Chapter 364: Finding Talent Again
Xiao Xia asked with a smile: “What’s your nephew’s name?”

“Your Highness, his name is Du Ruhui!”

Xiao Xia was stunned for a moment, secretly cursing himself for being stupid. If there was Fang Xuanling, there naturally should be Du Ruhui, Fang’s plans and Du’s decisions!
“Where is Du Ruhui now?”

“Your Highness, my humble nephew has been selected as a Tailing mourner and is now a reserve official.”

Xiao Xia nodded, “Go back and tell him that if he is interested in being my staff, ask him to come to Mr. Wen Jing for an interview. Once he is hired, I can appoint him as a second-level staff member.”

“Okay! I’ll tell him.”

Du Wen bowed and left.

At this time, the soldiers brought noodles, wine and food, and Xiao Xia sat down and started to eat lunch.

The emperor formally rejected Du Jishi’s proposal, which made Du Jishi furious.

“This is not an insult to me alone, this is an insult to the entire Turkic Khanate. I will remember this humiliation, and I will repay it a hundredfold one day!”

Shi Shuhuxi, Du Jishi’s adviser, advised: “This is actually a good thing. The prince can take this opportunity to return to the Turks and give his father an explanation. It’s not that you don’t want to stay in Chang’an, but that the Sui Dynasty is bullying too much.”

Shi Shuhuxi was a Sogdian who had always been with Du Jishi and advised him. He knew that the Sui Dynasty would not agree to the marriage. When would the emperor of the Sui Dynasty be willing to marry his own daughter to a Hu person from the grassland? However, he could use this incident to return to the Turks.

“Your Highness, this is an opportunity. We should take this opportunity to return to the grassland. The Khan will not allow Your Highness to return to Chang’an.”

After a long while, Du Jishi finally nodded. Although he was reluctant to leave, if he did not manage his own strength well, he might not be able to take the position of Khan after his father passed away.

Du Jishi immediately ordered his men to pack their luggage. In the evening of the same day, Du Jishi led more than one hundred people to leave Chang’an and return to the Turks.

Two days later, a young man in his twenties came to the military camp. He clasped his fists to the sentry and said, “I was introduced by the staff member Du Wen to see Mr. Liu Wenjing. His Royal Highness the King of Chu knows!”

“Sir, please wait a moment. I will go and report!”

The sentry trotted into the barracks. Not long after, he came out and asked, “Are you Du Ruhui?”

“Exactly!”

“plz follow me!”

The sentry led the young man into the military camp and came to the staff tent. Liu Wenjing walked out of the tent.

The sentry said to the young man, “This is our Military Advisor Liu!”

The young man hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, “Du Ruhui greets Military Advisor Liu!”

Liu Wenjing smiled and nodded, “Please come in!”

The two entered the big tent and sat down. Liu Wenjing asked, “Mr. Du, do you want to serve His Royal Highness the King of Chu?”

Du Ruhui quickly bowed and said, “That’s right!”

Liu Wenjing nodded. “In that case, let’s follow the usual practice! I’ll ask a few questions, then recite a passage and look at the calligraphy.”

Du Ruhui took a deep breath and looked a little nervous.

Liu Wenjing hesitated for a moment and asked, “Mr. Du, can you briefly introduce your family background?”

Du Ruhui nodded and said, “My father is Du Zha, the chief officer of Changzhou. I entered the Jingzhao Prefecture School at the age of eleven and was admitted to the Imperial College at the age of fourteen. I studied in the Imperial College for four years and studied under Mr. Beihai for another three years. When the late emperor passed away, I was recruited as a mourner because of my clean family background. Now my family is a candidate.” Mr. Beihai was Gao Xiaoji, the newly appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel by the court.

Liu Wenjing smiled and asked, “Since you are a disciple of Minister Gao, you should have no worries about your career!”

Du Ruhui bowed and said, “To be honest, sir, my master has recommended me as the Fuyang County Lieutenant. Yesterday, I went to ask my master for advice, and he suggested that I give up the Fuyang County Lieutenant and choose the Chu King’s staff. He said that if he had the chance, he would also recommend me to His Royal Highness the King of Chu.”

Liu Wenjing pointed to a piece of paper on the table and said, “Recite the second paragraph of “On the Qin Dynasty” from memory.”

This is nominally a test of calligraphy, but in reality it is a test of talent. You are asked to recite a random passage without any scope, which requires a very strong accumulation of knowledge.

Du Ruhui pondered for a moment, then wrote: After Duke Xiao died, Duke Huiwen, Duke Wu, and Duke Zhaoxiang inherited his legacy. Following his legacy, they took Hanzhong in the south, Ba and Shu in the west, ceded the fertile land in the east, and took the key counties in the north. The princes were terrified and held an alliance to weaken Qin. They no longer cared about precious objects, treasures, and fertile land. As a result, the people of the world came together to form friendship and become one.

