My father is Jiajing

Chapter 330: Gifts for a Job
Hu Zongxian passed through the complicated construction sites outside the capital and finally arrived at the inner city of the capital.

After arriving in the inner city, Hu Zongxian did not report to the Ministry of Personnel immediately, but went to Zhao Wenhua's residence.

Zhao Wenhua was a Jinshi in the eighth year of Jiajing. When he first studied at the National Academy, Yan Song was the chief academic officer. At that time, he seemed to have seen Yan Song's future, and without hesitation, he worshipped Yan Song as his adoptive father, thus gaining Yan Song's trust and reliance.

Later, with the recommendation and help of his fellow villager Xia Yan, Yan Song gradually emerged and became a rising star in the court.

Yan Song, who had already risen to prominence at this time, did not forget his adopted son, so he recommended Zhao Wenhua to work in the Ministry of Public Security.

The Tongzhengsi was one of the nine ministries of the imperial court. Although its rank was lower than the six ministries and the Censorate, the power held by this office was crucial.

All imperial edicts to be issued by the court, or formal memorials to be submitted by officials inside and outside the court, must be approved by the Tongzhengsi.

Therefore, although the Tongzhengsi seems to be of lower rank than the Six Ministries and the Censorate, it holds the most critical information channels.

Whenever a memorial impeaching Yan Song was sent to the Ministry of Public Administration, Zhao Wenhua would know about it in advance, report it to Yan Song, and then present it to the emperor.

In this way, Yan Song would have enough time to prepare countermeasures to any content of the memorial impeaching him.

It can be said that based on this point alone, Zhao Wenhua is even closer to Yan Shifan than his own son.

Therefore, Yan Song sometimes highly valued and trusted Zhao Wenhua.

The reason why Hu Zongxian looked for Zhao Wenhua was actually due to his helplessness in his official career.

Although Hu Zongxian had great talent and ambition, to put it bluntly, he was just an ordinary Jinshi who had never even entered the Hanlin Academy, and there were hundreds of Jinshi like him every three years.

The official structure of the Ming Dynasty was not as bloated and redundant as that of the Song Dynasty and some later periods. Therefore, if many Jinshi scholars did not have strong connections or were not appreciated and valued by bigwigs, the highest achievement they could achieve in their lifetime might be just a fifth-rank prefect.

Therefore, if you want to make progress, you must humble yourself, dare to stand on the side, and be good at clinging to people in high positions.

Therefore, even Hu Zongxian was no exception. If he wanted to go further, he had to humble himself and actively seek refuge and cling to the court forces that were willing to accept him.

"Ruzhen, come and sit down."

Zhao Wenhua, who was in casual clothes at home, looked at Hu Zongxian coming and showed his enthusiasm. However, his enthusiasm was just an expression of enthusiasm, a kind of superior enthusiasm.

Hu Zongxian replied to Zhao Wenhua politely and modestly: "Thank you, Zhongcheng. I brought you some local specialties from Huguang. It's not a token of respect. Zhongcheng, please don't refuse."

Hu Zongxian's word "Zhongcheng" made Zhao Wenhua's face break into a smile. He now holds the same position as Yan Shifan, the Minister of Works. However, any discerning person can see that he will soon replace Ouyang Bijin and become the official Minister of Works.

As for Yan Shifan, although he will be granted the title of Minister of the Ministry of Processing by imperial decree in the near future, it is just an honor and reward.

After all, Yan Shifan was only a student of the Imperial College, and he was admitted to the Imperial College with the blessing of his father, so no matter how powerful he was, no matter how arrogant he was, it was still not Yan Shifan's turn to be a formal official of the six ministries. Therefore, Zhao Wenhua was the one who was truly qualified to replace Ouyang Bijin as the Minister of Works.

Therefore, Hu Zongxian called Zhao Wenhua "Zhongcheng" without hesitation.

Zhao Wenhua waved his hand modestly and said, "Ruzhen, I am just an assistant minister now, how can I be called the chancellor? Don't call me that in the future."

Hu Zongxian said: "Zhongcheng should not underestimate himself. The current Minister of Works has been in office for a long time. According to the conventions of this dynasty, he is very likely to be transferred to another ministry within half a year. By then, Zhongcheng will be the only one in the Ministry of Works who is most qualified to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Ministry of Works."

"Moreover, Lord Yan also relies heavily on the Zhongcheng, so I believe that the Zhongcheng will definitely become an official of the six ministries in the court in the near future, and it is not impossible for him to enjoy the honor of being posthumously awarded by the court for three generations."

The posthumous honor of three generations mentioned by Hu Zongxian was also a brilliant favor of the Ming Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, as long as one had the opportunity to become a minister of one of the six ministries or a cabinet minister, he or she would have a certain chance to be rewarded posthumously by the emperor with the honor of being a minister of three generations.

Such honor is undoubtedly the most fatal attraction for those Confucian civil servants who seek to bring glory to their ancestors.

You have to know that when ancient people were officials, what they cared about was bringing honor to their family and glory to their ancestors!
If he had the ability to ask the emperor to award the honor of posthumously honoring three generations of ancestors, it would be the embodiment of the four words "bringing glory to the family". A hundred years later, when he was buried in the underworld, wouldn't those ancestors who were posthumously honored praise him to death?
Therefore, never underestimate the honor of posthumously awarding titles to three generations. This can benefit all future generations, which is why the Jinyiwei hundred and thousand households are much more glorious.

Therefore, Hu Zongxian used this sentence to flatter Zhao Wenhua, and Zhao Wenhua was so unhappy that he showed his true humility.

Zhao Wenhua couldn't hide his smile as he looked at Hu Zongxian. This man with thick eyebrows and big eyes was very pleasing to the eye.

Zhao Wenhua said: "I know you did a good job in Huguang this time, so even if you don't come this time, I will recommend you to the elders."

Hu Zongxian was waiting for Zhao Wenhua to say this. Only with Zhao Wenhua's words did Hu Zongxian feel at ease.

Otherwise, he really couldn't imagine what would happen to him after he finished reporting to the capital this time?

To be honest, with his ability and ambition, he was definitely unwilling to become a governor who was nominally in charge of a province.

Because in the current Ming Dynasty, the position of governor is like a concubine raised by a stepmother. It seems that he is the head of the administration of a province, but if his supervisor is a governor or governor-general sent by the court, it would be better for him to be a clerk.

Therefore, in order to avoid falling into the trap of being the governor in his next promotion, Hu Zongxian took the risk and humbly gave gifts and even accepted to be someone's younger brother.

Hu Zongxian excitedly bowed to Zhao Wenhua, "Zhongcheng, I will never forget your kindness! From now on, if Zhongcheng commands me, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Zhao Wenhua was very happy listening to Hu Zongxian's loyal words. At the same time, he was also thinking about what position he should arrange for Hu Zongxian.
It seemed that there were no good positions available right now, so Zhao Wenhua was a bit troubled for a while.

But these are not important. The territory of the Ming Dynasty is so vast. If you can't think of a suitable position at the moment, just think about it for a while. There are plenty of opportunities anyway. There is no shortage of people. What is lacking is people who are sensible and capable of doing things.

(End of this chapter)