Chapter 722: Wealth Returns Home

After passing the imperial examinations, newly successful scholars in Liyang were often not immediately appointed to official positions. Before their formal appointments, they were sent to various government agencies, such as the Six Ministries and Nine Courts, to intern in political affairs. This was known as the "internship system for successful scholars." After the new emperor ascended the throne, he took the border inspection system for Ministry of War vice-ministers, personally established by the previous emperor, a step further. He initiated a precedent for Ministry of War officials to intern in border regions. This was originally one of the proposals in Prince Jing'an, Zhao Xun's, past memorial, aimed at preventing the Ministry of War from engaging in empty talk and impractical strategies. This shows the current Zhao imperial family's particular favor towards this young prince, who had been steadfastly loyal during the pacification campaign.

The Ministry of War's current delegation to the border, which had drawn attention from both the court and the public, consisted of officials whose ranks were not particularly high. Among them were Kong Zhenrong, an Assistant Director of the Bureau of Carriages and Horses; Gao Tingshu, a Supervisor in the Bureau of Military Selection; and Yan Chiji, a Supervisor in the Bureau of Armaments. All of them were typical "beardless" young faces in the capital's officialdom. There were two reasons why this attracted the attention of many high-ranking officials in the court. Firstly, the chosen location for the border internship was not the expected Two Liaos, nor the eastern front where Vice-Minister Xu Gong of the Ministry of War was already stationed. Instead, it was the northwestern border, a region of desert beacon fires: Beiliang Dao!

The second reason was the exceptionally intriguing selection of officials by the Ministry of War. Among them, the newly appointed Second-Place Scholar Gao Tingshu and his contemporary Wu Congxian had risen to prominence in Tai'an City. Clearly, their status as top-ranking imperial examination graduates alone was insufficient. If it weren't for the tireless efforts of Jin Sanlang, who actively promoted their poetry and literary talents, they would at most have enjoyed fame for two or three months before fading into obscurity during their internships. In the Zhao Dynasty, a veritable "urn" filled with numerous government offices and high-ranking officials in crimson robes, the Yonghui era had lasted over twenty years. There was certainly no shortage of First-Place Scholars, Second-Place Scholars, or Third-Place Scholars, let alone countless other successful candidates. Who in the world didn't know that Jin Lanting, the influential figure in court who had recognized and promoted Gao Tingshu, had for years regarded the Xu father and son of Beiliang as mortal enemies? Furthermore, the inclusion of Yan Chiji and Kong Zhenrong in the border inspection delegation was even more noteworthy. The Yan family, years ago, had come to the capital because of a woman, and Yan Jiexie and his son Yan Chiji subsequently became relatives of the Emperor. What was even more unexpected was that the fourth prince, who had no ambition, could effortlessly break the unshakable primogeniture tradition in royal succession through his unassuming nature, eventually becoming emperor without much fanfare. The Emperor's father-in-law, Yan Jiexie, was already a Grand Scholar of the Dongyuan Pavilion. And Yan Chiji, who was often teased and bullied by Tai'an City's young nobles when he first arrived in the capital, had now become the Emperor's maternal uncle. Everyone knew that not only did the current emperor have a deep affection for his empress, but even before his ascension, he had always treated his gentle and refined younger brother-in-law like a true brother. Otherwise, how could Yan Chiji, a successful scholar of the same year, have recently become a Supervisor in the Ministry of War's Bureau of Armaments? And how could he have had the honor of a dignified Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Personnel personally seeing him off, or even the Minister Lu of the Ministry of War personally greeting him, on the day he reported for duty? Kong Zhenrong was also a native of Beiliang. His father, Kong Dahe, had entered the capital as an official due to his merits and had joined the faction of the Second Prince. This "Martial Kong" and Yan Chiji were both brothers who, in their youth, were close enough to the current King of Beiliang to "wear the same pair of trousers." Adding Li Hanlin, the only one who remained in Beiliang, the four of them had, in their younger days, visited at least seventy or eighty, if not a hundred, brothels together in Beiliang.

