Idle courtiers

Chapter 176 Seeing Wang Ruoxu Again

What a tortoise, could it be that because this matter involved Prince Yu's mansion, he was afraid of getting burned, so he shrank his eggs?
The more Zhou Nan thought about it, the more he felt right, feeling in his heart: This old man Xu is really a no-brainer, he can eat the saliva he spit out, it is not decent at all, and you can't do it if you don't admire it.Such a person does not mix well in the officialdom, that is a strange thing.

There were still snowflakes in the sky today, and Zhou Xingren was speechless looking at the gloomy sky.It has only been a few days since I came to Beijing, and I have encountered so many things, and I can't rest for a moment.

so tired.

If it was another stunned young man, he would definitely go to ask Xu Jie for questioning at this time.But who is he, the second assistant to the cabinet, is it something you can meet whenever you want?Moreover, the Emperor Jiajing lived in Xiyuan for many years, and the cabinet also set up a value house there, and the four major ministers also moved there.

It seemed that he still had no way to leave the capital and return to Huai'an, and Zhou Nan couldn't help but sigh slightly as he hung on like this.

Unconsciously, he left the Ministry of Rites, and looked to the side again.

It was ninety o'clock in the morning, and it was also the busiest time for the central yamen.The central authorities of the Ming Dynasty had to go to work at Maoshi, and officials of the fourth rank and above in Beijing had to go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony at the back. Although Emperor Jiajing would not appear there for decades, discussions still had to be held.

After a set of procedures, it was already eight o'clock in the morning.The officials returned to the ministry and finished their work, and they would return home from get off work at three to four pm Beijing time in later generations.

Now, when the ministries are at their busiest, officials and book offices are constantly coming in and out. From the number of people entering and leaving, it can be seen which yamen has the most authority.

Of the six ministries, the busiest one is of course the Ministry of Officials, which is in charge of the appointment and dismissal of officials below the fourth rank in the world.

The Ministry of Officials happened to be next to the Ministry of Rites, and Zhou Nan suddenly remembered that Wang Ruoxu was in charge there.When I was in Anton, I got along very happily with him, so I might as well go there to sit and inquire about some news by the way.

Wang Ruoxu's official position is the head of Shandong Qingli Department of the Ministry of Officials. When he went in and asked, Wang Ruoxu was there.Today is the day when he sees things, and he is receiving officials from the Shandong Chief Envoy one by one.

Zhou Nan sat in the outer hall with others, waiting in line.

There are a lot of people here today, about a dozen or so.Most of them are officials of the sixth and seventh ranks, and several of them are from the third rank to the fourth rank, all of them are dressed in high-sounding appearance.Only Zhou Nan was dressed in a grass-green eighth-rank official robe, which seemed very abrupt among a group of adults.

I also saw what was going on in the outer hall, only to hear Wang Ruoxu's growl: "Master Gao, you also came from reading sage books, have you read all the books into the dog's stomach? Last year's foreign inspector, you have to You don’t know why the chief envoy gave you this verdict. The sage said: I will examine myself three times a day. You don’t reflect on yourself, warn yourself, and change yourself. Instead, you come to the bureaucracy. What do you intend to do? ?”

"Hey, do you want to blame my officials, or run away to seek officials? Go back and don't come again."

The tall man who was kicked out came out covered in sweat, his face was livid, and his hands trembled slightly.

Several officials from Shandong surrounded them and asked, "How is Gaozhi County?"

Gaozhi County said angrily: "Fujianzi, this Fujianzi surnamed Wang insulted me too much, my official, my official..."

Inside, Wang Ruoxu snorted heavily: "Why is it so noisy outside?"

The few officials who had gathered around just now were silent and hurried away.

It was too cold and there was no heating.

"Dede..." There was a voice of gritted teeth coming from beside him.Zhou Nan turned his head and saw that it was an old man with white beard and hair and some wrinkles shaking.

Zhou Nan: "You seem to be very scared?"

"No, no, sir, sir, yes yes yes...it's cold..."

