From Shangjing to Youlingfang, you still need to cross the river.
After crossing the river, we still need to walk more than 400 miles. Although it is not too far, if we go faster, we may be able to reach Shangjing within ten days.
Zhong Zhengyuan was very confused, "Why not just go there?"
Chen Changsheng said: "The world of mortals is full of troubles. The road is at your feet. Now that you are here, why miss it?"
Zhong Zhengyuan felt that it made some sense, but he also felt that Chen Changsheng was talking nonsense.
Then I thought about it and it was okay anyway. It was always good to walk more.
The river was wide and the water was turbulent. The two found a boatman on the riverside to cross the river.
The boatman was about to get up and sail across the river, but heard a sound coming from outside, so he looked over.
After a while, the boatman opened the curtain on the boat and said: "Two gentlemen, there is a little brother who is in a hurry to cross the river. Can you please make do with it?"
Chen Changsheng didn't care and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Zhong?"
"There won't be any crowding," Zhong Zhengyuan said.
After a while, a man in regular clothes got on the boat. After entering the canopy, he was stunned when he saw the two gentlemen.
These two people are extraordinary just by looking at them.
Ji Xingsheng came back to his senses, cupped his hands and said, "Ji Xingsheng thanks you two gentlemen."
"We're wandering on the boat, so let's sit down and talk first." Chen Changsheng said.
Ji Xingsheng agreed, then sat down and looked at the two gentlemen in front of him.
One is old and the other is young. What they have in common is probably that they have a great temperament and are particularly clean.
Ji Xingsheng said, "It sounds like your accent doesn't sound like a local."
Chen Changsheng nodded and replied: "Chen is from Anning County."
"Anning County?"
Ji Xingsheng thought for a moment, then reacted and said, "But in the Southern Region?"
"you know?"
"Ji's job is related to maps, so he knows something about it."
When Zhong Zhengyuan heard this, he said: "The maps of the Southern Territory are all included in the statistics. I guess my official position is not low."
"Sir, you are right."
Ji Xingsheng said: "Ji's current official rank is from the fifth rank, but in fact he is just a supervisor."
"It's rare to see someone as old as you reach the fifth rank." Zhong Zhengyuan said.
This is not easy. It is especially difficult to advance to the official level. Some people have been officials all their lives and can only watch helplessly from the sixth rank.
Ji Xingsheng said: "It's just good luck."
Chen Changsheng looked at Ji Xingsheng and said, "The supervisor should be working in the Ministry of War, why are you here?"
Ji Xingsheng said: "The waterway collapsed a few years ago, and some places on the map have changed. This time I came here to do some exploration. I also went back to my hometown to see my parents. Now I am going back to resume my life."
"That's it." Chen Changsheng nodded.
Ji Xingsheng was particularly confused, and he secretly guessed the identities of these two people.
Normally, when he mentioned that he was a fifth-rank official, most people would be a little surprised, and then they would be especially respectful, but these two people didn't seem to care about his official rank.
He also recalled the officials of all sizes in Shangjing City, and none of them recalled that there were two such people, but he was certain that these two people must have a good background.
"I wonder where you two gentlemen are going?" Ji Xingsheng asked.
Chen Changsheng replied: "I should be on the same road as you."
"Are you going to Beijing..."
Ji Xingsheng had a guess in his mind. He thought that maybe the old-looking gentleman had once held an official position in the court, and he must have been at a high level.
You can ask someone when you go back.
Chen Changsheng asked: "Chen heard that the war at the border is not optimistic. I wonder if there are any moves between the DPRK and China?"
Ji Xingsheng immediately said: "It is indeed difficult at the border, but in this country..."
He glanced at Zhong Zhengyuan beside him, thought for a moment and said: "Although military generals are brave, they lack strategy. Although civil servants have strategies, most of them are useless and are just words on paper."
Zhong Zhengyuan glanced at him but said nothing.
Ji Xingsheng noticed this look, and he became more and more certain that this old gentleman must be a big shot who returned to Beijing to take up a post.
When Chen Changsheng heard what he said, he asked, "There must be talents that can be used, right?"
Ji Xingsheng regarded it as a test for himself and replied: "At present, there are only a few people."
Chen Changsheng became interested and said, "Let's talk and listen."
Ji Xingsheng smiled and said: "What Ji said are all personal thoughts. If I am wrong, please don't blame me sir."
"Ji thinks that Liu Huaizhang, the current magistrate of Shangjing County, is considered to be a magistrate. Although his official position is only a county magistrate, his methods are sharp and his strategies are not bad. He is not afraid of the sacred power. He dares to speak and act. He is the only person above the court. He is the only one with such courage.”
"He is also a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. Although he is not as upright as Magistrate Liu, he has his own understanding of many things, and his innovative policies are aimed at the key points..."
"But the most powerful one is the newly appointed Shaoqing of Dali Temple. He is only more than 20 years old and has already taken the position of Shaoqing. He works vigorously and resolutely, and has never made any mistakes. In the officialdom, he is even more at ease, and he can fight with words. Among all the scholars, he has never been at a disadvantage, and even His Majesty particularly admires him."
"A young minister from Dali Temple who is over twenty years old?" Chen Changsheng asked, "How can he be so powerful?"
Ji Xingsheng said: "More than that, he is very powerful. You must know that this person has only been in Beijing for four years. At first, he was just a student of the Hanlin Academy. After he came out, he solved several major cases and then entered the Dali Temple."
He suddenly said with emotion: "Speaking of which, Brother Chang Shan and I were classmates at the Hanlin Academy at that time. In the blink of an eye, he became the Young Minister of Dali Temple."
Chen Changsheng paused suddenly and asked, "Who were you talking about just now?"
Ji Xingsheng came to his senses and said quickly: "I almost forgot to mention that Brother Chang Shan is now the Young Minister of Dali Temple."
Chen Changsheng asked: "Is this young minister of Dali Temple from Yan County?"
"Sir, does he know Brother Chang Shan?"
"We've met a few times, but we're just not familiar with each other."
Chen Changsheng actually never thought that Chang Shan could reach such a high level in a few years. This was completely beyond his expectation.
Zhong Zhengyuan saw Chen Changsheng saying this, so he asked: "It seems that he is an old friend of Mr. Chen."
Chen Changsheng replied: "I have met him several times in the temple."
Zhong Zhengyuan nodded, and then stopped talking.
Ji Xingsheng watched the two gentlemen talking and was a little confused for a moment.
Why did he feel that this old gentleman seemed to have some respect for the gentleman next to him? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Zhong Zhengyuan couldn't control his temper and decided to give up on the young minister of Dali Temple.
'He was actually a Taoist priest...'
Zhong Zhengyuan looked at Chen Changsheng aside. He vaguely felt that Chen Changsheng had been planning these things for a long time. This young minister of Dali Temple must not have been an accident.
Zhong Zhengyuan took back his hand and said, "Mr. Chen made this move very well."
Chen Changsheng looked at him and asked with some confusion: "When did Chen play chess?"
Zhong Zhengyuan just smiled without explaining.
Chen Changsheng shook his head. He didn't know what Zhong Zhengyuan was thinking.
