Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

As soon as Lu Ci's half-joking and half-serious words came out, the faint sadness in the carriage was dispelled invisibly.

Zhu said that he couldn't help raising the corners of his lips.

For some reason, although he was a bit disrespectful, he did suddenly feel that brother Yu Yu, who was thinking about delicious food, was really cute...

After realizing this idea, Zhu said that he couldn't help but feel a little guilty, so he nodded quickly as a response, and immediately began to think about what foods were easy to store and could be mailed.

After Teng Zongliang was stunned for a moment, he still thought that Lu Ci was just joking to cheer up the atmosphere and relieve the sadness, so he took the slap in the face and said straightforwardly: "What's so difficult about it? There are always different seasonal snacks in every season of the year. At that time, I will choose some and send them to brother Yuyu."

Zhu said that he was still thinking about it, but Teng Zongliang took the lead. He couldn't help but frowned, and immediately followed up: "I'll send it once a month. No matter how long-lasting the food is, it's better to keep it fresh."

The two knew each other so well, Lu Ci smiled in satisfaction, nodded, and looked at Liu Qi quietly.

Liu Qi: "..."

Looking at the two who indulged the little glutton without principle, Liu Qi sighed pretending to be sad, and reluctantly said: "Then I will send it once a month."

The flawless and jade-like handsome face instantly melted away, the corners of her lips curled up, and she gave him a slight nod.

Liu Qi's eyes were dazzled by the dazzle, and she couldn't help muttering in her heart, "It's not a loss".

Teng Zongliang was not happy now: "You send it once a month, doesn't it make me stingy and stingy? This is not acceptable. Let's just make it, the three of us will send it once a month. At the beginning of the month, brother Zhu In the middle of the month, brother Liu, at the end of the month."

Zhu Shuo and Liu Qi, who had been assigned the task, looked at each other, and both of them could see some inexplicably high fighting spirit, and they had no objection to this suggestion.

Teng Zongliang determined the frequency and time of sending letters. Such efficiency also made Lu Ci look at him a little more appreciatively, and praised: "When I go to the local government, Brother Teng If you can still maintain such a lean ability, the future is bright."

"Cheng Yuyu's auspicious words!" Teng Zongliang shook his folding fan proudly, and suddenly sighed: "But I don't expect anything else, I just want to avoid being assigned to some remote villages, and then try to return to Beijing as soon as possible."

It’s just that as a candidate, the term of each dispatch is [-] months. If you want to change from a trial title to a regular one, you need one term first; appoint……

After serving as a county magistrate for two years, it is not considered a real capital. It needs to pass the grinding survey before it can be changed to an official of the Beijing Dynasty.

Even after becoming an official of the Beijing court, he may not be able to stay in the capital to serve, and it is more likely that he will continue to be assigned to a local government and go through two or three turns.

He didn't dare to expect to be promoted beyond the rules. If everything went well, he might be able to return to Beijing to report on his duties in his forties.

Zhu said that he would not comment on this, and even felt eager to try the long road ahead.

After all, he was the same age as Lu Ci, only seventeen now, and he got a rather high second-class as a starting point. Even after three or four rounds, he was still in his prime, so he had no worries like Teng Zongliang.

On the contrary, Liu Qi felt the same way, and also felt a little bit sad: "The road is long but the journey is long!"

The two looked at each other sympathetically and sighed.

However, Liu Qi's situation is much better than Teng Zongliang's.

Because he was ranked first, he was either incorporated into the secretary province and went to other places to be a school secretary, or he went to a local county to be a magistrate.

If you want to be promoted from Zhixianguan to Tongjuan, you only need two turns.

Then whether he was promoted from the general judge to the magistrate, succeeded elsewhere, or changed to an official of the Beijing Dynasty, it was all a way out that satisfied Liu Qi, and it was far from Teng Zongliang's.

Of course, he is still more fortunate than Lu Ci, the only one among the hundreds of Jinshi who directly became an official of the Beijing Dynasty, and because of his top Jinshi and rank, Lu Ci was destined to be transferred to an official position.

