At chen o'clock, Li Hui entered the South House. A group of servants in the front yard were sweeping the snow in the yard, and they were very busy. When they saw Li Hui, everyone greeted him. Li Hui was very popular in the South House, and since Han Yong
After his death, everyone actually regarded him as the manager of the South House.
Li Hui entered the second entrance hall. There was no one in the hall. Gu Qian usually got up early to drink tea and talk in the hall. Today, perhaps because of the cold weather, he had not come yet. Li Hui was not in a hurry and wiped the table in the hall.
Things are being sorted and taken care of slowly.
Soon after, there was the sound of footsteps at the back of the hall. Li Hui thought it was Gu Qian who was coming, so he went to the back door to greet him. However, it was not Gu Qian who came, but a personal servant beside Gu Qian from the inner house.
As soon as the servant saw Li Hui, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Manager Li is here. Mr. Dong has invited me."
Li Hui asked in surprise: "Is Dong Weng up?"
"I got up early. I have been drinking tea in the study. I ordered the servant to invite Manager Li to come and talk." The servant said.
Li Hui was confused. He had only gone into Gu Qian's study two or three times. Basically, there was nothing important and inconvenient for others to know. Gu Qian would not ask anyone to go to the study. He didn't know what he wanted to tell him when he asked him to go.
What. But it would be a good idea to tell him alone in the study that he was going to quit his job, so as not to spread the word.
So Li Hui walked to the study behind the second entrance hall.
Thin snow covered the flower and tree rockeries on both sides of the corridor behind the hall, and the snow scene was very beautiful. The corridor was winding and led to the study room on the east side. Through the long carved window, Li Hui saw Gu Qian sitting on the longevity chair in front of the window.
With a piece of thick fur draped over his legs, he looked at the flowers and trees outside the study in trance after the snow.
"Meet Dong Weng." Li Hui stood at the door and saluted.
Gu Qian turned his head, with a smile on his face, and waved: "You're here, come in."
Li Huidao thanked him and entered the study, and said with a smile: "The weather is so cold, why did Dong Weng leave the window open? Don't let the cold catch the cold."
Gu Qian smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, I'm still afraid of the thin snow and cold weather?"
Li Hui smiled and said: "Sure enough, the older a person gets, the more dissatisfied he becomes with age."
Gu Qian laughed and said, "It doesn't matter, the cold is indeed quite severe. You should close the doors and windows."
Li Hui agreed and closed the window. He knew in his heart that Gu Qian was going to talk to him. While closing the window, he thought about how he should say goodbye to Gu Qian. After thinking about it, he decided to get straight to the point.
, no need to procrastinate and hesitate.
"Sit down." Gu Qian looked at Li Hui and said.
Li Hui bowed and said: "Dong Weng, I have something to discuss with Dong Weng."
Gu Qian smiled and said: "Oh? What a coincidence, I also have something to discuss with you. Do you want to talk first or I?"
Li Hui smiled and said: "Of course Dong Weng said it first."
Gu Qian nodded and said: "Okay, let me talk first. The matter is about the Zhongzheng review."
Li Hui's heart moved. But he heard Gu Qian continue: "The Zhongzheng review has given you a mid-level rating, which is beyond my expectation. I thought it was Lu Shijun who gave you leniency for my sake, but that day
I asked him, and he recorded the two poems you wrote and showed them to me. I was very surprised. Li Hui, it turns out that you are so secretive and so talented in literature. The two poems you wrote are truly wonderful.
"Extremely. If you weren't burdened by your background, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to be a top grader."
Li Hui hurriedly said: "I don't dare to accept Dong Weng's praise. I'm satisfied with the middle grade."
Gu Qian sighed and said: "It's a pity that you are not a descendant of the Gu family. There is nothing you can do about it. However, it is also good to have a middle grade. Do you know that if you are above the middle grade, you can report to the imperial court for review and appointment?"
Li Hui smiled and said: "Dong Weng, I don't dare to think about being awarded an official. I know my background is limited, so I have no expectations."
Gu Qian nodded slowly and said: "But, I applied for it after all. And...and...there is an official position now, and I don't know if you are willing to take it."
There was a buzz in Li Hui's head, and he could hardly believe his ears. He widened his eyes and said, "Dong Weng, what did you say? Did I hear it wrong?"
Gu Qian smiled and said, "You heard me right. What I said is that there is an official position at the moment. I wonder if you are willing to take it."
Li Hui suppressed the excitement in his heart and tried not to appear too happy. He said in a deep voice: "But I don't know...but I don't know what official position it is?"
Gu Qian suddenly began to ponder and kept silent. Li Hui stared at him, his eyes full of expectation.
Gu Qian was silent for a moment, sighed and said: "It is an official position of a county magistrate. Although it is only an eighth-grade auxiliary officer, it is still an official position."
Li Hui was ecstatic, but he had some doubts in his heart. Although county magistrate is not a good official position, it is a position after all. It is second only to the county magistrate and can be regarded as the starting point of his official career. Has this position fallen to him? Isn't this right?
Is it pie in the sky? Doesn’t it mean that I was born in a poor family and had no chance at all? Could it be that the Jin Dynasty was not what I thought? Regardless of family background?
"Yesterday Lu Shijun came to visit. This year, my son of the Gu family has been awarded two official positions by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. One is the position of county magistrate, and the other is the position of county magistrate. The eldest son is the top grade, and the officials appointed him as the county magistrate of Liyang. As for the position of county magistrate,
...The head of the family has discussed with me and wants you to take up the post." Gu Qian said in a deep voice.
