It was a sunny spring day in April. Peng Shu, a junior official in Suzhou's treasury, moved a bamboo chair outdoors and lazily leaned on it to take a nap. At this time, the treasury clerk (the head of the junior official) was not here, so he should be fine.
But not long after, he was awakened by someone. Mr. Peng opened his eyes and saw an old man in green shirt in front of him. He heard him say: "This gentleman has invited us to send an old man to deliver the tax money."
It turned out that he was the one who paid the summer tax, but he was the first one to come this year, but Peng Shu looked at him very strangely.
The subordinate officials in the county and the subordinate officials in the government office who are responsible for official duties are often old acquaintances, so that they can collude easily. As for the person in front of him, Mr. Peng is sure that he has never seen him before. He is probably a newcomer, but he is so old.
Newcomers are rare.
Since he is a newcomer, he needs to set some rules. Mr. Peng stretched himself and did not go to get the account book to register, but directly asked: "How much tax has your county paid this time?"
"Twenty thousand taels."
"How much is it really?"
"Twenty thousand taels."
Sure enough, he doesn't understand the rules. Mr. Peng sneered, "How can this be a waste of money? Do you want the government to pay for it? Just go back! Come back when the amount is full!"
"Please go out of your way to check and put them into the warehouse. I'll give you a drink tonight as a reward."
According to the current practice in Suzhou Prefecture, the county tax collector adds 20% to the fire fee, and then splits it half with the government office. Therefore, the 20,000 tax bank should actually be paid to 22,000 taels. Of course, the fire fee may be more or less.
It's not that fixed.
Mr. Peng thought, is it easy to get the benefits of being a stranger and not knowing the details? At least there must be an acquaintance to do it. He scolded: "You are really ignorant at your age. What are you talking about? Get out of here quickly."
Down!"
The old official's bruised veins popped out, he pointed at Mr. Peng and said, "Okay, okay, very good."
At this time, two Kudin heard the noise, came out, shouted loudly, and came forward to surround them.
"Who dares to touch me!" The old official took a step back.
Do you think this is the county government? Mr. Peng instructed Kuding: "Take it and throw it out!"
But I heard the old official shout in shock: "My son is Li You!"
Li You, Li Tuiguan, Mr. Peng and Kuding were immediately shocked and looked at each other.
Is it true or not? Ordinarily, no one should be so bold as to pretend to be Li Tuiguan's father in the government office? I heard that Li Tuiguan himself came from a long-standing family background...
Mr. Peng came to his senses and quickly ordered: "Please take good care of Mr. Li, and I'll go find Mr. Li!"
But it was said that Li You was trying the case in the official hall, throwing out lots and making boards. Suddenly he saw Peng Xiaoli, the bank clerk, running up sweating profusely. When he got there, he whispered: "There is an old gentleman who comes to pay the tax bank. He claims to be
Your Excellency’s father…”
When Li Tuiguan heard this, he stopped trying the case and hurried to the treasury with Peng Xiaoli. From a distance, he saw the familiar figure in front of the treasury door. Several petty officials and government servants were surrounding him, nodding and bowing. It was neither his father nor his father.
who?
"I didn't know that my father was here, and it was my son's fault!" Li You quickly stepped forward to pay his respects.
Father Li didn't say anything, just stared at Peng Xiaoli and snorted coldly.
When Li You saw this, he made a guess in his mind. How could he still not understand the behavior of these subordinates? He couldn't help but smile bitterly. You are so old, why do you have such a childlike innocence, pretending to be pigs and eating tigers?
.
Peng Xiaoli made a sound, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly.
Thinking that this person was usually very capable, Li You cursed: "Get out of here first! I'll deal with you later!"
Naturally, Li's father did not need to do anything about the deposit of tax money into the treasury.
Li You invited his father to take a seat in the promotion hall, and asked with a smile: "Why did father go so hard in person?"
"Looking at your great prestige in the government office, it's no wonder that the county magistrate named me as my father to pay the tax bill." Li's father replied.
It turns out that the Xinzhi County Magistrate of Xujiang County passed through the city when he took office and knew Li You's influence in the government office. When he learned that the old official named Li in his county government office was Li Tuiguan's father, he entrusted him with the execution of the torture chamber.
He was also specifically asked to be responsible for delivering tax money to the government.
Xujiang County's annual silver tax (excluding grain tax) is 120,000 taels. In addition, an additional 24,000 taels of fire consumption are levied, half of which must be handed over to the treasury according to industry regulations.
Now that Li You has such a big face and is sitting in the government office and is in charge of the bank, if his father pays taxes on his own and does not pay a cent of money or fire expenses, what can the government government do? It is equivalent to Xujiang County saving money every year
More than ten thousand taels of silver.
This Xinzhi County has a very lively mind... Li You thought, and asked directly: "How much will he give you?"
"One percent."
More than a thousand taels per year... Li You nodded and said: "It's acceptable."
It is certainly a good thing that Xujiang County has less taxes. As a native of Xujiang, Li You has no reason to block the welfare of his hometown. But to maintain the total revenue of the treasury, he has to collect more fire consumption from other counties to make up for it.
Li You made arrangements for accommodation again, "I'll ask my father to have a rest at the back office tonight."
Li's father shook his head and said: "No need, my father has another place to live. I have another official business here this time. This month is the Suzhou Prefecture Examination. I sent a mission to Xujiang County. The county magistrate also sent my father to look after the civilian husband for military service.
, I have to clean the tribute courtyard these days, so I’ll sleep there.”
