Chapter 29: Heading to Chengdu

He closed his eyes. The first spoonful entered his mouth; the scalding broth made his tongue tip tingle, but what followed was the unique savor of mutton, mingled with the spiciness of dogwood, exploding in his oral cavity.

The chunks of meat were stewed until soft and tender, almost melting in the mouth; the oil seeping from the fibers blended perfectly with the wheat rice, making every bite an extreme enjoyment for him, who had not tasted meat for a long time.

Afterwards, he used the spoon to scoop up some tofu, dipped it in the soup, and sent it into his mouth; the fragrance of beans and the scent of meat intertwined on his tongue tip, so tender and smooth it hardly required chewing.

"To be honest, Brother Lu," Zhang Sheng lowered his voice and leaned forward, "how did you do it? Jumping directly from 198th place to 9th? You didn't see the faces of He Cong and his gang; they looked like they had eaten flies."

Lu Beigu swallowed the food in his mouth, thought for a moment, and said, "Actually, there is no secret. For the 'text recitation' exam, one must memorize more; every morning during my morning reading, I go through the 'Analects' by different sections. As for the 'text interpretation' exam, one must put in more effort to understand."

Lu Guangyu said, "Thanks to Brother Lu, I did not waste the Cold Food Festival holiday either. My results in this ten-day test have improved significantly compared to the last time, rising from 32nd place to 24th."

"Yes, these days of morning reading have also been very effective."

Zhang Sheng agreed, "When taking the 'text recitation' exam today, as soon as I saw familiar characters, I immediately recited them silently in my mind."

After thoroughly enjoying a sumptuous lunch, just as Lu Beigu, with a full belly, was about to return for a short nap, a small clerk suddenly walked into the dining hall.

"Is this Lu Beigu? Pack your things and come with me to the county yamen to see the Prefect."

In the front hall of the Hejiang County Yamen, Li Pan was flipping through a document.

"Greetings, Lord." When Lu Beigu bowed, his waist bent with some difficulty.

Li Pan nodded slightly, "I heard you performed well in this ten-day test?"

"Thanks to the Lord's instruction, the student was fortunate to make some progress."

"Fortunate?" Li Pan chuckled softly, picked up a document from the desk, "The School Master reported: your 'text recitation' score was Grade Yi-Shang, your 'text interpretation' score was Grade Yi-Xia, and your comprehensive ranking was ninth, placing you in the top ten from the bottom; if this is all 'fortune', then wouldn't the two hundred-plus students of the county school all become wine-sacks and rice-bags?"

Lu Beigu did not expect Li Pan to be so clear on the specific results so quickly. Just as he was about to reply, he saw Li Pan take out a letter from the side of the desk; the wax seal bore a stamp he did not recognize.

Lu Beigu silently calculated the time in his heart. If Li Pan had previously sent someone to go by land and return by water, the round trip would have taken just over ten days, basically moving at full speed without a moment's rest.

"Prime Minister Zhang values the suggestion you made. After I finish handling official business, you will accompany me to Chengdu Prefecture. I have already spoken on your behalf at the county school."

"Prime Minister Zhang?" Lu Beigu appropriately showed a look of surprise.

It was nothing for common people in the marketplace to flatter scholars by calling them "Xianggong", but if the word "Xianggong" came from the mouth of a Prefect, it was no joke; only a person of high status and great power could bear this title.

"Hmm, Zhang Fangping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Prefect of Chengdu, have you heard of him?"

Let us set aside the hair-raising official system of the Great Song for now; after all, not even modern people can figure it out clearly, and even the Song people themselves might not be able to distinguish exactly what the differences are between scattered offices, salary-granting offices, posts, assignments, merit titles, and peerages.

Here, we will only mention two things that allow for quick understanding: "Guan" (Office) and "Chaqian" (Assignment).

"Guan" refers to the salary-granting rank, meaning the level of treatment and salary you receive according to that rank.

"Chaqian" refers to what you actually do, which determines exactly how much power you possess.

