Qing Yao

Chapter 234 Outstanding Officials of the Qing Dynasty
The money-loving Imperial Censor Zheng was heartbroken, while the money-grubbing Imperial Censor Zhao was extremely excited, far beyond what one might expect.

A fourth-rank grain transport commissioner!
What nature?

This is equivalent to the head of a provincial grain bureau.

In this era, grain was the nation's most precious treasure, the ballast stone for a country's long-term stability. Now, Zhao An had become this ballast stone, and in some ways, he had reached the pinnacle of a mid-level official in the Qing Dynasty.

The old master even gave him an extra yellow jacket. What does that mean?

That's an honorary title!

Once Zhao An puts on the yellow jacket, he looks exactly like an outstanding national grain bureau chief.

It contains absolutely no moisture.

The yellow vest is great, just how great is it?

Even the governor of Jiangsu Province was too embarrassed to impeach him.

Because what's the difference between ginseng in a yellow jacket and ginseng in an old man's robe?
Even at a provincial meeting, a fourth-rank official like him was entitled to raise his hand.

How could such a good thing suddenly fall into my lap? There was no warning beforehand, no mental preparation at all. It's really something.
This made Zhao An a little embarrassed to take advantage of the old man, to undermine him, and to cause the old man to rebel.

London is truly fucking magnanimous.

If I had known that fabricating a false case would bring such great benefits, I shouldn't have listened to Lao Ding and labeled all the criminal gangs in Yangzhou as rebels, creating a list that would have been hundreds of pages long. That would have gotten me directly to the Ministry of Justice.

Little did they know that his fourth-rank grain commissioner position was entirely fabricated, a result of a mistake.

The old man never intended to promote him.

It was all because Renfu Zhongtang misunderstood and couldn't save face, so this whole mess happened.

Zhao An had no idea what was going on. Anyway, the imperial edict promoting him was incredibly pleasing, the yellow jacket that added to his prestige was even more so, and then there were the four sets of official robes that had been delivered to him—it was all the more beautiful than he imagined.

Therefore, if you want to be an official, you have to be a high-ranking one, because once you become a high-ranking official, your benefits will immediately increase.

A mere seventh-rank professor only had one set of official robes, and for the sake of convenience in changing and washing them, he had to pay out of his own pocket to have a tailor make a set to imitate the style.

Have you ever heard of officials having to pay for their own official robes?
That's how our Great Qing Dynasty was.

Just as people are divided into different classes, officials in the Qing Dynasty were also divided into different classes.

As a fourth-rank official directly managed by the Ministry of Personnel and rarely offered for sale, the treatment he enjoyed could make officials below the fourth rank envious and resentful.

Putting everything else aside, there were four sets of official robes alone, and two sets of hats and two sets of official boots.

The four sets of official robes consist of a court robe for formal occasions, a rank robe for daily office work, a travel robe for outings, and an auspicious robe for celebratory occasions. All of them were custom-made by the three textile bureaus of Jiangning, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, using very high-quality materials and with exquisite workmanship.

Considering the weather, the official hats consisted of a warm hat for winter and a cool hat for summer, both topped with lapis lazuli.

It's a pity it doesn't have a peacock feather, which is a bit of a disappointment.

There was no other way; the imperial court had regulations that only civil officials with the rank of governor concurrently serving as commander-in-chief and ministers dispatched to the northwest could wear the peacock feather. Although military officials of the fifth rank and above could wear it, except for those awarded it for military merit, it would be removed upon leaving office.

In the entire Yangzhou area, only Zhao Dehan, a third-rank official, had a peacock feather on his hat; everyone else did not.

In addition to significant adjustments to the specifications of the sedan chair, the procession and guards, and the salaries of the attendants, the procession staff were also greatly increased.

The legal salary for a fourth-rank official was 105 taels of silver per year, plus 105 bushels of grain, and an additional 6000 taels of silver for maintaining integrity.

Of course, this allowance for maintaining integrity was not uniform, but rather determined based on the different levels of local economic development. The allowance for maintaining integrity in wealthy Jiangsu province was undoubtedly the highest in the country, while a fourth-rank official in Gansu province received only half that amount annually.

