Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 166 The ambition not to fall into the clouds
On the third day of the eleventh month in the second year of Xingping, the weather gradually turned colder and the rain became more frequent and less frequent.

In a courtyard with green tiles and white walls in Dongxiang, Tan County, Xuzhou, a young scholar in Confucian robes squatted in the vegetable patch and harvested the last sunflowers of the year with a sickle.

After cutting vegetables for today's meal, the scholar stood up and looked at the winter melon in the bamboo basket, shook his head and sighed, "There is still no way out. There are too many noble families competing for the state official examination. If I don't pass the examination to become an official next year, I will have to go back to Huaiyin first."

He picked up the bamboo basket and prepared to go back to the kitchen, when he heard someone knocking on the wooden door and shouting, "Zishan, Wei Ziqi and I are here to see you, open the door!"

"Bang! Bang!"

Hearing the familiar shouts and knocks on the door, Bu Zhi turned around in surprise. Without even putting down the bamboo basket, he trotted to the door and opened it. It was indeed the long-faced Zhuge Jin and the bad-tempered Wei Jing, both of whom were friends he met when he came to Tan County.

"Why is Zishan so slow in opening the door?" Wei Jing asked as he came in.

Then he caught a glimpse of the bamboo basket behind Bu Zhi and said with a smile, "It just so happens that I haven't eaten yet. Zishan, please go to the kitchen and cook something to entertain the distinguished guest. Forget about the wine. Just have a few cups of Liu Gong tea."

Bu Zhi waved his hands with a straight face, pretending to be angry and said, "Go away, don't come to my house and make trouble. Not only do you want me to cook for you personally, but you also want Liu Gong tea to entertain you. You know that this tea is almost as valuable as gold. How many noble families in the world have one or two jars of it and keep them in their bedrooms for fear that they will be stolen."

"Qingzhou's tea picking quota is limited every year. Even if you sell my Buzi Mountain, I can't offer you Liugong tea."

Bu Zhi spread his hands and responded.

He also wanted to drink Liu Gong tea. He heard that there are spring, summer, autumn and winter teas, and the taste of tea in each season is different.

Some have rich and long-lasting fragrance, some have the refreshing orchid scent, and some have a mellow and sweet taste. They leave a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth and relieve fatigue. They are many times better than the tea that was popular among the nobles in the past.

Unfortunately, even the rich and powerful can hardly buy one or two cans a year.

Wei Jing nodded upon hearing this and sighed, "The profits from tea alone have brought so much wealth to Qingzhou, and there is also the sale of refined salt and the delicious maltose. Lord Xuande is not only good at military strategy and governance, but also knows how to make money through business. He is truly a gifted man."

Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi both nodded, recounting how Lord Xuande stood up to defeat the Yellow Turbans, how he dominated the world without any rivals, and how no one among the princes in Guandong could resist him.

Wei Jing laughed again and said, "I heard rumors that the richest man in the world should be none other than Envoy Liu."

Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, Zhuge Jin interrupted him and said, "Ziqi, this is wrong. Rumors may not be true. According to what I heard from Qingzhou officials, Lord Xuande's family has very few servants and maids, and does not keep musicians and dancers. All the money earned from business is used to fill the treasury, which is used to provide disaster relief and buy food for the people. The money is used to redeem slaves from some wealthy and noble families, to buy farmland and distribute it to the people, and to use it as military salaries and rewards. The family mansion has never been expanded."

"Among the Han royal family members, the only one who was loyal to the people was Emperor Xiaowen."

Zhuge Jin straightened his back and bowed his hands.

If we compare the princes of the world by their style of conduct, his envoy, Lord Xuande, beats them all. Even the Yuan family, which had three officials in four generations, is hard to compare with, and even the Liu clan members Liu Yu and Liu Biao are both good examples.

Bu Zhi and Wei Jing couldn't help but agree with Zhuge Jin's words.

If they did not believe that Liu Shijun would be able to restore the country and help the world revive the Han Dynasty, why would they have gone to Tan County to find ways to investigate the state officials and would have already defected to other princes.

Bu Zhi suddenly realized what was happening, put down the bamboo basket and led them into the house, and asked with a smile, "I haven't asked you two why you came here together?"

"I'm here to congratulate Zishan!" Zhuge Jin said as he sat down.

