Chapter 253 The Book of Gold
Black bears come quickly and leave quickly.

Zhong Yao was unable to come back to his senses for a long time, and then he immediately closed the door and studied the Slender Gold Simplified Calligraphy by himself.

Unfortunately, his door was knocked. Zhong Yao put away the bamboo slips and opened the door with a gloomy face: "What's the matter?"

The chief clerk was stunned: "Mingsir, Lord Wei is already outside the door."

"Why is he here?"

Zhong Yao was so angry that he jumped up and down: "Who asked him to come?"

"Yes...it was General Zhenbei. General Zhenbei sent someone to inform Lord Wei and asked him to come and discuss the land order with you."

"I am ill and cannot see him."

Zhong Yao added: "If you are in a hurry to discuss, please ask him to wait in the front hall."

After saying this, Zhong Yao closed the door and bolted it, turned around and quickly returned to the study, took a deep breath, began to grind ink, took out a roll of blank bamboo slips, and began to copy the "Zhi Tian Order" drafted by Hei Xiong.

The Official Land Order consisted of more than 300 words, and was intended to allow officials at five levels in Guanlong, namely, prefecture, county, township, and village heads, to obtain a fixed quota of official land.

There is no need to pay land tax for official land, and the cultivation and output of official land will also become one of the assessment criteria for promotion of officials in the future.

The governors, provincial governors, military governors or governors-general at the state level were granted 500 acres of official land; generals and county magistrates were granted 200 acres; colonels and chief secretaries were granted 100 acres; pavilion chiefs were granted 50 acres and village chiefs were granted 10 acres.

Other subordinates, officials, clerks, and assistant clerks, etc., shall be given one-tenth of their official land according to their official rank, with a maximum of 100 acres.

An official with a rank of 600 dan was granted 60 mu of land.

It was only when Zhong Yao copied it again that he read the Zhitian Order in its entirety.

Using one-tenth of the official's annual salary as the amount of official land to be granted is not a problem and everyone can understand it.

But what Zhong Yao couldn't understand was "assessment". Unfortunately, the Zhitian Order did not elaborate on the assessment standards, so he was not clear about the standards for assessment and promotion.

Since the collapse of various systems of conferring titles based on military merit, the system of granting civil servants positions based on the level of titles has also collapsed.

At present, the central government appoints chief officials at the prefecture, county, and town levels. After taking office, the chief officials will recruit local officials to form their own administrative teams.

To Black Bear, the leaders of the state, county and district levels were more like contractors of pastures and farms.

If you do a good job, you will get a promotion; if you do a bad job, you will go bankrupt and be laid off.

Compared with the aristocratic families that had already emerged at the end of the Han Dynasty, this was not a family of noble origin that emerged after the migration of the elite to the south.

The current youth version of the aristocratic families is relatively easy to deal with; first, their scale has not grown to the point where it affects every aspect of your life, and second, the world is still unsettled, and the aristocratic families have not yet formed a large alliance.

Then there are the current aristocratic families, which are in adolescence. Although they are immature, there are many naive and enthusiastic people among them... This group of people is very confusing to the outside world.

But as long as the aristocratic family is formed, these people will completely disappear; or they will completely merge and become the surface of the aristocratic family, while the inside is pitch black.

The adolescent version of the aristocratic families was still manageable, but what made him feel most powerless were the broken aristocratic families and the various Donglin factions that were mainly based on master-disciple relationships and regional party interests as a bond.

For example, now, executing Wang Yun’s three clans can basically eliminate most of the Wang family’s influence.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, if one wanted to achieve this effect, one had to either learn from Zhu Yuanzhang or from the early Qing dynasty.

At present, the chief officials of states, counties and prefectures can be called government officials, and the team of officials they recruit are affairs officials.

Government officials and affairs officials originated in China. For the wealthy and powerful people in ancient and modern times, becoming a seventh-rank county magistrate was considered the beginning of their official career.

Therefore, Black Bear is not planning to establish the nine-rank and eighteen-level official system. The current system is very good. At least if a county magistrate has the support of local people, he will have the confidence to go against the county governor and the provincial governor.

The personnel power of the county magistrate originally belonged to the central government. The prefectures and counties did not have the qualifications to appoint, let alone recommend or elect him.

This system nourishes families of high rank thanks to the relationships among disciples brought about by the recommendation of filial and honest officials, as well as the relationships among former officials brought about by the recruitment of officials by government officials.

These two kinds of personal subordination relationships nurtured the aristocratic families.

The sensitive point of "Zhitianling" for Zhong Yao is the "assessment", which is an instinct of Zhong Yao.

