Only a small part of Tangliyuan has been built, but there are already dozens of servants.
It was almost noon, and the kitchen immediately became busy, cooking for Marquis Lu Yang's soldiers.
In the small kitchen next to the big kitchen, Mrs. Pei and Mrs. Lu were busy working in person.
Both of them had red eyes, obviously having cried a lot, especially Lu who cried the most sadly, with tears stains on her face.
Concubine Pei took some fine silk, placed it on a wooden stand, poured flour on it, and slowly sifted out fine white flour.
"It's cold in winter, when tears freeze in the nose, and frost forms on the outside of the mouth, soup and cakes are the best way to replenish the body's deficiency." Concubine Pei said as she sifted the noodles, "How long has it been since you cooked a meal? Have you forgotten about women's work?" "
Concubine Lu was a little embarrassed and said, "It's been many years."
"I haven't done it for several years." Concubine Pei sighed.
While the two were talking, they had worked together to sift out some white flour, then added water to the dough and kneaded it.
Mr. Pei and Ms. Lu used a lot of force, and their faces were moved (ruó) very thinly.
Concubine Pei gestured with a knife and cut the dough, two fingers wide and two inches long.
When she was indifferent, she glanced at Mr. Lu, endured the sourness in her heart, and said: "If there is a child, when he is old and frail in the future, he can make a plate of soup cakes with his own hands, but it is better than what a servant can make." More delicious."
Lu's face darkened first, and then turned red.
The woman is over thirty, but she doesn't even have a child. She didn't want to think about it before, and she didn't dare to think about it. Now that she thinks about it, she wants to cry again.
Do you really expect Sima Li to serve her and take care of her in her old age?
The child is ten years old and still refuses to leave Chang'an. He must stay with his biological parents. No matter what, the Lu family cannot treat him as a son.
She also understood the meaning of her sister-in-law's words, which was actually to ask her to remarry - no, actually not to marry, but to be accepted.
But she was a little unwilling to do so. How could Fan Yanglu's daughter be taken as a concubine? Besides, she was a princess, so she didn't want her face anymore.
"This Shao Xun, why is he staring at the women of the Sima family..." Mrs. Lu was a little miserable, and accidentally said what was in her heart: "Does he want to seize the Sima family's kingdom, and also... the women of the Sima family? ?”
"Why is Xun Niang so vulgar?" Concubine Pei blushed and scolded.
But think about it, did Taibai come down to earth just to be the nemesis of women in the Sima family?
The two of them talked and the atmosphere became less awkward and stiff.
Concubine Pei's face was still very red, and she felt a little aggrieved. She had done nothing but had to face Lu Xun's strange eyes.
Concubine Lu's face was also a little red.
Sometimes she would read some poems and articles describing the resentment of empty women. She thought it was caused by missing her deceased husband, but now she found out that it didn't seem to be the whole reason.
"That's enough, that's all." The two of them were so busy that their foreheads were sweating, and they prepared a large plate of noodles. Then they took it to the kitchen next door, put it in boiling water, and cooked it one by one over high heat.
Mrs. Pei, Mrs. Lu, you sliced ​​it one by one and I quickly put all the dough in the plate into the pot - this thing was called "Bu Tuo" in the Tang Dynasty. There is a saying that the dough was originally held by the hand and torn into pieces by the pot. , later it was changed to one-sided or hand-torn on the table, and no longer held by the hand, hence the name.
The noodles cook quickly.
Concubine Pei took it out and put it in a bowl, while Concubine Lu poured the gravy on it and mixed it.
A total of two bowls of soup cakes were made, one bowl for Shao Xun and one bowl for Pei Kang.
Pei and Lu both felt a sense of accomplishment after watching it.
Aristocratic women have practiced women's skills since they were young, and it is a compulsory course for them to cook soup cakes, water cakes, etc. However, they have been living in a pampered life for many years, and their skills are a bit rough. They haven't cooked for their families for who knows how many years.
When I looked at it today, I found it was okay and not too ugly.
"Weak as spring cotton, white as autumn silk." Concubine Pei praised.
