Chapter 58 Money is indeed everything
The youngest of the three is the 18-year-old clan brother Li Pingbao.
The other two are Li Pingxia's uncles, Li Shiguo and Li Pingshan, father and son. One is middle-aged in his forties and the other is in his twenties.
According to Wei Liaoweng, he also has a younger brother, Li Pinghu, who is the head of the imperial army. He was on duty today, so he didn't come.
The current leader of the Li family in the army is Li Pinghu, who is the head of the Forbidden Army (in charge of one hundred people).
Li Shiguo is in business, mainly selling wine to make money for his family.
Li Pingshan has been studying martial arts for two years but failed to pass the exam. If he fails to pass the exam again this year, he will be expelled.
Li Pingbao didn't dare to make up for it, let alone had the qualifications, so he could only wait for the opportunity.
The Li family's genes are really good. They are all tall and powerful, and they are good at riding and ejaculating. Li Shiguo was also trying to make money for the family, so he did not become a military attaché.
When Wei Liaoweng talked about this matter with Zhao Yurui, young Li Pingbao's face was filled with longing and excitement, and he hesitated to speak.
Zhao Yurui sensed his emotions and glanced at him. Unexpectedly, Li Pingbao knelt down and said, "Please help King Yi. The entire Li family is grateful and will swear to serve."
"Pingbao." Li Pingxia was ashamed and annoyed, so she stepped forward and kicked him. She didn't expect Li Pingbao to be so impatient.
What is Li Pingbao anxious about?
He wants to be a military attache.
Li Pingxia used his father's qualifications to make up for the loss, and Li Pingxia's father used his grandfather's qualifications.
Li Pinghu, the commander of the Forbidden Army, used Wei Liaoweng's recommendation.
Li Pingshan used the qualifications of another deceased uncle of Li Pingxia.
As mentioned before, there were three ways to become a military attache in the Southern Song Dynasty: special performance, martial arts examination, and Yinbu.
Descendants of military attachés can obtain Yinbu qualifications based on the recommendation of their fathers (senior military attachés) or Beijing officials. They take the exam once a year and have a three-year chance.
Li Pingshan has been taking the exam for two years. Just because Li Pingxia was serious about assessing others, he failed to pass the exam for two years and was quite depressed.
Li Pingbao is even less qualified and must be recommended by a Beijing official (civilian official) of sixth rank or above or a military attaché of seventh rank or above.
Counting the five members of the Li family plus Li Pingxia, the one with the highest military rank is Li Pinghu, the head of the imperial army. However, Li Pinghu's military rank is level 53, a non-grade brave captain, and he is a military captain, which is lower than Li Pingxia.
The monthly salary for joining the martial arts school as a lieutenant is three guan, and three bolts of spring and winter silk. Adding in the on-the-job money for his dispatch, the total monthly income is probably only five or six guan.
With the prices in Lin'an, life is quite difficult.
Li Xianzhong, who was promoted to Taiwei at that time, must have never imagined that after his death, the Li family would decline to this extent.
But Li Pingbao has the courage to fight one against a hundred, but he doesn't even have the qualifications to help.
Some people may ask, why didn’t he take the path of martial arts?
The Southern Song Dynasty martial arts examination inherited the Northern Song Dynasty system, but improved it a bit. Not everyone in the Northern Song Dynasty had to take the martial arts examination, but in the Southern Song Dynasty, everyone had to take the examination. It was mandatory, and before taking the examination, you had to study martial arts for three years.
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Only then did Zhao and Rui realize that there were actually military academies in the Song Dynasty.
Wei Liaoweng had a doctorate in martial arts before, which is equivalent to a teacher in a military academy.
If you let a person like Li Pingbao, who is an expert in riding and ejaculation, stay in martial arts for three years and learn martial arts under someone who is not as good as him, he will be useless.
So he would rather die than take the path of martial arts, and just want to rely on Yin Bu and other things.
As for Yin Bu, in addition to relying on his father, he also had to rely on the recommendation of Beijing officials.
For example, Yi Wang can also recommend.
King Yi is not a capital official, but as a vassal king, he is qualified to recommend others as military attachés.
Just like before, he recommended Zhou Lai Niu Bao and Quan Yong, but he hadn't taken Yinbu's route yet, because Yinbu could only recommend one person, and he had gone the special route (the emperor's backdoor route).
After Zhao Yurui heard this, he first called Li Pingbao up, and then asked Wei Liaoweng: "How many qualified people can I recommend?"
"Yin Buzhong, each person can only recommend one." Wei Liaoweng said.
Zhao Yurui looked at Li Pingshan. This guy had not passed the exam for two years. Even if he helped Li Pingbao get the qualification, he might not be able to pass the exam.
"What if we invite your Majesty to perform a special performance?" Zhao Yurui said.
"Your Majesty has already performed three special performances for King Yi, are you going to perform again? Are you afraid?" Wei Liaoweng did not agree very much. It is obviously inappropriate for the emperor to open the back door and appoint officials at will.
