Who are these people? Are they officials?

After drinking a cup of wine, the prefect felt as if he had entered a new world. He had never drunk such good wine before. No, he didn't even know if this was wine or not. It had a slight taste of wine, but it was mostly sweet and fragrant.

"Song Jiang, does this wine have a name?" the prefect couldn't help but ask.

"Imperial Concubine Honey," Song Jiang replied with a smile, having come up with a name on the spot.

"Imperial Concubine Honey, Imperial Concubine Honey," the prefect murmured a few times.

Shi Wenbin then spoke up at an appropriate time, saying, "Do you think this wine would be suitable as a tribute to the Emperor for his birthday next year?"

The prefect looked at the empty cup, pondered for a moment, then slapped his thigh excitedly and said, "This wine can certainly be presented to the Emperor. Clerk Song, you are truly a talent, to be able to brew such a fine wine."

Song Jiang silently thanked Song Qing in his heart and then said, "Prefect, here are five catties for you to take back and enjoy at your leisure."

The prefect hurriedly said, "It would be impolite to refuse such a kind offer, Clerk Song. I'm growing to like you more and more."

At this point, the dishes were slowly served one by one.

The waiter filled eight bowls with baijiu again. This time, the prefect didn't drink it as heartily as before. Perhaps scholars don't like this kind of strong liquor! Of course, there are exceptions, such as Li Bai.

On the contrary, Wu Song and his fellow wine lovers, who hadn't tasted wine since their second visit, drank to their heart's content today since there was no limit.

After several rounds of drinks, the prefect raised his cup and solemnly said, "The recovery of this treasure is truly all thanks to your great help. I am extremely grateful and sincerely thank you all for risking your lives. I would like to offer you all a toast." After saying this, he picked up the wine in his bowl and drank it all in one gulp. He then put down the cup and clapped his hands.

The door to the private room opened, and a guard came in carrying a tray filled with gold. Although Song Jiang had only been in the Song Dynasty for a short time, he was used to seeing gold and silver treasures, and this amount of wealth was not enough to tempt him.

The prefect smiled and said, "Consider these five hundred taels of gold as a token of our gratitude." Five hundred taels of gold was quite a lot; converted to silver, it would amount to five thousand taels. However, compared to these two treasures, it was just a drop in the ocean. It would be better to be generous and use five hundred taels of gold to win people's hearts!

Everyone hurriedly tried to refuse, but they couldn't go against the prefect's orders, and only after being persuaded by Shi Wenbin did they put away the gold.

The prefect hurriedly urged everyone to continue their meal.

After five courses of food, the prefect raised his cup again and this time addressed Song Jiang, saying, "Song Jiang, you have made a great contribution in finding the treasure this time. I wonder if you have any ideas? If it is within my power, I will certainly help you accomplish it."

Shi Wenbin stared wide-eyed at the prefect and Song Jiang. The prefect's words carried great weight, and the meaning was quite clear: he intended to recruit Song Jiang. Song Jiang could take a position in Jizhou Prefecture, and with some connections, he could even directly enter the officialdom, which would be much better than being a minor official in Yuncheng.

He knew that entering officialdom had always been Song Jiang's wish. Now that he had such a good opportunity, if Song Jiang seized it, he would at least have a bright future, if not a meteoric rise to power.

Thinking of this, he looked at Song Jiang with delight. If Song Jiang really rose to prominence, he would be able to put his mind at ease.

To everyone's surprise, Song Jiang shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Prefect, but this time the credit is entirely due to Magistrate Shi's skillful command. I was just fulfilling my duty."

The prefect asked with exasperation, "Can't you think about it properly?" The prefect actually wanted to take Song Jiang to Jizhou Prefecture. Song Jiang was definitely a talented person, and it was a waste of his talents for him to be a clerk in Yuncheng. However, Song Jiang did not want to go to Jizhou Prefecture, so he deliberately ignored the offer.

Song Jiang clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "Actually, there are two things I hope the prefect will grant."

The prefect smiled and said, "Speak freely."

Song Jiang slowly said, "The first thing is that I want to open a restaurant in Yuncheng."

The prefect said in surprise, "It's just a trivial matter."

Song Jiang said unhurriedly, "I hope the prefect can put up a signboard."

The prefect thought for a moment and said, "That's not difficult. What about the second one?"

Song Jiang pointed to Yang Zhi and said, "This is my brother Yang Zhi. I hope the prefect can help me." This was the best way Song Jiang had been thinking about to help Yang Zhi, and he had been waiting for this opportunity.

Yang Zhi was overwhelmed with mixed feelings when Song Jiang mentioned him. There was surprise, bitterness, gratitude, sorrow, and joy. Song Jiang really hadn't lied to him and had been thinking of him all along.

The prefect was somewhat surprised, wondering why Song Jiang had mentioned Yang Zhi.

