Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 145
As soon as the new policy came out, the ethos of all the yamen in the capital was completely new, and the bad habits of indolence in government and slack administration almost disappeared in an instant.Under the strict supervision of the factory guards, the government affairs environment of procrastination and buck-passing has been greatly improved. Major and urgent matters reported to the imperial court by the local government will be quickly summarized in the Shangguan document, and then reported to the cabinet for handling.

It’s okay not to be proactive, if any mistakes or omissions are recorded by the factory guard who sits in the yamen, not only will the huge 30 taels bonus at the end of the year be gone, it may even endanger the job.It's so easy to look forward to the day of high salary, and if you lose your golden job, your family will have to scold you to death.The reason why the factory guards can easily supervise these officials is that all correspondence must be recorded, and the factory guards only need to check the documents when they are on duty every day.

All members of the cabinet have benefited even more from this salary increase.

As the chief assistant, Wen Tiren received a salary according to the first grade.The monthly salary is set at 200 taels, and the maintenance silver is 1000 taels.

Wang Yingxiong, Zhang Zhifa and others were treated as Cong Yipin, with a monthly salary of 150 taels and a maintenance silver of 800 taels.

Wen Tiren is already in his sixties, and usually walks in official steps, which looks stable and official.

As a self-proclaimed incorruptible man, he usually keeps the door closed when he comes home from duty, and hardly sees outsiders, so as to make a gesture of refusing to accept bribes.

After a long time, the incorruptibility has become incorruptible, but life is not as good as other ministers.

Because no one gave gifts, aren't you an honest and lonely minister?Then why do you need money?

For this reason, Lao Wen was often complained by his wife and children at home: Look at the old man in a certain pavilion, who lives in eight rooms, has a group of servants in the house, and entertains guests and friends at home every now and then.The concubines in the family all wore a full set of gold ornaments, and a group of maidservants followed behind them when they went out.Take a look at our house again, sir, your official sedan chair has been used for several years, and you are not willing to spend money to replace it with a new one. How shabby the road is.

Old Wen knew it, so he could only shake his face and scold, then slipped to the study to read, because he felt guilty.

For so many years, the first assistant, in order to show an upright and honest image in the eyes of the emperor, he has reluctantly rejected many gifts from many people, isn't it just to keep the first assistant's seat?
For the usual New Year's gift, only a few of his loyal confidants gave it to him.In Wang Yingxiong's and other families' homes, when the Chinese New Year comes, there is a long queue at the door to give gifts.

Wen Tiren regretted it sometimes, what was he trying to do?
Isn't being an official just to make your family members, relatives and friends feel good?Fortunately, as a chief assistant, life is just a little better than ordinary rich people, because they have no money.

I didn't expect the Holy One to give such a big favor all at once. Although it wasn't for himself, he was the one with the highest salary among all the officials.

He can get 400 taels of salary a year, plus 1000 taels of supporting money. Not only does his family suddenly become extremely wealthy, but more importantly, he has the highest salary in the entire Ming Dynasty!Who can compare?
The official sedan chair is old and not good-looking?Change!Immediately change to the latest model, there is a heater in the east, and an ice basin in the summer!

Do all concubines wear gold ornaments?purchase!A full set of gold ornaments, the most popular style, buy two sets!Shouldn't you be nagging now?

Old Wen walks like a brisk walk now, and his whole body has become full of energy, his voice has become extremely resonant, and his usual cold face has a little smile on it.

The effect of this salary increase is immediate and will have a deeper impact. The biggest benefit is peace of mind.

Located in the deep palace, the capital is his base camp, and also the brain and center of the entire Ming Dynasty. Whether it is the morale of the army, the people or the officials, it must be stable and the morale must be boosted.

Calculated, this time it is just an extra 10,000+ taels of silver every year, but it has basically eliminated many bad habits in the yamen. These behaviors are all due to two words-silver.

The key is how to make the current good atmosphere continue, not everyone's 3-minute enthusiasm. It seems that effective supervision and personal interests are indispensable.

As long as the problem can be solved by spending money, it is not a problem.A mere 20 taels of silver is really not a lot of money for Chongzhen, who is now rich and powerful.

As long as the problem of the Lianghuai Salt Fields is resolved, it will mean that the white money and the yellow copper coins will roll in.

Do you want to share some with the household department?Although Hou Xun's bitter face has improved slightly now, it is still wrinkled all day long.Every time I see his old face full of class hatred, I can't wait to go up and kick him.

Forget it, a person in his 60s has to deal with the books asking for money and food from various places every day.
Now that you think about the matter of Lianghuai, let’s do it quickly. This year, we spent an extra 10,000+ taels, and the Lianghuai Salt Lifting Department can’t get back several 20 at once.

Don't underestimate low-level officials. If you sit in an important position for a long time, your family property may not be less than that of some high-ranking officials. It is not new for small officials to be corrupt.

After taking down the Lianghuai Salt Lifting Division, the Lianghuai Salt Fields became a possession, and the salt stored in the dozen salt fields and official warehouses in Huaibei alone was a fortune.

It's a pity that the big salt merchants are all living in Yangzhou Prefecture, and they can't carry out the crime of colluding with bandits and taking advantage of the court to search several companies, and they will make a fortune.

If the same eight companies as Fan Yongdou and others were used for comparison, the salt merchants' property could beat Fan Yongdou's by several blocks.

How luxurious are the salt merchants?

for example.

A salt merchant surnamed built a hall in the garden for banqueting distinguished guests.The entire hall is made of wood, including all the furniture inside.

Isn't it common to build with wood?What's so luxurious about it?

