I

It was already two months later that Zhao Han received the case report.

Moreover, this is only the preliminary interrogation result. The Ministry of War and the Governor's Office are sending people for a second round of investigation.

As a result, the emperor's anger was felt both inside and outside the court. Not the kind of angry roar, nor the moodiness, but like the dark sky and suffocating air pressure when it is about to rain.

"Shaanxi's patrolmen, both the west and north roads are rotten."

In the imperial garden, Zhao Han sat by the pond and fished: "From top to bottom, they rotted together. Those with real power helped merchants smuggle. Ordinary soldiers took advantage of serious merchants. The smugglers who had no eyesight, the goods After it was confiscated, it was directly divided up by the patrolmen. I could never have imagined that it was so completely rotten."

Xu Ying sighed: "If you go up and down, you will be able to control your greed."

Zhao Han said: "A few years ago, they were all Datong soldiers, soldiers who could risk their lives to kill the enemy!"

The patrol soldiers across the country are basically veterans, and only a small number of them are peasant soldiers recruited locally. Only a few of these veterans are disabled, and most of them are over their age (35 years old) but have not yet been promoted to a sufficient military rank and retired.

In the event of an emergency, patrol soldiers across the country can be used as regular troops, and their usual wages and benefits are not inferior to those of the regular army.

Xu Ying did not answer. It was not convenient for him to comment on the army.

Zhao Han continued: "I still have some impression of Li Chun (Li Huchong). He was Huang Shun's brother-in-law, a carpenter in Lijia Village. We captured Huangjia Town, and Li Chun and several villagers killed him. The evil gentry in Lijia Village took the initiative to join the army. The first time we attacked Ji'an Fucheng, Li Chun was already the squad leader. We led the eunuchs to deceive the city. Although Li Chun was not with me, he also led soldiers to ambush and respond. With his qualifications , if he had a better mind, he would be qualified to be a teacher long ago."

Xu Ying said: "What a pity."

Zhao Han suddenly asked: "Am I treating the hero too harshly?"

"It's not harsh treatment." Xu Ying said.

Long before Zhao Han ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, various departments of the imperial court were formally established, and official salary adjustments had been made.

The salary of officials in Datong is about twice that of officials in Ming Dynasty.

Salaries are not calculated in terms of money, but based on the official price of rice and wheat in the place of employment. Sometimes it is slightly lower than the market price of food, sometimes it is slightly higher than the market price of food, but the overall difference is not too far, so that the disparity in prices and salaries in various places is balanced.

For example, if two officials are of the same rank, one is an official in Nanjing and the other is an official in Guizhou, their salaries are the same number of dan, but when converted into silver, there will be a huge difference.

If the officials in poor areas are mentally unbalanced, they can save their official tickets and not spend them. After receiving the official tickets as an official in Guizhou, they can return to Nanjing to exchange them for grain (or silver) - the salary is paid in the form of official tickets, with the denomination Specify how many kilograms you have, and it can be cashed at Datong Bank across the country.

A first-grade official in the Ming Dynasty had a monthly salary of 87 dan.

A first-grade official in Datong has a monthly salary of 280 shi. Calculated based on the average annual grain price in Nanjing, the monthly salary is about 200 taels of silver, which is a considerable amount of income (with the increase in silver imports, the price of silver in Nanjing has been inflated. However, the imperial court stabilized the price ratio of silver and copper, resulting in a shortage of copper coins. Purchasing power has increased. Only copper coins are used to calculate rice prices, and there is no inflation, so the income of ordinary people can be guaranteed).

It is said that officials in the Song Dynasty were highly paid, but the monthly salary of a top official in the Song Dynasty was only 120 taels.

Of course, this thing is very complicated to calculate. Officials in the Song Dynasty also had accumulated salaries, and a top grade official could get up to 360 taels. The highest salary in the Song Dynasty was from the first-grade prime minister, with a regular salary of 300 taels, to a full monthly salary of 900 taels.

In the Song Dynasty, only the prime minister was so high. By the time six ministers were counted, the regular salary had dropped to 60 taels, and the full monthly salary was 180 taels.

As for the lower-ranking officials and petty officials in the Song Dynasty, after the court reduced their official salaries, it was difficult to even support themselves without resorting to corruption.

Zhao Han set wages for officials across the country that were higher than those in the Ming Dynasty and lower than those in the Song Dynasty. At the same time, they are more friendly to petty officials and petty officials. Their monthly salaries are higher than those in the Ming Dynasty and Song Dynasty!

However, it is still incomparable to my Qing Dynasty. The regular salary of a first-grade governor is 180 taels (annual income), and the full salary of Yanglianyin (annual income) is 16,000 taels, which is outrageous.

For example, when Liu Mingchuan was the governor of Taiwan, his annual salary was 155 taels, which was lower than officials of the Ming Dynasty, but his salary was as high as 10,000 taels!

If you want to be honest, you will have to be greedy. Qing Dynasty officials liked to go to Sichuan the most.

Because Sichuan was deserted in the early Qing Dynasty, in order to encourage reclamation, the court set the lowest land tax quota in Sichuan, which lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.

The low land tax quota means there is plenty of room for exploitation. When Qing officials took office in Sichuan, they imposed exorbitant taxes and squeezed the people to death. One year as an official in Sichuan is worth several years elsewhere.

Besides, the Conglong heroes of the Datong court not only granted land, but also successively provided commercial interests. Or a mining operation right, or a business franchise license. In order to prevent Xunchen from disturbing the business order, they are usually given a small-scale terminal franchise license, such as operating a salt shop or cigarette shop in a certain city.

