(Every book lover, please continue to vote for recommendation so that this book can gain a firm foothold on the new book list)
Su Hao's hesitation was not beyond the expectations of Han Wen and Fang Mengjin. In their opinion, it would be strange if Su Hao agreed readily.
To make this matter clear, we must first start with the official system and the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty.
In the Ming Dynasty, the officials in the county government were divided into three levels. The first level was officials. Generally, there were only four people in the county who could be called officials, namely, the magistrate, the county magistrate, the chief registrar and the dianshi.
Those appointed directly by the imperial court were, by the standards of later generations, the so-called civil servants.
The second level is officials, including the heads and technical personnel of various departments under the county government. The number of officials varies according to the amount of affairs and financial resources of each county. Some can have as few as twenty or thirty people, while others can reach hundreds.
. Officials were recruited from the private sector, and at the earliest they were even recruited through corvee service.
According to the system of the Ming Dynasty, those who are willing to serve as civil servants must first submit an application themselves, which is called "admission", and then the local gentry will provide guarantee and report it to the prefecture and county. When the prefecture and county chief feels it is appropriate, he will report it to the superior
The government then reports to the Chief Secretary for approval, so that the applicant becomes a formal civil servant.
In a county, the number of officials is very small, and they are mainly responsible for grasping some major political policies. The specific affairs in the county are all handled by the officials, so there is a saying that "official governance is actually governed by the ears of officials", which means that
The country is nominally governed by officials, but in fact it is governed by officials.
A county has a population of tens to hundreds of thousands, and various affairs are also very complicated. Therefore, in the county government, many departments are set up, the main ones are the officials, households, rituals, and soldiers corresponding to the six central departments.
The six offices of Xing and Gong have jurisdiction over one aspect of affairs respectively. The person in charge of the six offices is called the clerk of the six offices. In addition to the six offices, there are also horse departments, grain departments, and cabinets under the county government.
Other departments such as the registration office also have staff responsible for specific affairs.
In the county government, scribes are technical cadres. In addition, there are officials who are responsible for working hard, called Dian Li. Above the scribes and Dian Li, there are officials who are in charge of personnel, called Si Li.
Compared with officials, the status of civil servants is slightly lower. By the standards of later generations, officials belong to county leaders, while civil servants belong to the heads of various committees, offices, and bureaus in the county.
In later generations, there was only a level difference between the county leaders and the heads of the committees and bureaus, but in the Ming Dynasty, there was a bottomless gap between the two.
Officials in the Ming Dynasty were selected through the imperial examination system. With the accumulation of political achievements, officials could be gradually promoted, from a small county magistrate, to six ministers or even a cabinet bachelor.
The civil servants are different. They are recruited through recruitment from the society, and there are basically no opportunities for promotion. In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, in order to give some hope to the civil servants, it was stipulated that the civil servants must undergo three assessments, that is, they must serve in the army.
After nine years, you can be qualified to hold an official position, which is called "origin". But in fact, the regulations are just regulations. Since there are many officials and there are very few official vacancies, the number of officials who can actually be promoted is very small.
, and most of them can only be replenished in positions that officials with imperial examination background are unwilling to take.
If it's just that you can't get promoted in your position, that's it. Really talented officials can at least consider entering the official career through the imperial examination, right? But the more tragic consequences are yet to come.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, once lived at the bottom of society. Even after he became emperor, he was still full of resentment towards the bureaucracy. He believed that the officialdom was a big dyeing vat, and good people would be ruined if they stayed in it for a few years.
He became a bad guy. Out of this understanding, Zhu Yuanzhang issued a policy that stipulated that those who had served as subordinates were not allowed to take the imperial examination for life. In other words, if you had ever been an official, not only would you be in the position of an official,
You cannot be promoted to become an official. Even if you want to change jobs and take the imperial examination, you are no longer qualified.
This policy formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang was passed down from generation to generation and lasted until the fall of the Ming Dynasty. It is conceivable that with such a policy stuck there, how could young scholars dare to join the government?
Han Wen and Fang Mengjin were both educated people, so they naturally understood the mentality of scholars. In their view, Su Hao refused to accept Han Wen's offer because he was worried that once he became an official, he would not be able to take the imperial examination in the future.
No scholar with ideals and ambitions is willing to throw away his or her future for the sake of some immediate benefits.
"Su Hao, I also know your worries. The county cherishes you as a talented person, so naturally it will not delay your future. I want to hire you to work as an errand in the county government. You don't have to be included in the list of subordinate officials. You have the facts but no name.
