The Silent Reforms of Eldridge Chapter 21

Fortunately, there is a checkpoint in the Longyan area, which is a must-pass for timber merchants. Whenever a wooden log passes by, ten logs will be taken out of every hundred in the road, and each log will be paid the official price of five yuan. No matter how thick the log is, the price will be the same. Although this is against the regulations of the imperial court, if not, the economy in Daozhong will be even more difficult to cope with. Therefore, those who come here to work as Taoists regard Zhangzhou Military Factory as a sea of   suffering.

There are three such arms factories in Fujian Province, one in Zhangzhou, one in Quanzhou, and one in the provincial capital Fuzhou, all run by local Taoists. Fuzhou Military Factory is near the water tower, and Daotai and the feudal governor meet day and night. Of course, the navy does not dare to embarrass them, and the favor fees of the feudal yamen can also be reduced. Because the Quanzhou Military Factory is in the same city as the Navy Admiral, the Taoist and the Admiral often interact with each other on weekdays. During the New Year and the holidays, Navy personnel do not dare to be rude to the Taoist Department. Only the Zhangzhou Shipyard is far away. Every time a warship is completed and sailed out to the sea to be taken over by the navy, there is a delay of half a year or even a year, leaving the warship to stay on the shore in the wind and sun. After several urgings, the navy sends people to come. When the warships come for inspection and acceptance, the paint on the warships is often no longer bright. The navy refuses to accept them on this ground and has to repaint them, which adds to the burden. I was in office less than half a year, and at a time when the British and barbarians were entrenched at the seaport, warships could not go to sea, so they were not built. However, the salary allowances and rations for civil and military officials were still paid as usual, and they could not go to the feudal government office to withdraw fees, so they lost a lot of money. The level was in disrepair, and no more wood was drawn to buy it.

The brothels and casinos in Zhangzhou City are the best in the province, and the scribes, servants, and bearers in each yamen are their backstage. These brothels and casinos send 300 yuan to the Taoist Department every month, which is called "prostitution and gambling fees". The servants in the family send more than ten yuan to dozens of yuan. This has been a bad rule that has been followed for many years. My family member Zhang Gan asked me: "What should I do with this money? Logically speaking, it should be thrown away. However, the general, the prefect, and the prefecture all think that they should get it. If it is abolished, these people will definitely be dissatisfied. You are an official in the same city as these people, and now The war is going on, you can't offend them." I said, "You can't accept such dirty money, let alone prostitution and gambling fees!" Zhang Gan said, "That's true. So I didn't dare to report this money to you for several days, just because I was uneasy. However, the previous Taoists all refused to accept it. Only Xu Jishe Taoist refused to accept it, but it was inconvenient to abolish it, so I gave it to you. My family classifies it as kitchen expenses. Do you think we can do the same thing?" I said, "Salary and Yang Lian Yin, this is the salary given to me by the court. I can eat it with peace of mind and put this dirty money into the kitchen." , what’s the difference between putting it in your pocket? It’s better to send this money to the military factory and let the committee members take it and make up for the extra expenses. I won’t ask for a penny, so that’s clean. "

[1] "Fengdu City", also known as "Fengdu City", is the underworld in old superstitious legends and the place where people go after death.

Resist the British and Barbarians