Kangxi, your Qing Dynasty is dead

Chapter 109 The Dog Official of the Qing Dynasty (please subscribe, ask for a monthly ticket)

While Yu Wang Fuquan was strolling in the street, he was still looking at Wang Zhongxiao's concubine Yang Xiaohuan with relish.Today, he and Wang Datou came together outside Zhengyangmen, more than half of the reason is because of a little N mother like Xiaohuan.

What a nice ring!The nanny in Fuquan Mansion has more stuff, if you raise such a nurse at home, you will definitely not be without milk!
Fuquan also heard that this Yang Xiaohuan had also practiced wrestling, and often played wrestling with Wang Zhongxiao, thinking about it was exciting.If you wrestle with such a girl, you will be happy whether you win or lose!
This Uncle Fu also heard that Yang Qilong had a lot of good sisters, most of whom were as plump as Yang Xiaohuan. When he was thinking about becoming brother-in-law with Wang Zhongxiao, the voices of Guo Jinbao and Wang Zhongxiao came.

"Master Fu, Ruixin Hall is here!"

This kid didn't learn well either. Wang Zhongxiao had already arranged for him a job in the middle army of the green battalion new army, but he just didn't like it, so he had to brazenly hang out at the sticky pole.He also said that the place where the stick is close to the nobleman is easy to get promoted.

Later, Wang Zhongxiao forced him to do nothing, so he simply pushed his father, Gunpowder Guo, out as a shield, made Gunpowder Guo Dequan the firearms general of the new army of the Green Camp, and asked his father to accept his big brother It doesn't matter if my uncle Li Jixiang is an apprentice or not passed on to his sons or daughters!

The job of dispensing gunpowder is dirty and tiring. Who really wants to learn it?With that kind of skill, why not help the prince to go to Bada Hu to do good deeds?
Yu Wang Fuquan looked up, was taken aback for a moment, and blurted out: "Oh, why are there so many officials? What day is it today? Why are so many officials queuing at the entrance of Ruixin Hall?"

It turned out that there was a large group of officials queuing outside the Ruixin Hall, which was rebuilt from Yang San Teahouse and two rows of houses nearby.

"So many officials are queuing up to save money? Are these... all officials who have had an affair with Oboi?" Fuquan continued.

His mouth was locked when Kangxi, Aobai, and Bumbutai were in front of them. As long as the three of them were away, he would be the one to say whatever he wanted, and he just opened his mouth at this moment!
As a result, a large group of officials who were queuing turned their heads to look at him, and some even fell in love with him.

"Where did you come from, a child? How can you accuse someone of innocence?"

"That is, your adults don't care?"

"That's right, Jing has been elected in Jingquan since high school, how could he be Aobai's traitor?"

"Zhang was also a Jinshi in the sixth year of Kangxi, and he has never even met Aobai since he was elected in Jingquan."

"Hey, you guys are still Jinshi. Zhu is just a juren. He failed in three subjects. He has been selected in Beijing for several years. I don't know when he will be the top!"

"Jiang is also a candidate. He has been selected in Beijing for nine years. It's hard."

"I have also been selected in Beijing for eight years"

A group of upright officials hated Fuquan at first, but they began to complain after a while.

Only at this time did Fuquan and Wang Zhongxiao see clearly that these officials were all sesame mung beans, most of them were of the seventh or eighth rank, and there were also a few of the sixth rank officials, and some even wore official uniforms.

These officials are unlucky at first glance, they must have no money, and the materials of the official uniforms are naturally poor (the official uniforms of the Qing Dynasty are usually prepared by themselves), and there are not many followers who accompany them in line, most of the officials are alone. .

Several of them looked disheveled and emaciated.These days the Qing Dynasty has not yet popularized foreign medicine, so the official with this appearance is not sick, maybe he is often hungry?
Guo Jinbao, an old Beijinger, approached Yu Wang Fuquan with a smile, pointed at the group of down-and-out officials with contempt, and said, "My lord, these are sesame mung beans waiting to be selected in Beijing. They should be borrowed from Ruixintang." Usury."

"Oh, so it's a group of poor officials, bad luck!" Yu Wang Fuquan obviously didn't like this group of officials who came to Ruixin Hall to borrow money. After cursing, he swayed and walked into Ruixin Hall.

