Myriad Immortals

Kyoto.

Outside the imperial city, there is a thousand-step corridor where the Three Departments, Six Ministries, and Eight Armies reside. It is a sacred place in the hearts of all civil and military officials, who dream of becoming officials within these thousand steps. All of the hundred Grand Secretaries of the Qing Kingdom emerged from here.

And where the East Thousand Steps Corridor connects to Chang'an Gate is the Golden List that people talk about.

Civil officials reside in the east, and military officials reside in the west.

It's almost midnight.

But at this time, the Ministry of Personnel's office in the East Thousand Steps Corridor was still brightly lit.

After the provincial examinations were over, the Ministry of Rites was relieved, but then it was the Ministry of Personnel's turn to work hard.

Although the local government decides which office one enters, the Ministry of Personnel still determines the rank one should hold.

The Qing Kingdom has nearly a thousand successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and each one of them needs to be verified in great detail. This workload is enormous.

As for the standards?

The founding emperor has already given his verdict.

It's nothing more than two words.

Virtue and ability.

The word "ability" is easy to define; it simply refers to one's martial arts level and ranking in the imperial examinations.

But the word "virtue" itself is quite intriguing.

Generally speaking, only those achievements that are reported to the Ministry of Personnel can be counted as merits; other minor virtues and merits are not taken seriously.

Over the past few centuries, this has gradually become the norm.

It's just a matter of flipping through more files.

As the saying goes, what the superiors do, the inferiors will surely follow.

Many powerful and knowledgeable families start grooming their promising younger generations early on.

"Zhong Xuan..."

A middle-aged official, his hand still damp with ink, stared with some surprise at the names on the booklet and the string of smaller characters that followed.

He also handled the affairs of more than a dozen successful candidates in the imperial examinations.

This scholar named Zhong Xuan was particularly special.

Other successful candidates had at most one or two lines of text, but Zhong Xuan had a full seven or eight lines.

The middle-aged official was unsure what to do.

He had no choice but to present the booklet to an old man.

"Lord Zhang, this man is inexperienced and unpredictable. I humbly request that you assess him carefully."

The elderly official from the Ministry of Personnel raised an eyebrow, picked up the booklet, and glanced at it.

"Old Li?"

He had spent too long in the Ministry of Personnel, so it was not unusual for him to have been a village elder and a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. However, the new emperor of Qing Kingdom liked to educate people with virtue, so this was a decent achievement.

But then the old man from the Ministry of Personnel couldn't help but let out a soft "hmm".

This was because Zhong Xuan had made outstanding contributions in the encirclement and suppression of the Black Witch Cult in just a few years, and the most recent one was reported by the Governor-General's Office of Jiujiang just a few days ago.

He was even praised as a model of virtue and an auspicious omen by a local magistrate for his late-blooming success.

The old man from the Ministry of Personnel pondered for a moment.

There's a lot to learn about who's superior and who's inferior.

But generally speaking, one standard should be followed, which is the preferences of the person in the capital.

"His Majesty served as a prince for thirty years and a crown prince for thirty years... and he has been extremely devoted to the matter of river management..."

Thinking about this...

The old man from the Ministry of Personnel quickly came up with an idea and personally wrote three characters after Zhong Xuan's name.

"Promotion is possible."

......

......

It's spring again.

Several months have passed since the autumn imperial examinations.

Zhong Xuan, who was practicing martial arts in the house, was suddenly called out of the house. When he walked to the main hall of the Flying Eagle Martial Arts School, he saw Magistrate Zhou standing in the center.

When Magistrate Zhou saw Zhong Xuan, he smiled and quickened his pace.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute as he walked.

"Brother Zhong, congratulations! The list from the Ministry of Personnel has been released."

"That is the Qinghe Governor's Office."

Upon hearing the result, Qian Hong and Zheng Yue both showed expressions of joy.

Although Duan Wen of the Qinghe Governor's Office had informed them in advance, it was still better to secure the prize than to wait until the Ministry of Personnel issued the official document, which would then be the final verdict.

Zhong Xuan also smiled.

The novel "Myriad Realms of True Immortals" is available for free reading on the "Renren Bookstore" app. Search "Renren Bookstore" on Baidu to download and install the Android app, and read the latest chapters of "Myriad Realms of True Immortals" anytime!

