Chapter 155 We Don’t Have a Governor in Jiangsu

The sky is bright today and the waves are sparkling. However, after seeing this kind of scenery too many times, Chen Heng would not find it novel. After all, all kinds of scenery are ordinary in Jiangnan.

He carefully looked at the crowd around him. This perspective of "you are watching the scenery from the bridge, and the people watching the scenery are watching you upstairs" is very fascinating and interesting.

The spring breeze urged the passengers off, as the two official ships got closer and closer. Chen Heng obviously noticed the change in everyone's expressions. In the queue of officials on the left, most of the people were solemn and calm. Only at the end of the team, a few people with lower official positions could be seen whispering.

In the team of scholars on the right, everyone looked a little excited. Last month we bid farewell to Mei Xuezheng, and this month we ushered in a new academic administration.

This is related to the examiners of the scientific examinations of the students. Many people deliberately raised their heads and chests, trying to make their already low figures more conspicuous in the crowd.

Their mood reminded Chen Heng of the time when certain leaders visited the school in his previous life. I am the one who serves as the backdrop, but I don’t have the good luck to go up and lay flowers.

Chen Heng narrowed his eyes and looked at Lin Ruhai at the front. The wind in the river was blowing in and out, blowing the sleeves of crimson official robes fluttering. Lin Ruhai, who is nearly fifty years old, is when a man is at his most stable and mature.

In addition, he holds great power and is calm and calm in commanding a powerful place. What's more, his temperament is as mellow as a jar of aged wine. Seeing Uncle Lin standing there silently, Chen Heng suddenly thought of a question.

Yangzhou's academic administration is only the fifth rank, and Uncle Lin is the prefect of the fourth rank. To paraphrase later generations of Internet literature, this is the half-step XX position. Why would a prefect with such status stand here to welcome a scholar?

"Gudong."

The sound of the ship docking lifted the spirits of those waiting there. Chen Heng was not immune to this and looked ahead with all his concentration. On the official ship that docked first, Yangzhou Xuezheng, dressed in a blue official robe, walked proudly across the wooden boards laid by the boatman.

Even though they were so far apart, Chen Heng could still see the pride in the other person's body. It had nothing to do with his facial expression, but a feeling emanating from his gestures.

Xuezheng's hands were placed one after the other until he reached Magistrate Lin's side before he cupped his hands. Chen Heng was too far away and had not practiced the magical skill of being able to hear mosquitoes falling within a hundred steps, so it was naturally impossible for him to hear clearly what they were saying.

He simply looked at the two people in everyone's spotlight from the far corner. One was wearing a fourth-grade scarlet robe, with a pair of flying cloud geese embroidered on the patch. His expression was calm, and he even nodded a little, making it look like he was not close. Not alienated either.

The other wears a genuine fifth-grade green robe with a pair of white pheasants embroidered on the patch. Even though I was quite proud before, now I have to take the initiative to say hello to senior officials, nodding my head from time to time to add persuasiveness to my words.

But there is only one level of difference, temperament and situation are one in heaven and one on earth. It makes me want to go up and listen to their conversation.

Chen Heng stood there, probably too bored, so he continued to think wildly. Dayong's official robes were made according to the Ming Dynasty, and those above the fourth rank wore scarlet robes. The pattern of buzi on the chest is used to distinguish specific official ranks.

For example, the crane of the first rank of civil servants, the golden pheasant of the second rank, and the peacock of the third rank. Apart from anything else, the aesthetics of official uniforms in the Ming Dynasty really fit in with the public's aesthetics, and were no less impressive than those of the Song Dynasty.

Finally, the two official ships on the dock completed the exchange. Xuezheng, who was standing behind Lin Ruhai at some point, took one step ahead and greeted the people walking on the official boat.

Chen Heng took a look and saw, good fellow, this person is also in a scarlet robe, and the pattern on the patch is actually a pair of peacocks.

Such a person is a real giant in Yangzhou, and he can already remove half a step from half a step of XX.

There are knowledgeable people among the students who have begun to whisper and guess the identity of the visitor. Among them, Xue Biao had the most news. He stood beside Chen Heng, directly in his friend's ear, and whispered: "It's the new Jinling prefect—Tian An."

Chen Heng was shocked, he didn't expect it to be this person. The identity of the man in green robe is also self-evident. It must be Li Bian mentioned by Mei Xuezheng.

Before he had time to think about it, the teams on both sides took a few steps forward. When Tian An stood still, most of them bowed and saluted, and said in unison: "Welcome to Mr. Futai."

"Yeah." Tian An nodded towards everyone.

But even if they took a few steps closer, no one could hear their conversation. One could only watch Li Bian Zai sandwiched between the two Fei robes, interjecting excitedly.

Tian An's arrival seemed to give him more confidence to speak. Li Bian mostly spoke to Tian An, while Lin Ruhai's expression was normal, with a half-smiling expression on his face.

