The level of commodity economy in Lingao is very poor. There is little silver circulating in the market, the price of silver is relatively high, and the price of food is low. To collect silver, it is necessary to collect more food. The difference between the price of one out and one in, seems to be only a few cents.
Cumulatively, the numbers become very large.
The official land taxed by Lingao totals 1,660 hectares and 98 acres. According to the levy of 9 cents per mu, it is almost 15,000 taels of silver. Although some fields are taxed at 4 cents per mu, some are exempt.
But the total cost is nearly 10,000 yuan. For such a small county, the additional burden is simply unbearable.
Therefore, when it is time to collect grain, the price of silver will rise very high, which is not only a huge burden for grain households, but also the county. In the past, there was no increase in distribution, and it was easier to complete the grain supply. Since the end of Wanli
After an additional dispatch, the county government had to collect grain and silver, and was exhausted.
The most troublesome thing for Wu Mingjin and others is that Lingao is a place where the sky is high and the emperor is far away. The authority of the county government is very limited. Not to mention the gentry in the county, they are ordinary rich people who form villages to protect themselves. They can pay whatever amount of food they want. The government
There is no way to ask more questions, and there are countless hidden fields cultivated privately.
However, in the past, with Wu Mingjin's methods and Wang Zhaomin's efforts, Lingao's autumn grain collection was finally completed in time. Although the Australians came last year, they did not interfere too much with the autumn grain collection, and the task was still completed.
. Later, although a reasonable burden was provided, it had nothing to do with the county government.
This year, the situation is more subtle. The Australians have openly opened up wasteland and planted crops. Wang Zhaomin has a great hidden worry.
What are the hidden worries? This has to do with "scamming". In order to evade government taxes, some families often resorted to taking their land and investing it in the name of a famous or powerful landowner. In fact, in the Ming Dynasty,
There are originally clear regulations on food exemptions. How much officials of different grades can be exempted, how many people can be exempted, and how much students can be exempted. There are regulations, but in actual operation, the regulations are often far exceeded. In Lingao, this kind of thing
There are also examples. There are not many distinguished gentry in Lingao, but there are many powerful landowners. The money is sent to the names of powerful landowners. There is no tax exemption in the law, but for the county government, being a local official cannot offend the county.
It is a basic principle that a large household can only turn a blind eye to the levy figures. Generally speaking, both parties can get by.
Now the Australians are considered to be the first-class powerful households in Lingao County. If they blatantly refuse to hand over a grain of rice, the county government will have nothing to do about it. Many small and medium-sized landowners or farmers who are watching may join them.
Lingao's autumn grain collection will shrink a lot again. This is a very bad omen for Wu Mingjin and Wang Zhaomin - this is not only related to Wu Mingjin's performance appraisal, but also related to their pocket problems. For local officials,
The advantage of the extra tax payment is a reliable and risk-free income.
After much deliberation, Wang Zhaomin proposed that only Australians with emotional intelligence should set an example. Judging from the performance of the Australians over the past year, Australians did not want to be enemies of the Ming Dynasty officials, and sometimes they were even willing to spend money to buy a good image, so
As long as the price is right, the other party may not refuse.
How did Xiong Buyou know his plan? He was thinking about what the other party meant.
"The grain tax in this county is very light," Wang Zhaomin saw him groaning, and quickly explained: "Each mu of government tax is only three dou and five liters. For your several thousand acres of land, a 500-mu tax will be established in Bairen Village.
That’s it.”
Xiong Buyou shook his head: "Master Wang, I have to report this matter to the executive committee before I can give you a reply."
"Of course." Wang Zhaomin couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw that there was room for negotiation in his intention, and thanked him repeatedly. If he hadn't already known that this group of thieves was not going to get in, he would probably have given him a lot of benefits.
After Xiong Buyou came back, he quickly reported it to Wu De. This matter immediately attracted Wu De's great attention, so the executive committee immediately held a meeting to discuss the matter.
"This is a good thing that is delivered to your door!" Wen Desi's eyebrows were elated, "I was originally thinking about how to persuade them, but I didn't expect that it was delivered to my door!"
"This is not the same thing, right?" Ma Qianzhu immediately sang the opposite tune, "He wants us to pay grain, but he doesn't want us to pay taxes."
"Although it's not the same thing, Wang Zhaomin has exposed his underwear now." Wen Desi used a vulgar metaphor.
"Originally we didn't know how much pressure Lingao County had on grain requisition, but now it seems that they are under great pressure." Wen Desi analyzed, "Judging from Wang Zhaomin's request, it at least exposed the Lingao County government's efforts to requisition grain.
There are serious difficulties up there.”
Since there are difficulties in collecting food, the Crossing Group has a lot to do.
However, they still have no idea what the difficulty is. Before taking the next step, they must first find out the county government's trump card.
Naturally, the most direct way to inquire about this kind of thing is to ask the secretary of the county government office.
This matter is not easy. There are so-called "three classes and six rooms" in the county government. The leaders of these three classes and the secretary of the sixth room are people who are not easy to get along with. Only the secretary is familiar with the official affairs at the grassroots level of the yamen.
