Qing Yao

Chapter 238 Fu Zhongtang's Big Gift Package

"Whenever Qing Dynasty officials were appointed to a post, they had to spend several thousand taels of silver to get by, so they had to rely on banks to pay for it."

This report from the Korean envoy to his homeland means that every official in the Qing Dynasty, once appointed to a post, would inevitably have to deal with money shops and usurers.

Because there are too many deficits, too many gifts to give to officials, and too many expenses waiting for them.

Unless the official comes from a very wealthy or influential family, no one can escape the clutches of loan sharks.

For Zhao An, usury was his destiny, an insurmountable obstacle he could never overcome.

The old man took the lead in lending money at exorbitant interest rates to officials, and the princes and ministers naturally followed suit.

Like the old master, Fu Zhongtang also ran a private money exchange, specializing in lending to officials.

Shifting the focus to Fu Zhongtang, is it too much for a dignified high-ranking official to ask you for 20,000 taels of silver?
not much!

Because the Grand Secretary arranged for you to receive a top-tier donation from the Ministry of Personnel, which normally costs at least 30,000 taels of silver.

You should know that a fourth-rank grain commissioner is the highest rank at the department level; with a little effort, you can get into the ministry!

So I'll only charge you 20,000 taels, you can be secretly happy.

However, Fu Zhongtang was particularly humane in his dealings. Considering that Zhao Youlu had only been a seventh-rank official with limited income, he was worried that Zhao Youlu might not be able to afford such a large sum of tribute. So he specially contacted the "Fuji Bank" in Jiangning and said that as long as Zhao Youlu took office in Jiangning, they could take the contract to the yamen to complete the formalities with him, and the 20,000 taels, along with the interest, would be repaid from Zhao Youlu's salary.

Which official wouldn't be moved to tears by such humane treatment?

If he didn't do it this way, how would Zhao An handle the massive influx of people from the fourth-rank grain transport route?

Therefore, Zhao An was very moved, feeling that Fu Zhongtang was a fat sheep delivered to his door. Good heavens, someone even offered himself up for him to fleece!
He wouldn't dare call himself a professional loan shark if he didn't fleece you and your son.

Without hesitation, they agreed to Fu Zhongtang's humane arrangement of paying back the "filial piety" in installments with his salary.

"Lord Zhao is a smart and sensible man. It is no wonder that my patriarch recommended you to the Emperor for the position of Jiang'an Grain Commissioner."

Du nodded with satisfaction, but to Zhao An's surprise, the other party had other packages waiting to be sold to him.

"Lord Zhao's trip to Jiangning to take up his post this time actually involves a lot of expenses. According to the rules, you should give him gifts and hospitality from the four offices of the Governor, the Provincial Governor, the Provincial Judge, and the Provincial Education Commissioner, right?"

Du Man gestured with his fingers, "I'm not too sure about Jiangsu, but the tributes from the four government offices in Zhili are never less than 1,200 taels, which is almost 5,000 taels."

Zhao An remained silent, because the tributes from the four government offices in Jiangsu were much higher than those in Zhili, and he estimated that he would have to spend a lot of money to take this position in Jiangning.

It was actually a miscarriage of justice, because the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner was clearly an official from Anhui, but just because his post was in Jiangning, he had to pay tribute according to the standards of Jiangsu officials. If he had paid according to the standards of Anhui officials, he could have saved a lot of money.

Unexpectedly, in addition to the tributes from the four government offices, Du Manzhi also had a large expense waiting for him.

"The Grand Councilors in the capital, the secretaries at both ends, the messengers, the Ministry of Revenue and the Grain Transport Office related to the grain transport, the Vice Minister of Grain Storage in Tongzhou, and the Grain Commissioner—shouldn't Lord Zhao, the newly appointed Grain Transport Commissioner, offer him tribute? At most 1,500 taels, at least 50 taels, and so on down to the next level."

Du Man calculated for Zhao An that the money he, as the new grain commissioner, had to give to the leaders in the capital and entertain his colleagues amounted to several thousand taels of silver.

You can refuse to give it, but if the Grand Secretary and other high-ranking officials have any complaints about your work as the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner, then no one can help you.

