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Chapter 508 The Weird Ming Dynasty Salary Policy

Faced with the fundamental problems of the Ming Dynasty for 200 years, how to solve the problem of low salary, although Yang Reform was unwilling and disgusting in every possible way, he had no choice but to be an emperor and a person who wanted to change the world. Faced with this problem, we have to put this problem on the agenda and put it on the table.

As Sun Chengzong reminded, I have already cut off many ways for bureaucrats to make a fortune, such as fire consumption and salt administration. In a strong position, but facing the pressure of continuous rebound, I feel uncomfortable, and I must solve this problem.

Ever since he talked about this issue with Sun Chengzong, Yang Reform knew that he was in great trouble, but he also knew that his opportunity had also come. It was time to make an opening for this root problem that had been left over for 200 years. .

Today it was not on the platform, but in the East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace.

Some of Yang Reform's confidantes, Sun Chengzong, Shi Fenglai, and Bi Ziyan are all there.

"Yesterday I talked to Master Sun about my court salary, and today I called a few of you here just to talk about it, Bi Hubu, you should know this matter best, what exactly is my court salary? Why do I often hear that there are rice, and release, and pepper, and what is the color, these, can you explain to me first." Yang Reform thought hard all night, but there are some gains, the idea is there , but I don’t know if it conforms to the current rules of the Ming Dynasty’s salary distribution. If it goes against the Ming Dynasty’s salary distribution, this idea will be in vain, so let’s ask first.

Shi Fenglai, Bi Ziyan was very strange at first, but he was even more surprised when he heard the emperor asked this question!Could it be that the emperor still wants to solve this problem?This is quite a tricky question!Its difficulty is no less than that of moving down the salt merchants.

Seeing the emperor asked this question, Bi Ziyan began to explain it to the emperor.

"Return to Your Majesty, I will give you a salary, which is divided into two types, true color and folded color..."

"... There are three true colors..."

"...Sun and moon rice, one stone per month..."

"...It's called folding silk rice..."

"...It's called silver rice..."

"...A bolt of silk will be worth seven coins in the future..."

"...There are two folding colors..."

"... Japanese colored banknotes..."

"...it's called silk cloth..."

"...one stone per salary..."

"...Each banknote of two hundred guan is folded into a piece of cloth, and then a piece of cloth is ordered to be converted into three coins of silver..."

Bi Ziyan, Minister of the Household Department, began to explain to the emperor the current salary policy of the Ming Dynasty in detail.

Faced with this extremely complicated salary policy, Yang Reform could only grit his teeth and listen carefully, so as not to "faint" himself.

"...Besides that, there is also the theory of raising Liantian and Youmintian..."

"... Yangliantian is now reserved for military generals in border towns, but not for Beijing officials and local..."

"...youmantian is what is often said to be a tax-free land for scholars. There are different grades, and so are Youmantian....there should be a first-class..."

Bi Ziyan went on and on about a lot of things about this field.

At this time, Yang Reform is already listening to the scriptures. Compared with the simple and clear way of calculating wages in RMB in later generations, in addition to torturing Yang Reform, it tortures Yang Reform even more.

Yang Reform endured the irritability and depression in his heart, as well as the feeling of nausea, and continued to force himself to listen to the wage policy of the Ming Dynasty.

While talking, Bi Ziyan looked at the emperor from time to time. In order to make his words more serious, Bi Ziyan tried to speak "professionally" as much as possible, and many of them were memorized from "Da Ming Hui Dian".Seeing that the emperor couldn't sit still more and more, he almost got angry in his ears and nostrils, so he stopped quickly and cut off what he still had to say.

Just when Yang Reform couldn't help but want to vomit, Bi Ziyan finally stopped.

"Finished?" Yang Reform endured the nausea and dizziness and asked.

"Return to Your Majesty, it's over." Bi Ziyan said embarrassingly.Looking at the emperor who was about to "faint", Bi Ziyan felt innocent.

"You twist and turn, I'm dizzy from hearing it." Yang Reform wiped his dizzy forehead. This morning, his mind was finally sober, and this time, Bi Ziyan was dizzy again. The dizziness and nausea It feels like turning dozens of times in situ.

