Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 244: Jinling Strange Stories
The three passes were originally interconnected. If Mingyan was lost, Yuan Shu's remaining troops would be unable to defend Dasui and Zhiyuan. Soon the victory report of the three passes was sent to the general's mansion in Nanjing.
At this point, Zhang Xiu and Zhao Yun attacked from the east and west and met at Fuyang...
In the city of Jinling, in addition to the joy brought by the frequent good news, there was also a "strange story".
Since Pang Tong's proposal, the Selection Examination and the Recruitment Hall began to focus on recruiting talents in the field of "mechanical science".
Although it has caused some controversy, and there have been cases of passive cooperation in the grassroots selection tests and the talent recruitment halls, but... you can be passive, and the "performance" will be reflected. In particular, if relevant talents are rejected in the talent recruitment halls at the township level but are accepted in the talent recruitment halls at the county or prefecture levels, the Ministry of Personnel will check previous records and question the reasons for the rejection.
Therefore, those grassroots officials who dare to go too far… and “correct” the decrees of the General’s Office with their own will will only be banned.
For a while, during these "small storms", a large number of talents in government agencies were recruited by the General's Mansion.
After all, saying they are talents in the field of government affairs sounds a bit high-sounding, but in fact... they are just craftsmen!
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, although industry and commerce were not classified as lowly occupations, even famous craftsmen had a much lower status than officials.
Especially after Confucianism became the only official doctrine, it was a pipe dream to want to join the ranks of bureaucracy based solely on one's "skills".
Bai Tu’s papermaking and printing were able to become his “first pot of gold” of fame thanks to the educational power of paper and the subsequent elementary education models.
Otherwise, if they just invented a waterwheel, a textile machine, or even a steam engine, it would not cause any waves. At most, it would improve productivity and make the local officials' achievements look better. After the court commended the officials, the local officials would commend the inventors.
Just like the spinning Jenny could set off a wave of industrialization, but the Huang Dao Po spinning machine from the Yuan Dynasty, which was similar and hundreds of years earlier... the name of the inventor was not recorded, and it was only after modern times that he became a key publicity figure.
Bai Tu was going to directly recruit "craftsmen" from the Naxianguan channel, and select the best ones to serve in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Civil Affairs. This was undoubtedly very attractive to famous craftsmen, and craftsmen from not only Yangzhou, but also Central Plains and Jingzhou came here after hearing the news.
After all, even if they failed to enter the two ministries, the demand for craftsmen in Yangzhou was greater and the treatment was better. Some craftsmen who were originally hesitant finally made a decision after seeing the "big pie" of entering the government.
Of course, serving in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Civil Affairs does not mean keeping them away from the front line or wasting their talents by forcing them to make decisions on desks. Instead, they are given official treatment - the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Civil Affairs both have "craftsman" series of official ranks, the highest of which can be "Grand Priest", which is nominally on the same level as the Ministry of Departments.
It was at this time that a "strange story" occurred in Jinling...
A carpenter shop in the west of the city was taken over by "unknown persons". A wooden pole was erected at the signboard, and a wooden kite was tied to the pole. Not only were the joints and wings lifelike, but when there was a slight breeze, the wings, claws, and beak would move, and the kite would fly around the pole and chirp incessantly!
If it were in some ignorant and closed place, it might be regarded as something supernatural, causing fear, blind hostility or worship, but in Jinling... the people just marveled at it.
After Jinling Magistrate Gu Yong learned the news, he took the initiative to pay a visit - recommending talents in the School of Mechanical Engineering is also the duty of officials in the General's Mansion. Now that the three words "School of Mechanical Engineering" have been clearly posted on the door, there is naturally no reason for him not to go.
However, this also made some officials dissatisfied, thinking that the craftsman was too arrogant and conceited!
Since you have come to Jinling and intend to seek an official position, why don't you come to the Naxian Hall yourself? Why do you need Magistrate Gu to pay you a visit in person?
Of course, if a famous scholar did this, everyone would think it was normal - the extreme of double standards is to fundamentally believe that the two are different, and not realize that you are double-standard...
Fortunately, Gu Yong is not only a direct descendant of the Gu family, but also has always been known for his humility and impartiality, so Bai Tu gave him the important position of Jinling Order.
Although he was only a county magistrate, everyone knew that the Jinling magistrate was much more important than the average county magistrate! Even though the Jinling magistrate had no say in the "county"...
However, after the reform of the Ministry of Justice, the "burden" of the county magistrate was lightened a lot, and the power of trial was gradually stripped away from the county magistrate. Gu Yong no longer had to worry about the nobles of the major families causing trouble in Jinling - the lawsuits in Jinling would be submitted directly to the Ministry of Justice, and Wang Lang was sharpening his knife day by day, so generally no one dared to provoke him.
When Gu Yong arrived at this new shop, he first looked at the legendary wooden kite, sighed for a while, and then went in hoping to have a chat with the owner. However... he only had a closed-door tea.
It was truly a closed-door tea - after drinking it, even with Gu Yong's self-control, his expression changed for a moment, but he finally suppressed his emotion and left with a sullen look on his face.
Bitter, bitter to the heart!
There was no tea frying in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the tea culture was still very rudimentary, with tea mainly boiled. However, it already had a considerable audience, especially among literati who drank tea in formal occasions when they did not like to drink alcohol.
However, Gu Yong had never tasted such bitter tea. After leaving, he even went to the medical school to check it out out of concern. Even when he arrived at the medical school, the bitter taste in his mouth had not dissipated. Gu Yong was afraid that someone had poisoned it!
However, Hua Tuo's words made Gu Yong feel relieved.
