Chapter 31: Clerk

"This afternoon I still need to look at the Fish Scale Atlas for the five urban wards and three rural districts. I'll be troubling you again then, Brother Wen."

"Brother Pang, come by anytime. Between our Archive Repository and the Household Office, there's no need for formalities. Take care, Tang."

Tang Weimin remained as unassuming as ever, smiling warmly at the Archive Repository runner surnamed Wen. With a superior so courteous, Pang Yu, a mere runner himself, naturally had to follow suit. He bowed politely to Runner Wen, then followed Tang Weimin back to the Household Office.

During these early days of the eighth month, the yamen's top priority was chasing down overdue rations and pay. Although the Spring Tax had already reached the eighty percent passing mark, Yang Fangzao was not satisfied. He hoped to reach ninety percent, because in the ninth month they would also have to collect part of next year's taxes in advance, making the pressure of the Autumn Grain levy quite heavy.

Ever since returning from South Pond Neighborhood, Pang Yu had spent these past few days in the Archive Repository, going over the Fish Scale Atlas with Tang Weimin, using his strengths in memory and calculation to audit the Upper Fields in the two townships of East Township and Zongyang.

Only two people were in the Household Office at the moment; everyone else had gone to eat lunch. Commoners in the Ming dynasty generally ate only two meals a day, morning and evening, while wealthy households ate three or four. As the richest office in Tongcheng, the Household Office staff naturally could not be held to the same standard as commoners.

Tang Weimin, however, went home for lunch because he was a Senior Clerk. The yamen had rented a house for him near the City Wall north of the county school, very close to the county yamen.

Originally, according to regulations set in the early Ming, clerks were required to live inside the yamen to prevent them from escaping the County Magistrate's supervision and engaging in corruption. But later, as the number of clerks grew and the earliest yamen housing became insufficient, many places began renting houses for clerks to live in. More progressive areas adopted a monetized subsidy, issuing money for clerks to rent on their own.

Today, however, Tang Weimin was in no hurry to leave, so Pang Yu could not very well depart immediately either. He watched as Tang Weimin stretched his arms in the Household Office, then rubbed his lower back.

"Tang." Pang Yu lifted a large, long bundle from the floor, opened it, and took out a curved cloth cushion. Holding it before Tang Weimin with both hands, he said, "Sir, you labor year-round. I've roughly estimated that you sit at your desk five or six double-hours every day. Prolonged sitting injures the kidneys and easily strains the lumbar muscles. These past few days in the Household Office, I carefully observed your chair. The backrest is too straight to allow proper rest, making the lower back extremely prone to strain. This is a backrest I made, contoured to fit the curve of the spine. When you feel tired, leaning back on it should provide some relief. I've just finished it. Please try it out, sir, and if any part doesn't fit quite right, you must tell me, and I'll correct it immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pang Yu used hemp rope to tie the backrest to the chair back. After testing its sturdiness, he said, "Sir, please give it a try."

Tang Weimin sat down to try it, surprised. He truly felt support for his lower back, and the backrest was softer and more springy than the wood.

Pang Yu had asked a carpenter to make a frame matching the lumbar curve, filling the middle with some cotton fabric. Worried the support might be insufficient, he had added ribs inside and crisscrossed hemp rope around it, giving it a certain elasticity. Though somewhat crude, it was essentially an ergonomic backrest.

"Ah, Brother Pang, you've been most thoughtful." Tang Weimin leaned back to try it, and indeed it was far more comfortable than before. Leaning a little longer, he felt his lower back truly relax. Even Tang Weimin, an old hand in the yamen, was momentarily at a loss for words.

Tang Weimin had long worked hunched over a desk, and his back had never been good. Many people in the yamen wanted to curry favor with him, but almost none had noticed this detail. Yet Pang Yu, who had only been here a few days, had already observed Tang Weimin's frequent habit of rubbing his back. Despite often being out on assignment, he had quietly arranged for someone to make such a practical backrest. It showed both genuine consideration and capability.

"You're too kind, Tang. I only hope for your continued health, so you may manage the Household Office's affairs for Tongcheng a few more decades. That would be a blessing for the people of Tongcheng. Consider this a small token of my regard on behalf of Tongcheng's people. I earnestly hope you won't refuse it."

Tang Weimin laughed despite himself. "I can't bear the word 'blessing.' If I weren't handling Household Office duties, I'd have nowhere else to go."

"Sir, you are a capable official in the Household Office. Any His Honor would want a talent like you in their service. Who knows, you might be promoted someday."

