Idle courtiers

Chapter 100 This board really can't be played
The arrival of Xinzhi County, as the ceremony in the sixth house of the county government, Zhou Nan naturally went to greet him.

He also made full preparations to make Zhanzhi County feel like coming home.

It's a pity that Master Zhan rejected all of them in the end, and he just said coldly: "You don't need to make such a fuss, just wait in the yamen, I know how to take care of the elders."

Then he reprimanded everyone, playing with a lot of prestige.

If it was the old Zhou Nan, I'm afraid I would have to have a discussion with him.At this moment, she smiled very charmingly, and just kept silent.Anyway, I can't work in the yamen for a few days, so I don't bother to get angry with him.

Speaking of this, everyone probably feels very strange.Although Master Lifang has a lot of power, he is still an official and has no political status. How can he be as free as a scholar.Besides, Zhou Nan has a small fortune now, and doesn't live on the pitiful monthly salary.He is still staying in the county government office and being reprimanded by others. Could it be that he has a tendency to be abused?

This has to talk about the political system of the Ming Dynasty again.

It turns out that in the Ming Dynasty, no matter whether you were an official or an official, you could not resign if you wanted to.If the official department does not agree in writing, you cannot leave, otherwise you will be contemptuous of the court.

When the Ming Dynasty was founded, Taizu Lao Zhu was born in a reckless family, knew the sufferings of the people well, hated corrupt officials, and set extremely low salaries for officials.For example, at the county magistrate level, it is only twenty taels of silver per year; at the ministerial level, it is only 50 taels of silver per year.

Life is hard, the official is not living, this job can't go on, I want to resign and go home to be a landlord and live on rent!

When Lao Zhu heard this, he said, "Hey, this official is not something you can do if you want to. You are an official because you want to squeeze the people to make money. If you have a bad heart, kill it!"

"Ah, you're going to starve to death. You won't see the people who are starving to death? Crying all the way is worse than crying as a family, kill them!"

"Can't keep working? It's because you are angry, you are against the central government, you are dissatisfied with the court, and you are disloyal to me. Kill me!"

"Go home to be a lord and eat rent? Go home and be a tyrant. Do you want to build a dock, gather rangers, what do you want to do, kill!"

After several killings, the officials dare not call for resignation.

In this way, this system has continued from the Hongwu period to the present.If you want to resign from the public office, you can, and you need the approval of the Ministry of Officials, otherwise you have to continue working.For example, the imperial envoy of Youqian, the governor of Fengyang, the highest military and political officer in the Huaibei area today, Tang Shunzhi, the anti-Japanese hero, because he was not in the same rhythm as Zhang Cong, the chief assistant of the cabinet, and this so-called traitor was not pleasing to the eye, so he wanted to resign as the head of the Ministry of War One post home.Lao Zhang is not a good person. If you want to leave, how can I bother you when you leave?
The direct veto made Mr. Tang stay depressed in the capital for several years.

Of course, there is one exception, that of keeping the system.That is, if your parents die, you can resign and go home to observe filial piety.However, after three years, I have to continue to come back to be an official and devote myself to the great cause of building the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the imperial court can also take your affection, you don't need to keep filial piety, and continue to serve the imperial court!The king of heaven and earth, the master, the master, the loyalty to the father is ranked ahead of the kiss.

Although Zhou Nan is a small official, it is up to the official to decide whether he will do this job or not.

Thanks to the poor transportation and communication conditions of this era, the official document to save him from being a court official is still on the way, and he has to work in the yamen for a while before he can get the crown and leave.

From the looks of it, Mr. Zhan has a very bad feeling for him, and it is estimated that the new magistrate of Zhan County will not have a good impression of him either.

Zhou Nan had inquired about it long before.This Zhixian County Zhan is not a good person. He has a name in the Imperial College of Beijing as a supervisor.Later, after leaving the door, he became the county magistrate.

It is said that he has some relationship with Concubine Li of Prince Yu's Mansion, and has served in the school for many years.

Who is King Yu? The only son of Emperor Jiajing, although he was not established as the prince, he will be the emperor sooner or later.

