Why did Zhu Yunwen suddenly want to increase salaries for officials?

Do you have a conscience or do you want a high salary to support your integrity?

In fact, from a practical point of view, the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were indeed not high, or even very low.

The main source of fiscal revenue in the Ming Dynasty was in-kind taxes, and cash was always in short supply, so the salary was also distributed in the form of grain and treasure notes.

In the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu, the salary levels of officials were re-assessed. The annual salary of a ninth-grade official was sixty shi of grain and thirty guan of treasure notes. When converted to purchasing power, one stone of grain cost about 320 yuan, which is equivalent to the amount of money in later generations.

20,000 yuan.

But the accounts can't be calculated like this. Sixty shi of grain can't be eaten by officials in a year, but what about the family's living expenses?

Officials in the northwest are okay. The price of grain is relatively high. If they sell half of it for money, it will be enough for daily firewood, rice, oil, and salt. But in the rich land of Jiangnan, grain prices are low, and the money for selling grain is simply not enough. This is not the future.

The couple works together to earn money. In this era, even a minor official from the ninth rank cannot allow his wife to go out and show her face. In addition, she has to raise children and a high school. This salary is really unaffordable.

Officials below the seventh rank, who are not corrupt or take bribes, will not be able to buy two new clothes for their families in one year.

Even if he is a high-ranking official in Liubu Hall, his annual salary is only one thousand dan and three hundred guan of treasure notes. Therefore, every relative in their family will find ways to occupy more land in the local area. This is also supported by these senior officials tacitly. Otherwise, how can they live?

I am a dignified minister, so I cannot live my whole life with a poor wife and an only son.

Men only have two pursuits in life, one is power and the other is sex. Once you have power, you will inevitably want to find money and sex. This is human nature and the most basic desire and need. Zhu Yunwen will never change this.

of.

The low income of officials is really not a good thing.

On this point, Taizu was too harsh on officials.

Taizu started from a young age. When he was young, officials in the late Yuan Dynasty imposed excessive taxes and were extremely corrupt, which greatly persecuted the people at the bottom. This left a very bad impression in Taizu's heart: all the crows in the world are as black!

The official salary set in Taizu Hongwu's sixth year was nearly half less than that in Hongwu's twenty-seventh year. It is conceivable that the salary of officials in the early Ming Dynasty was indeed difficult for a family of five to live on.

You are about to starve to death, are you still afraid of breaking the law?

Officials soon began to be corrupt, and then became more and more rampant. The county tax was 30,000 dan per year, but the county dared to withhold half of it and only reimbursed 15,000 dan. This is shocking.

Why so bold?

Since greed for one tael is also death, then just greed for ten thousand taels!

If you get one vote, you will escape from office!

Taizu had zero tolerance for corruption, and he frequently punished people who had escaped from office. This approach may not be problematic in isolation, but when viewed in context, it is indeed a bit excessive.

There is nothing wrong with zero tolerance for corruption, but the premise is that officials should at least not live a more tiring life than ordinary people, right?

You can't expect all officials to be saints. They all think that being an official is a candlestick that burns oneself to warm the place.

Even if there are such cadres, they also have families, and sometimes their parents are short-handed. We can't let these saints bleed and shed tears, right?

A county official, who has a series of identities such as county secretary, county magistrate, public security director, court president, etc., is supposed to care about the livelihood of tens of thousands of people in the county. The responsibility is great and the work is heavy.

A good county official is really dedicated and dedicated. Since he has paid a lot, he deserves higher treatment.

As for whether receiving a high salary will have the effect of maintaining integrity, it depends on the ideological consciousness of Ming cadres in this era. This cannot be interfered by external forces.

What Zhu Yunwen has to do is to ensure that the court can support these cadres and provide them very well. If you are still greedy in this case, then don't blame the Ming Dynasty for not leaving any survivors!

Zhu Yunwen never thought about correcting the rule of corruption and skinning set by Taizu.

Whoever dares to be greedy will be killed!

"In the two years since I came to the throne, my Ming Dynasty's cash income has been getting higher and higher, and the national treasury is also sufficient. In addition, I have abolished treasure banknotes. In the future, officials' salaries will be based on cash plus grain."

The in-kind salary deduction cannot be abolished for the time being. After all, there are too many taxes on cash and there are many places to spend money. Cash cannot be used completely now. Otherwise, where will the annual food income of more than 30 million dan be used?

The official warehouses in the south are all full. With so much food, an army of more than one million people cannot eat it all.

As the head of the cabinet, Bao Zhao was naturally the one to take the initiative in this matter.

"May I ask Your Majesty, how much are you planning to increase in salary?"

The official system of the Ming Dynasty has not been changed yet. There are ten or so governors of the Five Army Governor's Office, all of which are first-grade. The two Zongzhengs on the left and right of the Zongren's Office are also first- and second-grade officials. There are not many officials in the entire capital. The increase is too harsh, and the court expenses will be too much.

A big chunk.

"Taking the opportunity of increasing the salary, I just decided to improve the taste of the cabinet."

