"However, it is not necessary that all official rice from the Beijing treasury be surrendered to Beijing." Wang Zhaomin explained. As early as the Hongwu period, autumn grain really had to be transported thousands of miles to Beijing. The "grain chief" in Lijia is responsible for transporting grain. The manpower and material resources consumed are self-evident. Grain managers often go bankrupt because of this burden.
Later, taking into account local needs and reducing the loss of transportation back and forth, it was stipulated that part of the money and grain would be shipped to Beijing, part of it would be transported directly to the government's money and grain department, and part of it would be kept in Qiongzhou Prefecture for backup and only recorded in the accounts of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
"Sure enough, it is much more convenient." Wu De nodded. If it was sent to Qiongzhou Mansion, the distance would be very short regardless of whether it was transported by land or by sea. Even according to the standards of the Ming Dynasty, it shouldn't be too difficult.
"How can such a good thing happen!" Wang Zhaomin shook his head. He has been around for more than ten years and has never seen it easy to collect and pay grain in a county. She couldn't help but show off purely to show off her abilities - Wang Zhaomin somehow now became more and more important to what Australians thought of her.
"We only need to transport Qiongzhou's quota of official rice from the capital's treasury to transfer Changhua grain rates of 1,579 shi per liter and 9 rupees, and turn over to the government officers and soldiers 2,181 shi, 9 dou, 2 liters and 5 rupees for grain pay. Therefore, the county has to transport grain to five places, Qiongzhou Prefecture, Changhua County, Danzhou, Wanzhou, and Lingshui County. Among them, the expenses for shipping and collection are countless." Wang Zhaomin pretended to be worried about the country and the people, " It’s so disturbing to the people!”
Wu De wants to go to Changhua? This is just a matter of course. Since the Changhua Fort and Yulin Fort were built after sailing around the island, they have opened regular routes around the island. Transporting grain to Changhua is not a piece of cake.
"Why go to places like Danzhou and Wanzhou?"
"Because there are mansions in these places."
Not all the official warehouses of Qiongzhou Prefecture are in Qiongzhou Prefecture. There were five warehouses in Qiongzhou Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty. There are four places located in other counties, including Guangjicang in Wanzhou and Fengcang in Lingshui.
Most of the places where grain is stored are scattered in relatively important strategic areas, especially those with danger of "Lebanon chaos", so that if there is a war, grain can be obtained nearby.
The brown rice due from each county must be transported to these warehouses for exchange. Wang Zhaomin said: Lingao wants to go to Danzhou to exchange one thousand shi, Wanzhou 1,200 shi and Lingshui 900 shi. The grain and salary that Yunchanghua handed over to Changhua Qianhu Office was 1,500 shi, and the rest was transported to Qiongzhou Fucheng.
"The next step is to transport grain all the way, and there are all kinds of tricks when it comes to collecting money at the warehouse." Wang Zhaomin said that whether it is a military warehouse or a government warehouse, the officials in charge of the warehouse are all "unqualified" people who are not small enough. , but don’t talk about such low-level officials, even the signers in the warehouse and the head of the warehousemen. If they are not managed properly, they will cause you endless trouble when paying grain and cashing it. Either I’m picky about the beige color, or I’m insisting that the portion is not enough. Once the collection time has passed, a penalty of delay will be inevitable.
"That's it!" Wu De nodded. It seems that it is still a very challenging task for the crossing group to take over the county's taxes. A grain transportation and exchange can have such tricks, and the tricks in other links are self-evident.
Thirteen hundred stones were left in the county to be used for the salaries of county officials and daily administrative expenses. Among them, 572 shi and two liters of food and salary for the garrisoned officers and soldiers were deducted from the county, and 17 shi, 8 dou and 6 liters of food and salary were paid to the Bopu Port Inspection Station. In fact, even for a small county like Lingao, the food left in the county is simply not enough to cover expenses. Apart from maintaining basic administrative operations, the county is basically unable to do anything it wants to do.
Wu De thought to himself that the matter of collecting grain and taxes seemed to still require the help of a group of indigenous people who were familiar with the local conditions. Wang Zhaomin should focus on wooing him.
Think of this. He nodded: "Thank you Mr. Wang for teaching me."
"Where, where?" After Wang Zhaomin showed off for a while, he immediately became energetic when he saw that the Australian leader was listening attentively and with a solemn expression on his face. "It's just a superficial opinion."
"I would like to ask Mr. Wang for more advice on this matter of food collection." Wu De said. Seeing that the night was already late and there were still many things to talk about, he asked others to prepare supper.
Wu De originally wanted to win over Wang Zhaomin, so the supper was not made by the maid of Zhang Youfu's family. Even the stove, kitchen utensils, seasonings, and food were all provided by the women's cooperative restaurant in Dongmen City. The two cooks were originally from The cook who fled from Guangdong has good skills, and after receiving some training from the Cross Travel Group, his skills have improved even more. I heard that the big boss entertained distinguished guests and prepared delicious dishes with great energy.
Made-to-order items are not uncommon in modern time and space, but they are just snacks for Cantonese-style morning tea. There is no shortage of seafood in Lingao, and Tianchu Sauce Garden provides a variety of modern condiments, so the refreshments are not much different from modern times and places. But in this time and space, these things have become extremely rare "delicacies".
