Chapter 227: Persuasion
Chapter 227: Persuasion
The next morning, Xiao Xia went to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel to go through the resignation procedures and officially resigned from his post as the Zhangye Military Commander.
As early as ten days ago, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel had received the notice approving Xiao Xia's resignation, so there was no need for the approval of the chief officer, and officials from the two ministries smoothly processed Xiao Xia's resignation.
Of course, Xiao Xia resigned only from his expatriate post. He still retained his rank of General Mingwei, his honorary title of Shang Kaifu Yitong Sansi, and his court official position of Huben Zhonglang Jiang.
There were gains and losses. Xiao Xia also received half a year's salary and subsidies totaling two hundred strings of cash.
"General Xiao!"
While walking on Chengtianmen Street, Xiao Xia suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. Turning back, he saw a carriage parked behind him and someone waving at him from the window.
It turned out to be Yang Gongren. Xiao Xia quickly stepped forward, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Envoy Yang, long time no see."
Yang Gongren asked with a smile: "When did you come back?"
"It was yesterday at noon. I came today to handle some formalities."
"Come on in the car! I just have something to give you."
Xiao Xia handed the horse to the follower behind Yang Gongren and got on the carriage. Yang Gongren told the driver, "Go to the old city!"
The carriage drove towards the old city of Chang'an.
Inside the carriage, Yang Gongren asked Xiao Xia, "Are you here today to resign as the military commander of Zhangye?"
Xiao Xia smiled bitterly and nodded, "I originally wanted to make a big splash in Hexi and build a career, but alas!"
Yang Gongren shook his head and said, "As far as I know, the court had no intention of letting you go to Hexi from the beginning. They just wanted you to participate in the war against Tuyuhun. Besides, being away from the court is not a good thing. If you are far away from the power circle, you will be marginalized easily."
"Can you give more details?" Xiao Xia asked.
Yang Gongren smiled and said, "There are generally two situations when someone goes to serve in the frontier. One is to be successful and become a frontier official, like Yang Yichen and Xue Shixiong, or to serve as an official for one or two years and then be transferred back for promotion. Zhangye County Magistrate Pei Xuanji is like this, and he will be back next year.
The Zhangye Military Commander sounds good, but in fact, he is nothing in the eyes of the court. To put it bluntly, he is just a stepping stone for the Liangzhou Governor. Can the Zhangye Military Commander be compared with the Tongguan Military Commander of the same level? Far from it, especially for you, there is something more important. "
"what?"
Yang Gongren said calmly: "You are a Lingyan Pavilion warrior, do you think Lingyan Pavilion warriors are just for show? There has never been a Lingyan Pavilion warrior who became a mid-level general on the frontier. Not to mention the distant past, let's take Yuwen Chengdu as an example. He was discovered and cultivated by Yuwen Shu. In just five or six years, he rose from the prince's guard to the general of Qianniu Guard. He only served as a lieutenant for half a year, a general for half a year, and a general for another year before he was selected by the emperor to enter the Lingyan Pavilion and was immediately promoted to the general of the Zuo Wuhou Guard.
Wuhouwei General has only been in office for a year, but he has been promoted to the third-rank general of Qianniuwei. What achievements do you think he has? What qualifications do he have? He has never even participated in a war. You are the grandson of the emperor and have made outstanding military achievements. You actually want to go to the frontier to be a middle-level general. Oh! I really don’t know what to say to you. "
Yang Gongren's words gave Xiao Xia a sudden epiphany. In fact, he also had a deep understanding. Otherwise, as the grandson of the emperor, the court would have no idea about his contribution in defending Zhangye against Tuyuhun. All the credit should have gone to Xue Shixiong.
He nodded gently, "Thank you for your teachings, sir!"
The carriage entered the Weiyang Palace and stopped in front of the Lingyan Pavilion. The two men each put on a black robe and entered the Lingyan Pavilion. Yang Gongren asked Xiao Xia to wait in the lobby for a while, and he went into the inner room.
