"His Royal Highness King Yan, you answer."
Ji Boying just glanced at Xiao Zhusi. This young Zhu Di had little experience in political affairs. Of course, this did not mean that Xiao Zhusi did not have the talent to handle political affairs.
On the contrary, there is no doubt about Emperor Yongle's imperial talents, but now Xiao Zhu Si does not care about political affairs. Because Zhu Biao is here, these matters in the court have nothing to do with him.
"The first purpose of changing official salaries is to eliminate corruption and maintain clean governance among the people; the second is to build a stable official system for future generations; and the third is to strengthen imperial power and consolidate rule."
Compared to Xiao Zhu Si, who was less than twenty, Zhu Laosi, who came from Jianwen Time and Space, was already over forty years old and had reached the pinnacle of men in all aspects. As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Boying smiled.
"Yes, I got the point right, but there is one more thing."
“Fourth, mobilize the subjective enthusiasm of officials.”
As soon as these words came out, Lao Zhu, A Biao and the two Zhu Si all looked confused. Can official salary motivate officials? This is really the first time I heard it. After all, people who have been promoted since ancient times have been for the purpose of gaining power. When you are in power, you will naturally get rich. It is not just for a small increase in salary.
If you tell people in Ming Dynasty official circles that you want to live off your salary, even dogs will look down on you.
Ji Boying saw the doubts in the four people's eyes and did not answer them immediately, but continued.
"The next step is how to change the official salary system to achieve the goal."
Ji Boying didn't ask any questions this time, because it would involve some concepts from later generations. If he asked too many questions, they probably wouldn't be able to answer them.
"To sum it up in four words, be polite before fighting."
"First of all, increase the salary of officials at all levels. For example, the monthly salary of a ninth-grade official from five dan should be raised to 20 dan."
Before Ji Boying could finish speaking.
"Twenty stones?!"
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible! Support these corrupt officials to death!"
Lao Zhu's head shook like a drum. Lao Zhu was not stingy, he simply felt that these officials were not good people and did not deserve such a high salary.
Ji Boying just glanced at Lao Zhu, ignored him, and continued to speak.
"And the ancestral system must be established. The monthly salary paid to officials must be paid in grain, and cannot be replaced by treasure notes or other items."
When Zhu Biao heard this, he couldn't help asking questions.
"I dare to ask the immortal master, why can't we use treasure banknotes to replace monthly salary? It is more convenient to use banknotes to replace salary."
In Abiao's opinion, it is more convenient to issue treasure banknotes directly, and when the imperial treasury is in tight condition, just print a little more.
Ming Dynasty treasure banknote?
This thing is indeed useful, but it is just a bunch of nonsense. The Ming Dynasty only earns so little silver in a year, and the court can print tens of millions of Ming treasure banknotes. It is simply a fool's errand.
Needless to say, in the later period, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes were circulated until the Yongle period, and their actual purchasing power had been reduced by more than half. After that, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes were completely useless paper, and it hurt to wipe your buttocks.
This is no wonder A Biao, after all, he studied the art of emperors and the words of sages, not economics.
Ji Boying glanced at A Biao and smiled.
This is another question that Ji Boying does not intend to discuss here.
"This is another question. We will talk about it when we have time in the future."
"In addition to the basic salary increase, the imperial court will set up a separate 'year-end bonus package' every year. The specific amount of this bonus package will fluctuate according to a certain proportion of the fiscal revenue for that year. Based on this salary bonus package, the grade of each official will be determined The year-end bonus range is roughly controlled at 1-5 times the official's annual salary, and year-end performance evaluation will be carried out."
