Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 194: The rift is born again! (6k long chapter)
That night, Su Che invited Li Qingchen to have a meal at his home, and Li Qingchen returned home satisfied.

The next day, Li Qingchen invited Su Yun to the detention center to discuss in detail how to manage the Huimin River.

"In December of the first year of Jiayou, Bao Xiaosu was appointed acting governor of Kaifeng Prefecture.

The Cai River in Kaifeng is also called the Huimin River because it can be used for navigation, irrigation, and flood discharge, bringing great convenience to people's production and life.

Caihe River was originally a profitable river. There was once a saying that "Caihe River runs through the capital and is admired by the people of the capital". Its water transportation was second only to that of Bianhe River, and it transported 600,000 shi of grain every year.

In the second year of Jiayou, Kaifeng was hit by continuous heavy rains, which flooded countless streets in the capital. History records: "Since May, the heavy rains have continued, the water has risen up to the gates, the doors have broken, and tens of thousands of official and private houses have been destroyed, and the people in the city have been stranded.

After investigation, Bao Xiaosu found that some powerful people in the capital city did not care about the lives of the people, and arbitrarily occupied the river and built gardens and pavilions for their families to enjoy.
He also secretly dug a small river and diverted the river water to his own garden, so that the eight-zhang wide river surface was squeezed to only four zhang wide, and even less than ten zhang wide in some places.

In particular, Zhang Yaozuo, the uncle of Renzong's concubine Zhang, had his mansion built right at the fork where the Cai River flows into the Bian River. The Qinglian Pond he occupied occupied the river channel, leaving the Cai River only seven feet wide at its narrowest point.

When the water of Cai River reaches here, it is blocked and flows back into the city. The people on both sides of the river complain bitterly.

After finding out the obstacles of Cai River, Bao Xiaosu personally led the officials to carry out the river clearing operation, demolishing all the buildings such as pavilions, gardens, and waterside pavilions across the river one by one to drain the water.

Renzong also issued an edict: "People living by the Huimin River are not allowed to raise fish in ponds, build pavilions, or block the river. Those who violate the rules will be severely punished!"

Since then, Caihe River has become unobstructed and has become the "People's River" again.

However, it has been nearly thirty years since then, and the river that was dredged back then is now blocked again.

However, the situation now is different from that of the past. In the past, the powerful and wealthy occupied the river privately, but now the people along the coast enclose ponds to raise fish and lotus roots, and also privately build docks, etc.

Some people even secretly divert water to irrigate paddy fields, causing the water level of the Huimin River to lower, making it prone to dike breaches during the flood season.

Therefore, it is imperative to rectify the situation as soon as possible.

Juzheng, I need your help!"

Li Qingchen looked at Su Yun with burning eyes.

Su Yun nodded and said, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency. I will naturally do my best to assist you in matters of public interest."

Li Qingchen nodded with satisfaction and said, "Great!"

The two also talked about which people should be mobilized to inform the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, what measures should be taken when encountering stubborn households, how much money and grain should be spent to make this happen, and other details.

After talking about these, Su Yun said, "Your Excellency, it is the common people who blocked the river this time, so we can't just tear it down like Bao Xiaosu did before, we have to proceed step by step.

Fish ponds, lotus ponds, and water diversion channels may be the basis for people’s food and clothing for a year, so we need to give them more consideration to avoid adding more poor people.”

Li Qingchen nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course, Juzheng, don't worry. I have already considered everything. Juzheng just needs the Tongpan Hall to help raise funds and mobilize manpower. The rest is up to me."

Although Su Yun was a little hesitant, seeing that Li Qingchen was so confident, he couldn't say much. He could only nod and go back to the Tongpan Hall to start arranging various matters.

To manage the Huimin River this time, we must arrange hundreds of clerks and thousands of laborers to remove and plug the lotus pond, fish pond, and even the gaps in the water diversion channel before the rainy season. We also have to demolish some docks.

