Hearing this, Ming Zhu quickly cupped her hands and bowed to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao returned the bow and said,"Emperor, we have to be careful of Wu Sangui, that dog thief!”When the others heard Wei Xiaobao call Wu Sangui a scoundrel, they were all shocked. At this time, Wu Sangui was submissive to the court and had no intention of rebelling. It was just that his self-respect for the army made Kang Xi a little uneasy. It was one thing for him to insult an important official of the imperial court in the main hall, but he actually swore in front of the Emperor. This made Soertu a little worried. Mingzhu lowered her head and sneered, waiting for Kang Xi to speak.
"Haha!" Kang Xi laughed and said,"Little Gui Zi, you bastard, how can you call Ping Xiwang a dog thief?”Seeing that Kang Xi wasn't angry, Suo Ertu heaved a sigh of relief, but Ming Zhu was surprised. Her eyes darted around, and no one knew what she was thinking. "This San Fan is like Oboi. I will get rid of them. Either they listen to the court and cut off their vassals, or we capture them like we captured Oboi. It's just that now is not the time. It's impossible to catch these people as easily as catching Oboi. I really don't have any strength in San Francisco. Moreover, I lack troops, the court lacks food and money, and I have just gotten rid of Oboi. At this time, the people are unstable. If I act rashly, I think it will be self-defeating. This is fine, but what worries me is that Wu Sangui is actually constantly urging the court for military rations, which really worries me.”
"What exactly is the Western Selection Official you were talking about?"”
"The West Selection Official is an official sent by Wu Sangui," Soertu said hastily. Whenever there was a vacancy, the court and Wu Sangui would send officials. Whoever reached the position first would get it.”
"Most of those officials in the Western Selection were bought from Wu Sangui. They have no real talent and knowledge. It's really not a blessing for the court to let them govern the place.”Ming Zhu also said. The two of them knew what Kang Xi thought of Wu Sangui from his tone, so they went along with Kang Xi's meaning. "That Wu Sangui earned a lot of money from selling his official position every year, and he even repeatedly asked the court for money.”
Wei Xiaobao naturally knew what the Western Selection Official meant. He had been waiting for these words. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Court is short of money and food. If Wu Sangui can sell his official position, why can't we?”
Kang Xi stood up and glared at Wei Xiaobao."Are you asking me to sell my official position?" He read history and knew that in every dynasty, selling officials was a factor that ruined the dynasty. His greatest hope was to become a great and promising monarch. How could he not be angry when he was asked to sell his official position?
"Emperor, what I said was selling titles, not official positions!”Wei Xiaobao said with a smile. Kang Xi was intrigued and paced back and forth to listen to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao knew that Kang Xi was not averse to new things, so he dared to say this.
"There are twelve levels of nobility in the Qing Dynasty. The highest level is Prince Heshuo. The others are Duoluo Prince, Duoluo Beile, Gushan Bei Zi, Feng 'en Defending Duke, Feng' en Fuguo Duke, no less than 80% Defending Duke, no less than 80% Fuguo Duke, Defending General, Fuguo General, Feng 'en General. The title of nobility was granted by merit, grace, inheritance and examination. Meritorious knighthood, in the imperial clan because of outstanding meritorious service and knighthood; Those who were granted titles by grace, close relatives of the imperial clan or princes who had grown up, were knighted according to the rules; To inherit the title, from the prince below, from the general of Fengen above, among his sons, select one person to inherit the title; In the examination of titles, except for one person who inherited the title, the other sons would also receive a certain title when they reached the age of 20.”As expected of a member of the imperial clan, Soetu had casually mentioned these things. He knew that Wei Xiaobao was not very familiar with these things, so he was afraid that Wei Xiaobao would cause trouble, so he reminded him. "However, when Eunuch Gui said that he was selling titles, could it be that he was selling these titles?”
Ming Zhu's eyes lit up, and she said,"Other than the titles of clan relatives, aren't there titles of meritorious officials and relatives?”Soetu was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and asked,""Eunuch Gui, are you referring to the titles of those relatives and meritorious officials?”Wei Xiaobao didn't know what kind of title they were talking about, and he felt like his head was about to explode. However, he could tell from Soetu's words that the so-called titles of the clan relatives were not for sale, so he went along with what they said,""That's right, that's all I've said.”
In the Qing Dynasty, the titles conferred by the relatives and meritorious officials were divided into super-grade dukes, marquises, uncles, first-grade sons, second-grade males, third-grade light chariot duwei, fourth-grade riding duwei, fifth-grade cloud riding wei, and seventh-grade enqi wei. Wei Xiaobao only knew a few things about the dukes, marquises, and uncles. He didn't know anything else.