It is not poison, nor is it something bad, but Gaolu tea, which is common in Jiaozhou.
Although it is close to Yangzhou, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was undoubtedly classified as "poor mountains and bad waters". The different climate and environment, as well as mosquitoes and miasma, made people have extra prejudices against it. Gu Yong had never been there...
However, in search of medicine, Hua Tuo had been to Jiaozhou and tasted Gaolu tea. He had a deep impression of this kind of "tea" used by the people of Jiaozhou to entertain guests. Hua Tuo recognized it as soon as Gu Yong opened his mouth, but... judging from Gu Yong's description, it was probably the enhanced version!
Gaolu tea is what later generations called Kuding tea. Although it is extremely bitter, some people are addicted to it. However, generally speaking, one bud is enough in a bucket of boiling water. Two or three buds are already very bitter...
From what Gu Yong felt, this was definitely not passionate and affectionate, but he was trying to make trouble!
As soon as he entered, a maid came out and carefully poured tea leaves, saying, "The master is not feeling well and needs to rest. If the master can wait, she will come out after a pot of tea."
Now that Gu Yong thought about it, it was clear that the maid was guilty...
Another pot of tea? You have to drink a pot of tea before you can see me, right?
That is Gu Yong, who is usually a "good guy" and has been praised in history for treating his enemies fairly. Therefore, if someone just drinks bitter tea, he won't bear any grudges.
only……
The hardened tongue made him not want to go again.
A pot of tea can only make the host see me, what about the subsequent recruitment? Judging from the current attitude, it is clear that I am not welcome!
Moreover, in essence, Gu Yong actually had some complaints about Bai Tu's excessive favoritism towards craftsmen, believing that this tended to emphasize skills over morality.
If we treat these people well, but in the future people value technology but despise morality, how can we achieve peace and order?
So after trying it once, Gu Yong reported the situation truthfully and had no intention of "challenging" it again.
Gu Yong's idea cannot be said to be completely wrong, and it also represents the ideas of a large number of Confucian scholars. It's just that relatively speaking, Confucianism puts too much trust in this world and believes that as long as etiquette and morality are used to regulate the world, there can be a peaceful life for thousands of years.
If China were a little poorer, it wouldn't have developed this bad habit...
And as human beings continue to develop, sooner or later they will realize that there is no place rich enough to allow people to be so willful.
After Bai Tu learned about this, he took Lu Lingqi and the plainclothes guards who were protecting him secretly, and went to this shop which did not sell anything with a concealed identity.
The reason why Bai Tu hid his identity was that he didn't want to put too much pressure on the other party, and also to leave some room for relaxation. Even if the recruitment failed this time, no one else would know.
As soon as Bai Tu and Lu Lingqi entered the house, they said they wanted to visit the boss. Then the little maid came out again and timidly brought Bai Tu a pot of tea. When pouring it, Bai Tu found that the tea was a little green!
"The master hasn't gotten up yet. If the guests can wait, the master will come out in the time it takes to drink a pot of tea." After the maid said this, she lowered her head and left embarrassedly.
During this time, Lu Lingqi kept glaring at her...
Maybe because there were two people coming, they specially poured two pots of tea!
"Hey! Do we really want to drink?" Lu Lingqi asked Bai Tu.
"If I can endure this little bit of hardship, it can bring more convenience to the people and reduce casualties among the soldiers, then why shouldn't I endure it?" Bai Tu said righteously.
Lu Lingqi looked at him in surprise.
"If I say it here, will others know?" Bai Tu asked back.
Lu Lingqi looked around and said, "It seems that no one else heard it."
"Why don't you write it down!" Bai Tu urged.
Lu Lingqi: ...
Bai Tu picked up the teacup, brought it to his lips, took a sip, and immediately his face wrinkled into a chrysanthemum.
It seems that drinking like this is not a good idea - Bai Tu gritted his teeth and drank the small cup in one gulp. Then he quickly took out a Shu brocade bag from his waist, poured out a piece of rock candy and put it in his mouth. After sucking on it for a while, he gradually calmed down.
Lu Lingqi wanted to share the burden, but Bai Tu pushed her away: "Mr. Hua said that it's not good to drink during menstruation."
"Bah! How do you know..." Lu Lingqi was so angry that she glared, but she didn't know how to condemn him, so she had to keep silent.
How does Bai Tu know?
Morning exercises are stopped during these days every month, why doesn’t Bai Tu know?
Bai Tu had a cup of tea and a piece of candy, his expression kept changing, and after one pot of tea, he finally finished two pots of tea...
At this time, the maid came in and said, "I'm sorry, my guests. The host has caught a cold, so he came out to warm himself by the fire. Please come to the inner hall to rest. There are chairs there, which will be more comfortable."
Lu Lingqi already wanted to beat someone up, after all, women have no self-control at this time, but Bai Tu stopped her in time - not to mention that Bai Tu came for talent, and besides... you can't drink tea for free, right?
When he came to the inner hall, Bai Tu found that there were chairs here. He didn't know why he had to kneel down just now!
It’s just that the chairs in this inner hall…
It looks so big and thick, and not only does it have armrests, but it also looks like you can fit your arms and legs into the armrests and hem. The surface is covered with animal skin, and the inside... seems to be bumpy?
"Is this your torture chair?" Lu Lingqi asked bluntly.
"You have misunderstood, my guest. This is our master's masterpiece. As long as you turn the wheel, this chair can be used as a table stool."
Anwu, which means massage.
The maid lowered her head in embarrassment, but kept saying, "Maybe after a hundred turns or so, the boss will come out." After saying that, she ran out immediately.
