During the Qing Dynasty, an ordinary county magistrate only had a meager 45 taels of silver per year, but they actually had to bear a huge expenditure of up to 30,000 taels. Where do these expenses come from? And how is it spent? Let's find out.
1. The cost of the county order and the actual expenditure
When it comes to the county order of the Qing Dynasty, it can be described as extremely shabby. According to historical records, an ordinary county magistrate could only receive 45 taels of silver per year as a salary, which was extremely meager at that time. However, despite such a low salary, the actual expenses that the county magistrates had to bear were as high as 30,000 taels, and the difference between the two was too large to be incomprehensible.
The reason for this starts from the responsibilities of the county order in the Qing Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, county orders were the core of local governance, and they were not only responsible for handling various government affairs within their jurisdiction, but also responsible for maintaining the operation of the entire county. One of the biggest expenses is the formation of a large administrative team.
At that time, in order to operate efficiently, the prefectural commanders would hire a large number of shogunes, close officials, scribes, and government officials, forming a huge team of thousands of people. And the salaries, food expenses and other expenses of this team are all borne by the county commander. As you can imagine, this expenditure is huge.
Taking Nanhai County as an example, Du Fengzhi, the magistrate of the county back then, hired 7 big curtain customers, and their commissions alone were as high as 6,000 taels per year. Coupled with the salaries and food expenses of other small merchants, scribes, and officials, the expenses have exceeded 10,000 taels.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the expenses of forming an administrative team, the prefectural magistrates also had to bear many other expenses, such as receiving relatives and giving gifts to their superiors, which required a large amount of money. Therefore, the annual expenditure of 30,000 taels is really a heavy burden for an ordinary prefectural magistrate.
2. The cost of building a large administrative team
If you want to become a county magistrate during the Qing Dynasty, it is far from enough to rely on the 45 taels of silver. Once in office, the county magistrates had to pay out of their own pockets to form a huge administrative team of thousands of people to assist them in handling various government affairs in their jurisdictions.
In this team, the most important thing is the curtain customers. Commonly known as "Master", he was a professional in the county yamen of the Qing Dynasty. Since most of the prefectural magistrates only knew the Four Books and the Five Classics, they had little understanding of the legal provisions needed to actually govern. Therefore, they needed to hire a group of law-savvy ladies, who would serve as their advisers and advisers.
There are two types of visitors: large and small. The big curtain is mainly responsible for important matters such as finance and criminal affairs, and is called the "big seat". Their status is extremely high, equivalent to the chief adviser of modern times, and they play a vital role in the normal operation of the county yamen. Therefore, the prefectural magistrates also have to spend a lot of money to attract these people to join.
Taking Du Fengzhi, the magistrate of Nanhai County, as an example, he hired 7 big curtain customers that year, and their annual commission alone was as high as 6,000 taels of silver. In addition, Du Fengzhi also hired a number of small guests to handle other affairs. It is conceivable that Du Fengzhi needs to spend tens of thousands of taels of silver every year just for the curtain alone.
And the curtain is just the tip of the iceberg. Another major expense in building up the administrative team is the payment of the salaries of officials close to him. During the Qing Dynasty, county magistrates would arrange for their cronies to be assigned to key positions in order to control real power. For example, Du Fengzhi arranged for his two sons and two cousins to work in the account office, which can be described as a typical practice of the family property system.
Naturally, these cronies and officials also have to receive considerable salaries, otherwise it will be difficult to obey the orders of the county order. Therefore, the prefectural magistrates have to give a large sum of money every year to pay the salaries of these cronies.
In addition to the shogunate and close officials, the prefectural magistrates also needed to hire a large number of scribes and officials to act as enforcers of the decrees. The scribe was mainly responsible for clerical work, which was equivalent to a modern secretary; The government servants, on the other hand, are violent agencies responsible for enforcing the law and maintaining order.
Although the imperial court had a quota for these personnel, the number was too small to meet the actual demand. Therefore, the prefectural commanders had to hire a large number of temporary scribes and officials on their own to form an executive force of several thousand people. For example, Nanhai County employed more than 2,000 scribes and officials, while the imperial court only gave 30-50 quotas.
One can imagine how huge the annual personnel expenses of the prefectural magistrates are to maintain the operation of this large administrative team. It is this expenditure that constitutes the main part of their annual expenditure of 30,000 taels.
