On New Year's Eve, a banquet was about to end in Shao Mansion outside Xuchang City.
Most of the participants were young men below the age of a young man. To be more precise, they were mostly fledgling student soldiers between the ages of fifteen and twenty.
Some "seniors" who have graduated many years ago also participated. Everyone sat together, and they were quite reserved at first. After drinking too much, the distance immediately became closer.
Jin Zheng drank too much and became interested. He took off his clothes, pointed at the scars on his body, and said with a big tongue: "If this scar is a little crooked, I will die. I don't know who stabbed it. This scar should be a cover-up."
He was injured in the Battle of Madi, his armor leaves fell off, and he was shot with an arrow. Uh--"
Jin Zheng burped and cursed: "I don't know which grandson shot him with an arrow. He didn't feel any pain at the time. After the battle, he found that it hurt like hell."
Everyone burst into laughter. After laughing, they looked at Kim Jong with admiration.
"Jin San, you went crazy as soon as Master Shao left. If you don't say a few words, you will die!" Lu Rong said with an unhappy look on his face.
"Lu Heigou, what are you barking at?" Jin Zheng shouted angrily as he slapped the case.
The veins on Lu Rong's forehead were exposed and he was glaring angrily.
As part of the same batch of student soldiers, and all from Donghai, Lu Rong was wounded by Shi Le's tribe in the Battle of Dongwuyang, and his promising future was ruined. Now he is living in Ye County as the county magistrate, full of gloom, and after hearing Jin San's insistence
I couldn't stand it anymore, so I scolded him a few times.
Jin San drank too much, but he also had a bad temper, so he yelled back, allowing Lu Rong to break his defense directly.
Nowadays, no one dares to call him "Lu Heigou", but Jin San shouted it in front of all the juniors, which is really unbearable.
However, after a year of hard work in the officialdom, he was no longer the young boy he was before. After suppressing his anger, he calmly said: "Jin San, I heard that when you were competing for the position of Zuoying Governor, you and Wang Que'er..."
"Bang!" Jin San suddenly stood up, his fierce look revealed, and just as he was about to step forward to teach Lu Rong a lesson, someone suddenly kicked him in the crook of his leg.
Jin San was furious, turned around, and was about to take action, but immediately gave up.
Shao Xun came back from going to the toilet and changed his clothes. He saw Jin San acting rudely. He got angry on the spot and slapped him on the ear and neck and said: "Go back to your seat."
"No." Jin San smiled, his anger completely gone, and he sat back dejectedly.
"You guys!" Shao Xun gave a bitter smile and said, "In the past when I was in Pan Yuan, I brought you up one by one and taught you skills and knowledge. I didn't let you be a gangster."
Jin San lowered his head in shame.
Lu Rong's expression changed, and he stood up and said, "Master Shao's teachings should be remembered by the students. It was my fault today."
Shao Xun looked at Jin Zheng again.
Jin Zheng secretly cursed Lu Heigou, stood up and said, "I'm drunk and causing trouble today. I hope Master Shao will punish me."
Shao Xun looked at Jin Zheng and said nothing.
Jin Zheng felt a little unnatural and didn't know what the problem was.
Shao Xun sighed and said, "Sit down and just listen."
Jin Zheng sat down in panic.
Today, when meeting with students, Shao Xun drank a lot of wine. At this time, he was so drunk that he became less cautious in his words: "Do you know what are the ways to become an official?"
Everyone stopped and looked at each other.
Shao Xun did not wait for their reply, and said to himself: "There are about six or seven ways, but none of them use military merit as a way to advance. Besides, becoming an official depends on appearance, demeanor, family status, etc., which is even more difficult.
"
"The Silver Spear Army went into battle and fought hard and made great achievements. I made every effort and made many efforts, but I could only get a small number of people to become officials, and they were all minor officials of the eighth or ninth grade. Is it easy?"
