Qing Yao

Chapter 339 If you won't let me have an easy time, then nobody will have an easy time.

The image of an upright official is not the goal, but merely a tool.

Tools are meant to be used. In Zhao An's case, this tool helped him make positive progress and also solidified his unshakable position in the hearts of the military and civilians.

Finally, it got cold, so I put on a coat.

Everything will fall into place.

But now this tool is like a razor blade, somewhat devouring its master. It's making it impossible for Zhao An to openly accept bribes and make money, let alone collect the most basic regular income. What's that old saying again?

Yes, it's called "lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot"!
For a provincial governor, the legal salary was 155 taels a year, plus 12000 taels for maintaining integrity. It sounds like a huge sum, but it was far from enough for a provincial governor who was half a regional official.

The real bulk of the income comes from routine and unethical practices, and this income is not given by subordinates but is "handed over"—a "political" task that must be completed.

Anhui province has eight prefectures, five directly governed states, and fifty-one counties. Everything is done according to the rules. Zhao An, the provincial governor, can receive seventy to eighty thousand taels of silver every year just from the various tributes from his subordinates.

According to custom, officials would send "hardship fees" and "consultation fees" to the provincial governor and governor-general under various pretexts when they were promoted or transferred. The provincial governor and governor-general would also share the profits from salt, grain transport, and customs within the territory. All of this amounted to tens of thousands of taels of silver.

In addition, although the Ministry of Personnel has the power to appoint officials at the prefectural and provincial levels, the provincial governor has a great deal of say in the appointment and transfer of lower-level officials such as county magistrates and assistants. Anhui is poor overall, but there are also rich places. A poor county magistrate will ask you for three to five thousand taels, while a rich county magistrate will ask you for ten thousand taels. Is that excessive?

Why do officials appointed by the Ministry of Personnel have to borrow money at high interest rates to take office? It's because once they arrive at their posts, they have to pay "protection fees" to various higher-ups.

If you don't pay protection money, which official will protect you?

In short, provided that Zhao An does not interfere with the judiciary or impose exorbitant taxes, he can earn at least 400,000 taels of silver per year. This is because although he is the actual governor of Anhui, he is also the acting governor, which means that he is both the governor and the provincial governor!

It is excessive for one person to receive two gifts, but it is considerate to combine two gifts into one.

Of course, with higher income comes higher expenses, after all, there are many people to support. When Zhang Zhidong, a famous minister in later generations, served as governor, his annual expenses were more than 200,000 taels of silver.

After offsetting both, Zhao Anchun would definitely have 200,000 taels in his pocket after a year of work.

If Zhao An were to greedily amass wealth without regard for consequences, like Wang Danwang, Guotai, and Li Shiyao, he could easily amass millions of taels of silver during his tenure as a provincial governor.

Of course, Zhao An would never do that.

He wants the image of an upright official, he doesn't want the money of ordinary people, and he especially doesn't want money obtained through dishonest means, but he does want the portion that is rightfully his.

If he doesn't take it, the money won't go back to the people.

He took it, but the common people actually benefited a little.

After all, Zhao An was not a traditional official; he harbored a wolfish ambition.

Let's say there's a net profit of 200,000 taels a year. If we factor in the interest, Zhao An can get over 2 million taels in small loans from the old master!
As long as you make timely repayments every year, the credit limit on your card will increase. Combined with various financial operations, coercion and inducement, various ways to lure people into the scheme, and various alliances of offense and defense, if you use these two million yuan of principal to leverage your wealth, you could probably bankrupt the old man.

Now things are really messed up. His subordinates stopped giving him gifts, which directly cut off his biggest, most stable, and safest source of income. It's like Zhao An lost at least 200,000 taels of silver. And right now, Anhui is in a situation where money is needed everywhere. Do you think this upright official's image is worth it?

It's really painful and happy.

