Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 2531

"Wei Shenshou, Chief Zhang has something to ask for you!" Chen Wuren shouted to Wei Bifu, who was drowsy behind the red sandalwood desk.

There are more than a dozen "counsellors" in the council room of Guangzhou Special City, but there are not many "official" things to do here. Most of the time, they go to work if they want to, and stay at home if they don't want to go to work.Several of the senators had actually found other jobs, either as small farmers or businesses in the country.But regardless of whether there is a way out, the councilor must not resign, and must sign in to the council room every week for a meeting.

Wei Bifu didn't run any business, but he bought a lot of Ziji's non-preferred shares in Guangzhou in the past.The annual dividends are quite generous, and the past eunuchs have a lot of savings, so life is very good.Just to reflect my "positiveness", as long as it is a working day, no matter what I have to do, I will go to the council room every day.After Zhang Xiao took office, he must come every day, staying for a whole day - he had a hunch that Elder Zhang Yuan would definitely summon him to consult the local situation.

Hearing that Zhang Xiao was going to summon him, he stood up in a jerk, took off his glasses and touched his face with his hands.commanded his servants:

"Get water!"

The servant hurriedly brought him a basin of wash water, he wiped his face, looked at himself in the mirror again, felt that he was in good spirits, and then walked out of his office.

After Zhang Xiao entered the city, he was so busy that he never left his heels, and he didn't speak a word to him for several days.Just when he wondered if there was something wrong with his judgment and the new chief had already forgotten about him, he suddenly sent someone to summon him—this must be his fault.Although Wei Bifu had been an official in Ming Dynasty for a long time, the political sense cultivated by years of ups and downs in the officialdom made him quite sensitive to the recent personnel changes in the Guangzhou Municipal Government.

"Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and the officialdom in the Song Dynasty is not so peaceful." Wei Bifu sighed in his heart.

Zhang Xiao was very polite: "Wei Shenyi, sit down! Sit down! Don't be so reserved."

Wei Bifu knew that Australians didn't like to come here, so he dutifully pulled up a stool and sat down.

"When Wei Shen was in the Ming Dynasty, how long did he work in Guangzhou Mansion?" Zhang Xiao asked.

"It's ashamed to say that when the heavenly soldiers entered the city, the students had just arrived, and it was only a year before and after." Wei Bifu said.

Zhang Xiao was slightly disappointed: It was less than half a year, which was really too short.How well you know the local conditions.Moreover, the judge is an assistant officer, not an official.Assist the prefect in charge of some local affairs.Insufficient grasp of the overall situation.

His disappointment was immediately noticed by Wei Bifu.Wei Bifu is an old bastard in the officialdom, and he is the most refined person.He knew that Chief Zhang in front of him was most afraid of his subordinates being "smart", so he just pretended to be stupid, as if he was "waiting for education".

How did Zhang Xiao know the twists and turns in his stomach, disappointment is disappointment, and the only person in front of him who wants to understand the situation in Nanhai County.Concealing his emotions, he asked, "So, you don't know much about the situation in Nanhai County."

"If we talk about the situation in Nanhai County, the students really know very little. However, they also know the general situation in Nanhai and Panyu counties in the first year of their tenure."

"Then I will trouble you to talk about the geography and people's conditions of Nanhai County."

Wei Bifu thought for a moment, and said: "If the chief wants the students to generalize the situation in Nanhai County, this place should be able to live up to the four words 'excessive, complicated, tired, and difficult'."

"Oh?" Zhang Xiao asked again: "Tell me, what do you mean by 'rushing, complicated, tired, difficult'?"

"Looking back at the head of the government, those who use the land as a conduit are troubled; those with diverse government affairs are complicated; those with too many gifts are tired; the people are unruly and vulgar, and those with many murders and robbers are in trouble. This is the most important county in Guangzhou Prefecture, and even in Guangdong Province. "

In just four words, Wei Bifu refined the basic situation of the South China Sea. Zhang Xiao couldn't help showing a little respect for the ability of the former county magistrate of the Ming Dynasty. It seems that Chongzhen has no shortage of talents.

In the history of the old time and space, it was not until the Qing Dynasty that the prefectures and counties were assigned test words based on Chong, Fan, Tired, and Difficult. However, it is obvious that this kind of evaluation was not invented by someone's whim. Come to think of it, it's no surprise.

Nanhai County is densely populated, and it is also the economic and political hinterland of Guangdong. Coupled with the characteristics of "overwhelming, busy, tired, and difficult", the scale and difficulty of its governance can be imagined.

"The earth is a hole, I can understand that." Zhang Xiao tapped the fingers of his right hand on the table in turn, as if playing a piano, and said: "The Xijiang River and the Beijiang River both flow through this county, with dense water networks and countless tributaries. Nanhai jurisdiction From Huashan in the north to Jiujiang in the south, the straight-line distance is more than a hundred miles; Sanshui in the west and Guangzhou City in the east. The business exchanges are the most in Guangdong. What about the divergent government affairs?"