Tang Weimin shook his head. "I've already completed my nine-year Examination Complete, but it's useless. The only clerk vacancies open in Anqing Prefecture are in the Rites Section and the Works Section. I've been in the Household Office for ten years and don't understand the affairs of other offices. At my age, I'm not inclined to move around anymore."

Hearing this, Pang Yu suddenly understood. Although Tang Weimin claimed he didn't understand other offices' affairs, he was actually thinking in terms of practical benefit.

Anqing Prefecture was indeed one level higher, but if he went to the Rites Section, it would be a promotion in name only. The actual income would be less than in Tongcheng's Household Office, and his status would be far lower. Meanwhile, the corresponding Revenue Section in Anqing Prefecture had no vacancies. So Tang Weimin would rather forgo promotion and stay in the finance department.

"Sir, you are a great talent produced right here in Tongcheng's Liantan. There's no need to go to Anqing. In my selfish view, I hope you remain in Tongcheng. Couldn't you be promoted to something like Chief Clerk or County Vice-Magistrate right here in Tongcheng?"

Tang Weimin paused, then burst out laughing. "These past two days checking the registers, Pang Yu, you've been most astute, grasping everything at a single hint. Yet after all this time in the yamen, you still haven't even distinguished between officials and clerks."

Pang Yu was somewhat confused. Last time, Gu Xiaowu had mentioned the matter of purchasing a clerk position through tribute, but hadn't explained it clearly. Based on his understanding from his previous life, officials all rose step by step from the bottom, so that those at the top understood the affairs of those at the bottom. But from what Tang Weimin was saying, officials and clerks were two parallel lines that never intersected.

Seeing that Pang Yu truly didn't understand, Tang Weimin shook his head and smiled. "In this yamen of ours, the His Honor, the County Vice-Magistrate, the Chief Clerk, the Yin-Yang Official, the Instructor, and so on — whether they have official rank or are unranked, they are all officials. Below the Head Clerk of each office, those are the clerks. Officials can be promoted after six years of Examination Complete. Take Magistrate Gu, for example — he was promoted to Prefect. We clerks have a nine-year Examination Complete, but there is absolutely no possibility of rising into the ranks of officials. Clerks can only be promoted to higher yamens, not to official posts. For instance, after Examination Complete in Tongcheng, one could enter one of the six sections in Anqing Prefecture, but would still be only a clerk."

After speaking, Tang Weimin let out a long sigh. "Ah, back then, my family couldn't afford to wait, couldn't endure the civil examinations. Once you become a clerk, you're entered into the Ministry of Personnel's register and can no longer participate in the examinations. In this life, one merely rises between various yamens. Even if you rise to the Prefectural Office or the Circuit Office, so what? In the end, it's still just duties in some office — it only sounds a bit better than the county yamen, that's all."

"No chance of becoming an official?" Pang Yu was deeply puzzled. From what he had seen in the Household Office these past few days, the Senior Clerks and scribes were all quite proficient in their work and thoroughly understood the tricks at the bottom. The yamen absolutely could not function without these people; otherwise, the county yamen's operations couldn't even proceed.

The status of a clerk was that of a commoner serving in an official capacity. Though they seemed like some kind of official in the eyes of the common people, they had little standing before actual officials. They were often called dog-clerks by their superiors and were casually beaten, scolded, or punished — just as the County Vice-Magistrate could beat them if he wished. Pondering this, Pang Yu understood. With no channel for advancement, stuck at the bottom long-term, what else was there to pursue besides wealth?

Previously, after Gu Xiaowu had mentioned the possibility of purchasing a clerk position through tribute, Pang Yu had been somewhat tempted to first buy a status. But now, hearing Tang Weimin's words, if buying a clerk position meant he could never become an official, that fell far short of Pang Yu's expectations.

"I must at least become a County Magistrate," Pang Yu thought to himself.

Tang Weimin patted the backrest with satisfaction and smiled at Pang Yu. "Brother Pang, you've been most thoughtful. It's I who feel somewhat ashamed. When I invited you to the Household Office, I originally intended to look after you somewhat. Who knew that as soon as you arrived, we'd be busy beyond measure — just back from the countryside comparing rations and pay, and these past few days checking field acreage with me in the Archive Repository. It's been far more arduous than before."

"The last thing a young man should fear is hardship. Every bit of hardship now is an opportunity granted by you, sir. Comparing rations and pay was part of my duty, so that goes without saying. But these past two days with you in the Archive Repository, I've learned a great deal of knowledge. I've truly enjoyed it."

