Cui Yan was slightly surprised by Dong Zhaozha's remarks.
He turned to look at Dong Zhao carefully, and saw that although his face was dusty, his old friend was still smiling, and his eyes were calm and deep, making him feel as if he was drowning in water. He subconsciously took out a few mulberries from the fruit plate, but they tasted quite tasteless. After a while, Cui Yan laughed at himself and said, "Did you find the wrong person, Mr. Gongren? I, Cui Yan, am just a doctor of Imperial College, and I have not been able to advance in my official career for several years." , what can it be used for?”
Dong Zhao saw the change in Cui Yan's expression and asked slowly, without any emotion, "Then according to Ji Gui's wishes, what should I do if I want to enter the imperial court?"
Cui Yan quickly replied: "This is not difficult. Recently, there have been many celebrities from Guanxi and Dongxi, but there are not many who are as talented as Mr. Gongren and are famous. I only need to go to Sili Mansion in person. , to pay homage to Mr. Chen once, are you afraid that you will lose your official fortune?"
Speaking of this, it seemed that he was too ambitious for fame. Cui Yan felt that he had lost his composure and quickly summoned Cang Tou to serve the dishes. When the food table was served, Dong Zhao saw a carp and a bowl of soup cakes on the table. He couldn't help but compare it with the food in Luoyang. In those days, Luoyang was luxurious. As long as he held an official position in the court, the minimum diet was four dishes, including many There was deer soup and white water shield. The dishes in front of him were indeed shabby. Dong Zhao thought about this and couldn't help but smile.
Cui Yan saw Dong Zhao's smile and mistakenly thought that he was dissatisfied. He quickly explained that the government was still frugal. Last year, an additional 800,000 kilograms of grain were allocated for disaster relief. All the government officials were in a tight situation, so all the officials in the government were worried. They don't dare to be extravagant, and their daily diet is just like yellow dogs, carps, and crucian carp, and there is absolutely no disrespect intended.
Dong Zhao didn't mind at all. The chopsticks in his hands kept burning. He laughed while eating and said, "Ji Gui thought wrong. I'm just feeling very emotional. Back then, Ji Gui, you said that a real man should be born with two thousand dan. How arrogant you are to eat beef and wine, but now you are so cautious, as if you are drawing a circle and not daring to go beyond it, it really makes you short of breath!"
These words actually aroused Cui Yan's sadness. In the early years when Dong Zhuo was in chaos, he followed Zheng Xuan around, from Luoyang to Pingyuan, and from Pingyuan to Jinyang, always accompanying his teacher. Among them, many thieves blocked the road and there were many disturbances. I deeply felt that things in the world are impermanent and that my destiny is not up to me. Therefore, I often thought of returning to my hometown to reflect on myself and avoid the chaos in the mountains. But he thought that the teacher was still around, and later the court became more stable, so he finally stayed with Zheng Xuan to pass on the mantle.
As a disciple, my greatest wish is to be recognized by the teacher. However, in the past few years, he had gained a lot from studying in Chang'an, but in the end he was not recognized by Zheng Xuan. So Cui Yan also proposed to Zheng Xuan to serve as an official, but Zheng Xuan said that although he was knowledgeable, his thinking was not pure. He should teach and educate people in Taixue more to cultivate his character, so he rejected Cui Yan's invitation. Cui Yan was greatly hit, and all the ambitions in his heart faded for a while.
At this time, Dong Zhao was excited, and Cui Yan's joy suddenly disappeared, and the bitterness rolled in his heart. He couldn't help but drink a glass of sake, and sighed to him: "It is human nature to be young and frivolous. But now that I am getting older, I know that there is no limit to what a person can do. It can be determined by manpower, but it also depends on one part of God’s will and another five part of timing.”
Seeing Cui Yan's disappointed expression, Dong Zhao also suppressed his smile and said slowly: "Ji Gui, if there is an opportunity, although it involves great risks, it can make you reach the sky in one step, would you dare to seize it?"
Cui Yan was quite surprised when he heard this. He raised his head and was about to ask Dong Zhao what the opportunity was. But he saw Dong Zhao's eyes were bright, and there seemed to be firelight flashing in his dark pupils. He predicted Cui Yan's words in advance, shook his head and said: "Don't ask, this matter is important and must not be talked about lightly."
