RPAGF Chapter 121 Chang Le Becomes an Official
Chapter 121 Chang Le Becomes an Official
"Oh, is it so?"
"Hehe! Back when you received the Empress Dowager's favor and were given priority for filling vacancies, I was the one who first sent the document to Prince Qing's residence. The prince even rewarded me with a hundred taels of silver on the spot!" Chang Le chuckled.
Shen Lian couldn't help but shake his head. This kid really knew how to make things up. He dared to use something like this to try and build connections.
Well, I'm short-handed anyway, so I'll just give him a minor official position!
"Hehe! Come to think of it, we do have some history. Would you be willing to work for me?"
"Yes, yes!" Chang Le nodded excitedly. Heaven has finally granted me this opportunity.
"Alright then! You'll temporarily serve as the Imperial Inspector of the City! You'll be responsible for patrolling the outer city, supervising and assisting the officers and soldiers in maintaining order, and also helping to find some officials to help out!" Shen Lian nodded with a smile.
"Thank you for your guidance, sir! I will do anything for you, even risk my life!" Chang Le knelt down in front of Shen Lian with a thud, his eyes filled with tears as he spoke.
Good heavens! The Imperial Censor is only a sixth-rank official. I never expected Lord Shen to be so generous, granting him such a high position so readily.
He had toiled away in the Ministry of Personnel for over ten years, yet remained a lowly, insignificant official. For Lord Shen to casually bestow upon him a sixth-rank official position was deeply moving.
"Alright, get up! Do a good job, and when the court returns to the capital, I will definitely submit a memorial recommending you for a substantive position." Shen Lian reached out and helped Chang Le up.
"My lord, I'll go do my work now!" Chang Le said with a smile, wiping away her tears.
Chang Le ran back to her small courtyard like a gust of wind, shouting as soon as she entered, "Madam, Madam!"
"Husband, what's wrong?" A woman in her thirties came out with her maid.
"Madam, quickly bring out all our money!" Chang Le said urgently.
"Husband, what are you going to do with so much silver? There's chaos and war right now!" the woman said, frowning.
"What? Haha! Madam, your husband is an official. Of course, I'll use the money to buy official robes!" Chang Le poured himself a cup of tea, drank it down in one gulp, and laughed heartily.
"Ah! Really? Husband, you've become an official? What kind of official is it?" The woman was overjoyed. Her husband had been mediocre for more than ten years, but she never expected that he would finally become an official.
"Hehe! Imperial Censor of the City, a sixth-rank official!" Chang Le stroked his beard smugly.
"Ah! A sixth-rank official!" Madam Chang covered her mouth in disbelief.
Her husband was a very talented man in his youth, passing the imperial examination at the age of twenty. It was because of this that her father married her off to him, and even gave her a large dowry.
Unfortunately, my husband failed the imperial examinations repeatedly after that, and in the end, he had no choice but to spend money to find someone to give him a minor official position in the Ministry of Personnel. I never thought that he would have this day when he was almost forty.
"My lord, how did you obtain this official position?"
"This was a gift from Governor Shen..." Chang Le proudly boasted.
"Husband, Lord Shen only asked you to temporarily take over. Would it be inappropriate for me to go and buy official robes? What if..." Chang Niangzi didn't dare to finish her sentence.
"You're just all talk and no action. Who is Lord Shen? He's a hero who recaptured Tianjin and is on the verge of recaptured Beijing. At that time, recommending me for a sixth-rank official position is nothing, let alone a third or second-rank one!"
"Now is the time to serve you, sir. How can you do this without official robes? Hurry up and hand over all the money," Chang Le said impatiently.
Chang Niangzi had no choice but to go back to her room and bring out the silver box. Chang Le emptied it out and counted it; there were only a little over two hundred taels, which was not enough!
"Keep these. I'll go to my father-in-law's place again and borrow a few hundred more taels!" Chang Le pocketed the whole ingots of silver, told his wife to keep the loose pieces, and then turned and left.
An hour later, Chang Le returned, dressed in the robes of a sixth-rank official, riding a donkey. He had originally intended to buy a horse, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Oh dear, Lord Chang is back!" The courtyard was filled with people, all neighbors. The speaker was Niu Maocai, the neighborhood official!
"I knew Chang Xiucai would become an official sooner or later! He's been smart since he was a child, and he's good at dealing with people. Which magistrate in the yamen doesn't praise him, right?"
You old fool, you didn't say that before! It's not because your son-in-law passed the imperial examination and got a minor official position as a Master of Ceremonies in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices—a mere ninth-rank official—that you look down on me? Humph!
Now you're shamelessly showing up at my door?
"Fellow neighbors, these are extraordinary times. The inner city is still embroiled in a bloody battle! Please go back!" Chang Le didn't have time to chat with these neighbors.
"Old Niu, wait a minute!" Chang Le waved.
Old Niu? That damn Chang Le used to call me Uncle Niu, but now that he's an official, he calls me Old Niu.
"What are your orders, Lord Chang?" Although Niu Maocai was very unhappy, he still bowed and scraped as he came over.
"Summon a few guards for me, I have something to arrange!" Chang Le said expressionlessly, sitting in his chair.
"Yes, sir!" Niu Maocai hurriedly agreed and withdrew.
. . . . . .
With a loud "BOOM!", the gate of a courtyard house was blasted open by a cannon. Several grenades were then thrown inside.
As soon as the explosion subsided, a dozen soldiers rushed inside. They found four or five Japanese soldiers lying in the courtyard; three were already dead. Two others lay on the ground groaning.
The squad leader fired two shots, killing two still-groaning Japanese soldiers. "Search house by house! Cover yourselves!"
This scene kept playing out all over the inner city!
In a courtyard house with a brightly lit gate in the southeast of the imperial city, two carts piled with sandbags cautiously approached. Behind the sandbags, the dark muzzles of heavy machine guns were pointed at the gate.
Just as they approached the gate, a shout came from inside. A British soldier peeked out, waving a white flag.
"Throw out your guns first, then slowly walk out with your hands raised!" The translator shouted into the room at the signal of the platoon leader.
With a clatter, a dozen rifles were thrown out. Then a group of British soldiers walked out with their hands raised.
"Search carefully, be careful!" The platoon leader ordered the soldiers to push the prisoners aside and make them stand against the wall, giving them another instruction.
Immediately, a dozen soldiers rushed in with guns!
After a while, seeing that there was no movement, the platoon leader led his men inside!
"Sir, you must avenge us! Those beasts not only killed two members of my family, but also violated my daughter. My poor daughter jumped into the well to commit suicide! She's still in the well!"
Just as the platoon leader stepped through the gate, a middle-aged, white-haired noblewoman stumbled over and knelt before him, weeping bitterly.
"Madam, please rise! Our Shandong New Army will certainly stand up for you." The platoon leader reached out and helped the lady up.
"Bring them in for a look!"