Fu Shanhe

Chapter 3: Pie

In the inner house.

"My Lord, your performance today is very different from the past.

There are so many nephews in this family, is this the only one that catches your eye? "

The wife of the Marquis asked with a puzzled look on her face.

She has seen many nephews coming to visit relatives, some of whom are closer blood relatives.

Most of the time, Marquis Zhenyuan would just deal with it out of courtesy, and if he was willing to give a few suggestions in private, it was considered as taking family ties into consideration.

"no the same!
My nephews are either timid or eager to show off in front of me.

No matter what I say, they just agree with me. They lack subjective judgment and are just flatterers. Their development potential in the officialdom is also limited.

Li Mu was neither humble nor arrogant from beginning to end, and he was able to remain calm even when I deliberately talked about some sensitive topics.

He neither agreed nor refuted, but chose to muddle through.

He has unique insights into the situation in North Korea. Based on just the little information he learned from outside, the results of his analysis are close to the truth.

This kind of person who is mature in mind, has a keen political sense and has an accurate positioning of himself is most suitable for working in the officialdom.

Even though he is still very young now, he will grow up quickly as long as he enters the court and hone his skills for a few years.

The most important thing is that he can fool around when encountering troubles and knows how to protect himself. Pushing him to the top will not cause me any trouble.

It just so happens that the next generation of the Marquisate still needs time to grow up, and the political resources I have are currently in a vacancy, so I might as well give him a chance! "

Li Yuan said with a smile.

Influenced by Confucian clan culture, it was a social norm to promote younger generations of one's family in the officialdom of Dayu.

However, due to the influence of the idea that civil officials are more important than military officials, there are not many young people willing to join the military, and most of them choose the civil service route.

Including his several sons, the first choice was to study, hoping to achieve something in the imperial examinations.

Not only the Zhenyuan Marquisate, but the entire noble group was actively transforming from military to civil.

In this regard, emperors of all dynasties have been encouraging.

All children of nobles who pass the imperial examination will be given special training and will be promoted much faster than ordinary people.

The top nobles received even more care, and as long as their direct descendants had the title of scholar, they could become the prince's companions.

If the prince who followed him became the emperor, he would usually be given the title of Jinshi when rewarding him for his merits.

“Master, Mu’er is also old enough to get engaged.

This child's parents passed away early, and there is no one around to take care of him. How about we give him a hand?"

The wife of the Marquis suggested tentatively.

It’s not that she values ​​Li Mu so much, but mainly because there has always been a tradition of marriage between nobles.

She now has only two daughters, both of whom are engaged. According to custom, the marquis's mansion must also marry a mistress who is of noble birth.

For the sake of the two families' face, no matter which young master in the mansion married someone else, he would be recorded under her name in the family tree as the legitimate son.

Once her status is determined, she becomes the first-line heir to the Marquis' Mansion, and even if she has a biological son in the future, he will have to take a back seat.

Having obtained the legal right of inheritance, and with the help of his wife's family, it is almost impossible to change the heir.

No matter how dignified she usually was, the Marchioness still felt uncomfortable on this issue.

She would not allow such a dangerous thing to happen until she completely lost her fertility.

Even if they have to take this step in the end, in order to protect their own status, Yoshiko's wife's family cannot be too strong.

Compared with the heir to the Marquis's Mansion, Li Mu's status is much lower, but his personal ability as a marriage between nobles is also a plus.

A hereditary third-rank military position is barely enough to enter the military. As long as the Marquis's Mansion is willing to support him and he can show good potential, the chances of success are also high.

"Well! His parents passed away early, so it's reasonable for us, the elders, to help out.

Please keep an eye on him first, I will confirm whether he has any engagement, so as to avoid any misunderstandings."

Li Yuan said nonchalantly.

Obviously, he did not realize the Marquise's true intention, otherwise he would never have agreed so readily.

Supporting young people with potential does not mean spending a lot of money.

Political marriage itself is an integration of resources. Once this happens, it means that the political resources of the Marquisate in the future will be invested in Li Mu.

The childless Marquise didn't care. Even if she got pregnant immediately, it would take another 20 years for her son to grow up.

With such a long time span, those who can get up would have been helped up long ago, and there is no need to continue wasting resources on those who cannot.

But it is different for Marquis Zhenyuan. A bastard is still a son, and he would definitely prefer to invest political resources in his son.

"Don't worry, Master. I will definitely help Mu'er choose a good marriage!"

The Marchioness said with a smile.

It was completely beyond her expectation that the goal could be achieved so easily.

He has been in charge of the inner chambers of the Marquis' Mansion for many years. He knows very well who has been arranged to be married and who is still waiting to be married.

Engagement is a big deal.

All necessary etiquette procedures must be followed and announced to friends and relatives.

It is pure fantasy to finalize the marriage between the two families without going through any procedures and just based on a verbal agreement made n years ago.

If engagement is so serious, cancelling it is even more difficult.

According to the "Dayu Law", anyone who makes a private agreement but then goes back on it will be flogged fifty times.

If he promises another person again, if the couple is not married, he shall be caned with seventy sticks, and if the couple is married, he shall be caned with eighty sticks.

This applies to both men and women. Unless the other party is seriously at fault, or one party dies, you will lose half your life if you file for cancellation of the engagement.

Even if they can survive the punishment, they will be socially doomed and it will be difficult to find a good family to marry into in the future.

It is even more impossible to become an official, as the imperial court will not select people without moral integrity.

Moreover, the entire clan will be implicated, and the children will be affected whether they are planning marriages or pursuing official careers.

Once the facts are established, there is no possibility of regret.

……

Back in the courtyard, Li Mu, unaware of the danger that was about to come, began to readjust his life plan.

The capital is not like his hometown of Hanzhong. He simply doesn't have the capital to just lie down and live a lazy life.

Taking out a list of information from his luggage, Li Mu began to analyze it one by one according to the information he had collected recently.

Since you want to develop in the capital, you must make use of these connections as much as possible.

Those who leave Beijing to work in other places will be screened out first.

Immediately afterwards, those who were involved in the party disputes and were caught up in the storm were also screened out by Li Mu.

Then the remaining people were classified according to their official positions and closeness to their relationships.

Giving gifts of the right kind to the right person is a technical skill.

It is indeed a bit utilitarian, but the officialdom itself is a place of fame and fortune.

Personal connections are a bonus when things are going well, but no one knows how much of a role they can play when things are going against them.

It’s not that people are immoral, it’s mainly because some thunders are too big and if you get caught in them you’ll be struck to pieces.

(End of this chapter)