ost urgent and important issue"Zhao Xuanji replied, "Silver."The imperial treasury is empty. We have the will but not the means to accomplish anything. The silver in the treasury has almost run out. J...Chapter 648: Crossing the Pass

Most officials' salaries were set at the beginning of the founding of the country.

Economic fluctuations in feudal times were not as large as those in modern society because they were based on silver and gold as hard currencies. Therefore, inflation and deflation rarely occurred, and their magnitudes were also small.

Therefore, very few regimes adjust the salaries of officials; if they do, it is only by a small amount.

Because the amount of officials' salaries directly affects the court's fiscal expenditure and constitutes a large proportion,

Taking the Qin court as an example, last year the total amount of salary issued nationwide was 4.5 million taels, but how much tax did Qin collect throughout the whole year last year

But not more than two million taels.

That's why large-scale wage arrears occur.

Even during years of favorable weather and abundant harvests, the salaries of government officials across the nation constituted a substantial expenditure for the imperial court.

Moreover, altering one's salary is equivalent to changing the ancestral system.m office.Facing a bumpy career path, with the possibility of being demoted and sidelined at any time, He Kun gritted his teeth and sent almost all the benefits he had gained over the years in this pos...