The guards of the royal palace who followed Fu's body rushed forward like wolves and tigers, waving their fists to scare the poor officials and said: "Get out of the way, get out of the way! This is the prince! Who wants to rush If you leave the prince, don't take this official skin!"

When the group of officials heard that Fuquan was a prince, and then looked at Fuquan's temperament and the appearance of Wang Zhongxiao who followed Fuquan, all of them were half shorter, and they all knelt on the ground where the snow hadn't melted and kowtowed to Fuquan.

Being scolded as a dog is so low-minded. This dog looks like a slave. Don't compare it with the civil servants of the Song Dynasty.

However, Wang Zhongxiao, who has been in Qing Dynasty for two years, actually understands the difficulties of these dog officials very well.

Officials in the Song Dynasty had high salaries to maintain integrity, and officials in the Ming Dynasty had great tax-free privileges, so many of the income from donations and remittances were from wealthy owners.

And the officials of the Qing Dynasty, to be precise, most of the officials of the Han Dynasty, are just one word - loss!

It's really risky to be a dog, and you must be cautious when you become an official!
It is still in the early years of Kangxi, and the Qing Dynasty has not yet opened much donation classes, so these officials are all famous, either Jinshi or Juren—according to the system in the early Qing Dynasty, Juren can only participate in three to five general examinations (Yuan Province Three subjects, five subjects in nearby provinces), if you fail the exam, you can only participate in the selection by the Ministry of Officials to try your luck.

And those who are particularly lucky to win Jinshi can be awarded officials, but having an official does not mean having a shortage.Most of the officials who have won Jinshi have to go through a long period of candidates and alternates before they can finally get a real vacancy.

Candidates (selection) and candidates are two gates. Among them, Beijing officials only need to be candidates (selection), and if they are selected, there will be vacancies.But officials in Beijing are poor, especially for Han Chinese who have no connections or property in Beijing.

The local officials need to be selected (selected) by the Ministry of Officials first. If they are selected, they can get an alternate official, and then go to the local government to continue waiting.

As far as Wang Zhongxiao knows, it takes an average of eight years for a serious Jinshi in the Qing Dynasty to go from high school to becoming a county magistrate!

Eight years!The War of Resistance was victorious, and these Jinshi from the Qing Dynasty were waiting for the vacancy of a county magistrate. Of course, waiting eight years for a county magistrate seemed worthwhile, but according to the system of the Qing Dynasty, candidates and alternate officials were not paid.

To make matters worse, candidates had to wait in Beijing, and candidates had to go to the provincial capital to wait.

What does Beijing cost?What is the cost of the provincial capital?

Moreover, being an official has the dignity of being an official, and all kinds of communication, various greetings, and various dealings all cost money.

And after becoming an official, he no longer goes to work. Is it reasonable for a candidate for a Jinshi and the first rank to carry big bags on the Tongzhou Canal Wharf?If the workers are not paid, begging is even more impossible. The dignified court orders officials to beg for food, which is a shame for the court.

In addition, finding a vacancy with great difficulty does not mean that you will be able to live in peace and stability for a lifetime.

Because most of the official positions have a term of office, the shortest is three years (expires), and the longest is five years.
In addition to the expiry of the salary, there is also the problem of returning home to be a dutiful son for three years after the death of the father and mother.There is no salary for keeping the filial piety. After the filial piety is over, you have to go back to Jingquan to choose. There is still no money to get it!
After being elected as a magistrate, you have to go to the alternate to continue to have no money!
What should I do if I have no money?Of course, you have to borrow usury.

This kind of usury is called Beijing debt in Beijing.

Therefore, if these Jinshi and Han members of Juren background in the Qing Dynasty were not particularly rich in family, or had a background and connections, or were particularly good in the exam, they won the number one, second place, or a flower, and wanted to make a lot of money. It's really difficult, if you don't pay attention, the corrupt official will be at a loss.

It may be a joke in other dynasties that corrupt officials have lost money, but it often happened in the Qing Dynasty.In the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, when the number of officials was flooding, and the real shortage was even more rare, there were even incidents of starvation to death after being an official. That was a tragedy!
However, most of the officials who lost money were not because they borrowed money to eat and live when they were candidates or alternates, but because they borrowed usury and bribed to get out of the door.

