"Do you have any objections?" Chief Assistant Tan Heming said slowly, his calm eyes scanning a circle of everyone present.
"If I remember correctly, it seems that a few months ago, this official of the Exorcism Department named Gu Xu was promoted unusually..." Yin Quan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue and a scholar, 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 had the rare third-level cultivation qualification, Luo Sishou removed him from the job. An ordinary clerk was directly promoted to the eighth rank of Exorcist Department.
"There is a precedent for this kind of thing. Previously, young geniuses like Chu Langzhong and Shangguan Langzhong were promoted by the chief minister in the same way from many humble officials.
"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's view."
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 to be crowned. If he is an official and a sixth-rank official before being crowned, does it sound a bit 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," Liu Qu, the second assistant, retorted, "For someone like him to save tens of thousands of people, For a hero of the common 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. This 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.
Therefore, 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.
Later, 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.
"The Imperial Master believes that Gu Xu is extremely accomplished in the way of talisman and seal script. His cultivation of talisman and seal script revealed 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 talisman.
"After all, the 'Long Night' is coming, and the talisman cultivators have extremely important strategic significance on the battlefield. The National Master wants to improve the ability and efficiency of the talisman cultivators to draw talismans 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 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 academies 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 Grand Master of Qi, he serves as the "Honorary Dean" of Longmen Academy.
Chief 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 teachers, including Dean Li, , were all unconvinced by his proposal.
“They recognized Gu Xu’s extraordinary talent and admired Gu Xu’s actions during the disaster in Qingzhou Prefecture.
"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 famous for being 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 college students."
"It does sound a bit outrageous to be teaching in an academy at the age of seventeen," Shangshu Yin said lightly, "I'm afraid the students in Longmen Academy are older than him."
Second Assistant Liu Qu pondered for a moment, then looked at Tan Heming and said sharply: "Mr. Tan Ge, if you ask Gu Xu to teach at Longmen Academy...will you tamper 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 students has always been very limited.
“Especially a title like ‘guest teacher’ 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, these people may have to wait a few more years before they can wait again. An opportunity like this.”
"This is easy to handle," Liu Cifu smiled slightly, "After the Lantern Festival, we just need to find a time for Gu Xu and those Talisman Masters to demonstrate their Talisman Dao attainments in front of all the teachers at Longmen Academy - who is the best? If you are strong, then this position will be given to whomever. In this way, even if they lose, they can be convinced."
"Liu Cifu's 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 into Longmen Academy despite all objections, no one can stop him except the emperor and a few other saints."
Emperor Tianxing stood high and ruled from the top.
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 did not want to offend the Imperial Master, nor did they want to offend 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, and the person with the most outstanding performance will be 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 "vote proposal", Tan Shoufu took another memorial and said slowly, "This memorial comes from the Ministry of Rites. The Ministry of Rites Officials believe that Gu Xu’s contribution in this disaster is enough to earn him a knighthood.”
In the Daqi Dynasty, the titles were divided into five levels: duke, marquis, uncle, son, and male, among which there were subdivisions such as "guo duke", "county duke", "county uncle", and "county uncle".
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 "Spider" and "Liujue", which are determined by 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 includes fiefdom, but also 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.
"Liujue" is a lifelong title, with only a title and lumi, no fiefdom, and no hereditary status.
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 receive "iron coupons" that can be used to absolve themselves of crimes.
Of course, whether something like "Alchemy Book and Iron Coupon" is really useful ultimately depends on the emperor's wishes. 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 wiped out from 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 believe that he prevented the birth of a 'Ghost King' level ghost, which is a great contribution to saving the world, and can be directly awarded the title of earl.
"Some people also say that he did not directly attack 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 awarded a title that is too high, I am afraid that he will not be able to Convince the public.
"Because they couldn't come up with a result for a long time, they handed the issue over to our cabinet.
"What do you think of this?"
All the cabinet ministers present 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 Princess to decide!"
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 the 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 West Nuan 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, "You have really tried your best not to get married. ah!"
"How do you say this, Queen Mother?" 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 Kuan of the Zhao family in Youzhou, and the other is Jinling Shen. Shen Hua's 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. .
"Do 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 for them to get together. And there is no airtight wall in the world. These disgusting things Shen Hua did in private will sooner or later It will be revealed to the world. 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 the northeastern border under your indirect instruction. And the recent sent The patrol censor who went to Jinling City was also a confidant you secretly cultivated."
Princess Zhaoning smiled slightly 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 a bloodline of the Chen family. At this critical moment, I hope that You can understand the general situation and don't act like other little girls."
"But, Queen Mother, have you ever thought that my surname is Xiao, not Chen," Princess Zhaoning looked at her mother and said seriously, "I belong to the Daqi royal family first, and then the blood of the Chen family. Of course. 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 should be decided by my father..."
"But your father has ignored mundane matters 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 red people, is now in my hands," Princess Zhaoning said with a calm smile, "Mother, do you know? As Daqi, you The queen has actually made a fatal mistake long ago——
"You think too much about the interests of the Chen family."
Having said this, Princess Zhaoning stood up and bowed to the queen again.
Then she turned around 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.
PS: Please vote for me!
