I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 192: The Hard-working Officials of the Ming Dynasty
On September 23rd of the first year of the Longqing reign, the Ministry of Revenue finally announced that it would begin distributing salaries for July and August.

Yuan Xian'an, the chief clerk of the Honglu Temple, was feeling restless in the temple.

Colleagues on duty in the same room were also anxious and complaining.

"We, the Five Temples, are raised by our stepmothers. We have to wait until the masters of the Six Ministries and the Censorate have received their salaries before it is our turn."

"Well, among the five temples, only our Honglu Temple, Taichang Temple, and Guanglu Temple are raised by a stepmother. Although the Dali Temple cannot compare with the Ministry of Justice, it can at least have a share in the criminal justice field.

The Imperial Household Department is even more amazing. With the reform of the horse policy, silver is flowing into their warehouse like the water of Tonghui River. Now among all the government offices in Beijing, the Imperial Household Department has the most money in its pockets. "

"I heard from my fellow countrymen in the Ministry of Revenue that the Ministry of Revenue is going to check the arrears this time. Anyone who has an old debt with the Ministry of Revenue will have it deducted from their salary starting from this time."

Yuan Xian'an was shocked and asked quickly, "Is it true?"

Another colleague replied, "Really. I heard from my colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue that the Minister of Revenue, Mr. Gao, has personally issued an order that all those who owe money to the Ministry of Revenue will have their money deducted from them starting this month. However, they will not deduct rice from their salaries, only their wages."

Yuan Xian'an breathed a sigh of relief. According to the ancestral system passed down from Emperor Chengzu, "Ranks 1 and 2 receive 40% of rice and 60% of paper money; ranks 3 and 4 receive 50% of rice and 50% of paper money; ranks 5 and 6 receive 60% of rice and 40% of paper money; ranks 7 and 8 receive 80% of rice and 20% of paper money."

He was the chief clerk of the Honglu Temple, a seventh-rank official, with a monthly salary of seven stone and five dou.

Eighty percent of the salary is rice, and twenty percent is cash. If you owe money to the Ministry of Revenue, even if two months' salary is deducted, you still have twelve dan of rice. Even if the people in the Ministry of Revenue are a little bit unscrupulous, they will give you two-thirds of the old rice.

If you take it to the rice shop, you can get seven or eight stone of new rice. Together with the new rice distributed by the Ministry of Revenue, it is enough for a family of six to eat for more than two months.

Yuan Xian'an secretly calculated in his mind and felt that he could still get by, and he couldn't help but feel more at ease.

At this moment, a colleague on duty in another room ran over and said something that made him feel anxious again.

"Everyone, I heard from my colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue that the discount rate has started again this month!"

"What!" Yuan Xian'an and others couldn't help but gather around.

In order to build the city of Beijing, Emperor Chengzu ordered that 30% of the salaries of officials, nobles, and royal family members should be paid in rice, and the remaining 70% should be "converted into banknotes in spring and summer, and into sumac and pepper in autumn and winter."

After the Xuande reign, it was abolished for a period of time, but once the imperial treasury was in a tight spot, this ancestral system would be used again. During the 46 years of the Jiajing reign, there were seven or eight years of such discounts.

Now the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes are even worse than toilet paper. They must be worth the money made from sumac and pepper.

Sumac is an important dyeing material, and pepper is a spice and medicinal material. Normally, these two things can be sold at a high price. The key is that all officials are selling sumac or pepper at a discount. These two goods are being sold at a discount everywhere in the capital, so they definitely cannot be sold at a high price.

Another colleague came over and whispered, "That's right. This month's commutation is in the form of pepper. The people who collect salaries from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel have said that those below the fourth rank will receive 20% in rice, and the remaining 80% will be converted into pepper."

"What about above the fourth rank?"

"Forty percent of the money for those above the fourth rank will be rice, and the remaining sixty percent will be converted into pepper."

"Fuck! Officials above the fourth rank don't lack that little bit of silver. Even if they convert it all into pepper, it won't affect their delicious food and drink. But we can't do that. We don't have the filial piety of summer ice and winter charcoal. We all rely on salaries to live!"

Yuan Xian'an calculated in his mind and realized that the situation was hopeless. It was all over. The whole family would have to eat dirt next month.

In the afternoon, it was the turn of the officials from the Honglu Temple to collect their salaries. Yuan Xian'an went to the Shaanxi Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue with his colleagues.

According to the law, the salaries of officials, nobles, and royal family members were calculated and distributed by the Shaanxi Qinglisi.

Outside the Shaanxi Qinglisi, there was a crowd of officials in green and blue robes, and the place was bustling with activity, and none of them had a good word to say.

"It's so messy, and it's also a waste of things! What a waste of things! The salary we get is not much to begin with, and the family has to spend money on buying cloth for clothes, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, social interactions, and medical treatment and medicine. All of that little salary is spent.

Now, there isn't much to begin with, and it's going to be sold. What am I going to do with this pile of pepper? Can it be eaten as food or used as money to spend? "

"I heard that the Coordination Bureau and the Supervision Office are full of money."

