Chapter 598: A day at the Wendeng Military Control Commission (2)
In the final analysis, Liu Mengren still doesn’t understand Beihai Town. But this is normal. He is a county official in a remote mountainous area. No matter how well-informed he is, he can only cover ten miles and eight townships in one county.
The "North Sea Pirates", who were outside the country and whose information was strictly blocked by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, had a correct understanding.
Four years ago, when the Northern Navy attacked Rongcheng and Wendeng counties and recruited poor farmers in the surrounding villages, Liu Mengren was just a clerk in a household. Later, the Northern Navy left, and the original magistrate and Dianshi were dismissed from their posts by the court.
Everyone in the county also went through a big change. After the new county magistrate Zhou Luduan took office, he relied on flattery and bribes to Zhou Luduan's long-term and easy-going staff, and also used curve strategies to please the county magistrate's wife, draining his family wealth, and even borrowed a thousand filial piety.
With two more silvers, he became a housekeeper.
Now Liu Mengren has only been working for less than two years, and the money he borrowed has not been repaid. Beihai Navy is here. And unlike four years ago, Beihai Navy has even put up the sign of the new Yamen this time, clearly showing that it is taking root and will not leave.
posture.
Faced with his wife's constant complaints at home, Liu Mengren thought about it for a day and a night, and finally decided to take a gamble and take advantage of the arrival of the "new dynasty" to take the lead in seeking wealth. He came to see Kong Shaoan today in the hope of giving him a fortune.
Leave a good impression on the other party, and then find a way to continue to take over Wendeng County's annual work of collecting money and food.
Who would have thought that Kong Shaoan mentioned the "shunzhuang register" without saying a few words when he came up. How could this not make him nervous? Although Liu Mengren knew very well who owned the private register of Liudu and Fifty Miles in Wendeng County, but once he said it, Wendeng
He is going to offend all the big clans in the county!
The full name of "Shunzhuang Book" is "Shunzhuang Actual Registration Book". In some provinces, it is also called "Red Book", "Fish Scale Book" and "Xijun Book"; it lists the grain and silver that each household in the county should pay.
, changes in meters, collections and taxes, as well as changes in land ownership, are important basis for finding out the taxation and cultivated land situation at the grassroots level.
Before August every year, the county government will determine the total amount of money and rice that will be taxed for the next year, and then the housekeepers will summon the Lishu. The first letter will allocate it to each capital, map, and Li based on the number of taxable acres in the county and the tax rules.
, enter A’s flower account, then register it in the register, and report it to the county magistrate.
After that, all states and counties must submit the "actual collection book" to the provincial chief secretary before the end of October with a stamped letter, and then return it to the states and counties before the start of the next year. The county government office will issue a rolling order based on the data in the book.
--That is, the triple tax notice, the inner letter, and the first letter should send the list to every household, and ask them to go to the township or county government to submit the tax notice.
There is one copy of the actual recruitment book in the hands of the county government and one in the hands of the local secretary. It is said that the content should be the same, but in the process of compilation from bottom to top, the draft book in the hands of the clerk is the most original and most authentic.
The grass-roots actual collection book is also called the "private book", and the one placed in the county government is called the "county book".
From ancient times to the present, regardless of high or low, it is the nature of all people in society not to want to pay taxes. In order to evade taxes, flower households who pay taxes dare to fool the county magistrate, but they cannot hide it from the clerk, mainly because the "private records" in their hands can be tracked at any time.
The transfer and sale of households and land, knowing who to collect money and grain from.
Because the imperial court did not pay wages to the lower-level subordinates, it would cost money to work as a clerk, and they had to pay fees to the relevant personnel of the household, treat them to banquets, and collude with each other, so corruption became inevitable. They first
He would write something in the "Register of the County," usually using illegible handwriting, or listing tax items in large numbers, and writing units of measurement in obscure and lengthy terms, which even the county magistrate would read as if they were written in heaven.
