"I'm going to look at the fish scale album of Five Capitals and Three Pictures in the afternoon, and I'll have to trouble Brother Wen then."
"Brother Pang, feel free to come. Let's set up the treasury and household rooms without talking about the two families. Mr. Tang, please go away slowly."
Tang Weimin still had no airs, and smiled and greeted the Zao Li of Jia Ge Ku, whose surname was Wen.
The leaders were all so polite, especially Pang Yu, a Zaoli. He bowed his head politely to Wen Zaoli, and then followed Tang Weimin back to his house.
In these early days of August, the first task of the yamen is to collect the money and food owed by Bu. Although the spring tax has reached the 80% passing mark, Yang Fangqian is not satisfied with this. He hopes to reach 90%, because in September, the tax will still be owed.
Part of next year's taxes must be collected in advance, and the pressure to collect autumn grain is relatively high.
After Pang Yu came back from Nantang, he had been in the cabinet library for the past few days, looking through the fish scale pictures with Tang Weimin, using his memory and calculation skills to check the fields in Dongxiang and Songyang towns.
There were only two people in the household room at this time, and everyone else had gone to have lunch. People in the Ming Dynasty usually only had two meals, morning and evening, and big families had three and four meals. As the richest institution in Tongcheng, the staff naturally couldn't follow the household room.
The common people have one standard.
Tang Weimin went home for lunch. Because he was a pian, the Yamen rented a house for him on the north side of the county school and against the city wall, which was very close to the County Yamen.
Originally, according to the regulations in the early Ming Dynasty, officials could only live in the yamen to prevent them from escaping the supervision of the county magistrate and engaging in corruption. However, as the number of officials increased, the earliest houses built by the county yamen were not enough, so
Many places rent houses for officials to live in. The more advanced ones provide monetary subsidies and pay officials to rent them themselves.
Tang Weimin was not in a hurry to go back today, and Pang Yu was inconvenient to leave immediately. He watched Tang Weimin stretch his arms in the house, and then rubbed his lower back.
"Master Tang."
Pang Yu lifted a large and long baggage from his feet, opened it and took out a curved ball of cloth. He held it in front of Tang Weimin with both hands and said, "I have been working hard all year round. I estimate that Master Tang has to sit in front of the case every day."
For five or six hours, sitting for long periods of time damages the kidneys and easily strains the lumbar muscles. The villain has carefully observed the adults' seats in the living room these days. The backrest is too straight for resting, and the waist is easily strained. This is what the villain made.
The backrest fits the curvature of the back. When an adult feels tired, leaning on it can provide some relief. The little man has just been made. Please try it out first. If there is still something that doesn't fit well, please let the little man know.
The villain will correct it immediately."
After Pang Yu finished speaking, he tied the backrest to the back of the chair with a hemp rope. After testing the firmness, he said, "Sir, please give it a try."
Tang Weimin was surprised when he sat down and tried it. He really felt that his waist was supported, and the backrest was softer and more elastic than the wooden one.
This backrest is a frame that Pang Yu asked a carpenter to make close to the waistline. It is filled with some cotton fabric in the middle. Because he was worried that the support would not be enough, ribs were added inside and intertwined with hemp ropes. It has a certain degree of elasticity, although it is a bit rough.
But it’s a backrest that’s basically ergonomic.
"Hey, little brother Pang, you have troubled yourself."
Tang Weimin tried to lean on it, and it turned out to be much more comfortable than before. After leaning on it for a little longer, he felt that his waist was really relaxed. Even Tang Weimin, a veteran of the yamen, didn't know what to say for a moment.
Tang Weimin has been working at his desk for a long time, and his waist has always been bad. There are many people in this yamen who want to please Tang Weimin, but few of them can notice this. Pang Yu has only been here for a few days and noticed Tang Weimin's frequent rubbing of his waist, and he often goes on business trips.
Under such circumstances, he unexpectedly found someone to make such a useful backrest without any hesitation.
It can be said that he has both intention and ability.
"Master Tang, you are so polite. I hope that Master Tang will be in good health and take care of household affairs for Tongcheng for decades. That will be a blessing to the people of Tongcheng. Even if I show a little kindness to the people of Tongcheng, I hope you will not
decline."
