Qing Yao

Chapter 185 This Servant is Good

No one dared to respond to Lord Zhao's words.

It means that everyone present was one of their own, otherwise Zhao An wouldn't have dared to say that.

Shopkeeper Shi wondered if Lord Zhao had some misunderstanding about "bondservants" and therefore didn't realize how valuable the title of "bondservant" was.

Therefore, it is necessary to explain to the uninformed Lord Zhao what Gongzhong Zuoling is.

"There are four types of Eight Banners captains in our Great Qing Dynasty: first, those with meritorious service; second, those with hereditary jurisdiction; third, those with mutual jurisdiction; and fourth, those who are publicly appointed captains."

According to Manager Shi, the title of "Xunjiu Zuoling" refers to the tribal chiefs who led their tribes to surrender in the early days of the Qing Dynasty. The position of Zuoling was inherited by their descendants.
The term "世管佐领" refers to someone who is not the chief of a tribe but has brought a group of people to join them. The position of 佐领 is also hereditary.

The term "mutually managed Zuo Ling" refers to a Zuo Ling with two or three Jurchen clans, where the position of Zuo Ling is held by these Jurchen clans in rotation.

The Gongzhong Zuoling was formed by adding extra personnel from other Zuolings and surrendered people. The Zuoling position was directly appointed by the emperor.

After listening to Manager Shi's explanation, Zhao An nodded: "According to you, only the appointment of the Gongzhong Zuoling (military commander) is under the Emperor's control, while the appointment of the other Zuoling is beyond the Emperor's jurisdiction?"

Shopkeeper Shi uttered an "uh" and gave an awkward smile: "You could say that."

"It seems there are many factions within the Eight Banners."

Zhao An had some wild thoughts, and these thoughts were correct. Because the Qing Dynasty developed too rapidly when it was established outside the Great Wall, many factions existed within the Eight Banners.

In other words, the Jurchen forces outside the Jianzhou clan were extremely powerful.

This explains why, in the early Qing Dynasty, there were Eight Banners members who "opposed the Qing and restored the Ming," but by the late Qing Dynasty, many Bannermen did not want the Aisin Gioro clan to return to their ancestral homeland.

Besides the fact that these Manchus also suffered from the oppression of the Aisin Gioro (due to their failure in the power struggle), their power came from hereditary succession rather than from the Aisin Gioro.

The non-public military commanders were essentially one family from top to bottom.

If someone were to instigate a rebellion within the Aisin Gioro clan, their relatives would have no choice but to participate, because if they were defeated, the entire Zuo-ling (military command) would be massacred.

It's similar to the Han Chinese rebellion resulting in the execution of three generations of their family.

When the Qing Dynasty was powerful, these non-Jianzhou direct descendants benefited from it; when the Qing Dynasty was doomed, those who joined the group with their own resources would definitely be the first to leave.

However, most of the non-public middle-ranking officers are concentrated in the lower five banners, while only the upper three banners are the core base of Aisin Gioro's die-hard fans.

"Mountaintop?"

Shopkeeper Shi didn't understand what this meant, and Zhao An didn't explain it to him, telling him to continue.

"At the beginning of the conquest of China, Emperor Shunzhi placed all the bondservants of the Upper Three Banners under the management of the Imperial Household Department. However, Lord Zhao, don't think that we are really just servants. We servants not only serve the emperor but can also become officials, and even high-ranking ones. We servants of the Imperial Household Department have become the most numerous, such as Grand Secretaries, Governors-General, and Governors."

Manager Shi was quite proud when he said this.

"Currently, our Imperial Household Department has nine Manchu bannermen, twelve Han Chinese bannermen, and eighteen junior bannermen. The rest are mostly garrison commanders. Lord Zhao, you are in the seventeenth junior bannerman, while my family is in the ninth bannerman."
Do you know Shi Lang, the patriarch who conquered Taiwan back then? His family, like mine, were both ninth-rank military officers. The current Marquis of Jinghai, Shi Bingren, and I used to play in the mud together when we were kids.”