Black Bear used military merit to promote those military officers who followed him into battle to the position of county magistrates… In an era when military merit was highly respected and no one could be granted a title without military merit, it was normal for military officers with merit to be transferred to the position of county magistrates, and no one could question it.

Military merit is not easy to obtain, so this is not a normal channel for "selection into officialdom."

Now, the assessment attached to the Official Land Order may open up a new channel for selection and advancement for officials within the prefectures, counties and districts.

Being a filial and honest official or being recruited by a government official are the most formal channels for entering the officialdom at present.

But as long as you go through these two channels, you are bound to become someone's disciple or old official, and be subordinate to the other party in terms of public opinion and morality.

Now Black Bear is formulating the Official Land Order, and he wants to use this as the evaluation standard... Who will the officials who are evaluated based on this have an innate stance towards?

Below the public office, there is also recruitment by the general's office, state office, county office and county office, but none of them is as good as the public office; because the East Cao of the public office can directly nominate and recommend officials to the Secretariat, and the starting point is the county magistrate.

Filial piety and integrity is also a big framework. Initially, there were regular channels for entering officialdom such as filial piety, integrity, outstanding talent, and knowledge of classics, which were recommended according to a fixed time quota; there were also special categories, which were recommended by counties and states, such as virtuous and upright, virtuous and literary, knowledge of classics, knowledge of law, outstanding, governance of drama, art of war, and yin and yang, disasters and anomalies.

All of these must undergo assessment by the government, and only those who pass the assessment will be considered qualified.

The talent selection system was only useful in the first few times. After it became a routine, the government would not impose strict penalties on people recommended by local areas during their assessments due to personal relationships and face, and would just let them pass.

This is where Zhong Yao felt embarrassed. If the black bear dared to open his mouth, the officials with salaries below 600 shi would rush forward with their tails wagging!
Even if the assessment criteria is to make these officials take good care of the farmland, these officials will definitely be willing to endure this hardship in order to succeed and bring honor to their family!

The formal channels for entering the government have been blocked, and for many grassroots officials, there is no way to sell themselves!

Cruel officials, extremely cruel officials will emerge and rise because of this!
Isn’t it just the government recruiting and selecting filial and honest people?

As long as he passed the assessment and paid his dues, couldn't Black Bear get a place in the government's recruitment or selection for filial and incorruptible officials?

If a person finishes his work and then goes to the field to weed, you can say he is lazy, but you can't accuse him of corruption. If a person is happy to farm and manage his property, his living standard will improve, his parents will be better off, and his son will work so hard, so it's normal to say he is a filial son, right?

Almost during the process of copying the "Zhi Tian Ling", Zhong Yao had already discovered how Black Bear was going to take advantage of this small opening.

Recruiting officials for the government has become simpler. The government office of the Grand Marshal is about to be established, and a number of positions will be reserved specifically for turnover.

The government's recruitment is not like the filial and honest position. The filial and honest positions have annual examinations and the quotas are allocated according to time. The government's recruitment is simpler, with many positions and free turnover, and there are also indefinite quotas for clerks and Zhonglang.

Can't stop it, can't stop it at all.

Within three to five years, all counties in Guanzhong will basically be occupied by officials from the Grand Marshal's Mansion.

While Zhong Yao was thinking and sighing secretly, he heard a faint noise outside the study.

Thinking of some of the tricks used by the black bear and the habits of Wei Duan and his son, he rolled up the original scroll of the Slender Gold Script and threw it onto the beam.

Then he took a deep breath, walked towards the front hall with an angry look on his face to unbolt the door.

Unexpectedly, too many people came in, and the door was immediately pushed open. Seeing that the first person to rush in was Wei Kang, Zhong Yao glared at him and shouted, "How rude of you!"

Wei Kang, who was eight feet five inches tall and strong, was about to explain when his younger brother Wei Dan, who was young and weak, was pushed and fell to Zhong Yao's feet.

Zhong Yao subconsciously tried to help him, but then he saw Wei Duan at the door raising his clogs and throwing them at him. Zhong Yao ducked his head to avoid it, and then he looked again, only to see Wei Duan walking towards him with a furious look on his face: "Zhong Yuanchang! How dare you secretly hide the golden book of Lord Cai!"

More than twenty Guanlong scholars and Liangzhou officials who followed Wei Duan and his son rolled up their sleeves and wrestled with Zhong Yao's subordinates.

Zhong Yao was about to run when he saw that the situation was not right, but Wei Dan, who didn't want to be caught, stretched out his hands and grabbed Zhong Yao's legs.

