After the new Jinshi in Liyang, they were often not immediately appointed to an official post. Before they were officially promoted to an official post, they were sent to the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers to practice their political affairs. This was the so-called Jinshi system. After the new Emperor ascended the throne, he went one step further on the basis of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War to patrol the borders established by the previous Emperor himself. He created the precedent of the Ministry of War officials observing the borders. This was originally one of the proposals of the King of Jing An, Zhao Xun, in the past. The purpose was to prevent the Ministry of War from only thinking about military affairs on paper and not being practical. It could be seen that the current Emperor of the Zhao family was especially fond of this young vassal king, who was loyal and devoted during the Jingnan crisis. This time, the Ministry of War was leaving the borders of the capital, which attracted the attention of the whole court. The ranks of the officials of the Ministry of War were not high. Among them, the Assistant Minister of the Carriage Department, Kong Zhenrong; the Manager of the Military Selection Department, Gao Tingshu and the others; and the Manager of the Military Storage Department, Yan Chiji. In the capital's officialdom, they were all typical "hairless" young faces. There were two reasons why the big shots in the imperial court paid attention to them. The first reason was that the first choice for observing the borders was not the expected two Liao provinces, where the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, Xu Gong, was already coordinating with the Eastern Front. It was the northwestern frontier fortress of the Great Desert Smoke, Beiliang Road!
The second reason was that the officials carefully selected by the Ministry of War were extremely thought-provoking. Among them, Gao Tingshu, the new second place, and Wu Congxian, the same year in the officialdom, were able to rise to fame in Tai 'an City. Obviously, it was not enough to rely on their first or third place status. If it were not for Jin San Lang, who spared no effort to add fuel to the fire, they would have been eclipsed by the government observation in two or three months at most. In the Zhao family yamen, where there were many high-ranking officials, the Yong Hui era had lasted for more than twenty years, so there was no shortage of Zhuangyuan, Zhuangyuan, Zhuangyuan, and Tanhua. As for the Jinshi, there were even more. Who in the world did not know that Jin Lanting, who had helped Gao Tingshu and helped him, had regarded the Beiliang Xu family as enemies? In addition, Yan Chiji and Kong Zhenrong's accompanying patrol was even more interesting. The Yan family entered the capital because of a woman, and Yan Jiexi and Yan Chiji became relatives of the Emperor. What was even more unexpected was that the Fourth Prince, who had no ambition, could easily break the unshakable shackles of the Imperial Family's inheritance by not fighting for power. In the end, he smoothly became the Emperor in the south. The Emperor's father-in-law, Yan Jiexi, was previously a scholar of the Dongyuan Pavilion. Yan Chiji, who was often teased and bullied by the playboys of Tai 'an City when he first entered the capital, had now become the Emperor's uncle. Who did not know that the Emperor not only had a deep relationship with the Empress, but also had a close relationship with this gentle and elegant brother-in-law before he ascended the throne? Otherwise, how could Yan Chiji, who was also a Jinshi, become the head of the Armory Department of the Ministry of War? How could he be personally escorted by the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Appointments and even have Minister Lu of the Ministry of War personally greet him? Kong Zhenrong was also born in Beiliang. His father, Kong Dahe, had entered the capital to become an official and joined the Second Prince's tutelage. Kong Wuchi and Yan Chiji were brothers who could wear the same pants as the King of Beiliang when they were young. Adding on Li Hanlin, the only one left in Beiliang, the four of them had visited at least 70 or 80 brothels together in Beiliang, if not 100.
Thus, there was a lot to chew on. Of the four brothers, not to mention Hsu Fengnian, the hereditary King of the border, even if Li Hanlin had a father who was a second-level official in Liyang, what position was he in now? He was just a small crossbow bolt! Moreover, Li Gongde, who was widely recognized as a skilled official, had only been a governor for a few days. His butt had not even warmed the chair before he was quickly pushed aside by an outsider like Song Dongming. On the contrary, in the capital, not to mention Yan Chiji, who had an extraordinary status, Kong Zhenrong was already a powerful figure in the Ministry of War. If they were in any other province, even an old County Governor would have to address Kong Zhenrong as his brother and treat him with great care. Perhaps, the latter would not be willing to accept it.
Not long after they entered the border, they received the shocking news that the Beimang Army was advancing on three fronts. The old men of the Ministry of War intended to take a detour around the relatively peaceful border of Youzhou as an explanation to the imperial court. After that, they would immediately set off for Ji Bei to greet Yuan Tingshan, who had recently risen to power. After that, they would go to Liao Province and meet with Gu Jiantang and the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, Xu Gong. It was supposed to be a safe and peaceful journey. However, they did not expect that they would encounter such a tricky situation as soon as they entered the eastern part of Youzhou. Who knew if that northwest barbarian surnamed Xu would feel that he had been disgraced by the imperial court and become so bold that he would order the Beiliang Frontier Army to disguise themselves as Beimang Cavalry and wipe out all the officials of the Ministry of War?
Among the officials of the Ministry of War, a few old men who had witnessed the dangers of the officialdom hurriedly stopped at a courier station at the border. They discussed for the entire night but still failed to come up with a perfect plan. However, the young and vigorous Gao Tingshu did not agree with them. Not only did he propose to go straight to the Calabash Mouth of Youzhou, but he also proposed to take a look at Hutou City, which was the most impregnable pass in the northwest of Liangzhou Province. The old men, who were already afraid of the cold, were so scared that their lips turned purple. If not for the fact that the Bannerman was a junior in the officialdom who had a good impression on both Gu Jiantang and Minister Lu, he would have been kicked out of the Ministry of War by the time he returned to the capital. Compared to Gao Tingshu, who was like a newborn calf that was not afraid of tigers, Yan Chiji, who had been gentle and courteous along the way, was much more amiable in the eyes of those old foxes in the officialdom. After a torturous night at the courier station, they did not know how many times they had picked the wick. In the end, it was Yan Chiji who came up with an idea that made the old men feel more and more "appropriate" the more they thought about it. The Imperial Uncle proposed not to go to Youzhou Province or the northern line of Liangzhou Province, but to go directly to Beiliang Palace and Mount Qingliang. Liang Shihu, who was in charge of the specific affairs of the Department for Purging Officials, stroked his beard and made up his mind. He squinted his eyes and smiled as he said, "Good."
Official Liang found this young Imperial Uncle more and more pleasing to the eye. Going to Mount Qingliang, which was famous throughout the world, was a good idea. No matter how unruly the King of Beiliang was, even if he had dared to send troops to resist an imperial edict, he would not be so daring as to kill someone in his own palace, right? Besides, with the friendship that Yan Chiji and Kong Zhenrong had built up with the King of Beiliang, even if there was not much left, going to Beiliang Palace would not be a Hongmen Banquet. Besides, who had not heard of the spectacular sight of tens of thousands of carps swimming in Tidehark Lake? There were so many officials in Grand Peace City, but how many of them had the opportunity to see it with their own eyes? After leaving the capital, Gao Tingshu, who appeared to be in high spirits, hesitated for a moment. In the end, he did not say anything that would offend the public. It seemed that Manager Yan's status as the Imperial Uncle was not something that he, the second-ranked scholar with an unstable foundation, could provoke.
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