Chapter 6 4 The common people are taken advantage of

It is very easy to blackmail the common people. If you want their money, you just ask for it. If someone occasionally jumps out to object, it is not normal. 【Just ask for it】 I have seen an imperial decree written by Ming Chengzu Zhu Di (reigned in 1403︱24), which is copied verbatim as follows: The military family opens a shop in the market every year to do business, and the government wants some items, why is he not willing to comprador?You should write documents in your ministry, and Ying Tianfu will know: If there is a comprador in the future, but if you open a store, you will be a comprador regardless of whether it is military or civilian.Those who dare to violate it will not be forgiven.Qin this ①.

The tone of this decree left a deep impression on me.I thought, if I were a businessman who opened a small shop in Beijing at that time, and the government apportioned and blackmailed me, would I dare to be stubborn?I don't think I'm particularly timid, but I must confess that I dare not be stubborn.The emperor made it clear that anyone who dares to violate it will not be forgiven.A small boss like me, if you take it, you will take it, if you beat it, you will beat it, if you kill it, you will kill it, isn't it just a lamb at the mercy of others?That's how the Emperor sees us, and I think he sees it right.

Not much to say about the emperor.In name, he is the representative of the Dao of Heaven, and he has the responsibility to protect the interests of us ordinary people, so he shouldn't be too ruthless.We still focus on corrupt officials. For the officials of the Chinese Empire, blackmailing the common people is also very easy, and there is no need to bother planning.If you want their money, just ask for it. Does anyone dare to resist government fees?It is normal for no one to resist. Occasionally someone jumps out to oppose it, which is abnormal. Just like an abnormal celestial phenomenon, we can see records in history.

According to Sichuan "Meishan County Chronicles", in the early years of the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, every time the households (financial bureau) of Meishan County collected taxes, they directly added a copper piece to the weight, called the head.The villagers are being eroded and overpaid every year, and they feel pain in their hearts, but there is nothing they can do. Another record about this matter is: the Huke (Financial Bureau) of Meishan County has a lot of abuses. In addition to paying the regular tax on imperial grain, the common people also pay one and eight cents of silver to each household.Officials and subordinate staff took the money for themselves, and they kept it for 20 years without changing it.

One cent and eight cents of silver is not a big number. According to the purchasing power of rice, it is converted into NT dollars, which is equivalent to more than 300 yuan; calculated according to the current price of precious metals, it is less than 80 yuan.Let's make a compromise, let's count it as two hundred yuan.Although the number is small, it cannot support a large population and a long time.Meishan County is located in the Sichuan Basin, a land of abundance. There are always 30,000 to 50,000 households in a county. After 20 years, this is a huge amount of 100 to 200 million New Taiwan dollars.

[The price of suing the official] In Meishan County, there was a student named Li Sui, who was a scholar in the prefectural and county schools. "Meishan County Chronicles" said that he was a man of righteousness and righteousness.The random fee of two hundred dollars irritated Li Sui for some reason. He was so indignant that he went bankrupt and traveled five thousand miles to sue the higher authorities.Now that the trouble has come to the point of petitioning, we can reasonably speculate that he must have made trouble in Meishan County too, but if there is no result, the county leaders must not care about it.It must be very difficult for the county leaders to cut off the financial resources of NT$200 million under their subordinates, which may include tens of thousands of NT$ from the leader himself.This is a very important decision.

Li Sui's petition did not go well. He angered the higher-level leaders, was framed for extorting money, and his student qualifications were revoked.Student qualifications are also very valuable. The third chapter of "The Scholars" written by Wu Jingzi of the Qing Dynasty said that Mr. Zhou Jin, a poor private school, paid for a student supervisor with the help of many businessmen. The same went to the provincial capital's Gongyuan to take part in the provincial examination, which cost two hundred taels of silver.On a compromise basis, the silver is worth more than one hundred and two hundred thousand NT dollars.Such assessment of student status does not choose a high standard. The nineteenth chapter of "The Scholars" also said that it costs one thousand taels of silver to buy a scholar's title (that is, the status of a student); it also costs five hundred taels to hire a gunman to cheat in the exam.My calculations have already hit 40% off.

