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

In the fourth year of the Huangyou reign, he was recommended by Pang Ji, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and promoted to Deputy Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi Circuit, holding the official rank of fifth grade.

In the second year of the Jiayou era, he was promoted to the position of Director of the Ever-Normal Granary and later transferred to the position of Deputy Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi Circuit.

To this day, Sima Guang has served as the Deputy Transport Commissioner for eight years.

Excuse!

Demotion in the first year of the Huangyou reign was quite harsh!

Jiang Zhao's heart stirred slightly.

Twenty-one years ago, he grew up listening to the wonderful stories of Sima Guang.

Eleven years ago, when he was still "standing in the snow at Hanmen", Sima Guang was already a fifth-rank official in the capital and was hailed as a rising star among the literati.

Eleven years later, he had already reached the fourth rank, while Sima Guang had only just become a fifth-rank local official.

So, there's been almost no progress in eleven years?

Since his demotion in the first year of the Huangyou reign, his life has been full of ups and downs, it's been quite miserable!

Compared to Han Zhang's dramatic rise and fall, Sima Guang's rise and fall were not dramatic, but rather minor.

It rises and falls, but basically it just stays in one place.

Jiang Zhao paid close attention to it for a moment.

He was a Hanlin scholar, and at the age of forty-one, he served as the Deputy Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi Circuit, a fifth-rank official.

This is a character from a very late period in the game.

Compared to his previous career as Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, Sima Guang's resume was much less impressive.

The vast majority of those who held the positions of Chancellor and Vice Chancellor rose through the ranks by fighting their way up.

Sima Guang, on the other hand, was somewhat inclined to "endure".

It is almost a consensus in officialdom that one should be appointed as a Vice Minister of State Affairs around the age of fifty to have a chance to compete for the position of the head of all officials.

Sima Guang was different; at fifty, he was appointed governor of Yongxing Army, and at sixty, he was still compiling books.

During his later years, he was suppressed by Wang Anshi, and the compilation of the book took as long as fifteen years.

At the age of sixty-six, he suddenly rose to power and took charge of the government.

He served under four emperors—Renzong, Yingzong, Shenzong, and Zhezong—before gaining power.

That guy can really hold out!

No wonder he's surnamed Sima!

However, eight years as a transport deputy envoy?

I hope we can get along peacefully!

The Shaanxi Circuit Government Office, the Transport Commissioner's Office.

As the administrative office in charge of the three prefectures of Jingzhao, Hezhong, and Fengxiang, the two armies of Bao'an and Zhenrong, the two supervisory offices of Kaibao and Shayuan, and the finance, materials, supervision, security, and justice of twenty-four prefectures and counties including Hua, Tong, and Jie, the power inherent in the Transport Commissioner's office was hard to ignore.

Among them, the Transport Commissioner and the Deputy Transport Commissioner were at the very top of the Transport Bureau's power, and it would be no exaggeration to say that they could "do whatever they wanted".

Since the previous Transport Commissioner retired, people have been paying close attention to the situation of the new Transport Commissioner.

Among them, Sima Guang, the Deputy Transport Commissioner, was the most outstanding.

The promotion of a deputy transport commissioner to a transport commissioner involves skipping a rank.

This kind of jumping requires a large background.

Coincidentally, as someone who was valued by Pang Ji, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Sima Guang was a person with a powerful background!

Transport Deputy Envoy's Office.

In the main seat, Sima Guang held a secret letter and read it carefully.

"My lord, how is it?" Liu Ping, the transport judge, asked anxiously.

The moment Liu Ping spoke, more than thirty officials, including those in charge of transport affairs and those in charge of signing documents at the judge's office, all turned their attention to him.

Sima Guang was born in Guang Prefecture, Shaanxi Province. The Sima clan was a prominent family in Guang Prefecture, and they were undoubtedly local strongmen.

His father-in-law, Zhang Cun, also served as the Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi Circuit for a long time.

It can be said that more than 90% of the officials in the Transport Office were Sima Guang's men.

They were all followers of Sima Guang, so their fates were intertwined; if one prospered, the other prospered, and if one suffered, the other suffered.

Under the expectant gazes of more than thirty officials, Sima Guang's face suddenly darkened, and a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes.

"The newly appointed Transport Commissioner, Jiang Zhao!" Sima Guang read aloud, each word choked with emotion.

Despite Grand Secretary Pang Ji's recommendation, it didn't work out!

"What?" Judge Liu Ping was startled and stood up involuntarily.

The thirty-odd officials exchanged glances and remained silent.

What a shameful loss!

To compete for the fourth-rank position of Transport Commissioner, one must either hold a fifth-rank official position or a fourth-rank official position.

Lord Sima has the approval of Grand Secretary Pang, and his background is already extremely powerful.

There are only so many officials in the world, those of the fourth and fifth rank, and those who are qualified to compete with Lord Sima in terms of resume and background are at most a handful.

Skillful!

Jiang Zhao is one of those few people.

The teacher is the Grand Chancellor!