Hearing this question, Wei Bifu understood that the new chief was not very clear about government affairs, so he said: "The Ming Dynasty stipulates that, except for the busy farming season, the county magistrate must receive lectures from the top every month, such as the emperor's edict, laws, and moral persuasion. Afterwards, it was passed on to the elders and even the people in the fortresses; every month, scholars were led to offer sacrifices to Confucian temples, heaven and earth; Needless to say, the Yangjiyuan and Jiefutang; the county has two rivers, the west and the north. Since Jiajing, the Guanyaojiao and Lubaoyong have gradually silted up, and the floods are frequent. Relief is often needed. To appease the hearts of the people, if you can build water conservancy projects, you will be a great official; in addition, there are also ways to arrest bandits, collect taxes, welcome and send them to..."

Zhang Xiao felt dizzy after hearing all these things.In the Ming Dynasty, officials were separated from local officials, and only officials and a small number of "economic officials" had financial support.Over [-] people in the entire county government are without pay.Moreover, the local financial issues in the Ming Dynasty have always been ambiguous, and the county magistrate has heavy responsibilities and few resources.It would be easier to live in a remote place like Lingao. In a place like Nanhai County, which is "rushed" and "complex", being a county magistrate is very promising, but the work pressure is also high.Therefore, there are "complex" and "difficult".

What about now?At least the Senate provided him with much more staff than the Ming Dynasty, and he didn't need to worry about salary payments, and he was also freed from such silly things as moral persuasion, offering sacrifices to Confucian temples, and offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods.The training and selection of civil servants is now in charge of the Guangzhou Cadre School, local security is supported by the National Army of the Guangdong Region, and tax collection is led by the Guangzhou Finance and Taxation Bureau.The disadvantage is that cross-departmental matters are the easiest to shirk and blame.As for welcoming and sending off, there is a lot of waste to be done now, and the Senate is not as bureaucratic as the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There should not be many things about hosting banquets for superior colleagues, and taking official friends to visit mountains and rivers.

The remaining education, sanitation, water conservancy and even the development of the local economy should be where he can make achievements.

Still, the tasks were no less onerous than the senate's overcoming version of modern government.

Sure enough, there are thousands of threads on the top and one needle on the bottom.

Zhang Xiao continued to ask, "I have heard for a long time that Panyu in the South China Sea is the most prosperous place in the world. Taxes are not as important as Su, Song, Chang, and Tai. Why are there so many arrears?"

"The chief must also know that the government and businessmen collude to evade business taxes; the scheming spreads, the powerful lands are increasing, and the taxpayers are decreasing." Wei Bifu said.

Zhang Xiao nodded. He had seen these methods before in Lingao, and they were once the key issues in tax reforms in Lingao and Hainan.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the collusion between officials and businessmen was very serious. Some smuggling ships could be released for maritime trade after paying enough money to the government.On the contrary, if those regular ships do not pay the money, they will be extorted and taxed for various reasons.Guiji is a method for self-cultivating farmers and small landlords to falsely report their fields under the names of gentry with tax-free privileges in order to avoid taxation and labor.Feisa means that the landlords colluded with the government to break up the land tax into pieces and distribute it to the fields of other farmers to avoid taxation.If things go on like this, the pockets of officials and gentry are getting bigger and bigger, but the money in the treasury is getting less and less day by day.

"How to make up for the tax owed?"

Wei Bifu said: "I'm afraid the chief doesn't know about 'Ding Gong's false tax'. The hardships of the people of Guangdong are nothing more than the Ding Gong of the South China Sea. The name of the Ding Gong is unique to the South China Sea."

"Oh? What's the name of 'Ding Gong False Tax'?" Zhang Xiao asked.

"In the ninth year of Wanli's Qing Dynasty, the land in the South China Sea was washed and collapsed. Based on the amount of more than 820 hectares in the county in the sixth year of Longqing, the loss amounted to 220. According to the plan, based on the actual land in the ninth year of Wanli, 780% 50% was regarded as one mu, and a virtual tax of 30% [-]% was added to make up for the loss. This is where the name of Dinggong comes from. The amount lost by zhang was [-] hectares more than the original amount of Longqing. Nanhai County added [-] hectares of virtual taxes, and more than [-] taels of silver were distributed every year. Not yet enough. Over the past [-] years, the people have compensated those who paid false taxes more than [-] gold, and the people of the South China Sea are exhausted." After Wei Bifu finished speaking, he did not forget to prolong the ending, showing his sincerity.

Zhang Xiao sneered and said: "There are so many famous places here. I don't think it's as simple as flooding and collapsing. I'm afraid you officials don't take less benefits, right?"

Wei Bifu suddenly became nervous, thinking that he had only been in office for less than a year, and just after eating hot pot and singing, the gangsters came calling, how could he have stolen so much money.I didn't even get the "examination" that I should have gotten.

Just thinking about how to deal with it, Zhang Xiao didn't dwell too much on this issue, and asked, "With such a heavy burden, don't the local gentry have any objections?"

"Chief Mingjian: The gentry and common people in the county are bothered about this matter. Huang Xiyin, the former magistrate of Nanhai County, and Yan Junyan, the former governor of Guangzhou government, had a good relationship. The two had discussed this matter before, so brother Yan asked for orders and kindly follow the imperial edict. The "Hui Dian" stipulates that please exempt the fixed bow from the lack of food, so as to relieve the hardship of brewing for a long time."

(End of this chapter)