A certain person is the Heavenly Killer Li Gui.

Chapter 91: Offstage Transactions (Additional update by the helmsman: "What should I do if there is a shortage of books? I have to write it myself")
The second uncle still doesn't know where he is trapped, so Li Gui can only expect the enemy to be lenient and consider the worst-case scenario.

If the second uncle is trapped in the prison and wants to save people, it will be very difficult.

Inside the Heavenly Prison, there are all prisoners, and the defenses inside and outside are much tighter. Even if Li Gui's force is used to force his way in and rescue people, it may not be impossible.

But there were a lot of crossbowmen among the defenders. If random arrows were fired at him, he might be fine, but the second uncle was only afraid of losing his life.

If Gao Qiu was really deceived, then Li Gui could directly kidnap Gao Qiu and use him as a hostage.

There is no need to alert the emperor, Gao Qiu's own men can handle this matter.

Of course, the premise is that his identity as assassin has not been exposed.

There is a reason why Li Gui chose Gao Qiu.

His current identity is a military attache, and he has to find the right way to become an official. Taiwei Gao Qiu happens to be in charge of the military attache.

Military attachés in the Song Dynasty can be divided into three levels according to their official ranks: Hengban, Zhusi envoys (East and West Bans), and Envoys (big and small envoys), including Hengban Zhengshi, Zhusi Zhengshi, and Hengban Deputy Envoys , deputy envoys of various departments, ambassadors, minor envoys, and Wupin Weiyong, a total of seven and sixty levels.

Because during the court meeting, he stood in front of the East Ban and stood in rows, so he was called "Hengban" or "Hangxing (Hang)", and the lowest official was from the sixth rank.

After the horizontal row, those on the left and right are the east and west squads, all officials of the seventh rank and from the seventh rank, the east is higher and the west is lower.

In the east row, only the imperial envoys and deputy envoys are military selectors, and the rest are civil selectors.

The west column is all composed of military elected officials.

The major and minor envoys are only of the eighth rank and below, and are not qualified to go to the palace to meet the king. There is no place for them to stand in the court, and they are also the category with the most military commanders.

The official position of Taiwei is the head of the military attache in the horizontal class, the second rank, and the pinnacle of military ministers.

Under the rank of Taiwei, he is the general official, also known as the envoy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the fifth rank.

Those between the fifth rank and the second rank are all civil servants and there are no generals.

In fact, in the middle, there are also the generals of the guards from the fourth rank, the generals from the fourth rank, the generals from the third rank, and the guards of the third rank.

There are also some titles such as governor, observation envoy, regiment training envoy, Jiedu envoy, defense envoy, etc., but these are honorary officers, not military elected officials, and are not included in the military officials' grinding and transfer.

In other words, this is not an official position that can be achieved through qualifications, nor is it a position that can be promoted based on meritorious service. It must be granted by the emperor's decree.

Most of the environmental sanitation officials were actually from related households. They were the descendants of powerful people who joined Chengyin and were given high-ranking positions with high salaries.

An independent honorary officer has no authority and no practical significance.

The Shijie Du in Water Margin are all former bandits who were recruited into the army, and they are all decorated officers. They actually have no real power. However, in the novel, the military leaders are given real power and allowed to make achievements.

Compared with these ten people who were ranked as second-rank Jiedu envoys, Song Jiang finally got the seventh-rank military ministers, Dr. Wude, the pacifying envoy of Chuzhou and the general manager of the military and horse capital, which were very low.

With the example of these ten people, Liangshan's Zhaoan sect did not worry about being cooked by rabbits to death, but the result... people are different.

To put it bluntly, no matter how great the military achievements of the generals in the Song Dynasty were, they would only be in the fifth rank when they died. Whether the rest can be promoted again depends on their fate.

Di Qing's contribution was too great to be rewarded. He was given a rank of Privy Councilor, a civilian rank, and he broke out of the stereotype of a military general. What was the result?
Although Gao Qiu was a Taiwei, he was not essentially a military commander at all. However, this was not important at all, as long as he had a high position and authority, it was enough.

Zen Master Zhiqing shook his head after hearing this, and was speechless for this martial artist who didn't understand the rules.

He hinted directly:

"How could Captain Gao, with his noble status, come here easily?"

"If the donor wants to make friends with Yousi and thinks that officialdom will help, ordinary Ministry of War officials will be enough."

"Even if Captain Gao is willing to come and meet me, you can't afford the meeting gift."

After hearing this, Li Gui shook his head and said:

"Old Zen Master, don't try to fool me!"

