Under the pavilion, the two of them sat facing each other.
There is an ice bucket next to the table with fruit wine in it. There are cucumbers, preserved eggs and other refreshing side dishes on the table.
Yu Qian felt a little regretful. His little salary was barely enough to cover expenses. How could he invite him back in the future?
"What are you thinking about?"
"No, it's nothing." Yu Qian shook his head in embarrassment and changed the subject, "Li Shangshu, in the court today...did you do it on purpose?"
"Well, I did it on purpose." Li Qing said bluntly, "What we Han people like most is compromise. A literary master once said:
If you say that this room is too dark and a window needs to be opened here, people will definitely not allow it; but if you advocate removing the roof, they will mediate and be willing to open a window."
Yu Qian was startled for a moment, then nodded his head: "This is what everyone said, and it really is."
After a pause, he added: "But today I can guess that those officials will also come to their senses in the future, don't worry..."
"What is there to worry about?" Li Qing picked up a preserved egg with chopsticks, "This is a conspiracy. The so-called reciprocation of love. If the emperor takes a step back, the ministers will naturally take a step back. Everyone takes a step back to achieve a result that is relatively satisfactory to each other.
, this is an unwritten rule in the officialdom, you must remember the key points here."
Yu Qian nodded: "The official has written it down."
"Okay, the wine town is almost done, let's drink." Li Qing took out the wine pot and poured Yu Qian a glass, "How about trying this fruit wine?"
Yu Qian held the cup, and after Li Qing finished pouring the wine, he raised the cup and sipped it with his lips. It was sweet and refreshing.
Such luxury... Yu Qian felt guilty, "Good wine."
"Haha... This is made from fresh grapes. The alcohol content is not high. It doesn't hurt to drink a few more glasses." Li Qing smiled and went to pick up the wine pot.
"Come here, your official." Yu Qian picked up the pot and poured a cup for Li Qing, "Li Shangshu, my official wants to ask you something."
"Say." Li Qing sipped the wine, feeling contented.
Yu Qian was a little embarrassed, "Li Shangshu, your cultivation of Xiaguan, Xiaguan is well aware of it, but..."
"Do you want to talk about promotion?"
"Ah." Yu Qian's face was filled with heat, and he mustered up the courage to say, "The lower official considers himself to be very hard-working, and has made some contributions to meet the qualifications for promotion."
Indeed, Yu Qian has been in this position in Duge Shizhong for more than four years. With his qualifications and achievements, it is more than enough for him to be promoted to the next level.
However, there was still no movement so far, so he was somewhat anxious.
Anyone who pursues an official career does not want to be promoted, especially Li Qing's words: in his position, he will seek his own government; it made him eager to be promoted.
Although Du Geshizhong is a position with real power, it is ultimately limited. If he wants to achieve something great, he must be promoted.
"With your qualifications and merits, you are qualified to be decentralized as a prefect," Li Qing said. "However, I prefer that you stay in Beijing. The role you can play in the local area is limited after all. But it is different in Beijing. You can do better here."
If you see the essence clearly, you will have greater opportunities."
"I understand, but..."
"Don't worry." Li Qing said with a smile, "You are at this age and it is the time for experience. It is not a bad thing to accumulate more experience."
Yu Qian nodded, feeling that he was too utilitarian, "I made you laugh."
"Huh? Getting promoted and making a fortune is everyone's ideal, so there's no need to be embarrassed."
"I don't want to get rich," Yu Qian explained.
Li Qing sighed secretly, this was also the reason why he never promoted Yu Qian.
In this turbid officialdom, being an upright official is itself a kind of original sin.
If you are aboveboard, others will not play with you.
Being in harmony with the light is the best choice. Just stick to your heart and do good things that benefit the country and the people.
But Li Qing did not say these words after all. Yu Qian was not a fool and could not understand this truth, but he still chose to do so.
Everyone has their own path, and Li Qing is not qualified to make the decision for Yu Qian.
We can only impart experience to him as much as possible, so that he can avoid detours and encounter obstacles.
"Come, drink..."
"Hey, okay."
"Ding" clinked the glasses, and Li Qing drank it all in one gulp, "Eat vegetables. If you come to my house and leave hungry, my reputation will be ruined if word spreads."
Do you still have a reputation? Yu Qian resisted the urge to complain and nodded with a fake smile.
