The four of them sat around the table, drinking and discussing their next plan.
According to the legal system of the Ming Dynasty, there are generally three ways to appoint local county magistrates.
The first is that the Ministry of Civil Affairs selects and appoints people who have passed the imperial examination. Generally, the minimum requirement is to be a Jinshi before they can be directly appointed as county magistrates.
The second is to be demoted after making a mistake, either by a capital official, or by a magistrate or even a higher-level official demoted to become a county magistrate.
The third type is recommended by local officials. At least they must be at the prefect level to recommend subordinate county magistrates, and then report them to the territorial envoys, inspectors, and governors. Naturally, the province has the most say here. The chief governor.
As long as the governor agrees, the position of county magistrate is basically confirmed.
However, even if the governor signs and agrees to the recommendation letter, there is still one last step to go through, which is to report it to the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the capital for filing.
There is also the last emergency situation, in which the governor has the right to directly appoint and remove the county magistrates under his jurisdiction. That is when the situation is urgent and a war breaks out. The current situation in Guizhou is obviously consistent with this situation.
In other words, as long as Guizhou Governor Jiangdong nods, Zhu Renxia can officially become the county magistrate of Jinping County. He does not even need to wait for a letter from the Ministry of Officials, and only needs to report it for the record.
"Oh...that's it." Zhu Renxia responded with a silly smile.
I originally thought that I was already a stable county magistrate, but I didn't expect that I could only be an "acting county magistrate" now. Whether I could eventually become a regular magistrate would depend on whether I could pass the governor's test.
Lou Dongfang saw the disappointment on Zhu Renxia's face and hurriedly comforted him: "Mayor Zhu, please rest assured that Mr. Li is a confidant of Governor Jiang. He recommended him and you have made great contributions. This county magistrate will definitely not Fall aside."
Zhu Renxia laughed loudly: "Haha... Master, you are serious. Regardless of whether I can pass the governor's test, I will always bear in mind the support I have shown to Mr. Li. Even if I fail to become the magistrate of Jinping County, I will try my best to do it." Go to rescue Guiyang and help Governor Jiang defend the enemy outside the city gate."
Li Yao praised: "Brother Zhu is indeed an upright gentleman. I didn't misjudge him."
"The officers and soldiers have just suffered a disastrous defeat. The governor will definitely need to recruit new soldiers to pay for the fallen guards. We in Chang'an Town are willing to donate two thousand taels of gold to the governor to finance the army. Please inform the magistrate."
In order to help the governor win the defense battle in Guiyang, Zhu Renxia decided to donate generously and heavily to support Jiangdong.
"Oh...that's great. I'm here to thank Brother Zhu on behalf of Mr. Futai."
Li Yao was overjoyed again and wanted to stand up to bow again, but Zhu Renxia held him back, so he had to give up.
Lou Dongfang was filled with envy: "The military salary reserves of a prefectural city are only about 100,000 taels of silver. It would be good if a county can provide 30,000 to 40,000 taels of silver. Your Chang'an Town first donated 5,000 taels of silver, 200 taels of silver, and 200,000 taels of silver to Lord Li. Gold, now we have to donate two thousand taels of gold to the governor, how much wealth does your Chang'an Town have?"
Zhu Renxia and Liu Gongfu looked at each other, smiled, and laughed: "The secret must not be revealed, but there is more than ten thousand taels of gold."
"Ten thousand taels of gold?"
Lou Dongfang's nose twitched, and he muttered subconsciously, "If I had ten thousand taels of gold, what else would I do as a county magistrate? Buy him a thousand acres of fertile land, raise several beautiful concubines like flowers and jade, and sleep until midnight every day , do nothing. There is no greater joy in life than this!"
"Haha... In life, you must always pursue something!" Zhu Renxia smiled and raised his glass and took a sip.
"Old Lou, you are really worthless!"
Liu Gongfu almost couldn't help but teach Lou Dongfang a lesson, "Zhenzhang Zhu is a descendant of the royal family. He aims to revive the Ming Dynasty and make the people of the world have enough food and clothing. How can he become a rich man? For ten thousand taels of gold, let me tell you, we The gold in Chang'an Town is at least one hundred thousand taels..."
"Brother Gongfu, don't brag!"
Zhu Renxia hurriedly glared at Liu Gongfu, "One hundred thousand taels is the reserve capacity of gold mines, which have not yet been mined underground in our Chang'an Town. We hope that Mr. Li and Mr. Lou will keep this secret for us and never let outsiders know."
Both Li Yao and Lou Dongfang were shocked: "Oh, your Chang'an Town actually has a reserve of one hundred thousand taels of gold. This is the wealth God bestowed upon you in Jiangjia Village."
Zhu Renxia then expressed his position: "Please rest assured, Lord Governor, as long as the Governor can trust me, Zhu Renxia, I am willing to lead the people of Chang'an Town and help him put down Yang Yinglong's rebellion at all costs."
The implication of these words is very clear. As long as the governor re-appoints me, Zhu Renxia, and promotes me as an official, we in Chang'an Town are willing to provide money and people to help him put down this massive rebellion.
