Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

The news that this year's Gongju Provincial Yuan finally landed in Mizhou spread like wildfire. It arrived in his hometown much earlier than Lu Ci's letter of good news, and spread to the ears of Lu's mother and several mentors in the academy.

When Lu's mother heard the news, she was stunned. She didn't even notice that the string of money in her hand fell to the ground.

It wasn't that she underestimated Lu Ci, but Lu Ci's usual performance always gave her the impression that her level in the academy was only above average.

Not long ago, although she got to know Yuan, she was surprised and soon believed in Lu Ci's sworn statement, thinking that it was mostly luck, so although she was happy, she didn't place too much hope on the provincial test.

I don't want Lu Ci to be silent, but he is a blockbuster, taking off the laurel crowns of Jieyuan and Provincial Yuan one after another!

It should be noted that in the huge city of Mizhou, there are countless people from all walks of life who have made good friends with Lu Ci.

Even those who have never met him, let alone dealt with him, are influenced by the people around them and have a good impression of him.

As soon as this news came out, there was an instant uproar all around, like a drop of cold water falling into boiling oil, suddenly aroused bursts of cheers.

Hey, hey, that Lu Langjun they knew won two yuan in a row!

That's two dollars!

That's all for Xie Yuan, they have known for a long time that there is no one in Mizhou City who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Lu Langjun.

The provincial exam was different, it was a place where all the talents of the state government supervisors gathered, more than 7000 people took the exam together, and Lu Ci, who was called for the first time to take the exam, took the top spot!

This is too embarrassing for Mizhou people!

Those who are familiar with Lu Ci on weekdays are even more serious at this time, all of them shouting happily to the people around them: "I knew from the beginning that Lu Langjun is definitely not someone in the pool. Don't think about it, if someone with ordinary qualifications can save such a large family business at such a young age?"

It just so happened that the person next to him also knew Lu Ci, and said happily, "I see that my masters like him very much on weekdays. Last year, when I was in Jieyuan, I came down to the mountain specially! This time it's even worse!"

"I was at the Liquan temple meeting that time, and I only used a few dozen essays, and I asked Shengyuan to write me a poem!" Keep it as a family heirloom, and wait to impress Xiao Lang with his talent."

This sound has successfully attracted the envy of the surrounding people.

"In the future, when we talk about good places with outstanding people, we should count them here, right?"

"That's that, that's that," everyone agreed with this, and said proudly: "No matter how capable people are from other places, can they still produce someone like Lu Langjun?"

This is a 15-year-old two dollars!

As for the scholars who failed in the examination, they naturally couldn't read the book anymore when they saw this joyful market place.

While lamenting the injustice of the heavens, the blindness of the examiner, and his bad luck, he couldn't help but think sourly: Now that Lu Ci is really going to turn into a dragon when it rains, he will ride the clouds and ride the fog from now on!

It was obvious that Lu Ci was going to be extremely valuable, and it was impossible to be so different from them, and it was impossible to deal with them casually like before.

But I don't know what these ordinary people are happy about, and they still treat Lu Ci as one of their own.

However angry they may be, the crowd at the fair, after bragging to each other and enjoying themselves, still feels short of something.

Lu Ci himself is not here, after all, it will be less interesting.

That's not true, although Lu Ci is not here, Mother Lu is!

After countless people came to their senses, they dropped their work and flocked to Mother Lu's stall, wanting to congratulate her personally.

Mother Lu dazedly accepted the congratulations from these familiar or unfamiliar people, and Mother Zhong who came soon also smiled kindly and helped pack up the business.

After receiving such great news, even Lu's mother, who was really fascinated by running the store and doing business to earn money, obviously didn't want to be busy with these things anymore, and had to go home slowly.

Although Zhong's mother was a little disappointed when she learned that her son Zhong Yuan had failed the ranking, she still knew how her son's level was.

As for Lu Ci's high school, while she was amazed, she couldn't help but feel a little proud.

