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Chapter 262: Autumn Fu Twenty-seven
The few people kneeling on the ground were so frightened that their faces turned pale. The stick was a "major punishment" used by the county government to torture murderers or criminal thieves. Even if you are a tough guy, you have to confess even if you pull two strings. . Moreover, people who have used clamp sticks will be left with disabilities in their legs and feet.
It is common for subordinate officials in the county government to be criticized by the boss, ranging from the head of the clerk's office to the ordinary clerk. However, since the subordinates are colleagues and usually share the same sentiments, Zaoli hitting the board is just a matter of meaning. Most of the time, the head of the stick touches the ground, and it is rare for him to have any flesh. Now the Australian Prime Minister is about to slap a stick on him whenever he opens his mouth. How can he stand it?
Several people immediately kowtowed and begged: "Master, please spare my life."
"Stop knocking," You Guotuan said, "Tell me how much you have freed up from the county treasury."
"You guys, how dare you--" The following people desperately cried out for injustice.
At this moment, the four remaining yamen servants in the soap class were called in. As soon as they entered the door, they knelt down and kowtowed together.
"There's no need to kowtow, get ready to work." You Guotuan ordered, "I've brought everything."
"If you tell me, I've brought them all," the officer said, glancing at the people kneeling on the ground. Seeing that they are all treasury officials, I know that the Australians are going to deal with these "fat pigs".
"Come on, give each person twenty boards first." You Guotuan ordered directly.
"Master, please spare my life. I am wealthy and willing to honor my master."
"It's a bit late now." You Guotuan waved his hand and said, "Do it."
These are all Zaoli who are known to be "proficient in business". They saw others being sent out of the city to unknown destinations, but they still stayed in the county government office. I was very scared. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse. Now I heard that they want to be punished. This is the stuff of this work, just take it out. Everyone was full of energy. He started to drag the person over and wash and peel him clean.
The scribe who was neatly dressed just now was suddenly stripped naked, like a naked pig. Several Zaobiao were really capable of taking action. They ignored his wails and struggles and pushed him to the ground. The two of them picked up the bamboo boards and started waving them around immediately.
The first sound of bamboo cutting meat caused a shrill scream, but there was no bleeding on Bai Huahua's buttocks. You Guotuan knew that these slaves did not dare to fake it. If you want to fool him, the skin on your butt will be pulled open with the first blow. It will look bloody, but in fact the injury is not serious. Such a bloodless beating is not only extremely painful, but also causes much more serious trauma.
In the last few boards, the slaves followed the rules and broke the skin and bled it to prevent these people from bleeding and dying.
After finishing the beating, several treasurers lay on the ground unable to move.
"Okay, please tell me carefully how many benefits you have taken from the county treasury and where they are stored." You Guotuan asked, "How many people in the county government have received benefits from you? Tell me one by one." Then he asked people to put down the pen and paper, "Write it in your own hand and write it neatly."
After a long fuss, these guys all handed in their first "homework." Frowning, I had to identify these traditional Chinese characters and compare them one by one. What a chore. Fortunately, you don't need to look very carefully - other professionals will naturally handle this. Just see if they answer the questions honestly.
These treasurers were beaten hard and wrote a long confession. They had already lost their strength and lay on the ground groaning one by one. Some of them were young and strong, but some were older and usually too lazy to exercise. He simply fainted.
"Okay, give them fingerprints first." You Guotuan instructed the servants, "Take these few down first and give them medicine, and let them take care of them. I will ask them again after a few days."
Suddenly there was a cry of wailing: "Master, please be merciful, the little one can say anything."
"Take it down," You Guotuan waved his hand impatiently. It doesn't look like the matter is difficult, I just talked about it after a while. The modern appliances he had specially brought seemed to be of no use.
The confession was immediately sent to Zhang Youfu's house, where it was transcribed by people from the Chinese language team, copied and distributed to the relevant persons in charge. This list also reached the hands of the person Xiong Buyou was about to introduce to Wu Mingjin.
"Now Wu Mingjin is in our hands." Zhou Botao looked at the materials sent and patted the table.
"What's going on?" Wu De was also studying this material.
"According to the statement of the salt warehouse official, Wu Mingjin's close family members have borrowed salt from the salt warehouse many times."
"Oh" Wu De and the people around the table were all interested.
"Look," Zhou Botao pointed to the document, "on page four, the clerk of the salt warehouse said. The Wu family has several servants, and they borrow a certain amount of salt from the salt warehouse every year. They will pay it back at the end of autumn."
"This is not surprising. Don't forget that a large part of the private salt produced after we took control of Ma Niao Salt Farm was distributed through his hands."
"It's of a different nature. That's pure private salt. This is turning the public into private," Dong Weiwei said after reading it. In fact, this is also a cheating method, borrowing the salt from the county treasury and selling it directly to private parties. Salt dealer. In autumn, when the production of sun-salted salt increases greatly, the holes will be filled by floating salt from the salt field.