By now, Chen Heng was not unaware that the court was divided into two factions: the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor. They were probably a few big shots who took their public image into consideration. Even if they belonged to different parties, they communicated very harmoniously in public.

Chen Heng looked to the left and towards Jia Yucun, whom he cared about most. Jia Yucun in the crowd lowered his eyebrows and looked solemnly, unlike some of his colleagues who stretched their necks impatiently.

In my impression, this position should have belonged to Jia Yucun, which was the official position run by the Jia and Wang families for him. Now that the crimson official robe he got has gone away, he can only wear the seventh-grade green robe. I don't know if he would resent himself if he knew about it.

Chen Heng laughed, but was suddenly startled by the movement in the distance. Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, he eagerly turned his head and looked at Uncle Lin's place.

It was seen that the three people who were originally in a harmonious atmosphere, did not know what happened, and they had an argument in public. Now, the cause is no longer important. Chen Heng only saw that Lin Ruhai's expression became tense and ugly, and Tian An seemed to be still saying something, with one hand pointing at Li Bian from time to time, and then pointing at the students.

At this time, everyone could see the difference and wanted to join in the fun. Everyone tried their best to tiptoe, as if to hear something from the wind.

But such a debate soon came to an abrupt end. Lin Ruhai finally did not have time to watch the show. He raised his hand, said something, and turned around and left.

The officials of the government office froze at the time. According to the plan, the government office was going to hold a banquet in the restaurant to entertain Tian and Li. Tian An did not seem to expect that Lin Ruhai would dare to not give him face in public.

"Lin Ruhai..." He pointed at the back of the departing figure, his tone was both anxious and a bit unfriendly.

"Oh, I remember something." Lin Ruhai stopped. As a prefect, he was called by his name in public. If he didn't respond, would Yangzhou be called Lin or Tian in the future?

He turned around, looked at the two people behind him, and said to the officials of the government office and the students of Yangzhou, "I remember that we don't have a second-rank governor in Jiangsu."

The prefect of Jinling was a special case in the previous Ming Dynasty, and was a third-rank official. But in the Yong Dynasty, generally only the third to fourth ranks were set. The official should be treated according to his official position before taking office.

However, Shuntian Prefecture, which is under the feet of the emperor, does not need to be taken care of so much, and all are third-rank officials. It ranks first among all prefects in the world. Above it is the second-rank governor, who is already a thorough frontier official, which is terrifying.

"I will also inspect the river bank to prevent this year's flooding. The relevant officials will follow me, and the others will accompany the prefect to receive guests."

After saying this, Lin Ruhai walked away without stopping. The officials in the government office were not as smart as him. Only a few of them ran out and followed Lin Ruhai's footsteps.

The others, led by the prefect Zhang Shangxian, continued to receive Tian and Li.

What a ghost, Chen Heng noticed that Jia Yucun was also mixed in the leaving team. Isn't he in charge of salt? What does the river bank have to do with him?

The following things have nothing to do with Chen Heng and others. These students didn't say anything after watching the excitement for nothing, but they all looked very excited. I guess when they go back, the excitement at the dock will soon spread in the city.

…………

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After dinner in the evening, Chen Heng studied at home as usual. On his desk, there were many homeworks written in the afternoon, including his own and those of Qian Dayou and others.

Most of the content was related to arithmetic, which Chen Heng thought was a good item to pull points. And Chen Heng's talent in this area was praised by Jin Shenzhi, who taught this course.

Chen Heng naturally hoped that he could pull out the young talents around him before the June college entrance examination. But arithmetic is something that you can do if you know it, and you can't do it if you don't know it. It's really hard to teach.

After correcting the exercises of Xue Ke, Qian Dayou, and Jiang Yuanbai, Chen Heng used the extremely intuitive later scoring system to evaluate their scores: 75, 61, and 45.

Jiang Yuanbai, you wait for me tomorrow. Chen Heng cried in anger. His good friend didn't listen to what he taught in the afternoon. Can Jiang Yuanbai really learn painting from Master Xu with such a brain? The bad chess player kept criticizing in his heart.

"Second brother, have some tea."

Xinda pushed the door in and brought the freshly brewed tea to Chen Heng. These things were all cheap goods from his second uncle's shop. Chen Heng tasted delicious when he drank the free things.

After finishing the business, Chen Heng decided to go downstairs and walk in the yard after drinking tea. The atmosphere of early spring in the air became more and more intense, and in the middle of the night, the fragrance had drifted from the darkness.

Sitting for a long time hurts the body, and when Chen Heng walks in the yard, he will deliberately raise his arms and turn his neck. Xinda is so familiar with his brother's behavior that he doesn't care. But he thinks these actions are too funny, and he has rejected Chen Heng's kindness of teaching.

