Chapter 85: County Government Situation (please subscribe)
Next, Su Ze was making sugar and salt, and he was so busy that he was sweating profusely. These were all for Lin Deqing to send to the ghost market to sell. Su Ze used " I estimated the "counting room" skills and found that as long as I sold them for two hundred taels of silver, I could buy the fifty shotguns and the remaining cotton in Zhang Haihu's hands.
When I think of the record in the family tree:
"On May 17th, the imperial commission sent the censor Yan to inspect the guards. The county clerk Xu Shisheng criticized the seventh ancestor, and the censor temporarily dismissed the seventh ancestor from his military position. The guards gave out 500 taels of filial piety silver. The Seventh Patriarch was reinstated, and the guard was gradually exhausted." The cost
of purchasing dozens of bird guns and arming a small team of bird gunmen was only one hundred taels of silver.
Yan Maoqing, a corrupt official, was able to extort five hundred taels of silver from Chang Ningwei.
When Su Ze read this record before, he had no intuitive feeling.
After reading this record now, Su Ze realized how abominable corrupt officials like Yan Maoqing are!
But now there are Anda invaders in the north, Japanese pirates in the southeast, and last year when even the capital suffered from famine, the Emperor Jiajing was still building palaces and temples and spending 150,000 taels on pearls and jewelry.
Jiajing was like this, and officials at all levels followed the same example, flattering their superiors and bullying their subordinates. The entire Ming Dynasty was rushing towards the abyss.
Even generals like Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang, who were good at conquering and fighting, still needed to find a backer to pay bribes and share the spoils before they could go to the battlefield.
Thinking about the hundreds of families who died in the battle, Fuzhou Prefecture had so many military guards and yamen, but they didn't even dare to fight against the Japanese pirates with a thousand people, which shows how bad the entire Ming Dynasty was.
Traveling back to this era, Su Ze felt that it would be a miracle that the Ming Dynasty would fall again after ninety years!
In a blink of an eye, it was the end of the month. Lin Deqing, escorted by a group of Changning Guardsmen Yu, went to the ghost market to sell salt and sugar in exchange for two hundred taels of silver.
Lin Mojun and his grandfather gave up asking Su Ze for their share, and Su Ze ordered Lin Deqing to buy a batch of grain as rations for the remaining soldiers who participated in the regiment training at the guard station.
In addition, each military surplus member who participates in training can not only be guaranteed three meals during training, but also receive a portion of food back home, which is considered as compensation for their off-the-job training.
However, Lin Deqing also brought back some not-so-good news. Another salt vendor appeared in the ghost market. Although the refined salt of that vendor was not as good as Su Ze’s refined salt, the price was more favorable, and he also took away Changning Wei. A lot of business.
If Lin Deqing had not already accumulated some regular customers, he would follow Su Ze's instructions and sell them together with refined salt and coarse salt, and this time he would sell all the salt.
This was expected by Su Ze. Before Zhu Qi sold salt in the ghost market, there were several other stalls selling salt in the ghost market. Zhu Qi had to use tricks to force these people away.
There are several salt farms in Fujian, as well as several salt lords who manufacture private salt. The market is only so big in total, and it is normal for competition to be fierce.
Although Baitang got rid of it, the ghost market manager whom Lin Deqing bribed last time had already hinted to Lin Deqing that someone was already eyeing his stall.
Su Ze couldn't help feeling that he was still too weak.
If Chang Ningwei hadn't been a military guard after all, and his fists were fairly strong, he might have been robbed countless times.
But if the business gets bigger, I'm afraid it will be targeted by other forces in the county.
It is true that Changningwei has a cannon, but Changningwei is only a place for hundreds of households.
The Ming Dynasty was a typical example of experts in civil war and outsiders in foreign wars. Changning Guards must abide by these orders unless all members of the Changning Guard become bandits.
Su Ze was a little helpless, but for now he could only endure and deal with the current crisis.
Tomorrow is the day when Yu Zongyuan will go to the county town to study at the beginning of the month. I don't know if Yu Zongyuan has returned from Fuzhou Prefecture.
Su Ze has a new mission when he goes to the county town this time.
Last time, Su Ze learned from Lin Xianzong, the master craftsman of Changning Guard, that there was a special cannon foundry and gunpowder workshop in Yanping Guard!
Come to think of it, the Ming Dynasty actually paid a lot of attention to firearms.
In the early Ming Dynasty, the Ming army began to equip a variety of firearms, and various rockets and firecrackers began to appear. However, the performance of these firearms can only be described in words.
For example, if you tie gunpowder to a bow and arrow, ignite it and shoot the rocket, not to mention whether the arrow can be shot into the enemy's formation, the Ming army's immature lead technology may even cause the rocket to explode in advance, which in turn will kill friendly forces.
There is also the "Swarm of Bees" that is often praised as the Ming Dynasty machine gun. This thing is a large firework with multiple gunpowder-filled barrels inside. Once ignited, it will shoot lead bullets.
