Fu Shanhe

Chapter 344: Concubine
Warm moments are always short.

After resting at home for three days, trouble came knocking on my door.

The imperial court was unable to pay the soldiers, so it gave them a bunch of official positions and let them find ways to cash in on their own.

The opportunity to become an official by spending money is very attractive to businessmen and wealthy landlords.

Logically speaking, we should fight for it.

The reality is just the opposite. This act of selling official positions infringes upon the interests of scholars.

The man who bought the official position was besieged by Guangzhou scholars as soon as he came out of the Governor's Office. If the soldiers from the office had not arrived quickly, he would have lost his life.

After the incident, all the scholars who participated in the beating were arrested and imprisoned.

Before the government could convict him, new trouble arose.

Upon hearing the news, candidates from Guangdong and Guangxi came from all over the country to protest against the court's practice of selling official positions.

The matter became a big deal, and Marquis Wuyang began to have doubts.

It is impossible to let him go.

Since he has bought the official position, he is an official appointed by the court and should be protected by the law.

If one can escape punishment after injuring an official appointed by the imperial court, the value of his official position must be too low.

Everyone knew it was parallel imports, so the official hats stopped selling afterwards.

If this source of income is cut off, there will be no place to fill the huge gap in military pay needed to quell the rebellion.

Severe punishment of scholars who cause trouble will also lead to endless troubles.

The right to speak now is in the hands of scholars. If one offends this group, he will be infamous for eternity.

Caught in a dilemma, Marquis Wuyang summoned a group of his confidants, including Li Mu, to the Governor's Mansion to discuss matters.

“You all know the matter clearly.

That group of scholars come to block the door of the Governor's Mansion every day. How should we end it now? Let's discuss it together, shall we?"

Marquis Wuyang said with a tired look on his face.

In order to raise military funds, the three governors-general of the noble family all participated in selling official positions.

However, Huguang had just been recovered and the local area was still in chaos, so only a small number of the scholars who had fled returned.

Duke Chengguo was on the front line in Songjiang, and the scholars in Fujian and Zhejiang could not reach him even if they wanted to cause trouble.

As for running to the front line to cause trouble, that is simply seeking death.

Just create some accident and they will die at the hands of the rebels.

Only Guangdong and Guangxi were recovered early, the local situation stabilized, and the scholars who had fled the war returned to their homeland.

“Governor, the scholars from all over the country have been able to connect so quickly, there must be someone behind the scenes directing them.

Before the incident happened, scholars came from all over the place and it was clear that there was a problem.

It would be better to send someone to arrest the ringleader and torture him to find out who is behind it."

As soon as the commander of the Du Biao, Zhuang Chenyang, opened his mouth, everyone was shocked.

With such a brutal method, even if the mastermind behind it is found out, it will not be convincing.

In fact, we can almost guess who is the mastermind behind the incident without even checking.

Apart from that group of civil servants, there was no other force that dared to cause trouble in Guangzhou and go against the governor.

Marquis Wuyang did not attack them, not because he couldn't, but mainly because he couldn't.

Power needs checks and balances.

Only with checks and balances can the higher-ups feel at ease.

The fact that the civil servants below were forming a clique was actually something that was deliberately indulged by Marquis Wuyang.

Without the tacit approval of the governor, those civil servants would not be able to get together at all.

Even now, it is still very simple to split up the civil service group.

Whether it is adjusting the division of work among lower-level officials or swapping officials under their jurisdiction, it can cause internal conflicts among the civil servants.

"inappropriate!"

“It’s not appropriate to arrest anyone at this time.

The group of scholars outside were merely sitting in protest and did not take any radical action.

According to Dayu law, it is impossible to severely punish them."

When mentioning the "Dayu Law", Marquis Wuyang deliberately emphasized the tone.

Identity determines stance.

As the governor of the Great Yu Dynasty, he would be laughed at if he targeted a group of scholars.

Even if you want to mess with someone, you have to do it within the rules so that no one has anything to say.

“Governor, in fact, the protests by scholars did not only occur in Guangdong and Guangxi, but also in Beijing.

However, they were eventually dispersed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and the task of selling official positions was transferred to the Eastern Depot.

The situation here is different. Without the vicious dogs of the East Factory to intimidate people, we can only find another way.

The scholars protested against the court's sale of official positions and demanded the release of scholars who participated in the beating of court officials. The main reason was that they had too much free time.

Because of the war, scientific expeditions were constantly postponed.

It would be a good idea to spread the news and tell the outside world that the court intends to restore the imperial examination to distract their attention.

More than 90% of the scholars who caused unrest were just following the trend, and they were not aware of the inside story of the court selling official positions.

