Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 138 Granting an Officer
In Guangzhou, Chen Shangchuan, with a red scarf tied around his arm, walked towards the government office.
After Chen Shangchuan signed up for the job with Liu Shun, a bookkeeper from Cangqian Street, he received a receipt from Liu Shun, put on a red scarf on his arm, and went to the government office to participate in the selection.

The city is now under martial law. If you don't have the receipt from Liu Shun, someone will come to check at any time and you won't be able to pass through.
In the early morning, the streets were in a mess, and traces of last night's chaos could still be vaguely seen. On every street that Chen Shangchuan passed by, there were several corpses hanging. When the morning breeze blew, the hanging corpses swayed slightly at the street corners.

The streets were completely silent, with almost no one to be seen. Only a few clerk-like figures were holding gongs and shouting in the streets. The content of their speeches was no different from Liu Shun's in Cangqian Street, asking the people not to cause trouble and recruiting scholars and wise men in the city to defend the city.
Officials walked along the streets, the clear sound of gongs spread far away, and from time to time, soldiers in armor rode horses through the streets, making a light clattering sound. The city was filled with a solemn and tense atmosphere.

When Chen Shangchuan walked down the street, people would come up to him and ask him questions. The closer he got to the government office, the more he was questioned.

With only the ID card given by Liu Shun, Chen Shangchuan passed through safely and soon arrived in front of the government office.

Chen Shangchuan handed the receipt and his ID card to the clerk at the gate. After looking at them, the clerk took the receipt from Liu Shun, returned the ID card to Chen Shangchuan, and took Chen Shangchuan into the government office.

The official in black robes took Chen Shangchuan to a spacious courtyard, told him to go in and wait, and then left in a hurry.
Chen Shangchuan stood at the door in a state of surprise. Seeing that the clerk had already left, he had no choice but to walk into the courtyard.

When Chen Shangchuan walked into the courtyard, there were already nearly a hundred people standing in the courtyard.
The people in the courtyard, those who knew each other gathered in groups of three or four to talk in low voices, and there were also people like Chen Shangchuan who came alone and stood alone in the corner.
Chen Shangchuan was from Gaozhou Prefecture, so he didn't have many acquaintances in Guangzhou City. So he chose a corner and observed the people in the courtyard.

Chen Shangchuan originally thought that the applicants this time should all be scholars like himself, but now it seems that this is not the case.
Some of the people in the courtyard were wearing long shirts, which seemed to be scholars with achievements like Chen Shangchuan. Some were wearing brocade robes, which looked like wealthy businessmen. Some were wearing black robes, which made it clear that they were officials in the city. In the corners, there were some men wearing coarse linen clothes, who looked like ordinary people.
Just by looking at their robes, one can see that the applicants come from all walks of life. Of course, the majority of the applicants are scholars wearing long robes and holding official titles, accounting for about half of the total number of applicants.

Chen Shangchuan observed the people in the field. About two quarters of an hour had passed, and the number of people entering the courtyard finally began to decrease.

At this time, there were already two or three hundred people standing in the garden. Not only was the main room full of people, but the side rooms and the open space in the courtyard were also full of people.
After waiting for a while, the clerk who brought Chen Shangchuan in came to the door with several other clerks and began to call out names.

"Nanhai County student Qu Dajun, Nanhai County student Wang Bao, Panyu County righteous citizen Zheng Yan,... the above 20 people came out and went to the side courtyard of the Ideological and Political Hall to pay homage to the governor."

After the clerk at the door called out the name, twenty people walked out of the courtyard. As the clerk left, everyone became slightly nervous when they heard that they were going to pay their respects to the Lord of the Mansion.

How could they not know that these twenty people must have been selected? I am afraid that after meeting the Lord of the Mansion, they will be granted official positions.
Everyone in the courtyard stared at the clerk at the door, but the clerk at the door remained expressionless and continued to speak.

After calling two groups of people in succession, Chen Shangchuan finally heard his name from the clerk. He then hurried to the outside of the courtyard gate and walked towards the Ideological and Political Hall with the clerk.

Chen Shangchuan and others were led into a spacious hall. Above the hall stood a black plaque with three large characters written neatly in Yan style: "Ideological and Political Hall".

At this time, there were already fifty or sixty people standing in the hall, but there was no random gathering in the hall like in the courtyard before.

When Chen Shangchuan and others entered the hall, they had already formed two rows spontaneously.
The people on the left are all wearing long shirts. They are obviously scholars with honors. The rest of the people standing on the right are probably ordinary people who came to the city to apply for the job.

Chen Shangchuan was a student from Gaozhou Prefecture, so he naturally belonged to the left row. He stood in the row and looked at the people in the hall. He found that no matter whether they had achieved academic success or not, they were all young. The oldest one was only middle-aged.

People continued to come into the hall. After about 150 or 60 people stood in the hall, no one came in.
There were at least 300 people in the hospital just now, which means that at least half of them were eliminated in this selection.
Everyone in the hall originally thought that as long as they took the risk and volunteered, they would be granted an official position. However, looking at the situation in the field, they couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts. Although the court granted an official position to guard the city, it seemed that not everyone could do this.
Although there were many people in the hall at this time, everyone stood in the two rows with serious expressions. No one spoke, and the hall was silent.

