Lu Ming

Chapter 520 How the Corruption Was Started

Time flies like a white horse, and in a blink of an eye, it is the spring of 1631.At this point in time, four years have passed since Cao Chuan's first crossing in 1627.

In the three and a half years of full planning, the people of Time Travel have grown from scratch, from weak to strong, and have initially established their own business.

At the same time, the work of infiltrating Daming across the world has not stopped at all. After all, the population and raw materials needed for industrialization must be provided by Daming.

In fact, starting this year, the word "infiltration" has become a bit of a misnomer.As the muscles become stronger, the crossing regime is now becoming more and more impatient to cover up, the movements have become tougher, and the posture has gradually changed from penetration to "swallowing".

The corvee service in Zengcheng County was the beginning.

To put it bluntly, this corvee is a large-scale official immigration activity.

This is the first time that the public power of the Ming Dynasty has been stolen and used by the public to organize social activities in a formal county of the Ming Dynasty. The meaning behind it is very profound.

If we go back to the source, this is actually the bonus that Mr. Cao has continued to this day after he recruited An to join Daming.This dividend has been continuously increasing with Cao Zongbing's rise in the Ming system, and in the foreseeable future, the dividend will continue to flow—until one day Cao Zhongchen officially raised the flag of rebellion.

Back in time, not long after the bandits were suppressed, Ding Liqiu, the mayor of the Guangzhou Special Economic Zone, entered Zengcheng.

This time, Zengcheng County expropriated the 1631 average corvette in advance. Regarding the county government, Ding Liqiu also did a lot of meticulous work.

Although there is natural coercion from high-level official circles and hard power demonstrated through bandit suppression, corvee service is a county government after all, and it must be done through the county government, so Ding Liqiu must cooperate with Zengcheng county government. Can't force it.

In addition, corvee is only one aspect.Regarding the next step of social transformation in Zengcheng County, there are still many contents, which require the cooperation of the county government.

So when the District Chief Ding Ding was in Zengcheng, he paid a visit to the county magistrate Gu at the end of 1630.

In the matter of suppressing bandits, the county magistrate Gu, who has achieved rich political achievements without paying the price, now has a good impression of Cao Zongbing and his troops.This time, when he learned that the master under Cao Zongbing was visiting, the County Magistrate naturally did not dare to neglect, and the two sides immediately started a round of cordial and fruitful "negotiations" in the flower hall of the county government.

After two rounds of tea, let's talk business to each other.Although Mr. Gu Taigu is not qualified to be a feudal bureaucrat, his skills in dealing with people and secular communication are very high, so the atmosphere quickly became harmonious.

At this time, Master Ding didn't write any ink, so he first made a request: Zengcheng County Government needs to cooperate with Master Cao's strategy, confiscate Chongzhen's four-year uniform corvette in advance, mobilize the serving people to Huangpu Military Port, and follow the instructions. The corvee money is doubled.

Before Ding Liqiu came to the county government, he naturally notified Gu County Magistrate in advance, and both parties generally knew about today's topic, so Gu County Magistrate had actually discussed and psychologically prepared with his master before.

Now after hearing Master Ding's request, Master Gu and Master Ma, who was participating in the negotiation beside him, looked at each other, stroked their beards lightly, and showed a smile of "it's true" in their eyes.

Immediately afterwards, Mr. Ma asked with a smile: "So, what's the benefit to the county government and my master?"

Ding Liqiu nodded.

He is a member of the time traveler. When he was a teacher in Fujian, he had come into contact with many Ming Dynasty bureaucrats who were full of morality, so now he likes the Ming people like Master Gu who puts interests on the table-everyone is short on time. Come on rhythm, can't you say something clearly?

Now that Mr. Gu is a sensible person, Mr. Ding directly stated the conditions: as long as Mr. Gu cooperates, Mr. Cao will not only pay the full amount of money to make up for the loss of the county government in terms of corvee, but also pay the county government. It is also beneficial to go up and down these private individuals, and there are special rewards. After the term of Gu County Magistrate expires, the capital can help with the operation of the Ministry of Officials, and assign Gu County Magistrate to a county or state to become an official, and it is very likely that the official will be promoted. level one.

After hearing these promises, County Magistrate Gu was a little distracted at first—he knew that the other party was powerful, but Mr. Gu was surprised to be able to deal with the bureaucracy with such a thorny promise.

However, Master Gu still didn't nod his head, but raised another doubt: "After two or three years like this, Zengcheng's money and valley will not be able to be collected."

It is no secret that Cao Zongbing's foundation in Taiwan is short of people, and he is pulling people's heads everywhere to reclaim wasteland. Therefore, Master Gu is very clear about the background of the conscripting of corvee this time.

So he raised this question: a large number of corvees are collected, and then the tenants will be sent to Yizhou for you and will not come back. Who will collect the county government's taxes in the future?One must know that Mr. Gu will work in Zengcheng for a few more years. He is greedy for this little benefit, and after two years he will not be able to pay taxes to Fanku.
This is the greatest worry of Master Gu all along.Compared to this point, Mr. Gu didn't care too much about the promotion that Ding Liqiu promised before: he himself is easy-going, maybe after this term, he would go back to his hometown to enjoy the blessings if he felt bored. Worth mentioning.

Although Ding Liqiu didn't know Master Gu's inner activities, he had to answer this question right now: "Well, as long as Master Gu stays in Zengcheng for one day, Mr. Cao will give you two gifts in summer and autumn every year. The master paid in advance, how good is that?"

"Is this true?"

After listening to Master Ding's shocking local tyrant's words, Master Gu and Master Ma were dumbfounded and couldn't believe it.

"Hehe, my family is rich all over the world, and this county's endowment is probably not difficult."

When Master Ding said this, he gracefully tapped the handle of the fan in his hand in winter: "As long as Gu's parents nod, cash and cash will be sent to the county treasury in the morning tomorrow. In the accounts, the full amount is ten, and the silver is all newly minted silver coins, and the grain is all new rice shipped from Yizhou, how about adding [-]% to the county government for loss?"

In other words, the biggest and most difficult achievement of local officials in the Middle Ages was how to hand over all taxes and taxes.

So as soon as the local tyrant made a move, the magistrate of Gu County, whose face was swollen with money, naturally nodded and agreed - what else can a county magistrate have to say if he can receive the full summer and autumn taxes for the whole year at the beginning of the year?

However, General Cao's money valley is so easy to get?
After negotiating the first deal, Mr. Ding took advantage of the opportunity to propose the second deal: Since Mr. Cao has paid the taxes in advance for the next few years, naturally, should the taxes receivable in Zengcheng County also be paid? Leave it to Mr. Cao to deal with it?

Yes, this involves the next action that Ding Liqiu intends to implement in the future: tax payment, debt collection, house demolition, pulling cattle and sheep.

(End of this chapter)