Chapter 263: The Autumn Levy (Part 28)

He went on to explain the benefits of the grain company acting as the county treasury’s agent. First, the accounts would be clear, eliminating the problems of clerks embezzling funds and keeping fraudulent books. The clerks were “public officials” who formed cliques, making it difficult for the magistrate to act without repercussions. With a grain company as an agent, the relationship would be purely commercial, straightforward and without the need for such considerations. Second, income and expenditure would be separated, making finances transparent and less susceptible to manipulation by clerks. The grain company would disburse funds based on the magistrate’s written orders, making it difficult for others to embezzle. Third, if the grain company handled collections, the various corrupt practices at the granary during tax payments could be eliminated, which would be a service to the people.

When collecting grain tax, there was the official “wastage rice,” but beyond that, there were numerous other tricks used during the payment process, which constituted the granary’s “perks.” Everyone from the head scribe down to the granary keepers and inspectors got a cut. The simplest method was to be picky about the quality of the rice during collection. The quality was judged by eye, with no clear standard, leaving room for arbitrary decisions. If a household didn’t offer an extra bribe, their rice would be rejected as either being of mixed quality or not dry enough.

If a household couldn’t deliver their grain, they would be forced to wait in the county town, wasting time, losing work, and incurring extra expenses. Thus, the grain-paying households had no choice but to comply.

“…Take the autumn grain, for example. The households would deliver their grain directly to the company. This would save them from the various extortions of the granary clerks. Wouldn’t this be a great deed for you, my lord, to win the hearts of the people?”

“And you think you won’t do the same when you’re collecting? Are all you Australians saints? Even if you are, you can’t guarantee your subordinates won’t do such things.” Wu Mingjin became agitated, his pride deeply wounded by the events of the past few days. His sense of responsibility as a local official, “to defend the territory,” suddenly flared up.

“My lord, having been a local official for so long, you have surely seen much of this corruption,” Yan Ming said calmly. “We do not claim to be saints. However, our actions in this county are for all to see. There is no need for oaths or guarantees; facts speak louder than words.”

Wu Mingjin didn’t understand the idiom, but it was true that in their year in Lin’gao, the Transmigration Group had been true to their word, fair in their dealings, and had not harmed the common people. Even when they convened the gentry to levy the “reasonable burden,” the process was clean, with no officials taking the opportunity to extort. Wu Mingjin had seen and heard enough to know this was true, and for a moment, he had no rebuttal.

Seeing him speechless, Yan Ming explained the specific procedures. In essence, the county would no longer manage the granary. Only one or two clerks would be retained to handle registration, while the actual storage, collection, and disbursement would be managed by Delong.

Tax payments from households would be made directly at Delong’s counters. The county’s Household Office would send someone to sit at Delong’s counter and issue grain receipts on the spot.

All collected taxes, whether grain or silver, would be deposited into a public account opened by the yamen at Delong. In the future, whenever the county needed to disburse funds or grain, they could simply write a check and withdraw it from Delong.

Delong would also grant the yamen a line of credit, allowing for temporary advances even if the account was empty, to be repaid later with interest at Delong’s listed rate—with preferential terms.

Besides the main account for the yamen, various county departments could also open their own accounts—with the magistrate’s approval. The county school, for instance, already had a dedicated account at Delong.

As for the taxes to be submitted to the higher authorities, the county only needed to issue a check, and Delong would handle the delivery to the various destinations—for a small fee, of course, but it would be much cheaper than the various customary fees and extortions of the past.

Wu Mingjin was deeply hesitant. The plan sounded good, but it would place the county’s entire financial flow in the hands of the Australians—something he could not and dared not agree to. What if the Australians decided to pack up and leave one day? Who would he turn to for the treasury’s money and grain?

Seeing his reluctance, Yan Ming thought he was worried about his own regular income. He hinted that the customary benefits the magistrate and other officials received from the grain tax would not be diminished by a single coin, and could even be remitted to the magistrate’s hometown.

This offer was sternly rejected by Magistrate Wu. No matter how eloquently Yan Ming spoke, he could not persuade the magistrate to agree.

Dejected, Yan Ming returned to report to Wu De.

“That’s to be expected,” Wu De said. “He’s probably unwilling to take such a risk.” He thought for a moment. “In any case, he has to agree to this, whether he wants to or not.” He called for Xiong Buyou and handed him a stack of materials.

“Go talk to Wang Zhaomin. Show him a few of these documents. Let him be the persuader!”

“Since we have this material on Wu Mingjin, why not give it to me directly? I could have made him submit on the spot,” Yan Ming said, puzzled.

“Wu Mingjin is not your typical corrupt and foolish official. He has a bit of integrity. If you confront him with this directly, he might feel ashamed and cornered, and that could backfire. Going through Wang Zhaomin gives him face and makes things easier.”

