The war in Hebei had almost no impact on Chang'an, and the city of Chang'an remained prosperous. More than a hundred new scholars returned to Chang'an after a month's leave, waiting for the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.
They will accept new official positions and go to various places to take up their posts. The 500 Ming Jing Ke students who passed the Ming Jing Ke examination with them will not have much vacation. They took office one after another more than a month ago.
Ming Jingke scholars mainly filled the gap of high-level civil servants. Officials in the Tang Dynasty were also divided into many levels. Many bureau chiefs in the county today were actually civil servants in the Tang Dynasty.
In the Tang Dynasty, there were only four officials at the county level: the county magistrate, the county magistrate, the county lieutenant, and the chief registrar. The county magistrate was equivalent to the secretary, the county magistrate was equivalent to the county chief, and the county lieutenant was equivalent to the political and legal official and the public security director, and the chief registrar.
Equivalent to the Secretary-General of the County Party Committee.
There are also six cao at the county level, corresponding to the six prefecture departments and the six imperial ministries. Among them, the heads of the six departments at the state level are still ninth-rank officials, but the heads of the six cao at the county level are officials.
Scholars who passed the Ming Jing Ke went to work as high-level civil servants at the bottom of states and counties, or stayed in Chang'an to work. Their only advantage was that they had the opportunity to be promoted to officials. Of course, they must have enough connections and abilities.
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However, the benefits of being admitted to Mingjingke are quite good. Each county has a small official residence, and the monthly salary is six to seven guan. There is a double salary at the end of the year. There is ice in the summer, charcoal money in the winter, and three kilograms of cotton every year, which is paid during the New Year.
There were two sheep. In addition, each civil servant was equipped with an official horse, which was also not available in Zhu Si's court in the Southern Tang Dynasty.
If you pass the Jinshi Department, you will directly become an official. According to the regulations, the top three will be awarded the lower rank of the eighth rank, the fourth to the tenth will be awarded the lower rank of the ninth rank, and those after the tenth will be awarded the lower rank of the ninth rank.
Upper level.
The official positions are the lowest, and then you start to work your way up, one level at a time. Generally, after four years of service, if you get a good evaluation, you will be promoted to one level. You will not be promoted if you move up to one level, but your salary, income and welfare benefits will increase.
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But it is also important to move up a level. You will most likely be promoted after completing your next term. This is like exchanging serving rights in a volleyball match. You only get the right to serve when you move up from a lower level to an upper level. But if you move up another level, then
Even if the score is upgraded, from the ninth grade to the eighth grade, it also means promotion.
There are also special circumstances. For example, if you have been working as a clerk for four years at the lower level of the ninth rank, if you are rated above or above in the official evaluation, which is the highest rating, and have outstanding political achievements, and are recommended by the county magistrate and governor, you will have the opportunity to be directly promoted to one level.
From being promoted from the lower rank of the ninth rank to the lower rank of the eighth rank, from the chief clerk to the county lieutenant or county magistrate, in this situation, the main thing in the officialdom is the backstage.
Therefore, the difference between the top three Jinshi and the top ten is the official career time, which is about ten years.
The official positions of the Jinshi have already been decided, but they don't know it yet. The Jinshi are all living in the official inn, waiting patiently for their official positions to be announced.
At noon, in a tavern outside Dongshimen University, Han Yu, Xie Changming, Xiao Zhenye and Lu Nan gathered for dinner. They were going to the Department of Personnel Affairs to go through the formalities this afternoon and would know their official appointments.
Today's noon treat was Han Yu. After he returned to Xuanzhou, he was received by Han Huang, the pacifying envoy of the two Zhejiang Provinces, and Liu Qia, the Jiedu envoy of the Jiangnan East Province. He was then received by the officials at the prefecture and county levels, and then by the local squires.
He earned more than a thousand taels of silver, and left 500 taels of money for his widowed sister-in-law who raised him. He also had seven to eight hundred taels of silver, which made him quite wealthy.
"We have to go to the Department of Civil Affairs in the afternoon. We won't drink at noon and have tea instead of a bar!"
Xie Changming filled the four wine glasses with strong tea and said with a smile: "Let's drink to the good luck in the afternoon!"
"Cheers!" The four of them raised their glasses and drank together.
Xie Changming smiled and said: "Today I heard a news that many officials in Hebei Prefecture are to be purged, especially the county officials in Youyan Prefecture. Hundreds of county officials will be transferred from Guanzhong and Hedong. In this way, Guanzhong and Hedong will be replaced.
The seat will become vacant, and we may arrange it in the vacant seat here."
"This news should be unreliable!"
Lu Nan shook his head and said: "Our official positions were decided more than a month ago. The recovery of Hebei is a later matter. It is impossible to predict it beforehand."
Han Yu also smiled and said: "Lu Nan is right, but I think there should be fine-tuning. In fact, I think it doesn't matter where you go. The key is to have the opportunity to use your talents."
"Xiao Han, you are too naive!"
Xiao Zhenye sneered and said: "You don't understand the darkness of officialdom. You work very hard and it is easy to achieve some results. The county magistrate who takes the final credit will be replaced by another county magistrate. You will continue to be a bull and a horse."
