Chapter 185 New Year's Eve is coming
"Do you have any objections?" Chief Assistant Tan Heming said slowly, his calm eyes scanning around the people present.
"If I remember correctly, it seems that a few months ago, this exorcism department official named Gu Xu was promoted unusually..." Yin Quan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue and a bachelor, frowned slightly.
“That’s right,” Liu Qu, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet, nodded, “last autumn, because Gu Xu performed very well in the promotion assessment process, and because he has the rare third-level cultivation qualification, so Luo Sishou directly promoted him from an ordinary clerk to the eighth rank of the Exorcist Department.
“There is a precedent for this kind of thing. Previously, young geniuses like Chu Langzhong and Shangguan Langzhong were all promoted from many inconspicuous petty officials by the chief minister in the same way.
"And Gu Xu's contribution this time is no less than conquering a city or a ghost's lair. Without him, not only would the entire Qingzhou Mansion be destroyed, but there would also be a difficult to deal with in this world. Ghost King. In my personal opinion, there is absolutely no problem in giving him an exceptional promotion."
As soon as he finished speaking, two people next to him echoed: "I also agree with Mr. Liu. "
Yin Shangshu thought for a while and pointed out: "But this Gu Xu seems to be only seventeen years old and has not yet reached the age of being crowned. Doesn't it sound a bit too much to be an official in the sixth rank before being crowned? It's too exaggerated..."
"I think what this young man did when he was seventeen years old is already much better than what most of the sixth-rank officials of Da Qi Dynasty have done in their lifetime," said Second Assistant Liu Qu retorted, "For a heroic figure like him who saved tens of thousands of people, it is undoubtedly a very pedantic performance to limit him by something like age.
"What's more, not long ago, , the emperor appointed him as the "Reader" and made him a model for the princes to learn from, which is enough to prove that he is an extraordinary person and cannot be treated with common sense. ”
Yin Shangshu said nothing.
Because what Gu Xu did this time was too shocking. If it had not come from the mouth of a saint, I am afraid that Yin Shangshu would not have dared to believe that it was true.
So, even if Yin Shangshu wants to go against other cabinet ministers, he does not have much confidence.
"Does anyone else have any objections?" Tan Shoufu asked again.
No one said anything.
So Tan Shoufu picked up his pen and quickly wrote the cabinet's opinions on the "vote draft" piece of paper, pasted it together with Luo Sishou's memorial, and put it aside.
Then, Tan Shoufu picked up the other two memorials and said slowly: "The second thing we want to discuss today is still related to Gu Xu.
"Master National Preceptor It is believed that Gu Xu is extremely accomplished in the art of talisman and seal script. The cultivation of Talisman Dao he displayed in this incident has reached the level of a master.
"The National Master hopes that Gu Xu will go to Longmen Academy to serve as a 'guest teacher' - to spend some time every month to give lectures to the students majoring in Talisman Dao in the academy and share ideas for drawing symbols.
“After all, the ‘Long Night’ is coming, and Fu Xiu has extremely important strategic significance on the battlefield. The Imperial Master wants to improve the ability and efficiency of the Talisman cultivators in drawing Talisman as soon as possible before the 'Long Night'. ”
Longmen Academy is located on the outskirts of Luojing City. It is an institution for practitioners officially established by the Da Qi imperial court. It can be understood as the Imperial Academy for monks. To some extent, it can compete with the three major sects. The students who study here are basically all talented and well-rounded.
The teachers in the academy often have high levels of cultivation and have made great achievements in a specific field - such as Talismans, formations, swordsmanship, weapon refining, etc.
As for the Imperial Master of Da Qi, he serves as the "Honorary Dean" of Longmen Academy.
First Assistant Tan Heming paused for a while, took a sip of hot tea, and then continued: "But after all, the Imperial Master is only the honorary dean of Longmen Academy, not the real dean. Many teachings, Everyone, including Dean Li, was unconvinced by his proposal
“They recognized Gu Xu’s talent and admired Gu Xu’s actions during the disaster in Qingzhou Mansion.
"But in their opinion, Gu Xu is too young, too inexperienced, his training time is too short, and he only has the cultivation level of the third level - and among all the teachers in Longmen Academy, the ones with the lowest strength are those of the fourth level. Monk.
"In addition, the way of talisman and seal script has always been known to be difficult to understand, and it requires a lot of time and energy to study and ponder.
“They feel that Gu Xu needs to spend a few more years to hone his skills and accumulate more experience before he can take on the important task of teaching academy students.”