“I see.”

“There’s a limit to how you coerce people—especially local officials, who have been ‘local emperors’ since ancient times. They are used to being arrogant. If a commoner tries to push them around, they can get angry and resort to extreme measures. So, the more cards you hold, the more leeway you should give in your words, to avoid them taking a ‘mutually destructive’ path. You’d get nothing, and you might even suffer for it.”

“Ah De, you really have a lot of tricks up your sleeve. You must have experience in officialdom!”

“Heh,” Wu De chuckled. “What experience do I have in officialdom? I’ve just seen a lot and summed up some lessons. Just wait for good news from Xiong Buyou on this matter.”

The matter was resolved quickly. Wang Zhaomin’s face changed as soon as he saw the materials Xiong Buyou brought. The next morning, Scribe Wang sought out Xiong Buyou, who was resting at the yamen.

“My master has agreed. The county granary and silver treasury will be entrusted to Delong’s agency,” Wang Zhaomin said. “It took a great deal of persuasion on my part!”

“Thank you for your trouble, Scribe Wang,” Xiong Buyou said with a compliment, slipping an envelope into his hand.

“There’s no need for this,” Wang Zhaomin said, refusing it with a wry smile. “This kind of thing is truly difficult!” he shook his head. “I won’t take the reward this time. In the future, it’s better if you handle such coercive matters yourselves.”

“Scribe Wang, the capable should do more work…” Xiong Buyou pushed the envelope back. Since taking a concubine, Scribe Wang’s health had been suffering, and his expenses had greatly increased—who would have thought there would be so many novelties for women at the East Gate Market! The Political Security Bureau’s action team had also planted an informant by his concubine’s side, constantly tempting her to spend. Scribe Wang had thus fallen into the “circulation coupon trap.”

Seeing that Wang Zhaomin no longer refused, Xiong Buyou continued, “Since Delong is acting as the county’s agent, I hope Scribe Wang will look after our small business in the future.” He gestured for him to open the envelope.

Wang Zhaomin opened it. Inside was an exquisite, hard-covered booklet and a small horn seal. Being from the Southern Zhili region and well-traveled, he knew it was a savings passbook, and the small seal was for making deposits and withdrawals. Such passbooks were typically bearer instruments.

He opened it. The passbook was elegantly inscribed with the characters “Zhao Ji.” Below, a deposit of one thousand yuan in grain circulation coupons was already registered. This was his reward.

It was a handsome reward indeed! Wang Zhaomin thought. He could probably buy the Australian perfume, lipstick, and nail polish his young wife had been wanting. And the Lanling wine he loved—it was originally unavailable here, but had recently appeared for sale in the East Gate Market.

A smile spread across his face. There was another passbook and seal in the envelope. He knew without opening it that it was for his master. The Australians, though a bit reckless, were meticulous in their own way, especially in not making things difficult for the people they worked with. Wang Zhaomin appreciated this.

“You are too kind.”

“Official business always has its expenses. That’s a rule of officialdom, isn’t it? How much is needed?” Xiong Buyou said, using what he had learned from a lecture on the unwritten rules of officialdom.

“Hehe, Brother Xiong, having been in the Great Ming for so long, you’re starting to go native,” Wang Zhaomin said with a laugh. “Normally, if someone else wanted to do this, it wouldn’t have gone so smoothly without a thousand taels of silver. Just dealing with Chen Minggang would have required a hundred taels to grease the wheels. But now…”

Now, the clerks big and small who would have demanded fees were either arrested or scared witless. That money no longer needed to be spent.

“There’s only so much porridge in the pot. If too many people are dipping their spoons, no one gets enough.”

“Exactly,” Wang Zhaomin said. He had spent a great deal of effort persuading Wu Mingjin this morning. Now, hearing Xiong Buyou’s implication that they could continue to “dip their spoons” in the porridge—and get even more—his spirits rose. He remembered something and asked:

“Does Delong have associated branches in Qiongzhou and Guangzhou, or do you plan to set up branches there in the future?”

“Branches will definitely be established. For now, our bank notes are honored by major local shops.”

“Can you handle large-scale remittances?”

“Up to thirty or fifty thousand taels.”

“That’s enough,” Wang Zhaomin nodded, but didn’t say why he was asking. He stood up. “Please come to my study!”

It was called a study, but there wasn’t a single book. A desk stood by the window, with only an inkstone, brushes, an abacus, and account books on it. Beside it was a locked, very sturdy wooden cabinet. He opened it, took out a formal box, and from it, a piece of paper which he handed to Xiong Buyou.

“I have prepared this for you, Master Xiong. Just fill in Delong’s name, find a shop to act as a guarantor, and Delong can officially become the county treasury’s agent.”