Fu Shanhe

Chapter 345 Half a Year Later

Admiral's Mansion.

"Master, these visiting cards are from scholars who want to be your disciples these days."

Lan Linjie said, pointing to the business cards piled on the desk.

Many scholars came to him, but there was no smile on Li Mu's face.

The distinction between civil and military officials is clear. Unless one is a child of a poor family with no connections, other scholars will not become a disciple of a military general.

The situation is better for a powerful marquis like him, but only a little bit.

Although he was able to recommend people to become officials, these people were labeled by him and their development space after entering the officialdom was very limited.

Civil servants will tacitly suppress the development of these people.

Either they hold him in his position and prevent him from moving, or they play tricks of promoting him in public and demoting him in private and send him to a poor government office.

If that were all, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

It’s good enough to be an official, why are you so picky!

The officials of Qingshui Yamen were also officials of the Dayu Dynasty.

The upper limit of development is low, which means that one cannot enter the cabinet and cannot hold important positions such as the Minister of Six Ministries or the Left and Right Inspectors.

There is still a chance to become a third or fourth rank official.

Even if they are despised, their situation in officialdom is better than that of pure grassroots.

What really discourages people is the difficulty of getting a recommendation.

Not only do you need to have sufficient ability, you also have to work hard for more than ten years to be qualified.

Capable people can thrive anywhere.

Even if they both serve as a staff member, joining a civil official is much better than serving as a military general.

If you follow the right person, you can get a ticket to become a Jinshi directly, which can almost be said to be a guarantee of passing.

The career prospects of entering officialdom through the official examination in full compliance with the rules are far greater than those through recommendation.

"Don't these guys think that since I have many official positions, they don't have to pay if they just know me?"

Li Mu couldn't help but laugh and scold.

Senior officials in the court can recommend talented people to serve as officials, but this involves political risks and the number of vacancies is limited.

There are many people who gamble ten or twenty years of their youth and work hard, but end up working in vain.

It is different if the official positions are sold by the imperial court.

As long as the conditions of the Ministry of Personnel are met, the official position can be sold to anyone, and the person who sells the official position does not have to take responsibility for what happens subsequently.

"My Lord, not all of them want to get by for free, there are also some who are willing to pay a high price.

It’s just that their conditions are a little bit different from the court regulations.

The time was too short, and they were worried that by the time the procedure for donating a student position was completed, the position would have been sold.

So I have prepared a generous gift, hoping that you can keep your seat for a while longer."

After listening to Lan Linjie's explanation, Li Mu instantly discovered that there were systemic loopholes in the threshold set by the Ministry of Personnel for buying official positions.

Ordinary people cannot buy official positions directly, but students can, and students in Dayu can buy them with money.

After all the trouble, just to collect more money.

“Yes, but their price for buying an official position will be increased by an additional 30%.

All payments must be made in advance.

After they have obtained the status of a student, they will be granted an official title.”

Li Mu said expressionlessly.

Facts have proven that there is no shortage of people in this world who want to be officials.

No matter how remote and backward a place is, it cannot scare the local wealthy and powerful businessmen.

It is possible that the money used by these people to buy official positions was raised by their clans.

No matter how poor a place is, there is always money to be made. With just a little digging, the cost can be recovered.

Even if there is no corruption, the identity of an official is a layer of protection.

Especially for wealthy maritime merchants, being able to serve as a county magistrate in a coastal area is equivalent to obtaining a legal smuggling port.

After sorting out his thoughts, Li Mu quietly took out the price list and started to make changes on it.

It is normal for remote and poor counties in inland areas to collect only a few thousand taels, but for counties with ports in coastal areas, at least one zero should be added.

What is being sold is not the official position, but the sense of security that businessmen lack the most.

Frankly speaking, the Dayu Dynasty still lacked experience in selling official positions.

It was replaced by a professional team from the Qing Dynasty, who directly sold reserve official positions.

The unit price seems not high, but it cannot withstand the large number of people on the waiting list.

If you want to fill a real vacancy, the money needed to bribe is often more than the money to buy an official position.

If you are unwilling to spend money to operate it, you will have to wait in line for the rest of your life.

I was lucky enough to get a real vacancy, but the place was full of uncertainty.

If you want to go to a good place, you have to pay extra and wait for the opportunity.

In comparison, the Dayu Dynasty was much more honest.

The positions are clearly marked with prices, and the actual vacancies and locations are also disclosed.

"Don't worry, my Lord. I will tell them your intentions as soon as I get down.

I think everyone will not reject your kindness."

Lan Linjie replied immediately.

Merchants have a low political status and will not easily give up any opportunity to change their family status.

