Chapter 18 New Year's Eve Beacon Fire
Huang Qiyin always felt that he was full of stalwart and had no way to serve the country. He wasted his ambitions in this small place. Only today did he feel that he had lost without any worries.
Although the proud article made him unsuccessful from then on, he always had a pride of a literati, believing that he was hit by those with different political views. Although he was not proud of the officialdom, his reputation would be left in history, and it would be worth it in this life. I didn't expect that if his memorials were really implemented, it would be a disaster for the country and the people. Therefore, he was not discouraged at this time, and the arrogance that had been accumulated for a long time was also wiped out.
Looking at Yang Ling, the handsome young man, Huang Qiyin thought in his heart: "It turns out that he is the youngest scholar in the county, and he is just a beautiful eight-legged article. He didn't expect that he had this insight. It seems that this son is not a thing in the pool.
I have not achieved anything, so I would rather help him. If he can become a famous minister in the future, he will also leave his name in history. No matter how bad he can be a member of the country, his young grandson who died early can also have a dependence on him."
Thinking of this, Huang Qiyin smiled, stepped forward and helped Yang Ling up, and said with a look of spring breeze: "You must not be polite, the teacher said he was ashamed of being a master. Lao Huang stayed in this county so much that he almost became a virgin. If there was anything needed to help, the nephew would just speak, and Lao Huang would tell you everything."
Jimingyi is a third-class county. Compared with the wealthy counties in Jiangnan, the total tax amount is even 300 to 500 times. The tax amount is very low. At a rough look, it seems that the tax amount must be increased. At least such counties should no longer have tax amounts of tax. But the actual situation is that even if some small landlords or self-cultivated families are still half hungry and half full, it is natural to owe to taxes and grains.
Therefore, a county magistrate levies 80% of the tax in Fu County, and the lives of the local people are still not affected. He also praised him as the blue sky and gave the umbrella of the people. However, if he was unlucky to such a poor county in a few years, even if he tried his best to collect 30% of the tax, he would be a corrupt official, a cruel official, and a vampire who shaved three feet of the ground.
What's more, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, calculated the salaries of officials with surprising accuracy. The salary paid was only enough for officials to support the family. As for the expenses of welcoming and sending, the wages of servants, sedan chairmen, and staff members, all were paid out of their own pockets. Therefore, local officials must transfer part of the money and grain paid by the people into private pockets. This way, the village chiefs and village chiefs below were all like this. In this way, 100% tax was levied, and only 80% of the people paid the treasury.
Therefore, when taxes are insufficient, local officials will show their magical powers. The counties with more land than those controlled by the Ministry of Personnel will be compensated. The counties with inherent shortcomings will be brave enough to report natural disasters and request exemption, which not only completes the task of collecting tax grains, but also gains a good reputation for loving the people.
Although a large number of people in Jimingyi have owed grain tax, some people have reclaimed land and reclaimed mountains over the years. The Ministry of Revenue still has the number of land acres at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Therefore, although the amount of harvest is very small, you only need to supplement the surplus commercial tax to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Revenue.
In addition, the Tartars had just arrived in the autumn to report the disasters they suffered more seriously to reduce some money and grain. Due to the special status of Jiming Post, the military significance of this place is much more important than that of the county. Therefore, the Ministry of Personnel knows that the annual taxes here are insufficient, even if they spend money to assess their political achievements, it is not very strict.
Yang Ling, who was originally worried and worried, couldn't help but feel cheerful after Huang Qiyin's instructions. It turned out that the 30% tax grain that had been collected was already pitifully small, and only half of it was handed over by Huang County Magistrate Huang, which made Yang Ling shocked.
Under the guidance of Huang County Magistrate Huang, Yang Ling also got started very quickly and quickly handled the government affairs in an orderly manner, becoming the person behind the scenes of the Min County Magistrate Min who truly controls the administration of a county. However, his power all comes from Min County Magistrate Min, with this clay Bodhisattva on his head. He is the spokesperson of the Bodhisattva. If there were no such "Bodhisattva", no one would have followed his orders.
However, with the support of the magistrate of Min County, the magistrate of the official county, and the strong assistance of the second-in-commander of Huang County, Yangling managed this small sparrow and all-in-one small county town in an orderly manner. Soon, the people, officers and soldiers of Jiming Post Office knew that the person who actually controlled the operation of the entire county town was an eighteen-year-old young man hidden behind Lord Min, named Yang Ling.
Han Youniang no longer went to the tailor shop to work. It was not that she didn't want to go, but that the boss didn't dare to use her anymore. Just kidding, who is her man? Now she just has a hat as a county magistrate on her head.
In that era, there were already weaving and dyeing factories in big cities of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and hundreds of servants were there, but most of these servants were men. In such small places, it was very rare for women to go out to work. Therefore, although Yang Ling was unwilling to let a girl who was only fifteen years old stayed at home as a young woman every day, she could only follow the local customs and no longer wanted her to show up in public.
But this time, Han Youniang was stuck at home every day and was doing nothing except cooking. She didn't have entertainment tools like TV at that time. Although most married women were like this at that time, from the perspective of Yang Ling, a modern person, she felt that Youniang was as imprisoned at home.
Every day, she only showed a happy expression on her face when she went home. She seemed to have endless words to say while watching herself having dinner. She could talk about any small things with relish for a long time. It turned out that although she was hard in the mountain village, she could at least go out, but now she was like a bird in a cage, and her eyes became more and more dimming.
Yang Ling felt heartbroken when he looked at it, and was too busy with his official business, so he simply put on a man's clothes for her and took her to the signing room to help her copy and write copy. Fortunately, Han Youniang was different from ordinary girls. Her father was originally an escort leader in the escort agency, and her family was not bad. She hired a chair at her young age. Later, the escort agency lost a heavy escort, and then she fell down. These copying and writing were naturally competent.
