Chapter 13 Promotion

Chapter 13 Promotion

Chapter 13 Promotion
Qingshui County Government Office.

The sun was shining, just like Li Dianshi's current mood. He walked briskly to the inner hall.

"I pay my respects to the Master."

"Gongyu, you are now a Dianshi. You don't have to be so polite to me." Magistrate Wu looked at Li Gongyu with a smile. This time, the crackdown on Taohua Temple not only made a fortune, but also settled the treasury account.

Dong Dahai and other warehouse workers collected 1,000 taels of official silver, and 800 taels went into his own pocket.

With so many benefits, he liked Li Gongyu more and more.

Li Gongyu: "I am able to reach my present position because of your cultivation, how dare I forget my roots?"

"Haha, you are a kind person. By the way, what are you holding in your hand?" After some greetings, County Magistrate Wu realized that Li Gongyu came to see him for something.

It's okay if something happens.

When subordinates have something to report, no matter whether it is good or bad, they all go to him!
He was afraid that his subordinates would act on their own. For example, Zhao Xiong before him, who appeared to be submissive, actually did not take him seriously at all.

Of course, as a third-class scholar, his career path was limited. Just to become a county magistrate, he had put in a lot of effort.

It is said that it is unfortunate for three lives to be governed by the Guo family.

Qingshui County was the seat of Jiangning Prefecture, otherwise it would not have been the turn of a third-class Jinshi to be the magistrate of such a large county.

Li Gongyi then took out the storybook and handed it to County Magistrate Wu, but did not directly say who wrote it.

The story is not long. County Magistrate Wu's academic qualifications are not as good as those perverts in the Hanlin Academy. If he were in a local area, it would be a dimensionality reduction attack and you can finish reading it in a few seconds.

Magistrate Wu pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "I just did some small things, how can I deserve such praise, but..." He changed the subject, "This poem is really well written, and the friend who wrote this story is very talented."

At the end of the story, the protagonist, County Magistrate Wu, read a poem.

"Lying in the government office, I hear the rustling of bamboos, and I suspect it is the sound of people's suffering;

We are small county officials, but we care about every little thing.”

This poem alone is worth a thousand gold in the eyes of County Magistrate Wu.

The literati attach great importance to reputation. If this poem were to spread from his mouth, it would surely win him a good reputation and even be famous in future generations.

The key is that this poem was completely tailor-made for him.

It describes his life, his integrity, and his...

Wonderful!

The more Magistrate Wu thought about it in his mind, the more he savored it.

Li Gongyi thought of Xu Qing's instructions and was stunned. "Isn't this poem written by the master?"

Magistrate Wu suddenly realized what was going on. He laughed loudly, pulled up Li Gongyu's sleeve, and said affectionately, "My dear brother Gongyu, look at my memory. I have forgotten the poem I wrote. It's a pity you reminded me."

Li Gongyu was relieved to see County Magistrate Wu smiling. He did not expect that Qing'er's words would really hit the heart of the master.

Qing'er said before that these words would have a greater impact on the master than the previous crackdown on Taohua An.

He didn't believe it at first, but now he has to believe it.

"The master is so focused on public affairs that he naturally doesn't care about personal matters. He is so focused on public affairs that he forgets his own interests!"

When Magistrate Wu heard the word "private affairs", his eyes lit up. "I am a dull person, not a saint, so I cannot be regarded as selfless. By the way, who wrote the story?"

"It is my worthless nephew."

"Have you entered school?"

Only students who passed the scholar title could go to school, and Magistrate Wu's words were meant to test the students.

"No, this child reads too many miscellaneous books and neglects the classics. He was expelled from the community school not long ago." Li Gongyu answered truthfully.

He didn't know why Xu Qing wanted him to reveal the fact that he was expelled from the community school, but his nephew was very smart and there must be a hidden meaning behind it.

Magistrate Wu smiled and said, "This is a good story. It shows that he doesn't pay attention to the classics. But the imperial examination is the right path. When you go back, you must supervise him well."

In fact, writing storybooks is naturally a distraction in today's society.

But Xu Qing did it on purpose, so that it would be easier to explain to County Magistrate Wu why he was previously expelled from the community school.

Since he wrote good vernacular novels, it was evident that Xu Qing was an intelligent man. However, because he was obsessed with miscellaneous studies and neglected the study of classics, he was expelled from the community school.

In this way, County Magistrate Wu would not think Xu Qing was a fool.

What's more, Xu Qing's poem also added a lot of points.

In this way, County Magistrate Wu eliminated the hidden danger of Xu Qing being expelled from the community school.

Even if some of Xu Qing's classmates at the community school pointed out that Xu Qing had no real talent or knowledge after the county examination, County Magistrate Wu would not believe it.