Table salt is easy to deliquesce and loses a lot, so salt collection also has floating costs. It is also a big burden for Salt Cube.
The salt collected by the government at a low price was sold at a high price, and then floating revenue was used to fill the gap. It’s simply a business without capital.
"Why doesn't he engage in private salt production directly from the salt farm?"
"At that time, Ma Niao Salt Plant was controlled by the Gou family. If he intervened directly, he would have to collude with the Gou family - the Gou family's reputation is too bad. This is probably something he was unwilling to do."
"No wonder Wang Zhaomin hit it off immediately when we proposed a partnership to sell illicit salt when he came out for negotiations last year. It turns out they have been doing it for a long time."
"Why else would so many people throughout the ages struggle to become officials?" Wu De said with a smile, "Yan Ruyu, a golden house, is not just talk."
"Does our cleaning up the county treasury mean that we have touched his cake?" Xiong Buyou is very concerned about this issue.
"He has already received the income from the salt from us, so cleaning up the county treasury will have little impact on his gray income - the treasurer's account book is very clear: starting from last year, such borrowing behavior has completely stopped ――We are involved.”
In the afternoon, Xiong Buyou brought a "kun thief" whom Wu Mingjin and others had never seen before to ask for an audience. This person was Yan Ming, the president of Delong Grain Company.
Although Yan Ming is not yet at the level of People's Commissar in the official position list of the Cross Group, Delong already has the vague intention of being the central bank of the Cross Group, and the importance of his position is self-evident. He has an important position and possesses complex financial knowledge, so he rarely leaves Bairen City on weekdays. Except for visiting Bo Pu and Dongmen City a few times when inspecting work, he never goes outside the Green Zone. Not involved.
This time he actually appeared in the county government office in order to sell his plan of acting as county treasury to the county magistrate - of course, it was forced in nature. Regardless of whether Wu Mingjin is willing or not, Delong's agency county treasury system will still be implemented. This is also an important measure to refresh the county government. This measure is closely related to the reform of the taxation system.
According to the estimates of the leading group, under the dual effects of Tiandihui's agricultural technology promotion and the new collection system, Lingao's tax revenue will increase on a large scale in the next five years.
However, this kind of growth is not to contribute to the consolidation of Ming's rule. The right to use this increased income must fall into the hands of the Chuanchuan Group. Just as the executive committee is constantly strengthening its financial control over various departments under the system, the Lingao County executive committee must also control the financial rights.
The method of control is to bypass the county government. This is the agency county treasury business.
The county treasury agency business existed in the late Qing Dynasty. The emerging bank accounts and banks at that time not only acted as agents for the county treasury and government treasury, but even for the feudal treasury. Local tax payments and administrative appropriations are carried out through these financial institutions, which not only eliminates the need for treasury custody at the county and government levels, but also makes fund transfers more convenient than in the past with cash withdrawals and transportation. Yan Ming just wanted to advance this system to the late Ming Dynasty.
Of course, this reform will affect the interests of a group of people, and theoretically Wu Mingjin is one of them. However, judging from the confessions of treasury officials and the seized account books, Wu Mingjin generally does not directly pay the county treasury to the county treasury, except for collecting the "regular money" given to him by the treasury each year and smuggling some salt from the food treasury. Reached out. In this regard, this person can be regarded as quite honest among local officials. As for other petty officials and petty officials, there are many so-called "borrowings", which are "borrowings" in name, but in fact they are used to replenish the finances of the treasury officials.
Now since Wu Mingjin himself doesn't have much selfish desire for the county treasury, and the benefits he received from the crossing group are not small, the matter of acting for the county treasury will not encounter much resistance.
As for whether other people object or not, Wu De doesn't care. Of course, if Wu Mingjin was really determined to object, he would have ways to make him submit. Although Wu Mingjin's black material is not enough, the weight is not small.
"Agent County Treasurer" Wu Mingjin was a little confused when he heard Yan Ming's request, but his first reaction was extremely ridiculous - the county treasurer is the country's warehouse, how can he ask a grain bank to act as an agent?
After thinking about it, I realized that this was just a tactic used by thieves to rob the county treasury. Thinking of this, Wu Mingjin's face showed an expression of anger, and a bit of the scholar's backbone emerged again. I am a dignified official selected by the imperial court. If the main hall of Lingao County in the Ming Dynasty cannot even keep the county treasury, why should I be an official?
"I'm sorry that I can't obey my order in this matter." Wu Mingjin said coldly, "Although the county treasury is small, it is also an important place for the government. How can we let businessmen take care of it?"
"Mr. Wu, you misunderstood." Yan Ming expected his reaction and said patiently, "Delong's acting county treasury actually handles the collection and payment business. The biggest benefit to the county is that it saves money." To avoid the encroachment of subordinate officials.",.
