Qing Yao

Chapter 25 The County Master's Painstaking Efforts

Zhao An felt as if he had opened Pandora's box, or perhaps underestimated the greed of officials.

Mr. County Magistrate, are you so obsessed with making money that you don't even care about your dignity?

Or does it mean that no matter how small a fly is, it is still meat?

The craftsmen walking around the streets also want to take a cut, which is simply draining the pond to catch fish, without caring about the people's livelihood and all industries.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of crisis. The county magistrate was shameless, but the one who actually carried out this shameless operation was him, a temporary worker ambassador. If public resentment arose and the higher authorities inquired about the matter, would the county magistrate have to put the blame on him, a temporary worker, for exploiting the people?
Seeing how shameless the county magistrate is, there might really come a day when Ambassador Zhao makes a list.

It's pretty fucked up, but we have to officially include this matter in the work agenda of the Certification Department and promise to come up with specific regulations as soon as possible.

Because, for the county magistrate, no matter how trivial the matter is, it is of great importance.

Who said this?
Don’t you, Zhao An, have any idea what’s going on?

The county magistrate went to the government office with satisfaction. Before leaving, Master Ji pulled Zhao An aside and made a footnote on the county magistrate's innovative idea.

It's really difficult for the county magistrate. It's so difficult that he can hardly make ends meet.

No matter what, it was all caused by the flood in the Lixiahe River.

The flood has greatly reduced the county's summer tax collection this year. According to preliminary statistics from the household department, it would be a blessing if the summer tax collection this year can reach half of last year's.

However, according to the imperial court's official evaluation system, local officials who failed to collect 50% of the total tax amount would be stripped of their official titles and dismissed.

Under such tremendous pressure, how could the county magistrate not be anxious?

When you are in a hurry, you want to collect all the money.

It's not that he is cruel and greedy, it's that he is forced by the circumstances. If there was a buffer, even the county magistrate who loves his people like his own children would not have come up with such a shameless move.

Zhao An frowned as he listened: "Sir, how much is the county's summer tax deficit this year?"

Master Ji sighed: "At least 150,000 taels."

"One hundred and fifty thousand taels!"

Zhao An was so shocked by the number that he was speechless, but after thinking about it carefully, there was nothing to be surprised about.

There were more than a thousand counties in the Qing Dynasty. During the Qianlong period, the peak of the so-called "Kangxi and Qianlong prosperous era", the Ministry of Households' total fiscal revenue was more than 50 million taels per year, of which more than 30 million taels were from money and grain taxes collected from land alone. In other words, three-quarters of the Qing Dynasty's taxes came from land taxes.

This huge sum of money would amount to about 40,000 to 50,000 taels per county.

However, the economic conditions of each county are different. Some poor counties may not even be able to pay 10,000 taels, while some rich counties can pay hundreds of thousands of taels.

Yangzhou must be a wealthy area, because Yangzhou is actually the current number one "international metropolis". The salt tax paid to the Qing court every year accounts for 60% of the country's total salt tax revenue. Therefore, there is a saying that "the annual tax in Lianghuai accounts for half of the rent and labor in the country, and the loss and gain are related to the national economy."

In his previous life, Zhao An had heard an exaggerated statement, which was that if the Qing Dynasty had GDP, then Yangzhou contributed 25% of the Qing Dynasty's GDP.

It is equivalent to the total fiscal revenue of the four provinces (cities) of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Shandong in its previous life.

Is it scary?

If this statement is true, then one cannot help but be shocked by the wealth of Yangzhou.

However, the salt tax still accounts for the bulk of this huge GDP output.

The salt merchants were universally acknowledged to be extremely wealthy. If the assets of Yangzhou's salt merchants were confiscated, it's estimated that there might not be over a hundred million taels of silver, but there would definitely be 70 to 80 million taels. This is why every major and minor merchant in Yangzhou was treated like a pig and slaughtered by Emperor Qianlong.

