Chapter 18 The old fox and the little fox (thanks to the leader of Biru
At the end of the fourth year of Zhongping, there was a heavy traffic in front of Chen Mu's house, blocking the entire alley.
Although I have already set up a brand, I cannot bear to give out too many gifts and badges.
Some don't want to be dismissed, some want to change jobs, some want to join his staff, and so on.
Most of them are local low-level officials in Luoyang, with positions of less than 300 shi as magistrates, ministers, assistants, magistrates, ministers, etc.
Except for dangerous local officials like Youzhou and Bingzhou and Liangzhou, they thought that even high-ranking officials would not have Chen Mu's turn. They were all hanging out in Xiyuan, and the Shangshutai had no jurisdiction.
However, Chen Mu was not at home at this time, but in the former Situ Yuan Wei's mansion. The two of them were sitting in the hall, drinking tea, and neither of them spoke.
The old fox and the little fox both maintained polite smiles, but they were thinking quickly in their hearts, one was calculating, and the other was doubting.
Yuan Wei was a little unsure of Chen Mu's purpose.
"The minister has so many things to do, why do you have time to come to the house of a man who has been dismissed from office? What's the matter?"
After about four or five minutes, Yuan Wei finally lost his patience and took the lead to break the silence.
Chen Mu smiled and said: "Mu recently wanted to buy a new house. I heard that the old man's mansion is exquisite, elegant and spacious, so he came to take a look and pay a visit to the old man."
"I see."
Yuan Wei smiled on the surface, but his doubts deepened in his heart.
He didn't believe that Chen Mu really just came to see his house, but he was an old man in officialdom, so he didn't show it immediately, but said, "In that case, I will take Shangshu Ling around the house?"
"Then it's hard work, sir."
Chen Mu said with a smile.
The two got up and walked around the Yuan Mansion. The Yuan family was the fourth and third Duke. Yuan Wei himself was once ranked as the third Duke, and his family property was much richer than that of the Cao family.
The mansion covers an area of several acres, with rockery gardens, pavilions and elegant gardens? Nine winding corridors? The artificial lake is full of goldfish.
"Look here, the purple bamboo here has been carefully planted by me for decades?"
Yuan Wei pointed to the precious purple bamboo by the lake and said.
"My lord, this house is very ingenious. It's uncanny. If it's as good as I expected? It should be built by a famous artist."
Chen Mu smiled slightly.
Of course.
Such a mansion is the heritage of a man with four generations and three fathers.
How can it be compared to a new rich like you?
Yuan Wei was sarcastic in his heart, but he introduced calmly on the surface: "This mansion, I asked the best prophecy master in Luoyang to build it decades ago. It cost nearly 100 million. Although it is not as good as His Majesty's Xiyuan, it still has a unique flavor.
.”
"I see."
Chen Mu nodded and saw the pavilion in the middle of the lake over there, and said, "Why don't you go to the center of the lake to have a look?"
"please."
Yuan Wei guessed that the newly appointed Shangshu Ling probably wanted to tell him something, so he said to the guard servant patrolling the mansion: "Wait outside."
Walking along the white marble corridor to the lake center pavilion, the two of them sat on the ground in the pavilion.
Chen Mu then slowly opened his mouth and said: "The Yuan family has the fourth generation of Shuen, and there are experienced officials all over the world. It is indeed a profound foundation."
Yuan Wei was no longer too lazy to talk to Chen Mu? He said bluntly: "Shang Shuling is here today, I'm afraid it's not just to see my house."
Chen Mu despised the Han Dynasty people for being a bit upright in temperament. He couldn't hold his temper. What if this was in the officialdom of the Ming and Qing Dynasties? Wouldn't he get to the point without following you for an hour or two? That's not called a veteran in officialdom.
"The fourth generation and the third prince of the Yuan family?" It seems that he has a strong background.
Chen Mu thought about his words and said slowly: "But now that the boss has been dismissed from office by His Majesty, Yuan Benchu and Yuan Gongli have not yet taken power. The officials are junior and their positions are low. The next generation of the Yuan family has not been succeeded, and the young and old have not been connected. No matter how rich the foundation is, I am afraid it will
Spend it all away."
Yuan Wei's face changed slightly, and his tone gradually became indifferent: "What does this mean by the order of the minister? Yuan's family has been blessed by the emperor. Whether he is in court or in opposition, he is worried about the country and has never complained because of his low official position."
Chen Mu said with a smile: "Of course the world knows the loyalty of the Yuan family. I just think that Yuan Benchu and Yuan Jiujiu are both talented people. It is a pity to hold the current position. There happens to be vacancies for the governors of Yizhou and Jingzhou, so I plan to
There is no other intention in recommending these two to the imperial court."
Recommend Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu?
Yuan Wei was surprised, but he quickly began to think about what the new Shangshu Ling was planning.
Regardless of the four generations and three princes of the Yuan family, friends who understand the officialdom of the late Han Dynasty should all know that in the late Han Ling Emperor's reign, top aristocratic families like the Yang family and the Yuan family were always the targets of Han Ling Emperor's suppression.
Especially in the past two years, very few people from the Yang family and the Yuan family have become officials.
Needless to say, Yuan Shao only had 600 dan. Yuan Shu, who had concentrated all the resources of the Yuan family to get 2,000 dan, had some power in the Western Han Dynasty. He was the commander of the imperial army in charge of Su Wei. But in the Eastern Han Dynasty, this changed.
It has become a parallel import, a casual position held by the descendants of noble relatives, with no real power.
Otherwise, the Yuan family is not short of money, so why can’t they spend money to buy a good official position?
Isn't it because Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty has realized the harm of these political families' long-term control of the government to his power, and thus slowly weakened them.
