No one spoke, and Fang Yun ate his food quietly. He found that it didn't matter if he hadn't eaten for a day, because he had energy to sustain himself. But when he really started to eat, the food on the table seemed not enough for him.
As each dish was almost finished, the plate disappeared, and new dishes appeared soon. The wine never ran out, as if someone was silently maintaining the banquet.
Fang Yun knew that it was the Whale King who was helping him, and these six banquet tables would require at least twenty or thirty chefs or helpers to be on standby at all times.
Fang Yun ate the dishes on the table silently. Li Wenying suddenly looked up at him, his eyes slightly bright, and said, "The reward from the court has come down."
The others also raised their heads and listened carefully while sending replies to the messages.
Fang Yun said: "Please tell me, sir."
Li Wenying said: "The title has been decided. The left prime minister first requested to be conferred the title of Marquis of Zhou, which is Marquis Wen, the same rank as the third grade."
"Congratulations, Marquis Fang Wen." The officials and scholars of Jing State stood up together and bowed respectfully. Even though Fang Yun was just a teenager, they did not show any neglect.
From today on, Fang Yun’s status is the same as that of a third-rank official.
Others of lower status also stood up to congratulate, while those of higher status sat down to congratulate.
Fang Yun sat steadily on the chair, his waist straight, and glanced at everyone with a faint smile, nodded, and said, "Please take a seat."
Almost in an instant, Fang Yun seemed to have an extra layer of official authority, and even his eyes became more majestic and profound.
Many people praised him in their hearts. If Fang Yun was still as humble or indifferent as before, it would be disrespectful.
Yang Yuhuan moved her body slightly, feeling restless. She secretly observed Fang Yun and found that Fang Yun looked a little strange at this moment. He looked very much like those officials sitting in a sedan chair carried by eight people.
After everyone sat down, Fang Yun's official authority gradually faded. He glanced at Yang Yuhuan, gently squeezed her hand under the table, and then let go.
Yang Yuhuan blushed. She was touched. Fang Yun could have explained it to her later, but now he was telling her that he hadn't changed. This almost melted her heart.
The little fox was puzzled. He tilted his head slightly to look at Yang Yuhuan's hand, then stretched out his claws and pressed on Yang Yuhuan's hand. After careful observation, he found that Yang Yuhuan's expression did not change at all. He sighed and retracted his claws.
Li Wenying nodded. His eyes were full of praise, and he said, "In addition, your Three Character Classic was accepted by the Holy Temples, and you were promoted one level for your literary merit. You led the human race elites into the Comet Corridor, and the Holy Court recommended you for a promotion one level. You won the literary competition in Xizhou, and were promoted two levels. With your previous literary merit, if you have passed the palace examination and can enter politics, what rank can you get?"
Fang Yun recalled briefly and said, "Fourth rank."
Several officials almost rolled their eyes. This was horrible.
The rank of a third-rank official is high, but it is only a title, without real power, although everyone here respects him. The power of a third-rank official is not as great as that of a county magistrate.
But the fourth-rank civil officials were different. Once Fang Yun passed the palace examination, the court had to assign him a position corresponding to the fourth-rank, no matter how important that position was. But he could actually exercise the power of the fourth-rank.
For those who are devoted to the Holy Way, official positions in the country are far less important than those in the Holy Academy, but 99% or even more scholars cannot seek positions in the Holy Academy. They can only serve as officials in various countries.
Even Zeng Yuan, who was used to seeing the world, was speechless looking at Fang Yun. Not to mention that their Zeng family was a sub-sage family, even the Kong family, a sage family, could not directly become a fourth-rank official after passing the palace examination.
"If I remember correctly, Wu's white-robed half-saint Chen Qingzhi had outstanding military achievements when he was young. After becoming a Jinshi, he was only a general of the fifth rank. He was unprecedented and unparalleled. Now, Fang Yun is the first 'commoner official' in history."
Feng Zimo said: "First, if Fang Yun can win the first place, he will be promoted to a higher rank. Second, it will be at least a year before the palace examination in which Fang Yun participated ends. If he can make another contribution, it will be a big deal."
Prefect Dong exclaimed, "Fang Yun will not become a third-rank official after the palace examination, right? A governor of a state is only a third-rank official! Lord Jianmei is only a third-rank official at this time!"
Li Wenying shook his head helplessly. Although his literary skills were good enough to make him a second-rank official and allow him to serve as the Minister of Six Ministries, he was more than thirty years older than Fang Yun.
"Unconsciously, Fang Yun... no, Fang Wenhou has turned into a monster. His poems are known all over the world because of his outstanding talent, but to be a 'third-rank commoner', only one with solid literary skills can be qualified. There is no exaggeration in this." Chen Zhiling said.
"Let's not talk about it. Comparing yourself with others makes you angry. I worked hard until I was over 40 years old, but I was only a prefect. Fang Wenhou is much better. As long as he becomes an official, he will be at least four levels higher than me!"
"Lord Li, please talk about something else! It's better not to mention this kind of news that makes us upset!" Zeng Yuan said.
Everyone couldn't help laughing, and Fang Yun himself laughed helplessly. He would rather exchange this fourth-rank official position for a direct promotion to the rank of Jinshi, but unfortunately he couldn't do it.
Li Wenying continued: "Appoint him as the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor."
