On the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival, the streets and alleys still smell of paper money, and some debris is piled up in the corners, which looks very eye-catching.
Because it was the dog days of summer, and in order to avoid causing a fire, Daizhou City asked white servants and yamen servants to patrol everywhere, and asked the unruly people to go outside the city.
"Chen is making trouble, it's time to go on patrol."
There was a shout in his ears. In response, Chen Ying could only get up from the bamboo chair, and the creaking sound continued. He wore a red and black robe and worn-out walking boots, put on a stick and went out.
The door.
At this time, only his wife was working on the stove. When she saw him getting up, she stuffed two pieces of vegetable cakes into her arms: "It's hot today, so as not to get a heat stroke, drink more herbal tea. It will cost money to call the doctor then."
.”
"Bah, you bitch, you only know money."
Chen Ying smiled and cursed, biting the cake in her mouth, and walked out the door calmly.
At the door of his house, there was a white servant, also wearing red sleeves and black clothes, with a swollen face and round eyes, looking impatient.
This man is his good friend, his name is Shi Yong, he is also a white servant, and he has a wooden stick on his waist.
Since the Ming Dynasty belonged to Huode, the cuffs and necks of the Yamen servants' soap uniforms had a circle of red.
At the same time, the official government officials will have a big word "yamen" on their chests, but the white officials will not.
In addition, the yamen servants carry swords at their waists, while the white servants can only carry wooden sticks, which is far less impressive.
Chen Ying was also a white servant, living on half a silver dollar from the yamen every month, while the official yamen's salary was ten silver dollars and ten shi lumi per year, which was three or four times as much.
In terms of promotion, an ordinary yamen servant can be promoted to the head of the squad, a ninth-grade official, which is a first-class official.
As for a white worker like Chen Ying, the ordinary team leader can decide whether he should stay or go.
The only hope is to recruit people first if there is a shortage of manpower.
"Damn it, I have to patrol this summer. It's really not the work of humans."
When Shi Yong saw him coming, he looked up at the sky and saw only half of the sun's face showing, and he immediately started to curse.
"Can you come today?"
Chen Ying asked while eating the cake.
"Who dares not to follow the instructions given by the great master?"
Shi Yong said casually: "Waiting for us at Huangzipu, but it's just a click, we have to do the patrol."
"Don't you think a group of unruly people would set fire outside the city?"
Chen Ying sighed: "It costs a penny to enter the city, who is willing to do so?"
"But the sun is redder today than yesterday. It will be hotter. You have to be careful."
Shi Yong hurriedly agreed.
The two of them chatted, ate cakes, and complained about the hot weather, but the streets were already full of stalls, and the vendors had already started selling.
Seeing the two of them, the vendors unconsciously lowered their voices and huddled a little, for fear of upsetting them.
Although in the officialdom system, white servants are considered low-ranking, but wearing a soap uniform represents the majesty of the court. Which commoner dares to offend him easily?
Only those scholars with great reputations would disdain it.
Many people even looked envious of his back after he left.
"When you put on official clothes, you will immediately look different."
"Yes, he is the one who eats royal food after all. How majestic he is."
Along the way, some green-skinned wanderers encountered the two of them, and they also hurriedly bowed and saluted.
Even the local gangsters, who are so powerful, dare not provoke the officials and their families.
Chen and Ying enjoyed the prestige and slowly arrived at Huangzipu.
Shaowu Reform reformed the Fangxiang system in the pre-Ming Dynasty, and implemented the Zipu system in the early Ming Dynasty.
That is, according to the order of the thousand-character inscriptions, the entire city is divided into Zipu, Tianzipu, Dizipu, etc. Each Zipu has about a hundred households, and they are almost all on the same street.
No household registration is recorded, only real estate is discussed.
Thieves, fire fighting, corvées, taxes, etc., almost all are covered, simple and fast.
For every three or five character shops, there is a government official in charge, and the white servants are stationed there, which is their place of residence.
This model directly cut off the control of the clan forces over the county and brought the yamen's control over the entire city to its peak.
You must know that in the past, the imperial power did not go to the countryside. This did not mean that the county towns lost their clans, but that the county towns were dominated by the yamen.
In today's county town, the Yamen have an overwhelming advantage.
Whether it is the slave era or the feudal era, the city is always the center of productivity and wealth.
Zipu strengthened the city's control, and the three elders extended their tentacles. The combination of the two brought the power of the Yamen to its peak.
Not long after arriving at Huangzipu, the white servants from several nearby Zipu also came to join them. At around 10:00, Feng Xiang, the yamen servant, yawned and walked over, swinging his long knife.