This made things much more interesting. Of the four brothers, leaving aside Xu Fengnian, the hereditary border prince, what official position did Li Hanlin hold, even with a father who was a Class 2 Grand Coordinator in Liyang? Just a minor patrol ranger company commander! Furthermore, Li Gongde, widely acknowledged as skilled in governance, had only been a high-ranking regional official for a few days, his seat barely warm, before he was quickly pushed out by an outsider like Song Dongming. In contrast, in the capital, not to mention the exceptionally high-status Yan Chiji, even Kong Zhenrong was already a hot commodity and a powerful figure within the Ministry of War. If they were to go to a local prefecture or county, even an elderly prefect would have to respectfully address Kong Zhenrong as a brother and entertain him cautiously, and the latter might not even be pleased to accept the hospitality.

Since it was a border internship, they naturally took the Youzhou route instead of Lingzhou, which was famed as "Little Jiangnan." Not long after they entered the region, they received the alarming news that the Beiliang army was advancing on three fronts. Several of the older Ministry of War officials originally intended to simply circle around the relatively calm Youzhou border, fulfilling their duty to the court, and then immediately depart for Jibei to greet the newly risen Yuan Tingshan, and finally proceed to the Two Liaos to meet Grand Pillar of the State Gu Jiantang and Xu Gong, the Right Vice-Minister of the Ministry of War. This journey should have been peaceful and uneventful, but unexpectedly, they found themselves in such a tricky situation shortly after entering eastern Youzhou. God knows if that Xu fellow, that barbarian from the northwest, would feel insulted by the court, become enraged, and simply order the Beiliang border army to disguise themselves as Beiliang scouts and wipe out their entire Ministry of War internship delegation?

Several of the older internship officials, who had experienced the perils of officialdom, quickly stopped at a border post. They deliberated all night but couldn't come up with a foolproof plan. The headstrong Gao Tingshu, however, was quite dismissive. He not only suggested heading straight for Hulu Pass in Youzhou but also wanted to take a look at Tiger Head City, the most formidable pass in the northwest, located in Liangzhou. This scared the older officials, who already feared the bitter cold, so much that their lips turned purple. If it weren't for the fact that this Second-Place Scholar was a junior official who, by luck, had left a good impression on both Gu Jiantang and Minister Lu, he would surely be relegated to obscurity in the Ministry of War upon their return to the capital. Compared to the audacious Gao Tingshu, who was like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, the young imperial uncle Yan Chiji, who had been gentle, polite, and kind to everyone throughout the journey, was much more approachable in the eyes of those seasoned officials. After an agonizing night at the post station, during which they adjusted the lamp wicks countless times, it was ultimately Yan Chiji who proposed an idea that, the more the older officials thought about it, the more "fitting" it seemed. The imperial uncle suggested not going to Youzhou or the northern front of Liangzhou, but instead heading directly to the Beiliang King's Residence, to Qingliang Mountain. Liang Shihu, the Director responsible for the Bureau of Maps and Records, stroked his beard, his mind made up. He squinted and smiled, saying simply, "Excellent."

Director Liang found this young imperial uncle increasingly pleasing. "Going to the famous Qingliang Mountain is a good idea. No matter how rebellious the King of Beiliang is, even if he dared to defy imperial decrees by deploying troops in the past, he wouldn't be so audacious as to commit murder within his own royal residence, would he?" Besides, with the solid friendship that Yan Chiji and Kong Zhenrong had forged with the King of Beiliang, even if not much was left, a visit to the Beiliang King's Residence shouldn't be a treacherous banquet. Moreover, who hadn't heard of the spectacular sight of ten thousand carp leaping in Tide-Listening Lake? Among the many capital officials in Tai'an City, how many had the chance to witness it firsthand? Gao Tingshu, who had seemed full of vigor since leaving the capital, hesitated for a moment and finally refrained from uttering any more words that would provoke public anger. It seemed that Supervisor Yan's status as the Emperor's uncle was indeed something that he, a Second-Place Scholar with an unstable foundation, could not challenge.