Han Youniang had something to do and could be with her husband, so she was naturally happy. Yang Ling had a clear distinction between public and private. Although everyone knew that this was Mr. Yang's inner friend, he only said that he had invited him to help, so the salary was paid, but the private person he hired asked him to pay the salary. So Yang Ling followed the local customs and naturally put all the money in his pocket. Anyway, he couldn't pay it if he didn't want it, and he would be divided up by others.
Because Yang Ling was hired by the county magistrate and did not enter the grade, his monthly salary was only three shi, equivalent to 6 qian of silver. This money was paid by the county magistrate. The county magistrate's monthly salary was 3 taels and 7 qian, which was enough to support the family and the young, but then he would pay the salary of the master and the servants and sedan chairs. If the county magistrate Min did not intercept any tax, his family would have to drink the northwest wind.
The officialdom's reasonable interception is called fire consumption. According to Yang Ling's understanding, there are policies from the top and countermeasures from the bottom. When he first read the novel, he saw that officials of the Ming Dynasty embezzled 60 taels of silver, Zhu Yuanzhang torture the skin and stuffed grass. However, the officials' corruption was repeatedly banned. Those officials rushed to the beheading table one after another. They didn't understand it at that time. Now he has experienced it himself. Only then did he know that there are indeed corrupt officials, but even if the clean officials have some necessary etiquette, it is necessary.
Fortunately, these officials in the Ming Dynasty have naturally formed a rule over the years. Which ones are corrupt and which are necessary filial piety have formed a system outside the court's guidelines. The officials at the top and bottom are spontaneously abide by it. With Huang Lao's guidance, Yang Ling can also feel at ease.
Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Perhaps because of my mood, the streets are still wet and cold, but walking on the streets does not feel as cold as usual. There are already thundering firecrackers coming from far and near.
The county government office will not have to go to work tomorrow, so it was busy until very late. Yang Ling finished the official documents and Han Youniang walked out of the county government office. Every household had already hung red lanterns at the door. Even though the family who was reluctant to let such luxury were hung up lanterns early today and lit candles.
Women cannot walk in front of their husbands or walk side by side with him, so Han Youniang still took a step back according to the rules. Yang Ling saw that the night was dark tonight and would not attract too many people's attention. In addition, Han Youniang was wearing men's clothes, so she deliberately slowed down and took her hand while she was unprepared.
Han Youniang was shocked and her face turned red with shame. After earning two efforts, she couldn't help but blush and whispered: "Honey, you."
Yang Ling turned around and smiled gently, and said softly: "Tomorrow we will go out to the street to purchase some New Year's goods. Let's go to the tavern tonight, let's go." As he said that, he pulled Han Youniang to the small hotel he had been to for the first time.
Yang Ling is a nostalgic person. He has been there once and feels that the taste is good, so he is too lazy to find another one. He keeps going to this house when he wants to change his appetite. Although Han Youniang is a little uneasy, she knows that her husband has always been easy-going. In addition, it is dark and others can't see his face. So she lets him hold his little hand and follows him gently.
When Yang Ling stepped out of the hotel with Han Youniang again, the night became darker. The stars in the clear night sky slowly fell down, making his face slightly swollen and hot because of drinking.
Yang Ling's expression was refreshed, and he took Han Youniang's hand and wandered slowly in the city. Although neither of them spoke, the palms of each other reached another feeling that touched the heartstrings.
At the battlement of the city wall, Yang Ling grabbed a handful of snow and formed a snowball. He used all his strength and slapped it hard into the vast night outside the city. However, this body was too lacking in exercise. The force made the tendons and veins feel a little painful. The road surface under his feet was trampled by the soldiers in the city was also very slippery, almost knocking him down. Han Youniang was so shocked that she grabbed a step, held her palm under his ribs, and held his body steadily, and said angrily and amusedly: "Honey, look at you, why are you like a child, fall carefully?"
Yang Ling turned around, gently pinched her firm and smooth face, and said docitly: "You are a child who has not grown up."
Han Youniang pouted and straightened her body unconvincedly. Yang Ling looked at her slightly childish face and gentle eyes, and felt aroused by this inspiration. Only then did he realize that he was becoming more and more intimate with her. He was used to her silently taking care of herself by her side, and used to making intimate moves with her. Once her soul was scattered, wouldn’t she be even more sad at that time?
But if he was cold to her now, how could Yang Ling's heart stop her tearful attack? Those words about letting her take good care of herself once she died was too abrupt and could not be said. He stared at Han Youniang in a daze, not knowing what to say.
Han Youniang's face suddenly became hotter and hotter. Under Yang Ling's eyes as if it were as bright as the stars, especially with a faint smell of alcohol in his mouth. Han Youniang obviously misunderstood what he meant. Unconsciously, she was both scared and happy, and her body trembled a little in panic.
At this moment, Yang Ling suddenly saw a bunch of flames flashing from Han Youniang's two black and bright eyes. Han Youniang also widened her eyes in horror at this time, looked straight from Yang Ling's shoulders, and stared blankly into the distance.
Yang Ling suddenly turned around and there was a beacon tower at the east and west ends of the city wall. At this time, the beacon tower on the east side had been lit, with blazing fire. In the distance, the winding city wall extended to the depths of the mountains and forests, and there were still a few sparks shining.
He looked west again, and at this moment, the beacon tower on the west wall also ignited a raging fire, and the fire was fierce. Then the beacon tower on the ridge further west was also ignited, conveying it to the farther away.
Chapter completed!