Qing Yao

Chapter 24 The County Magistrate is wise!

This is Guanna.

No wonder Chen Xiaoer said that after putting on this outfit, he can arrest anyone he wants and do whatever he wants to anyone he wants!

Even though this ambassador was only in a temporary position and his unit was also a temporary one, and he might be laid off at any time, Zhao An still felt indescribably relieved. His feeling was almost the same as if he were driving a Passat and parking at the entrance of his mother-in-law's village, waiting for his father-in-law to hand him a cigarette first.

Young Master Liu Xiaolou performed well, but it was obvious that Liu Xiaolou was being somewhat joking. Zhao An naturally did not mind this, because joking was also a sign of intimacy.

Mr. Ji has returned to the yamen. This year's summer tax task is heavy and the time is tight. I heard that there was a flood in the Lixiahe area, which directly affected the collection of summer taxes in Yangzhou and Huai'an this year.

Summer tax is the money and grain tax levied on farmers' land. Zhao An had previously paid special attention to the money and grain tax collection situation in Ganquan County in previous years when he was in the Taxation Bureau. Overall, it can only be described as shocking.

In the Qing Dynasty, farmers did not pay tax grain directly to the government, but converted it into silver and handed it over.

Although the Qing government had regulations on the silver price, local governments set up their own systems, basically requiring farmers to pay taxes at five times the market price, and the extra four times the premium was shared by officials at all levels. Therefore, the collection of money and grain was the main source of income for local officials.

This big piece of cake does not belong to the county magistrate alone, but belongs to the collective interests of all local officials.

From the provincial level to the county level, everyone who is an official has a share.

In the 38th year of Qianlong's reign, the governor of Jiangsu felt that the tax grain price was too high. With the good intention of reducing the burden on the people, he ordered all prefectures, counties and districts to change the collection to market price. As a result, within half a month, the governor was reported by the censor and demoted two levels and transferred out of Jiangsu.

Why is this governor so unlucky? To put it bluntly, he has touched the cake of all his colleagues, which is unacceptable in the officialdom.

One thing leads to another. The censors' lives in the capital are already very hard, relying on the gifts from local officials such as festivals and birthdays, as well as ice and charcoal gifts to survive. As a result, you, the governor, have cut the local officials' income in half. Isn't this forcing the censors to live frugally?

This is intolerable. If I don’t report you, who else can I report?
Last year, County Magistrate Ding collected an extra 50,000 taels of silver from the tax and grain collection. Although it is unclear which superiors' pockets these 50,000 taels of silver ultimately flowed into, County Magistrate Ding himself only took away a little over 4,000 taels of silver, which was recorded openly in the household registration office.

Not avoiding people at all.

The county magistrate's affairs are the affairs of the people of the entire county. It sounds like Zhao An's flattery, but it is actually the fact in the current officialdom.

In addition, the Qing court also had an assessment system for whether local officials could collect taxes. For example, if they failed to collect 10% of the taxes, they would not only be denied promotion but also be fined one year's salary. If they failed to collect 50% of the taxes, they would be directly dismissed.

This led to the situation where local officials would bring their strong men from the yamen to sweep through the countryside when it was time to collect the two taxes. Even the officials who were usually kind to the people would become extremely cruel and brutal at this time.

There is no way out. If this official cannot collect taxes, his job is over.

The Lixiahe area was hit by a flood this year, and farmers' income from the land has dropped sharply, and the summer tax will definitely not be paid. Therefore, Master Ji and his men have to get busy and find ways to get money from other places to make up for the shortfall in this year's summer tax, so as to keep the county magistrate's hat and their own jobs.

The Household Affairs Office and the Taxation Department are both working overtime, and Zhao An cannot sit idle either. Master Ji came to urge him twice in the past two days, saying that the county magistrate is highly concerned about the work of the Certification Department.

The implication is that you have to get things done quickly and collect the money.

Zhao An hurriedly took out the drafted certification implementation system for Master Ji to review. It began with a high-sounding rhetoric about promoting local prosperity, protecting high-quality businesses, ensuring fair and orderly market operations, and cracking down on counterfeit and shoddy products. Then it went on to discuss the certification methods for "famous and high-quality products" and "well-known trademarks."

The price of "Famous and High-quality Products" is 5,000 taels, and the price of "Well-known Trademarks" is 10,000 taels. The former is a bronze medal, and the latter is a gold-plated medal to distinguish them.

In addition to issuing a plaque, a certificate must also be issued. The certificate must be signed by the county magistrate in person to demonstrate authority.

Finally, it is emphasized that merchants should apply voluntarily, and the Certification Department will certify the merchants' applications in a fair, equitable and open manner.

Master Ji approved of the overall implementation method, and there was no problem with merchants applying voluntarily, because the purpose was to induce them to pay for benefits, and those unscrupulous businessmen would definitely pay for something that would benefit them.