As he spoke, Manager Shi glanced at Vice Principal Ma, who had given him a few taels of silver as a token of good news, as if to say, "Do you think I'm some nobody?"

It was only then that Vice Principal Ma realized that Manager Shi was no ordinary person, not just a servant who begged for money. He couldn't help but feel uneasy, afraid that he had offended him.

Fortunately, the headmaster seemed to have a good relationship with this person; otherwise, he wouldn't have openly expressed his dissatisfaction with being a bondservant.

What does "manager" mean?

Instructor Tong's curiosity was a little different. Manager Shi laughed and said, "The 'Guan Ling' refers to the families of officials who have committed offenses and are punished by being sent to the Imperial Household Department to perform hard labor and do difficult tasks. Compared to us, who come from the Zuo Ling background, these people are the ones who suffer the most."

After saying this, he clasped his hands in congratulations to Principal Zhao again: "At the beginning of the dynasty, many commoners became bondservants. Our eight imperial merchants in the Imperial Household Department were from that time. However, Emperor Qianlong of this dynasty did not grant many bondservant status. Your Excellency truly has the Emperor's favor!"

Seeing this, Vice Principal Ma and Director of Teaching Tong quickly joined in with their congratulations. Principal Zhao may be ignorant, but how could they not be?

A bondservant, that's extremely good!

The Cao and Li families, who were once the textile manufacturing families in Jiangnan, were originally bondservants.

Although Zhao An accepted everyone's congratulations with a smile, he was not happy in his heart, because the words "bondservant" were something he could not be happy about.

The old man is really something. If you want to reward someone, why not just give them a flag?

Zhao An wasn't against being a "Japanese soldier," but he didn't end up as one and ended up working in a plainclothes team on bicycles, which was quite a shock.

The plainclothes team had a tough time; they not only had to endure gunfire from the Eighth Route Army, but also from the Japanese soldiers.

He's caught in the middle.

But what's done is done, so we can only accept it.

"Old Shi, there are no outsiders here. Lord Ma and Lord Tong are both my confidants. Tell me, what are the benefits of me being a bondservant?"

Zhao An was asking the truth.

Shopkeeper Shi hurriedly replied, "There are many benefits. First of all, once you become a servant, your descendants will all be servants, making them more noble than ordinary people!"

"."

Zhao An completely ignored this benefit, knowing that in the future either the creditor's entire family would die, or his entire family would die; there was no middle ground.

Manager Shi added, "With the status of a bondservant, the Ministry of Personnel will give you priority in appointing officials when you are selected in the future."

"This is good!"

Zhao An's eyes lit up. "Then we still need to spend money?"

Shopkeeper Shi coughed lightly: "The money that needs to be spent still needs to be spent."

What this means is that having the status of a bondservant is equivalent to Zhao An having the treatment of a major client at a bank. However, the money still needs to be given, but he only has the right to pay money first.

Don't underestimate this priority payment right; it's a benefit that many people waiting in line can only dream of.

"With this bondservant status, you will surely thrive in the provincial government. Everyone from our Imperial Household Department will be on your side."

This benefit should be in the form of "sticking together". Being born into the Imperial Household Department as a bondservant was a legitimate way to become an official in the Qing Dynasty, just like the imperial examination, Eight Banners translators, scribes, bodyguards, and those who purchased official positions. Because of their special status, officials from bondservant backgrounds naturally had to help each other, otherwise they would definitely be suppressed by officials from other channels.

"Let me put it this way, sir: the tasks done by our Imperial Household Department were all done by eunuchs from the Ming Dynasty. You know Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian, right? They were our predecessors!"

Shopkeeper Shi's description became increasingly vivid, and he slapped his forehead, "I almost forgot to mention, His Majesty even specially sent an imperial physician to Yangzhou to treat your injuries, sir! With these two things in place, which official in this province would dare to neglect you, Lord Zhao!"

Ok?
Zhao An's spirits lifted, and without saying a word, he knelt down facing north, thumping his head three times: "The Emperor's grace is boundless, the Emperor's grace is boundless!"

My lord, when will this servant be able to give you a knife?

(End of this chapter)