East Factory Governor

Chapter 707

Qin Shuhuai's new government policy has three main points.

First, high salaries support honesty.

Second, the separation of political power, military power, and judicial power.

Third, the introduction of assessment standards.

Except for the third point, Chongzhen and Sun Chengzong were surprised by the other two points.

However, with the surprise of the "free land tax" as a base, they will not be as dumbfounded as before.

Chongzhen asked, "Brother Qin, the first point you said is that you need a high salary to support honesty, but I don't take it seriously. You know that human nature is greedy, even if I give them a high salary, it is impossible to eliminate their corruption. Besides, you are going to double the salaries of all the officials in the world as soon as you open your mouth, isn't this a bit too much?"

"Your Majesty, do you know why all Ming officials are greedy?" Qin Shuhuai asked.

Chongzhen said, "Isn't it because of the corruption in the officialdom?"

Sun Chengzong stood aside, smiled wryly and said nothing - he naturally knew the real reason.

Qin Shuhuai said, "Your Majesty, the so-called corrupt atmosphere is just an appearance. The real reason is that the salaries of officials are too low, so low that they have to go to corruption in order to maintain their basic life and even their dignity as officials."

Chongzhen frowned and said, "Official salaries are too low?"

Qin Shuhuai looked at Sun Chengzong and said, "Why don't Sun Ge solve this question?"

Sun Chengzong smiled wryly again, and said, "I am old and weak, and I don't have much to eat. The monthly salary of 87 shi received by the emperor's kindness is more than enough. It’s only 7.5 shi, and [-]% of it may be exchanged for silk, cotton, or some impractical small odds and ends, to feed a family, it’s really... really stretched.”

At the end of Ming Dynasty, a stone of rice was about 1.2 taels of silver, that is to say, the monthly salary of Qipin county magistrate was 9 taels, which was higher than that of ordinary handymen.

However, [-]% of official salaries in the late Ming Dynasty would be converted into impractical things such as silk and cotton. At that time, silk and cotton were no longer hard currencies, and it was not so easy to discount them.

In this way, the actual money in hand is only about five taels.

If it is converted into RMB on the earth, it is probably less than 2000 yuan.

Moreover, it is impossible for the county magistrate to use all of the more than five taels of silver for household use, because he still has officials to welcome and send them. from inside.

There was no such thing as reimbursement at public expense in the Ming Dynasty.

So one can imagine how difficult it was to be an upright official in the Ming Dynasty.

This is still a county magistrate, more or less at the seventh rank. If he is an official of the eighth or ninth rank, his salary will be even lower.

Most of the officials in the Ming Dynasty were scholars, and scholars were all decent.Han Chuang has studied hard for decades, and finally became an official, but in the end he can't even eat enough. How can he be decent?
This is called "Cheng He Ti System".

So, how could they not be greedy?When everyone is greedy, how could anyone come to fight against corruption?

Qin Shuhuai explained this to Chongzhen in detail, and Sun Chengzong made some additions.

Chongzhen was not ignorant of officials' salaries. He thought that a county magistrate had a monthly salary of 9 taels, which was quite a lot compared to ordinary people.

"However, Brother Qin thinks that raising their salaries can really make them honest and honest?" He asked again.

Qin Shuhuai said, "Although it may not be necessary, at least it can make officials who really want to be honest have the capital of being honest. In fact, I believe that there are countless scholars in Ming Dynasty who want to be good officials."

Xindao, compared with the later generations who are materialistic and have no beliefs, the current scholars are at least purer, and there are more people with real ideals than the later generations.

Thinking of this, he said, "However, high salaries are one aspect. We also need to use the system to restrain officials. This is what I said. The military power, political power, and judicial power are separated. If these three powers are controlled separately If there are three people who are not subordinate to each other, then no matter how high an official that person becomes, he will not be able to cover the sky with one hand, and it will not be so easy to corrupt."

Qin Shuhuai explained in detail how the three powers are separated from each other and how they restrict each other. It is probably the same as what he said in front of Yan Wuyue, and it is nothing more than a little refinement.

