When Wei Yanghao woke up, it was already dawn, and he heard someone talking outside the window. He got up and stood by the window while dressing, just in time to hear his scholar say, "Have you heard, the yamen will pay your salary today." ”

"I heard about it, but I don't think it's interesting, since the founding of the new dynasty, our lord has paid all his money when he is an official, looking at the court like that, it is estimated that there will not be much money, maybe it will have to be folded back and forth then." It was his long-term follower who replied, and he continued, "It is said that the official of the Hongwu Dynasty was the most difficult to be the official back then, and I think it is as difficult to be an official of the Longhan Dynasty." As an official, you have to pay for it, which is something that has never happened in any dynasty. ”

"Originally, it was not easy to get ten years of cold windows, once in high school, become an official and make a fortune, and glorify the ancestors. It's not easy to be an official for two years, save some money, and now take a lot of money out, how can there be such a thing. ”

Chang Sui answered, "Isn't it, otherwise how can countless gentry in the world create a new dynasty." ”

Wei Yanghao couldn't listen anymore, coughed, and there was no sound outside the house immediately.

These little rabbit cubs really don't talk more and more, and they dare to say anything. Wei Yanghao is the magistrate of Chenliu County, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan, and a seven-rank official. This is his third year in office and his first exile. He was born in two Jinshi, but in the past, he was born poor, and his family gritted his teeth to provide for him, and finally reached the middle school when he was almost thirty years old, and then he had good luck, and then he was a high school jinshi. served in Beijing for a short time, and was able to be sent to Henan to become the magistrate.

When he was released to the county, it was much better than being an official in the Qingshui Yamen in Beijing. When he was in Beijing, he was eight grades, eighty-four stones of rice per year, and there was no other income in the Qingshui Yamen, and the living expenses of the Jingshi were high, so life was really difficult. Especially since he was born in a poor family in the countryside, as soon as he became an official, a large family followed him into Beijing, and they all wanted to enjoy happiness.

Parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, etc. A family of more than a dozen people also hired a coachman and a servant, and it was extremely difficult to live on this money, and they had to go into debt.

finally borrowed a sum of money and found a foreign magistrate through the relationship of the teacher, and the situation finally improved a lot.

Qipinzhi County Nianlu is also only ninety stones, which is only six stones more than the original. However, the magistrate is still a regular seal official like the magistrate, and the difference is still very big.

As soon as he arrived, the local squires and merchants gave a sum of welcome silver, which was two thousand taels. This is also the practice of officialdom today, and new officials are greeted with silver when they take office. There is also silver for officials leaving office.

In addition to this silver, Wei Yanghao has been in Chenliu Dangzhi County for several years, and there are regular practices every year.

The common rule is actually an unspoken rule, and it is gray income. A thing that has long been tacitly acquiesced, the common practice of the magistrate of Chenliu County, there are more than 20 incomes in total, which are unchanged. Every official has the same thing, and everyone acquiesces to it.

Among them, there are one hundred and sixty taels of summer silk silver, and eight horses of summer silk. Autumn grain, 20 taels of silver, and so on, more than 20 items. More than 20 items add up, a year is about 3,000 taels.

This is no longer a solicitation or acceptance of bribes, but an open practice. When Hai Rui, an official of the Qing Dynasty, was the magistrate of Zhejiang County, he also accepted these common practices. He also recorded them in his own anthology.

These projects are just the default norms, and if you encounter corrupt officials, it is also common for them to embezzle, embezzle, and even openly solicit bribes.

Wei Yanghao is like his name. To cultivate a heroic spirit, so he disdains those things that are corrupt and bribery, but as a rule, he has a lot of money in his pocket.

Ren Zhi County for three years. Wei Yanghao not only raised a large family, paid off the debts owed in Beijing, and even saved 10,000 taels of silver.

However, as soon as the new dynasty opened, the above carried out the collection of arrears, and Chenliu County also had a lot of deficit tax arrears. Whoever is in office will wipe his buttocks clean, investigate the shortfall, and whoever embezzles will fill it, and if it can't be found, then the official will pay for it out of his own pocket.

As soon as this official document was issued, Wei Yanghao was also worried. took the master's subordinates to self-check for many days, and in the end they only found out some of the original owners who were in arrears, and sent official documents for them to fill, but there were still many dead debts that could not be matched, and in the end they could only be made up by him and his subordinates.

Wei Yanghao made up 10,000 silver dollars at once, and half of the family property he had accumulated was gone.

To say that there is no discontent in the heart is false. Fortunately, he has not been in the official career for a long time, although his heart hurts, but he also feels that the decree of the imperial court is correct.

Fortunately, during this time, I was busy clearing the fields and collecting tax arrears every day, and I was busy with all fours, and I didn't have time but felt distressed.

Today is payday, and he hasn't taken the new dynasty's salary.

Thinking of this, he was a little worried, and he didn't know how much this money would be. Although the emperor issued an edict at the beginning of his ascension to the throne, the number of officials in the world was doubled. But a Qipinzhi county, the original annual Lu is only 90 stones, which is equivalent to only seven and a half stone per month, even if it is doubled, it is only 15 stone meters per month.

