Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

To the east is Qingmitang, and to the west is Keting.

Qingmi Hall was the office area of ​​a high-ranking official of the third rank, a Hanlin scholar.

After swimming for a short while, the rain stopped and the sun shone brightly.

After paying homage to Confucius, Jiang Zhao hurried to Qingmi Hall to visit Hanlin Academician Hai Chengyan.

Hai Chengyan, courtesy name Mingyuan, sobriquet Yunhe Jushi.

The Hai family, a family of upright officials, produced five generations of scholars!

This man is a representative of the upright officials, and he is quite prestigious in the Shilin faction. He is not a member of the Han faction.

However, he is one of Jiang Zhao's people.

Hai Chengyan, Jiang Zhao's maternal grandfather!

Hai Chengyan is now fifty-seven years old.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will retire in a few years and return to his hometown.

The Hanlin Academician, a third-rank official, was the highest-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy and the superior of all other Hanlin officials.

Visiting one's superior has always been a necessary procedure upon assuming office.

Qingmitang.

Inside, one could see an elderly man with slightly white hair and beard, who was currently sitting at his desk handling official business.

The Hanlin Academy has always been a leisurely place, but this leisure is relative to other government offices. Hai Chengyan was, after all, a third-rank official, and he had quite a few official duties.

“Grandfather!” Jiang Zhao strode in and bowed respectfully.

"Zhao'er?"

"Come on, come on!"

Hai Chengyan laughed heartily and put down his pen: "I received the notification, but I've been waiting for you for quite a while!"

As Jiang Zhao approached, Hai Chengyan looked at his grandson with increasing delight.

In the blink of an eye, he has become a promising young talent who has entered the imperial court!

"How have you been these days?" Hai Chengyan asked with concern.

"The wedding night and the day of passing the imperial examination are the greatest joys in life. It is indeed a wonderful time." Jiang Zhao smiled and said, "There is nothing more joyous in life than this.

As expected, Hai Chengyan offered both encouragement and concern.

Half an hour later.

The two walked to the entrance of the hall.

"Grandson takes his leave." Jiang Zhao bowed politely.

Hai Chengyan nodded, watching his grandson walk away, his eyes filled with eager anticipation.

After a long pause, he smiled.

"The top scholar!"

Around noon, Jiang Zhao handed over his work responsibilities to Zheng Xie, the previous Hanlin Compiler.

There are detailed regulations regarding the format of all cabinet documents.

There were also regulations specifying the format of those decrees, and no mistakes were allowed.

After the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet issues a decree, it must be drafted by the Hanlin Academicians, the Secretariat Drafters, and the Hanlin Compilers, and then sent to the Cabinet for approval by the Grand Secretary before it can be issued to the Six Ministries or local authorities for implementation.

In terms of actual power, the Hanlin Compiler had almost none; he was merely a machine for drafting imperial edicts.

When a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet issues a decree, the prepared document automatically pops up!

After that, Jiang Zhao went to the cabinet.

Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Wang Qinruo, Shen Boyuan, Liu Hang, and Pang Ji.

These six people represent the pinnacle of power in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that his words carried divine power.

The cabinet, as a machine for concentrating power.

The Hanlin Compiler was the fuel that kept this power machine running.

Jiang Zhao entered the cabinet and came out with more than a dozen government orders in his hands.

The decrees covered the economy, taxation, selection, evaluation, appointment and removal of officials, and one even involved military affairs.

The drafting of more than a dozen government decrees alone would take at least four or five hours, and that's just the amount for one day.

Jiang Zhao sighed inwardly.

Having passed the imperial examination with top honors, one is bound by this golden headband, no longer an ordinary person, and can no longer indulge in worldly desires.

What can be done?

Let's do it!

As a newly appointed Hanlin Compiler, Jiang Zhao had no choice but to study past government decrees and imitate them in writing his own decrees.

Fortunately, we are currently in the handover phase, and with the help of the previous Hanlin Compiler Zheng Xie, things are not delayed.

Even so, it took the two of them three hours to finish a day's worth of government orders.

As dusk approached, Jiang Zhao slowly walked out of the Compilation Hall and took a long breath.

This intensity is simply incredible!

Jiang Zhao wasn't incapable of holding out for more than three hours.

In fact, he is the kind of person who only needs to sleep for two or three hours a day and still feels energetic.

This means that if he were truly determined, he could spend eight or nine hours a day studying government policies.

However, the thought of living like this for the next three years made Jiang Zhao feel as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, making it very difficult to relax.

During his off-duty hours, Jiang Zhaoshun made a trip to the Shuchang Hall.

