“Sir Sheng, the guest rooms at the station are a bit short lately, so I can only ask your servants to squeeze in a bit.”
The head of the West City Station, with a flattering smile, said to Sheng Hong.
“It's okay, it's okay, having a place to stay is already great.” Sheng Hong dared not act as imposing in front of the head of the West City Station as he did in the south.
“Thank you, station master.”
Officials like him, in the capital, aren't as numerous as the hairs on a cow, but if you throw a brick, you might hit one or two related to officials.
The head of the West City Station held a lucrative position, he couldn't have reached it without deep connections and backing.
They had a house in the capital, but it had suffered damage during the battles and was still under repair.
It was awkward to stay with friends and acquaintances with their whole family.
They could only stay at the station.
Now they were asking for a favor, especially considering the other's background and power might be greater than his.
The head of the West City Station saw Sheng Hong being so understanding, many officials coming from other places saw him as just a station master.
They started to act superior and treat him like a servant.
Station masters from other places couldn't stand straight in front of these officials, but that didn't mean his position as the station master of the West City Station was lower than these officials.
He had glanced at Sheng Hong's background, the guy's connections were complex.
During the reign of the Emperor Emeritus, he could only serve as an official in the south.
But now the new emperor was in power, he lacked people to serve him.
However, the emperor didn't want to heavily use the officials left behind by the Emperor Emeritus, or rather, most of the officials selected during the reign of the Emperor Emeritus.
Because these people had received favors from the Emperor Emeritus, to a greater or lesser extent.
The emperor's resources now weren't as abundant as those of the Emperor Emeritus.
It wasn't that the emperor could rest easy once he ascended to that position.
Beneath that position, undercurrents surged, the Emperor Emeritus was unwilling to relinquish power.
Local officials across the nation were withholding taxes under various pretexts, or cutting taxes in half.
This was the struggle between the Emperor Emeritus and the emperor, though not as intense as the battlefield outside Dong Hua Gate, it was just as cruel.
Officials who weren't favored by the Emperor Emeritus before, or those demoted to various places during his reign, were all summoned by the emperor under various pretexts and given important responsibilities in Jin City.
The emperor had to control a political force that belonged to him.
In terms of military power, there was General Jia, who had just moved in a few days ago, temporarily ensuring peace.
This guy might hold a high position in the future.
The head of the West City Station glanced around and whispered to Sheng Hong, “Currently, there is a noble person staying at the station. If you can befriend this noble person, you can rest assured in the court.”
The head of the West City Station had read Sheng Hong's information and knew his family situation.
Sheng Hong remained expressionless, a silver note appeared in his hand, which he quickly placed in the head of the West City Station's palm.
“Thank you for the reminder, station master.”
When Sheng Hong entered the station, he vaguely felt something was wrong.
In the station, besides the original staff, there were a large number of burly men, over six feet tall (a foot in the Great Zhou Dynasty is equivalent to 30 centimeters, meaning over 1.8 meters).
The smell of blood on these men was very strong.
Although Sheng Hong was a scholar, his mother wasn't, he had been exposed to military personnel to a greater or lesser extent growing up.
These people were definitely military personnel.
So, there must be a military heavyweight staying here.
Sheng Hong's heart pounded with excitement, his eldest daughter had married into the Duke of Loyal Diligence's mansion, establishing a connection with the military martial gentry lineage.
There was no way around it, he didn't have many connections among the civil officials. Without connections in this court, it meant no power to push him forward.
He could only choose to cooperate with the martial gentry.
The power of the Great Zhou's martial gentry lineage in the court was no less than that of the civil officials.
Sheng Hong's grandmother was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Brave and Strong, although they had severed ties with the Duke of Brave and Strong's mansion, she was still from that lineage.
Sheng Hong relied on his mother's connection to establish ties with the Duke of Loyal Diligence's mansion and marry off his eldest daughter.
“Whether you can seize the opportunity depends on yourself.”
The head of the West City Station smiled and bid farewell to Sheng Hong. As a station master, he had many things to do.
There were many things he needed to take care of.
Sheng Hong arranged his family, reminding his servants to act cautiously in the capital, anyone who caused trouble would be sold off.
This made the servants who wanted to cause trouble restrain their greed.
Along the way, they had been able to fleece some sheep from the stations they stayed at, to a greater or lesser extent.
Now the master had spoken, they dared not lose themselves for a few small things and be sold off.
..
“Young Master, you look so handsome in this official robe!”
Under Qian Wen and Hu Po's service, Jia Yu put on the first-rank military official's Kirin robe sent by the Jin Yi Wei.
Qian Wen had only seen such clothes in her imagination.
This was the first time she saw a real robe.
The governor of the capital's garrison was a high-ranking official of the first rank.
This position wasn't something anyone could just sit in.
Hu Po had been with Jia Yu for a longer time, she dared to chat with Jia Yu.
The sassy Qian Wen was very quiet in front of Jia Yu, like a lady from a prestigious family.
If Jia Yu looked at her more than once, Qian Wen would blush.
“We need to take in a bit here.” While admiring, Qian Wen was looking for places where the clothes didn't fit well.
They only needed to use needle and thread to take in a little, without changing the shape of the clothes.
....
PS: I applied many times and got the vacation. The book will be released tomorrow, super explosive updates.
I just realized chapters 54 and 55 were blocked, I will contact the editor tomorrow to unblock them.