Although the secretary and supervisor are in name only, the post of the library is notoriously expensive and vacancies.

Not only is she famous and well received by the imperial court, but most importantly, she is also extremely cared for in terms of official rank promotion.

The selected candidates worked hard to complete the three-year term. They had to make no mistakes before they could be promoted to a higher level.

In contrast, the official of the library is a very jealous existence - if he is valued by the emperor and does not make mistakes, even if he is promoted to five levels by leapfrogging, it is not impossible.

Because of this, library jobs are extremely difficult to get into.

According to the usual practice, even if it is only the lowest class, one has to hold other official positions for a period of time before taking the exam to enter the library.

For example, Wang Zeng, the No. [-] scholar in the past few years, had to take the exam and enter the pavilion only after he had served as a general judge in various states.

Others may not have noticed it, but Liu Qi, who was careful, discovered it: In yesterday's edict, for some reason, only Lu Ci's Jilu official rank was read out, but there was no mention of dispatch.

It should be noted that when an official is promoted, what matters is not the false rank of the official, but the exact assignment and position.

Even No. [-] and Tanhua were dispatched by the general judge. How could Lu Ci, as the No. [-] scholar who was valued by the officials all the way, be carelessly missed?

Liu Qi vaguely had a guess in his heart.

It's hard to say clearly before things are decided.

Lu Ci did not agree with Teng Zongliang's words, and retorted: "Sending charcoal in the snow, isn't it more interesting than icing on the cake? In my opinion, the poorer the place, the more conducive it is to show your talents and do whatever you want."

Seeing that the three of them looked thoughtful, Lu Ci smiled, and simply said a few more words: "Although you are candidates, but you are born as Jinshi, there must be some preferential treatment when you enter. Don't forget to investigate Although the standards vary depending on the position, they can't get rid of the "seven things", "four goodness" and "three most" are..."

Unlike the three people who were wholeheartedly preparing for the tribute and only knew how to study hard, Lu Ci had always had some clear plans for his own future, and of course he knew a lot about career promotion.

It's just that he always thought that even if he was lucky enough to be admitted, he would definitely be sent to a local place, so he didn't know much about the central government, but he knew the local officials well.

Now it's cheaper for Liu Qi and the others.

Just as the three of them were fascinated by what they heard, and hated that they had no paper and pen to record, the carriage had already arrived.

Lu Ci paused under their unsatisfactory gaze, got out of the car first, thanked the driver with a smile, and then let the servants unload their luggage and went home.

During the short walk into the front yard and about to enter the house, Liu Qi kept talking to Lu Ci.

Suddenly he mentioned: "Since Yu Yu wants to stay in Beijing to work, it is not suitable to continue to rent a house to live in. It is better to choose a good place and buy it."

However, in Bianjing, every inch of gold and land, there are countless rich and wealthy, and it is not so easy to buy a house that suits your wishes.

Now Lu Ci's official rank is only from the eighth rank, and his monthly salary is no more than eighteen. Even if he saves for the first half of the year without eating or drinking, I'm afraid it will only be enough to buy... a stable.

Lu Ci said: "Wait a minute, don't worry, the dispatch has not come down anyway, so it's not easy to choose a location."

Liu Qi coughed lightly: "If Yu Yu doesn't dislike it, Brother Yu still has some savings..."

He doesn't rely entirely on his family, he saves the expenses of going to the Qinlou Chu Pavilion, and supplies some new poetry manuscripts to the bookshop from time to time. Every time a certain edition is printed, he can get a lot of dividends.

Especially after winning the exam, he was full of vigor, full of wit and ideas every day, prospered in his words, and wrote countless masterpieces every day with a big pen.

Because Lu Ci was too thin-skinned, Liu Qi couldn't sell the messy words surrounding the other party, so as not to annoy the other party.

Only a few copies were published separately and collected by myself.

But other poems, he did not do less.

When the bookstore was selling it, it was discovered that Liu Qi's works were still favored by female music as always.