Li Hui was so surprised that he couldn't speak. He began to think that Gu Qian was joking with him. Five children of the Gu family participated in the Zhongzheng review. Gu Chang was the top grade, Gu Yun was also the top grade, and the others were all middle and upper grades. He was not a son of the Gu family,
He's just a middle-ranked person, how could such a good thing happen to him in his turn?
Although Li Hui was in agitated mood at the moment, he did not lose his mind because of this. There must be something wrong here.
"I'm kidding if Dong Weng doesn't come with me. The Second Young Master and the others haven't been appointed, so how come it's my turn to be the county magistrate? Do they think the county magistrate's official position is too low? Are they unwilling to take up the post?" Li Hui frowned.
asked.
"This... don't worry about it. In short, if you are willing to take this official position, Lu Shijun will report it to you, and there will be no mercy for others." Gu Qian said.
Gu Qian refused to answer directly, and Li Hui became more and more suspicious that there was something fishy. He thought for a while and said in a deep voice: "Dong Weng, what is going on? Does the head of the family agree with this? He will confer the imperial court to the Gu family.
Give it to me? Dong Weng, I don’t want any rift between you and the head of the family to arise over this matter. Although I hope to be awarded an official position, I can’t take it from others.”
Gu Qian smiled bitterly and said: "You are overthinking. This is what the head of the family wants. Gu Yun and the others... have all given up their positions as county magistrates. There is no such thing as grabbing them or not."
"That's even more strange. Officials appointed by the imperial court are so valuable, and Kuang County Cheng is also an official appointed by the imperial court. It is better than having no official position. Why did they give up? I am very puzzled by this."
Li Hui decided to ask the matter clearly. The more unreasonable something was, the more likely it was a trap.
Gu Qian stood up and walked slowly. Finally he stopped and looked at Li Hui and said: "That's all, I'll tell you the truth. A big event happened in our Dajin Province recently. The disastrous defeat of Huan Da and Sima's Northern Expedition must have happened to you."
You must have heard something about it.”
Li Hui was confused, why was it related to Huan Wen's failure in the Northern Expedition? What happened to Dong Weng?
"The failure of Huan Da Sima's Northern Expedition has brought many unfavorable consequences. One of them is that the Jianghuai land is now in chaos. The people of the Central Plains, because of the arrival of Huan Da Sima's Northern Expedition army, have missed their old master and followed him.
Go south. But when Huan Da Sima was defeated, these people suddenly became refugees. Everyone in Xianbei hated them for betraying the Yan State. They would die if they turned back and had no choice but to go south. In the land of Jianghuai, the refugees are now in chaos. Some refugees have already caused chaos, robbery and killing.
Things happen from time to time. Therefore, the imperial court decided to rectify the chaotic situation in front of them. The way is to send people to appease and gather them, so as to prevent the chaotic people from crossing the river, causing trouble in the south of the Yangtze River and affecting the stability of the counties and counties in the south of the Yangtze River." Gu Qian said slowly.
.
Li Hui frowned and said, "How does this have anything to do with the appointment of officials?"
Gu Qian waved his hand and said: "Listen to what I said. Due to the perennial disputes with Qin and Yan in the northern border areas of our country, many counties and counties have ceased to exist in name only. The imperial court can only control the border towns and cities so that they can carry out large-scale activities.
There are strong cities that can resist the invasion. But except for these large cities, places are no longer controllable. In view of this, the imperial court decided to immediately reset Jiangbei County to ensure that the refugees are restrained and the situation is controlled. This time, three counties were reset,
One of them is Juchao County in the northwest of Liyang. Relocating Juchao County can form a barrier with Hefei County in the northwest, control the deep area behind the northern border of our country, and restrain and resettle the refugees. To achieve the requirements of the imperial court
The refugees who hope do not serve Jiang’s purpose.”
When Li Hui heard this, he vaguely understood something.
"Dong Weng, could it be that among the official positions conferred this time, there are those that reset the county? The position of county magistrate you are talking about is the position of county magistrate in Juchao County?" Li Hui asked softly
.
Gu Qian looked at Li Hui quietly, sighing in his heart at the young man's intelligence. He had already heard it, and it seemed that he didn't need to say anything more.
"Because the refugees are in chaos and it is located on the border of Jiangbei, they are often harassed. Therefore, the resettled Juchao County must be unstable and very dangerous, right? Therefore, even if it is granted an official position, no one is willing to accept it.
No one is willing to risk their lives for a small official position as county magistrate, right? Gu Yun and the others are not willing to go, so the position of county magistrate in Juchao County was given to me as a favor, right?
Anyway, I am not a child of the Gu family, so even if I die in Juchao County, it doesn't matter. My life, Li Hui's, is of no importance, and the lives of the children of the Gu family are precious, right?" Li Hui continued with a sneer.
Gu Qian said in a deep voice: "Li Hui, don't be so extreme. The head of the family... is just suggesting to me. I know that there is danger in going here, and I didn't hide anything from you. I don't have to tell you the inside story.
If you don't want to take up the post, don't force it."
Li Hui nodded and said: "Dong Weng is indeed honest, but the master of the family may not be so. He just wants me to die. I offended them before, and they are afraid they hate me to the core. This time they will send me to the fire pit."
, I have to be grateful. Huh, what a borrowed knife to kill someone."