Wang Xiaolie sat at the back, his face as sinking as water, and he looked coldly at the officials in front of them, discussing things cautiously. Obviously, they didn't dare to talk openly for fear of being spotted by Wang Xiaolie behind them.
Encountering the arbitrary tax collection in Ye County, Wang Xiaolie thought about it and felt that the matter could not be delayed any longer. Take advantage of the fall, when there are still a few months before the chaos of winter, and get this matter resolved as soon as possible. If this matter drags on, it may not be good for me.
It is of great significance to us to clarify the local governance structure, truly solve the burden of the people, and allow the economy to develop. The first is the voice of the people. After achieving this, the people's perception of Wang Xiaolie will naturally be different. The second is practical benefits. While reducing the burden on the people, we should try our best to pool manpower and material resources to form military capabilities. The benefits are endless.
However, it is not easy to accomplish this.
In history books, most of them quote from other sources to criticize the ancient system of subordinate officials. According to those statements, it seems that the shortcomings of this system can be corrected by simply changing it. Except for a few of these ancient subordinate officials, most of them can be abolished.
How can things be so easy? Most of the shortcomings that future generations can see will be seen by people in this world. Most of the methods that future generations will think of will also be thought of by people in this world. Why can't it be changed? The conclusion often used by later generations is that the ruling class has needs and does not care about the life and death of the people. Is this really the case? China's long political tradition, especially the political reality of great unification, has made rulers understand that the people are the foundation of rule. If it could actually reduce the burden on the people and consolidate their rule, how could they not carry out reforms?
Roughly speaking, the resistance to reform is one is people and the other is money. In order to reform the system of subordinate officials so that they will no longer harm the people, the government must have money and sufficient cadres. Indispensable.
A huge land area and a large population must be managed by someone. Without money, the government cannot support its officials, so they must seek benefits from the people. Without qualified cadres, we can only rely on subordinate staff to truly implement decisions made by superiors. Not to mention this era, there are still the five giants of Chengtou Town and the cadres of Zhongxian County in later generations.
The founding of New China was truly earth-shaking. In addition to the army sweeping across the world, there were also a large number of cadres who went south. Without these cadres, what if the army conquers the world? Can it be managed? We must conquer the world immediately, but we cannot rule the world immediately. Many people understand this saying to mean that to conquer the world, civilian officials should take over, and military generals should retreat to the background. Of course not. The national army also conquered the world, but it could only use officials, gentry and subordinates. At the same time, the national army held guns and guns in their hands and stood high above them.
Since Wang Xiaolie took charge of the army, he has promoted literacy and reading in the army, with the purpose of cultivating cadres. It may be difficult at first, but it only takes a few years for the results to show. Not just in the military, but also in civilian affairs.
This time, all the officials in the counties under the rule of Ruzhou, including those with more than ten years of service, those with more than ten years of service, and those with more than five years of experience as township clerks and chiefs, were all summoned to Ye County to ask them to discuss one matter. . Nowadays, among the public servants in the county government, which ones are necessary and which ones can be laid off, so as to minimize the manpower provided by the government. All kinds of money collected from the people are listed one by one. Which places are collecting it and how much can it be collected in a year? All the money is concentrated into at most five, preferably three. In addition, no money is allowed to be collected from the people.
In a simple word, we should have better troops and simpler administration. This matter is very complicated and Wang Xiaolie cannot do it alone. If we don’t collect grain and money from the people, who will support the army? Who will support the government officials? Money and food must be collected, but as little as possible.
Once the people have money in their hands, we should try our best to let them spend the money they have. Only by letting money flow can the economy develop. When the economy is truly prosperous, the government can receive more money. This was learned by later generations and cannot be understood by this era.
If you can't do it yourself, let the current officials do it. If they don't want to do it, it doesn't matter. Wang Xiaolie's army is not vegetarian.
In the first day or two, these people discussed together how many public servants each county had to support and how much it cost each year. How much money can be collected from the people in a year if there is a legal basis, how much money can be collected without a legal basis, and how much money is collected without being recorded in the books. If anyone dares to cheat, don't blame Wang Xiaolie for being ruthless.
As the voices became quieter, fewer and fewer people spoke, and the words they spoke became less and less nutritious. Wang Xiaolie stood up, walked to the front, looked at everyone and said, "Looking at you, the discussion is almost done. I want to ask you, have you discussed it thoroughly?"
Seeing Wang Xiaolie's cold and murderous expression, everyone below couldn't help but sweat.
Zhou Na cupped his hands and said, "Zhizhou, according to what you guys know, I have already explained everything clearly."
Wang Xiaolie turned his head and looked at Lushan County handcuffing Cui Zhen. Said: "You guys have been recording these past two days. Whoever said what was recorded will be recorded one by one. Now that everything has been said, the army will send people to take your records and check them county by county. ! I have said ugly things first. If you don’t understand what I said, or deliberately concealed it, don’t blame me for being cruel!"
Seeing everyone's frightened expressions, Wang Xiaolie said slowly: "Those who tell lies will be punished by death! Your family will also be affected. And all your family wealth will be transferred to the official position! During the war now, there is no room for any delay. That’s all!”
