"It turns out to be Liu County Cheng, Lin Dong is polite."

Lin Dong met Yi Li. This kind of villain is the most difficult to deal with. Although he had a grudge against him, Lin Dong still didn't want to offend this person in person.

"Haha, it turns out to be Mr. Lin. I was just looking for you, but I didn't expect to meet you here. It's really great."

Liu Jingzhong first saluted Magistrate Ma, held Lin Dong's hand and said with a smile.

Lin Dong felt a chill, but his expression did not change at all. He said with a smile, "I wonder what Mr. Liu County Cheng wants from me?"

"Let's not mention this matter for now. Let me first report to the county magistrate on my work during this period." Liu Jingzhong patted Lin Dong's hand and said with a smile on his face.

Next, Liu Jingzhong turned to Magistrate Ma and began to report on the work during this period. Based on Liu Jingzhong's report, Lin Dong knew that the autumn harvest was now complete, and the autumn grain collection work was already on the agenda. However, only three out of four candidates for the grain chief were selected.

One person is hanging.

Magistrate Ma was puzzled and immediately asked which area had a vacancy of grain chiefs and who should be the suitable grain chief to escort the autumn grain.

Liu Jingzhong took a peek at Lin Dong and then said that there was war and chaos everywhere, the peasant army was getting more and more violent, and refugees were everywhere. It was unreliable for ordinary people to escort the autumn grain. In addition, the court also had a system, and the army should be responsible for escorting the autumn grain.

Having said this, Liu Jingzhong did not forget to look at Lin Dong, his purpose was self-evident.

"Escorting the autumn grain?" Lin Dong's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition arose in his heart.

According to his memory, Zhu Yuanzhang first established the grain chief in the Ming Dynasty. The purpose of its establishment was to ensure the effective collection of land taxes and consolidate the tax revenue of the feudal government. The original intention of its establishment was to establish the spirit of the people's income and the people's liberation.

A realistic land tax collection system.

At the beginning, the main responsibility of the grain director was to be responsible for the collection and transportation of tax grains in the district.

The first task of the grain director is to collect. In autumn grain, the grain director assumes the role of overall responsibility in the work of unloading and transporting grain and rice. At that time, the collection of tax and grain was divided into three stages: collection, collection and transportation.

Among them, the most arduous one is the unraveling of luck.

The grain chief began to collect taxes and grains after he became the leader of the household department in the capital. In the top-down distribution of collection tasks, the collection tasks in the area were assigned to all the people through the li chief and the head of the Jia.

Grain households.

After collection, there is the work of unloading and transporting taxes and grains. The procedure is exactly the opposite of the collection stage, that is, the collected taxes and grains are collected from bottom to top from the head of the Jia head to the li chief and then to the grain chief, and the grain chief is responsible for safekeeping.

Finally, the grain director collects the tax grain and transports it to the grain payment place designated by the government.

In order to solve the difficulty of transporting grain caused by long distances, the Ming government gradually adopted the "support transportation method", "redeeming transportation method" and "long-term transportation method" that replaced civilian transportation with military transportation.

By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the three tasks of tax and grain collection, collection and transportation shouldered by the grain chief had been officially divided, with dedicated personnel assigned to handle them, such as the "grain chief for urging" and the "grain collection chief".

The social status of the grain chief has developed from the high status of the Yongchong system in the Hongwu to Xuande years. After the Pengchong method became popular in the Zhengde period, ordinary households were extremely reluctant to be signed as grain chiefs, and even many wealthy families tried their best to do so.

to escape this duty.

In addition, the term of the grain chief's position also goes from long to short - from permanent to rotating, and finally to full-time. In general, the tenure of the grain chief goes from long to short, and the position of the grain chief changes from one person to several.

Labor was divided among people and even dozens of people worked together, and the social status of the grain manager declined from "as prominent as the government" to a heavy drudgery.

After the mid-Ming Dynasty, due to the refusal of large wealthy households to pay for grain errands and the increasing burden of collection tasks issued by the government, grain chiefs were forced to pay compensation, resulting in an endless stream of various collections.

The increase in land tax will inevitably make the task of grain chiefs increasingly heavier. However, when ordinary small grain households are generally poor, although the amount of land tax collected has increased, the actual amount has continued to decline. On the contrary, this situation can only develop in the end.

The taxes levied were much higher than the tax payable on the land. Coupled with the later Liao Xiang and other exorbitant taxes, the people were already overwhelmed.

What's more, the grain chief in the late Ming Dynasty implemented a contract system, which meant that the food and drink expenses of the porters escorting the autumn grain were all paid by the grain chief. Just imagine that tens of thousands of loads of grain were eaten by horses and chewed by hundreds of people along the way.

After a month, this expense alone is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

According to past practice, although the government will provide a certain subsidy after the autumn grain arrives, it is nothing compared to the losses.

Lin Dong immediately broke out in a cold sweat after going through the system of grain chief in his mind. I said that Liu Jingzhong was so supportive when I was training Xiang Yong, so he was waiting for me here.

Let’s not talk about whether he can successfully collect the full amount of autumn grain. Even if he can, the transportation process is still a test. When the autumn grain arrives, I am afraid that all the money he just received will be lost, and even if it is not good, he will not be able to make up for it.

If there is enough autumn grain together, it is possible for Liu Jingzhong to be convicted.

But according to Lin Dong's memory, since Zhang Juzheng implemented a whipping law nationwide, the grain chief has been abolished. Why did the position of grain chief suddenly appear?