"This,...Your Majesty, this..." Bi Ziyan was ashamed. He said this very seriously according to the "Da Ming Hui Dian", but it was professional and authoritative.

"Well, I don't want to ask too much, and I don't want to know so much, just ask, now the Beijing officials receive salaries, what exactly do they receive? Is it silver, rice, or other? Is it monthly, or Annual income?" Yang Reform gave up his familiarity with the extremely complicated salary policy, and instead asked about the actual payment situation. It seems that it is not ordinary difficult to be a Ming emperor in the Ming Dynasty. Various policies and rules are an extremely complicated matter.

Seeing the emperor who was about to vomit, Shi Fenglai thought it was funny, Bi Ziyan was even more embarrassed, and Sun Chengzong frowned slightly. The emperor seemed to be going to deal with the root problem of those 200 years, and he didn't know what the emperor's method would be. Can't fix the problem.

"Returning to Your Majesty, the salaries of Beijing officials are now paid on a monthly basis. For example, the seventh-rank officials have an annual salary of ninety shi, except for one shi of rice per month. Two taels of silver, and a small amount of silk cotton..." Bi Ziyan said in embarrassment.

Yang Reform picks his ears, and exaggerates: "Did I hear you right? One stone of rice, two or three taels of silver? Seventh-rank officials get this?" Yang Reform is quite exaggerated, even if he understands the salary policy of the Ming Dynasty It's a bit superficial, but when I heard my household secretary say the number two or three, I still thought I heard it wrong.

"Return to Your Majesty, this is correct." Bi Ziyan said with shame, it is indeed a bit ashamed to say this number!
"How do I remember that the treatment of my new army is similar to this? They also receive one stone of rice and two taels of silver, which is comparable to the treatment of a seventh-rank official!" Yang Reform said exaggeratedly, this is a wonderful thing in the Ming Dynasty. It's not one or two. Think about the fact that I recruited tens of thousands of "seventh-rank officials" to fight the war. The effect is that of steel.

The few people who listened below were ashamed, the emperor was really outspoken.

"...Wait, I can't figure it out anyway! Wait, wait..." Yang Reform had studied for a few years at least, and had memorized the multiplication table of ninety-nine at any rate. How much is a year?But 30 taels!Even twelve shimi a year is only 24 taels of silver, adding up to only fifty taels of silver, which is far from the salary of ninety shi.

"...Why can't I count it? This is obviously ninety shi meters, how can it be fifty shi? Where does the rest go? These thirty or so shi are all silk cotton?" Yang Reform wrote on the draft paper After drawing for a long time, I still haven't figured out where the rest of the rice went. Didn't Bi Ziyan say that silk cotton is only a small part?Why is there still such a big gap of more than thirty stones, which is still a small part?
Hearing what the emperor said, several people were even more ashamed.

"Returning to Your Majesty, these fifty or so stones are the real salary that I just said. The real salary is divided into rice and stone and silver, which add up to 54 stones. It is indeed a difference of thirty stones from the ninety stones of the annual salary. Thirty or so stones are all from the Zhese Pension, here, the Zhese Pension... all the zigzags are gone..." Bi Ziyan wiped his forehead and said in the end, he didn't know what to do Explain to the emperor where the thirty or so shimi went. The process of color folding can be narrated in an epic. Shocking, weeping ghosts and gods to describe it, it's better not to say it.

Yang Reform stared at Bi Ziyan in astonishment. After folding and folding more than [-] shimi, he lost it?This kind of color-folding kung fu is many times more "smart" than Piaowu, and Piaomei still has to keep a few percent of it anyway.

The emperor was dumbfounded, and several of the emperor's confidantes could only stay in a daze with the emperor, which was very embarrassing.

"...Wait, Bi Aiqing is saying that a seventh-rank official can only receive a salary of 54 shi every year, and the rest is lost, right?" Yang Reform asked incredulously.

"Return to Your Majesty, it's not far behind, even if there is, it's less than six renminbi." Bi Ziyan said with shame.

