Linxia

Chapter 173, Appointment

The day after the fortune teller in hemp clothes told his fortune, Fang Lin met Master Ou. He was in much better spirits and asked Fang Lin, "I wrote four words today and plan to stick them on the wall. Can you guess what they are?"

"I really can't guess it." Fang Lin said with a smile.

"Live well."

"Yes, Master, it is well written. We should all live well."

It seems that Master Ma Yi's words have helped Mr. Ou to resolve the knot in his heart.

Soon, Master Ou reopened his private school. From then on, Fang Lin seldom saw Master Ou looking dazed, lonely and distracted.

After Mrs. Ou left, cooking became a problem for the Ou family. Master Ou was not a good cook and could only barely cook the meal. His two daughters could not come back every day, so if the neighbors cooked something good, they would send a bowl over. The Fang family came the most often, and Master Ou would never refuse anyone, but would bring over the bacon that his students had handed over to him, or give them something else, so that no one would suffer a loss.

Sometimes, Mr. Ou's students would come to visit; more often, the peddler Zhang Dagou would come. Whenever the sound of drums rang out, people in the alley knew that this person had come. Mr. Ou took over Mrs. Ou's previous work, made bean tea, and invited the other party to sit down and chat.

The alley became quiet and time passed.

Xuan Mo Zhai and the two branches have seen a decline in business compared to when the second part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was on sale, but not by much. At the same time, Fang Lin doesn't need to worry too much. He writes a book every day, the manuscript of the third part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and then goes back to Xixiang Hutong to accompany Tian Xuan, watching her belly grow bigger and life grow inside. That feeling is indescribable.

Life is carefree and comfortable.

Fang Lin did not forget his business and investigated the information about the fleet shares sold by the Gu family. The information was the same as that given by the Fan family. Because the Yang family was determined to get it, families with stronger backgrounds than the Yang family looked down on the fleet shares. Some families with weaker backgrounds than the Yang family did look up to it, but they were worried that they would be squeezed out by the Yang family after buying it.

So, the matter was delayed and the Yang family slowly negotiated the price with the Gu family.

Fang Lin considered his current connections and background, and finally decided to give up.

But at this time, the news that Dong Zugao had won the top spot in the imperial examination was first transmitted back to Huai'an Prefecture through official channels, and Dong Zugao himself would return soon!
……

Today, at the pier.

The place was decorated with lights and colors, and was festive and prosperous, just to welcome back Dong Zugao, the top scorer in the imperial examination. The scene was extremely grand.

In front, Dong's father and mother were smiling happily. Although they had digested the joy of "smoke coming out of the ancestral grave" for several days, they still couldn't suppress their joy.

Then, there were the dignitaries dressed in silk and satin, as well as Prefect Pu, Fang Lin and others.

Further out, many people surrounded the place in three layers inside and three layers outside, all coming to watch the fun.

Huai'an Prefecture produced a top scholar, which was a great joyous event and they were also proud of it.

Finally, around noon, a ship came over, and with the sound of "Here comes the number one scholar", Dong Zugao came out wearing a bright red number one scholar suit, looking very high-spirited.

He came out of the cabin, first looking at his parents, then at Fang Lin, with a joyful smile on his face, and then he took out an imperial edict: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: Fang Lin, who is of outstanding talent and wisdom, and is commendable for his loyalty and filial piety... is hereby appointed to the post of Jinyiwei to pacify the country... I decree this!"

It turned out that after Dong Zugao won the first place in the imperial examination, Emperor Hongtai summoned him for an interview, during which he asked about Fang Lin. Seeing that Emperor Hongtai was quite interested, Dong Zugao told Emperor Hongtai about his acquaintance with Fang Lin, their partnership in the feces business, their battle of wits with Master Zhuo San, and their plan to rectify the extravagant customs in the village drinking ceremony, etc. Therefore, Emperor Hongtai had a good impression of Fang Lin, and gave him a reward, and with some other thoughts, he came up with this imperial edict.

When the crowd heard the contents of the imperial edict, they all fell silent, but they were still muttering in their hearts.

"The Jinyiwei have a bad reputation and have killed people like crazy. It's not appropriate to let Fang, a writer, go there, right?"

"Jinyiwei Zhenfu, how high is the rank?"

"Speaking of which, this seems to be a fifth-rank position, and our prefect is only a fourth-rank position, right?"

……

For example, Prefect Pu, Fan Qingzeng, and other dignitaries present, old hands who were well acquainted with the officialdom, secretly sighed at the great favor of the emperor, but they were not too surprised, because they knew the details of this Jinyiwei who was appointed to pacify the country.

It turned out that the root of the matter was Emperor Taizu Xia. During Emperor Taizu's time, the responsibilities of the Jinyiwei were very clear, "in charge of guards, arrests, and prisons, always led by meritorious officials and governors, with no permanent staff based on the emperor's grace and salary."