Tang Weimin laughed and said, "I can't bear the word of blessing. If Tang doesn't pay for the household housing, he will have nowhere to go."
"Your Excellency is a capable official in the household. Every noble person would like to use someone like Mr. Tang for their own use. He may be promoted one day."
Tang Weimin shook his head and said, "I have passed the examination in nine years, but it is useless. The only official positions open in Anqing Mansion are etiquette and engineering. Tang has been in the household house for ten years and does not understand the affairs of other houses. He is too old.
I don’t want to move around anymore.”
Pang Yu was suddenly surprised after hearing this. Although Tang Weimin said he didn't understand the affairs of other houses, he was actually considering his actual interests.
Anqing Prefecture is one level higher, but if you go to the Li Keqiang, it will appear to be a high promotion, but the actual income is not as good as the household housing in Tongcheng, and the status is also far inferior. And there is no shortage in the corresponding household department in Anqing Prefecture, so Tang Weimin would rather
Even if I don't get promoted, I still have to stay in the finance department.
"Master Tang is a great talent from Tongcheng Liantan. There is no need to go to Anqing. I secretly hope that you can stay in Tongcheng. Can't Master Tang be promoted to Dianshi County Magistrate or something like that in Tongcheng?"
Tang Weimin was stunned for a moment and then laughed loudly, "I have been looking at the albums for the past two days. Pang Yu, you are very smart and can understand everything at a glance. However, you have been working in the yamen for many years, and you can't even distinguish between this official."
Pang Yu was also a little confused. Gu Xiaowu told him about donating tribute officials last time, but he didn't explain it clearly.
According to his understanding in his previous life, officials were promoted one level at a time from the bottom, so that the top officials were aware of the affairs at the bottom. But according to Tang Weimin's meaning, officials were two parallel lines that would not intersect.
Tang Weimin saw that Pang Yu really didn't understand, shook his head and said with a smile, "In our yamen, the emperor, the county magistrate, the historian, the yin and yang officials, the edicts, etc., regardless of their rank or not, they are all officials.
, those below the department heads in each house are the officials.
Officials can be promoted after passing the exam in six years. For example, Mr. Gu was promoted to prefect.
We have passed the nine-year official examination, but it is absolutely impossible to be promoted to an official position. The official can only be promoted to the yamen, but not to the official position.
For example, if you pass the exam in Tongcheng, you can be admitted to the six departments of Anqing Prefecture, but you will still be an official."
After Tang Weimin finished speaking, he let out a long sigh, "Well, at the beginning, my family couldn't afford it, so I couldn't afford the imperial examination.
Once you become an official, you are entered into the official list and can no longer participate in the imperial examination. In this life, you will be promoted among various yamen. It doesn't matter if you are promoted to the government yamen or the yamen. After all, it is the errand of each house. It just sounds better than the county yamen.
That’s all.”
"Can't you get promoted?"
Pang Yu was quite confused. Judging from the few days he spent in the household, the clerks and clerks inside were quite proficient in business and knew all about the dirty tricks at the bottom. The yamen was absolutely inseparable from these people.
Otherwise, the business of the county government cannot be promoted.
The position of an official is that of a common people. Although he is more or less an official in the eyes of the common people, he has little status in front of the officials. He is often called a dog official by his superiors and is beaten, scolded and punished at every turn, just like the county magistrate who beats him whenever he wants.
.
Pang Yu thought about it and understood that there was no way to improve, they had been at the bottom for a long time, and what else could they pursue besides money.
Originally, after Gu Xiaowu said last time that he could donate his official position, Pang Yu was tempted to donate his status first, but now Tang Weimin said that after donating his official position, he would not be able to become an official. This was far from Pang Yu's expectations.
.
"It's better to be a county magistrate no matter what."
Pang Yu thought in his heart.
Tang Weimin patted the backrest with satisfaction, smiled at Pang Yu and said, "It's difficult for Little Brother Pang to be interested, but Tang is a little ashamed. He invited Little Brother Pang to the house that day. He originally thought that he could take care of Little Brother Pang, but he just came.
The house was so busy that it was dark, and I went to the countryside to compare money and food before returning. In the past few days, I have been checking the fields in Jiageku, which is much harder than before."
