Since the unification of the First Emperor, the Qin, Han, Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, up to the Ming Dynasty, it is hard to say which one is better in other aspects, but in terms of official salaries, the Ming Dynasty founded by Lao Zhu can definitely come out on top without any dispute.
As the first emperor in history to truly climb out of the bottom, Lao Zhu came from a humble background. When he was young, he saw with his own eyes that the food that should have been distributed to his parents was confiscated by corrupt officials, causing his parents to starve to death. His hatred for corrupt officials can be said to be deep in his bones.
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Kill all the corrupt officials in the world, and Lao Zhu will adhere to this principle until his death.
Historical records: The official salary in the Ming Dynasty was the thinnest in history. Since ancient times, official salary has never been as thin as this.
How low?
The monthly salary of the first grade is eighty-seven stones. From the first grade to the third grade, the monthly salary is reduced by thirteen stones to thirty-five stones. From the third grade is twenty-six stones. The fourth grade is twenty-one stones. The fifth grade is sixteen stones. From the fifth grade to fourteen.
Stones, from the sixth grade to ten stones, from the sixth grade to eight stones, from the seventh grade to the ninth grade, the number decreases by five buckets, ending at five stones.
If calculated based on the prices in the early Ming Dynasty, a family of five would need to spend about 4-5 shi per year on food rations. Based on this calculation, the ninth-rank official could barely support a family of five by relying on his salary. From this perspective
From the looks of it, Lao Zhu is not too harsh.
But there is an issue that has been overlooked.
This group of people are officials, wearing black gauze hats. Not only do they have to support the mouths of their families, but they also have to have several servants around them. Take an eighth-grade county magistrate as an example. The Yamen County magistrate in the Ming Dynasty and later generations
The county magistrate is completely different. The county magistrate holds many positions, such as the president of the court, the director of finance, the director of industry and commerce, etc., all of which are held by him.
A magistrate of such a large county must have many officials working under him, so naturally he has to give bonuses and rewards to his subordinates from time to time, otherwise no one would be willing to work for you.
Then there are those who assist the county magistrate, such as masters, accountants, gatekeepers, etc. The court does not pay these people, so the county magistrate has to find a way to solve the problem himself.
Based on this calculation, the salary will definitely not be enough.
Moreover, during the Hongwu period, Lao Zhu established the official salary as an ancestral system that could not be changed by future generations of kings, without taking into account issues such as inflation. After a few decades, the normal salary of officials could not even support a family of five.
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Didn’t you see that the most upright official in the Ming Dynasty, Mr. Hai Rui and Hai Qingtian, who was a second-rank official, was so poor after his death that he even had no coffin board for his burial?
It's impossible for a living person to suffocate to death, so what if there's not enough?
There is one word from ancient times to the present: fishing.
But Lao Zhu is definitely very strict about corruption.
The Ming Dynasty under the management of Lao Zhu issued the most severe anti-corruption order in history: Any official who embezzles more than 60 taels will be killed immediately!
The most horrific criminal law in history was used to treat corrupt officials: skinned straw was peeled off and displayed in front of the government office. Some officials who had committed a larger amount of corruption were either tortured, castrated, or had their hands chopped off and their tendons picked.
In the history of combating corruption, the most unscrupulous approach is to avoid human kindness: whenever a bribery case occurs, they will be followed and killed. They will not avoid the relatives of the emperor and the royal family. If the imperial family embezzles, the punishment will be particularly severe.
It also implemented the most ruthless policy of mobilizing people to report in history: it stipulated that as long as ordinary people discovered corrupt officials, they could tie up the officials and send them to Beijing for punishment, and they must be allowed to go all the way to Beijing. If anyone dared to stop them, they would not only be executed, but also be punished.
Also implicating the nine tribes!
It stands to reason that at the beginning of the founding of the country, officials in the past dynasties were relatively honest, honest and upright. Coupled with Lao Zhu's ruthless operation, the atmosphere in Hongwu's court must be clean and honest.
But in fact, corruption was prevalent during the Hongwu period. The more pressure Lao Zhu had, the more severe the corruption became.
