Qin Dewei followed the address informed by the clerk of the Ministry of Household Affairs and came to the Luojia River House on the bank of the Qinhuai River, a little west of Wuding Bridge.
After informing him of his origin, he emphasized that he was sent by the Grand Sima, so Qin Dewei was invited in by his master.
I saw a large bamboo forest planted in this courtyard. There are pavilions and verandas built in the bamboo forest. It is surrounded by bamboo forests on three sides and faces the Qinhuai River on one side. It is quite interesting.
There were seven or eight old men sitting in the pavilion, drinking tea and talking freely.
Qin Dewei took a few glances from a distance. This was simply a tea party for veteran cadres, and he actually found a few people who looked familiar.
In addition to Mr. Hu, there are also Mr. Gu, a local literary ally, Mr. Luo Feng, a local bibliophile who has had a close relationship, and Mr. Zhan Ruoshui, the imperial winemaker.
Qin Dewei didn't really know the other people, but he understood that they must be big shots.
I knew before I came that this was a gathering of scholars during the Hongzhi reign. As the name suggests, it was a gathering of Jinshi during the reign of the late emperor, the late Emperor.
That era was only twenty-six years ago at the shortest time! Who could be the person who could persist in the officialdom for more than thirty years without being dismissed, promoted, demoted, or died?
I would be too embarrassed to say hello to anyone even if I'm lower than the fourth rank, so speaking of it, this may be one of the most high-end parties in the entire city of Nanjing.
There must be ministers, ministers and the like mixed in, and it seems that there are also seniors who are older than Wang Tingxiang.
So Qin Dewei felt that today's job was more and more difficult. A group of old guys with high qualifications and high status gathered together and wanted to ask Mr. Hu to leave alone. I'm afraid it would be even more difficult.
Even if Wang Tingxiang and Grand Sima himself came in person, he would still have a headache when facing a group of veteran cadres who are still in office.
Moreover, Qin Dewei thought of another question: Did Wang Dasima deliberately amuse himself?
Because Wang Dasima seemed to have been a Jinshi during the Hongzhi period, he should have known about this gathering and must have been invited, but why didn't he come?
When he thought of this, Qin Dewei was shocked. Was he being used as cannon fodder by Wang Dasima?
This can't go on like this! Once you finish this job, you have to stop no matter what. Although Liangyuan is good, it is definitely not a place where you can stay for a long time! Only Feng Zhixian is the best employer!
With messy thoughts, Qin Dewei climbed up the steps, stood outside the pavilion, saluted the old men and said: "I have met the old men and old gentlemen!"
The old men still talked about their own things, and no one took the initiative to talk to Qin Dewei. At such a high-end party, whoever talked to a primary school student first would be devaluing himself?
Qin Dewei could only stand outside and called out to Minister Hu: "Young Situ! I have come to invite you on the orders of the Great Sima!"
Someone sitting in the middle looked at the 70-year-old man and suddenly turned his head and asked, "Why hasn't Wang Junchuan arrived?"
Junchuan, the nickname of Prime Minister Wang Ting. This old man dared to call Prime Minister Wang Ting by his nickname without adding any honorific, so he certainly has this qualification. At least in the name of the department, he must be a senior.
Qin Dewei responded appropriately: "Da Sima has been very busy with official duties recently, and Wu Xia has taken care of him. May I ask who the old gentleman is? If you have anything to say to Da Sima, I might be able to convey it to you."
Luo Feng introduced: "This is He Da Sikong of the Southern Ministry of Industry."
Qin Dewei suddenly realized that it turned out to be He Zhao, the minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing. His rank was at least the same as that of Wang Tingxiang, he was more than ten years older, and he probably had an earlier name in the department. He was indeed qualified to be a senior citizen.
Then He Shangshu said again: "If you want to make an appointment, according to etiquette, you should send an invitation in advance and set a time. How can you say that you just invite someone? Wang Junchuan is too rude."
