"It's him …" Xu Qi'an suddenly realized and thought of the great scholar who freeloaded his poems.
He didn't know Yang Gong, but when it came to Recluse Zi Yang, he was well-known. This guy took advantage of the fact that he forgot the name of the farewell poem and forced the name of the poem after Erlang recited it.
He was extremely shameless.
Xu Qi'an later used poems to tease the three great scholars of the Academy and then freeloaded them with peace of mind. He was inspired by Recluse Zi Yang and didn't feel guilty at all.
When people wandered in Jianghu, they would either freeload or freeload.
After hiring a carriage near the dock, Inspector Zhang sat in it and lifted the curtain of the window. He continued, "Recluse Zi Yang was the top scholar in the 14th year of Yuanjing. He retired the next year and taught in the Academy. He had students all over the world."
Xu Qi'an was surprised. "Retired the next year?"
The top scholar could enter the Hanlin Academy, and the Shu Jishi of the Hanlin Academy was called the Prime Minister. In other words, the top scholar could compete for the position of the Prime Minister.
Retiring the next year was a big loss!
"It was because of the internal strife in the court. Although the parties are fighting fiercely now, they are united against the scholars of the Yunlu Academy." Inspector Zhang sighed.
"After Recluse Zi Yang became the top scholar, he was thrown into a corner and no one cared about him. He was depressed for a year and lingered in the Musical House every day. The next year, he resigned and went back to the Yunlu Academy to teach. "
"… I heard that he freeloaded for nearly a year." Xu Qi'an envied him from the bottom of his heart.
Inspector Zhang could only sigh at the fact that Recluse Zi Yang was being oppressed by the various factions in the imperial court.
Because Xu Qi'an had a little brother in the Yunlu Academy, he knew it clearly.
The fight for the national capital two hundred years ago made the royal family afraid and disgusted with the scholars of the Yunlu Academy. Therefore, the Second Sage Cheng rose and founded the Imperial College to replace the Yunlu Academy to send talents to the court.
It could be said that there was a conflict of interest and orthodoxy between the two parties. If the Yuanjing Emperor wasn't crazy about balance, Recluse Zi Yang would probably still be teaching in the Academy.
"Recluse Zi Yang's talent and skills are first-class. When he first arrived in the Qingzhou, he cleaned up the government office with a thunderous force. Within a month, he removed or imprisoned 178 corrupt officials, which shocked the entire Qingzhou officialdom." Inspector Zhang said with admiration.
"So reckless?" Although it was said that a new official had to make drastic changes, a high-ranking official who was sent out of the capital should take his time even if he wanted to clean up the officialdom of Qing Province … How long had it been since Recluse Zi Yang accepted the appointment of the imperial court and became the administrative envoy of Qing Province?
Xu Qi 'an was puzzled. He frowned and said, "Does the court allow him to make such a big move?"
Inspector Zhang said with a smile, "During the period of investigation, the parties in the court fought fiercely and couldn't cooperate anymore. There was also Duke Wei holding them back …"
He gave Xu Qi'an a look that said "you understand" and continued, "Moreover, Recluse Zi Yang is a shrewd person. He got all the evidence he needed and made the criminals spit out what he needed to say … Hmm, the scholars of the Yunlu Academy are the best at reasoning, aren't they?"
The 'reason' that Sir mentioned should be the reason of physics … Xu Qi 'an understood and smiled at Inspector Zhang.
After arriving at the official courier station in the Qingzhou, Inspector Zhang specially brought Xu Qi'an to the government office to visit Recluse Zi Yang.
Xu Qi'an already understood the reason why Inspector Zhang took the initiative to talk. This experienced and capable Inspector was afraid that Recluse Zi Yang wouldn't buy it, so he dragged him along.
After all, this Inspector was patrolling Yunzhou and not Qingzhou.
With Xu Qi'an tagging along, Recluse Zi Yang would definitely give him face and agree to all his requests.
After entering the government office, the officials led the group into the inner hall and they took their seats.
"The Minister went to the government office to inspect the Commandment Stele."