Entering officialdom means immediately competing in the highest-level matches!

Solve the issue of establishing a successor!

These incidents, one after another, easily crushed Lord Sima.

The judge in charge of transporting goods, Liu Ping, relaxed his expression and unconsciously sat down.

It was a truly unjust loss, yet not an unjust one!

It's truly an injustice, an injustice stemming from bad luck. Out of a handful of competitors, the most formidable one came to Shaanxi Road.

It's not unfair; it's because he lost to the young Grand Secretary.

In terms of both experience and background, Lord Sima is indeed far inferior to the young Grand Secretary.

After all, the young Grand Secretary is the only disciple of Grand Secretary Han, and Lord Sima is only being promoted because he is valued by Grand Secretary Pang Ji.

"My lord?" Liu Ping looked at Sima Guang and called out cautiously.

"After failing to be promoted to Transport Commissioner, Grand Secretary Pang recommended me to the Emperor for the position of Collator in the Imperial Library," Sima Guang said slowly, his expression unreadable.

Liu Ping hesitated for a moment: "How about it?"

Sima Guang trembled, gritted his teeth, and said with difficulty, "Wang Anshi, the judge of the Three Departments of Jiangdong, declined the position twice, but this time he chose to go to the capital."

These two positions, the Transport Commissioner was originally half a position, but someone else took them.

The position of Imperial Collator was recommended by the Grand Secretary and was considered a semi-official post, but it was still snatched away by someone else.

Sima Guang leaned on the chair, his breathing becoming heavier.

God is so unfair!

He hasn't made any progress in eleven years!

Sima Guang stood up and looked outside.

Can you really get ahead by accumulating seniority?

Jiang Zhao!

Wang Anshi!

These two are not people who rose through the ranks by seniority, are they?

After a long pause, he seemed to have made a decision, and his eyes closed slightly.

I'm not staying up any longer!

I'm finding it hard to stay awake any longer!

He said in a deep voice, "The Transport Commissioner's Office is not the Transport Commissioner's Office alone!"

Dozens of officials felt a chill run down their spines. What was this all about?

"It's all for the sake of the country and the people, it's all for the sake of the emperor!"

As he spoke, Sima Guang glanced at his subordinates, his expression grave.

Dozens of officials were startled and quickly echoed, "The Transport Commissioner's Office is not the Transport Commissioner's Office alone!"

Sima Guang stared at it for a while, then slowly nodded.

After serving as the deputy transport commissioner for eight years, he simply couldn't take it anymore.

Surely I can't work for another three years?

How many eight-year periods does one have in a lifetime?

Three years passed, and then another three years, until he was in his prime!

He was a fifth-rank official in his early thirties.

He's in his early forties, and still only a fifth-rank official!

I simply can't stay up any longer!

Rather than sit and wait to die, it's better to take a gamble!

Chapter 76 The master told you all to take your seats, didn't you hear?

Jingzhao Mansion.

As the seat of Shaanxi Road, and the ancient capital of twelve dynasties including the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Xin, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao, Former Qin, Later Qin, Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, and Tang, the layout of Jingzhao Prefecture is steeped in history.

Entering by carriage through Xuanwu Gate, one is greeted by the sound of morning bells and evening drums to mark the time.

Looking around, one sees bluestone-paved roads, vermilion buildings with upturned eaves, camel bells jingling like jade, towering watchtowers, felt tents reaching the clouds, barbarian wine shops overflowing, bustling border markets, and brocades fluttering in the wind.

There were often ironclad armor and metal clappers, post horses and shooting stars, and felt and fur coats mixed with brocade, which were very much in line with the frontier style.

Jiang Zhao lifted the curtain and began to observe.

Compared to Bianjing, Jingzhao Prefecture does indeed have a more solemn, frontier atmosphere.

"Go to Suzaku Street."

Generally speaking, when officials take office, they either buy their own houses to live in permanently or go to live in official residences.

Jiang Zhao is not short of money, so he will definitely buy a house to live in permanently.

Compared to his itinerary, Hesheng's journey was a few days faster, so he specially came to buy the house.

It was a courtyard about an acre in size, mainly quiet and secluded.

The journey from Bianjing (Kaifeng) to Shaanxi took nearly ten days, leaving one physically and mentally exhausted.

Even though Jingzhao Prefecture was unique, Jiang Zhao had no interest in strolling around.

So, they rested for a night.

Transport Office.

Jiang Zhao, holding the document, passed through without hindrance.

When he officially arrived at the yamen, the deputy transport commissioner, the transport judge, and more than thirty subordinate officials were all waiting for him.

As an office that influences the finances of the entire route, the Transport Office has very few officials, fewer than forty.

"This humble official, Sima Guang, Deputy Transport Commissioner, greets Your Excellency, Transport Commissioner."

The speaker was a middle-aged man with his hair tied up, wearing a crown, slender, and dignified, dressed in a red, narrow-sleeved official robe.

Sima Guang bowed, and the other officials followed suit.