"Hey, what are you drinking?" Zhu Zhanji strode over with a cheerful face, and even the housekeeper in the house couldn't keep up.
"Sir, the emperor's grandson is here."
Zhu Zhanji glanced sideways at the butler and said, "Call me Prince from now on."
"Yes," said the steward, "Sir, the Crown Prince is here."
"Please step aside." Li Qing waved away the embarrassed butler.
Yu Qian hurriedly saluted: "See His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Ah haha... no gifts, no gifts, it has just been decided, and it has not been officially canonized yet." Zhu Zhanji said, "It won't be too late to change my mind after the canonization tomorrow."
Then you asked the housekeeper in my house to change his story... Li Qing rolled his eyes, "Is there something wrong with the emperor's grandson?"
If anything happens to Zhu Zhanji, he just comes to Li Qing to show off.
"Look what you said, can't I come if you have nothing to do?" Zhu Zhanji walked to the table and sat down, "Come on, let's drink together."
Li Qing lost his temper when he met someone who didn't treat him as an outsider, and ordered people to add wine and food.
…
Yu Qian is a bit restrained. He doesn't drink much wine and rarely eats food.
Zhu Zhanji, on the other hand, was not polite at all and showed off with the preserved eggs. He was the last to arrive and ate the most.
"Yu Qian, are you here to discuss business at Li Qing's house?" Zhu Zhanji put down his wine glass and asked casually.
"Uh... not really." Yu Qian was a little embarrassed.
"What's that for?" Zhu Zhanji, who knew him well, joked: "You don't want Li Qing to promote you, do you?"
Yu Qian's face turned redder and he stood up awkwardly: "Emperor Grandson, I have official duties, so I'll excuse you now."
"Are you really looking for Li Qing to get promoted?" Zhu Zhanji laughed and said, "You want to be promoted to me, but I can't speak better than him?"
Yu Qian has never been so embarrassed as he has grown up, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
After that, he almost ran away.
"This Yu Qian is really interesting." Zhu Zhanji looked at Yu Qian's retreating back and was overjoyed.
"That's almost enough. Let's save some face for others." Li Qing said angrily, "Why didn't I realize before that you were so indebted to me?"
"Oh, you still have the nerve to accuse me?" Zhu Zhanji said speechlessly: "In terms of debt, I can't compare to you."
Li Qing was too lazy to argue with him: "I ate, drank, and pretended. If you have nothing else to do, you can go back first. I'm going to take a nap."
Zhu Zhanji said unhappily: "The imperial court gives you a salary, so you just take a nap?"
"There's no war to fight," Li Qing shrugged, "What else can I do?"
"There are many things you can do, such as..."
"I'm old." Li Qing interrupted the spell.
"..." Zhu Zhanji: "How can you sleep at your age?"
"What's the meaning?"
"There will be a lot of time to sleep in the future. Do more things while you can still do it, and you will be remembered in history..."
Li Qing interrupted with a stern face: "Please leave as soon as possible in a tactful manner, otherwise I may not be able to help but take action."
"Yuanrun?" Zhu Zhanji scratched his head and couldn't understand, "Okay, I'm not poor anymore, but when it comes to having something to do, I'm really a little bit busy."
"What?"
"It doesn't matter if it's big or small." Zhu Zhanji said seriously, "My father... my father, plans to support the cabinet."
Li Qing frowned: "Why?"
"Because they obey."
Li Qing thought for a moment and asked, "What do you think are the pros and cons of this?"
"In the short term, it's good, but in the long term, it's not good." Zhu Zhanji said truthfully, "The purpose of the emperor's cabinet is to help the emperor handle internal affairs. To be honest, this power is already very great, so we only give it to
Granted them official posts of the fifth rank;
Cabinet ministers are of low rank and powerful, but the ones who really have the final say in the court are the six ministers and ministers." Zhu Zhanji frowned and said, "But if we give them high-ranking officials, then this balance will be broken."
Li Qing nodded: "You can think of it, your father can also think of it, have you asked him?"
"He discussed it with me," Zhu Zhanji said. "He asked me if I had the confidence to suppress the cabinet after I ascend the throne in the future."
"Then what?"
"Then I said yes."
"..." Li Qing glanced at him sideways, "Really?"
Zhu Zhanji sneered and said confidently: "It's just a small cabinet. I can suppress it. Why are you doing it?"
"Looking for your father." Li Qing didn't even look back.