Moreover, this incident can further deepen the relationship with County Magistrate Wu.

Li Gongyu naturally didn't know that Xu Qing had so many thoughts in mind. He said: "My nephew has been studying hard recently, preparing to take part in this year's county examination. But he has wasted too much time before, and this time I think he is ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. It is a good thing for a young man to suffer a little."

Magistrate Wu smiled slightly, "It's a good thing for young people to have ambitions. Besides, the county exam is only the first stage of the imperial examination. How difficult can it be? He still has two months to prepare. I think your nephew is also a smart person. He may not fail to gain something in this county exam. I have a message for you. You can bring it back to him. A scholar must be broad-minded and resolute. The task is heavy and the road is long. Please ask him to encourage himself. However, I am the chief examiner of the county exam. It is not convenient for me to see him before the county exam."

...

...

"A scholar must be broad-minded and resolute, for he has a heavy responsibility and a long way to go." Xu Qing murmured this sentence, and then smiled at Li Gongyu, "Did the county lord really ask my uncle to tell me this?"

"Well, he asked me to bring this sentence to you. I dare not forget it and I recite it silently all day long." Li Gongyu knew that since the county magistrate emphasized this sentence, it must be very important.

Xu Qing: "Uncle must be curious about the meaning of this sentence. Let me explain it to you."

Li Gongyu: "I don't understand what you clever people are saying. Anyway, I just need to listen to you. There's no need to explain this to me."

Xu Qing said softly, "Uncle, I can't be by your side all the time. Besides, you are a registrar, and you will have to deal with all kinds of people in the future. It's better for you to understand some of these things. Besides, it's not that I'm not smart, I just didn't bother to think about these things in the past."

Li Gongyi thought for a moment and said, "Qingge'er is right. I'll listen to your analysis."

He is a soft-hearted person, but the good thing is that he is willing to listen to opinions.

Xu Qing nodded. "Uncle, who do you think is a 'scholar' in this dynasty?"

"Then at least you have to have the title of a scholar."

Xu Qing said leisurely: "The county magistrate gave me this gift, which means that I am also a 'scholar'. Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, my nephew will pass the county examination this time, and even be the first place. Because the first place in the county examination is almost tacitly accepted to be a scholar. Only in this way can one deserve the title of 'scholar'." Li Gongyi was shocked: "First place? But you only have two months to prepare, can you write an essay that can win the first place?"

The essays of the top candidates in the county examination would be posted outside the government office for people to see.

Xu Qing smiled slightly: "It is indeed not 100% certain that I will win the first place with my real talent and knowledge, but the county magistrate has told me the test questions through my uncle. My nephew knows the test questions in advance and has trained for them. How can I not win?"

Li Gongyi suddenly realized, "So this sentence is the question for the county exam."

Xu Qing shook his head: "If the county magistrate does not want to leave any evidence, the test question will most likely be the first or second sentence of this sentence. Therefore, my nephew needs to prepare answers to three questions at the same time."

There are many people in the yamen, and there is a chance that this sentence will be heard by others.

County Magistrate Wu is a smart man. In Xu Qing's opinion, the real test question will definitely not be the sentence that Li Gongyu brought back.

No matter what, the line between heaven and earth has been opened, and the path to the imperial examination and the process of passing the Tongsheng exam are no longer obstructed. What remains is personal effort and struggle.

Li Gongyi was amazed when he heard Xu Qing's analysis and said, "Qing'er, I didn't expect that you could make such a dramatic change in our family in such a short time with just a few plans. I feel like I'm dreaming now."

Xu Qing shook his head: "Uncle, don't think I have made any great contributions. All this is just taking advantage of the situation, and there is also an element of luck in it. If it weren't for the theft of the treasury silver, our family would have to wait a long time to turn things around."

Li Gongyu: "Even if there is luck, it is Qingge'er who is in charge of the plan and can do these things."

Xu Qing suddenly sighed: "In fact, things in this world are 70% up to fate and 30% up to man. Uncle, we got these benefits by luck, but it is not without hidden dangers."

"Are you talking about Zhao Xiong?"

Xu Qing shook his head: "This is only one of the reasons. The biggest hidden danger is that we haven't caught the real thief of the theft of the treasury silver."

Upon hearing this, Li Gongyi couldn't help but blurt out: "You mean the thief is likely to commit crimes again?"

Xu Qing: "Maybe, maybe not. It depends on luck. What I'm thinking is that if this case wasn't done by an insider, the thief's methods must be extraordinary. If he steals the treasury silver again, I'm afraid we won't be able to prevent him."

Li Gongyi looked worried: "What should I do?"