"Yinbu still needs to be assessed. In fact, you can still buy an official position." At this time, Li Shiguo said solemnly: "Now it seems that buying an official position is the most suitable."
Zhao Yurui is unbelievable. Can one buy an official position in the Southern Song Dynasty?
In fact, selling officials and titles has occurred in all dynasties, and the Song Dynasty was no exception.
In addition to the private sales of official positions by powerful people, there were also public sales of official positions by the imperial court in the Song Dynasty.
The purpose of selling officials in the two Song Dynasties was basically to raise money and grain, which became more obvious in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the position of judge in Dali was sold for 10,000 guan. The official price at that time was still relatively low. The ninth-rank chief registrar and county captain only had 6,000 guan, and 10,000 guan would buy the eighth-rank official.
In the early Northern Song Dynasty, selling officials mainly involved selling status and status, and the number of officials sold each year was limited. However, in the fourth year of Daguan (1110), due to the lack of military supplies in the northwest war, officials began to be sold on a large scale. At that time, the official position was the lowest.
The imperial court sells fake generals and officials as agents and quasi-officials, priced at 3,200 guan, but demand exceeds supply.
A large number of scheming mergers and acquisitions people and people from the market have sneaked into the officialdom.
It became even worse after the Southern Song Dynasty. Because they lost a large area of territory and had to raise military expenditures and the Northern Expedition, the court focused on selling officials.
At this time, the imperial court officials often made announcements and directly marked the price.
During Li Gang's period, the civil servants and military officials of the Southern Song Dynasty were sold together. The civil servants went from Xuanjiao Lang to Di Gong Lang, and the military officials from Xiu Wu Lang to Cheng Xin Lang.
For example, Xuanjiao Lang is worth 60,000 guan, and Di Gonglang is 10,000 guan. At this time, the official price gradually rises.
By the third year of Jianyan, Xiu Wulang had 45,000 guan, Bingyi Lang had 35,000 guan, and the eighth grade had sold for 30,000 to 40,000 guan.
During the Jiading period, sales of low-level officers and mid-level and high-level officers were quite prosperous.
The imperial court mainly sells low-level officers, and the price is not as good as that of civilian officials. It only takes three to four thousand guan to enter the martial arts school.
But some high-ranking ministers sell high-ranking officials privately, and the prices are shocking.
Especially when Han Yuzhou was in power, his close confidant Zhao Shidan "recruited power and accepted bribes, and his gates were like a market." The imperial army from Sanya to the commanders on the river sold everything, and all prices were clearly marked.
Senior officers range from 100,000 to hundreds of thousands of guan. It is no wonder that the Northern Expedition failed.
But whether it is the Southern Song Dynasty or the Northern Song Dynasty, selling officials has a common characteristic.
The imperial court would sell its officials basically only in prefectures and counties with relatively poor economic conditions, or when money was needed because the income was not enough to cover expenses.
Li Shiguo has made some money over the years. In addition to subsidizing the Li family, he also wants to help Li Pingshan and Li Pingbao buy officials. However, most of the officials sold by the court now are in remote and poor areas. He is afraid that after buying them, they will be distributed.
To the ends of the earth, he hoped that in the name of King Yi, he could be transferred back to the capital as a military attaché of the palace.
But the Li family has offended many nobles in the capital because of Li Pingxia. If Zhao Yurui did this, he would have to risk offending others.
After listening, Zhao Yurui did not hesitate and immediately asked, what official do you want to buy? How much does it cost?
In addition to Li Pingxia, the most senior person in the Li family now is Li Pinghu's Jinwu School Captain, so they want to buy a junior envoy, starting from the ninth-grade Chengxinlang.
Yue Fei joined the army at the age of twenty, and became a utility officer at the age of twenty-two. At the age of twenty-four, he was first the deputy captain of Jinyi, and then Chengxinlang. It took him four years to reach the lowest rank of junior envoy, the ninth rank Chengxinlang.
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At this official price, one now sells for 22,000 guan in the Southern Song Dynasty.
??Xinlang’s monthly salary is four guan, two guan for clothing, and three bolts of spring and winter silk. If we don’t send him, he will never get back his money until he dies.
"Buy it." Zhao Yurui said immediately after hearing this: "If you don't have enough money, I will sponsor it."
"Thank you so much, King Yi." Everyone in the Li family was overjoyed and paid their respects one after another.
The young Li Pingbao shouted again: "Everyone in the Li family swears to be loyal to King Yi to the death."
Wei Liaoweng glanced at him speechlessly. He felt that Li Pingbao was a little eager for quick success and wanted to get in the way of King Yi.
The Li family has been silent in the army for many years. Do they want to rely on King Yi to make a comeback? But King Yi is not a prince, but a powerless vassal king.
On the way back, Zhao Yurui suddenly said: "If you can buy an official position and get paid, can the young men in my mansion also become military attachés or civil servants?"
"As long as you have money, you can do it. Even King Yi's uncle can become an official." Wei Liaoweng said with a bitter smile.
Chapter completed!