You know, as long as the emperors of the past dynasties had real power, their own mausoleums were the most important thing. Although many emperors did not seek luxury in their mausoleums, at least they should not be too bad, and the more solid the better. After all, even the tombs of ordinary people are afraid of being visited by tomb robbers, let alone those imperial tombs with more luxurious burial objects. Therefore, the cost of building tombs for emperors in the past dynasties was extremely high.
According to the method proposed by the Minister of Industry, money was certainly saved, but the old man simply couldn't accept it. After your son came to power, did your father save everything and keep everything simple? The imperial court's income is indeed a bit difficult at the moment, but it is not so difficult that even the imperial mausoleum has to be saved one after another. The Great Qi Dynasty was far from being destroyed.
Chinese people all talk about the word filial piety. No one knows whether it is true filial piety or false filial piety. But with the word filial piety at the forefront, few people dare to be unfilial. When treating your parents, you must not only provide for them well, but also bury them well. In particular, whether the imperial mausoleum is spectacular and solid not only involves the majesty of the Tianjia, but also the face of the Tianjia. If you build an imperial mausoleum that is too shabby, won't you be laughed at?
Although this dynasty does not tax the world like the previous Han Dynasty, one third is to support officials, one third is to support the heavenly family, and one third is to build tombs. It's not like the former Tang Dynasty, which spent huge amounts of money to build a mausoleum on a mountain, but after all, as an emperor, this mausoleum can't be too simple, right? Although the old man said that he himself had never thought about being too luxurious, you should still build something that should be built.
After thinking for a long time, Huang Qiong finally commented on the fold: "Everything about the mausoleum remains as usual. Since the construction of the underground palace has started, the construction of the underground palace, Baoding, Fangcheng and Minglou will be completed first this year so that Queen Dahang can be buried first. It is appropriate. For other matters, the Ministry of Works has come up with a plan to increase them year by year. After thinking about it, Huang Qiong added another item. The Ministry of Household Affairs will first allocate 700,000 yuan to the Ministry of Works.
After finishing the review and putting down the pen in his hand, Huang Qiong pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. In fact, he was somewhat reluctant to allocate this money. In his opinion, the old man is still in good health, and the burial matter is not the most important at least for now. Originally, he had a more important use for the money and food. Huang Qiong has never forgotten the legacy of Lord Ouyang.
In his correspondence with Yu Mingyuan, Yu Mingyuan also confirmed this matter. Yu Mingyuan even said that this situation occurred in the four camps earlier than in the Xijing camp. Back then, he was the same age as the former Minister of War. He relied on his old face to hold back some of the military attaches who wanted to be released, and barely maintained the fighting strength of the Xiaoqi Battalion. Nowadays, any military attaché with some ability would rather go to the frontier army than come to the Fourth Battalion.
Although the salary of military attachés in the Four Camps and the Xijing Camp was nearly twice as high as that of the Guards. But who of the guards, especially those along the coast and along the border, depended on the salary from the court? It was the guards in the mainland who helped local officials investigate illegal salt and made a lot of money. On Henan Road where Yu Mingyuan is currently located, even if he is a league training envoy in a state, the gray income behind his back is more than his annual salary.
People are dissatisfied. On the one hand, they can only rely on their salary, even if the salary of the military attache of this dynasty is already very generous. The salary of a sixth-grade military officer is higher than that of a fourth-grade prefect. Even if you don't be greedy and don't make money, you can live a life of a rich man, and there will still be no problem. It can be seen that the military attachés outside have made a lot of money by various means, including buying land and houses.
How can these military attachés in the Four Camps and the Xijing Camp, who can only live on their salaries, find peace of mind? Those who have some connections will try their best to expose them. I would rather be a fifth-grade state defense envoy or regimental training envoy than stay in the Beijing army and be a fourth-grade military attaché. Huang Qiong knew that the situation in which the local guards were corrupt and military attachés at all levels were making huge fortunes could not be changed in a short time.
Therefore, he originally planned to find a way to adjust some after entering Beijing this autumn, to provide some supplements and some combat allowances to the military attachés at all levels of the Fourth Camp and the Xijing Camp. In order to make up for the salaries owed to officials, especially those of lower-level officials in the capital. But now that the old man's thoughts are clear, he can only follow the trend. Move this money and food to build a mausoleum for the old man first.
In fact, Huang Qiong also knew that providing subsidies to military attaches whose salaries were already higher than those of civilian officials was not a long-term solution. This will not only fail to truly stabilize military morale, but will also increase the burden on the court. There is a problem in Chinese dynasties. Even if a certain thing is unreasonable, once it is implemented, especially if it involves money, it will be very difficult to cancel it.
But the problem is that we must first resolve the affairs of the Four Camps, the Xijing Camp, and the military attachés. People who travel thousands of miles to seek official positions are just for money. This is true for all officials, regardless of whether they are civil or military officials. For people of this era, if you talk to them about doctrine and feelings about family and country, most people will not be able to make sense. Especially military attachés in their thirties, who have long since lost any desire to make contributions. Getting promoted and making a fortune is their ultimate goal.
Huang Qiong's plan is to retain some of the most talented and practical generals by at least increasing some of their allowances. As for those military attaches who were cheating, even if he didn't leave, Huang Qiong planned to transfer them. But now, the old man's mausoleum is the most important thing, so this matter can only be put aside for the time being. However, Huang Qiong still planned to raise money to repay part of the salary owed to civil servants.