Next, Cao Ge hurriedly handed over his hand: "Zhizhou, this is an old feud for many years. How can we explain it clearly at once? Please be tolerant for a few more days and we will discuss it carefully. Everyone is loyal to the country, how can we dare to hide it?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "In this world, some people often say that officials are not feudal, but officials are feudal. Others say that the officials are weak and the officials are strong. There is no way. This dynasty attaches great importance to official documents, and everything needs to be recorded. Political affairs are troubled, not How can an old official know the difference clearly? In the past, when there was peace, everything could go on contentedly. But now it can't. There are powerful enemies outside and no matter how chaotic the inside is, how can we support it?"
Of course, Wang Xiaolie couldn't do this in peacetime. No matter how powerful the officials are, they still have the imperial court above them. At this time, don't talk about these trivial matters, even if you kill him like a river of blood, as long as you have soldiers in your hands, you are still a general in the eyes of the court.
The few guards below were frightened by Wang Xiaolie's appearance. There was a moment of silence, and they couldn't help but discuss among themselves.
Wang Xiaolie narrowed his eyes slightly and said nothing. Of course he understands that what these officials are saying now is just pretentious talk to fool him. They will not tell the truth unless they raise their own butcher knife. To put it bluntly, these people won’t really do anything unless they cut off a few heads.
After about a cup of tea, Zhou Na handed over his hand and said, "I would like to inform you, Zhizhou, that the discussion among the young ones earlier was a bit rough. Please give me two days' grace."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Okay, I'll give you three more days. Let's start with Ye County first, and use the rest of the day to discuss the matter clearly. Early tomorrow morning, the army will send someone to take the records. Check it out bit by bit! If there is any inconsistency with the facts, I will chop off the head of the person who said it! This world can still survive without anyone!"
Having said this, Wang Xiaolie looked at everyone coldly, his eyes like knives. Slowly said: "If you don't tell the truth, it doesn't matter, but what if we kill all of them, just dozens of people! There is always a way to control the people of Ruzhou!"
The official documents are complicated and the official affairs are numerous. Without the help of senior officials, it is difficult to sort them out. If there are any omissions, there will be trouble later. Wang Xiaolie didn't have time, so he set new rules and made up for it bit by bit. You can only rely on these people.
Which of the old officials is not entangled in the local area? If they are actually investigated according to the law, most of them will not be able to find any clues. Wang Xiaolie also read "Water Margin" in his previous life. Isn't Song Jiang in it the county's chief prosecutor? This is still a positive character, and he has committed few crimes? Moreover, he broke away from the father-son relationship with his father. If he committed a crime, he would not be able to implicate the family.
There is only one way to force these people to do things with a knife in their hand. Not only would they kill themselves, but they would also destroy their entire family.
Closing his eyes, Wang Xiaolie was silent for a while. After a cup of tea, he slowly opened his eyes and said: "To be honest, what you did today is very difficult for you. Many of you even go to hell. The same is true for me. I want to be a good person. , be nice and talk nicely. I don’t want to kill anyone, and I don’t want to raise a knife to others. I want everyone to be my friend, and everyone says that I am good. But what can I do? In this world, it can’t be done. I want to do things If you do it well, you will inevitably offend people. I am not afraid of offending people either!"
Having said this, Wang Xiaolie slammed the table. He said sternly: "Let me make my words clear. In this matter, I deliberately concealed it, and those who want to go against me will not be lenient! If I say kill, I will kill you! If I say I steal your property, I will not give you a penny. What's left! If there is no thunderous means, where will the Bodhisattva's heart come from! Let the people live and work in peace and contentment, let them have no worries, let them work with the soldiers in the army to protect their homes and the country! Whoever dares to destroy this, whoever dares to do it will do it. Prepare for hell!”
Taking a slight breath, Wang Xiaolie added: "Of course, those who are truly loyal to the country, down-to-earth, and do things honestly will not be treated badly. You are all old officials, and to be honest, you are all natives of this state. Talents in the county. If we want to govern well, we need your help. After this incident, all the officials in the government offices will receive salaries. Some people may ask, where does the money for salary come from? Where does it come from? Of course it comes from the common people. .”
Looking at the crowd, Wang Xiaolie said earnestly and sincerely: "It is only natural and right for the officials to manage political affairs and the people to pay grain and taxes. If it were not for the excessive levies and excessive taxes, it would be difficult for the people to survive, and how many people would resist the government's collection of money? Tell me the truth. , the government charges ten cents, and the people have to pay thirty cents. - Thirty cents is not much anymore, and it is not uncommon to scrape out a hundred cents. Where did the extra money go? Of course it is you subordinates Take it. What is this called? This is the cost of governance. What can be done without cost?"
After hearing this, the subordinates below all sighed silently. Although Wang Xiaolie was ruthless, fortunately, unlike other officials, he regarded these as the cost of governance instead of treating subordinate officials as thieves. This is the basic attitude, and attitude determines many things.
Wang Xiaolie said: "There must be a cost to governing the world. What we are doing now is to reduce the cost of governance as much as possible. You don't have to regard me as your enemy. If you work hard, I will definitely not let you down. Officials can do it too. Being an official can also lead to a bright future. The prerequisite is that you don't think of yourself as a subordinate before. That's it for now, please think about it carefully. "