Due to the lack of flour, these "Cantonese refreshments" are not sold to the public and are only used by travelers for their own use and to entertain indigenous guests. Naturally, Wang Zhaomin had never eaten it before. When he saw the translucent dumplings served filled with red shrimps and green peas, he was already a little stunned. When the food was in his mouth, Wang Zhaomin closed his eyes and tasted it carefully, unable to say a word for a long time.
Since it was a late night snack, no wine was prepared, but cigarettes and tea were good. Wang Zhaomin smoked a cigarette after the meal and pondered for a long time before laughing and saying, "I really can't understand you people!"
This is a more in-depth talk. It is different from the casual talk. Wu De knew that Master Wang's psychological defense had been loosened. He deliberately created a relaxed atmosphere just to have an in-depth talk with Wang Zhaomin and see if he could be conquered. The possibility of using it for one's own benefit.
"Why can't you understand?"
"With your cost of food and clothing, Australia must be a good place with a prosperous people and a prosperous country. If you don't want to stay in your hometown, you have to leave your hometown and come to Lingao, a poor and remote place. Why are you here?"
Wu De laughed a few times, thinking that I can't tell you now that it is for "unifying the country and bringing together the eight wastelands". You still don't think I am crazy. Even if you have a smaller goal - taking control of the Central Plains, it will scare you to death if you say it. He could only say: "It's not enough for outsiders."
Wang Zhaomin was thinking that this group of people were probably local dignitaries in Australia, and they were probably not fighting for the domestic party. Because the struggle in the palace failed, he had no choice but to take his disciples and relatives across the sea and flee to the Ming Dynasty. Watching them build roads, build houses, and dredge rivers and ports, it seems that they plan to live here forever.
If this is the case, you can persuade them to submit a letter to express their attachment. With their talents and all kinds of exquisite Australian goods, as long as they go to Beijing for some activities beforehand and then present them to the emperor, the court will probably not disapprove. If the imperial court allows them to settle in Lingao, it can be regarded as solving the trouble at hand.
"When you arrive in Ming Dynasty, are you prepared to stay here for a long time in this corner of Lingao?"
"Master Wang, what do you think?"
Wang Zhaomin expressed his opinions. Wu De disapproved in his heart - this kind of recruitment was out of the question at the moment. Seeing that he was not interested, Wang Zhaomin had no choice but to sigh and stop talking.
Wu De was inconvenient and cooled his heart, saying: "Master Wang, it's not that we don't know what's good and what's good. Although our knowledge is shallow, we still know that ordinary people are not guilty, but they are guilty of carrying a jade."
Wang Zhaomin was startled and knew what he said was right. With what the Australians have, if the imperial court knows about it, not to mention the emperor, it will be the officials up and down the imperial court. Don’t you regard them as a big piece of fat? When the time comes, all kinds of difficulties, exploitation, extortion and extortion will be obvious.
"Yes, yes, that is what you are worried about."
We won’t talk about this issue anymore and continue to talk about the details of grain collection. Wang Zhaomin's main purpose this time was to discuss "private expenses", which was the usual benefit that the county magistrate had during the grain requisition process.
Not only the county magistrate should have this benefit, but also other officials in the county such as the magistrate and dianshi should benefit a little bit, but the bulk of it lies with the county magistrate. As for Master Wang, there is also a benefit, which is around one hundred taels of silver as usual.
Although there were also tenants in the past. But it is not a general manager, it has to be compiled by the county. How to divide the profits is, as usual, presided over by Wang Zhaomin. Now that it is an Australian general manager, this fee must be explained clearly in advance.
This benefit naturally comes from "floating income". According to Wang Zhaomin, the customary payment in Lingao is between three dou and three dou and five liters per stone, depending on the year.
Among this amount of income, there is a bucketful of "private expenses", that is, benefits for county officials, which usually range from 800 to 1,000 dan.
Wu De nodded. This figure was different from the figure obtained by the social survey team. It seemed to be lower. We will have to ask the social investigation team to do another focused sample survey later.
"Although it is said that the amount of rice consumed for one stone per square meter is three dou as usual, in fact the pain and joy are uneven." Wang Zhaomin reminded, "Some grain households do not even pay one dou of rice, while some have to pay seven or eight dou of rice. Whether to pay or not to hand over, whether to hand over more or less, these are all in the hands of the clerk, and his benefits are also found here."
"I will agree to the matter of private expenses." Wu De immediately agreed, "I will give it to you when the food collection is over." After saying that, he got up and went to the next room. His accompanying guard brought an envelope and took it. He returned to the house and handed his hands to Wang Zhaomin.
"What is this?" Wang Zhaomin pretended to be surprised.
"Guan Shu." Wu De said with great sincerity, "We have just arrived, and we are from overseas. We know nothing about these sects. This time, we are appreciated by the county and can collect taxes. We also have to ask Master Wang to do more. Guidance and support. This is the key to a 'consultant'."
"No, no, no need." Wang Zhaomin declined politely, wondering how he could just accept this thing casually. Wouldn't it then become evidence of accepting a "fake job"?
But seeing that Wu De was determined to give it, he was afraid that he would offend him if he didn't accept it, so he had to accept it first, thinking that he would just go back and burn it! ~!
