Corruption among local officials is a chronic disease of historical origin.
To put it bluntly, as long as officials are human beings, corruption can never be eradicated.
People have seven emotions and six desires. If they are emotional or have desires, any one of them may come out and it may lead to corruption. The upright official Hai Rui, who could cause a sensation even if he bought two kilograms of pork, was still very rare in this period.
These officials have not yet reached the supreme state of "not being happy with things and not being sad with yourself". Most of them are at the level of "being sad when things are few and being happy when there are more things".
Therefore, when Zhu Yuanzhang paid a small salary, these officials were exercising below, in order to have a "free and abundant harvest" when harvesting grain.
This kick is related to everyone's welfare, so you can't have any problems.
After being kicked too many times, the officials would naturally laugh and feel extremely comfortable.
If you don't kick enough, the officials will wonder if you are weak. You can't even kick well. What's the use of you? You should be hungry next time when food is distributed.
Regardless of whether there is too much or too little, the grain share paid by the people is calculated based on what is left in the dendrobium. If there is not enough dendrobium, you have to make up for it.
After the implementation of the One Whip Law, the court stopped collecting taxes in kind and instead collected money. This special athlete who kicked the stems suddenly lost his job. If people don't bring food, you can't kick money or people, right?
So I used my brains, dug deep for loopholes, and found out. It was difficult for the court to exchange broken silver. After all, it was difficult for the court to count a lot of broken silver, copper coins, etc. It was easy to turn it into silver ingots and hand them over, which was clear at a glance, and it was also easier to clear the accounts. .
It’s just the loss involved that makes it an excellent means of making money.
It's a pity that Huo Hao, who was born just over a year ago, was directly trampled to death by Zhu Yunwen. He calculated how much loss there was in a thousand taels, and then the court came to fill the hole. If the local government wanted to make money from this, then It's impossible.
Zhu Yunwen was a little angry. In order to solve the problem of low salaries during the Hongwu period, the court had raised their salaries and included officials in the salary list. The court had to spend millions more money and food every year just to make them content. Stop thinking so much about taking money from the people!
But they are lucky enough to dare to dig a tunnel out even if there is a small loophole!
"In the future, the Security Bureau will be responsible for supervising the two taxes. If anyone collects more than the official tax, the county magistrate and bookkeeper will be arrested in the county government, and the magistrate and tongzhi will be arrested in the prefecture. Where there is a problem, the chief official will be held accountable. Anyone who wants to reach out should be prepared to take off his official uniform!"
Zhu Yunwen stood up and gave the order solemnly.
Xue Xia quickly nodded in agreement. Just when he wanted Sun Dong to report it immediately, he heard Zhu Yunwen say: "If the Security Bureau knows about it and refuses to report it, or is involved, the Qianhu and the deputy Qianhu will be dismissed from their posts for questioning. No forgiveness will be given!"
Xue Xia felt a little heavy. If someone from the Security Bureau really colluded with the local government to make profits, the consequences might be serious.
Zhu Yunwen stood up and ordered people to open the door of the Agricultural Tax County Department and lead the people to continue paying taxes. This time, it was in order and there was no fire waste. Yang Shiba was even more pleasantly surprised and thanked him again and again.
Although it is just a matter of a few coins, for ordinary people, this money is the foundation of their lives. God knows when God will not give him face. Once the fields fail to harvest and there is no money in hand, the land will be sold. When the land is sold out, the sons and daughters will be sold.
Zhu Yunwen was chatting with Yang Shiba and others, asking about the county governance of Qiantang. The farmer who had quarreled with Zhu Yunwen on the way also came over and immediately expressed that his child would get married a few years later and hoped that the security bureau would not arrest him.
"The child is too young and it is not time to get married. Besides, the daughter is also the family's baby. Who as an elder doesn't want the child to stay with you for a few more years? Besides, my husband is very strong and has a long life, but he is afraid that he will not be able to have grandchildren?"
Zhu Yunwen's explanation made Concubine Ning, Cong Peier and others purse their lips and smile, and the farmer felt relieved.
"Tell me, what is the whipping method implemented by the imperial court? Is it good or bad?"
Zhu Yunwen asked.
The main purpose of this private visit to Beijing is to hope that the implementation of the New Deal, what shortcomings it has, and whether it can be accepted by the people.
Yang Shiba clapped his legs and said with a smile: "Of course a whip method is good. During the Hongwu Dynasty, although the agricultural tax was thirty to one, the government had many names for raising taxes, such as along-pay, branch-shift, and discount. Change, extra money, extra consumption, advance loan, noodles..."
The farmer cooperated and said: "Yes, there are also heavy reminders and sample taxes."
Zhu Yunwen frowned and asked, "What are heavy reminders and sample taxes?"
The farmer sighed: "Heavy reminders naturally mean that taxes are not paid on time or in full. The government sends people to pay taxes twice. The sample tax means that the officials inspect the taxable items, and a part of the tax needs to be paid to the official. After all, I took the trouble to take a few glances in the bright sun..."
Zhu Yunwen was a little frightened. There were so many problems hidden at the bottom that he couldn't see.
The officialdom of the Hongwu Dynasty was so strict and there were so many tricks. So how did the people survive in the late Ming Dynasty when the officialdom was so corrupt?
