Officials of the Ming Dynasty (especially civil servants) apparently have nine or eighteen grades, and there is also an unranked one who has no grade, but the official civil official range is basically seven to two grades.
Those below the seventh rank are miscellaneous officials, while those above the second rank are officials with false titles and are not within the regular civil service system.
Therefore, generally a second-rank minister can be regarded as a highly respected minister. A cabinet scholar must first obtain the virtual title of minister to determine the basic political treatment, and then he can be given the title of palace protector.
In the range from two to seven, apart from the Hanlin Halo bonus, Qin Dewei's current fifth-grade rank is at the middle level, and only those with a third-grade grade or above can become high-ranking officials.
As for how to go from a middle-ranking member of the fifth rank to a high-ranking member of the third rank, anyone who really knows the industry knows that the difficulty lies not in the promotion of four to three, but in the promotion of five to four.
It is not difficult to upgrade from the fourth grade to the third grade, but it is the most difficult to upgrade from the fifth grade to the fourth grade, especially for a poet like Qin Dewei.
If you open the official list of the Ming Dynasty and look carefully, you will find that there are many positions of the fifth rank, ranging from the imperial court to the local government.
Bachelor's degree, bachelor's degree in Hanlin, bachelor's degree in attendants, bachelor's degree in ministers, concubine of the left and right, doctor of the six bureaus, wailang of the six bureaus, Tongzhi of the government, Guanglu Shaoqing, Dali Temple prime minister, Yinchaqianshi, etc., all are of the fifth rank or from the fifth rank. Taste.
And the third-grade official positions are no less generous, they are equally rich and colorful, and many of them are open-ended.
The actual ministers are of the third rank, most of the deputy censors and governors are of the third rank, and the chief officials of Dali Temple, Taichang Temple, Tongzhengsi, Guanglu Temple, Taipu Temple and other yamen are also of the third rank or from the third rank.
But if you look at the fourth grade sandwiched between the third and fifth grades, you will find that the positions are instantly reduced a lot, less than both the third and fifth grades.
In the entire capital city, excluding the censors of Youqiandu who were sent abroad, there were probably only a dozen or so fourth-rank officials in total, and only one of them was a Ci minister.
What’s even more scarce is that among the fourth rank in the capital, there is only the Imperial College Jijiu position, which can be considered as a half-civilian...
After reading this, you should all understand what the concept of moving from the fifth level to the fourth level is, and how many officials are embarrassed to be stuck at the fifth level.
If you think about the six-level structure, you will understand better. The middle level is the fifth-grade doctor, and the higher level is the third-grade minister. There is no fourth-grade official position.
Therefore, in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, the fourth rank was not a link between the previous and the next for officials, but neither one nor one below.
Therefore, Qin Dewei's five-to-four issue, coupled with Qin Dewei's own particularity, really stumped Emperor Jiajing, so he simply delegated power to the imperial court.
If it hadn't been for Qin Dewei, he wouldn't have been in such trouble. He could have made the transition by sending him to another place as a fourth-grade prefect.
But a top scholar like Qin Dewei is one of the best among the best. How can he be a prefect? Besides, he is only twenty years old.
Xu Zan, the Minister of Civil Affairs, felt that this might be the most difficult personnel problem he had encountered since he took charge of government!
On January 23, the 18th year of Jiajing, Xu Tianguan came to the East Chamber to preside over today's court meeting. By this time, most of the ministers participating in the court meeting were already present.
The participants still follow the old rules, ministers of third rank or above, heads of departments, as well as chief officials of yamen, cabinet and ministers are avoided.
The content of the court meeting must be more than just one thing. As the host, Xu Tianguan needs to control the situation.
He was wondering whether the issue of Qin Dewei's promotion from five to four should be discussed at the front or at the end. Anyway, each has its own pros and cons.
Inadvertently, Xu Tianguan glanced at the corner of the east room and caught a glimpse of a young figure, hiding quietly and obediently in the deepest part of the crowd.
"Why are you here?" Xu Tianguan asked doubtfully.
