gnovel Chapter 71 You're doing all my work!
Chapter 71 You're doing all my work!
After Liu left, Wang Jun and his son Wang Lu sat in chairs, feeling awkward for a while.
"Dad, um... Zhao Guangmei suddenly lost her temper today and drove away all the people Zhao Guangyi arranged. Is she alright? This wasn't my intention. I didn't expect Zhao Guangmei to suddenly lose her temper. I hope Zhao Guangyi won't blame you for this."
"Fortunately, Zhao Guangyi is reasonable and didn't blame me for this. Besides, Zhang Mei gave me a lot of grain stores before, along with some of the shop assistants."
"I originally found those shops troublesome, so I took this opportunity to rent all those shops to the people who were kicked out today. It's a way of giving Zhao Guangyi an explanation."
By the way, after you left the palace today, Zhao Guangyi was promoted again by Zhao Kuangyin, and I was also promoted one rank.
"What kind of official?"
"Let Zhao Guangyi take the position of Military Governor of Taining Army, while he will remain as the Commander of the Palace Guard. As for me, I am now the Chief Secretary of Taining Army."
"You became Zhao Guangyi's chief secretary?"
"Hmm, so during Emperor Taizong's reign, wasn't I practically a shoo-in for prime minister?"
"Prime Minister, or Privy Councilor."
"In the early Song Dynasty, even civil officials who rose to the position of prime minister or privy councilor during the reign of Emperor Taizong would be posthumously awarded the rank of Grand Tutor or Grand Master of the Palace, or even the first rank of Grand Tutor.
"Yes," Wang Lu admitted.
"Sigh~" Wang Jun sighed.
The job of chief secretary is not something that just anyone can do. Zhao Pu was the chief secretary before Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne. Historically, Zhao Guangyi's confidant was Shi Xizai, who was also the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Taizong.
He is currently serving as Zhao Guangyi's chief secretary, and as long as he doesn't make any major mistakes in the future, he will almost certainly become prime minister during Emperor Taizong's reign.
"So originally, I could have been a down-to-earth civil official, a confidant of Zhao Guangyi, and then, more than ten years later, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, I could have served as prime minister, working until retirement, enjoying wealth and honor, wielding power over the world, and sleeping with beauties in my lap."
"Until I die of old age, and then Zhao Guangyi or Zhao Heng posthumously confer upon me the rank of First Rank or Second Rank, and then I return to the modern world to live out the remaining twenty or so years of my previous life, right?"
"Um."
"But that's probably not going to work now. My son and Zhao Guangmei have become sworn brothers, and he could easily get involved in the Qin King's rebellion case twenty years from now. That would definitely implicate me."
Given Zhao Guangyi's ruthless nature, he might want to kill me after he kills you, right?
"Hmm." Wang Lu could only nod again.
Wang Jun's face showed the expression Sun Honglei had when filming "Go Fighting!": "Oh dear~, you unfilial son~ you unfilial son~, you unfilial son, you've made me so angry, I'm so heartbroken."
"Well, Dad, things during Emperor Taizong's reign were really unreliable. No matter what, it was indeed very, very difficult for a civil official to rise to the first rank."
If you want to pursue the path of posthumous conferment of titles by civil officials, you must ensure that you die as a prime minister or privy councilor. How difficult that is! The political struggles among civil officials during Emperor Taizong's reign were incredibly fierce.
Wang Jun: "You liar, I don't want to believe you anymore."
Wang Lu had to coax him like a child, putting his arm around his shoulder and saying, "So, Dad, you still have to become a military general. In the Taizu era, it was easier for military generals to rise to the first rank."
"As a civil official, you only have a chance to rise to the first rank after you die. As a military general, you can rise to the first rank while you're alive. And once you've reached the first rank, you can continue living. No one wants to kill you, and it won't stop you from wielding power over the world and enjoying the company of beautiful women."
"You liar, you unfilial son."
"Dad, stop arguing. I'm giving you a chance to make a great contribution and earn military merit as the eldest son."