Taxation is the fundamental issue of the country. If there is a problem here, it will be like a tree with rotten roots!
"But this is all in the past. Now that there is a whipping method, these officials are much more restrained and there is no reason to collect additional taxes. In addition, it is much more convenient to pay in cash."
Yang Shiba had a smile on his face.
Zhu Yunwen was a little relieved and asked: "But after all, the whip method implements a tax of fifteen to one, which is twice as high as that of the Hongwu Dynasty. Don't you think it is a bit too heavy?"
Yang Shiba, the farmer and others shook their heads.
Seeing that the chief of the Security Bureau was very kind, a woman boldly said: "You can't just look at the tax of 15 yuan or the tax of 30 yuan. You have to look at how much we have in our hands. Although it is 15 yuan per tax now, Guarding ten acres of land, we can save seven or eight taels of silver in a year, which is something we would never dare to think about in previous years. We just hope that this whipping method can continue to be implemented."
Zhu Yunwen smiled and said: "Auntie, in other families, men are the ones who come forward. Where are the men in your family?"
Before the woman could reply, Yang Shiba interjected: "The man in his family heard that Hangzhou was going to build a concrete road, so he ran out to make money, and left more than ten acres of land to this woman. I heard that he could earn as much as a year. There’s a lot of farming.”
Zhu Yunwen laughed loudly. Concrete roads have been advanced in many places, and the craftsmanship has become more and more proficient. However, he only walked on waterways along the way, so he didn't care about this problem.
"Yang Shiba, don't be envious. If your mother-in-law had the strength, you would have run away long ago. When I was looking for a wife, I had to find a matchmaker to find a delicate and petite one. Now it's too late to regret it."
The woman named her by name and was very tough.
Yang Shiba was so embarrassed that he didn't dare to refute. A woman supported a whole family, so he was treated as a man. With his waistline, fists, and physique...
The farmer laughed until his wrinkles piled up and said: "This whipping method is good, but sometimes I have to sell grain in the city. This is a problem. The old man's body can still bear it now, but if he can resist for a few more years, But it’s hard to say. No, I don’t want to go to the city this year because my back hurts.”
Zhu Yunwen was a little confused: "Why does the agricultural tax county secretary need to go to the city if he doesn't go to Hangzhou?"
The farmer sighed: "Although the market price here is the Hangzhou market price, some merchants in Hangzhou can give away some profits. There is a grain store owned by Shanxi merchants that buys grain at a higher price than the market price. One stone of grain can be sold for fifteen cents more." .”
"Shaxi merchant?"
Zhu Yunwen was a little surprised.
Not long after Chang Baiye established the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce in Shanxi, he brought the profit-sharing business method to Hangzhou? This speed is much faster than I expected.
But that's fine, as long as Shanxi merchants don't hoard food to control prices, then there's no problem. It's the farmers who benefit anyway.
Faced with competitive pressure, Huizhou merchants and Hangzhou merchants will follow suit sooner or later. After all, you can either learn and use advanced business methods, or you will be old-fashioned and eliminated. There is no other choice.
"Yes, there are a lot more businessmen in Hangzhou city, which makes Hangzhou lively."
Yang Shiba was thinking about something.
Zhu Yunwen thought for a while and asked, "Are there any unjust cases in Qiantang?"
Everyone thought for a while and shook their heads. Qiantang County is not big, and they have never seen any major unjust cases.
Yang Shiba suddenly thought of something and said: "Last summer's heavy rain, more than thirty people drowned in Hangzhou City. Is this considered an unjust case?"
A farmer retorted: "It was a natural disaster, how can it be considered an unjust case?"
Yang Shiba chuckled awkwardly and said nothing.
Zhu Yunwen knew that Hangzhou was flooded last year and some people drowned. Not only did Yu Qian, the prefect of Hangzhou, report the matter, but the Hangzhou Security Bureau also reported it.
It's just that Zhu Yunwen couldn't care about the waterlogging in Hangzhou at that time, because there were heavy rains in Huanghuai and other places at that time, and the north was in danger, so he had no energy to pay attention to Hangzhou.
Now that I think about it, it feels a little strange.
How come Hangzhou also has West Lake and Qiantang River, but the report only said that it rained heavily for three days, and then it was flooded? You must know that waterlogging does not mean that the Qiantang River bursts its banks, nor does the West Lake flood the city, but that it rains too much and floods the low-lying areas.
"I will pay attention to this matter. Remember, if the county government collects more tax items, forcibly distributes taxes, or deducts labor wages in the future, you can go to the Security Bureau. The Security Bureau will send the news to the capital, and the Emperor will I know, and I will make the decision for you.”
Zhu Yunwen asked.
The people surrounding him couldn't help but be overjoyed. Only Zhao Hai, Wang Chang and others had a sad face. It was completely over now. If they wanted to make money in the future, there would be no hope.
Take a boat from Qiantang to the southwest, which is the urban area of Hangzhou.
Zhu Yunwen stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the sparkling Qiantang River and thinking about the grand scenery of Hangzhou.
In later generations, Suzhou was after all a place he passed by, but Hangzhou was a place where he stayed for a long time. This long time was measured in years. It is no exaggeration to say that Hangzhou is a hometown other than hometown.
Returning to Hangzhou is like returning from a reverse journey, where the familiar and the unfamiliar will collide.
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