Fu Shanhe

Chapter 13: Appointment as the Five Cities Military Commander

The academy was involved in factional disputes, and the three cousins ​​were left at home to study on their own. The mansion suddenly became lively.

Friends come to visit every now and then, and we even held a party a few days ago, as if we are not affected by the party struggles at all.

With the help of the circle of friends of his three cousins, Li Mu successfully expanded his network of contacts to the children of nobles.

Unfortunately, the level of communication is generally not high.

Perhaps because of their illegitimate births, most of my cousins’ friends are also illegitimate children.

The few legitimate sons were still marginal figures among the nobles.

It was precisely because of his humble background and the fact that people were not so arrogant that Li Mu was able to quickly fit in.

If he were the direct heir of a duke's mansion, with his current status, he could at most just make himself familiar to the crowd.

It is impossible to gain recognition from these people without demonstrating extraordinary talents.

Time flies, and the day to take up the post has arrived in a blink of an eye.

The first ray of sunlight in the morning spread across the earth. Li Mu got up early and went straight to the Wucheng Bingmasi with the appointment documents from the Ministry of War.

Although my uncle had already made arrangements in advance, it would still be better to go and wait for my boss on the first day of work.

Under the soldiers' surprised eyes, Li Mu stepped into the lobby.

After the night watch officer took a look at the document, his originally lazy look instantly restrained himself.

"Chai Delong, the governor of the Wucheng Military Department, greets the commander!"

The appointment from the Ministry of War had been issued long ago, and when the official document was first received, it caused a sensation in the government office.

The Wucheng Bingmasi is a typical example of a low-ranking but powerful organization. Although the ranks of its officials are generally not high, the power they hold is considerable.

Under normal circumstances, positions at the level of Qianhu are held by the direct descendants of dukes and marquises.

It's not about nepotism, but mainly because there are royal relatives and children of officials everywhere in the capital. These playboys are the biggest destabilizing factor for the capital's public security.

When faced with these guys, few ordinary officials without background dare to intervene.

After a series of attempts, everyone finally found that fighting poison with poison was the most effective, and this became a routine.

The fact that Marquis Zhenyuan suddenly recommended a distant nephew really caught many people off guard.

It was not until the teahouse case was uncovered and people knew that Li Mu had saved Prince Fu that they found reasons to convince themselves.

“We are all colleagues, no need to be polite!

There aren't many people with the surname Chai in the capital, but is Lord Chai from the Xiangcheng Earl's Mansion?"

Li Mu asked knowingly.

Having been rooted in the capital for a long time, the intelligence capabilities of the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion are naturally not weak.

Half a month ago, the information of all the officials in the Five Cities Military Department was delivered to him.

Li Mu already had a list in his mind of who came from which family, who needed to be paid attention to, and who could be befriended.

The reason why I am deliberately creating a topic now is naturally because the person in front of me is someone I can make friends with.

It’s not because Chai Delong has outstanding abilities and unlimited potential, but simply because the Xiangcheng Marquis’ Mansion and the Zhenyuan Marquis’ Mansion are close friends.

"Reporting to the Lord Qianhu, the current Xiangcheng Earl is my eldest brother, and I am the seventh child in the family."

After hearing Chai Delong's answer, Li Mu instantly understood why this man had not moved from the position of sixth-rank governor for ten years.

There are too many people in the family and not enough political resources to go around.

Considering Chai Delong's mediocre resume, there is no sign of his development potential at all, so there is no need to waste resources.

In this respect, he is lucky.

Most of the previous generation's children in the Marquis' Mansion were of mediocre talent and not worth continuing to train, and the next generation has not yet grown up.

The brief period of vacuum became his best opportunity.

What's more subtle is that he came to Beijing at the right time. If he had come a few months earlier, the emperor's sweet gifts would not have come down.

Even if his uncle was willing to help him and he could stay in Beijing to work, his position would not be very good.

If I had arrived a few months later, with so many clansmen in the capital hanging around every now and then, maybe it would have been a good opportunity for others.

“So it’s Brother Chai. I heard from my uncle that the Marquis’ Mansion and your Mansion have a century-old friendship.

We are all family, so don’t be so polite when no one is around.”

Li Mu said with a smile.

He is not very good at winning people's hearts, but he still knows how to get close to them.

A government office composed of children of nobles and meritorious officials can be more or less related to the family if you look up the family tree.

“Thank you for your kindness, Master Qianhu, but etiquette cannot be abolished.

Otherwise, if it gets out, people will laugh at me for not knowing the rules.

You have just taken up your post, so you must have a lot of things to get familiar with. I will host a party for you tonight and invite some colleagues to welcome you!"

Chaidelong responded enthusiastically.

However, Li Mu knew that his enthusiasm was only three-tenths on his own initiative, and most of it was for the sake of the Marquis's Mansion's reputation.

If you want to gain a firm foothold in the Wucheng Bingmasi, it is not enough to just rely on building relationships, you also need to show the necessary skills, and it would be best if you can lead everyone to achieve political achievements.

There is no need to think about political achievements for the time being. The two parties in the government are fighting endlessly. If you make any noise at this time, you will easily be caught up in the turmoil.

As time went by, officials came to report one after another. With Chai Delong's introduction, Li Mu got to know a group of colleagues.

Just like the first day I reported to the company, everyone is a good person.

However, from the hypocritical smiles, Li Mu still felt a slight sense of alienation from some people.

It was obvious that many people here were not as friendly to him, the airborne captain, as they appeared.

"The commander has arrived!"

When they heard that the chief officer had arrived, everyone in the yamen had different reactions.

Some people stood up to greet them, some pretended to be busy, and some sat in their seats and drank tea calmly.

"Meet the commander!"

As expected, Li Mu was in the team welcoming Wuyang Marquis Zheng Ruitao.

Others may be arrogant and refuse to buy it, that is because they have enough confidence.

On the first day of taking office, the new official went against his direct superior, simply because he didn't want to work in officialdom anymore.

"No need to be so polite, colleagues!
State affairs are difficult, and we must ensure the safety of the capital and not cause trouble for the Emperor at this time.

Enough of the nonsense, let's get busy!"

Except for the polite words at the beginning, Wuyang Hou Zheng Ruitao emphasized his tone later.

Unfortunately, these knocks are only useful to some people.

The guys who were drinking tea were still drinking their tea calmly, as if they were not affected at all.

Where there are people, there are disputes, and there is also a chain of contempt within the noble group.

The founding nobles looked down on the military nobles who joined later, thinking they were nouveau riche.

Both of them despised the relatives of the emperor's wife and the nobles, believing that these guys who had risen to power purely through nepotism were not worthy of being ranked alongside them, the heroes.

The foreign relatives and nobles looked down on the founding nobles, thinking that these guys were just living off the merits of their ancestors and were not as good as them as they were as close to the emperor.

Wuyang Hou Zheng Ruitao happens to be a representative of the foreign relatives and nobles. It cannot be said that he has no abilities, but his achievements are definitely more due to hard work than merit.

The main reason why he was able to serve as the commander of the Five Cities Army was that he was the younger brother of the current empress dowager and the emperor's uncle.

(End of this chapter)