They carefully matched the tune, and as soon as it was sung, even if Liu Qicunbu had never stepped into the singing hall, his lyrics and music had been popular for a long time, which drove the sales of Liu Qi's new works...

Zhu said that he had been holding back for a long time, but it was hard to open his mouth, and he felt that Lu Ci would refuse.

Now that Liu Qi had started this conversation, he quickly followed up: "Thanks to brother Yu Yu for taking care of me, I have some savings, anyway, I will be an official in another place, and I will move to another place when I am full, and it is not easy to buy real estate, why not—— "

Teng Zongliang was stunned, and it took him a while to come back to his senses: "I don't have much left on me, but I can ask for some at home."

Lu Ci was moved when he heard it, but he couldn't laugh or cry: "I'm just not in a hurry to buy it, and I didn't say I couldn't afford it. Why do I need you to contribute? I appreciate this kindness, but it's really unnecessary."

Of course Lu Ci was not in a hurry to buy the mansion, but Liu Qi and the others were in a hurry.

In a few days, they will have to leave to report on their duties. When they meet next time, at least one term will expire. How can there be any chance to leave some money for Lu Ci to buy a house?

Liu Qi was still waiting to persuade, several people had already walked into the main hall.

When they saw the three old men sitting on the edge of the round table with smiles all over their faces and deliberately raised tea bowls at them, they couldn't help being stunned.

Lu Ci asked in surprise, "Why are you here, gentlemen?"

Could it be Master Li, Master Yang and Master Liu!

"Don't say that I haven't passed the seventy-year-old age. With the great joy of my favorite student winning three yuan, even if I go, I have to come."

Master Li replied as a matter of course, and looked at Yang and Liu who were also excited, but he preempted them with disgust: "They are just here to join in the fun, so don't pay attention."

"..."

Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Liu were blocked by Mrs. Li's shamelessness of crossing the river and tearing down the bridge.

Master Yang said angrily, "You didn't teach Yu Yu alone!"

Mrs. Li is too lazy to pay attention to Mrs. Yang's complaints. He is more proud than Lu Ci himself who is on the list. Just now he barely held back and did not welcome him out. In front of him, the corners of his eyes and brows were filled with joy.

His eyes were slightly moist, and his voice was a little choked up, but he still insisted on looking at his beloved disciple who was becoming more and more beautiful from head to toe, and stroked his white beard in relief: "Qi Yu, good, good! I can teach you such a A student, this old man has absolutely no regrets in his life."

After failing many exams and getting older, in order to make ends meet, Master Li reluctantly gave up the gongju course. However, when teaching the students, he worked hard, and to some extent, he meant to pin his unfulfilled wishes on them.

When Lu Ci won two yuan in a row, he was already shouting with joy, and then when the news of the other party winning three yuan, the first prize and the first prize was sent back to Mizhou, the whole city was in disbelief and thunderous.

Like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, countless shops with signboards starting with "Sanyuan" were scrambled in the market, and the shops all proudly stated that their own stores were Lu Sanyuan's favorite place to go before taking the exam: Sanyuan Perfume Hall, Sanyuan Ice Shop, Sanyuan Hotel...

The most authentic ones are, of course, those ice dew and fragrant cake shops opened by Mother Lu.

The Icemen in the city, having received countless requests from families to be married off that day, flocked to Lu's house one after another.

Thanks to the experience of the sensation caused by Lu Ci winning Shengyuan, even though Mother Lu was shocked, she still reacted very quickly to close the shop, and took advantage of the enthusiastic Iceman army to attack, and hid back like a thief dumbfounded. went home.

When the city was noisy, Mrs. Li in the academy couldn't sit still for a moment, and immediately yelled for his wife to pack his luggage and set off for the capital.

Even if it's just to take a look and say a few words, it's worth it.

Although the dean was also happy, he was rational after all, saying hello and smiling all day long was enough.

Because he knew that Master Li had always loved and valued Lu Ci, seeing that Lu Ci was as happy as his own son, he was able to laugh it off at first.