As for Concubine Li, it was even more remarkable.The mother of Emperor Wanli, the most powerful person in the Ming Dynasty in the future.

King Yu passed away soon after succeeding to the throne. Concubine Li listened to the government behind the curtain, and joined forces with Zhang Juzheng to start the prelude to the great reform of Longwan, pushing the power of the Ming Dynasty to a new height.

In the evaluation of later generations, this is an outstanding politician and reformer.It can be said that without her, there would be no future Zhang Juzheng.

Born under Concubine Li's family, Zhixian Zhan is not a serious person, so he naturally wants to be a domineering person.

It is said that this person is greedy and has a bad official reputation in office.In addition, he is narrow-minded and not an easy boss to get along with.

Soon, Zhan Zhixian came, a fat man in his early forties, probably drunk, with two eye-catching bags under his eyes.Talking to the officials in the yamen is neither yin nor yang, and he is not affectionate to everyone.

The first thing this guy did when he came to Anton was to go to the countryside to inspect the work. In the past ten days or so, he visited all the big households and gentry in the county.In name, it is to inspect this year's spring plowing, but in fact it is to receive gifts.After all, when a chief official is here, as a landlord, why don't you have to prepare some gifts?
Moreover, Zhan Zhixian also hinted that Zhou Nan and the others took the initiative to ask the landlords for it.

In this way, after walking around, the magistrate of Zhan actually got several hundred taels of benefits, and even Zhou Nan's entourage got one or twenty taels.

Zhou Nan shook his head, and thought to himself: It is good for everyone to get rich, but this food is too ugly.You Zhanzhi County has been serving as a magistrate and left, but I have to stay in Anton for the rest of my life. How can I see people in the future?I can be regarded as unscrupulous, and the birdman in Zhanzhi County is even more unscrupulous.

After running all the villages and towns, finally came the day of spring plowing and hoeing.According to the court system, Zhou Nan borrowed a piece of land from Yuanwai Mei, and invited all the gentry in the county.So, Zhixian Zhan rolled up his trousers and got down to the ground, and pretended to plow the ground with a plow tied with red silk.

Then there are firecrackers and colorful flags, and this year's spring plowing season has officially started.

Before the spring plowing ceremony, Master Zhan hinted to Zhou Nan whether he should ask the gentry to prepare another gift. After all, the old man cared about the people and set an example himself, and it was hard work.

Zhou Nan was thoroughly annoyed. The magistrate of Zhan County had just returned from the countryside for a few days, and he wanted to ask the landlords to give him money. The land was scraped too hard.This guy was from a low-level person, and a nobleman came out of his relatives, and he suddenly became the county magistrate.Probably because he is used to being poor, once he gains power, he naturally wants to grow his hair well.

It's not that he discriminates against the poor. In fact, whether in modern society or in the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Nan is a poor man.I am afraid that this kind of uneducated and almost illiterate poor people who become officials will be evil, and they have no technical content and no principles in doing things.

Anyway, I can't work in the yamen for long, and I don't intend to please Zhanzhi County.

The salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were inhumanely low, and the court also tacitly allowed the officials to find ways to raise funds from other places.Zhou Nan is not a moral gentleman, so he naturally doesn't mind working with his boss to improve his personal financial situation. This is reasonable and legal.

But cooperating with this kind of official, he still feels inferior!
Zhou Nan pretended not to understand and ignored it.

Zhou Dianli was so dishonest, Zhan Zhixian was naturally furious.Spring plowing begins, and the plan for a year lies in spring. This is a major event in the farming society, and there is no room for sloppyness.

On this day, the magistrate of Zhan County, the magistrate of Gui County, and the pawns of Liufang were discussing matters in the ear room of the county yamen, and they talked about the yamen's expenses for the next year.

As usual, the magistrate of Zhan County complained that the salary was low, and the county government was almost unable to maintain it, and the government agency looked like it would go bankrupt tomorrow.It also implies that everyone brainstorms and finds a way to make money.He also said, everyone, don't worry, what you have to say, as long as it is available, the county will adopt it.Put down the burden and start the machine.