No one was surprised this time. Before, Fang Yun was the prince's tutor. Now that he had made such great contributions, he became the prince's tutor. He was considered the prince's teacher. Although it was an honorary title and Jing Kingdom did not even have a prince, being the prince's tutor was a great honor. If there really was to be a prince, the position of the prince's tutor would be the cornerstone of a future important official.
"Appoint him as a cabinet minister." Li Wenying showed a faint smile on his face and glanced at everyone, observing their reactions.
This time everyone was completely speechless. They actually gave Fang Yun the real power to participate in politics!
The cabinet is the highest official body in a country. Nominally, it is responsible for all powers except military power, because military power belongs to the monarch. But in fact, because the grand marshal is also a member of the cabinet, the cabinet has already grasped all power in Jingguo.
The cabinet is divided into three levels.
The first are the four prime ministers, namely the Left Prime Minister, the Right Prime Minister, the Assistant Prime Minister and the Minister of Literature. They have the highest status and are capable of changing a country's national policy.
The second level is the Cabinet Council, which includes the six ministers, nine ministers, several important officials in the army, and several important officials such as Li Wenying. There are less than 30 people. Once the four ministers cannot reach a consensus, the Cabinet Council will be needed to negotiate. Although the choice of the Cabinet Council cannot change a country's national policy, it can influence a country's national policy.
The third level is the Cabinet Walking Officials. During normal cabinet meetings, Cabinet Walking Officials have no say. However, if something particularly serious happens, officials with the title of Cabinet Walking Officials can participate in decision-making and discuss state affairs. Each of them has the ability to influence a state.
Li Wenying is the only one in Jiangzhou who is a cabinet councilor, ranking second among the officials of Jingguo, while Gezhou Mu and Lu Dudu are cabinet walkers. Except for these three, the current officials of Jiangzhou are not in the cabinet. There are a few university scholars or Hanlin who have returned home to retire and still have the title of cabinet walkers, but they basically do not participate in political affairs.
With the title of Cabinet Walking, there is no doubt that Fang Yun is already the fourth person in Jiangzhou. As long as Fang Yun is willing, he can directly participate in the cabinet meeting and go to court with the civil and military officials.
The most powerful power of the cabinet is that no matter in the army, government or academy, once a major incident occurs, as long as there is no third-rank official present, Fang Yun can take over everything and immediately become the highest commander. Everyone must listen to him, and he has the power to execute first and report later.
Everyone present had a very good understanding of the officialdom. Even if Fang Yun was promoted directly to the third rank in the future, he might go to an unpopular government office and would not have much power. But now he was directly awarded the title of a cabinet minister, which meant that Fang Yun had gained great power several years in advance.
"The Queen Mother values you very much. You must not let her down." Prefect Dong's tone was extremely heavy. Only these officials knew how important this title was. For most officials in Jing State, the highest expectation in their lifetime was to be a "cabinet walker."
Fang Yun nodded silently. He was also surprised by this additional title. With this additional title, even if he did not have an actual official position, he would have enormous power. Taking down a county magistrate would be just a matter of a word.
Fang Yun thought of the empress dowager's "four praises" that day. She named him a model of literati. That was definitely not just a simple matter of increasing his literary reputation. It was more like protecting him. And this time, he was directly appointed to the cabinet as a walk-on, which was like a talisman.
Although the amulet is good, it also means that a huge threat is coming.
"I can almost imagine the chaos in the court. The additional title of Cabinet Walking is bound to cause huge controversy." Feng Zimo shook his head.
"I didn't even dare to allow Fang Yun to be a 'cabinet minister' in the memorial requesting merit. However, it is enough for Wen Hou to have this real power in Qing State. After all... his ambition is not in Jing State." said Prefect Dong.
Everyone knows that Jingguo does not allow dragons to stay in Chi, and the Holy Courtyard is Fang Yun’s final destination.
"Good news. With the title of Marquis Wen and the title of Cabinet Assistant, Fang Yun can now recruit a small team of private soldiers, which will greatly guarantee his safety in the future. I am curious about the attitude of the Left Prime Minister at this court meeting."
Li Wenying said: "You seldom speak, but every word you say is to help Fang Yun. However, when the Queen Mother promoted you to be a minister in the Cabinet, the Left Prime Minister hesitated to make a decision, and finally agreed reluctantly."
"Could it be that the left prime minister has changed his temperament?"
"It should be that the Left Prime Minister saw that the situation was impossible and had to agree. As before, he sent his lackeys to oppose the proposal, and he made the final decision based on the debate on the spot."
"That's what I expected."
"Fang Yun should find a way to get rid of the private soldiers. That is extremely important and concerns your life. If you don't have it now, I can help you make some connections and pick some docile monsters from the holy worlds to get rid of your private soldiers." Zeng Yuan said.
Fang Yun recalled what he had seen and heard in Kongcheng. The monsters and barbarians there had been completely tamed, and they would be perfect as private soldiers.
"Thank you, Brother Zeng. I will slowly look for private soldiers, and I may have to trouble you soon." Fang Yun said.
"No trouble. Please continue, Lord Li." Zeng Yuan said.
Li Wenying said: "Not only Fang Yun and his children and descendants were given titles, but even his parents were posthumously conferred titles. And Yang Yuhuan was valued by the empress dowager, and was first conferred the title of sixth-rank imperial edict, and was also promoted to a palace attendant. In the future, when she goes to the capital, she can enter the palace to listen to the empress dowager's teachings."
"Thank you, Queen Mother." Yang Yuhuan said hurriedly. (To be continued...)