Wei Kang turned around and started to wrestle with Zhong Yao's chief clerk. Wei Duan stepped forward and grabbed Zhong Yao's collar with both hands, glaring at him: "What do you want to do! Where is the golden book?"

Zhong Yao was very stubborn and also looked angry: "What golden book?"

"Begging for a beating!"

Wei Duan raised his right arm, let the wide sleeve of his robe slide down to his shoulder, grabbed Zhong Yao's collar with his left hand, and gave him a loud slap with his right hand!

From childhood to adulthood, this was the first time that Zhong Yao had suffered such a big loss, and he exploded immediately.

But Wei Dan still held his feet tightly. Most of the Liangzhou scholars who attacked first rushed into the living room and had already gained the upper hand.

Zhong Yao's raised right fist was caught by a Tianshui scholar, and Wei Duan slapped him again, staring at him: "Are you going to lie to me again?"

Seeing that Zhong Yao was not convinced, Wei Duan took out a bamboo slip from his arms and showed it to Zhong Yao: "Look carefully, this is the order given to me by the General of Zhenbei! Let you and I discuss the land order together! Where is the land order?"

This bamboo slip is written in the simplified Chinese script of "Slender Gold".

Zhong Yao was speechless. The people who tried to enter to rescue Zhong Yao stopped fighting when they heard Wei Duan's words.

Zhong Yao's face was burning with pain. He raised his hand and pointed at the table: "It's there. I don't know what the Golden Book is."

"Then what is this?"

Wei Duan laughed angrily and shook the bamboo slips in his hand: "This is not like you, take a closer look."

Zhong Yao did not look up. Wei Duan walked over and picked up the bamboo slips that Zhong Yao had copied. He put them close to his nose and sniffed them. He could still smell the clear, moist smell of ink.

Wei Duan looked at the bamboo slips and casually passed them to his eldest son. Wei Kang took them, glanced at them, and then looked at Zhong Yao. He then threw them to the officials from Liangzhou who were accompanying him. The leading officials looked at them, and Yang Fu, who was in charge of the work, said, "This is not the Zhenbei Notes. It is quite similar to Yuan Changgong's."

The bamboo slips fell into the hands of Jiang Xu, a military official from Liangzhou. He was gently scraping the blood from the corner of his broken mouth with the tip of his tongue. He didn't know much about calligraphy, so he was attracted to the Zhitian Order at first sight.

Seeing this, Zhong Yao simply collapsed to the ground and lay there without saying a word.

Wei Duan kicked him, but Zhong Yao just looked at him.

Wei Kang stepped forward and said, "Father, the golden book must still be in the hall. I will definitely be able to find it."

At this time, Zhong Yao looked up at Wei Kang and said, "You can't search. If you find something else, I won't be able to explain it to your father."

Wei Kang was surprised and went to look at his father. Unexpectedly, Wei Duan did not refute. He looked down at Zhong Yao and said, "Show me the golden book, and I will leave after reading it. I will help you intercept Kong Wenju. If Kong Wenju comes, let alone here, even the toilet will be opened to search."

Thinking of Kong Rong’s madness and the relationship between Kong Rong and Cai Yong, Kong Rong would dare to do anything just to take a look at the golden book that Cai Yong wanted to keep secret before his death!
At that time, even if he didn't hide anything here, if he came with Kong Rong to hide some things and they were found out, it would be really fatal.

Zhong Yao had no choice but to look at the roof beams. Wei Duan and his son raised their heads and saw that they were both smiling.

Wei Kang was tall and strong. He and the equally strong Jiang Xu formed a human ladder. Yang Fu and several others helped Wei Dan climb up and take down the bamboo slips on the beam.

The golden book was delivered to Wei Duan, who glanced at it and quickly rolled it up: "With this, I can stop Kong Wenju, brother Yuan Chang, don't worry. I have also read the land ownership order, and the people of Liangzhou have no objection and all agree with it!"

Zhong Yao remained silent and just stared at Wei Duan.

Wei Duan picked up the clogs he had thrown away, put them on, and then straightened his robe and belt before turning around and walking away leisurely.

Wei Kang was about to leave, but then he felt it was inappropriate, so he turned back and bowed to Zhong Yao, saying, "Please forgive me, Lord Yuan Chang."

After the group of scholars from Liangzhou and Guanzhong left, Zhong Yao's subordinates entered the living room.

It took several people to help Zhong Yao up, but now he seemed as if his tendons had been pulled out.

He couldn't stand up or sit still, and even his eyes were dull and lifeless.

I felt so wronged that I couldn't even cry.

He stole the golden book and relied on the fact that he had two sons to bully an old widower!

(End of this chapter)