Of course, Sun Tu knew how bad Qin Hui's reputation was in later generations, but this did not affect him from using this person at this time. After all, Sun Tu's reputation in the court was not very good now. And apart from the military, he really couldn't find many helpers in Tokyo, and Qin Hui had already shown a certain talent, but his status was humble, so he could manage it. As for the future, let's talk about it. Sun Tu still has some confidence.
When he said this, Sun Tu glanced at Qin Hui, who showed confusion and excitement on his face. Of course he knew that a civil servant with a Jinshi background would cause great controversy if he took refuge under a general like Sun Tu, and would even be regarded as a scum by his colleagues, but what he knew better was that this was the worst experience he had encountered in so many years. What a great opportunity!
Qin Hui was able to become an official after passing the Jinshi examination in the fifth year of Zhenghe. He was twenty-five years old at the time. He was considered a rare genius in terms of imperial examinations. However, his luck ended here. In the next ten years, he was only released once, but was quickly replaced. In the end, he could only waste his time in the Hanlin Academy in Tokyo, being a person with no hope. Xiaoguan, I have endured this hard life for ten years, and it looks like it is far from over.
And today, finally, at least in his current opinion, a high-ranking official with an extremely prominent position has recruited him. How can he not be moved by this? If it were someone else, he might have declined Sun Tu's kindness for the sake of so-called integrity and dignity, but Qin Hui was very ambitious about fame and fortune, and had already had enough of such a hard life, so he hesitated briefly and quickly turned around. He cupped his hands and bowed solemnly: "It is really a great honor to be appreciated by the Marquis of Yue. I dare not help you with all my heart to capture Xiaoxiao for the Marquis and the court."
"Okay!" Sun Tu smiled with satisfaction: "With Qin Xuezheng's help, I will be even more confident."
"I don't dare, just ask the Marquis of Yue to give me my official name." Qin Hui was a smart man and immediately took the opportunity to close the relationship between himself and Sun Tu. After that, the two chatted casually and soon left the palace. At least on the surface, the relationship between the two was much closer, and they looked like they were at ease with each other.
It wasn't until Sun Tu got on the horse and was about to leave that Qin Hui showed a hint of embarrassment. His family was in a tight situation and he didn't even have a donkey, let alone a horse. He usually walked to the Hanlin Academy on weekdays. Seeing this, Sun Tu waved his hand and asked someone to set aside a horse for him to ride on. Fortunately, among the six arts of a gentleman, horse riding was included, so Qin Hui did not show any timidity. It was just about riding a horse at a gallop. He After all, it was still a little behind, and I could only barely keep up with the team.
Because he had to focus more than 80% of his attention on stabilizing his figure, Qin Hui didn't realize until everyone stopped that the place he was stopping at was not the Dianqian Division or the Huben Military Camp, but a place with a rather narrow front. , the small army station seemed a little deserted. Only by looking at the plaque hanging outside did we know that it had actually come to the Imperial City Division.
The name Huangchengsi is big enough, but in fact it is not a very famous yamen in the city of Tokyo. Even many people in the capital have never heard of such a yamen. The reason is that the errands handled by the Imperial City Department are too far away from the people, and more than 80% of their strength is devoted to supervising hundreds of officials.
And this is already old history. At least now the supervisory power of the Imperial City Division has been almost completely taken away by the Yushitai, so they can only fight.
It's just a small fuss, even if in fact they still have the power to report to the emperor and intervene in the cases of officials in Bianjing, it is the same as nothing. In the final analysis, just because they are considered a military commander system, they have been overwhelmed by the civilian system for a long time, and they are about to find a reason to abolish them!
Yes, this secret spy agency can actually be compared with the two factories and one guard of the later Ming Dynasty, and the terrifying Plum Blossom Internal Guard of Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty. In the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, this secret spy agency can only be described as lingering on, let alone like ourselves. Our predecessors and descendants are so rampant that even self-protection seems extremely difficult.
Nowadays, not only does the yamen look deserted and dilapidated from the outside, but there are only two or three big cats and kittens inside. Even Sun Tu took people inside for a while before someone came up to ask who they were and why they were there. It really makes people feel sad. .
Sun Tu immediately showed his goldfish bag and the documents he had just obtained from the palace, and said seriously: "My official, Sun Tu, was promoted by your Majesty's Imperial City Secretary. I don't know if the Wei Secretary is in the Yamen." In?"
Hearing him announcing his home address, the official's expression suddenly changed. He didn't dare to show any disrespect at all, and quickly led them in with a half-bow: "The Guard is handling official business inside. Please also ask the Marquis of Yue to come in with me."
The courtyard of the Imperial City Si Yamen is not very big. After walking a few steps, you pass through a small courtyard gate and arrive at where the officials work. Opposite the entrance is a slightly larger room, which is the Si Yamen. Zheng Wei Chengnian's public house. At this time, a man with a relatively tall figure and some gray hair inside was holding a book and reading it. It wasn't until he heard footsteps that he raised his eyes and quickly made eye contact with Sun Tu, who was also looking over. They all seemed a little surprised.