Some county magistrates were forced to do something urgent because they could not complete the taxation tasks, so they would preside over the compilation of actual tax collection or land clearing, and gain control over rural people's land and other tax sources by re-compiling measurement books; some would also resort to "killing"
The method of "showing the chicken to the monkey" was to use a private agreement to spend a large sum of money to buy back control of the private register. However, when the current county magistrate ends his term and is transferred, the next one will have to go back to the old ways.
For Kong Shaoan, although he can grasp the actual local situation through the work team going to the countryside to re-clear the land and compile household registration books, he will inevitably waste most of the work team's energy on fighting wits and courage with the big clan households and flowery households.
, it won’t be finished until it takes a year and a half!
Therefore, before going to the countryside, the North Navy working team must know the whereabouts of the "private records", or even obtain them in advance, so that they can be well aware of them and make targeted decisions.
Liu Mengren's heart was filled with the battle between heaven and man at this time, and he said: "Director, the other recruitment book is not in the hands of the villain... Wendeng has a total of six capitals and fifty miles, and there is one book for each mile. This matter
You have to ask the li chief and the armor chief to find out."
When Kong Shaoan saw him like this, he probably understood something. Right now, he needed help from Liu Mengren to familiarize himself with the local situation and restore economic order. He couldn't just punish him immediately. He then frowned, thought about his words, and his tone.
He said gently: "Mr. Liu, I know that under the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, people like you are not in the upper class. If you don't have the honor of being a civil servant, you will be no more than a magistrate in your life. Many people don't even have a staff."
"Director Yingming! The villain has studied for several years and passed the examination as a scholar, but he really didn't have that kind of fate, so he had to ask someone to do an errand in the Yamen to support his family. Although the villain's previous job was as a clerk.
The county government appoints officials, but they only serve for five years, and they must retire after expiration."
In the Qing Dynasty, the office staff of various departments in prefectures and counties were roughly divided into three categories, namely, officials, Jingcheng and Sanshu. Taking Liu Mengren's household as an example, only he had a formal establishment, and everyone else was a contract worker.
"Well!" Kong Shao'an nodded and asked: "Let me tell you about the situation in Beihai Town. People like you and your subordinates are all professional management talents in our place. The so-called specialization in the industry, only
In terms of knowledge and experience in tax collection, household registration and land management, even Hanlin, who was born as a Jinshi, is far behind you. In Beihai Town, we classify people like you as "technical talents" and you are expected to enjoy high salaries.
of."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Although Liu Mengren didn’t understand what “technical talents” meant, he still understood when the other party was praising him, so he quickly handed over his hand and said: “The director is serious, these are all from the countryside.
The trivial and miscellaneous affairs will not be able to enter the eyes of the superior!"
"No! It is precisely because of thousands of people like you, Mr. Liu, that a country's financial taxation and land management system can be built. Without your hard work, those high-ranking governors, governors, ministers, and even the emperor
, it is impossible to govern the country well. But the salary and benefits given to you by the Manchu Qing Dynasty are really too low, so I think it is not so much that the subordinates are greedy, but that you have not received the remuneration commensurate with your work."
After listening to Kong Shaoan's words, Liu Mengren suddenly felt a rush of heat welling up in his heart, and his nose felt a little sore. Having been a subordinate official for more than 20 years, he has always heard people say "the harm of subordinate officials" and "all subordinate officials in the world should
"Kill" and the like. This is the first time today that a Shangguan has spoken of the status of people like himself so high.
It is true that people like me are a little greedy, and they have done a lot of favoritism and malpractice. But the problem is that the salary given to people like them by the court is only twelve taels or seventy-two taels per year at most, and the average is only two taels per day.
Three cents of silver is only for one meal for the couple, and it is often not given in full. In addition, the expenses for transportation, accommodation, food, and favors when going to the countryside on errands every month have to be paid out of pocket; every New Year's Day, there is also a payment.
Shangguan and his staff would personally give gifts; what's more, in times of famine, they would deduct wages from labor and food. If it were not taken from the people through illegal means, it would simply push the whole family to a dead end.
Liu Mengren wiped the moisture from the corner of his eyes and was thinking about how to reply when he heard Kong Shaoan say something shocking: "In our Beihai Town, a person with professional talents like you can be a deputy county magistrate. If you do
Well, I can still be the county magistrate."