He clearly remembered that the "One Whip Law" merged taxes and levies, and levied land taxes and various types of corvee together. At the same time, part of the burden of Ding's labor was allocated to the land. In the past, corvées were done according to households and Ding came out, and now they were based on the number of Ding and the land.

Grain apportionment; taxes and servitude burdens, except for the government's need to collect rice and wheat, will be discounted in cash; farmers and households with various financial burdens can pay for labor services, and the labor services are paid by government employees; tax collection is handled directly by local officials, abolished

The original "people's collection and people's liberation" system in which taxes and levies were collected and released through the grain chief and li chief were changed to the "officials' collection and official relief" system.

"Hasn't the grain chief been abolished a long time ago?" Lin Dong asked doubtfully.

"Master Lin is unaware of this. Due to the current shortage of food procurement in various places, the superiors have discussed that even if the money is sent, it will eventually be exchanged for food. It is better to directly collect the food. This will be easier." Liu Jingzhong explained with a smile.

.

"However, the post of grain chief is usually held by squires or wealthy families. Although Mr. Lin's family owns land, I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to serve as the grain chief. What's more, we in Andong County have our own guard army, headed by Lin Donggang

It seems a bit difficult for Xiang Yong from the regiment to take on this task..." Magistrate Ma looked embarrassed.

"The county magistrate is overly worried. Chief Lin has paid for and trained the local soldiers. Obviously his family is well off. Besides, the county magistrate must know what the guard army is like now. I am afraid that he has been sent north to fight against the bandits. I, Anton

The only force the county can use is the Andong Army in Chief Lin's hands. Moreover, Mr. Futai also values ​​Master Lin very much and hopes to entrust him with the task of escorting the autumn grain."

Liu Jingzhong said neither humble nor overbearing.

Hearing him mention Mr. Futai, Magistrate Ma suddenly felt like a mirror, nodded and said: "What Mr. Liu County Cheng said is quite reasonable. Mr. Lin, it seems that this post of grain chief belongs to you."

Lin Dong was secretly angry. Liu Jingzhong was so shameless. He was indeed a smiling tiger. He was not only scheming, but also sinister and vicious. He accidentally fell into this trap.

Now that I have no way out, I'm afraid I can't refuse even if I want to. After all, no matter how much Magistrate Ma wants to help him, he doesn't dare to go against his immediate superior. Instead of letting him take advantage of him, why not agree to it first and then slowly think of other ways.

Thinking of this, Lin Dongqiang said calmly: "I wonder where this year's autumn grain needs to be sent?"

"According to regulations, the autumn grain will naturally be escorted to the capital, and Master Lin may be able to see the emperor by then!" Liu Jingzhong said with a smile.

Lin Dong's heart skipped a beat. The journey from here to Beijing was at least a thousand miles. According to the current marching speed, it would be up to forty miles a day. Calculated on the fingers of one hand, it would be impossible to reach there in less than a month. Those more than a thousand people and horses would be eaten by people along the way.

Chewing, the ration alone would cost thousands of tons.

The most frightening thing is that the journey from here to Beijing is not only a long way, but also passes through Henan, Shanxi and other places that were harmed by the peasant army. These places have been plowed several times by the peasant army. It can be said that they are thousands of miles away from people, not to mention the peasant army.

In this generation of activities, if they knew that what they were escorting was food, they would have fun.

Taking a step back, even if I take people to deliver the food safely, it will not work, because people eating horse chews along the way will definitely consume a lot. At this time, Beijing is in short supply of food and prices are soaring. I am afraid that my little money will not be enough.

Unable to buy food to mend the holes, Liu Jingzhong is indeed insidious.

Seeing Lin Dong's ugly face, Liu Jingzhong chuckled and said: "But the war in the north is not over now, so escorting him to Beijing is probably not realistic. The county magistrate has applied to his superiors to escort the autumn grain to Fengyang, the central capital nearby."

After saying this, a trace of regret flashed in Liu Jingzhong's eyes. It seemed that he was unhappy that Lin Dong was not sent to Beijing.

"Fengyang?" Lin Dong's eyes flashed with surprise. Originally, he thought he was going to escort the autumn grain to Nanjing, the capital, but he didn't expect it was Fengyang.

According to his memory, Fengyang was the place where Zhu Yuanzhang was born and where his parents’ tombs are located. Zhu Yuanzhang originally wanted to build his capital in Fengyang, but for some unknown reason, when the capital was halfway through construction, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly announced a halt to the work, leaving the remaining

All the materials were used to build his parents' tomb.

Therefore, Fengyang finally became Zhongdu, which can be regarded as a capital city.

As his mind opened up, pieces of history about Fengyang flashed in his mind.

Logically speaking, Fengyang, the central capital, is also guarded by high-ranking officials. Don't you just want to find a military attache? Since you can't avoid going to Fengyang, you might as well take the risk and give it a try. Maybe you will get unexpected gains.

"Isn't it Fengyang? I accepted this mission!"

"Since the county magistrate has an order, Lin Dong will not hesitate to die..." Lin Dong bowed and saluted.

"Lin Dong, are you really willing to serve as the grain director?"

"good."

"Okay, okay, okay, you are indeed someone whom I value." Magistrate Ma laughed, picked up a glass of wine and said, "After we drink this glass, we wish you success in advance."

"Thank you, Lord County." Lin Dong took the wine glass and drank it in one gulp.

Since his plan to go to Nanjing for work was ruined, Lin Dong had to return early.
Chapter completed!