It was a sharp gaze that could only be displayed through the habits developed after hundreds of battles on the battlefield. Both sides were a little surprised to meet similar people here, especially Wei Chengnian, who subconsciously looked at Sun Tuji up and down. He kept his eyes open and guessed his identity. It was not until his subordinates introduced him that he stood up and bowed with a smile on his face and said: "It turns out that the Marquis of Yue is here, and I am greeted from a distance by my subordinates."
"Wei Si has spoken seriously. It's time for me to pay homage to you." Sun Tu hurriedly stepped forward to support his movements, and then clasped his fists and said: "I came to serve according to your majesty's order. From today on , I am promoted by the Imperial City Secretary, that is, I am your subordinate, Sizheng."
Wei Chengnian said thoughtfully, and after a moment he smiled and said: "That's too humiliating, and it really makes me feel uneasy."
What he said is not bad. Sun Tu has already been a marquis, and he is also a third-rank official in the imperial court. He is an official who stayed behind after Jiedu, and was dispatched by Marquis Yu, the chief minister in front of the palace. Everything here is far higher than him. Wei Chengnian only holds the post of Sizheng of the Imperial City of the fifth rank. But now, Sun Tu has become his subordinate, and now all the pressure falls on his boss.
But even though he could tell from his demeanor and the goldfish bag around his waist that Sun Tu's identity was real, there was no need to lie about it. Wei Chengnian still smiled and said, "I wonder if the imperial court's contract documents are here? "After all, we still have to check it out.
Sun Tu didn't feel dissatisfied, and immediately handed over the document. Although there was no seal from the Privy Council, just looking at the emperor's seal on it was enough to prove that it was
What he said was true, and it gave Wei Chengnian even more complicated thoughts. As Sun Tu, he still came with the imperial edict. The water here was really not shallow.
In fact, Wei Chengnian already knew that Sun Tu would be newly appointed as the Imperial City Secretary many days ago. At that time, he felt that this was too weird. The Imperial City Division sounds like it has a great reputation, and it was indeed prosperous decades ago, but now it has become a marginal yamen, and it no longer has much real power.
I am only a fifth-rank official, and the promotion below is only from the sixth-rank official position. Even if it is a dispatch, it will not be done by a third-rank high-ranking official with a marquis. So when the matter was dragged out later, and he heard that it was related to the arrangements made by the Dianqian Division, he didn't even dare to inquire about it. He just regarded it as a rumor and could not be sure at all.
But who would have thought that after these days, the rumored Sun Tu would actually come by himself. Moreover, he came directly with the emperor's will after bypassing the Palace Secretary and the Privy Council. There were so many mysteries hidden in it. Even if he was just a martial artist, he could still see a lot of secrets.
After pretending to read the document carefully and making a calculation in his mind, Wei Chengnian smiled and said: "This is still too unfair to Yue Hou. Our Imperial City Department is just a small government office with almost no errands to do. You I’ve seen it too, it’s really empty now…”
"What the Wei Secretary said is wrong. In the opinion of the lower official, there are no useless yamen, let alone the Imperial City Department, which is supposed to be an indispensable security yamen in Tokyo. I have heard it long ago. After all, the Imperial City Department has always monitored hundreds of officials and directly reported the power of the emperor, so how can there be nothing to do?" Now that Sun Tu is here, it is impossible for Sun Tu to let this yamen remain as unknown as before, and now It is not up to him to slowly sort out the various problems here, so I came here today to get straight to the point, or at least to hand over the bottom to the other party.
His words made Wei Chengnian's eyebrows jump: "What do the Marquis of Yue mean by these words? Although our Imperial City Division has these powers, we can't use them now. This is also due to the rules of the court... "
"Rules are meant to be broken, otherwise our Imperial City Division would not be in such a deserted situation today." Sun Tu immediately interrupted: "Sizheng, to be honest, the reason why I am going to report to Your Majesty this time is Obtaining this document is exactly where the name of the Imperial City Division is useful, because next, I will pursue the important case of Tongliao, and the only person who will hear all this is my Imperial City Division!"
"The big case in Tongliao?" Wei Chengnian's expression changed again when he said this, but his eyes suddenly became sharp: "Is this serious? But are any officials involved?"
"That's right, but I don't know if the Wei Department thinks that our Imperial City Department is qualified to investigate this case?"
"Of course! I... I will definitely do my best to help Yue Hou investigate this case to the end!" At this point, Wei Chengnian's eyes were shining brightly. He was not like an old man who had nothing to do but go about his day. The bureaucrat is clearly an old general who is about to go to war again!
And his performance was somewhat beyond Sun Tu's expectation. He originally thought that the other party would use some excuses to refuse, and he had already thought of all kinds of excuses. But now it's good, it saves a lot of time.
It can be said that since he became an official, this appointment in the Imperial City Division was the most worry-free experience!