Time is tight and the task is heavy, and the power of the prefect alone is indeed insufficient.

Su Yun gathered clerks from the six ministries and the county and sent Deng Qi to lead the team to prevent those clerks from taking the opportunity to exploit the people.

There is no doubt that those clerks will definitely exploit the people, and Su Yun can roughly guess what they will do.

It is nothing more than first going over to inform the people that they are breaking the law, then imposing a fine, and then asking the people to demolish the structures themselves.

If it was not demolished, various measures would be taken. In the end, the Huimin River was managed, but the people were all hurt, and some even lost their families.

The fines, demolition costs, food expenses for the laborers, and other money all fell into the hands of these clerks.

It is certainly wrong for those people to occupy the river, but their number is not small. If tens of thousands of families were to fall into poverty as a result, it would be something Su Yun does not want to see. He still has some compassion.

And he doesn't need to do much. He just needs to make some personnel arrangements and send Deng Qi and others to take care of it, so these problems can be avoided. Why not do it?
Su Yun called Deng Qi and said, "When you lead the team this time, you must control your men. If you find anyone extorting money from the people or withholding their food, you must kill them immediately.

Now the positions of judges and prosecutors in the left and right halls are all vacant. If you want to make progress, this is your best chance. If you do well, you may be able to take this opportunity to move up."

Deng Qi was immediately excited when he heard this and said, "Don't worry, if anyone dares to mess around, I will cut off their hands and feet!"

Su Yun nodded and said, "Don't be so harsh, you have to control them, if this kind of problem occurs, I will fire them.

When communicating with the people, pay attention to their difficulties. Write them down and give them to me in a book. If you encounter any problems, report them to me as soon as possible and I will solve the problem.

Remember this: enforce the law with warmth and love the people like your own children. If you do this well, you will gain public support in Kaifeng.

If someone gives you a banner or an umbrella for all the people, then your position as a judge may be secure."

Deng Qi's eyes sparkled, and he thought to himself that scholars are scholars. Just a simple matter of cleaning up the Huimin River can be used to do so much for the young master.

Hehe, sending a banner and an umbrella for the people... Sir, are you reminding me that you can arrange these things?
Well, it's not a big problem. When the time comes, just hint to the people along the river privately, and they will naturally send the goods tactfully. These things are affordable and not a big problem.

Well, I can't stand out too much. I have to rank behind the young master. First of all, the one who loves the people the most is naturally the young master. I, Deng Qi, can just take a small banner, otherwise I will steal the young master's limelight. Hehe, I'm not that stupid.

Well, should we send it to Magistrate Li... Logically, we should, as he was the one who initiated this matter, so he is the one who deserves the credit no matter what.

If I send the gift to the young master but not to him, it would be suspected of stealing the credit. So how should I send it so that Li Zhifu feels comfortable and the young master feels proud...

Su Yun didn't know that his words of encouragement to Deng Qi had opened a new door for Deng Qi.

The reason why Deng Qi was tempted with an official position was because Deng Qi was obsessed with power. If he was not tempted in this way, Deng Qi might not be too serious about it.

In other words, Deng Qi might not be willing to offend anyone.

It is common practice for clerks to exploit the people. Clerks do not receive any salary, and their income all comes from these gray areas. If they are not allowed to exploit the people, how can they do their job well?
Therefore, restraining these people in the governance process is equivalent to offending them.

Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing his parents.

If Deng Qi had no benefit to gain, he would probably turn a blind eye even if I told him to do it.

So a little motivation is necessary.

Deng Qi left excitedly.

Su Yun began to raise funds needed for the canal management.

But soon a big problem was discovered.

The cash flow in Kaifeng Prefecture is surprisingly scarce!

When the accountant of the Tongpan Hall reported the data, Su Yun didn't believe it at first.

"We, the Southern Court, occupy the most affluent city of Bianjing, and the sixteen most affluent counties in the world. How could we, the Southern Court, be short of money?
Also, we have many warehouses and storage facilities in Nan Ya. Let’s not talk about anything else, just talk about one warehouse.

