Li Shanchang felt that his infatuation was all in vain. In Zhu Jiajun's team, he was the one who took the best care of the people below him. Especially these civil servants, who were not all protected by him.
As a result, the last case involving Han Xiuniang almost involved him and offended Princess Ma.
Now, because of his salary, he went directly to the higher-ups, and his old face was completely embarrassed.
Li Shanchang knew very well that in official circles, especially when he cared about face, he, as a leftist prime minister, was inherently unsafe. If he could no longer suppress the people below him, the consequences would be serious.
So this time, no matter what, a few people have to be operated on!
"If you are dissatisfied with your salary, you have to tell the truth! Are you coveting the generous salary of Zhao and Song Dynasties? You have to think clearly. Now we are reopening the rise and fall, rebuilding China, and comparing it to the Song Dynasty. You also want to have another Jingkang
Shame? Do you want to go over the cliff again?"
Li Shanchang spoke like a knife, accurate and cruel, stabbing at the fatal place, which made most of the officials dare not reply.
After being silent for a while, Yang Yuangao stood up. He first saluted Zhu Yuanzhang, and then said to Li Shanchang: "Prime Minister Li, how dare we expect to be just an official like Zhao Song? There are always some unavoidable expenses, such as
Speaking of going out, you need a carriage or a sedan, a housekeeper, a cook, a local official and a master. If you are in Yingtian, you need a place to live. It is really not comparable to ordinary people. Li Xiang, you have been in the officialdom for a long time and know these things.
This, this salary is really not enough!"
Li Shanchang had a dark face and sneered: "What's not enough? The pure will be pure themselves, and the dirty will be dirty! If you are a corrupt official, no amount of money will be enough, your desires will be hard to satisfy, and your heart will be weak! If you are an honest and self-reliant official, this money will be enough to support your family!"
Why do you need to ride in a sedan when you are an official? Isn't it better to be a car while walking? You also need to be a housekeeper and a cook. Isn't there a mother-in-law at home? As for asking a master, this is even more nonsense! If you don't understand anything and you must ask a master to help, then just let him
Master, just become an official!"
Lao Li is worthy of being a low-level official, so how can he be deceived by these words?
In addition, he was now eager to clear his name in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, so he was not polite at all.
"The most indispensable thing in the world is officials. Let me remind you that now the expenditures are so huge. We are in a difficult situation and we are in the same boat. We have not done much, but we are eager for money! What is this? Is it worth it?
Did you read the book?"
Everyone was speechless again. Although they were not convinced, Li Shanchang's big hat was really scary. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was still watching, and Old Li was just talking nonsense. If Zhu Yuanzhang made trouble, people would die.
There was a long silence, and among the group of people, Tao An suddenly took a step forward. As a scholar who joined Zhu Yuanzhang after crossing the river, Tao An and Li Shanchang were not the same people, and naturally he was not very close to Zhang Ximeng. Again
At your age, it is appropriate to stand up and speak out.
"Li Xiang, of course we are all scholars, but poems, lyrics and songs are not for food. We have been living in poverty for ten years and have studied hard just to get ahead and honor our ancestors. We can learn literary and martial arts and sell our goods to the emperor's family. This is understood by ordinary people.
Li'er. Nowadays, all of you are dedicated to doing things for your superiors, working hard and working tirelessly. In the end, you only get this little salary, which is really, really unjustifiable!"
Li Shanchang snorted coldly: "What? Tao Shangshu, you can receive nine hundred shi of rice and three hundred guan of treasure notes. Isn't that enough? Ordinary people can't earn so much money in a few years?"
Tao An bit it, but fortunately he took the risk, "Li Xiang, you are also a scholar, you should know how much a scholar spends? Not to mention anything else, just the four treasures of the study, a knife of good paper, a piece of Anhui ink, furniture and furnishings, and porcelain
Calligraphy and painting, these all cost money, right? You, how can you put scholars and ordinary people together? It's really a disgrace and loses its decency!"
After these words were spoken, Tao An felt a pair of sharp eyes piercing him.
The old man was stunned for a moment, turned his head with difficulty, and found that it was Zhu Yuanzhang glaring at him, which made Tao An tremble all over with fear.
Something bad happened!
Tao An hurriedly bowed and apologized to Zhu Yuanzhang, "Sir, old minister, I didn't mean that, old minister, I am confused!" He knelt down directly, trembling.
When other officials saw this scene, they lowered their heads and did not dare to speak.
Tao An's words actually revealed the essence of officials' dissatisfaction with their salaries.