It sounds very effective, but in fact, this thing is often easy to explode and jam, and is very unstable to use. The effect of killing one's own people is better than that of killing the enemy, so soldiers are afraid of using it.
The Ming Dynasty is also rich in various "inventors". These guys are keen on innovating for the sake of innovation, especially giving some awesome names to weapons, and then writing descriptions in books like "the sound of cannons rumbles and the erosion is thousands of miles away" , at first I thought it was a missile exploding.
In fact, the effects of these weapons are hard to describe, and soldiers are unwilling to use them. Qi Jiguang once said: "Only bird guns, unlike various firearms, can kill the enemy in battle." The reason why the Ming Dynasty was keen on producing
inventions Literati are also keen to praise these firearms, which are not useful but are of no use. The main purpose is naturally very simple, that is, to eat military expenses.
After all, the emperor likes to see this thing, but he is not using it anyway. Whether it explodes or not has nothing to do with those who advocate the power of new firearms.
Every time a new firearm appears, a mess of weapons manufacturing departments such as the Ordnance Bureau, Needlework Bureau, Saddle and Bridle Bureau, Armor Factory, Wang Gong Factory, Military Warfare Bureau, and Imperial Supervision Bureau will rush to manufacture it and then send it to the Ministry of Household Affairs. A big bill.
In addition to these departments under the direct control of the north and south, there are bureaus in various places, and each military guard also has its own cannon foundry and gunpowder workshop. Once new weapons appear, various places will follow up and manufacture them, giving full play to the "Ming Dynasty" "Technical advantages". At most, there are hundreds of types of firearms in the military. Even the officials of the Ministry of Industry and War, who are most familiar with firearms, cannot name all the firearms.
What? Why don't you make cold weapons and armor?
This is layman's terms. How many armors and weapons are manufactured must be registered. The court also has various regulations for inventory inventory. The imperial court will also regularly send censors or officials from the Ministry of Industry and War to inventory the weapons inventory to see if it is correct. Go to the base book submitted every year.
Moreover, armor weapons have a long scrapping cycle, and their whereabouts after scrapping must be registered and explained.
Firearms are different!
Gunpowder is susceptible to moisture. This is something that all the soldiers know. Is it possible that the great masters of the imperial court don't know this?
If it gets damp, it will naturally be scrapped. As for the scrapped firearms, aren't they over there?
There are so many types of firearms in the imperial court, who knows what this scrapped piece of iron is.
The Yanping Guard was a large-scale military base with five thousand soldiers, so it naturally had its own gunsmith shop and cannon foundry.
Su Ze saw a large general cannon on the city wall of Nanping County. It was said that it was cast by Yanping Wei himself.
I don’t know if Second Young Master Yu is back, but Su Ze still expects him to take him to the Yaowuo Factory and Cannon Foundry to quickly learn the skills of "firearm making"!
Even if you can't make artillery and muskets, you can still make your own powder and lead bullets, which can also solve the current Changning Guard's shortage of ammunition.
Su Ze set out early on the first day of May and arrived at Nanping County before noon.
Taking the greeting card that Yu Zongyuan gave him last time, Su Ze came to the Yanping Guard Commander's house.
He handed the greeting card to the disciple. Although the disciple saw that Su Ze was wearing a coarse cloth, but he was very dignified and holding the second master's greeting card, he did not dare to neglect and quickly informed the servants in the second master's room. A servant of Yu Zongyuan's housekeeper quickly came out and told Su Ze that their second son had gone to Fuzhou Prefecture and would be back in two days.
I was a little regretful not to see Yu Zongyuan right away, but it happened to be the day to finish school in the county two days later. In order to learn this "firearm making" skill, it didn't hurt to stay in the county for one more day.
In addition, this time Su Ze came to the county town to inquire about Xu Shisheng, the county clerk who reported Chang Ning Wei.
Xu Shisheng had a grudge against Changning Wei. He tricked hundreds of households into cooperating with smuggling and secretly sold bows and arrows to Japanese pirates. The incident was reported to the county government by hundreds of households.
Later, hundreds of households were killed by the real Wulu King. I don't know if there is any connection between them.
The key point is that Xu Shisheng is just a small county clerk, and Yan Maoqing is a censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate with a background as a Jinshi. How did he falsely accuse Chang Ning Wei on Yan Maoqing's side?
This time Su Ze did not come to the county town empty-handed. In addition to a dozen taels of silver, he also had several bamboo tubes of low-quality yellow rock candy.
Su Ze deliberately made the rock sugar yellow. Anyway, the price of rock sugar is about the same. If it is too pure, it will be eye-catching. This kind of rock sugar is similar in color to the Fuqing rock sugar on the market. Fujian itself produces rock sugar, so it will not arouse suspicion.
Looking at his "bribery" skills, it would definitely cost a lot of money to find out information in the county, but if he could grasp Xu Shisheng's movements in advance, he might be able to eliminate the disaster virtually.