"The air is so strong that it spreads, and the fragrance spreads far and wide." Concubine Lu added.
"Pedestrians salivate at the leeward side, while servants chew on empty food and look sideways."
"The one holding the weapon licks his lips, the one standing up swallows dryly."
The two of them said something to each other, and then laughed happily.
Strange woman!
After they finished laughing, they each carried a bowl and went to pass food and drinks to Pei Kang and Shao Xun.
Pei and Shao were sitting idle in the hall. They first talked about the conquest of Hebei, and then mentioned the situation in Hedong.
At this moment, two women came over carrying soup cakes.
"Eat first." Concubine Pei put the bowl she was holding in front of her father and said.
Mrs. Lu struggled for a while, walked to Shao Xun's side, and gently put the bowl down.
"Eating a bowl of soup cakes in the middle of winter is really the ultimate enjoyment." Shao Xun praised.
Pei Kang nodded, looked at his daughter, and was speechless.
The two stopped talking and started eating soup cakes.
Pei and Lu retreated outside, facing the warm sun, and walked leisurely.
They boarded a pavilion built on the mountain, looked at the bare woods, the frozen river and the uninhabited grassland in the distance, and felt an unspeakable loneliness in their hearts.
"Such a bleak scenery is like this world." Concubine Pei leaned on the railing, with sadness in her brows.
Mrs. Lu also felt something and remained silent.
"At first, I was also scared and uneasy, and I felt something in my heart..." Concubine Pei said again.
"Sister-in-law, I won't tell anyone." Mrs. Lu lowered her head and said softly.
Concubine Pei's face was a little hot. She didn't know what to say for a while, so she could only say casually: "More and more officials and scholars are coming to Guangchengze for refuge. In this chaotic world, you are alone, even the generals and soldiers are also
Unreliable."
Lu's face turned pale.
What would happen if a prince's palace was rich, and there were no men left in the palace, leaving only a princess who had no power to restrain a chicken, and the world became increasingly chaotic, the prestige of the court declined day by day, and the order collapsed day by day?
Lu suddenly understood that she came to live with Princess Donghai. Although the two had a good relationship, was there really no other reason?
There were some things that she didn't think deeply about, but her instinct of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages had already helped her make a decision.
Especially the way some so-called relatives and some so-called family generals looked at her, she didn't even dare to check the accounts carefully.
"Sister-in-law." Mrs. Lu hugged Concubine Pei, her eyes already slightly moist.
Concubine Pei's face became even hotter, and she felt extremely ashamed.
In order to cover up certain things, I had to scare Mrs. Lu, a relatively simple woman, which was contrary to what she had always respected, and she always felt that she was embarrassed to see others.
According to her thoughts, it would be best not to have a single woman around Shao Xun, but she also knew that this was a luxury.
The warriors who were killed among the dead in troubled times are like the rising sun, rising continuously. How is it possible...
He is no longer bound by anyone.
The further they go, the more delicate ladies they have to rely on others.
The wind howled, and from the foothills in the distance came the sound of digging into mountains and taking out rocks. Even in this cold winter month, there was no pause.
More and more people are going south to build villas and estates.
****
After Pei and Shao finished eating the soup cakes, they continued to discuss matters.
Pei Kui, the former prefect of Hongnong, lost his official position, and Shao Xun himself had a hand in it. After some discussions with Pei Kang, he was given the position of Prime Minister of Lu Yang.
The eighth rank of this position is lower than that of the prefect, and he is regarded as the deputy to the prime minister.
Lao Pei also mentioned Liu Anzhi.
Liu Anzhi brought over 500 private soldiers, 300 of whom were from the Pei family and 200 from the Liu family.
In addition, there are more than 3,000 pieces of silk, which are from the Pei family, which is more than the rewards from the court - Shao Xun was promoted to the Duke of Luyang County and was given 1,800 pieces of silk, thousands of coins, and hundreds of gold and silverware.
Shao Xun gave him the position of Minister.
"There is a temporary vacancy of Lang Zhongling. Liu Anzhi can take up the position of Shilang. Five Hundred Buqu will be incorporated into the Yi Cong Army. Ask him if he is willing. If he is willing, he can take office before the year. If not, just go back." Shao Xun said.