Our Nan Ya occupies about one third of the major warehouses in Kaifeng Prefecture. The annual warehouse costs are a huge fortune.

There are also big taxes such as land tax and business tax. You tell me that the Southern Court is short of money?"

The accountant smiled bitterly and said, "Jianzhou, what you said is actually not wrong. In fact, before the Xining period, our Nan Ya was indeed very wealthy, but after the new law, the situation is different."

Su Yun frowned and said, "Tell me in detail."

The accountant thought for a moment and said, "This is more complicated. To put it simply, before the Xining Reform, the taxation of local governments was called "determining revenue based on expenditures."

This means that after the local governments received taxes, the remaining money and grain after deducting the local governments' annual expenses would all be escorted to the capital.

In other words, the amount that is handed over to the court each year is actually not fixed. As for how much to spend, we in the Southern Court can make appropriate arrangements ourselves, and we can even build our own small treasury in case of emergency.

Just like this time when we were managing the Huimin River, the imperial court usually wouldn't allocate funds to us, but if it was before, we could have spent it from the small treasury.

But later, the imperial court faced financial difficulties, so it began to tighten its policies and set quotas for rice, silver, and so on. In other words, no matter how much your local government spent this year, you had to hand over the required amount, not a penny less.

If it were just that, it would be fine. After all, our Nan Ya manages the most fertile land in the world. After paying the fixed quota, we can always keep a lot.

But later, the court took back all taxes on wine, tea, salt, etc., and the new taxes or levies added by the new law were assigned to the court from the beginning.

Not only that, the revenues from the Bianhe River embankment and the tea mills, the boat ferries along the east and west sides of the capital, the boats to the tombs on the capital bank, the boat ferries along the Guangji River, the houses and corridors in the capital, the flowers and fruits on the walls, the pools, the ice and snow cellars, and the vegetable gardens, which originally belonged to our Nan Ya, were also taken away from the Nan Ya. So, we used to be the richest government office in the world, but now we are no different from an ordinary government office.

And our Nan Ya has to bear the most governance expenses, face the most population management, and has many other tasks. It's difficult for us to run the Kaifeng government office.

Some people even say that the south of Nan Ya is not the south of north and south, but the most difficult of all!"

Su Yun nodded and said, "How much is left in the Nan Ya Treasury now?"

The accountant said with a sad face, "There are only 23,600 strings of cash left, and there are also various silks and other valuables worth more than 10,000 strings of cash.

In fact, I have heard some rumors about why the Left and Right Offices did not let the Governor manage the Huimin River. It was that the Left and Right Offices wanted the Governor to request money from the court instead of having the Southern Court pay for it.

And the Lord of the Mansion probably wanted to solve the funding problem within the Southern Court, so that he could get credit later... hehe, so the situation was at a stalemate.

Actually, Jianzhou, we can also let the Lord of the Palace apply for funds from the imperial court himself. Our treasury is in such a difficult situation..."

When this data came out, even Su Yun couldn't help but frown.

Because according to Li Qingchen's prediction, it would take at least a month to manage the Huimin River, and during that month, about 6,000 laborers would need to eat every day.

The laborers were free from wages for their labor service, but they still had to pay for their daily food. Based on the standard of 4675 coins per person per day, the total expenditure for a month would be as high as coins. This was just a rough calculation.

There are many hidden costs involved, and the final total is bound to be 10,000 strings of cash.

There are nearly 40,000 strings of cash in the treasury now, which seems to be enough to support the situation. However, the management of the Huimin River will cost 10,000 strings of cash at once. How will we survive in the future?

The salary expenses of the warehouse and treasury personnel under Kaifeng Prefecture can be solved by their respective institutions, but what about the thousands of clerks in Kaifeng Prefecture?
Clerks generally do not receive salaries from the court. Yes, salaries from the court, not from the Southern Court.