Why Li Sui is so unlucky, the inside story can only be speculated.If he wants to cut off the family's big source of wealth, it is impossible not to be counterattacked.Officials are familiar with the provisions of the law and have the right to interpret these provisions. Coupled with the inextricable relationship and sympathy for each other, the counterattack must be both legal and powerful.Back then, Li Sui's petition inevitably won the support of some ordinary people, and everyone pooled some money.This is not only illegal fundraising, but also gathering crowds to make trouble. It can also be regarded as disrupting social order, and even suspected of endangering national security.As a result, after Li Sui lost his student qualifications, he was thrown into prison on charges of collecting money.During his long prison career, he was almost killed several times.

After Li Sui was imprisoned, the local people suffered even more without complaint, and no one dared to sue again.The officials in Meishan took strict precautions, killed chickens to scare monkeys, and kept their financial resources. Twelve years later, a new deputy governor in charge of justice and supervision came to the province. When he heard about this situation, he sympathized with Li Sui and pitied him for being wronged for the benefit of the public. Give him a poem and go bankrupt, lose his student qualifications, walk five thousand miles, be locked up for twelve years, and get a poem. This is the comparison of Mr. Li's own gains and losses.As for the head, it is said that in the twelfth year of Guangxu (1886), Mao Longen, the magistrate of Meishan County, felt that it was not good, so he took the initiative to remove it.In terms of time, this was about the same time as the release of Li Sui, but the credit was credited to the new leader.I would rather believe that Li Sui played a role, otherwise this prison would be too useless②.

Assuming that this matter is entirely due to Li Sui, and the county magistrate Mao's greedy work has no effect at all, then wherever there is Li Sui, there will be no arbitrary charges.The question is, what is the probability of Li Sui appearing?For a mere two hundred yuan, is it worth selling the property and traveling five thousand miles to sue?And whether it will be sued is still undecided?Even if you are confident that you will be able to sue, how many people are so dedicated, educated and fearless, willing to spend all their wealth and years of time to fight for the justice of this mere two hundred dollars? ?If such people are as rare as a feather, then we dare to conclude that it is very safe for officials and servants to collect fees randomly.No one will jump out and make trouble with them.It doesn't matter if there is such a half.Even if he succeeded and sued, no one was punished for it.The big deal is that they will no longer be accepted in the future, and the county magistrates can take this opportunity to leave their names in history.