The man asked, "Why can't I be here?"
Xu Tianguan couldn't help but shouted: "Qin Dewei! This is the court meeting outside the court, not a place for you to act wild! I have never heard of the principle of ministers attending the court meeting!"
The Ci ministers and the foreign court are really two different things. The Ci ministers and the cabinet are both a team of secretaries that revolve around the emperor. The foreign court is a formal state institution and they are two different operating systems.
After Qin Dewei laughed "hehehe" a few times, he said: "Um, Mr. Zhong, please calm down first and please listen to my explanation!
I also serve as the young minister of Honglu Temple and the admiral of the Siyi Pavilion. During the court meeting last year, I was regarded as an official of the Ministry of Rites!"
Xu Shangshu is also a veteran of the court for forty years, and he immediately retorted: "Then you are neither a third-rank or above nor a science and education official, so you are still not qualified to attend!"
Qin Dewei also continued to explain: "Although Honglu Temple is only a fifth-grade yamen, the chief officials should also be present.
However, Mr. Fan, the chief minister of Honglu Temple, happened to be ill today, so he entrusted me to attend in his stead, so I had no choice but to come."
Everyone was speechless. Master Fan must have been forced to get sick, right? I don't know what reason Qin Dewei caught.
Xu Tianguan only felt a headache, and said: "Today's court meeting will also discuss your promotion. Do you think you don't need to avoid it?"
Qin Dewei said very considerately: "You have to say what you have to say, I just listen to it. Besides, there is no rule that the parties involved must avoid it, right?
When the court recommended you, Zhongzai, to be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, you, Zhongzai, as the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, were also present and did not avoid it."
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Xu Shangshu turned his back and ignored you. You, Qin Dewei, can't beat you as a horse rider. You can do whatever you like!
You have the nerve to stand here and listen to others criticize you!
Then Xu Shangshu, who was angry, started directly and said: "The first thing today is that the emperor issued an edict to the Ministry of Personnel the day before yesterday, saying that Qin Dewei, the right concubine and bachelor, has done meritorious work in repairing books, and ordered us to discuss Qin Dewei's promotion!"
For a while, no one spoke freely. Only Huo Tao, the imperial censor of Zuodu, dared to say: "Qin Dewei is still young. It is enough to be promoted to the fourth rank. It is not necessary to reach the fourth rank."
When everyone suddenly heard what Huo Tao said, they felt that it was very fair.
If you are very senior, you can go directly from the fifth to the fourth level. If you are junior, you can go from the fifth level to the fourth level. There is nothing wrong with it!
But if I think about it more carefully, after reviewing the official positions in the capital several times, there is only one among the four grades, and that is the Imperial College Sacrifice Wine.
As for the fourth-grade official position from other places, it is an insult to Qin Dewei, a Jiajing man.
Therefore, if he were to be promoted according to this routine, Qin Dewei would have no choice but to serve as a minister in the Imperial College. It seemed that he had no other choice.
Then again, under normal circumstances, when the Imperial College offers wine, it is often regarded as a transitional position for the Ci Minister.
Xu Tianguan, who was presiding over the court meeting, subconsciously looked at Qin Dewei, only to see that Qin Dewei seemed to be deep in thought.
Others thought Qin Dewei came here with a purpose, but in fact they were overthinking it. Qin Dewei had no set goal at all.
For Qin Dewei, what kind of official position would be different if he went up to the next level? He was standing here purely to prevent being cheated.
At this time, Zhang Chao, the Minister of Rites, said: "The Imperial College is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. I want to say a few words about this.
As you all know, there are thousands of students studying in the Imperial College, and those who offer wine are responsible for teaching, and they must be able to set an example for others.
Therefore, the candidates for the imperial wine ceremony have always focused on three things: first, maturity and dignity, second, academic proficiency, and third, good moral character."
Then Zhang Chao pointed at Qin Dewei, raised his voice, and said disparagingly: "Qin Dewei is young and energetic, and he certainly doesn't have the maturity and dignity!
