At dusk, the breeze blows.
Ji Heng and others entered Qin Ting's large courtyard.
As soon as he stepped in, he was greeted by an old pavilion soldier holding a spear.
"This is Qin Ting. Are you on official business?"
Fusu cupped his hands and said, "We are officials under the Prime Minister's Mansion. We have been ordered to come to Qin Pavilion to compile the relevant history of Qin."
Finished.
Fusu took out a copy of the biography from his sleeve.
The old pavilion soldier took the test pass, looked at it carefully for a few times, nodded, and said inward: "Sir, wait a moment, the pavilion chief, there are official guests."
"I heard it, come here!" A distant voice came from the pavilion, the voice was loud and deep.
Following the voice, a person walked out of the door. He was of medium stature and cheerful face. He wore a short, green and yellow bamboo leather crown on his head, which seemed quite novel. He had a short beard under his chin, which made him a little bit a bit confused. The casual cheeks added a bit of maturity and wisdom.
His gait and intonation also give people a sense of sophistication.
As soon as he walked out of the stone gate, he came from afar and bowed his hands in salute. When he walked three feet in front of everyone, he bowed and said with a smile: "The senior official has come a long way. It's a lot of hard work, but the junior official is polite."
Fusu looked surprised.
He looked the pavilion chief up and down, and he was a little more curious about this person, but he also smiled, cupped his hands, and said in reply: "I'm not a senior official, but I am a junior official. I dare to ask the pavilion chief Gao's surname. Name?"
"I asked an official about it. I don't have a surname. My real name is October. I disliked the tacky name, so I took it upon myself to change it to Shiyue." As he said this, the pavilion chief himself laughed, with a hint of laughter in his voice. Somewhat bold and open-minded.
Fusu also smiled and said, "It does sound a lot better."
"Chief of the pavilion, we would like to rest in your pavilion for two days, or we may have some official business to entrust you with."
"It's easy to say, if you don't rest and have no official duties, then what do you want me to do in this pavilion? Shi Yue will never miss anything. If the superiors have any needs, there is no problem in telling them."
Fusu nodded with satisfaction.
He was very satisfied with the pavilion chief named Shi Yue.
This pavilion chief was not as vulgar and submissive as the officials in the palace. He seemed to have an official style but also had a worldly ability.
After a brief chat, Fusu gave his transmission to the pavilion chief. After careful inspection, the chief carefully handed the transmission back to Fusu, then turned sideways and said, " The superior asked, and he accompanied Fusu and others into the pavilion.
The pavilion in Da Qin was not only the grassroots administrative office of the village (village) under the jurisdiction of the countryside, but also served as a post station for receiving official officials, and was responsible for delivering official documents.
Therefore, most of the township offices in the Qin Dynasty were located at ferries or road crossings that were convenient for land and water.
The standard pavilion in the Qin Dynasty was six bays, with three bays deep and two bays on the left and right.
The third room on the right after entering the first room is the postal cavalry. In the third room from the left lived a clerk in charge of the mail.
The third room on the right after entering the second room is the pavilion chief's room, and the third room on the left is the guest room for receiving passing officials.
The third entrance is the backyard, which is where the kitchen, warehouse, stables and pavilions are waiting.
As soon as the group entered the pavilion chief's room, Shi Yue shouted: "Hurry up and serve hot soup to the superior."
The words just fell.
There was a middle-aged official holding a large plate with two sets of large and small pots and bowls. He first used the relatively exquisite small pots to skillfully pour hot soup for Fusu and the chief of the pavilion, and then used the large pots one by one. The pottery pot poured hot soup for Gongzi Gao, Ji Heng and others, with a very humble attitude and a smile on his face.
Ji Heng looked calm.
He looked at the pavilion chief and the servants calmly, then silently picked up the pottery bowl and drank the hot soup.
He also had to admit that the pavilion chief had a good way of dealing with people.
At least it prevents people from feeling disgusted.
And from the moment you enter the pavilion, you can feel that this pavilion is quite impressive.
Daily management is good.
With this person's ability, he is nearly forty years old, but he is still just a pavilion chief, which is enough to explain some problems.
The room for improvement at the bottom level of Da Qin is too small.
The reason is actually very simple.
At the beginning of the founding of the Qin Dynasty, due to the lack of officials, the 'Renzi' system was launched, which allowed officials of a certain level to recommend their descendants to be officials. The children of courtiers were unlikely to become officials directly, and most of them served as 'lang officials' who were easier to promote, that is, Among the ranks of lieutenants, ministers, and lieutenants, the children of courtiers squeezed the promotion of local county officials, and the children of local counties squeezed the advancement space of lower-level officials.
One layer is squeezed one layer after another, and officials at the lowest level have basically no hope of promotion.
Fusu took a sip of the hot soup and praised: "The pavilion chief has done a very impressive job."
"Ashamed, ashamed." Shi Yue chuckled and said slowly: "I'm just a small pavilion chief. He manages official affairs and mails for the imperial court, and also manages the people ten miles away. I don't have a lot of things to do. If I don't keep my spirits up, I still can't do it. It’s such an easy mess.”
Fusu glanced at Shi Yue and asked curiously: "When did the pavilion chief withdraw from the army?"
"I was fortunate enough to serve as a soldier under General Meng Tian. During the expedition against Qi, I achieved some military merits and became a centurion." Shi Yue said.
Fusu nodded slightly: "Yes, most of the pavilion chiefs in Great Qin are retired centurions."
Shi Yue showed hesitation, and said with cupped hands: "The superior is wrong. After I retired, I was not the pavilion chief. I was just working as a foreign official in the county government, running errands and running some small errands. As a pavilion chief, I am fortunate enough to get to know him." I was lucky enough to get it by marrying a county official."
