Xia Yuanji's eyes were like tigers, and he asked: "Li Zhi, how do you plan to change?"
"People say that the salaries of officials in my court are low, but this is not true." Zhu Gaojie said slowly, "But why do officials always think that their salaries are low?"
Xia Yuanji stroked his beard and fell into deep thought: "This..."
The salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty, at least in the early Ming Dynasty, could not be calculated directly in silver.
In the early days of the People's Republic of China, all official salaries were paid with natural rice and stones. For example, the magistrate received seven stones of rice per month and eighty-four stones of rice per year, which was enough to meet the expenses of raising a good person.
In fact, the official salary of the Ming Dynasty was based on grain. When measuring the income level of officials in the early Ming Dynasty, grain can be used as a basic reference system.
Officials of the first, second, third and fourth grades, from one thousand shi to three hundred shi, each step decreases by 100 shi, and all are given 300 guan of salary; for those with the fifth rank of 220 shi, the salary is reduced by 50 shi, and all the bills are 150 guan. Ten strings. The original six-grade one hundred and twenty stones were reduced by ten stones, and the banknotes were all ninety. From the seventh grade to the sixth grade, ten stones are reduced, and the notes are all sixty. The eighth grade is seventy-five stones, reduced by five stones, and the banknotes are forty-five strings. From the ninth grade, seventy stones, thirty strings of banknotes.
The folded banknotes are not counted, only the true value is counted.
One stone in the Ming Dynasty was about 114 jins, one stone in the Han Dynasty was 60 jins, and one stone in the Tang Dynasty was 106 jins. The official salary of the second-grade six-level minister in the Ming Dynasty was 1,530 jins in the Han system, which was slightly higher than the 2,000 jins in the Han Dynasty, which was the income of the state pastor. It was lower than the 2,000 shi for the same level in the Han Dynasty; the annual salary of a seventh-grade county magistrate in the Ming Dynasty was 100 shi, which corresponded to the official income of 200 shi in the Han Dynasty. It was not high but certainly not low.
This is still compared with the Han Dynasty. If the salary of Ming Dynasty officials is compared with that of Tang Dynasty officials, then Li Tang's salary is simply like being sent away to beg for food.
“In the final analysis, it’s because of the grassroots system.”
Zhu Gaojie sighed and said, "There are Shenming Pavilions erected in all the prefectures, counties and townships inside and outside the Sanli community. If the people in the territory commit crimes, they will write down their faults and put them on the pavilions. This will make people know that they are afraid and will not dare to do evil. I govern the court. , like Shen Ming Pavilion, rely on autonomy to govern the grassroots, but autonomy without supervision is a complete joke!"
For example, the Lijia system is responsible for civil cases and daily public security. All minor matters such as marriages, farm fights, and disputes among private households are not allowed to be reported to the official easily. They must be handled by the senior Lijia in charge.
The lijia system is stupid enough, but there is also the grain chief system that is even more stupid!
The grain chief is responsible for collecting, harvesting, and transporting local grain, cooperating with the district chief to measure land, compile fish scale atlases and yellow books, encourage farming, and report tax evaders.
After the Hongwu Kongyin case, the grain chief system existed in name only. From then on, tax revenue could only be distributed through large-scale apportionment.
The shortcomings of the grassroots autonomy system made the Ming Dynasty's yellow registration and household registration almost a joke. But more importantly, with the rapid collapse of the grassroots autonomy system, the extremely compact grassroots establishment of the Ming Dynasty was soon unable to cope with daily government affairs.
Xia Yuanji touched his chin and approved Zhu Gaojie's words: "It is indeed true. The county magistrate is in charge of the administration of a county. The county magistrate and the chief secretary are in charge of grain, horses and patrol matters. The historical records and texts are transferred to the cashier. If there is no county magistrate, or If there is no chief registrar, the chief registrar will be assigned the duties of the chief registrar. The county chief and chief registrar have different appointments and changes. A county government office, including officials and officials, only has four to six people. If grassroots autonomy collapses and there is no one in the local government, then..."
"Then there is only one way to solve this problem."
Zhu Gaojie said what Xia Yuanji had not finished: "Looking for temporary workers, three shifts and six rooms, the subordinate officials in the Ming Dynasty's grassroots county government are all temporary workers who are not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Civil Affairs! If the county government wants to do things, it can only Looking for temporary workers, how can the county official's salary support so many people? Even if all the salary is used to manage servants, it is still not enough! And the income of these temporary workers, in addition to various assessments, can only come from Take advantage of the people! Small greed feeds big greed, and big greed feeds huge greed. From top to bottom, everyone is greedy, with layer upon layer of protection and layer upon layer of collusion. How can such a damaged officialdom be maintained?"
If you translate Zhu Gaojie's words, the general meaning is: since antibiotics cannot completely eradicate the virus, then just lie down and fend for yourself from the beginning.
From the bottom up, we just lay down and "believe in the wisdom of the masses". After a hundred years of hard work, the Ming Dynasty Code was revised again during the Zhengde and Wanli years. Everything was fine. The law endorsed and acquiesced to systemic corruption at the grassroots level.
After such a system was formed, the people became crazy from poverty, the officials became crazy from greed, and the soldiers became crazy from poverty.
Even though the Liaodong Army at the end of the Ming Dynasty had less than 30% of its strength, it was able to fight back and forth with Houjin Jiannu. However, the system collapsed and the people above did not support it. The Ming army did not even have enough to eat, and there was no pension when they died. , how to fight this?
The Ming army is not satisfied with its pay, but it is invincible if it is fully paid!