"The last thing young people should fear is hard work. Any hard work at this time is a good opportunity given by adults.
Needless to say, it is my duty to compare money and food. I spent the past two days setting up a treasury with the adults, and I learned a lot, and I really enjoyed it."
"The inspection of the cabinet library must be carried out every year."
Tang Weimin patted his shoulder and said, "If you compare money and food these days, you probably know something.
Collection means taking money from others, and everyone is willing to keep the money in their own purse.
Whether it is "The Complete Book of Taxes" or the Fish Scale Atlas, it is not the most important thing to memorize it backwards, the important thing is to know how to use it.
The Jin gentry all live in seclusion in their fields, and the officials and scholars are exempted from entrustment. They are all cunning and shrewd."
"There are also people who build cabinets."
Tang Weimin smiled and said, "Sure enough, it's easy to find out. The archives of each house are in the cabinet library, but the most important ones are the albums of our houses.
The people I just mentioned sometimes like to use some crooked ideas, and directly go to Jiage Library to change the album, thinking that they can bypass my house.
For these people, if you don't beat them from time to time, you will forget who is the householder."
"Your Majesty, when you look up the fish scale map, you tell the people who set up the cabinet library that the households are watching. Although the fish scale map exists in the cabinet library, the album belongs to the household houses and cannot be changed by the people who build the cabinet library.
"
Tang Weimin chuckled and said, "That's right. However, it's easy to guard against outside thieves but hard to guard against domestic thieves. There are some people in the house who think they can hide it from others, so they have to beat them."
Pang Yu didn't answer this time because he had just arrived in the household. There were more than ten or twenty people in the household, and there were three clerks under the secretary. Tang Weimin was just one of them. There were some overt and covert fights between them. I didn't know that Tang Weimin had this time.
Who will be targeted.
Tang Weimin had a very clear purpose when he looked through the fish scale pictures. Someone should have sent him a message and knew the general situation.
Tang Weimin did not continue the topic just now, but turned to Pang Yu and said calmly, "In the past, all the officials in the yamen struggled to get into the house, because the owner of the house had the money and grain of the county, and this money and grain was the most loved thing in the world.
When people go out and talk about being in a household, they all take a high look at it, but how can they understand the complexity of household affairs, and how can they ever know the hard work of a household.
The imperial court raised taxes more than once a year. Not only did it allocate treasury silver, but also treasury grain. All local reserves were used as a starting point. Every year, the taxes were passed, but they were not reduced at all. Spring taxes and autumn grain levies were put into the cabinet.
, dumping, unloading, and treasury, all are things that cannot be taken care of. We have to be busy until the 20th of the twelfth lunar month to have a few free days."
Pang Yu heard Tang Weimin's somewhat bleak tone, and quickly flattered him, "Other people don't know, but Mr. Tang's hard work is a lesson. I can see that the preparations for collecting autumn grain this time, including the tickets, cash cabinets, silverware, and real warehousing are all from Tang."
The adults take care of it, but it’s really impossible for the household to be separated from the adults.”
Tang Weimin waved his hands and said, "It is our duty to relieve Zhao Si Li from his worries.
Speaking of autumn grain, Brother Pang, you also need to be prepared. This August, the autumn grain will mostly be of different colors.
Forty-seven miles in Tongcheng, when the autumn grain is collected and sold, there is a cabinet in each mile, and the silver heads in each neighborhood bring flower households to the government office to deposit their money into the cabinet. There is one person in each cabinet to be the counterman, who checks the quantity and quality of the two pieces of silver. Only when the amount is sufficient
Seal the money and put it in the locker."
Pang Yu swallowed a mouthful of saliva. There was no need to explain this. Just by listening to it, he knew that there was enough oil and water, because when it came to checking the fineness of silver, there was no standard. Pang Yu had the final say on whether it was fine enough or not, and the amount could be manipulated.
part.
Compared with going to the countryside to collect money from those destitute flower households, Pang Yu naturally hopes to get the position of a cabinet man. Last time, Tang Weimin only hinted at it, but did not say that he would definitely arrange it for Pang Yu. Pang Yu also tolerated not asking.
Today, I guess I was moved by the backrest and finally told Pang Yu about it. An old official like Tang Weimin should be very confident as long as he said it.
