"Whoever dares to accept Bing Jing Tan Jing from now on will get out of here." Ai Husheng's roar resounded throughout the Shangshu Mansion. Madam was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, thinking that her master had gone crazy.

In this day and age, whoever is a Beijing official doesn’t accept the local officials’ duties? The capital’s ground level is not as good as that of Liaodong. Without these gray incomes, how can a family live?

Ai Husheng didn't care whether his wife thought it through or not, and he didn't care whether his colleagues were embarrassed or not. With a command, he sent back this summer's ice gift. The Henan official who gave the gift was so frightened that he didn't understand what he was doing.

This offended Lord Shangshu.

Other yamen are fine, but this Hubu yamen is in charge of money. Henan is poor, and this year they are thinking of allocating some money from the treasury to complete the road construction plan. Now the gift sent has been returned, what's the matter?

The little steward of the feudal lord's office was so anxious that he almost hanged himself.

Not only did Ai Husheng return the things he had received, but he even checked his wife's account books and sent back the ice cream and carbon wine he had received before. Suddenly, there was a tremor in the capital.

What kind of wind.

Soon the officials were surprised to discover that this trend was actually contagious. Senior officials, headed by various ministers, were busy returning gifts. They also stated resolutely that they would never accept any form of gifts in the future.

The big boss above began to return the stolen money, and the little brothers below couldn't just watch. Suddenly, officials at all levels in the capital suddenly became honest and honest. All gifts were not accepted, and previous gifts were returned as appropriate. Moreover,

Follow the example of my boss and firmly stated that I will never accept ice or carbon respect again in the future.

When the news reached the local governors, the feudal officials were more and more confused. They didn't know what the capital was doing. There was an endless stream of messengers and carrier pigeons running out of the capital every day. They were all the governors asking for news from the capital!

At the end of March, the imperial court issued an order to increase the salaries of the officials. This was a very happy event, and all the officials applauded and expressed their support for the imperial government's benevolent government.

"In fact, the salary of officials should have been increased long ago. If officials do not rely on fire expenses and other unplanned income, they may not even be able to afford food. The ninth grade is seventy-nine stones, the eighth grade is one hundred and twenty-one stones, and the seventh grade is one stone.

One hundred and fifty-four stones, one hundred and seventy-eight stones of the sixth grade, one hundred and ninety-nine stones of the fifth grade...!

The salary set during the Hongwu period has not changed much for more than two hundred years. With the price of goods in the capital, how can these officials live?" Li Xiao took a sip from the tea bowl and didn't know where Sun Chengzong got the tea. The tea soup was golden.

It's yellow, and you can tell it's a good thing at first glance. I guess this old guy is also corrupt.

Looking at the more than two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, the chief ministers except Yu Qian were stubborn. Generally, they were like Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng, Yang Tinghe, Xia Yan and so on. None of them were rich men. Mr. Sun received two

Wrapped tea leaves are truly the most upright official among upright officials.

"Bad regulations cannot be beaten to death with one blow. They have to be done step by step, little by little! Now that Bingjing and Tanjing have been suppressed, the next step is to send local specialties to officials during the New Year and festivals.

In fact, if it is a simple souvenir, it is not a big deal. Giving away some crab mooncakes and the like on August 15th is not a big deal. But in some places, in order to curry favor with the imperial officials, governors in some places take the opportunity to give away special gifts. Some of them are shameless.

, beauties are sent to the capital as souvenirs.

It’s gotten to the point where you have to give gifts to the capital during the Qingming Festival. The Qingming Festival is for giving gifts to the dead. You give gifts to the living.” Sun Chengzong lit a cigarette and took a puff, feeling quite impatient.

"Didn't you issue a clear edict to the local governor that no gifts are allowed during the Qingming Festival this year? You are still worried about this matter. I will go back to Liaodong to pay homage to my dead parents and sister during the Qingming Festival this year. It is unfilial to say that it has been ten years.

, I am so busy every year that I don’t even have time to go back and visit my ancestors’ graves!”

"Haha! You don't have to worry about your ancestral tomb. You have such a character. I don't know how many Feng Shui masters have gone to the mountain of your ancestral tomb to conduct research. The local officials in Liaodong have already decorated your ancestral tomb with dragons and phoenixes. Nurhaci's

The grave is inferior to yours. Oh! I heard that some of the stone sculptures in the Nurhaci Cemetery were moved to your cemetery.

