In terms of name, Zhu Youxiao called it "reward and integrity". In other words, as long as you are honest and not greedy, you can get twice the salary.

The low salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty has always been a very certain thing in history books. Then, there are arguments such as the fact that officials in the Ming Dynasty were very poor, corruption was understandable, and poverty was "the reason to be corrupt officials."

In fact, compared with the Tang and Song dynasties, the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were relatively low, but they were not as pitiful as not having enough food or clothing.

Taking the seventh-rank official as an example, seven stones of rice per month, which is more than 1,000 kilograms, is enough to support a family of five, and there is still a lot of leftovers.

But why did the officials of the Ming Dynasty cry and scream, saying that they were poor and could not eat meat? Moreover, relying solely on salary is indeed a difficult life?

The reason is not that simple, just as what you think is not necessarily what you think.

First of all, officials and ordinary people are definitely different, mainly reflected in the large number of families. In addition to parents, wives, children, they also have to add servants, maids, etc. It is normal for more than a dozen people to have more than a dozen people?

Once you become an official, you can't have only one wife, it's okay to take a few concubines, right? Even Hai Rui has two, let alone other officials.

To take a concubine, you have to spend 180 taels of silver, and you have to build a few more rooms, and you have to add a few more people in the future?

The second reason was the court, and it would be fine if the salary was sufficient. However, in the middle and late periods, the increasingly valuable treasure money began to be issued. Sometimes, they would pay for the salary such as suma, pepper, silk cloth, etc., which made complaints.

Zhu Youxiao eliminated the accumulated problems, and his salary was paid in silver, which increased his salary by twice.

If you still quarrel about your salary and you don’t have enough money, then don’t do it. If you want to spend money on your life with high standards, you want to have three wives and four concubines, why should the court pay for your luxury?

What's more, isn't it preferential treatment and favor for the court to exempt you from labor service, taxes, etc.?

The imperial edict for "rewarding the integrity" is still under the court, and Zhu Youxiao issued another imperial edict to the cabinet. This time it was not a salary increase, but a request for officials to check and correct themselves.

The scope of self-inspection and self-correction is mainly the land owned by officials. If there are illegal matters such as encroachment, forcibly occupying, offering, and intrigue, it will be cleared within three months. The court will not pursue the matter and will not be recorded in the examination.

Before the court had finished discussing this imperial edict, another imperial edict came to the cabinet again, requiring local officials to re-invest and compile the yellow book and fish scale book within the year and report it to the Ministry of Revenue.

What is a yellow book? It is a household registration, which is equivalent to a census; the fish scale book is a map that determines the shape, boundaries and ownership of arable land, which is equivalent to the land ownership certificate in later generations.

In the 14th year of Hongwu, Zhu Baba ordered the first national population census to be started and formulated into a yellow book to facilitate the statistics of the population and make it a basis for taxes and corvee labor.

After compiling the yellow book, Zhu Taizu ordered the measurement of the country's land and compiled it into a fish scale book.

In view of the lessons of past dynasties, in order to prevent land annexation and concealment from reappearing, Zhu Yuanzhang asked the population and land census to be conducted once every ten years so that the government can always grasp the most accurate data.

But in fact, this policy was not implemented. By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the investigation once a decade had become a formality, and the yellow book and fish scale book became bullshits to deceive the superiors and conceal the subordinates.

Local officials often compiled another volume as the basis for the tax and service recruitment. Because it was a private compilation and did not report it to the Ministry of Revenue, it was named the White Book, also known as the "Yellow Book of Real Estate" and the "Fund and Services Book of Tax and Services".

Zhu Youxiao of course knew that the Yellow Book was no longer the basis for taxes, service and recruitment, but it was to re-inspect the local government and use it as one of the indicators for the examination.

You continue to make mistakes and fabricate, and continue to collude with the gentry to cheat. These are all charges, and you will be caught sooner or later. At that time, you will be confiscated and exiled, and it will take manpower to develop the "Dongfan"!

The imperial edict was issued, this time it was targeted at the officers of various garrisons.

Treat it the same as a civil servant. As long as the embezzled military fields are handed over within a time limit and the number of soldiers under his command is reported in full, the past will be left unresponsible. Otherwise, severe punishment will be made.

Obviously, this imperial edict shows that the emperor knew very well about the acts of military officers encroaching military fields, enslaving military households, and eating empty wages.

It is precisely because these behaviors are understandable and are already extremely common that the emperor gives you another chance, the so-called "confession and lenientness, resistance and strictness."

If we obey and do it, we will have nothing to do and start from scratch. Otherwise, you should consider how severe this severe punishment is!

In fact, this is just a decree sent to the cabinet.

The secret decree that others don’t know has been sent to the hands of the Shaanxi Governor Zuo Guangdou, Henan Governor Fang Zhenru, and the new Shanxi Governor Yang Lian. It is very simple to ask these three stubborn people who are not afraid of death to carry out the "clearing the treasury and replenishing the salary" to the end.

The main social contradiction in the late Ming Dynasty was land. A large number of annexations and encroachments caused landless farmers to go into exile, and military households also fled in large numbers, and their fate was equally miserable.

These refugees and fleeing military households have formed a huge unstable factor. They can still be maintained now, but when the total outbreak occurs, it will be difficult to deal with it.

Therefore, Zhu Youxiao held on to this point and strictly managed it from all aspects, and took the land back little by little.

Of course, Zhu Youxiao also took ruthless action against the royal family vassal kings who occupied the most land.

…………………

Luoyang, Henan, Fuwang Mansion.

The fat King Zhu Changxun sat in the chair, his eyes rolling around, looking like he was thinking quickly and he was a little difficult to weigh.

Mr. Wei, the admiral of the East Factory, was drinking tea in a leisurely manner, and looked up at the magnificent palace from time to time.

King Fu Zhu Changxun was born to Concubine Wan and was loved by his parents at birth.

However, because the ministers were worried that Emperor Wanli would depose the eldest son and establish the young son, Zhu Changxun was extremely disgusted by the ministers since he was a child.

In fact, Zhu Changxun is also quite innocent when it comes to the establishment of the crown prince. Who puts himself in such an embarrassing position?

After Zhu Changxun arrived in Luoyang to become a vassal, he should have been quite honest and did not do anything bad in Luoyang.

As for the historical books, he said that he was greedy and had a good drink, and he had no choice but to raise himself as a pig since Emperor Yongle. Otherwise, the emperor would not be relieved!

The two kings are forbidden to meet, the royal family is forbidden to marry into the nobles, the royal family is forbidden to serve in office, the royal family is forbidden to come to Beijing to pay homage and report, and the vassal kings are forbidden to leave the city privately...

Adding these imprisonments to them, what else can those vassal royal families do besides holding them in their mansion to eat and drink, and bringing a few beauties?

"Your Majesty really allows me to leave the city at will?" Zhu Changxun decided to start temptation on this issue, although he did not agree with the suggestions put forward by the emperor's nephew.

Uncle Wei nodded and said with a smile: "As the prince, he doesn't even have the freedom to leave the city, so what's the matter? The emperor said that as long as the prince is willing, he can report to the government, and he can go anywhere."
Chapter completed!