In this way, it will not affect your ability to take exams in the future." Han Wen reassured Su Hao.
"Uh..." Su Hao was speechless. In fact, the reason why he pretended to be embarrassed was not because of Zhu Yuanzhang's stupid rule.
As time went by, by the late Ming Dynasty, many of the early regulations were gradually no longer taken seriously. As the saying goes, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. It is no longer uncommon for scholars to take part in the imperial examination after becoming subordinate officials. Examiners
They turn a blind eye to such things and are unwilling to block the future of a talented young man because of the "stain" of being a subordinate.
Su Hao was a person with a soul for future generations. He was not very enthusiastic about the imperial examination in the first place, and he was even less likely to refuse an opportunity to become an official because he was worried about losing the qualifications for the imperial examination.
From the moment Su Hao traveled through time, he was thinking about how to survive. In this world, you either have money or power, and you have to have the same thing in order to live comfortably. In an official like the Ming Dynasty,
In the traditional feudal dynasty, power was probably more important than money. Therefore, Su Hao would not easily let go of the opportunity to get involved in the officialdom.
Su Hao was reserved before, but he actually wanted to bargain with Han Wen. He had the skills to survey well locations, and during this drought season, he could sell them at a price. If Han Wen opened his mouth, he would accept it in a hurry. Isn't that right?
Didn’t he lose his worth?
Unexpectedly, his hesitation caused Han Wen to speculate about the imperial examination. Su Hao heard Han Wen's words and felt that it made sense. As a scholar, if he happily accepted an assignment from a subordinate official, he would be criticized by others.
Taken lightly.
Thinking of this, he followed Han Wen's words and said: "My lord, it is clear that the students are worried about this matter. It would be better if we could not bear this name."
"Don't worry, this county will not harm you." Han Wen said, "Well, this county will also hire you as a master to be in charge of the workshop, so you will be called the master of the workshop."
"Students are so scared. How dare they be as famous as Master Fang?" Su Hao said.
Han Wen looked at Fang Mengjin and said: "Master Fang is in charge of all political affairs for this county. Naturally, you, the master, cannot be compared with Master Fang. You, the master, are only responsible for the affairs of the workshop and have the authority to instruct the scribes of the workshop and subordinate yamen servants.
.When it comes to this matter of digging wells to fight drought, you can intervene as much as you can."
"As far as the student knows, the officers sent by your Excellency to dig wells in various villages are all county officials. I wonder if the master of the workshop, the student, can command them?" Su Hao began to understand his authority.
"Of course." Han Wen said, "You are my master, and all the officials in the county government are your subordinates. Except for the county magistrate, you don't have to be the boss of Bo and Dian Shi.
Pay attention."
I know who I am, Su Hao snickered in his heart. The position Han Wen promised him is almost equivalent to the position of secretary to the county leader, except that it is smaller than the leader's personal secret recipe master. Among the bureau chiefs and directors below,
It all depends on his face. With such a position, as long as he doesn't offend Han Wen, he can basically walk horizontally within Fengcheng County in the future.
"Thank you for your favor, sir. The student will definitely live up to your high expectations." Su Hao stood up and gave Han Wen a big gift. This was regarded as accepting Han Wen's appointment.
"Su Hao, since you agreed to work for this county, you will live in the county in the future. Do you have a suitable place to live in the county?" Han Wen asked. This is a good leader. In addition to arranging work for his subordinates,
, and still thinking about the life problems of his subordinates.
Su Hao said: "I don't have a suitable place to live at the moment, but I will look for a house in a while. I think it won't be difficult to rent a house to live in first."
"Well, there are a lot of idle houses in the county. You should be able to rent a good place to live." Han Wen said. After that, he said to Fang Mengjin: "Master Fang, go get the reward of 20 taels of silver for me.
Su Hao, if he wants to live in the county town, he has to spend some money."
"Sir, students don't dare accept salary without merit." Su Hao quickly stood up and declined. Although what he was thinking was completely opposite to what he said, he still had to do the necessary courtesy.
Han Wen chuckled and said: "This is not a reward for nothing. You helped Zheng Chun dig a few good wells in Zhegui Township, which is worthy of the county's reward. Just now you said that your family is living in poverty, so since the county hires you
I can’t do things that make you have any worries.”
"Then the student will thank the magistrate for the reward." Su Hao then acted half-heartedly and accepted Han Wen's money.