Chapter 34

After a round of pleasantries, Li Mu arranged for someone to take Lan Linjie to settle down.

Fortunately, he bought a three-courtyard house in the west of the city, otherwise it would really be difficult to settle him.

Although the Marquis's mansion is good, it is ultimately somewhat inconvenient. To serve in the capital for a long time, it is impossible to always live under someone else's roof.

Having the idea of moving out, Li Mu did not act immediately. The Marquis of Zhenyuan and his wife were good to him, and such things must find a suitable opportunity.

Setting aside the foundation in his hometown, he also had a small fortune in the capital.

In the west of the city, where every inch of land is worth an inch of gold, he owned a three-courtyard house.

Two three-story shops, but the location was slightly off, at the intersection of the southeast gate.

There were three manors in Baoding Prefecture, totaling about 1,200 mu.

It's just that there wasn't much liquid cash on hand; the 3,000 taels of silver he brought before entering the capital now only had 1,500 taels left.

The proceeds from acting as a middleman were all invested in these industries.

The routine share in the yamen was about 4,000 taels, but this money wouldn't come down for a while.

It was mainly because Li Mu was timid and only took money within the rules of the game.

These industries, if placed outside, would be fought over by many. If it weren't for the internal discount, he wouldn't have been able to afford them at all.

One has to admit that the fastest way to accumulate wealth in a feudal dynasty is to be an official.

Having entered officialdom for only two months, he had accumulated so many industries; no wonder everyone wants to be an official.

Not counting the salary and the yamen's income, just these industries could provide an annual income of about 3,000 taels in normal years.

Of course, being able to get such a high return is mainly related to his status.

Apart from the capital, the Five-City Military Command also has considerable influence on the surrounding prefectures and counties.

Arresting cross-border criminals and mobilizing local yamen runners to cooperate is a common occurrence.

His face as a Thousand-Household might not be bought by people in Baoding Prefecture, but it has enough deterrent power for the small clerks under the yamen.

Apart from the regular taxes on the surface, various surcharges from local yamen will not appear on him.

Even when conscripting laborers, the small clerks below have to calculate the farming season well so as not to affect the cultivation of his family's fields.

The shops in the city can only receive more preferential treatment.

In the jurisdiction managed by his own people, not only are all kinds of fees exempted, but if there is trouble, the soldiers of the Five-City Military Command will also go to handle it immediately.

Such a worry-free shop, being able to get a premium on rent, is inevitable.

The income is considerable, and the expenses are also very large.

A new private secretary was added, and the two sides agreed on a monthly salary of 20 taels.

Providing food, lodging, writing materials, and other essential supplies, as well as equipping one maid, one old woman, and one servant each, and preparing a carriage for travel, the actual monthly expenditure is not less than 35 taels.

This is the treatment that a scholar lord should have.

In the Great Dayu Dynasty, there are only sour scholars, no poor scholars.

Just the land donated by the people is enough for a scholar to live a prosperous life.

The 30 retainers brought from Hanzhong have a monthly expenditure of not less than 150 taels, of which 60 taels is salary, and the rest is for food and clothing.

This part of the expenditure also cannot be less.

When serving in the capital, the value of the retainers is not obvious. Once entering local office, these people are the foundation of his survival.

It seems that he is raising retainers, but in fact, they are all being cultivated as personal guards. If necessary, these people can also become grassroots military officers at any time.

As a Rank Five official, the family certainly cannot be all rough men; servants, maids, and old women must be there, and cooks, coachmen, and gardeners also cannot be missing.

Roughly estimating, after these personnel are fully equipped, it will not be less than 15 people.

Plus the maintenance of the house, Li Mu's own food and daily life, and the tea and snacks necessary for entertaining guests, the monthly expenditure for the back house will not be less than 100 taels.

Fortunately, the warhorse expenses were hung on the yamen's public account, otherwise the expenditure would be even higher.

Counting the human relations in officialdom, a military general with his ambition has an annual expenditure of not less than 4,000 taels.

The daily expenses of civil officials are slightly lower, but to live comfortably, the expenditure will not be less than 2,000 taels.

If serving in a clean yamen and relying on the salary to live, in order to save expenses, they generally will not hire a private secretary, and the servants in the house must also be reduced.

Not knowing until calculating, calculating is scary.

Now Li Mu really understands what it means to live in the capital is not easy!

A Rank Five official is like this, so the expenses of the public and marquis mansions above will only be greater.

It's fine if there are people in the family holding important positions, but once they leave the center of power, their income will plummet.

Those with a solid family foundation can still rely on industries to support them.

However, as people leave and tea cools, the obscure privileges gradually disappear, and the income from the family's industries will also slowly decline.

If adjustments cannot be made in time and unnecessary expenses cannot be reduced, it is easy to fall into the predicament of eating the grain of the next season in advance.

"Thousand-Household Lord, the Ceremonial Department has issued an announcement to sell the property of corrupt officials.

Just the farmland alone is 2.8 million mu, and the capital is boiling.

If you are interested, you can also go and see; it is said that there is also land in Hanzhong!"

Looking at the excited Clerk Yan, Li Mu completely didn't know what he was excited about.

Even if the Eunuch Faction sells a lot of property, it is not something a clerk can covet.

After a brief pause, Li Mu successfully realized that something was wrong. The Eunuch Faction is not selling property, but digging the roots of the corrupt officials' comeback.

The property of corrupt officials, apart from a small amount in the capital, is mostly distributed all over the country.

With the reputation of the eunuchs, running to the base camp of the Qingliu faction to enclose land is definitely sending their heads.

If it stays in the national treasury, in case a lucky person among them overturns the case, the property will have to be returned.

Simply use the opportunity of the imperial court's lack of money to sell the property first. Those who can eat the income of these industries are not princes and nobles, but also local gentry.

In the face of interests, no matter how good the friendship is, it has to stand aside. As long as the imperial court is willing to sell at a discount, there is no worry about no one taking over.

Once the transaction is reached, the Qingliu faction is divided.

The Qingliu faction members who originally sympathized with the corrupt officials will inevitably change their stance after obtaining substantial benefits.

For their own interests, they will also prevent the overturning of the case.

These are just the first layer of the eunuchs' planning, and there are bigger pits behind.

Cheap things are never easy to pick up.

The land under the name of corrupt officials, apart from the part they own, is more of a reliance of neighbors.

After buying this land at a low price, how should they treat the original owners of the land?

Handling it according to the reliance conditions agreed by others, the neighbors certainly have no opinion, but the buyer is a blood loss.

Land in a feudal dynasty belongs to core assets, no matter how discounted the normal sale is, it will not be too cheap.

Compared with the free gift of reliance, the costs of the two are not on the same level at all.

If the previous agreement is not recognized, the original owners of the land whose interests are damaged will certainly not be reconciled.

(End of chapter)