Let's be more realistic. Income and welfare benefits are fundamental. If you go to a large and wealthy county, the county government will have a lot of income. The county magistrate eats meat and we can drink soup with him. I have a relative who is a county magistrate in the south of the Yangtze River.
The income from house rent and land rent in the county is huge, and his various monthly subsidies are three times higher than his salary. His income is thirty or forty guan a month, and the official residence is still five acres. He has been doing this for more than ten years, and he doesn't want to transfer it at all."
Xiao Zhenye's words made Han Yu secretly curl his lips, the situation was too low.
At this time, the shopkeeper came over and said: "Everyone, it's almost midnight, don't you still have something to do?"
Everyone was a little panicked. They didn't expect time to fly by so fast. Although it was just about the end of the day and it was still half an hour away, they had to go early! Not to mention that they still had to walk a long way.
Han Yu paid the bill, everyone packed up their things and hurried to the Department of Civil Affairs.
The Department of Personnel is located in Xingqing Palace, which is also the Palace of the King of Jin. It is the head of the eight departments. The government office is also relatively grand. There is a gate with soldiers standing guard at the door. You can already enter at this time. You need to pass the Jinshi card before entering.
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The four of them entered the gate and were led to a courtyard. The courtyard was actually a garden. There were rockeries, pavilions, stone benches, and many places to sit. There were already fifty or sixty people in the courtyard, all of whom were new scholars, waiting.
People from the Department of Civil Affairs announced the call.
"What is the process?" Xie Changming asked a Jinshi in a low voice.
"I heard that the chief and deputy minister will meet you first, give you a few words of encouragement, and then go to complete the formalities. Your name will be called, so you can wait with peace of mind."
The four of them found a bench and sat down, patiently waiting for the call to be announced. As time passed, more than a hundred Jinshi were all present.
At this time, an official walked out of the main hall and said loudly: "Please come to the lobby with the following six people: Cui Anlie of Beizhou, Yan Shiliang of Jingzhao, Han Yu of Xuanzhou, Lu Nan of Suzhou, Wang Ziji of Taiyuan, and Pei Ji of Puzhou."
The first six entered first. Han Yu quickly pulled Lu Nan, and the two quickly walked into the lobby. There were official rooms around the lobby, three rooms in the front, and several rows of brocade chairs outside.
"Sit down first. I'll call you in shortly."
All six people sat down, and not long after, a manager walked out of the middle room and said: "Xuanzhou Han Yu, please come in!"
Han Yu was startled. He was only the third one, so he had no time to think about why he was called first. He quickly walked in, followed by Cui Anlie and Yan Shiliang, who also walked into the two rooms next door.
There was a large table in the middle of the room, and behind it sat a senior official in his fifties. It was Wen You who had just returned from Taiyuan. He was Zuo Sima and also served as the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel.
Wen You has long wanted to meet this Han Yu, but he has never had the chance. Today, the Ministry of Civil Affairs conferred appointments, so he took this opportunity to meet this scholar who was valued by the King of Jin.
Wang made the decision himself, which really made Wen You curious.
"I'm Wen You, you should know!"
Han Yu was shocked to find that it was Wen You who conferred the title on him in person. He quickly bowed and saluted: "Protégé Han Yu, please see Wen Sima!"
"Please take a seat!"
Wen You didn't mention the matter of his disciples at all. This was official business and no personal friendship could be discussed. He smiled lightly and said: "I may not remember your father Han Zhongqing, but I still remember your eldest brother Han Hui. He was extremely talented and learned, but unfortunately he was
Yuan Zai was implicated in being demoted and died young, which is a pity. Your literary talents are also very good, especially your calligraphy skills. Being able to pass the examination is also a manifestation of your strength. The officials have also checked your virtues and there are no bad deeds. According to the regulations
, officially conferring on you the rank of eighth-grade Chengwulang."
After saying that, Wen You handed a large envelope to Han Yu. Inside was the appointment letter of the Chief Minister, the seal of the Department of Personnel and the seals of Chief Pan Liao and Sima Wenyou, and a bronze fish talisman of the sixth grade.
The following are copper fish charms, the sixth to fourth grades are silver fish charms, and the fourth and above grades are gold fish charms, which are symbols of the official's identity and status.
Han Yu stood up quickly and respectfully took the appointment certificate. Wen You smiled again and said: "The following is your official position arrangement. You can either go to the local area to become an official or stay in the court. The top three will have a chance to choose. Do you want to stay in the court?
I still want to be an official somewhere.
Han Yu had been thinking about this issue for a long time. If he wanted to become a local official, he would have a higher income and a larger official residence. He could take his widowed sister-in-law with him to support him. The widowed sister-in-law was nearly twenty years older than him. After the death of his eldest brother, he had always been a widowed man.
His sister-in-law raised him and he treated her like a mother.
On the other hand, being a local official can also give him the opportunity to display his talents.
“Students want to go somewhere and become officials!”
There was a smile on Wen You's face. Most people would try their best to stay in the court, but Han Yu wanted to be an official somewhere, which was really different.
He nodded, raised his pen and said: "As the chief officer of the Department of Personnel, I will officially appoint you as the county captain of Fengxian County."