Soon Yang Gongren took out a box, sat down at the table and said with a smile: "You have officially become a Lingyan Pavilion warrior on the 16th day of the first lunar month this year. You will receive a subsidy of 100 guan every month. Your rank is deacon, which is the lowest level. You are responsible for carrying out special tasks. Of course, tasks are not available all the time. If there is a task, I will notify you." Xiao Xia nodded and asked: "Do you still go out in secret when carrying out the mission?"
"That's for sure. I told you on the first day that besides the Lingyan Pavilion warriors themselves, only the emperor knows about it. You must never mention it in front of anyone. When you go out to perform tasks, you will use various identities as cover. So if you get a certain title inexplicably, such as the Supervisory Censor, the Dali Temple Steward, or the Six Ministries Official, don't be surprised. That is your cover identity. Generally, the Censor is the most common. When you receive a specific mission, I will slowly tell you."
"I understand!"
Yang Gongren took out a small golden round plate from the box, with a thin chain on it, and handed it to Xiao Xia, saying, "Wear it close to your chest. This is the identity badge of a Lingyan Pavilion warrior."
Xiao Xia took the sign. The front side had the word "Tianming" in positive relief, and the back had the number "Twenty" in negative relief. He was the twentieth Tianming Warrior.
Xiao Xia hung it around her neck, and Yang Gongren smiled and said, "It's nothing, you can go back to Chang'an now. The subsidy will be paid every three months, and someone will deliver it to you in two days."
Xiao Xia pointed upstairs and asked with a smile: "Can I go up and take a look?"
Yang Gongren shook his head. "Your sign has been hung, but you can't go up now. When you become a senior official in the future, or when the Sui Dynasty is completely stable, you will be qualified to go up to the Lingyan Pavilion. To be honest, even I have never been there."
"Okay! If nothing else, I'll take my leave!"
Xiao Xia said goodbye and left Lingyan Pavilion, riding back to Chang'an.
The next morning, Xiao Xia suddenly became bored. He found that he had nothing to do. Although he held an official position and a title, he had nothing to do. He suddenly understood Dou Dexuan and others. They were just bored at home, so they got together to cause trouble.
"Young Master, you can go to the Imperial Academy to continue your studies!" A Chu gave him advice.
Xiao Xia shook his head. "I would fall asleep after listening to those classes, and I would be confused. I don't even know what the teacher is talking about. That's why I'm too lazy to listen."
Ah Chu blinked her big eyes and smiled again, "Why don't you go shopping, young master? I like to go shopping in the metropolitan city when I have nothing to do. I'll tell you a secret. There is a small door in our neighborhood that can lead you into the metropolitan city."
"Oh? Where is it?" Xiao Xia was really interested. If there was a small door, he wouldn't have to climb over the wall.
"It's in the City God Temple to the west. You can see it in the backyard. It's mainly for the convenience of shop owners in the city to come to the City God Temple to worship the God of Wealth."
"Okay! I'll go another day. I have to go to Guangfufang to attend a birthday party this afternoon."
Xiao Xia couldn't stay at home, so he walked out and planned to call a ox cart to go to Chongrenfang Restaurant, but he lost interest after leaving the house. After thinking it over, he decided to walk to the City God Temple.
The City God Temple was indeed very close, only fifty steps away from his mansion, so he walked straight there.
It was very quiet inside the City God Temple. He came to the backyard and saw a half-open small door. He passed through the small door and really entered the city. This side was behind a shop and was rather deserted. He walked onto the street and saw cloth shops in this area. The whole street was filled with cloth shops, with more than 30 shops of all sizes. All kinds of cloth were piled up like mountains. There were many customers and a constant flow of people. The people of Chang'an liked to come here to buy cloth to make clothes. The price here was wholesale and relatively cheap.
Xiao Xia quickly found a shop next to his house, called Runan Cloth Shop. There was a piece of white paper pasted on the door with two big words written on it: "For Sale".
Xiao Xia's eyes suddenly lit up.
(End of this chapter)