Merchants in Guangdong and Guangxi regions have to look at the face of Admiral Li.

There is no need to target them deliberately; simply asking the people below to strictly enforce the law can make them feel very uncomfortable.

Even the local big families have to keep a low profile when they encounter the military.

The original social order was broken, and the shadow of the military was everywhere in the newly constructed grassroots power institutions.

There was no backlash, mainly because people were scared of being killed by the rebels.

……

After the Battle of Wuchang, the situation in the southeastern provinces gradually stabilized, and the northern border troops also stopped in Xuzhou after fighting hard for a month.

Except for the fierce battle in Shu, Dayu entered a rare period of calm.

After finishing the government affairs in hand, Li Mu continued to devote himself to the great cause of creating people.

There are many more people who care about his successor than expected.

In addition to the Li clan's promotion, the Jing family also paid special attention.

This concerns the marriage between the two families, and this heir is directly related to whether the political alliance can continue.

His subordinates were looking at him eagerly, hoping that he could give birth to an heir as soon as possible.

It’s not about what everyone wants to do, but mainly because of this bond, everyone can continue to stick together in the court in the future.

Even Emperor Yongning joined in the fun and bestowed a lot of medicinal herbs.

No one can tell whether it is out of concern for his subordinates, or he hopes that he will have more weaknesses, or some other idea.

However, Li Mu did not use any medicinal herbs and just let nature take its course.

Time flies, and half a year has passed in a flash. The weather in Guangzhou has entered the scorching sun mode.

"My Lord, good news!"

"My wife is pregnant!"

Upon hearing the good news, Li Mu simply chose to ignore the maid's reckless intrusion.

"Take me there quickly!"

I have to be nervous because this is the first time I become a father in my two lifetimes.

Jing Yaqing is pregnant at this time, and no matter whether the baby is a boy or a girl, it has very strong political significance.

If both of them are in good health, they can continue to have children until a legitimate son is born.

In an era that advocates having many children and gaining more blessings, the wife will not use contraception as long as there is no health problem.

The more children you have, the higher your status in the clan.

Because there are not many legitimate sons, there will be a lot of illegitimate sons.

The main problem is that the survival rate of infants is low, and no one can guarantee whether they can be raised to adulthood.

The best option is to have more children. Even if one or two die prematurely, it is not a big problem.

……

Nanjing City.

After annexing the legacy of Chu, the overall strength of Wu was further enhanced.

However, the high-ranking officials of the Wu State could not be happy at all.

Without the Chu State as their ally, they would have to face the siege from all sides by the government troops alone. As the autumn harvest approached, everyone knew that a new round of war was about to break out, and the atmosphere in Nanjing became solemn.

"Your Majesty, I just received news that the fake emperor skinned the King of Chu alive in Beijing.

The execution lasted for three days, with more than 3,000 cuts in total, and the corpse…"

Yang Jingren said hesitantly.

As he spoke, a feeling of grief for the loss of a rabbit surged into his heart.

King Wei Jiarui of Chu died so tragically, his body was cut into pieces, which was enough to prove how much the literati hated him.

The imperial court has dealt a harsh hand to the King of Chu, and will most likely not let them go.

If the rebellion fails, no one present will have a good ending.

"Brother Wei, you died miserably!"

"I swear here that I will use the false emperor's head to commemorate your heroic spirit.

......"

Fu Haoxuan performed a show of deep brotherly love in front of all the officials.

No matter what grudges there were in the past, with the death of Wei Jiarui, everything disappeared.

This scene was half performed for the old ministers of Chu State, and half was a true expression of his feelings.

Before the uprising, as high-ranking members of the White Lotus Sect, they had a very good personal relationship.

Even if there are occasional conflicts, they are just verbal disputes.

With the leader's mediation, it's usually just a matter of drinking.

In the early days of the uprising, they were even more loyal to each other.

It was not until the establishment of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom that they gradually parted ways due to their respective interests.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry!"

All the ministers advised in unison.

Some of the King of Chu's former subordinates even shed tears.

Wei Jiarui is dead, and now they don’t have to worry about the emperor suspecting that they are loyal to their old master.

The emperor took the lead in performing. The more affectionate everyone showed now, the more they could prove their loyalty.

The psychological barriers of betraying Chu and joining Wu also dissipated with the wind at this time.

"Ministry of Rites, hold funerals for the King of Chu according to the rites for kings and princes.

First, a cenotaph was built, and then the burial would be carried out after the body of the King of Chu was brought back.

Instruct the palace maids to prepare the offerings. I want to personally offer sacrifices to Brother Wei."

Fu Haoxuan immediately gave the order.

Treating the dead with respect is a sign of respect for the living.

