Chapter 156 It is not easy to be an official in Suzhou Prefecture
Chapter 156: It’s not easy to be an official in Suzhou Prefecture
It is said that Li Tuiguan of the government office was arrogant and composed several poems in the palace, which publicly humiliated his colleagues. He also ridiculed the imperial examination and eight-legged essays, and also wrote two poems about his feelings. Somehow all this spread out.
, sparking heated discussions among the city’s cultural circles.
On the one hand, the literati first admired and envied Mr. Li's wild and uninhibited style. These days, the scholarly style has deteriorated, and the modest gentleman is not the only template. Every literati has a romantic maniac in his heart.
At the same time, it is best to be an official who is not so tiring (if you cannot become a Hanlin official, it is still acceptable to be a promotion official in Suzhou).
Everyone unanimously agreed that Li Tanhua was a strange person encountered in Suzhou Prefecture for decades. In later stories, he would probably be named together with Tang Jieyuan, Zhu Zhishan and other Suzhou celebrities.
On the other hand, the literati's views on Mr. Li's opinions are very different, and you can see people arguing everywhere where the literati gather. Some people applaud the case and think it is a criticism of the current ills, while some shake their heads and criticize it, thinking it is a big talk.
No matter how much the debate goes on, those who are ambitious for fame should still continue to study and study the newly popular eight-legged essay, and passing the imperial examination and passing the Jinshi examination are still the most mainstream success criteria.
To use an illogical pretentious saying from the late 20th century, if you love someone, let him take the exam for fame, because that is heaven; if you hate someone, let him take the exam for fame, because that is hell.
As for the thinking of ordinary people in the market, it is much simpler: Li Tuiguan is a good person, so the people he scolds must be bad people.
However, the above does not seem to be directly related to Li You's current life. His main job is in the officialdom, and he is not responsible for the education of customs. He is not from the imperial examination. There are not so many classmates and literary friends around him, so the gossip in the cultural circle will not affect him for the time being.
to him.
That day, Official Li received a case file. A woman in a certain county was killed on her bed, and her head was missing. The county government found that it was her husband who did it, and her husband's confession was attached.
He refuted it with a stroke of his pen and ordered the clerk to criticize: How stupid can a person be to kill his wife at home and wait for others to find out? The head has not been found. It is very suspicious. It is speculated that he was beaten into a crime and the trial will be re-tried!
After judging the case file, another post came in from the door. Li You opened it and looked at it. It turned out that Mr. Huang from the Police Division wanted to discuss something and invited him to have a drink. He murmured in his heart that he had just been fined half a year's salary a few days ago.
I've had it before. Why did it happen again today?
Now is no better than in the past. Everyone is not in the same official office. In order to avoid suspicion (it is necessary to follow the superficial rules), it is inconvenient to visit the yamen frequently. And because there is no official residence (the front and back yamen are almost integrated), so we have to discuss matters
I have to go out. But when I go out, I have to eat and drink, which is really expensive - Mr. Li is currently planning to buy a house, and money is tight.
It turns out that Mr. Huang went to Mr. Li for no other reason than that Chen Xundao was short of money.
I only heard Mr. Huang say: "The inspection branch was newly established. There is no savings from the predecessor, and the small treasury is very poor. Besides, the inspection department is not an official who is close to the people. Your county magistrate can allocate additional taxes and donations to the households under his control at any time, but Chen
Where can the Xun Dao ask for money in such a hurry? And because Chen Xun Dao has taken office as a new official, he himself is very respectable and does not want to be known as greedy, so he is too embarrassed to ask for money from various prefectures and counties."
"How come there is so little money?" Li You asked doubtfully. Chen Xundao didn't have many people around him to support.
When this question was asked, Master Huang immediately found an opening, and he complained endlessly with his fingers: "Master Li, listen carefully to me. Since Chen Xundao was promoted to Taotai official, more people from the same hometown and clan have come, and some of them are from the same clan.
Some of the people sent here for training are to beg for food while running errands, and some are recommended by old relatives and friends to serve as clerks. They are all favors of the world and cannot be rejected."
Li You nodded to express his understanding. This is indeed a custom that no one can correct. Isn't it the same for him? He arranged for a group of relatives and friends to work as officials in the government office. Fortunately, the government office had many vacancies and he could eat from the government without having to pay out of his own pocket.
"There are often other people passing by to give fans. They hand in a piece of paper and a fan, claiming to be someone who comes to visit, so they have to send some Chengyi? One, two or three, there are often new ones every day, so I have this one on hand.
How can a little money be enough?"
The so-called giving a fan is simply to beat the autumn breeze, a habit of scholars. When you go to a certain place, find someone you can relate to, give a fan and one of your works, and claim to come to visit and ask for advice. If the owner can read it,
Since you have plenty of money, I will naturally give you some gifts, which will look good on both sides.
Li You continued to nod his head to express his sympathy, and felt lucky again. From this point of view, it was good that he was not from the imperial examination. There were not so many people in the same profession who could not be compared with each other, and he did not suffer the same fate as one or two hundred people in the same year after completing one subject.
If someone asks, wouldn't it be okay if the person who is beating the autumn wind doesn't see him? Indeed, it is okay not to see him, everyone understands, but Cheng Yi must give what he should give, and this is indispensable.
Most of those who dare to come to visit, except for liars, can really find connections in various twists and turns, such as someone who is your teacher in the same year, someone who is a student in the same year as you, someone's nephew of your boss, etc. Everyone can relate to each other.
As a scholar and decent person, since you have become prosperous, you still don’t give a cent to the fellow travelers who should be “helped”. This word of mouth will spread...