Entering the county school gate, Su Ze saw three of his classmates.
The three of them all arrived earlier than Su Ze. After exchanging pleasantries, Su Ze found out that Xiong Yue had arrived in the county the day before yesterday. He relied on the county school's guide to successfully avoid the tax collector's spot inspection and sold a batch of his own tea. He had a smile on his face, thinking that he would make a lot of money this time.
Lin Qingcai arrived yesterday. One of his clan brothers was recommended as a scribe by the county official. Lin Qingcai accompanied that clan brother to take office.
When Chen Chaoyuan heard that a brother of Lin Qingcai's clan had been recommended as a scribe, the expression on his face was one of envy and hesitation.
When Su Ze saw the three of them, he took out the rock candy bamboo tube he carried with him and handed it to the three of them.
After opening the bamboo tube, they saw the yellow rock candy, and the three people quickly declined.
"This is too expensive, I can't use it!"
Chen Chaoyuan lives in Nanping County, so he naturally knows the price of rock sugar. Even if he relies on helping his brother to handle lawsuits, his income in Nanping County is considered medium, and he eats Can't afford rock candy.
Only during the Chinese New Year would I buy some brown sugar to satisfy the cravings of the children at home.
Xiong Yue is a small businessman himself, and he knows the price of rock sugar.
But when Su Ze said with a smile: "This is not much rock candy, it's just a little thought, let's just accept it." Everyone
reluctantly accepted it. Seeing that Su Ze was dressed in coarse cloth, he was willing to take out the rock candy to make friends. I even felt that he was very heroic and wanted to make friends.
Vaguely, the four of them had formed a small group with Su Ze as the leader. The so-called circle of scholars was a circle gradually formed as these small groups continued to expand and make new friends.
At present, the four people have no interest relationship, but their relationship is more pure.
Hearing that a brother of Lin Qingcai's clan had been recommended as a scribe, Su Ze pretended to be casual and asked him about the situation.
"My elder brother and I started enlightenment together. Later, when he could no longer study, he worked as an accountant for two years. It happened that there was a vacancy for the clerk in the household, so he was recommended by Sun Dianshi to Magistrate Bai, and he was selected by the magistrate. That's when I entered the household."
Chen Chaoyuan was more familiar with the situation in the county government. He asked, "Do you, the Lin family, still have an old relationship with Sun Dianshi?" "We
have some old friends."
"Sun Dianshi was in charge of the punishment room, how could you recommend your brother to become a household? A clerk in the room?"
Lin Qingcai sighed and said: "Brothers from my clan are not willing to go at this time, but the county clerk has no freedom to be picky. I am afraid that if I miss it, I will waste a few years. I just I can bite the bullet and get started."
Su Ze asked: "Is there anything particular about which scribe should be appointed?"
Chen Chaoyuan said: "Of course there is, Sun Dianshi is the Dianshi in charge of the torture chamber and has been in office for two years. He has been serving for ten years. Most of the scribes and secretaries in the execution room were recommended by him, and they are deeply rooted in the execution room." "
But the household has always been the territory of the Xu family, and Xu's secretary in that household had long heard that he would be promoted to the canon historian, but It's always a little embarrassing, but everyone in the household looks up to Secretary Xu, and most of the scribes and scriveners are recommended by him. I'm afraid it will be difficult for the Qin brothers to join the household." Su Ze asked:
" The Xu Shuli in this household is Xu Shisheng, also known as Xu Hu?"
Lin Qingyuan sighed and said, "That's exactly the person." Lin Qingcai
also sighed heavily. His family naturally knew the problem, I'm afraid. It involved a fight between various offices in the county government, but his brother had to go.
Su Ze now understood that this was a fight between Sun Dianshi, who was in charge of the execution room, and Xu Shisheng, the scribe who actually controlled the household room.
Among the county government officials, in addition to the county magistrate, county magistrate, and chief registrar, Dian Shi had the highest status among the subordinate officials.
Most county governments have several or even a dozen canon historians. Nanping County is Yiguo County and has a large population, so the county government has ten canon historians.
Although Dianshi is an official, after being hired, he must submit it to the Ministry of Officials for record. The employment period is five years, that is, "a battle of five years", which can be regarded as an ancient business record.
Going down from the classics and history, there are the scribes. The scribes do not need to be registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. They only need to be registered and registered by the yamen themselves, and they are managed by the bureau office. This is equivalent to hiring personnel who have signed a contract with the county yamen.
There are also scriveners, also called assistants, who are temporary workers who sign contracts with labor dispatch companies.
According to his qualifications and ability, Xu Shisheng should be promoted to Dianshi, but he has not been promoted.
Sun Dianshi, whose sphere of influence was mainly in the execution room, placed his people in the household room, obviously with the idea of competing for power and profit with Xu Shisheng.
Su Ze held his chin. It seemed that the county government was not monolithic.
Maybe this is an opportunity to bring down Xu Shisheng?
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