"...Thirty or so shi,...six qian silver..." Yang Reform was about to collapse. It would be better not to ask about the inside story of the Ming Dynasty. This question is enough to scare people to death.

"Returning to Your Majesty, yes, in fact, back then, the imperial court also paid the salary in full, but later, because of the relocation of the capital and the issue of banknotes, it became more and more worthless. Up to now, the salary of more than [-] stones, That's how much money I got from the discount..." Bi Ziyan felt that it was better to mention this epic question of color discounting to the emperor, which would somewhat impress the emperor.

"...Okay, needless to say, I understand..." Yang Reformed the ninja dizzy and nauseous, and hurriedly stopped Bi Ziyan from speaking in more detail.

After drinking a cup of tea and settling his mind, Yang Reform was better off, and the Ming Dynasty actually had "big talents". It is not a genius to be able to reduce the salary of the court to such a degree, and it will never be done. kind of degree.

Sun Chengzong frowned, seeing the emperor's dizzy and disgusted appearance, he was worried that the emperor didn't even figure out the salary issue, so he was in a hurry to reform the root problem of the Ming Dynasty for 200 years, what should we do? ?Difficult, difficult!
Yang Reform also looked at the ceiling and lamented. He was still talking about the fundamental problem that had been passed down to the Ming Dynasty for 200 years.

"...Then how do the officials in our court live? Could it be that there is no other way but corruption?" What Yan said like this shows that the corruption situation in the Ming Dynasty was much more serious than I expected. Relying on fire consumption, corruption, and drifting away are the normal state of affairs in the entire Ming Dynasty. If I suppress it as an emperor, I can imagine However, what kind of backlash will be aroused, and if the dispute over interests cannot be settled, then the right to seize the sea is just a flash in the pan. I can suppress it now, and wait until I die?It is bound to rebound immediately, and it is extremely serious. The Ming Dynasty will slide rapidly into the abyss. After finally bringing the Ming Dynasty back to normal, it will immediately return to the track of history. This problem has to be faced and solved. .

"Returning to Your Majesty, you can't say that. In addition to the salary, I also have excellent land, winter and summer official uniforms, pen and ink money, and errand Zaoli, grooms, etc., can't be generalized..." Bi Ziyan, Minister of the Household Department Wiping his forehead, he said with shame.

"Oh, if you want to calculate it this way, it's about the same. That is to say, the two or three taels of silver you receive every month can also be regarded as net income?...Food and housing are included..." Yang Reform felt better after hearing this, I can understand it. Although the salary of an official is low, the state provides food, housing, work clothes, transportation, office expenses, secretary, etc. The actual salary is net income. Youmiantian, that is, the part of the treatment that can be exempted from taxes and taxes, in fact, the treatment of being an official is not low.

"Returning to Your Majesty, it's almost like this..." Bi Ziyan's forehead began to sweat. It's okay if you don't talk about this problem, but if you talk about it, it will be a big trouble.

"That's about the same. Calculated in this way, a seventh-rank official and a family's life can be considered rich. It's not bad, and it's passable..." Yang Reform murmured.

Shi Fenglai has always been ashamed, what does it mean to be rich?What is passable?The emperor really lived in the palace, never went out, didn't know the outside world, what is a family?How many concubines does that official not marry?The salary formulated by the Taizu back then considered the "family" to live, but did not consider the issue of second wives, third wives, or even seven or eight wives for officials. If there were only "family" in office, then Life is really not a problem, and there are even savings, so it can be said that they are rich, but this second wife and third wife also join the "family"?So what?How can you raise a second wife or third wife without money?What about the children born to the second, third, and seventh wives?Do you want to eat?Shi Fenglai blushed, he seemed to have several concubines, should he tell the emperor about this?Forget it, my butt is not clean, since the emperor didn't ask, then let's not talk about it.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I don't know whether to say it or not." Sun Chengzong couldn't bear it anymore. The emperor wanted to deal with the root problem of the Ming Dynasty for 200 years. I didn't figure it out, I was afraid that the emperor would say some "weird" words, ruin the image of the always wise emperor, and break his own rules abruptly.

