After taking off his official uniform, Jiang Ming calmed down and asked, "Dad, did our family ever go through a rough patch?"
Jiang's father was completely confused. "Looking back five generations from me, our family were all farmers. Only your old man went to the border army to make a future. There's no chance of our family having a decline."
Hearing this, Jiang Ming's heart sank. Then he asked his dad if he knew any big shots, if he had saved any extraordinary person when he was young, and if he was really grandpa's biological son...
Jiang Shi had a black line on his face and slapped Jiang Ming on the head. "What do you mean, kid?"
Jiang Ming covered his head and said, "No, none of that. Then why would they give a seventh-rank official position to a poor scholar like me with no money and no connections?"
A scholar can at most reach the seventh rank, and it might take many years. But I was appointed as a seventh-rank director right away. It doesn't make sense no matter how you think about it.
"You can ask your teacher about this." Jiang's father reminded him.
Things in the officialdom are naturally hard for those outside to know. But Teacher Ji Nian is the secretary of the Education Administration Department. He has a wide network and should know something.
So he immediately decided to pay a visit to Ji Nian tomorrow.
"What? You were appointed as the director of the Host and Guest Department!" Ji Nian widened his eyes as if looking at a very rare reckless youngster.
Jiang Ming's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, there's really a big trap!
Then Ji Nian told him about the Grand Prosperity Fair, making Jiang Ming's face turn green.
"Teacher, is it still too late for me to resign?"
Ji Nian stroked his beard and said, "They finally found a scapegoat. How could they let go easily? If you forcibly resign, I'm afraid you will never be able to step into the officialdom of the Eastern Capital again."
Jiang Ming put his arms on his knees and constantly weighed the pros and cons. Becoming a seventh-rank official all of a sudden was equivalent to completing at least four or five years of someone else's journey.
And if he could grasp this opportunity and do what previous directors of the Host and Guest Department couldn't do well, he would naturally have a bright future.
On the contrary, if he couldn't do it well, he should prepare a coffin early.
The benefits and risks are both a bit terrifying.
"As your teacher, I can write a letter for you and recommend you to take a position in another place. What do you think?"
Jiang Ming was immediately filled with gratitude. This kind of thing would definitely cost a lot of favors. But those who are timid starve while those who are bold thrive. He had already made a decision.
"Teacher, I want to give it a try."
Ji Nian looked at him in surprise. "You should know that not no one has thought this way before, but their endings are not good."
If you want to achieve something great, you naturally need to take bold actions. But if you take too big steps, you might easily get into trouble. Maybe your predecessor was just dismissed from office, but you might end up at the execution ground.
Jiang Ming naturally knew this. But after his teacher's explanation, he was confident that he could overcome some of the dangerous points and give it a try.
"In that case, go ahead and do it. Just do your best."
Leaving Ji Nian's residence, Jiang Ming returned home. He didn't tell his father about this matter but only said that there was some trouble.
According to what his teacher said, the mines in the Host and Guest Department were basically these foreign envoys. They themselves had many conflicts. If you didn't pay attention, for example, if the seating order was wrong, it might cause conflicts. And to calm their anger, a director who was neither too big nor too small was just right.
"Bah, being a scapegoat? I won't do it."
Jiang Ming stroked his chin and thought for a while. There were still half a year until the Grand Prosperity Fair. And these six months were the time when he could be 'reckless'. Even if he was a bit excessive, everyone probably wouldn't care too much.
After all, who would care about a dying person?
Then he opened the Romance of the Investiture of the Gods. Today, he could finally draw out the new character he had been longing for, Ji Chang.
He gently dropped a drop of blood. A wisp of green smoke slowly rose, and a person walked out.
This person had silver hair and a kind face with a gentle voice. He seemed ethereal as if close to the blue sky. He was the Marquis of Xibo, Ji Chang.
Jiang Ming cupped his hands and saluted. "Junior Jiang Wuchen pays his respects to Lord Ji."
Ji Chang hurriedly held his hand and returned the salute. Then he sighed deeply. "The will of heaven is hard to defy. Prime Minister, you have broken your promise with me!"
Jiang Ming didn't say anything. He knew what was going on.
Although Ji Chang was dissatisfied with the tyranny of King Zhou, he had never thought of rebelling against the monarch as a subject. When entrusting his son to Jiang Ziya, he had said, "If I die, even if the king's evil deeds are full, you must not listen to the instigation of the feudal lords and rebel against the king as a subject. If the prime minister breaks my words, we will not be able to meet again in the netherworld."
But as a result, Jiang Ziya, who claimed to follow the will of heaven, immediately forgot. After raising an army to attack King Zhou, Ji Chang was posthumously honored as King Wen.
Jiang Ming even maliciously speculated that perhaps it was for this reason that all of Ji Chang's sons were enshrined as gods, but only Ji Chang was not on the list of gods.
If they couldn't meet, then they wouldn't meet.
"Cough, Lord Ji's adherence to his duty as a subject makes me admire. But the will of heaven is hard to defy, and people's hearts are hard to go against. King Zhou acted contrary to morality and listened to the slander of the demon queen and villains, harming the people. As the saying goes, the monarch is like a boat and the people are like water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it." Jiang Ming advised.
Hearing these words, Ji Chang couldn't help but chew on this sentence slowly and look at Jiang Ming.
His fingers moved slightly. In an instant, his face turned pale, and even his figure swayed a little.
"Humph, surnamed Jiang, another traitor!"
With a whoosh, Ji Chang turned into an Investiture of the Gods card and fell into Jiang Ming's hand.
Jiang Ming held Ji Chang's character card, his mouth wide open. He didn't even pay attention to a new piece of information that had just appeared in his mind.
What's the meaning? Why does this old man discriminate against people surnamed Jiang? Besides, it was Jiang Shang, Jiang Ziya who broke the promise, not me, Jiang Ming, Jiang Wuchen!
Is this old man so stubborn?
For a moment, he couldn't help but feel like crying. He hadn't done anything yet. How did he manage to offend the biggest honest man in the Investiture of the Gods? And Ji Chang was a virtuous and noble gentleman. His glib tongue was useless.
Fortunately, it wasn't a total loss.
The Later Heaven Sixty-Four Hexagrams!
This was the new supernatural power Jiang Ming obtained. It was evolved from Fu Xi's Earlier Heaven Eight Trigrams by Ji Chang. It can predict good or bad fortune, major disasters and minor events such as weddings and funerals.
Jiang Ming carefully checked the cultivation method again. It wasn't too difficult, but it was mainly more troublesome.
He needed to worship heaven and earth. Things like three sacrificial animals, six domestic animals, incense candles, paper money, fruits, and pastries were nothing. The important thing was that he needed the six ritual vessels, namely jade bi, jade cong, jade gui, jade hu, jade zhang, and jade huang.
These six vessels were used for national sacrifices, and the Ministry of Rites was responsible for sacrificial matters.
"The Ministry of Rites. I'm in the Ministry of Rites. And I'm also the director of one of the four departments!"
Jiang Ming was suddenly a bit fortunate. Losing on one side but gaining on the other. It's not too much to secretly borrow the ritual vessels, right?
Then he took out an Investiture of the Gods card from his bosom. Daji had fallen into a deep sleep after helping him last time and didn't seem to have awakened yet. Immediately, he put the two cards into his pocket.
"Wait, how can you put me together with this witch..."
Jiang Ming pretended not to hear. With a slap, he lay on the bed and went to sleep.
He heard that he would go back to his hometown to worship his ancestors tomorrow. After all, being an official was also a happy event that brought honor to his family. How could he not inform his ancestors?