The one who received them was the Left Councilor of the government office, a Secondary fourth-rank official.
Inspector Zhang muttered, "Is it the stone stele in the front yard?"
The Left Councilor nodded with a smile. "The Minister wants to erect the Commandment Stele to warn all the officials in the Qingzhou to be honest and to benefit the people."
Inspector Zhang nodded. This was the aftermath of cleaning up the bureaucracy. "The Minister has put a lot of thought into this, but why is there nothing on the Commandment Stele?"
The Left Councilor said helplessly, "The Minister hasn't thought of what to carve and has been worrying about this recently. He asked us to brainstorm and provide us with inspiration, which caused us to be burdened. "
Recluse Zi Yang is so smart, knowing how to organize an essay contest … Xu Qi'an thought.
The Minister was in charge of administrative matters and was equivalent to a high official in Xu Qi'an's previous life.
Daibun's territory was divided into 16 states. Xu Qi'an understood states as provinces, but not every state was a province. There were many small states.
For example, Qingzhou had more than ten states under its jurisdiction, and there were prefectures and counties.
…
At this time, the Minister Yang Gong led a group of Qingzhou officials into the Qingzhou government office. The magistrate of the government office accompanied him humbly.
Yang Gong, who was dressed in a red robe, stood in front of the Commandment Stele and nodded with satisfaction. "Everyone, do you have any suggestions for the inscription?"
In just a few months, the scholarly aura he exuded gradually disappeared and was replaced by the prestige of a government official.
"I think that we can engrave the Minister's deeds of eliminating corrupt officials and upholding justice on the stele as a warning to future generations." The Qingzhou magistrate bowed with his hands in front.
Yang Gong was a little moved. In this way, the inscription would definitely be recorded in Qingzhou's local annals for future generations to sing.
But he quickly rejected this suggestion. "It's not good to have too many inscriptions, otherwise it will be complicated and not eye-catching enough."
"Then let's engrave a poem," an official said subconsciously.
Then, he realized that everyone present was looking at him calmly …
The official laughed a few times and did not speak.
For a scholar who was well-read, writing a poem was not difficult. Who didn't have a few works when they were young? It was a different matter whether they could make it to the hall of elegance.
For this kind of poem to be engraved on the stele, not only must it be written well, it must also serve as a warning to future generations. It was not easy to write it.
During the discussion, an official from the Minister's office came to the magistrate office on horseback. He trotted in and stood not far away. He cupped his fists and said,
"Minister, an Imperial Inspector has arrived in the capital. He has already arrived at the Minister's office."
Imperial Inspector? Did this year's Imperial Inspector come so quickly? The year of the Gengzi was the year of the Imperial Inspector. According to the usual practice, the Imperial Inspector in the capital should wait for the results of the Imperial Inspector in the capital before sending an Imperial Inspector down.
This involved the unspoken rules of the officialdom. The end of the Imperial Inspector in the capital also meant that the battle between the various parties had come to an end. Who won and who lost was already a foregone conclusion.
Only then would the Imperial Inspector be sent down to remove the officials from the losing camp.
Yang Gong, who had received the letter a few days in advance, explained, "He is not here for Qingzhou. He is going to Yunzhou and is just passing by our Qingzhou on the way."
Yunzhou … All the officials had an understanding look on their faces.
Yang Gong looked at the official and said, "Tell the Imperial Inspector that I have important matters to attend to, so I will not be seeing him. If he needs anything, tell him to look for the Left and Right Counselors. "
Yang Gong was a great scholar from the Yunlu Academy. He did not have the same relationship with the officials in the imperial court, let alone any friendship. He was still distressed about the inscription on the stele and could not be bothered to deal with the unfamiliar Imperial Inspector.
"Yes!" The official responded first, then added, "The Imperial Inspector also asked me to bring a message to you."
Yang Gong and the other officials looked over.
The official said, "Copper-Gong Xu Qi'an will be accompanying him."
Who was Copper-Gong Xu Qi'an? All the officials did not react for a moment, but Yang Gong did because he had been paying attention to the situation in the capital and had been communicating with the great scholars from the Yunlu Academy.