Cui Yan was stunned. He lowered his head and pondered, but could not figure out Dong Zhao's intention at all. He raised his head and asked, "What does Gongren mean by saying this?"
Dong Zhao leaned forward slightly and said, "Help me enter Sili Mansion."
Cui Yan said doubtfully: "As I said before, brother can just go to the house, why do you need my help?"
Dong Zhao shook his head and said: "Although I have a little reputation, I have been in the capital of Jizhou for a long time, so I am suspicious. If you go directly to the mansion, the dragon head will not be willing to stay as a governor. Therefore, Ji Guixiang must be used to help and entrust him to drive. Only when you are engaged and governed can you accomplish something."
After saying these words, Cui Yan suddenly realized. Because of Zheng Xuan, most of the people under Chen Chong in the Sili Mansion who were more than six hundred shi were familiar with them. If they were recommended by him, it would not be difficult to become an official. But he still asked: "I can do it, but what exactly do you want to do? Can you tell me a little bit about it?"
Dong Zhao slowly shook his head and said, "The time has not come yet. I am still inquiring about the news. I will inform Ji Gui when I am fully prepared."
tomato
Cui Yan was slightly disappointed, but Dong Zhao's burning eyes cast his gaze on him, and he immediately froze. The luck and desire in his heart were mixed together, and he nodded in agreement and said, "That's fine."
Since the time of Guangwu, the prime minister Sizhi has been under the control of the province, and the three princes have been seized of their power. Except for the powerful relatives, most of the power in the court fell into the hands of Sili Xiaowei, Shangshu Ling, and Yushi Zhongcheng, which was called the three independent positions.
Among them, Shangshuling was in charge of all documents from across the country, reported to the emperor, and made suggestions on political affairs. He was the head of China and North Korea. The censor Zhongcheng was in charge of supervision, interpreting laws, accepting reports from ministers and county officials, and submitting them directly to the emperor, second only to the Shangshu Order.
Sili Xiaowei is a bit special. He is both a capital official and a shepherd. He not only directly governed the affairs of the prefectures and counties, but also maintained the order of the capital. He also investigated and prosecuted all officials in the central government for breaking the law. All the east and west capitals were under his rule. He was the one with the greatest real power after the emperor.
It's just that although these three are extremely powerful, the Eastern Han Dynasty has always been accustomed to using the humble to dominate the nobles and using the small to control the powerful, that is, the powerful ones are humbled and short-lived. The official rank of Sandu sitting in Zhongshu Ling and Yushi Zhongcheng is only one thousand shi, and the Sili Xiaowei is slightly better, but only two thousand shi, and the rank is the same as the captain of each county.
However, since Chen Chong came to power, he has personally served as the captain of the Sili school, recorded Shangshu affairs, and also served as Shangshu order. After Huangfu Li became the governor of Yuzhou, he once again concurrently served as Yushi Zhongcheng. The three separate positions were added to one person, resulting in the power of the Sili mansion. Unprecedented expansion. Although he did not have the name of Prime Minister, he had the actual status of Prime Minister. Therefore, the emperor issued an order the year before last to promote him to the official rank of Sili Xiaowei with a rank of 2,000 stones, which was the same as Jiuqing's salary and second only to San Gong. Therefore, the ministers of the DPRK also secretly called Sili Mansion the Independent Prime Minister's Mansion.
Nowadays, apart from Chen Chong, there are fourteen people in charge of affairs in Sili Mansion. These fourteen jobs are:
Duguan is engaged in Yang Mi, Biejia is engaged in Kong Rong, Zhizhong is engaged in Yao Gong, Gong Cao is engaged in Ruan Yu, Bo Cao is engaged in Linghu Shao, Bing Cao is engaged in Guo Yao, Jun Shu is engaged in Yu Fan, Henan is engaged in Tao Qiuhong, and Hedong is engaged in Fan Xian and Hanoi were engaged by Xu Qian, Hongnong was engaged by Wang Ling, Jingzhao was engaged by Haozhou, Feng Yi was engaged by Wang Xiang, and Fufeng was engaged by Pei Qian.
Among them, the Duguan is responsible for overseeing all officials and supervising illegal activities. Therefore, his subordinates recruited 600 secret histories and distributed them all over the capital to investigate the news. Even though Chen Chong was known for appointing people on their merits, he had to be cautious about this crucial place. Because the Yang family and the Chen family were brothers-in-law, Yang Mi was appointed for this task. Unless he was of pure origin, it would be extremely difficult to enter.
