Chapter 69: Planting Blessings (Part 9)
At the end of the 58th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, officials from all counties in Jinan Prefecture went to Jinan to wait for the imperial court's evaluation. Some information about the evaluation had already been released, including which county magistrates were rated higher and which were rated lower. Everyone was actually prepared.
The Magistrate of Zichuan County, Lü, was undoubtedly the most eye-catching person at the banquet. Zichuan County is located at the junction of mountainous areas and plains, and is not considered a rich county. However, Lü not only paid the taxes he should have paid, but also exceeded the taxation task according to the policy of "spreading the tax on each acre".
The basic standard for evaluating officials in the Qing Dynasty was how much tax they paid. If 10% of the tax silver was not paid, the county magistrate would be considered a failure. The fact that County Magistrate Lu was able to remain calm in front of his colleagues was obviously because he was able to exceed the target.
When the day of the assessment came, Shandong prefect Li Shude went to the court to work. He first announced the list of tax payments to the officials, and those who failed to meet the standard bowed their heads. Li Shude did not punish them first, but pointed at Magistrate Lu and said, "The emperor is very concerned about the land tax distribution. This time, Magistrate Lu was rated as the best. You should follow Magistrate Lu's example."
Many people were envious, and many people had complicated expressions. After finally getting through this evaluation, some officials wanted to invite County Magistrate Lu to drink and chat, and learn some tricks from him, but County Magistrate Lu was called away by Li Shude, the prefect. They had to give up.
County Magistrate Lü was sitting in front of Prefect Li at this time. Probably because County Magistrate Lü was a genuine Jinshi, his buttocks sat on at least two-thirds of the chair . Although it was not a solid seat, it was much more stable than the other two county magistrates whose buttocks were slightly stuck to the chairs.
"This time the Ministry of Revenue specifically asked you to go to the capital to report on your work. I think you care a lot about Magistrate Lu." Li Shude said calmly.
County Magistrate Lu was very proud, but he dared not say anything. The Magistrate Li Shude in front of him was from the Zhenghuang Banner and was a servant of the emperor. Although the status of a Jinshi was very high, it was still not comparable to the emperor's servant.
The other two county magistrates heard the news for the first time, and their eyes were filled with envy. Going to the capital to report on his work would definitely be given special attention. It was possible that County Magistrate Lu would stay in the capital and get promoted. Even if he was not promoted immediately, a promotion was just around the corner.
Li Shude went on to say, "These two people are working hard, but they still can't get the point. County Magistrate Lu should talk to them before he leaves."
Since there was an order from above, Magistrate Lu could not shirk it. After leaving the prefect, Magistrate Lu went to a tavern with the two men. The taverns in Jinan Prefecture saw many officials, and when the three masters came, they immediately arranged a quiet private room.
The three of them sat down, and one of them immediately introduced himself, "I am the magistrate of Mengyin County. I heard that Magistrate Lu governs well, so I asked the prefect to arrange for me to get close to Magistrate Lu."
The other was the magistrate of Mouping County, a poor county under the jurisdiction of Haizhou Prefecture.
Seeing the two poor county magistrates so anxious, County Magistrate Lu felt that he knew their purpose. It was nothing more than seeking a way to collect the tax silver in full.
Since they would talk about the same thing in the capital anyway, Magistrate Lu did not keep the secret and directly told the two magistrates the key points of the land tax distribution. "When the court discussed the land tax distribution, it was always afraid of disturbing the gentry. However, the land tax distribution has several advantages. After two years of trial implementation in Zichuan County, the land price has dropped a lot."
When the magistrate of Mengyin County heard that the land price was low, he exchanged glances with the magistrate of Mouping County, then smiled bitterly and said, "County Magistrate Lu, the land price in Mengyin County has never been high. This place is deep in Mengyin, so it's impossible to sell it at a high price!"
Magistrate Lu shook his head complacently, "When the land price is low, the gentry can buy land. When the gentry buy land, it will be easier to collect taxes on the land."
"But the imperial court does not welcome annexation." The magistrate of Mouping County asked hurriedly.
County Magistrate Lu couldn't help laughing. Why didn't he like annexation? Which official family didn't want to merge? Are there not many official families who own thousands of acres of fertile land?