Zhou Nan naturally looked at his nose and his heart as usual, and all four things were empty.As for what other people say, it has nothing to do with him.

Suddenly, Zhixian Zhan slapped the table and shouted, "Zhou Nan, stand up for me!"

Zhou Nan woke up from his ignorance, and he asked in astonishment, "What orders does the county lord have?"

The magistrate of Zhan scolded: "Just now Gui Xiancheng suggested that the tax exempted by the imperial court this year will be collected as usual, and there are three months until the summer harvest. I will let you take charge of this matter. I will ask you if you are willing. What a subordinate, you can be my official." Is it true that the spring breeze has passed the ears when I asked you just now? You have no respect, it is really abominable."

Hearing his words, Zhou Nan was taken aback, and immediately knew that this matter would be bad in the future and he would be blamed.

Last year, the imperial court decreed that Anton would be exempted from taxes and corvee labor for three years because of the implementation of the new policy of reforming the land into sang.However, the implementation of the New Deal was unfavorable. There were many mistakes in Zhejiang and Jiangnan, and some people were dismissed from office because of this.Shortly after the end of this year, the higher authorities ordered that the law of changing the land into mulberry trees would no longer be implemented.

Whether the new law is new or not has nothing to do with Andong County, but the three-year tax exemption is a real benefit.Now, Zhanzhi County wants to expropriate, what exactly do you want to do?
Wouldn't it be said that this kind of thing is deceiving the court, and the worst thing is that it is extremely difficult to operate.If your government backtracks, you will inevitably receive great resistance from the people in the future.Do it by yourself, if you don't want to use violent means, it will completely offend the whole county, and how will you continue to mess around in the local area in the future.

Even if he is willing to be a pawn of Zhanzhi County, he may not be able to please this dog official.If things are not done well, I am afraid that he will inevitably be punished.

Seeing the sneer on the corner of Guixian Cheng's mouth next to him, Zhou Nan's heart became clear, and this kind of Gui hated me, Zhou Nan.Now that Shi Zhixian has been transferred to Yunnan, he can finally stand up straight and be a man, so naturally he has to hate before snow.

Zhou Nan said: "Honorable County, it is the intention of the court to exempt Anton from taxes for three years. It is against the law to increase the tax without permission. If it is spread out, it may damage the official reputation of the Grand Master." People sue and affect the future?
Looking back, he is a member of King Yu, with a bright future, and he is not a timid person.

King Yu is the future emperor, and he is also unanimously supported by Qingliu in the court.

The Qingliu of the Jiajing Dynasty not only controlled the public opinion, but also occupied the central and key departments in the imperial court, with a lot of power.

Today, the court is not dominated by the Yan Songyan Party as later generations believed, but is divided into three forces.

One is the strict party headed by Yan Song, and the other is Qingliu.

As for the third faction, it is the eunuch party headed by the eunuchs Huang Jin and Chen Hong.

Not to mention the eunuch party, it is the spokesperson of the imperial power.

Emperor Jiajing may not be the best politician among the monarchs of the Ming Dynasty, but he is the most politically skilled.As a qualified king, he naturally understands the principle of checks and balances. Therefore, in the middle and late Jiajing period, Qingliu and Yandang were evenly matched, and no one could suppress the other.

Qingliu has a lot of power in the court, and he also controls the public opinion.Zhanzhi County is from Prince Yu's Mansion, so naturally he is also from Qingliu.He's messing around below, even if you sue him, the officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate will probably pretend not to see him.

Zhan Zhixian shouted angrily: "Why, do you still want to sue this officer? What a thief, you dare to threaten your superiors, here comes someone, drag it down and beat you thirty sticks!"

Thirty sticks down would be fatal, and people in the yamen can change their minds.Once the emperor and the courtiers, it is inevitable that some people will not be cruel to themselves in order to please the new magistrate, this is not acceptable.

Zhou Nan smiled suddenly: "Honorable County, today we are just discussing the money and food that the yamen needs to spend this year. If the old man disagrees, he will punish the lowly post. It is true that you are at fault for contradicting your boss. However, you are really serious about this board." can not fight."

(End of this chapter)