乾隆五十七年豫省河工幫價分賠案研究

A Case Study on the Fen-pei (分賠) of Henan’s Yellow River Conservancy in 1792

分賠是清廷為解決錢糧虧空、關稅短徵、漕糧掛欠、工程保固等問題而推出的官員問責制度。乾隆五十七年（1792）豫省黃河工程歲料幫價分賠案，實因藩司預發來年歲料幫價、事後經徵州縣徵解不力、民間累年積欠所致。豫省藩庫為此墊支幫價銀323萬餘兩，幾為同時期豫省民欠正項錢糧458,800餘兩的七倍。河工幫價墊發易而歸款難，實乃乾隆後期豫省財政虧空的主要誘因。為解決河工幫價所帶來的財政隱患，清廷一面禁停豫省歲料幫價舊例，一面責令豫省官民賠補幫價積欠。官賠與民攤數額按積欠責任進行劃分，已攤未完銀188餘萬兩因民欠所致，自應向民間攤徵歸款；其餘135萬兩係未攤未徵款項，由創行幫價、徵解不力官員分賠。幫價分賠關涉諸多履任豫省州縣以上的官員，他們此時多已升遷、參革、休致、病故，故而整個案件從五十七年開始，展延至嘉慶中後期，所涉地域亦遍及清王朝各直省。在幫價追賠過程中，戶部與地方政府通過勒限賠補、查抄家產、子代父賠等方式，向涉事官員嚴行追繳，確保家有餘力者按限完繳，家有出仕者以養廉銀扣抵。與此同時，不斷調整題豁政策，補充完善賠補制度，使家產盡絕、力不能完者得以依例題請豁免。據嘉慶初年的數據統計，河南省基本完成幫價追賠，貴州、甘肅、廣東等省總體上完成了80%左右的完繳、題豁等承追工作。然而，無論是繳完結案，抑或題豁銷案，但凡一分一釐，均由戶部核實冊檔後方能勾銷結案。這說明分賠制度在乾隆、嘉慶年間依然得到相當有力的執行。但若從河工幫價分賠案中所出現的河工經費不敷、官賠民攤等問題來看，則顯示清代前期所確立的財政體制，因缺乏變通而僵化，已無法在地方上正常執行和運轉。清廷不僅未能及時調整國家財政政策，反而以行政命令的方式叫停豫省歲料幫價舊例，罰令官員賠補幫價積欠。地方官員在中央威權之下，捐廉辦料，繳納賠款，勉力支撐，勢將引致上官索於州縣、州縣加派於民的局面，使清王朝陷入民更窮、官益困的惡性循環。

Fen-pei (分賠) was a measure introduced by the Qing court to punish those officials who caused deficit or damage in the line of duty, such as tax & tariff collection, granary storage and projects construction, etc. In the fifty-seventh year of Emperor Qianlong (1792), there was a huge deficit of about 3.23 million tael of silver in the Henan provincial treasury, which was caused by the accumulated debts of the Yellow River maintenance projects. In order to compensate the treasury, a burden of 1.88 million tael of silver was shouldered by the common people of Henan, while the remaining 1.35 million tael of silver was to be paid by related officials who had been serving in Henan between 1765 and 1791. The entire case began in the year 1792 and lasted until the end of Jiaqing period, affecting all the 18 provinces of the Qing Empire. During the process, the Ministry of Revenue and the local government cooperated smoothly to recover arrears through methods such as setting deadlines, deducting salaries, confiscating private property, and passing on debt to the children of officials. At the same time, policy was constantly supplemented and perfected so that families with no property could enjoy an exemption issued by the current emperor. According to statistics from the early years of Jiaqing’s reign, the recovery efforts were nearly completed in Henan province, and around 80% of the job was done in such provinces as Guizhou, Gansu, and Guangdong. Regardless of whether the result was payment or forgiveness, each case needed to be verified and confirmed by the Ministry of Revenue. This indicates that the fen-pei system was still effective and strictly implemented in the Qianlong and Jiaqing years. The insufficiency of Yellow River maintenance funds demonstrates that the established fiscal system, which had been rigidly solidified due to inflexibility, couldn’t perform and operate normally at the local level.