Let local officials come forward to explain clearly, and make this explanation work an important criterion for evaluating local officials.

Those who fail to complete their tasks will be regarded as dereliction of duty and reported to the court for dismissal."

Li Mu said calmly.

It wasn't that he wanted to stand out, but mainly because among the officials in this room, except for a few civil servants, the rest were his old subordinates.

Everyone turned their eyes over here out of habit, but if he continued to sit still, he would seem odd.

"Admiral Li, won't this make too much noise?

The imperial court reopened the imperial examination, but there was no sign of it.

Even if it is to be reopened, it will have to wait until the war is over.

Otherwise, scholars from various provinces caught up in the war would not even have the opportunity to take the exam, which would violate the principle of fairness in the imperial examination.

If everyone knew that we were releasing fake news, it would further arouse the dissatisfaction of the scholars.

Therefore, dismissing local officials is even more unacceptable.

What if the people below don't complete the task, can we still withdraw everyone?"

The middle-aged civil servant sitting second on the right questioned.

I have seen bold people, but I have never seen anyone so bold.

He was really surprised that they even dared to spread rumors about the imperial examination.

“Nothing is set in stone.

If politics requires, the false can become true.

There is no need to worry about removing officials who commit corruption.

The Dayu Dynasty lacked everything except people who wanted to be officials.

Even though those scholars were making a lot of noise, if they had the opportunity to become officials, they would be more enthusiastic than anyone else.

After removing unqualified officials, we can just fill in the gaps with talented people and change the bad practices in the officialdom.”

The military generals had no reaction to Li Mu's explanation, but several civil officials were frightened.

If we really play it this way, it will naturally not be a problem to divide the scholars who are causing trouble.

No matter how much everyone resisted, it was impossible to delay the imperial examination because of this matter.

The candidates went to Beijing to take the imperial examinations, and if the people below wanted to make trouble, they had to consider the consequences.

"Admiral, will this have a negative impact?

There are too many people involved, and it is easy for outsiders to think that we exclude dissidents.

......"

Before the old man could finish, Marquis Wuyang interrupted him:
“That’s it!
The mouths are on other people, if they want to speak, let them speak!
I walk upright and sit upright, and I am not afraid of criticism.

Master, please get up early and submit a memorial for me, asking His Majesty to reopen the imperial examinations to reassure the scholars of the world."

It was obvious that Marquis Wuyang was pissed. In the past, he allowed the people below to make a fuss, which was done for the emperor to see.

The people below are becoming more and more outrageous, and now they don't even care about the overall situation. This has touched the bottom line.

Originally, he planned to arrange for the remnants of the rebels to infiltrate them, stir up some trouble, and label these people as traitors.

There is no need to play so roughly when there are better options at this time.

After all, the same operation had been carried out once in Yangzhou Prefecture that year.

If you repeat the same old routine, it will be easy for people to find problems with you.

When it comes to criticizing others, he is really no match for those literati.

……

After the episode, Li Mu returned to his mansion, bringing with him a blank appointment document from the Ministry of Personnel.

Fill in your name and you will become an official of the court. You only need to report to the Ministry of Personnel afterwards.

The incident of scholars besieging the government made selling official positions troublesome.

In order to share the pressure and attract more people to share the pressure, Marquis Wuyang chose to assign tasks.

Anyone who asked for money from the Governor's Office had to use blank official titles to offset it.

As a big spender, Li Mu received a thick stack of blank documents.

Honorary titles are worthless, and the cheapest one from the ninth rank can be bought for 150 taels.

The price increases gradually as one goes up the level, and the highest honorary title that can be purchased is no more than three thousand taels.

This was the first time that the Dayu Dynasty sold official positions, so the price was relatively high. As more officials were sold in the future, the price would most likely go down.

Official uniforms, ceremonial guards, official sedan chairs and other official ceremonies all require additional charges.

If you don’t want to spend money, you can make it yourself, or just not use it.

It's just an honorary title anyway. You don't have to go to work in the government office, so there's no need to be so particular.

There is no reference standard for actual shortages, and it has never been sold in Beijing. How much it is worth depends entirely on the person in charge.

Frankly speaking, the position offered by the Ministry of Personnel is not too bad.

The positions are mainly distributed in Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Qiongzhou Prefecture. Although they are a bit remote, at least the safety is guaranteed.

If people are sent to Liaodong, or to serve in the more remote Xuanweisi, then it will be really hard to sell.

"My Lord, you are not going to place your confidants there, are you?"

Looking at a stack of blank official documents, Jing Yaqing asked worriedly.

After all, he grew up in the Duke's Mansion. Even if he did not receive any special training, his political sensitivity is much higher than that of ordinary people due to what he heard and saw.