"Oh, just say what Master Sun has." Yang Reform, who had been muttering to himself, looked at Sun Chengzong in surprise when he heard Sun Chengzong speak.

"Your Majesty, if you want to solve the root problem of the Ming Dynasty for 200 years, your Majesty must be cautious, not reckless, but take it slow, and don't seek haste, let alone quickness. If there is no practical solution, you must not rush... ..." Sun Chengzong anxiously reminded the emperor.

Both Shi Fenglai and Bi Ziyan looked at Sun Chengzong and the emperor in surprise. What is the 200-year root problem? Does the emperor want to do something about the 200-year root problem?
"Hmm...???" Yang Reform, who was confused by the salary policy of the Ming Dynasty, was even more confused when Sun Chengzong said this.

"...What does Master Sun mean?" Yang Reform asked dazedly. He was refreshed today, but now he is confused and confused.

"Your Majesty, there is no practical solution. You must not do something about the salary. Besides, it is not a good time to increase the salary at this time. It is better to wait for a while until the turmoil of the salt business case passes." Sun Chengzong also said. I didn't care about anything, so I just made the matter clear. The few people here are the emperor's confidantes, so it doesn't matter if they know.

Ah!
Shi Fenglai and Bi Ziyan exclaimed, the emperor wants to increase the salaries of the officials?Where did this come from?Both of them looked at the emperor in shock. This is indeed the root problem of the Ming Dynasty for 200 years. Today the emperor came to them for this matter?This is really a shocking event!

"Your Majesty, excuse me for talking too much, this is definitely not a good time to raise salaries. At this time, His Majesty has just hired the salt merchants, so he hastily increased salaries for officials, which is extremely detrimental to His Majesty's reputation..." Bi Ziyan was terrified. Cold sweat, at this juncture, raising the salaries of officials will cause major problems!This is a very serious question.Bi Ziyan immediately stood up and persuaded the emperor.

Shi Fenglai was already stunned, he stared at the emperor dumbfounded, and after listening to his harsh advice to the emperor, he came back to his senses, at this moment, he really couldn't do this, if he did, it would save the emperor well Fame is included in a spoonful.

"Your Majesty, absolutely not. You must not raise your salary at this time. Your Majesty, I have received this salary for 200 years now. It doesn't matter if I receive it for a few more years. Your Majesty, you must not be impulsive..." Shi Fenglai was also terrified. Isn't it very wise, how can you make this stupid move?Isn't this giving the emperor's "enemy" a handle?

Looking at the anxious confidantes, Yang Reform was very relieved that he finally had a few plans for himself.

"...Okay, okay..." Yang Reform sighed in relief, said a few good words, and pressed his hands repeatedly to calm down his confidantes.

Seeing the emperor pressing his hand again and again, several people also fell silent to see what the emperor had to say.

"Your loyalty, there is no doubt that I see it in my eyes. I also understand the issue of raising officials' salaries. Now I just want to open an opening for my 200-year-old root problem of Ming Dynasty, and it is not a big move. , you don’t need to panic..." Yang Reform repeatedly comforted him.

"Your Majesty..." Sun Chengzong asked anxiously. Today, he broke his usual rules. He didn't ask the emperor, but asked about political affairs. Today's situation is unusual, and he had to make an exception.

"I have thought of a way, which is to open an opening for me to deal with the root problems of the past 200 years. As for whether it will work or not, I don't know..." Yang Reform abandoned the complicated Ming Dynasty wage policy and began to talk about his own. Method.

"... I am going to change the salaries of the officials in the capital to be paid by military tickets. ... I had precious banknotes in the dynasty, but the value of the precious banknotes has been greatly devalued. It is no different from waste paper, and it has also ruined the reputation of paper banknotes. Therefore, I I plan to pay the salaries of the officials in the capital with military tickets, and take advantage of the bad reputation of the paper money to give [-] to [-]% more salary to the officials who lead the military ticket. The excuse is that the paper money is easy to depreciate, which is a disguised salary increase..." Yang Reform said own ideas.

(End of this chapter)