Jiang Mu looked at Gu Zhengchen, whose face became serious, and quickly explained: "County Lord, I asked the transfer house planner, and the county government has always been like this."
Gu Zhengchen glared at Jiang Mu fiercely: "History? It has only been a few years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Where can we find history? Do you know how dangerous this matter is? If you are not careful, I will die, and you will all be punished! Go, Call the planner!"
Jiang Mu didn't expect the matter to be so serious and hurriedly ran to find the planner.
The household accountant is an old official named Hu Tai. He is over 40 years old. He is one of the few quick calculation experts in Jurong County. With an account book in his hand, it will not take long for him to make clear calculations and rarely miss any omissions. .
When Hu Tai saw Gu Zhengchen, after saluting, he raised his hand and scratched his goatee: "Your Majesty, our court follows the system of the Yuan Dynasty. Each prefecture and county needs to compile the local money and grain numbers and submit them to the Ministry of Household Affairs for verification. The county government's account books need to be consistent with the state's account books, the government's account books, and the account books of the household department, and then the half-year financial and food assessment can be considered completed."
"Usually in July, the Ministry of Household Affairs will check the money and grain account books for the first half of the year. In January, it will check the money and grain account books for the second half of the year. However, considering that the court seals the seal in December, local government offices will not handle money and grain and other official matters. Some prefectures and counties will complete the money and grain account in November. Make a book and send it to the Ministry of Household Affairs for verification. It is now leap November, and this year is a special year. The county has folded colored cotton cloth to deliver the autumn tax. Now the tax items are basically completed..."
Gu Zhengchen nodded in front of Hu Tai who was talking eloquently.
The payment of Jurong's autumn taxes is generally going smoothly. 90% of the taxes have been completed so far. It will take only a few days for all taxes to be completed. There are three main factors that make it so fast:
First, the county government canceled Linjiankihu and allowed people to pay the autumn tax with grain. People were worried that Linjiankihu would come back after paying for a period of time, so they paid the autumn tax enthusiastically.
Secondly, many people among the common people immediately began to weave cotton fabrics or purchase cotton fabrics after hearing the news about the imperial court's colored cotton fabrics, to avoid rising prices, etc. In addition, the county government purchased a large amount of cotton, and the common people's hands were Some people also took the opportunity to buy cotton cloth with some spare money.
After all, it is impossible to just rely on the thousands of people in the Jurong Weaving Compound to weave a county's autumn tax-colored cotton cloth in a short time. However, this behavior of the people made the Jurong Weaving Compound quite relaxed, and even You can use some of it to discuss business matters.
Third, the county government publicizes and provides preferential treatment to the poor.
For the poor households in Jurong who are unable to successfully pay the autumn tax, the county government will temporarily pay the tax on their behalf, allowing them to deduct the money and grain from the next year and repay it in three years without interest.
This group of people had the most difficulty paying taxes in previous years, but they became the first batch of people in Jurong to "complete tax payments", which also made the Jurong County Yaqiu tax payment process faster.
Coupled with the county government's intense publicity, it is impossible to avoid the autumn tax. Since there is one at home, it makes no difference whether you pay it early or late. Instead, people come to your door many times. The county government is in trouble and everyone looks bad. .
Especially after the county government promised to compensate for transportation losses, the grain director was happy to do the work. Through this whole process, Jurong County's autumn tax collection efficiency is very high, and this is why households are ready to submit account books to various places for verification at the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Hu Tai wanted to continue talking, but Gu Zhengchen knocked on the table, interrupted Hu Tai, and took out a blank account book beside him: "I understand the rules you mentioned, but what is this?"
"Oh, County Lord, this is a blank book..."
Hu Tai disagreed.
Gu Zhengchen gritted his teeth secretly. Damn it, I'm not blind. Of course I knew this was a blank book. It was the biggest case in Hongwu caused by this thing - the blank seal case.
Later generations are not sure when the Kongyin Case occurred. Some say it was the eighth year of Hongwu, the ninth year of Hongwu, and some say it was the fifteenth year of Hongwu. However, according to the date of Fang Xiaoru's father's death and documents written by Deng Shili and others, it was roughly the ninth year of Hongwu.
After all, it is impossible for Lao Fang to remember the date of his father's death incorrectly, and his father Fang Keqin's death in the Kongyin case is also recorded in history. Many people blame Lao Zhu for the official death of Keqin.
The process of the empty seal case is not important, what matters is the verdict after the case:
The chief seal officer was executed, and his deputy lowered his staff to a hundred and surrendered to the army.
Who is the chief seal officer in Jurong?
It’s the county magistrate!
Gu Zhengchen's scalp was numb and he looked at Hu Tai: "You know it's a blank book, but you still dare to send it to me for my seal?"
Hu Tai was a little aggrieved: "The county magistrate didn't know something. The county government's money, grain, income, expenditure, and tax accounts must be exactly the same as the account books of the household department before they can be closed. If there is even the slightest discrepancy, the entire account book will be rejected and the request will be made." It is extremely tedious, time-consuming and labor-intensive to refill the form and stamp it with the official seal before checking it again. Therefore, prepare a blank book with the official seal as a backup. If there is any error or omission, it can be remade directly in Jinling. No need to make a trip back…”
Jiang Mu nodded repeatedly, yes, that's the truth.
This has long been a common practice during the Yuan Dynasty and has never been prohibited. Since the Ming Dynasty inherited the accounting system of the Yuan Dynasty, it was natural that this system also had to be adopted.
Gu Zhengchen could understand the inevitability of the appearance of empty printed books.
The two taxes paid in the Ming Dynasty were often taxes in kind, mainly on grain. After the grain is collected, it needs to be transported to Jinling or designated warehouses, such as Huai'an warehouse.
Before the grain is shipped, the county government will complete the registration of this tax grain and then report it.
However, during the transportation process, bad weather may have been encountered, such as heavy rain, and the food was not taken care of properly and became damp and moldy. The damaged food is an accidental loss. In addition to the losses caused by natural factors, there are also human factors, such as long delays on the road, and the food brought is really not enough to eat. People can't starve to death by looking at piles of food. You can open two bags of rice and eat until you are full before setting off on the road. Do you understand?
No matter what the factors are, the food at the time of departure and the food delivered may not be exactly the same.
As soon as the warehouse was weighed, there was a shortage of three kilograms of grain. Record it in the account book. When you go to Jinling to write it off in the future, the two account books will be paired. Brother, your account book is wrong. There was a shortage of three kilograms of grain. Go back and fill in your books again.
The accountant had no choice but to return to the office. After filling in the account books, he went to Jinling. The officer looked at it and frowned: Brother, you are still wrong. One plus one equals two. How can you equal three? The summation here is wrong, go back and fill it in again.
Brother, we are officials in Sichuan, and we travel thousands of miles back and forth. If you want to let us go, it is just a small amount, and it won't delay much.
The Ministry of Finance did not agree.
This also makes sense. If you run back and forth, it is not the Hubu who will be affected. If you are tolerant and something goes wrong, it will be the Hubu who will take the blame. This is a scapegoat, and Tobe is not willing to take the blame.
So what, just go back, we will be here waiting for you to come back.
The man cursed a few words about God and Guawazi, looked up at the sky, and his sadness flowed back into a river. Throughout the year, my wife and children haven’t even seen each other, it all depends on the weather!