For this kind of ending, that is, the ending of the failure of the officials and the victory of the complainants, there is also a record in the "Rong County Chronicle" in Sichuan: Around the middle of the nineteenth century, when Rongxian County, Sichuan Province was harvesting grain, household clerks (cadres of the County Finance Bureau) always came late and left early with a pretentious appearance.The gate is separated by a step, and you can enjoy leisurely inside the gate, but outside the gate, there is a sea of ​​people, so crowded that the people behind cannot squeeze in, and the people in front cannot squeeze out.In order not to suffer from this kind of suffering, many people pay money and entrust the accountant with a back door.It's like there are always many agency companies at the gate of some bureaus with complicated procedures and procrastinating styles. As long as you are willing to pay more, you can always find an agent who takes care of the money.Some people simply pay bribes directly, otherwise, they may not be able to pay the food for ten days and half a month, and the family's farm work cannot be delayed.In addition, there are some places that bully the common people. For example, a few cents of silver are rounded up to make a dollar, and the conversion rate of silver and money has never been accurate. wait. There was a farmer named Wang Kaiwen who was very upright and went to the county to sue in resentment.The county refused to accept it, so Wang Kaiwen appealed to a higher-level yamen.The county sent people to hunt him down and put him in the street to show the public. It was still the old method of killing chickens to scare monkeys.Unexpectedly, Wang Kaiwen was so majestic, he shouted in front of everyone: Who is with me?Who would pay to do it with them! The local farmers were suffering from the bird's breath for many days, so they waved the coins to express their willingness, only to hear the sound of waving the coins, like the tide of the sea, resounding together. "Rong County Chronicles" described: The county magistrate was horrified, and quickly released Wang Kaiwen, and comforted him.Since then, the disadvantages of harvesting grain have improved. The problem of arbitrary charges in Rong County has not been fundamentally resolved because of a heroic Wang Kaiwen.Decades later, in the early years of Guangxu, there was another Liu Chuntang incident here. Liu Chuntang is a student of the academy and a scholar.His friends Liang Shuan and Lu Ruitang were also ransacked and blackmailed when they paid the food, and they were reprimanded and abused for raising objections.The two refused to accept, and the county magistrate said that they hustle in court and should be punished for this crime.Later, I heard that they were the students of the academy, just like the current college students, who are under the management of the education committee system, and are likely to be future state cadres, so they were spared. At that time, when the tax was collected every year, more than a hundred book servants looked around in awe-inspiring manner. Besides the regular tax, they also asked for many items such as room fee, fire consumption, fare, and tail.Those who pay taxes will be scolded for the slightest objection.The tax amount with a malformed decimal is rounded up to one per cent (two thousandths, about 0.04 grams) of silver, and two hundred cash is charged, which is more than one hundred times more.The common people are already full of resentment.After someone made a fuss, the public raised funds and donated money, and Liu Chuntang was asked to appeal. When he arrived at the court, Liu Chuntang first asked the county magistrate to promulgate the regulations on grain collection that had been set before, and then presented a bill that counted one cent as two hundred qian.The county magistrate evaded and said: the regulations established in the past have been passed down for a long time, and there is no way to check them.As for overcharging this little money, it was a momentary negligence. In short, I can't tell.Another incident happened at this time. A person named Dai Longen received double allowances and donations. He asked for a refund of the overcharged part, but the overcharged person would not be refunded.So Dai Longen and Liu Chuntang joined forces and went to the province to sue together, exposing all the disadvantages of arbitrary fees in Rong County.But like Li Sui, these two did not end well in the province, and Liu Chuntang was also detained by the province.Only Dai Longen was left, and he went to Beijing to sue. It turned out to be his luck.The Ministry of Household Affairs (Central Ministry of Finance) sent the case back to Sichuan for interrogation.In the second year, the Sichuan Procuratorate had a real trial, and the verdict came down.This desperate toss was exchanged for an iron tablet, on which the official regulations on tax collection were engraved. For example, the collection will start in the morning and will not stop until after three o'clock in the afternoon. Wait, the conversion rate of silver and money is calculated according to the market price and so on.I worked my ass off to get a deadline before three o'clock in the afternoon. I really don't know what time those yamen servants get off work③. I don't know what happened afterwards.But I estimate that it won't be long before these iron-cast words will become a dead letter.I have read that the six