"What opportunity is it related to Li Shoujie? What exactly happened? Is Xiao Tao really someone Li Shoujie placed by your side?"
"Yes, but Li Shoujie is now turning to the light and leaving Xiao Tao by my side as a liaison."
During the Five Dynasties period, the military governors of major towns were often fathers and sons. Whether it was to ensure their sons could succeed them after their deaths or to cultivate their talents in advance, the eldest sons of the legitimate wives would usually join the army at a young age, and their prestige was not low.
Even so, Li Shoujie was preparing to succeed him in the future. He had considerable prestige in the Zhaoyi Army. We discussed it and decided to team up and trick the Northern Han. This would be a huge achievement.
"To plunder the Northern Han? But I can't go to fight Li Jun. I have to follow Zhao Guangyi. This time, Zhao Kuangyin is personally leading the expedition, and Zhao Guangyi will definitely stay behind."
"But why do you insist on following Zhao Guangyi? Dad, in the Taizu era, the proper path was to become a first-rank official. Even if you are Zhao Guangyi's chief secretary, there are still ways to get you to the battlefield."
"What about Zhao Guangyi? Zhao Kuangyin is leading the expedition in person, while Zhao Guangyi is left to guard the front. This presents both an opportunity and a challenge for Zhao Guangyi."
As his chief secretary and his most trusted confidant, how could I possibly stand by his side at this crucial time, instead running off to the battlefield to earn merit?
Wang Lu pouted and muttered, "What's so great about being Zhao Kuangyin's confidant? We're better off without such an inhuman leader."
"Whether a leader is good or not is not determined by whether he has humanity, but by whether he can help you get promoted and make money. Since this is a good opportunity, why don't you take credit for it?"
"I'm still young, and military merits won't be of much use anyway. Besides, Zhao Kuangyin has already set my future path. He wants me to accompany Zhao Guangmei in business and use the money I earn to support the army."
Wang Jun laughed in anger upon hearing this: "You, you're just following Zhao Guangmei, using modern knowledge and technology to do business and make money, and you're even using my technology!"
"I have to leave Zhao Guangyi. Giving up a promising future prime minister position, becoming a civil official, I'd rather go to the battlefield and fight against the ancients. Tell me, aren't you a rebellious son?"
"Hey, we're father and son, why bother with all this 'yours' and 'mine' stuff, my dear dad?"
"Get out of my way! Your job is what time travelers should be doing. Even the technology is mine. You're using my technology to run a civil service job and then pushing your old man to the battlefield. Is that how it works?"
"This is a great achievement; it would be such a waste to let it go to waste."
"Waste? You dare waste it? I'll break your legs! You go to the battlefield and earn merit! Why should all the heavy responsibilities of a first-rank official be placed on my shoulders?"
"You unfilial son! It's all your fault for becoming sworn brothers with Zhao Guangmei, which is why I lost my civil official position. If I can't be one, neither can you. You go to the battlefield and make a name for yourself!"
"Alright, alright, I'll go, I'll go, okay? I'll be the military commander, fine. I went to the battlefield at twelve, I'll go kill the enemy, fine. The question is, can you really give it up?"
"I'm willing to give it up, I'm so willing! Keep going, son, I believe in you."
Wang Lu rolled his eyes at him, then suddenly changed the subject:
"The ironworks is about to start large-scale iron smelting. The sulfur gas produced by the dry distillation of coking coal should be a suitable raw material for the large-scale production of sulfuric acid, right?"
"As we both get busier, we can't keep producing sulfuric acid like a small workshop. Who do you plan to hand it over to?"
"What do you think of what Lady Liu said?"
"Are you crazy?"
"Then it's just your sister Ling'er. She's actually quite talented, patient, and serious about her work, but her foundation is a bit weak. You can teach her."
"Okay, I'll teach you. I'll start teaching you when I get back from Luzhou."
"Yes, be careful in Luzhou... It doesn't matter if we don't achieve any merit. With our abilities, it won't be difficult for us to get promoted. Just be careful. If you don't come back, I'm not confident that I can get a first-rank official position on my own."
"Um."