Fu Shanhe

Chapter 309 Ennoblement
Compared with the previous two times he went to Beijing, Li Mu is undoubtedly a hot commodity now.

Being in a high position and having power is one thing, but the key is to be able to lead others to success.

A number of military generals and nobles wanted to get in touch with him.

Because of the current management, many civil servants from the southeast region also came over to make friends with him.

There is a constant stream of people coming to visit every day.

There were so many gifts received that before long, his house in the capital was filled up with them.

Frankly speaking, this house is totally incompatible with his current identity.

He did not buy a new house, but was waiting for the court to provide welfare.

According to past practice, the imperial court would grant a mansion to a person who had been awarded a title for military merit.

Just because the imperial court has no money doesn’t mean it has no houses.

Many of the mansions that were confiscated were not available to ordinary people due to regulatory issues.

Housing prices in Beijing have never been cheap.

There is free welfare housing, so there is no need to show off your wealth.

Staying in the small house for the time being can also make him appear to be an honest official.

Although integrity is not a plus for military generals, they still have to do the face-saving work.

"Master, Master Sen, Master Lai, and Master Long are here to visit!"

The butler's voice rang out, awakening Li Mu's long-lost memories.

Frankly speaking, these three cousins ​​were also unlucky.

Because he had no legitimate son, Marquis Zhenyuan had always been very strict in educating the three of them.

Although he is not extremely talented, he is still pretty good among his peers.

Unfortunately, with the birth of the legitimate son, all previous efforts became in vain.

Neither the laws of the imperial court nor the Li clan would allow the abolition of the legitimate wife and the enthronement of a concubine's son.

Having lost their inheritance rights, they became just ordinary illegitimate sons of a marquisate, with their status and position being much lower than before.

Fortunately, the three of them were not very old, so the fight at the beginning was not fierce.

In the competition for the succession to the Marquisate, they did not do anything out of the ordinary.

Otherwise, the current situation will be even more embarrassing.

It's a pity that they don't make trouble themselves, but their biological mother and in-laws love to make trouble.

The benefits of the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion are too great. Under normal circumstances, this family business is something they cannot achieve even if they work hard for their entire lives.

For this benefit, the harem was never peaceful. Coupled with the deliberate indulgence of the wife of the Marquis, there were many jokes.

The fight among the rich is cruel.

The successor was still undecided, and for the sake of the three of them, everyone pretended not to see it.

As the battle for succession came to an end, the situation changed. All the secrets that had been kept secret were exposed.

Li Mu was not very clear about what happened exactly, but the Marquis' Mansion had dealt with quite a few people in recent years.

The wife of the Marquis did not intentionally target the three of them, but their biological mother's misfortune still made the situation of the three of them in the mansion awkward.

"Bring them here!"

Li Mu said with a smile.

He had no interest in intervening in the disputes within the Zhenyuan Marquisate. In essence, he was the biggest beneficiary of the internal strife within the Marquisate.

Since he entered the government, he has used the political resources of the Marquisate a lot. Every time he made an exception for a promotion, it was a waste of political resources.

In this process, military merit certainly played an important role. However, in the class-solidified Dayu Dynasty, power was inherited through bloodline.

Without the support of the Marquis's Mansion, he is still hiding in Hanzhong as the commander of the guards. Even if he has thousands of abilities, he has no room to display them.

"Greetings, cousin Mu!"

As they spoke, the three of them bowed respectfully to Li Mu.

Among the younger generation of the family, Li Mu had already become a legend. Coming from a collateral branch, success was never a problem.

The imperial edict conferring him the title of marquis had already been issued to the whole country, and the ceremony would be held in two days. Then he would become the Marquis of Hanshui of the Dayu Dynasty.

Under this influence, the Li clan will also enter an era of two governments coexisting, and its influence in the government and the country will be greatly enhanced.

"We are brothers, no need to be polite!"

"Uncle intends to let you train in the army. Is there any place you want to go?"

Li Mu asked with concern.

Arrange a few people in the army, and Zhenyuan Hou can handle it himself. Pushing people to Li Mu's side is obviously to let him lead these three cousins.

Political resources cannot be taken for free, now is the time to give back. Taking care of one's own people is a matter of course.

However, this kind of thing mainly depends on personal willingness.

The next few years will be the highlight of the noble group. With the status of the three people, there are too many opportunities to choose from.

Whether following his father or his cousin, there is good room for development.

"We have discussed this matter with my father. None of the three of us have a clear intention, so my cousin will just make the arrangements."

Li Sen was the first to answer.

The division of the military in the Great Yu Dynasty was not strict, and the generals were trained to be all-rounders. Take Li Mu for example, he had infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy under his command.

Specialized technology is indeed needed, but the court does not have high requirements, or it can be said that the higher-ups do not attach importance to it at all.