The Ming Dynasty was not eradicating corruption, but gathering corrupt power and redistributing it among the ruling groups!
Xia Yuanji's scalp went numb when he heard this: "Such an administration, from bottom to top, and then from top to bottom, has formed an incredible system. If this continues for a long time, the Ming Dynasty will surely perish!"
"So, we need change."
Zhu Gaojie's eyes sparkled, "If we reform the grassroots officials, the upper levels will naturally be clean."
"But...this is to make an enemy of the world!"
Xia Yuanji sighed, "Restructuring and reform are not easy. Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty's officialdom has developed a stubborn disease. If it is changed, it will touch everyone's heart, and they will definitely be beaten by a group. Those who are touched will be beaten." The dim sum people tore it up!”
Reform and restructuring shattered the original interest planning of officials and re-established new interest rules.
In this way, there are two beneficiaries, one is the emperor and the other is the court.
The emperor of the current dynasty concentrated power in his hands during this dynasty, and the imperial power was dominant.
The imperial court improved the original shortcomings, continued the country, and benefited the spring and autumn generations.
At the same time, two victims also appeared, one was the original beneficiary of the official rule, and the other was the person who proposed the change.
The original beneficiaries of official governance have lost their original interests in the change of rules, and are bound to be purged and slaughtered in the change.
The person who proposes change will become the enemy of everyone and will be swarmed to death. This person will not be the emperor, but a victim pushed by the emperor.
"One person's life is worth a hundred years of merit, and one life's sin will lead to eternal fame."
Zhu Gaojie held his hands on the railing, looking up at the brilliant Milky Way in the distance with his deep eyes. His eyes were as bright as the stars in the sky, "The ancients said, if you don't fight for one life, fight for hundreds of them. How difficult is it to have a name that is better than the name of a hundred generations? , if you want to benefit the common people, how can you cherish your own life?"
"A sin in one life, a name in all the worlds, haha, interesting, interesting."
Xia Yuanji laughed, and the corners of his old eyes were slightly moist, "King Qi, what do you think of me, old Xia?"
"Xia Gong, eternal."
Zhu Gaojie smiled slightly and said, "I am the one in power, so Mr. Xia should be the first prime minister of this dynasty!"
"Okay, the first prime minister in this dynasty, what a prime minister."
Xia Yuanji's eyes suddenly became sharp, with the fierceness of a tiger who is still a tiger even though he is old, "Then let me be the first prime minister of this dynasty and the victim of this change!"
Zhu Gaojie stared at Xia Yuanji for a long time and said slowly: "I can guarantee you for ten years. Within ten years, I can guarantee that Mr. Xia will be in power, without the name of prime minister, but with the reality of prime minister. After ten years, no matter whether the reform is successful or not, I will I can't even protect you, so I will use your life to calm the hearts of the officials all over the world."
"But I can guarantee that after the death of Mr. Xia, I will preserve the blood of the Xia family. Although it cannot be made public, it can still prosper for generations to come."
After saying this, Zhu Gaojie turned around and left without any lingering pause.
His gown swayed in the night breeze, leaving only one sentence: "I didn't come tonight, and you didn't hear anything."
Zhu Gaojie can support the reform of officialdom behind the scenes, or he can make suggestions for the reform of officialdom. He can even be the master behind the reform of officialdom, but he cannot be directly involved in the reform of officialdom.
Because he is the one in power, and those in power must be clean on the table.
Xia Yuanji, on the other hand, had to shoulder all the charges by himself, was accused by thousands of people, insulted by officials all over the world, and died without a burial place.
He died in filth, but in exchange for the clarity of the Ming Dynasty's official administration, he gained a reputation for eternity!
Xia Yuanji bowed respectfully: "My lord, Xia Yuanji, thank you very much for your support."
Under the blurred light, the young man's back was dim, and there was a wild laughter.
But all the core members of Prince Qi's Mansion have three things in common:
One, don’t be afraid of death.
Two, it’s crazy enough.
Three, crazy.
And these three things are even more vividly displayed in the leader Zhu Gaojie.
…
In the East Palace at night, the temperature is slightly cooler, and the attic halls all reveal a cold loneliness.
The East Palace, which used to be bustling with people and passengers, has been quiet for a long time.
After being imprisoned for several months, everyone in the court wanted to understand one thing - the prince lost power!
Everyone is scrambling to break away from the princelings. Even those who have not quit the princelings are still isolated and helpless in the court. A small number of people firmly support the prince, while most of the remaining people who still insist on supporting the prince do not dare to. I believe that the prince fell so lightly, and I still believe that the prince will rise again sooner or later. When the prince ascends the throne, I will be regarded as a hero of Conglong, with a bright future.
But most people still chose to turn their backs on Prince Zhu Gaochi.
When the tree fell, the monkeys dispersed. When the prince was in power, there were countless people who came to make things better, but now that the prince is decadent, no one comes to help him in times of trouble.
In the cool courtyard, the carved beams and painted pillars, the flying eaves and red pillars all illustrate the past glory of this place, while the thick dust on the decoration also illustrates the current loneliness.
Prince Zhu Gaochi was sitting on a wicker chair in the courtyard admiring the moon. However, the wall was too high and only half of the full moon could be seen, like a canary in a birdcage.
"Dad, Minister Jian was dismissed from office. He begged for his bones to speak out for you this morning, and His Majesty got it right."
Zhu Zhanji walked over, with bloodshot eyes, a slightly slovenly stubble, and a hoarse voice, which showed how poor the young emperor's grandson's mental state was after months of confinement.
"Yes, I understand." Zhu Gaochi responded calmly.
(End of chapter)