"It's so unfair. We all studied the books of sages and passed the imperial examinations. Why do they give us such high salaries and even give us silver directly?"

"More than just money, I heard they have monthly benefits, directly giving out shopping vouchers."

"Shopping vouchers? What is that?"

"It's a voucher issued by a few big businesses. The amount is written on it. You can go directly to those businesses to buy things without having to pay for them. You can use the voucher as money."

hiss--!
There were sounds of people gasping for air all around.

"Oh, you're making me want to go there." "Want to go? Who wouldn't want to go? The key is that they want you."

Listening to the noisy discussions, Yuan Xian'an and his colleagues finally heard a greeting.

"Gentlemen from the Honglu Temple, please line up here to receive your salaries. Please prepare your badges. We only recognize the badges and not the people." A servant from the Ministry of Revenue shouted loudly.

Yuan Xian'an and his colleagues ran there to line up, and soon walked into the courtyard of the Shaanxi Qingli Si. Most of the officials inside were wearing green and blue robes, and there were few officials wearing red robes.

There were also many attendant servants in plain clothes, all of whom were sent by officials of the fourth rank and above to receive their salaries.

Yuan Xian'an saw his classmate Wei Yunlai coming out in a daze, holding a cloth bag in his right hand, which was half filled with things.

He walked towards the gate of the courtyard, taking one deep step and one shallow step.

"Brother Feiqi, Brother Feiqi!"

Wei Yunlai didn't hear Yuan Xian'an's greeting at all.

Someone nearby who knew him asked, "Hey, what is Lao Wei doing?"

Some people shook their heads and said, "He has a hard time."

"what happened?"

"In order to stay in Beijing, he borrowed a sum of money from the Ministry of Personnel. Later, he couldn't bear it anymore, so he asked his senior in the Ministry of Revenue to approve a note and borrowed some money from the Ministry of Revenue, and then he gambled away the money.

It seems that they are checking the debts and deducting a lot of salary. He has a large family, more than ten people all depend on his salary for food. Looking at the little thing in his hand, it is probably half a bag of pepper. What can he do with it? The whole family will starve to death?"

Yuan Xian'an and Wei Yunlai both passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi in the 41st year of Jiajing's reign. They also observed government affairs together in Shuntian Prefecture for half a year, and then served as officials in the capital together, and their contacts were very close.

He knew that Wei Yunlai came from a poor family and had few relatives in his hometown, so there was no such thing as him bringing in assets to offer to his disciples, and he had to rely on the meager monthly salary to make a living.

He couldn't put aside his pride and sold his writings to earn money. He was a sixth-rank assistant teacher in the Imperial College, but he lived in poverty.

I wanted to provide financial support but I was unable to do so.

This month, my family is barely able to survive, so how can they afford to help Wei Yunlai?

After queuing up slowly, we finally got to Yuan Xian'an.

He stepped forward, and the chief clerk of the Ministry of Revenue's Qingli Division checked his badge, found his name on the roster, and nodded.

The clerk of the Ministry of Revenue next to him made some calculations, "The chief clerk of the Honglu Temple, Yuan Xian'an, has an official salary of 75 dan. Fifteen dan every two months. 20% of the rice is paid, and 3 dan of rice is given. The rest is exchanged for pepper.

Yuan Xian'an still owes the Ministry of Revenue 75 taels of silver. This month, 7 taels and 8 cents will be deducted. After deducting the debt, he will be given 6 liters of pepper. "

Another clerk handed Yuan Xian'an an account book and asked him to sign and seal it.

After finishing the job, he handed him two pieces of paper, one of which was labeled "Three dan of official rice in Taicang Warehouse", and the other was labeled "Six liters of pepper in Taicang Warehouse", both of which were stamped with official seals.

Yuan Xian'an sighed and accepted the two notes.

After leaving the Ministry of Revenue, he called his servants and hired an ox cart to go to the warehouse in the south city. He used the two pieces of paper to take home the salary for July and August, one stone of new rice, two stones of yellowed old rice, and six liters of pepper.

When the wife at home saw it, she immediately started cursing.

"You studied hard for more than ten years and finally passed the imperial examination and became an official, but your life is worse than that of a country landlord! How can you live like this?"

Yuan Xian'an quickly advised, "Stop making such a fuss! Wait another two or three years, when your eldest brother grows up, you can send him back to his hometown in the name of studying to support the family. Then someone will come with land and property to offer to you. By then, you can be a wife with peace of mind.

"Please be patient for two years. If it weren't for the fact that the officials and gentry could be exempted from taxes, why would I study so hard for so many years!"

Only then did Yuan's wife slowly calm down and endure her anger.

Where Yuan Xian'an lived, all the residents were officials of the sixth or seventh rank, and his neighbors were all cursing at him.

He sighed deeply, "After I exchange the pepper for money tomorrow, I will plan carefully for the days of this month. Alas, the world is getting harder and harder."

The next morning, Yuan Xian'an was awakened by the noise in the neighborhood. He vaguely heard heart-wrenching cries. His heart trembled. Oh no, something happened!

(End of this chapter)