"Besides, there are often not so many official positions left for you. Have you ever planted turnips? Every turnip is a pit, and a civil servant is also a pit."
"There are tens of thousands of official positions in the world, and most of them are ministerial officials. Even scholars may not be able to wait until they are vacant immediately, let alone you."
"If you want to become an official, it is very difficult, even almost impossible."
"Are you sad? Why do some people go out and play all day long, have a romantic and romantic life, but have a prosperous official career?"
"Are you angry? Why do some people talk about mysteries all day long, drink and have fun, but get promoted step by step?"
"Don't the Tian family know that this can't go on? Why do they still try their best to win over others, even if they can only do so with gentleness?"
"Because they have culture, property, and tribes. Although many of their disciples are useless, there are also many capable men. They have private military tribes that can make weapons and raise horses. They know the past and the present.
Know how to govern the place instead of making chaos."
"Tell me, can you do without them?"
After Shao Xun finished speaking, he picked up the wine bottle and drank it in one gulp.
The students sat in silence, thinking quietly.
Who doesn’t want to be an official? Who doesn’t want to be rich? Who doesn’t want to honor our ancestors?
Master Shao pointed out the naked reality, causing everyone to feel an unspeakable emotion.
If you kill the enemy and perform meritorious service on the battlefield, you will only be rewarded with some money and silk.
This is because Master Shao loves his soldiers as much as his sons, never withholding rewards, and has also established a land salary system for lower-level officers. Those with the leader level can receive an income of fifty acres of land.
Since the establishment of Shitian, more than 7,000 sergeants have received pensions - they previously received 20 hu of dendrobium per year, but from next year they will receive 24 hu of dendrobium.
Such favorable conditions allowed the Silver Spear Soldiers, who had never had a good life, to unleash their powerful combat effectiveness, defeating enemies and defeating bandit armies many times.
But he is now telling everyone that your room for advancement is extremely narrow and you must compete with scholars for limited official positions, and the competitiveness is very small.
These are still troubled times, and some people at the bottom can rise to the top with their military exploits, but behind these lucky people are warriors who have dozens or even hundreds of times their military exploits but have no way to get promoted.
If it were a peaceful and prosperous time, the opportunities for people at the bottom would be even smaller, because the system would not protect your interests.
If you want to get ahead, there may be only one way: let the court clearly write down in black and white what kind of official you can be based on what kind of military exploits.
"Do you understand?" Shao Xun asked after finishing his drink and looking at everyone.
"Master Shao, the official system is the foundation of the imperial court, isn't it easy to change?" asked Mao Bang, a minister in the shogunate.
Shao Xun didn't answer, just looked at everyone.
"Don't think about it." Lu Rong shook his head and said, "After serving as an official in Ye County for one year, I finally understood that the imperial court relies too much on the gentry, and it cannot be changed."
Only after getting involved in officialdom can you have a profound understanding.
Lu Rong understood that his county magistrate was obtained by Master Shao for him.
First of all, not just anyone can become a Imperial College student. Once he became an imperial concubine, he was qualified to be an official from then on.
Secondly, it is impossible for the vast majority of Tai students to become officials based solely on their qualifications as a Tai student, and it is even more difficult for people with no family background to be in the position of county magistrate.
In the end, if Master Shao no longer takes care of him, county magistrate will be the end of his life, and promotion will be impossible.
"If the imperial court refuses, just put your head on the emperor's head and make him agree." Jin Zheng had a bad temper and said directly: "If it doesn't work, just establish a new imperial court and a new official system."
"Can you govern the place?" Mao Bang turned his head, looked at Jin Zheng, and asked.
"Mao Er, who are you talking to for?" Jin Zheng said angrily.
"I'm telling the truth." Mao Bang said, "Things in the world are extremely complicated, and you can't just do whatever you want."
"Mao Er, do you think that being a Zhonglang means you have a good family background?" Jin Zheng sneered: "Do the scholars think highly of you? I heard that you have a lot of contacts with the children of the Yingchuan gentry clan. What do you think?
