Chapter 60: Burning the Tail

Although Zhang Gui had a premonition that he was going to turn over, he didn't expect it to be so fast.

He flashed a thought in confusion, "What is this rhythm?"

"In two days during the New Year, I changed from a commoner to an imperial martial official."

"Is the elder of the Pingyang Zhang family trying to grab a filial hat to wear?"

"However, since this old man was brought by Jiujiang, it must not be fake."

"Hmm, maybe it's a big shot saying a word, and the small fry running until their legs break."

"The old man wants to curry favor with the elder, so he is performing so actively."

Thinking this way and looking at the old ox and horse in front of him, the confusion turned into pity.

Zhang Gui's voice became gentle, "That's good, let's go to the ancestral hall."

Rules of the Ming Song great clans.

How many ancestral bodies were buried in the family cemetery who were given posthumous titles by the emperor after death.

How many spirit tablets could be enshrined in the main position of the ancestral hall to eat incense.

How many spirit tablets could be enshrined in the main position, and how high a regulation of ancestral hall could be built.

And when the Pingyang Zhang family was wiped out in the Northern Frontier Longjin by the political enemies of the clan's 'great success' Zhang Siwei.

The ancestral graves were dug up.

As a result, the family stood firm in the Southern Kingdom, and wanted to move the graves, but there was no way to move them.

It implicated the ancestral hall, and they couldn't build it big even if they wanted to.

However, in any case, the basic decency was still there.

The main gate of the Pingyang Zhang family ancestral hall was eight red locust wood ascension gates, each seven feet wide and two zhang high.

The gate was carved with a delicate 'Portrait of the Worthies Ascending to Heaven'.

Outside the ancestral hall stood the 'Civil officials dismount, martial officers dismount' avoidance stele.

It was the face given by the current emperor after the family recovered its vitality.

However, the number of memorial archways in front of the stele was only five, which also indicated that this face was not too big.

Zhang Gui had come here to wander around when he was a child, but very few times.

Because he was a transmigrator, and his father in this life was heartless, abandoning his wife and son.

So he felt from the bottom of his heart that the Pingyang Zhang family's ancestral hall had nothing to do with him.

So he didn't pay attention to the rules of family sacrifices.

Arriving under the stone steps of the ancestral hall, he saw the ancestral hall gate closed.

Zhang Gui tilted his head strangely and whispered to Zhang Jiujiang,

"It was so lively just now, how come I'm a great talent in the clan."

"The ancestral hall gate is still closed when adding to the genealogy?"

"For a great talent of your level to be added to the genealogy, opening the side door is enough," Zhang Jiujiang teased.

Zhang Qiguan on the side was not young, but his ears and eyes were sharp, and he faintly heard the conversation between the two, and a strange smile couldn't help but appear on the corner of his mouth...

Ming Song rules, great clans with ancestral halls, the sacrifices in the ancestral hall are divided into four grades.

The highest is called 'Zhang Ji', also known as 'Zhang Miao Elder'.

The 'Miao' here refers to the family temple, which is the ancestral hall.

Expressing the traditional legal system of the ancient clans of the Dongsheng Continent that treat ancestors as gods.

They won't show up easily, and are mysterious.

The second grade is called the main sacrifice, concurrently serving as the 'Inner Temple Elder' of the clan, and will only appear during the great sacrifice of the whole clan.

The next grade is called the great sacrifice, and also has the qualification to independently preside over the sacrifice.

Generally, small and medium-sized family sacrifices are all handled by them.

The lowest level of sacrifice is called the small sacrifice, which, as the name suggests, is a small errand runner.

But no matter what level of sacrifice, to a certain extent, it represents the face of the ancestors.

Although it cannot be called how prominent in terms of real power, there is absolutely no clan member who dares to neglect it...

Zhang Gui climbed the stone steps and, according to the rules, entered the ancestral hall alone from the side door.

Waiting for him was a handsome small sacrifice.

After the two met, the small sacrifice was expressionless, led Zhang Gui without saying a word, and kowtowed three times and nine times before the ancestral spirit tablets.