The hearts of Chongzhen and Sun Chengzong were once again strongly shocked.

Undoubtedly, this is another unprecedented change!
Sun Chengzong immediately said, "The Duke's policy is ground-breaking! You are going to cut down the governors of various places, oh no, it is the power of officials all over the world!"

Qin Shuhuai nodded and said, "That's right. We have raised their salaries so that they can live comfortably. Now it is logical to cut their rights. What else? What do they want with so much power?"

Chongzhen was silent and fell into deep thought.

Sun Chengzong said excitedly again, "In all fairness, this strategy is not only shocking, but also extremely wonderful. On the one hand, it can reduce the power in the hands of officials and increase the difficulty of corrupting the law. On the other hand, it can also put an end to the self-respect of governors and soldiers. This will greatly benefit the stability of the monarchy. I have been in politics for decades, but I have never thought of such a wonderful strategy of decentralization! It's just... has the Duke considered how the officials in the world will be in an uproar when this policy comes out?"

Qin Shuhuai snorted softly, and said coldly, "As I said just now, the imperial court has given them no worries about food and clothing. If they still want to hold on to the power in their hands, such officials are probably corrupt officials who want to use their power for personal gain, right?" ? Therefore, if anyone talks about this new policy indiscriminately, they can be dealt with by the Donglin Party!"

Qin Shuhuai was not afraid of the retaliation of officials all over the world.

why?
Because as I said before, a large part of the officials are newcomers, they are not so bold to oppose the government's decrees, and there are not many so-called vested interests violated.

And more importantly, this new policy did not fundamentally touch the interests of the military. Instead, it could free generals from all over the country from the control of the governor, so the military would definitely support it.

Then what are you afraid of?
If someone dares to object, Qin Shuhuai doesn't mind making him a tragic victim of the times!
At this time, Chongzhen said, "Brother Qin is right. The new policy of separation of powers is imperative, and I am determined to push it. This policy is beneficial to the court, to the common people, and to the foundation of my future generations. If anyone dares to make an uproar, I will strike a thunderbolt, so that he will never come out!"

With Chongzhen's words, he set the tone for this matter.

Qin Shuhuai did not expect that none of the suggestions he made would be refuted by Chongzhen.

I have to say that it is really commendable to be able to do this from the perspective of Chongzhen.

After all, his vision is five or six hundred years behind Qin Shuhuai's!

Next, other New Deal matters went more smoothly.

Reform the taxation department, use the value-added tax as a template, and reformulate the tax collection method.

Opening the sea was banned and the General Administration of Customs was established.

To set up education, the imperial court subsidizes money every year to build academies to reduce the cost of studying for poor students.

……

The three of them chatted for a whole day in the imperial study, and they didn't leave until late at night.

Sun Chengzong was an old bone. When he came out, he was so sleepy that he yawned and burst into tears, but he couldn't stop crying out. He insisted on dragging Qin Shuhuai to Liushi Academy to sleep, saying that he still had some problems and wanted to ask him for advice tomorrow morning. It looks a bit like a drunk state.

As a great talent of the generation, he used to be extremely conceited, but ever since he met Qin Shuhuai, a monster, he always felt that what he had learned in his life was at least 20 years behind others.

He felt that he was dozens of years older than Qin Shuhuai, but he had to admit that being able to work with a genius like Qin Shuhuai before the emperor was really a blessing in his life and an incomparable pleasure.

Rejoice, rejoice!

Qin Shuhuai is too lazy to chatter with him anymore, won't he go home to Liu Shi Academy in the cold weather?Don't even think about it!
He ran away as soon as he left Donghuamen.

Sun Chengzong was so angry that he blew his beard and stared in the cold wind most of the night.

In the imperial study room, Chongzhen, who was still full of ideas, was writing pens and paper under the lamp, writing vigorously...

The young face was full of excitement.

It is the high-spirited young emperor!
(End of this chapter)