Chapter 0058 Four Eyes
The official system changed a lot in the late Yong Dynasty. Almost every emperor would change the names of these official positions after he came to power, as if this represented a bright future and people would no longer return to the miserable situation of the past.
The prime minister and the chancellor are the same thing, but after the Han family came to power, in order to curb the problem of the prime minister's monopoly, they changed the prime minister to chancellor, and they came up with four chancellors at once. This difference in the official system is not important, so there is no need to mention it. Xiao Rong just felt a little emotional.
Although both of them held the position of prime minister, Zhou Liang's end could be described as extremely miserable, while Song Suo was given a grand funeral, and almost everyone who knew him has been missing him.
It is hard to say what Song Shuo's literary accomplishment was like, but he had a nickname in later generations, "Memorization Machine". Many famous writers wrote ancient poems or essays in his memory. Because they were too sincere and the words used were really beautiful, they were included in the textbooks and became a nightmare for students.
Xiao Rong studied dancing, so he had never memorized many poems. Whenever he encountered questions that required rote memorization, he would simply skip them and focus on questions that had a pattern for answering.
But skipping it doesn't mean that he didn't know about Song Shuo's reputation. Among all the historical figures, he has always been very popular. Not only in the era when he was alive, but also in many later eras, people mentioned him with admiration. The emperors who came after him grew up listening to Zhou Shuo's deeds. Whenever the ministers did not meet their expectations, they would sigh, "I am not as lucky as Emperor Xu Wu". …………
The higher the historical evaluation of Song Suo, the more numb Xiao Rong's expression became as he sat there.
He mentioned the lie he told in order to shock Song Suo. After all, the ancients were superstitious. If he made him think that he could tell fortunes, many things would be easier to handle. However, Song Suo looked at him doubtfully for a while, and with a blink of an eye, he began to discuss the Huang-Lao philosophy with Xiao Rong with great interest.
Xiao Rong: “…”
He knows nothing about Huang-Lao Taoism.
In order not to appear timid, he could only say that he had a different set of rules for divination, which were not the ones familiar to the world.
Song Suo suddenly realized that extraordinary people have extraordinary experiences. This time he no longer doubted Xiao Rong's statement, but he began to brag to Xiao Rong again, talking about how he almost joined the Qingfeng Sect. The Qingfeng Sect asked him to preach and donate money. What's more, they actually asked him to stay in the church gathering place every day, saying that he wanted to listen to the teachings of the leader.
Please, he finds it troublesome to go to court every five days, so how can he go to church every day to receive guidance from others? Besides, the person who can guide him has not been born in this world yet.
Xiao Rong: “…………”
Lazy, arrogant, and highly inattentive.
The excitement of discovering that Song Suo was Song Qianzheng was gradually fading away. Xiao Rong even began to doubt himself. Did he really want to bring such a person back to Chenliu? Could such a Song Suo help him?
He wouldn't be like Zhang Biezhi, getting into trouble every day.
Xiao Rong was silent for a while and decided not to let Song Suo control the direction of the conversation. Song Suo could receive his hints, but he didn't move in the direction he hinted at all. If this continued, it would be a complete waste of time.
Xiao Rong simply asked directly: "Since you have already made up your mind to resign, why haven't you taken action yet, Mr. Song?"
Song Shuo blinked and answered him: "Because Jinling is quite interesting."
Xiao Rong chuckled, "If Jinling was really interesting, why would Young Master Song live in this tiny thatched cottage? Even though Young Master Song and I have only known each other for a short while, I can see that he is actually a person who is willing to make friends with heroes all over the world. Although the thatched cottage is cool, it is not a good place to stay compared to the more refreshing gentlemen and heroes. Young Master Song stays here simply because there are no such people in the main city."
Song Suo tilted his head and said, "Then according to Lord Xiao, why am I still reluctant to resign?"
Xiao Rong: "Maybe it's because even if Master Song resigns, he won't be able to find a better place to go than Jinling."
