Chapter 162 What does it look like?

When the salary issue was brought up, Empress Ma said angrily:
"I have told you a long time ago that the salary is too low to support an honest official."

"Even if it's a donkey, you have to make it full before you can grind it."

"If the officials are not fed well, how can they think about governing the people?"

Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth and said, "Since you said so, sister, we will give them a salary increase."

"Just increase it by [-]%... no, [-]%. They can't be too little now."

Empress Ma was speechless: "You are the mighty Emperor of Heaven, can you not be like a street vendor?"

"It's still a [-]% increase, even a five-fold increase is too little..."

"Don't glare at me. Do you want me to settle a score for you?"

"A seventh-grade official's annual salary is eighty shi of grain."

"Now the price of food is [-] yuan per dan, and the annual salary is only [-] guan."

Zhu Yuanzhang argued: "Forty strings is already a lot..."

Queen Ma sneered: "Not a lot? Then do you know how much it costs to hire a full-time worker per month?"

"Nine hundred wen, one year is ten thousand and eight hundred wen. The salary of a seventh-grade official for one year is equivalent to four long-term workers."

Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated and said: "That's not a lot..."

Ma Xiuying was furious and said, "Then have you calculated the expenses of a seventh-grade official?"

"Do you need an aide to help with things? You need one or two grooms to lead horses, or bearers, right?"

"You can't let a dignified seventh-grade official cook by yourself, right? You also need a cook, right?"

"Welcome and drop off are always needed, plus..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little worried when he heard this, and said quickly:

"Okay, okay, our good girl, we know we were wrong, okay, please stop talking."

When the salary was set, he had just become emperor and always thought of things too simply.

Do you think that dozens of kilos of grain are enough to feed their family?

The common people were still hungry. Back then we didn’t even have anything to eat.

If you want more, you are greedy.

After being the emperor for so many years, I have a deeper and deeper understanding of many things.

Naturally, I also understand that officials are officials, and we cannot ask them to have a full stomach.

That's not realistic.

"But...five times is too much. How about doubling it?"

Seeing the way he was picking at Sosou, Ma Xiuying was very happy and said:
"Who said everything has increased five times? The higher the grade, the less the increase will be."

"Eighth-ninth grade is increased five times, and sixth-seventh grade is increased by [-]% on the basis of eighty-ninth grade."

"The fourth and fifth grades will be added as appropriate on the basis of the sixth and seventh grades, and the same can be said for the first, second and third grades."

In fact, officials of the first, second and third grades basically do not rely on salary to support themselves.

The so-called salary, for them, is more of a symbol of status.

So there is no need to make it as exaggerated as the Song Dynasty. 50 yuan a month is faster than casting money.

"Beijing officials and foreign officials cannot be the same. Foreign officials should give more money and food."

"But there is no need to worry about this. We can increase the official salary first."

"When necessary later, we will give the foreign officials an additional salary."

To put it bluntly, save it for the next time you need to bribe civil servants and then give them an increase.

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "This time, we have to spend a lot more money and food."

Ma Xiuying smiled and reassured: "Okay, okay, you are now an emperor, don't be so stingy."

"Now give them a salary increase. If they dare to be corrupt, won't you be more confident when you chop off their heads?"

Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth and said: "With such a huge salary increase, if anyone dares to be corrupt again, we will punish him from the other three clans."

However, he had no idea that his salary would be increased according to Queen Ma's advice.

The salary of the Ming Dynasty was still the lowest in all dynasties.

Before the Song Dynasty, only officials in the capital had salaries, while local officials received their salaries from their positions.

That is to say, a piece of land is divided into the jurisdiction, and the output of this land is the annual expenses of the Yamen and the salary of the officials.

As for how to divide it, that is the local government's own business.

But overall, it's very impressive.

Relying on their job fields, officials can support their families and live a comfortable life.

It was not until the Song Dynasty that salaries began to be distributed.

Under the general policy of preferential treatment to scholar-bureaucrats, the salary in the Song Dynasty was ridiculously high.

For a first-grade official, one month's salary is equivalent to 50 copper coins.

A first-grade official in the Ming Dynasty had an annual salary of 45 shi, which was equivalent to [-] copper coins according to the price of grain at the time.

A year is not as much as one month for others. You can imagine how big the difference is.

Let's talk about the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The annual salary of a first-grade official was 450 taels of silver and [-] shi of rice.