Zhang Fangping holds the treatment level of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to serve as the Prefect of Chengdu. In the Great Song, although Zhou (Prefectures), Fu (Commanderies), Jian (Administrative Centers), and Jun (Military Districts) are theoretically at the same administrative level, ordinary places are mostly Zhou; only important places are set up as Fu, such as the capital Kaifeng Prefecture, and Rujinren Sect's enfeoffed land, Jiangning Prefecture.

Chengdu, as the heartland of Sichuan, was elevated from Yizhou to Chengdu Prefecture in the second year of Baoyuan during the reign of Emperor Renzong; it has been 17 years since then. It has always been governed by a high-ranking official dispatched by the court to manage Chengdu Prefecture affairs, stationed in the southwest.

Oh, if the appointee is a high-ranking official of the second pin or above, or holds a title from the Secretariat or the Bureau of Military Affairs, it is called "Judge of Chengdu Prefecture Affairs".

And because the "Lu" (Circuit) of the Great Song at this time still possessed the nature of a supervisory zone and had not formally evolved into an administrative region, the Prefect of Chengdu, in fact, wielded enormous influence over the entire Sichuan region.

"I haven't heard of him." Lu Beigu pretended to be ignorant.

He had certainly heard of figures who have biographies in the "Song Shi", but his understanding was not particularly deep. Moreover, the "Song Shi" records regarding Zhang Fangping's career and tenure periods are quite vague, so he had not realized it before.

"In past years, when Li Yuanhao rebelled and declared himself independent, Prime Minister Zhang submitted the 'Ten Strategies for Pacifying the Barbarians', saying: 'The defense of the enemy's nest must be empty; it is fitting to roll up the armor and rush towards them.' Unfortunately, Prime Minister Lu Yijian did not use it. The Xia army launched a full-scale invasion of the border, our army was forced into passive defense, and we suffered a great defeat at the Battle of Sanchuan Kou."

Li Pan slowly introduced this to Lu Beigu.

"Later, Prime Minister Zhang, in the capacity of Compiler of the Daily Records, was sent as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom. Upon returning, he successively served as Draftsman of Imperial Edicts, Prefect of Kaifeng, and Vice Censor-in-Chief, rising to the position of Commissioner of the Three Offices. He rectified the salt affairs in Hebei. Due to certain matters, he has been demoted and serving outside the capital for these years. I have heard there are some movements in the court; next year, Prime Minister Zhang will likely be restored to his original post."

Restored to his original post meant becoming the Commissioner of the Three Offices again.

In the Former Tang Dynasty, the Salt and Iron, Revenue, and Ministry of Revenue were collectively called the "Three Offices". The Song followed the Tang system, and this system was inherited by the Great Song.

The Commissioner of the Three Offices managed the nation's finances, was called the "Accounting Prime Minister", and held a status second only to the Prime Minister of the Secretariat-Chancellery and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. He was the decision-maker of the Great Song's financial system, with powers including tax collection, military supply allocation, treasury management, and so on; one could say his power was overwhelming.

If one could gain the appreciation of such a high-ranking figure who was about to be promoted, the future would indeed be limitless.

"Submitted the 'Ten Strategies for Pacifying the Barbarians', rectified the salt affairs in Hebei... No wonder Prefect Li was so certain that my plan would gain this person's appreciation."

Everything suddenly became clear.

Seeing that Lu Beigu had understood, Li Pan did not beat around the bush. After finishing the documents in his hand, he led Lu Beigu out of the county yamen.

The two personal attendants could ride horses and gallop all the way to Chengdu Prefecture, but since Lu Beigu could not ride a horse, the transportation chosen for this journey was a horse-drawn carriage.

As the Prefect of Hejiang, Li Pan's rank was not high when viewed across the entire Great Song, but he was, after all, the lord of a county, and his travel followed established regulations.

The carriage they rode was not the crude carriage common among the people, but a lacquered wooden carriage; the entire body was painted black, the four corners of the carriage box were wrapped in copper, and the curtains were made of indigo-dyed coarse cloth embroidered with simple interlocking branch patterns.

The carriage box was not large, capable of seating two people facing each other or leaning diagonally to lie half-reclined; it was fitted with soft cushions to slightly reduce the suffering of the bumps.

(End of Chapter)