In the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, borrowing money to pay bribes to buy missing children, and embezzling and repaying debts after taking office were all normal operations.Most of them have no background, did not do particularly well in the exam, and did not meet noble people. If they want to fill the vacancies earlier, most of them have to take the road of borrowing usury to buy vacancies.Otherwise, the number of candidates and candidates would be too long—the eight years from high school Jinshi to magistrate, that is an average number!

And this is still a non-commissioned officer. If you want to raise someone to become an official, it will be too difficult to not spend money.

But borrowing usury to buy shortages is risky, because in Beijing you can only buy spare road shortages, and it is hard to say whether you can buy desired real shortages in other places.

In addition, even if you buy a lot of money, you can't keep it. When the old man in the family is gone in a few days, you have to go back to be a filial son, and all the money you bought before is in vain.

And such a group of high-ranking officials who owe a lot of usury, and the interest is rolled up every day when they open their eyes, want to be an upright official, and the conditions are not allowed!
Most of the capital for lending Beijing debt to these Han officials elected in Jingquan came from the nobles of the banner.

To put it bluntly, even though the bannermen and dignitaries of the Qing Dynasty had eaten most of the official oil and water, they did not let go of the part that was given to the Han officials. Scrape off the oil and water of Han officials.

If all the Han officials in the officialdom are put together to issue a financial report every year, even if they do not lose money, the net profit will not be too high. On the whole, they are a group of "official white laborers".

And it is this kind of "official white labor" who can lose money if you don't pay attention, and because of the relationship between supply and demand and the lack of outlets for Han intellectuals, it has become a very popular sweet pastry.

However, Wang Zhongxiao has no objection to the bad habits of bullying and exploiting Han officials in the Qing Dynasty. Look, even corrupt officials can give you a loss. Why does such a court want it?Can this still be revolutionary?
It's a revolution. Don't you have to pay back if you owe usury?So before the revolution happens, shouldn't we borrow a little more?

Thinking of the good thing about borrowing money and not repaying it, Wang Zhongxiao has accompanied Yu Wang Fuquan into the hall of Ruixin Hall—the hall of the original Yangsan Tea House, which has now been transformed into a bank hall. There is a row of high and strong counters, and jujube fences are erected on the counters, each of which is as thick as the mouth of a bowl.The entrances to the inside of the counter and the second floor are all covered with iron-clad wooden doors, which are very strong at first glance, and there are strong men with eyebrow-length sticks guarding the door.

When Wang Zhongxiao accompanied Fuquan into the hall of Ruixin Hall, the business here was booming. In front of each counter stood a candidate officer or candidate who was doing business. Most of them were frowning. to silver.

Yang Qilong, Yuan Linjing and Wang Sanshun, the three shopkeepers, came early in the morning.At this moment, I heard the report from my subordinates that the prince had arrived, and they all went downstairs to greet him. When they saw Fuquan, they were about to kneel down. The "official Bailao" who were doing business also felt that a nobleman was coming—they all knew the man behind Ruixin Hall. It's Yu Wang Fuquan!So now you have to kneel down to the big boss Fuquanfu. You see, there is really no one else who kneels down to the shopkeeper.

But Fuquan didn't want to get entangled with them, so he rushed up the stairs with a brisk walk, and then went up to the second floor in a hurry.Wang Zhongxiao, Yang Qilong, Yuan Linjing, Wang Sanshun, Guo Jinbao and the others followed immediately, and they all went up the stairs, and then they heard the sound of the door slamming shut.

The second floor of Ruixin Hall is the account room. When Fuquan, Wang Zhongxiao and others climbed up, they heard a sound of twiddling abacus beads.

Fuquan asked, "Are you still settling accounts? It's the Chinese New Year, and you don't want to rest?"

"Your Majesty, we are the busiest before the New Year's Eve, and it's not long since we opened our business. This year is the first New Year's Eve, so why don't you do the math?"

It was Yang Qilong who answered the question. Now Ruixin Hall has three big shopkeepers, Yang Qilong, Yuan Linjing, and Wang Sanshun, of which Yang Qilong is the biggest.Moreover, he has also let go of usury, and he has a group of accountants and collectors under his hands, who are experienced!

"My lord please."

While Yang Qilong was replying, he invited King Yu into a spacious living room.

After taking his seat, King Yu asked again: "How much did you earn last year? Have you figured it out?"

"My lord, the final settlement hasn't come out yet." Yang Qilong said with a smile, "But last year, Ruixintang didn't make any money, but received more than 240 million taels of savings."