The imperial court did not play checks and balances on the military, so Li Mu would naturally not interfere. The coordination of all military branches was much stronger than a single military branch.

For military generals, the place where they serve is more important than the choice of military branch.

At present, the military forces of the nobles are mainly concentrated in the south and the capital. Although there are some troops in the north, their combat effectiveness is really worrying.

During the war, military merit was a ladder to climb up. If you wanted to advance in the military, you naturally had to join the most powerful unit.

"If I were to arrange it, you would have to go to the grassroots to gain experience.

Take one step at a time and slowly climb up from the bottom.

It's not too late to regret now. Once you join the army, you will have no choice!"

Li Mu said with a serious face.

Having studied military knowledge does not mean that one will be a qualified general.

Many things in the military can only be learned on the battlefield. Theoretical knowledge can only accelerate the process of growth.

Suddenly being in a high position, you lose the process of growth and learning. It seems that your career is developing smoothly, but in fact you are laying mines for yourself.

You can brag about your abilities at other times, but now is war time. On the battlefield, incompetence will only hurt others and yourself.

"Cousin, can we do clerical work?"

Li Lai said with a depressed look on his face.

In the past few years, the country was at peace and the civil service group was in its heyday. Influenced by the general environment, the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion was also working hard to transform its military power into civil power.

The three brothers all studied literature at the beginning, and some even took great scholars as their teachers.

No one expected that the situation would change so quickly. Without getting fame, the world was in chaos.

In troubled times, learning martial arts has a better future than learning literature.

The political resources of the Marquis' Mansion are mainly concentrated in the military. Only by developing in the military can they provide them with sufficient support.

“Yes, but the upper limit is not high.

There is an unspoken rule in the court that a family can only have one main path, either civil or military, and they are not allowed to pursue both.

Unless our Li family gives up everything in the military, if you choose the civilian route, the highest limit is the fourth rank, which is likely to be a sinecure."

Li Mu answered frankly.

The Dayu Dynasty lasted for more than 270 years, and there had never been a case of powerful ministers usurping the throne. The biggest reason for this was the checks and balances formed in the system.

No matter how prominent a family is, it can only choose between the civil servant route and the military commander route.

Combined with the national policy of using civil officials to control military power, civil officials have been in charge of power for a long time.

Without troops, no matter how powerful a civil official is, he will not be able to usurp the throne.

"Brother Mu, our abilities are limited. Being able to sit in the fourth rank position is already a good prospect."

Li Lai said in a low voice.

The ambitions of the past are completely insignificant in the face of cruel reality.

Entering the military, the early stages of development are indeed fast, but once you get to the end, there are still many difficulties.

Marquis Zhenyuan is about to serve as a frontier official, and Li Mu, Marquis Hanshui, will also take this step in the future.

The Li family's influence in the military will reach a terrifying height.

With the lessons of Liaodong Town, the court will definitely learn from it. It is not allowed for one family to hold the power in the army. In addition to the suppression of the court, there are also problems within the Zhenyuan Marquisate.

Before the legitimate son grows up, the wife of the marquis will not allow these illegitimate sons to grow up too fast and threaten the status of the legitimate son.

In order to ensure the orderly inheritance of the Marquisate and prevent them from having inappropriate thoughts, Marquis Zhenyuan himself would not give them too many political resources.

“Don’t be in a hurry to decide this matter. The three of you are still young and your perspective on the issue is too narrow.

Let's go to the local area first and make a decision after we have figured it out clearly.

Whether it is literary or martial arts, we can arrange it for you.

How far you can go depends on your own ability!"

Li Mu said earnestly.

If the troubled times end quickly, this option may not be a bad one.

However, he was not optimistic about the future of Dayu, or rather, he was not optimistic about Emperor Yongning's ability to pacify the troubled times.

If we refer to history, we will know that once chaos occurs in the world, the dynasty will enter its end.

Even if the rebellion could be quelled, it would only last a few more years.

In history, only the Han and Tang dynasties experienced chaos and then achieved revival.

That was all good luck. I met the leader of the revival and he turned the tide.

More dynasties, after encountering setbacks, simply slid into the abyss.

The situation in the world cannot be reversed, so the best way to deal with it is to control as many troops as possible.

Of course, if the three of them still choose to pursue literature, he will not stop them.

Military generals will have more advantages in the future, but they will also need to take higher risks.

All kinds of accidents can happen on the battlefield, and there are more than one or two sons of nobles who have died in battle.

This explosion of talent among the nobles seems to be a sign of a return to its peak, but this is just an illusion.

There is a lot of water in the contributions of many people.

They have indeed made many military achievements, but in essence they are just executors of orders.

His ability to lead troops in combat alone has yet to be verified.

