Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2065 Poor Changes ([-])

In June, the land of China has gradually become hot. Feng Yu, the magistrate of Haizhou in the Qing Empire, is drinking tea with his confidant master in the backyard.

The focus of their discussion today is how to govern the place.This kind of large-scale topic is actually very difficult to grasp. It is not about the old officials who have been in the ups and downs of the officialdom or the treats that have been behind the scenes for many years. It is just that Feng Yu and his master Hu Yong are still qualified, so The conversation between the two was still to the point.

"The official discipline in the whole prefecture is lax, the subordinate officials are not afraid of the law, and the low-level officials are also cleverly set up names, and they are greedy, so there is nothing like it." Feng Yu sighed worriedly while holding a teacup.

He was born in a scholarly family, and he learned the way of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism since he was a child.In his early years as a small official in Beijing, he was ups and downs, not very successful, but he also sharpened his unique temperament.Later, he was favored by the powerful Suo'etu Suo Zhongtang, so he rose to the top and was promoted several levels in a row, and was sent to Haizhou, a place that is now attracting more and more people's attention, as the fifth-rank Zhizhou (Haizhou level comparison) Other states are half a grid high), which shows that it is the time to be brave enough to do things and want to do a big job.

What Feng Yu was lamenting at this meeting was not only the long-standing abuses in Haizhou's officialdom. Looking at the whole country, this kind of situation can be seen everywhere.After all, it has been more than 40 years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, and in the early days, a large number of Ming Dynasty demoted officials were appointed. Even if several emperors are still qualified and determined to reform the bureaucracy, what should come will still come. The official corruption that erodes the foundation of the empire has become irresistible. The spread spread, making Feng Yu and other people who wanted to do something very depressed.

Of course, this is not to say that this kind of thing will make the Qing Dynasty go downhill. In fact, this country, like Shunguo, is still on the rise, and its national strength continues to grow with the increase in population and the development of foreign trade.Regardless of the local subordinate officials, every dynasty and every generation is very corrupt. Although the high-ranking officials are a little bit greedy, they are still able to do things.The rulers of the Qing Empire came from the fishing and hunting peoples of Baishan and Heishui. Like the military leaders of Shunguo in the south, they liked practical work and did not talk about it. As the saying goes, they only look at the curative effect and do not listen to advertisements. Therefore, although the foundation of the empire has been shaken, there are still negative effects. Not as big as people think.

"It's a long-standing habit, so it's a disaster overnight." Master Hu Yong echoed and said.

In fact, he has been quite troubled recently.In the middle of last year, the imperial court made it known to the world, ordering all provinces, prefectures and counties to reduce redundant personnel, eliminate waste, and save precious funds for military use.After all, more than [-] troops are fighting in the desert, and the consumption is indeed quite large, so the Manchu Qing court is not worried.

The reduction of redundant staff here in Haizhou was planned by Hu Yong, and the feasibility of the plan was quite good. However, the subordinates were really cunning and took a lot of public money (for severance pay), but in the end they only laid off three or two helpers. , it is astonishing.As the saying goes, officials "created the empty name of elimination and used public funds for their own selfishness." Three helpers were laid off here, and two new recruits were brought in there. In the end, few left, and they were all officials. Yes, Hu Yong was greatly discouraged.

Feng Yu also knew about this. At that time, he even comforted Hu Yong, thinking that the veterans in the official circles of Haizhou were too shameless, which made it difficult for him to achieve great success.But Feng Yu didn't intend to give up yet. After discussing with Hu Yong, he felt that he could imitate the style of the Dong'an people and try again.

Many people from the Qing Dynasty have also been to Ningshao, especially officials and scholars from Hangzhou, Songjiang, Suzhou and other prefectures.Many people who came back wrote articles to recall their trip to Ningshao. One of the main points was to describe the style of officialdom on the east coast. There was a lot of envy and hatred in it. , There were many criticisms of the inefficient and corrupt officialdom of the Manchu and Qing courts, which aroused heated discussions for a while.

Feng Yu also collected this kind of experience and read it carefully, and he admired the official style of the Eastern Dynasty.Therefore, under the suggestion of Hu Yong, his confidant master and old friend for many years, he decided to set an example and refresh the administration of officials.For example, he planned to get up at [-] o'clock every day, read official documents at the beginning of Yinshi, and receive interviews at the beginning of Chenshi; he worked hard on various official documents, trying to avoid the situation of being written by the master or other staff, and must review them in person.