The Ministry of Personnel's notice had not yet been posted, and Magistrate Zhou was here to offer his congratulations ahead of time.

He appreciated the favor.

"Thank you, Lord Zhou."

Magistrate Zhou shook his head: "Brother Zhong, you are the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner of the Southern River Management Office of the Qinghe Governor's Office. We are of equal rank, so please just call me Brother Zhou from now on."

Commissioner of the Grand Canal?

Equal level?

Even Zhong Xuan was taken aback by these remarks.

Duan Wen was a river patrol officer, a seventh-rank official, and a sand patrol officer, also a seventh-rank official.

The Grand Canal Transport Commissioner also had a subordinate official title, and without a doubt, he was also a seventh-rank official.

Zheng Yue was stunned, and blurted out, "No deputy?"

Magistrate Zhou laughed heartily: "There's no deputy; he's just the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, a seventh-rank official!"

These words were spoken.

Even Qian Hong was taken aback.

Very few successful candidates in the imperial examinations could obtain the rank of seventh-grade official. Most of them were county magistrates in remote areas, but the rank of seventh grader in the Qinghe Governor's Office was extremely valuable.

Although the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner was not as high-ranking as the River Patrol Commissioner or the Sand Patrol Commissioner, he was a civil official of a lower rank.

But that's already extremely remarkable.

Among this year's provincial examination winners, this is already an excellent result.

No wonder Magistrate Zhou was willing to come and offer his congratulations in person.

Zhong Xuan was already on par with him from the start.

We'll meet again someday.

I might have to call him "Shangguan" (official).

Congratulations, junior brother.

"Congratulations."

Qian Hong and Zheng Yue both offered their congratulations, genuinely happy for Zhong Xuan.

After decades of taking the imperial examinations, he finally passed in one day.

This result is entirely worth the years of hard work and bitterness.

Zhong Xuan also never expected that he would be able to serve as a seventh-rank official in such a large government office as the Southern River Administration.

It was truly an unexpected delight.

Zhong Xuan hadn't expected this.

The destruction of the Sha Gang brought him two tremendous benefits.

Not only has its fundamental structure transformed, but it has also advanced to the next level.

Don't underestimate the fact that it's only a half-rank official position; for most scholars, it represents at least ten years of hard work.

Zhong Xuan: "I will never forget the friendship between the three of you."

Let's not even talk about Qian Hong and Zheng Yue.

Magistrate Zhou was overjoyed.

The reason he favored Zhong Xuanqing was not only because Zhong Xuanqing had achieved academic success, but also because Zhong Xuanqing was sentimental and remembered old friends.

In this respect, those young scholars who passed the imperial examinations were far inferior.

Ok.

This refers to the Zhang family member, who, since passing the imperial examination, has never once visited his residence.

Magistrate Zhou would not do anything to help.

In comparison, Zhong Xuan, a seasoned and experienced man, seemed much more pleasing to the eye.

......

......

Seven days later.

The documents from the Ministry of Personnel were delivered to Xiaohe Village by the postmaster of Fengqiao Post Station.

Zhong Xuan received a gold-flecked document from the postmaster; this was the official document.

This is something that is crucial for taking office.

Legend has it that during the chaos of the past, there were even bizarre tales of bandits robbing and killing incoming officials, obtaining their official credentials, and then impersonating them to take office.

However, the Qing Kingdom has been at peace for a long time, and such absurd things have long become anecdotes and are no longer possible.

Since then.

Everything is ready.

The imperial court has time limits for taking office.

Zhong Xuan did not leave quietly, but instead held a grand banquet in Baisha County for three days before being seen off by the villagers, whom he did not recognize at all.

This has always been the case when successful candidates in the imperial examinations took office.

Zhong Xuan was no exception to the common practice.

Without much preparation, I simply arrived at the Flying Eagle Martial Arts School and carefully rolled the Flying Eagle Diagram into my bundle. Then I boarded the carriage that was already waiting at the city gate.

A slow, creaking sound of wooden wheels rolling began to rise.

They slowly drove towards Yongning Prefecture.