People were not afraid of being together. They were all in the same boat, but they were afraid of being compared with each other. The meteoric rise of the Wang Family made the noble Lu Family more and more discontent. It was said that a proud son of the Lu Family, who had just entered the Liangzhou government, was ostracized by his colleagues. In a fit of anger, he threatened to return to his hometown and said to his uncle Lu Dongjiang, "I'd rather be a ghost in Qingzhou than a dog in Beiliang."
All of this suddenly changed with the formal confirmation of Lu Chengyan as the future Princess of Beiliang. First, a handsome son of the Lu Family was able to hold a position of real power in the construction of Beiliang City. His rank was not high, but it was the beginning of the resurgence of the silent Lu Family in the officialdom of Beiliang. After that, Lu Dongjiang, as the backbone of the large family, was even more prosperous and unstoppable. He was promoted all the way until he was now the deputy administrator of a province. He was a Secondary Class Two official and a real governor of a frontier. In the whole territory of the Central Plains, the famous scholar Lu Huabo, who was only in his early forties, could be considered the youngest local civil official leader.
This time, Lu Dongjiang rushed from Lingzhou to North Resisting City. There were six young people from the Lu family in the caravan. There were four branches in the Lu family, and each branch had at least one person who received this honor. They were able to meet the young Vassal King together with the Vice Administrator. In addition to Lu Chengsong, who was an outstanding talent of the younger generation, who was originally an official in Beicheng, there were a total of seven young people following behind Lu Dongjiang. Under the guidance of a military counselor wearing a green gown with a seal and ribbon hanging from his waist, they headed toward the study room next to the Second Hall's Qiushi Hall. Lu Dongjiang deliberately asked Lu Chengsong to walk side by side with him. Lu Chengsong was now in charge of the new city's provisions. He was officially promoted from a turbid to a clear rank. In layman's terms, he was promoted from an official to an official. Therefore, the deputy administrator, who had high hopes for Lu Chengsong, was full of smiles. Listening to the son of the Lu Family talking about some interesting stories in Beiliang City, he nodded frequently and could not hide his gratification.
After the unification of the Central Plains, the Liyang imperial court, which had once suffered from the disaster of the separatist regime of the Vassal Towns, delegated far less power than it gathered. Apart from the Wangye who had been conferred the title of King or Vassal, even if you were an important minister at the border, such as Jingshi or Jiedushi, you absolutely did not have the right to establish your own government. Arbitrarily choosing an advisor to serve as an imperial court official with inferior rank was a major crime, which was to migrate thousands of li. However, Northern Liang was an exception. Regardless of whether it was the Liangzhou Border Army or the Guannei officialdom, as long as one reached the third rank, both the old and new generations of vassal kings would turn a blind eye to it. They had always allowed the handful of civil and military officials to set up their own manors and select their own aides and staff. Mount Qingliang and the Protectorate General Manor would basically happily approve of that extraordinary 'may'. Beiliang was an exception, and Lu Dongjiang was also an exception. However, the deputy administrator was a famous scholar. He cherished his reputation and did not promote the members of the Lu Family to high officials. There were more than ten people scattered, most of whom were just some minor officials who had just entered the ranks of the Qing Stream. Perhaps this was a return of a favor to the son-in-law surnamed Xu.
The young man walking at the end of the line was from the fourth branch of the Lu Family. There were few men in the fourth branch. When the ancestor Lu Feichi was alive, the fourth branch was dispirited. This young man named Lu Chengqing took advantage of the fact that he was the tallest among the shortest. Otherwise, he would not have the chance to show his face in the study room. Lu Chengqing had been a nobody in the Lu Family since he was a child. His aptitude was average and his literary talent was average. Naturally, Lu Dongjiang regarded him as a stupid junior who could not be of great use. However, he was gentle and never caused trouble, so he was not worrisome. This time, when they came to Beiliang City to meet the Lord, they brought along this silent young man whose father had died long ago.
Lu Chengqing was alone at the end of the line. His footsteps were steady and he looked straight ahead. He did not look around curiously like other young men of the same generation, nor did he look complacent like the two Lu Family members in front of him.