Li Yao said sincerely: "If there is one hundred thousand taels of gold as support, it is really possible to put down the rebellion in Bozhou. Brother Ren Xia, don't worry, I will do my best to recommend you to the prefect and let him reuse you. If necessary, Brother Yu I am willing to give up the position of Liping Prefect to you, and I will go to Jinping County to be the county magistrate."
"What are you talking about, Lord Magistrate? Doesn't this mean that I, Zhu Renxia, are being betrayed? I have absolutely no intention of doing anything wrong."
Zhu Renxia didn't know whether Li Yao was telling the truth or testing himself, so he hurriedly raised his glass and made a toast.
"Although I, Zhu Renxia, am no longer a member of the clan, I am still a descendant of Renzu and a descendant of the King of Nanchang. Regardless of whether I am an official or not, as long as I have the ability, I will definitely work hard for the common people of the old Zhu family. All I can do."
Li Yao suddenly sighed again: "It would be great if all our officials in Guizhou could be as concerned about the country and the people as Magistrate Zhu!"
Zhu Renxia felt strange when he was called "county magistrate" for the first time, and couldn't help but blush: "Although I am grateful to the prefect for your recommendation, Master Futai's appointment is not yet known, so you should not call me county magistrate." Alright? So that it won’t be offended and make people laugh."
"Brother Ren Xia, please rest assured. Brother Yu, no matter how hard he tries, he will still recommend you to take the seat of Jinping County Magistrate." Li Yao patted his chest and confirmed, speaking with certainty and confidence.
Lou Dongfang said: "If Brother Zhu can lead Minzhuang in Chang'an Town to achieve great achievements, the position of county magistrate will be even easier to obtain."
"Dongfang, what you said is a bit overwhelming."
Li Yao raised his glass to toast Zhu Renxia, and at the same time warned earnestly: "After all, the people in Chang'an Town are farmers with their faces facing the loess and their backs to the sky. After arriving in Guiyang, try to do some auxiliary work, helping the officers and soldiers carry rolling stones and logs. Ten million Don’t be on the front line.”
"The rebels are not only powerful, but Xiang Fan, Deng Wuqian and others are brave and good at fighting. If you are defeated, you will not be able to explain to these strong family members, and it will also affect your future. Your service as the magistrate of Jinping County has caused many complications."
"Haha... Magistrate, please rest assured."
Zhu Renxia was slightly drunk at the moment. Thinking of the Qi Jiajun under his command, he couldn't help but feel proud, "I'm not boasting about Haikou. Our elites in Chang'an Town are not only far stronger than ordinary people, but they are also far stronger than the guards. Their combat effectiveness is not even on the border of Liaodong." Under the soldiers.”
Today's Ming Dynasty's army is divided into four types. The first type is the guards soldiers distributed all over the country, called guards.
Guard soldiers are hereditary, and their ancestors can only serve as soldiers for generations, and they have no pay, so they have the weakest combat effectiveness among the regular army.
Secondly, there are mercenaries from various places. These people are temporary troops recruited by governors and governors. When there is a war, they are drafted into the army and receive military pay according to their service time. After the war, they are disbanded and each goes back to his home to find his mother.
The third type is the three major battalions of the capital: including the Fifth Army Battalion, the Three Thousand Battalion, and the Shenji Battalion. Their main task is to defend the capital, so they are usually called the Royal Forest Army.
However, after the Battle of Tumubao, the imperial guards of the Ming Dynasty lost their prestige and gradually declined. The generals in the Beijing camp were increasingly starved of pay, resulting in the combat effectiveness of the imperial guards being no better than that of mercenaries.
The last type is the border soldiers, which is also the strongest type in the Ming Dynasty's army.
These armies actually evolved from mercenaries. Because of their strong combat effectiveness and rich combat experience, they would be transferred to other places to participate in battles after a battle. Such a back-and-forth cycle finally forged the border soldiers into powerful combatants. of arms.
The troops stationed in Liaodong and Ningxia for a long time, as well as the troops stationed on the coasts of Fujian and Zhejiang to fight against Japanese invaders, are the frontier soldiers. The Qi Family Army led by Qi Jiguang is a famous representative of the frontier soldiers.
Seeing that Li Yao and Lou Dongfang did not believe what he said and might even think that he was talking drunkenly, Zhu Renxia became more competitive and put down the chopsticks in his hands to talk.
"Prefect Li, Master Lou, you may think that I, Zhu Renxia, am drunk or bragging. But what I want to say is that I, Zhu Renxia, am now clear-headed and there is no arrogance in what I said."
"Haha...I believe you."
Li Yao smiled back, saying he believed in his words, but his actions were very real, "Although a thousand cups of wine is too little for a close friend, we have been drinking for two hours, and tonight's banquet should be over."
Zhu Renxia hurriedly stopped: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, listen to me first, so that you can know that I, Zhu Renxia, am not bragging."
"Okay, I'm all ears." Li Yao had no choice but to sit and listen.
Zhu Renxia cleared his throat and sat up straight: "Prefect Li, Master Lou, can you guess who the chief instructor of our Chang'an Town People's Strength Group is?"
