The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 401 Volume Officials
Zhen Yao.

Zhen Mi's elder brother.

He has a slicked-back hair and powdered face, and dresses in a very flashy way.

It was because he was summoned by the emperor himself today, which made him both excited and nervous.

"But what exactly did my sister mean by that?"

Zhen Mi had previously passed on the emperor's words, but Zhen Yao was puzzled.

"If I don't grant you an official position, I will find something else to do? But I don't know what the emperor wants me to do."

Especially recently, Chang'an has been in a state of panic because of the uproar over the "official system reform". Now no one knows what the future situation will be like, and everyone is inevitably filled with anxiety.

When Zhen Mi saw Zhen Yao's terrified expression, she frowned slightly and said, "Just answer your majesty truthfully later, and don't have any other thoughts in your mind."

"Your Majesty likes to be frank with others. You must not hide anything from His Majesty later. This will be beneficial to you."

"Here."

Zhen Yao remembered Zhen Mi's words, tidied his appearance, and began to cheer himself up.

When Liu Xie arrived, he was amazed when he saw Zhen Yao's appearance.

Zhen's genes were indeed excellent. Not only did she give birth to a goddess-like beauty like Zhen Mi, but her brother was also handsome, and his appearance was only slightly inferior to that of Zhuge Liang and others.

At this moment, Zhen Mi was wearing a proper palace dress, with no expression on her face. She was truly like a fairy!

If Liu Xie had not seen the other side of Zhen Mi, he would probably have worshipped her as a sacred and inviolable goddess.

"I, Zhen Yao, greet your majesty! Long live your majesty!"

"When you greet me, you don't need to shout long live me three times, just greet me."

Zhen Yao was already extremely nervous, and when he heard the emperor seeming to find fault with him, he immediately became hesitant and couldn't even utter a word of greeting.

"I heard that you want to be an official?"

As this sentence was asked, it seemed to directly break through Zhen Yao's psychological defenses, making him burst into tears instantly!

"Your Majesty, spare my life! I won't do it again! I won't do it again! I was just bewildered for a moment!"

……

no……

Liu Xie felt that his tone was quite gentle. How could a question like that make someone cry?

The always dignified Zhen Mi also closed her eyes at this moment, as if she had decided to sever her relationship with Zhen Yao in front of her.

"Stand up and talk. I haven't said what I'm going to do to you. Why are you crying first?"

Liu Xie himself did not realize how great his reputation had become.

Especially during the Battle of Hebei, there was a "brutal" purge against the gentry. Few of these Hebei gentry were not afraid when facing the emperor.

Zhen Yao just cried and didn't do anything more devastating because he relied on the confidence given by Zhen Mi by his side.

"I ask you, why do you want to be an official?"

Liu Xie continued to ask questions only after Zhen Yao's crying gradually subsided.

Zhen Yao's mind went blank.

He had originally thought of using some words of loyalty to the emperor to please the emperor, but because of Zhen Mi's reminder just now and the shock of the emperor's majesty, his mind could no longer compile any instructions, and he just said the most essential answer in his heart -

"Because nowadays, everyone who can read wants to be an official."

Liu Xie asked again: "What's good about being an official?"

"Because when we become officials, our status is high, and no one dares to bully us."

"anything else?"

"It's actually easier to make money after becoming an official!"

"..."

Zhen Yao realized it later and quickly covered his mouth!

The skills that Zhen Mi had cultivated since childhood could not help but break down, and she glared at her brother with anger in her eyes!

Instead it is the emperor.

After hearing Zhen Yao's words, he burst into laughter.

"That's right. Many people become officials to make money. This is an unchanging truth since ancient times. The fact that you can say this at least proves that you are not lying to me!"

The low productivity has created a huge gap between officials and the people.

The difference between taxpayers and tax eaters makes people strive desperately to become officials and make money.

Even among the scholars selected through the imperial examination, it is impossible for all of them to be saints with noble character and dedicate their whole lives to the Han Dynasty.

Money is the hard truth for promotion!

"But some money can be earned, and some money cannot be earned."

Liu Xie looked at Zhen Yao and said, "Let me ask you, if you really become an official, how are you going to make money?"

Wuji Zhen's family was also a noble family that had produced three dukes, so they certainly had a set of indirect methods for this -

"Your Majesty, when you become an official, naturally there will be subordinates coming to curry favor with you and give you gifts, hoping for your future."

"anything else?"

"Your Majesty, not only the subordinates, but also the local noble families would send gifts and ask the officials to protect them in certain matters."

"anything else?"

A trace of cold sweat appeared on Zhen Yao's forehead.

"Also... if you are a county magistrate, you can actually embezzle some of the grain and goods collected from the local area. On weekdays, the money allocated by the court for the construction of water conservancy projects will also be handled by you. In addition, if a caravan passes by, you can also ask people to extort money from it..."

