Fu Shanhe

Chapter 34: Living in the capital is not easy
After a round of greetings, Li Mu arranged for someone to take Lan Linjie to settle down.

Fortunately, I bought a three-courtyard house in the west of the city, otherwise it would have been difficult to find a place to live.

Although the Marquis's Mansion was nice, it was still somewhat inconvenient. If one wanted to work in the capital for a long time, it was impossible to live under someone else's roof forever.

Li Mu had the idea of ​​moving out, but he did not act immediately. The Zhenyuan Marquis and his wife were very kind to him, so he had to find a suitable opportunity for this kind of thing.

Apart from his inheritance in his hometown, he also has some wealth in Beijing.

In the west of the city, where every inch of land is valuable, there is a house with three courtyards.

There are two three-story shops, located slightly off the beaten track, at the intersection of the southeast gate.

There are three farms in Baoding Prefecture, covering a total area of ​​about 1,200 acres.

He just didn't have much cash on hand. Of the three thousand taels of silver he brought with him before going to Beijing, only one thousand five hundred taels were left.

All the profits from acting as a middleman were invested in these industries.

The government still had about four thousand taels of money as routine profit sharing, but this money would not be paid out in a short time.

The main reason was that Li Mu was timid and only took the money within the rules of the game.

If these properties were left outside, there would be plenty of people vying for them. If he hadn't suffered a huge loss internally, he wouldn't have been able to afford them.

It has to be admitted that the fastest way to accumulate wealth in feudal dynasties was to become an official.

He has only been in the official career for two months, but he has accumulated so much property. No wonder everyone wants to be an official.

Not counting salaries and income from the government, these industries alone could provide an annual income of approximately three thousand taels in normal years.

Of course, being able to get such high returns is mainly related to his identity.

In addition to the capital, the Wucheng Bingmasi also has considerable influence on the surrounding prefectures and counties.

It is common to recruit local officials to cooperate in arresting criminals who have crossed the border.

Although his status as a thousand-householder might not be appreciated by people in Baoding Prefecture, it was enough to deter the petty officials in the yamen.

Apart from the official taxes, he would not be subject to any levies or surcharges imposed by local government offices.

Even if they were conscripting hired laborers, the petty officials below had to calculate the farming time carefully so as not to affect the farmers' farming.

Shops in the city will be able to receive more preferential treatment.

In the area managed by their own people, not only are all kinds of fees waived, but if any trouble arises, the soldiers of the Five Cities Bingmasi will be there to deal with it as soon as possible.

It is inevitable that such a trouble-free shop can get a premium on rent.

The income is high, but the expenses are also high.

A new legal advisor was added, and both parties agreed on a monthly salary of twenty taels.

Provide food and accommodation, writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstone and other necessary supplies, as well as one maid, one old woman and one servant. A carriage is needed for travel, and the actual monthly expenses are no less than thirty-five taels.

This is the treatment that a juren gentleman deserves.

In the Dayu Dynasty, there were only sour scholars, but no poor candidates.

The land donated by the people alone was enough for a juren to live a comfortable life.

The monthly expenses for the thirty servants brought from Hanzhong were no less than one hundred and fifty taels, of which sixty taels were salaries and the rest were for food, clothing and daily expenses.

This part of the expenditure is also not negligible.

When he was serving in the capital, the value of his servants was not obvious. But once he was appointed to a post in a local area, these people became the foundation of his livelihood.

Although they seemed to be servants, they were actually trained as personal soldiers. If necessary, these people could be turned into grassroots officers at any time.

As an official of the fifth rank, his family certainly cannot be filled with a bunch of rough people. There must be servants, maids, and old women. Cooks, grooms, and gardeners are also indispensable.

A rough estimate shows that after all these personnel are fully staffed, there will be no less than fifteen people. In addition to the maintenance of the house, Li Mu's own food and daily life, and the tea and snacks necessary for meeting guests, the monthly expenses of the back house will not be less than one hundred taels.

Fortunately, the expenses for war horses were paid into the government’s account, otherwise the expenditure would have been even higher.

Taking into account the personal connections in official circles, an ambitious military commander like him would spend no less than four thousand taels of silver every year.

The daily expenses of civil servants are slightly lower, but if they want to live comfortably, their expenses will not be less than two thousand taels.

If one worked in a government office with low income, one would depend on salary to make a living. In order to save expenses, one would generally not hire a legal advisor and the number of servants in the house would also have to be reduced.

You don’t know until you do the math, and you’ll be shocked when you do.

Now Li Mu truly understood how difficult it is to live in the capital!

If this is the case for officials of the fifth rank, then the expenses for the mansions of dukes and marquises above them will be even greater.

It’s okay if someone in the family holds an important position, but once they are away from the center of power, their income will drop sharply.

Those with a solid financial foundation can also rely on industry for support.

However, as people leave and the world forgets about them, the implicit privileges will gradually disappear, and the family's property income will slowly decline.

If you fail to make timely adjustments and cut unnecessary expenses, you will easily fall into the dilemma of spending money you don’t have before you earn it.

……

"Master Qianhu, the Imperial Household Department has issued a notice to sell the property of the criminal officials.

There were 2.8 million acres of farmland alone, and the whole capital was in an uproar.

If you are interested, you can go and have a look. It is said that there is also land from Hanzhong in it!"

Looking at the excited Yan Shuli, Li Mu had no idea why he was so excited.

No matter how much property the eunuchs sold, it was not something a clerk could covet.

After a brief pause, Li Mu realized that something was wrong. The eunuch party was not selling property, but digging for the roots of the corrupt officials' comeback.

Except for a small amount in the capital, most of the property of the criminal officials is distributed throughout the country.

Given the eunuchs' reputation, running to the Qingliu base to grab land would be a sure way to get killed.

It will be kept in the national treasury, and if one of the lucky ones overturns the verdict, the property will be returned.

They simply took advantage of the court's lack of money and sold off the properties. Those who could absorb the income from these properties were either princes or nobles, or local gentry.

In the face of interests, even the best of friendships have to stand aside. As long as the imperial court is willing to sell at a discount, there will be no worries about no one taking over.

Once the deal was done, the Qingliu Party was divided.

The Qingliu Party members who originally sympathized with the criminal officials would inevitably change their stance after gaining substantial benefits.

For their own interests, they will also prevent the overturn of the verdict.

These are just the eunuchs' first-level plans, and there are bigger traps behind them.

Bargains are never easy to come by.

The land under the name of the criminal official, apart from the part he owned himself, mostly belonged to his neighbors.

After buying these lands at low prices, how should they treat the original owners of the land?
The neighbors will definitely have no objection if the matter is handled according to the agreed terms of the affiliation, but the buyer will suffer a huge loss.

Land was a core asset in feudal dynasties, and no matter how much discount was given during normal sales, it would never be too cheap.

Compared with the free gift of affiliation, the costs of the two are completely at a different level.

If the previous agreement is not recognized, the original owner of the land whose interests have been damaged will definitely be unwilling.

(End of this chapter)