The principles mentioned above cannot be said to be wrong, but in the final analysis, as an official, he is a member of the scholar-officials. How to reflect the difference of the scholar-officials?
First of all, the house should be bright and spacious, with blue bricks and tiles, and the furniture should also be made of mahogany! There should also be calligraphy, painting, and porcelain to decorate the home. Fortunately, Lao Zhu has closed the brothel, otherwise he would have to invite a few singing girls to stay at home.
Adding fragrance, poetry and wine, this is the realm of scholar-bureaucrats.
Salary is one thing. Comparing a poor man with a scholar-bureaucrat is an insult in itself. It is like saying that Denmark surrendered in four hours. Why does it need to have a law? Why not a law? The problem is to put Denmark and France together.
At the same time, that would be an offense to France, okay?
That's the thing. No matter how well Zhang Ximeng's article is written and how convincingly he explains the rise and fall, it's just the beginning.
Even within the Zhu Jiajun, there are still many people who are unwilling to accept that what it means to put the people first, what it means to be the people's will is God's will, and what it means to be of one heart and one mind, from their point of view, these are just opinions.
In fact, they still wanted to maintain the aloof status of scholar-bureaucrats.
Do scholars still need to care about food, clothing, housing and transportation?
When a king raises scholars, he is as knowledgeable as the emperors of Zhao and Song Dynasty. He obeys the high officials and pays them well, and takes good care of the scholars. Or it can be like the Yuan Dynasty, which allowed the scholar-bureaucrats to find ways to make money and hand over the countryside to the gentry and landlords. In that case
, we don’t have to care about this salary.
You can't expect us to work honestly and conscientiously, only to receive a salary several times more than that of a poor man. There won't be much of a difference, right?
Thinking like this is blasphemy to the scholars!
Tao An was indeed old, and in a moment of impatience, he told the truth.
"Mr. Tao, you have studied a lot and are very knowledgeable. Since you came to us, you have suffered a lot and done a lot of things. We have all seen it. I want to thank you for not giving up and looking up to me!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was low and slow, and each word reached Tao An's ears accurately.
How could the old man not understand at this age?
This time I really failed.
"Old minister, I am confused, please come down and punish me!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him and smiled for a long time, "It's not about being convicted. I just want to prepare two hundred taels of silver for Mr. Tao and ask him to return to his hometown for retirement!"
At this moment, Tao An seemed to have aged ten years. His body was rickety to the naked eye, especially his back, which collapsed in an instant, and his whole body was drained of energy.
Zhu Jiajun has a unique charm, which completely goes beyond simple promotion and wealth, and the title of wife and son.
Among so many rebel armies, those like Tianwan and Han Song who were able to create an official system and advocate for the restoration of the Song Dynasty were already rare and arrogant in the world.
But if you look closely at their internal structure, it is still a mess. Liu Futong killed Du Zundao, and Chen Youliang counterattacked Ni Wenjun. To put it bluntly, they are at the level of Liang Shanbo. Anyone with a little knowledge should know that they can reach the end and dominate the world.
It must be Zhu Yuanzhang.
Moreover, the style and magnanimity shown by Zhu Jiajun has far exceeded everyone's imagination. If nothing else happens, this will definitely be an unprecedented prosperous era.
Those who can create a prosperous age and reshape the world must be famous in history.
As a result, because of a salary issue, he was dismissed from office and lost his old face.
What a loss!
Tao An, you can go back to play chess, calligraphy and painting, and enjoy poetry and wine.
You can go and enjoy the treatment of a scholar-bureaucrat, but I'm sorry, our Zhu Jiajun can't accommodate you.
Tao An got up from the ground with difficulty, staggered, and walked forward step by step, leaving everyone with a desolate and bleak figure. Everyone saw it, and everyone was frightened.
Including Tao An's old friend Li Xi and Yang Yuangao who just stood up to speak, almost everyone had mixed feelings.
Although this salary is not much, it is still enough to live on, and since he is an official, he is unlikely to starve to death. It is not worth arguing with his superiors and offending Li Shanchang over this matter.
With Tao An's black gauze hat, the dispute over salary seemed to be over. Although Li Shanchang was a little embarrassed in the early stage, the superior took action and helped him regain his face and won a great victory.
Li Shanchang was full of joy. It seemed that he had to follow the superior. The mentor of hundreds of officials was not as good as the favored minister of the superior!
Look at Zhang Ximeng, how comfortable he has been in these years, why should he be so tired?