"Let me give you an example. The annual salary of a ninth-grade official is 60 shi of grain, which is approximately equivalent to 100 taels of silver that year. If his mid-year assessment is rated as "A" grade, then the official's year-end bonus can be set at 500 taels of silver. , "B" has a year-end bonus of 300 taels, "C" has a year-end bonus of 100 taels, and "D" has no year-end bonus. "
"Of course, each assessment level can be divided into further details, such as "Above", "Middle A" and "Bottom". Different sub-levels also correspond to different year-end bonuses, which can be divided in detail when formulating. "
"In this way, officials will focus on improving their political performance in order to receive year-end performance bonuses."
Zhu Biao hissed. He was a little confused. This was the first time he heard this operation, but he felt a little familiar.
"Is the year-end assessment mentioned by the Immortal Master consistent with the Beijing Examination?"
"Not really."
Ji Boying shook the ash from his cigar. Year-end performance and promotion were two different things.
"The year-end assessment only assesses officials' performance and is directly linked to the year-end bonus of that year."
Even if a ninth-grade official has an ordinary political performance and is rated "C", he can still have a salary of two hundred taels a year. Although it is not said to be rich, it is enough for daily life and interpersonal relationships. Yes, you can save a lot if you save a little.
This also avoids the tragic incident of some truly upright officials, such as Hai Rui, whose families cannot even afford the burial money after their death.
"Brother, we have a question. If we give money to these dog officials, won't they become greedy?"
Lao Zhu frowned, took a deep breath from his cigar, and blew out the smoke ring melancholy.
He has been around the market since he was a child, and has seen too many corrupt officials. He knows that these guys' greed is endless, and there is no such thing as enough.
"I agree with what my father said."
Zhu Laosi also nodded. He was the only one among the people present who had practical experience in the matter of corrupt officials.
Before the Jingnan incident, Zhu Laosi made a lot of preparations, the most critical of which was bribery.
Zhu Laosi took advantage of the overseas customs and gave them to officials at all levels in the Yingtian court and even the eunuchs in the Forbidden City, crazily stuffing money into them.
When this group of people first started to collect money, each of them was a little cautious. Later, if they didn't give it away, some shameless people would even ask. And the longer they went on, the more money this group of people asked for. .
"of course not."
Ji Boying reached for the wine bottle. Xiao Zhusi was faster and quickly picked up the bottle and poured wine for Ji Boying.
"Human greed is endless."
As a living person, Ji Boying looked at the entire history from a bird's eye view. There was no precedent for high salaries to support integrity. During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng initially naively thought that as long as he paid high salaries to officials, corruption could be eliminated.
Therefore, it was decreed that on the basis of annual salary, officials would be given "integrity-supporting silver".
The amount of money was much higher than the salary, probably 10-100 times the official's annual salary, which was extremely exaggerated.
Taking the second-grade governor as an example, the official annual salary is only 155 taels of silver, plus 155 stones of grain and rice, but the annual salary of Yanglian Silver can reach up to 13,000 taels of silver!
I have to say that Yongzheng is a good boss.
But unfortunately, people's desires are endless, and they will not be satisfied just because you give me a salary increase. On the contrary, after you get used to it, you will feel that it is what you deserve, and you will want to get more.
After the Yongzheng Dynasty promulgated the "Yin Yin Lian" policy, those officials who should be corrupt continued to be corrupt. On the contrary, because the emperor gave out more money, they became even more unscrupulous.
Of course, after Yongzheng realized this, he immediately took measures and eventually became the most successful emperor in the history of anti-corruption. His experience is worth learning from.
"The above list is the etiquette."
"It can ensure that honest and honest officials can live a prosperous life without being corrupt, and it can also strengthen the enthusiasm of officials in political affairs, because the better they do, the more salary they can earn. many."
"Making a fortune on salary is no longer a joke."
Ji Boying picked up the wine in front of him and drank it all in one gulp.
"And after the ceremony, comes the soldier."
Ji Boying's eyes were smiling, but everyone, including Lao Zhu, could feel a chill of chill radiating from Ji Boying's body.
At this moment, Lao Zhu suddenly became energetic.
"Brother speaks bluntly, but Yuan Zhang will obey him!"