Although anyone who knew Lu Ci could see that he was a dragon and a phoenix, and his appearance was extraordinary, no one thought that he would soar into the sky easily after only applying for the first time.

From then on, it is destined to make steady progress and have a bright future.

The same is true of Zhong Mu.

If she was only optimistic about Lu Ci in the past, so she hoped that her son could befriend him, and she was not stingy with helping Lu's mother, now she can clearly see that even when Lu Ci returns home, the two families will be It is absolutely impossible to be in the same class again.

In any case, she watched Lu Ci grow up with her own eyes, and the two families had been neighbors for such a long time. This kind of affection alone is extraordinary.

It's a pity that my son is not very up-to-date, he only cares about playing cuju instead of focusing on his studies.

Otherwise, it depends on Lu Ci mentioning Zhong Yuan's dedication, as long as Zhong Yuan can be more serious, he will benefit a lot, maybe this time he will not return home.

Didn't you see that Mr. Zhu, who usually obeyed Lu Ci's words on the whiteboard, was listed in the provincial examination at the same age of sixteen this time?

Mother Zhong regretted everything in her heart, and when meeting Mother Lu, who was still in a trance, she unconsciously showed a bit of flattery in the usual intimacy: "I think you can't open your mat today properly, Let's go back and rest."

Seeing the crowds of people pouring in to congratulate her endlessly, Mother Lu couldn't help rubbing her brows, feeling a little apprehensive, and simply accepted her kind suggestion.

After returning home, Mother Lu walked around the living room a few times in a daze, completely lost in a daze.

She subconsciously wanted to ask her son's opinion, but suddenly realized that the other party was not here, so she couldn't help but feel very melancholy.

That's right, that's right, Ci'er has always cherished those teachers in the academy the most, no matter whether they have heard of such great news, they still have to send someone to tell it.

Mother Lu hurriedly sent a female envoy to deliver the message.

As a result, as soon as the maid opened the door, she was ruthlessly pushed aside by the crowd that rushed in.

Such a strong and wide wooden door was almost crushed by the iceman waiting outside.

Although Lu's mother was in a hurry to deal with it, she still remembered clearly that before Ci'er left the house, she told her never to obey anyone about his marriage.

So even though these Icemen who were entrusted by the rich businessmen and official families in the city to re-employ their bright-tongued future sons-in-law were about to wear off their lips, she never let go.

In order to impress the mother of Lu Ci, who won two yuan and will soon become the hottest upstart in the court, these ice men thought about the generous rewards they would get once the matter was completed, not only when they showed the woman's conditions, they were more eager, While talking, they actually started fighting with each other openly in the Lu family.

Lu's mother was dizzy, so she simply used this as an excuse to ask the health servants to invite everyone out.

Just after asking away the noisy ice men for a long time, they hurried down the mountain, and the red-faced masters, followed by the maids they met on the road, came into the house...

Seeing that the city of Xiazhou under the rule was full of uproar and bustling because one person won the title of provincial Yuan, even Li Bing, the prefect, couldn't help being amazed at this festive spectacle.

After looking out of the window for a few times, he couldn't help sighing: "Not to mention anything else, this ability to win people's hearts alone, the future development of this Lu Shengyuan will not be far behind."

Tongju Wangsi was also filled with emotions.

Even though Lu Ci hadn't passed the imperial examination, and hadn't gotten an official position, the two of them had already started to envy him.

It's not just that he envies the other party for getting two yuan at a young age. .

The scenery is all temporary, and what is even more enviable is that it is clearly written in the Song Dynasty's regulations that "the top three in the palace examination and the first official of the provincial Yuan do not need to be a magistrate".

Moreover, Jinshi ranked first in the former, not to mention the grace to stay in Bianjing, the promotion can be said to be extremely fast.

Almost without exception, those who were able to reach Zaifu in the end were from Jinshi Dengke's background.

