In a hall of Xinye Yamen, Wang Ruohai set up a torture hall to interrogate Zhang Jun. Wang Xiaolie borrowed ten soldiers and divided them on both sides.
Entering the hall, Zhang Jun held up his hands and sang a fat promise: "Please punish me."
Wang Ruohai said: "I am the punishment appointed by the imperial court. Someone comes to the punishment department to file a complaint and it should be tried. This person is Ge Xiong of Luoshan County. He is in charge of the Xinyang Army and relies on force to take people's money. But there is such a thing thing?"
Zhang Jundao: "I was ordered by Zhizhi to guard the Xinyang Army, with three hundred soldiers under my command. After arriving at the Xinyang Army, I recruited another six hundred Xiangjun. To raise an army, you need money. Where does the money come from? Of course it comes from the local people. Take it from your hands. There are hundreds of state armies in the world, how can this not be the case?"
Wang Ruohai was stunned for a moment. Yes, at this time, what can the generals guarding the place do? Where is this not true? It’s already good that Zhang Jun didn’t cause any life-threatening lawsuits. In many places, after the war broke out, the place was dilapidated. Who could you turn to for explanation? Even if you complain to the court, the court will ignore it. It's really embarrassing for me to be sentenced and try this case.
After coughing, Wang Ruohai said: "The royal system of setting up envoys to rule is different from other places. All states have regulations, and local governments must follow the regulations. Obviously, in the Xinyang Army, the control has gone too far."
Zhang Jun said with a smile: "Yesterday's observation told me that what I did in the Xinyang Army may have been inappropriate. When it comes to punishment and judgment, it is what a man does, and I will not shirk it."
Ge Xiong listened and did not dare to speak. Originally, I thought that if I brought the case to the Criminal Division, people would be arrested in a hurry, and I would win the case. Now that I hear it, it seems that complaining by myself is of no use?
Wang Ruohai didn't say much. He took the paper and confronted Zhang Jun one by one. Zhang Jun did not shirk and acknowledged everything he did. There are occasional discrepancies in details, but they do not affect the entire case.
After everything was tried, Wang Ruohai said: "A case should be tried by the handling officer, and the prosecutor should choose the legal provisions. In these extraordinary times, how can it be so complete? The most important thing is not to treat the people badly. This case is like this Right. Zhang Tongzhi, you violated the military orders of the Zhizhi envoy and caused local turmoil. Tongzhi is a member of the army, so it is up to the Zhizhi envoy to decide how to punish him. But the losses of the people cannot be ignored."
After saying that, Wang Ruohai asked about Ge Xiong's family's losses, which amounted to nearly five hundred guan. Zhang Jun took this money not to put it into his own pocket, but to support the army. It was not easy for Zhang Jun to compensate. Take the number eleven and ask Zhang Jun to compensate the Ge family for fifty guan.
Zhang Jun said: "As for the punishment, fifty guan is my monthly salary. If I compensate this family, wouldn't I be drinking from the northwest wind?"
Wang Ruohai said: "That is a matter in your army, and it will be decided by the envoy. However, in the punishment department, the fifty guan of money must be paid."
Zhang Junyi handed over his hand: "In this way, this case is closed! Don't worry about the punishment, I will send someone to deliver the money later!"
After saying that, he walked out of the hall without looking back.
Wang Ruohai said to Ge Xiong below: "After you take the money, go back to Luoshan. After this case, the treasury will be returned to your family, and the land will not cause you any more trouble. The family will live a good life."
Ge Xiong said: "My father was arrested and thrown into the Yamen. He suffered a lot and then passed away. What can we say about this matter?"
Wang Ruohai said: "My condolences and acceptance. In extraordinary times, the people suffer some hardships, so what can we do?"
How can Ge Xiong be willing to accept it? The reason why I went through such hardships and filed a complaint against Dengzhou was not because of the fifty thousand dollars, but because I wanted to get an explanation from my father. Who would have thought that Wang Ruohai's story would end like this when it started out like a storm.
Wang Ruohai didn't say much, Zhang Jun took fifty thousand dollars and handed it to Ge Xiong, and the case was concluded.
What else could be done? Zhang Jun was leading the troops, so what happened to getting some money from the local government to support the troops? Without putting it in his pocket, he is already a rare good official at this time. Wang Ruohai had nothing to do in Dengzhou for a long time, so he was still a little hasty when accepting the title.
Entering Wang Xiao's hunting officer's office, Zhang Jun said: "I didn't expect that Wang Tixing sentenced me to pay fifty guan of money to go out! What a pity, except for the salary in the Xinyang Army, not a penny went into my own pocket. Fifty guan of money is... My monthly salary is here!”
Wang Xiaolie said: "This is the best. To be honest, if Wang Ti had not sentenced you like this, I would have wanted to fine you three months' salary! If you do something wrong, you will be punished. You cannot be demoted, so I can only punish you." Money.”
Zhang Jun said: "All the money collected from the Xinyang Army was used to support the army. How can I be fined?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Originally, I did not advocate punishing officials' salaries. But now, the official position is uncertain, and demoting is meaningless. The best way is to fine people. Don't feel aggrieved. I don't know how many families you have ruined in the Xinyang Army. The family is ruined. How about using it to support the army? This has not happened to other state armies, and they can still support the army!"
Seeing Wang Xiaolie's stern attitude, Zhang Jun kept silent. I just feel pain in my heart. Fifty dollars is a lot of money.
Regarding his subordinates, Wang Xiaolie's attitude is that he will give them enough money, but he will never allow them to use their authority to make money. If someone dares to commit a crime, he must be severely punished. This was a red line, and Wang Xiaolie made it clear to every subordinate. If you dislike the low treatment of officials, you don’t have to do it.
The salary of officials in the Song Dynasty was considered very high by later generations, but in fact not every official was high. Generally speaking, the salaries of middle- and senior-level officials are high, while the incomes of low-level officials are still very low. Of course, compared with later generations of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the income of officials in the Song Dynasty was incomparable.
Officials are of course an elite class and their income is too low for their status. Officials have powers and if their normal income is less, they will get it back from other places. For the country, if official finances are sufficient, it would be better for officials to have high normal incomes. Taking advantage of one's power to make money will inevitably bring chaos to the economy and cause harm to the people.
This principle is actually very simple and there should be no obstacles to understanding it. But in previous lives, due to various reasons, officials' salaries were not high, but they had various preferential treatment. In the eyes of many people, they feel that officials' salaries should not be high. There are even people who compare the salaries of officials from various countries to vent their strange thoughts.
Officials in European and American countries are different from China's unification habits. They should have developed from former autonomous towns. Officials have their own industry, and being an official has the nature of serving the citizens. Whether the salary is high or not is not important. Of course, being a civil servant is a job that is different from what is usually called an official. After entering modern society, officials in European and American countries can use their powers to benefit their own industries. This is another matter.
If the government wants elite people to become officials, what will they give them if they don't pay them? Give treatment? To famous family members? None of them are reliable. A magistrate should be one of the highest-income people in his state, and the same is true for county magistrates. The prime minister of a country should be one of the highest paid in the country. If not, why should they do it? After doing it, why don't you use your authority to make money for yourself? Of course, this refers to income from work.
If the duties and powers are not consistent with the income, strict supervision, rewards and punishments will be out of the question.
Wang Xiaolie's generals, such as Cao Zhiyan, Xie Linong, Yu Huan, Yang Shen and others, are now basically in full swing on January 5th. Niu Gao and Shao Ling are slightly taller, with a monthly income of sixty cents. This income is definitely among the high-income people in this era. Wang Xiaolie was willing to give so much money to be able to strictly demand them.