"I heard in my hometown that there is a saying in the court today, 'If you measure a pearl, you will find a dragon diagram; five thousand ropes will lead to the secret pavilion; two thousand strings will lead to a clear judgment.'"

"I have even prepared the money for this trip, so I asked for a general judge. From the fifth-grade official position, ordinary officials cannot make the decision. It requires the nod of the Taiwei himself."

"It only costs [-] guan to buy an official position. How much does it cost just to meet the Taiwei once?"

Zen Master Zhiqing shook his head hastily, refusing to admit it even to death.

"Nothing, that's just a rumor from a fool in the countryside!" "This general judge is a civil official, not a military official. Moreover, this is a real job, but it is not a false name like selling an official in the imperial court."

"How can we allow actual official positions in the imperial court to be awarded privately?"

Unlike other dynasties where officials were sold secretly, official positions in the Song Dynasty were sold at official prices.

How much food or money corresponds to which official of several grades?

But the problem is that the officials sold in the Song Dynasty are very bad. Although the price is open and transparent, it is definitely not a fair sale and no one is willing to buy it.

Whenever money is needed for the war, the old Zhao family will find some wealthy people to sell their official positions forcibly, the kind that cannot be bought without buying.

Even Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan and other famous officials from the Qing Dynasty held their noses and recognized this approach.

But the problem is that these official positions are low, the price is super expensive, and they don’t have any privileges.

Normal officials, even minor officials from the ninth rank, can be exempted from taxes and corvee, but bought officials cannot!

No matter the rank, no matter how big the official is!

What's even more embarrassing is that these people who buy official positions have always been discriminated against by officials who have passed the Jinshi examination and are regarded as untouchables.

They even pushed the court to issue regulations. If the descendants of those who bought official positions wanted to take the imperial examination, their qualifications would be restricted, and they would not be able to marry into the royal family.

This makes the wealthy people who paid for it very dissatisfied.

There are no advantages, but a lot of disadvantages. Who is mentally ill and wants to spend money to buy an official position?

However, this is an official way to sell one's official position. Nowadays, those who run for office are taking private routes, and the money does not fall into the court's pocket, but belongs to officials at all levels.

Zen Master Zhiqing bit him to death. He only introduced good people to acquaintances and refused to admit that he bought officials with money.

Li Gui saw that he was cautious, so he didn't force anything and said instead:
"Then, according to what the old Zen master said, a certain person has heard the name of Taiwei Xianggong for a long time, but has never met his face. If he wants to get acquainted, how about asking the old Zen master to help introduce him?"

Zen Master Zhiqing finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved.

Isn’t this reckless guy a complete fool?
When it's time to be tactful, he's still very good at it.

"The Grand Lieutenant-in-law is busy with state affairs, so he won't come here to worship the Buddha easily."

Li Gui understood immediately. Isn't it just a matter of money?

"A certain person is willing to give me Buddha a hundred thousand dollars of sesame oil."

The old monk shook his head and said, "The donor is only staying temporarily for a few days, so there is no need to spend such money."

Ri Xie Niang!
This is too little!

"I have a sincere heart to worship the Buddha. It's not just for the accommodation fee." Li Guiye chatted with him here with a sanctimonious look, "I am willing to give five hundred strings to rebuild the main hall for the Bodhisattva."

The old monk just bowed his head and drank tea without saying a word.

What a greedy thief, he deserves to die!

Li Gui felt angry in his heart, but his smile became even more hearty, "I made a great wish before this trip. If my wish comes true, I am willing to spend a thousand strings to build a golden body for my Buddha."

After hearing this, Zen Master Zhiqing put down his tea cup, clasped his hands together, laughed, and praised: "If the donor is so pious, his wishes will surely come true."

Li Gui also smiled and said: "I will send someone back to get the money now. Come and go quickly. It will only take half a day."

Zen Master Zhiqing was not afraid that he would default on his debt, so he called a monk over on the spot and wrote a handwritten letter for him to deliver to the Taiwei's house.

Next, Zen Master Zhiqing chatted with Li Gui about the local customs and legends of Buddhism.

The old monk has a very high emotional intelligence. Even a rough guy like Li Gui can chat happily with him without any discomfort.

Unexpectedly, they had just finished chatting over a cup of tea when a rush of footsteps sounded outside, and the monk who delivered the message came back again.

He trotted quickly to the door, held it, and shouted breathlessly:
"It's a disaster!"

"Master, the official was assassinated last night, and now there is a massive search in the city."

(End of this chapter)