So Song Jiang slowly recounted Yang Zhi's story, including how the boat capsized and how he made great contributions in Qinghe County. He downplayed the capsizing incident and exaggerated the events in Qinghe County.

The prefect was somewhat embarrassed. He sat down, slowly poured himself a glass of wine, and remained silent. At this moment, no one at the table spoke; it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, "I really can't do anything about this."

The scene became awkward, and no one spoke. Shi Wenbin hadn't expected the prefect of Jizhou to reject Song Jiang so decisively. Shi Wenbin also knew that helping Yang Zhi write a letter to Liang Zhongshu was neither a big deal nor a small one; it all depended on whether someone was willing to help and put in a good word for Liang Zhongshu.

Song Jiang glanced at Yang Zhi, whose expression was stiff and whose disappointment was evident in his eyes. Remembering what he had said to Yang Zhi when they went to Qinghe County, Song Jiang sighed and said, "Prefect, won't you reconsider?"

The prefect looked somewhat displeased. Actually, writing a letter was not difficult for him; he just didn't want to get involved in Cai Jing's mess, which was why he said that. But he didn't expect Song Jiang to bring it up again, and he immediately felt that Song Jiang was being ungrateful.

Just as he was about to speak, Song Jiang spoke up again: "I heard that the prefect was once a good friend of Liang Zhongshu in the capital, and was also a student of Grand Tutor Cai. Now the prefect is in Jizhou Prefecture, and Liang Zhongshu is in Daming Prefecture. I wonder if you could write a letter to Liang Zhongshu?"

The prefect coldly replied, "This matter is beyond my capabilities."

What a joke! Now that Liang Zhongshu's father-in-law, Cai Jing, has been dismissed, many people in the court are eager to distance themselves from him. If he were to go and invite trouble, wouldn't he be asking for an impeachment? Of course, even if Cai Jing were still in the court and still his respected teacher, he wouldn't necessarily go to Liang Zhongshu for Yang Zhi's sake, because it's not worth it.

Being an official requires connections, personal value, and political investment.

Political investment alone places great emphasis on potential and vision. Clearly, an unfortunate fellow like Yang Zhi has neither connections nor assets, making him unworthy of investment. Therefore, the prefect had no intention of helping Yang Zhi. As for martial arts? Heh, martial artists were the most despised and looked down upon among Song Dynasty literati; they could only display the bravery of a common man.

Song Jiang sneered inwardly. These officials were all too pragmatic. They were talking so well just now, but they turned on each other in an instant. However, his expression did not change. He still had that calm and composed smile.

Just as he was about to speak, Shi Wenbin tugged at Song Jiang's sleeve, indicating that the prefect was already displeased and that he should stop talking.

Song Jiang gave Shi Wenbin a confident smile, then looked at the stern-faced prefect and slowly said, "Congratulations, Prefect, on your great achievement this time. Your promotion is just around the corner."

The prefect was taken aback, not understanding what Song Jiang meant.

Song Jiang continued, "On our way back, we encountered the Western Xia Bubazi. It seemed they intended to seize the imperial treasure, but we wiped them all out."

Song Jiang initially did not intend to talk about this matter, and only wanted to pretend that nothing had happened. After all, he suspected that the assassination attempt was not carried out by the Western Xia people, and the more secretive the matter was, the better.

It's better to avoid trouble, and Song Jiang didn't intend to make a scene. He would have kept it a secret if he could, but this time, for Yang Zhi's sake, he still spoke out.

Although the assassin may not necessarily be a Western Xia person, it confirms for now that it was an assassination attempt by a Western Xia person!

The prefect said solemnly, "Is this true?"

Song Jiang took out the tattoo pattern that had been copied from that person's body in the dense forest two days ago and placed it on the table!

The prefect remained silent for a long time.

Song Jiang took a sip of wine and said, "At this moment, Song and Xia are at war. It is obvious that this incident was caused by Western Xia behind the scenes. If the theft of the treasure is successful, and it is widely publicized in the Western Xia army that our imperial treasure was stolen from the rear, the morale of the Western Xia army will surely be high, and it will also damage the morale of our Song army."

I suspect that the Western Xia ruler had this intention, which is why he sent people from afar to steal it. Otherwise, for a mere local military officer like Commander Wu to dare to have such a thought, he truly doesn't know the meaning of death. It seems that Commander Wu is incredibly audacious to collude with the Western Xia people; he truly deserves to die.

If that were the case, the nature of the matter would be completely different. The prefect gestured for Song Jiang to continue.

Song Jiang continued, "Fortunately, the prefect was wise and saw through the Western Xia's conspiracy in time. He led us to fight hard to retrieve the treasure, which not only demoralized the Western Xia, thwarted their plot, and annihilated the Western Xia army that came to our Great Song, but also enhanced the military prestige of our Great Song. Your Excellency deserves the greatest credit for this."

