A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1092 The Welfare of the Prime Minister

Hot summer in July,

Inside the Yamen of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Imperial City,
Wu Huaiyu summoned officials from the four departments of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and announced the good news.

"The weather has been hot recently, and everyone is busy with official duties. We have all worked hard, and we can see the truth."

Those who have merit will naturally be rewarded.

Wu Huaiyu announced that he would distribute benefits to the officials. In addition to lumi and basic salary, daily necessities, and miscellaneous expenses, officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs would also be given additional money, food money, tea money, and post-employment money... ·
Additional expenses and job allowances are all subsidized according to the level of the job, including money, rice, wheat, etc. Those with higher job titles even receive meal money, sheep, pork, horse fodder, etc.

"Servant, the monthly additional payment and post-employment allowance are four thousand, eight stones of rice, eight stones of noodles, eight sheep, meal money for eight people, and four horses and millet."

"The doctor's monthly allowance is 3,000 yuan, six shi of rice, six shi of flour, six sheep, food money for six people, and three horses and millet."

The meal money for the ninth grade is also subsidized according to grade. In addition to money, there are also real things such as salary, charcoal, wine, vinegar, salt, and tea.

The money for meals, tea and soups, paid by the waiters and doctors, was equivalent to half of the additional expenses and job allowances.

Even those from the ninth grade have a total of two thousand dollars.

There is also herbal tea to drink in summer.

These major allocations are actually not small.

There is an annual interest rate of 10%. Although it is not as good as the previous 100% annual interest rate when lending public money, the Ministry of Civil Affairs Yamen now has more relevant allocations from the court.

There are so many benefits that some dare not take them.

Now that public money lending has been cancelled, and the Ministry of Household's money-grabbing orders have been transferred to other ministries, many people are curious as to why there is still so much money for welfare payments.

Wu Huaiyu asked his subordinates to draw up a table listing various subsidies. How much each grade of official could receive was listed in detail.

Such a good benefit,

Of course Wu Huaiyu was not seeking personal gain against the rules.
Now all the government agencies have canceled the lending of public money, but there are still small treasuries, but the public money is transferred to the government-run bank, and each cent earns interest.

In addition, you can save money, etc.

The original monthly salary, miscellaneous materials, and job rent were all paid out on time.

"Don't worry, everyone. These money and items were all paid for by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and they were reported to the saint in advance."

One doctor couldn't help but ask, would this be illegal?

"After a while, everyone will be divided into divisions to collect it. It's hot, and there is still a batch of cold melons."

This time, two sets of new official uniforms will be purchased at public expense for all officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

There are also 1,800 foreign officials.

There are also many real things, from rice and noodles to beef and mutton, to salt, tea, wine, vinegar and firewood.

It's unbelievable.

I didn’t expect there are so many subsidies and benefits now.

There are several other items, one of which is the portion of the profits from the operations of the three major government-run banks, which are earmarked for confiscated money from various government offices.
Another item is that the fire consumption of the two taxes is returned to the public, part of which is also allocated to the various Yamen to use as kitchen food, daily necessities, miscellaneous materials, etc.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs' Yamen has been really busy recently, and many tasks have been pressed down. However, the free meals in the canteen have also been improved a lot. They can drink mutton soup and eat meat every meal.

Then there are the Chang Ping Cang and the newly established Trading Department, etc. Now, part of the profits must be transferred to these companies to confiscate the money.

Anyway, now the Civil Affairs Bureau no longer needs to make money on its own.
The funds are quite sufficient, including office reception expenses and public canteen expenses, and there is still plenty of money to provide subsidies and benefits to officials.

Not only are there free working meals, but there are also additional meal subsidies, and officials’ horses are also given fodder money subsidies.

When everyone finally confirmed that Mr. Wu was not joking with everyone, but that they could all receive the welfare subsidies in this announcement today, they all beamed with joy.

In fact, it is not easy to be a Beijing official, especially the lower-ranking Beijing officials and officials.

Many people even live very hard, and many have to borrow money to live.

Now that these subsidies and benefits are issued, they are actually equivalent to their original income. Is it equivalent to doubling?
Mr. Wu is really powerful. He leads everyone to live a good life as soon as he comes.

Some old officials lamented, remembering that when Prime Minister Wu first became Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, their cafeteria could not provide free working meals at that time. As soon as Wu Gong came, he provided free working meals for everyone, and soon the food was fully stocked. stand up.

"Prime Minister Wu, I'll have your share prepared and sent directly to your house."

Wu Huaiyu was the minister, and his several subsidies were twelve thousand, twelve shi each of rice and flour, twelve sheep, meal money for twelve servants, fodder for six horses, and charcoal, wine, and vinegar. Salt tea, etc., there are many things.

Of course, Wu Huaiyu is not lacking in this.

But as the chief officer, he must follow the rules.

It’s not okay to take too much, but it’s not okay to not take it.

This welfare package is not against the rules, but if your chief officer doesn't get it, how will other ministers and ministers get it?

"There's no need to send him to my house. I'll just ask my entourage to arrange a car to take him back."

There are still quite a lot of things.
There are twelve sheep alone.

Even the food in the cafeteria was particularly rich today, including stewed mutton, braised pork, braised fish, etc.

The people at the Ministry of Civil Affairs are particularly happy today.

Being an official means eating, clothing, and supporting your family.
Living in Chang'an is not easy, everything costs money and everything is expensive.

As for this grain, a bad spring cold at the beginning of the year caused the price of rice to rise to more than ten yuan per bucket of rice, three times more than before.

In addition to the price of rice, housing prices in the capital Chang'an are also getting more and more expensive.

