Sword comes

The official residence has only three courtyards, but it covers a large area. In the center of each of the three courtyards, there is a lush sycamore tree. It is not an old thing from the immortals, but is said to be the same age as the government office. In the golden autumn season, occasionally some leaves drifting in the wind will pass through the windows and gently fall on the desks of young people. They will also be collected or used as bookmarks to seek a good omen.

An old pine tree transplanted from a fairy mountain, with twisted branches and dragon-scale bark, was lush and green. The breeze that passed through the dense leaves seemed cooler than that of other places. A circle of long bluestone benches surrounded the tree, which was convenient for officials in the courtyard to go out and rest and chat. In the green shade, there was also a stone table engraved with a chessboard. Whenever the golden sunlight shone through the layers of shade and onto the table, it looked like an immortal making a move.

There is also a peach tree in the backyard, which was replanted by Cui Luo himself about ten years ago. At that time, Rongyu was still a little girl who would cry whenever she missed home.

When Rongyu grew into a graceful young girl, she also saw many beautiful poems about peach blossoms in books.

Placing the brush on the three-mountain-shaped celadon pen holder and closing a file, Chen Pingan called Fu Qing to retrieve a confidential file, which included Cui Luo's specific itinerary for inspecting the various departments in the capital in the past twenty years, as well as who he met in this official residence every day and how long they met. It would be best if there were specific records of the content of the meetings.

Unexpectedly, Fu Qing said that there was no such file in the Imperial Master's Mansion.

Chen Pingan asked tentatively: "What about the Ministry of Justice?"

Fu Qing shook his head and said, "There won't be any such archives anymore."

Chen Pingan had a headache. He leaned back in his chair, put his hands in his sleeves, and looked up at the ceiling.

A country is like a human body. The number of registered households, garrison troops, total tax amounts, etc. on paper are like a person's appearance and can be seen with the naked eye. In addition, there are some things like the endless flow of commercial circulation among the people, the constant flow of people on official roads and post stations, which are the blood of the people. The real combat effectiveness of the border troops on the battlefield is like the muscles and bones under the skin. As for lectures in academies, village schools, people's hearts, etc., when summarized, they are the all-important human spirit.

Therefore, a country also has its own pulse. The clues that Chen Pingan wants to find out are like studying how Cui Luo diagnosed Dali's pulse.

Fu Qing said, "Master, Rongyu has a good memory. She entered this place when she was six years old. Do you want to call her over?"

Chen Pingan nodded and said, "Let her come over."

Rong Yu quickly knocked on the door, stepped over the threshold, walked lightly, silently chose a position, and stood on a specific blue brick.

Chen Pingan asked with a smile: "I heard from Fu Qing that you have a good memory. How good is it?"

Rong Yu said, "Master, I can clearly remember everything I have seen and heard in the past ten years. I can write it down, draw it, and even speak it out in an imitating accent."

Chen Pingan was stunned.

Rong Yu explained: "It's not some divine power bestowed by heaven, or some secret method of the immortals, it's just that I have a good memory."

She pointed to her head and smiled, "I was brought here by Cui Guoshi. It might be because I was still young at that time, so I had more freedom. Besides, Cui Guoshi didn't remind me in advance and things that were forbidden by Cui Guoshi were generally tacitly allowed and allowed to be done. Therefore, Cui Guoshi's schedule for the past ten years, who he met in the study, how long he talked, whether Cui Guoshi sat still or stood up to greet him, whether he asked the official to stand to talk, or moved a chair for someone, whether Cui Guoshi saw the guests off after the discussion, where he saw them off, to the door, to the corridor door of the second or third courtyard, or all the way to the gate of the official residence. Whether Cui Guoshi kept guests here for dinner, what files he asked for from the various rooms every day, and the various transcripts sent back and forth between the official residence and the Qianbu Corridor Office, as long as I have handled it, I dare not write it down on paper without permission, and I have recorded it here."

Chen Pingan smiled and said, "Then you should work harder in the near future and copy them all out."

Rong Yu asked, "Master Cui often paced in the courtyard outside the house. What did he eat every day? When he occasionally went out to eat, he chatted with a certain secretary. What were the answers of those officials? What were their subtle changes in expression? When Master Cui finished his meal and stood up, their respective expressions, should I write these down?"

Chen Pingan couldn't help laughing and waved his hand, saying, "Forget about that."

Rong Yu said goodbye and left. Fu Qing still stayed at the corridor, occasionally moving to inspect the two courtyards in front of the Imperial Master's Mansion.

