Chapter 034 Taking Office
It turns out that the day Jia Zheng asked Sun Shaozong to come over, the vague and confusing chat was actually a disguised "interview" - Jia Zheng was quite confident in Sun Shaozong's martial arts, and this interview was just to examine Sun Shaozong's character to prevent him from being a bad influence on his sons and nephews.
And seeing that Jia Lian came in such a grand manner to "propose marriage", it was clear that Jia Zheng was very satisfied with the results of the interview that day.
But Sun Shaozong was about to take up his new post in Shuntian Prefecture, so how could he have the time to teach a group of playboys martial arts?
"You can rest assured about this!"
Jia Lian patted his chest and assured, "Our family doesn't rely on this to get ahead. You can just take the time to teach them some physical fitness routines. There will naturally be others to supervise their practice. You don't need to worry too much."
To be honest, if possible, Sun Shaozong really didn't want to get involved in such troublesome matters.
But even without mentioning the kindness of Rongguo Mansion to the Sun family, Sun Shaozong also needs Jia Yucun's help and care right now. How can he refuse the Jia family's offer?
Therefore, he could only agree to it first, thinking that using radio gymnastics as a foundation and then using health-preserving Tai Chi to fool people, it should be enough to deal with that group of playboys.
But that’s all for later.
The most important thing for him right now is to go to Shuntian Prefecture to take up his post!
--Dividing line--
The sixth day of the first lunar month.
It was the first day for officials at all levels to go back to work after the New Year.
In previous years, the Shuntian Prefecture government office was extremely lively. No matter how high or low the official rank was, they would greet each other with "Best wishes" and say some flattering and auspicious words when they met. However, this year the atmosphere in the government office was particularly strange. The officials at the top had gloomy faces, and the petty clerks and runners below did not even dare to breathe.
The culprit who caused all this is naturally none other than the newly appointed Criminal Judge Sun Shaozong!
Normally, a sixth-rank Tongpan was nothing in this yamen where the highest rank was third-rank, and it was not worth it for everyone to treat him like a big enemy.
But the bad thing is Sun Shaozong's background and the word "concurrently"!
From the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the present day, with the exception of the founding generals of each dynasty, it has always been civil officials who have concurrently held the actual posts of military generals. When have you ever heard of a military general concurrently holding the actual posts of civil officials [the titles of assistant minister of the Ministry of War and minister of the Jiedushi in various places were just honorary positions]?
Especially since he held a sixth-rank military post and concurrently held a sixth-rank civil post [his promotion from fifth-rank cavalry deputy captain was selectively ignored by the civil officials]!
How could the literati, who were used to the idea that civil officials were superior and military officials were inferior, tolerate this?
Not to mention the people in Shuntian Prefecture, even the civil officials in other government offices were eager to fish this "catfish" out of the pond and kill it with a single blow!
That's why the governor Liu Chongshan disregarded the rules and regulations and pushed the case of the naked corpse onto Sun Shaozong's head. Unexpectedly, this move not only failed to stump Sun Shaozong, but also completely made Sun Shaozong famous for his reputation of being a 'god in solving cases'.
It was clear that Sun Shaozong had already established a firm foothold before he even took office. In the days before and after the New Year, the chief officials of Shuntian Prefecture had endured countless ridicules and complaints in front of their friends and relatives. It would be strange if they were in a good mood!
But when most of the officials had arrived, a clerk suddenly rushed into the Experience Office under Shuntian Prefecture and reported in a loud voice: "Sir, the new judge Sun has arrived and is waiting outside for the transfer document."
The Experience Office has a seventh-rank experience official who is in charge of the documents and receipts of Shuntian Prefecture. Generally, new officials have to come here to check and transfer documents first, and only after confirmation can they officially take office.
"arrive?"
Experience officer Chen Zhichuang threw his brush onto the pen holder, leaving half the table covered in ink. He said calmly, "Come on, follow me to meet that thief!"
The three words "thief soldier" were originally a derogatory term for military generals in the Song Dynasty. It had been banned at the beginning of the founding of this dynasty. But now Chen Jingli uttered them in front of people without hesitation, which showed that he was full of hostility towards Sun Shaozong.
Sun Shaozong was sitting in the front hall, boredly looking at the layout of the Experience Department, when he saw a green-robed official with a rat-like beard and cross-eyed eyes rushing out of the back hall. He looked at him critically for a long while, then asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you the new captain?"
When Sun Shaozong came to Shuntian Prefecture, he was appointed as a sixth-rank judge, but this fellow insisted that he was a new captain, and his contempt was evident in his words.
Therefore, Sun Shaozong immediately stopped smiling when he heard this, stood up and glanced at Chen Jingli from a high position, and asked knowingly: "Who are you and what position do you hold? If the superior is in person, Sun Shaozong will be able to pay his respects to you."
Just by looking at the green robe, Sun Shaozong guessed that the person in front of him was the seventh-rank official Chen Zhichuang. So what he said was actually telling him: I am a sixth-rank official, and I am here in front of the higher-ups, so why don’t you hurry over and pay your respects? !
Chen Zhichuang was able to gain a seventh-rank experience in Shuntian Prefecture with such honor, so he was naturally not a fool. Therefore, he immediately understood the unspoken meaning in Sun Shaozong's words, and his momentum could not help but be dampened.
But would he just give up?
He immediately sneered, "Captain Sun has not officially taken up his post yet, so I'm afraid it's too early to talk about whether he will be promoted or not. Right now, official business is more important. Captain Sun, please submit the transfer documents so that I can compare them first to avoid any mistakes."
The word "present" is usually only used by superiors to subordinates. After all, he still looked down on Sun Shaozong's military background and had to act like a boss in front of him.
Sun Shaozong naturally felt more unhappy after hearing this, but if he really quarreled with Chen Jingli over the word "Cheng", he would only fall into his trap - maybe before he even left the Jingli Department, he would be accused of making trouble out of nothing.
But if he handed over the documents obediently, he would become a laughing stock in the officialdom!
It has to be said that Chen Jingli was indeed scheming. With just a few words he had put Sun Shaozong in a dilemma - especially since Jia Yucun had not yet taken office and he couldn't even find anyone to help him!
Fortunately, Sun Shaozong was not a greenhorn who had never been in officialdom, and he already knew well how to deal with similar situations.
So he took out the document without saying a word and quietly placed it on the coffee table on his left.
Now it was Chen's turn to feel uncomfortable.
Go and get it. All his pretentiousness will be wasted, and he may even be laughed at by his colleagues.
Of course he won't take it. Sun Shaozong is his superior in the same yamen. If the stalemate continues, he might be accused of not knowing the difference between high and low and making things difficult for his superior!
Chen Jingli hesitated for a long while, but finally decided to choose the lesser of two evils. He waved to the clerk behind him. The clerk immediately understood, stepped forward, carefully picked up the document, and handed it to Chen Jingli respectfully.
Although there was a layer of separation in between, Chen Zhichuang knew very well that he was still at a disadvantage this time, so he dared not underestimate the seemingly rough Sun Shaozong anymore. He just checked the document honestly and stamped it with the official seal.
It was not until Sun Shaozong was escorted out of the Experience Department that Chen Zhichuang could not help stroking his whiskers and sighing, "I thought he was just a young nobleman who achieved success, but I didn't expect him to be so shrewd and mature. It seems that Shuntian Prefecture will be very lively in the future!"