The court readily gave them a number of official positions and asked them to handle the sales. This was a test for them while raising military funds.

It’s okay to sell it to anyone as long as someone pays.

The key lies in those real shortcomings.

If he were to place a bunch of cronies in there, it would be political suicide and he would fall right into the trap set by the civil servants.

Due to the needs of war, everyone will turn a deaf and dumb for a short period of time.

Once the war was over, the censors' impeachments were everywhere and it would be impossible to clear yourself of them.

“Don’t worry, your husband is not stupid.

Although it is selling official positions, there are also restrictions on the threshold, and not everyone can buy it.

The Ministry of Personnel has established a rule that any vacant official position of the ninth rank must be held by a at least a Tongsheng.

The minimum requirement for an important position like county magistrate is to be a scholar.

Most of my subordinates are semi-illiterate, and only a few have achieved any honors.”

Li Mu hugged Jing Yaqing and said.

As a big family in Guanzhong, if they really want to place a confidant in a position, they will definitely be able to find someone who meets the requirements.

There is a shortage of manpower, and those are the trusted and trusted ones who have been trained, and there are not many who meet the requirements.

Dayu has not yet collapsed, and now the most talented people in the world are still rolling into the imperial court.

There are very few scholars willing to join the military generals.

Those scholars and juren came here to serve as aides and advisors, rather than to do the work at the grassroots level.

When the time is ripe, everyone should take part in the imperial examination to win fame and fortune.

When it comes to recommended official positions, everyone has to worry about the impact on future development, and purchased officials are even more disliked.

If one wants to place his cronies in positions of power and take control of the grassroots in these provinces, one must rely on the power of the clan.

But if you do that, any normal person will find the problem.

In fact, Li Mu has always been placing his cronies in local government offices.

Many retired wounded soldiers who had made contributions returned to their hometowns to serve as patrol inspectors, police chiefs, historians, postmasters, etc.

In order to save reward money, the imperial court granted a lot of honorary positions, and many veteran soldiers became officials.

They were arranged to work in local government offices, and they were given low-ranking official positions, and no one could find fault with them.

In many remote counties and prefectures, the chief officials have been vacant for a long time, and these people are in charge of the work in the county.

The infiltration has already been completed, there is no need to do it again.

In a sense, the sale of official positions by the imperial court also affected his control over the local areas to a certain extent.

Because those who purchased official positions in these remote counties and prefectures were basically local wealthy families who had considerable influence in the local area.

If these people are appointed as chief officers, there will inevitably be a fierce battle for dominance in the county.

“It’s good that my Lord knows.

The struggle in the officialdom is fierce, and one wrong move can lead to a complete loss.

By the way, many elders in the clan have written to you, asking about your offspring.

Otherwise, why don't you take in a few concubines?"

Jing Yaqing said softly.

It is not easy to be the mistress of a marquis's mansion. Not only do you have to take care of the rear quarters, but you also have to arrange interpersonal relationships and deal with various relationships within the clan.

Without parents-in-law, she had never suffered any injustice, but the only problem was that she had no offspring.

Regarding the issue of heirs to the feudal dynasty, the external pressure will not be directed at Li Mu, but all will be on her.

“No need to pay attention!

My husband has been away fighting for many years, so it’s not your fault.

Besides, there is a difference between a legitimate and a concubine's son. If a concubine's eldest son is born, it will be a troublesome matter."

Li Mu refused immediately.

With women on both sides, few men can refuse, but now is obviously not the right time.

The commander-in-chief is the soul of the army. His words and deeds directly affect the development of the troops.

Once he takes the lead in taking concubines, those below him will inevitably follow suit.

What's more, with his status and position, even if he takes a concubine, her status will not be that of an ordinary person.

As long as he spreads the word, there will be many noble families and civil servants willing to marry him.

He might not be able to marry a legitimate daughter, but he could definitely choose any concubine's daughter.

The political alliance between the Jing and Li families still needs to be consolidated by the next generation of heirs to the Marquis' Mansion.

It is hard for the Jing family not to think too much when a concubine is taken before the birth of a legitimate son.

At the critical moment of planning Annan, it is better to be still than to move.

"My Lord, this is something you didn't want, so you can't blame me for being jealous."

Jing Yaqing said with a turn of eyes.

She and Li Mu have a very good relationship. If it weren't for her reputation, she wouldn't want a third party to come between them.

Now that Li Mu refused himself, it just happened to suit her wishes.

But at the same time as he was surprised, there was also a hint of sadness between his brows.

If a legitimate son is not born, it is only a matter of time before he takes a concubine.

Similar things happened a lot among noble families.

(End of this chapter)