"Checking the Archive Repository is something that must be done every year." Tang Weimin patted his shoulder. "During your time comparing rations and pay in the countryside, you probably came to understand some things. Collection is always about taking silver from others, and everyone prefers to keep silver in their own purse. Whether it's the Complete Book of Taxes and Corvée or the Fish Scale Atlas, reciting them from memory is not the most crucial thing. What's crucial is knowing how to use them. The gentry families conceal fields and practice Scattered Allocations, the Government Student and degree-holders exploit exemptions and entrustments, and the Lice, Village Chiefs, scribes, and Silver Heads are all cunning and shrewd without exception."

"And the people in the Archive Repository too."

Tang Weimin laughed. "Indeed, you grasp things at a single hint. The archives of every office are kept in the Archive Repository, but the most critical ones are those registers and atlases belonging to our Household Office. The people I just mentioned sometimes like to resort to underhanded tricks, going directly to the Archive Repository to alter the registers, thinking they can bypass my Household Office that way. With such people, if you don't knock them back into line from time to time, they forget who the Household Office is."

"Sir, by checking the Fish Scale Atlas, you're telling the Archive Repository people that the Household Office is watching. Although the Fish Scale Atlas is stored in the Archive Repository, these registers belong to the Household Office. It's not something the Archive Repository people can alter as they please."

Tang Weimin chuckled. "Exactly so. But while outside thieves are easy to guard against, household thieves are hard to prevent. Some people within the Household Office think they can deceive everyone — they also need to be knocked back into line."

This time, Pang Yu did not respond. He had only recently joined the Household Office, which had over a dozen people. Below the Head Clerk were three Senior Clerks, and Tang Weimin was only one of them. There was some open and covert infighting among them, and Pang Yu didn't know whom Tang Weimin would target this time.

When Tang Weimin flipped through the Fish Scale Atlas, his purpose was very clear. Someone must have passed him information, so he knew the general situation.

Tang Weimin did not continue the previous topic. He turned to Pang Yu and said calmly, "In the past, yamen runners fought tooth and nail to get into the Household Office, all because the Household Office controls the rations and pay of an entire county — and rations and pay are what the world loves most. When you go out and say you're from the Household Office, people regard you more highly. But how could they understand the complexity of Household Office affairs? How could they know the hardships of the Household Office? The court's additional levies increase year after year. Not only are treasury reserves being transferred, but even stored grain is being requisitioned. What was once Local Retention has all become forwarded shipments. Yet the annual tax quotas for performance evaluation are not reduced in the slightest. The Spring Tax and Autumn Grain levy, bench collection, silver smelting, transport, and treasury deposit — every single step is a matter that brooks no carelessness. We're busy all the way until the twentieth of the twelfth month before we get a few days of leisure."

Hearing a note of weariness in Tang Weimin's tone, Pang Yu quickly flattered him. "Others may not know, but your hard work, sir, is witnessed by heaven and earth. I can see that the preparations for this Autumn Grain collection — the Tax Tickets, the money benches, the silver-smelting equipment, the grain tax in kind storage — are all managed by you, sir. The Household Office truly cannot function without you."

Tang Weimin waved his hand. "Relieving Head Clerk Zhao's burdens is simply my duty. Speaking of the Autumn Grain, Brother Pang, you must also make some preparations. This eighth month's Autumn Grain will be mostly Commuted Tax. Tongcheng has forty-seven neighborhoods. When collecting the Autumn Grain Commuted Tax, one bench will be set up in each neighborhood. The Silver Heads of each neighborhood will bring the Tax Household to the yamen to deposit at the benches. Each bench will have one person assigned as the Chest Attendant, responsible for inspecting the weight and purity of the silver. Only when the purity and weight are sufficient can the silver be sealed and deposited in the bench."

Pang Yu gulped. This needed no explanation — just hearing it, he knew the graft would be plentiful. Because whenever it came to inspecting silver purity, there was no fixed standard. Whether the purity was sufficient was basically up to Pang Yu to decide, and the weight was an even more manipulable aspect.

Compared to going to the countryside to press those utterly destitute Tax Household for payment, Pang Yu naturally much preferred to get this Chest Attendant post. Last time, Tang Weimin had only hinted at it without saying he would definitely assign Pang Yu. Pang Yu had also held back from asking. Today, probably moved by the backrest, Tang Weimin had finally spoken to him about it. For an old hand like Tang Weimin, once he said something, it should already be a near certainty.

"Every year, people fight tooth and nail over these Chest Attendant and Silver Husband posts. The offices of various officials want a share, and the Head Clerks of each office also want to divide up a few benches. Fortunately, this year, the three benches belonging to the Punishment Office and the Document Receiving Office don't need to be given to them. I have one extra bench to assign here, and I intend for you to serve as its Chest Attendant."

