"Xia Guanjun and Yang Erming came to see Lord Pi."
The young magistrate, wearing the uniform of a seventh-grade civil servant, knelt down in the hall and respectfully bowed to Pi Ying.
Pi Yingju could not have said anything in return, because in the Ming Dynasty, subordinates clearly needed to kneel down when they saw a superior reporting something.
But within this regulation, it is difficult to define whether a lower-level official meets a superior official for business, because as long as they meet, there is usually something going on, and two parents will never meet when they are shopping for vegetables in the vegetable market.
In terms of power distribution, subordinates were extremely weak, so by the end of the Ming Dynasty, this rule evolved into everyone kneeling down when meeting a superior, so as not to offend the superior, and the superior did not have to return the courtesy.
But Pi Yingju left his seat today, personally helped Yang Erming up, and introduced him to the assistant officials of the government one by one.
He also personally introduced to Yang Erming the officials of the six departments of the government office, the department of inheritance and development, the cabinet library, the experience department, and the delivery room. This was considered to be a great honor to Yang Erming.
"Jinxian (Yang Erming's cousin) is young and promising. Before you came to take office, someone told me that this magistrate of Tongcheng is probably the youngest magistrate since the founding of this dynasty. When I saw you today, I realized what he said.
It’s not false.”
Yang Erming's face turned red and he said in a low voice, "Xiaguan has been supported by all the adults all the way and is ranked among the top three. It is really a great luck."
Although Yang Erming dealt with it quite appropriately, in Pang Yu's eyes, it still felt a bit unreal until now.
Yang Erming had already changed into his official uniform at this time, and the slightly green junior high school student in front of him was definitely the new county magistrate.
Pang Yu has not read the statistics, but he estimates that Yang Erming was definitely one of the youngest county magistrates in the nearly three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty.
It can also be seen that the imperial examination system is very strict. Even if a child is a Jinshi, the official department must assign him a job.
Yang Erming was the top three scholar in the seventh year of Chongzhen. He was born as a Jinshi. He was fourteen years old this year and was appointed magistrate of Tongcheng County when he was first awarded.
The first appointment of an official position has a great impact on future promotion. For the top three Jinshi, the first appointment as the magistrate of Nanzhili County is also a good treatment. The best is to be a censor or to enter the Imperial Academy as a common scholar. Of course, there are quotas.
It's limited. As someone who was born in the same Jinshi class in the third rank, it's not that easy without any background.
And if you don't become a commoner, according to the unspoken rules of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, you will not be able to be a pavilion elder in the future.
However, Yang Erming is too young, and these rules may not apply to him. He came to be a pastor at the age of fourteen.
Even if he has served for six years, he will still be twenty years old. There will be many promotion channels by then. He can be promoted to Tongzhi, Zhifu, etc., or he may also go to the direction of censor.
If he goes to be a censor, whether he is a local patrol officer or a capital procuratorate, he has a bright future. Therefore, when facing a county magistrate who was a Jinshi, Pi Yingju did not dare to be too arrogant. Maybe in a few years, if Yang Erming
He was promoted to inspector and became his boss.
If he was a county magistrate, then Pi Yingju would not be so polite, because it was impossible for a juren to become a censor. He was just promoted in the local system, so he could not be Pi Yingju's immediate superior.
Pang Yu didn't know what the officials were thinking. If Pang Yu made arrangements, it might be better to stay as a Beijing official for training before being released.
Because no matter what Pang Yu thinks, Yang Erming looks like a child. Especially when he speaks, he feels that the voice change has not yet been completed. There is always a childish voice in it. Maybe it is because ancient people developed later and were not as tall as junior high school students in later generations.
degree.
No matter how talented Yang Erming is, it still takes years to accumulate social experience, and with his image as a gentleman, it is difficult to establish real prestige in front of the old people in the county government.
People from various departments around the lobby stood up to watch, talking quietly in low voices. Some pointed at Yang Erming, covered their mouths and laughed secretly. It seemed that they did not have the kind of awe that ordinary magistrates had.
Pang Yu glanced around and found that Yang Erming's secret friend had been following him, reminding him from time to time, while the two servants, an old man and a young man, stayed far behind. They were a little timid, as if they were not quite used to the occasion of the government office.
Pang Yu whispered to Jiang Fan behind him, "Yang Zhixian should not be from a family of officials."
"Why do you feel so, class leader?"
"If it's a noble family, the two servants should be used to the Yamen, and they won't look afraid."
Jiang Fan nodded, and Pang Yu continued, "If they separate later, go make friends with the young one and find out their identities."
"Yes, then why isn't it the old servant or the secret servant?"
"The curtain friend is too smart and always on guard. It is not easy to make friends with this kind of person. Going to him at this time will only make him disgusted.
Elderly domestic servants are more calm, dressed simply and unkemptly. Such people have no desires, and they may be in trouble.
The young servant's eyes are lively, his clothes are neatly taken care of, and his hair is neatly tucked in a net towel. It can be seen that he has requirements for the quality of life. Only by seeking for things can he make friends, and don't be afraid of spending money."
"There is also a woman inside the inn, who also came with Mr. Yang."
Pang Yu smiled and said, "Then if you are willing to use the beauty trick, you can also try the mother-in-law."
