Chen's eyes quickly passed over the throne. In a hurry, he couldn't see clearly, but it was enough for Wei Chen to notice Zhao Zhen's slightly stooped body.

Show your old age!

These four characters suddenly appeared in Wei Chen's mind. Thinking that the official on the throne would pass away in a year, he couldn't help but feel a little heavy.

At this time, Zhao Zhen spoke.

"My lords, this is Wei Chen, the magistrate of Yuzhou. You must have heard of his name, right?"

All the officials in the palace nodded, and some of them looked at Wei Chen with admiration.Lan

"Three years ago, in the Golden Palace, I bestowed upon the Wei Qing family the title of No. [-] Scholar. Since then, the Wei Qing Family has achieved the No. [-] ranking and has become famous all over the world!"

Speaking of this, Zhao Zhen looked at Wei Chen below the steps and couldn't help but sigh.

Three years have passed in a blink of an eye. Wei Chen is still the energetic young man, but Zhao Zhen himself is already old.

Zhao Zhen retracted his sad thoughts and continued in a deep voice: "The purpose of this dynasty to recruit scholars is to seek virtuous people in the world. However, in your opinion, which one should be more important among officials who are virtuous or unworthy?"

If the person present is a censor or official, and hears Zhao Zhen's question, the answer will naturally be that integrity is the most important thing.

However, the people sitting in the hall at the moment are all the officials who oversee the border areas. Regardless of whether the officials are good or bad, they are at least people who do practical things.

So, they all replied in unison: "We should focus on performance!" Lan

Zhao Zhen nodded when he heard this, then turned his attention to an official, and said in a deep voice: "Wei Qing's family has served as the magistrate of Yuzhou for three years, and ranked first in the performance evaluation of Henan officials. In terms of administrative performance, it is indeed extraordinary.

Yuan Qing's family, you are the governor of Henan, and the testimonials of the Wei Qing family were written by you. Can you tell me why there are so many officials in Henan, why are the Wei Qing family ranked first? "

[It has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old version of the book chasing artifact, and is used by old bookworms

He started to make some calculations, and immediately stood up and said: "Your Majesty, Lu Yufeng, the governor of Guangxi, I passed through Yuzhou when I came to Beijing this time. It is indeed like this."

As Governor Yuan said, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the people's customs are pure and honest. I hope your Majesty will learn from this. "

Zhao Zhen was expressionless and noncommittal.