There is no doubt that Feng Yu hopes to use his capable and efficient role to infect and drive others, so as to correct the procrastination, laziness and laxity prevailing in all levels of yamen, and improve the overall work efficiency.Otherwise, how can the officialdom of the "My Great Qing Dynasty" be eliminated?And if the officialdom cannot be eliminated, then how can we destroy the Junggar and Mongolia in the north and destroy the hypocrisy and obedience in the south?And how can we drive away the yellow-clothed pirates who have occupied the land of China for many years?

"Even if the bad habits have been accumulated for many years, Feng Mou may not make a move this time. Suo Zhongtang can watch." After thinking for a long time, Feng Yu sighed and said: "This time the court is determined to eliminate mediocre and inferior officials to save public expenses. It is very firm, all the provinces have sent imperial envoys to strictly supervise the handling, and there is no escape from this matter."

"Since that's the case, please do it quickly." Hu Yong glanced at Feng Yu, then took out a list from his sleeve, put it on the table, and said: "This is the list in the state (Haizhou and its affiliated Ganyu County) ) The list of mediocre officials and inferior officials, including those who are greedy and indulge the people, those who increase taxes privately, those who strip businessmen and disturb the people, those who collect fraudulently, those who are lazy and incompetent, those who disturb the people, and those who embezzle public funds for relief. My master, please punish me severely."

Feng Yu was startled at first, then nodded heavily, and put away the list.He and Suo'etu often communicated by letter, and he also had the right to submit folding instruments alone, so it is still possible to punish some mediocre and inferior officials.The main question is whether you can bear the consequences of doing so.But fortunately, Haizhou is not big, only one state and one county, and he is under the cover of big bosses. It is politically correct to punish these bad guys in general, so it is estimated that the problem is not big.

"Thinking about the Eastern Dynasty, although it was a country of pirates, there were disciplines in government affairs, no intrusions in the treasury, and no corruption and ink. It is really desirable. In fact, it was only three or forty years since they ruled Denglai and Ningshao. But it is very good to get rid of the long-standing abuses in the officialdom, the people are diligent in their careers, and the officials are not strict, how can this be done?" After accepting the list, Feng Yu took a sip of tea and couldn't help but complain a little.

In fact, he understands the joints very well, without him, system ear!But Feng Yu also knows that the current system formed by "My Great Qing" is relatively stable. No matter what its upper limit is, at least it can still operate normally and the efficiency is not bad, so it is best not to have major surgery.You know, their main opponents are Junggar Mongolia and Dashun.

The systems of these two countries, hehe, the former is a grassland empire, everyone knows that it is loose and chaotic, and it is all maintained by a certain hero. Once the political or military strongman falls, it will inevitably fall into a situation of cannibalism. Not uncommon in history.As for Dashun, to be honest, this country is a bit weird. It is a bit like the grassroots team when "My Qing Dynasty" started. It seems to be a country owned by the army. Everything in the country is aimed at how to make money quickly. Military pay, producing more military equipment to better meet the needs of the army, is very weird.

Feng Yu believes that this kind of militaristic and insane country should have no future, and there has never been a warlike country in ancient times that was not invincible.As strong as the Qin of the tiger and wolf back then, he also died in the second generation. Can this obedience still go against the sky?Feng Yu doesn't believe it. He thinks that in the long-term see-saw consumption with "My Great Qing", Shunni will inevitably fail in the end.

Although Feng Yu felt a little vigilant about the recent incident of soldiers going south to defeat Ming, but after thinking about it, he felt that there was no need to worry too much.He vaguely heard that some officials in the DPRK kept making up their minds, asking the court to pay attention to the ongoing war between Shun and Ming, and find ways to contain it from Sichuan and Jiangnan (the Qing army set out from these two places to avoid the interference of the navy on the east coast to the greatest extent. ), but Feng Yu felt that there was no need to make a fuss.The three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi are all impoverished places, the population is not abundant, and the local chieftain forces are still intertwined. If Shunguo swallows these places in one go, there will be no major moves within ten years, and a large number of troops will be restrained there. Moving, speaking of it, this is called cocooning yourself!

And ten years later, can't "My Great Qing" still be unable to solve Galdan?Feng Yu didn't believe it.It is said that the emperor has already selected elites in Beijing, and he will send the imperial conscripts to fight Galdan in the Mongolian desert in a few days.This battle should not be a big problem. "My Great Qing" has a strong army and sufficient logistical supplies. There are also sharp soldiers trained by Dutch and English officers. Isn't it easy to fight a small Junggar Mongol?