Liu Mengren looked at Kong Shaoan in disbelief. The big cake thrown by the other party made him a little confused. How could he be the county magistrate, or even the county magistrate? Oh my God! That was a position that could only be held by a serious official.
"You think it's incredible, don't you?" Kong Shao'an smiled slightly and continued: "Many county magistrates and deputy magistrates under Beihai Town started their careers as illiterate farmers step by step. It is not surprising at all. As for each of them,
The monthly salary starts at 30 taels of silver, and the highest one can get 50 taels a month. If you do well, there will be a bonus equivalent to one to three months' salary at the end of the year."
"Ah! So high!"
Liu Mengren is an old man who has settled accounts. After a little mental calculation, he came up with a salary range of 450 taels to 750 taels. The annual salary of a seventh-grade county magistrate under the Manchu Qing Dynasty was only 45 taels of silver, 45 dendrobium meters, plus
A few hundred taels of silver to maintain integrity. Of course, the county magistrate must be even more greedy, otherwise he wouldn't be able to survive with that little money.
Kong Shaoan then drew another pie and heard him say: "Mr. Liu, if we verify that you have not committed any serious acts of bullying the people, then I would like to hire you as the deputy director in charge of agriculture on behalf of the Wendeng County Military Control Commission.
.When the place becomes stable in the future, the deputy director of the Military Control Commission will be the deputy county magistrate."
Oh my god! Liu Mengren was trembling all over, his heartbeat couldn't help but quicken, and his ears were filled with buzzing tinnitus. He never thought that as soon as he was introduced as a pian, he would have the opportunity to become an assistant official. Maybe it's like Kong Shao'an said,
Will there be another chance to become a county magistrate in the future?
Damn it! Fight! What kind of Li Shu Jia Shu, what kind of big family, in the face of the future of reaching the sky in one step, that's nothing!
"Pfft!" Liu Mengren immediately knelt down, leaned over and said to Kong Shao'an: "Liu used to do things in the past, although he did some things such as giving in, giving in, and squeezing, but he did it to the point of no harm and never harmed people's lives.
.May the director be aware of it! I am valued by the director and entrusted with a high official and a generous salary. From now on, I am willing to work hard to repay the director's great kindness!"
"Get up quickly, why is this necessary?" Seeing that the strategy worked, Kong Shaoan showed a smile on his lips, then slowly stepped forward, stretched out his hand to help the other party up, and then said: "Even so, the procedures that should be followed must still be followed.
You go back and wait, within two days... within three days, someone will send the appointment letter from the Military Control Commission to your home."
"Yes, yes!" Liu Mengren was covered in dirt on his body and forehead, and he did not dare to wipe it off. He said sheepishly: "The villain was so excited that the director laughed."
"Okay, you should go back and rest first. You are tired after standing for a long time."
Kong Shaoan watched Liu Mengren walk backwards and out the door, bowing step by step. Only when the footsteps of the other party were far away did he clenched his fists and waved, shouting excitedly: "Oh yeah!"
Just a few days ago, when Wu Siyu went to inspect Anping Port, he brought Kong Shaoan a personal letter from Zhao Xin. In this letter, in addition to words of encouragement, Zhao Xin told Kong Shaoan what to do after arriving in Shandong.
Employ people.
"...Xiaokong, you have to remember that when it comes to the use of Manchu officials, try not to use the word 'upright official'. You must know that the official's job is to serve as an official for one term and benefit the party. An upright official who does nothing is often worse than
Corrupt officials are even more hateful.
Secondly, subordinate officials and local bullies must be suppressed severely and quickly after sufficient evidence is collected to establish the prestige of Beihai Town.
Finally, I would like to warn you that when appointing officials of the old school, you must adopt the strategy of "doing more good than you have done". As long as there is no serious evil and the person is capable, you can use it. However, you must have an understanding of the past behavior of these people, and you must have
Their past criminal evidence materials. The purpose of this is to let the other party understand that you don't care, but you don't care at the moment. Once you want to replace him, you will settle the old and new accounts together and kill him completely!