Unfortunately, we did not see Su Shi, Su Zhe, or anyone else.

The junior scholars (庶吉士) usually pursue advanced studies and have long been paid; they are very valuable!

How could it be as bitter as the top scholar's life?

Late at night, Quyuan Street.

Jiang Zhao sat on the edge of the bed, letting out a long sigh, looking completely relaxed.

At this moment, his feet were soaking in a wooden tub, and Sheng Hualan was kneeling on the bed, gently massaging his shoulders.

"Husband, how is the strength?" Sheng Hualan didn't ask about the Hanlin Academy.

One can tell a thing or two from the young master's weary appearance; how could governing the world be an easy task?

However, the Hanlin Academy is a prestigious and respectable institution!

These four words are enough.

"Excellent!" Jiang Zhao exclaimed with a look of satisfaction.

It's so good to have a wife who loves you!

As he spoke, he simply stretched out his leg, turned around and hugged his wife in his arms, and one hand naturally reached up to her.

Sheng Hualan's pretty face flushed slightly, and she gave a soft hum, her clear eyes seeming to overflow with tears.

These days, as a newlywed, she has truly tasted the sweetness of marriage and is enjoying a lot of indescribable joy.

Nowadays, one can't help but be aroused by a little teasing.

"Husband, the foot bath water hasn't been poured yet!" Sheng Hualan said gently.

"Let's pour it tomorrow!"

Jiang Zhao touched the young woman's flushed cheeks and kissed her deeply.

A kiss, and they flipped over!

The big strings are like a rain, and the small strings are cut like a whisper.

Wonderful!

Chapter 37 My First Time Attending Court! (4k)

At the third quarter of the hour of Yin (3:45 AM), the sky was pitch black.

Outside the Wende Hall, lanterns were lit one after another, and the court officials, dressed in crimson and purple robes, lined up in an orderly fashion according to their rank.

Officials could be heard conversing intermittently, their voices neither too loud nor too soft, just right.

Jiang Zhao, dressed in a sixth-rank official robe, stood tall at the end of the civil officials' group, holding an ivory tablet, with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

This is the regular court session held once every five days.

Admittedly, having to attend court before dawn is not a good thing; it's a bit of a torment.

But this was his first time attending court!

It's hard not to feel a little excited.

Jiang Zhao glanced at it.

Thirty or forty people in purple robes, and more than two hundred in red robes.

They were all important figures, at least of the fifth rank or higher.

As for officials of the sixth and seventh ranks, the number of those wearing green robes was much smaller, even fewer than those wearing purple robes, numbering less than ten.

There was even one person dressed in a blue robe, the attire of an eighth or ninth-rank official.

Among these fewer than ten officials in green and blue robes was Zhang Heng, a Hanlin Academy official responsible for recording daily life events.

The others were either in special positions or were officials in the Censorate.

Because of the special duties of the Imperial Censor, many sixth-rank Imperial Censors had the opportunity to attend court.

Furthermore, positions such as Palace Attendant Censor and Supervising Censor, which involve recording the attendance of officials, do not prevent the two from entering the Wende Hall, even if one is a seventh-rank official and the other is an eighth-rank official.

Of course, officials who went to court for duty were essentially the same as Zhang Heng, who recorded the daily affairs of the emperor; they were just ruthless recorders of events and had no right to speak.

"when--"

A bell rang.

A door in a side hall of the Wende Hall opened, and seven elderly men in purple robes walked out.

Among them, six people have brocade ribbons, jade rings, jade bracelets, and seal patterns on their official robes, while the remaining person wears a gold fish talisman bag, a brocade ribbon, and an official robe embroidered with a majestic unicorn pattern; he is a military general.

Judging from their official robes alone, it is clear that all seven of them were figures of immense power and influence.

Six Grand Secretaries!

The foremost military commander, the Duke of England!

The side hall is a regular resting place, a privilege reserved for prime ministers, vice ministers, and privy councilors.

Originally, because the Privy Councilors of all dynasties were civil officials, military officers had been cut off from the opportunity to go to the side hall.

However, in each dynasty, the emperor would personally appoint one person to enter the side hall under the pretext of discussing matters.

This man was the head of the military generals.

The foremost military general of this generation was Zhang Fu, the Duke of Ying.

The arrival of several senior ministers meant that the court assembly was about to begin, and all the civil and military officials remained silent.

Jiang Zhao looked ahead and sighed inwardly.

There were so many people in front of him that he could only barely make out the robes of a few of the Grand Secretaries.

Heroes from all over the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river!

Before one thought has even settled, another arises.

This is what a man should do!