When the internship delegation stopped to rest at a post station bordering Youzhou and Liangzhou, Kong Zhenrong, who was returning to his hometown for the first time since entering the capital, found Yan Chiji, who was reading scholarly books by lamplight. He sat down silently, not speaking a word. After several years of refinement, Yan Chiji had gradually shed the naive insecurity of a newcomer to the capital. Furthermore, his mind, filled with poetry and literature, naturally exuded elegance. Following the Yan family's rise to prominence, this once mild-mannered young scholar had subtly developed more assertiveness, much to the gratification of his father, the Grand Scholar of the Imperial College. Kong Zhenrong remained silent, and Yan Chiji did not initiate conversation. Inside the room, there was only the sound of him turning pages and the occasional faint crackle of the lampwick. In the end, Kong Wuchi couldn't hold back. He asked in a muffled voice, "Yan Chiji, do you think Brother Feng will be angry and refuse to see us?"

Yan Chiji continued reading, seeming unsure, and softly replied, "I don't think so."

Kong Zhenrong, who had just shaved off his full beard that morning, touched his stubble and sighed sadly. "You're lucky. At least you and Hanlin spent a few more years with Brother Feng. I went to the capital years before you. Last time Brother Feng went to the capital, my old man was muddled and tricked me into going to the southern capital region early, so we never met. Yan Chiji, you've read more. Do you think Brother Feng really won't think I'm disloyal? If I had known it would be this disheartening, I shouldn't have gone to the capital with my father, even if it meant running away from home back then."

Yan Chiji stopped turning pages, leaving his hand on the current one, and remained silent.

Kong Zhenrong asked, "Why didn't you go to the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of Rites? What are you doing in the Ministry of War? Didn't you hate war and bloodshed since you were little?"

Yan Chiji mused, "Precisely because I hate it, I must go to the Ministry of War."

Kong Zhenrong rolled his eyes. "You scholars are always so convoluted. You never say things directly. Others 'fart with their pants off,' but you 'defecate with your pants on.'"

Yan Chiji's gaze suddenly sharpened. He glanced out the window and whispered, "When you go back, tell Uncle Kong not to correspond with Prince Tang, who is enfeoffed in Jiangnan Dao, anymore."

Seeing Kong Zhenrong's confused expression, Yan Chiji then almost spat out each word through clenched teeth: "Especially concerning Prince Tang sending someone to the capital to present the auspicious white deer – tell your father he absolutely must not get involved!"

Kong Zhenrong wondered, "Isn't that a good thing?"

Yan Chiji sneered, "Don't ask any questions. Just tell your father it was an unintentional remark I made after a family dinner. Your father knows what's important."

Kong Zhenrong, who used to shield Yan Chiji from troubles, simply uttered "Oh," then looked at Yan Chiji's face and said softly, "Yan Chiji, I feel like I don't know you anymore."

Yan Chiji's previously taut expression softened slightly. He picked up the book from the table again and almost to himself, said, "I don't want to either."

The subsequent journey to Liangzhou gradually put the minds of Director Liang and the other older officials, whose hearts had been in their throats, at ease. Not only did various military units in Liangzhou open their doors for them, but a newly appointed commandant from last year personally led troops to escort them outside the prefecture city. While there was an undeniable hint of surveillance, at least on the surface, the Ministry of War's inspection visit was shown ample respect. Although Director Liang Shihu was not from a military background, as an old official of the Ministry of War, he had keen insight. He could discern from a single leaf the coming of autumn and accurately gauge the formidable strength of Beiliang's local forces, which far surpassed those in the previously visited capital region and Jizhou. In his heart, he naturally began to feel awe and much emotion towards the Xu family's 300,000 border cavalry, renowned as the strongest under heaven, realizing that even the light cavalry within Beiliang Dao were already so magnificent.

When the internship delegation, viewed by the people of Liangzhou as a spectacle, arrived at the gates of the King's Residence at the foot of Qingliang Mountain, and they personally saw the pair of stone lions, each more than two men tall, even the well-traveled older Ministry of War officials exchanged glances, gasping in unison, "What grandeur!" Yan Chiji and Kong Zhenrong's expressions were complex, while Gao Tingshu snorted coldly, frightening Liang Shihu into coughing loudly several times, lest someone from the Beiliang King's Residence overhear. In Liyang, there was a saying that local officials were "three feet shorter" than capital officials, meaning that the prestige of a capital official was inherently three ranks higher than that of a local official. Now, not to mention those Ministry of Personnel officials who acted arrogantly even towards other capital officials, although the Ministry of War, having lost its backbone, had begun to be overshadowed by the Ministry of Personnel led by Liyang's newly appointed "Heavenly Official" Yin Maochun, its prestige still remained. Liang Shihu, as the head of the Bureau of Maps and Records, overseeing maps of all regions under heaven, and also a scholar who prided himself on his integrity, still exuded the full pomp of a capital official with his grand sleeves swaying as he led the way into the Beiliang King's Residence's side gate. Even the royal steward couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.