However, when he heard that the other party took it for granted and asked him for three months' leave, just to take a look at Lu Ci...

"Are you crazy?"

The dean was simply annoyed: "It's fine if you insist on making such a trip yourself, and take away Lao Yang, Lao Liu and the others. If you think that my academy has lost three masters at once, can it still be open?"

"Even if the courtyard is closed for three months, so what?" Master Li said confidently: "You should be as talented and beautiful as Yu Yu, who can compare with those elm heads in the courtyard? I can't teach you in my life. The second Sanyuan Jidi is coming! If you don’t take a look, I won’t be able to rest in peace!”

Speaking of this, Master Li said again: "Besides, I wanted to go alone. If you can stop the two of them from getting in the way, I will be more happy."

Obviously it can't be stopped!

The dean silently swallowed a mouthful of blood, and said forcefully: "Anyway, I won't allow this fake. It's not like Lu Ci won't come back, is his mother still here? Are you so anxious to do this?"

"Then you should hire someone else." Master Li stroked his long beard reassuringly, shook his head and said, "Anyway, I have taught three-yuan and first-level students, so I don't worry about not having a place to go."

Dean: "..."

He was so angry that he almost passed out, but in the end he approved Mr. Li's leave, and temporarily hired three teachers from the private school to teach for the past few months.

Others saw Li Fuzi being so happy and silly, and they couldn't help saying that he was clearly empty under his knees, and he didn't have a son or a daughter. I really don't know why he was so happy for an outsider who was not related to him, and he was so old. A long way to go to the capital.

Mr. Li turned a blind eye to these sour words. Before setting off, he just said proudly, "That's why you can neither give birth to a son of Sanyuan, nor can you teach students of Sanyuan." A large group of people fell down.

After listening to Master Li's beaming narration, Lu Ci was amused, moved, and distressed.

"Gentlemen have traveled all the way, it is really hard."

He couldn't help opening his arms, and gently embraced this benefactor who was obviously quite old and had come all the way here just to witness his glory with his own eyes and say congratulations to himself.

Master Li was only wearing an old shirt that had been washed countless times, and when he hugged him, he could clearly feel the thinness of the other party, as if there were only a handful of bones left.

Mrs. Li was taken aback by Lu Ci's sudden action, and subconsciously struggled, but still did not move.

He patted Lu Ci's back lightly, and while Lu Ci couldn't see his face at this time, he quickly wiped away the tears that kept falling out with his rough fingertips.

After wiping, Master Li raised his head. Just as he was about to say something, he met Teng Zongliang, who had witnessed his father and friend's tears, with a subtle look in his eyes that was both at a loss and hesitant to speak.

Master Li: "..."

He was a little angry for a while, but after being let go by Lu Ci, he turned his embarrassment into anger in an instant: "Look at you, no wonder you are already in your twenties, and it's the second exam, and you are not as good as Yu Yu! This lack of winking! After a long time, don't you know how to pour a cup of tea for Yu Yu! You, you, you—"

Under Liu Qi's schadenfreude gaze, Teng Zongliang, who was sprayed with spittle, told Zhu about the work of grabbing the tea, and at the same time felt that this unreasonable master was so biased that there was no limit to it. Hush and ask for warmth to Yu Yu, but he was full of grievances.

According to the order of the teeth, it should be Lu Ci who poured tea for him, but why should it not be his turn to pour tea for Lu Ci?

The author has something to say: The official system in the Northern Song Dynasty is still very complicated... To be honest, after reading a few books, I still don't understand many things, and because the official system is constantly reforming, it is even more confusing.

Now gradually put some relevant content I saw in the notes, it doesn't matter if you can't remember it for a while, anyway, you will understand when Lu Ci upgrades.Now it’s just a brief mention, and it’s even more inconvenient for me to popularize science in the article, so as not to occupy the word count.

Notes (today's all come from the book "Cultural History of the Song and Song Dynasties"):

1. Selected people are generally also called Muzhizhou county officials, which is the general term for low-level civil servants and local officials.