But of course he couldn't say that, so Magistrate Lu just asked, "Where does the tax come from?"
It was obvious that the two county magistrates, as officials directly appointed by the court, were not very well-read. They did not understand. County Magistrate Lu had to patiently explain to them that if they did not collect taxes from the land, it would be impossible to complete the tax collection even if the government was exhausted.
After the two county magistrates understood this, they were not happy but expressed their opposition. "County Magistrate Lu, won't this disturb the gentry?"
Magistrate Lu chuckled, "Of course, this disturbed the gentry. So we have to tell the gentry that if there is no rent, where will the tax come from? How much rent to collect is the gentry's business. The government can't interfere."
After hearing this, the county magistrates understood a little, but they were still worried. "Magistrate Lu, Mouping County is already poor. If we allow the gentry to raise the rent again, it will be bad."
"The tax on contiguous land should be set high." County Magistrate Lu said his secret. Speaking of this, County Magistrate Lu couldn't help but think of Huo Chong, a recently emerged merger tycoon in the county. This guy originally had dozens of acres of land at his house in Zibo County, and he also acquired the surrounding land, and now has more than 200 acres of contiguous land.
County Magistrate Lu raised the land tax on Huo Chong's contiguous land, added the fire consumption silver, and charged Huo Chong one penny of silver for each mu of land. It is said that Huo Chong also acquired more than 200 mu of land in Linzi County, and the county magistrate there did the same thing. As a result, there was still no problem. The land tax on these lands was still collected well.
After the general Wang went to war, he continued to buy glass fire from Huo Chong. This tax was levied at 5% of the total amount, and Huo Chong also raised donkeys, which required him to pay for raising donkeys. In addition, Huo Chong had a workshop that made glass fire and glassware. Zichuan County collected nearly 1,000 taels of silver from Huo Chong in one year.
This is because the Zichuan County Government cannot do too much. If they try their best to collect the money, they will definitely be able to get two thousand taels of silver from Huo Chong in a year.
During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the tax revenue was about 40 million taels of silver per year. There were more than 1,000 counties in the country, and the average was more than 20,000 taels per county. Zibo County was not a rich county, and the tax revenue was only 10,000 taels per year. Huo Chong alone paid one-tenth of the tax revenue of Zibo County. If there were ten Huo Chongs, any county magistrate could easily handle the tax collection.
Of course, County Magistrate Lu would not say such a thing. He just explained the matter of "dividing the land tax into acreage" and when the banquet was over, the task assigned by the prefect was over.
The magistrate of Mengyin County and the magistrate of Mengyin County did not stop there. Both of their counties almost failed to complete tax collection, and their assessment level was not high. Fortunately, the senior official who recommended the two magistrates to buy positions had a friendship with Li Shude, the governor, so he asked Li to help them seek the guidance of the outstanding county magistrate Lu.
The two discussed it privately and both felt that although the tax distribution was reasonable, it was not enough to solve the immediate problem. Zichuan County's tax collection was not very good before, but it suddenly exceeded the tax collection target. The reason behind it must not be as simple as County Magistrate Lu said.
The two county magistrates were even more anxious as the New Year was approaching. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the first half of the month would be over. In February, the tax silver for the first half of the year would be collected, and the entire county would be very busy. There would be no time to look for opportunities.
Seeing that the county magistrates from all over the country were going back, the two county magistrates remembered the county magistrate of Linzi County who had performed well in tax collection this year. With the mentality of giving it a try, they went to try their luck with the county magistrate of Linzi County.
When they arrived at the magistrate's residence, they saw an official they had never met before. When the Linzi County magistrate saw the two of them coming, he introduced the official to them, "This is Brother Huo Chong."
Hearing this name, the two county magistrates were surprised. As officials from Shandong, the two county magistrates could not remember the names of officials from all over Shandong, but they had both heard of Huo Chong. It can be said that the entire Shandong officialdom has heard of this person. This strange man who "can make the truth sound like a lie."
The man who was given such a comment by Prince Yong actually got his official position from Prince Yong's half-brother, General Wang. It is said that General Wang rescued Huo Chong from prison, and Huo Chong offered his secret recipe of glass fire, thus rising from a farmer to an official.
This is already a legend.