The deposit of more than 240 million taels is actually a bribe of more than 24 taels, but it is stored here by someone else on the books!
Wang Zhongxiao was worried that King Yu didn't understand what Yang Qilong meant by "not making money", so he quickly explained: "My lord, the more than 240 million are long-term deposits. And the bank account does not need to pay interest, and it can be released to earn a year. Even with a 24% profit, there is still a profit of [-]. However, the money released now will only receive interest next year. So there is no profit this year."

Fuquan nodded in satisfaction: "I know, I know that's right, who do we give our money to? Can we get it back?"

Yang Qilong said with a smile: "Returning to the prince, at present most of our money is given to the officials and juren selected and selected in Jingquan. There is no guarantee that all of them will be recovered, but the interest is heavy, and it is still rolling interest. The ledger is still profitable.”

Of course Yang Qilong didn't tell the truth, Ruixintang's current business is not only profitable, it is simply profitable!

He is now on the side of Yu Wang, and he is an official at the sticky pole. He is absolutely well-informed and only lends money to officials who have a chance to be selected.Moreover, the interest is only a part of the income that can be obtained from lending to the candidate officials, and the other part of the income is obtained by "sending family members".

The so-called "sending out family members" means that the creditors send people to follow "Guan Bailao" to take office (the family members' quota can also be sold directly), and then follow the official authority of "Guan Bailao" to collect money crazily!When trouble is caused, the "family" will come to the world and disappear, and the blame is still "Guan Bailao".

As for this part of the income, there is no need to reimburse Fuquan, and Wang Zhongxiao, Guanyinbao, Yang Qilong, Yuan Linjing, and Wang Sanshun will share the account!
"Didn't you say before that you want to give the money to the merchants who do water transport business?" Fuquan asked, "Why are you giving it to the officials now?"

Yang Qilong had been waiting for this question for a long time, so he smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know. The merchants who run the water transport all buy goods in the southeast and sell them in Beijing. They only need to borrow money when they sell goods. Once the goods are sold, it is time to pay back the money. Therefore, to do the business of water transport merchants, we have to open branch offices in Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. We release accounts in Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, and collect accounts in Beijing. At the same time, we also It can carry out exchange business and help merchants and officials remit money to the southeast or back to Beijing."

"My lord, this is a good deal!" Wang Zhongxiao hurriedly encouraged Fu Quandao: "The southeast itself has money, Yangzhou has salt merchants, Suzhou and Hangzhou have been rich in silk since ancient times, and there are four major weaving factories in Jiangnan, and the annual flow is also a big one. A sum of money. If the salt merchants and the four major weaving companies can save part of the money into Ruixin Hall, it will not be more than 200 million, but 500 million or even tens of millions!"

Yuan Linjing came from Yangzhou, of course he wanted to return home, and don't argue with Yang Qilong, a local snake in Beijing, now he also smiled and said: "My lord, this is a great thing that benefits the country and the people. As far as I know, The interest rate on borrowing money in the southeast shopping mall is very high, and [-]% of the annual interest rate is considered very low. And our Ruixintang can earn a lot even at [-]%!"

"Really? That's pretty good!" Fuquan said with a smile, "Datou Wang, what do you think?"

"Me?" Wang Zhongxiao said with a smile, "My lord, I heard that the Ministry of Officials has a lot of vacancies in Liangjiang that need to be released, or you can be a nobleman today and choose a few from the officials who borrowed money from Ruixintang Let him go to Liangjiang as an alternate magistrate, so that Second Brother Yuan will be taken care of when he arrives in the southeast. If there are Cao merchants who dare not pay back their debts, they will be able to ask for it."

Wang Zhongxiao said again: "In addition, Ruixintang's semicolon in the southeast can also be set up as a branch of the East Tangzi Yamen at the sticky pole. While acting as the emperor's eyes and ears together with the four major weaving companies, it can also make money for you, the prince."

"Okay!" Fuquan patted his thigh, "That's a good idea, let's do it like this. By the way, big head, you go and pick a few officials and recruits who are waiting to be selected and selected, and let them come to see the king. Wang felt that it was okay, so he called the officials and arranged for them to release Liangjiang."

Wang Zhongxiao was overjoyed and said: "My lord, then you are really their great nobleman!"

(End of this chapter)