The next day.
Zhu Li was hosting a banquet for guests in the living room of the governor's mansion.
A total of four people were invited, namely Jing Hao from Liuyao Academy, Xu Tang from Dongting Academy, Zhang Qiao from Qiuxi Wenyuan, and Mr. Shen from Jixia Academy.
Among the four, Jing Hao, Xu Tang and Zhang Qiao came happily, but the mysterious Mr. Shen, however, said he was not feeling well and did not come to the banquet.
At the banquet, Zhu Li sat at the head of the table, Ning'er sat on his right, and Snotty Zhu, with his clear eyes wide open, sat on Zhu Li's left in a pretentious manner.
This was not Zhu Li's arrangement, but the two little guys insisted on coming along.
The three siblings appeared together, and were also accompanied by three other great scholars: Guo Qizuo, Guo Chongtao and Yan Keqiu. This was already considered a banquet of the highest standards in Shuozhou.
After they exchanged polite words and sat down, Zhu Li stood up, raised the wine cup to Jing Hao and the other two, and said in a clear voice: "You are all great scholars of the time. I am very happy to see you visiting my humble home today. I will only offer you a bottle of wine as a token of my respect."
"Your Excellency is too polite. I have been in Shuozhou for many years. Now I have the honor to have a drink and chat with you. I am also very happy." Jing Hao quickly stood up, raised the wine cup and made some polite remarks.
"The same goes for Xu." Xu Tang stood up and raised the glass.
"I am ashamed." Zhang Qiao also stood up and saluted.
After everyone finished their cups and sat down again, Zhu Li said directly: "There is a saying since ancient times that if you study hard for ten years, you will be able to work for the emperor. Now, eunuchs are in power, saints are silent, war is everywhere, and evil spirits are everywhere. As a result, countless wise men in the world have a lot of knowledge but no place to serve."
"I am a humble man, willing to protect the people with my meager strength. However, I am a commoner, not well-known among scholars, and not favored by the wise. I have worked hard, but I have little strength and wisdom. I long for the guidance of great men. Today, I sincerely invite you three to come out and help me do something practical for the people of Heshuo. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Jing Hao and the other three looked at each other. After being invited by Zhu Li, they knew Zhu Li's intention. Now that they were willing to come, they all wanted to find out the ambition and character of this governor.
But before they could make any tentative moves, Zhu Li directly extended an olive branch to them. This sudden scene completely disrupted their plans and arrangements.
After all, the three of them were all talented scholars of the time. After a brief pause, Xu Tang took the lead and said, "'If the chapters and sentences are not economical, they will never be able to move the five marquises.' Even if we have a sincere heart, I am afraid we are powerless to fulfill your request."
Among the three, Xu Tang encountered the most setbacks. Most people admired his talent but were dissatisfied with his ability to get things done. Therefore, the highest official Xu Tang ever held in history was a county lieutenant.
Whether it is Xu Tang or Zhang Qiao, both of them are great poets whose reputation will last forever. However, no matter how good their poems are, what is the use if they cannot govern the country and benefit the people
"Haha." Zhu Li laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Emperor Cao Mengde of Wei once said: An old horse in the stable still has a thousand-mile ambition; a martyr in his old age still has great ambitions."
"Brother Xu and Brother Zhang also have a sincere heart to serve the country. They are also talented and have a solid foundation. I can first entrust you with one county. As long as you two work hard, when you succeed, I will not be stingy and will definitely entrust you with an entire state. How about this?"
Zhu Li knew something about Xu Tang, although not very clearly. However, in later generations, Xu Tang's works were either about venting his sorrows or worrying about the country and the people. For example, the sentence "I know there is a way to the sky, but I have no way to get there" also shows that he wanted to serve his country but had no way to do so.
Zhu Li, who came from the future, always believed in one sentence: if you have the will and are willing to work hard, even if the final result is not as good as you think, it will never be too bad. Since Xu Tang has the will, Zhu Li will give it to him.
platform and see how far he can go.