As soon as he came in, he sat down on the recliner, rubbed his sleepy eyes and said:
"Still following the old rules, you guys will patrol every half an hour. If you encounter any unruly people who don't know the rules, hand them down immediately."
"Yes!" The twelve white servants were all tall, short, fat and thin, but in fact they all had stern faces and did not dare to object.
"Head, these are the Li family's steamed buns. They are made with serious mutton stuffing and are juicy. You can try them."
At this time, a chubby white servant hurriedly took out four buns wrapped in oil paper from his arms. Chen Ying looked at them and saw that his exposed chest was already red with heat, but his face was full of respect and he didn't care.
Feng Xiang took a bite of the bun and squinted his eyes, as if he didn't see his chest: "Not bad, I'm interested."
The fat white servant smiled and flattered him, causing the latter to laugh.
Chen Ying and Shi Yong looked at each other, both feeling that they still didn't pay enough attention.
On the side, many white servants carrying snacks in their hands regretted that it was still a step too late.
When Chen Ying left the calligraphy shop, Feng Xiang's snoring could be faintly heard in his ears.
This made Shi Yong on the side envious: "When can we become real government servants?"
"wait!"
Chen Ying was filled with envy and jealousy in his heart. He said sourly: "I just hope that one of their families will have a scholar, or they will have no heirs, or they will piss off the great master..."
The more Shi Yong listened, the more uncomfortable he became.
Although the status of yamen servants is lower, it is only compared to those officials who came from the imperial examination.
Nowadays, government officials are registered as civil servants, and their descendants can take the formal exams to obtain honors. However, every gain must come with a loss, and their establishment is no longer an iron rice bowl.
The imperial court stipulates that whenever someone obtains the title of scholar, his father, ancestors, and brothers are not allowed to serve as government officials.
In this way, a position can often be vacated for the court to make arrangements. In a sense, it also strengthens centralization of power.
The Ministry of Personnel implemented the imperial edict and divided the positions of local subordinate officials into four parts.
The third person becomes a retired soldier, and the third person becomes a provincial examination arranger.
The other 30% basically belongs to the situation where the father dies and the son succeeds.
The remaining 10% is for the appointment and removal of county magistrates, which is their prerogative. After all, they also need some of their own people.
As for the reason for maintaining the succession of father to son, it is nothing more than to maintain the overall quality of the government officials.
The children of yamen servants have been nurtured since childhood, and they know the rules of the yamen and the local situation very well. If they are all newcomers, it will be difficult for the magistrate to control the local area.
For example, noon work would be useless without some professionalism.
Therefore, at present, only a certain proportion of local subordinate officials are hereditary, and they are getting fewer and fewer.
The white servants also have hope.
Although they are temporary workers, the selection of government servants is usually done among them.
Chen Ying couldn't bear it under the bright sun. After walking around, she found a herbal tea shop and sat down directly:
"Two cups of herbal tea."
"Okay." The kid was very sensible and served not only two cups of herbal tea, but also two plates of snacks.
The two of them were drinking tea, eating snacks, and looking at the people busy working on their livelihoods. They felt relaxed for a while.
"Have you heard? There was a big bug in Shandong. Someone tried to kill the imperial official. The emperor was furious and killed many people..."
"Nonsense, the communiqué said only a few people were killed, how could there be so many heads——"
"You don't understand. This is to calm the people's hearts. I don't know how many people have been killed privately."
The people sitting in the tea shop were either busy businessmen or ordinary people with a small fortune. One by one, they drank herbal tea to enjoy the coolness and started chatting.
One of the fat men, swinging a big cattail leaf fan in his hand, took a swig of a cup of herbal tea and put one foot on the wooden stool:
"Let me tell you, at that time, the emperor's grandfather was so angry that he used the golden bowl he usually used to drink water to make a Shangfang sword, and directly asked the imperial envoy to kill people."
"Originally, those corrupt officials were very stubborn. As soon as they saw the golden sword containing dragon energy, they immediately poured it out. They didn't dare to hide it at all."
"After that, imperial envoys were dispatched everywhere, just to catch those corrupt officials and let us ordinary people make the decision."
"Then, do we have it in Shanxi?" a weak voice asked.
"Of course."
The fat man raised his voice and said: "Shanxi is a land of outstanding people and there are countless gold and silver treasures in the land. Why can't those corrupt officials scrape the land with all their strength?"
"Let's wait and see. We'll just have to prepare a few more rotten eggs when the time comes."
These words made the whole house happy.
At this time, the shopkeeper also came over and said: "Dear guests, I have spent a lot of money to invite a storyteller these past two days just to talk about that incident in Shandong."
"good--"
For a time, there were endless cheers.
