Xiang Chao couldn’t quite grasp the atmosphere among these literati. After seating Xiang Ming on the chair, he promptly left.
Although Yin Huo’s gaze often swept toward Xiang Ming as well, he maintained a certain restraint. To avoid embarrassnt, he specially asked Bai Shan and the others, "Have you all decided on nas for your horses yet?"
Bai Erlang imdiately perked up, saying: "My horse is green; how about calling it Qingzhu?"
Without a second thought, Bai Shan retorted: "Common!"
Yin Huo, who had been about to speak, paused before saying, "His Majesty has a horse nad Qingzhu."
Everyone: ...
Bai Shan cleared his throat and said, "You all didn’t hear anything just now, right?"
Everyone nodded together. Having heard it didn’t matter; it wouldn’t be a problem as long as they didn’t speak of it outside.
Bai Erlang scratched his head, "Then what do I na it?"
His gaze inevitably drifted towards Bai Shan, feeling that naming should be deferred to Bai Shan, who had read the most books among them.
After so thought, Bai Shan proposed: "I think all three of our horses are excellent. How about we simply select corresponding nas from King Mu of Zhou’s eight steeds?"
Xiang Ming, who had just taken a sip of tea, choked on it and couldn’t help coughing violently.
Yin Huo managed to suppress a laugh as he said, "That might not be a good idea. King Mu of Zhou’s eight steeds are famous for traveling thousands of miles in a day."
Manbao, however, thought it was a good idea, "That’s our beautiful hope, isn’t it? Who says they can’t grow up to be horses that cover a thousand or ten thousand miles?"
Bai Erlang also felt it was a good idea, "Then shall my horse be called Yulun, or Lv’er?"
"Go with Lv’er," Manbao said, "I saw just now that the hair behind its ears is sowhat yellowish."
Bai Erlang: "Alright, it’ll be Lv’er, and from now on, that’s its na."
With a smile in his eyes, Bai Shan declared: "Then my horse will be nad Daoli."
Manbao: "Mine will be called Chiji."
The three of them exchanged high-fives, happy to have finalized their horses’ nas.
The other three, witnessing how quickly they had settled on the nas for the horses, were all stunned for a mont.
Manbao called Bai Erlang to go to the kitchen with her to fetch food, and everyone then ate lunch together in the study while chatting.
After recovering from his initial shock, Liu Huan finally rembered the matter Bai Shan had asked him to inquire about. He said, "My elder brother helped to ask. Since many officials from Jiannan Road have been taken away, they are now very short on people. They are currently sowing winter wheat there and say they need to hasten the water conservancy repairs before spring. Therefore, the Ministry of Personnel needs to dispatch officers there."
He continued, "Apart from assigning officers from other places, there are also those who are demoted from the capital. You ntioned Fu Liang; he used to serve as an official in Jiannan Road. The Ministry of Personnel has reviewed his evaluations, and for several years he has had ’good’ ratings. Although he doesn’t have any outstanding achievents, he also hasn’t made any major mistakes, and he had once been promoted by Lord Wei. Therefore, the Ministry of Personnel is considering transferring him to Jiannan Road. Soone else has already been promoted to take over Jianzhou."
Hence, soon after the new marshal took office in Jianzhou, a promotion followed just two months later, with the latest appointee as marshal being promoted to Chief Historian.
For a ti, it beca Jianzhou’s position deed to bring the greatest luck.
Manbao imdiately inquired, "Do you know which position it will be?"
Liu Huan shook his head, "My elder brother doesn’t know about that; it must not have been decided yet. He’s a clerk, and all docunts from the Ministry of Personnel pass through his hands for copying. If it had been settled, my elder brother would surely know."
Bai Erlang pondered for a mont before asking, "Could it be the position of Huayang County Magistrate? Wasn’t it said that County Magistrate Tang is returning to the capital?"
"Impossible," Bai Shan said, "County Magistrate Fu’s seniority is insufficient."
"He’s not yet qualified," said Bai Erlang. "Hasn’t he already beco the Chief Clerk? To go from being the Chief Clerk of a lower province to becoming the Magistrate of a superior county would actually an a demotion in rank."
Bai Shan said, "What I’m talking about isn’t official experience."
He said, "Luojiang needs a Magistrate with a noble family background to hold the reins. Moreover, with County Magistrate Fu’s temperant, if he went to Yizhou City, I fear it would be all harm and no good; he wouldn’t be able to navigate the intricacies of Yizhou’s official circles."
Manbao nodded in agreent, "Besides, there are still so many refugees there who haven’t been settled."
