Chapter 795 Officials
Chapter 795 Officials
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month in the fifth year of Shengui (321), it was sunny.
After performing the kneeling ceremony, Liang Fen slowly stood up and welcomed her daughter into the home.
Liang Lanbi looked at the new home and felt a little disappointed.
The new house is actually not that new. It has been built for several years. It was used by Lao Liang to farm after he came back from Nanyang.
Liang Lanbi didn't find anything familiar in this house.
After entering the palace for many years, her mother passed away last year, and her two brothers also passed away one after another, leaving only a little nephew who saluted her in a baby voice.
This home is empty and there is no warmth at all.
Fortunately, my uncle Liang Zong rushed over from Pingyang to spend the New Year with my father, making the home less lonely.
After the ceremony, Liang Fen invited Liang Lanbi to sit at the head of the table.
Liang Lanbi refused and said, "Today we only have a daughter, not a queen."
Liang Fen sighed, did not insist, and sat at the top.
Liang Lanbi happily sat next to her father, looked at Liang Zong opposite her, and asked, "I heard that my uncle has been promoted to an official position?"
"Yes." Liang Zong was somewhat happy when he mentioned this matter. He said, "King Liang changed the official system to 18 levels. After a long debate, it was finally decided. With the help of my brother, I got the position of Liang State Jieshizhong, which is the fifth rank. I can be appointed to an official position after the year."
From being Jingzhao Yin and Yongzhou Governor to Jieshi Zhong, it seems like a fall from grace, but it is really not easy to get back on track. Don't ask for too much - Jieshi Zhong was originally a promotion, and now he is a regular official, whose main responsibility is to advise and persuade the monarch.
Liang Fen's position as the Minister of Personnel was of the third rank, which carried much more power than that of the Imperial Censor. Even Wang Yan and others had to make deals with him to get favors.
"King Liang has established eighteen levels of officials. The scholars of the world should be very happy, right?" Liang Lanbi asked.
"That's right." Since they were all family here, Liang Zong was not so cautious in his words and said directly: "If it weren't for this good thing, I think there would have been a powerful family rebelling and leading the Wu army north."
The nine levels were changed to eighteen levels. The number of officials did not double, but it did increase a bit, which could be considered a kind of appeasement.
Liang Lanbi was shocked when she heard this, then she breathed a sigh of relief, and then felt a little ashamed.
Liang Fen looked at her daughter's expression and was secretly shocked. She wanted to say something, but gave up.
If his wife were still alive, he could ask her to hint to their daughter, but it was not appropriate for him.
"King Liang is used to giving people a slap and then giving them a little sweet treat. This trick may be vulgar, but it works." Liang Zong was still talking nonsense: "Henan was pacified by him."
Liang Fen was silent, as if her mind was not here.
Liang Lanbi seemed to sense something as well, her face turned pale and she stopped talking.
"What's the situation in the palace?" Liang Fen suddenly asked.
"The emperor lost his temper." Liang Lanbi said, "My daughter tried to persuade him."
The reason for losing temper was that the lucky ones who were promoted submitted a petition to grant Shao Xun many privileges: "The crown shall have twelve tassels, and the emperor's banner shall be raised. He shall be allowed to go out on patrol and enter the imperial carriage. He shall ride a golden chariot with six horses and five auxiliary chariots. He shall have a flagpole and a cloud-shaped flagpole, and eight dancers and a bell and a palace. The princess of the promoted king shall be the queen, the crown prince shall be the crown prince, and the titles of the princes, kings and ladies shall all be the same as those of the emperor."
Once these privileges were granted, things like bestowing the Nine Gifts and praising without naming them became insignificant, because this would put the King of Liang on an equal footing with the emperor at the political level.
Even if the Divine Turtle Emperor had no temper, he would have expressed his opposition at this moment.
Fortunately, Shao Xun submitted a petition requesting that the matter be stopped.
But the person who submitted the memorial was not punished, which made this matter very complicated. From now on, there might be more people who would continue to submit memorials.
If King Liang conquered either Dai or Han, more people would mention it.
"You should return to the palace tomorrow." Liang Fen looked at her daughter and said, "As the queen, how can you run around everywhere? It's not decent."