Let’s find talents! There are many people who do specific things in the local junior staff and secretarial offices. These people are taught privately and inherited from generation to generation. They are both shrewd and capable, but also cunning. However, I think that as long as reasonable salary and restrictions are met,
Under supervision, they can play a big role in our smooth takeover of local power. In the future, we can also let some of them return to Beihai Town to train for a year or two, and let Lao Yu train a few more times, and our cadre team will become better and better.
Come and get bigger..."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After lunch, Kong Shaoan met with Yu Heli, the former jailer of the execution chamber, and almost said the same thing. Like Liu Mengren, Yu Heli was there
After learning that he could also jump to the Dragon Gate and serve as the second assistant officer, he was also greatly surprised, and then expressed his loyalty. However, he was not as excited as Liu Mengren, because there were too many unclean things about this guy.
According to the Qing Dynasty system, prefecture and county magistrates were not allowed to leave the county government gates unless there were special circumstances. This resulted in a large part of the custody and execution of prison proceedings being handed over to the subordinate staff of the execution chamber. The execution chamber was mainly responsible for filling in judicial documents and writing
Legal documents and subpoenas, detaining suspects, filling out judgment documents and sorting out documents for safekeeping, etc., specifically, can be divided into judicial documents and litigation execution.
Due to the complicated format of official documents and the strict wording, county magistrates who are not professionals are often not as knowledgeable as the subordinates of the execution room. Therefore, the execution room clerk's office is responsible for issuing subpoenas, legal documents, sorting out evidence materials, and writing dockets and other official duties.
However, unlike the household room, since the prisoner's office is also under the control of the execution room, the results of the inquest of the corpse in the murder case can almost be said to have a "final word" authoritative effect, and once this is done, innocent lives will often be ruined.
.
For example, the famous "Yang Naiwu Xiaobaicai Unjust Case" in the late Qing Dynasty was actually a case in which a subordinate in the execution room abused his power and colluded with officials to commit the crime of intrusion; by letting the prisoner play tricks on the autopsy, the county magistrate credulously believed in the prisoner's test results.
, eventually leading to an unjust case.
Like other subordinate officials, although the daily affairs handled by the execution room are extremely complicated, except for the clerk, the salary of others is only a meager salary and copying fees, which are all paid by the county magistrate from his own money. It is difficult to
To meet the daily expenses of subordinates. Many prison clerks will make a fuss about the "summons" to defraud money; the more sinister ones are to eat the plaintiff and the defendant until both the plaintiff and the defendant lose a large amount of money, and the prison hall earns a lot of money.
Don’t stop until the bowl is full.
However, the above two methods are just defrauding people of money. The most heinous one is "killing the white goose" - that is, looking for someone to take the blame and die as a substitute. Some of these people are unable to survive with their families, so they are willing to be a swindler for money.
"White geese" died on behalf of others in order to save their families; some were bullied by subordinate officials and squires, and were forced to embark on this path of no return. No matter which way, the people in the execution room were involved.
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Kong Shaoan finally ended his formal work for the day. In addition to meeting with two subordinates, he held meetings, signed official documents and even expense reports, issued orders, and signed messages sent and received.
The waiting was interspersed non-stop, and I was extremely busy.
After dinner, Kong Shaoan, accompanied by guards, went to the military camp outside the south gate of the county. He chatted with Lu Shoushan for a long time, listened to the other party's report on the progress of the troop operations, and also held a small meeting.
By the time he returned to the county government office, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening. After the guards helped lay down the bed, Kong Shaoan lay down to rest after washing himself, and did not look at the dizzying account books again.
He had been very tired this day, but when he thought that he would be like this every day for a while, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. In addition to thinking about official matters, he was also thinking about what his sister was doing.
In his wild thoughts, he thought that Wu Siyu had mentioned that Zhao Xin wanted to go to Europe. He didn't know what was good about Europe at the end of the 18th century, so why did he have to mobilize all the troops to go there himself.
He tossed and turned on the bed over and over again until after 12 o'clock, he fell into a deep sleep...