Chapter Seventeen: Purchasing an Official Post (Part One)

Changshe County was the ancestral home of the Xu family. The reason Xu Kang chose to purchase the magistracy there was not merely because of its proximity to his family estate, but because buying the magistrate’s position in Changshe County promised three major advantages.

The first advantage was that the official post in Changshe County was vacant. As the saying goes, “A virtuous woman does not take a second husband, a loyal minister does not serve two masters.” Even as a businessman, Emperor Ling of Han was known to keep his word. He would not sell the same official seat twice. Even if he wished to, he would first need to find an excuse to remove the current officeholder, which could take a year or more.

But Changshe County presented no such issue. The county had just been captured by the Yellow Turban general Bo Cai, and now lay in enemy hands. All the former officials were slaughtered when the city fell. In other words, all the offices in Changshe were now “immediate stock for sale.” Pay in the morning and by afternoon one would receive the insignia and robes of office; the efficiency rivaled buying a carriage!

The only drawback was that, should the imperial court demand officials to assume their posts immediately, it would mean risking one's life against the Yellow Turbans, with death a constant possibility. In these troubled times, those willing to purchase office were, by and large, men of little courage—buying rank for wealth and pleasure, not to risk their lives in war.

It was precisely because of this reluctance, and the strength of the Yellow Turbans, that the government office-selling bureau in the Western Garden was experiencing a “sales slump.” This led to the second advantage of buying the post in Changshe County: the price was low.

As an enemy-occupied territory, Changshe was now home to several hundred thousand Yellow Turban soldiers; even the Right General Zhu Jun was besieged there by Bo Cai. Who would dare go to such a place? In the eyes of most timid office-seekers, the magistracy of Changshe was so perilous that not only would they refuse to buy it, they would refuse even if paid to take it.

It was as if a luxury imported car had suddenly developed severe faults—oil leaks, steering and brake failures, even the risk of spontaneous combustion—rendering it scrap. In such circumstances, not only would no consumer buy it, even the dealer could hardly hope to sell it.

Changshe County, at this moment, was just such a “scrap luxury car.” Xu Kang was certain he could secure it at a negligible cost.

Of course, this was not because he was reckless, but because, as a man from another time, he knew that in about two months, the Battle of Changshe would occur, sealing the fate of the Yellow Turbans.

In that battle, the Han army under Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song would take advantage of a great fire to defeat the forces led by the Zhang brothers and Bo Cai, reclaiming Changshe and driving the Yellow Turbans from Yingchuan, gradually restoring order.

Thus, what others saw as a “scrap car” was, in truth, a luxury vehicle merely in the shop for repairs—just two months, and it would be ready for use.

Alas, only Xu Kang knew this.

This led to the third and greatest advantage of buying the magistrate’s post in Changshe: it would earn him a sterling reputation.

Others who bought their offices, no matter how great their later achievements, would always carry the stigma of having purchased their rank. People would whisper, “So-and-so lacked virtue, for his post was bought with money.”

But if Xu Kang purchased the post in Changshe, it would be entirely different. Changshe was now a battlefield between the Han army and the Yellow Turbans, and the Han forces were at a disadvantage. If Xu Kang bought the magistracy here and played even a small role in the conflict, not only would he escape reproach, he would be lauded for his patriotism.

Henceforth, people would only speak of his righteousness, not his ambition.

In summary, the opportunity could be described as: Magistracy of Changshe = Immediate post + Low price + Good reputation.

Such a “sure-win” deal was not one Xu Kang would let slip by. So before dawn the next day, he took the money he’d acquired from He Jin’s mansion and went straight to the Western Garden office-selling bureau.

To avoid revealing the source of the funds, he “laundered” the money the night before. He smashed the cash chests taken from He Jin’s estate, replaced them with wooden boxes made by the two carpenters of his household, and, to further disguise the funds, mixed in some yellow earth before packing the money.

Once the preparations were complete, he stored all the money in his dimensional backpack, arriving at the bureau before daylight. While no one was about, he stacked dozens of boxes at the bureau’s gate.

When dawn broke and a young eunuch opened the doors, he was startled to find nearly a hundred wooden chests piled outside. He’d seen money brought for purchasing office before, but never so many boxes stacked at the door.

Especially now, with the Yellow Turban rebellion ongoing, the office-selling bureau was all but deserted. Such a large “transaction” left him dumbstruck.

“So many chests—there must be at least three million in coin. Is he aiming for a Grand Minister or one of the Nine Ministers?”

Hearing this, Xu Kang, standing at the door, was momentarily taken aback. “Grand Minister or the Nine Ministers? Only three million? Is the official-selling business really this bad now?” Of course, this he kept to himself; outwardly, he maintained a calm demeanor and saluted the eunuch.

“You jest, sir. I am but a humble scholar; how dare I aspire to such lofty office? Would you be so kind as to announce me? Say that Xu Kang of Yingchuan, disciple of Former Gentleman Cai Yong, has come to ease the nation’s burdens.”

“You are a disciple of Gentleman Cai?” At this, the young eunuch’s face changed; he saluted Xu Kang with new respect. “So you are a favored pupil of Gentleman Cai—please wait a moment!”

He hurried off, soon returning with a middle-aged eunuch whose face was white and beardless. Upon seeing the nearly one hundred chests at the door, the eunuch’s face lit up with delight; his gaze toward Xu Kang brimmed with approval, and he broke into a broad smile.

“Ha! You must be Xu Kang, Gentleman Cai’s gifted student. You do have an impressive bearing. Tell me, was all this money sent by Gentleman Cai?”

“No, no, you misunderstand, sir. My teacher is an upright official—how could he have spare funds to donate to the state?”

Xu Kang hastened to wave his hands and explained solemnly, “This money is the fruit of the Xu family’s hundred years of work in Changshe. Now Changshe has fallen to the Yellow Turban rebels, and my family is homeless. This is a national and personal calamity, an irreconcilable hatred. I am willing to donate my family’s entire fortune to the court, only to request the post of Changshe magistrate, so that I may rally the people and fight the Yellow Turban rebels to the death!”

“Buying the Changshe magistracy?” Hearing this, both eunuchs gasped in shock, their eyes full of astonishment.