Liang Lanbi lowered her head, then suddenly raised it again, mustering up her courage and saying, "Ever since my father became an official for the King of Liang, the emperor has been furious and has repeatedly tried to depose the queen. I dare not say anything, but why did my father—"
Liang Fen was speechless.
Liang Zong was speechless.
If Liang Fen's two sons were both dead and his eldest grandson was still young, he served as an official in the State of Liang purely for the sake of the world. Then people like Liang Zong and Liang Su did it purely for themselves.
In a situation like theirs, normally Queen Liang would have been dead - she would have been deposed first, sent to Jinyong City and given a cup of poisoned wine to finish her off. It was only because the emperor had lost power and no one listened to his words that Queen Liang was able to survive until now.
Liang Fen owes this daughter.
After losing both sons, Liang Fen felt extremely guilty because his late wife was still obsessed with her daughter before she died.
So when faced with his daughter's rebuttal, he didn't know what to say.
"Forget it." Liang Fen sighed and asked, "Is the one who came to protect you Zheng Shida, the redundant servant?"
"Ah."
"Please invite him in for a chat." Liang Fen looked at the old servant.
The old servant nodded and went out.
Liang Lanbi stood up and walked around the courtyard accompanied by the palace servants.
******
"How is Xingyang this year?" After inviting Zheng Shida in, Liang Fen first observed this person and then asked.
"There are many letters from clansmen. After reading them all, I can only say 'I'm well'." Zheng Shida replied.
He also secretly observed Liang Fen.
The King of Liang had returned to Pingyang and ordered that everything should be kept simple. He did not hold a court ceremony this year and ordered the county envoys to bring gifts back. Because of this, the officials were given a long vacation, and some left Pingyang and returned home to reunite with their families.
Liang Fen was one of them. Zheng Shida had only met him a few times and was not familiar with him, but who would dare to offend the Minister of Personnel of Liang State?
When selecting officials, they will block you and say that you are not qualified for this position, and then everything will be gone. Even if you can still find someone, won’t the person who asks for help use up the favor? In short, it is very disgusting, and you should not offend them if you can avoid it.
"The word 'Crude and Peaceful' is well used." Liang Fen smiled bitterly.
There are two ways to describe the situation in a region: "rough peace" and "great peace", which are different in essence.
"Rough peace" can only be said to be able to barely stabilize the situation, but the local situation is indeed not peaceful, undercurrents are surging, and we need to be vigilant.
Xingyang was a territory of the Liang State. It was once almost a wasteland. Many refugees were resettled there in the past few years. The area had some savings, but they were emptied out again. It was in urgent need of recuperation.
"With Zheng around, Xingyang can rest assured." Liang Fen praised Zheng Shida.
Zheng Shida forced a smile.
The Zheng family of Xingyang actually had a very ordinary life, and Zheng Shida was not considered a main branch. He was able to become a redundant servant of the imperial court purely by chance, and was considered a "lucky man" in the eyes of many people.
He first surrendered to Yu Chen, and then presented the beautiful concubine Zheng Yingtao to King Liang. Then, not afraid of ruining his reputation, he threatened the current emperor and monitored him very closely.
To be honest, Yu's family is far inferior to Zheng's. Zheng Shida is from a side branch, so it's nothing wrong for Xiaoyi to join him, but it's not a good look.
But offering a beautiful woman to the king is the standard behavior of a treacherous minister.
In addition, people from prominent families are reluctant to do such dirty work as intimidating and monitoring the Emperor of Jin because they value their reputation, but Zheng Shida is willing to do it!
This person is willing to do anything to climb up the ladder. He wants to improve himself so badly.
Liang Fen didn't have a very good opinion of him, but she decided to make friends with him today.
"Please take care of the affairs in the palace, Mr. Zheng," said Liang Fen.
Zheng Shida understood as soon as he heard it. Minister Liang asked him to help take care of the queen and make sure nothing happened.
"Mr. Liang, please relax." Zheng Shida assured.
In fact, it would be much more convenient to have the Queen's assistance in palace affairs, and they could even unite with the Queen to isolate the inside and the outside, but there is no need for that.