This is their "capital", and the true situation, as well as the key and secret, are secrets that are not passed down. Therefore, although there is no explicit "hereditary" document in the office, there is a hereditary practice that is passed down from father to son invisibly. This kind of
All of them are veteran officials who are extremely familiar with official matters. They are also very familiar with the world of people and the philosophy of officialdom. The time travelers have no control over bribery, so the executive committee's policy towards this group of people is to be gentle and considerate first.
I use it and clean it thoroughly when the time comes.
The household book office in Lingao County is called Chen Minggang, a local. It is said that his ancestors have been the book office in Lingao County since the Song Dynasty. He has many secret books hidden in his family. He is extremely familiar with the county and knows everything about it.
To give him a face, he is a very popular local figure. Gou Da Gou Er is doing random things in Lingao County, and Chen Minggang has benefited greatly - in fact, from Ran Yao's point of view, don't look at gangs like Gou Da Gou Er
For a time, the hustle and bustle is supreme, seemingly powerful, and it is actually not difficult to eradicate it. Once it falls, it will disperse. People with deep roots and intricate connections like Chen Minggang are the real so-called "invisible behind-the-scenes masterminds."
He is also an indispensable celebrity in the county. Chen Minggang has a great contribution to Wang Zhaomin's ability to collect autumn grain every year. In fact, it can be said that whether he can establish a good cooperative relationship with the county's Household Book Office can directly
It affects the smoothness of the county magistrate's appointment as an official.
Therefore, even Wang Zhaomin, a powerful figure in the county, would affectionately call Chen Minggang "Laoba!" when he saw Chen Minggang - Chen Minggang was the eighth eldest child and thought that he was informal.
Because the Household Book Office was related to the county's taxation and was a very important figure, Wu De had always wanted to win him over. To this end, he sent Xiong Buyou to interact with him several times, and Lin Baiguang also went out to fight against him.
Not satisfactory.
Chen Minggang is not an upright person, nor can he talk about his position at all. His attitude is extremely smooth. He tries his best to deal with the people who travel through time. He never procrastinates or asks for all kinds of bad rules when it comes to requests or things.
Buying face bought him 12 points. But when it comes to some key issues, especially the amount of land and tax burden, he always makes a fuss, saying half is hidden and half is hidden, and sometimes he just talks about some obscure terminology.
, so that the people who travel through time don’t know what’s going on.
In the archives of the General Administration of Political Security, there is a lot of black material about Chen Minggang. It can be said that he is one of the subordinates who is the most angry among the people in the county. He is even more guilty than the secretary of the execution room. Zhang Xingjiao also hates this person.
It’s deep in the bones—after all, the destruction of his family started when Hufang colluded with Gou Da Gou Er to engage in the scheme of “reducing production and reducing grain reserves.”
But now, the Travelers still have to use him for a period of time. Xiong Buyou immediately asked someone to prepare a post, asking Chen Minggang to go to the teahouse in front of the county government to talk about it.
Generally speaking, the street in front of the county government office is always the busiest place in the county, and there are always several teahouses and other businesses opposite the county government office. There are special "stamps" issued by the government to write complaints on behalf of people.
There are also experienced lawyers who work as "scrippers" and have hooked up with the three parties. As usual, they all sit in the yaqian teahouse waiting for customers to come to their door or waiting for opportunities to solicit business.
Communication of news, bargaining, collusion and fraud, and bargaining are often carried out here. If you want to go to the county government for business, this is the best window.
Lingao County is a small county and doesn't have many tricks like this, but the general situation is similar, but the specifics are subtle. Therefore, although the teahouse is small, it still exists.
Xiong Buyou is already a "celebrity" in this county. Who doesn't know that he is the big boss of the Australians, who is responsible for connecting with the county. So as soon as he arrived at the store, a waiter immediately ushered him into the private room at the back.
It is said to be a private room, but in fact it is very small inside. It can only accommodate a table and a few chairs, and the tea is not necessarily elegant. Anyway, the people who come to drink tea mainly come to talk about things, not to drink tea.
When Xiong Buyou interacts with subordinate officials in the county, he usually always makes appointments here. The main reason is that this is an environment that the subordinate officials are familiar with, which is enough to make them feel at ease. In addition, the executive committee has another layer of concerns and is unwilling to treat subordinate officials directly.
He was asked to go to Bairen City to have a confidential conversation, so as not to let outsiders think that the Crossing Group had too deep a relationship with the subordinate officials in the county. It is more suitable to have a conversation in this kind of place where people can "eat tea" and "talk about things".
Not long after, Chen Minggang arrived. He was nearly fifty years old, with a dark complexion and a slightly stout figure. Due to his status, his clothes were not very flashy, but the materials and workmanship were very sophisticated. He also held a Sichuan fan in his hand.
The waiter ushered in, and Chen Minggang treated the people in a very respectful manner, bowing every time they met.
"No need to be polite, sit down! Sit down!" Xiong Buyou greeted.