Moreover, the original Yulu still has its true color folded, some of it is silver, most of it is rice, and many of it is folded with silk, cloth and other physical objects. When I got the things, I had to sell them myself, and when I changed hands, I had to lose a lot.

If it's just such a doubling, it's not enough to support the family at all.

Now even the taxes are collected by the special departments of the imperial court, and their local yamen only cooperates. Without the right to tax, naturally there is no fire consumption interception, and no more levies and distributions are allowed, and seeing that the annual routine is gone, Wei Yanghao has really felt very upset recently.

Wei Yanghao also wants to be fair and honest, and he doesn't want to be a corrupt official, but he still has to support his family, and he also has to eat and dress. He doesn't ask for bribes, but the salary is so low, there is no way to collect some regular rules. Moreover, although he receives a lot of regular practices every year, he also has to send the regular routines upwards, and every time he has to give them to the prefect, the prefect's yamen, the Taoist yamen, and even the political envoy yamen, the governor's yamen, and the governor's yamen.

After getting dressed and going out, the scholar and the chief stood there with a worried face.

"Converge a little later."

When I arrived at the yamen, the hall and the front yard were already full of people.

There are only a few people in Chenliu County who have official official status, and there are only a few officials who are not in the stream, but there are hundreds of people who receive food and silver in the yamen. Among them, there are not only three classes of officials, but also inspectors and archers, etc., in short, there are many people, those doormen, sedan chair drivers, cell heads, resentments, warehouse heads, etc.

These are not bureaucrats, i.e., temporary workers without a formal establishment. The silver they received for work and food was also the silver and service silver levied in the county. And then hired. Some are only on temporary assignments, while others are working full-time.

However, these people's wages and food are very high, and they may only be six or seven taels a year. Many of them only have a few coins a month, which is of course not enough to eat, so they rely on the power given by the government to generate additional income.

To put it bluntly, in the end, the income of these people is actually not low, and in the end, these burdens are still transferred to the people. And in the past, those big households did not bear these things, and ordinary people bore them.

The first salary of the new dynasty is being paid by everyone, and everyone is looking forward to it. I came to the yamen early. He was also asked.

Wei Yanghao also didn't know how the salary was paid, and this time the salary was paid by the Chenliu County Business Office of the Kaifeng Branch of the Henan Branch of the Sihai Bank, so he still didn't know anything.

Wei Yanghao has a headache, today the imperial court pays salaries, and he himself has to pay salaries below. Many of his subordinates belonged to his private employees, including four masters, who were in charge of punishment, money, food, etc. There are also palanquins, cooks, porters, servants, etc.

"It's coming, it's coming, the people from the bank are coming."

Eight bank security guards escorted three wagons, and several bank clerks were the first to get out of the carriage, carrying a few cowhide briefcases. The men in the back were carrying several locked wooden boxes.

"Director Wang, everyone has been waiting for you for a long time." Wei Yanghao saw that it was Director Wang of the business office who led the team, and hurriedly stepped forward. With a smile on his face, he couldn't help it. Until now, Sihai Bank still belongs to the imperial store. Nominally, the bank is not official property now. It was the emperor's private property.

Director Wang, the director of the business office, is not even a bureaucrat, but he can't control the people who are emperors. Moreover, Chenliu is a relatively developed county, and the business office managed by Director Wang is not small, and the money exchanged is very large, and they usually have to look at their faces in the yamen.

"Everyone has arrived, and when they arrive, they will start to pay salaries. This time it was the first time, so we came to the door in person to distribute it, but in the future, you will have to go to our side to receive your own salary. Director Wang said with a smile.

Without too much politeness, the table had already been set up, and eight tall security guards stood in a row on both sides of the table with long knives at their waists and short sticks in their hands. A line was drawn five feet in front of the table.

Each time the name is called, the person can cross the line and get paid at the table, and the rest can only wait outside the line.

The first to strike was naturally the county.

Wei Yanghao sat in front of the row of tables, feeling a little nervous, as if he was standing under the imperial examination list that had just been pasted.

I don't know how much I earn.

"Lord Wei, please provide your identity card, official seal and private seal, thank you."

Wei Yanghao provided these very cooperatively at this time, and didn't care about these offensive words, he was anxious to know how much his salary was.

Director Wang carefully checked it, then picked up a pen and registered it in a booklet.

"Xiao Liu, confirm your identity and pay your salary."

"Okay, Director." The worker named Xiao Liu first took out a notebook, then took out a list, checked it and handed it to a person next to him. The man took the list and checked it again, and then handed it to the person next to him. Finally, after the man looked at the list, he opened the wooden box and took out the silver dollar coupon from it, and counted the points.

Wei Yanghao looked at the man's skillful flipping, and his heart was beating very hard.

The money was counted twice, and then passed over one by one in reverse of the previous order.