The King of Beiliang, Xu Fengnian, did not appear at all. It was Song Dongming, the Deputy Grand Coordinator of Beiliang Dao, who received the guests, stating that the King was overseeing military and political affairs at the border and truly could not leave. Liang Shihu and the other old foxes were more than happy that the "Butcher's Son" didn't bother with their delegation. They showered Song Dongming with an abundance of flattering words, praising the King of Beiliang for being utterly dedicated, working tirelessly day and night, and even personally guarding the northwestern gate for the court on the front lines, and so on. Song Dongming, Beiliang's self-appointed Deputy Grand Coordinator, accepted all these compliments on behalf of the King of Beiliang with a smile. Perhaps it was the aura of a famous Central Plains scholar that emanated from the Deputy Grand Coordinator, making everyone feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze. Liang Shihu and the others immediately felt much more at ease and even genuinely lamented that Song Dongming was truly a "pearl covered in dust" – if he were to stand side-by-side with the imperial ministers in the capital's court, that would truly be a delightful sight.

After Song Dongming hosted a welcoming banquet for the Ministry of War internship officials, he surprisingly made no attempt to deceive or equivocate. As soon as the chopsticks were put down at the dinner table, he stood up and led everyone to his office on the mountainside of Qingliang Mountain. There, he openly revealed sensitive military secrets, including the appointments of commandants and promotions and transfers within the border army in Beiliang Dao. The Ministry of War's internship implied a certain authority to "inspect on behalf of the Emperor," but while Liang Shihu might dare to feel that way when he later went to Jizhou, he certainly wouldn't be so presumptuous in Beiliang Dao. He had initially considered himself lucky if they could get a few good meals and drink a few pots of "green ant wine" (a type of rice wine), and had even prepared himself for cold shoulders and harsh words. The older officials, including Liang Shihu, insisted on listening without speaking. But Gao Tingshu was less discreet, repeatedly asking about troop distribution within Beiliang and specific border military affairs. Song Dongming showed no signs of displeasure, simply finding excuses to skip over the questions. Liang Shihu had initially been quite willing for Gao Tingshu, this reckless young hothead, to be a "pioneer." If he could truly probe for information, it would ultimately be a bonus credit. However, after the young Supervisor's persistent and relentless questioning, Song Dongming squinted his eyes and lowered his head to drink tea. Liang Shihu could no longer sit still. He nervously glanced towards the door, fearing that if the Deputy Grand Coordinator were to smash his cup, five hundred ax-wielding guards would rush out, pin them down, and chop them all into pieces to feed to the dogs. Liang Shihu quickly intervened, saying he had long heard that the sight of red carp leaping in Tide-Listening Lake was unparalleled in the world and wished to take his colleagues to witness it. This time, Song Dongming did not stand up, merely smiled and instructed his subordinates to lead the Ministry of War internship personnel to Tide-Listening Lake.

Then Song Dongming went alone to the mountaintop, looking at Xu Fengnian, who had purposefully rerouted and rushed back to the King's Residence, covered in dust from his journey. He asked, "Since you're back, why not catch up?"

Xu Fengnian shook his head, glanced at Tide-Listening Lake, and said, "Mr. Song, accompany me to the back of the mountain. Let's go engrave those 296 names on the stele together."

Song Dongming nodded.

The Deputy Grand Coordinator, walking with Xu Fengnian in the back mountain, had clearly been holding his breath for a long time. Finally, he couldn't help but exclaim angrily, "What a fine saying, 'wealth not returned to one's hometown is like walking in embroidered clothes at night'! But what about our 296 people from Beiliang?"

Xu Fengnian said calmly, "It's enough for us Beiliang people to remember them ourselves."