I

  Chapter 23 023【Selling Officials】

  The ship docked, and the autumn rain came suddenly.

  Feng Xun, the magistrate of the county, opened an umbrella and asked: "Yao Haigong, it's rainy and cold, do you want to wait for the rain to stop before going ashore?"

   "It's a good season with a little wind and rain!"

Wei Zhaocheng pushed away the umbrella extended by his servant, leaned on a trekking pole, and chanted as he walked: "Don't listen to the sound of the forest beating the leaves, why not scream and walk slowly. Bamboo sticks and straw shoes are lighter than horses. Who is afraid? A straw coir Misty Rain Ren Pingsheng..."

  Feng Xun gritted his teeth, and simply put away the oil umbrella. After thinking about it, he put on his big hat again, and hurriedly chased after him: "Mr. Yao Hai is unrestrained and open-minded, and he can be Mr. Dongpo's confidant!"

  Seeing this, the scholars behind put away their umbrellas and put on their hats, and went to Xin Qiji's former residence under the drizzle of autumn.

   "My lord, don't we use an umbrella?" Wei Jianxiong asked.

  Fei Yinghuan said: "Come on, take your umbrella, it's not raining much anyway."

  Zhao Han was quite excited, after all, it was the former residence of Xin Qiji, so he could appreciate the demeanor of sages from a distance.

  Hearing that the governor is coming to worship, the local chief has been waiting for a long time.

  There are many people surnamed Xin nearby, some are descendants of Xin Qiji, and some are descendants of Xin Qiji's domestic servants.

  The head of the village was surnamed Xin, and led the governor all the way to Piaoquan, and introduced: "This place is the former residence of our ancestors."

   "Beautiful mountains and clear waters, it's really a good place to retreat to the countryside!" Wei Zhaocheng praised repeatedly.

  Xin Qiji had two villas in Jiangxi, one was Jiaxuan Manor, which was completely destroyed by fire. So Piaoquan Manor was built again, and he died here with regrets.

  Zhao Han was squeezed into the surrounding crowd, young and short, jumping on his feet, and finally saw the famous Piaoquan clearly.

   Regret it instantly, it is better not to watch it.

  It is a mountain spring, which flows into a scoop-shaped stone pit. It is not surprising, and it can even be said to be very ordinary.

  However, two-thirds of Xin Qiji's handed down ci works were created here, including the sentence: "I see how charming Qingshan is, and I expect Qingshan to see me like this."

   Zhao Han suddenly thought of Qinhuai Bayan, and wondered if that Liu Rushi had started listing for business.

  Wei Zhaocheng took a ladle and scooped water in the ladle spring. After tasting it, he was full of praise: "Cheng Chun is sweet and sweet, which is unique in the world. You can drink the spring and taste it."

   They are all local scholars, how could they not drink water from the ladle spring?

   Alas, let’s just pretend I haven’t had a drink.

   All the scholars stepped forward one after another, and you sipped each other, full of compliments, as if they were drinking fine nectar.

  Suddenly, there was a strong autumn wind, and the raindrops were like beans.

  Not caring about Ren Pingsheng in the misty rain, Wei Zhaocheng covered his head with his hands, ordered his servants to put up umbrellas, and trotted back to the boat to hide from the rain.

  Come in high spirits and return in defeat.

  Xin Qiji's cemetery is halfway up the mountain, and there is no way to go to pay his respects, so everyone returned to the county seat by boat.

  Zhao Han stood at the door of the cabin, admiring the fleet under the rain, and then thinking of Governor Wei's face, he couldn't help feeling sick.

Fei Yinghuan also came over to enjoy the rain scene, and said in a happy mood: "It's really just in time for the rain, otherwise we have to go climbing with him. If you have two or three close friends, it would be considered an elegant and joyful thing in your life to visit Mr. Jiaxuan's tomb in the rain. Everyone here is a clinging person, and will only disturb the spirit of the master in heaven!"

  Zhao Han pointed to more than a dozen ships in the distance: "Are those government officials?"

   "No, most of them are temporary servants." Fei Yinghuan shook his head and said.

  Temporary servants are ordinary people who work for the government.

  In order to accompany the governor on a tour of mountains and rivers, the magistrate of Qianshan County conscripted many people to serve. Not only are wages not paid, but the people have to bring their own dry food, and even those boats are recruited for free.

  In addition, the wine, food, melons and fruits prepared for mountain climbing are also collected from the relevant servants. Even if you give up halfway, if you don't go to the mountain to visit the tomb, and don't return all the supplies, there is a high probability that they will be divided up by the officials!

   That is to say, Wei Zhao took a trip on a whim, which may cause some slave households to sell their sons and daughters.

   What's even more frightening is that Wei Zhaocheng plans to pay homage to Ehu Academy!

  It belongs to the Holy Land of Neo Confucianism, and it has been abandoned for a long time. Once the governor comes to worship in person, he must follow the official procedures and carry out simple cleaning and repairs. The cost ranged from a few hundred taels to tens of thousands of taels, and the finances of Qianshan County were about to collapse.

  And what can Wei Zhaocheng get?

   Fame!

  Ehu Academy is the place where Zhu Xi, Lu Zuqian, Lu Jiuling, Lu Jiuyuan and others gathered to give lectures, thus laying the foundation stone for the prosperity of Confucianism and Mind for hundreds of years.

  Wei Zhaocheng will be famous all over the world if he worships and repairs it casually.

  Back to the county seat and send Governor Wei back to the hotel to rest. Feng Zhixian immediately called many scholars for a meeting.