Where is he like him, who worked hard in the local area, traveled to many places, and worked hard to accumulate achievements, just to be able to be promoted step by step and return to Beijing as soon as possible.

"But this Lu Shengyuan," Li Bing suddenly thought of something, searched through the case, and quickly found the volume of the report from a month ago: "The one who gave the suggestion of living water?"

Wang Si was the person in charge of this matter, and immediately replied: "Exactly."

At the beginning, Lu Ci wrote the construction method of the water supply system on the pavilion in the form of a poem on the wall, which naturally attracted the attention of the government.

Especially Wang Si, after only a few glances, he came to the conclusion that this strategy is feasible, and immediately reported it to Zhizhou, begging to start.

As listed in this strategy, the required manpower is not much, the cost is also small, but the benefits can be enjoyed by several generations, so it is naturally worth a try.

However, the Zhizhou at that time was not Li Bing, but Lin Qi who was only thinking about fooling around.

Although he got the report from Wang Si, he just put it aside and always maintained the attitude of not seeking merit but seeking no fault.

It wasn't until the beginning of this year that Li Bing was dispatched when he became an official in this position.

Naturally, Li Bing was not reconciled to staying in this position, and devoted himself to accumulating political achievements and planting trees with great fanfare.

Wang Siyuan was already a little disheartened, and only when he saw the situation did he kindle some hope. He brought up the old matter again, and as expected, Li Bing readily accepted it.

Of course, he would not miss this kind of good deed that would not lose much if it failed, but would gain a lot of merit if it succeeded.

Wang Si immediately organized people to get busy, and soon built a decent water system, allowing the waterway to cover one-third of the residential buildings in Mizhou City.

Seeing that those people benefited, and others who were not covered, they couldn't help but come to invite them—if it can be done once and for all, they can use clean running water at any time from now on. Of course, they don't want to buy some stagnant water from porters.

Not every household can afford to drill a private well, nor can water be drilled everywhere.

But this water diversion system, it seems, is only based on bamboo, and the cost must be cheaper than digging a well.

Of course Li Bing would not sit idly by and ignore the people's requests, so Wang Si was very busy.

Because Zhizhou had tasted the sweetness, he sent more people out this time, and the results were very impressive.

In the past three months, except for some small places in corners or big families who insist on using private wells for water supply, the vast majority of Mizhou city residents can use the clear water from the mountain stream delivered by the water supply system built with bamboo at home.

Li Bing was still pondering, and after observing for a while to make sure that there was no problem with the water supply system, he would report it and count it into this year's performance.

As a result, Lu Ci won the Provincial Yuan in one fell swoop, and the scenery was unparalleled for a while, which also made him hesitate.

It stands to reason that at least most of the credit should go to him and Wang Si, who were adopted by Ying Ming and who were in charge of hosting.

But in the final analysis, the person who offered advice was still Lu Ci.

Regarding this point, whether it is in the poem on the wall or in the test paper, it is clearly written, and it cannot be suppressed.

If it's just an unknown scholar, just mention it casually when reporting, and then give some rewards in the name of the government, that's all.

When dealing with Lu Ci, who is destined to have a bright future, he must be more cautious...

Wang Si had other considerations in his heart.

Regardless of whether the repair is complete, the operation is still good for the time being, but in terms of specific maintenance, there are still many inconveniences.

Once a block was blocked, dozens of them had to be replaced at the same time because they didn't know which one was wrong. It happened not long ago.

This is still Hsinchu - if a period of time passes, the frequency of such situations will only increase.

At that time, can you change dozens of them at every turn?

Wang Si doubted this very much.

In his opinion, if Lu Ci had said this strategy a few years ago, he would have a better idea.

Wang Si also thought that after Lu Ci came back, he would come to the door in person to ask for advice. Of course, he didn't want to see Li Bing offend a talented man who was destined to have a bright future for a small profit.

So he persuaded the other party a few words.

Li Bing was a little unwilling at first, hesitating for a long time, but it was Wang Si's words that made him make up his mind, and reluctantly gave up the big head to Lu Ci.

