I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 31 Shen Nian: If I want to be in a circle, I will also be in the cabinet circle
Near dusk.

Shen Nian went home happily with the five taels of silver, eight treasures and two boxes of sweets given by the young Wanli.

After this lecture.

Although Shen Nian will not be promoted immediately, he will have more opportunities to lecture on scriptures and history in front of the emperor in the future.

Since he entered the official career.

His life goal is to become a high-ranking official, to protect himself and his family while doing something for this declining world.

Taking the path of being a lecturer in the imperial lectures is undoubtedly a shortcut to success.

then.

At the age of 42, Zhang Juzheng was promoted from a fifth-rank Hanlin Academy academician to a third-rank Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and then directly entered the cabinet.

There were almost no detours.

His direct entry into the cabinet was largely due to the accession of Emperor Longqing to the throne, but Shen Nian could also fully take advantage of the momentum of the young Wanli's personal rule in the future.

Next, we must seek stability.

The way to be an official is to take power first and then do other things.

……

Ma Sheng Alley, inside Shen's house.

Shen Nianyi was admitted to the hospital.

His lovely wife Gu Yue'er, his servant Aji, and his maid Xiaotao came to greet him.

Aji received the items, Xiaotao poured tea and brought snacks, and Gu Yue'er quickly took off Shen Nian's coat and accompanied him into the front hall.

Lean slightly.

Gu Yue'er took out two letters.

"Husband, our parents have sent letters. This one is from Dad, and this one is from Mom. In addition, our parents and my father have each asked someone to send us some money."

Shen Nian smiled and said, "This time, the silver and eight treasures His Majesty gave as a reward should be given to my father-in-law. If he doesn't accept them, we will return all the money he gave us."

"Okay." Gu Yue'er nodded heavily in approval, revealing two beautiful dimples on her pretty face.

Shen Nian's father-in-law Gu Dongyi.

He would send money to Shen Nian and Gu Yue'er almost every two or three months.

He is a businessman and has only one daughter.

He was always worried that Shen Nian would treat Gu Yue'er badly, so he often sent money and wished he could treat Shen Nian as his own son.

Shen Nian's father, Shen Yaoshan, is an old friend of Gu Dongyi. He feels that Shen Nian spending his father-in-law's money is a disgrace to the Shen family, so he often sends money.

Shen Nian and Gu Yue'er couldn't stop the two of them, so they had to keep the money for future use.

Shen Nian held two letters, "one very thick and one very thin", and couldn't help but smile helplessly on his face.

Send one letter to each parent.

This means that the two must have had an argument when they wrote the letter.

Shen Nian's mother, Mrs. Li, loves to nag, while his father, Shen Yaoshan, is very frugal with words.

Every time Shen Yaoshan wrote a letter, he felt that Li was nagging, while Li felt that Shen Yaoshan did not care enough about Shen Nian and Gu Yue'er.

then.

Although the two lived together and sent letters together, they were usually two letters.

Shen Nian first opened the letter written by her mother.

Li wrote a full eleven pages of letters, covering everything from the two's food, clothing, expenses, travel, etiquette, etc., all the way to what the servant Aji and the maid Xiaotao should pay attention to, and how to make delicious meals...

Between the lines, there is full of concern for Shen Nian and Gu Yue'er.

The content of Shen Yaoshan's letter was much simpler.

On a piece of paper torn into the size of a palm, there was only a line of small words in the middle.

"My son, remember, do not take bribes, do not be greedy, and do not form a party. Bring honor to the Shen family!"

Shen Yaoshan gave up literature to go into business and has a good understanding of the current world situation.

He told Shen Nian more than once.

In official circles, as long as you don't embezzle money, don't bribe your superiors, and don't form cliques, chances are that nothing will go wrong.

He hoped that Shen Nian could have a steady career, rather than just reach the highest position.

But what he didn't know was that -

It is extremely difficult to stay out of trouble and maintain one's innocence in today's officialdom.

……

at this time.

Aji walked quickly into the front hall with two notes in his hand.

