My son, how could you be Lü Bu?!

Chapter 123 Lu Zhi is shocked

Luoyang.

The residence of the officials in charge of the Secretariat, one of the most powerful institutions in the Han Dynasty.

Officials, carrying bamboo slips, bustled about, busy handling various affairs of the thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty.

It has been more than ten days since Lü Ping and his party crossed the Mengjin ferry and arrived in Luoyang.

Seeing that Lü Bu had already been appointed as a court official, while his own appointment had not yet been issued.

Lu Ping felt anxious.

He first sent his eldest son to find Lu Zhi to become his apprentice, and then asked Shen Pei, who was working as a clerk in the Taichang Mansion, to request an audience with the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, who was in charge of promoting officials.

at this time.

Seeing that Shen Pei had made connections for him, he finally got a chance to see the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

Lu Ping was quite patient. He was squatting outside a house, teasing a puppy that no one knew who owned, while waiting for the summons from the Minister of the Interior.

This is not.

Lu Ping had been waiting for this moment.

As the conversation inside gradually subsided, a slightly overweight middle-aged official, wearing a silver seal and blue sash at his waist, quickly stepped out.

He glanced curiously at Lü Ping, who was squatting on the ground playing with the dog, then looked away and strode outside.

Lu Ping ignored the man's gaze and continued to play with the dog.

Immediately following, a call was made.

Lu Ping then quickly put down the puppy in his arms, straightened his clothes, and got up to go inside.

After entering.

Lu Ping glanced around.

Seeing that the official residence where the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat worked was extremely simple, he roughly got a sense of its layout.

Only then did they turn their gaze to the middle-aged official who sat calmly and authoritatively in the main seat.

While Lü Ping was sizing up the middle-aged official.

The middle-aged official also raised his eyes, glanced at Lü Ping a few times, and then looked away.

Before Lü Ping could speak, the middle-aged official looked apologetic and spoke first.

"I've kept Zizhi waiting for a long time."

"I've already heard Zheng Nan tell me about Zi Zhi's purpose for coming."

"It is not that we deliberately want to delay Zizhi's appointment, but Zizhi's promotion is too fast and his merits are too great, which is not in line with past practices."

"Therefore, the appointment of Zizhi was not something that Zhi could decide alone. It required a meeting with several colleagues from the Secretariat to discuss the matter, and then report it to the Emperor for a final decision."

"This was going to take longer than usual, and with the recent busy affairs of the court, we couldn't spare the time, which is why Zizhi had to wait a little longer."

Lu Zhi, who was the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, was frank and made no attempt to hide anything.

After all, Lü Ping was promoted by Wang Yun and was considered part of the scholar-official camp. In addition, his killing of Tan Shihuai was a great achievement for the country and the people.

Therefore, Lu Zhi had a very good impression of Lü Zizhi.

Lu Ping nodded slowly, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Understandable."

"But...Could Minister Lu help me find out which vacancies remain in the current prefectures and counties that I could fill?"

"After all, it's a long journey, and Ping is over thirty years old. He's physically weak and can't withstand the bumpy ride, so we need to make some preparations first."

Upon hearing Lü Ping say that he was already over thirty, Lu Zhi glanced at Lü Ping again, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

He chuckled softly.

"What a coincidence."

"Zizhi's needs are similar to those of Dong Zhuo and Dong Zhongying, who came from Longxi. He just came to me to ask about the prefectures and counties that could be used for his post."

"I checked for him and I know which prefectures and counties still have vacancies. Apart from Bingzhou, he should be able to go to the other prefectures and counties."

talking.

Lu Zhi stroked his beard, then opened the bamboo slips that had just been closed on the table, checking the blanks recorded on them.

He was about to speak.

Lu Ping, who was a beat slow to react, looked up at Lu Zhi with a look of astonishment.

"Wait, Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhongying?"

"Is Dong Zhongying also in the capital?"

