The next day, the Ministry of Personnel issued a list of appointments to those who had passed the imperial examination, and Gu Yanzhou and Xie Chen were on the list.
Gu Yanzhou, the top scholar, served as a reader in the Hanlin Academy.
In previous years, the top scholar also entered the Hanlin Academy, usually serving as an editor in the academy, which was a sixth-rank official position, while the Hanlin Academy reader was a fifth-rank position, which was a level higher.
Moreover, the Hanlin Academy of the Xia Dynasty was a very important department. Almost all cabinet officials came from here. Once you entered here, you could say that you had a bright future.
Xie Chen, a Jinshi, was appointed as the recorder of Jingzhao Prefecture. This was an official of the eighth rank, not a high position, but Jingzhao Prefecture was a very important place, in charge of all affairs inside and outside the capital, probably similar to the modern city government, with real power.
Most of the other successful candidates were also appointed to fairly good official positions. This shows that the previous rumor was not groundless and that the emperor really wanted to make an exception and employ the successful candidates this time.
There was a huge crowd of people in front of the two people's door.
Later, Xie Chen found Gu Yanzhou. The imperial examinations at that time were not like those later, which only tested eight-legged essays, policy essays, etc. The two were the best among them and of course they understood the situation in the court.
They knew why the emperor made an exception and appointed the candidate who passed the imperial examination. Now the prince's party and the six princes' party each occupied half of the court, and the party struggles were fierce. Sometimes when the emperor wanted to do something, he would find it difficult to get rid of the power.
Employing these candidates without family background may alleviate this situation.
But is it really possible
These days, the Prince's faction and the Sixth Prince's faction have shifted the focus of their struggle to these candidates, using various means to win them over and bribe them.
Now these people seem to be the emperor's disciples, but there is no guarantee that any of them will secretly defect to the crown prince or the sixth prince.
If the emperor appoints them as an exception, he may end up shooting himself in the foot.
Is there no loyal person who is wholeheartedly devoted to the emperor
Yes, but it is too difficult. As an official in the court, you can't avoid dealing with superiors, subordinates, and colleagues. If the people in your department are all princelings, and you are the only one loyal to the emperor, it will probably not take long before you are squeezed out.
And the emperor will not dismiss the entire department just because of you.
The forces of the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince are intertwined, and it is extremely difficult to stand in the middle. For these candidates, choosing a force to join is the best choice. Xie Chen believes that most candidates will do so.
So the question is, which faction should you choose? If you choose the right one, you will rise to prominence, but if you choose the wrong one, your entire family will be executed.
These days, quite a few people came to see Xie Chen and Gu Yanzhou, so Xie Chen wanted to ask Gu Yanzhou what he thought.
"Party strife has been going on for a long time. If it continues..." Gu Yanzhou frowned. He did not want to join any force. He only wanted to serve the court and do things for the people.
"But this problem is not something you and I can solve. Everyone in the court, and even the emperor, knows it clearly, but the only problem is how to solve it?" Xie Chen said.
"We should use thunderous means to suppress everything." Gu Yanzhou said.
Xie Chen looked at Gu Yanzhou in surprise. He didn't expect that he, who usually looked at the bright moon, would say such a thing. Thunderous means would mean rivers of blood. Can the emperor make that decision? That would be recorded in history books and leave a bad name.
Moreover, even if he really decided to do so, would he be able to do it? If he failed, the court would be in chaos. Now there are the Western Rong and Northern Di outside, and if there is another civil strife in the court, the country might be shattered and the family might be destroyed.
The Emperor should not have favored Concubine Wu earlier and allowed the Sixth Prince to become so powerful.
But now, it's too late to say all this.
I guess the emperor is regretting his decision now, but he is in a difficult situation.
Of course, the emperor has another choice, which is relatively simple, that is to side with one party and eliminate the other party. However, after eliminating the other party, the remaining forces will become stronger, and I am afraid that the emperor will not be able to sleep peacefully.
This is also the reason why this matter has not been resolved for so many years.
"What do you think?" Gu Yanzhou asked Xie Chen.
Coincidentally, Xie Chen thought the same as him, but this path was the most difficult. But if it was done, it would definitely change the world and revive the situation.
But how could the two of them, with no background and no connections, accomplish this
At this time, Xie Chen stood up and went to the door of the room to check outside. There was no one outside. He closed the door and checked the windows. Then he returned to the table and whispered to Gu Yanzhou, "I have an idea I want to discuss with you."
"What?" Gu Yanzhou asked.
Xie Chen did not say anything. Instead, he dipped his index finger in tea and quickly wrote two words on the table. Then he immediately wiped them off with his hand so as not to let anyone else know.
Gu Yanzhou looked at him in surprise.
"Those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters." A ruthless look flashed in Xie Chen's eyes, and then quickly disappeared. He did not want to be on the defensive anymore, as that would only make him suffer and regret. He had to make a decision when necessary.
June 2nd is a good day to open a business.