"These are all rewards that can only be given after meritorious service. Don't tell me you want zhen to sell them?”Kang Xi was a little angry and stopped to glare at Wei Xiaobao.
Wei Xiaobao felt his hair stand on end under his stare."In fact, as long as the people who paid the money came from legitimate sources, their money is equivalent to making a contribution to the court. So what if we sell the title to them? Besides, what I said was to sell a title, not an official position. They only received a title. If they wanted to become officials in the imperial court, they had to pass a special examination by the imperial court, or even the emperor's personal examination.”
Kang Xi's eyes lit up at his words."Are you saying that giving them this title is actually just a symbol of status?”Hearing Kang Xi's understanding, Wei Xiaobao nodded and said,"This is a symbol of status. Of course, you can also give them some privileges. For example, according to the rank of nobility, they can not kneel when they see officials below their rank. The Emperor could even set aside a time every year to let them attend the banquet held by the Emperor and personally meet them.”
Ming Zhu shook her head and said,"The rich are all businessmen. Merchants only care about profit. Why would they do things that have no benefits?"”
"As for merchants, as long as we give them the right to do business, they can do business anywhere in the country. Of course, they could not do any business. As long as they paid enough taxes, the imperial court would not make things difficult for them.”At this time, the atmosphere of the Celestial Empire was still very heavy. Therefore, Wei Xiaobao believed that if he had this advantage, the merchants would probably flock to him.
"Merchant?" Kang Xi muttered," Storing goods for the sake of strangeness, raising prices, and profiteering instead of production. It's really disgusting. It's a pity that they have money in their hands, and I'm really short of money now.”He paced back and forth again, as if he was hesitating. Wei Xiaobao didn't want to discuss the pros and cons of being a businessman with them. After all, China's thousand-year-old traditional mindset was something that he couldn't change in a day.
Finally, Kang Xi stopped and let out a long sigh."Let's do it this way. The imperial court is really short of money, so this is the only way.”
"Actually, we have another way to earn money.”Wei Xiaobao said boldly when Kang Xi agreed.
"Oh?" Although Kang Xi was unhappy with Wei Xiaobao's use of the word 'earning money', he was still interested in Wei Xiaobao's words.
###################################
Hearing this, Ming Zhu quickly cupped her hands and bowed to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao returned the bow and said,"Emperor, we have to be careful of Wu Sangui, that dog thief!”When the others heard Wei Xiaobao call Wu Sangui a scoundrel, they were all shocked. At this time, Wu Sangui was submissive to the court and had no intention of rebelling. It was just that his self-respect for the army made Kang Xi a little uneasy. It was one thing for him to insult an important official of the imperial court in the main hall, but he actually swore in front of the Emperor. This made Soertu a little worried. Mingzhu lowered her head and sneered, waiting for Kang Xi to speak.
"Haha!" Kang Xi laughed and said,"Little Gui Zi, you bastard, how can you call Ping Xiwang a dog thief?”Seeing that Kang Xi wasn't angry, Suo Ertu heaved a sigh of relief, but Ming Zhu was surprised. Her eyes darted around, and no one knew what she was thinking. "This San Fan is like Oboi. I will get rid of them. Either they listen to the court and cut off their vassals, or we capture them like we captured Oboi. It's just that now is not the time. It's impossible to catch these people as easily as catching Oboi. I really don't have any strength in San Francisco. Moreover, I lack troops, the court lacks food and money, and I have just gotten rid of Oboi. At this time, the people are unstable. If I act rashly, I think it will be self-defeating. This is fine, but what worries me is that Wu Sangui is actually constantly urging the court for military rations, which really worries me.”
"What exactly is the Western Selection Official you were talking about?"”
"The West Selection Official is an official sent by Wu Sangui," Soertu said hastily. Whenever there was a vacancy, the court and Wu Sangui would send officials. Whoever reached the position first would get it.”
"Most of those officials in the Western Selection were bought from Wu Sangui. They have no real talent and knowledge. It's really not a blessing for the court to let them govern the place.”Ming Zhu also said. The two of them knew what Kang Xi thought of Wu Sangui from his tone, so they went along with Kang Xi's meaning. "That Wu Sangui earned a lot of money from selling his official position every year, and he even repeatedly asked the court for money.”
Wei Xiaobao naturally knew what the Western Selection Official meant. He had been waiting for these words. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Court is short of money and food. If Wu Sangui can sell his official position, why can't we?”