This is the trend of the times. Officials who are interested can study the travel details of Xu Xiake, a famous tourist in my country. He went to the countryside to ask for food, drink and labor with a ticket issued by a local official as a favor. The scene was really similar to that of the 20th century. It was as if the Japanese had entered the village.
I'm going too far. All in all, as an official in this dynasty, if you want to maintain your various relationships, this is a necessary expense. Maybe you will be able to beg someone else one day.
"I won't belabor the rest. It's not easy to be an official in Suzhou Prefecture!" Master Huang said with emotion. There are many scholars in Suzhou Prefecture, and they are also located in Jiangbei and Zhejiang and Fujian (both major provinces in science and technology).
The road is a strategic one, and there are so many people passing by to meet each other, but what can be spent with money is only small.
Li You took the initiative and said, "I'd like to mention it to the prefect and borrow some from the remaining treasury to give it to the police department?"
Mr. Huang cupped his hands and said: "Thank you in advance. It will help relieve the urgent need, but after all, some of the names are not justified, but in the final analysis it is public money. What other ways for you, a local, to make money, can you do it together? No.
If you want to make a fortune, you just need to cover Chen Xundao's entertainment expenses."
"To be honest, sir, I have been thinking about this matter recently and have written to my concubine, who is the accountant at home, to come and discuss it. If I have any clues, I will tell you and we can form a partnership." Li You said frankly, and he could pull Chen Xun along.
Of course it would be best if Master Dao Huang worked together. Then even if Shi Shenzheng wanted to cause trouble, he would have to step back.
Master Huang once again raised his hand and said, "Then I'll entrust it to Mr. Li. Speaking of which, Chen Xundao's side house is your distant relative. Since they are relatives, you should move around more."
Chen Xundao's concubine was a distant relative of Li You's mother's family. Because her conditions met Mr. Chen's requirements, she was sent to the county government as a concubine by Li You. After that, Li You never saw her again, just to avoid suspicion.
It's better to pay more attention to this aspect, not to mention Li You's reputation.
But he didn't expect Master Huang to suddenly mention this today. Li You was stunned for a moment before he woke up and didn't say anything more.
After talking about business, while the two were chatting, Master Huang suddenly remembered something and asked: "Do you have any recent relationship with Qianhuang Merchant?"
Does canceling the marriage plan between Zhao Daguan and the Qian family count? Li You said with a guilty conscience: "There was no direct connection."
Master Huang revealed: "The Qian family sent someone to visit me at the police station to inquire about your situation. I don't know why."
Li You was alarmed. Why did the Qian family ask about him? Could it be that the Qian family knew about him interrupting Zhao Daguan's thoughts? It was strange that there was no one else present, so how could the matter leak out?
Thinking about it again, it was probably because Zhao Daguan changed his mind just after he and Zhao Daguan had finished talking, which aroused suspicion?
"Did they ever say why?" Li You asked.
Mr. Huang recalled for a moment, "It doesn't seem to be a bad thing."
Li You couldn't help but sigh, it was really not easy to be an official in Suzhou Prefecture, and he accidentally touched the nobles.
However, Li You is not very worried about this for the time being. It is not that simple for the Qian family to move him. Are domineering relatives trying to punish upright civil servants? Public opinion is very passive at first. Furthermore, if they want to move him, they cannot bypass the prefect Wang's procedures.
and Chen Xundao.
When they returned to the government office, Wang Zhifu called Li You over, asked him to take a seat, served tea, and began to chatter again: "Shen Tongzhi knows that he wants to curry favor with Shi Dagshen, or that he has some thoughts about my position.
This is human nature and understandable. People are not saints, who is selfless? It is the truth that when the water is clear, there will be no fish. But your reaction is a bit too intense."
Li You didn't care about this, "He just scolded him. He wanted to humiliate his subordinates first, how could he just let it go and suffer for himself?"
"We can still live in harmony with the light. As long as we make it clear to Shen Tongzhi, I am already at this age, so why should he be anxious? But in this case, he will definitely turn to Shi Dacan." Wang Zhifu said with some worry.
Li You said disdainfully: "I'm just a fellow acquaintance, how can I be afraid?"
"Isn't this playing into Shi Da Shen's hands? Originally, it was not that easy for him to directly intervene in the government office. Now, if he can easily get a wedge in, it won't cost him even half an effort."
Hearing this, Li You frowned and thought. From this point of view, Shi Dacan really achieved his goal. He heard that things were going viral in the mansion that day recently, and he was a little surprised how it came out. Why can't he do anything these days?
Confidentiality.
It seems that the few people present had no motive to deliberately spread these things. Even if there were servants and servants in the mansion who overheard, they probably would not have the ability to write down so many of his poems.
Now it is somewhat clear. Could it be that Shi Shenzheng was the one who caused the scandal? In this way, Shen Tongzhi would not be able to reconcile with him, and it would be impossible for him not to fall in love with Shi Shenzheng.
After pondering for a while, Li You said: "I will naturally shoulder the responsibility, sir. Don't worry!"
Magistrate Wang said: "It's hard to tell clearly whether this is good or bad. I'm not blaming you, I'm just reminding you that you have to be careful."
"I understand." Li You took his leave. The implication was that offense is the best defense. He wanted to make a colleague understand how difficult it is to be an official in Suzhou Prefecture.
As the old saying goes, strike first and gain strength, strike later and suffer disaster.
There was nothing he could do about Shi Shen's political situation, but for Shen Tongzhi, who was much less powerful, it was not up to Li You to choose whether to strike first or strike later. The prefect of the king might not be as agile as Li Tuiguan in doing such a thing.