The money finally arrived in the hands of Director Wang, who took the list and money, confirmed it again, and put it in an envelope.

"Lord Wei, this is your salary, this is your list, which lists the number and breakdown of your salary in detail."

Wei Yanghao stretched out his hand to take it, and his hand was actually a little shaky.

He sensed that the envelope was a little thick, and opened the list first.

There are a lot of things written on the list, and it feels a little dense.

"Wei Yanghao, Chen Liuzhi County, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Province: April Yulu, 20 yuan, charcoal, vegetables, fruits, paper, drivers, servants, housing and transportation subsidies, 100 yuan. 200 yuan of incorruptible silver and 20 yuan of minister's money. The emperor was rewarded with 20 yuan for his accession to the throne and 20 yuan for the Dragon Boat Festival. In addition, 60 yuan of regular income for the first three months of the first month of the Long Han Dynasty, 300 yuan of various subsidies, 600 yuan of incorruptible silver, and 60 yuan of minister's money. ”

"The total of each item: 1,400 yuan."

After reading it, Wei Yanghao couldn't believe it, he looked at it again and it was still this number. With a feeling of surprise, he asked Director Wang, "Director Wang, is this a mistake?" ”

"We've counted it several times, and we can't be wrong, right?"

"No, I mean, how is this fourteen hundred dollars?"

Director Wang laughed, "It's not good to have a lot of money, this is the emperor's gift." ”

"But this is too much, didn't Your Majesty say that it will be doubled, but it turns out that there are only seven and a half stones of rice in a month, and it is only fifteen stones of rice to be doubled, even if it is converted into three pieces of silver according to one stone of grain, this is only forty-five yuan, but this is more than a thousand yuan."

"Oh, there's no mistake in saying this, we all copied it according to the list above." Director Wang was not surprised by this figure for a long time, although he was also a little surprised when he saw it for the first time.

"It turns out that there are only seven stone buckets in Zhixian in January, but isn't that too low? Therefore, it is doubled, but it is not three pieces of silver per stone, after all, the price of grain is a bit inflated now. It is 20 yuan a month, but in the past, the Ming Dynasty's Yulu was indeed the lowest in the previous dynasties, so it led to rampant corruption. ”

"Your Majesty is not easy to be corrupt, and it is not easy for local officials to take the opportunity to levy money from the people. In addition, now that the local fire consumption has been cancelled, the imperial court has increased the salaries of local officials. In addition to the regular salary, various subsidies are given, which is considered to allow everyone to live with peace of mind, and this subsidy is even five times that of the regular salary, which is enough to hire a coachman, a porter, a housekeeper, and a servant. There is also a minister's money, which is the cost of entertainment for the officials, which is also directly given to you. ”

"There is also a sum of incorruptible silver, which varies according to the place, the grade is different, and the amount is different. The maintenance of incorruptible silver is mainly for the chief officials at all levels, such as the governor, the governor, the provincial platform, the prefect, the prefect, the county, etc., some special departments, such as the chief officials of the grain, salt, taxation, customs, postal and other departments, also have the maintenance of incorruptible silver, and most of the rest of the officials do not, although there are, the number is not much. This is a preferential treatment for the chief officials at all levels, you are the magistrate of Henan, and the magistrate of Henan is 2,400 yuan of incorruptible silver every year. ”

"This time there is another reissue of the first three months, although the Han Dynasty has been open since April, but the first three months of reissuance can be regarded as an additional reward, plus the reward of His Majesty's accession to the throne and the Dragon Boat Festival, it adds up to so much."

Director Wang smiled and said, "Oh, by the way, in the future, the imperial court will pay salaries and uniformly issue silver dollar coupons, and there will be no longer disputes in their true colors, and they will no longer issue Lu rice." Even from next month, Yulu will send you a list once a month, and then you will go to the bank to collect it, so you don't have to be so troublesome,"

Wei Yanghao quickly calculated an account in his heart, even if he excluded the repayment in the previous three months and the reward of the Dragon Boat Festival when he ascended the throne, the salary in this April was extremely high.

"Twenty salaries, one hundred subsidies, two hundred silver maintenance, and twenty ministers' money. It adds up to three hundred and forty pieces, which is one hundred and seventy taels of silver, which is more than all in the past year. After a year, even if there is no routine and no corruption, it is not less than the past income. ”

Counting this, Wei Yanghao was amazed, this salary has not only doubled, this is an increase of seven or eight times. And in the past, there was a fold color, which has risen tenfold.

Wei Yanghao was originally ninety stones, but he had his true color. The inner color is fifty-four stones, and the folded color is thirty-six stones. And the true color of the rice in the 12 stones, 35 stones of silver, 7 stones of silk, a total of 26 29 coins and five cents of silver. Eighteen stones are folded in the folded cloth, and five coins and four cents of silver. In short, folding back and forth is equivalent to a half-fold in the end.

"Three hundred and forty yuan in January, Your Majesty's grace!"

Wei Yanghao finally couldn't help but sigh towards the north. (To be continued.) )