"It's okay to use a beauty trick for the class leader, but it's really inconvenient. You should take that female assistant with you when you go out, class leader. It will come in handy now."
"The female helper just has trouble going out."
After Pang Yu finished speaking, she thought of Zhou Yueru. After the chaos was settled, this woman neither came to help nor went to the drug store to help. After my mother came back, she came to the new house twice and helped with some housework. In almost three months, the mortgage payment was completed.
She didn't pay it back once, but instead Pang Yu gave her more than ten taels of silver.
However, she still maintains a relatively close relationship with Mr. Yu's wife. In Pang Yu's view, as long as she can do this well, the money is not wasted. This time in Anqing, she also saw that there is a female helper.
Sometimes it does have some conveniences.
"Just watch the young servant and talk to him when he is alone. Be sure to ask about the situation of these people and what that strange person does.
This servant followed Yang Erming all the way and should know better than the official."
Jiang Fan responded in a low voice, and Pang Yu wanted to give a few words of advice when he suddenly heard a shout from the stage.
"Pang Bantou from Tongcheng."
Pang Yu was startled when he heard Pi Yingju's voice. He quickly stepped onto the platform without daring to get too close. He hurriedly knelt down and said, "Pang Yu, the little man from Tongcheng Express, has met Mr. Pi before.
Mr. Yang."
Pi Yingju gently asked Pang Yu to stand up, and then said to Yang Erming, "Have Jinxian seen Pang Bantou? In the Tongcheng civil uprising a few days ago, it was Pang Bantou who quelled the chaos alone. In these days, even Nanjing
Everyone knows Pang Bantou's reputation.
Not long after the civil uprising subsided, there was indeed some unrest on the road. With Pang Bantou accompanying Jinxian to take office, I felt relieved."
Yang Erming's face was still a little red. He didn't dare to look into Pi Yingju's eyes. He buried his head and said, "I just met him at the inn. I also asked about the civil unrest, and I found out that Mr. Pi had personally participated in the Tongping unrest.
I have some respect for this official..."
"On that day, Huang Wending and other rebels gathered in the city. There were nearly 10,000 people, clamoring to break through Tongcheng first and then Anqing. However, Master Pi was not afraid of hardships and reprimanded Huang Wending and others. His awe-inspiring righteousness frightened the bandits, and they dispersed that day.
Most of it.
It was only later that the villain borrowed the authority of the adults and made some small contributions by luck. In the final analysis, it was Master Pi who broke the momentum of the bandits and kept Tongcheng safe."
When Pang Yu said these words, everyone in the government office paid attention to him. Firstly, they wanted to see the legendary Zaoli who was the most brave in Tongcheng, and secondly, they wanted to see who could flatter him so disgustingly.
Pi Yingju accepted such flattery calmly, because he did appease the rebels during the civil uprising, and the details reported to Zhang Guowei also described it in this way. It was he who severely reprimanded the rebels, and the rebels bowed their heads and admitted their mistakes, so Tongcheng was saved.
of county warehouses and jails.
What Pang Yu said now was exactly the same as before. He smiled peacefully and said very humbly, "It is my duty as an official, and I should do whatever I do."
After hearing Pi Yingju's feat, Yang Erming was probably a little in awe, and his movements were a little awkward. After a while, he said to Pi Yingju again, "It's because the official came too late. Mr. Lei Pi and Yang Zhixian put themselves in danger, so the official
Ashamed."
After Pi Yingju was polite, he asked the official room and the ceremonial room to handle the formalities for Yang Erming. Yang Erming's secret friend quickly waved to the old servant behind him, and the old servant took the petition and hurriedly followed him to the official room.
Pang Yu looked back and saw that the young servant in the hall was left where he was. He seemed a little at a loss and didn't know what to do. It was the most cramped and insecure time.
At this time, Jiang Fan walked up to the servant and started chatting with him affectionately.
..."The supervisor is right, that servant is really easy to make friends with.
All my subordinates have found out clearly that the man who followed me is the one who prints money in the capital."
Pang Yu asked doubtfully, "What kind of official-printed money?"
"It's like lending money at high interest rates to Hou Que's Jinshi. According to the servant, many Jinshi did not have enough money after they were selected, and there were not many vacancies in the civil service department. If they wanted to get the vacancies, they had to give various loans to the civil service officials.
You may need to go to the capital to make connections with fellow villagers of the same year, so as to pave the way for the future.
Therefore, unless the family is extremely well-off and does not have enough money, there are people who lend money to Jinshi at high interest rates and wait for them to pay back after they take office."
"Your mother is so market-oriented."
Pang Yu touched his chin. There were many things in the Ming Dynasty that he had never heard of. For example, you could pay someone to receive punishments on your behalf. Now, he had never thought about lending money to officials.
This was indeed the ecology of the officialdom in the late Ming Dynasty. There were a large number of loan sharks in front of the civil service and military departments in the capital, who lent money to officials and collected interest after taking office. There were even cases where officials were forced to hang themselves due to usury.
"You mean to say that the person who came with you made usury loans to Yang Zhixian in the capital, and came to take office so that he can collect the principal and interest."
"Exactly."
"How much did Yang Zhixian borrow?"
Jiang Fan whispered, "One thousand, three hundred taels. The IOU says it is two thousand taels. It is said that the loan is relatively small."
Pang Yu frowned and thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Then I'll go talk to that person."