Pang Yu's heart suddenly surged with excitement. Last time, checking the granaries had left him with thirty or forty taels, but he had given it all to his parents to fill the shortfall in medicinal expenses. He still had practically no silver on him. Not to mention being unable to scrape together the silver to purchase a clerk post through tribute, even on ordinary days, he had to think twice before going out for a decent meal. Sometimes he even had to let He Xianya, an Auxiliary, treat him — truly one of the poorest periods he had experienced in two lifetimes. If he got this Chest Attendant post, his expenses for a year should be no problem.

"I will certainly not disappoint your expectations, sir."

Tang Weimin said sternly, "You must be especially attentive in the bench collection. With genuine gold and silver, no mistakes can be allowed. That Auxiliary surnamed He is decent; you may bring him along. Beyond that, you'll need at least one or two more people, so you have backup."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door. Pang Yu turned his head to see Head Clerk Zhao entering. Head Clerk Zhao generally ate lunch relatively early and returned relatively early as well.

Only now did Pang Yu realize: Tang Weimin had endured his hunger and not gone home to eat precisely to wait for this gap when Head Clerk Zhao was present. With the others in the Household Office not yet back, it was the perfect opportunity to lodge a complaint.

Understanding this, Pang Yu quickly greeted Head Clerk Zhao, then withdrew out the door. As he pulled the door shut, he heard Tang Weimin inside saying, "Reporting to Head Clerk Zhao, your subordinate has been inspecting the registers these past two days. In Zongyang, three hundred mu of Upper Fields along the river were written off as destroyed by water. In reality, those polder fields are enclosed by stone embankments. When checking the granaries, your subordinate saw with his own eyes that they still exist. The Archive Repository side denies it, saying it was Zeng Keda who made the alteration. Additionally, those several landslide sites in East Township…"

Pang Yu gently closed the door. The Zeng Keda whom Tang Weimin was reporting was the nephew of another Senior Clerk, brought into the Household Office by that Senior Clerk to work as a scribe. Tang Weimin's target in lodging this complaint was naturally not the scribe, but that Senior Clerk.

Pang Yu exhaled and hurried out through the Ceremonial Gate to grab some lunch. At the entrance of the Runner Room, he happened to run into He Xianya and told him about the Chest Attendant matter. He Xianya's face immediately filled with excitement.

"Second Brother, your luck is truly heaven-sent! We must plan this matter carefully and make sure we do it to Tang's satisfaction. This time, Second Brother, will you still bring Zhou Yueru along?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Pang Yu shook his head. "Absolutely not."

He Xianya clapped his hands. "Second Brother, you're wise. We absolutely must not find Zhou Yueru to go with us again. Last time in South Pond Neighborhood, it was one thing for her to secretly give her silver to that girl, but she also took mine and returned it too. So I went to the countryside for a whole day and didn't get a single coin. What's the point of serving then? It's her business if she sympathizes with those Tax Household, but why use my silver to buy favor and curry goodwill?"

Pang Yu quickly waved his hand, telling He Xianya not to bring this up again. If others overheard, they would say Pang Yu and his group had broken the yamen's rules — something that could easily provoke public outrage.

But he remembered Tang Weimin had just said they still needed to find two more people and was considering whether to ask Jiao Guozha, when he saw Jiao Guozha limping out of the Runner Room, his Waist Saber in hand, his expression somewhat excited.

"He Xianya, we've got an assignment!"

He Xianya, who had been chatting enthusiastically with Pang Yu, planning the grand scheme for serving as Chest Attendant, hesitated upon hearing this. He seemed somewhat unwilling to go. Hearing Jiao Guozha urge him again, He Xianya glanced at Pang Yu, then answered helplessly, "Coming."

Pang Yu hadn't seen Jiao Guozha handle official business in a long time, and seven or eight people had come out of the Runner Room, half of them carrying waist sabers, the others at least armed with iron rulers. He couldn't help asking curiously, "Big brother, what major case are you all handling?"

Jiao Guozha glared at Pang Yu, said nothing, and headed straight for the main gate.

Pang Yu didn't get angry; after all, none of the people who'd been beaten recently wanted anything to do with him.

He Xianya said in a low voice, "A fresh homicide case. That household slave of the man called Old Zheng — the one who tried to beat the two of us at the yamen gate last time — beat a corvée laborer to death in broad daylight on the street at Clear Wind Market before noon! The crowd in the market was seething with fury, and the Chief Clerk has ordered the Fast Squad to bring the man in today, no matter what."