"Every year, the cabinet man and the silver man are fighting fiercely. Your lord's office wants to divide the cabinets, and the officials in each room also want to divide the cabinets.
Fortunately, this year we don’t need to give them the three lockers in the punishment room and the acceptance room. Tang has sent an extra locker here, and I prefer you to be the locker man."
Pang Yu suddenly felt excited. Last time he went to check the warehouse, he left thirty or forty taels, all of which were given to his parents to fill the hole in the medicinal materials. He still didn't have much money, let alone the money he donated to the official position. On weekdays,
He even thought twice about going out to have a tooth ceremony, and sometimes asked He Xianya to help him entertain guests. This was really a rare period of poverty in his life. If he became this cabinet man, his expenses for a year should not be a problem.
"A villain must live up to the expectations of adults."
Tang Weimin said solemnly: "You must be very careful when putting money in the cabinet. There will be no mistakes with real money. That person named He is a good helper. You can take him with you, and at least one or two others will be needed to take care of him."
At this time, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door. Pang Yu turned around and saw Secretary Zhao coming in. Secretary Zhao usually had lunch earlier and came back earlier.
Only then did Pang Yu realize that Tang Weimin had endured hunger and refused to go back to eat, just waiting for the opportunity from Secretary Zhao. At this time, the other people in the household had not returned yet, so it was a good opportunity to complain.
After thinking about this, Pang Yu hurriedly said hello to Secretary Zhao and exited the door. When he was leading the door, he heard Tang Weimin say from inside, "Master Zhao, my subordinates have been inspecting the album for the past two days. Songyang
Three hundred acres of fields along the river were destroyed by flooding. In fact, the polder was surrounded by stone strips. When checking the storage, my subordinates saw it with their own eyes.
, In addition, the landslides in Dongxiang..." Pang Yu closed the door gently and was complained by Tang Weimin. Zeng Keda was the nephew of another pian, and he was taken by that pian to work as a clerk in the household. The purpose of Tang Weimin's complaint was natural.
Not against the calligrapher, but against the bookkeeper.
Pang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of Yimen to have some lunch. He happened to meet He Xianya at the door of Kuaishou's room and told him about the cabinet man. He Xianya's face suddenly became excited.
"Second brother, you are really lucky. You must plan this matter carefully and do it to the satisfaction of Mr. Tang.
Second brother, will you take Zhou Yueru with you this time?"
Pang Yu shook his head without hesitation, "I will never take her with me."
He Xianya clapped his hands and said, "Second brother is wise, you must not go to Zhou Yuerong. Last time in Nantang, she just gave the money to the girl secretly, and she also took mine and returned it.
Then I went to the countryside for a day and didn't earn a penny, so what's the point of being a errand? It's her business to sympathize with the wealthy family, so why should she use my money to sell love?"
Pang Yu quickly waved his hand and told He Xianya not to mention this matter again. If others heard about it, they would say that Pang Yu and others broke the rules of the yamen. This kind of thing can easily cause public outrage.
But he remembered that Tang Weimin had just said that he wanted to find two more people, and was thinking about whether to find Jiao Guozhao. Then he saw Jiao Guozhao limping out of the Kuaishou room, holding a waist knife in his hand, and looking a little excited.
"He Xianya is on an errand!"
He Xianya and Pang Yu were chatting animatedly, planning the grand plan of becoming a cabinet man. After hearing this, he hesitated for a moment. He seemed a little reluctant to go. When Jiao Guozhao urged him again, He Xianya glanced at Pang Yu and said helplessly, "
coming."
Pang Yu hadn't seen Jiao Guozhao doing errands for a long time, and seven or eight people came out of the Kuaishou room. Half of them brought waist knives, and the others at least brought iron rulers. He couldn't help but asked strangely, "Brother, what are you going to do?"
case?"
Jiao Guozhao glared at Pang Yu and walked towards the door without saying anything.
Pang Yu wasn't angry either. Anyway, the group of people who had been beaten recently didn't want to see him.
He Xianya said in a low voice: "The murder case just came out. Last time, the slave who wanted to beat us at the Yamen gate, Mr. Zheng, beat a servant to death on the street in Qingfeng City before noon! There was a lot of emotion in the market, and Mr. Dianshi had to work quickly.