Qin Official

"The right lieutenant of the county is looking for me?"

This was something Heifu didn't expect. He couldn't help but ponder it as he followed Chen Baijiang to the official temple.

"What could it be? Could it be that..." He was moved in his heart, but he pretended to be ignorant and didn't know anything, and followed Chen Baijiang into the county lieutenant's office.

The county-level government of the Qin State was roughly divided into three major parts: civil affairs, economy, justice, and military security, which were respectively responsible for the county magistrate, county magistrate, and county lieutenant. Among them, the county magistrate is the chief official, and the county magistrate and county lieutenant are the secondary officials. They are all with a rank of four hundred stones and have their own independent government offices and offices.

Heifu had entered the county prison lobby of the county magistrate's office, and now came to the county lieutenant's office across the wall. The same thing was that it was undecorated, and officials came and went in a hurry. The difference was that the military color here was stronger.

He saw the guards at the door standing opposite each other in armor, motionless, and walked straight through the second hall. The security gradually became tighter, and the soldiers holding spears stood at attention, giving him the feeling of entering a military camp.

Think about it, the county captain's duty is to take charge of security and arresting thieves. In times of war, or when corvee recruitment occurs at the border, all the strong men in the county must be rushed to the front line, which is equivalent to the two units of the Public Security Bureau and the People's Armed Forces Department being combined into one in later generations. Thinking about it this way, Heifu is somewhat close to this. feel.

Before entering the lobby, Chen Baijiang and Heifu were stopped by Wei Shi, who asked them to remove their weapons and then take off their shoes before entering.

Chen Baijiang was in front, walking slowly in his socks, but Hei Fu was embarrassed because he didn't even have a pair of socks!

Heifu had no choice but to walk lightly on the cold wooden floor with his bare feet, but he still made a squeaking sound. Fortunately, he took a quick shower with cold water before he came, and also took care of his feet. There was no earthy smell on them, otherwise it would be even more embarrassing...

It was afternoon, and the sun shone into the lobby from the window. Heifu saw that on the left was a bookshelf with slips, and on the right was a "lanqi" with five weapons, including spears, halberds, bows, swords, and swords. The red paint is very eye-catching.

In the center of the hall, Du Xian, the right lieutenant of the county, wearing casual clothes and a bamboo leather crown on his head, was sitting behind the case, reviewing slips with a pen.

Don't think that military chiefs are all warriors and roughnecks. In the Qin State, in addition to Wei Shi and prison guards, the tours and pavilion chiefs in each county and other minor officials responsible for social security were all led by county lieutenants. The number of cases and arrest documents sent from various townships and bureaus every month can be piled up. How can I deal with these official affairs if I don't have any ink in my stomach?

Heifu also saw that in the hands of the right lieutenant of the county, there was not only his bronze seal and black ribbon, but also half a tiger charm... which was a symbol of military power.

"Your Majesty, Sir Heifu has brought..." Chen Bai clasped his hands together and bowed to the ground. Heifu had to imitate him.

"Little man Hei Fu, meet the county captain!"

Du Xian kept writing in his hand, raised his eyes to look at Hei Fu, and nodded: "Here? Sit aside, don't be restrained."

Although he said he was sitting, he was actually sitting on his knees on the side of the hall. Although the cushions under his knees were quite soft, Hei Fu could only imitate Chen Baijiang, with his butt slightly touching his heels and his upper body straight. This is called "载" to show respect to those whose status is much higher than one's own. According to Chen Baijiang, this Du Xian is not only a right lieutenant, but also an official with a rank of 6th rank, which is one level higher than the Xi that Heifu has ever seen.

Du Xian never stopped working, and Heifu could only sit awkwardly and politely. During this period, Chen Baijiang bowed in front of Du Xian, looked at Hei Fu, and wondered what he said to him...

All Heifu could do was watch his eyes, nose and heart, secretly guessing the intentions of the county lieutenant and Chen Baijiang. The tactics of Right Lieutenant Du Xian can be seen from the fact that he punished Bin Baijiang that day and left Left Lieutenant Yunman speechless. He was not an easy person to deal with.

His guess was correct. Du Xian had been secretly observing Heifu since he entered the door.

I heard from Chen Baijiang that after receiving a large amount of coins, this black man did not feast on them, but gave them all to his brother to take home. To be able to do this to his family, he must be a person who has a heart to repay his gratitude.

