Chapter 133

As the sky grew dark, Zhang Zhang Jie sent Li Li Qingzhao home.

In front of the Li mansion, an old man dressed in a squire's outfit was sitting there at some point.

"Oh! Father, why are you here?"

The moment she saw this old man, Li Li Qingzhao felt like she had been electrocuted,

and she hurriedly pulled her little hand away from Zhang Zhang Jie's,

turning the distance of less than two feet between them into a meter.

"Hmph! I am the master of the Li mansion; I can go wherever I want in this Li mansion!"

Li Gefei, whose face was as dark as the bottom of a pot that had been used for decades, snorted coldly.

'Go wherever you want? Are you the Mundo of the Water Margin world?'

Zhang Zhang Jie, thinking of the meme "Mundo goes where he pleases," complained in his heart.

"Teacher."

However, having been caught red-handed while seducing someone's daughter,

even with Zhang Zhang Jie's current face that could withstand the Great Song's God-Arm Crossbow, he felt a bit awkward,

and he hurriedly walked up to Li Gefei and bowed respectfully.

"Hmm."

Li Gefei, expressionless, gave a flat "hmm."

Although Zhang Zhang Jie was the son-in-law he had specifically chosen for his beloved daughter,

seeing the way they were so affectionate on the first day they formally met,

he still felt a bit of heartache: the tender, juicy cabbage he had carefully cultivated for more than ten years

was about to be rooted up by this wild boar before him!

The more Li Gefei thought about it, the more his anger grew, and Zhang Zhang Jie, who had been very pleasing to the eye in the past, became more and more unpleasant to look at.

Zhang Zhang Jie, who also had nothing to say, began to stare at Li Gefei, and they looked at each other in dismay.

"Father, we are tired from shopping, so we'll go in and rest first."

Li Li Qingzhao, sensing that the atmosphere was a bit wrong, pulled Zhang Zhang Jie and ran into the courtyard.

"A daughter who has grown up cannot be kept, a daughter who has grown up cannot be kept!"

Seeing his daughter, who hadn't married yet, already starting to favor someone else, Li Gefei couldn't help but sigh.

"However, for a daughter, favoring someone else is not necessarily a bad thing."

Suddenly, a smile appeared on Li Gefei's expressionless face.

That night, Zhang Zhang Jie stayed at the Li mansion and had dinner with Li Gefei and the others.

During the meal, Li Gefei kept a dark face the whole time, while Li Li Qingzhao's mother, Lady Li, looked at Zhang Zhang Jie like a mother-in-law looking at a son-in-law,

the more she looked, the happier she became, feeling that he was a good match for her beloved daughter.

After dinner, Zhang Zhang Jie, knowing that staying overnight would cause Li Gefei to explode, tactfully said goodbye.

Over the next few days, Zhang Zhang Jie spent his time hanging out with Lu Lu Zhishen and the others,

while writing poetry and playing chess with Li Li Qingzhao, and the days were quite carefree.

Even Li Gefei's attitude toward him had improved significantly.

Although he still didn't give him many good looks, he finally stopped keeping a dark face the whole time.

Lady Li even hinted that Zhang Zhang Jie should find an auspicious day to come and propose, formally confirming this marriage.

In such happy days, time flew by until the day the scholars were formally granted official positions.

"By the grace of the Emperor, the edict says:

Zhang Di Renjie is specially granted the position of Deputy Commissioner of the Qingzhou Training Corps, to take office in a few days, so it is decreed!"

An inner official dressed in official attire, with a fair face and no beard, read the imperial edict in a slightly feminine voice.

Before Zhang Zhang Jie could react, Li Gang, who was listening on the side, changed his expression and asked indignantly:

"Di Renjie is the third-place finisher in the first rank; according to custom, he should be granted the position of Compiler in the Han Lin Academy,

why humiliate him with a Deputy Commissioner of the Training Corps?"

Yes, in Li Gang's eyes, granting Zhang Zhang Jie the position of Deputy Commissioner of the Qingzhou Training Corps was humiliating him.

