In a sense, the provincial examination is a robbery of personnel power at the prefectural and county levels.
The central government takes over the power of local governments, and the provinces take over the power of counties. They suppress it layer by layer. This is bureaucracy.
There are many benefits to the provincial examination, and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for the court. Cabinet ministers all agreed, but there was controversy over the content of the provincial examination.
But this little thing can be solved casually.
The emperor opened his mouth and came: "The subject is arithmetic and the scriptures are clear, not obscure and difficult to understand, but concise and clear."
"There are one hundred questions, fifty for each, with a limit of one hour. Each question is worth one point, and the one with the highest score is taken from the lowest."
To put it bluntly, the requirements for the position of scribe are not high. Memorization of scriptures is tested, and calculation ability is tested in arithmetic, which are both highly practical abilities.
In a few years, these scribes will take root in every government office.
Similarly, the emergence of provincial examinations means the end of the hereditary lineage of subordinate officials, which is of great significance.
However, this is only the number of government officials stipulated by the imperial court in each county, that is, the number of official officials in each county. There are no more than twenty or thirty people in each county.
There are also a large number of white laborers, that is, temporary workers, who are dispatched, and the court has to hold its nose to recognize them.
Because we really don’t have that much money and food to support people.
The unfolding of the provincial examination caused a huge stir in Nanjing, which directly suppressed the Qingtian incident in Jiangsu Province.
After learning about the provincial examination, Wang Yingxiong, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, and Gao Hongtu, the minister of the Ministry of household affairs, came together.
Faced with the two requests for an audience, the emperor took his time and received them slowly.
The first is Gao Hongtu. As a Shandong native, he has a relatively tall build, a long and gray beard, a Chinese character face, and a neat face. He has a good impression.
It’s no wonder that the Donglin Party accepted him and took the lead in splitting the Donglin Party. Who would have thought that Gao Hongtu, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would do such a thing?
"Your Majesty, the provincial examination is beneficial to the country and the people, and I agree with it with both hands."
After saying this, before the emperor could breathe a sigh of relief, Gao Hongtu said solemnly:
"Since the salary reform, the district has only been paid ten silver yuan per month from nine grades, and the number of officials has been increased. Although the salary is only two yuan per person, the local burden has become increasingly serious."
As he said this, fearing that the emperor would not believe him, Gao Hongtu gave the example of Jiangning County under Nanjing:
"The official position of the official historian, patrol inspector, postmaster, gate official, tax ambassador, river bank ambassador, the first rank of the four ranks of government servants, plus the six-room clerk, are all awarded the rank of ninth rank, the second and third rank
The number is ten, so each county spends nearly three to four thousand silver dollars per year."
"Your Majesty, if you include the administrative officials and the generous salary you have given, the expenditure for a county will be at least 30,000 to 40,000 silver dollars a year."
"Jianning County is a Shangxian county. Last year, the total was only over 103,000 silver dollars. After being divided into 70 and 70, the county government only had 79,000 yuan left, which was enough to support the county government officials' salaries."
"Excluding the patrol camp, the remaining tasks such as building rivers and roads, and relieving victims are inevitably a bit stretched."
"This is still a place in the south of the Yangtze River such as Yingtian Mansion. If it is a remote place in the north, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places, I am afraid it will not be able to afford it at all."
The policy of changing salaries to silver coins was implemented by Zhu Yixi in the Huguang area. Considering the inconvenience of distributing grain, silver coins were used to distribute salaries to officials.
As for the salary, it has increased a lot. For example, the monthly salary has increased from 10 yuan to 20 yuan for the ninth rank, and 10 yuan for the first rank. When you reach the seventh rank of county magistrate, your monthly salary is 60 yuan.
The annual salary reached 720 silver coins.
Of course, this is not too high considering that in troubled times, prices are so high that people can buy only three or four taels of rice per stone.
Gao Hongtu said sincerely: "Although the salary reform has not spread to the south of the Yangtze River, it has already caused unspeakable suffering to Huguang alone."
He was also anxious and had no choice.
"Nowadays, prices are stable and high salaries are really making it difficult for the local government to bear. The increase in staff will increase the burden even more. Your Majesty, please think twice!"
"I see that you are not here to take the civil service examination, but to advise me on my salary reform."
When Zhu Yixi heard this, she was filled with emotions, but in the end she only confided one sentence.
As commodity prices stabilized and grain prices returned to normal, the high salaries enacted during the shogunate period became outdated.
"Your Majesty is wise, but now that the world is at peace and food prices are stable, high salaries are naturally inappropriate..."
Gao Hongtu spoke sincerely.
"I understand." Zhu Yixi waved her hands and said nonchalantly: "If you have made mistakes, correct them. I wonder if the Qing family is well prepared?"
The emperor asked where Gao Hongtu dared to hide it, and said directly: "Your Majesty, although silver coins are good, food is necessary, and the salary can be half silver and half food."
"But if the monthly salary is too hard, it will only increase the complexity. It is better to restore it to the annual salary."
"As for the standard, the new dynasty has a new atmosphere. I am waiting for His Majesty's mercy, so I don't dare to be greedy. That is, starting from the ninth grade, I will receive thirty silver coins and thirty stones of grain, and then increase by ten dollars and ten stones in ascending order...
"
Gao Hongtu asked tentatively.
"In this way, the annual salary of a seventh-grade county magistrate is ninety silver coins and ninety shi of grain..."
Zhu Yixi was very good at mental arithmetic and could figure out the numbers immediately.
The salary standard for the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu was seven stones and five dou per month for a seventh-grade official, and the annual salary was ninety stones of grain.
But he only received an extra ninety silver dollars, and his salary doubled or tripled, but it was still shabby.
"Too little."
The emperor shook his head and said: "From the ninth rank to the eighth rank, I will follow your increase. From the seventh rank, the annual salary will be increased to two hundred silver yuan and the grain will be two hundred shi."
"After that, each level will be increased by twenty silver coins and twenty stones of grain."
"Up to the third and second grades, the annual salary is one thousand silver yuan and one thousand shi of grain. The annual salary for the second and second grade is one thousand, five hundred silver yuan and one thousand five hundred kilograms of grain."
"One level and two levels, that's two thousand."
The higher the official rank, the fewer the official positions, and the lower the rank, the more. Therefore, the annual salary for low-ranking officials should not be too much, while for high-ranking officials, the higher the better.
After calculating the numbers for a long time, Gao Hongtu finally clapped his hands and said: "This is the best. The maximum expenditure per county is only six or seven thousand silver yuan, which is enough."
Hearing this, Zhu Yixi showed a smile: "However, although Bai Yi has a low position, he is still a person who is supported by the yamen. How can he be allowed to serve in vain?"
"Here, half of it will be taken from the imperial court, and it will be called public money. The white servants will be given at least one silver dollar and five measures of grain every month, and it will be at the disposal of the county government."
The reason why they are allowed to have free control is because the situation of each county is different. A county in Guizhou can only have a hundred white servants at most, while in the large counties in the south of the Yangtze River, three to five hundred are not too many.
In this way, the ratio of money and food between the court and the local government is 65% and 35%.
Local finances can be more relaxed.
This is also due to the collection of commercial taxes, otherwise Gao Hongtu would not want to give up so much money and food.
Wang Yingxiong, the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was very outspoken and said directly: "Your Majesty, these officials must have passed the provincial examination and must be in the first rank. For example, the ambassador of Cang, although they are minor officials, they must be inspected by the Ministry of Civil Affairs!"