It’s not that Li Mu didn’t give them the opportunity to train, it was mainly due to political needs. The noble group had to take control of the army as soon as possible and did not have enough time to train them.

After making military achievements, they were transferred from his command.

In addition to doing this deliberately to show the outside world that he does not have his own troops, it is also necessary for the benefit of the group.

Relatively speaking, the group of noble children who followed him early on had the highest overall quality.

The outside world is not so optimistic about him, and the requirements for these people are not so high, and they spend more time training in the military.

The situation changed afterwards. Li Mu gained fame and all parties became eager for quick success.

After seeing the successful cases, many people forgot the cruelty of war, and some noble families even sent their heirs over.

Those people who just wanted to eat and wait for death were rejected by Li Mu, but the overall quality was still declining.

Among the many children of nobles, the abilities of Li Sen, Li Lai and Li Long are not superior.

At least so far, it has not shown any outstanding military capabilities.

……

After the episode, Li Mu was still busy.

The ceremony of conferring the title of marquis is approaching, and a series of complicated etiquette are waiting for him to learn.

During this period, a large number of guests came to visit or sent invitations. He turned down most of the invitations, but there were some that he could not refuse.

I was busy until the ceremony of conferring the title of marquis, at which point this high-frequency communication ended.

Facts have proved that the Imperial Observatory is quite capable.

I don’t know whether the chosen auspicious day was auspicious or not, but God was very kind to us and the sky was clear from the start.

As the protagonists, Li Mu and Marquis Wuyang arrived at the scene early, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

"My Lord, did you not sleep well last night?"

Looking at the yawning Marquis Wuyang, Li Mu asked with a puzzled look on his face.

In the Dayu aristocratic system, military merit is undoubtedly the highest level, and the ceremony of conferring the title is also the most grand.

The court was short of financial resources and cut a lot of funding, but the scene was still grand.

Both the regulations and the degree of attention from the court were far beyond what could be compared with other noble titles.

The more you take it seriously, the less room for mistakes.

"I'm old, and my body isn't strong enough anymore."

Marquis Wuyang said with a little embarrassment.

Li Mu has many social engagements, and he has even more social engagements.

In addition to daily social interactions, he also has to comfort the wives and concubines at home.

When he was sent to work, Guangdong and Guangxi were at war, so it was naturally impossible for him to bring his family with him.

After living apart for a long time, it is inevitable that...

Because I was too excited, I stayed up a little late last night, which affected my condition today.

In order to refresh myself, I put a piece of ginseng in my mouth when I went out.

“You are in your prime, but you cannot be called an old man.

We will have to rely on you to lead the recovery of Nanjing, so don’t overwork yourself.”

Li Mu pretended to be ignorant and teased.

Lust is like a sword hanging over your head. Once you are involved in it, don't think about getting rid of it easily.

Of course, there is also an element of jealousy.

Having many wives and concubines also requires a threshold. Not everyone is qualified to have a bunch of concubines.

As a model of political marriage, the status of the legitimate son needs to be protected.

He must restrain himself before the birth of a legitimate son.

Countless beauties came to his door, but he could only decline them politely.

But he had been away fighting for many years, and they were rarely together and had no time to have children.

Fortunately, the Dayu Dynasty allowed soldiers to bring their families with them when they took office, otherwise the situation for a poor general like him would have been even more embarrassing.

"Humph!"

"If you dare to laugh at me, I will spread the word that the Marquis of Hanshui intends to take a concubine.

There are so many families in Beijing who want to marry you, and by then, the threshold of your house will be broken down by matchmakers.

I have two distant nieces, both of whom are extremely beautiful. Do you want to marry them both?"

Marquis Wuyang responded bluntly.

It's not his fault that he is addicted to the land of pleasure.

Faced with the temptation of beauty, few normal men can resist.

Especially when living apart for a long time, more tenderness is needed.

"My Lord, this is not a joke."

Li Mu refused immediately.

Concubines are divided into different levels, and different identities correspond to different treatments.

For a girl from an ordinary family, it's fine if she's married. In this patriarchal society, it's no big deal.

It’s different with Marquis Wuyang’s distant niece. No matter how distant the relationship is, this represents a marriage between two families.

This kind of woman of high status is considered a "noble concubine" and must be "married".

If the wife dies, they have the opportunity to become the legal wife.

Marrying a "concubine" without obtaining the consent of his own wife would be an embarrassment to the Duke's Mansion.

Generally speaking, this kind of operation can only be performed if the couple is over 30 years old and has no legitimate children.

In most cases, when dukes and marquises took concubines, they referred to as "good concubines" from ordinary families, or "lowly concubines" of low status.

These people have low status and no support from their mother clans, so they will never be promoted.

"My Lords, His Majesty is here."

Seeing that the two people had strayed from the topic, the eunuch beside them hurriedly reminded them.

……

(End of this chapter)