He objected to the last clause of the regulations, which stated that the assessment should be conducted once every three years. He shook his head and said, "This three-year assessment is not good. I'll delete it."

"Ok?"

Zhao An was a little puzzled. Master Ji should understand the principle of steady and long-term success. If he determined it once every three years, wouldn't that mean he could make another fortune after three years?

It's like setting off a cannon, one when you take office and one when you leave.

The three-year certification period he set himself meant that County Magistrate Ding still had more than three years left in his term, so he could then make a fortune and leave with a clear conscience.

This is completely from the bottom of my heart and is just to add icing on the cake for the county lord!

"I forgot to explain it to you clearly,"

Master Ji gave a reasonable explanation, that is, the term of office of the county magistrate in Ganquan County is three years, not five years as Zhao An thought. The reason is simple: three years of wealth and five years of poverty is the unspoken rule of the appointment and removal of county magistrates.

If the term of office is five years, it would be unfair to the magistrate of a poor county.

In some places, the capital county is the richest county in the province, and the county magistrate may only serve for more than a year before being replaced.

There's no way, he's too rich, so rich that he can earn 70,000 or 80,000 taels a year.

If you really stay in your position and refuse to leave, you will be hated so much.

Zhao An suddenly realized and calculated that the county magistrate would be fired in just over a year, so this three-year certification would not benefit the county magistrate at all.

Instead of helping the next county magistrate, it is better to make a one-time deal.

Most of the hardware in the company has been prepared, and customized plaques, plaques, and certificates are also being prepared. Everything is on track, so Master Ji asked Zhao An, the ambassador, when he plans to officially start his work.

"I've already picked a date. The day after tomorrow is an auspicious one. I hope you can invite the county magistrate to open our office and unveil it. It would be best if there were three performances. It would also be best if the county magistrate and the chief clerk could come. This would make our office seem more important."

Ordinary people still check the calendar for weddings, let alone such a big event as the unveiling of a government office.

Some officials even took office based on the lunar calendar rather than the handover date set by the Ministry of Personnel.

Zhao An invited leaders of all sizes in the county to come because he wanted to highlight his importance as an ambassador in the eyes of the leaders, so that it would be easier for him to deal with other units in the future.

Otherwise, his existence as neither an official nor a citizen would definitely make things difficult for other units.

It is easy to see the King of Hell, but difficult to deal with little ghosts. You have to go to the county magistrate to complain about everything. It is okay once or twice, but if it happens too many times, Zhao An will have to quit his job as an ambassador.

"Okay, then please invite the county lord over the day after tomorrow!"

Master Ji, who also understood the ins and outs of this matter, agreed to it very readily.

When he got back and told the county magistrate about it, he approved it without hesitation. The next day, he personally came from the yamen in a sedan chair to unveil the newly established certification department.

The county magistrate and the chief clerk did not come. It was probably because the county magistrate did not want these two assistant officials to participate. He could give them some of the profits, but he could not let them get involved too much in the specific business.

In order to welcome the county magistrate, Zhao An spent more than ten taels of silver to hire a waist drum band to play drums and gongs. If the budget was not limited, he might have hired a troupe of opera singers to play music and sing.

Accompanied by the "Pili Bala" sound of firecrackers, the long wooden signboard of Ganquan County Certification Office was hung at the gate by the county magistrate himself.

The county magistrate was also very satisfied with the whole department. After the ceremony, Zhao An invited the county magistrate to sit in the department according to the rules and gave the county magistrate a brief report on how he planned to carry out the work.

It is nothing more than opening a breakthrough from the cloth-making industry first, and then expanding the certification business to the whole county within half a year to ensure that the county magistrate has a steady flow of income.

After finishing the report, he carefully asked the county magistrate if he could write a word for the department.

"I still have to go to the government office, so I won't write this inscription today. However, there is something you two can discuss."

County Magistrate Ding was so busy with official duties that he had no time to stay here any longer.

Zhao An hurriedly bowed and said, "Please speak, Your Excellency!"

After saying that, he took out a small notebook and spread it in front of him like magic, holding a much shorter brush in his hand.

County Magistrate Ding looked at them and nodded slightly. "It's nothing special. It's just that when I came here, I saw a lot of scissor grinders, barrel makers, and barbers on the streets. These people can earn a lot of money walking around the streets all day, but they don't contribute anything to the county's tax revenue. Many of them even refuse to pay the tax on their land."

The county magistrate paused deliberately when he said this.

Master Ji, who knew the magistrate very well, hurriedly asked, "What does the magistrate mean?"

"This county's intention is that all citizens of the Qing Dynasty must consciously pay taxes to the imperial court. If they are not conscious, the government will persuade them."

After saying this, the county magistrate changed the subject and said, "I think the matter of persuasion should also be handled by the certification department. They can also issue licenses to these people, so that the people can trust the craftsmen. Is it too much to charge them a thousand coins each?"

(End of this chapter)