Including all the formal income and gifts, if Zhao An didn't embezzle or steal, his legal income would be at least four million yuan a year.

It hasn't even been mentioned that the grain commissioner was not only a powerful government office, but also a lucrative one. Even if Zhao An wasn't greedy, just by sitting in that position and putting a bowl in front of him, he could easily make tens of thousands of taels of silver a year.

When good things happen, people are in high spirits. Once he had recovered from his shock, Zhao An quickly and warmly welcomed the people from the capital.

Although the other party is only a third-class guard of the fifth rank, he is a bannerman and a direct security personnel of the old master. According to the court system, bannermen who are sent to civil positions are promoted one rank, and those sent to military positions are promoted two ranks. Their promotion speed is far faster than that of Han officials, so it is possible that the guard will become Zhao An's superior one day.

The sudden promotion of Imperial Censor Zhao to Grain Commissioner was significant. Although the Jiang'an Circuit actually oversaw grain affairs in Anhui and Jiangning, it was still a provincial grain commissioner, and its headquarters were in Jiangning. Which of the officials present dared to say that they wouldn't be transferred to Anhui?

So, without anyone even suggesting it, people were drinking on one side and offerings of congratulations and gifts on the other.

When Zhao, the Grain Commissioner, set off for Jiangning, the officials present had to prepare a farewell gift, and the Grain Commissioner's office in Jiangning would have a formal arrival certificate for Zhao to receive.

Anyway, without any trouble, just moving these two positions around will bring in at least several thousand taels of silver.

The happiest people were undoubtedly Lao Ding and Lao Song.

One was genuinely happy for her grandson-in-law's promotion, while the other was already dreaming of her own bright future.

Lord Zhao was promoted to the fourth rank of Grain Commissioner without spending a penny. If the money saved is not given to Old Song, then who should it be spent on?

Who is the most awkward one?

Lord Futai!

When Zhao Youlu took office half a year ago, he was just a student of the Imperial Academy and a minor ninth-rank school clerk, not even a sesame official.

But this guy was incredibly lucky, rising through the ranks in just six months, from a ninth-rank official to a fourth-rank official, a ten-level promotion.

In the history of this dynasty, apart from Manchu bannermen who were only teenagers and directly appointed as vice ministers or deputy commanders, Zhao Youlu was probably the one who rose through the ranks the fastest.

It took Li Weigong two years to be promoted to the rank of Daoyuan.

However, Li Weigong had a high starting point, directly purchasing the position of a fifth-rank official with a large sum of money, which was several ranks higher than Zhao Youlu's ninth-rank academic record.

Moreover, Li Weigong was promoted to Provincial Treasurer after only one year as a Circuit Intendant, then to Governor after two years, and finally to Governor-General after three years. In this respect, he was still better than Zhao Youlu.

Ok?
The prefectural governor felt a jolt of fear and subconsciously looked at Zhao Youlu, who was toasting the guards in the capital: "This kid mustn't become another Li Weigong."

It is quite possible that the current emperor promotes his favorite ministers at a rate no less than that of his father, Emperor Shizongxian.

Isn't Heshen a perfect example?

Although Zhao Youlu was not a Manchu, he seemed to have been registered as a bondservant in the Imperial Household Department, becoming the emperor's servant.

Upon reflection, the previously reserved Prefectural Governor inexplicably raised his wine cup to congratulate Censor Zhao on his promotion to Grain Commissioner. His high praise and compliments made Zhao An feel somewhat embarrassed. He said, "I have nothing to say. Thank you, Prefectural Governor. I'll drink this, you can drink as you please."

Seeing this, the prefect, who couldn't hold his liquor, had no choice but to down his drink in one gulp. As a result, when everyone saw that the prefect was letting loose today, they kept urging him to drink.

The prefect was so drunk he could barely walk, and it was Zhao An and Lao Ding who helped him into the sedan chair.

Once inside the sedan chair, the prefectural magistrate, perhaps truly drunk, gripped Zhao An's hand tightly, exclaiming, "Your success today is entirely thanks to me! It's all thanks to me!"

She groaned and fell asleep.

Zhao An was completely confused: My success today is entirely due to my own efforts, what does it have to do with you?
(End of this chapter)