I found a carpenter shop specializing in all kinds of boxes, picked a piece of good red sandalwood root in the shop, explained to the old carpenter what style to make, left the wood money and wages, and the two went straight to the Yamen of East Sichuan Province.

It is difficult to go to Shu and it is difficult to go to the sky.

Although the road in Ba County is not Shu Road, it is not easy to walk, the whole city is built on the mountain, the streets and alleys are all mountain roads, uphill for a while, downhill for a while. Pan Er has never suffered much since he was a child, and he can't walk anymore when he walks. Looking at his sweaty and panting appearance, Han Xiufeng simply stopped and sat on the stone on the side of the road to rest with him for a while.

"Why don't you have a teahouse here, just have a teahouse." Pan Er wiped a handful of sweat and sat down.

"There is a home below, and there is a home not far from the left at the bottom of the slope."

"Forget it, I'd better rest for a while." Pan Er's legs and stomach were shaking, and he couldn't walk anymore, so he rubbed his legs and asked curiously: "Fourth brother, you always say that you are the Yamen of the Daotai, what kind of official is this Daotai, and what is it in charge of?" ”

was about to go to the capital together, Han Xiufeng felt that he should tell him about the affairs in the yamen, picked off a leaf casually, and said while folding it: "Daotai is an honorific title, just like shouting the county to call the master, shouting the prefect to shout the mansion. ”

"Daotai is the fourth grade, how many products is the prefect, is it Daotai or prefect?"

"The prefect is only from the fourth grade, and the Taoist platform is of course bigger than the prefect."

"So Taiwan can manage the prefect of Chongqing?"

"Don't just take care of the prefect of Chongqing!" Han Xiufeng threw away the leaves and said, "Chongqing Prefecture should know that it has jurisdiction over eleven counties of Ba County, Jiangjin, Changshou, Yongchuan, Rongchang, Qijiang, Nanchuan, Tongliang, Dazu, Bishan, and Dingyuan. In addition, the two scattered prefectures of Hezhou and Fuzhou and the Jiangbei Hall are collectively known as the Fourteen Genera of Chongqing. ”

Of these states and counties that Han Xiufeng said, except for Pan Er of Ba County, he had only been to Jiangjin and Bishan, and because these two counties were bordered by Zoumagang, he smiled a little embarrassedly when he thought about it: "I know half of these places, and I haven't heard of half of them." ”

"It's nothing if I haven't heard of it, it's okay who will go to those places." Han Xiufeng smiled, and continued: "One Chongqing Mansion is in charge of so many places, and there are even more places in Daotai, not only Chongqing, Kuizhou, and Suiding, but also the two Zhili Prefectures of Zhongzhou and Youyang, and the two Zhili Halls, Chengkou and Shihe, and the two Zhili Halls, but also the rank of military reserve!" ”

"I know what it means to be in charge of a big place, what does it mean to increase the rank of soldier?"

"To increase the rank of military preparation is to be able to manage Chongqing Town and the Green Battalion!" Seeing that Pan Er didn't seem to understand, Han Xiufeng looked at him with a smile and explained: "The chief soldier of Chongqing Town is the second grade, but what can the second grade be?" Regardless of whether the previous dynasty or the current dynasty are noble and lowly, although the general soldier is said to be the second grade, but after all, he is a military attaché, not to mention that he has to call himself humble when he sees the Taoist platform, and he has to be polite when he sees the mansion. ”

"I know, I know, isn't this platform the one in the drama about getting on the horse to manage the army, and getting off the horse to manage the people!"

"Almost!" Han Xiufeng nodded, and continued: "Chuandong Province not only has to check the money and grain of the prefectures and Zhili offices under its jurisdiction, and arrest the thieves, but also listen to the trial and judgment of local lawsuits, and lead the troops to suppress the offense when committing chaos, and at the same time take care of the customs and taxes. ”

"What does it mean to be in charge of taxation at the same time?"

"Haven't heard of Kuiguan?"

"Nope." Pan Er shook his head.