The icing on the cake, it is better to send charcoal in the snow.

If Lu Ci could add another halo to him, in the imperial examination where rankings are mostly determined by the emperor's will, the possibility of the other party getting a high ranking would naturally increase a lot.

With the other party's performance of long-sleeved and good at dancing, he will definitely accept this love.

Later, when he returned to Bianjing to report on his work, he also had a lot of connections.

Taking a step back, even if Lu Ci turned a blind eye to this, being able to produce a two-dollar Jinshi under his rule proves that Mizhou is full of talents, and it can be counted as part of his achievements as a prefect.

After thinking this way, Li Bing finally calmed down completely.

However, Lu Ci, who is far away in Bianjing, has almost forgotten the suggestion of a tap water system that was proposed a few years ago but has not been adopted.

Even though Mother Lu replied in a letter not long ago, after learning that it was finally set up, she didn't take it too seriously, and she didn't think it would have much connection with me.

I was full of entanglements with Li Bing, and I didn't know anything about it, so I just concentrated on reviewing.

Besides, in Lu Ci's eyes, Bianjing is good, but if you want to taste the delicacies from all over the world, you have to actually go to each place to eat the most authentic delicacies.

Even if the Song Dynasty had developed shipping, it would be impossible for him to eat the freshest Dongting fish sticks and freshly boiled puffer fish.

If he could choose where to report his work, he would undoubtedly be happy to be released to various places for 'exercise'.

On the other hand, in the morning before the imperial examination, when reporting on local affairs, the newly appointed governor of Mizhou, who had become very popular, sent a memorial. Not only did he write about the benefits of building tap water, but he also focused The name of the person who made the decision was pointed out.

As soon as the familiar name came out, it not only woke up Zhao Heng who was drowsy because he stayed up all night cultivating immortals, but also attracted the attention of many courtiers.

Zhao Heng was mainly surprised.

Although he is the Ninth Five-Year Master, he is not ignorant of the twists and turns of the people below.

It is still a white body, so Zhizhou can choose to report honestly instead of taking credit for himself...

Just looking at this point, we can see that this Lu Shengyuan is not only good at handling things, but also a smart person who is quite humane.

And the privy envoy Kou Zhun, who had been showing a lack of interest just now, after catching the key words, roughly digested it, his ears trembled, and his spirit suddenly lifted.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. The local authorities in the Song Dynasty were divided into three levels, namely: Lu, Fuzhou Military Supervisor, and County.The largest level of "Road" has appeasement envoys, transshipment envoys, mentioning punishment and prison divisions, lifting Changping divisions, and supervisory divisions.The sub-level Fuzhou Military Supervisor has officials Zhifu, Zhizhou, Army, Supervisor, and General Judge.

2. There are actually traces of the promotion of officials in the Song Dynasty.As long as you keep yourself safe and complete your duties step by step, you will get a chance for promotion through "grinding". "Grinding" is a performance appraisal system. All those who work in the officialdom can actively apply for promotion after a certain period of time.It is found that their qualifications are in line with the regulations for promotion, and there is no need for special performance in the position, and the position can be gradually promoted. ("Pretending to Live in the Song Dynasty")

3. The top three in the palace examination and the provincial governor's first appointment as officials do not need to be governors. ("Cultural History of the Song Dynasty")

4. Those who pass the palace examination will be awarded a certain official rank.For example, during the reign of Emperor Renzong, the number one scholar was awarded the rank of supervisor, the second place was awarded Dali to judge affairs, Tanhua was awarded to the prince Zhongyun, and he was judged by all states. No. 4 was awarded to the school secretary, and No. 5 was awarded to Feng Lilang; No.6 awarded two envoys.The second class is awarded as a junior official, the third class is awarded the title of county magistrate, the fourth class is awarded the title of chief book or county lieutenant, and the fifth class is awarded the title of judge. ("Cultural History of the Song Dynasty")