Previously, all the young officials from various departments regarded the beautiful sight of Fu Qing slowly walking by the window as a visual treat that allowed them to relax a little.

Not now.

Xie Gou sat quietly at the doorstep, listening to the rustling sound of the brush tip on the paper at the desk.

Chen Pingan did not look up, writing non-stop, and said casually: "With the jade token given by the Imperial Master's Mansion, you can wander around the capital of Dali without being bored here. You can find books to read. The libraries of the Imperial Observatory, the Hanlin Academy, and the Imperial College have a lot of rare and unique books, all of which are quite impressive. Remember to peek, don't steal."

Xie Gou said, "It's not interesting."

Chen Pingan thought of something and said, "You send a message to Jise Peak with your flying sword and ask Peixiang of Fox Country to transfer someone here, that is her direct disciple Luo Fumei. She stayed in Fox Country and became a cultivator of the law lineage. It's a waste of talent. Gouzi, tell Fu Qing to go to the Ministry of Justice to reserve a third-class offering plaque, and give Luo Fumei a lowest-rank official status, and register her in the file. She will train in the Ministry of Justice in the future."

Xie Gou asked in confusion, "Mountain Master, isn't that vixen Luo Fumei traveling around Tongye Island with Sun Wanyan, Cao Ni, and Yuan Huang?"

Chen Ping'an's expression remained unchanged, and he said, "Then send a message to Cui Dongshan directly with the flying sword, and tell him to remember to say hello to Pei Xiang."

Xie Gou sighed, knowing that this was the aftermath of the war. Some of the "forgetfulness" that was originally used to detain the "divinity" was like a flower that had fallen and turned into mud. It was really gone. Xie Gou was Xie Gou after all, so he didn't frown or sigh about it. He just felt a little regretful.

After Xie Gou jumped away, Chen Pingan stopped writing, shook his wrist, rubbed his eyebrows, and then picked up an uncarved white jade handle from the table and held it in his palm. This thing was a seed material that was poked out by a hiking stick in the rapids of the river during his travels.

Regarding the selection of the Minister of Personnel of Dali, Chen Pingan consulted two people in advance: Emperor Song He and Lin Zhengcheng, the first chief officer of the Hongzhou Yuzhang County Logging Office.

The content of Lin Zhengcheng's reply was very simple: the best strategy would be for the Imperial Master to lead the Ministry of Personnel permanently.

The middle strategy is to either select one person from the six ministries in the secondary capital, preferably no older than 60 years old. Or select one person from the military commanders of the frontier army. Since the civil official Shen Chen can take charge of the Ministry of War, it is not a big deal to have a meritorious military commander take charge of the Ministry of Personnel. Otherwise, Fan Xie, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel in the capital, can be promoted on the spot. This person follows the rules and regulations and can be used for a few years.

The worst option is to randomly choose a current family head or the next family head from among the surnames of the upper pillars of the country. It doesn't matter if the national teacher draws lots.

Chen Pingan was surprised by the Emperor Song He's choice of the best candidate for the Minister of Personnel.

It’s Lin Shouyi.

However, the emperor also had several transitional candidates. Ma Yuan, Cao Qiao, Yuan Chong, Zhang Sunmao, Wei Li, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Chen Pingan made a list of a group of Dali civil and military officials whom he would meet in the near future.

Let Rong Yu and Fu Qing be responsible for connecting with various government offices.

Wang Yifu, a warrior at the top of the mountain. He was the most powerful military commander of the Lu Dynasty in the past. After the fall of the country, he was similar to Yang Hua, the current Marquis of Changchun in Dadu. He was once the attendant and guard of Queen Mother Nanzan. Later, he served as a military secretary and served as an attendant of Liu Qingfeng. He traveled around and served as a county lieutenant several times. After Liu Qingfeng passed away, Wang Yifu resigned from his post and did not return to the old Lu Dynasty to "retire". He lived in seclusion in the city in the secondary capital.

Wei Li was an official from Huangting State, a vassal state of the old Sui Dynasty. He served as the governor of Longzhou in Dali. Over a period of about thirty years, he was promoted all the way to the position of Minister of Rites in the secondary capital.

Wei Liang, a monk of the Legalist school, assisted Cui Luo in establishing the rules of the mountain and compiling the genealogy of gods. He was the Grand Commander of the former Qingluan State and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in the secondary capital.

Liu Xunmei, a younger brother of Chierjie General, had made outstanding military achievements. He was one of the construction supervisors of Dadu and currently served as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War in the Temporary Capital.

Cao Wu, the general of Yuzhou, was a general of Shihao State. His real name was Xu Mao. He married the daughter of Yuan, a senior general of the upper pillar state.