steles erected in Changshu County, Suzhou Prefecture from the end of Ming Dynasty to the beginning of Qing Dynasty all prohibit the similar activities of blackmailing the common people in the process of harvesting grain.If the steles inscribed with stones are really useful, why repeat the six? Now it's time to calculate the general ledger.Li Sui walked five thousand miles to go bankrupt for fifty yuan.Wang Kaiwen filed a petition because he couldn't afford to stand in the queue.How much is it worth to line up?Generally speaking, a daily laborer in the countryside costs only twenty or thirty yuan a day, and it costs only two or three hundred yuan to hire people to line up for ten days.Before Liu Chuntang went to the province to sue, the evidence he issued to the magistrate was also a note that converted one cent of silver into two hundred coins.Even if he took two hundred Wen for nothing, how much loss would there be?Converted into the current NT dollar, the two hundred Wen is only two to three hundred yuan.As long as we put ourselves in the position and think about it, we can know how many people are willing to spend several months and travel thousands of miles for these hundreds of dollars?That was an era without cars and trains. This account cannot be calculated so simply.Because historical experience has told us time and time again that traveling thousands of miles is not the only cost.The defendant must fight back, find fault with you, punish you, put you in shackles, put you in jail, and use you to kill chickens and scare monkeys.Calculating from the standpoint of corrupt officials, we can know that they attach a hundred times as much importance to this matter as the complainants.If 30,000 to 50,000 households support 300 to 500 corrupt officials, each of them eats a hundred of you, and your hundreds of dollars are worth tens of thousands of others, so important, how can corrupt officials not Stay with me to the end?If you are doing it for dignity or face, don't people need dignity and face?Of course, the face of officials is more valuable than that of ordinary people. 【Rebellion is justified】 Even if you are willing to pay the above two prices, it still does not mean solving the problem.The determination to win is far from victory itself.How far is it?How high is the probability of winning?In the fourth year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1799), Hong Liangji, who participated in the compilation of "Gaozong Shilu", analyzed the pattern of interests and interests in the complaint, and then gave an estimated number. Hong Liangji said that being a leader in a large province and becoming a senior official is just like in the past. Every stop on the tour has gifts and door bags that are due according to the rules.Usually at home, there are rituals, birthday gifts, and annual help fees.When promotion and transfer, there are also private thanks, which is not counted here.The above money is all taken from the states and counties, and all the states and counties are taken from the people.The amount of money, food, and rice has only doubled in the past few years, and it has more than doubled recently. The leaders of several teams in the province, as well as the subordinate prefectures and cities, all knew what to do, otherwise, there would be nowhere to go for door bags, station rules, boxing gifts, birthday gifts, and help money.All states and counties also clearly tell everyone: The reason why I doubled and multiplied is that the expenses of government offices at all levels are increasing day by day, year by year.However, upon closer examination, under the guise of leaders at all levels in provinces, prefectures, and cities, the states and counties use their power to plunder the common people. The superiors get half of the items they plunder, and the states and counties also take half into their own pockets.When I first started doing these things, I still had some scruples, but after doing it for a year or two, it became an old practice, and now it is unbreakable. At this time, if you go to the governor, governor, vassal, Taiwan, Dao, and government to file a complaint, no one will care about you, not even asking.Among the tens of thousands of ordinary people, occasionally one or two couldn't swallow this breath, and those who went to Beijing to petition were only approved by the Beijing side for the governor to study and deal with.Sending imperial envoys down to investigate is over.Think about it, is there one or two out of a thousand cases that ordinary people sue the government that are dealt with fairly?Even if the imperial envoy's boss is more conscientious, he should try to mediate it so that neither party will lose too much.Besides, once the imperial envoys leave, the whole province will receive another round of hospitality, and the common people in the whole province will have to pay again.The leaders must let the imperial envoys return with a full load, so that they feel at ease and feel that there will be no future troubles. Therefore, the officials of all states and counties also understand that the common people's tricks are nothing more than that.The common people also understand that petitioning and suing will definitely not solve the problem, so it often triggers troubles.The incidents in Dangyang, Hubei and Dazhou, Sichuan all proved this point. Hong Liangji gave his analysis to Prince Cheng, Minister of Military Aircraft, and the prince showed it