“Seventeen-year-old Teaching in the academy does sound a bit outrageous," Yin Shangshu said lightly, "I'm afraid the students in Longmen Academy are older than him."
Second Assistant Liu Qu pondered for a moment, and then looked at him. Xiang Tan Heming said to the point: "Mr. Tan Ge, if you ask Gu Xu to teach at Longmen Academy...will you mess with someone's cake?"
"Liu Cifu's insight is indeed extraordinary," Tan Heming nodded, "Because the teaching staff at Longmen Academy are well-paid and have a high status, the number of teachers has always been very limited.
"Especially the 'guest teaching' Such a title is a symbol of honor.
“There are currently several Talisman masters who are trying to fight for that teaching position, and one of them is Dean Li’s cousin. If the position is given to Gu Xu, then these people may have to wait a little longer. It will take a few years to wait for such an opportunity again."
"This is easy to handle," Liu Cifu smiled slightly, "After the Lantern Festival, just find a time to let Gu Xu and those Talisman Masters. Let all the teachers in Longmen Academy show their attainments in Talisman - whoever is the strongest will be given this position. In this way, they can be convinced even if they lose."
"Liu Cifu's. This method is really simple and crude!" Yin Shangshu commented.
"Liu Cifu's idea is indeed good, but it is not that easy to implement," Tan Shoufu said calmly, "First of all, we need to seek the opinion of the Imperial Preceptor. After all, the Imperial Preceptor is a saint in this world. If his attitude is very tough, If Gu Xu is forced to enter Longmen Academy despite all objections, no one can stop him except the emperor and a few other saints."
Emperor Tianxing is aloof and rules.
Several saints perform their own duties and restrict each other; although they have great power, they cannot completely rely on their strength to do whatever they want. Many times they have to follow rules and procedures to do things.
This is the current power structure at the top of the pyramid of the Daqi Dynasty.
"I think...if the Imperial Master has enough confidence in Gu Xu's Talisman cultivation, then he should agree!" Liu Cifu thought for a moment and said seriously.
After all, these cabinet ministers are just a group of mortals living in the cracks of practitioners.
They neither want to offend the Imperial Master nor Dean Li and the teachers of Longmen Academy.
After a heated discussion, they finally agreed with Liu Cifu’s idea: with the consent of the national master, prepare a fair and just competition for Gu Xu and other competitors. Among them The person with the most outstanding performance will become the new teacher of Longmen Academy.
"The last thing we want to discuss today has something to do with Gu Xu." After writing the "Bio Draft", Tan Shoufu took another memorial and said slowly, "This The memorial comes from the Ministry of Rites. Officials of the Ministry of Rites believe that Gu Xu’s contribution in this disaster is enough to be awarded a title. "
In the Daqi Dynasty, the titles were divided into five categories: Duke, Marquis, Uncle, Zi and Male. etc., among which there are subdivided levels such as "Guo Gong", "County Duke", "Jun Bo", "County Bo" and so on.
According to the ancestral system established by Emperor Taizu, "those who have no military merit will not be granted the title."
Among them, the title is divided into "Spyker" and "Liujue", depending on the size of the merit.
"Spider", as the name suggests, is a hereditary title that can be passed on to future generations. It not only has a fief, but also a lumi. The heads of the three great clans of the Da Qi Dynasty—the Zhao family in Youzhou, the Chen family in Xiangyang, and the Shen family in Jinling—were all hereditary princes.
The "Liujue" is a lifelong title. It only has the title and lumi, no fiefdom, and cannot be hereditary.
Many of the high-ranking officials of the Exorcism Department have "traveling nobles". For example, Wei Jiusi, a member of Qianhu household in Qingzhou Prefecture, was once awarded the title of "Uncle Jingyuan"; another example is Tang Hui, the envoy to the exorcism department, who was also titled "Uncle Zhongxian".
In addition, those who are knighted can also obtain "iron coupons of alchemy books" that can be used to absolve themselves of crimes.
Of course, whether something like the "Alchemy Book and Iron Coupon" is really useful ultimately depends on the emperor's thoughts. For example, the Qingzhou Lu family, after offending Emperor Tianxing, still inevitably suffered the tragic ending of being executed by the nine clans.
In addition, since the Qingzhou Lu family was annihilated in history, Emperor Tianxing has never granted anyone a hereditary title.
This also means that no matter how much contribution Gu Xu has made, he can only receive a lifelong title.