It looks similar to the Ming Dynasty, but they still have money to support integrity.

The annual salary for a first-grade official is 5000 taels.

Then use grain as the benchmark to calculate the purchasing power of copper coins in each dynasty to see what the specific situation is.

Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty did the best among all dynasties in controlling food prices.

Food prices are the lowest and most stable.

During the Hongwu period, it was 480 coins per stone, and during the Jiajing period, it remained at [-] coins.

The cheapest price is more than 200 yuan per stone, and the most expensive is only [-] yuan.

The price of labor is also relatively stable.

From the Hongwu period to the Jiajing period, the price of a long-term worker was around [-] yuan.

It was not until the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty that the economy was in complete chaos and went out of control.

Correspondingly, grain prices changed greatly during the Tang and Song Dynasties.

In the early Tang and Northern Song Dynasties, the price of food was about [-] to [-] yuan per stone.

In the middle and late Tang and Southern Song Dynasties, the price of food soared to one to two thousand coins per stone.

The price of food in the Manchu Qing Dynasty was the most outrageous. From the founding of the country to the fall of the country, it was never lower than [-] yuan.

So why do people in the Qing Dynasty always eat sweet potatoes? Is it because the food is not delicious?

But even taking into account price fluctuations and the difference in purchasing power of copper coins, the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were the lowest in all dynasties.

It’s no joke that you can’t support your family with official salary.

Now after Queen Ma's efforts, we have finally caught up.

At least it is guaranteed that people who want to be upright officials can live a good life.

Instead of being like Hai Rui in his previous life, not only was he unable to support his family, but he had to rely on his mother and wife to weave cloth to support himself.

The salary increase has been decided. The specific amount of the increase needs to be determined based on the state of the treasury.

But Queen Ma made the final decision, and the eighth and ninth grades increased five times.

This is the benchmark and cannot be lower than this number.

After that, the affairs of the township government were settled, and Queen Ma's attitude was naturally supportive.

"The chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty completely disrupted the power of the local gentry and clans. They have not yet recovered their strength."

"This is the most appropriate time for the imperial court to set up rural officials."

"If we wait until their strength is restored, the countryside will really be flooded." "So this matter cannot be delayed and needs to be implemented as soon as possible."

Zhu Yuanzhang also said with deep approval: "We think so too."

Empress Ma continued: "The military reform can be carried out at the same time as the township government reform."

"The literate ones who retired from the army were selected and directly awarded the corresponding official positions."

"Even if you can't be a chief official, you can still be a chief official."

"For positions such as detecting theft, there is no one more suitable than them."

"And they have no connection with the local gentry clan."

"Even if they want to collude, it will take time."

"This period of time is enough for the court to complete the restructuring work."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly, he understood the truth, but after Empress Ma's analysis, his mind became clearer.

Ma Xiuying continued: "When the military reform and political reform are completed, a population census and land survey will be carried out immediately."

“When the Ming Dynasty was first founded, the population was 6000 million and the land was 850 million hectares.”

"It has been 17 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the population reported by the Ministry of Household Affairs is still 6000 million. Not only has the land not increased, it has also decreased."

"Isn't this the most ridiculous thing in the world?"

Zhu Yuanzhang also said with an angry look: "Yes, investigate, we must investigate ruthlessly."

"Fifteen years is a generation. It has been 15 years since the Ming Dynasty was founded. I don't believe that the population has not increased at all."

"Every day we are clamoring to open up wasteland, and the land has been reduced... This is to deceive us into thinking we are fools."

Queen Ma nodded and said, "When the land inventory is completed, the Financial and Banknote Bureau should also find out the economic situation of various places."

"We can start to reform the taxation. The Baochao Audit Department will be transformed into the Tax Audit Department."

"This is a century-old national policy."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly and praised: "Girls know more than us. We are still confused about this economy."

Ma Xiuying smiled and said: "If I were a man, I would never get to have you as the emperor."

"Yes, yes, sister, you are amazing." Zhu Yuanzhang leaned closer to her and suddenly said with emotion:

"It wasn't that we didn't want to laugh before, it was just that we couldn't laugh anymore."

"Every day is full of endless reviews and a lot of things to deal with."

"We must also go to great lengths to design a system for the Ming Dynasty..."

"We can't see the future, and we don't know whether the designed system is good or bad."

"When any system is implemented, officials will obstruct it and put forward various opinions."

"We don't know if they have selfish motives, they can only act according to their own ideas."