Just like Li Huchong, he got the right to operate a salt shop in Chang'an County. The nominal operating period is only fifty years, but this is only for the convenience of the court's control. It can be renewed at the end of the period. Who will take it back if there is no crime?

There are only a few salt shops in the entire city of Xi'an. Li Huchong occupies one of them and can make money every month. Moreover, as the population of Shaanxi grows and there are more and more residents in the provincial capital, the income of Li Huchong's salt shop will continue to increase.

Counting the land property, salary, juelu, and salt shop profits, Li Huchong's annual income is about 1,200 taels. In addition, in the north there is a charcoal fire subsidy in winter, and a full set of clothes is given out in spring and autumn, and meals at the government office are also free. As the population increases in the future, the income from his salt shop will increase, and it is normal for the annual income to double directly.

Moreover, this guy is still young. Even if he becomes disabled and becomes an inspection officer, he can still continue to climb the ranks. It is possible to be promoted to the third rank when he retires.

Such a person can completely afford to raise ten wives in private. As long as he doesn't rob civilian girls and cause anger and resentment, who the hell will investigate him?

"Is it because I have a few more concubines so that my ministers can follow suit and enjoy it?" Zhao Han asked for no reason.

Xu Ying also replied: "Your Majesty has not as many concubines as some military generals."

Xu Yingyi pointed out something, and Zhao Han didn't ask who it was. It is difficult to investigate this kind of thing, and even if we investigate it seriously, both officials and people will feel that the emperor is too mean to the hero.

As the same saying goes, as long as the women of the people are not raped, and as long as you and I are willing, the people have always ignored the issue of concubinage by civil and military officials.

Because even if he checked, Zhao Han didn't know how to deal with it. If he took too big a step, he would easily get injured.

It is always said that there are three thousand beauties in the harem. Now in Zhao Han's Forbidden City, the number of female officials and palace maids combined has increased to 3,500. For example, the Ritual Supervision Factory recruited nearly a hundred people at one time. This was the result of outsourcing the calligraphy and engraving business. Otherwise, there would be more people in the Ritual Supervision Factory, and the female officials and maids inside would be more like employees of state-owned enterprises.

Zhao Han has less than ten concubines so far.

Zhao Han felt that he did enjoy himself more, but he had been trying to exercise restraint and always put people's livelihood first. Even if he were given the position of Li Huchong, no matter how much he was greedy for pleasure, he would never smuggle iron out of the country.

What happened this time made Zhao Han feel very tired.

He can accept corruption from one or two generals. Shaanxi patrol soldiers were involved in one-fifth of the case. This is what makes Zhao Han really angry and sad.

"Let's break up." Zhao Han threw away the fishing rod.

Xu Ying bowed and resigned.

Walking straight back to Kunning Palace, Zhao Han didn't say much, and Fei Rulan silently welcomed him in.

"I'll lie down for a while." Zhao Han said.

Fei Rulan called the maid, they fanned away the mosquitoes, and then put down the mosquito net.

Zhao Han said: "You come too, hold me in my arms and sleep for a while."

Fei Rulan took off her outer clothes and got on the boat, advising: "Your Majesty is too tired and should take a rest."

"Yeah." Zhao Han responded.

It was really like taking a nap, the couple hugging each other and spending this quiet afternoon with their eyes closed.

The case in Shaanxi was so big that it involved the smuggling of iron and grain. No one from the DPRK or the Chinese military dared to come forward to intercede.

The case is still under investigation, and there are so many people involved that the trial may take a year and a half.

The main criminal in the case, Li Huchong, has disappeared, hiding in who knows where in the vast Qinling Mountains. Mobilizing manpower and material resources, the search can be done for a month or two, but it is impossible to search for any longer. If you still can't find anyone in two or three months, you can only hope to capture the documents from the sea. Maybe one day some common people can provide clues.

In a deep forest somewhere in the Qinling Mountains, Li Huchong became a farmer again. He brought some salt and grain, collected wild vegetables and fruits, dug holes with one arm and a waist knife, and planted the seeds with great effort.

It was the baby that made him worried. The beauty lacked breast milk and had insufficient nutrition. There was no pediatrician in case of illness.

He thought he would hide for a few months and go down the mountain next spring, get a hoe and get some sweet potatoes and corn seeds. Farm in the mountains for two or three years, then return to Chang'an County, and take a boat to Shandong to Ryukyu or Luzon.

When you get overseas, everything starts all over again!

The pampered beauty is carrying a baby on her back and following Li Huchong's instructions to sow seeds.

"You're doing it wrong, you're spreading too much in one litter." Li Huchong actually remembered how to farm.

The beauty did not dare to refute. Her tribe had been arrested and interrogated, and now she could only follow Li Huchong as a peasant woman in the mountains. Even if you escape, where can you escape to? Eating is a problem.

After sitting and resting for a while, Li Huchong said to the beauty, "Just wait here while I go to the ridge to check on the situation."

This guy is so alert that he even makes a fire and cooks in a cave. Or choose a windy place and cook in a windy corner. The smoke will be quickly blown away by the strong wind.

Li Huchong climbed to a hilltop, chose a big tree to hide, and took out his telescope to look around.

To be honest, without using thousands of troops and searching mountain after mountain for several months, it would be impossible to find Li Huchong.

Li Huchong has been staying in the Qinling Mountains and will basically not be caught. It depends on whether anyone will recognize him along the way when he comes out of the mountain.

The main culprit is missing, which brings great loss to the court!