When they sat down, they saw the Linzi County Magistrate talking to Huo Chong about mules and horses in a friendly manner, which made the two county magistrates very anxious. Could it be that the Linzi County Magistrate felt that talking to Huo Chong was more important than talking to his colleagues?
However, as they listened, the two county magistrates gradually felt that something was not right. The Linzi county magistrate kept asking Huo Chong how many donkeys he could raise. Huo Chong also readily said that in two years, the number of donkeys would probably reach more than 70.
Owning seventy donkeys is a huge fortune. Livestock is not a stable asset like land, but a floating asset. With seventy donkeys alone, one can be considered a wealthy man.
Perhaps because the two men seemed a little anxious, the magistrate of Linzi County jokingly asked, "Brother Huo, can you two raise donkeys in your county?"
The two county magistrates' faces immediately turned ugly, and they felt that the words sounded very harsh.
Just when the two suspected that the Linzi County Magistrate might be mocking the two places as being as stupid as donkeys, Huo Chong said, "Oh? Excuse me, if I open some donkey farms in Mengyin County and Muping County and buy some land for growing fodder, can you be accommodating?"
"Brother Huo, are you going to Bi County to buy land?" The magistrate of Mengyin County was a little confused.
The county magistrate of Mouping County immediately realized that this was about money. He could make money by buying land, and he could make money by opening a livestock farm. No matter which one he did, he could make money. And although Huo Chong was considered a commoner and craftsman, he donated money to become an official, so he was still a gentry. There was no need to worry about his unknown origins.
"If Brother Huo is willing to go, I would certainly be happy to do so." The magistrate of Mouping County immediately agreed.
Huo Chong responded cheerfully: "In that case, I will go and trouble you, brother."
Seeing that the magistrate of Mouping County was so straightforward, the magistrate of Mengyin County immediately said, "If Brother Huo is willing to come to Mengyin County, that would be great."
They talked for a while before saying goodbye. After Huo Chong left, the Linzi County Magistrate smiled at the two county magistrates and said, "You two are really lucky today. Huo Chong came to me because he wanted to buy more land and raise sheep and donkeys. I didn't expect you to take some of it. When you two brothers collect more taxes from him, you have to treat me to a drink."
"How much tax can Huo Chong pay?" The magistrate of Mengyin County was very puzzled.
"Since Magistrate Li is on your side, I will tell you the truth. Huo Chong made Linzi collect more than 200 taels of tax silver last year. I wonder if you two are interested in this little bit of silver." The magistrate of Linzi County spoke jokingly about the income.
When they heard about the 200 taels of silver, the two county magistrates were excited. Mengyin County and Muping County were both poor counties, with annual tax silver of only 2,000 to 3,000 taels, and they were often exempted for various reasons. As long as they could steadily pay 2,000 taels of silver every year, they would definitely be rated as superior.
In fact, the tax silver that the two of them failed to pay this year was only 200 taels of silver. If they could really get this amount from Huo Chong, it would be really great.
However, they still couldn't believe it. How could Huo Chong help the two places earn an extra 200 taels a year? Even if Huo Chong wanted to be an official, giving money to the magistrates of these two poor counties would be like throwing money away. Giving the money to the court would increase his chances of becoming an official.
Thinking of this, the magistrate of Mengyin County asked tentatively: "Will Huo Chong bully others by taking advantage of his power when he arrives at the place?"
The magistrate of Linzi County replied, "I met with Magistrate Lu and asked him. He said Huo Chong had no bad record. Now he sells 10,000 catties of glass fire to General Wang every month. One tael of silver is 15 catties, which is 600 taels of silver. Maybe he is just a flamboyant person. He is so proud of himself that he is making trouble everywhere."
"Six hundred taels a month?" The two county magistrates were a little surprised.
It is said that the Shandong prefect received hundreds of thousands of taels of silver as tribute every year. That's 10,000 taels a month. Of course, the prefect couldn't keep all the money for himself, he also needed to bribe the officials of the court. But even so, the prefect received 100,000 silver taels in three years. The prefect only received more than 30,000 taels of silver a year, 3,000 taels a month.
Huo Chong could make a net income of 600 taels a month. He was very rich.