She said, "The Imperial Court has now recalled the County Magistrate of Tang County, and he certainly would not have had the ti to settle all the refugees, likely only the most urgent ones. Therefore, if he were to go, there would be much more to handle."
Bai Shan said, "In Yizhou City, there are not only noble families, officials, scholars, but also the wealthy. With so many powers at play, County Magistrate Tang has just wrested a morsel from their mouths, and now it’s all piling up in the County Governntal Office. Do you think County Magistrate Fu could hold his ground if he went there?"
"Right now, those in Yizhou City who most wish for soone without any backing, soone who follows the Doctrine of the an like County Magistrate Fu to take over Yizhou City are probably the local bigwigs themselves," said Bai Shan. "If a person like him goes there, he’ll either end up being oppressed to the point of immobility or devoured to the bone by others."
Yin Huo also nodded slightly, "My father also said that the candidate for the Magistrate of Huayang County is likely to be chosen between Xie Hengliang and Liu Yi."
Liu Huan choked, swallowed his saliva, and asked, "Who?"
Yin Huo glanced at him and said, "Your elder brother and Xie Hengliang."
Liu Huan was stunned, "My brother... impossible, he’s doing fine at the Ministry of Personnel, why would he want to go to Yizhou?"
Bai Shan said, "Stop playing coy when you’re getting a good deal. The Magistrate of Huayang County, mind you, Yizhou is the Land of Abundance. Apart from the capital, Yongzhou, Jinzhou, and Taiyuan, Yizhou is the most prosperous."
Hence, one can imagine just how much the late Emperor cherished his youngest son. Not to ntion the capital, Yongzhou is the companion capital, Jinzhou is the ancestral land where the imperial lineage began, and Taiyuan is a fortress, a place for stationing heavy troops, none of which are suitable for establishing a fiefdom.
And the felicitous Yizhou went to the Prince of Yizhou.
Liu Huan finally caught on; after all, he was a student who swept through the gossip of the Imperial Academy, so quickly he flipped through his mory for old rumors, "I rember now, it was rumored that Senior Brother Tang wanted to beco the Magistrate of Huayang County. He not only sought his father Lord Tang’s assistance, but also the help of his wife’s family, the Mrs. Lu’s clan, and Senior Brother Yang’s Yang Family had also been part of the effort, which is how he managed to be assigned as a Magistrate of a superior county right from the start."
Yin Huo, drinking tea, was taken aback and asked, "Is that so? How co I heard from my sisters that Senior Brother Yang wanted to be the Magistrate of Huayang County, but ended up being outmaneuvered by Senior Brother Tang, and they even ca to blows over it."
Manbao and the two others: ...
They thought back and then shook their heads together, saying, "Yin Huo, we think what your sisters heard must certainly be a rumor, whilst what Liu Huan heard could likely be true."
Bai Shan said, "County Magistrate Yang probably wouldn’t want to be the Magistrate of Huayang County."
Manbao said, "How great it would be to be the Magistrate of Luojiang County! Although our county is poor, our county folks are simple and honest."
While Bai Shan and Bai Erlang felt there was nothing wrong with her words, they still refrained from nodding in agreent.
After seriously thinking about the things County Magistrate Yang had done after taking office, Bai Shan cleared his throat and said, "County Magistrate Yang is wealthy, so I think he might prefer poorer counties."
The others: ...
Liu Huan scratched his head, "Is Senior Brother Yang really that wealthy?"
At this, Bai Shan, Manbao, and Bai Erlang all vigorously nodded in unison, very wealthy!
Yin Huo hesitated, saying, "This I hadn’t heard much about, but with Marquis Yang only having Senior Brother Yang as his legitimate son, families like ours wouldn’t ever be short of money, right?"
So they began to discuss just how wealthy Yang Heshu really was.
Xiang Ming, who had been listening for a while and saw that they had started to talk about how popular Yang Heshu was in the capital, how during festivals, especially on the second day of the second month for the Spring Outing, and the Double Ninth Festival for mountain climbing, the noble won of the capital would fight over spots just to catch a glimpse of Yang Heshu, couldn’t help but cough lightly and said, "Weren’t you discussing where Lord Fu would be taking up his post?"
"Oh, right," Manbao snapped back to reality, "That’s what we were discussing."
But the topic switched from Yang Heshu to Lord Fu, and suddenly nobody was interested in talking anymore, so after exchanging glances, they all lowered their heads and said, "Let’s just drink tea and enjoy so pastries, then."
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