Chen Ying listened for a while and whispered: "It seems that the elder is going to panic."
Shi Yong gloated: "I don't know whether to check the subordinate officials or the yamen..."
The position in the yamen was like a carrot or a pit, and everyone watched the superiors go.
"Pull out the radish and bring it to the mud." Chen Ying laughed softly: "As long as something goes wrong, it is inevitable."
"Hopefully!"
After listening to the book, and seeing that the sun was getting weaker, the two of them continued to patrol.
It won't stop until late at night.
After working like this for several days, during the Hungry Ghost Festival, the entire city of Daizhou suddenly came under tight control.
The white servants started to work again.
They are involved in clearing sewers, cleaning streets, and renovating houses.
Chen Ying was greatly puzzled: "Even if the imperial envoy comes, it won't be like this."
Shi Yong knew some inside information and whispered in his ear: "I heard that Uncle Dai Zhou came back to visit the grave, and our county magistrate is ready to flatter him!"
Hearing this, Chen Ying was in awe: "It turns out that the uncle is back."
As a native of Daizhou, he knew everything about Daizhou Bosun Shirui.
At that time, Sun Chuanting, the governor of the three sides, promoted the current emperor and personally named him. In the end, he even handed over his daughter to him along with the army.
This was the beginning of the emperor's career.
So in the new dynasty, Sun Shirui, the eldest son of Sun Chuanting, was named Daizhou Bo. He was the only one among so many nobles who was not knighted for military merit.
The current prince is also the nephew of Uncle Daizhou. He has continuous wealth and wealth, which is envied by many people.
Dai Zhoubo himself is also capable. He has served as academic administrator, envoy, envoy, governor, etc. Now it is rumored that he will be appointed governor.
No matter which place the governor is, he will crush the county magistrate.
One word someone says is enough to determine their future.
Thinking of this, Chen Ying couldn't help but click her tongue and said: "If my family were relatives of Uncle Daizhou, they would enjoy endless wealth and glory."
"Stop dreaming."
Shi Yong shook his head: "This uncle has been working as an official in other places over the years. Even his residence has been moved to Beijing. Our ancestral home in Daizhou cannot be returned to once a year."
"If my relatives and friends are not capable and have no qualifications, they will not recommend me at all."
"We ordinary people, we might as well wait for the imperial envoy to come over, pull out the carrots and bring out the mud, and turn us into regular workers..."
"That's right." Chen Ying nodded: "You have to be an imperial envoy."
And here, in the county government office, a banquet has been set up to entertain the guests.
The magistrate smiled and raised his glass: "The whole Daizhou City still spreads the deeds of Sun Gong, and every child follows him as an example, and his reputation spreads."
"It would be great if Mr. Sun can return to his hometown and meet his elders."
Sitting in front of him was an aristocratic young man in his mid-twenties, with a thin beard on his lips, a jade-like face, and an aloof demeanor that clearly showed that he was not from Shanxi.
But his ancestral home is Daizhou.
Sun Shining looked at the county magistrate in front of him. Although he was only a scholar, he was not afraid at all. He even had some contempt in his heart.
He has met too many ordinary high-ranking officials and prime ministers, and the mere county magistrates are completely ignored by him. If it weren't for his parents and officials in his hometown, he really wouldn't have spared time to meet them.
In his opinion, this was a waste of time.
"My parents are very polite." Sun Shining said softly: "Nowadays, the people in the state are harmonious and have both morals and culture. It is already a first-class county in Shanxi."
"All this is thanks to my parents!"
"Where, where!"
The two drank wine politely, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.
Sun Shining felt confused.
Over the years, the Sun family has continued to build social schools, build bridges and pave roads in Daizhou, and naturally its reputation is getting better and better.
Every time the magistrate of Daizhou was appointed, they just took advantage of it.
At this time, he went home not only to pay homage to his father, but also to attend the provincial examination in August.
Although the Sun family has moved to Beijing, their place of origin is still Daizhou. After all, both the ancestral tomb and the ancestral home are in Daizhou, so there is no way to escape.
When Sun Shining passed the Juren Examination, in order to avoid causing criticism and affecting his future career, he naturally returned to his hometown of Shanxi to take part in the provincial examination.
Of course, the most critical reason is that the pressure in Beijing is too great. Although there are many places, there are still too many people to support them. It is too difficult to pass the provincial examination.
There is no shortage of high-ranking officials, relatives of the emperor, and high-ranking ministers. There is no shortage of money or good teachers. Their quality is indeed not bad, which is completely opposite to that of Beijing in later generations.
When cheating is not possible, the first choice is naturally Shanxi, which is less difficult.