In the past, the south of the city was still full of fields and was called ghost square. But now, the squares in the south of Chang'an City are gradually becoming more lively.
For ordinary Beijing officials and petty officials, if they want to buy a house or a courtyard in Chang'an, even if it is a small courtyard of one or two acres, they will have to spend hundreds of thousands of money.

If you can't afford it, you can only rent it.

Renting is getting more and more expensive, and you have to rent farther and farther away. This rental is far away, and it is inconvenient to live in the imperial city where you work. You have to buy a mount. If you can’t afford a horse, you can buy a mule or a donkey, but mules and donkeys are cheap. Some, but the cost of fodder is not cheap.

"In the past, the Yamen allowed us to lend money to the public, but we couldn't even give out so much money."

"No, in the past we gave our private money to Qianzhao Lingshi, gave him a share, helped with lending, and earned three to five cents, but we were still worried."

"It's better to have Prime Minister Wu. Since Prime Minister Wu came, not only has the food in our cafeteria been better, but we've also had more paper, pens, ink, etc. Now we've received so many benefits."

"But after Prime Minister Wu comes, not only will the food be good, but tea and snacks will also be provided in our yamen."

Everyone is happy,
After all, even the principals from the eighth level were assigned two sheep.

The Lingshi, Shulingshi, Pavilion Chief, and Zhanggu who had fled outside were also allotted a sheep, while those at the lower level were not allotted the whole animal, but were also allotted some mutton and pork.

I can imagine that with so much money, food, food, wine and tea waiting to be brought home today, the lady in the house will definitely be extra gentle.

The crowd dispersed,

Wu Huaiyu returned to his apartment.

The minister Dou Shilun followed and asked, "Are we being too high-profile? I'm afraid everyone in Chang'an will be talking about our Ministry of Civil Affairs tomorrow."

Wu Huaiyu sat down and made tea.

He didn't take it seriously at all, "It's not like our money came from a bad source. Besides, we've reported it to His Majesty. Besides, everyone has been working really hard recently,"

Wu Huaiyu gave him a cup of tea.

In fact, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, although the salaries of Beijing officials have been increased several times, they have always been relatively low. The finances are insufficient, that’s why we have public money and land, and we don’t even have salary money at the beginning.

Now that conditions are comfortable, of course we have to make up for these. You really expect the officials of the Tang Dynasty to bring their own rations to serve as officials for the court.

If you want the horse to run but not let it eat grass, then the horse must eat it secretly.

Not worth the candle.

Officials have power and the court refuses to give them better treatment, which will definitely force them to commit corruption.

"I didn't expect that the imperial court would really allocate a sum of money, let alone that the Prime Minister would directly give everyone such good benefits." Dou Shilun sighed.

This is the son of Duke Chen Guo, Don Kang of Sikong, and the brother of the consort Dou Dan. Dou Shilun also had an older brother, Dou Jing, who just passed away two years ago. He had served as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and had been partnered with Wu Huaiyu earlier.

Dou Shilun is also a famous painter. He has served as a prince, inspected and repaired Daxingtai in Yizhou, etc. He is an expert in the official weaving of silk brocades, and even personally designed many excellent patterns for Ruijin Palace Ling. .

It is still very popular today. Because he was granted the title of Duke of Lingyang County, everyone calls the style he designed Lingyang Gong Style.

This man served as Wu Huaiyu's deputy and served as Minister of Civil Affairs, and he was very cooperative with Wu Huaiyu.

"I have to work hard for you all to sort out the market transaction laws, and I will hand them over to the prince."

"If the Municipal Change Law is implemented, will a government office need to be established?"

"Well, it is planned to establish a city trade department."

Dou Shilun asked, "Can this Municipal Yi Division stay in our Ministry of Civil Affairs?"

Wu Huaiyu shook his head, "The Municipal Bank must be set up separately like the three major government-run banks, but we have supervisory responsibilities."

The three major government-run banks have been set up and started to absorb savings and lend money. With the full support of the emperor, Wu Huaiyu and the prince personally presided over it, and now they are running well and have good credit.

Anyway, everyone is willing to put money in.

After all, it pays one cent of interest every three years, which is better than leaving it at home. It is safe and also earns interest if you leave it in a bank.

The three major banks are relatively independent and are supervised by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Sinong Temple and Shaofu Temple respectively.

The imperial court deposited a lot of yamen's government money, as well as some money from the Shaofu and others, into official banks, which made the banks very prosperous as soon as they started operating.

Because for the time being, there are only two pilot locations in Chang'an and Luoyang, and they are even a little busy.
People who save money are queuing up, and people who borrow money are also queuing up.

Those who save money value interest and safety, while those who borrow money value low interest rates.

Judging from the trial operation during this period, the future of government-run banks is very good.

The reputation is also pretty good.
It has indeed solved many people's needs and also suppressed private loan sharking.

What Wei Zheng, Wang Gui and others worried about, such as competing for profits with the people and the imperial court lending money to exploit the people, did not happen.

Many yamen in the capital were jealous of these three major banks and wanted to get them under their yamen names, but Wu Huaiyu would not agree. Even though he was also the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he did not say that the bank would be placed under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, even under the Ministry of Household Affairs. Banks are only supervised by the Department of Household Affairs, one of the four departments under the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

He still will not place the Municipal Yi Department under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is currently under preparation.

Dou Shilun was a little regretful. As Minister of Civil Affairs, he still wanted to fight for it, but looking at Wu Huaiyu's look, he knew there was no chance.

"I'll push it again."

Dou Shilun put down his tea cup and went out, and soon came with relevant materials on the Market Change Law.

"It's already been driven out. Prime Minister Wu will see if there is anything else that needs to be modified, and I will take it to correct it."

Wu Huaiyu read it once and said, "That's all right. I'll take it to His Highness the Crown Prince first."

(End of this chapter)