Since the younger brother doesn't know the goods, Chen Heng will not force him. After moving his body, he walked around in the yard. At this time, the elders in the family were all in their own rooms. Although the family members were not around, they could also feel the warmth.

Seeing the candlelight coming from Chen Qingyue and Chen Yin's house, knowing that the two boys were still reviewing their lessons, Chen Heng nodded even more. They, the Chen family, should have such a spirit of hard work.

"What do you think of what happened this morning?" Chen Heng asked Xinda, who was someone he relied on and was close to. Just like Lin Ruhai taught him, Chen Heng would often ask the other party what he meant.

There were inquiries, tests, and pointers.

Xinda looked sideways at the bright moon in the sky. He was seriously recalling the scene during the day. Although he was not in the queues of the two sides, he was also among the onlookers outside the officers, so he naturally watched a lively scene.

"I just feel that Lord Lin's future life will not be easy." Xinda gave the answer after thinking. His relationship with the Lin family is not as close as Chen Heng's, so he naturally dare not call him uncle.

Chen Heng nodded and asked again, "Don't you think it's strange?"

"Strange?" Xinda blinked and smiled, "What did the second brother say? The younger brother is surprised. It turns out that officials will quarrel with us ordinary people with red faces and red ears."

Chen Heng also smiled and said, "They all need to eat and drink water, and eat grains. Do you still think they are immortals in the sky?" He shook his head and did not continue to comment on this matter. He began to stand with his hands behind his back, walking and thinking in the yard.

There are two things that he still can't figure out. The first is what they talked about that caused Uncle Lin, who has always been well-mannered, to be so cold in public. The second is what benefits does Uncle Lin get from doing this?

Chen Heng doesn't believe that someone like Lin Ruhai would get emotional for a while and do such a brainless thing in public.

People have different temperaments. People like Uncle Lin may suffer because of over-calculation or under-calculation.

But to say that he tore apart the scene between Yangzhou and Jinling in public because he couldn't stand a few sarcasms from Prefect Tian, ​​that doesn't fit his character of making plans before acting.

You should know that when Chen Heng was taking classes at Lin Ruhai's place, the content of the first class was the humiliation of the military genius Han Xin under his crotch.

'A man who can endure what ordinary people can't endure and do what ordinary people can't do is a real man. ’

Will Lin Ruhai, who teaches juniors like this, really lose his composure in public?

Chen Heng thought about it and suddenly remembered a question he had thought about before.

Why did Jia Yucun, who had no official position, become the prefect of Jinling overnight under the operation of the Jia and Wang families? He is no longer a Wuxia Amon now, and he has a little understanding of the official promotion system.

The distance from a commoner to a scarlet robe is something that most people cannot cross in their lifetime. Even so, it is still those talented people who passed the imperial examinations!

What did Jia Yucun rely on? Relying on the power of the Jia and Wang families? But from Jia Yucun's subsequent behavior towards the Jia family, it is obviously not that simple. Who would dare to trust him if he betrayed his benefactor in the officialdom.

Chen Heng once speculated that Jia Yucun was a hidden man sent by the emperor. Through Lin Ruhai's hands, he entered the sight of the Jia and Wang families and defected to the faction of the emperor.

The court's party struggles were so fierce that only when several parties reached a tacit understanding and worked together in the open and in the dark, could Jia Yucun change into a scarlet robe.

For the people on your side, what is more important is Jia Yucun as a person, or the position of Jinling prefect?

Without Jia Yucun, will your majesty just sit back and watch the prefect of Jinling fall into the hands of the emperor? ? ?

Thinking of this, Chen Heng suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. A thought just flashed through his mind, could this Tian An also be the emperor's man?

If so, Uncle Lin's behavior is traceable and profitable.

After all, Jinling is the base camp of the emperor, and the ancestral homes of several great nobles in the court are all set up here.

Apart from other things, if you control this place, you can connect Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places in a line on the surface, and secretly collect evidence of the nobles' families.

This, this...

Chen Heng was very flustered by his own guess, Lin Ruhai's long-term teaching, plus his own clever mind. It was as if a dark door was opened in front of him, allowing him to peek into the reality of the officialdom.

Xinda noticed that Chen Heng looked unusual, and couldn't help but ask with concern: "Second brother, what's wrong?"

Chen Heng hurriedly shook his head and laughed awkwardly: "Nothing, ha, ha, I just remembered that Lin Daiyu's birthday is coming, and I miss her a little."

For such things, the fewer people who know, the better. He didn't dare to tell Xinda at all, not because of distrust, but out of mutual protection.

Besides, he was not 100% sure, so he bet that he was the one who guessed right.

Chen Heng shook his head, and now he didn't want to continue walking. He just turned around and hurried back to the house to read a book to suppress his messy mood.

Ah, here I come, here I come. Speaking of Tian and Li, can you brothers think of an idiom?

Hahahaha! I hope you all have fun reading the book