Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 438 Book Office

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 grain is low.To collect money, it is necessary to collect more grain.The price difference between one out and one in seems to be small, but when it accumulates, the number becomes very large.

There are a total of 660 hectares and 98 mu of official land taxed in Lingao. According to the 9% per mu tax, it is almost 5000 taels of silver. Although some fields are taxed at [-]% per mu and some are exempt, the total is close million of silver.For such a small county, the burden of additional dispatch is simply unbearable.

Therefore, when grain is collected, the price of silver will rise very high, which is not only a great burden for the grain households, but also difficult for the county.In the past, there was no additional distribution, and it was easier to finish the grain.Since the first additional dispatch in the last year of Wanli, the county government had to urge the grain requisition department and the silver requisition, 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, and the authority of the county government is very limited. Not to mention the gentry in the county, they are ordinary land rich people who have built a village to protect themselves. There is no way to ask more questions, and as for the various hidden fields that have been cultivated privately, it is even more impossible to count.

However, in the past, relying on Wu Mingjin's methods and Wang Zhaomin's running around, Lingao's autumn grain was finally able to finish the class in time. Although the Australians came last year, at least the other party did not interfere with the autumn grain collection, and this job was still done. .Although a reasonable burden was set up later, it has nothing to do with the county government.

This year the situation is more subtle.The Australians opened up wasteland and planted crops by themselves.Wang Zhaomin has a great hidden worry.

What worries?This is about "spoofing".In order to evade the government's taxation, some people often adopt the method of taking land to the landlord, and vote in the name of the famous or powerful landlord.In fact, there were originally clear regulations on grain exemption in the Ming Dynasty. There were regulations on how much officials could be exempted, how much they could be exempted from juren, and how much they could be exempted from students. However, in practice, the regulations were often greatly exceeded.In Lingao, there are many examples of this kind of thing.There are not many gentry in Lingao who are well-known, but there are many powerful landlords, and they are sent to the powerful landlords. There is no tax exemption in law, but for the county government, it is a basic principle not to offend the big households in the county when it is a local official. Often we can only open our eyes and close our eyes to the figures collected.Generally speaking, both sides are getting along.

Now the Australians are regarded as the first-class rich and powerful households in Lingao County. If they openly refuse to pay a grain of rice, the county government will have nothing to do about it. Many small and medium-sized landowners or self-cultivated farmers who are waiting to see may vote for them.The autumn grain collection in Lingao is about to shrink a lot.This is a very bad omen for both Wu Mingjin and Wang Zhaomin-it is not only related to Wu Mingjin's performance appraisal, but also related to their pockets.For local officials, the benefit of the floating tax increase is a reliable and risk-free income.

After much deliberation, Wang Zhaomin suggested that there are only Australians with emotional intelligence, and let them set an example.Judging from the performance of the Australians in the past year, the Australians do not want to be enemies of the Ming government, and sometimes they are even willing to spend money to buy a good image, so as long as the price is right, the other party may not necessarily reject it.

Xiong Buyou didn't know his abacus, 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: "The official department is no more than three buckets and five liters per mu. For your several thousand acres of land, a class of five hundred acres starts from 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 get back to you."

"Naturally." Wang Zhaomin couldn't help being overjoyed when he saw that there was room for negotiation, and thanked him repeatedly. If he hadn't already known that this group of thieves wouldn't get in, he might have promised him a lot of benefits.

After Xiong Buyou came back, he quickly reported to Wu De. This matter immediately attracted Wu De's great attention, so the executive committee immediately held a meeting to discuss this matter.

"This is a good thing to send to the door!" Wen Desi beamed with joy, "I was thinking about how to persuade them, but I didn't expect to send it to the door myself!"

"It's not the same thing." Ma Qianju immediately sang against him, "He wants us to pay the grain, not the tax."

"It's not the same thing, but Wang Zhaomin's underwear is showing." Wen Desi used a vulgar metaphor.

"At first we didn't know how much pressure Lingao County had on grain collection, but now it seems that they are under a lot of pressure." Wen Desi analyzed, "Judging from Wang Zhaomin's request, at least it has exposed that Lingao County government is collecting grain. There are serious difficulties up there."

Since there are difficulties in collecting grain, the Traveling Group has a lot to do.

However, they still have no idea what the difficulty is.Before taking the next step, they had to find out the county government's cards.

For this kind of thing, it is natural to ask the book office of the "household" of the county government most directly.

This matter is not easy.There is a so-called "three classes and six rooms" in the county government. The heads of the three classes and the secretary of the sixth room are not easy to get along with.Only the book office is familiar with the official affairs at the grassroots level of large and small yamen. This is their "capital". Invisibly passed down from father to son, there is a hereditary practice.This kind of people are all old officials, who are too familiar with official affairs, and they are also familiar with the world and the philosophy of officialdom.Travelers can't control bribery at all, so the executive committee's policy for this group of people is to treat them softly, and clean them up when the time is right.

