Xu Sijin was afraid that these people would make a scene and ruin his trip to Guizhou. "That's what Wang Sheng said. It's better to be still than to move at this time." He scratched his head and said, "The most troublesome thing now is my father... He scolded me severely for two hours yesterday. My legs were so straight that I had to stand straight, and they are still shaking now."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Wang Sheng's family was also an in-law, but his ancestor was the brother of Taizu Queen Wang. Although he still inherited the title of commander-in-chief, his favors were gradually exhausted, and he often suffered from the bullying of these powerful officials.

He asked Xu Sijin with great concern: "Should we go to the Commandery? Or to the Garrison?"

"Most likely I'll go to the garrison." Xu Sijin said helplessly, "My father told me to control my temper."

"It's okay!" Wang Sheng comforted him, "You go first. Let your aunt cry in front of your uncle a few times on weekdays, and your uncle will surely be relentless. In a year or two at most, you can return to Beijing. By then, you can choose the Xishan Camp or the Imperial Guards, right?"

Xu Sijin looked unconfident: "I hope it's as Brother Wang said!"

"Going to Guizhou may not be a bad thing!" Xie Yan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "I heard that a small inspector in the inspection department can make three or four thousand taels of silver a year. In my opinion, instead of thinking about how to come back now, it is better to find a job, which may be better than staying in Yanjing."

Although they were either the commander-in-chief or the deputy commander-in-chief, they only enjoyed this treatment and had no real power. Living on their salary alone was not enough to afford a drink at Chunxi Tower.

Wang Sheng's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Brother Xie's words make sense." Then he said to Xu Sijin, "I think Brother Xie's idea is good. With your qualifications..." As soon as he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong and said hurriedly, "The main reason is that you are too young... At your age, even if you go to the Xishan Camp or the Imperial Guards, you can only start as a flag bearer. But it will be different outside. After all, you are going from the capital, so we won't go to the Commandery to avoid causing trouble for you, Gong Dongning, but we have to give one of the chief and deputy thousand households a job, right? Otherwise, it's really unacceptable!" As he said that, he patted Xie Yan's shoulder with a smile, "Brother Xie, I didn't expect you to have such a strategy!"

Xie Yan said modestly: "Big Brother Wang, thank you for your praise. I have no other choice but to give Brother Jin some advice!"

"I think this idea is good!" Wang Sheng pondered, "I know a clerk in the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War. I'll invite him for a drink and give him some silver. I'll ask him to find a way to get you a thousand-householder appointment letter. I don't believe that Gong Dongning would go out of his way to confront the Military Selection Department for this matter?"

The Military Selection Department is responsible for the selection and appointment, promotion and deployment, hereditary replacement, and reward of non-commissioned officers. The Siwu is just an official in charge of specific government affairs. If Xu Sijin wants to become a thousand households, he must find a vice minister instead of the Minister of War. From Wang Sheng's tone, it is clear that he wants to operate privately and buy one with silver. But this is not allowed to be seen in public after all. Guizhou General Gong Dongning is a general who has been conquered to the west. He has seniority and a bad temper. If he doesn't buy this face and really takes action... The thought flashed through Xie Yan's mind, "Gong Dongning once followed my uncle to conquer the west. My uncle should be very familiar with him? Brother Jin, you are going to Guizhou. My uncle should have told you the truth. How is your relationship with Gong Dongning?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes fell on Xu Sijin.

Xu Sijin couldn't help but applaud secretly.

Xie Yan usually seems to be cheerful and frivolous, but I didn't expect that he could hit the nail on the head when considering a problem.

Although his father did not tell him anything, he sent someone to deliver a letter to Gong Dongning after returning home, and asked him if he had confidence in passing the test, which showed that he was confident that he could instruct Gong Dongning.

What the emperor said in the inner study has spread. Some people say that the emperor doesn't want him to go to Guangdong because he doesn't want him to serve as a soldier under his father's old subordinate Xu Li. If this is the case, it is better not to point out the relationship between his family and Gong Dongning.

Thinking of this, Xu Sijin shook his head gently: "Father has been busy with this and that since he came back, and he hasn't said anything to me yet. I don't know what the relationship between Gong Dongning and our family is like."

Then I can't take the path of a steward...

"I heard that Brother Jin was going to Guizhou, so I sent someone to find out about Gong Dongning's character." Xie Yan said tactfully, "He has a very bad temper. He once killed a lieutenant general beside him because of a disagreement. Otherwise, he would not have stayed in Guizhou for more than ten years without moving. But if you are his man, he will be very protective of his shortcomings and will not tolerate others saying anything bad about him... It is better not to mess with such a person. I found out that Minister Lu of the Ministry of War and Dou Ge Lao are from the same department," he said, looking at Xu Sijin, "If you can't get through to Minister Lu, you can try to talk to Dou Ge Lao. It's related to your future, I think your uncle will definitely come forward!"

Wang Sheng's face stiffened as he listened, and a hint of grimness appeared in his eyes.

Xie Yan didn't notice it, but Wei Xun on the side saw it clearly and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

"Dad is angry now," Xu Sijin smiled awkwardly, "I can only find a chance to test his opinion in the future!"

"Okay, okay, why are you talking about this?" Wei Xun interrupted them impatiently, "I think the most urgent thing is to pack your luggage - first, bring more banknotes; second, bring more capable maids. Guizhou is full of barbarians. If you don't bring more capable maids, let alone food, it will be difficult to even wear neat clothes."

