Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 678 - 631: Giving Li Xingsheng an Official Position (2)
Lou Chengye dispatched Liu Jinbao to the Lou Mansion to bring a few guards and take the gifts back.
Only then did he and Li Xingsheng and Li Yu En, accompanied by Li Yuzhu and Mu Yuanxiu, go together to the Lou Mansion to see Prefect Lou.
Lou Chengye and Li Xingsheng made great achievements this time, and the news had already spread in the Lou Mansion.
Lady Lou, who had always considered her youngest son useless, now looked at him with new eyes.
Along with that, she also had a good impression of the Li Family’s siblings.
Li Xingsheng, Li Yuzhu, and Mu Yuanxiu followed Lou Chengye to Prefect Lou’s study and had not yet gone to see Lady Lou, who had already arranged for someone to prepare a banquet.
Not only because of the achievements but also because of the gifts.
Because she saw that among the gifts, there was a fine deer hide.
Moreover, Lou Chengye said that it was picked out by the Li Family’s siblings as a gift to her.
A few days ago, the wife of a subordinate came to ask her for a favor, giving her a piece of deer hide. She was fond of that hide but the matter was quite difficult and offered no benefit, so she refused to help.
After refusing, she regretted the hide. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Now, having obtained a hide openly and fairly, why should she miss someone else’s?
Furthermore, this hide is far better than that one.
.
In the study, Prefect Lou was discussing matters with his subordinates.
Li Xingsheng took Lou Chengye to the border and not only eradicated the troublesome Feihu Village but also removed over ten villages, both large and small.
Additionally, Li Xingsheng’s method of employing soldiers and establishing farms brought several thousand soldiers to the border, allowing some troublesome villages to become peaceful since then.
This was a two-fold achievement.
Li Xingsheng, handsome in appearance, both literate and martial, is the second brother-in-law of Fifth Young Master Lou, Lou Chengye. Prefect Lou’s subordinates, eager to please both Lou Chengye and Prefect Lou, suggested recommending the idle Li Xingsheng for an official position at the prefecture government office.
They said it would be a real pity not to employ such talent.
Among the prefecture government offices, there are not many fixed employees taking salaries from the court.
Including deputies and guards, combining government officials and soldiers, will not exceed a thousand people in total.
Zhen An Prefecture only has about eight hundred people.
For such a large Zhen An Prefecture, it must manage the state’s military affairs, water affairs, tax affairs, border defense, civil affairs, and also oversee several counties below.
And it has to maintain law and order on several streets in the main city; eight hundred people are absolutely not enough.
But the regulations in the court only allow the prefecture government office to allocate this many people.
If manpower is insufficient, they can only increase it themselves, with the monthly salary paid by each government office.
For example, Prefect Lou has four advisors as guests who receive a monthly salary of five taels of silver from Prefect Lou’s own pocket.
Among Prefect Lou’s several sons, except for Lou Da Gongzi, who according to ancestral rules can hold a court position and enjoy a salary, the others are not eligible to receive court salaries.
They follow Prefect Lou, working, and the silver coins earned are all paid by Prefect Lou.
Li Xingsheng has talent, so everyone suggested Prefect Lou employs Li Xingsheng as a guest.
A guest is only an idle position, providing advice and writing documents on behalf of Prefect Lou.
Prefect Lou felt the guest position did not match Li Xingsheng’s talents, so he appointed Li Xingsheng as the Military Affairs Envoy.
He believed this practical position would surely interest Li Xingsheng.
The Military Affairs Envoy is in charge of registering soldiers for a prefecture and conveying the prefecture’s military documents to the county government offices or to the border troops, coordinating the supply of grain and materials.
In short, all matters related to military defense in Zhen An Prefecture are managed by the Military Affairs Envoy.
Although the Military Affairs Envoy is an off-staff position, not included in the court officials’ records, it is registered in the prefecture government office’s documents.
Prefect Lou asked Li Xingsheng whether he was willing.
Li Xingsheng said he was idle anyway, so he immediately agreed.
Li Yuzhu, not understanding what the Military Affairs Envoy was, quietly asked Lou Chengye.
Lou Chengye explained it to Li Yuzhu.
Li Yuzhu was secretly surprised after hearing it, realizing Prefect Lou had given Li Xingsheng a lucrative position.
The salary is average, four taels monthly.
But deciding what soldiers to recruit, whose grain to buy, what kind of weapons to purchase, and whose family makes the military uniforms, all fall under the Military Affairs Envoy’s say.
To put it bluntly, it’s a purchasing manager and secretary combined.
The secretary position is not lucrative, the purchasing is.
Li Yuzhu whispered to Li Xingsheng, "Prefect Lou truly trusts second brother, second brother, do well."
Li Xingsheng smiled faintly, "Of course."
Familiar with the officialdom game, Li Xingsheng knew the actual money received monthly far exceeds four taels, and if he does well, there could be rewards.
For example, for the big merit this time, the reward according to regulations is fifty taels of silver, two rolls of brocade, and two stones of rice.
If he accomplishes several big tasks a year and gains merit multiple times, he will have no worries about food and clothing.
For this reason, many people wanted to be Prefect Lou’s staff.
Besides rewarding Li Xingsheng, Li Yuzhu and Mu Yuanxiu, who indirectly helped, also received small rewards, with each receiving two rolls of brocade.
As Lou Chengye is Prefect Lou’s biological son, needless to say, his reward is only two stones of rice less than Li Xingsheng.
After completing the rewards, Prefect Lou, with the mindset of appreciating capable young people, chatted leisurely with Li Xingsheng and Mu Yuanxiu dressed in casual clothes.
This was Prefect Lou’s first meeting with Prince Luling’s son-in-law Mu Yuanxiu.
He secretly marveled, thinking Prince Luling had chosen a good son-in-law, as the tall, handsome young man before him, though an orphan from the mountains, communicated excellently and answered all questions, no worse than his own sons.
This was no wild youth but rather resembled a lost noble.
As dinner approached, Lady Lou sent someone to invite, saying the banquet was ready, inviting Prefect Lou to bring the Li family guests to attend.
Because they had not yet visited Lady Lou, Li Xingsheng and the others left Prefect Lou’s study early and, following Lou Chengye, went to the back residence.
Lady Lou, through Lady Lou’s words, understood that the Li family’s daughters were all outstanding, with Li Yu En being the least impressive.
Lady Lou did not believe her eldest daughter-in-law’s words.
Because this eldest daughter-in-law always loved to oppose her.
Whatever she praised, the daughter-in-law would always disagree.
Knowing that she didn’t like the Li family much, the daughter-in-law still praised them endlessly, causing Lady Lou to think that the daughters of the Li family must all be like Li Yu En—fat, clumsy.
But unexpectedly, Li Yuzhu’s appearance greatly surprised her.
She was a smart and slender woman, more graceful than Li Yu En, with even more sophisticated behavior.
Clearly the younger sister, yet like an older one.
No wonder, for her young age, she was proficient in medicine.
Also, the third son-in-law with the Mu surname was even more handsome than the Li family men.
The Li family was truly full of surprises.
No wonder her husband often reminded her not to underestimate the Li family. Li Boxuan from Prince Luling’s mansion was not as they seemed, a gluttonous Prince; he was a smiling fox.
Better to provoke anyone but him.
After a few events, Lady Lou no longer dared to underestimate the Li family.
Today’s banquet was arranged more lavishly than ever before.