In Tongzhou, even officials of the seventh or eighth rank, like you, a fourth-rank grain commissioner, have to be properly bribed.

Why?

In the forty-eighth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, the Emperor personally decreed that the grain commissioners of each province must personally supervise the transport of grain to Tongzhou before returning to their posts. However, the grain commissioner of Shandong had to wait for the grain commissioner to escort the last batch of grain to Linqing before returning to his post.

What does this mean? Zhao An, a fourth-rank grain commissioner in Jiang'an, is a powerful figure in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, but you have to go to Tongzhou every year like an escort officer. What kind of place is Tongzhou?
Under the Emperor's feet!

You're just a lowly fourth-rank official; even a ninth-rank clerk wouldn't give you a second thought.

If you want to go back smoothly, you'll have to obediently spend money.

Just like the porters escorting the grain transport ships, they had no choice but to pay.

Including the expenses of the four government offices, the total expenditure would be over ten thousand taels.

This is not over yet!
"Lord Zhao is from Yangzhou, and all the officials from Yangzhou in the capital are considered his fellow townsmen. Now that Lord Zhao has been promoted to the fourth rank of Grain Commissioner, shouldn't Lord Zhao give his fellow townsmen in the capital a bribe or a visit?"
These arrangements and favors cost anywhere from a dozen to a hundred taels of silver, another expense. And it can't be too little; you must understand that sometimes a fellow townsman is a hundred times more valuable than someone born in the same year. I don't need to explain the reason; Lord Zhao himself understands it perfectly well.”

Du Man smiled slightly, “In addition, after Lord Zhao takes office, he will also have to resolve the deficit left by his predecessor. However, Lord Zhao’s annual salary plus the allowance for maintaining integrity is only six or seven thousand taels. Not to mention dealing with these regulations, it’s not even enough to repay the money owed to the Grand Secretary.”

"This"

Zhao An was indeed having a headache. He hadn't expected the grain bureau chief to be such a spendthrift. He did have some money, but to spend it like this, he'd be stripped bare.

I originally thought that the higher the official rank, the higher the income, but I didn't expect that the higher the official rank, the higher the expenses.

Sigh, being an official in the Qing Dynasty must have been really tough.

According to Du Man's "guidance", after taking office as the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner, he would have to prepare at least 30,000 taels to spend around. Including the 20,000 taels of usurious loans from Fu Chang'an, good heavens, the dignified Grain Commissioner has been burdened with a huge debt of 50,000 taels without doing anything!
How much would he have to embezzle to break even?

Moreover, Zhao An is a good official who refuses to engage in corruption.

Then, Du Man's "magical" voice rang in his ears again: "In that case, Lord Zhao, shouldn't you borrow some money first? Otherwise, how will you cover these expenses?"

"."

Zhao An hesitated, saying that his annual salary was only a few thousand taels of silver, and he couldn't possibly borrow that much money to cover his expenses.

Don't worry, Fu Zhongtang has thought of everything for you!
"The Grand Secretary knows your difficulties, so he has granted you permission to borrow 100,000 taels. Don't worry, this 100,000 taels does not require any collateral or guarantee from you. All you need is your signature and seal."

Du Man promptly offered a high-interest loan package as a gift.

Unsecured loan?

Damn it, you're not just full, you're clearly only half full!

Zhao An's eyes were opened; "Ertai" is quite a big shot.

The question is, how is Zhao An going to repay such a large sum of usurious loans?

He can't exactly tell the manager that he swears to be a good and honest official, and would rather die than be a corrupt one.

Unexpectedly, the manager reassured him: "It doesn't matter if you can't pay it back, as long as Lord Zhao keeps my family in mind."

This means that once you take office, you should listen to my master in everything. If my master is happy, he might let you only pay back the principal and not the interest.

Fu Zhongtang truly believed this, because in his eyes, Zhao Youlu, the grain commissioner, was nothing but pure silver.

The reason is simple: the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner held the power to control "grain transport" worth millions of taels.

As everyone knows, grain transported by the Grand Canal is a highly profitable commodity.

With such a large piece of fat, wouldn't Fuzhongtang try to swallow it?
(End of this chapter)