Qing Yao

Chapter 191 Sir, are you short of money?
The governor's legal annual salary is 155 taels of silver, plus 155 bushels of rice.

One hu is five dou, and one dou of rice is about 15 jin, which means that more than 10,000 jin of rice will be taken.

The combined salary from both jobs is less than 300 taels.

Although the salary and benefits seem low, the governor receives 12000 taels of silver annually as a stipend for maintaining integrity. In addition, there are allowances for festivals, birthdays, weddings, funerals, and other celebrations. A governor can earn at least several hundred thousand taels of silver per term.

So how could eight thousand taels make the governor feel like he'd received a warm gift?
The answer lies in the fact that the governor was actually very poor.

There was no other way; we had too much debt to repay.

It's not something I owe anyone else, it's something I owe the old man.

The governor is very unlucky.

When he served as the governor of Zhejiang, he investigated the deficits of prefectures and counties and found that there were 880,000 taels of silver in arrears and more than 740,000 shi of rice. The court stipulated that superiors would be jointly liable for repayment if subordinates had too much deficit. As a result, the governor was burdened with a debt of nearly 500,000 taels.

On the surface, the old master granted a waiver of this debt, but in reality, the governor borrowed money from the Imperial Household Department at exorbitant interest rates to repay it.

Two years later, the old master made a southern tour, and the salt merchants of Zhejiang and Jiangsu donated 600,000 taels of silver to repair the seawall. The old master did not take a single penny of this money and gave it all to the governor to use for the project. However, after two or three years, the project was launched and cannons were fired.

The problem is that the money is gone.

This blame naturally falls on the governor, since he failed to strictly implement the fiscal budget system and did not effectively supervise those involved in the project.

Adding to the high-interest loans he had previously taken out, he now owed over a million taels of silver.

The old man was soft-hearted and allowed the governor to repay the debt in installments. Fearing that the governor would not be able to pay it back, he transferred him to Shanxi as governor, then to Aksu as minister in charge of affairs, and later to Yarkand as counselor minister.

Why was he assigned to work in the Northwest for three years? Isn't that a poor place?

The reason is simple: at that time, there was a military campaign in the Northwest, and there was money to be made in logistics, and the fur business could also be very lucrative.

The old man's mind was as clear as a mirror.

Rather than letting officials who are not short of money embezzle the profits, it's better to give them to those who owe me money, since they will eventually come back to me anyway.

This is called the dialectic of economics.

After serving as an official for several terms, the governor's income was decent, but he was still short of more than 300,000 taels of silver. There was nothing the old master could do but transfer him back to the wealthy Zhejiang.

Otherwise, when will this debt be repaid?

Fortunately, thanks to the timely news from the capital, the governor was able to borrow money and rice to fill the gaps left by his predecessor and resolve the deficit. When the old master heard that Zhejiang's economic work was doing very well and that all indicators ranked first in the country, he was so pleased that he transferred the governor to Jiangsu as governor and concurrently acted as the governor-general of Liangjiang.

Jiangsu is richer than Zhejiang.

The old man's meaning was roughly: "Look, I'm giving you more and more money, so you'd better figure it out yourself. You can't keep delaying paying me back. I'm eighty years old, and I need some money for my retirement, right? You, Fusong, can't wait until I die to pay me back, can you?"

From a non-national perspective, the old man's words truly show he was a good leader.

It's good, but the problem is that the governor borrowed the money urgently from private loan sharks in Zhejiang. The interest on that money was so high that it was terrifying. So, despite the governor's current high position and great power, he still owes a huge debt of more than 700,000 taels of silver.

They couldn't refuse to pay, because behind those loan sharks in Zhejiang were two "hat kings" from Beijing.

These days, without a powerful backer, who would dare lend money to the governor?
If a county magistrate can ruin a family, and a prefect can exterminate an entire clan, what can a provincial governor do?
They could accuse your entire clan of treason!
Thinking about it from a conspiracy theory perspective, it's possible that those two princes in hats leaked the information to the governor in advance. With time running out and the task being so demanding, the governor was forced to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates from the banks run by the two princes to "fill the hole."

Therefore, the 8,000 taels of silver as a New Year's gift was truly a sum that could make the governor's heart flutter.

The year is almost over!

The common people are having a hard time, but the officials are having an even harder time.

Why did the governor insist on returning to Suzhou tomorrow instead of waiting for the matter of the Grand Canal gang to be resolved? It's because the Zhejiang boss has come to collect debts.

Even an extra copper coin for this eye bone is a good thing.

Zhao An, who presented a gift of eight thousand taels of silver, finally met the governor.

His generosity rivaled that of Ah Caishen, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai; he didn't even blink when he took out eight thousand taels.

For Zhao An, this was all small change; didn't he just give 80,000 taels to He Zhongtang last time?

The governor is worth at least eight thousand taels.

What if you don't have any money?
Zhao An hadn't thought about this question.

There's no need to think; the facts are obvious: did the old man's bank go bankrupt, or did Committee Member Zhao become timid?

Even the Minister of Personnel is not as bold as the Vice Minister.

Besides, money is inherently worthless, but if it's given to a bastard, then two negatives make a positive and it's no longer worthless.

Zhao An was very clear-headed. Although Fu Song was A Gui's man, both A Gui and Fu Song were powerful figures who held real power and were not people that he, a mere member of the Bao Yi Committee, could afford to offend.