The prefect smiled. This matter did indeed tempt him. He also believed that Song Jiang was not lying, because Song Jiang probably wasn't that clever to fabricate such a story. Moreover, the matter was of great importance. If he were to make up such nonsense, Song Jiang wouldn't have enough lives to spare. In addition, he knew that Song Jiang had been staying in Yuncheng for a long time and certainly didn't know that this was the unique symbol of the Western Xia army. It seemed that Song Jiang didn't want to get too involved at first and chose to keep it a secret. What a shrewd fellow.

The prefect thought for a moment and said, "Song Jiang, your words do indeed tempt me, but this alone is not enough, and you know why."

Song Jiang stood up, walked to Yang Zhi, placed his hands on Yang Zhi's shoulders, and said, "The greatest wish of a loyal descendant is to bring glory to his ancestors and die on the battlefield. I know you are worried, but I wonder if you would listen to my words?"

The prefect took a sip of wine but didn't say anything. He had to admit, the wine was indeed delicious.

Song Jiang spoke up, "What the prefect is worried about is Grand Tutor Cai's current situation, so he dares not get too close to Liang Zhongshu."

The prefect moved slightly but remained silent.

Song Jiang guessed that this was probably true, and then said, "But why doesn't the prefect think that Grand Tutor Cai is very likely to return to the capital and become the powerful Grand Tutor he once was?"

This time, not only the prefect, but everyone else was stunned by Song Jiang's words.

Song Jiang was very satisfied with the current results. Knowing history well, he naturally knew that Cai Jing had risen and fallen four times in history. A year later, not only was Cai Jing reinstated, but even those who impeached him did not have a good ending.

No one spoke; they were all thinking about what Song Jiang had said. Song Jiang also remained silent, returning to his seat and sitting quietly.

After a long pause, the prefect finally spoke, saying, "Sir Song's words are truly astonishing."

Song Jiang said calmly, "History is never short of people who add flowers to brocade, but those who offer charcoal in the snow are the most precious."

Admittedly, Song Jiang's words were indeed persuasive and tempting; he would be an absolute master at pyramid schemes. The prefect was genuinely tempted, but he still had some concerns. After thinking for a while, he finally said, "If it were my mentor..." The prefect's tone softened, and he addressed him as "mentor."

Song Jiang laughed and said, "The Western Xia attempted to cause trouble on Song territory, but the Prefect wiped them out in one fell swoop, thwarting their conspiracy. This alone is enough to keep the Prefect in his current position. If no one impeaches the Prefect, this achievement will make it possible for him to be promoted to a high position in the imperial court. If Grand Tutor Cai returns to the court, the Prefect will surely rise rapidly with this achievement." Having said this, Song Jiang felt that if the Prefect did not make any move, he would truly be foolish.

The prefect remained silent, pondering Song Jiang's words. He had to admit, Song Jiang's words had a profound impact on him. He had only written a letter; he had suffered no loss. On the contrary, if he showed goodwill to Liang Zhongshu, and his mentor truly returned to the court, it would be tantamount to demonstrating his loyalty. The result, as Song Jiang had predicted, would certainly be a meteoric rise in rank.

Cai Jing was known for his generosity towards his own people, and this made him completely forget his previous displeasure. He smiled and looked at Song Jiang.

Knowing the matter was settled, Song Jiang remained silent. The prefect looked at Yang Zhi and said, "Commander Yang, I apologize for any offense I may have caused you before. Please forgive me."

Yang Zhi felt aggrieved, but he still maintained a humble expression, quickly clasping his hands in a fist and bowing respectfully, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled the prefect."

The atmosphere returned to a harmonious state, and Yang Zhi looked at Song Jiang gratefully without saying a word.

After the meal, outside the restaurant, Shi Wenbin and the prefect were talking quietly. Judging from their expressions, the prefect and the county magistrate Shi Wenbin were very happy, especially the prefect. Looking at the imperial treasure being protected by the guards in front and the fruit wine being carried by the attendants behind, and thinking back to what Song Jiang had said at the beginning, it seemed as if a broad road was right under his feet, and as long as he walked forward, the future would be bright.

In fact, Song Jiang felt that these social niceties should be done in moderation. Going too far would make him seem too humble and would only make him look down on. But if he didn't do them at all, his superiors would definitely have something to say about him and would make things difficult for him. So he had to do them, but he just needed to be natural and neither humble nor arrogant.

Time flies, and the next day the governor of Jeju returned laden with treasures and wine, embarking once again on his journey back to Jeju.

Two days later, at a tea stall outside Yuncheng County, Yang Zhi, carrying a letter from the prefect of Jizhou, planned to set off for Daming Prefecture. Song Jiang and Wu Song saw Yang Zhi off.