Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

On the way to take office, Lu Ci didn't do much work, nor did he have constant turmoil like the previous few times, but a rare and smooth journey.

In addition, the leased ones were all healthy donkeys and well-trained coachmen, and the group arrived at the Qinzhou office in only half a month.

Coming out of Bianjing, which is prosperous and fragrant, the more you go to the northwest, the more you feel the poverty that is completely different from it.

And this Qinzhou prefecture, even the plaque hanging on the city gate, is dilapidated, with scars left by the war, which is very shocking.

Lu Ci looked around calmly.

Most of the people waiting to enter the city were yellow and thin, dressed in ragged clothes, and their eyes were dull. They were in stark contrast to the rich and embroidered nobles and the happy relocated households he was used to seeing in front of the gate of Bianjing.

There are very few caravans willing to come to this dangerous place where wars were frequent not long ago.Not to mention that the scale of the caravan was much smaller, everyone was frowning and repeatedly asked questions, obviously wanting to enter the city as soon as possible and leave earlier.

It is obvious that Qinzhou City, which rejects Tubo in the west, is not a good place to go, let alone officials who need to be promoted. Even in the eyes of ordinary people, it is indeed not a good place.

Lu Ci didn't feel the slightest bit of frustration, but his eyes lit up and he smiled slightly.

Not only did he have a general understanding of many frontier states that are very likely to become his post in the next few years before he set off, he was fully prepared.

It was also because he quickly noticed that the mental outlook displayed by the city guards was an extremely rare military appearance and strict discipline.

Lu Ci admits that he has been to many places, but he has never seen this kind of discipline, which is not even half-slack when facing ordinary people, except for the most elite soldiers in Beijing. up.

It is worthy of being General Cao Wei Cao, who has made great military exploits and made outstanding achievements repeatedly.

Lu Ci secretly sighed.

Soon it was the turn of Lu Ci and his party to accept the inspection. Di Qingji consciously handed over the road inspection, and the other party would conduct a routine inspection.

And when the sergeant, who was originally sullen and unsmiling, accidentally saw the letter of appointment and a bunch of certificates that Lu Ci attached directly with Lu Yan, his tense face seemed to crack.

Especially the sergeant holding this road test felt that the papers in his hand, which were supposed to be light, suddenly became heavy.

A little bit of disbelief gradually came out of his eyes. He looked at Lu Yan for a while, and Lu Ci, who had drawn up the car curtain generously and smiled gently at him, was a little at a loss for a while.

As for the guards who jumped onto the other cars and were waiting for him to read the delivery list one by one so that they could count them one by one, they didn't wait for his voice for a long time, and couldn't help frowning.

They looked at each other cautiously, turned over neatly one after another, gathered together very quickly, and asked concisely: "Why, is there something wrong?"

When they saw the road test that made their colleagues stiff, they were also stunned.

Immediately, they cast indescribable gazes on the smiling Lu Ci at the same time.

Not only did Lu Ci come too fast, which exceeded everyone's expectations, but also because of Lu Ci's overly eye-catching, handsome appearance that seemed to be shining, and his unbelievably young age, he seemed extraordinarily out of tune with the surroundings.

... Is this a gentle and handsome civil servant who succeeded General Cao of the Iron-Blooded Steel Spear?

According to common sense, those senior officials who are used to living a rich and luxurious life in Beijing are suddenly relegated to other places, and it is still Qinzhou, which is a combination of backcountry and military frontier. Enough to make people cry.

Before General Cao guarded this place, all those civil servants were procrastinating, but they won't come in two or three months.Even when he came, he sighed and looked sad. How could he be so radiant and full of spring breeze?

They were both at a loss and felt indescribably subtle, but the deep-rooted military law quickly took effect, and they quickly reported the arrival of Lu Ci, the new governor of Qinzhou.

The specific reception is not up to them to decide.

After a while, Lu Ci waited for the training envoy of the Yingzhou Regiment who happened to be training soldiers in the barracks in this area, the patrol envoy of the prefecture of Qinzhou and the border patrol envoy, and the border appeasement envoys of Jingyuan, Yi, Weizhou, and Zhenrong Army. Cao Wei.

Just like the first reaction of his soldiers, Cao Wei, who has been in battle, was also a little slow when he suddenly saw a handsome and handsome man who smiled and bowed to him with a smile.

He has been to and fro in various frontier states where the smoldering wars are everywhere, and he has been born and died on the battlefield for many years. Now that he is getting older, his body is old and his body is not as good as before.

Everything was beyond his control, and he had long since wished to go back to Bianjing and reunite with the few remaining family members.

Although it is difficult to return to the roots of the fallen leaves, but being able to be with the family all the time has made the veterans of the battlefield satisfied.

However, from year to year, to quarterly, to monthly, the memorials are like mud cows entering the sea, and there is no response.

Until his mother was seriously ill a few years ago, he was so anxious that he sent several memorials, and then begged several civil servants who could barely be called friends in Beijing to intercede, and only begged the officials to allow him to return to Beijing to visit his mother.