"It's not as exaggerated as you say!" Xie Yan said, "I read the local chronicles. Although there are mostly barbarians there, there are gold mines. Because it is close to Sichuan, it also produces medicinal herbs..."

"Really! Really!" Wei Xun interrupted him excitedly and said to Wang Sheng, "How about we work together to do business with Jing'er? Those merchants have to pay tribute to the garrison wherever they go, and they all make a lot of money." As he said this, he sat next to Wang Sheng, "What do you think of my idea?"

"That's great!" Wang Sheng's face flushed with excitement, and he said to Xu Sijin, "Brother Jin, I think you should stay in Guizhou for two more years. If you can find a gold mine, you will be rich!"

"It's unlikely to find a gold mine!" Xie Yan said with a smile, "Even if we find one, there's still Gong Dongning! He's been running a business in Guizhou for decades, and he has people all over the place. I'm afraid it'll be difficult for us to bypass him!"

Wei Xun wanted to kick Xie Yan.

He said this just to divert Wang Sheng's attention, but Xie Yan jumped in again.

"We can't do the gold mine business, so can we not do the medicinal materials business?" Wei Xun glared at Xie Yan, "I don't believe it. Can Gong Dongning still do it all by himself?"

Xie Yan wanted to say something, but Xu Sijin sighed, "What's the point of saying this now? The most important thing is to find a way to get an official position. Otherwise, even if there are mountains of gold and silver in front of me, it will not be my turn!"

"What kind of official position do you want to get?" Xu Sizhun walked in with a gentle voice that was a little smiling.

"Young Master!" "Fourth Brother!" Several people hurriedly stood up and saluted him.

"You are all my Sixth Brother's good friends. There is no need to be so polite. Just follow my Sixth Brother and call me Fourth Brother." Xu Sizhun returned the greeting with a smile. Everyone let him sit in the first seat. He smiled and said, "I just walked to the door and heard my Sixth Brother say that he wanted to get an official position. What's going on?"

Xie Yan and Wei Xun both looked at Xu Sijin, waiting for him to speak, but Wang Sheng told Xu Sijin what had just happened before him: "...Those people in the Military Selection Department have their eyes on top of their heads. Unfortunately, we are young, and when we go to them for help, they will only hum and haw and ask the elders to come forward." As he said this, he sighed and glanced at Xu Sizhun out of the corner of his eye.

"Is that so?" Xu Sizhun showed a thoughtful expression, and after a while, he smiled and said, "Those people from the Military Selection Department are indeed not easy to deal with!" Then he asked them, "The weather is nice today, why don't we have lunch at Liufangwu, where the flowers are in full bloom and the willows are green, what do you think?"

There are silver-edged willows planted on both sides of Liufangwu, and there are also several crabapple trees.

"Let's listen to Fourth Brother!" Xie Yan and the others responded with a smile, but Wang Sheng showed a bit of disappointment in his eyes.

After dinner, the group dispersed.

Xu Sijin went to pay his respects to the lady.

The yard was brightly lit. Xu Lingyi, Xu Lingkuan, Shiyi Niang, the Fifth Madam, the Second Madam, and a group of younger people including Xu Sizhun were all standing in the yard. The Madam's inner room was dark and no lights were on.

Xu Sijin was shocked: "What happened?"

"Jin'er, you came just in time!" The second wife was excited. "When your grandmother heard that you were going to Guizhou, she blamed your father for not trying hard enough and refused to see anyone! No matter how we tried to persuade him, she just shouted that we should find the queen. She also said that if we don't go, she will first go to Shuntian Prefecture to report your father for being unfilial, and then she will personally go to the palace to deliver the plaque! You should go and persuade your grandmother."

Accuse your father of being unfilial?

Xu Sijin tried hard not to laugh, and his eyes involuntarily looked towards Xu Lingyi.

Although my father stood there calmly and composedly as usual, there was embarrassment in his eyes.

He went forward and knocked on the door: "Grandma, I am Jing'er, please open the door quickly. If you don't open the door, Daddy will go to the government to sue me for being unfilial!"

Except for Xu Lingyi, everyone in the yard covered their mouths and lowered their heads. The Fifth Madam ran out directly, and Chen Ge'er gave Xu Sijin a thumbs up.

The light in the inner room was turned on, the door creaked open, and Zhihong walked out nervously: "Madam Tai said, let the Sixth Young Master in!"

Xu Sijin walked in quickly.

"Let me go in and take a look!" Brother Chen followed in quickly.

"I want to go in too!" Cheng Ge'er looked at him and ran in.

"Seventh Uncle and Eighth Uncle are both there," Ting said in a baby voice, "I want to go too!"

Jiang hurriedly hugged her son and said, "The uncles are busy, you stay here with grandpa and grandma!"

Ting Ge'er withdrew his gaze reluctantly.

Fortunately, it is spring and the yard is warm.

Eleventh Lady whispered to the maid to bring a brocade stool for the pregnant Xiang and Ying Niang to sit on. The two of them refused for a long time, but only when Xu Lingyi frowned did they sit down.

Yingying and Tingger were young after all, and they just twisted their bodies there after waiting for a while. Xu Sijie took them outside the yard, picked bamboo leaves and played music for them, and took them out to play.

After waiting for about half an incense stick, the lady's door finally opened again.

Zhihong bowed to everyone and said, "Madam Tai said that we should all sit inside!"

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I am working overtime at the company to organize the data in preparation for the file upgrade inspection in November. Only one update today!

PS: I just realized that I didn’t do a lot of basic work for writing this article. Now, I have to make up for it~~~~(_