Wei Ci was stunned when he heard the two words' Xu Ke 'from Cheng Jing's mouth. His expression was one of astonishment.
"Senior Brother, why …"
Wei Ci rarely used the form of address he used when he was younger. Cheng Jing was older than Wei Ci and had taken good care of him when he was studying. Wei Ci used to call him "Senior Brother". However, as they grew up, the close relationship between fellow disciples turned into a friendship between gentlemen, and they began to address each other by their proper names.
Cheng Jing asked Wei Ci in return, "You think it's hard to guess? Or, do you want to know why I guessed that the person you mentioned was Xu Ke? Zixiao, don't you think that among all the officials under Lord Jiang's banner, only Xu Ke stands out from the rest? He's more special than Qiguan Rang. "
Wei Ci was silent for a while.
"Senior Brother, can you tell me … what's so special about him?"
Cheng Jing got up and looked around. After confirming that there were no outsiders, he cautiously sat back down.
"Among the important officials under Lord Jiang's banner, there are three who have the lowest status — Zixiao. I am not looking down on their backgrounds, but this is an undeniable fact — Yang Si, Qiguan Rang, and Xu Ke. Among the three of them, Yang Si can be considered the master's adopted son. His studies and enlightenment were all taken care of by the master, but it is an indisputable fact that his mother came from a prostitute's family. Not to mention Qiguan Rang, he was born from a girl at the border of Dongqing forced by the horse bandits of the Northern Borderline. He was of mixed blood and was not recognized by the two tribes. His birth was equally disgraceful and had been criticized for many years. "
What Cheng Jing said was the truth. It was also what Yang Si and Qiguan Rang hated the most when people mentioned it.
"… The third person, Xu Ke …" Cheng Jing paused at the mention of Xu Ke. Compared to Yang Si and Qiguan Rang, Xu Ke's presence was almost non-existent. He would only occasionally attract the attention of the outside world. "Xu Ke offended the aristocrats when he was young. Even though he killed them out of filial piety, this cannot hide the fact that he was branded and exiled. Even though he was released from his lowly status by Lord Jiang and returned to a respectable status, the obvious tattoos on his face could not be concealed. Anyone who has seen him would know what kind of background he has … "
After saying so much, Cheng Jing was a little thirsty. He poured himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat.
"In terms of status, the three of them are equally matched."
Wei Ci said, "My Lord has never been particular about one's family background, only about one's ability and moral character."
Cheng Jing nodded in agreement. "That's right. After so many years of observation, she has indeed implemented this very well. She has never shown any favoritism. But here comes the question. Has Lord Jiang really not been biased in these past few years? Zixiao, ask yourself honestly. If this question was asked to you, you wouldn't be able to answer it either, right? Had Lord Jiang ever shown favoritism? To Xu Ke, she's probably the most biased person. "
Wei Ci's face turned cold after hearing this. He pursed his lips and did not answer.
Cheng Jing said, "Xu Ke, Qiguan Rang, and Yang Si. Other than Yang Si, the other two were acquainted with Lord Jiang when he was young. There was no need to mention Xu Ke. Not only was he the first person to meet Jiang Jun, he was also Jiang Jun's study attendant when he was young, a steward who had been entrusted with heavy responsibilities. If Lord Jiang was just an ordinary nobleman, Xu Ke wouldn't have mistreated him if he had been her housekeeper and accountant. But Lord Jiang is not an ordinary aristocratic son. She has walked from humble beginnings to where she is today. She is only one step away from ascending the throne and she will become the future emperor of the world. "
All these years, Cheng Jing had been observing the world from the perspective of a bystander. At the same time, he had also observed Jiang Xu. Ji and the other officials.
After observing for a while, he found Xu Ke to be an anomaly.
In terms of friendship, no one could compare to him and Jiang? Ji's childhood friendship.
In terms of talent, Xu Ke could not be compared to Jiang Qinghu. Ji Ye had been taking care of the rear for so many years and had put in a lot of hard work.
In terms of reputation, he was at the bottom of the list of important ministers.
"Ever since Yang Si followed Lord Jiang, he has been participating in every battle and rarely had the chance to oversee the rear. When Lord Jiang had yet to prosper, she had handed over the extremely important Hu County to Yang Si, ordering him to train the troops and take charge of all affairs in Hu County. After that, he gave him the authority to deal with the Xu brothers. After that, Yang Si's official career was even smoother, and he had many military achievements. Relying on these military achievements, who would dare to be presumptuous and despise his background in front of Yang Si? Not to mention Qiguan Rang. His glorious battle record is even better than Yang Si's. The battle at Zhongzhao was truly brilliant. Not only did he have meritorious service to back him up, he also had Lord Jiang's complete trust. Now, is there anyone who dares to speak ill of his family background to his face? "
Cheng Jing's words made sense.
If one looked carefully, one would find Jiang Xu. The Empress Dowager Ji treats her officials who were born poor and commoners really well. It was not that he was biased towards them, nor was it that he could not distinguish right from wrong. Ji Yunshu was the fairest vassal Cheng Jing had ever seen — but did this mean that she was not biased? Of course not. She was biased because she would give these people a chance to make contributions and let them speak with facts. As long as they performed meritorious deeds, any reward would not be excessive. With meritorious service and rewards, their status and weight would rise accordingly.
In comparison, the officials of landowning households were slightly weaker.
Of course, if one didn't look closely, one wouldn't be able to notice it.
Even if they found out, Yang Si and the others also spoke with their strength, and did not rely on nepotism to get to the top, so there was nothing to criticize.
Whether it was the civil officials or the military generals, almost all of them were like that.
Among the generals, Li? Fu Wang, Dian Yan, Jiang Nongqin, Meng Hun … These people did not come from noble families, but they had many opportunities to lead troops and lead battles. They were strong themselves, so it was not difficult for them to accumulate military merits. Of course, this also had to do with Jiang Xu. It was because there were too few generals in Ji Ye's tent. Even if he absorbed Yang Tao's former subordinates in the later stages of the game, there weren't many battles left. He still couldn't surpass these few in terms of Reputation.
Everyone was like that, except for Xu Ke.
It would be hard for Cheng Jing not to notice him since he was so conspicuous.
"Xu Ke and Mr. Jiang have known each other since they were young. Not only do they have a master-servant relationship, but they also share a youthful friendship. Logically speaking, Xu Ke should have won the Emperor's favor the most." Cheng Jing deliberately used the word "Emperor's favor". It was a fact that Ji Ye would ascend to the top in the future. "Yet, the status he possessed did not match his reputation. It could be said that he had lost the Emperor's favor and trust, but Mr. Jiang had handed over all the matters of the rear to him, almost betting his life on it. Who would dare to say that this was not trust? But to say that she trusted Xu Ke, that was not entirely true … No matter how good Xu Ke was at internal affairs, he was not only good at managing internal affairs, but he knew nothing about military affairs. He seemed to have never touched military power even once. "
If one were to say that he was good at it, Wei Ci was also good at internal affairs, but he followed the army year after year, running to this battlefield or that battlefield.
While he controlled military power, it did not hinder him from managing government affairs. It was almost like he was doing both at the same time.
As for Xu Ke …
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