Unlike the famous Lu Chengsong and the others, Lu Chengqing was still studying hard after he moved to Beiliang with his family. Therefore, when the Lu Family collapsed, this young scholar who had no support in the family was the least disappointed. When the Lu Family rose rapidly, he did not ask for an official position from the head of the family, Lu Dongjiang, who had "both hands full of seals and ribbons", but went to the Green Deer Cave Academy in Youzhou to study. His life was still ordinary. Until now, no one knew his identity as a member of the Lu Family. When his classmates gathered, they would discuss current affairs and state affairs and sing loudly. Lu Chengqing, Lu Chengqing, had never been mentioned. This time, when the family sent a letter to ask him to leave for the border in advance, Lu Chengqing came. He only carried a bookcase and gritted his teeth to hire a carriage. Then, he waited alone in the market town outside the city for the mighty Deputy Provincial Governor. When Lu Chenghe, a peer of the third branch, learned that there was no senior official coming out of the city to greet them, he complained that the people in the city were too careless. If it were in Great peace City, with his uncle's prominent identity, even if the Minister of the Ministry of Rites did not come out to greet them, there should at least be an assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites waiting outside the city. Lu Chengqing, who was ridiculed by his peers as a blockhead, still looked on coldly as usual. He only listened and did not say anything.
The vassal king's study next to the Summer Seeking Hall was not big. There were only four chairs. The young vassal king had one. Of course, Lu Dongjiang had one. Lu Chengsong, who was the local bully of North Jiecheng and the top young disciple of the Lu family, also had one. As for the last chair, after Lu Dongjiang sat down, his eyes indicated for Lu Chenghe to sit down. However, other than the look of an elder encouraging the younger generation, there was also a hint of warning not to complicate matters. This Lu Chenghe was the disciple of the Lu family who did not have a good time as an official in the Liangzhou yamen and resigned. He was also the young famous scholar who left behind those harsh words. It was a pity that this was in Beiliang, where martial prowess was weak and literature was weak. Perhaps if it were in the central plains and Jiangnan, this would be an elegant story that would cause a sensation in the scholarly circles. Lu Dongjiang had long admired Lu Chenghe. He had personally praised him as the high standard of the Lu family. High standard meant high branch, which implied the height of the mountain tree. When Lu Chenghe was young, Lu Dongjiang did not hesitate to advocate for him in the literary circles of Jingan Taoism. Lu Chenghe did not disappoint and earned himself the nickname of "Little National Scholar". He was the only young man who could compete with the relatively more pragmatic Lu Chengsong. As for the dull and quiet Lu Chengqing, he was afraid that he did not even have the qualifications to be looked at seriously by the two young men of the same generation.
There were four chairs in a study room. At that time, the young king stood at the door to greet them. After leading them into the room, he smiled and stood behind the ordinary desk. He stretched out his hand and pressed down. After his father-in-law Lu Dongjiang and the three young men were seated, the young king slowly sat down.
The study was not big, but there were a lot of books and files. There was no ice basin filled with ice placed in the corner. Even if the young king had opened the window before, it was inevitable that it would be a little cramped and hot. This made the Lu family's children, who wore tight clothes in order to not lose their etiquette, somewhat uncomfortable. Several young people standing behind Lu Dongjiang, Lu Chengsong, and Lu Chenghe were a little surprised after looking at the study from the corner of their eyes. The formal study used by the king to deal with important military affairs was too simple and crude. It could be described as shabby.
In the early years, they were far away in Qingzhou, Jingan Province. They were very curious about the degree of extravagance in Beiliang's Wutongin. There was an interesting story in the literary circle of the Central Plains. There was a literary talent in Gangnam-do. He scolded Xu Xiao as the most important thing to be an official in the imperial court. After he retired to the countryside, he belittled Beiliang's border affairs as the most important thing in his life. The old man, who was from an ordinary aristocratic family, was good at writing graceful poems in his later years. His words were gorgeous, and he especially liked to describe fun and drinking. He was praised by the Gangnam-do literary circle as "Writing about the affairs of the rich and noble family, with a melodious style. It can be described as a hall full of gold and jade." However, it was unknown how it spread to the poor Beiliang. His Royal Highness sent a letter to the old man's mansion. The general idea was that the old man, who was from a poor family, had never touched the threshold of wealth in his life. The letter was full of gold and jade, which was vulgar. At the end of the letter, he also gave a gift of "A thousand sounds of rain hitting the banana leaves, ten thousand koi fish sitting in front of me". The implication was no doubt that the old man, who was only an official of Secondary Class 3, had seen a little bit of romance.
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