Zhu Li was willing to rest assured that an entire county was entrusted to him, which was neither big nor small. This was because both Guo Qizuo and Guo Chongtao were talented people who could support the country in the end. With these two people protecting him, he was not afraid of their failure.
But Zhang Qiao is different from Xu Tang. Xu Tang is now thirty-four or thirty-five years old, in the prime of his life. As long as he is willing to make progress, it will not be a problem for him to become a governor of a state, or even a general or a prime minister.
Zhang Qiao is now nearly 50 years old, and he has taken the Jingzhao Prefecture examination. Apart from anything else, he is definitely good at education. Even if he is not a good county magistrate, Zhu Li can still let him come back to select talents for Yunshuo.
Moreover, this person longs for peace in the world. Such a person is at least not a bad person. What's wrong with letting him try to be a county magistrate first
Zhu Li has said so much, and his meaning is very clear. I am offering you the opportunity with both hands, and how far you can achieve it depends on your ability.
Moreover, the two of them came here today with the purpose of finding out if there was any way out. How could they miss such an opportunity? So they naturally agreed.
Seeing that the two agreed, Zhu Li did not hesitate and immediately appointed Xu Tang as the magistrate of Wutai County in Xinzhou, and Zhang Qiao as the magistrate of Yangqu County in Lanzhou, and they could take office on a chosen day.
After the matter between Xu Tang and Zhang Qiao was resolved, Zhu Li turned his attention to Jing Hao.
In fact, Zhu Li was very conflicted about whether to let Jing Hao take up an official position. This was a famous painter in later generations. If he took up an official position, would it affect his creative work? But if Jing Hao took up an official position, he could make some achievements and benefit the people, which should be more remarkable than being a painter.
Seeing Zhu Li looking at him, Jing Hao cupped his hands and said, "If the envoy wants me to be the county magistrate, I will be willing, but I have an unwelcome request."
Seeing that Jing Hao did not refuse, Zhu Li was overjoyed and said politely, "Sir, you are too polite. If you have any difficulties, just speak up."
Jing Hao looked at Xu Tang, then turned around and looked at Zhu Li again, and said with a folded hand: "Your Excellency, can you let me be the magistrate of Wutai County, and let Brother Xu serve somewhere else?"
After this statement was made, other people present might be very confused, but Zhu Li instantly understood what he was thinking. Landscape paintings, places with mountains and water, are the places Jing Hao most yearns for.
Mount Wutai is located in Wutai County and belongs to the Taihang Mountains.
Obviously, in Jing Hao's heart, he was very happy to be blessed with good fortune, but he did not intend to give up his hobby of painting.
"Okay, I have no problem here. What do you think, Brother Xu?" Zhu Li responded readily, and then looked at Xu Tang.
Xu Tang naturally didn't care, and said, "Everything is up to you, my Lord. I will do my best no matter where I am."
"Okay." Zhu Li was very happy to hear that, and then said: "Then let Brother Jing be the magistrate of Wutai County, and Brother Xu be the magistrate of Huairen County."
Huairen County belongs to Yunzhou.
"Yes," the three of them responded in succession. Once they agreed, their identities were no longer teachers, but the lords of a county, and naturally they became Zhu Li's subordinates.
Zhu Li assigned the three men to three states. His intention was self-evident. The governors of Yunzhou, Xinzhou and Lanzhou are now nominally Guo Chongtao, which means that the positions are vacant. As long as the three of them do a good job, they will become governors. I believe the three of them are very clear about this.
Zhu Li's expectation for them was not just to become a county magistrate, but at least a provincial governor.
Everything was perfect, and everyone was drinking happily. The banquet was very lively. Except for Zhu Li's brother and sister, everyone present was a famous person. In just a moment,
They exchanged beautiful sentences, witty remarks, clinked glasses and cheered loudly.