What does this sentence mean? There is no upper limit on the number of people who can be temporarily assigned to the Jinyiwei, which leaves a lot of room for the emperors of later generations to operate.

During the Jinglong and Tianhua periods, whenever princesses, princes, and sons of officials needed protection or official appointments and there was nowhere to put them at court, the emperor would rush them all to the Jinyiwei.

By now, the Jinyiwei has become a place to keep idle personnel. Pick out any one from the Jinyiwei and he is either a thousand households or a hundred households, that is, a commander, a deputy commander, or a pacifier, which are a bit rarer.

These commanders, deputy commanders, governors, thousand households, and hundred households were all honorary positions. In the words of the system, they were "eating salary but not holding office". They only received salary but did not participate in the specific affairs of the Jinyiwei. Even though these honorary positions were attached to the Jinyiwei, they were still fundamentally different from the real Jinyiwei who were appointed for military merit. They were not under the jurisdiction of the Jinyiwei, but were actually managed by the Imperial Household Supervisor.

The so-called "Imperial Household Department" was responsible for managing the books, picture albums, etc. in the Wuying Palace.

Back to the topic, Fang Lin didn't know much about all this, but when he saw Dong Zugao nod slightly, he knew that the other party would not cheat him and that this imperial edict would definitely be beneficial and harmless, so he thanked him and accepted the order.

Afterwards, Dong Zugao walked arm in arm with Fang Lin, saying, "My success as the top scholar is also due to Brother Fang's contribution."

This move has attracted a lot of attention and caused many people to talk about it.

"A unicorn in the sky and a top scholar on earth, what a glorious scene!"

"Manager Fang has also become an official. I heard he is a fifth-rank official!"

"Are you asking why Dong Zhuangyuan and Fang Zhenfu have such a good relationship? They are sworn brothers!"...

When the dignitaries saw this scene, they also felt the message it conveyed. They knew that the relationship between Dong Zugao and Fang Lin was not ordinary. They secretly thought that they should change their ways in the future and treat Fang Lin with the same attitude.

The truth is, Fang Lin became the Jinyiwei pacification officer. Although it was a nominal position and far from being a big deal in the capital, it was still quite intimidating in Huai'an Prefecture.

Furthermore, to a certain extent, such a nominal position can greatly improve one's social status and provide a basis for interacting with them on an equal footing.

In addition, Fang Lin has such a close relationship with Dong Zugao, and he also has various connections with Prefect Pu.

Yes, in the minds of these dignitaries, Dong Zugao was even more important than Prefect Pu. Because the champion was not comparable to an ordinary Jinshi, if nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely be a senior official in the court in the future, and there was even a good chance that he would enter the cabinet. Even though they did not want to offend Dong Zugao, they had to give him face in many things.

……

Dong Zugao returned as the top scholar in the imperial examination and was very proud of himself. Needless to say, that night, Dong Zugao postponed all the banquets and only drank with Fang Lin.

"To be honest, Brother Fang, I became the top scholar because of you."

"Oh?"

"I only found out about this later. Brother Fang, do you remember the words on the title page of the second volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms? It was that sentence, 'The second volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was completed around the spring examination of the fourteenth year of Hongtai. I wish my sworn brother Dong Huizugao the top prize in the Golden Palace and I wish all the candidates in the world to be on the list of successful candidates.' It caught the eye of His Majesty. His Majesty helped me achieve my goal and wanted to make it a legend for all eternity, so he named me the top scholar."

Dong Zugao did not allow any discussion and insisted on personally pouring wine for Fang Lin, then clinking glasses with him: "Brother Fang, I have no way to repay your kindness, it is all in the wine and in my heart."

Fang Lin clinked the glasses and drank them all before saying, "Brother Dong, we are all brothers, why do we have to say these polite words? Besides, a good ironsmith must be strong himself. It is because Brother Dong wrote a good essay for the palace examination. Otherwise, even if I wrote the title page of the second part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms for His Majesty to see, it would be useless."

"Haha, to borrow Brother Fang's words, the two of us are a perfect match for each other."

The two looked at each other and laughed, then clinked their glasses again.

"By the way, Brother Dong, I am still confused about the imperial decree today that His Majesty has appointed me as the Jinyiwei to pacify the city."

"If I were to talk about this, it was His Majesty who summoned me to answer questions. I told him about my relationship with Brother Fang, and His Majesty was very pleased... and the position of the Imperial Guard..."

Dong Zugao explained the reason for the appointment and the details of the position: "However, although Jinyiwei Zhenfu is a nominal position, it is also of the fifth rank, with a monthly salary of 14 stones."

