This official seemed to be interested, at least he wasn't pretending.
"Stop crying." Meng Shaoyuan still looked indifferent: "Gao Yushan has been executed for corruption and bending the law. Officials at all levels who are complicit will be severely punished. However, if you are not complicit, I will not unjustly accuse a good person.
This commissioner came to Henan this time, firstly to investigate the theft of two thousand taels of gold, and secondly, to deal with the disaster in Henan. Gao Jianzhi, is there anything you want to say to me? "
Seeing that Gao Jianzhi was still a little hesitant, he smiled:
"I'll give you this one chance to defend yourself. I won't waste too much time on you."
"Congratulations Commissioner."
Finally, Gao Jianzhi plucked up the courage: "Although I am Gao Yushan's cousin, I am not his kind of person. I used to be a teacher and helped Gao Yushan. After Gao Yushan became the county magistrate, he raped me. Got to this position.
Originally, I really wanted to do something for Wuhe County, but Gao Yushan and his accomplices did evil things and turned the good Wuhe County into a mess, and even tried to drag me into the water.
I am a scholar and a teacher, and I still have the integrity of a scholar. I only take the salary I deserve, the rest is not mine and I don’t take any penny. Gao Yushan tried to woo me several times, but I sternly rejected him. "
Meng Shaoyuan asked: "Since you are not ashamed to associate with them, why don't you resign? Since you are not from Gao Yushan, can he tolerate you continuing to stay in this position?"
"Although Gao Yushan is a beast, he is extremely filial." Gao Jianzhi sighed: "His mother repeatedly told me that I had helped their family and they should treat me well. Gao Yushan agreed to his mother. So he also Regardless of me, I know I won’t be able to stir up any trouble.
I wanted to resign several times, but he wouldn't allow it. Instead, he kept me in this position and left me to fend for myself. Originally, his mother could control him a little, but since his aunt's death, this man has become unscrupulous. "
Not lying.
Meng Shaoyuan asked again: "You have a salary at least, how did you end up like this, with your wife and children starting to eat dry wood?"
"Commissioner, what can you do with that salary?" Gao Jianzhi smiled bitterly: "In peacetime, if you are not greedy or evil, it is enough to get by. But the war in Henan continues and the legal currency has seriously depreciated. It is really impossible to live with this salary. .
At the beginning of the year, when the disaster first started, the situation became more serious. What can we buy with our salary? How do you expect me to survive? I also want to eat white flour steamed buns, but where can I find them? "
Meng Shaoyuan nodded slightly.
What Gao Jianzhi said is true.
The main reason is that the legal currency has depreciated too fast, but the salaries of grassroots officials have basically remained unchanged.
Especially from 1931 to 1942, for 11 years, Henan's military grain contribution ranked first in the country.
Grain requisitions have remained high for more than ten years, Huayuankou's dykes burst, "water replaced troops", and famine began. All these have caused Henan's prices to skyrocket, far exceeding that of any other province in the country.
During the Republic of China, the salary of appointed civil servants was divided into twelve levels, with the highest level being NT$220 per month and the lowest level being NT$45.
The salary for the county magistrate's first-level recommendation is 380 yuan, and the salary for the second-level recommendation is 320 yuan.
Take a county magistrate as an example. Before the Anti-Japanese War, 1 yuan could buy 20 kilograms of white rice and 4 kilograms of pork.
The county magistrate's salary can be considered a high salary.
After the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War in Gu, with the rapid inflation of inflation, the salary of the county magistrate was really meager.
Due to rising prices, the government began to implement a living allowance system for civil servants.
Starting from September 1941, civil servants at all levels with a monthly salary of less than 50 yuan will receive a subsidy of 40 yuan; those with a monthly salary of 50 to 100 yuan, a subsidy of 30 yuan; those with a monthly salary of 101 to 200 yuan, a subsidy of 20 yuan; and those with a monthly salary of more than 200 yuan, no subsidy.
However, these subsidies cannot keep up with the soaring prices.
The magistrate of a county, with a fixed salary and allowances, plus the gray income from local favors, still cannot make ends meet.
Why? In addition to price reasons, the Republic of China implemented a county head contracting system.
The number of people in a county government is about 30. In addition, the provincial government generally rarely allocates funds. All official expenditures and expenses for hiring people to do things must be paid by the county head. There is simply no way to maintain this with the county magistrate's salary alone. Therefore, many county magistrates take risks to collect money, and many of them lose their lives.
The "contracting system" of county magistrates during the Republic of China also meant that when a county magistrate took office and resigned, not only did his entire team come and go with him, but he also had to provide his own office supplies, and a clear accounting of financial revenue and expenditures was required when he was dismissed. All expenses required during the transfer period will be borne by the county magistrate personally.
In addition, county magistrates changed frequently during the Republic of China. Under such circumstances, handling the transfer became a huge additional expense, far beyond what the county magistrate could bear.
Gao Yushan stayed in the position of Wuhe County Magistrate for so many years, bribed people from top to bottom, and was unwilling to be promoted. In addition to Wuhe County being considered by him as his own small kingdom, the huge transfer cost was also one of the reasons.
If this is the case for the county magistrate, it goes without saying for staff at all levels.
"It's really hard to be an official." Meng Shaoyuan also felt helpless: "Gao Jianzhi, I have almost taken over all the officials in Wuhe County. Now that the disaster has arrived, Wuhe County is in urgent need of a county magistrate to stabilize the situation. I I accept your appointment as the county magistrate of Wuhe County, are you qualified for the job?"
"No." Gao Jianzhi said flatly: "I am the county magistrate, where can I get the money to build the county government?"
"Don't worry about this, I'll help you find a way." Meng Shaoyuan has already thought about it for him: "I will leave part of the money obtained by officials at all levels through corruption and perversion of the law for you to form a team. Gao Jianzhi , the number of disaster victims is increasing, and Wuhe County needs a county magistrate."
"If that's the case, I'll do it." Gao Jianzhi stopped giving in and said, "No big deal, if I don't do it well, I'll just get out."
"If you can't do it poorly, you must do a good job as the county magistrate." Meng Shaoyuan said slowly: "How to settle the victims and alleviate the disaster, you don't have the ability. What you have to do is to prevent chaos in Wuhe County .
No matter how serious the disaster is, it will pass sooner or later. On the opposite side, there are countless Japanese troops. If Henan is not to fall, in addition to the army fighting hard, it depends on you, the grassroots county magistrates! "
"I understand, Commissioner, I will always do my part."
"Be your own Gao Jianzhi, and don't imitate Gao Yushan." Meng Shaoyuan gave a special instruction: "Exactly, absolutely."
Gao Jianzhi still lived up to Meng Shaoyuan's expectations.
After he became the county magistrate, in the face of the increasingly severe famine, Wuhe County was like a lonely boat in the waves, struggling to stay afloat.
He was willing to stay in poverty and live a hard life with his wife and children. He never became a corrupt official like his cousin.
It was not until 1943 that the National Government's anti-corruption fund appeared. As a third-class county magistrate, Gao Jianzhi received an extra 3,500 yuan per month in anti-corruption funds, and his life became easier.