Han Xiufeng thought to himself that no matter what you say, you are also the young shopkeeper of Tongxingdang, why don't you even know about Kuiguan, but still smiled: "I haven't heard of anything, anyway, we must pass through when we go to the capital by boat, it is said that it is not only one of the largest commercial tax customs in Sichuan but also in the whole Qing Dynasty, and it is the place where commercial tax is levied on merchant ships passing through the Sichuan River." ”

"Ships on the river have to pass through it, whether they come or go, they have to pay for it?"

"Of course, otherwise it's called a pass." Han Xiufeng couldn't help but think of a sentence, and actually shook his head and said: "The goods go out of Jingxiang, reach Wuyue, and those who enter Shu with their husbands and goods all pass through the Three Gorges and go out of Kuimen." Part of the tax collected by Kuiguan is handed over to the feudal department, and part of it is handed over to the household department, so there is Kui tariff silver in the official silver, and the silver ingots are divided into ten taels, five taels, and two halves, and the size and shape of the cast are different from the official silver cast by the local government. ”

Pan Er was not interested in Kuiguan, only in silver, and couldn't help but sigh: "My obedient, in charge of tax customs, and also in charge of casting official silver, this is a fat shortage, how much silver can you earn by doing a Taoist platform for a year!" ”

"I don't know how much Daotai can earn in a year, and I don't know how much the warehouse ambassador who helps Daotai manage the treasury can earn in a year, but I only know that this warehouse ambassador has been in office for less than two years, and not only helped him donate a seven-grade top for himself, but also donated a third-level record."

"How much silver does it cost to donate a seven-rank official?"

"Four thousand six hundred and twenty taels."

Pan Er muttered: "He is willing to spend more than 4,000 taels to donate seven products to wear, which shows that he has made far more than four or five thousand taels." ”

Han Xiufeng thought deeply: "This is nature. ”

Pan Er thought about it and asked, "Fourth brother, what do you mean by adding three levels and recording once?" ”

This is very troublesome to explain, but when it comes to this, it is not good to explain it, Han Xiufeng can only say patiently: "The imperial court has to evaluate the performance of Beijing officials and foreign officials, and the performance evaluation of Beijing officials is called Jingcha, and the performance evaluation of foreign officials is called a big plan. There are three levels of grading, that is, adding one level, adding two levels, and adding three grades. On top of the plus level, there is one plus level record, two plus level records, and three plus level records. ”

"But what's the use of donating this?"

"Useful, useful!" Han Xiufeng stood up and walked down the slope with a smile: "When the better vacancies come out, those with more higher-level records among officials at the same level will be given priority to make up for them." If there is a deficit or a wrong case in office, even if it is investigated for corruption and perversion of the law, it can be offset by the increase record. The light ones won't be dismissed, the heavy ones won't be jailed, do you say it's useful to donate this plus record? ”

"It's useful," Pan Er finally understood, and couldn't help laughing: "Fourth brother, when you make up for the lack of being an official and make money, don't worry about donating to a bigger official, this plus record must be donated, this is spending money to buy peace, and after donating, you can at least be an official for a few more years." ”

"Brother Pan, you're really far away."

"Plan ahead, that's what you call a rainy day! Fourth brother, think about it, what are we doing to abandon our families and children and go all the way to the capital to make a fortune! If the official is on the job but can't do it for a long time, what kind of money will he make and what kind of wealth will he make? ”

What a person!

One point is thorough, and he can draw inferences from one another, for Pan Er, who is notorious in his hometown, Han Xiufeng had to be impressed, and couldn't help but turn around and joke: "What Brother Pan said is extremely true, when we make up for the lack of Shangguan and make money, we are not in a hurry to donate a bigger official, nor are we in a hurry to repay your family's silver for my uncle, but to donate a grade record first, and spend money to buy peace first." ”

How could Pan Er agree, and hurriedly said: "Fourth brother, I think it's better to repay the silver borrowed by your uncle first, you are not sure in your heart when you are always carrying debts, and besides, if you carry it for one more day, you will have to calculate one more day of interest, it's not cost-effective, it's really not cost-effective!" ”