Afterward, he opened the genealogy that had already been folded, and filled in the name 'Zhang Jiugui'.

After finishing everything, the small sacrifice stared at Zhang Gui, his eyeballs not moving.

The two looked at each other for

He hurriedly fished two silver ingots from his sleeve and stuffed them into the hands of the Junior Sacrificial Officer, "Many thanks for your help, my lord.

It's freezing cold out, please have a drink of wine to warm yourself up."

This was his private stash of money he had prepared to treat Zhang Jiujiang to a drink, totaling five ingots, or fifteen taels.

His little companion had always been willing to help Zhang Gui out of his own volition; although deep friendships are the same whether at a roadside stall or a grand restaurant, one has to be generous once in a while, right?

But he hadn't expected that a portion of this drinking money would now become a tip.

What he expected even less was that the Junior Sacrificial Officer would take the silver, weigh it in his hand, and actually frown.

He grunted disdainfully and said in a low voice, "A small-time family, how stingy."

An old saying goes: it is easy to see the King of Hell, but hard to deal with his underlings.

Since ancient times, even for matters ordered by the Emperor, one always had to give the handlers some benefits.

That the Junior Sacrificial Officer was willing to add Zhang Gui to the genealogy after being asked for a favor was already rare.

What did it matter if he said something unpleasant?

But Zhang Gui had now gained momentum and become a grassroots Emperor, and his temper had grown as well.

He didn't indulge the Junior Sacrificial Officer; he snatched the two silver ingots he had given back with a swipe of his hand,

"I give you a tip and you're picky, complaining during the New Year season.

Do you think I, your young master, want to be in your genealogy?

If you have the ability and the guts, then go ahead and scrub my name back out of the genealogy.

Are you that insufferable?"

The Junior Sacrificial Officer was so blocked by Zhang Gui that he nearly choked, his lips trembling.

But how could a mere little monkey like him change what the clan elders had arranged?

He could only point at Zhang Gui, going "You, you, you..." incessantly.

Zhang Gui, acting as if he didn't see it, weighed the silver in his hand, pretended to be smug as he put it back into his sleeve, turned around, and walked away with a flourish.

It took less than a quarter of an hour in total, and the matter of entering the genealogy was successfully completed.

Then, Zhang Gui, Zhang Jiujiang, and Zhang Qitong gathered again outside the ancestral hall.

They went to the clan's stable dedicated to official business, requested a fast carriage with two shafts and two horses, and headed straight for Dragon Gate Berth.

Dragon Gate Berth was a famous and prosperous place for Ming Song maritime trade, and the number one private port of Siyang Commandery.

The big boss behind it was naturally heaven-reaching—it was the current Emperor of Ming Song.

Those managing the port were his most trusted house slaves, the eunuchs.

Because only thirty percent of the tribute silver went into the Ministry of Revenue.

The remaining seventy percent belonged to the Inner Treasury, which was the Emperor's private money.

Therefore, as events evolved, the task of collecting tribute silver in many commanderies fell into the hands of eunuchs.

After all, this kind of selling titles and buying fame with money was not decent, no matter how much one beautified it.

Even if the civil official faction was greedy and corrupt, compared to eunuchs who were "desireless and strong" and had nothing below, they still cared about their reputation.

So they had no way to compete.

Dragon Gate Berth was connected to the Pingyang Zhang Family by a commandery road, but they were far apart, one in the east and one in the west.

It was only at noon that Zhang Gui finally saw the tall gate tower of the port city.

Eunuchs did things in a way that wasn't very orderly; they were eager for quick success and expressed themselves bluntly.

Therefore, although thousands of merchants and tens of thousands of people gathered here, there wasn't even a single foot of city wall.

They directly adopted the auspicious phrase, "Joyfully welcoming guests from all over, wanting to earn wealth from all directions."

On the only gate tower, a giant plaque hung high, inscribed with three glittering golden characters: "Burning Tail Gate."

This symbolized that as long as you were willing to come here to do business, buy a title, or even work as a helper, you would have a bright future, as if reborn.

(End of chapter)