Bu Zhi raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean, Ziyu? I have no money to spare, and apart from one or two acres of sunflowers, thieves don't even want to come to my house to steal."

"An elder brother is like a father. If you want to marry your sister to me, you should wait a few years until Bu Zishan has enough money before you do it."

Bu Zhi said jokingly.

"Go away, I'm not kidding you." Zhuge Jin's face darkened and he waved his hand. "Lord Xuande ordered his subordinates to issue a notice in all counties of Xuzhou to recruit talented people and appoint officials for Xiapi County."

Zhuge Jin took out a bamboo slip from his sleeve and handed it to Bu Zhi, saying with a smile: "Your Excellency is very talented, and the document recruiting talents is very elegant. The words "A gentleman sees opportunities and knows his fate" and "A man should be strong even when he is old, and his ambition should not fall when he is poor. This is exactly what encourages scholars like us."

"Your Excellency asks scholars to follow the example of Zhongjun and volunteer to quell the chaos, to follow the example of Ban Chao and join the army, to build meritorious careers for the country, and not to spend the rest of their lives in mediocrity in the mountains and forests, so that their lives will not be in vain."

After reading the documents, Bu Zhi couldn't help but sigh. The poverty made him more determined and his ambition never gave up. This touched his heart.

He is facing difficulties now, and he is supported by his desire to achieve success, otherwise he would have collapsed long ago.

Bu Zhi put the document copied by Zhuge Ziyu into his sleeve, and said with a folded hand: "Ziyu, this heroic Ziyu likes it very much, so please give it to me."

Unexpectedly, Zhuge Jin shook his head and said, "Don't ask me about this. Ziqi wanted me to give him the documents when he came here. You have to ask him first."

When Bu Zhi arrived, Wei Jing immediately waved his hand and refused, saying, "Don't even think about copying it yourself. Unless you are willing to go with me to Xia Pi County to examine the county officials, I will agree to give it to you."

"This……"

Bu Zhi was inevitably a little hesitant. Although the threshold for becoming a state official was higher than that for a county official and the competition was fierce, with so many aristocratic families vying for it, Bu Zhi was more likely to be valued because he had power over the state and county and was close to Lord Xuande.

When a clerk was sent out to work, he would at least start as a county magistrate.

Zhuge Jin saw Bu Zhi's concerns and knew that he had used all his money to buy this courtyard. If he rushed to Xia Pi now, he would probably starve to death before he reached halfway.

A few acres of sunflowers can temporarily satisfy your hunger, but you can’t bring your drinking utensils with you on the road, right?
As a branch of the Huaiyin Bu family, all their extra money was used to buy a house. They didn't even have a donkey to travel. They had to walk on their own and carry cooking utensils and vegetables. How long would it take?

Zhuge Jin took out some money from his pocket and handed it to Bu Zhi, saying, "Zishan, take it. Return it to me when you have a salary. You can take the official ship to Xia Pi, and use the remaining money to rent a house to live in."

"Tzuyu..."

Bu Zhi looked guilty and did not reach out to take it.

Zhuge Jin was taken by Zhuge Zongchang to meet Lord Xuande, and was soon appointed as an official in Hucao Prefecture.

These days, I have been very grateful for his help, sending some corn from time to time. Otherwise, he would not be able to bear eating sunflower seeds every day. I have received so much favor from him that I am too embarrassed to borrow from him again.

Seeing this, Wei Jing said, "Zishan, take it. If you don't lend it to me, I will be embarrassed to lend it to you. Can you bear to see me waste my time here?"

"I am still a little short of being a good candidate for the state officials' examination and questioning. I can only work as a practical official in the county. If I miss the opportunity to go to Xia Pi to seek talents, it will be even more difficult for more people to go."

"Nowadays, many nobles and powerful families are gathered in Tan County, and Lord Xuande is the governor of Xiapi. County officials are similar to state officials, and the difficulty is even smaller. If we don't hurry up and rush there, we will really miss it."

Wei Jing advised earnestly.

Seeing his friend's sincere gaze, Bu Zhi put down his burden, nodded and smiled at the two of them, saying, "Okay, I'll go with you. Thank you, Ziyu, for your help. I will repay you many times over in the future."

Zhuge Jin heard this and smiled, saying, "Okay, I'll go home and keep the receipt, and wait for Zishan's generous reward."

The three of them looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

(End of this chapter)