In fact, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was not targeting the Yuan family and the Yang family, but the entire Eastern Han bureaucracy.
What happened to the bureaucracy of the Eastern Han Dynasty?
The sons of officials entered Taixue, and after they came out, they directly promoted filial piety and integrity to become officials. Then, generation after generation, a unique aristocratic family system was formed, which monopolized official positions, making it almost difficult for poor families to rise.
Note that what we are talking about here is the poor family, and does not include the common people in Guizhou.
A poor family is a down-and-out aristocrat. They have money, food, drink, and education. They just have no political status, but they are much better than the common people in Guizhou who are struggling to have enough food and clothing.
Even poor families have no way to rise, let alone ordinary people.
Although there was no shortage of officials with civilian backgrounds in the Han Dynasty, such as Zhu Maichen and Jia Kui, this is called the survivor bias. They all had good luck, strong ability, and the acquaintance of noble people to get to this point. Most officials still had to
Depends on family background.
Yuan Wei is not stupid. In recent years, the emperor has done a lot, selling officials, promoting Hongdu sects and officials from poor families. Now, half of the three public officials and nine ministers are from poor families.
He knew what the emperor meant, so if Chen Mu wanted to recommend Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, the emperor might not agree.
Moreover, Yuan Wei was not sure about Chen Mu's plan. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly said: "Shang Shuling wants to recommend Ben Chu and Highway. I am convinced. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. They still have to rely on them for their future.
Just go by yourself."
Chen Mu smiled and said: "I am afraid that your Majesty will not agree."
Yuan Wei did not answer the call.
Chen Mu added: "To be honest, I also have something to ask for from Sir. If Sir agrees to help, then I will naturally have a way to get His Majesty to agree."
"oh?"
Yuan Wei became interested and asked: "What's the matter?"
Chen Mu said with a smile: "That Ren Bing is a disciple of the old man. After he took office in Qi State, he seemed to be dissatisfied with many of the policies I left behind, and he changed them randomly. I was unhappy, so I hope that the old man will come forward and help me with this."
I'm busy, so I'll transfer Ren Bing away."
Wu Kuang is too old. In his early years, he followed Huang Qiong, the grandfather of the current imperial servant Huang Wan, who was the imperial commander during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty. Although he was senior, he was also older. This month he was officially dismissed by Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty.
Chen Mu heard the news that the successor Ren Bingcai had just arrived in Qi and took office, and he made drastic changes to the policies he had left behind.
Not even Jushu could do anything about this, because Jushu was the governor and had only supervisory power but no governance power.
It turned out that Chen Mu's policy could be implemented only because Wu Kuang cooperated. The newly arrived prime minister did not cooperate, and Ju Shou had no way to do it.
So Chen Mu planned to make a deal with Yuan Wei, and at least for the next two years, Ren Binghu would not be allowed to come.
Some people may wonder, isn't Chen Mu in charge of two thousand stones?
yes.
The Chancellor's Desk indeed manages two thousand stones.
But the problem is that the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records: "During the reign of Emperor Ling, officials and titles were sold at the gates of Hongdu. There was a difference between Gongqing Prefecture and County Down to Huang Shou. The rich would pay first, and the poor would lose twice as much after reaching the official position, or because
Always at your service, Abao will be your own master."
For all the officials at that time, even if you did not buy an official position but were recruited by the imperial court, you still had to pay a sum of money, but the amount given was not as large as a normal official purchase.
Ren Bing was a disciple of the Yuan family and became an official through normal promotion of filial piety and integrity, but he also spent a sum of money. Once this money was spent, it was protected by the law.
Unless he did something bad and was exposed by the governor and reported to the court, Chen Mu would have the power to deal with it.
Otherwise, even Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty would not remove an official who spent money without reason.
Therefore, Chen Mu took Yuan Kai's idea into consideration.
Yuan Wei said calmly: "So that's it. I wonder which place Shangshu Ling thinks is suitable for becoming a prefect, highway or Benchu?"
"Yongchang and Changsha."
Chen Mu did not hesitate to reveal the location he had already thought of.
Yuan Wei's eyes lit up. Yongchang was a bit remote, but Yuan Shao only had six hundred stones. He became a feudal official, which was already a huge promotion. At most, he would return to Luoyang in a few years.
Changsha is also very remote, but that is just a geographical remoteness. At this time, Changsha was still quite prosperous and had a large population, so it was easy to achieve political achievements.
If Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu can both become governors, as long as they don't make any big mistakes, they will be able to find a way to be transferred back to Luoyang in a few years to serve as three ministers and nine ministers.
Thinking of this, Yuan Wei said without hesitation: "Since Shangshu Ling is so sincere, I might as well have to do this favor."
"Thank you very much, sir."
Chen Mu showed a harmless smile.
Driving Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu away without any effort is simply a good deal with huge profits.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, only Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were relatively powerful in the Northern Central Plains. It can be said that Cao Cao slowly crawled out between the two Yuan. In the early days, he even attached to Yuan Shao and helped Yuan Shao deal with Yuan Shu. After defeating Yuan Shu, he again
He counterattacked and defeated Yuan Shao with one blow.
Therefore, as long as the Yuan brothers and Cao Cao are removed from the north, even if there are warlords in Jizhou, Yuzhou and other places without truly capable heroes, they will still be far from Liu Bei's opponent.
When the time comes to secure the north of Ding, it will be much faster to dominate the Central Plains.
Although this will undoubtedly change history and make the future more elusive.
But again, the stupid time-travelers are still following the rules in the history books and following the development and evolution of history.
Smart time-travelers have already seen through the nature of history and are not afraid of whether future development will exceed their own understanding.
Only by not following history can we truly gain wisdom.
Chen Mu did this to take history into his own hands. Even if there were changes, he could predict them in advance and write his own chapter in the future.