Liu Xie's expression was calm - "What else?"

Zhen Yao was kneeling on the ground at this moment, wishing he could stab himself with a knife for asking Zhen Mi for help before.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing... If you see any place that has some profit, go up and ask them for the fee. It would be better if they agree to it. If not..."

Liu Xie snorted heavily, "If you don't obey, I'm afraid you will just rob it, or even kill the owner and take it for yourself?"

"Oh!"

Zhen Yao knocked his forehead heavily on the ground: "Your Majesty! I heard all this from hearsay, and I, Zhen, have never done any of these things!"

"Don't worry, I know, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see me alive today."

Liu Xie's face was solemn: "So you say, promotion and getting rich can be put together?"

Zhen Yao shook his head: "No! No!"

"Then let me ask you again, do you want to be promoted or do you want to get rich?"

……

Faced with this dilemma, Zhen Yao had no choice but to secretly look up at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, do you want to hear the truth?"

"I've heard a lot of lies, so I don't want to hear any more."

Zhen Yao took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, if it is for the sake of the family, then it is for promotion."

"If it's for yourself, then you want to get rich."

Liu Xie asked again: "What is meant by 'for the family' and what is meant by 'for oneself'?"

Zhen Yao responded: "Because my family has received a great fortune, being able to marry my sister to the emperor, the elders in the clan all want to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to climb up."

"We, the Zhen family, have experienced both prosperity and decline, so we understand the importance of luck best."

"If I miss this opportunity, I don't know how many years I will have to wait before I can become rich again."

"But for me... Your Majesty must be able to see that I have been a little timid since I was born, and I am full of awe for officialdom. I really don't want to get involved in government affairs. I would rather be a businessman, which makes me happier."

"But merchants are of low status after all, and no matter how much money they make, without the protection of the government, it will all be nothing but illusions... Therefore, I can only follow my family's wishes and ask the Queen to give Your Majesty a job!"

At the end of his speech, Zhen Yao stretched out his body completely on the ground to show that he was not telling a single lie!

Liu Xie looked at Zhen Yao lying on the ground, and ordered the palace servants to give Zhen Yao a seat.

"As an official, I seek wealth and a future."

"As a businessman, there is no future, and even the wealth you make is not yours..."

Liu Xie sighed.

"Zhen Yao, let me ask you, what if I let you be an official and do business at the same time?"

?

After these words were spoken, not only Zhen Yao showed a look of surprise, even Zhen Mi next to him tilted her head towards the emperor, somewhat puzzled.

Being able to be an official and do business?
How can there be such a good thing in the world?

And if such a thing really happened, wouldn’t the court be in chaos?

Liu Xie asked again: "Have you heard rumors in Chang'an recently that I want to "sell official positions and titles"? "

Zhen Yao hesitated for a moment and then shook his head!

"How could such a wise and powerful person like Your Majesty use the tyranny of the previous dynasty? There must be a villain who is slandering Your Majesty behind your back!"

"It was indeed I who spread it..."

"That's right! Your Majesty has inherited the will of the late emperor, collecting taxes and grain to serve the people and the country. I admire you!"

"..."

Liu Xie smiled and patted his thighs twice, and said to Zhen Mi beside him: "Your brother is much more interesting than you!"

When the brother and sister heard this, they both showed joy on their faces.

"I won't hide it from you. I do want to sell official positions, but I'm not like the last emperor, who would kill ordinary officials."

"I am thinking of setting up some ranks of officials for merchants to purchase."

"These officials have no official positions, but they also have the power to submit petitions to discuss politics... Zhen Yao, how many people do you think will come to buy an official position if I spread this news?"

hiss……

Zhen Yao thought that the businessmen he had met were already amazing enough, but he never expected that there would be someone who could do business as well as the emperor!
Selling some of the official positions is simply a way of making money out of nothing!

Although the emperor said that officials have no real power, they are still officials after all! First of all, in the minds of the world, they are different from ordinary people!
“This is naturally a benevolent policy!”

Zhen Yao can't wait!

If this is the case, he will buy a low-ranking official position even if he has to sell everything he has!
"Don't be impatient."

Liu Xie's expression turned serious.

"But I have conditions."

"Most merchants started out by relying on "agricultural loans" to slowly swallow up their assets."

"'Agricultural loans' seem like trivial matters, but they actually involve a lot of things, and they are not something the government can handle."

"But at the same time, I don't want this to continue and let the "agricultural loans" gradually crush the backbone of the Han farmers again."

Zhen Yao had already realized what the emperor was going to say, so he sat upright and waited for the emperor to speak.

"If you buy a government job, you will have to give up the "agricultural loan" business completely."

"This is the condition I offer to these merchants!"

(End of this chapter)