As for the rest, let alone academic proficiency, let alone moral character. If you don’t meet any of them, how can you be a role model for others?"
Qin Dewei: ""
Teacher, are you telling the truth or dare? Do you really think so? Isn’t this what you really think?
But Huo Tao retorted to Zhang Chao without hesitation and said: "Zhang Tingxi, you are too humble. You must know that virtuous people do not avoid family enmity! You cannot say that Qin Dewei is not mature enough because he is young.
When it comes to academics, Qin Dewei was a top scholar and was ordered to compile two books. How can we say that his academics are not enough? As for his moral character, it is no problem to be a role model for others.
All in all, it is very appropriate that Qin Dewei, who was born as the number one scholar in the imperial examination, serves as the Imperial College's sacrificial minister. It represents the importance the imperial court attaches to the Imperial College. Qin Dewei will definitely be able to revive the atmosphere of the Imperial College and cultivate more talents for the country!"
Qin Dewei: ""
Huo Tao, who is this person you are talking about?
Everyone looked at Zhang Chao, who was pointing at Qin Dewei and belittling him, and then at Huo Tao, who was singing praises to Qin Dewei. They felt that reality was too magical!
You must know that the relationship between Qin Dewei and Huo Tao is not only irreconcilable, but also a sea of hatred.
But after the magic was over, many people gradually got over it.
How do you describe the official position of the Imperial College's Jiu Jiu? Although it is known as the middle station in the transition sequence of Ci ministers, the only one from the fourth rank, it is indeed a bit marginal.
Just talking about the location, the Imperial College is located at the northernmost end of the capital, farthest from other government offices.
Moreover, being a wine worshiper in the Imperial College means leaving the emperor's side, leaving the mainstream political arena, and not usually entering or leaving the palace. For someone like Qin Dewei, this should be quite fatal.
Think about the recently popular Mr. Yan Ge. He worked hard for six years as a wine minister in the Imperial College and made no progress. In the end, he had no choice but to go to Nanjing to upgrade his rank.
From this perspective, Huo Tao was really full of good intentions when he sent Qin Dewei to the Imperial College.
Xu Tianguan listened with great interest. He suddenly discovered that if he adjusted his mentality and did not regard himself as a strong master, it would be quite fun.
The best host is one who tries his best to find out what the audience wants to see most.
Xu Tianguan suddenly turned to Qin Dewei in the corner and asked: "Qin Dewei, what do you think? What do you personally think of the position of offering wine in the Imperial College?"
Qin Dewei replied impassionedly without thinking: "The Imperial College was originally a place with great potential, but in the past hundred years it has been reduced to a state of decline. It is still in name only, wasting the court's money and food!"
If I serve as a sacrificial wine, I will definitely revive the atmosphere and restore the Imperial College to its glory as it was during the reign of Emperor Gao!"
Everyone: ""
Bachelor Qin, please wake up and don't be so excited when you hear that you can be a top leader. You don't really think that Huo Tao had good intentions in deceiving you to go to the Imperial College, right?
Qin Dewei seemed not to notice other people's eyes. He raised his hands to make gestures and elaborated on his ideas for taking office:
"If I were to sacrifice wine, I would make full use of the thousands of scholars in the Imperial College to run a newspaper, which would be something more evolved than the Di newspaper!
The size of the paper is similar to a street post, and the content is similar to a post, but the font is much smaller and the content can be accommodated many times as much!
One will be published every ten days, with commentary on political affairs, criticism of current ills, hot topics, and collision of opinions! Maybe your names will appear on it!
Technically, you can use copper movable type printing. If you can't do it in the early stage, just hand-copy it! If you mobilize the Imperial College students, you can copy several thousand to ten thousand copies in a short time, which is enough for distribution!
It will be published for free in the early stage, and then sold for one cent per copy. Anyone in the yamen who dares not to buy the newspaper should pay attention!
After stabilizing, we will strive for a monthly guaranteed income of two hundred taels to subsidize the supervising students and achieve a virtuous cycle!"