"Get up and return to the administrative office." Yang Gong's attitude changed by 180 degrees. His tone was filled with urgency and joy.
"Get up quickly."
With that, he left the officials and walked straight out of the magistrate's office.
This … All the officials from the Qingzhou looked at each other blankly and looked at the back of Yang Gong in confusion.
"Who is Copper-Gong Xu Qi'an? The name sounds familiar. "The magistrate of the Qingzhou frowned.
"Why don't we go to the administrative office and receive the Imperial Inspector from the capital?"
"That makes sense. Let's go."
The officials left the magistrate's office together. One by one, they set off towards the administrative office.
…
Xu Qi'an did not wait long at the administrative office. A man dressed in a scarlet robe came. The man had a simple face and a goatee that was popular among middle-aged and old people. His eyes were bright and full of vigor, and he looked dignified without being angry.
He was a man with an imposing manner.
There was a golden pheasant embroidered on his chest … He was a second-rank official. The administrative office seemed to be a second-rank official.
Xu Qi'an only recognized the clothes and not the person. He guessed that the imposing man in the scarlet robe should be the administrative office of the Qingzhou, the great scholar from the Yunlu Academy, the one who had received his farewell poem for free, Recluse Zi Yang.
After bowing to Imperial Inspector Zhang, Recluse Zi Yang turned his gaze to Xu Qi'an, who was dressed in black and had a magic gong tied to his chest. He examined him silently.
At this moment, he was not excited. There was a hint of dignity in his gentleness.
"Only he has a gong, so he must be Xu Cijiu's cousin … Based on appearance, the two brothers are not similar at all … Compared to Cijiu, there is a big gap …" Yang Gong smiled.
"You are Xu Ningyan?"
Xu Qi'an quickly cupped his hands, "Yes, I am."
"You don't have to be reserved in front of me. You can call yourself a student." The smile on Yang Gong's face widened. He said, "You are indeed a talented man, not inferior to Cijiu."
"Recluse Zi Yang has good taste …" Xu Qi'an said happily, "You flatter me."
After some polite greetings, Yang Gong asked about the current situation in the capital, even though he had learned a lot of inside information through the letters sent by the Academy.
It was indeed a correct decision to bring Xu Ningyan to visit. Otherwise, the administrative office would not have such an attitude … Imperial Inspector Zhang sighed, "The situation in the capital is chaotic, and the factions are still fighting fiercely …"
Then, he talked about the Sampo Case to the Yunzhou case of the Minister of Works.
Recluse Zi Yang sneered as he listened, but he did not comment too much on the situation in the imperial court. The main reason was that Imperial Inspector Zhang was not one of them. If only Xu Qi'an was here, he would have said it directly.
After dusk, Recluse Zi Yang invited Imperial Inspector Zhang to a banquet in an elegant small courtyard. Jiang Lvzhong was also invited to attend. In addition, there were also a group of senior officials such as the magistrate of Qingzhou.
The small courtyard was brightly lit, and the curtains were lowered. The officials sat at the table, drinking and chatting merrily.
The band and dancers invited from the Musical House danced in the cold courtyard to entertain the adults.
In fact, the original Musical House was purely an entertainment department, specializing in singing and dancing at official banquets. Later, it gradually evolved into a brothel run by the government.
The young ladies were forced to run the business from performing as entertainers to selling their bodies.
The central figures of the banquet were Yang Gong, the administrative secretary, and Imperial Inspector Zhang Xingying. As for Jiang Lvzhong, although he was highly skilled in Jinluo, the night watchman and the civil officials were naturally hostile, so no one liked to talk to him.
Xu Qi'an originally thought that he was the same. He was happy to be leisurely and did not need to pay attention to the social interaction in the official circles.
Unexpectedly, an official in a scarlet robe raised his cup to Xu Qi'an and said tentatively, "Is this little official the poet of 'Sparse shadow slanting across the clear water, faint fragrance floating at dusk under the moon'?"