The top three finishers in the imperial examination were the first tier, the first rank, only the top three.

Among them, according to custom, the top finisher could be granted the position of Compiler in the Han Lin Academy, a sixth-rank official,

and the second and third finishers could be granted the position of Compiler in the Han Lin Academy, a seventh-rank official.

And the Deputy Commissioner of the Training Corps was only an eighth-rank official,

and in terms of rank alone, it was far lower than the treatment Zhang Zhang Jie should have normally received.

Furthermore, the Han Lin Academy was an important institution specifically for drafting confidential edicts and participating in military affairs,

and it was an important cornerstone for Great Song officials to become important ministers of the Privy Council and local high-ranking officials,

among whom Ouyang Xiu, Wang Wang Anshi, Su Shi, Sima Guang, and others were all like this.

And what kind of official was the Deputy Commissioner of the Training Corps?

The Deputy Commissioner of the Training Corps was a military official established during the An Lushan Rebellion of the Tang Dynasty.

The Great Song continued the local official positions of the Five Dynasties and retained the Deputy Commissioner of the Training Corps,

but in order to prevent the emergence of local separatism and the need for the "valuing civil over military" policy,

it stipulated that the Deputy Commissioner of the Training Corps was a "three-no" official position, that is, no job authority, no fixed number of people,

and no station, only used for military officials to receive salary and promotion.

Later, the status of the Deputy Commissioner of the Training Corps dropped sharply,

and it actually became a position for reprimanded officials, that is, an official position specifically used to demote officials.

The Emperor granting Zhang Zhang Jie the position of Deputy Commissioner of the Qingzhou Training Corps was directly destroying his future!

"Di Renjie, we will not accept this imperial edict!

There must be treacherous officials in the court who have deceived the Emperor; let's go and strike the Dengwen Drum and ask the Emperor for a ruling!"

Li Gang's face turned red, and he was very excited.

The little inner official was expressionless and said in a voice without emotion:

"This imperial edict was written by the Emperor himself.

The Emperor's words are golden and jade, and once the edict is issued, there is absolutely no reason to change it.

What, Li Brother Boji, are you going to disobey the imperial edict?"

Feeling the gaze of the little inner official, which was like substance and had the pressure of a mountain, Li Gang's straight back slumped.

He knew that since the little inner official dared to say so, this imperial edict must have been written by the Emperor.

That is to say, demoting Zhang Zhang Jie was the Emperor's intention.

Although the Emperor ruled the world together with the scholar-officials, his will was still the first command that could not be disobeyed.

He bowed and said hoarsely: "Your subject, dares not."

"As long as you dare not!"

The little inner official smiled triumphantly.

'Looks like "Mountain Slope Sheep: Thoughts on Tongguan" irritated that Prince Duan.'

While Li Gang and the little inner official were talking, Zhang Zhang Jie was thinking about how he had offended Emperor Huizong of Song.

And this answer was also very simple: he had been honest and dutiful since entering Bianliang,

neither entering the homes of certain masters at night to send people who should die on their way,

nor being disrespectful to Prince Duan on his imperial examination paper,

so the only possibility was the "Mountain Slope Sheep" that was widely circulated in Bianliang.

It seems that "Prosperous, the people suffer; perished, the people suffer" poked the sore spot of a certain Prince Duan,

who thought that the Great Song was "prosperous and abundant" under his rule.

Then his overly active mind thought of the people who had been Deputy Commissioners of the Training Corps in the Song Dynasty.

There were quite a few people who had been Deputy Commissioners of the Training Corps in the Northern Song Dynasty for a hundred years, and the most famous among them was Su Shi, Su Su Dongpo.

In 1079, after the "Mount Wutai Poetry Case," he was demoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Huangzhou Training Corps;

thereafter, he served as Deputy Commissioner of the Training Corps in Ruzhou, Huizhou, Danzhou, Yu Lianzhou, Shuzhou, Yongzhou, and other places,

all of which were resettlement positions without real power, mainly responsible for auxiliary work in local military training,

but he was not allowed to sign official documents, and his movements were restricted.