The current price of rice is five cents of silver per stone, and the monthly salary is fourteen stones, which is seven taels of silver. It is definitely not a small amount for ordinary people.

"So that's how it is. But I didn't expect that this was also Taizu's fault. The phrase 'no permanent staff for the patron saints' turned the Jinyiwei into a place for future generations to foster idlers, which became a major drawback of redundant staff."

"Yes, the Minister of War, Lord Ma, once wrote a letter on this point. The gist of it is: Taizu set up the Jinyiwei and reserved the honorary titles for those who had military merits. They were not granted to those who had not made achievements on the battlefield. Now, many people are just the sons of nobles, or even those who can paint and write well. It would be enough for them to have annual salaries and monthly stipends, but they are granted such honorary titles. What's more, some are even allowed to inherit them. If this continues, how will Your Majesty reward those who have truly made achievements on the battlefield in the future?"

"That makes sense, but I'm afraid Your Majesty didn't accept it?"

"Yes!"

Dong Zugao sighed, "Master Ma's words are indeed quite reasonable. How can the sons of nobles and the painters in the palace compare with those who defend their country on the battlefield? Unfortunately, things have changed with the times and are different from the past. Your Majesty did not adopt his advice. In fact, Your Majesty also has difficulties. If this loophole is filled, where will those idle personnel be placed?"

"Brother Fang, you don't have to think about this, and you don't have to be embarrassed. Those sons of nobles, the palace painters, and some scholars who couldn't pass the imperial examinations but had connections, all got Jinyiwei official positions through this path... They can all do it. Brother Fang was personally appointed by His Majesty, so there is no reason why he can't do it."

"in addition,"

He paused here, with a strange look on his face. He looked at Fang Lin and said, "Your Majesty has told me privately that after reading Brother Fang's book, he can't read other popular novels. Please write faster, but don't be too impatient, which will affect the quality. If the manuscripts of the third and fourth parts of Romance of the Three Kingdoms are finished, or if there are other manuscripts, or even some slightly taboo books... you can submit them through official channels so that Your Majesty can have a look first."

This is also another reason why Emperor Hongtai appointed Fang Lin as an official.

Fang Lin heard this and felt quite amused: "Emperor Hongtai is really interesting. In order to urge me to update, he directly appointed me an official. Isn't this like 'making dumplings for a plate of vinegar'? However, such a generous reward is really generous. Well, I give a thumbs up to the top brother on the list."

"By the way, with what Emperor Hongtai said, it seems that Journey to the West can be written? I was thinking of making some minor changes, but now it seems that it is not necessary?"

In the feudal era, to a certain extent, the emperor was actually above the law. As long as the emperor approved it, who the hell are you if you say that this book violates taboos?
“Brother Fang, in my opinion, the greater value of the Jinyiwei pacification system granted by Your Majesty lies in what I just said…” Dong Zugao stopped there.

Fang Lin was a smart man, and he understood: "Brother Dong is right. The more valuable thing about this Jinyiwei pacification is actually the privilege of being able to hand the manuscript to Emperor Hongtai!"

Just think about it, if you can submit a manuscript, can't you submit something else when the time comes? Yes, this may lower the impression of Emperor Hongtai, but when the time comes, who cares so much?
Simply put, this is a privilege that "can be heard by the emperor". It is like a nuclear weapon, enough to make people fearful, especially in Huai'an City, where the emperor is far away!

Dong Zugao was just reminding him, and seeing Fang Lin understood, he did not say anything further and changed the subject. Afterwards, the two of them drank and talked about their experiences in recent days, what they saw and heard in the capital during the Spring Examination, and what happened in the capital in recent days.

After that, the two men spoke frankly and had a more in-depth secret conversation, expressing their ambitions and reaching an agreement that one would provide political protection for officials in the officialdom, and the other would provide resource support for private business. Other matters such as money were minor matters.

As for preparing for an overseas retreat, Fang Lin did not say anything for the time being. Firstly, Dong Zugao had just won the top spot in the imperial examination and his sense of belonging to the court was the strongest at that time, so there was no need to pour cold water on him. Secondly, although Daxia was now facing external and internal troubles, it still looked prosperous on the outside. There had been large-scale natural disasters year after year, and there was no evidence, so it was hard to say.

"Now everything is ready. With the support of Brother Dong, the background factors that restrict my development no longer exist. I can continue to move up and move towards becoming a big capitalist and prepare a way out."

"When the Tartar disaster becomes more and more serious; when Brother Dong hits a wall in the officialdom and feels that the building is about to collapse and there is nothing he can do to save it; when a more violent, long-lasting and large-scale natural disaster comes... then, it may be said that the retreat is already made and the die is cast. " Fang Lin thought to himself.

……

(End of this chapter)