Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Xin Qiji: Honest or Corrupt Officials

Recently, in the article "Is Xin Qiji a good cadre", the author questioned Xin Qiji's incorruptibility, because the poet Xinzhou (now Shangrao, Jiangxi) has a large area and a wide range of buildings on the shore of the lake. Jiaxuan" manor. Later, another author even affirmed that Xin Qiji's corruption was a fact in the article "Also Talking about whether Xin Qiji is a good cadre", and cited the reason of "self-pollution" to appease the emperor's heart. On this point, the author really disagrees. Because Xin Qiji relied on his income when he was an official, he was fully capable of building a large manor like "Jiaxuan", because the Song Dynasty was an era of high salaries and honesty.

According to historical records, the salaries and benefits of officials in the Song Dynasty were very high. Not only did they have a fixed monthly salary, but they also had a tax-deductible job field. According to the official rank, they were given 1 to 40 fields (1 hectare equals 15 mu). No wait, and most of them are fertile land.Their income is as rich as that of today's civil servants. The state pays for food, clothing, housing, transportation, and even family members. The number of items is astonishing. Mr. Li Kaizhou wrote an article titled "The annual salary of Bao Zheng, a civil servant in the Song Dynasty, exceeded 10 million yuan". Every year, Zheng's income in kind is converted into money, which adds up to roughly 1022 guan. The 1022 guan income in kind plus the 20856 guan currency income make a total of 21878 guan.How much was 21878 at that time?The purchasing power of each copper coin is equivalent to the current RMB 625, and 21878 copper coins are 13.67 million yuan.

Although this set of figures may not be very accurate, it should be an indisputable fact that officials in the Song Dynasty had extremely high incomes.Under such circumstances, Xin Qiji, who had worked as a local official in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places, must have an income that is unmatched by ordinary people. It is not surprising that he has enough financial resources to buy land and build gardens. surprise thing.The national hero Yue Fei who was slightly earlier than Xin Qiji was definitely not a corrupt official, but he also had a lot of property during his lifetime, which mainly came from his salary and large rewards from the emperor.

As far as the author knows, the great poets, poets, and writers in history are almost all politically upright officials who serve as officials and benefit one side, such as Han Yu, Bai Juyi, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Dongpo, and Xin Qiji should be no exception. How can people who think about fighting against the Jin and Northern Expedition and regaining lost land have the heart to embezzle the country's public funds? Looking at the reality, although our country has not yet reached the level of high salaries and cleanliness, the income of officials and cadres is enough to allow them to live a very affluent life, but some people are not greedy, and their desires are hard to fill. I want to turn back", and finally embarked on the path of crime beyond redemption.