Facing a group of juren and scholars, Feng Xun's posture was as low as a gray grandson, and he almost said in a begging tone: "You are all talented people in this county. Lord Yaohai wants to repair the Ehu Academy. The feat of pulse. Please friends, go home and tell the elders, can each family donate some money. The county government is too poor, and it is a waste of money to give out a hundred taels of silver..."

  Feng Xun did not lie, the Qianshan government really had no money.

  Hekou Town, one of the four famous towns in Jiangxi, the thoroughfare of eight provinces, and a trade center. Ehu Town, the shortest commercial road from Kong'e Jiangxi to Zhejiang. Yongping Town, the only commercial road from Jiangxi to Fujian!

   Only these three towns can make Qianshan County financially rich.

  But you can’t collect taxes!

   Moreover, in the huge Qianshan County, the registered population of the government is only about 10,000, which leads to the collection of various miscellaneous taxes.

  Feng Xun, the county magistrate, did an extremely aggrieved job.

  As soon as the magistrate called for donations, all the scholars collectively became Tai Chi masters.

  The E Lake Academy is located in a remote location, unless the world's great Confucianism comes to teach in person, it will not be able to recruit students at all. This dynasty has repaired it several times, but every time it was repaired, it was abandoned. It was a thankless task.

  Let the gentry and aristocrats pay money, buy fame for the governor, and help the magistrate to please the superior, so get out!

   "Reporting to the county, the younger generation still has important matters at home, so I will take my leave first."

   "It's good to teach the county lord to know that the lowly mother is waiting for the birth, and the late birth has to go back to take care of it."

   "Xianzun, this junior is suffering from the cold in the rain. At this time, he has a splitting headache. I want to ask the doctor to prescribe two decoctions."

   "County respect..."

  For a while, all the scholars dispersed, and Feng Zhixian was so anxious that he wanted to cry.

  Seeing that Fei Yinghuan was about to leave, Feng Xun didn't care about face, and hurried forward to grab him: "Brother Dazhao, can I have another cup of tea?"

  Fei Yinghuan smiled and said, "I've drunk too much tea today, so I'm in a hurry."

  Feng Xun took Fei Yinghuan's hand and said, "I'll go to the bathroom with Brother Dazhao."

  Fei Yinghuan didn't bother to pretend anymore, and said directly: "Fei has no money."

  Feng Xun stretched out a slap: "For five thousand taels of silver, Wei Futai can recommend the magistrate of a county, not a small county, but a magistrate of a large county. This is a business that is sure to make money without losing money. If you change it, you have to pay tens of thousands of taels."

  Fei Yinghuan laughed and said, "He is the governor, can he recommend the magistrate of a big county?"

  Feng Xun explained: "Wei Futai's benefactor is Zhan Rugong (Chen Yuting), the leader of the Donglin Party. Wei Futai himself is also deeply favored by His Majesty. Is it a fluke to be promoted to eight ranks in one day?"

  The word "big boss" has existed since ancient times, and it often appears in daily communication and letter notes.

   "You don't need to say anything more, if I want to be a county magistrate, I would have already brought money to the Ministry of Officials to donate to officials." Fei Yinghuan directly refused.

  Feng Xun said anxiously: "This magistrate is not that magistrate. There are few official vacancies in big counties, not to mention only five thousand taels of silver. Don't miss this opportunity. Time will never come again!"

   "Farewell!" Fei Yinghuan walked away in a huff.

"Ugh…"

  Feng Xun sighed alone, without caring about his face, he wrote letters directly to the big family with Juren, helping Wei Zhaocheng to sell officials in black and white.

   But the official is really hard to sell, unless you are too old, everyone wants to be a Jinshi.

  Even if they really plan to donate officials, they have their own connections, so why find a new governor?

  The only selling point, only 5,000 taels left to buy a big county official, is similar to a merchant doing a discount promotion...

  Wei Zhaocheng's calculations were ingenious. He not only wanted to sell his official position to make money, but also wanted to repair Ehu Academy to earn fame!

  Go back to the boat.

  Zhao Han asked, "What's bothering you, Master?"

   "嗙!"

  Fei Yinghuan slapped the bulkhead fiercely, and cursed: "You're going to lose your face by selling out your official title. This Wei deserves to be killed!"

  Wei Jianxiong muttered, "My surname is Wei too."

Fei Yinghuan said angrily: "This Wei Zhaocheng has been a lecturer for many years, but he has never been able to find a chance to make money. Now that he has been promoted to the eighth rank and released as the governor of Jiangxi, he is impatient to sell his officials everywhere. Listen Said that he has been touring the prefectures and counties for the past few months, presumably he sold officials all the way to Lead Mountain. For the sake of money, he really doesn't even want face!"

   "Maybe they are eager to make money." Zhao Han sarcastically said.

  Fei Yinghuan asked: "What counts as performance?"

  Zhao Han smiled and said, "Slip of the tongue, it's nothing."

  Wei Zhaocheng was eager to sell officials everywhere, not just for money.

  You can also make friends with local wealthy families, accept the children of gentry as disciples, and send party members and minions to various places as officials. Cliques are formed layer by layer, so that the Donglin Party grows stronger and gradually controls the right to speak from the central government to the local government.

  Fei Yinghuan is hypocritical here, his father who is far away in Ehu Lake is very happy to receive the letter from Fengzhi County.

  As long as five thousand taels of silver, you can buy a magistrate of a large county. This deal is too good-for-nothing!

   June 18, Double Eleven, I have never seen such a sincere merchant, the discount has been hit to a comminuted fracture, and if you don’t place an order quickly, it seems to have lost 100 million.

   (Sacrifice another book: "Retrospective Literature and Art Era", reborn to go back to engage in literary creation, literature and art can be very cool.)

  (end of this chapter)