Didn't you see that when Agui was alive, he always surpassed Heshen and was always ranked first as the chief Grand Councilor?

Fu Song was still a local official, the real power holder in Jiangsu. Zhao Anming needed Fu Song's approval to promote the policy of allowing students to study outside their hometowns throughout the province. Otherwise, if the governor issued an official document, how many local officials would dare to disobey?
The essence of "borrowing a school" is to gather wealthy parents from a certain area together to "make money".

If local officials don't cooperate, resist students from other schools, and don't allow students in their jurisdiction to study outside their area, no matter how rich the parents are, Zhao An has no way to gather them together and "circle" them for exploitation.

If this matter cannot be successfully completed in the first half of next year, his impression and value in Heshen's eyes will inevitably decline.

If Heshen judged him to be only capable of handling small matters and not big ones, Zhao An would definitely not be able to survive in the officialdom.

Therefore, Zhao An must provide 100% service to Fu Song, who is currently in charge.

It's not about being two-faced, but about surviving in the cracks.

"Your humble servant, Zhao Youlu, Jiangsu Provincial Education Inspector, pays his respects to Your Excellency, Governor!"

Upon entering the room, Zhao An slapped his sleeves and bowed respectfully, performing the kowtow perfectly.

To be honest, with the honorary title of "bondservant slave," Zhao An did indeed develop a bit of a servile demeanor.

"No need for formalities. Someone, please bring a seat for Committee Member Zhao."

The governor was far superior to the old master Hu, who was transferred to the capital and sidelined. He not only smiled and asked Commissioner Zhao to get up, but also kindly had someone bring him a chair.

The eight thousand taels were well given.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency!"

Zhao An rose with a slight movement, then carefully sat down, still with only half of his buttocks on the ground, to show absolute respect for the governor and to try to hide the "Peace Party" label on his forehead as much as possible.

Just as he was wondering how the governor would start the conversation and how he would respond, he saw the governor staring at him, looking him up and down, before asking with a curious expression, "Is Commissioner Zhao very rich?"

"."

This question put Zhao An in a rather awkward position, because it was really difficult to answer.

You say you have no money, but you send a New Year's gift worth eight thousand taels of silver. Where did the money come from?

If he claims to have money, what if the governor asks him for a loan?
Moreover, where did this money come from?

Whether you have money or not, it's hard to say.

It's something we can only understand without saying a word.

Please accept this battery, but don't ask how you got it, or we'll all be in trouble.

The governor, meanwhile, let out a soft "Ah" and chuckled to himself: "Yes, Commissioner Zhao made quite a bit of money by running a temporary school in Yangzhou. Ah, you school officials are so lucky. You can do whatever you want to make money as long as it doesn't violate the court's policies, and you do it all aboveboard. No one can find fault with you."
Unlike me, who is watched by the provincial governor's office, the judicial commissioner's office, and the imperial censors, everyone is watching, making it impossible for me to even make a little money.

Like a floodgate opening, the governor kept complaining about being poor, how difficult the work was, how strict the supervision was, and how heavy the tasks assigned by the court were.
As Zhao An listened, he felt something was off. This was hardly the kind of talk a second-rank governor should give to a seventh-rank official. It sounded more like a villager visiting a migrant worker's home on New Year's Eve to inquire about how easy it was to make money outside.

The more I listened, the more it sounded like it, and I couldn't help but want to take out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes that I usually couldn't bear to smoke and give them to the governor.

"Regarding the matter of your temporary enrollment, I originally discussed with you whether the funds could be collected from the provincial treasury. However, now that you are registered in the Imperial Household Department, I am not an unreasonable person,"

The governor is now getting down to business, implying that he won't make things difficult for Commissioner Zhao regarding the matter of studying abroad; this is a way of giving each other face.

Although Heshen prevented him from becoming a governor, he couldn't possibly dislike Zhao Youlu like Kui Lun did because of this.

The Emperor's attitude was clear, and as the top official in Jiangsu, Fu Song couldn't afford to make such a mistake.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Emperor hasn't done anything to Kui Lun yet; who is Heshen?

You, Kui Lun, publicly declared that you were beating Heshen's dog. Do you think Heshen would let you off the hook?

The governor did not want to be targeted by the emperor's most favored minister like Kui Lun, nor did he want to cause trouble for the Grand Secretary. The Grand Secretary was also getting old and was no longer able to do many things.

To put it bluntly, if A Zhongtang (the Grand Secretary) were to pass away one day, wouldn't Heshen, the "second emperor," be the one in charge of the Qing Dynasty? Now that we've made an irreconcilable grudge against Heshen, there's no room for reconciliation in the future.

Can't do it.

Take Zhao Youlu, the bondservant in front of us, for example. He doesn't actually have any conflict of interest with the governor. Including the 8,000 taels of gifts this time, the governor has already received 25,000 taels.

You shouldn't hit or scold the person who gave you the gift. The governor understands these social etiquette rules, otherwise he wouldn't have risen to such a high position.

What else is there to say now?

The governor didn't have anything to say. He figured the other party understood his meaning, and they would simply leave each other alone from now on.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Youlu, who was sitting humbly, leaned forward and looked earnestly at the governor, asking weakly, "Is Your Excellency short of money? If so, I might be able to help you find a way. I don't have much, but getting you a million taels shouldn't be a problem."

Ai?!

That's what I said.

Why did Your Excellency stand up?

He stood up uncontrollably!
(End of this chapter)