"It's just that the officials of the Ministry of Rites still have a dispute over what kind of title should be given to Gu Xu," Tan Chieffu continued, "According to the Daqi Dynasty's rule that 'no title can be awarded except for military merit', Gu Xu's contribution this time , it is difficult to measure it by the number of ghosts killed according to previous standards.
"Some people think that he prevented the birth of a 'Ghost King' level ghost, which is a great contribution to saving the world, and can be directly used. Granted the title of earl.
"Some people say that he did not directly attack the Kongxuan Sanren, but only played a role in passing on the message - it is still the saints who really take action against the 'fierce gods'. If he is rashly granted Tai A high title may not be able to convince the public.
“Because they could not come up with a result after a long discussion, they handed over this issue to our cabinet.
“What do you think about this?”
The ministers present all remained silent, and no one responded for a long time.
After a while, Yin Shangshu finally said slowly: "According to the laws of Daqi, 'Titles cannot be granted without special purpose'. This kind of matter should be left directly to the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Princess. Let’s make a decision!”
Tan Shoufu nodded and agreed with his statement.
…………
Today is the thirteenth day of the first lunar month.
There are still two days until the Lantern Festival.
In the early morning of this day, Princess Zhaoning followed the rules and took a green curtain sedan to Kunyuan Hall in the palace early to pay her respects to her mother-in-law, Chen Anzhi.
“I have met the Queen Mother.” Princess Zhaoning bowed to the Queen.
"Sit." The queen pointed to the chair in front of her and ordered calmly.
Princess Zhaoning sat down in response.
There was a brief silence.
Although there was a warm fire burning in the Xinuang Pavilion of Kunyuan Hall, the atmosphere between the two was as cold as ice.
"Xiao Wanjun, you have grown up now, and your wings are much stronger than before." After a while, the queen finally sighed softly, breaking the silent atmosphere, "In order not to get married. , You are really trying your best!"
"What do you think the Queen said?" Princess Zhaoning's expression did not change.
"Stop pretending to be stupid, Xiao Wanjun," the queen's face became serious, "Before, I mentioned two suitable marriage partners to you. One is Zhao from the Zhao family in Youzhou. Kuan, one is Shen Hua of Jinling Shen family
"But just a few days ago, Zhao Kuan suddenly made a marriage arrangement with Zou Wen, a female general who guards the northeastern border. And Shen Hua was exposed to frequent Huajieliuxiang and keep pets in private - obviously he no longer meets the standards of being a consort. .
“You dare to say that these two things have nothing to do with you? "
Princess Zhaoning replied calmly: "Zhao Kuan and Zou Wen are in love, and it is inevitable that they will come together. There is no airtight wall in the world, and the disgusting things Shen Hua did in private will be exposed to the world sooner or later. What does it have to do with me? "
"Your tricks can be hidden from others, but not from me," the queen said coldly, "If I guess correctly, Zhao Kuan went to guard it under your indirect instruction. Northeastern frontier. And the patrol censor recently sent to Jinling City is also a confidant you secretly cultivated. "
Princess Zhaoning smiled lightly and did not deny it.
"Mother, you once taught me that in order to achieve the goal, you can do whatever it takes," the princess replied with a smile, "I just followed your teachings and tried to avoid marrying someone I don't like through the means within my ability."
"But now Xiao Shangzhen has lost all his cultivation, and the Chen family in Xiangyang is also facing a crisis." The queen began to reason with the princess, "Xiao Wanjun, you are a princess of a country, and you are also a bloodline of the Chen family. Here At the critical moment, I hope you can be more understanding and not act like other little girls."
"But, mother, have you ever thought about it, my surname is Xiao, not Chen," Zhao said. Princess Ning looked at her mother and said seriously, "I belong to the Daqi royal family first, and then to the Chen family. When there is a conflict between the royal family and the Chen family, I should stand on the side of the royal family. And my marriage , it should also be decided by the father..."
"But your father has ignored ordinary things for a long time," the queen interrupted her with a cold attitude.
"The princess's marriage is not only a family matter, but also a state matter. And the highest power of Daqi, the power of approving the red, is now in my hands," Princess Zhaoning said with a calm smile, "Mother, you know As the Queen of Daqi, you have already made a fatal mistake——
"You are too considerate of the interests of the Chen family."
At this point, Princess Zhaoning stood up and bowed to the queen again.
Then she turned and left the warm Kunyuan Hall.
Since the disaster in Qingzhou, there are still a lot of memorials waiting for her to deal with in the princess's mansion, and there are still many important things that need to be decided by her.
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(End of this chapter)