Lang Zhongling (sixth grade) is a very critical position and has three responsibilities: one is responsible for the election within the territory, the other is responsible for the work of the guards, and the third is to convey religious orders.
The other two items are nothing, but Suwei is very important.
The meaning of "Suwei" is not just bodyguard, that is too narrow.
At this time, the field troops took turns to defend the capital and the palace. The Suwei Army was the main field force. The part of the Luoyang Chinese Army stationed in the city was called the "Seventh Suwei Army" or the "Seventh Suwei Camp".
Lang Zhongling can arrange the garrison of the guards, convey orders for mobilization, etc. It is a very critical position.
In Shao Xun's plan, the Silver Spear Army and the Long Sword Army will be the future Su Guards, protecting his "capital". The Yi Cong Army and the Yamen Army are the "foreign armies", serving as garrison or frontline troops in strategic locations.
Counterattack force.
Therefore, the doctor ordered him not to hand it over to outsiders.
Student soldiers are the most suitable, but their current qualifications are too young. Even though seven or eight people have entered the Imperial College in recent years and are qualified to be officials, they are too young and not suitable to be a sixth-grade doctor.
Therefore, Lang Zhongling is temporarily absent, and Shao Xun personally takes up this position.
The doctor ordered two eighth-grade ministers to serve as deputies, one for Liu Anzhi and the other for Chen Yougen.
The ministers can appoint their own officials, but they don't have to find people themselves. Shao Xun plans to give them a group of scholars and powerful sons from Hebei.
From now on, the assembly, garrison, and deployment of the Silver Spear and Long Sword armies will be in charge of Shao Xun, who is also the commander-in-chief. The two ministers will take their subordinates to convey the orders, inspect the camps, and count the personnel and equipment.
Everything is according to the system.
"He's already here, how could he not want to?" Pei Kang laughed, obviously satisfied with the eighth-grade minister. After laughing, he asked: "How many officials have you given now?"
"There are one Prime Minister, one Prime Minister, one Fu, two Assistant Ministers, one Da Nong (Chu Hui), one Dian Wei Ling (Tang Jian), one Dian Shu Ling (Yang Ming), a total of eight people."
"How much is the annual income?"
Shao Xun did the math.
The standards for paying salaries to officials in the state and dynasty were very confusing.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the "zhishi" system was used.
During the Cao and Wei Dynasties, official titles appeared.
At this time, it is a "dual-track system" in which rank and stone and official rank are parallel.
By the middle and late Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was basically an official system.
Therefore, the official salary standards during the operation of the "dual-track system" are relatively confusing and bizarre.
Cui Gong, the Prime Minister of Luyang, was of the fifth rank, with a rank of 1,000 shi (some county magistrates also had a rank of 1,000 shi, and some prefects had a rank of 2,000 shi). According to the standards of the dynasty, he was given fifty hu of grain per month (600 hu of dendrobium a year) and silk in the spring.
Thirty pieces of silk, seventy pieces of silk, seventy pounds of cotton, six hectares of vegetable fields, and six field men.
As a fifth-rank official, the monk ordered a salary standard.
Yes, the magistrate of a minister has the rank of a thousand shi, and some magistrates of large counties also have the rank of a thousand shi. However, the former is responsible for the whole country's government affairs, while the latter can only manage one county. It is simply outrageous.
Shao Xun decided to use the system that started in the middle of the Southern and Northern Dynasties and used official rank as the basis for salary distribution to get rid of the chaotic dual-track system.
The Prime Minister's annual income is divided into five parts.
Grain: 600 dendrobium.
Cloth: 100 pieces of silk and 70 pounds of cotton.
Money: None yet.
Lutian: six hectares (you can enjoy this income during your employment, but not when you leave your job).
Forced servants: Six Tianzou, responsible for cultivating Lutian. If there are not enough, more people can be added. Anyway, there are many prisoners.
In addition to the Prime Minister, Fu is a sixth-grade farmer who receives 480 hu of grain, 70 bolts of silk, 50 kilograms of cotton, five hectares of farmland, and several slave labors every year.