But the emperor was the emperor after all, and he could still win over some eunuchs, palace maids, and even foreign officials, and the officials had to pretend to be polite in front of the emperor. If the queen helped, it could be guaranteed that nothing would go wrong, and the emperor would go from being unable to leave Luoyang to being unable to leave the bedroom.
Given the emperor’s temper, I wonder if he is willing to abdicate.
If she is unwilling, she may have to appoint a new one who is easier to talk to, or just appoint a child, in which case she will need even more help from the queen.
Thinking of this, Zheng Shida became excited.
This is a huge achievement!
If he succeeds, he will be like Jia Chong and Cheng Ji who did not kill the king. How rich and powerful would that be?
"I heard that Zheng has someone in Jiangdong?" Liang Fen asked again.
Zheng Shida was stunned for a moment, then answered honestly, "Yes, it is."
This cannot be concealed.
After Sima Rui's first wife Yu died, he did not remarry and wanted to marry Wu's daughter as his wife. It happened that Wu's daughter went to the garden with her cousin Zheng Achun, the daughter of former Anfeng prefect Zheng Kai. When Sima Rui found out, he decided to marry Zheng as his wife.
Wu had not yet married, and Zheng Achun and her late husband Tian (from the Bohai Tian clan) already had a son. Outsiders did not know what Sima Rui considered when he abandoned Wu and joined Zheng.
It is even questionable whether Anfeng County fell easily with the help of Zheng Kai's old friends.
Although Zheng Achun was not Sima Rui's legal wife, the Prince of Langya did not have a legal wife now, so Zheng's status was equivalent to that of his legal wife.
Because of this, Zheng family of Xingyang suffered terribly but could not express it in words, and their suffering was even worse than that of Yu family of Jiyang.
It is indeed very common for aristocratic families to be divided into two sides, but it does not mean that the monarch has no thoughts in his mind. In history, there were emperors of the Northern Dynasties who were outspoken and criticized such behavior. Shao Xun in this time and space was also unhappy about it.
"This is a common thing, don't worry." Liang Fen smiled and said, "The king has set up 18 levels of officials, and there are many vacancies. If Zheng has talented people, please recommend them. Now is the time to recruit people."
This... Zheng Shida was a little hesitant.
I am Prime Minister Yu's man. Is it really okay for you to win me over like this?
"When it comes to recommending talents for the country, why should we differentiate between each other?" Liang Fen laughed again.
Liang Zong chimed in, "It's just to repay Mr. Zheng for taking care of the queen, nothing more."
Zheng Shida felt a little relieved.
A person like him who is blinded by greed actually has no loyalty. Besides, Liang Fen is just doing it to repay a favor, so it doesn't seem like a big deal.
So he stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Shangshu."
"Zheng is a prominent family in Xingyang. You should stabilize the counties for the King of Liang. Don't slack off." Liang Fen reminded him, "Your Majesty has fought bravely for more than ten years to achieve the current situation. You must not cause any chaos. You are a distant relative of the Zheng family, but after you have made contributions and received rewards, who knows if you can't become the head of the family?"
"Xingyang cannot be in chaos, and neither can the world." Liang Fen continued, "If there are rumors in the countryside, don't pay attention to them. Just report them to the authorities. The people of the world can't stand a second disturbance."
"Yes." Zheng Shida responded repeatedly.
From Liang Fen's words, he vaguely understood that the reason why Liang Fen was loyal to King Liang was precisely because King Liang was in this position and had this situation. If it were someone else, Liang Fen would probably say the same thing.
He is only loyal to a powerful leader who can clean up the mess.
Zheng Shida was different - he gave all the women he was reluctant to use to King Liang to sleep with, so what else was there to say?
"On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, I will invite my old friends from Luoyang to a party. If you are free, you can come." Liang Fen invited.
Zheng Shida responded, thinking that Liang Fen was probably helping King Liang to appease the scholars and tell them not to act rashly because of the difficulties they had experienced in the past two years.
Who cares! Who would rebel against King Liang when there is something good going on?
Besides, King Liang has already restrained himself. Not holding a court celebration this year is a signal. If he rests and recuperates next year, his resentment will subside.
(End of this chapter)