He Shangshu could speak in such a tone, but Qin Dewei could not accept the words and could only emphasize: "I don't know what the great Sima is thinking. I am just here to do something under orders today."
Hu Shilang stared at Qin Dewei and asked: "Why did Duke Junchuan ask me to do it? If you have anything to say, why can't you come here to say it?"
Although they were enemies, Qin Dewei pretended to be respectful and replied: "Da Sima invites Young Situ to drink tea!"
Hu Shilang thought about it for a moment, then looked at Zhou Lun, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing, and Sheng Duanming, the minister of Taichang Temple in Nanjing, and said with a smile: "It seems that Duke Junchuan wants to be the one to make peace! Otherwise, why don't you send someone else, specifically this son, to invite me?" !”
Qin Dewei was speechless. Hu Shilang's reaction was almost exactly what Wang Dasima expected. Was Hu Shilang too careless, or Wang Dasima too clever?
No, I really don’t want to work under Wang Da Sima anymore. I’ll leave as soon as I finish this job. No one is as good as Magistrate Feng.
The high-end game is too un-casual, but the low-end fish pond game is more relaxing and enjoyable.
When everyone heard Hu Shilang's explanation, they all laughed and said, "No wonder Wang Junchuan didn't come today. It turned out that he wanted to intercede for others. After all, there are too many people here, and it's difficult to save face."
Qin Dewei was filled with emotion as he listened to the old men's jokes.
Although Nanjing is also known as the capital city and is located in the golden land of the southeast, it is indeed too easy to kill one's will. These old bureaucrats are so devoid of political acumen.
When they think about it, Wang Tingxiang was ordered to rectify the atmosphere, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fix it on them.
They didn't expect that since there was a rising star in the court, would they find an opportunity to clear up positions and arrange their own people?
He Shangshu from the Ministry of Industry asked Qin Dewei again: "Has Wang Junchuan asked someone to tell him the time?"
Qin Dewei replied: "I just said that I would like to invite you today."
He Shangshu said indifferently: "In that case, it's still early today, so you just wait! After all, it was Wang Junchuan who suddenly invited someone, so I was rude and unreasonable!"
It’s not that I’m unreasonable, but do you know what’s going on today?”
He also pointed to Zhan Ruoshui, who was offering wine at the Nanjing Imperial College, and said: "Mr. Ganquan will leave his post and go to Beijing in the near future. We are waiting for today's meeting to say goodbye to Mr. Ganquan!"
So I asked Wang Junchuan to wait first, and asked Mr. Hu to stay here for the time being, and wait until he is done with it."
Everyone said together: "That's the truth!"
Among this group of people, Mr. Hu Shilang, who is in his early fifties, is the youngest one. He kept saying: "I will obey you brothers!"
Qin Dewei sighed, he knew this would happen! What else could he do in front of a group of old men with an average age of sixty and an average level of third grade!
No one invited him in, and it was difficult to get around, so the primary school student had to sit on the steps and wait.
When I was bored, I was thinking about the news I just heard. Zhan Jijiu is going to the capital? He is a senior Jijiu and has a reputation as a scholar, so he should be promoted.
However, the fourth-grade Imperial College's wine-offering position belongs to the Qingliu position, and there are not many Qingliu positions at the higher level, only those in the Ministry of Rites.
Wait? The Ministry of Rites? Is Master Xia, the Minister of Rites, going to be promoted to the Minister of Rites again? If Zhan Ruoshui goes to the capital, wouldn’t he just succeed the Minister of Rites?
When the primary school students were thinking wildly, they heard someone inside the pavilion saying: "The banquet is not yet served, why don't we do some word games while we are drinking tea? It's time to compose a poem in rhyme at this time!"
Another person said: "Mr. Dongqiao is respected as the leader of the Nanjing literary circle, why doesn't he come to host it?"
Gu Lin was speechless and pointed to the primary school students sitting on the steps outside. Are you sure you want to write a poem?
Mr. Hu said impatiently: "We don't care what they do!"