Despite the size of the army and these beneficial reforms, the high ranks of Song military command were heavily corrupt. At the beginning of the 12th century, Song generals collected funds based on the number of troops they recorded; instead of using the funds to benefit troops, they used this money to bolster their own salaries. Troops of the standing army, meanwhile, were given very small salaries while assigned tasks of menial labor. The scholar-officials running the government often paid little attention to the plight of soldiers and even to the demands of officers, since they were seen as being on a lower tier in society. Fairbank writes that the "civilian domination of the military was part of the ruling elite's control of the state, but it left the state military weak."