Candidates must be tested (assessed) and recommended by a certain number of candidates. According to whether the person is born or not and meets the prescribed test scores (one year of service is one test), he can be promoted to Beijing and court officials.The candidates were changed to Beijing and court officials, and the first appointment must be the county magistrate.

2. Promotion to court officials refers to the general term for middle and senior officials who can meet with the emperor and attend banquets.In the early Northern Song Dynasty, civil servants were promoted from the crown prince Zhongyun, and military officials were promoted to court officials from the Chongban and above in the inner hall.

3. General officials have two titles of "official" and "dispatch", and some officials also have the title of "job". "Official" refers to the official or the official.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the official names of the three provinces and six ministries of the Tang Dynasty were used to form official ranks. After becoming the name of the official rank, it lost its original meaning and became a seniority of the official rank, and no longer held the position corresponding to the official name.

These official names are only used to determine the rank, salary, chapter and order, so they are called Zhengguan or Benguan, also known as "rank officials" or "jilu officials".

4. Officials are promoted according to their seniority. If they do not serve as dispatchers, they generally cannot receive salaries. However, dispatchers are transferred and promoted according to the needs of the court and the talents of officials.Therefore, what really determines the real power of an official is not the rank of the official, but the dispatch.At that time, the scholar-bureaucrats "regarded dispatching important dramas as the most important way, and did not regard rank, honor, and title as important."

5. Promotion:

In the early Northern Song Dynasty, Beijing officials and above were divided into three categories: from general supervisors to secretary supervisors; Officials are another category.

The first category of officials is roughly divided into four grades according to their origin, position in the Qing column, yinburen, and miscellaneous streams; the same official has different transfers.The former second class can be transferred to official positions with excessive capital, and the latter second class can be transferred to official positions one by one.The second category of officials is no longer classified, and there are eleven rounds in total because they are "the best choice in the world" because of their "discussion and dedication, and the title of attendant".The third category of officials can only be promoted if they have been prime ministers, and they can be super-raised. The prime minister surpasses the third official every time, and the ruling surpasses the second official.

6. As for dispatch, there are also a series of laws and regulations, such as self-prison officials being promoted to magistrates, county magistrates being promoted to general judges, and general judges being promoted to magistrates, all of which are limited to two terms.This method of lifting and turning is called "Guan Sheng".The selection of a person to be promoted to an official of the Beijing Dynasty must go through the "grinding" procedures of a specialized agency before he can "change an official" to an official of the Beijing Dynasty.

7. Cheng Zi: The so-called Zi refers to the promotion level of an official, generally referring to the official rank; at the same time, an official's term of office is also called "Cheng Zi".

8. Grinding:

The Song Dynasty called the examination course for officials when they were promoted to their official ranks "Mo Kan".There is a certain number of years for the promotion and transfer of officials in the Beijing Dynasty. During the term of office, the superiors will examine their merits and demerits every year, and then the special agencies such as the Court of Appeal and the Ministry of Officials will review their performance, and then decide to be promoted to the official rank.

The criteria for the examination vary with the position. Generally, "seven things" are used to test the supervisor.Use "four goodness" and "three most" to test compliance.The four virtues are "to be well-known about morality and righteousness, to be honest and clear, to be fair, to be diligent and relentless"; Xingxiu is the most persuasive lesson", "eliminating traitors and thieves, getting people a safe place, relieving the poor and preventing them from being displaced is the most important thing to support".The examination is divided into three grades, five of the seven things are classified as superior, three are classified as medium, and others are classified as inferior.Candidates must be qualified through grinding and inspection before they can be changed to officials of the Beijing Dynasty, which is called "changing officials".

9. Library position:

Under normal circumstances, the secretary supervisor is just in name only.However, the position of the pavilion is a fat job, not only famous, but also an important way to promote senior bureaucrats.Therefore, from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty, some famous politicians, historians, and writers, such as Ouyang Xiu, Bao Zheng, Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, etc., mostly once lived in the pavilion.