There are also five eighth-rank officials who receive 240 hu of grain, 30 bolts of silk, 20 jin of cotton, three hectares of farmland, and several servitudes each year.
"The annual output is more than two thousand bushels of grain and nearly four hundred bolts of silk." Shao Xun replied: "Maybe more."
"It's not too much," Pei Kang commented.
Shao Xun nodded.
These salaries are definitely not enough, because they have to appoint their own subordinate officials.
Some officials can be recruited through corvee service, while others require money.
In fact, until the early Tang Dynasty, officials' salaries were not enough. At this time, another income that was not fixed but the amount should not be underestimated was introduced - rewards.
Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty often gave banquets and allowed officials to take unfinished food home for their families - many people packed it up and took it home.
In addition, at the banquet, "clever names" were used to reward a lot of property with various excuses, which became an important part of the official's income to make up for the lack of regular salary.
Of course, most of the people who serve as officials these days are scholars, and their family conditions are much better than those in the early Tang Dynasty. Some people even think that the government offices are crude and not very expensive, so they use their own money to become officials to maintain their quality of life.
Being an official also brings a lot of hidden income, which is not enough for outsiders to understand.
"How much money can we spend to hire all the government officials? I still have a lot of talents in my pocket." Pei Kang said with some dissatisfaction.
"There are enough grain, fields, and servants, but not enough silk." Shao Xun looked at Old Pei and said, "How about Mr. Pei..."
If all the officials are really hired as Pei Kang said, there will be at least fifty or sixty people, and the expenditure will not be as small as the eight people now. Add in the rewards during the holidays, and the financial hole of thousands of pieces of silk a year will be found.
Who will fill it out? Unless Lao Pei is willing to reimburse...
"You, you really have never been a high official." Pei Kang smiled contemptuously and said, "Don't count the money. Liu Yuanhai asked someone from the Pei family to be an official. Not only did he not get a salary, but he also had to pay for food. You see
Look at what others do, how do you do it?"
Shao Xun laughed.
Why does the Hu regime like to play this game?
He remembered that in the early Northern Wei Dynasty, officials had no salary and were allowed to be plundered. Later, the court found that this would cause greater losses, so it had no choice but to set salary standards.
"You have such a great reputation, why don't the Yingchuan scholars ask for tribute?" Pei Kang looked at Shao Xun with hatred, and said: "They have begun to seek refuge with you now, where is the offer? Even I--
"
"That's all." Pei Kang waved his hand and said, "You can figure it out yourself. Asking for Jinfeng has a bad reputation, but who wouldn't do it? Now that they are afraid of you and begging you, they should give it to Jinfeng. Just rely on you to go out and capture the goods.
Even if the little money and silk is enough for a while, it will not be enough in the long run."
After Shao Xun heard this, he immediately stood up, bowed and said, "Please Pei Gong to take up the post of Lu Yang's friend of the country."
Friend, the person in charge is responsible for accompanying the king and assisting the king, and for improving and correcting the king.
Just as Sima Yan said when he was choosing friends for the kings: "In the past, Han Qi and Tian Su traveled together and loved doing good things, so we will definitely get him."
This is a pure official with few things to do and a lot of money (Level 6). In fact, he is just following the king to come up with ideas. If you see the king doing something wrong, you should immediately remonstrate with him and correct his behavior.
Lao Pei originally wanted to refuse.
As a man in his seventies, I can’t afford to be embarrassed if I “play” with you, a group of twenty-somethings. What’s more, the money for your salary is sent by me, so I have to spend my own money to “play” with you.
"? That's not true!
However, Pei and Lu soon joined hands.
Lao Pei's heart moved, and he sighed: "That's all, I still have to deal with this old bone with you, it's really - alas!"
Shao Xun was stunned at first.
When I first looked at Pei Kang's face, I thought he was going to refuse, but unexpectedly he suddenly agreed. What happened? What did he want to do?
Shao Xun suddenly felt that asking Pei Kang to be a friend of the country to "correct" his own behavior was not necessarily a good thing...
Chapter completed!