"It's a pity for that literary master. He fell into poverty before he could finish his work."
Yinreng handed over the memorial in his hand, thought for a moment and said,
"My son feels that these people have misappropriated too much salt tax and should be dealt with according to the law."
"Who can get their hands on the salt tax? Who is a simple person? If the county magistrate is corrupt, then we can give him some consideration..."
According to the official system of the Qing Dynasty, the salary of a county magistrate was only 45 taels a year, which averaged less than 4 taels a month.
For an ordinary family, this annual income is enough to live a good life.
But the county magistrate cannot do that. In addition to supporting his own family, he also has to support a large number of people.
Most of the talents selected through the imperial examinations today have a deep understanding of Confucian classics and are quite accomplished in poetry and songs.
But once it comes to official business, these so-called candidates and tribute students basically become weaklings.
Although they have mastered a lot of theoretical knowledge, they are unable to apply it to practical operations.
This is just empty talk.
Under such circumstances, a profession came into being.
That is the master.
Most legal advisors were scholars who failed the imperial examinations.
They have no hope of taking the imperial examinations, but by becoming apprentices and learning from their teachers for three to five years, they can become professionals in the fields of law, finance, and administrative documents.
Later, with the recommendation of his teacher, he was hired by the county magistrate who had passed the imperial examination, and he had one foot in the officialdom.
The annual salary of legal advisors generally ranges from one hundred to one thousand taels. Even the lowest salary level is more than twice the annual salary of a county magistrate.
However, the Qing Dynasty did not pay salaries to legal advisors.
However, what is even more unacceptable is that in order to govern the county under his jurisdiction, hiring one legal advisor is not enough. A county magistrate must hire at least five, six, seven or eight legal advisors.
The annual salary expenses for the legal advisors alone amounted to several thousand taels, all of which were borne by the county magistrate alone.
In addition, the county yamen runners are responsible for executing government orders, and the clerks are responsible for transmitting information. In today's situation where communication relies entirely on manpower, the importance of these two positions is self-evident.
The imperial court had staffing for these two positions.
However, the number of staff was pitifully small. There were only a few dozen yamen runners and clerks in a county, which was not enough to maintain the normal operation of the county government.
Therefore, even in the poorest county government office, the number of "helpers" there is dozens or even hundreds of times the official number.
Naturally, the county magistrate has to pay for this part of the expenses.
In his previous life, Yinreng had studied it carefully. Even if he didn't bribe officials, the county magistrate's fixed expenses would be at least more than 10,000 taels a year, while his salary was only a pitiful 45 taels.
If you are not greedy, you can't survive at all.
Once they choose to embezzle, they or their entire family cannot hide it at all, so they have to bribe people up and down the chain to get the embezzled money, otherwise they will face suppression from their superiors and reports from their subordinates.
Therefore, the "governing the country with virtue" advocated by the Ming and Qing dynasties is no different from fart.
It is no wonder that corruption was rampant in the late Qing Dynasty. It was corruption forced by the system.
In his previous life, after studying the salaries of officials, Yinreng proposed to Kangxi to improve the welfare benefits of Qing officials, which at least temporarily gave those truly honest officials hope.
As for the issues of the organization and the imperial examination system, Yinreng was fired before he had time to study and solve them one by one.
When Yinreng thought back to this, he almost wanted to shed a few bitter tears for his past life self.
In this life, Yinreng just wants to give up, and those things are not within his scope of worry.
What he is worried about now is how to get out of Kangxi's sight and go out for a good ride on horseback.
Kangxi took the memorial, made a few strokes on it, and then put it aside.
"The current official system is largely inherited from the Ming Dynasty. I know there are various problems within it, but the Han people are xenophobic, and until the Manchu rule is firmly established, it is inappropriate to make major changes to the civil service."
"Ultimately, it's because the lower classes simply can't tell whether the changes I, as a Manchu ruler, implement, are beneficial or detrimental to them. They just blindly resist."
Speaking of this, Kangxi sighed again.
"From ancient times to the present, no matter which dynasty, upon reaching a certain stage of development, a situation of class stratification has always formed. If a legal system that satisfies all parties is not established at the outset of the dynasty, then the chances of success of subsequent reforms are extremely slim."
"What the Emperor said is true."
Yinreng nodded in agreement.
In fact, most emperors who worked hard to govern the country and wanted to make some achievements had this vision, but most of them confirmed what Kangxi just said.
When dynasties change, if a very complete ruling system is not established, various problems will arise within the dynasty over time.
However, by then, the classes had become solidified. Not only was it extremely difficult for the people at the bottom to make a name for themselves, but it was also not easy for the emperor at the top of the pyramid to reform the law for the benefit of the people and eliminate hidden dangers for future generations.
After all, seeking a way out for the people is essentially touching the ruling class's cake.
Today's Kangxi is also facing such a problem.
He wanted to change the official system, but not only did he have to face doubts from within Manchuria, he also had to consider the acceptance of the lower-class Han people.
After all, in the eyes of many Han people, the Qing Dynasty is no different from the Yuan Dynasty hundreds of years ago.
It was the barbarians who usurped the orthodoxy that belonged to the Han people.
"One day the Han people will understand that I sincerely want to help them eliminate the injustice in this world."
Kangxi drank a sip of tea and set his grand ambitions in this small carriage.
Yinreng pursed his lips.
I don't know how to respond.
Kangxi had the nerve to say this nonsense, and he was too embarrassed to listen to it.
"... He has written all about the world's peaceful times, yet he refuses to bow his head and look down upon the common people. Those who have never been hungry say this without fear of being laughed at."
Yinreng could only complain silently in his heart.
Kangxi was not angry after hearing this.
After all, considering what he did in his previous life, this evaluation is indeed appropriate.
Just from those few fragments, Kangxi could see that the policies promoted by Yinreng were all beneficial to the people.
Yinreng lived the life he had originally envisioned because he himself failed to keep his original intention.
Lost a wise emperor should have had the judgment.
During the journey of more than half a month, Kangxi did not often restrict Yinreng.
Whenever he was seen frequently lifting the curtain to look outside, he would be sent out to race horses.
Sometimes when Kangxi was in the mood, he would ride horses with Yinreng and Yinzhi.
The team soon arrived at Dolonnor.
At that time, the princes and nobles of Inner and Outer Mongolia had already been waiting here, and the people waiting outside the camp to welcome Kangxi were lined up for several miles.
It also opened the eyes of Yinreng and Yinzhi.
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