The only thing to worry about is that Galdan knew that he was invincible and fled around, making the more than [-] troops do not know where to go, so they could only run back and forth on the grassland.However, Galdan's trick cannot be used frequently. If it is used too much, his subordinates will become impatient and question him, and his prestige will not be maintained. After seeing his cowardly appearance, the Mongolian tribes will also alienate him, so There will still be a battle between the two sides in the end, and "My Great Qing" will definitely win the final victory, it's just a matter of time!

"By the way, there is a list of mediocre officials and bad officials here, but is there a list of good officials and capable officials?" After thinking for a while, Feng Yu asked Hu Yong again expectantly.The imperial court requires all the provinces in the world to eliminate mediocre officials, and at the same time to recommend talented people. Feng Yu is loyal to the imperial court, and naturally these must be followed, so I have this question.

"Naturally there are." Hu Yong smiled, took out another list from his arms, and said: "This is the result of half a year's secret investigation by my subordinates. There are honest and honest officials who are honest and diligent in political affairs, and there are those who plan ahead and try to store goods , capable officials who have painstakingly transferred their fortunes, and good talents who can make the official treasury not lose money and the people's strength. Although Haizhou is small, there are some talents, and I hope the owner will be aware of it."

Feng Yu put the list into his pocket again with a smile.This old friend of mine is really reassuring, and he has done so many things without making a sound.Now the imperial court is still very concerned about rectifying the administration of officials and developing trade (after all, the pressure is not small). It will be able to get the appreciation of the superior faster, and then Jane will be in the emperor's heart, and it will be no problem to make a fortune in the future.

Then Feng Yu and Hu Yong talked about breaking the bad rules. This is also one of the three major events supervised by the court and should not be ignored.When it comes to breaking bad rules, it is actually determined after studying the operation of the East Coast government. Of course, the pressure on funds is also one of the important factors.

Take the yamen of a certain salt field in Haizhou as an example. This time, the higher-ups demanded to reduce the yamen’s public expenses by 5000 taels, the table silver by 3000 taels, and some bad habits such as the so-called check library door bags. It is very speechless to have to give the door to the officials in charge of the treasury.Furthermore, the gifts that officials of various prefectures and counties give to their peers and superiors, such as the seasonal regulations for celebrating festivals and birthdays, the etiquette of arrival, etc., are all drawn from the official treasury. The sum of the whole country is not a small amount, enough to support An army has been around for a long time, so this time it was also abolished to reduce expenses.

It can be seen from this that the finances of "My Great Qing" are indeed a little tight now, so that they have to increase revenue (tax increase, sea trade) while also trying every means to reduce expenditure.This Galdan dealt a heavy blow to the fragile finances of the Qing court. If there is no way to do it, I am afraid that they will start paying with food and cloth. How can the court have any face like that?They can vaguely hear that Shun Kingdom has a small territory and a small population, but the army supports more than 20 people, and the court's salary is insufficient, so they have to issue money to solve it.However, the common people lacked confidence in this kind of banknotes, and they dared not refuse to accept them, so they could only be forced to swallow the bitter fruit. This matter was made a joke in the north for a while.

When Feng Yu was a speech official in Beijing, he talked about it, thinking that it was the most direct evidence that the imperial court was insane and the people were disabled.The people in Hunan, Jiangxi, and Shu were exploited and squeezed to the point of being inhumane. When the "My Great Qing" Wang Shi went south to conquer Shun in the future, they might not want to open the city to welcome the surrender!

Of course Feng Yu is no longer a speaker.After working as a magistrate for more than half a year, his understanding of the economy and finance has reached a new height, and he feels that money and food are indeed the life and death of a country.It is true that there is no such thing as a king, but "My Great Qing" spends money like water, especially after the war in the desert suddenly broke out. If you don't think about ways to try your best to increase the government's fiscal revenue If so, do we have to imitate others by issuing money to plunder the people?Feng Yu thinks that "My Great Qing Dynasty" is orthodox, and it is not comparable to the rebellious mud-legged regimes such as Shunni, and it must not be like this.

Therefore, he supported from the bottom of his heart the three major measures of eliminating mediocre officials, recommending good talents, and breaking bad rules, and he also believed from the bottom of his heart that they were the only way for the court to achieve long-term stability.Although many of his colleagues may not like it, because it obviously affects their interests, but the situation is difficult, and everyone should help each other in the same boat. At this time, don't worry too much, and put the state affairs first.

(End of this chapter)