He became a prefect because of the theft of the treasury silver. If the treasury silver is stolen again, wouldn't it prove that they were forging it before?

Of course, if one were to force an explanation, one could say that it was done by another group of thieves, but since the treasury silver was stolen, one must be held responsible. As the prefect, Li Gongyu was in charge of public security, so he was the first to bear the brunt of the responsibility.

He had just been appointed as the Dianshi, and if something like this happened, not even Magistrate Wu would be able to save him.

Li Gongyu couldn't help but feel worried.

Xu Qing laughed, "Uncle, don't worry. If there is a problem, just solve it. I have an idea. We may not be able to prevent thieves from stealing the treasury silver, but what if there is no treasury silver in the government warehouse?"

"If you can't solve the problem, then solve the problem itself." Xu Qing added softly.

Li Gongyi was somewhat confused and asked, "Qing'er, what do you mean by this?"

Xu Qing: "You can just hand over the silver to the national treasury in advance."

The Yu Dynasty now uses the Two Tax System, which was inherited from the previous dynasty.

In more distant dynasties, it was not the Two Tax System, but the Rent and Labor Tax System that mainly levied taxes in kind such as grain and cloth.

The Two Tax System was mainly based on collecting money, twice a year in summer and autumn.

Originally, copper coins were the main form of tax money. Over the past hundred years, private maritime trade in the Dayu Dynasty flourished, and a steady stream of silver flowed into the mainland. In economically developed places like Nanzhili, taxes were mainly collected in silver.

However, there are still many remote areas in the country where taxes are mainly collected in kind.

Now that the warehouses are full and the summer taxes have not yet been collected, we can pay the summer taxes in advance.

"Do you want me to report this to the county magistrate?"

Xu Qing shook his head: "This problem and solution must be proposed by Master Qian."

"Why?"

Xu Qing: "If we bring this up to the county magistrate, wouldn't it make Master Qian seem useless? If my uncle does this, he will definitely offend Master Qian. Besides, the person who should release the treasury silver must be Zhao Xiong. It is absolutely inappropriate for my uncle to nominate him."

"Let Zhao Xiong be responsible for releasing the treasury silver?" Li Gongyi was shocked and couldn't help but say, "I'm afraid he is hoping that the treasury silver will be stolen again."

Xu Qing: "Yes, in addition to the thief committing crimes again, Zhao Xiong and others are likely to take the initiative to find an opportunity to create a case of theft of treasury silver. This is the best way to deal with my uncle."

"If that's the case, how can we ask them to release the silver from the pledged treasury and hand it over to the national treasury?"

"Uncle is a person in charge who is confused. If they are in charge of this matter, it will be their responsibility if something happens to the treasury silver." Li Gongyu suddenly realized and patted his head, "Look, I am really confused."

He couldn't help but marvel at Xu Qing's cleverness. If this succeeded, it would be killing two birds with one stone, and he could also sleep soundly.

Li Gongyi continued: "Qing'er, you are so smart, simply..."

He almost said, she looks like a monster.

Even if Li Gongyu suspected that Xu Qing had really become a demon, he was unwilling to admit it because he had already become a Dianshi.

When he was poor, he was willing to go through fire and water for his "nephew".

But now he is no longer just Xu's father's foster brother, but also a powerful figure in the county government.

For their family, it is enough to bring honor to the family!

Xu Qing did not point out what Li Gongyu said, but changed the subject: "Uncle, we are relying on external forces and luckily got everything we have now. But things that are obtained by luck will eventually be lost unexpectedly. Only by improving our own strength can we keep these and have more."

"Ah."

"So I asked my aunt to stew some medicinal food for my uncle. Uncle, drink it while it's hot. My aunt has been waiting for a long time." Li Gongwu exclaimed, "Ah," and then his face looked bitter.

After drinking this medicinal food, can I still rest tonight?
Xu Qing smiled slightly and left the main room quietly. Zhou came in carrying a bowl of soup.

Zhou figured it out. As long as she squeezed Li Gongyu dry, he would not have the energy to look for other flowers and plants.

...

...

Xu Qing started practicing the crane-shaped stance directly in the yard.

He is now well-nourished, and with the help of his spiritual level, his understanding of the Crane Shape Posture has become increasingly profound.

As time went by, he immersed himself in reading to nourish his mind and practicing martial arts to strengthen his body. Gradually, his breathing and body shape changed significantly through repeated practice. His originally thin body became strong and slender, and slowly, the muscles on his hands swelled up, but they were not obviously bulky, but streamlined.

Half a month later, Xu Qing looked at the bronze mirror in his body and saw some words appear:
Crane-shaped pile (incomplete): small success.

(End of this chapter)