The so-called court refers to the central finances, and the salary expenses of clerks are the Nan Ya’s own expenses.

According to Su Yun's understanding, the average annual salary of clerks in various government offices of the imperial court was around eighty strings of cash. The salary of clerks in the Southern Court was less, at around seventy strings of cash.

There were more than a thousand clerks in the Southern Court, which meant that the Southern Court had to spend about 70,000 strings of cash in salaries just to pay the clerks.

This may seem like a lot, but it is actually not high, because the porters at the Bianjing docks now received a daily wage of 72000 wen, not including food and drink, which means 93 wen per month, or wen per year, which is equivalent to guan. The salaries of clerks were not even as high as those of the porters at the docks.

Of course, clerks have all kinds of benefits and stable incomes, while dock workers do not have work every day, nor are they in good health every day. Overall, clerks are much better off.

Moreover, it is a clear rule that the biggest source of income for clerks does not usually come from salaries.

Such a large government office has not only the expense of staff salaries, but also various other daily expenses, which add up to much more than staff salaries!
Stop gossiping.

All in all, Nan Ya’s economic situation was already quite difficult.

Su Yun frowned and thought for a while, then said, "Don't worry about that for now. Managing the Huimin River is the most important thing at the moment. We should pay as much as we can. The difficulties are only temporary. We can think of a solution later."

After hearing what Su Yun said, the accountant didn't say much, but just nodded. He was just giving Su Yun a suggestion. Since Su Yun had already made up his mind, he didn't say anything more.

Su Yun did not think that the accountant's suggestion was unnecessary. From the perspective of the Tongpan Hall, letting Li Qingchen apply for funds from the court was naturally the best way.

But the rainy season is approaching. If the city of Bianliang is really flooded, not only will the people suffer, but the imperial court will also hold him accountable, and he will definitely not escape.

After all, even the government asked Sun Sigong to tell me to support the management of Huimin River, and then I asked Li Qingchen to apply for funds from the court, thus delaying important matters... Hehe, then I will be the one to take the blame.

So, let’s get through the current difficulties first. As for what happens next, isn’t it just about making money?
With his own vision and experience of the future, as well as the identity of the Kaifeng government, he could earn some money to support the government. If he couldn't accomplish this, he might as well just eat shit.

However, before opening up new sources of income, Su Yun began to prepare to cut costs.

Well, reduce costs and increase efficiency.

When Li Qingchen began to take drastic measures to manage the Huimin River, Su Yun began to standardize the management of various revenues and expenditures within Kaifeng Prefecture.

Su Yun mainly prepared two measures. One was to set up a special procurement department to be responsible for procurement matters.

The other was to set up a dedicated auditing department within the Nan Ya. One purpose was to supervise the purchasing department, and the other was to conduct on-site audits of the warehouses and treasury affairs under the name of the Nan Ya.

As soon as these two measures were introduced, there was panic throughout the Southern Court and complaints were heard everywhere.

Even Deng Qi couldn't stand the pressure and went to Su Yun several times, saying that the clerks under him were quite emotional.

Su Yun naturally would not be polite. He asked Deng Qi to concentrate on the management of Huimin River, and he would naturally take care of the rest.

There was also Li Qingchen, who had also heard the news and had a talk with Su Yun, saying that the management of Huimin River was currently at a critical moment and if the clerks were too emotional, it might lead to delays in important matters.

Su Yun patiently explained Li Qingchen's statement, but Li Qingchen kept repeating something like "The current priority is to manage the Huimin River, and we can deal with the rest later." The implication was that Su Yun should stop trying to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Su Yun only explained it briefly, and then stopped explaining, saying, "Your Excellency, I have already set up a special fund for the management of Huimin River, and there will be no delay in the funding.

As for personnel management matters, Director Deng will be fully responsible for it and no other problems will arise.

As for the complaints from other clerks in the Southern Court, they will not affect the specific matters of Huimin River, so you can rest assured, Your Excellency."