On that day, firecrackers were set off, a lion dance team was invited, and after a lively party, Jiang Yunzhu went up and tore down the red silk on the plaque. The Shiguang Private Restaurant was officially opened.
"时光" may seem a bit strange at first glance, but it is actually pronounced as "食时光" (food time). Jiang Yunzhu hopes that everyone will like the dishes she cooks and eat them all every time.
Moreover, there is another meaning. This restaurant seems to have traveled through time, allowing everyone to encounter delicacies from different eras that have disappeared or have not yet appeared.
It also refers to Jiang Yunzhu herself.
Of course, she didn't tell anyone the latter two meanings.
The name of the private restaurant is already strange, but with the addition of the word "time", people are no longer surprised.
But why are there no customers coming
Xue Jing looked around.
There were firecrackers and lion dancing going on here just now, and there were indeed a few people on the street over there coming to watch the fun, but they thought the name of the restaurant was strange and the storefront didn't look like a restaurant, so no one came in.
"Boss, this..." Xue Jing was anxious. How could the huge capital city be worse than Wuling County? When they opened a business in Wuling County, they were flooded with customers.
In Wuling County, Qishanju opened for business. Gu Yanzhou came with his friends and Li Biaotou came with his bodyguards to support the event. Moreover, Qishanju's customer base is the students of the academy opposite. By making some noise, it attracted people and naturally attracted customers.
But it's different here, this street is not a main street, and their restaurant is at the end of the street, so it's good enough to have a few people come to watch the fun.
Among the people Jiang Yunzhu knew, Gu Yanzhou and Xie Chen came, but they didn't have many close friends in the capital, and as officials, some things were easily entangled, so they didn't invite anyone.
Shen Fengming, Yang Sheng and Jiang Yunzhu didn't dare to let them invite anyone.
She didn't know anyone else, so it was so deserted.
"Miss Jiang, how about I recommend you to others?" Gu Yanzhou said. He didn't expect today to be like this. He felt a little regretful. Maybe he should have invited some people over.
"No, I've already thought this would happen." Jiang Yunzhu was not in a hurry. Her restaurant's customers were wealthy businessmen, who rarely walked around the streets. How could she attract them with firecrackers and lion dances
"Really not necessary?" Xie Chen also asked.
"Really." Jiang Yunzhu was prepared. She entered the restaurant, took out some invitations and handed a piece of paper to Jin Jiaoyue, "Please send these invitations to the names of the people on the paper, and make it clear that from now on, no matter who comes to our restaurant with these invitations, we will open a bed to welcome them."
After so many days of getting along, Jiang Yunzhu has roughly figured out the personalities of Jin Jiaoyue and the other six people. She is the most suitable person to handle this matter.
Jin Jiaoyue took the invitations and saw that they were very beautifully made, with a gold-plated surface and a hollow lotus shape. When she opened it, she saw a brief invitation message, the name of the restaurant below, and some menus attached.
At first glance, she was attracted by the menu.
“Yang Fang Cangyu, Song Sao Fish Soup, Shi Li Ginkgo, Taibai Duck, Yue Chicken in Clear Soup, Luoyang Bird’s Nest…” She knew some of these dishes and some of them she didn’t. But the ones she knew were really famous and some had even been lost. Could Jiang Yunzhu really make them
She has always been calm in the face of emergencies. Although she thought so in her heart, her face did not show it at all and she was still smiling.
After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, she felt that it was possible. Jiang Yunzhu didn't look like the kind of person who would try to be mysterious.
Well, that's interesting...
She continued to look at the invitation, but found that the name of the invitee was not written on it.
Thinking back to what Jiang Yunzhu had just said, "From now on, no matter who comes to our restaurant with this invitation, we will make sure they are welcomed." She seemed to have discovered something interesting.
Once this invitation is sent out, most people will definitely not take it seriously.
But what if this restaurant becomes popular someday? She remembered that Jiang Yunzhu said that this private restaurant only accepts a fixed number of people every day, so what if they can't come in
By then, they will probably be looking for this post all over the world.
Jin Jiaoyue found it interesting and immediately said to Jiang Yunzhu, "Don't worry, boss, I will definitely get it done."
She usually has a smile on her face, but now, that smile seems more charming.
Jiang Yunzhu nodded. A private restaurant doesn't need to be advertised. It mainly relies on word of mouth. Sending out so many invitations and casting a wide net will definitely catch one or two fish. When those one or two fish, no, customers, come and try her dishes, and slowly spread her reputation, she won't have to worry about having no customers.
So, don’t be in a hurry!
Jiang Yunzhu asked Wu Yu to clean the entrance of the store, and then she turned around and went into the store. She still had a lot of things to do.
"Give me a invitation." Shen Fengming and Yang Sheng also came today. When Yang Sheng saw the invitation Jiang Yunzhu brought, he immediately had an idea. He was just worrying about how to introduce his mother to the restaurant for dinner, and now it's all right.
In the evening, Yang Sheng returned home and handed the note to Mrs. Yang, "Mom, don't you keep complaining that your mouth is empty? There's a new restaurant here, why don't you go and try it?"