After the woman finished speaking, she felt a little guilty, as if she was afraid that she would appear too "outstanding", so she muttered in a small voice.
"Actually, many people were like this at that time. After the flood, many officials in the southern region were dismissed or convicted by the court because of their inability to provide disaster relief. A group of corrupt officials who were too aggressive were killed and vacancies were created in the government offices. Lots of locations.”
"In addition to those promised to the bandits who colluded with the officials in Jingli, there are also many who can enter the government office by donating money."
"At that time, two hundred taels could buy a clerk, and five hundred taels could buy a master. If you were given five or six thousand taels, and you could find a way to build connections, you could even get a county magistrate or a member of the Communist Party of China... …”
There are many state capitals in the South, and it is a land of wealth. There are a lot of people with money but no power.
In the past, when officials were promoted to the imperial court, they could not fall into the hands of outsiders. Even the lowest officials had to be transferred from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. However, due to the chaos in the south, there were more opportunities. The Yamen of the state government were holding money every day. Someone who wants to "donate" an official position.
At that time, due to failure in providing disaster relief, civil unrest broke out. Many officials were convicted, as well as some with a strong temper and "unsociable" people, as well as those who were too greedy and failed to clean up their tails and were caught and unable to escape. After all, I can’t even count the number of vacant official positions.
Just a county government office, from the county magistrate to the government officials, and even the village secretary and security chief can be exchanged for money. Except for people in the capital who don’t know it, the officialdom in the south is like a riot. If there is no fish feed in the pond, anyone can go in and fish out the fishy smell as long as they are willing to spend money.
The woman seemed to be afraid that no one would believe her, so she whispered: "I remember that even in the Governor's Mansion and the Prefectural Government, you can get in as long as you can afford the price, which can be as little as three to fifty thousand taels, and as much as one hundred thousand taels. If you get more, you may even have the opportunity to be promoted to Beijing."
"My husband originally wanted to enter the Governor's Mansion, but because his family was not rich enough, he had to stay in the Shezhou Mansion..."
hiss--
Everyone couldn't help but gasp when they heard the woman's words, and Marquis Wen Xin and the others were even more pale-faced.
The promotion of officials is linked to money, and even the capital city dares to covet it...
Although Cao Dejiang had already known some things about the officialdom of the Southland and knew about the dirty work in the disaster relief case, he had never inquired about the details. Now that he suddenly heard this, even as a veteran minister, he felt his chest heaving and breathing. With difficulty.
General Yin, who has cultivated his moral character for many years, could not control his mind at this moment. He kicked the table hard with an angry look on his face: "They are so brave!!"
A person next to him sneered: "More than just being brave, they used people as bandits, colluded with officials and bandits, eliminated dissidents, and regarded the entire southern officialdom as theirs."
The thieves who were supposed to be killed entered the officialdom and became the military commanders of the imperial court.
Then who are these people who fought with their lives on the battlefield and lived and died several times to get their current official titles? And what about those soldiers who are still struggling at the bottom line and thinking of making a way out with their military exploits?
They are not even as good as those thieves who wantonly massacred people.
It is simply the most ridiculous thing in the world! !
Not only the generals, but also the civil servants were angry.
Those who can enter the court, even the sons of aristocratic families, must be somewhat talented. Those who can reach high positions are not only able to be protected by their families, not to mention some high-ranking court officials.
They took every step with difficulty and worked hard for most of their lives to get to where they are now.
But now they are told that as long as they give money, they can enter the officialdom. As long as they have enough money, they may not be unable to become officials of the third and fourth grades.
How can those who are noble and innocent in nature accept this!
Some elderly civil servants were full of ridicule: "It is so difficult for students in the world to enter the officialdom. The well-educated people from poor families are still depressed, but these people are better. The murderous bandits have turned into military generals, and the merchants who are full of copper odor are also How ironic it is to be able to enter the court casually!"
"It's so ridiculous, so absurd, these people are simply shameless!"
"Who is so bold as to use the selection of officials in exchange for money, and let such people control the people's livelihood? They are not afraid that these people will become brainless beetles and harm the country of Wei!"
"I think they just want to destroy the foundation of the Wei Dynasty. They dare to let such people enter the court. They have the heart of a wolf!"
People in the palace kept yelling at each other, and even the usually polite courtiers wanted to roll up their sleeves and beat people up.
The sharp-tongued censor looked directly at Emperor An in anger: "Back then, your Majesty also went south with the Lu family to provide disaster relief. Don't you know about selling your official position and getting a title?"
"You are presumptuous!"
Emperor An shouted angrily, but the censor did not retreat at all.
"I'm just puzzling. Why is it that the capital doesn't know about such things that destroy the foundation of the imperial court and bring chaos to the officialdom? Even if no one reports back, His Majesty is still in the south. Doesn't he know anything about this matter?"
"you……"
When Emperor An saw that the censor had finished speaking, everyone in the palace looked at him. Not to mention the courtiers, even the princes of the clan had expressions of shock and suspicion, and he couldn't help but feel trembling.
With his face tense, An Di tried his best to suppress his anger.
"I was only a deputy general back then, and I was not a prince valued by the late emperor. Although I was sent to the Southland to provide disaster relief, I had no right to interfere in the official affairs of the Southland..."
At this time, he didn't mind saying personally that he was humble and not valued by the late emperor, and he just wanted to clear up the relationship.
"The deployment of officials in the Southland is a major matter. Military generals and civil servants cannot be intervened by me as a powerless prince at the time. And I will only return to the capital after the riots in the Southland have subsided."
He really doesn't know this!
Emperor An felt that he had been extremely wronged.
He did go south to provide disaster relief with Lu Chongyuan back then, and he also knew about those "mobs". He even had a hand in the infamous reputation of the Brutal Prince.
But after the disaster relief, he gained a good reputation and immediately returned to Beijing to "receive the merit", leaving all the rest to Lu Chongyuan.
At that time, he was first showing his talents in the capital. He was busy establishing himself and winning over useful courtiers under the noses of the imperial brothers. He had no time to care about the affairs of the Southland.
Emperor An only knew that the Lu family had powerful methods. They calmed down the Southern officialdom in a very short time and made those officials particularly obedient. They even helped him subdue several senior officials in the Southern officialdom for his use, which gave him a lot of wealth. He was very confident, but he really didn't know that the Lu family was actually selling their official positions.
Emperor An's hands trembled slightly, but he tried his best to keep his eyes calm: "I will never lie, and I dare to swear to the ancestors in the Ancestral Temple that I never knew about selling my official position back then!"
The censor frowned when he heard this and wanted to speak again, but Cao Dejiang suddenly said: "I believe that your majesty does not know about this."
"Mr. Cao!"
"Master Cao!"