The faint smile on Song Suo's lips slowly disappeared, but Xiao Rong didn't look at him. Instead, he shook the teacup in his hand and continued to speak slowly: "Xiangdong is Mr. Song's hometown. If Xiangdong is good and can realize Mr. Song's ambitions, then Mr. Song wouldn't have to travel thousands of miles to Jinling. When he was in Xiangdong, he looked at Jinling because Jinling is the current capital of the Yong Dynasty. It carries the future of an imperial dynasty and countless scholars. But if you look at the mountain, you will die. The so-called wise monarch and virtuous ministers are like mirages that can be seen but not touched. If you keep walking towards it, you will eventually reach the place, but when that day comes, you will find that it is just an illusion."
At this point, Xiao Rong raised his eyes and smiled at Song Suo: "Fortunately, Mr. Song is still young, and young people's blood won't run cold so quickly. Now that he is standing in Jinling, I wonder if Mr. Song can still find the next promising place?"
Song Ruo looked at Xiao Rong, and his throat began to itch again. He couldn't help coughing, and then he smiled and said, "I really can't find it. If my guess is correct, should Xiao Lingyin recommend me to go to Chenliu next?"
Hearing this, Xiao Rong's smile deepened: "Not everyone wants Chenliu."
Song Shuo: “…”
He was already prepared for how to pose after Xiao Rong nodded, but when he suddenly heard these words, his eyes widened into beads.
Song Suo looked at him in disbelief: "Am I not worthy of going to Chenliu?"
Xiao Rong shrugged slightly: "Of course, there is no problem. The gates of Chenliu are wide open to all the people in the Central Plains. Anyone who wants to come can come, but if you want to stay and enter the palace to get an official position..."
Song Shuo's tone became more serious: "Is it possible that a scholar like me cannot seek an official position in Chenliu?!"
Xiao Rong was stunned for a moment, and he quickly smiled at Song Shuo: "Of course, but Mr. Song has great ambitions, and he certainly doesn't want to be a minor official. As for those important positions, such as the staff of the King of Zhenbei, or the governor of some cities, well..."
Song Shuo: “…”
If Xiao Rong had told Song Shuo at the beginning that he would not be able to stay with the King of Zhenbei and would not be able to join his core advisory team after he went to Chenliu, Song Shuo would be unhappy, but he would not have to argue for it. After all, he knew that his influence was not important. Although he was the legitimate son of the Song family in Xiangdong and could become the patriarch in the future, he was young and the Song family had no foundation in Jinling. After the Yong Dynasty moved south ten years ago, the aristocratic families in the north and south actually experienced a dispute. In the end, these local aristocratic families in the south naturally lost, because they were not as good as those families in the north in terms of ranking and power.
Although that dispute has passed, the exclusion in the officialdom has always existed. The northern families have banded together to exclude the southern families that have been operating locally. Moreover, the north and the south have different ideas. The northern families want to return to the north and do not regard the south as their base at all, while the southern families are eager for them to return to the north as soon as possible and give up all the territories that originally belonged to them.
The Xiangdong Song family was the loser in this dispute. The officials in the family could never get ahead. Song Suo, the most outstanding and noble of the next generation, could only be a copyist in Nanjing. He had to work as a copyist for three years before he could be promoted and enter various departments to continue his training and organization. By the time he could become a high-ranking official at the level of assistant minister, Song Suo was estimated to be thirty years old.
If he were allowed to endure any longer and become one of the eight masters, he would be forty years old.
It seems that thirty and forty are not too old, and both are still the prime years of a person. But this should be considered in the context of the times. The average life expectancy in this era is only in the thirties. Song Suo is born weak, and there is an eighty percent chance that he will not even live to be thirty.
Moreover, why is it that only their Song family enjoys this treatment? Look at the young masters of other families, they can become palace guards at the age of fifteen, serving the emperor and the Grand Marshal, and their official positions are much higher than Song Suo's.
Song Shuo has a very peculiar way of thinking. He is arrogant, but he is just self-righteous and intelligent. He does not flaunt his family background and thinks that his family background is noble. Therefore, he is aware of the overt and covert exclusion in the officialdom, but he will not resist. For him, it doesn't matter if the whole world cannot see his talent, but the people he recognizes must see it, otherwise he will be very angry.
Xiao Rong was the person he recognized, but Xiao Rong used this step-by-step approach to turn something that Song Shuo would not have reacted to violently into something that almost made Song Shuo explode with anger.
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