to Emperor Jiaqing.Hong Liangji has said so many things, but the core meaning is that the government forces the people to rebel, or that rebellion is justified.It is the common interest of officials at all levels to search for ordinary people, which determines that the success rate of ordinary people's complaints is only one or two in a thousand.Therefore, there is no better way out than to rebel.After seeing this point of view, the emperor was very angry, saying why this guy was so dumb when he spoke, so he dismissed him and asked the courtiers to interrogate him, but he also ordered that he should not be sentenced.As a result of the interrogation, the courtiers proposed to cut off the head of this stupid guy.When it was finally dealt with, the emperor's kindness was mighty, and he leniently sent Hong Liangji to Yili, Xinjiang to guard the border.Hong Liangji pleaded guilty honestly, wept bitterly, and thanked for the leniency④. 【The best strategy and result of both parties】 Officials at all levels are smart people, and the masses have discerning eyes.Everyone understands the situation. For ordinary people, this kind of situation is not worth spending several months and traveling thousands of miles to sue for the random charges.The money spent on filing a lawsuit is enough to spend a lifetime of arbitrary fees, and filing a lawsuit is bound to be a loss-making business.Second, corrupt officials are ready to pay a higher price to kill the top performers.Once the rules are broken, their losses will be extremely huge.Therefore, the early birds are likely to lose their lives.Third, after paying the above-mentioned heavy price, the probability of success of the complainant is only one or two in a thousand.Conclusion: the people do not fight against the government.The early rafters are rotten first; For the officials, the conclusion is what Hong Liangji said: the tricks of the common people are nothing more than that. The common people are being taken advantage of.Not to mention that people don't offend me, I won't offend others; Parents cried and complained that they couldn't find them.The only cost-effective option is to swallow his anger and continue to let people suck blood. It's a lot like wolf and sheep together.One has sharp teeth and is not a vegetarian; the other is a vegetarian, and happens to have good flesh.Although there are also a pair of horns on the head, they are used for fighting between rams, and they are still useful when showing off in front of the opposite sex. When you see that gray guy with a big mouth and sharp teeth, you can only tremble.As long as the wolf and the sheep are together, the relationship between them is a foregone conclusion.If you like, you can stipulate that the sheep call the wolf their parents, and the wolves call the sheep their sons and daughters.Of course it can be reversed, so that the wolf and the sheep are called parents or masters, and the sheep have the right to call the wolf their sons or servants.Whatever you want to stipulate, anyway, the wolf will eat the sheep.If a certain sheep does not resist, it may be able to live for a few more days, and it will not be eaten for a while.Those who dare to resist will be bloody and die immediately, with little hope of success. Being taken advantage of is a breeding ground for corrupt officials.Under the nurturing of the big bosses, the risk of corrupt officials is very small, the trouble is very little, but the income is extremely high, so there are many people who want to squeeze in, and their team grows rapidly.But eventually there is a problem.Just like the wolves rapidly expand under the care of the sheep, when they grow to a certain extent, the growth and reproduction speed of the sheep cannot be eaten by others, and the sheep will be eaten up and shrink to death.At this time, the end of the wolf is not far away.It was a lose-lose outcome. In fact, the old wolves of the past dynasties in China have rich experience and fully understand this truth.Those who are the herdsmen of the emperor or the meat eaters who are called shepherds know that sheep are the fundamental abbreviation for the survival of wolves.Everyone understands the importance of caring for the flock.Nai He couldn't resist the temptation of the sheep in front of him, nor could he resist the temptation of giving birth to wolf cubs.This also makes sense: if I don’t eat, other wolves will still eat; if I don’t give birth, other wolves will still give birth.The interests of individual wolves do not necessarily coincide with the collective interests of wolves.If my temperance does not lead to temperance in others, my self-restraint means nothing to the flock, but reduces my own share in vain.When the old wolf couldn't help but eat, I could hear a sigh: If they become hedgehogs, won't we become upright officials? Notes: ① Volume 191 of "Huang Ming Jing Shi Wen Bian", Wang Yingzhen: "Compassion for the people who are hidden and tired, so as to secure the roots and emphasize the ground." ②See the "Meishan County Chronicles" of the Republic of China, Volume 11, Character Chronicles, page 68; Volume 9, Official Records, Page 24︱25.Quoted from "Sichuan Finance Historical Materials in Qing Dynasty", page 593. ③See "Rong County Chronicles" of the Republic of China, Shihuo seventh, fifth︱8 pages.Quoted from "Sichuan Finance Historical Materials in Qing Dynasty", page 591. ④ "Drafts of Qing History", Volume 356, Biographies 143, Hong Liangji.