Damn it! The expressions of the big bosses in various government agencies changed dramatically when they heard this. No one doubted that Qin Dewei didn't dare to do anything wrong!
If this horse-traitor really lets the bold Qin Dewei go to the Imperial College, won't it cause trouble for all the yamen? Everyone will be dominated by Qin Dewei's so-called newspaper!
Qin Dewei is so terrifying that he would go to a fringe place like the Imperial College just to have fun!
Zhang Chao, the Minister of Rites, looked around and said quietly: "I dare to ask you, is there anyone who agrees with Qin Dewei's appointment as the Imperial College to offer wine?"
No one spoke, so Zhang Chao asked Huo Tao again: "What do you think?"
Huo Tao has been stunned for a long time and is really speechless.
One of the most senior figures, Wang Tingxiang, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and Governor of Beijing Camp, also smiled bitterly and said to Xu Tianguan: "Don't think about starting from the fourth rank, just talk about the fourth rank!"
From the fourth rank, the only official position is the Imperial Academy. If you don't dare to let Qin Dewei take this position, then you can only be upwardly compatible with the fourth rank.
The four official positions in the imperial court include Zuo Qiandu Yushi, General Affairs Secretary Zuoqiang Zongzong, Dali Temple Shaoqing, Taichang Temple Shaoqing, Taipu Shaoqing, Honglu Temple Qing, and the most distinguished Shaoqing Zhan Shifu.
It is a routine operation for a minister of the fifth rank to be directly promoted to Shaoqing of Zhan Shifu, and to be promoted to a rank of fourth rank. For example, this is how Mr. Zhang Chaozhang, the Minister of Rites, came to be.
But Qin Dewei was too young, and he was promoted directly to the fourth rank as a Ci Minister. Everyone, whether relatives or enemies, felt that it was too exaggerated.
You must know that in theory, the highest level of Ci Lin official is the third grade, and he has the qualifications to join the cabinet or transfer to the minister.
It sounds like a joke to rush to the fourth rank of Ci Minister at the age of twenty, and only one step away from becoming a candidate for cabinet bachelor or minister.
Xu Tianguan knitted his eyebrows and said very cautiously: "The Shaoqing of Zhan Shifu cannot serve concurrently unless he is a senior Hanlin official. Qin Dewei is too young to be qualified."
This is not because he has any objection to Qin Dewei, it is entirely out of his desire to balance the court.
After finishing speaking, Xu Tianguan looked at Qin Dewei again to test Qin Dewei's reaction.
Qin Dewei responded calmly: "I really don't care. Anyway, we are all working for the emperor, and any official position is the same.
To be honest, I don’t have a definite idea in my mind, I’m just letting everyone judge me, and I don’t mind even if I am asked to serve as a wine-offer in the Imperial College!”
Everyone complained together in their hearts, let alone the Imperial College!
So Xu Tianguan came up with a plan: "The official position of Qin Dewei Hanlin Ci Chen can remain unchanged, and adding a fourth-grade official position other than Ci Lin can be regarded as an alternative. What do you think?"
The fourth-grade Ci Linguan is too noble and cannot be given easily, so one can only add a fourth-grade Cilin official from another sequence while retaining the original fifth-grade Cichen official position.
The advantage of doing this is that it not only takes care of the brand image, but also maintains the identity of the poet, and the impact on the court structure will not be too great.
It was Huo Tao who suggested again: "Qin Dewei's young minister of Honglu Temple is promoted to the rank of fourth-rank minister of Honglu Temple, and the others remain the same. This is the most convenient way."
Qin Dewei was speechless, what is the difference between this and the past? Except that five has become four on the surface, nothing has changed?
Besides, his official position is a Hanlin Ci official, not Honglu Temple!
The official position in Honglu Temple is just to match the Admiral Siyi Hall. In that kind of third-rate yamen, what difference does it make if you have a Shaoqing or a Zhengqing?
Most people actually thought this arrangement was quite reasonable. Qin Dewei suddenly felt the deep malice coming from the collective of courtiers!