And the reason Zhang Zhang Jie remembered these things was because Su Shi loved to do two things the most,

one was to let his brother fish him out, and the other was to harass Zhang Zhang Huaimin...

Accusation from Zhang Zhang Huaimin: How did you know I wasn't asleep yet? You clearly woke me up from my dream!

At the same time, the little inner official who easily suppressed Li Gang also set his sights on Zhang Zhang Jie.

His words were full of the joy of being able to trample a third-place finisher who was called the Wenqu Star descended to earth under his feet:

"Third-place finisher, accept the edict."

"Your subject, accepts the edict and thanks for the grace."

Zhang Zhang Jie bowed and took the imperial edict from the little inner official's hand without joy or sorrow.

"Hmph!"

"Third-place finisher, you should take care of yourself in the future!

Let's go."

The little inner official, not seeing the flustered expression he had imagined on Zhang Zhang Jie, left with his men with a gloomy face.

"Di Renjie, I'm sorry for you."

Li Gang's face was full of guilt.

As a smart person, how could he not think that it must have been because he spread "Mountain Slope Sheep" at the poetry gathering to make a name for Zhang Zhang Jie,

which made the narrow-minded Emperor hold a grudge against Zhang Zhang Jie.

"Time, fate. Brother Boji, you were also well-intentioned before."

Zhang Zhang Jie was not sad, but comforted Li Gang instead.

"Sigh! I didn't expect the Emperor to be so, so..."

At the Li mansion, Li Gefei sighed and wrung his hands after hearing the news that Zhang Zhang Jie had been demoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Qingzhou Training Corps.

"Di Renjie, no matter where you go, I will follow you!"

In the past, it was Zhang Zhang Jie who held Li Li Qingzhao's hand, but today it was her holding Zhang Zhang Jie's hand.

Zhang Zhang Jie felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this:

Some people can only share wealth, not adversity, and only adversity can reveal the human heart!

"Don't worry, one day I will return to Bianliang with dignity."

Zhang Zhang Jie patted the back of Li Li Qingzhao's hand and said meaningfully.

"Good!

A good man must be able to think openly, endure, stand tall, and not be afraid of cold water!"

Seeing that Zhang Zhang Jie had not sunk because of this heavy blow, Li Gefei appreciated him even more.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but hint obscurely:

"That person is already over forty, and it won't be many years before new people come up.

You are still young, and even if you wait another ten years, you will only be thirty.

By then, when the new person has no one to use,

you, a third-place finisher who has nothing to do with the previous people, will be the best candidate to be employed."

Zhang Zhang Jie understood immediately: Li Gefei was telling him that it didn't matter if he offended the current Emperor,

anyway, judging by the lifespan of the previous Great Song Emperors, he didn't have many years left to live.

By then, when the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne and has no one to use, wouldn't his opportunity come?

However, Zhang Zhang Jie was noncommittal about this:

Could he tell Li Gefei that in a few years the Great Song, or more accurately the Northern Song, would be finished?

And that Prince Duan didn't look like he would kick the bucket in a few years.

This brother was a fierce man who held on for eight years from the warm Bianliang to the Wuguocheng, where the winter temperature was tens of degrees below zero,

which is near Heilongjiang in the 21st century.

And during the eight years he was a prisoner, he wasn't idle, giving birth to a full twelve children!

Of course, how many of these children were wearing hats given to him by the Jin people is a matter of opinion.

Anyway, no matter what, this Prince Duan's vitality was extremely tenacious.

If the Jin people hadn't shortened his lifespan, he could have lived to over sixty.

And by that time, Zhang Zhang Jie himself would already be over thirty.

Zhang Zhang Jie overturned the tea table in his heart:

'A great man lives between heaven and earth, how can he be depressed and live under others for a long time?'