About half a minute later, footsteps were heard. Chen Shangchuan looked up and saw a middle-aged man in a bright red official robe hurriedly walking into the hall, surrounded by several blue-robed officials.

Chen Shangchuan looked at the red robe on the man and knew that he must be the governor of Guangzhou Prefecture, so he bowed down with everyone else.
"Junior, a commoner, pays respect to the Lord."

Chen Bangyan raised his hand slightly and asked everyone to stand up. He glanced at everyone in the field and spoke loudly.

"I am Chen Bangyan, the prefect of Guangzhou. Since you have come here to apply for the job, you are the loyal citizens of the Ming Dynasty. You will be sent to the city later to help manage the people in the city. There are some things I need to explain to you in advance." Chen Bangyan did not waste any words. He ignored the people below who were showing signs of joy and continued to speak.

"I'm sure some of you have heard some rumors in the city. It's true that those outside the city are not bandits, but the vanguard of the Qing Tartars."

"His Highness Gui Jianguo ascended the throne in Zhaoqing a month ago. After discussing with the elders in the court, he decided to move the capital to Guangzhou. The Qing invaders accidentally learned of the news of His Highness's relocation of the capital, and took the risk of sending people to assassinate His Highness. The Qing invaders' surprise attack was defeated by the imperial army led by General Jiao Lian, Marquis of Wu'an."

"But now this group of Qing invaders are still determined to siege the city."

"The imperial court has tens of thousands of troops in Zhaoqing, and they have already set out to rescue. The imperial court has selected you to mobilize the people to defend the city. You only need to hold out for a few days. Once the imperial Zhaoqing army arrives, the Qing invaders outside the city will be crushed to dust immediately."

The people below had different expressions on their faces when they heard what Chen Bangyan said. Some of them were well-informed and had already known that the people outside the city were Tartars. They also knew that His Royal Highness the Regent and a group of court officials were also in the city. That was why they took the risk and volunteered, hoping to get a chance to fly high in front of His Royal Highness the Regent. These people just looked solemn.

As for the others who had no idea that the people outside the city were the Eastern Tartars, fear flashed across their faces. They were the Tartars. With the spread of rumors, true or false, over the years, everyone knew how terrifying and brutal the Northern Tartars were.
Everyone in the field was shocked or frightened, but no one spoke. There was silence for a while, and suddenly someone in the crowd asked

"Is His Royal Highness the Regent really in the city now?"

Everyone was moved when they heard this, and they stared at Chen Bangyan above them. Chen Bangyan did not hide anything and spoke directly.

"Yes, now His Royal Highness the Regent, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Mr. Lu, Mr. Su, and all the ministers of the Central Government are in the city. Your application for office is also a grace granted by His Royal Highness himself."

"The court clearly defines rewards and punishments. You have volunteered in this critical moment. All of you will be granted the rank of ninth-rank military officer, and will serve as inspectors and deputy inspectors in various districts, in charge of the people in each district to help the court defend the city."

Everyone was delighted when they heard this, but Chen Bangyan's expression darkened and he said
"You have been granted the imperial court's grace and have suddenly risen from a commoner to an official position. You should appreciate the great kindness of His Majesty and do your best to defend the city and govern the country."

"If anyone dares to abuse his power and oppress the people, the imperial court will punish him severely."

"I don't dare to wait"

When everyone saw Chen Bangyan with a serious expression, they were all shocked and bowed down.
Chen Bangyan wanted to give another warning, but an official suddenly walked in and whispered something in Chen Bangyan's ear. Chen Bangyan waved the official away and continued speaking.

"Your Highness wants me to tell you that your actions in the city will be summarized every day and will be presented directly to Your Highness."

"After repelling the Qing invaders outside the city, those who have outstanding experience here can directly participate in the provincial examination if they want to take the imperial examination. If they want to continue to be officials, they will be granted the status of Jiansheng and can directly enter the Ministry of Personnel to select candidates for official positions. If they want to return home, the court will also retain their status and give them gold and silver rewards. As long as you work hard, His Highness will reward you generously."

Everyone below was excited when they heard this, especially those who had the honor of being a student.
The threshold for participating in the provincial examination was to be a student, but not every student could participate in the provincial examination. Students from each county had to take the examination again before participating in the provincial examination. Only those who passed the examination were eligible to participate in the provincial examination.
The rest of the people were also excited. They reported their daily actions to the emperor, which meant that his highness could see their actions in the city. Once they made achievements and won his favor, wouldn't they soar to the sky?

Chen Bangyan ignored the expressions of the people below and continued to speak.

"I still have things to do. Your duties will be announced to you later. I hope you will remember your loyalty and filial piety and do not disappoint His Highness and the court."

"I will remember your teachings and work hard to help the court govern the people and defend the city."

The crowd below responded in succession, but Chen Bangyan had already led his men out of the hall. The locations of the grain warehouses in the city had been clearly counted, and the imperial guards had been transferred to the palace. Confiscating grain was now the top priority in the city.
(End of this chapter)