"Are you sweating profusely from the cold?"

Hearing Zhou Nan's words, all the officials couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Wang Ruoxu was furious: "Who is making noise outside, how decent is it?"

In an instant, thousands of beaks snorted, silent like cicadas.

Zhou Nan was very envious in his heart: this is the official, this is the real majesty!A head of the bureaucracy is the sixth rank, but the third and fourth rank officials are as obedient as a grandson in front of him. If a man wants to be an official, he must be such an official.

At this moment, Wang Ruoxu came out angrily, stared at the white-haired old official, and shouted: "You are Tongzhitong, Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong?"

Master Tong stood up tremblingly: "It is Tong, who has met the master."

Wang Ruoxu said bluntly: "You were born as a Jinshi in the 11th year of Hongzhi, and you are almost [-]. Why, do you want to be the next one?"

Master Tong: "The old man is still in good health, and Shangsi is the court and father of the emperor..."

Wang Ruoxu interrupted him: "Shut up, you have to be supported when you walk, how can you contribute to the court and your father? I have never seen a person like you who is so in love with you. It is ridiculous. Go back, you guys There are already people in the Qingzhou prefecture, and they are already on their way to the post, what an old bastard!"

As soon as Mr. Tong heard that his position had been pushed, he felt dizzy, tilted his body, and fell down.The secretaries of the two official departments were shocked and rushed down to help them, pinching people and spraying water, making a mess.

Wang Ruoxu said viciously, "Leave him alone. If he doesn't cultivate virtue, he will lose the dignity of the court. If he dies, he will be considered martyrdom." Turning around, he smiled kindly again, and said to Zhou Nan, "Zimu, you came to the capital, why did you only think of coming to see me today? Please, please, please!"

Zhou Nan: "I have met the principal."

"You don't need to be too polite, follow me." Wang Ruoxu laughed, and pulled Zhou Nan away: "Look at the tea, watch the tea."

All the Shandong officials outside were shocked. Who is this eighth-rank official, and why does Wang Ruoxu value him so much?

After entering the inner hall, took a sip of tea, and said a few old words, Zhou Nan talked about his coming to the capital to work.

Wang Ruoxu listened very carefully, and said with emotion: "I said that you, an official, came to the capital with nothing to do. So there is such a story. You actually went to Tang Yingde to serve under Tang Yingde for a month, and you made military exploits, and you contributed to the army. It's rare."

Hearing his praise, Zhou Nan felt complacent and was about to be humble.Wang Ruoxu calmly added: "That's right, you are not from a serious background. If you want to be an official, you can only join the army. Otherwise, you will be a subordinate for the rest of your life. How can you survive? This is the right way."

He sighed again: "Unexpectedly, you reported the Huai'an pro-military case. Yes, we should act like this. There is justice in the world. No matter who it is, it will be merciless if it does something wrong. As for the safety of the body, it is the same as the country. Compared with Sheji, what is it? Zimu, you seem to be a smooth person, but in fact, there is a sense of grandeur in your bones, the old man really misjudged you at the beginning."

Finally, he said again: "Zimu, although you have outstanding talents and learning, you are only a scholar. It is said that you have entered the official stream and can no longer take part in the imperial examination. It is not appropriate to be a pedestrian. , It’s also a great opportunity for you. Next year’s provincial examination, and next year’s Chunwei examination, he will be a Jinshi. In this case, others have nothing to say.”

Zhou Nan smiled wryly: "I haven't touched a book for more than ten years. If I take the exam this time, I'm afraid I will lose my name. I have long admired the master's moral writing to be world-class, and I would like to worship under you to learn art."

Wang Ruoxu waved his hand: "You haven't touched a book for more than ten years, why is this old man like this? Stereotyped Shiwen is just a stepping stone, throw it away after use, it is very boring. If I accept you as a student, I will not misunderstand my son. I really can't teach you about it, besides, composition is just a lot of memorizing and writing, there is no shortcut, you and I will be friends in the future."