The richest place in the world is Yangzhou, and Ganquan County is a subordinate county of Yangzhou. It has fertile plains and a canal running through it. It is not a small matter for it to contribute hundreds of thousands of taels of money and grain taxes to the court every year.

Add to that the commercial taxes, miscellaneous taxes, and land transaction taxes collected by the Taxation Bureau, and in terms of tax payment ability, probably only Jiangning and Songjiang on the other side of the river can compete with Ganquan County.

The first county in Jiangsu dare not compete, but the first county in northern Jiangsu is a foregone conclusion.

However, no matter how rich you are, officials have to collect your money. They can't just watch you pack up and leave.

Due to the deficit of 150,000 taels of summer tax, all units of Ganquan County have been working around the clock, and the Taxation Bureau is also planning to collect the fourth tax this year. In total, there will still be a deficit of tens of thousands of taels.

This deficit now falls on the newly established Certification Department, or in other words, the county magistrate has placed great hopes on the Certification Department.

Who made Zhao An brag in front of the county magistrate, saying that "famous and high-quality products" were worth five thousand taels and "well-known trademarks" were worth ten thousand taels?

The county magistrate had good intentions. Considering that the Certification Department had just been established and was facing large and small guilds in the country, he was worried that Zhao An, the new official, might not be able to make things happen right away. After all, there was no precedent for certification before, and merchants were very unfamiliar with it and needed some time to accept it. That's why he deliberately added an easy and simple business to the Certification Department.

The principle is to pick the softest persimmons first.

Those who roam the streets are easier to deal with than the guilds. A couple of yamen runners can just threaten them and they will pay the money and take the sign home.

At any time, it is much easier to deal with an individual than a group.

"There are at least 10,000 to 20,000 craftsmen in Yangzhou City. One thousand wen per person equals one tael per person, which is 20,000 to 30,000 taels. If you work hard to develop high-quality products and well-known trademarks here, and the county can squeeze in some more, this difficult time will be over."

Worried that Zhao An still hadn't grasped the County Magistrate's instructions, Master Ji added, "Whether those craftsmen really want to spend a thousand coins to buy a certification badge is not our concern. We only care about one thing, and that is the rights of the people."

"The rights of the people?"

Zhao An was a little confused. Aren't craftsmen just ordinary people? How can you say you care about the rights of ordinary people when you force them to pay money?

After Master Ji gave me further advice, I finally understood that the people Master Ren was talking about were not craftsmen, but consumers.

"Which craftsman doesn't make mistakes? In the past, if someone made a mistake, the government wouldn't investigate unless the people reported it. After all, it was a trivial matter. But now it's different. Our certification department can't just collect money and issue certifications. We also have to have rules for punishment. Otherwise, if those who don't have certifications do whatever they want, won't the people suffer?"

What Master Ji said makes a lot of sense.

Zhao An asked doubtfully, "Sir, how is this punishment administered?"

"Smashing the stall and taking the tools is a minor matter, and spending two weeks in jail is no big deal either. Of course, the exact punishment depends on your opinion as an ambassador."

Master Ji gave Zhao An a look that said, "You know the difference between a licensed player and a licensed player. Don't you need me to teach you?"

"I understand, I understand!"

Zhao An not only understood, but also understood very clearly that the county magistrate had entrusted him with the task of running the Consumers Association!
Or perhaps the county magistrate was giving him a pilot project so that he could quickly accumulate experience in dealing with the big moneybags.

This is the benefit of looking at things from different perspectives.

He had previously called the county magistrate shameless, but this time he was thanking the county magistrate for teaching him with great care.

Were these principles really figured out by Master Ji himself?
"I understand,"

Looking at Zhao An, who had just been enlightened, Master Ji smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying in a deep voice, "Don't think there's anything wrong or inappropriate. Just go for it boldly. Even if the sky falls, the county magistrate will cover it for you."

(End of this chapter)