The war is imminent and we need to unite our people.

The former subordinates of the King of Chu who had just been incorporated must be stabilized, otherwise the subsequent battles would not be able to be fought.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Minister of Rites Hu Yuzhe responded immediately.

Although he, as a traditional scholar-official, had no good feelings towards rebel leaders like Wei Jiarui, he had to change his mindset when he joined the rebel army.

Now that the emperor has spoken, all etiquette cannot be neglected in the slightest.

"Your Majesty, the pseudo-dynasty is preparing for war, and a war will inevitably break out after the autumn harvest.

Our dynasty’s preparations are still inadequate.

Once a fight breaks out, I’m afraid we’ll suffer a lot.”

Minister of War Fan Xiuwen reported the matter with great concern.

While the State of Wu inherited the legacy of the State of Chu, it also suffered considerable casualties.

The 100,000-strong army that participated in the Battle of Wuchang was defeated by the government troops, and only one or two out of ten survived.

Later, Yin Mufeng gathered the defeated soldiers of the Chu army and used civilians to fill the numbers, and he was able to barely fill the establishment.

For the sake of the overall situation, Fu Haoxuan chose to pretend not to see it.

It's okay to fool yourself about this kind of thing.

If you use it to fool the enemy, something serious will happen.

The Chu army that was incorporated into the army, despite its large number of troops, was not very strong in actual combat effectiveness.

The main reason was that the army's morale was completely destroyed by the government troops, and even after a few months of rest, it still hadn't recovered.

It would be extremely difficult to defeat the government troops with such troops on the battlefield.

"Lord Fan is right, our preparations are indeed not sufficient.

My dear ministers, do you have any good ideas to defeat the enemy?"

Fu Haoxuan asked.

Unlike previous wars, this one concerns the life and death of the Wu State, and they cannot afford to lose.

"Your Majesty, the government troops are not a monolithic entity, and we can take advantage of the enemy's internal contradictions.

The villain Li Mu had made too many military achievements. Although the other generals of the Yu army did not say it, they must have had some opinions in their hearts.

There is a group of civil servants in the pseudo-court who are jealous of others' success, and we can also make use of them.

Several previous attempts to release rumors had all ended in failure because the rumors were too outrageous.

The thief Li is the son of a noble family, so no one would believe him if he directly said that he was colluding with the Holy Kingdom to rebel.

It is better to settle for the second best and arrange for people to brag about his achievements and flatter him to death.

Few people are not afraid of being too successful.

According to the information collected from Guangdong and Guangxi, the wife of the evil Li Mu has just become pregnant.

Once the public opinion storm creates, he will most likely choose to stay in Guangzhou to avoid suspicion.

Without this powerful enemy, our chances of winning the next battle will increase by at least 50%.

In addition, the discord between Liaodong Town and the imperial court can also be utilized.

As the only vassal state of the Dayu Dynasty, they were most afraid of being abandoned after their own death.

A little trick can help them preserve their strength in combat.

......"

Hu Yuzhe calmly gave a solution.

Having spent half his life in the officialdom of Dayu, he is very familiar with the ins and outs there.

The measures proposed now are all solutions aimed at the enemy's weaknesses.

"Lord Hu's strategy is brilliant, but it can only weaken the enemy. It is still very difficult to defeat the enemy.

If we want to destroy Dayu, we need more allies to join us.

The envoys we sent out earlier have returned from various places one after another and have achieved remarkable results.

All of Dayu's neighbors said they would give them a big gift after the autumn harvest.

The Annan people, in particular, were most dissatisfied with Dayu.

The false emperor had previously chopped off the head of the representative of the Annan delegation for a trivial matter, which further angered the Annan people.

They want revenge all the time, and this just gave us the opportunity."

Prime Minister Yu Ruiyu said expressionlessly.

Letting a wolf into the house is the most unwelcome thing.

If you are not careful, you will cause big trouble.

But there is no other way. Even though we know it is just drinking poison to quench thirst, sometimes we still have to drink it.

Only after you get through this current stage will you have the opportunity to consider the sequelae.

"Ok!"

"The suggestions given by the two ministers are both of great strategic value. Does anyone else have different opinions?"

Fu Haoxuan asked again.

The solutions they came up with were pretty much what he had expected.

The main reason why I didn’t decide to implement it immediately was that I didn’t want to be blamed.

As long as you don't say it out loud, you will have a chance to clear yourself later.

As for the ministers who participated in the discussion, they are naturally the best scapegoats.

“Your Majesty, the situation in Shu is changing, and the government troops are unlikely to be able to defend Chengdu.

When necessary, we can unite with the Eastern King and attack Huguang from both sides."

……

(End of this chapter)