I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 191 Worthy of this Life

Although the children of wealthy families follow the standard procedure and need to wait until they are twenty years old to undergo the formal coming-of-age ceremony, in practice there are always various emergencies that need to be considered.

For example, if the father suddenly passes away before his son turns 20, the whole family needs a man to step forward and communicate with the outside world. At this time, we cannot stick to the age of 20.

When Sun Jian died, Sun Ce was seventeen years old, not yet twenty years old, but he still performed the ceremony of coming of age, inherited his father's position, and took on the burden of the family.

When Lu Xun was thirteen years old, the head of the family, Lu Kang, died in Sun Ce's war to conquer Jiangdong.

At that time, Lu Kang's son was only seven years old, so the thirteen-year-old Lu Xun took on the burden of the Lu family and performed the ceremony of coming of age.

This was a common tactic used by large families in ancient times when faced with crises. As long as one's ability and status were sufficient, age was not the most important thing.

This is especially true for Yuan Shu.

Who made him so outstanding and powerful?

"As long as you hold a coming-of-age ceremony and inform your clan, you will be considered an adult, and becoming an official will no longer be a problem."

Yuan Feng said as he walked: "With your achievements and your previous reputation, you can naturally skip the official positions such as Langguan and County Magistrate. As for the appropriate position... your father hopes that you can be promoted directly to Jiuqing."

"Seventeen years old? Jiuqing?"

Yuan Shu thought about it and felt that it was a bit absurd, so he declined, "Father, although the Yuan family has the final say in the future government affairs, it is really a bit problematic for me to be a Nine Ministers at my age. After all, it is an administrative position. It is too much for me to be promoted to Nine Ministers without any official experience, so forget it."

Yuan Feng thought about it and felt that it was right.

But this would make the problem even bigger.

"But if you don't become a Nine Ministers, what other position can be worthy of your merits and can also save you from too much criticism?"

"For example, a title of nobility?"

Yuan Shu suggested: "A title of nobility is not an official position and is not subject to age restrictions. It should be completely fine to be conferred a title of nobility."

"It is natural for him to be conferred a title of nobility. My son has made such great contributions, shouldn't he be conferred a title of nobility?"

Yuan Feng shook his head and said, "But the official position is the most important. You also said that what my Yuan family needs is to hold an important position and hold power. The title is just icing on the cake, not the most important thing."

Yuan Shu followed and walked forward a few steps, then slowly said, "Father, I don't really care about my official position. It's just a matter of time. There's no need to rush. I hope to fight for positions for my subordinates who have made contributions. Many of them are already in their twenties or thirties. They have followed me for a long time and have made great contributions. It's time for them to be rewarded with official positions."

"Father knows that you care about your subordinates. This is of course a good thing, and father will not object."

Yuan Feng smiled and said, "You do have quite a few capable people among your subordinates. I heard that you taught them farming and you manage your farm very well. Your father is very satisfied with them. So you can arrange for a group of your subordinates to serve as local officials or to join the imperial court. All is possible.

When things are sorted out, I will give you a list of vacant positions and you can fill them in. But you, do you really not have a suitable position that you want? Others are gaining experience, but you don't have a position. When your subordinates have a higher official position than you, what should you do as a teacher and leader?"

Yuan Shu thought about it and felt that it made sense.

Human feelings are human feelings, and reality is reality.

It is really unacceptable that he has arranged so many positions for his subordinates, but he himself is still a white-collar worker. Thinking about it this way, if he has to wait another three years before he can become an official, it would be too hard to endure.

So Yuan Shu began to think about what position would be suitable for his current situation and could be done by young people.

It would be best if this position could showcase one's talents, accumulate merits, accomplish great deeds that would impress the world, and allow one's reputation to grow steadily, so that the two or three years before the age of 20 are not wasted.

It is difficult to achieve great achievements in administration, and it takes a long time, so it is quite difficult to achieve great achievements.

Then, there is only military.

As a classical country, the Han Empire had a normal state of generals and ministers. Mounting a horse to command the army and dismounting to herd the people were also the daily experiences of many famous ministers. Being able to fight and govern the country was the standard, which was very different from the later situation where civil and military officials were clearly distinguished. Moreover, the army was a world where the strong were respected. As long as you were strong, you could gain a foothold even if you were not old enough. If you were not strong enough, even if you had a powerful background and were in your seventies or eighties, you would not be able to gain a foothold in the army.