During those days when he was working as a corvee, he worked conscientiously and did not take any extraordinary actions. This man was relatively calm and did not get carried away due to temporary success.

Before coming to the official temple, he took a quick bath to wash away the dirt from hard work. After entering the hall, he didn't look around in fear like some country folk. Instead, he imitated Chen Baijiang and performed etiquette meticulously. This shows that he is a smart person who understands dignity and inferiority...

Du Xian has always believed that he is different from the nepotistic Zuo Wei. He looks at people not only by their abilities, but also by their nature. Only such people are worthy of promotion.

So Du Xian finally put down the slip in his hand and asked: "Master Heifu, I have long heard that you are good at martial arts and can defeat three people. I ask you, can you use five soldiers?"

Behind Heifu is the "Lan Qi". The so-called five weapons are the spear, halberd, bow, sword and the five most common weapons in this era.

Heifu answered truthfully: "Heifu served in the army for the first time and was not exposed to military weapons, so he only knows how to use a sword. He can draw the hunter's bow, but he can't shoot accurately."

"As long as you know how to use a sword, the sword is the best weapon in short-term combat. It is a sharp weapon for a gentleman."

Du Xian smiled and asked: "I heard that you can also read and write? Where did you learn it?"

"When I was young, my family was well off. Together with my elder brother, I learned from an old father-in-law in the village."

"How many words can you read? How many words can you write?"

"I can generally recognize the characters on official documents and laws, but I can only write three or four hundred."

Hei Fu answered one by one. After asking Hei Fu for a while, Du Xian started to get straight to the point: "I don't like to talk in roundabout ways. I called you here today to ask you, would you like to be an official?"

Without hesitation, Heifu immediately responded: "Yes!"

After more than a month of personal experience, he finally understood that in the Qin State, the highest social status, in addition to the soldiers who had made meritorious services, were the Qin officials, large and small.

As a Qin official, not only was he a junior officer when he joined the army, he could also accumulate merit and be promoted, and he would have more opportunities to perform meritorious service and be honored with titles. Therefore, he had always wanted to get into Qin's civil servants.

Captain Hei paid homage and said, "I wish you all the best! I'm just from a humble background. I couldn't go to school to learn laws and regulations, so I have no way of becoming an official!"

As far as Heifu knows, although there is no imperial examination in the Qin State, there are many ways to become an official. In addition to meritorious service and nobility on the battlefield, there are also "Renzi" and "Recommendation". But the former is the patent of the second generation of officials such as Meng Tian, ​​Wang Li, and Li You, while the latter is equivalent to the "promoting filial piety and integrity" in the Han Dynasty. You need to have family background, fame, and wealth in the local area to be recommended by the villagers.

More importantly, it is better to enter the school, learn laws and regulations from the legal officials, and after passing the assessment, you can naturally enter the official career, which is equivalent to the cadre training class for future generations. However, there are mandatory requirements for admission. You must be a "official", that is, the son of an official.

With a poor background like Heifu's, none of the above methods would work. He had secretly hoped that an official would recommend him, or that he would be recruited by the government because of his outstanding performance. However, such opportunities were rare.

Who would have expected that today, the right lieutenant of the county suddenly asked him coldly, could it be that he was finally going to stand out?

"No way? Haha, I don't think so."

At this time, Chen Baijiang, as Du Xian's confidant, took over the conversation wisely: "Right now, there is such an opportunity. Hei Fu, do you still remember the director of Huyang Pavilion?"

"of course I remember."

How could Heifu forget him? If it weren't for this guy, the rest of the month in the county would have been peaceful.

General Chen Bai said: "Last month he was fined a ghost salary due to his lawsuit with you. After that, the post of Huyang Pavilion Chief became vacant. There is no suitable official in the county to succeed him, and no one in the local area has recommended a candidate. …”

He paused for a moment, looked at Du Xian, and after getting his nod in agreement, he said again:

"At this time, the right lieutenant immediately thought of you! He also informed the county magistrate of your plans to capture thieves and win titles in ten days. The county magistrate asked the chief officials to recruit you out of the ordinary. If you can pass the official examination, you can try Appointed as the head of Huyang Pavilion! Hei Fu, such a God-given opportunity is in front of you, why don’t you quickly thank you Lieutenant!"