Now, the mountainous area where your family buried your family has become a forbidden area. The entrance and exit are guarded by soldiers. Except for the people who repair your family's cemetery, no one else is allowed to set foot. Speaking of flattery, your local official is really called

Flattery." Sun Chengzong took a puff of cigarette and glanced at Li Xiao lightly.

"Really?" Li Xiao's jaw dropped to the ground. He had never heard of his family's cemetery being turned into something like this. In the past, he had heard from Li Hao that a local official had used his family's grave tomb.

I repaired it. I thought it was just a tomb repair, and it was not a big deal. When things got busy, Li Xiao forgot about it.

I never expected that the local officials would go so far. Mr. Nurhaci, if there was someone in the underground who knew that the Li family came to rob them of their belongings, they would probably be able to gnaw through the coffin.

"This time you just go back to your hometown in Liaodong and promote the local officials. If you are so flattering that you won't give them a promotion, it will make them feel bad." The old and immortal Sun Chengzong flicked the ashes of his cigarette and looked at Li Xiao.

His eyes were full of schadenfreude.

"I said, Mr. Sun, this is your fault. You know all these things, and you can do it with just a word. Why do you have to wait for me to go back and say something? You also know that I have been running around here and there for so many years, not on the battlefield.

, on the way to the battlefield. When have you ever had time to relax!

They built a grave for my family, so we can only thank them. Your disgusting expression is a bit excessive."

"You know the favor here, but don't others know the favor? There are local officials in your hometown, don't you think I don't have them at home? So, if you want to clear the water, be careful that there are no fish in the pond."

"What should we do?" Li Xiao spread his hands. He really had no relevant experience.

"Knowing everything in the world is knowledge, and being knowledgeable is writing! Being an official is an extremely complex knowledge. If you want everyone to be honest and honest, it is simply impossible. We in China came here thousands of years ago

That’s how it came about. Humanity and sophistication are engraved in our bones. If you want to use rules and regulations to frame this thing, it’s absolutely impossible!

Let me tell you something discouraging, who would be addicted to becoming an official if not for these privileges and benefits?" Sun Chengzong was nestled in the sofa, with his legs crossed, looking like an old god. After a few puffs of a cigarette, he hit the butt of the cigarette.

.

"Then we have agreed that we should be honest and clear about public expenditures in various places...!"

"This matter must be dealt with. In the past, the imperial court was too indulgent in local affairs. As a result, local officials had too much power. If the imperial court wants to stabilize, it must first seize local financial rights! You brought up the issue of the separation of national and local taxes. National taxes are managed by the state and collected

Most taxes and local taxes are managed by local government offices, and the taxes collected are used for local administrative expenses. I think this is feasible.

Oh! I’m getting older now, and it’s easy to get distracted when talking. Let’s still talk about being an official!

When the imperial court selects officials from various places, the first thing is to see whether the person can manage the place well. The second thing is to consider whether the person is honest. You find someone who is as clear as water and as bright as a mirror, but has low talent and cannot manage the place well. Such a person

, I’m afraid if you use it for a year, he will get out of here.

As long as the local area is managed well and the court's policies can be well implemented in the local area, and the people can live and work in peace and contentment without causing trouble everywhere, then such an official should be regarded as a capable official. I would say, the more such officials, the better."

"But what if there's a fish and meat place...!"

"The imperial court has just taken over the country, and the people's hearts have not yet been stabilized. How can you have time to care about so many things? The most important thing for the imperial court now is to stabilize the world first. Other things must be put in the back row.

Let’s stabilize the world first so that our court can gain a firm foothold, and then let’s talk about attacking the officials. Now, our foundation is still too shallow. It looks like we have unified the country, but in fact there is an undercurrent surging!” Sun Chengzong said to

Li Xiao taught diligently, with seriousness written all over his face.

Li Xiao listened quietly, and there was a constant battle between heaven and man in his heart.

I am still too young, and politics is the most complicated thing in the world. The old fox who has become a master through cultivation is right, but what he said is far from his ideal.
Chapter completed!