By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 288 Things Get Out of Control

The news that the ten small courtyards next to the West Garden were to be bestowed upon the ministers spread further.

As more and more people learned about it, no one cared about whether it was true or not anymore; their attention was focused on one thing—who would receive this honor.

Xiyuan was a summer resort and also a royal garden, which could be considered the emperor's private residence.

If you can have a small courtyard next to the West Garden, what's the difference between being a neighbor of the emperor?

It is said that those who live near the water get the moon first; those who live closer to the water will always have more opportunities.

Therefore, teahouses and restaurants are basically discussing this matter, and they even argue about it heatedly.

The current cabinet has five Grand Secretaries, all of whom are important ministers relied upon by Emperor Shun'an.

They will definitely occupy five spots.

There were originally ten courtyards, but now five of them are gone.

The people then began to discuss the remaining five spots.

"Minister of Revenue Zhou has devoted himself to the court. Since he took charge of the Ministry of Revenue, the court's disaster relief efforts have been extremely swift. He should rightfully be given a place."

"Wei, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, is honest, upright, and incorruptible. Over the years, he has investigated and punished countless corrupt officials, restoring peace and order to the people."

"besides……"

The people discussed their preferred candidates and found that there were far more than five, not enough to go around.

Then they started recruiting followers and seeking support, determined to prove that the person they favored was more valued by Emperor Shun'an. To this end, they thoroughly investigated the resumes of the people they supported, using the speed of their promotions or the number of times they received Emperor Shun'an's commendations to prove their favor.

Fortunately, since the Beijing Daily was published, it has been promoting legal knowledge, which has prevented those who were arguing from getting into fights.

They argued like this for more than half a month without reaching a conclusion, and neither of them could convince the other.

But then some people objected!

"You've all mentioned civil officials, but what about military generals? Marquis Yong'an has been stationed on the border for many years, enduring the hardships of the frontier and not seeing his family for years. He once led his troops to a great victory against the barbarians. Doesn't he deserve a courtyard?"

"To defend the pass, Marquis Wu Xin risked his life, personally leading his personal guards into the enemy lines. In the end, he saved the pass at the cost of an arm. He made such a great sacrifice for the court and the people. Doesn't he deserve a courtyard?"

After listening to the arguments for just over a month, the generals' supporters realized that no one had nominated a general, and they couldn't stand it anymore, so they chose to join the battle.

"Military generals certainly deserve credit, but there are only five spots available. It's not enough to just have credit; the five who are most favored by the Emperor and have made the greatest contributions to the court must be chosen. Military generals guarding the borders are hard-working and meritorious, but the officials in the court work tirelessly from dawn till dusk, devoting themselves to the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people. Their merits are even greater."

"Are you implying that military generals are inferior to civil officials?"

"That's not what we meant."

They're not fools, so they can't explain it so clearly, but that's clearly the meaning.

Now, the Great Chu is vast, with all nations paying tribute. There has been no large-scale war for a long time, and minor disputes do not reach the mouths of the people, so the presence of military generals has begun to diminish.

It is a fact that civil officials are gaining more and more status, both in the eyes of the common people and in the imperial court.

The fact that the Marquis of Zhongyong's household, where Wen Zongji worked, completely transformed from military officers to civil officials is the most powerful proof of this.

The generals' supporters were indignant, but the other side had a large number of people and they were insignificant and powerless. They were not only indignant but also helpless. No matter what they did, they could not change anything.

……

"Third Young Master, Master requests your return to the manor."

As soon as Wen Zongji stepped out of the Ministry of Revenue after his shift ended that day, a servant from the Marquis's residence stepped forward and respectfully greeted him.

Wen Zongji was taken aback: "What is it, Father?"

"I am unaware."

Wen Zongji didn't ask any more questions. He turned to An Feng and instructed, "Go back to the county princess's residence and tell my wife that I won't be coming home for dinner tonight."

"Yes."

Afterwards, Wen Zongji boarded a carriage and headed to the residence of the Marquis of Zhongyong.

The main hall of Juanqinzhai

As soon as Wen Zongji stepped inside, he paused, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

The hall was filled not only with Wen Chuanhong and his son Wen Zongren, but also with some familiar and unfamiliar faces.

As soon as Wen Zongji entered, everyone's eyes fell on him, making him feel a chill down his spine.

Wen Chuanhong coughed lightly and said, "Zongji, come and pay your respects to your uncles and elders."

"Zongji pays his respects to all his uncles and elders."

Those people nodded indifferently, and not one of them had a pleasant expression.

Wen Chuanhong highlighted the middle-aged man sitting next to him. The man was dressed in a black brocade robe, with his right sleeve hanging empty, clearly indicating that he was missing an arm.

"This is Marquis Wuxin."

Wen Zongji had already guessed Wu Xinbo's identity.

After all, there may be quite a few one-armed people in the capital, but the only one who was qualified to be on equal footing with Wen Chuanhong was Wu Xinbo, who was then the commander of the Five Armies Commandery.

"Zongji pays his respects to Governor Chen."

Seeing that Wu Xinbo's expression was not good, Wen Zongji greeted him again, as it's never wrong to be overly polite.

Unfortunately, Marquis Wu Xin did not fall for this.

Wu Xinbo snorted coldly: "Lord Wen has stirred up trouble in the capital without making a sound, and we old guys have been played with by you."

Wen Zongji sighed inwardly; as expected, the visitors were up to no good.

In fact, after Wen Shuxuan started her plan, she had been paying attention to public opinion. At first, everything went according to her plan, and within a month, the public's attention to Xiyuan skyrocketed.

But as military generals joined the battlefield, and even subtle comments emerged that military generals were inferior to civil officials, Wen Shuxuan was dumbfounded.

She keenly sensed that things seemed to be getting out of control, and without delay, she immediately informed Wen Zongji.

Wen Zongji had to admit that he had been negligent.

He also overlooked the existence of military generals.

The fact that Wu Xinbo and others have come knocking on my door is the retribution for Wen Zongji's lack of foresight.

Fortunately, he had made preparations in advance.

Wen Zongren looked at Wen Zongji with a worried expression. He wanted to speak up for him, but everyone present was an elder, and he was of low status and had no right to speak up for Wen Zongji.

Wen Zongji took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and said, "Uncles and elders, this matter was not well thought out by Zongji, and it has affected your reputations. Zongji was wrong."

He started by offering a straightforward apology.

Don't think of military generals as mindless brutes; those who can gain a foothold in the capital are not fools.

If they can trace it back to Wen Zongji, they can understand his purpose in doing this.

Claiming ignorance or that it wasn't his intention is pointless; Wu Xinbo and the others will only think that Wen Zongji is treating them like fools.

The best approach is to be honest and admit your mistake first.

Upon hearing Wen Zongji's straightforward admission of wrongdoing, apart from Wu Xinbo, whose expression remained largely unchanged, the expressions of the others softened to varying degrees.

They are elders after all, and it would be a loss of face for them to be taken advantage of by the younger generation, so they came to their door.

But since they were both nobles, and Wen Zongji wasn't acting for personal gain, their excessive concern would only make them seem petty.

To put it bluntly, they came here to hear Wen Zongji apologize and remind him to stop.

They have a sense of shame too.

There's no need to make such a big fuss about reminding them that military officers are not as important as civil officials.