The Household Book Office in Lingao County is called Chen Minggang, a local.It is said that this person's ancestors have been the book office in Lingao County since the Song Dynasty.There are many secret books hidden in the family, and he is extremely familiar with the county's situation, and he wants to sell him in every way, and he is a very popular figure in the local area.Gou Da and Gou Er ran amok in Lingao County, and Chen Minggang got great benefits—in fact, from Ran Yao’s point of view, gangs like Gou Da and Gou Er are powerful, but it’s not difficult to get rid of them in reality, despite the fact that they seem to be powerful. Once it falls, it will be scattered.People like Chen Minggang who are deeply rooted and intertwined are the real so-called "invisible behind-the-scenes black hands".

In the county, he is also an indispensable celebrity.Wang Zhaomin was able to collect the autumn grain every year, and Chen Minggang had a great contribution.In fact, whether a good cooperative relationship can be established with the county household book office can be said to directly affect whether the county magistrate is successful or not.

Therefore, even Wang Zhaomin, a powerful figure in the county, would call Chen Minggang affectionately "Eighth!"

Because the Household Book Office is related to the taxation of the whole county, it is an extremely important person. Wu De has always had the idea of ​​winning him over, so he sent Xiong Buyou to socialize with him several times, and Lin Baiguang also came out to fight against him. Not so good.

Chen Minggang was not an upright person, nor could he take a stand at all. His attitude was extremely smooth.To the cross-travelers, he tried his best to be perfunctory. He never procrastinated when he had any requests or tasks, and he never asked for all kinds of bad rules. It can be said that he bought [-] points for face.But when it comes to some key issues, especially the amount of land and tax burden, he always plays a blind eye, hides half of what he says, and sometimes simply rambles about some obscure terms, so that the people who travel through the world don't know what they understand.

In the archives of the General Administration of Political Security, Chen Minggang has a lot of black material. It can be said that he is one of the most indignant subordinates in the county, even more criminal than the secretary office of the execution room.Zhang Xingjiao also hated this person to the bone - after all, his family's ruin began when the house colluded with Gou Dagou and the two to engage in the trick of "removing production and storing food".

But now, the time-traversing people still have to use him for a stage.Xiong Buyou immediately asked someone to prepare a post, asking Chen Minggang to go to the teahouse in front of the county government office 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 "representatives" specially issued by the government to "Ziaozi" who specialize in writing complaints and complaints on behalf of others, and there are also experienced litigators who hook up with the three parties. Waiting for an opportunity to solicit business.The subordinate officials and servants in the yamen, the long-term followers of the masters, and other people of all colors also use this place to communicate with the outside world, talk about weights, collude with fraud, and bargain.If you want to go to the county government to do business, this is the best window.

Lingao County is a small county without so many tricks, but the general situation is similar, but the specifics are minor.So although the teahouse is small, it still exists.

Xiong Buyou is already a "celebrity" in the county, and no one knows that he is the big boss of the Australians, who is in charge of connecting with the county.So as soon as he arrived at the store, a guy immediately ushered him into the private room at the back.

It is said to be a private room, but it is actually very small inside, it can only accommodate a table and a few chairs, and the tea is not necessarily good.Anyway, people who come to drink tea are mainly to talk about things, and drink tea second.

When Xiong Buyou dealt with the subordinate officials in the county, he usually made an appointment here, mainly because it was a familiar environment for the subordinate officials, which was enough to make them feel at ease.In addition, the executive committee had another level of concern, and was unwilling to call the subordinate staff directly to Bairen City for secret talks, so as not to make outsiders feel that the crossing group had too deep a relationship with the subordinate staff in this county.It is more suitable to talk in this kind of place where "eating and talking about tea" and "talking about things".

Not long after, Chen Minggang arrived.He was nearly fifty years old, with a dark complexion and a slightly fatter figure.Due to the relationship of status, the clothes are not very gorgeous, but the materials and workmanship are very elegant.He also held a Sichuan fan in his hand.

The buddy ushered in, and Chen Minggang treated the cross-travelers with a respectful attitude, saluting every time they met.

"Don't be too polite, sit down! Sit down!" Xiong Buyou greeted.

(The following is more than [-] words, no charge)

Note:

1. The increase in Liao's salary was 9% in the second year of Chongzhen, but it is slightly different in various places.I won't go into details.

2. How much is the Liao salary increase in Lingao, but I haven't found it.This is directly calculated using Lingao's taxable land, which is definitely inaccurate. I found a figure. In Yancheng County, Huai'an Prefecture, Tianqi's three-year Liao salary was 23000 taels.Yancheng County is not an economically developed area, of course it is much better than Lingao.

3. The tax of three buckets and five liters is the average level of the Ming Dynasty, and there are [-] standards for starting a department in Chaqiong Prefecture.Three buckets and five liters are the most common.Just take this number.

(End of this chapter)