Lü Ping hadn't expected this.

In this day and age, Dong Zhuo was actually in the capital, just like himself, waiting for a vacancy of one or two thousand shi (a unit of grain measure).

Lu Zhi raised his eyebrows slightly and spoke with a smile.

"Does Zizhi know about Dong Zhuo?"

"The person who just went out was Dong Zhongying. Zizhi should have seen him when he came in."

"That person is...?!"

Lü Ping's eyes widened slightly.

He truly never expected that upon arriving in Luoyang, he would so soon brush past Dong Zhuo, the man who would one day spend the night on the emperor's bed and extinguish the lifeblood of the Han Dynasty.

Indeed.

Seeing Lü Ping's reaction, Lu Zhi smiled slightly, then pointed to the bamboo slips on the table and spoke to Lü Ping.

"Currently, the number of vacancies for officials with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain) in various prefectures and counties is not actually that many."

Upon hearing Lu Zhi speak, Lü Ping quickly composed himself and listened attentively.

"Firstly, there is Jiangxia County in Jingzhou. It controls the waterway between Jingzhou and Yangzhou and has a crucial geographical location. However, it is rife with water bandits and clan bandits, and rebellions are frequent."

"Secondly, there is Ba County in Yizhou, a gathering place of the Ban Dun barbarians, whose people are fierce and whose conflicts with the Han people are prominent."

"Thirdly, there is Longxi County in Liangzhou, which is the birthplace of Dong Zhuo and Dong Zhongying. Qiang people often cause trouble there, and there is an urgent need for famous generals to suppress them."

talking.

Lu Zhi looked up without making a sound, glanced at Lü Ping's expression, and then asked as if casually.

"By the way, if I remember correctly, Zizhi comes from an ordinary family, right?"

Lu Ping looked up blankly, his eyes still pondering the three prefectures and counties that Lu Zhi had just given him.

To be honest, none of these three places are particularly good places to visit.

The economy there isn't particularly prosperous, and going there would mostly mean fighting a war.

Lü Ping wanted to learn how to govern a prefecture and county and recruit more scholars.

Upon hearing Lu Zhi's question, he answered instinctively.

"Indeed!"

"In the past, the people were commoners, and going back three generations, not a single member of the clan held an official position."

Lu Zhi nodded slightly, his eyes flickered, and then he spoke again.

"certainly."

"There are other prefectures and counties where I may also go, but I need to discuss those matters with my colleagues before I can give an answer to the officials."

""

Lu Ping came to his senses and realized he had picked up on something from Lu Zhi's tone. He nodded repeatedly.

"Thank you, Minister Lu."

Just as the two were talking.

Outside.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps approached, followed by a knock on the door.

Lu Zhi frowned slightly, and Lü Ping got up to open the door.

The wooden door opened, and several anxious-looking servants hurried in from outside.

Upon seeing these familiar servants enter, Lu Zhi's expression immediately turned serious.

"But what happened at home?"

After all, Lu Zhi had previously instructed these servants not to come to the capital to find him unless it was an emergency.

"My lord."

"Young Master and that Young Master Gongsun got into an argument, and they started fighting right there in their home!"

"It's alright." Lu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand.

He was aware of the temperaments of his eldest son and Gongsun Zan, as well as the conflicts between the two.

"Zihe's temper needs to be tamed."

"Zihe can't beat Bogui, so he got beaten, and that's that."

The servant looked even more anxious and shook his head repeatedly.

"It wasn't just the young lord who was beaten."

"Young Master Gongsun brought a young man who came to study with him from somewhere. The young man got angry and beat up both Young Master Gongsun and Young Master Gongsun!"

Upon hearing this!

Lu Zhi was immediately stunned.

"What?!"

"With Bogui's skills, how could he possibly get beaten up?"

Lu Ping, who was sitting opposite Lu Zhi, had some vague guesses in his mind after hearing the servant's words.

His expression changed drastically.