Li Shanchang figured it out and decided to make another gentlemanly change.
However, Lao Li did not expect that on the second day after this incident ended, Zhang Ximeng specially wrote a letter to reiterate the issue of official salaries.
This sudden killing caught Li Shanchang off guard. It was clearly over, why would you cause more trouble?
What are you going to do?
Li Shanchang didn't complain too much about Zhang Ximeng.
But it is a pity that with Zhang Ximeng's position, Zhu Yuanzhang could not ignore the matter again, so he could only reconvene the officials to discuss the issue of salary again.
"Mr. Zhang, if you have anything to say, just say it!"
Zhang Ximeng saluted Lao Zhu and smiled at the others.
"Let me say something first. I absolutely disagree with the Song Dynasty's prodigal behavior of emptying the treasury, squeezing the people, and supporting the scholars with the people's wealth and anointment. It will not happen under the rule of the lord. We cannot repeat the same mistakes. But
There are also some things I want to talk about.”
"The first point is that most officials come through examinations. Naturally, they need to be good at reading. Among their peers, they are also the best. I think that in this case, should they also be given a salary?
Is it reflected? For example, Li Xiang proposed that a ninth-grade official’s annual income is about two to three times that of ordinary people. Is this difference reasonable? "
"If my lord wants to rule the world, he must recruit the world's talents and treat them with courtesy. This is a matter of course. Again, some gaps must be allowed to exist."
"Furthermore, studying hard for ten years in a cold window has a lot of expenses, and a young man in his teens cannot work in the fields and has to be supported by his family. The people are willing to do this because they think it is profitable and can honor their ancestors.
After all, no matter what, reading is always valuable, and people should be encouraged to be eager to learn!"
"It's just that this incident has raised another issue, that is, the issue of establishing schools. We need to let most civilian children study and work hard to enter the officialdom. Otherwise, official positions will only be reserved for the families of scholar-bureaucrats, and the poor will have no way out.
I don't want to study anymore. My lord's salary has still become money to support scholars, which defeats the original intention. Of course, how to start a school is also a major matter, and the Ministry of Rites should come up with a plan."
At this time, Yang Yuangao stood up hurriedly, bowed and said: "What Prime Minister Zhang said is absolutely true. The Ministry of Rites has the unshirkable responsibility. It will definitely come up with a strategy and submit it to Zhongshu in the near future."
Yang Yuangao was dedicated to making up for his mistakes, so he seemed very enthusiastic.
Zhang Ximeng laughed again and said: "I mentioned another thing since the establishment of the school. We held the imperial examination in Yingtian at one time. We admitted hundreds of people at one time. In fact, this is to expand the ranks of officials. The so-called masters and staff are not allowed. If
Yamen at all levels really lack skilled manpower and can arrange formal positions. The master's staff are not in the officialdom, and they do not work in their positions. If someone hires a monk to be the master, does he need to ask Bodhisattva to protect him if something happens?
Asking the Dragon King for rain? Is this still an official from the Mu Shou side?"
"So there are a lot of secrets in the expenses of the staff, as well as some welcomes and gifts, and the exchange of favors. There is a lot of hidden things in this! During New Years and festivals, weddings and funerals, colleagues give a bag of tea or a box of snacks. This is also a human being.
It’s normal and cannot be considered excessive.”
Having said this, Zhang Ximeng paused for a moment before continuing: "But there are people who give out real money and give gifts lavishly. In order to welcome Shangguan, they eat hundreds of taels of silver for a meal. This is definitely not allowed! Therefore, things like job land and job money are also
No need to think about it..."
"But considering that some officials do have difficulty living, and some have high official positions, are old, and have many things to do, it is also reasonable to consider attaching some followers."
"In short, what I mean is to refer to the average income of the people. Considering that local expenses and official salaries are between two and five times the average income of the people, they will not be too poor to survive, but they will not be too high either.
It is so unattainable that even if you have all the wealth in the world, you cannot support the officials."
"Another thing is that as the war progresses, natural disasters and man-made disasters occur, food prices inevitably fluctuate. Every two or three years, the salary level must be reviewed and adjustments made. It cannot be decided all at once, and it cannot be changed again in the future.
.”
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "My lord, Prime Minister Li, these are some of my humble opinions. Please make your decision, lord."
All the officials looked at Zhang Ximeng with intense eyes at this moment.
At first, everyone was about to accept their fate, but now with Zhang Ximeng’s words, they finally came back to life. Prime Minister Zhang, you are such a good person!