“I don’t know how many people stare at this pavilion chief’s position every day.”
"It's hard for a humble official to do this."
Fusu's expression moved slightly, but he didn't ask in detail, he just said: "You, the pavilion chief, do better than most veteran pavilion chiefs."
"When superiors praise you, subordinates should remember it."
Fusu said: "It's late, let's talk about business first."
"Excuse me, sir, what's the official business? Do you need my services?" Shi Yue said.
Fusu said: "We are officials under the Prime Minister's Office. We came to Qin Pavilion to record the history of Qin. I wonder if the director of the pavilion knows. Who in the pavilion knows about the Qin people's foothold?"
Hear the words.
Shi Yue was a little surprised.
He has been the head of the pavilion in Qinting for six or seven years. In the past, no high-ranking officials have come here, not to mention high-ranking officials. Even people from the county rarely come. Those who can come are basically mailmen and those who are sent to do corvee work. Officials, it has been hundreds of years since the Qin Dynasty was founded. Why do you suddenly think of Qin Ting?
He thought for a moment and said in a solemn voice: "I'm not sure about this. I'll go to the pavilion tomorrow and ask."
As he spoke, Shi Yue seemed to remember something, and suddenly said: "I remember that there was a family in the pavilion who always claimed to be Qin Shifu. They may know something about the past, but there are hundreds of hundreds of people between Qin State and Qin Ting. It’s been 20 years, and the city has been changed a long time ago, so I’m afraid there’s very little information I can ask for.”
"Qin Shifu?" Fusu was stunned.
The name made no impression on him.
At this time.
Hu Hai said proudly: "Qin Shifu is the eldest son of Zhuang Gong. After Zhuang Gong passed away, Qin Shifu voluntarily gave up his position as king to Xianggong, and he led the troops to fight against the Quanrong."
Looking at the surprised eyes around him, Hu Hai seemed quite excited.
He has been memorizing the history of Qin a lot these days.
He may not be able to tell what happened in those years, but he remembers those monarchs clearly.
Shi Yue smiled and said, "What this superior said is absolutely true."
"Qin Shifu's lineage was originally from Xichui. Later, when the Qin Kingdom opened up, their lineage returned to Qinting. It has been in Qinting for hundreds of years. The population of this lineage is not very prosperous now. It has not been as prosperous as in the past few decades. Compared with the previous year, it has been greatly weakened, and no one is holding office in the county.”
Speaking of which.
Shi Yue was also quite sad.
Fusu nodded slightly, cupped his hands and said, "In this case, I will ask the chief of the pavilion to invite the descendants of my father to the pavilion tomorrow."
"That's how it should be." Shi Yue answered in one breath.
After narrating for a while, the director of the pavilion, Shi Yue, moved everyone to a large house near the backyard, and also introduced that these rooms were the best residences in the pavilion.
Ji Heng joked: "You say the best is the best?"
"How do I know you won't save the best house for the high official to live in?"
Shi Yue glanced at Ji Heng and said nonchalantly: "I want to entertain the high officials, so the high officials must come. If you have something good at the moment, you have to arrange it. Keeping a good house and waiting for the high officials is a fool. I, Shi Yue Cai, don't do stupid things like that. Our Qin Pavilion has a total of fifteen guest rooms, so whoever comes here will be accommodated as best he can."
"Never wait for high officials alone."
"Whoever comes early will do well."
"If any guests are really dissatisfied, at worst, we will send another pavilion to serve. What else can the guests say?"
"And you guys take Qin Ting too seriously."
"In this small place, officials are not rare to come. Don't laugh, you are already the highest official I receive. People from the county usually don't want to stay here. Those who want to stay live in the pavilion next door. , ours is an old pavilion, the room is not big, and it is not close to the water. You can't even see fish, so who would care to live here?"
Fusu frowned slightly.
Ji Heng smiled and echoed: "At least it's leisurely and clean."
Shi Yue smiled accordingly.
After briefly settling in, Shi Yue left.
Ji Heng took the cow to the backyard, fed it some hay, and then returned to the room where it was arranged.
Twilight.
There is a cool breeze in the pavilion.
A pavilion servant had already brought the food over.
Seeing his food, Ji Heng's eyes showed a strange color.
Not right or wrong.
But it's a little too 'good'.
For a 'bad' person like him, Shi Yue arranged for the censor's soldiers to have meals, which included half a bucket of rice, a quarter of a liter of sauce, vegetable soup, and some leeks.
If he guessed correctly, Fusu might have arranged meals for the officials and officials, while Hu Hai and others were the followers of the noble lord.
This meal completely exceeded the standards of the "Law of Food Delivery".
Ji Heng frowned and said: "This pavilion chief is really a person who is equally affected by rain and dew. He doesn't offend anyone easily. To be a small pavilion chief is really a bit of an inconvenience. But judging from his appearance, he is either clinging to something or worried about it." If you don't take good care of it, you will lose your position as the pavilion chief."
"Nowadays, in Da Qin, it is hard to make a living as an official."
"But the ones at the bottom are in trouble."
"The carrot pit in Guanzhong has long been occupied by people."
"Even the lowest-level positions are beginning to be coveted."
"The first emperor initially agreed to the system of appointing and recommending sons because of the lack of officials, but now it has also produced bad results."
"It's hard to gather the support of the people at the bottom."
Ji Heng shook his head, finished the food on the wooden plate, and returned to his room.
After a long day's journey, he was also a little tired.
He had just finished washing and was getting ready to go to bed when there was a knock on the door.
"Mr. Ji, Fusu has something to ask."
(End of chapter)