These officials, as if they wanted money rather than their lives, committed crimes one by one.
It wasn't until the "Guo Huan Case" broke out in the 18th year of Hongwu that Lao Zhu killed more than 30,000 officials in a rage, affecting twelve chief envoys.
Historical records: Starting from the left and right ministers of the Six Ministries, seven million were stolen, Ci Lianzhi was awarded, all officials were saved, and tens of thousands of people were killed.
The general idea is that all officials of the Sixth Bureau and below, no matter how much they have corrupted, were executed. The Sixth Bureau killed only the bare commanders, so that the chief officials who judged cases in the Yamen were all killed. There were even cases where officials who were sentenced to death were shackled in the court to convict criminals.
The most bizarre scene of the death penalty.
Looking at the pile of bones in Hongwu's thirty-one years, it is not easy for officials who can wait for Lao Zhu's death alive.
"Brother, do you think what we said makes sense?"
Just as Ji Boying was brainstorming, Lao Zhu finally finished speaking. His anger was palpable. He picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it all in one gulp. Little Zhu Si next to him very politely filled it up for Lao Zhu.
"It makes some sense."
"But not much."
Lao Zhu was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, what are these words? Is it wrong to strictly require officials to be honest?
"Brother, what do you mean by this?"
Lao Zhu asked, saying that he did not feel that he had done anything wrong in this matter.
This also stems from his childhood experience. In the grassroots concept, corrupt officials should die. This is a matter of course.
"Master Immortal, please speak frankly."
Zhu Biao beside him couldn't help but asked.
He had always felt that there was something wrong with the official salary system. As a prince with real power, he found that despite Lao Zhu's high-pressure punishment of corruption, there were more and more corruption cases among officials in recent years. This was obviously not true.
It is in line with the common sense of the first dynasty of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
"Yes, yes, I want to know too."
Xiao Zhu Si, who was smoking a cigar vigorously, also nodded, looking like he was asking for advice.
"Brother, if you have anything to say, just say it. You don't need to care about our feelings."
Lao Zhu took a deep breath. He also wanted to know where he went wrong.
"Wait a minute."
Ji Boying thought for a while.
The time and space of the thirteenth year of Hongwu and the time and space of the fourth year of Jianwen are too close. They are only twenty years apart. Some policies can be used in both times and spaces, such as the issue of official salaries. This reminds Ji Boying of something.
thing.
Since it can be used universally, there is no need to say the same thing twice.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to bring Zhu Laosi of the Jianwen Dynasty to this Hongwu time and space to play a table of mahjong?
Ji Boying's life purpose: Just do it if you think of it.
"You guys smoke a cigar first, and I'll take someone with you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Boying disappeared on the spot.
Lao Zhu and A Biao were fine with Ji Boying's ghostly methods. One of them had experienced it personally, and the other had seen it with his own eyes, but Xiao Zhu had never seen it before, so he was completely confused.
"This, this, this..."
Zhu Di looked at Zhu Biao and then at his father.
"What's all the fuss about?"
Lao Zhu glared at Zhu Di, thinking in his heart.
‘What’s wrong with our salary system?’
Zhu Biao, on the other hand, took advantage of Zhu Di's dazed moment and secretly took the cigar in his hand.
………………………
Jianwen Time and Space, Study Room of Prince Yan's Mansion.
"Master, big things have been decided. There are many important things that need your help tomorrow. Let's go back and rest early tonight."
Zhu Laosi and Dao Yan walked to the threshold together. The only person in the world who could let Zhu Laosi see him off in person was the crazy monk Dao Yan.
"Your Highness, stop, I will take my leave."
Dao Yan bowed slightly and turned to leave.
Suddenly, a figure came into Dao Yan's eyes, appearing so suddenly, so close to each other.
Wearing shorts, a floral shirt, a pair of sunglasses hanging from the shirt pocket, black flip-flops, and a burning brown cigar dangling from the corner of his mouth.
Ji Boying pushed back his slightly curly hair with one hand, took a deep breath of the cigar, took off the cigar with the other hand, spit out a cloud of white mist, and sprayed it squarely on Dao Yan's face.