Chapter 147: One Step Divided Into Three Steps

After the Ise War came to an end, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu got a half-month vacation.

There were two main reasons. The first was the public reason. The two used the "Double Swords" three times in a row, which caused a great burden and backlash. They needed time to recuperate. No one could find fault. The second reason was not easy to put on the table. During the time when Li Changge and Yao Pei were away, the two had made too many military exploits, which had broken the balance between the four. Now they naturally had to make up for it. They couldn't let the other two catch up, but at least they had to narrow the gap. M..

In short, this was a reasonable disguised hiding. Although no one could share or deduct the military exploits of the two, it was enough to prevent the two from having the opportunity to make merit.

At this time, the overall situation had been determined, and there was ample manpower, so this operation became more feasible.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were not dissatisfied.

There were also two reasons. The first reason is that the two really want to take a break. Since entering Fenglinzhou, they have hardly rested, and three consecutive "double swords combined" have really caused a great burden to the two. The second reason is that they have accumulated enough military exploits.

The two privately calculated that Qi Xuansu was the most exaggerated. He escorted Toyotomi Hideshige, captured the smuggling criminals in Jiangnan Daofu, recruited Suzuka Gozen, took back the head of Shuten Douji, killed Hieisan Sosen alone, and killed Katsura Zenko with Koshin Lingguan, killed Taira Jingjie Priest with Zhang Yuelu, killed Honganji Xianru with Zhang Yuelu and Li Tiangang, and killed the Grand Palace Master of Jingu with Yao Pei, Li Changge, and Zhang Yuelu.

This does not count some minor details, such as leading a group of leaders to successfully return to the camp after the flying boat crashed, finding out the information that Westerners intervened in the situation of Fenglinzhou, participating in the attack on Kobe Castle, participating in the peace talks in Tsu City, leading the team to attack Omijin Mountain, etc.

With so many merits added up, at least four "Tian Zi Gong" are enough to be promoted to the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest. In theory, the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest does not need to consider merits, but is recommended and selected. However, the recommendation and selection must also have a standard basis, and military merits cannot be ignored. Even the recommendation of the Grand Master will take into account the influence of military merits, let alone the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest.

The main reason is that a considerable part of Qi Xuansu's merits were completed in collaboration with others. If these were all completed by Qi Xuansu alone, such as beheading Gui Shanxing, Honganji Pinru, and the Grand Priest, it would be even more unimaginable. I am afraid that he would be promoted directly to the first level.

Even if Qi Xuansu gave part of it to Zhang Yuelu and got another piece of "Xuan Yu", which needed to be offset, there would be at least three "Tian Zi Gong" left.

However, Zhang Yuelu also analyzed the pros and cons for Qi Xuansu. According to the style of the Taoist sect, even if Qi Xuansu made great contributions, it is unlikely that Qi Xuansu will be promoted directly to the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest, because it is too fast. Qi Xuansu was promoted to the third-grade Youyi Taoist priest a year ago, and was promoted to the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest in less than half a year. No matter how worthy of the name he is, it is easy to cause criticism.

It can be imagined that by then, all kinds of rumors will come out. For example, Qi Xuansu is the illegitimate son of the sixth-generation headmaster, and Zhang Yuelu is not marrying down, but marrying up. It is said that people leave and the tea is cold. After the sixth-generation headmaster ascended, he can still have such power. I think Qi Xuansu’s biological mother must be an extremely powerful person. Looking at the Taoist sect, there are only a few women who meet the conditions, and not many people know Qi Niang. Maybe they will involve Cihang Zhenren. In the eyes of some people, they are all connected. Cihang Zhenren deliberately married his apprentice to his son to keep the fat water within the field.

But they can't just let Qi Xuansu not be promoted, which would be unfair, so the Taoist sect will most likely adopt a compromise strategy, dividing one step into three steps.

The first step is to make Qi Xuansu a regular official, that is, to change his job grade to the official third-grade Youyi Taoist grade, which is beyond doubt and no one will question it.

The second step is to promote Qi Xuansu to the second deputy palace master. Qi Xuansu has made such a great contribution, and it is reasonable to be promoted in his position, and it cannot be lower, after all, it is a military achievement fought for his life. However, according to the internal practice of the Taoist sect, no third-grade Youyi Taoist priest has ever served as the second-grade or chief-level position. Then there are two solutions, one is to let Qi Xuansu serve as the acting second-grade deputy palace master, and the other is to continue to improve his job grade, but it is the job grade of the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest.

Zhang Yuelu prefers the latter, that is, to let Qi Xuansu hang a job grade bound to his position, and only when he serves as the second deputy palace master can he be considered a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest.

Strictly speaking, this is not a real person, and it will not cause much opposition.

With the preparation of the first two steps, the third step is a natural progression. As long as Qi Xuansu can gain a firm foothold in his position and make some achievements, combined with his previous merits, he can be promoted in the name of compensation, and he can become a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest.