The military is just that simple, crude and cruel.

In times of peace and prosperity, it is possible to get by by slacking off, but in times of chaos or at the border, it is a real jungle world. No matter how good your background is, you cannot withstand a steel knife. It is a great place for passionate men to accumulate merits and gain wealth.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shu's thoughts suddenly opened up.

On the cultural level, he has already stood at the top of the entire Eastern Han Empire. He is one of the few great scholars who are famous throughout the world. He also has a brilliant military record that cannot be questioned by ordinary people. He is one of the owners of the undefeated golden body.

On the political level, he was already the leader of the mutiny and the meritorious pioneer in the new emperor's ascension to the throne. No one could deny his leadership and decisive role in this mutiny.

Due to his age and actual circumstances, Yuan Shu did not want to start from positions such as Langguan or County Magistrate, because these positions took a long time, it was very difficult to build up merit, and there were many obstacles to jump over.

During the Han Dynasty, it was believed that brave generals must rise from the ranks, and prime ministers must start from the prefectures and counties. No matter how powerful you are, you must have grassroots experience. Otherwise, you will be unworthy of the name and will always be criticized by others. This is something the children of wealthy families do not want.

So compared to being a palace official for one year and a county magistrate for three years, Yuan Shu felt that with these four years of hard work, he could definitely carve out a name for himself in the military field. Who knows, maybe he could even become a senior military officer by then.

At that time, he could smoothly transfer from military to civil position through the practice of "mounting on horseback to command the army and dismounting on horseback to herd the people", or he could master both civil and military skills and follow the path of becoming a general and then a prime minister. Then he could naturally enter Luoyang to hold an important position, grasp great power and participate in the affairs of the world.

This is a good fast lane for him.

The only challenge is to survive and make achievements.

Yuan Shu then told Yuan Feng his idea and proposed the place he wanted to go.

"You are going to Bingzhou to attack the Xianbei?!"

Yuan Feng found it a little difficult to understand Yuan Shu's idea.

He immediately shook his head.

"A son of a wealthy family should not sit idle in the hall. Shu, you are my son, and the hope for the future of the Yuan family. I can never put you in a dangerous place. This is impossible!"

Yuan Shu sighed and told Yuan Feng his thoughts, letting him know how big the difference is between being a civil servant and being a military commander in the same four years. If handled well, this would be a fast track to promotion.

If he served as an official according to the routine, he would only be able to become a prefect after three years. He would have to serve another term as a prefect before he could enter the central government and become one of the Nine Ministers. Even if he skipped the position of county magistrate and became a prefect directly, it would take three years before he could return to Luoyang to take up an official position.

If he could achieve something at the military level, three years would be enough for him to directly become a senior military officer. Why should he waste his time in a civilian position?
Wouldn't it be better if it could be earlier?

Yuan Feng thought Yuan Shu's idea made sense, and this fast track was indeed feasible, but...

"Tan Shihuai, the Xianbei leader, is quite a military strategist. He has been uniting the Xianbei people and has been raiding the border for years. Bingzhou is the hardest hit area. If you are not careful, you will be in danger or even desperate. How dare I put you in such a dangerous place?"

"Wealth is found in danger!"

Yuan Shu said earnestly: "If you want to gain extraordinary power at an extraordinary age, you must be able to convince the people. Political achievements are difficult and there are many constraints. It is difficult to convince the people. Military achievements are relatively easy to obtain and can convince the people. In the past, Huo Qubing joined the army at the age of sixteen and was awarded a title of nobility for his great achievements at the age of eighteen. This is a clear proof. I hope my father will understand!"

"Huo Qubing is Huo Qubing, and you are you! This..."

Yuan Feng stopped, held Yuan Shu's shoulders with both hands, and said earnestly: "Even if you wait a few more years and do stable things, you will definitely achieve great things. Why rush?"

Yuan Shu looked into Yuan Feng's eyes.

"Father, the world is unpredictable. No one knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident. Who dares to say that they can live a peaceful life? Did Uncle know that he would die young? Who knows that he would be able to wait until that day? I don't want to waste my time. I just want to make use of every moment. Only in this way can I live my life to its fullest."

(End of this chapter)