Faced with the determined Su Yun, Li Qingchen could only leave in disappointment.

Su Yun became alert and asked Deng Qi to pay attention to why Li Qingchen was concerned about this matter. Deng Qi made some inquiries and found out that it was several people in charge of the hall under Li Qingchen's command who were causing trouble.

Although the military craftsmen, postmen, horse herders, thieves, warehouses, canals, ditches, and roads of the Southern Yamen were each under the charge of their own officials, the several heads of the Yamen Hall also relied on the authority of the prefect to divide up some of the responsibilities.

Although the Left and Right Offices were tyrannical, they also knew that they could not overpower other prefects, so these prefects still exercised some control, which was considered a compromise between the two sides.

Otherwise, if the prefect is really pushed into a corner, both sides will end up in a fight to the death.

At this moment, Su Yun was trying to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and he wanted to take back this part of power directly, which naturally caused dissatisfaction among the people in charge of the detention center.

Su Yun thought about it and decided to take back this part of the power.

He is different from the Left and Right Halls. The Left and Right Halls are too selfish and always hinder the administration of the Yau Hall. But the Tongpan Hall will not be like this. As long as the Yau Hall follows the formal procedures, he will not set too many obstacles for the Yau Hall.

The key point is that he wants to add a few more sources of income to the Southern Court, so these powers cannot be given away casually. They must be taken back so that things can be done more easily.

So Su Yun decisively took back this part of the power. Although the head of the security hall was reluctant, he communicated with Li Qingchen several times, but Li Qingchen remained silent, so he had no choice but to hand it back.

In the following meetings, Su Yun could see that Li Qingchen's attitude towards him had changed slightly, and he seemed to be not very satisfied with his actions.

Su Yun was also a little annoyed. Originally, these matters were handled by special officials, and it was in line with regulations for the custody office to be responsible for the audit.

Now you are responsible for auditing, and you do these things yourself. You are both an athlete and a referee. The corruption problem here is naturally very serious.

You, Li Qingchen, may not make any profit from these things, but don’t those in charge make any profit too?
Su Yun certainly knew that Li Qingchen wanted to win over the leaders under him to make it easier for him to do things, but this was also a very risky thing for the Tongpan Hall.

After all, these matters are the responsibilities of the Tongpan Hall. If you allow the Yating to take over these matters, when an accident or a bomb explodes, the court will send people to investigate and they will definitely ask one question: Why did you give the responsibilities of the Tongpan Hall to the Yating?

There are only two possibilities:
One is that you are in collusion with each other, and you, Judge Su, have also profited from it;
One option is that you, Su Tongpan, please your superiors and allow Li Qingchen to take away this power.

No matter which one it was, it was an unexpected disaster for Su Yun.

I haven't gained anything, why should I take the blame and take this risk?
Su Yun had not worked with Li Qingchen for long, but he had already discovered that Li Qingchen was self-willed, selfish, arrogant, ungrateful, and self-righteous.

From the very beginning, he ignored Su Yun's interests, and all his actions were aimed at achieving his own political achievements. As for whether Su Yun would violate the rules or whether his prestige would be damaged, he did not consider it at all.

After being frightened by Su Yun, he gave in and compromised, but after Su Yun cooperated with him, he felt that Su Yun should do so, and even asked Su Yun to give in to his so-called big things...

This person is a typical sophisticated egoist.

Su Yun suddenly remembered that Li Qingchen seemed to have had a dispute with his uncle Su Zhe later!

It should be that after Zhezong took power, Li Qingchen used a trick to force Su Che out of the court. However, he could not remember clearly what happened, but it was a fact that Li Qingchen did stab Su Che in the back.

However, Su Yun did not pay much attention to Li Qingchen and did what he was supposed to do. As for what would happen in the future, haha, let's talk about it later.

It is certainly not good to become an enemy with someone like Li Qingchen, but being friends with him may not necessarily be a blessing. In this case, let him be.

(End of this chapter)