The work of the library staff is mainly to edit and edit the collection of books in the secret pavilion of the third library, edit official books, and participate in the discussion of imperial ceremonies and political affairs.

In terms of official rank promotion, library staff also have special care.Civil officials in the Song Dynasty, who had no background and no post, could only be promoted by one level if they did not make mistakes in three or four years;In particular, senior central officials are mostly selected and appointed from the pavilions.The staff of the library are in the center, and can be promoted to the two systems (Hanlin Bachelor, Zhizhigao), two governments (Zhengshitang, Privy Council), and climb to the top of the ruling group.

Ouyang Xiu said in the third year of Renzong Qingli (1043) that "my ministers are appointed as dispatchers, transshipment envoys, and prefects of Dafan in recent years, and they are mostly given the position of the museum." senior staff.The reason for selecting officials from the pavilions is "all the handsome men in the world are selected from the pavilions of the imperial court".Emperor Renzong once said that "three museums are set up to cultivate talents" and "the museum staff treats handsome men".

It is no small matter to hold a post in the library. "Once you get this post, you will become a celebrity", but it is not easy to get.In the early Song Dynasty, the conferring of museum posts had to pass an examination.Even the Jinshi and the first and high school champions must serve in an official position for a period of time before they can take the examination and enter the library; as for ordinary officials, they must be recommended by the minister before they are allowed to take the examination.Examination subjects, Yuanfeng used to "examine one poem and one Fu"

The granting of library posts was stricter before Zhenzong.Cheng Ju recorded in "The Story of Lintai": During the reign of Zhenzong Xianping (998-1003), "the king was once the number one Jinshi, passed the sentence of Jeju, returned it on behalf of him, and was an exam for the Academy. He was known as the prime minister at that time. , Special examination in Zhengshitang, except for Zuo Lang, Zhishiguan".In December of the eighth year of Zhenzong Dazhong Xiangfu (1015), Wang Qinruo, Chen Pengnian and others copied the books of Chongwen Academy. First try to select, send to the academy for a test on poetry and prose, and only after passing the test can you be a low-level official in the pavilion.After conferring a post in the library, you will also be assessed, and only those with excellent grades will be promoted.However, there are only a small number of people who actually hold important positions, and most of them are sent to other places to serve.However, after Renzong, it became more and more relaxed.

10. Salary:

The salaries of officials in the Song Dynasty include regular salary (money), clothing (clothing), millet (grain), tea, wine and kitchen materials, fuel charcoal, salt, clothing and food for entourage, millet for horses, extra support (increased supply), salary , envoy money and rewards, etc.In the early Song Dynasty, the salaries of officials were relatively low, and some of them were given real money, and some were discounted for other items.For example, the monthly salary of the third shift is only [-] Wen, and half a catty of meat for post coupons.

In the fifth year of Zhenzong Dazhong Xiangfu (1012), for the first time, civil and military officials’ salaries were generally increased [Note]: the three divisions, the three publics, and the servants each increased by [-], and the three divisions, Yushi doctor, six ministers, Zhongcheng [-] each, [-] or [-] each for Beijing officials and ambassadors, and [-] or [-] for small envoys;

During Zong Jiayou's reign (1056-1063), the "Salary Order" was formally formulated, which stipulated in detail the amount of salaries for civil and military officials at all levels.For example, it is stipulated that the monthly salary of the prime minister and the privy envoy is three hundred thousand, and the spring and winter clothes are given 100 pieces of silk, 70 pieces of silk, [-] taels of winter cotton, and [-] stones of grain every month. There are [-] people each with clothing and food, [-] bundles of firewood per month, [-] scales of charcoal each year, seven stones of salt, etc.For magistrates with more than [-] households in Jixian County, Tokyo, the monthly salary for promotion to court officials is [-], and for Beijing officials to [-];County magistrates with more than [-] households, [-] households, and so on.

The salary of the prefecture and county officials is the lowest, and the monthly salary of some county lieutenants is only 950 Wen for five consecutive years.