The full text is 1895 words long and takes about 3 minutes to read
The power of ancient emperors was highly centralized. The dictatorial system allows corruption to prevail. Because the emperor wanted to govern the government in the capital, he could not take care of the lives of the local people. That's why a lot of local officials were set up.
Local officials are symbols of imperial power and have direct jurisdiction over everything in the locality, so the common people also call local officials "earth emperors". The emperor's eyeliner naturally had to be spread throughout the country, so that he could understand the situation in various places, and he could also know the reactionary forces very well and take precautions as early as possible.
For example, the Qing Dynasty official He Yan, although others were in the imperial court, but every corner of the Qing Dynasty had his tentacles. The reason why people say that he is a corrupt official is because all his property can be worth the income of the Qing Dynasty's treasury for fifteen years. Such a huge amount is impossible to receive only by receiving the money.
The economic level of the Qing Dynasty was very rich. In addition to their normal salaries, officials also have to raise incorruptible silver to receive. This policy is very similar to the Song Dynasty. The commodity economy of the Song Dynasty was very developed, not only the country was rich, but the lives of the people were also prosperous.
Therefore, the state wants to satisfy the selfish desires of officials by giving employees more wages, so as to prevent them from fishing and meating the people and plundering the people's wealth. The purpose of the Song Dynasty's creation of Minister Qian was to reduce the burden on the people and weaken the corrupt law of officials. Unexpectedly, it encouraged the extravagance of officials.
First, the people's hearts are not enough for the snake to swallow the elephant, and the good intentions have done great bad things
Fan Zhongyan once wrote in the "Record of Yueyang Lou": In the spring of the fourth year of the Qing calendar, Teng Zijing guarded Baling County. It depicts Teng Zijing being punished and degraded for abusing the minister's money.
In that dynasty at that time, it was not a crime to misuse the minister's money, because it was true for all the ministers of the dynasty. Teng Zijing was punished for this, but some people wanted to exclude dissidents, and the party was fighting against differences. His demotion was deliberately done.
1. Minister money is actually stimulating corruption
Rights have an incomparable appeal to people. At that time, local officials, relying on their extended status as royal families, constantly acted as a blessing in the local area, and their wages were not made public. Even so, it was never punished.
The emperor is far away, and the emperor takes care of every opportunity every day and does not pay attention to the daily expenses of officials. So the officials who are punished are nothing more than excessively egregious or targeted. The original intention of the minister Qian was to improve the lives of officials and reduce the burden on the people.
But for officials, the money is like a windfall, not spent in vain. Therefore, the officials at that time not only used public funds to pay for their own expenses, but also made many false accounts to defraud more ministers of money to enrich themselves.
2, once the bad disease is developed, it is difficult to change
There is a sentence in Tao Yuanming's "The Saying of Loving Lotus": out of the mud without staining, Mao Qing lian without demon. This sentence is about the quality of a person who is clean and honest, and can still maintain his heart even if he is in the mud.
But in a big dyeing vat, how many people can resist the temptation to go from luxury to frugality? After many officials have tasted the sweetness of misusing minister's money, they are naturally reluctant to try the taste of poverty.
At that time, honest officials saw others squandering with impunity, and their own integrity was not praised. Under such circumstances, how can we stick to our true hearts?
When the court is full of corrupt people, too innocent will become the target of public criticism, and it will become the object of exclusion. Gradually, the extra subsidized minister's money was the reason why officials were drunk with money.
Second, the system is the source of errors
1. A high degree of centralization of power inevitably breeds a high degree of corruption
Although the minister's money was distributed by the imperial court, it was also a tax from the people. It is chilling that officials spend their lives on the people's hard-earned money. Song Taizu set up minister money in the hope that officials would not have to worry about money when handling cases, but the ministers used the minister's money to do all kinds of illegal business and make huge profits.
2. The cost of corruption is too low, and the control of the imperial court is insufficient
After Jianyan crossed the south, the imperial court comprehensively distributed ministerial money in order to win the hearts of the ministers. What was originally a good system gradually degenerated into a bad habit, which not only gave the ministers a reason for honest and righteous corruption, but also aggravated the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes of the people.
This situation also happened during the Northern Song Dynasty, but Song Renzong controlled its development in time and strangled all kinds of adverse consequences in the cradle. However, the prestige of the Southern Song Emperor was too poor, and in order to stabilize the throne, he could only rely on currying favor with civilian officials.
The emperor did not consider the economic situation of the country at that time, and in order to accumulate a large amount of wealth, he could only increase the tax revenue of the government. Even the emperor had this kind of behavior, and the officials below were certainly more blatant.
This evil tendency was fueled by the acquiescence of the emperor and officials. Moreover, the law does not blame the public, and when everyone knows that the law is broken, the so-called rules and regulations will not play a normative role.
Third, the connivance of the imperial court led to the unscrupulousness of officials
1. Minister money has become a means of realization
Man's desires will become bolder in their constant satisfaction. When officials focus on money, they are not satisfied with normal salaries. Officials began to use minister money to find a way out and do business.
Because even if the business cannot be profitable, it is unscathed, but if you can catch some oil and water, you can bring more material pursuits to yourself.
2. Gain inches and become the culprit who aided and abetted abuse
It is not unusual for officials to embezzle. From ancient times to the present, every dynasty has had corrupt officials who have enriched themselves. However, the minister's money allowed the originally incorruptible officials to taste the sweetness of corruption, and thus slowly stepped into the abyss of corruption. In addition, the way to receive the minister's money is not laborious, so more and more people have embarked on the road of embezzlement.
Human nature cannot stand the test. The reason people are able to tolerate the darkness is that they have never seen the sun. Extravagance and pleasure are the norm in people's lives. The imperial court made the officials taste the sweetness of greed, and they had to be prepared to be overwhelmed.
Although the original intention of the minister Qian was to improve the quality of life of officials and reduce the burden on the people. But as corruption continued to infiltrate officials, the system had long since decayed at its source. After the implementation of the minister's money, it is not supervised, and the corruption of officials will continue to be magnified.
Reference: "Kiyoshi's Article"