Are you a scholar yourself?"
Mao Bang blushed and secretly regretted talking to such a reckless man as Jin Zheng.
"Mao Er——" Jin Zheng didn't let him go, but was interrupted by Shao Xun.
"That's enough!" Shao Xun slapped the table and said, "I didn't listen to what I just said. The Silver Spear Army has only twenty-four buildings and more than 14,000 generals so far, so it doesn't take the people of the world seriously.
?You just know how to fight in a nest. If you continue to fight, it will be impossible for you to stand up."
"Master Shao, I..." Jin Zheng said slowly.
"Master Shao, I'll listen to you." Mao Bang said with his hands in hand.
Shao Xun nodded, stood up, and said: "The world's affairs are more important than moderation. It is definitely not possible for scholars to control the way to officialdom, but as Mao Er said, it is not possible to abandon them. You don't need to be stubborn. In the past ten years,
The martial arts school in Liang County also provided me with four to five hundred students who took the literary route, but most of them were only qualified to be shogunate officials, military scribes, government officials, and county officials. They were talented and qualified to serve as county officials.
There are not many of them. Moreover, they lack local connections and are only suitable to serve as officials in Chenjun, Nanton, Xincai, and Xiangcheng. If they go to Yingchuan, can things be done? I think it will be very difficult.
"
In today's era of Wubao and manors everywhere, it would be really difficult to be an official if you don't have connections.
Places with many farmers are better off, which is the main reason why student soldiers mentioned by Shao Xun can only go to the four counties of Xiangcheng to serve as officials.
In short, scholars have too many advantages as local officials. The knowledge they possess is only part of the knowledge. Personal connections and relationships may be more important, especially the old families that have been in the local area for more than a hundred years.
Shao Xun now only relies on the four counties of Xiangcheng and more than 20 counties in Luonan to subdue the other counties controlled by the scholars, typically Xiaoling and Da.
To put it bluntly, without the external pressure brought by Liu Han, he would not have been able to make the scholars compromise so easily.
It was also because the Huns were so careless in their behavior, coupled with the geographical differences, that after waiting and watching for a long time, the Henan nobles decided to cooperate with Shao Xun "tolerance for the sake of the country".
This is the essence of his separatist regime, and marrying Yu Wenjun is the result of this essence.
He has always had a very clear understanding of this.
The first-mover advantage of the gentry was too great. It had been accumulated for one or two hundred years. Since the troubled times, the number of farmers has been decreasing day by day. The absolute power of the gentry has indeed declined, but the relative power has actually increased, showing a climbing trend.
If Shao Xun does not want to become the "alliance leader" promoted by the nobles, he must find a way to expand his base.
It is good to gain more strength for the basic market, which means that his bargaining power is improved.
"Relying solely on literary disciples to take care of my place is too rugged and may not work." Shao Xun looked at the students and continued: "We still have to develop both civil and military skills, but we must first unite.
Don't let internal rifts arise and let outsiders laugh. Regarding the official system, be patient and wait. When the time comes, I will ask the court to appoint honorary officials. The highest one will be the 'Shangzhu Kingdom', which is equivalent to the second-grade official."
"Anyone who has made meritorious deeds in the silver spear, government soldiers, and army in the field can be promoted. We will discuss whether there is a position or not. I will first get an official status for you, so that you will not be despised by others."
Having said this, he looked at Mao Bang.
Mao Bang understood and asked: "Master Shao, what should I do if the court disagrees?"
Shao Xun smiled and said nothing.
Students, you looked at me and I looked at you. The atmosphere was a little subtle for a while.
In the struggle for interests, life and death, there is nothing more to say.
Master Shao is seeking benefits for everyone, fighting for benefits, just unite around him and do it!
"What I said today should not be spread to outsiders." After seeing everyone's expressions, Shao Xun laughed and said, "Come on, let's continue the banquet."
Chapter completed!