Disclaimer: The material of this article is from the book "History of Ancient Chinese Customs", the author's original, exclusive first publication, reprint must be investigated, reject pseudo history, and guarantee not to involve current politics.
Folks, what are some strange things in the official field of the Qing Dynasty? Let's joke about the bad rules of the Qing Dynasty officialdom today. According to historical records, at least from the Daoguang years onwards, the opening of the Qinglou was to pay the so-called "backstage fee" (also known as prostitution gambling fee). To be honest, I don't think it's strange at all. Because we open the twenty-four histories, we find that the earliest Qinglou was established by Guan Zhong. The original intention is to increase government revenue.
Therefore, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty levied backstage fees from the Qinglou, which I think is very normal. However, according to historical records, the backstage fee at that time was given according to the head of the person. Not only do the officials in charge have to collect money every month, but even the cooks, squirrels, and sedans in the officials' homes have to give money! Not only that, but officials at all levels at that time would send a person to the Qinglou to work as a waiter, of course, this person usually only received a salary and did not come forward. If there is a dispute in the Green Building, such as jealousy, this person will mediate. Do you remember Li Wei? Yes, it was the one who was appointed as Hubu Lang in the fifty-eighth year of The Kangxi Dynasty.
According to historical records, the day after he took office, someone came to tell him that he hoped that he would send a domestic servant to work in the Qinglou. But who is Li Wei, and how could he do this? Immediately, the people beat up and drove away. This matter was later written by Li Wei in a letter to a friend, and only then did our descendants know that there were still such bad rules in the official field of the Qing Dynasty! According to historical records, during the Kangxi Dynasty, a Qinglou generally had to pay tribute to local officials three hundred oceans every month. The Green House is like this, and the casino is similar. However, fortunately, the green house and the casino are both profiteering industries, otherwise these two industries may really be destroyed!
That bag of rice in the title can play so many tricks, it is also amazing, what is the matter? According to historical records, during the Daoguang years, it was stipulated that the children of the Eight Banners went to the grain depot of the grain road eight times a month to collect grain. Every day of receiving grain, the officials of this grain depot had to prepare a high-grade feast, and all the white eels and deer tails could be given to him. Because if the visitors are not comfortable, they will report that the grain they received is not good, it is old rice, moldy, and the official in charge of the grain depot will be very unlucky!
Not only that, but the annual "three festivals and two birthdays" are the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the New Year's Day, and the two birthdays refer to the birthdays of local officials and the birthdays of their wives. There are also local grain routes like the Shaanxi-Gansu region, which are also responsible for receiving officials in transit. During the Daoguang years, The Shaanxi Grain Daofang Yi once calculated an account, saying that the annual expenditure of filial piety to officials at all levels was about fifteen thousand taels of silver. But the income of the grain road is limited, so where is so much money? You can only make a fuss about that bag of rice! According to the investigation of Zhang Jixin, a Qing official, Fang Yongyi once asked his family to buy four thousand stone wheat husks and mix them into the grain storehouse.
Folks, these are all military food, for soldiers! Also, he swapped rice for millet because millet is cheaper to earn the difference in the middle. Or perhaps, Fang Yongyi also cooperated with the Shaanxi generals, falsely reporting that the military food had been stolen, but actually selling it. It is not uncommon to also fake the number of soldiers in order to make the government issue more military food. That's why I said that a bag of rice can play so many tricks, and it is also amazing. Folks, in such an officialdom, even if you are a clean official and you are corrupted every day, sooner or later you will become a corrupt official!