Kong Rong was called the leader of Biejia's work, but in fact he was only responsible for promoting agriculture and literature, and had nothing to do with Biejia's important power in the eastern states.
Among the rest of the affairs, although those engaged in Cao Cao affairs and those engaged in prefectures and states also have weight, their jurisdiction is limited, and Chen Chong is considered diligent in administration, so their influence is not significant. Only Zhizhong engaged in Yao Gong and Junshu engaged in Yu Fan were slightly different.
Junshu was newly established, and Chen Chong served as his student Yu Fan. Previously, Junshu was responsible for grain collection, customs duties, currency exchange and other matters, and both the DPRK and the Central Government regarded him as the arm of Chen Chong's New Deal.
There was no administrative officer in the Sili Mansion, but Chen Chong held three positions at the same time and could not cover everything. Therefore, an additional administrative officer was added, responsible for sorting out all Cao Cao documents in the mansion and sending them to Chen Chong as required. Once this position is established, the real power will be higher than that of other Cao Cao, so the candidate must be able to convince the public. Chen Chong thought about it again and again. Considering that Yao Gong was demoted to the state for opposing Dong Zhuo and had a strong personality, but he had followed him since Jinyang, he was quite trustworthy and had been in charge of documents for many years, so he entrusted him with important tasks to this day.
Dong Zhao asked Cui Yan to help introduce him, because he wanted to introduce him to Yao Gong.
On February 20th, after Cui Yan made an appointment with Yao Mansion via correspondence, he and Dong Zhao met with Yao Gong. Yao Gong was born as a scholar, so he naturally had great respect for Zheng Xue's disciples. When the two arrived, his son Yao Hui greeted Cui Yan at the door and called Cui Yan sir. After Dong and Cui entered the government, Yao Gong, who was engaged in governing the country, had been waiting for a long time.
Dong Zhao also met Yao Gong in Luoyang in his early years. At that time, he entered Beijing for examination as Xiaolian and spent a short time in Taixue. It was during this period that he met Cui Yan and other members of the Zhengxuan sect. He also saw major celebrities from Beijing flow into Taixue to participate in lectures, including Yao Gong. He was among them, but Yao Gong didn't recognize him.
Now we meet again. Although Yao Gong's temples are gray due to the labor of writing documents, his face is extremely clear and his conversation is gentle, just like the spring breeze outside the door, which makes people feel good.
Cui Yan first greeted Yao Gong and then introduced Dong Zhao to him. When Dong Zhao saw his eyes, he nodded slightly and saluted, then stepped forward and said, "I have met Mr. Yao."
Yao Gong couldn't help but feel a little happy when he saw that he was neither humble nor arrogant, handsome in appearance, winding like rocks when walking, and like a white crane folding its wings when saluting.
The guests and hosts sat down and talked freely about the local customs and people of Hebei, the mountains and rivers of Guanzhong, the customs and customs of Guanzhong, or the stories of Bingzhou, old news from the past dynasties, and everything from north to south. There was a banquet at noon, and Yao Gong's second son Yao Li and third son Yao Tong came to accompany him. Yao Gong and Dong Zhao chatted happily, and time passed unknowingly.
It wasn't until after dinner, when the host and guest were about to part, that the two parties got down to business.
Yao Gong said slowly: "I have heard about Gongren's reputation in Guanzhong. It's just that Gongren was originally the governor of the two thousand stone county. Now he is stationed in our vassal and can only be the official of three hundred stone. It can be said that he is a low-ranking shrub. . I am quite puzzled. Can Gongren help me?"
After Dong Zhao heard this, he shook his head slightly and said: "Yao Gong is wrong. Zhao came from the capital of Jizhou and originally belonged to Yuan Benchu's family. Yuan Benchu's disobedience is known to the world, so Zhao's origin can be said to be a sinful minister. Now there is Chen Envoy in the court. Your assistance is just like Zhou Gong Yi Yin's assistance, making the world return to its heart. Asking for Yao Gong's blessing to join the Fubi Center is like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. How can it be said that it is a low position? Please ask Yao Gong to fulfill it."
After hearing this, Yao Gong stroked his beard and thought deeply. After a while, he nodded and said, "I have been quite tired in the past few years. Since Gongren has this idea, I will rely on you to take care of me in the future."
Dong Zhao saluted again and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Yao."
