unclear

Chapter 82
"I think you are the most suitable candidate to succeed Tian Yi, Chief Ceremony Supervisor, but you are not flexible enough. You must look at it carefully, ponder it carefully, and learn from it when it comes to extending the grace order. Don't let me down!"

Seeing Wang An's confused look, Hong Tao felt that he had to give him a lesson.Historical books describe the eunuchs who were in power throughout the dynasties as if they were naturally cunning and had no bottom line in life. However, in fact, most of these people were not only not bad, but also more naive and straightforward than the court officials.

Si Li Jian, Tian Yi, Bing Bi Chen Ju, and Wang An, are all relatively powerful eunuchs in history. However, apart from having the emperor as their backer, they really have no talent in political struggle. He is more of a loyal mouthpiece and performer of his duties.Follow each step step by step, cautiously, not daring to step even half a step beyond the thunder pool.

Being cautious and loyal are good virtues, but what Hong Tao needs to deal with now is the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty.Most of these officials are cunning and treacherous, sanctimonious, political slickers who talk about benevolence and morality, and are men who steal and women who are prostitutes at heart. Self-restraint and independence alone are far from enough.

If you want to deal with them, the first quality you need to possess is bad, all-round bad, fighting fire with fire.The second quality is experience. In addition to being familiar with things in the inner court, you must also understand national government affairs.You don’t have to be sophisticated but you must know it. Only in this way can you avoid being fooled.

Obviously, everyone from Tian Yi, Chen Ju to Wang An currently does not possess these qualities.The first two are already very old, and it is already difficult for them to improve themselves. Only Wang An is left as a barely usable talent.

"I don't dare to hope..."

Wang An may have thought that he would be lucky enough to take another step forward after the two seniors Tian Yi and Chen Ju resigned, but it was a bit scary to say these words clearly from the emperor's mouth, mainly because he didn't know whether they were true or not, so he couldn't deal with them.At that moment, his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground and refused continuously, for fear of being misunderstood.

"Then you want to resist the decree?" Hong Tao stopped and uttered a few words lightly.

"I don't dare, I dare not, long live the Lord to calm down!" Now Wang An really didn't dare to refuse. Suddenly he remembered that he was still kneeling, so he quickly got up and stood up to answer.

To say what aspect of the new emperor he was most resistant to, it was etiquette.From the day he entered the palace, he had received strict etiquette education for several years, and it was almost integrated into his blood. However, the new emperor seemed to be extremely disgusted with etiquette. When he returned to the Yangxin Hall, he would get a look at anyone who knelt down, which must have made him look bad.

I really can’t figure out why. Isn’t it natural for eunuchs, maids, and concubines to kneel before the emperor?Is it possible that in the future everyone will talk to the emperor face to face, regardless of superiority or inferiority?

"Do you think that this time, how many officials with good reputations in the foreign inspections will not be promoted or even demoted? How many incompetent and greedy people will take the opportunity to occupy positions and satisfy their selfish desires?" When I saw Wang An, did he still remember his own feelings? After admonishing, Hong Tao softened his tone slightly and changed the topic.

"Ah... slave... slave, please kneel down!" At this time, Wang An could no longer feel the cold as he walked in the cold wind. His palms and soles were wet, and his legs softened and he knelt again.

The suspicion of coveting the palm of the Director of Ceremonies has not yet been explained clearly, so why has he encountered such a difficult problem again.How should I answer this thing? It can't be said that there are at least a hundred people. Wouldn't that be calling the emperor a coward in front of his face?

You can't say that there is none, the emperor is not a fool, since you have asked this question, he must know that there will be good officials who have been wronged and corrupted. Telling lies with eyes wide open is tantamount to deceiving the emperor, and everyone on the left and right is guilty of confiscating homes and destroying families.

"I believe that at least [-]% of the mediocre, stupid, and useless people are promoted to high positions, and the remaining [-]% are mostly people with evil intentions and greed for wealth. It is really a shame for the local people to let them go to local posts, but why do I still do this when I know that this is inappropriate? What are you going to do?" Hong Tao didn't get used to it this time, he raised his leg and kicked Wang An on the shoulder.The force was quite strong, knocking the person down directly. Wang An stood up covered in dirt before continuing the topic.

"This servant is stupid and dare not try to figure out the Holy Will." After being kicked, Wang An felt extremely relaxed. As long as he could avoid the question that was disrespectful no matter how he answered it, he would gain from all the kicks he received.As for how to answer next, it's very simple. Just don't know. I really don't know.

"There are two people. One is holding a long knife to chop your neck, and the other is holding a bamboo spear to stab your calf. Which one should you hide first?" Originally, the sentence "the lesser of two evils" can express the meaning perfectly, but Hong Tao insisted on giving an example. .

It’s not that his bad mouth disease has worsened, but that this sentence has not yet been published in the Ming Dynasty. The ancients may not be able to understand it immediately, let alone understand it immediately, which makes it more troublesome to explain.

"My slave, I understand. This is the art of balancing... It's just..." Wang An really understood and gave the official name.In fact, this method is not too new. Emperor Wanli often used it. Not going to court to use cold violence was a helpless choice after weighing the pros and cons.

However, compared with Emperor Wanli, the new emperor played a bit too big. He actually used the choice of local officials as a bargaining chip to compete with officials from various factions in the court. The risk was too high.

And he couldn't figure out the emperor's real purpose of doing this. If he won, it would just mean that the treasury would spend part less every year, but it would not fall into the internal funds.Once they lose, it will be a huge disaster and will directly shake the emperor's throne.

"No, just remember my words, open your eyes and look carefully, rack your brains and think carefully, be bold, you will eventually figure it out, and then you can take over the position of Palm Print.

Now go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to ask for the list of this external inspection. My hard days are coming, and you must not be idle. Together with Chen Ju, you can find out all the secret reports of Dongchang and Jinyiwei according to the list. "

What Wang An wanted to say but didn't dare to say, Hong Tao already knew what it was.Yes, when it comes to governing the country, Beijing officials are only the decision-makers, and local officials are the ones who actually implement it.Their quality directly determines the implementation of policies, as well as the authenticity of various statistics, and their status is very critical.

To put it bluntly, if all the officials of the fourth rank and above in the court were dismissed, the state machine would still be able to function. If half of the local officials were dismissed, the country would fall apart and it would not be able to survive for a day.

But if you want to make big changes, you must get the support of the official group, and you must pay a price.Hong Tao just wanted to take a chance and see if these unqualified local officials would shake the foundation of the entire country before he could gain some real power.

The good news is that the system of the Ming Empire is not completely rotten, and the imperial censors, including Jinyiwei and Dongchang, can still play some roles.The bad news is that he has another powerful enemy, the royal family!

(End of this chapter)