Kang Xi stood up and glared at Wei Xiaobao."Are you asking me to sell my official position?" He read history and knew that in every dynasty, selling officials was a factor that ruined the dynasty. His greatest hope was to become a great and promising monarch. How could he not be angry when he was asked to sell his official position?
"Emperor, what I said was selling titles, not official positions!”Wei Xiaobao said with a smile. Kang Xi was intrigued and paced back and forth to listen to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao knew that Kang Xi was not averse to new things, so he dared to say this.
"There are twelve levels of nobility in the Qing Dynasty. The highest level is Prince Heshuo. The others are Duoluo Prince, Duoluo Beile, Gushan Bei Zi, Feng 'en Defending Duke, Feng' en Fuguo Duke, no less than 80% Defending Duke, no less than 80% Fuguo Duke, Defending General, Fuguo General, Feng 'en General. The title of nobility was granted by merit, grace, inheritance and examination. Meritorious knighthood, in the imperial clan because of outstanding meritorious service and knighthood; Those who were granted titles by grace, close relatives of the imperial clan or princes who had grown up, were knighted according to the rules; To inherit the title, from the prince below, from the general of Fengen above, among his sons, select one person to inherit the title; In the examination of titles, except for one person who inherited the title, the other sons would also receive a certain title when they reached the age of 20.”As expected of a member of the imperial clan, Soetu had casually mentioned these things. He knew that Wei Xiaobao was not very familiar with these things, so he was afraid that Wei Xiaobao would cause trouble, so he reminded him. "However, when Eunuch Gui said that he was selling titles, could it be that he was selling these titles?”
Ming Zhu's eyes lit up, and she said,"Other than the titles of clan relatives, aren't there titles of meritorious officials and relatives?”Soetu was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and asked,""Eunuch Gui, are you referring to the titles of those relatives and meritorious officials?”Wei Xiaobao didn't know what kind of title they were talking about, and he felt like his head was about to explode. However, he could tell from Soetu's words that the so-called titles of the clan relatives were not for sale, so he went along with what they said,""That's right, that's all I've said.”
In the Qing Dynasty, the titles conferred by the relatives and meritorious officials were divided into super-grade dukes, marquises, uncles, first-grade sons, second-grade males, third-grade light chariot duwei, fourth-grade riding duwei, fifth-grade cloud riding wei, and seventh-grade enqi wei. Wei Xiaobao only knew a few things about the dukes, marquises, and uncles. He didn't know anything else.
"These are all rewards that can only be given after meritorious service. Don't tell me you want zhen to sell them?”Kang Xi was a little angry and stopped to glare at Wei Xiaobao.
Wei Xiaobao felt his hair stand on end under his stare."In fact, as long as the people who paid the money came from legitimate sources, their money is equivalent to making a contribution to the court. So what if we sell the title to them? Besides, what I said was to sell a title, not an official position. They only received a title. If they wanted to become officials in the imperial court, they had to pass a special examination by the imperial court, or even the emperor's personal examination.”
Kang Xi's eyes lit up at his words."Are you saying that giving them this title is actually just a symbol of status?”Hearing Kang Xi's understanding, Wei Xiaobao nodded and said,"This is a symbol of status. Of course, you can also give them some privileges. For example, according to the rank of nobility, they can not kneel when they see officials below their rank. The Emperor could even set aside a time every year to let them attend the banquet held by the Emperor and personally meet them.”
Ming Zhu shook her head and said,"The rich are all businessmen. Merchants only care about profit. Why would they do things that have no benefits?"”
"As for merchants, as long as we give them the right to do business, they can do business anywhere in the country. Of course, they could not do any business. As long as they paid enough taxes, the imperial court would not make things difficult for them.”At this time, the atmosphere of the Celestial Empire was still very heavy. Therefore, Wei Xiaobao believed that if he had this advantage, the merchants would probably flock to him.
"Merchant?" Kang Xi muttered," Storing goods for the sake of strangeness, raising prices, and profiteering instead of production. It's really disgusting. It's a pity that they have money in their hands, and I'm really short of money now.”He paced back and forth again, as if he was hesitating. Wei Xiaobao didn't want to discuss the pros and cons of being a businessman with them. After all, China's thousand-year-old traditional mindset was something that he couldn't change in a day.
Finally, Kang Xi stopped and let out a long sigh."Let's do it this way. The imperial court is really short of money, so this is the only way.”
"Actually, we have another way to earn money.”Wei Xiaobao said boldly when Kang Xi agreed.
"Oh?" Although Kang Xi was unhappy with Wei Xiaobao's use of the word 'earning money', he was still interested in Wei Xiaobao's words.
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