Looking at the papers he had approved, Huang Qiong could only smile and shake his head, not knowing what to say. After thinking for a while, Huang Qiong picked up several documents from the Ministry of Revenue and read them again, then asked the Ministry of Revenue to increase the amount of grain stored in the granaries in Jiangbei and send officials to inspect and verify the amount of grain stored. Second, raise a sum of money and food, and temporarily repay 30% of the past salary arrears of Beijing officials below the fourth rank in the two capitals.
Fortunately, the imperial court had defaulted on civil servants' salaries in the past, mainly the deducted salary, but Lumi did not default on it. Although a lot of debt has been accumulated, the total sum is not too much. If you only repay the capital officials below the fourth rank, the total amount would be hundreds of thousands. Nowadays, the court can still get it if it is tight. The situation of Liu Chang's family made Huang Qiong see the poverty of those low-ranking officials with no real power in the capital.
Although the grades of these Beijing officials are low, they are all Jinshi and will be the talents of the country in the future. Living such a miserable life has failed the original intention of the imperial court to open subjects to obtain scholars. Those who can sustain it for a long time are those with strong family backgrounds. Those who come from poor family backgrounds may have a hard time, apart from looking for opportunities to live outside their homes. The Sixth Department managed to cultivate some talents, but they were all gone within two years.
Especially in the Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of Industry, and Ministry of Punishment, which are more professional departments, officials need certain talents. It's not something you can do just by catching one person. If you are a seventh-rank county magistrate and are transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs, your official authority may be enough. Do you really understand things like the account books in the accounts department? Unable to retain truly professional talents, it is no wonder that the accounts of the Department of Accounts are in a mess and cannot make ends meet almost every year.
It is currently unrealistic to give Beijing officials long salaries. Therefore, Huang Qiong has been wondering during these days whether to first repay part of the salary arrears of those Beijing officials below the fourth rank. In this way, it also has a disguised stabilizing effect on the poor little Beijing officials. During this period of time, Huang Qiong always paid attention to money and felt that he could still afford last year's autumn tax.
Being unable to repay all the debt for the time being, we finally came up with such a compromise plan. At the same time, the Ministry of Revenue was asked to count the number and types of tributes from various countries in the treasury over the years. At the same time, let the Ministry of Household Affairs come up with a repayment plan for the civil servant salaries that the imperial court has owed over the years, and how much it needs to repay every year. Those officials who are no longer here but still owe money to the court are included.
The fire money and ice money that were owed in the past will not be counted first, and the arrears of salary will be taken into account first. To repay the salary arrears in the past, we should start with the capital officials below the fourth rank. As for those with grades above four, they will not be reimbursed for the time being. They will be reissued by the court after they become official. If unfortunately he dies in office, the money and food along with the grace will be distributed to his family members. As for foreign appointments, it depends on the performance evaluation and the prefecture and county where he is appointed.
The repayments will be started in Qiongzhou counties first, and foreign officials in wealthy areas such as Zhejiang and Jiangnan will not be reimbursed for the time being. For officials below the fourth rank, please refer to the example of Beijing officials. At the same time, Huang Qiong went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and asked the Ministry of Civil Affairs to make a substantial adjustment to the salary standards for officials after retirement. It is customary for retired officials, regardless of civil and military rank, to be fully paid their salaries as long as they reach official service at the age of seventy.
Instead, during the term of office, those who have been ranked first in Beijing for five consecutive years and have no corruption cases, or who voluntarily applied for official employment before the age of 60, will receive the same benefits as during their term of office, except for a 50% discount on Lumi. Those who have been in the second class for three consecutive years and apply for active employment at the age of sixty will receive half the salary and 70% of the salary. If one retires in accordance with court practice at the age of seventy, all benefits will be discounted in half.
Civil servants with military merits will have their salaries doubled after becoming official, and they can also receive knighthoods. If a civil servant enters the official position before the age of fifty, according to current standards, no salary will be paid before the age of seventy. For those who are dismissed from office due to crimes during their term of office, all retirement benefits will be cancelled, and no salary will be paid until the age of seventy. At the same time, a retirement age ladder will be formulated according to the different grades of officials.
For a seventh-grade official, you can't force him to stick to his job even though he is over 70 years old. When an official like this arrives at the Yamen, what else can he do besides taking a nap? If it is released outside, it may not even reach its destination, or it may die on the way. It is sheer nonsense to treat everyone without distinction regardless of grade. It is necessary to come up with a plan for gradual retirement according to different grades.
In the early days of his administration, Huang Qiong discovered that officials above the fourth rank in the court were older. Especially for officials of second rank and above, it is almost impossible to find anyone under the age of sixty. The imperial court stipulated that officials could not retire until they were seventy years old, except those who were dismissed for crimes or who took the initiative to serve. If you retire before the age of seventy and take the initiative to become an official, you will not be given a salary even if you are over sixty-nine.
As a result, many officials in the court are over sixty years old and are still working there. When the old man came here, in order to ensure the stability of the court, there were almost no officials under the age of sixty, even the ministers. Some first- and second-grade officials tremble every step they take when they go to court. They need someone's support to walk. Due to the ancestral system, they still occupy their positions and do not let go.
It would be fine if these officials were all talented. But most of them are old and confused people who can't do anything but nod their heads, and some of them can't even speak well. These people occupy official positions, but official positions in the court are limited. If they don't retreat, new blood won't come in. No matter how good the ancestral system is, when it is time for adjustments, adjustments should still be made.
However, considering the old man's sensitivity to the officials, Huang Qiong still asked the officials to read it and then forward the text to the old man. In terms of writing, Huang Qiong also asked the Minister of Civil Affairs to keep the matter strictly confidential after it was finally settled. Putting down the pen in his hand, Huang Qiong, who was somewhat tired, picked up the tea bowl and wanted to take a sip, but found that the tea bowl in his hand was empty.