Yes, it is common to build with wood, but all people use golden nanmu!
In later generations, nanmu was hailed as an inch of gold and an inch of gold, but in the current Ming Dynasty, its price is not inferior to that of later generations, and an inch of wood is indeed worthy of the name.

Find nanmu from the depths of the Yunnan-Guizhou Mountains, fell it, drift down the river, and drag it to the south of the Yangtze River by boat, then untie the wood, dry it thoroughly, and then beat it into furniture. Nan is more expensive.

How much money would it cost to build a hall with golden nanmu?
I don’t know the exact number, but generally speaking, there are 10,000+ to 10 taels.

You can imagine how rich this family is if you can spend several 10 taels to build a hall just for your own enjoyment.

On the Forbes rich list of future generations, I am afraid that few are willing to do this.Some people have calculated that the purchasing power of one tael of silver in the Ming Dynasty was equivalent to 1000 RMB, and it took [-] to [-] million yuan to build a hall, which few people could do.

Anyway, Chongzhen couldn't do such extravagant things. Although he is the king of a country and rich in the world in name, he has just come out of hard times in reality.

What's more, no matter how rich he is, Chongzhen will not spend it on it, it's not worth it.

Wouldn't it be better to invest huge sums of money in improving people's livelihood, such as building bridges and paving roads, and helping the poor and the poor?We all use money to build expensive houses, so where can we find the silver needed for other commodity circulation?
Now at least the capital area is very stable in all aspects. From the palace to the army to the people, people are determined, and now the group of officials has been added.With various measures, Chongzhen's prestige has been quietly established. The next step is to let people slowly digest and absorb the nutritious meals they eat, and subtly change some serious diseases.

In order to allow good governance to benefit more ordinary people, under Chongzhen's intentional bewitchment, Empress Yi'an, Empress Zhou, Concubine Tian Gui, Concubine Li Shu and others contributed funds to establish two large-scale nursing homes in the southern city and the northern city.The original nursing home has long been abandoned and collapsed, and the surrounding dwellings limited it to a small area, so it was not built on the original site.

The Yangjiyuan has existed since ancient times. After Taizu established the Ming Dynasty, he carried forward this system.

"Making widows, widows, lonely, sick and unable to survive on their own" is the basic principle of the nursing home. During the heyday of the Ming Dynasty, almost every state and county had a nursing home. materials for its normal operation.

However, with the turmoil in the past few years and the slack in the Northern Land, it is difficult for ordinary people to live, and no one cares about others.As a result, the nursing home in Jiangbei was gradually abandoned, and at the same time, countless tragedies occurred.

At present, it is impossible to restore the nursing homes in various places on a large scale, and it is difficult to make ordinary people have a meal.

But you can't just watch those lonely and helpless people die of illness and starvation, right?As a time traveler, Chongzhen, who has regarded humanitarianism as the most basic conscience of human beings since childhood, cannot accept it.

Now that I have plenty of money, I can't let the tragedy of the world happen under my nose.

During a meal, Chongzhen inadvertently mentioned a report by Jin Yiwei, one of which specifically described the tragic situation of these helpless people in the capital.

The reason why human beings form families is not only to pass on the family line, but more importantly, to find support.When you encounter major setbacks and need help, you will have relatives who can accompany you, even if you cannot provide other help, but you will feel more psychologically safe.

These people who are helpless for various reasons are living in hell.

It is normal to be short of food and clothing on weekdays, especially after being sick, you can only die slowly with a huge sense of fear in a conscious state.

What's more difficult is that in winter, under the hunger and cold, death is the best destination.The guards of Shuntian Mansion would drive a large number of people who died of cold and starvation out of the city by car every day, and find a remote place to throw them away.

These are not foreigners who have fled, but locals from the capital, widows, widows, lonely and sick!
After Zhou Hou heard what her husband said, she couldn't help crying, and got up and went back to the bedroom without even eating.

On the second day, Zhou Hou went to Queen Yi'an's residence and told what Chongzhen said one by one. Zhang Yan couldn't help crying, so she came up with the idea of ​​personally investing in the construction of the Nursing Home.

Zhou Hou told her husband the thoughts of several people, and Chongzhen immediately expressed his firm support, and strongly praised Zhou Hou and others for their kindness and good deeds.He also generously stated that in name, Zhou Hou and others contributed the capital, but the actual consumption can be borne by himself, including the needs for the operation of the nursing home in the future, all of which will be borne by internal funds.

Under the unanimous praise of the government and the public, Zhou Hou and others invested 3 taels of silver, and the Ministry of Industry sent personnel to supervise the construction. Shuntian Prefecture was responsible for the employment of civilian husbands. The nursing home officially started construction.

Because the empress who is the mother of the world took the lead, and the emperor just gave everyone a substantial increase in salary, many wives of noble civil servants also donated money and food.

Princess Le'an's Mansion, Yangwuhou's Mansion, Xuanchengbo Mansion and other honorable mansions, as well as the mansions of court officials and officials headed by Wen Tiren, also you 1000 taels and I two hundreds are competing to donate.This also made Chongzhen sigh secretly, the emperor treats his ministers like brothers and feet, and the ministers treat the emperor like his heart. The ancients did not deceive me!The construction of the Nursing Home was originally intended, but unexpectedly, it brought about a rare intersection between the monarchs and ministers who already had their own thoughts. This can be regarded as a concrete manifestation of reciprocating love.

　Thanks to the book friends Yuanbao Mama 111, the favorite rewards, thanks to the book friends who voted for collection, thank you for your unwavering support as always!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)