Chapter 18: Appointed as the Vice Minister of the Temple of Brilliant Wisdom (Part 2)

  "I report to Your Majesty, I am but a humble commoner." Since Xiao Shouren held no official position, he could only refer to himself as a humble commoner.

  "Ah, very good, you're a talented individual. Last night's events were all thanks to you, General Yuwen has already told me everything. You've done well, and General Yuwen is even more impressed with you. I've never seen him praise someone so highly before. You're the first." Yang Guang found that Xiao Shouren was quite to his liking, and so he couldn't help but say more.

  "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I am unworthy of such accolades. This is all due to the merits of General Yuwen. I merely stood by and cheered him on." Xiao Shouren replied with great humility.

  Watching Xiao Shouren's humble response, Yuwen Shu almost burst out laughing. This kid was clearly delighted in his heart, but now he's putting on a show of elegance.

  But Yang Guang didn't think so, he thought Xiao Shouren was really humble, looking at that flushed face, shyly, Yang Guang was secretly giving Xiao Shouren points in his heart, thinking that although Xiao Shouren was born into a military family, he was bold and yet had a hint of innocence, knowing when to advance or retreat, not arrogant, this was the kind of attitude a subject should have.

  "If it weren't for your obstruction, I estimate that Yuwen Yongde would have been killed or escaped by now. This battle would still be ongoing, and originally, there was nothing to worry about. Capturing Goguryeo's little pest is just a matter of time. However, the military situation in Luoyang has changed over the past few days, with more and more rebels emerging from all sides. I need to return to deal with the rebellion, so being able to stop the war would be for the best. Yuwen Yongde will be our bargaining chip for a ceasefire." Yang Guang said slowly after some deliberation.

  "Your Majesty is a great emperor for all eternity, and it's not worth mentioning to clean up a small Goguryeo. As the saying goes, 'to repel external threats, one must first stabilize internally.' As a wise and benevolent Khan, I think it would be most sagely of you to first restore order among the people." Xiao Shouren was speaking from a prepared script, lavishing praise on him and using all of Chiang's rhetoric.

  "Oh? These words are music to my ears, a legendary emperor for the ages! A sage and khan! To conquer the outside, one must first stabilize the inside. That's right, I will be a legendary emperor, I am a sage and khan! Xiao Shouren, ah Xiao Shouren, you are my kindred spirit!" Yang Guang was overjoyed when he heard Xiao Shouren's words and immediately became excited.

  Yuwen Shu and the middle-aged man standing below him were both shocked. This Xiao Shouren was initially like a tender shoot, but suddenly he was able to flatter better than anyone else, and with one move, he grasped Yang Guang's vital point, making Yang Guang exclaim in admiration.

  One emperor for a thousand years, one sage Khan, one sentence to quell the external must first stabilize the internal, the first two are praising Yang Guang as a rare talent in heaven and earth, the latter's evil quelling the external must first stabilize the internal is even more finding an excellent reason for Yang Guang to retreat, on the surface it is completely reasonable, solving a big problem. This flattery is really like a goat hanging from a horn, leaving no trace at all.

  "An emperor for all eternity, an emperor for all eternity. Good, very good! Next time at dawn, I'll send someone to summon you too, and you can tell the officials of this court what it means to be an emperor for all eternity, haha!" Yang Guang was overjoyed, with a joy that came from deep within his heart.

  "Yes, I obey your order." Xiao Shouren was proper and respectful again.

  "Hmm, this time I've called you here is to bestow an official title upon you. I think you're naturally intelligent and eloquent, so I'm appointing you as the Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple. You'll be in charge of receiving foreign envoys, hosting state banquets, granting gifts, and sending off guests. When others are angry, you must smile; when speaking frankly, you must be tactful. Normally, there aren't many tasks to attend to. With your exceptional talent and ability, you're a great fit for this role at the Honglu Temple. If you do well, I'll promote you further." Yang Guang said with a smile.

  Yuwen Shu knew what Yang Guang was thinking as soon as he heard this. Although the Honglusi Temple is a fourth-grade government office, the position of Shaoqing in the Honglusi Temple is indeed not popular because it is an unpopular job. The Sui Dynasty has nine temples, which are Taichang Temple, Guanglu Temple, Weiwei Temple, Zongzheng Temple, Taipu Temple, Dali Temple, Honglusi Temple, Sinong Temple, and Taifu Temple. However, among the nine temples, the affairs of the Honglusi Temple are the most troublesome, with many things that offend people and no good results.

  This time, Yang Guangming openly put Xiao Shouren in a position of the fourth rank that no one cares about, but this is a great opportunity. What timing is it now? It's just the time to negotiate with Goguryeo, and it's all handled by Honglusi Temple. The initiative is on the side of Great Sui, and as long as the negotiation goes well, a bright future is right in front of us.

  It's not just Yuwen who thought of it, but Huang Gonggong, a man without descendants, has also figured it out. It seems that Xiao Shouren is lucky, relying on this once-in-a-thousand-years emperor, the sage Khan is lucky.

  "These two days, you should familiarize yourself with the daily affairs of Hongfu Temple. Next, you will need to think carefully about how to discuss a ceasefire with Goguryeo." Yang Guang said to Xiao Shouren, who looked bewildered.

  "Ah, Your Majesty, I'm just a humble official... no, that's not right, I mean, this subordinate wants to ask, what rank is the Honglu Temple Minister? What does he do?" Xiao Shouren had heard Yang Guang mention it before and vaguely knew something about it, understanding that this department was similar to the modern-day Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but still wanted to ask to confirm.

  "Haha, this is a fourth-rank official position, specializing in receiving foreign envoys. You just need to take charge of this negotiation and don't worry about anything else. Others can't even get promoted to such a high position in their lifetime, but you've reached it so quickly. Here's the thing: although you hold the position of Honglusi Temple Minister, you'll only receive the salary of a sixth-rank official. This way, we can shut people up. Once you really succeed in negotiating with Goguryeo, then your title as Honglusi Temple Minister will be justified." Yang Guang explained with a smile.

  "I understand, I will definitely work hard and not disappoint Your Majesty. It's just that I, a lowly official, don't understand anything and fear disappointing Your Majesty's kindness." Xiao Shouren replied loudly, but in his heart he was already regretting it. He wasn't regretting anything else, just his own big mouth. He shouldn't have asked in the first place. He could have asked others later if he didn't understand something. Now look what happened, from a fourth-rank official's salary to a sixth-rank one, what kind of thing is this? It's all because of his loose tongue!

  "Don't worry about this, Yu Shunan!" Yang Guang shouted out a name.

  "Your humble servant is here." The middle-aged man who had been standing beside Yuwen Shu stepped forward, taking a step ahead.

  "You, Secretary Lang, don't have much to do anyway. For the next few days, you can teach our Temple Master Hong how to be a good Temple Master." Yang Guang assigned homework to Yu Shinan's family.

  "Yes, I obey." Yu Shunan finished speaking and returned to his original position, motionless, as if the one who had just spoken was not him, but his soul that had escaped.

  Xiao Shouren had nothing more to do after hearing and receiving the imperial edict, so he left Tiger Roar Hall with Yuwen Shu and the others.

  Xiao Shouren didn't realize until he came out that something was terribly wrong - he couldn't go back, and he couldn't find the way he had come. What a tragedy!