According to the rules, the expenses for each examination in the government are borne by each county in turn, such as cleaning the dormitory, patrolling the house, buying books, paper and candles, etc. This time it was Xujiang County's turn.
Li You complained: "This county magistrate really doesn't know anything, and he is not afraid of tiring his father."
Li's father said with a thorn in his words: "I have benefited from the glory of a good son. I know that my father has someone to take care of him in Fucheng, so it is convenient for him to do things. Besides, how can he know my son's romantic skills if he is not in Fucheng?"
This...it seems that my father has heard the recent rumors. Where did he know about it? Did it spread back to Xujiang County in just a few days? "That's just a rumor."
"Not necessarily." Father Li said meaningfully.
Li You explained: "According to my guess, the Qian family of Huang Shang was looking for their son to get married. When they didn't succeed, they spread rumors and slanders randomly, and the son couldn't stop him."
"These are all your excuses! You may not have any distracting thoughts in your mind, and you may not have a wait-and-see idea."
Li You immediately argued: "That's not the case. It is impossible for my son to be with the Zhao family..."
"It's impossible that the Zhao family may have other families, who is not better than Madam Liu? Jiang Taigong's trick of fishing for those who wish to take the bait! Or maybe you are also testing the limelight to see the reactions of all parties! These are all your distracting thoughts, even if they are not intentional
It's not completely unintentional! You know your son, Mo Ruofu, you can hide it from others, but they can't hide it from me!" Li's father said loudly.
If it were someone else talking such nonsense, Li You would have had a seizure long ago. Is he such a worthless person?
But why do I still feel a little unreasonable and ashamed? Is it true that as my father said, I have the consciousness of letting myself wait and see and test the direction of the wind?
After thinking about it, Li You decided that this was the remnant thoughts of his previous life. After all, it was an era where divorce could be easily effected by just mentioning a personality incompatibility, regardless of three days, three years, or thirty years. The first thing to talk about was personality, not etiquette.
and responsibility.
This is naturally incompatible with the traditional concept of family, country and world in this era. After getting married, no matter what happens to your wife, you generally have to endure it. Speaking of it, the Ming Dynasty seems to have one of the lowest divorce rates in history.
"If you really want to stop the rumors, all you need to do is bring the Liu family's wife to the capital with great fanfare. The rumors will be self-defeating, but why don't you do it? With your cleverness, you can't think of it? I know that you are successful now, and you have the ability to change it.
You may have a better marriage, but I still tell you that you cannot divorce your wife and marry another."
"My son has no such intention."
"It doesn't matter whether the rich and the rich change their wives is right or wrong, but having any idea about it is very dangerous in itself, and you shouldn't even think about it, even if you swear that you have no plans at this moment. I can only say that you are forgetful and arrogant.
, it has deceived my true heart!”
His father was really serious about this, but he didn't dare to talk back. Li You was speechless. He was obviously very cautious and paid attention to safety.
"Since you have become an official, it is common to have a arrogant attitude. You must always be cautious in your words and deeds, walking on thin ice as if you are facing an abyss."
"My son has learned a lesson," Li You promised. Everyone can speak the truth, but your old man's reputation as a head catcher doesn't seem to be the same.
After training his son, Li's father left the government office and continued on his errands.
Disgraced by his father's education, Li Tuiguan found an opportunity to secretly ask the Yamen servant who came with his father: "Why is my father so angry?"
The yamen servant said flatteringly: "I just said a few random words. It seems that the old man settled a life case some time ago and was dismissed by Mr. Li. As a result, he was made fun of in the county yamen, so he was a little embarrassed."
Li You sighed, no wonder his father was unhappy when he came today. The following cases were sent to him, and they were all signed by the magistrate and stamped with the magistrate's seal. He didn't know who was specifically handling them.
After seeing his father off, Li You went to socialize with the prefect Wang. This time, the academic officer came to the city to preside over the college examination. Not to mention being an official in Suzhou Prefecture, there were many things to do.
When it comes to being an academic official, it is commonly known as academic politics or academic ethics. He does nothing else but only exams.
In these days, he is really a person who can go from heaven to hell. The future and destiny of scholars are all in his hands. Anyone who takes the exam to be a scholar has to pass through the hands of the academic officer. There is a saying: You can do it.
You can do it even if you can't do it; if you say you can't do it, you can't do it, and you can't do it even if you do.
This year is a big year for examinations for Suzhou Prefecture. In the first half of the year, there are college examinations for scholars in April, and in the second half of the year, in August, there are provincial examinations for candidates.
The official title of the Tixue Officer should be the Deputy Envoy of Tixue of the Provincial Envoys Division, the fourth rank. In name, he is listed under the Procuratorate Division. In fact, he carries out his work independently and tours to manage examinations and school affairs in a province.
However, the Liangzhili region is special and does not have a censorship department. The official position of the Tixue official is called the Tixue censor, who is also a fourth-rank official and is sent from the two capitals. The person who came to Suzhou this time is the Tixue censor.
When he held a banquet in the government office to entertain the academic officer, Li You unexpectedly met Chen Xundao, whom he had not seen for a long time. After thinking about it, he understood that the academic officer in other provinces was nominally the deputy envoy of the Imperial Envoy Department. Although he was not the deputy envoy in Jiangnan, he
At any rate, with this connection, Chen Xundao, the police officer, had reason to come forward.
Another surprise was that Li You actually saw Cui Jiansheng again, who liked to walk on dry roads. This guy had suffered many blows, but his vitality was so tenacious that Li You couldn't help but admire him.
It seems that this person has some ability. Ma Yushi appointed him as a subordinate official, and the academic officer also appointed him as an official, Li You thought.