3. Additional expenses for the exercise of authority
The formation of a large administrative team is only one part of the huge expenses incurred by the county magistrates, who also have to bear many other expenses in the actual exercise of their powers.
One of them is illegal income from imperial examinations. In the Qing Dynasty, the imperial examinations were presided over by the county-level yamen, which provided an opportunity for the county commanders to make a lot of money. They can get a large amount of "thank you money" from candidates by leaking exam questions and other means.
According to historical records, a county magistrate could obtain thousands of taels of silver in illegal income as long as he leaked the exam questions in one exam. You can see how profitable this practice is.
Another source of illegal income is the "public gifts" paid by local commercial industries. In the Qing Dynasty, some lucrative handicrafts and commercial trades required regular "salutes" to the county yamen in exchange for the opportunity to operate normally.
For example, there are 24 paper mills in Quang Ninh County, and every year the county yamen will "inspect" these paper mills on the grounds of "safety inspection". In order to be able to operate normally, the paper mills had to take out 2,000 taels of silver and hand it over to the county yamen as a so-called "official gift".
In addition to this, the prefectural magistrates also have a lot to do when trying cases. Since they have basically no supervision or restraint in this regard, they can obtain illegal benefits through various means.
For example, in a civil case, no matter which party wins the case, the prefectural order can ask for a considerable "thank you fee". If both parties are at fault, then a "fine" can be charged to both sides at the same time.
On one occasion, Du Fengzhi tried a civil case in which the two parties made false accusations against each other. In the end, he directly sentenced both parties to pay 600 taels of "confiscation", which was actually into his own pocket.
For example, in criminal cases, county magistrates can also extort large sums of money from the parties through detention and punishment. Because they have the power to kill and kill, they can often do whatever they want.
It can be said that in the hands of the county magistrates of the Qing Dynasty, the law enforcement power was a "wrench" that could arbitrarily squeeze the people. They can make illegal profits from it at any time if they want to.
It is with these gray and even black incomes that the county magistrates are able to maintain their huge expenses of up to 30,000 taels a year. Otherwise, with only 45 taels of silver, they would not be able to do whatever they wanted.
Fourth, the "big money" when he left office
Towards the end of the term of office of the Qing Dynasty magistrates, they often tried to "make a fortune" in order to accumulate enough wealth to prepare for the impending leisurely life. One of the most common means is to manipulate the deed tax.
The so-called deed tax refers to a tax that needs to be paid when the real estate is sold and transferred. According to the regulations, the deed tax is levied at a rate of 6.5% of the total transaction price. However, in practice, the private sector often evades payment and evades taxes through private transactions.
In order to grab the last fortune before leaving office, the county magistrates will use their power to issue "concessions" on deed taxes. They will significantly reduce the deed tax rate, for example, to 4% or even 1.5% of the total transaction price.
Once the news spreads, it will immediately attract a frenzied transfer of private owners. Because only then can they legalize their real estate transactions at extremely low prices.
In the case of Du Fengzhi, when he was about to step down from his post as the magistrate of Nanhai, his cronies were busy collecting deed taxes at night. The preferential tax rate stipulated by Du Fengzhi is 2.4%, which attracted a transaction volume of 540,000 taels in just a few days.
What's more, Du Fengzhi's predecessor county magistrate once reduced the deed tax rate to 1.8%, which once triggered a scene of frenzied transfer of ownership among the people, and grabbed as much as 740,000 taels of deed tax revenue in just a few months.
It is conceivable that in this way, the county magistrates will be able to "make a profit" before leaving office and fully prepare for their retirement. And this money will naturally not be swallowed alone, and the spoils will be shared among the officials up and down the county yamen.
Scribes and officials, as the executors of the will of the prefectural order, can also reap a great deal of benefits from this operation. According to historical records,There was a government official who took out tens of thousands of taels of silver at one time,To contract the franchise of the lottery industry。 It can be seen that during their tenure in the county yamen, the wealth they accumulated was also considerable.
In general, by manipulating deed taxes, distributing spoils and other means, "making a big profit" can be described as the last "madness" of the county commanders of the Qing Dynasty. In this process, they can not only accumulate enough retirement funds for themselves, but also allow the entire county yamen to reap the last benefits.