During the discussion in Jinque, the Taoist high-level officials who spoke for Qi Xuansu could have said: "In the past, because Qi Tianyuan was too young, he had to be suppressed. "The Theory of Fate" says: "A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; a pile that stands out on the shore will be swept away by the current; a person who is superior to others will be criticized by the crowd. "Young people who are too outstanding will inevitably attract jealousy, and this is also a kind of protection for him."

“Since Xuansheng, inspired by the lessons of Confucianism, Taoism has always advocated the use of young people, but how to promote and appoint is a big question. It is not a matter of simply promoting people to a certain position with a transfer order. It is not necessarily a good thing to promote them too quickly. It may be a case of forcing things to grow. The Supreme Taoist Ancestor said: ‘Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish.’ Young people read a lot and have a lot of theories, but they do not have a deep understanding of the actual situation and are prone to taking things for granted. So we must keep a close eye on them, let them walk slower and more steadily, so that they can better understand the reality, accumulate experience, and condense their thoughts.”

“In addition, That is, young people are inevitably hot-tempered. The good thing is that they are full of energy, but the bad thing is that they tend to be arrogant, ignore interpersonal relationships, affect internal unity, and lead to things not being accomplished, but there are a lot of disagreements. This is even more necessary to suppress it and make his talent restrained. "

"But then again, suppressing it does not mean that Qi Tianyuan's contribution in Fenglinzhou can be erased. According to my observations during this period, Qi Tianyuan is still a down-to-earth and reliable person, and his performance is very good, so I think he should be compensated and promoted. "

With this transition and buffer, as long as Qi Xuansu himself does not have any problems, it will be difficult for others to object.

It can also eliminate a lot of noise and make Qi Xuansu's resume look better. In any case, Qi Xuansu has come up step by step, not a big jump. Whether it is the Taoist sect or the court, the word "fortunately promoted" is not a compliment.

Qi Xuansu agrees with Zhang Yuelu's analysis and divides one step into three steps. Age is a double-edged sword. Being too old is not good, and being too young is not good either, because qualifications, experience and age are linked. The subtext of saying Qi Xuansu is too young is that Qi Xuansu is inexperienced and inadequate.

As for Zhang Yuelu, she is also young, even one year younger than Qi Xuansu, but her situation is different from Qi Xuansu. The key is that Zhang Yuelu's qualifications are not bad.

Now it seems that Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu seem to be similar, but in fact they are very different. From the beginning to the end, Zhang Yuelu's position and rank are higher than Qi Xuansu, even in the order of deputy hall master. The main reason is that Zhang Yuelu started early. When Qi Xuansu was still studying in Wanxiang Taoist Palace, Zhang Yuelu had already entered the Taoist system and began to participate in practical work, climbing up step by step. This is Zhang Yuelu's advantage, so when Qi Xuansu was still a seventh-grade Taoist priest, Zhang Yuelu was already a fourth-grade priest.

Overall, it took Zhang Yuelu about ten years to go from the seventh rank to the third rank, while it only took Qi Xuansu three years to go from the seventh rank to the third rank. The difference in qualifications is huge.

Expanding the resumes of the two, Qi Xuansu's promotion curve is very strange. For a long time, it has been a horizontal line that tilts slightly upward, which means that he was wasting time. Suddenly, in recent years, it has been rising like a cliff. It is hard not to raise doubts, so Qi Xuansu will suffer more criticism.

On the other hand, Zhang Yuelu's promotion curve is very smooth and has been tilted upward, but the upward amplitude each time is within a reasonable range, which makes Zhang Yuelu suffer less criticism.

So Zhang Yuelu probably doesn't have to divide one step into three steps, and can go all the way in one step to continue to maintain the momentum of being the first of the three shows.

But overall, the gap between Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu is rapidly narrowing. From the earliest difference of three grades, to now almost on an equal footing, if this momentum continues, it is not impossible for Qi Xuansu to surpass Zhang Yuelu.

As expected, on the second day after Qi Xuansu began to rest, a commendation order was issued from Yujing to publicly commend Qi Xuansu.

It is worth noting that this commendation order was mainly for Qi Xuansu's direct and successful recruitment of Linglu Mountain and indirect assistance to Qingwei Zhenren in recruiting Dajiang Mountain, so it did not include Zhang Yuelu, Li Changge, Yao Pei and others.

It reads: "Qi Xuansu was able to stand at the height of the overall situation, deeply understand the strategic purpose of the camp, go all out to complete the task, actively win over all kinds of righteous friends, and vigorously cooperate with the camp to achieve strategic goals, making outstanding contributions to the victory of the Ise War. Jinque decided to issue a commendation order to all Taoist halls, Taoist prefectures, and Taoist palaces to commend Qi Xuansu. I hope Qi Xuansu will take this as an opportunity to make persistent efforts, forge ahead, and continue to make new contributions to the Taoist sect."

The signature is Pei Xuanzhi, the chief assistant Zhenren of Jinque.

Along with the commendation order came Qi Xuansu's official document. From now on, Qi Xuansu is a true third-rank Taoist priest. Even if he no longer serves as the deputy hall master, there will be no change.

Qi Xuansu had to sigh at Zhang Yuelu's foresight. The first step of the three steps has arrived, and it came so quickly.