Just as he could not help but start to calculate, he heard the magistrate of Linzi County laugh and say, "Huo Chong has several workshops. I heard that Zichuan County collects 1,000 taels of tax from him every year. It makes Zichuan rich."
The two county magistrates were awakened from their dreams. Magistrate Lu of Zichuan County talked about the tax distribution system as if it were a panacea. But he had only been in office for a year, so how could he pay more taxes to the court by relying on this? It turned out that there was suddenly such a large source of tax.
If people in the two counties could pay 1,000 taels of tax silver every year, the county magistrates would have no reason to worry about not collecting enough tax silver. They would definitely be able to pay more tax silver every year.
The two county magistrates looked at each other, but then looked away. They had made up their minds to hold on to a guy like Huo Chong. Even if they didn't have 1,000 taels, it would be great to collect 200 taels more a year.
Officials plotted against Huo Chong, and Huo Chong also plotted against officials. During this period, the platform was running more and more smoothly. Although various problems emerged one after another, Huo Chong had received so much education after all, and the seemingly contradictory information was effectively pieced together based on the correct basic knowledge.
For example, Huo Chong was equally interested in Mengyin County and Mouping County.
Let's talk about Mengyin County first. Mengyin County is a county in Linyi District, Shandong Province. It is located in the south-central part of Shandong Province, in the hinterland of Taiyi Mountains and on the shady side of Mengshan Mountain. It is a pure mountainous area.
The terrain is high in the north and south, low in the middle, and gradually slopes from west to east. Mountains and hills account for 94% of the total area, with more than 520 large peaks, including 12 with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters. Mengshan stretches for more than 100 miles and is the second highest mountain in Shandong Province.
This place is a place of poverty, of course, it is a place with poor mountains, bad water and many unruly people. However, this may not be a bad thing for Huo Chong. Especially Huo Chong's eldest disciple Qian Qing is from Mengyin County. He knows the local area well.
In the Qing Dynasty, if a place like Mengyin County could really have a huge influence, that is, if Huo Chong could deal with the local forces there, then he would have a smooth journey and could do whatever he wanted.
Although Zichuan County is a hilly area, it is not a mountainous area. Especially since it belongs to Jinan Prefecture, there are many things that cannot be done.
For example, Huo Chong really wanted to raise and kill cattle.
This was not to fight against the government. Beef and cowhide were both very important materials. Huo Chong wanted to make leather boots, and he had to have cowhide. But Huo Chong thought about it several times, but he just couldn't muster up the courage to raise cattle. If the news really leaked out, Huo Chong would be in big trouble.
As for Muping County, this place is also poor. In the 21st century, Muping District belongs to Yantai City, Shandong Province, located in the eastern part of Jiaodong Peninsula, named borders the Yellow Sea to the north, Rushan City to the south, Weihai City to the east, Laishan District of Yantai City to the west, and Qixia City and Haiyang City of Yantai City to the southwest. It is indeed a wealthy place.
But these days there is nothing rich along the coast, but this place can cooperate with the brothers on the sea. Huo Chong thinks that with the nature of the Japanese people, they will like solid alcohol and glassware very much.
In addition to being able to travel by water, Huo Chong also has high hopes for the planting industry here. The agriculture in Muping District mainly produces wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts, etc. The small plain formed by alluvial deposits has a thick and fertile sandy soil layer and is rich in apples, cherries, pears and grapes.
Just from the impression of the products, this place is a good source of feed grain. If he doesn't compete with the locals for high-quality wheat-growing land, Huo Chong feels that there is great potential for development.
The waters in this region are rich in a variety of marine delicacies and economic fish such as abalone, sea cucumber, purple stone clam, flying fish, and pufferfish. The tidal flat area is large, and it is one of the 100 advanced aquatic counties (districts) in China.
In the 21st century, Huo Chong often ate all kinds of seafood in this place. Thinking back, he couldn't help drooling.
As he was thinking, Huo Chong had already arrived at the place where he had made his official uniforms last time. The accountant still received Huo Chong with dignity and allowed the tailor to measure his size. Huo Chong was thinking about what he wanted to do.
From the seaside to the Yimeng Mountains, and then to the canal. Huo Chong decided to string this line together as soon as possible. Time is tight and the task is heavy. This time, we have to make a few well-fitting official positions. We will have to run around in the future.
