When Xu Haiming became the governor, he also had the title of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs as usual. In theory, he could be on an equal footing with Xiao Chen.
But this time Xiao Chen was sent as the imperial envoy to persuade the remnants of the Tianxuan Society to surrender, so Xiao Chen had to be the envoy.
I know that you two are at odds with each other, but I hope that you, my beloved, will put the overall situation first and not have any quarrels with him, let alone compete with him. Anyway, after arriving in Yizhou, you will each perform your duties and do not interfere with the river.
As for why Li Wanjiang didn't directly publicly announce Xu Haiming's appointment?
That's because he still has some concerns. After all, his younger brother and sons are still fighting in Yizhou, and they actually have a say in the selection of the governor of Yizhou.
It seemed inappropriate to directly appoint Xu Haiming without consulting their opinions, so I first appointed him as a deputy envoy to temporarily take over the affairs of Yizhou...
Xiao Chen was deceived by the fat man and had to hold a birthday banquet. You have already received birthday gifts from others, is it unreasonable not to treat him?
Hundreds of invitations were sent out, but everyone accepted the invitations, but many refused to come. It's not that they were putting on airs and not giving Xiao Chen face, but that some officials with low official positions knew that this was someone else's family.
Mr. Xiao is very polite.
If you really come here, you are ignorant of the current affairs. Besides, six ministers, princes and ministers are here. Do they dare to sit with others?
My seatmates were also very awkward, they didn’t dare to say anything, they didn’t dare to fart, they didn’t dare to eat the food, they didn’t dare to drink the wine… Isn’t this suffering?
In addition, many officials who were rehabilitated by Xiao Chen did not come. They knew that they should avoid suspicion at this time. The gifts had been delivered anyway, so it didn't matter whether they came or not. Besides, it didn't matter when they came, they had to rush to this day.
Join in the fun?
As we all know, Mr. Xiao has many friends and enemies. It is obviously inappropriate for him to show up at this time. If someone with ulterior motives takes a copy of Ginseng, it doesn't matter if he harms himself, but it would be bad if he harms Mr. Xiao.
These are also the unspoken rules of the officialdom. Everyone acts according to the rules and knows each other well, so there is no need to elaborate on them one by one.
But more than a hundred people came, and Xiao Chen's small banquet hall was packed to the brim.
The chief ones are Zhu Xiaochuan, Wang Anbang, Chen Wenqi, Lu Jing, Ma Wuming, Shao Wenzhao, Yu Changlin, Wu Zhongze, Wu Zicheng, Gong Shouli and other military and political officials of second rank and above.
Even the two dignified third-rank ministers, Xu Haiming and the fat man Li Hong, took second place. Also taking the second place were the imperial censors Liu Qiheng and Zhu Tianfu.
Since Chen Jisheng was dismissed from office, there has been a vacancy in the Zuodu Censorship of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Liu Qiheng is far inferior to Chen Jisheng in terms of ability and prestige, so he is currently only temporarily acting as the third-rank censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Zhu Tianfu is a third-class Enqi Lieutenant with the rank of fourth-grade general. Although he has no actual duties, he is still considered to have a title. Moreover, he was bestowed by the emperor. In terms of status, he is equal to Li Hong and others, and there are several others.
He is an official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of War, the envoy of Jin Yiwei Town, the Admiralty of the Nine Gates, and the general of the Forbidden Army.
As for Liu Changxu of the Wucheng Army and Horses Division, Qian Yi, Chu Xiong, Wu Fazheng, Zuo Sizhong and others are all behind the three seats...
At the beginning of the banquet, the atmosphere was very harmonious. Xiao Chen came on stage to give a speech of thanks, and his witty and humorous words triggered bursts of laughter.
After coming down, we sat around the table and toasted. Everyone drank well. Even Xu Haiming said a few nice words. After all, it was Xiao Chen's birthday. No matter how good-tempered he was, it was not easy for him to get angry on this occasion.
In fact, speaking of it, Xiao Chen's opponents didn't have a chance to turn to him at all. He only had a few fights with Xiao Chen openly.
But despite the fact that the adults on the chief's bench seemed to be brothers to Xiao Chen and seemed to be close to each other, in fact, several of them were Xiao Chen's real enemies...not including Gong Shouli.
Maybe the wine was too good and the atmosphere was too lively, so everyone got a little tipsy without even realizing it. They said things they wouldn't normally say, using the wine to cover their faces.
It got to the point where we got into an argument, made our faces red and thick-necked, and ended up even quarreling.
Although everyone here is an official in the same dynasty, and they are all polite when meeting, and call each other brothers, in fact, there are many conflicts in private...
The reason was to write poems. I don’t know who suggested that everyone write a poem to congratulate Mr. Xiao on his birthday. This was just a fun thing to do, and everyone agreed. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or not.
The relationship is that everyone drinks and has fun.
But after finishing the congratulatory poems for Xiao Chen, someone was still not satisfied and wrote a few more poems for people at the same table and the next table as a joke, which was not easy to listen to.
Jiang Kuan, a doctor in the Ministry of Civil Affairs' Qing Li Department, was not dealing with Li Hong. He raised his glass and said with a smile, "Everyone has written poems, so I will also write one, and I will give this poem to Li Shilang!"
It’s a joke, Mr. Li Shilang has so many things that he can hold a boat in his stomach, but don’t argue with me.”
This was not pleasant to say, because Li Hong was a fat man with a big belly. This doctor Jiang Kuan was clearly mocking him when he said that his belly could hold a boat.
It is well known that Li Hong hates people saying he is fat, but Jiang Langzhong insisted on saying it in front of him, which shows that it was intentional.
"Oh? I didn't know that Mr. Chang could compose poetry, so I have to listen attentively." Li Hong's fat face had already pulled down, and he looked at Jiang Kuan with a smile, "If you can do it like this,
Mr. Xiao is so kind, I will use this poem to leave an eternal reputation in the future."
"Hahaha, it's just a few random words made out of emotion. It can't be compared with Master Xiao, the most talented person in the world." Jiang Kuan laughed and said, "I saw that Master Li came on horseback just now, right?
Fortunately, I am riding a horse. If I were riding a donkey, I am afraid that all the seats here have been dispersed and the adults have not arrived yet."
There is also an allusion to his words.
Since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, there have been constant wars, resulting in an extreme shortage of horses. This year, Li Wanjiang made a special edict for this purpose, ordering officials below the fourth rank not to ride horses, but to ride donkeys.
Li Hong was a third-grade minister, and according to regulations, he could ride a horse. However, seeing that many of his colleagues responded to the emperor's call and rode donkeys, he thought that he could not lag behind, so he also found a donkey.
But he was burly, fat, big, and swaggering through the city on a donkey, which made him look very funny.
And he was busy with official duties and always had to inspect construction sites outside the city. The little donkey was so overwhelmed that he foamed at the mouth and fell to the street. He also fell on his butt in the street.
Many people witnessed this funny scene with their own eyes, and it became a joke.
Li Hong was embarrassed and angry. From then on, he never rode a donkey again...
Everyone knows about his embarrassing story, but they just laugh about it behind his back, but they never bring it up in person.
A few months have passed and I have gradually forgotten about it.
However, Jiang Kuan brought up the old incident in public. This clearly meant that he deliberately wanted to embarrass Li Hong!