Although the position of county magistrate was of the seventh grade, he was still a well-known figure in the local area. Being a county magistrate was considered a high-level official. Among the three, although Jing Hao came from a scholar-official family, he had never been an official. As soon as he became an official, he was promoted to county magistrate, so he was naturally happy.
After the banquet ended and the three great talents left, Zhu Ning'er took the well-fed Zhu back to the inner courtyard. Zhu Li then looked at Guo Qizuo and the others with a wry smile and said self-deprecatingly, "If someone else was in charge of such a large territory, they wouldn't worry about a county magistrate. Why do I have to rack my brains and even transform painters and poets into county magistrates?"
"Well, luckily they agreed. If they didn't agree, there would be nothing we could do."
Seeing Zhu Li's bitter expression, Guo Chongtao comforted him, "Your Excellency, don't worry. With the development momentum of Shuozhou's education, we will not lack talents at the county magistrate level in a few years."
This sentence is not only a comfort, but also an expression of confidence. Guo Chongtao is in charge of education. He must know very well what kind of talents will be needed and when.
"Yes, Dai Shuo is doing fine. If the envoy arrives at Hetao and sees how busy Wang is, he'll feel that the situation here is not too tight." Guo Qizuo agreed, nodding his head lightly, seemingly unintentionally but actually giving a wake-up call.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li thought of Wang. That guy was the one who controlled the Seven States remotely. Although he didn't care about small matters, the civil affairs of the Seven States were indispensable. It was a blessing from heaven that he was not exhausted to death.
Thinking of this, Zhu Li naturally looked at Yan Keqiu, and said with expectation: "Mr. Yan, I have to trouble you. Someone must go to Hetao, otherwise the king will not be able to withstand such a torment even if he has an iron body."
"Just give your orders, my lord. I dare not disobey you." Yan Keqiu did not refuse. He followed Zhu Li to Shuozhou to serve, so how could he be afraid of doing things
"Okay, now you are stationed in Xiazhou and in charge of the seven states in Hetao. It's too hard. I want Mr. Yan to be in charge of the internal affairs of Ling, You and Yan states to help you share some of the burden. Is that okay?" Zhu Li looked at Yan Keqiu with an inquiring look.
"Yes," Yan Keqiu quickly bowed and responded.
"Now Meng Juehai is in charge of Youzhou, Wang Zhongyin is in charge of Yanzhou, and Cao Shixiong is guarding Lingzhou. All three of them are surrendered generals of the Cao army and know very little about government affairs. I appoint you as the inspector of You, Ling and Yan states. Not only will you be in charge of the three states, but you will also have to control the three of them. You can make the final decision on important military and political matters." Zhu Li looked at Yan Keqiu solemnly and said seriously.
Being in charge of both military and political affairs is definitely the first case in the area controlled by Zhu Li. This shows to what extent Zhu Li recognizes Yan Keqiu's ability and how much he trusts him. Now in the Tang Dynasty, many military governors do not have such power, right
Upon hearing this, Yan Keqiu solemnly bowed and said, "Don't worry, sir. I will definitely not let you down."
"Okay, I will send Shi Yan to lead 6,000 guards, who will be directly under your command, and go to Hetao together." Zhu Li decided resolutely.
Although Zhu Li was relieved about Meng Juehai, Cao Shixiong and Wang Zhongyin, and believed that they would not betray her, Yan Keqiu was different. They would not be as convinced towards Yan Keqiu as they were towards Zhu Li. They were afraid that they would not be able to accept being suddenly pressured and bossed around by a civil servant.
Shi Yan was sent to Yan Keqiu to strengthen his forces. Firstly, everyone knew that Shi Yan was Zhu Li's confidant, and Shi Yan's escort for Yan Keqiu must have been instructed by Zhu Li. Secondly, Yan Keqiu had soldiers at his disposal and could coordinate the three of them, which would be more secure for the safety of the three states.