"Young Master, Bai Hongde, a merchant from the silk shop in the south of the city and your fellow townsman from Qiantang, has sent an invitation to you to dinner tomorrow evening to enjoy the moon and reminisce about your fellow townsmen." "Also, Cui Fu, a fellow juren of your year, invites you to attend a literary poetry gathering at Jixian Tower tomorrow evening to admire the moon and recite poems."

Shen Nian frowned slightly.

He had never seen these two people.

The two of them suddenly sent an invitation, obviously because they heard about Shen Nian's "lecture and demonstration of divine power" in front of the emperor today.

They saw Shen Nian's promising career prospects, so they wanted to make friends with him.

In today's officialdom, there are too many cliques.

The circle of fellow townsmen, the circle of peers, the circle of colleagues, the circle of relatives by marriage, the circle of Jinshi (imperial scholar) graduates, the circle of literati and poets...

There is always one circle within another, and there is always one that suits you.

Building a circle is essentially about gathering together for warmth, finding support, and finding teammates.

Once you enter the circle, people will ask you to do things, and you will be rewarded for doing them. Then the circle will become bigger and bigger, everyone will help each other, and finally a situation of "you in me and me in you" will be formed.

This kind of situation is most serious in official circles.

This is why things in the world are so difficult to handle.

In addition, social circles are a hotbed of corruption.

Today, a fellow townsman is reminiscing about the past and he gives you some worthless local specialties.

If you accept it, next time it will be expensive tea, and the next time it will be gold, silver, jewelry, beautiful women, calligraphy and paintings.

always one option fit for you.

Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and there will surely be famous social scenes from various circles in the capital.

For example: two coachmen tacitly put their carriages with their butts facing each other, and a bribery activity was completed.

For example: A businessman sells a valuable commodity to the brother-in-law of an official at 50% of the market price, and then buys it back at twice the market price, and a money-for-power transaction is completed.

For example: a gathering of literati drinking tea and reciting poetry. The first half was drinking tea and chatting, while the second half turned into a secret carnival with everyone lying drunkenly on the lap of a beautiful woman.

……

During the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty, anyone who embezzled more than 60 taels of silver would be beheaded and publicly displayed, and then skinned and stuffed with straw.

But in today's world, nothing can be accomplished without courtesy.

Most new officials are trapped in the capital's debts, and many censors have become masters of blackmail. Ordinary officials have no hope of a bright future if they do not bribe others with money.

Shen Nian knew it well.

When a beam of light shines into darkness, it is this beam of light that is guilty.

Now is not the time for him to take on all the corrupt officials alone.

Not to mention him, even Zhang Juzheng didn't dare to investigate officials for corruption.

The performance evaluation system only dealt with lazy and incompetent officials; the post station regulations only reduced the welfare of officials.

If corruption among officials were investigated now, the entire Ming Dynasty bureaucracy would have to be overturned and all personnel replaced.

No one can afford such a price!
At this moment, Shen Nian was thankful that he had a wealthy family and outstanding abilities, so he didn't have to be confined to a circle.

He looked at Aggie.

"Write 'thank you' on each post, reject them all, and then tell them that I've already agreed with my wife that I'm going on a trip tomorrow and won't be back until late at night."

"Also, if there are any more invitations of this kind, please reply in the same way after a while."

"Okay." Aji said, and immediately replied.

Replying to this kind of invitation requires a lot of attention.

Write the word "know" to express acceptance; if you want to decline, write the word "thank you".

Just as Shen Nian expected.

Over the next hour or so, more than ten invitations arrived.

Those who invited guests to dinner, discussed poetry and philosophy, watched plays and listened to books, and went on a long trip to the suburbs...

Everything is available.

Some people even say that if August doesn’t work, then September, if September doesn’t work, then October, and if October doesn’t work, then winter.

Shen Nian declined them all.

If he wanted to mingle in a circle, he would mingle with the cabinet ministers.

……

Early the next morning.

Shen Nian and his family rented a carriage and headed straight out of the city.

I finally got a day off.

Shen Nian decided to take Gu Yue'er out for a walk, eat some vegetarian food, and enjoy the autumn scenery of mountains and rivers.

(End of this chapter)