In the end, although he was accepted, he only stayed for a few days before he was appointed as the magistrate of Qinzhou again, and then returned to the remote state capital with a bunch of dispatched clerks.

Because of constantly changing jobs and going far away, he couldn't even see his mother for the last time.

Unavoidably disheartened, he submitted a memorial as usual, pleading for Ding's mother's concerns, but the officials still did not wait for him to expire before reassigning him.

Just when he thought there was no hope of returning to Beijing in this life, a piece of good news came unexpectedly, which made him very unbelievable.

After knowing that the person who came was Lu Ci, I felt even more subtle.

As for Lu Ci, although he is far away in Bianzhou, he has heard a little bit about it: he knows that he is the "Wenquxing" who was famous for a few years because of the three yuan and the first, and he also knows that he has accumulated a lot of money under his hands. With solid political achievements, he is a very responsible and capable talent. He also knows that the reason why Lu Ci's official career is smooth and smooth, and he was promoted to a third-rank official in the middle of the court within a few years, which is beyond the reach of the same year. The biggest reliance is the appreciation of the officials. And Prince's reuse.

How could such an outstanding person be sent to Qinzhou without warning?

Cao Wei pondered over and over again, but couldn't figure out the mystery.

He was born as a general, but he didn't stay in Beijing for a long time. He had almost no friends who could talk to him, let alone a channel to inform him.

So he really couldn't figure it out, so he simply didn't think about it—anyway, he only had a small expectation, and waited patiently for two or three months to see if the officials changed their minds and revoked the appointment order, or he opened the clouds to see the moonlight, I was finally able to return to Beijing.

Even though he hoped it would be the latter, he dared not even dream about it. Instead of dragging his feet on the road openly because of his reluctance, Lu Ci showed the speed of a quick march, and it took only half a month. , appeared in front of him.

——I'm afraid he's either stupid or reckless.

"Uh," Cao Wei stared at Lu Ci for a moment, and really couldn't think against his will that the handsome young man in front of him was 'stupid' and 'reckless', so he subconsciously returned a salute, and said politely with obvious stiffness: " You came much sooner than I thought."

Lu Ci frowned and said with a smile, "I'll tell you the truth, Zhizhou Cao. I've admired your demeanor for a long time. Ever since I learned that the new office is in Qinzhou, of course I have to hurry all the way."

As the saying goes, "Thousands of wears, thousands of wears, flattery does not wear", not to mention that Lu Ci's tone is joking, but the content is sincere?

Cao Wei was immediately amused by these words and relaxed.

He has been struggling for many years, and he can tell which people he can get along with and which people are arrogant in their bones and look down on vulgar people like him, through a few words.

He quickly classified Lu Ci as one of the former, and said with a loud smile, "If I had known this, Cao should have wiped off this rough and plastered body first, so as not to disappoint Lu Sanyuan too much."

When Cao Wei happily led Lu Ci to his place, Di Qing followed closely, but suddenly seemed to have caught something, turned his head sharply, and looked for something among the nearby crowd.

Of course, the people in the city recognize General Cao's appearance, even if their memory is bad, they can still tell the difference in that battle robe.

At this time, seeing General Cao being so affectionate to a handsome man whom he had never seen before, the crowd gathered around him curiously, and there were more and more people, not as sparse as before.

Di Qing frowned, and looked around the crowd for a while. Before he found any result, he had to give up searching soon because he wanted to catch up with Lu Ci's pace.

——I don't know if it was caused by his illusion, but I always felt that when Grandfather Cai was talking and laughing with General Cao, there were so many unkind and resentful eyes cast on him.

General Cao's desire to return to the capital, all the soldiers in the city could not be more clear.

The arrival of Lu Ci also means that General Cao's wish has been fulfilled. While the soldiers felt joy for going up to the peak, they also felt somewhat lost and hesitant about what would happen in the future.

Civil servants lead the army, what will it be like to guard one side, don't they still know?

I'm afraid it will be another three years of perfunctory work, and when the salary is full, the rotation will not even set foot in the military camp.

The first few guards who greeted Lu Ci and his party were quickly chased by their comrades asking questions, most of them wanted to find out from them what kind of person the new magistrate of Qinzhou who was about to take office would be like. .

But at most they talked to Lu Ci a few more words, read a few pieces of paper, how could they understand?

Under questioning, they had no choice but to rack their brains, recalling Lu Ci's words and deeds at that time, and replied: "...Looks like he is gentle and gentle. In our place, he is willing to come so quickly. I think he is a kind person."

Just when the guards of the city seldom got together to gossip, a few guards who did not participate in it but still stuck to their posts checked the road tests of these two literati named Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao. It's easy to let go.

Seeing that the weak and polite couple were going on a trip without much luggage, they kindly warned: "The closer you get to the border, the more rampant the road bandits will be. It's still dangerous if you go alone. It’s better to travel with a larger caravan.”

Those two people showed a little uncomfortable expression, and after thanking them in a low voice for the reminder, they still insisted on going out.

Seeing that they didn't listen, the guard just shook his head and wished them good luck, so he didn't ask any more questions.

Maybe it was something urgent, or someone at home was there to meet him on the way, or simply not afraid of death?