In fact, Zhou Nan had no intention of joining the Master Wang's school.This Mr. Wang is an old man who talks about poetry and songs.If you really go to his place to study and study, you may drink and write poetry all day long, and you will be unable to do anything.

The reason why he proposed to be Lao Wang's student was just to further deepen his personal friendship with this official who holds personnel power.

After chatting for a long time, it was already noon in Zhou, and Wang Ruoxu didn't bother to care about the Shandong officials waiting for him, so he dragged Zhou Nan out of the imperial city, saying that he wanted to find a restaurant to catch up with the past.

Zhou Nan: "Your Majesty, you're being polite, let me invite you today!" As he said that, he was about to walk towards a restaurant that looked good next to him.

Wang Ruoxu smiled and took his hand: "Little friend Zimu, what's the point of an ordinary restaurant. The food and drinks here are also ordinary, so let's find an interesting place."

It turned out that there were more than a dozen restaurants, large and small, on this street because it was next to the imperial city.Most of the officials in the central yamen who are tired of eating the chef's food will come here to solve it on the spot, and casually say things that are not suitable for the yamen to those who come to Beijing for business.

There are too many people here, the restaurant is not worried about no business, and the quality of the food is not very good.

Zhou Nan asked: "Is there a good place to go, my lord?"

Wang Ruoxu pointed to the west: "One thousand steps ahead is Jiaofangsi, let's go there to eat."

Zhou Nan bears the name of a vagabond and a hungry tiger. In fact, after traveling to the Ming Dynasty, if it wasn't because he couldn't do it, he would never go to Huajie and Liuxiang on weekdays.For the famous Jiaofangsi, as a history buff, he still yearns for it and intends to take a field trip.

He laughed and said, "My lord, you and I are both court officials now, so it seems inappropriate to go to Jiaofang Division?"

Wang Ruoxu: "You and I were indeed easily impeached by the officials in the past, causing unnecessary troubles. However, this matter is also common. Every one or two days, an official is impeached by the imperial emissary because he went to the court to play. To be impeached There are too many people, and no one takes it seriously. If you really want to be serious, the Ministry of Rites will be the first to refuse. If you start a fight, everyone will be bored."

Having said that, he and Zhou Nan took off their official uniforms, handed them over to his followers, and ordered them to send them home first.

The so-called Jiaofangsi is a government-run brothel.The prostitutes inside are all female relatives who were assigned as slaves by criminal officials, and they are under the control of the Ministry of Rites. ,

The Ministry of Rites, as the name suggests, is the department in charge of the country's ideology, more pragmatic than pragmatic.The main job is to stand on the square outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony every day before dawn, organize officials to line up for the morning court, see who is disheveled or who does not abide by organizational discipline, and record them in a small notebook.

The other is to cast official seals for officials all over the world, and arrange for major agencies to participate in various national sacrificial ceremonies.A typical Qingshui yamen is the poorest among the six departments.

Places like the Jiaofang Division are the legendary gold-selling caves, and the accounts are quite chaotic. Therefore, a certain percentage of the daily income will be used as subsidies for the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

Because of this, the Ministry of Rites welcomes everyone to go whoring, and the more times you go, the better.It would be the best if all the adults can take Jiaofangsi as their home.Otherwise, without this extra money, everyone will starve to death just relying on the monthly salary of a few taels of silver.Even if they don't starve to death, they will be covered with crowns due to malnutrition, and the people of Sri Lanka will be emaciated alone.

Therefore, they will also provide certain confidentiality services for officials' inspection activities of smoke-free industries.

In order for the imperial envoy to report the incident of officials prostitutes, the Ministry of Rites also ruthlessly confronted the Metropolitan Procuratorate several times.

After taking off their official uniforms, Zhou Nan and Wang Ruoxu each only wore a small padded jacket, which looked a little disheveled.

The two of you looked at me and I looked at you, and they both burst out laughing.There are many future generations who "carried guns together, went to the same window together, and went to prostitutes together." The loss of friendship.

(End of this chapter)