"It's not that we want to be arbitrary, it's that there really is no one who can give us advice."

Ma Xiuying leaned on him and comforted: "I know that you are suffering more than anyone else."

"You also wanted to find someone to share the burden with you, so you selected Hu Weiyong and entrusted him with important tasks."

"But he is just a white-eyed wolf who is not well-educated. He uses your trust to form a clique for personal gain, and he also tries to conspire against you."

"It was him who made you never dare to trust anyone again."

Zhu Yuanzhang said happily: "Girl, you understand us. Listening to you say that makes our hearts warm."

"It's okay now. I have Biao'er to help me with government affairs, and you, a good wife, can give me advice."

“In terms of system design, we also have Chen Jingke.”

"Don't he have a far-sighted vision and unique ideas?"

"Then let's leave Ming Dynasty's system to him to design."

"We are also relaxed, and he also feels that he has been reused and has room to display his talents."

"In his own words, it's called a win-win."

"Now we just need to keep an eye on them. We have plenty of time and don't have to be so tired."

"When you are in a good mood, you can naturally joke around."

Queen Ma also said happily: "Yes, everything will get better and better."

Zhu Yuanzhang said excitedly: "Originally, we still thought that we would pass the throne to Biao'er in ten years."

"Now it seems that once the new capital is built, we can abdicate directly."

"At that time, we will take you to travel around the world and take a good look at the great rivers and mountains of the Ming Dynasty."

Empress Ma said yearningly: "Okay, I really hope this day comes soon."
-
Regarding the reform of the military system, rumors spread more and more widely, and the generals began to feel uneasy.

No one knows how the court will change or whether it will harm their own interests.

The key is that the timing of this restructuring is too coincidental.

If you don't change it sooner or later, you won't change it later, but you have to wait until Yunnan is pacified.

Taking this place means that Ming Dynasty has officially eliminated the enemies in the rear, leaving only Beiyuan in the north.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the war is basically over.

As for Beiyuan, it is very powerful and cannot be destroyed overnight. The best way is to eat away bit by bit.

Then, there is no need to maintain such a large army.

In this case, will the emperor disarm?
Then follow Song Taizu's example and have a glass of wine to win over the heroes?

Although it is a bit regretful, it is also a good choice to retire after success.

The most fearful thing is that the emperor will imitate the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and hide everything behind him.

Therefore, whether they are reluctant to give up power or afraid of death, the generals in the army are a little scared.

As for ordinary soldiers, what they care about is relatively simple, how to resettle them after the military households are cancelled.

There are two types of military households in the Ming Dynasty, one is the common people who cannot survive, and the other is those who are forcibly classified as military households.

The latter strongly wants to be free.

Although the former is not so urgent, they still hope to have their own land and no longer need to be enslaved by the officers.

Both generals and soldiers wanted to know more specific information.

However, the court was very strict in this regard, and even Li Shanchang did not know the inside story.

This made everyone even more restless.

At this time, an edict was sent to Peiping, announcing that Wei Duke Xu Da had returned to Beijing.

Zhu Di asked in confusion: "Why did dad ask you to return to Beijing at this time?"

Xu Da glanced sideways at him. Are you pretending to be stupid with me?

If you can't even see this, you are not worthy of being my son-in-law and apprentice, Xu Da.

Zhu Di, who was seen through, smiled awkwardly and said:
"It seems that the military reform is real. Dad hopes that you will go back and take charge."

Xu Da then nodded with satisfaction and said: "There is a big problem with the military household system, but no one could persuade His Majesty before. It seems that someone has persuaded him this time."

"Now is the most appropriate time for military reform. Yunnan has been pacified and the Ming Dynasty's rear is stable."

"Since Beiyuan was crippled in the 14th year of Hongwu, it has completely lost its ability to take the initiative to attack."

"At least for three years, there will be no more major wars in Ming Dynasty."

"Your Majesty chose a good time...but he doesn't know what the new military system will look like."

Zhu Di was a little regretful, this also meant that within three years, he would not be able to take the initiative to attack Beiyuan.

But compared to this matter, he was more concerned about another thing:
"You just said that someone convinced my father. I wonder who it is, but he has such great ability?"

 "Tokyo Friendship Collection, Starting from the Wife Next Door"

  It mainly focuses on the mother of a friend and the wife of a friend, and the male protagonist is the ultimate yellow guy.

  
 
(End of this chapter)

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