This official seemed to be interesting, at least he wasn't pretending.

"Stop crying." Meng Shaoyuan still looked indifferent: "Gao Yushan has committed corruption and violated the law and has been executed. Officials at all levels who are complicit will be severely punished. However, if you are not complicit, I will not unjustly accuse a good person.

This commissioner came to Henan this time, firstly to investigate the theft of two thousand taels of gold, and secondly to deal with the disaster in Henan. Gao Jianzhi, is there anything you want to say to me?"

Seeing that Gao Jianzhi was still a little hesitant, he smiled:

"I'll give you this one chance to defend yourself. I won't waste too much time on you."

"Congratulations, Commissioner."

Finally, Gao Jianzhi plucked up the courage: "Although I am Gao Yushan's cousin, I am not his kind of person. I used to be a teacher and helped Gao Yushan. After Gao Yushan became the county magistrate, he raped me.

Got to this position.

Originally, I really wanted to do something for Wuhe County, but Gao Yushan and his accomplices did evil things, made Wuhe County a mess, and even tried to drag me into it.

I am a scholar, a teacher, and I still have the integrity of a scholar. I only take the salary that I deserve, and the rest is not mine, and I don’t take a penny. Gao Yushan tried to woo me several times, but I sternly rejected them all."

Meng Shaoyuan asked: "Since you are not ashamed to associate with them, why don't you resign? Since you are not Gao Yushan's, can he tolerate you continuing to stay in this position?"

"Although Gao Yushan is a beast, he is extremely filial." Gao Jianzhi sighed: "His mother repeatedly told me that I had helped their family and they should treat me well. Gao Yushan agreed to his mother. So he also

Regardless of me, I know I won't be able to stir up any trouble.

I wanted to resign several times, but he refused. Anyway, he kept me in this position and let me fend for myself. Originally, his mother could control him a little, but since his aunt's death, this man has become unscrupulous.

Already."

Not lying.

Meng Shaoyuan asked again: "You have a salary anyway, how did you end up like this, with your wife and children starting to eat dry wood?"

"Commissioner Zhu, what can you do with that salary?" Gao Jianzhi smiled bitterly: "In peacetime, if you are not greedy or shady, it is enough to get by. But with the constant war in Henan and the serious depreciation of legal currency, it is really impossible to live with this salary.

Already.

At the beginning of the year, when the disaster first started, the situation became more serious. What can we buy with our salary? How do you expect me to survive? I also want to eat white flour steamed buns, but where can I find them?"

Meng Shaoyuan nodded slightly.

What Gao Jianzhi said is true.

The main reason is that the legal currency has depreciated too fast, but the salaries of grassroots officials have basically remained unchanged.

Especially from 1931 to 1942, for 11 years, Henan's military grain contribution ranked first in the country.

Grain requisitions have remained high for more than ten years, Huayuankou's dykes burst, "water replaced troops", and famine began. All these have caused Henan's prices to skyrocket, far exceeding that of any other province in the country.

During the Republic of China, the salary of appointed civil servants was divided into twelve grades, with the highest grade being 220 yuan per month and the lowest grade 12 being 45 yuan.

The salary for the first-level recommendation of the county magistrate is 380 yuan, and the salary for the second-level recommendation is 320 yuan.

Taking a county magistrate as an example, before the Anti-Japanese War, 1 yuan could buy 20 kilograms of white rice and 4 kilograms of pork.

The county magistrate's salary can be considered a high salary.

After the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, with the rapid inflation of inflation, the salary of the county magistrate was really meager.

Due to rising prices, the government began to implement a living allowance system for civil servants.

Starting from September 1941, civil servants at all levels with a monthly salary of less than 50 yuan will receive a subsidy of 40 yuan; those with a monthly salary of 50 to 100 yuan, a subsidy of 30 yuan; those with a monthly salary of 101 to 200 yuan, a subsidy of 20 yuan; and those with a monthly salary of more than 200 yuan, no subsidy.

However, these subsidies cannot keep up with the soaring prices.

As the magistrate of a county, he has a fixed salary, allowances, and gray income from local favors, so he still cannot make ends meet.

Why? In addition to price reasons, the Republic of China implemented the county head contracting system.

The establishment of a county government is about 30 people. In addition, the provincial government generally rarely allocates funds. All official expenses and expenses for hiring people to do things have to be paid by the county head. This cannot be maintained by the county head's salary alone. Therefore,

Many county magistrates did not hesitate to take risks to collect money, and many of them lost their lives.

The "contracting system" of county magistrates during the Republic of China also meant that when a county magistrate took office and resigned, not only did the entire team come and go with him, but he also had to provide his own office supplies, and a clear accounting of financial revenue and expenditures was required when he was dismissed.

All expenses required during the transfer period must be borne by the county magistrate personally.

In addition, county magistrates changed frequently during the Republic of China. Under such circumstances, handling the transfer became a huge additional expense, far beyond what the county magistrate could bear.

Gao Yushan stayed in the position of Wuhe County Magistrate for so many years, bribed people from top to bottom, and was unwilling to get promoted. In addition to Wuhe County being regarded as his own small kingdom, the huge transfer cost was also one of the reasons.

If this is the case for the county magistrate, it goes without saying for staff at all levels.

"It's really hard to be an official." Meng Shaoyuan also felt helpless: "Gao Jianzhi, I have almost taken over all the officials in Wuhe County. Now that the disaster has arrived, Wuhe County is in urgent need of a county magistrate to stabilize the situation. I

I accept your appointment as the county magistrate of Wuhe County, are you qualified for the job?"

"No." Gao Jianzhi said flatly: "I am the county magistrate, where can I get money to form a county government?"

"Don't worry about this, I'll help you find a way." Meng Shaoyuan has already thought about it for him: "I will leave part of the money obtained by officials at all levels through corruption and perversion of law to let you form a team. Gao Jianzhi

, the number of disaster victims is increasing, and Wuhe County needs a county magistrate."

"If that's the case, I'll do it." Gao Jianzhi stopped giving in and said, "No big deal, if I can't do it well, I'll just get out."

"If you can't do it badly, you must do a good job as the county magistrate." Meng Shaoyuan said slowly: "You don't have the ability to settle the victims and alleviate the disaster. What you have to do is to prevent chaos in Wuhe County.

.

No matter how serious the disaster is, it will pass sooner or later. On the opposite side are countless Japanese troops. If Henan is not to fall, in addition to the army fighting hard, it depends on you, the grassroots county magistrates!"

"I understand, Commissioner, I will always do my duty."

"Be your own Gao Jianzhi, and don't imitate Gao Yushan." Meng Shaoyuan gave a special instruction: "Exactly, absolutely."

Gao Jianzhi still lived up to Meng Shaoyuan's expectations.

After he became the county magistrate, Wuhe County was like a lonely boat in the waves, struggling to stay afloat in the face of the increasingly severe famine.

He was willing to live in poverty, living hard with his wife and children, and never became a corrupt official like his cousin.
Chapter completed!