If this "wanting both" problem isn't resolved, Zhao An could very well be dragged down by microloans. After all, the old man can live for another six years, and he really needs to settle interest payments during those six years.

Currently, including loans from Lao Ding, Lao Song, Teacher Lou, and their own accounts, the "small loan gang" has already swindled over 400,000 taels of silver from the Yangzhou branch. With an annual interest rate of 1.2%, they have to repay 50,000 to 60,000 taels a year.

Where did the loaned-out money go? It's been used here and there, and now there's very little left. We urgently need an injection of fresh capital. Xinglong Bank and Xianfeng Bank were both newly established, and although they've shown some improvement, Zhao An doesn't plan to touch these two fixed assets. In particular, the latter not only can't be touched at present, but also needs continuous investment to help it grow into the largest commercial bank in the Qing Dynasty.

Because the financial war against the Qing Dynasty could break out at any time.

Moreover, he was pointing to Xianfeng Bank to pay off debts everywhere.

The debt owed to the grain merchants is enormous, starting at several million taels. If the Xianfeng Bank's funds are withdrawn, how will they resolve the debts owed to the grain merchants?

Zhao An is now desperate to stretch every copper coin in two. With two or three hundred thousand taels of net income gone in an instant, how could he not be anxious?

After the county magistrate, who had delivered a basket of duck eggs, left, Zhao An was so angry that he paced back and forth in the room, shouting, "Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

"grown ups?"

Liu Peng, who was acting as a temporary secretary beside him, was completely baffled, wondering why the master had suddenly become angry.

"Do you think these officials don't respect me? It's my business and my stance not to accept gifts, but they can't refuse to give them; it's the rule! Since ancient times, what has been the most hateful? Those who break the rules!"

Although Zhao An's voice was low, it couldn't suppress his resentment.

"."

It took Liu Peng a while to understand what Zhao was angry about. He suppressed a laugh and said, "My lord, please calm down. The fact that these officials didn't give you gifts is proof that your reputation for integrity is widespread."

"Clear it my ass!"

Zhao An almost swore, then shook his head slightly, "Can a good reputation feed you or buy you money? I'm telling you, Zhizhong, you're supposed to be a student, how come you don't even understand this basic social etiquette?"

"Zhizhong" is Liu Penggao's courtesy name, given to him by his teacher when he was in school.

“These officials can’t stop giving me gifts just because I’m an honest official. You have to understand that whether I accept them or not is my business, and it’s their business if they don’t. Besides, if they give me gifts and I righteously and firmly refuse them, wouldn’t that make my image as an upright official even more solid?”

Zhao An said irritably, "Hey, they're not even offering a gift! I'm a new official and I haven't gotten a single penny. If word gets out, people will really think I'm some kind of saint who doesn't care about worldly affairs! What good is being appointed governor or viceroy if I have no money? Putting everything else aside, do you expect me to support all these people in the military headquarters?"

"Sir, what do you suggest we do?"

Liu Penggao seemed to understand something.

"How to do?"

Zhao An plopped down in a chair, rubbing his temples which were throbbing with anger: "I can't openly ask them for money now, otherwise my reputation as an upright official will be ruined."

He then sighed softly and said self-deprecatingly, "I miscalculated this time. I was only thinking about creating a persona, without considering that if the persona is too successful, it will hinder revenue generation. Now, all the officials in the province treat me like a cat that doesn't eat meat. How am I going to live from now on?"

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He looked up at Liu Peng and ordered, "Tomorrow, have the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Revenue send some people to form several working groups to investigate these places that received me. Hmph, within a month, I want all the officials in Anhui to know one thing!"

Liu Penggao asked, puzzled, "What is it?"

"I can refuse gifts, but they can't refuse to give them!"

Zhao An snorted, "If they won't let me have an easy time, I'll make sure they don't. This is a good opportunity to eliminate Zhu Gui's remaining poison and restore a bright and clear world to this province."

(End of this chapter)