Han officials

Chapter 48 The Emperor's Thoughts

In fact, Wang Ke did not tell the truth.

For example, the Wang family of Lelang is one of those "several families".

There aren't many big families in Lelang County, but the Wang family of Lelang is definitely one of the top ones.

You should know that after Emperor Guangwu of our dynasty pacified Guanzhong, the Lelang tyrant Wang Diao once occupied Lelang County and defended himself. Later, Emperor Guangwu appointed Wang Zun as the prefect of Lelang and led troops to attack. As a result, before the army took action, the county officials Wang Hong, Yang Yi and others took the initiative to kill Wang Diao and welcome the new prefect Wang Zun into the city.

Interestingly, Wang Diao, who occupied Lelang and declared independence, and the county official Wang Hong were actually from the same family.

But even if such a thing happened, the Wang family of Lelang still lived well in this dynasty.

The Lelang Wang family may not be a big deal outside the Korean Peninsula, but it still has some influence in Lelang.

After hearing what Wang Ke said, Zhang Qi couldn't help but sigh.

"Ahem~ Then... let's report it this way, with the seal."

After Zhang Qi finished speaking, he couldn't help coughing violently again. Then he was too lazy to deal with the affairs and immediately went back to the backyard to rest.

After obtaining the seal of the prefectural government, the memorial was quickly sent to Luoyang via post.

The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, so postal services were set up on important roads, and express couriers were dispatched continuously for months.

There are even clear regulations:

If you fail to deliver the letter within the deadline, you will be punished and detained.

With the speed of postal services in the Han Dynasty, horses could travel three to four hundred miles a day, and carts could travel seventy miles.

Therefore, although Lelang County was remote, it was enough to deliver memorials to Luoyang within half a month.

……

The next day, at the Jiade Hall.

"This man is my Chen Tang!" Emperor Liu Hong looked at the memorial sent by the Secretariat and could not help but sigh: "It seems that heaven still favors me!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Rang, standing beside him, immediately praised them, saying, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and is naturally blessed by Heaven. Otherwise, even if Duke Wei of Wei had some military prowess, how could he have vanquished the Dongyi?"

Zhao Zhong flattered him, saying, "It's a pity that Chen Tang didn't meet such a heroic ruler as Your Majesty. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been dismissed from office and become a commoner, dying of poverty and illness."

When the two heard this, Emperor Liu Hong actually nodded in agreement.

After all, both the court and local celebrities believed that Emperor Yuan of the Former Han Dynasty, Liu Shi, was the root of the disaster of the Han Dynasty.

Some famous scholars, when giving lectures, even openly stated that the Former Han Dynasty was actually destroyed by Liu Shi.

Even Emperor Xuan of Han once lamented during his lifetime: "The one who caused chaos in my family was the crown prince!"

If Emperor Xuan of Han had not considered Empress Xu, Liu Shi would have been deposed long ago.

Of course, this evaluation is not excessive for Emperor Yuan of Han, Liu Shi.

Although he was not as extravagant as the current emperor Liu Hong, who sold official positions and titles, and was even multi-talented, good at history, music, and fond of Confucianism, Liu Shi became an emperor instead of becoming a great Confucian scholar.

It was also under his governance that the Han Dynasty began to truly "rely solely on moral education", and a large number of Confucian scholars began to participate in politics and state affairs, truly embarking on the path of "respecting Confucianism alone".

But the results of having so many wise men in power were far from ideal.

In diplomacy, the Han Dynasty had to send Wang Zhaojun to marry the Huns.

Zhuya County, established during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, was also voluntarily abolished under his leadership.

Later, the Buyeo noble Jumong led his troops to capture Goguryeo County in Xuantu Commandery of the Han Dynasty and changed the name of the country to Goguryeo.

Although Xuanchu County had not been abolished, it was no different from its abolition. It was just a county established as a foreign county in Liaodong County.

You should know that even the current emperor Liu Hong did not really agree when Cui Lie proposed to give up Liangzhou.

From this perspective, Liu Hong still felt quite superior when facing his elder Liu Shi.

After all, Liu Shi lost territory repeatedly, but he recovered the lost territories of the Former Han Dynasty.

Comparing the two, it shows that he is also a promising emperor!
Thinking of this, Liu Hong had an idea and immediately waved to Zhang Rang and whispered a few words in his ear.