“That’s it!”

Liu Wenjing praised: “Your calligraphy is very good. You are accepted as a second-level staff member. The salary is 30 strings of cash per month, and there will be an additional reward at the end of the year.”

Du Ruhui was overjoyed. He didn’t expect it to end so quickly. He quickly bowed and said, “Thank you for your trust, Military Advisor Liu!”

Liu Wenjing waved his hand and said, “Let me tell you a few more words. Since you were hired by His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu, the assessment is relatively simple. The normal recruitment is more complicated and difficult. Once you are hired, the treatment will be good. At present, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu’s staff generally have three major divisions of labor. The first is government affairs, the second is financial storage, and the third is military affairs. Your position is to replace Du Wen and be responsible for military affairs. Your boss is Pei Wen’an. Don’t underestimate him. He was originally the number one staff of Han Wang Yang Liang. The other one in charge of government affairs, Zhang Yunqiu, is the number one staff and military advisor of the former prince. They are all very powerful people. They were recruited by His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu. Learn from them and improve yourself.”

“I understand the humble position!”

“I understand. Let’s go! I’ll take you to the military tent, and Pei Gong will take you to see His Highness later!”

Liu Wenjing took Du Ruhui to the military tent, and Du Ruhui officially became one of Xiao Xia’s staff. At this time, Du Ruhui was only twenty-one years old and was the youngest staff member under Xiao Xia.

In the blink of an eye, it was the 24th. There was still one day before the wedding, and Xiao Xia was brought to the wedding venue, Baifu Hall, by her eldest brother Yang Zhao.

“This large area is where the palace holds various festive activities. The westernmost hall is called Chengqing Hall, where the full moon and first birthday celebrations of the emperor’s sons and grandsons are held. The two halls we just passed by are called Princess Courtyard, where the full moon and first birthday celebrations of the princess are held, and Qianqiu Hall, where the elderly celebrate their birthdays. The emperor’s grandfather’s birthday is held there every year.”

Xiao Xia pointed at the hall in front of him and said with a smile: “So this Baifu Hall is where the wedding will be held?”

Yang Zhao smiled and said, “That’s right. My wedding was held here, but it was limited to marrying a wife, not taking a concubine. Of course, if it was a more important marriage, it could be held here with the emperor’s special approval. Princesses also got married here. Starting from here, there is a courtyard behind. There are two buildings in the courtyard that are combined into one building. It is very unique and is called the Qinqin Building. The wedding night was held there.”

When you enter the hall, you will see a red carpet on the steps. When you walk up the steps, you can see that the hall is well decorated. There is a big “囍” character in front of you, and the surroundings are decorated magnificently.

At this time, Yang Zhao saw that there was no one around, so he whispered to his brother: “I have something to tell you. The second brother Yang Li will not go to Bingzhou and Hebei. The court has abolished the governors of Bingzhou and Weizhou, leaving only the governors of Shuozhou and Youzhou. The governor of Shuozhou is Yang Yichen, and the governor of Youzhou is Li Jing.”

“Then where is Yang Ling going?”

Yang Zhao looked around again and whispered, “He will go to Luoyang instead. Henan Prefecture has been changed to Duji Dao. He will be the governor of Luoyang and the governor of Duji Dao. My father may move the capital to Luoyang next year. Yuwen Kai is currently building a large-scale project in Luoyang.”

“We are going to move the capital to Luoyang. Are you sure?”

Yang Zhao nodded, “It’s basically confirmed, but not necessarily next year. This is confidential, don’t tell anyone.”

Xiao Xia hesitated for a moment and asked again: “Should I still go to the northwest?”

Yang Zhao nodded, “This is where I want to apologize to you. It was not my idea to let you go to the northwest. It was my father who decided. My father wanted to ensure the normal succession of the throne and did not allow the emergence of three sons competing for the throne, so he sent you out. In fact, we all know that my grandfather wanted to pass the throne to you!”

Xiao Xia patted his brother’s shoulder and said with a smile: “You are wrong. It was me who took the initiative to propose to go to Hexi. It was not my father’s decision. The throne belongs to you, big brother. I will never compete with you. But big brother, you must pay attention to recuperation. You are too fat and it will affect your life span.”

Yang Zhao shook his head and said worriedly, “I never worry about you. I worry about Yang Ling. Father wanted him to go to Jiangnan, but he went to ask mother for help. Finally, under mother’s insistence, he was sent to Luoyang instead. Father even allowed him to set up Shenlong Mansion. Do you know what that means?”

(End of this chapter)