Zhu Yunwen looked not far away at the Hanlin scholar who was in charge of formulating the imperial edict and was accompanying him. The latter quickly picked up his pen.

"Pin Yi from the Zong Ren Mansion will be gone from now on. In the future, the imperial officials will not have to be on duty at the Zong Ren Mansion. They will all be left to my clan relatives to take care of. Pin Yi from the Fifth Army Mansion and the General Staff will not be moved to receive the first rank."

Title, my fourth uncle is the Chief of General Staff, I promised him an annual salary of 10,000 dan, so let’s follow this standard.

A bachelor of the Third Hall, with the title of First Grade, has an annual salary of 5,000 shi plus 2,000 taels of silver.

A bachelor's degree, with a first-grade title, and an annual salary of three thousand shi plus one thousand taels of silver.

Co-organizer of bachelor's degree, awarded the title of third grade, with an annual salary of 1,200 shi plus 500 taels of silver.

With the title of second grade, the annual salary is two thousand dan plus eight hundred taels of silver.

From the second rank, the annual salary is 1,500 shi plus 500 taels of silver.

With the title of third grade, the annual salary is 1,200 shi plus 500 taels of silver.

From the third rank, the annual salary is one thousand dan plus three hundred taels of silver.

With the title of fourth grade, the annual salary is 800 shi plus 300 taels of silver.

From the fourth rank, the annual salary is 600 shi plus 200 taels of silver.

With the rank of fifth grade, the annual salary is 500 shi plus 200 taels of silver.

From the fifth rank, the annual salary is 500 shi plus 100 taels of silver.

With the title of Sixth Grade, the annual salary is 400 shi plus 100 taels of silver.

From the sixth rank, the annual salary is 300 shi plus 100 taels of silver.

With the title of seventh grade, the annual salary is two hundred stones plus one hundred taels of silver.

From the seventh grade, the annual salary is three hundred stones.

Eighth grade, annual salary of two hundred and forty stones.

Ninth grade, annual salary of two hundred stones.

For subordinate officials and official duties, the local government will determine the interval between fifty and one hundred stones depending on the situation."

As soon as Zhu Yunwen touched his lips, Bao Zhao quickly understood in his mind that the official salary of a low-ranking official was probably more than three to four times that of the past, while the official salary of a third-rank or above official had probably increased by five to eight times!

The greater the power, the higher the annual salary.

Bao Zhao was previously the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and was promoted to the cabinet to assist the government, with an annual salary of 1,200 dan. Now he is a first-grade bachelor with the title of Third Palace Bachelor, and his annual salary has been increased by about eight times!

Yang Shiqi turned the tables the hardest, because he was a co-bachelor before, but there was no co-bachelor title at that time, so he actually received the Hanlin Academy of Political Science. From the fifth-grade annual salary, which was only two hundred dan, now he has turned over thirty in one go.

times.

"His Majesty."

Xia Yuanji rushed out directly, but instead of thanking him, he had a look of panic on his face.

"Your Majesty is so kind to me and treats me like a son. I am very grateful. However, such an increase in salary will cost a lot of money."

In the first year of Jianwen, the official salary still followed the old Hongwu system, and the annual expenditure was about 2.7 million taels of silver. Now, the annual expenditure is at least 10 million taels!

Ming Dynasty is rich now, but how can he spend his money like this?

"Is Xia Shangshu worried about the fiscal deficit of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Zhu Yunwen asked with a smile.

The latter nodded sharply without thinking, "Your Majesty, with such an increase in salary, how can there be any extra money for national construction?

Military expenditures remain high. There are millions of troops in the Jiubian, Liaodong, Gansu, Southwest, and Beijing camps. Your Majesty wants to expand the Mining and Zhejiang naval divisions.

The imperial court also needed to build roads and canals. Floods were frequent in the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, so it was urgent to build embankments to prevent floods.

So far, Xiaoling Mausoleum has not been completed, and the selection of an auspicious site for His Majesty to build the mausoleum has been repeatedly delayed. The Ministry of Revenue really has no money."

So what if Ming Dynasty’s current annual tax is discounted to 40 million taels? Is it high? It’s really high, is it enough? It’s really not enough!

Many people in the Fengtian Palace had already glared at Xia Yuanji. When they heard the latter's report, they all trembled in their hearts. If you are not a family, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are. Daming, it seems that there is indeed a lot of money to spend money now.

"The border troops cannot be dismantled, and Xiaoling cannot be stopped."

Zhu Yunwen said calmly, "But there is no need to choose another site for my mausoleum. The Dongling Tomb will not be built. When I die, I will put it in the coffin and randomly choose a small side room in Xiaoling Mausoleum to put it in."

I will be buried next to Taizu."

Xiaoling Mausoleum covers an area of ​​hundreds of thousands of square meters, which is enough for Zhu Yunwen to live in.

All the officials in the palace knelt on the ground and tried to dissuade him.

"Please, Your Majesty, take back my life."

Xia Yuanji choked up as if his own father had died, "Your Majesty is the father of the Ming Dynasty. How can you be frugal in this matter? Then wouldn't we all become unfaithful and unfilial beasts?"

?”
To be continued...