In the Capital Taoist Records Institute under the Dali Chongxu Bureau, the Capital Taoist Hong Fengxia, whose Taoist name is "Yufeng", is a Taoist official in the Golden Core Realm and also a sword cultivator.

Han Yi. A general of a state, stationed in the capital. He was once the commander of Yefu Pass, which borders Huangting State.

There were also three doctors, one from the Ministry of Revenue, the other from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War.

Guan Yiran, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel of the Ministry of Revenue. It is said that the entire Ministry of Personnel of Dali belongs to his family. The Ministry of Personnel has been named Guan for many years. Guan Yiran is also one of the three supervisors. The oldest Liu Qingfeng became the Minister of Rites of the secondary capital, and Liu Xunmei was also the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War of the secondary capital. On the contrary, Guan Yiran, who has the best family background, has an average career, so it is not that bumpy.

Song Hanhong, a doctor of the Ministry of Rites of the Capital. When going out of the capital for business, he often uses aliases, and he only needs to change the "rank" of his name and surname. The old doctor who has been in this position for many years is an old acquaintance of Li Jin, the water god of Chongdan River who likes to open a shop and sell books in Hongzhu Town. In his early years, he participated in a "hunting" and went to the mansion of the ghost girl in wedding clothes, and even walked through Shujian Lake. I met Chen Pingan not long ago. The Minister of Personnel is known as the Heavenly Official, so this doctor is the little Heavenly Official in the officialdom of mountains and rivers.

Chao Baoxiang, Director of the Military Selection Division of the Ministry of War, was also in charge of some of the underworld affairs of the Dali Dynasty, and secretly accepted underworld masters into the various departments of the Ministry of War.

Those who were in Beijing were given priority to enter the Imperial Master's Office. Chen Ping'an specifically selected Guan Yiran to meet him first, and the others could come as they pleased.

This was the first time in Guan Yiran's life that he set foot in the legendary Imperial Master's Office.

The Eighteen Departments of the Ministry of Revenue were in charge of the purse strings of the Dali Dynasty.

Fu Qing was waiting at the door, and took the first official to be formally received by the imperial master. After entering the gate of the government office, Guan Yiran saw the sycamore tree, and went to the second courtyard, where he saw the ancient pine trees and the heads in the windows of the wing rooms. These were all candidates for high-ranking officials. Then he walked along a corridor and saw a peach tree with only green leaves left after its flowering period, and the man in a green shirt standing next to the tree, with his hands behind his back, holding a jade bamboo fan.

Guan Yiran had been a military commander and a civil servant, but he still chose to bow and try to hold back his laughter as he said in a clear voice, "I am Guan Yiran, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue, and I pay my respects to the Imperial Master."

Chen Pingan walked towards the house and said with a smile: "I'm very busy. I can only spare some time to chat with you for a quarter of an hour. I will soon meet Han Yi and the doctors of the Military Selection Department and the Ancestral Sacrifice and Purification Department. I need to discuss serious matters with them."

After entering the house, Chen Pingan moved two chairs and placed them near the door. Guan Yiran sat down, shook his official robe, and crossed his legs.

Wow, how bold! Is he now the host?

Chen Pingan did the same.

Guan Yiran caught a glimpse of the woman at the entrance of the corridor from the corner of his eye. After just a glance at each other, Guan Yiran felt guilty and silently put down his legs that were crossed without knowing the rules.

There are too many smart people in the officialdom who are good at guessing people's minds. You have to really understand what the few people above you who are close to you don't want, and you can't confuse what they say with what they think. You have to be clear about what the large group below you want, what you can give them, and what you can't give them.

In Yichixiang and Chier Street, teenagers in their teens understand the truth, but many officials may need 20 to 30 years to understand it, or even never figure it out in their entire lives.

Guan Yiran is a “stupid person”.

So he crossed his legs again.

Otherwise, he would not have gone to the Dali Border Army to serve as a military monk, instead of serving as an official in a local area like Cao Gengxin and Yuan Zhengding, to build up his qualifications and be promoted steadily.

Grandpa Guan was also cruel. This great-grandson said that he would use a pseudonym instead of the surname Guan, and that he would be promoted based on his real ability and accumulate military merits. In particular, he did not allow his family to secretly contact the border troops. Grandpa Guan really did not contact them at all. When he first arrived at the border, especially in the first five or six years, he fought several fierce battles with the Lu Dynasty, which was a centipede that was still alive even after death. On the battlefield, Guan Yiran saved the lives of many generals, soldiers, and colleagues, and was also saved by others.