Zhang Rang immediately understood what the emperor was thinking and said with a broad smile, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do it right away!"

Half a month later, we arrived at Daifang County.

A pale, beardless eunuch read out the imperial edict in a loud voice:

"...Appoint Wei Zhe as the Governor of Lelang, with a rank of 2,000 dan, a silver seal and a blue ribbon; Taishi Ci as the Commandant of the Haidong vassal state, with a rank of 2,000 dan, a silver seal and a blue ribbon; Xi Zhicai as the Commander of Daifang, with a rank of 600 dan, a bronze seal and a black ribbon; Yuan Jun as the Chief Clerk of Lelang, with a rank of 600 dan, a bronze seal and a black ribbon..."

Only a series of names appeared, even the names of Qifu Xiang and Shi Jinde were there.

The two men were granted the title of Marquis of Guiyi and were required to come to the capital to hold a ceremony to present the captives.

When they heard this, they were both beaming with joy.

What's wrong with Guiyi Hou? No matter how humble the title is, it is still a title of nobility in the Han Dynasty.

In fact, if this matter had not won the emperor's favor, the two of them would not be qualified.

Compared to these two losers, Wei Zhe is much calmer.

How to say it, the court's handling of the matter generally did not surprise him.

For example, like the vassal state of Liaodong, the 28 cities of Hubei were made vassal states of Haidong, which controlled the Hubei and Dongyi peoples.

This approach is indeed the most appropriate method at present.

What really puzzled Wei Zhe were the many appointments in the imperial edict.

Wei Zhe originally thought that the court would let him be the commander of the Haidong vassal state. After all, it was he who conquered the Xianbei land, and making him the first commander would also make it easier to control the Dongyi.

However, this imperial edict actually appointed him as the prefect of Lelang, directly making him a real two thousand stone official.

This... If he wasn't sure that he had no backers in the court, he would really wonder which big boss was helping him.

As for the appointment of Taishi Ci as the commander of the vassal state of Haidong, that was even more beyond his expectations.

You have to know that Taishi Ci is the county magistrate of Daifang, and is openly Wei Zhe's man.

With the court handling the matter in this way, aren’t they afraid that he will continue to control the vassal states of Haidong through Taishi Ci?
In addition, if he is appointed as the prefect of Lelang, what about the original Zhang Fujun?
With many questions in mind, Wei Zhe immediately invited the eunuch to the inner courtyard to entertain him after receiving the imperial edict.

Wei Zhe didn't have any political purists. After giving out ten gold coins as a greeting gift, he bowed and apologized:

"Envoy, please rest for a while. I will prepare the money for my appointment in a few days."

It is said that under the rule of the current emperor Liu Hong, being an official is not something that can be done just by being appointed.

Because this emperor was a professional in selling official positions and titles.

From the rank of Guannei Hou down to the rank of Huben and Yulin, subordinates to Guanglu Xun, the price of each position varied. Furthermore, the price of a local official was twice as high as that of a court official, as local officials held real power and could reap greater benefits. The price of a county official varied depending on the county's wealth, with higher prices in wealthy counties and lower prices in poor ones.

In other words, only a poor place like Daifang County, where things cannot even be sold, would be cheap for Wei Zhe.

As for a county magistrate with a salary of two thousand stones, the price of buying an official position is as high as 20 million coins.

According to the current official standard of one gold and ten thousand coins, it would cost two thousand gold.

Sometimes the emperor would flexibly adjust the price based on the wealth of the person buying the official position, or even hold a secret auction.

It can be said that if he had not become an emperor, he would probably have been a wealthy businessman.

The most important thing is that even for a normal promotion, one still needs to pay money to the emperor, but the amount is a little less.

This kind of news has even become an unspoken rule in official circles.

According to Wei Zhe's understanding, the money required to be promoted to the position of prefect should be 200 gold.

He had previously prepared it according to the standards of a captain of a vassal state in Haidong, so naturally there are still some shortcomings at the moment.

However, to his surprise, the eunuch actually waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, don't worry. Forget the appointment fee. There is another matter that requires Lord Wei's attention!"

After saying this, he was seen whispering something to Wei Zhe with a serious face...

(End of this chapter)