Ming Dynasty: He was ordered to give lectures in prison, but Lao Zhu eavesdropped and made people nu

Chapter 150: The reform of the official system is a means for the emperor to strengthen his power.

Lin Che just said it casually, but she didn't expect that Zhu Xiang would immediately vent his anger on Lan Yu, who went out to buy food.

He quickly interrupted Zhu Ping and continued his previous topic.

"The second point of the emperor's adjustment of the court structure is to curb the corruption of the bureaucracy."

"Just like the current emperor Hongwu, the official evaluation system was set up to prevent bureaucratic corruption."

"But the officials in the imperial court who supervise and evaluate hundreds of officials also read the books of Confucian sages."

"Since they all worship the same Confucius, under normal circumstances, how could they be cruel to their own people?"

Every time Zhu Xi heard Lin Che mention his father.

I couldn't help my heart beating wildly and my blood pressure soaring.

Whenever topics related to the Ming Dynasty were mentioned, Zhu Ping rarely expressed his opinions.

He didn't know how to say it, and he didn't dare to say it.

Lin Che was used to this, so he continued talking on his own.

"In this way, the assessment will have no effect, and corrupt officials will naturally have no scruples."

"Emperor Hongwu, who was jealous of evil, could not tolerate these corrupt officials, so he set the punishment of embezzlement of more than 60 taels, and the head of the owl, skinned and stuffed as grass."

"This is also one of the adjustment measures."

After briefly speaking, Lin Che took a sip of tea and continued:
"To eliminate cliques and curb corrupt officials, the emperor must have absolute power in his hands."

"Just as Emperor Hongwu gradually weakened the power of the prime minister and strengthened the imperial power."

"The reform of the official system in each dynasty is also a means for the emperor to strengthen his imperial power."

"Just like the ministers in the early Western Han Dynasty, they were just responsible for handling private affairs for the emperor."

"But the emperor is the core of the power structure."

"The organization closest to him will inevitably become more powerful as time goes by!"

"It has been like this since ancient times."

"In the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, few people could ignore the power held by Shangshu."

"Not to mention the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Shangshu directly entered the palace and became the main official of the court!"

"This is a way for the emperor to extend his imperial power."

I briefly explained to Zhu Xi the history of the development of the official position of Shangshu in the Han Dynasty.

Lin Che took a sip of tea, moistened her throat, and then said:
"Now that you understand this, let's talk about the question just now."

"Why did the imperial court still fall into decay and decline after the emperor interfered with the social structure?"

After getting rid of the topic about my father.

Zhu Ping was no longer reserved.

He hurriedly asked:

"Is it because those emperors are not good enough?"

When Lin Che heard this, she couldn't help but think about it.

In the history books of the Ming Dynasty, there was an emperor who was ambitious but not talented, and wanted to revitalize the dynasty.

As a result, the "diligent emperor" accelerated the demise of the dynasty.

That was the famous Emperor Chongzhen, who guarded the country as the emperor, and finally hanged on the crooked neck of Meishan Mountain.

No matter what other people think of this tragic emperor.

Anyway, in Lin Che's eyes.

Apart from Chongzhen's integrity and frugality, which can be praised a few words, the rest is simply useless.

To put it bluntly, the demise of the Ming Dynasty was largely due to his own poor level.

He has no talent for governing the country, no ability to recognize people, and no capacity to accommodate others.

result.

The more diligent he is, the faster the Ming Dynasty will collapse.

Lin Che originally wanted to teach Zhu Chong a lesson about Chongzhen.He was worried about scaring this kid again, so he suppressed the urge to complain and replied:
"There are also examples of emperors who were not capable enough, so they adjusted the social structure but did not have a positive effect."

"But that doesn't apply to most situations."

"As long as you are familiar with history books, you will know that whenever the imperial court tries to implement new policies and solve an old problem, it often causes an unexpected new problem!"

For example, Emperor Hongwu enjoyed high-pressure policies to eliminate corruption.

But I didn’t expect that even if they were peeled off and replaced with grass, they would not be able to eradicate the emergence of corrupt officials.

As a result, after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, the bureaucrats who had been suppressed for a long time began to engage in retaliatory corruption.

A lot of ordinary silver, ice and charcoal are filial piety.

Even after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, unspoken rules of corruption gradually formed.

This is an example of trying to solve a problem with the New Deal, but it ended up causing even greater ills.

It's a pity that Zhu Xi didn't understand the deep meaning of Lin Che's words.

Instead, he questioned:
"Sir, according to your opinion, wouldn't it be better to let corrupt officials take advantage of money than to punish them with strict orders?"

Lin Che just took a sip of tea into her mouth and almost spit it out.

Every time this kid encounters problems involving the royal family.

Either they remain silent, or they tend to get into trouble mentally.

Lin Che swallowed the tea and raised her hand to give it to Zhu Ping:
"Are you here to teach, or are you here to argue?"

"When did I say that we would let corrupt officials and money-seekers be allowed to do so?"

"What I mean is that when a new policy is used to solve a problem, if the policy itself is wrong, instead of reducing corruption, it will cause more serious problems."

Lin Che tapped the table with her index finger, telling Zhu Xi not to just focus on his grievances.

Continue the lecture:
"Not only is the correctness of the New Deal an issue, but also when the New Deal is implemented layer by layer, it will also cause many problems!"

"For example, a shepherd lets a sheepdog help guard the sheep."

"In order to prevent the shepherd dog from being lazy, to drive back the sheep that are running around, and to drive away the wild wolves that want to eat the sheep, they will let their children monitor the shepherd dog with a stick."

"The problem is, it doesn't matter if the sheepdog is beaten."

"But who can guarantee that children will not become playful and use sticks to teach loyal sheepdogs?"

After a pause, Lin Che continued:
"Just like Wang Anshi's green seedling method."

"The earliest policy was to benefit the country and the people."

"But the corrupt officials in charge of 'shepherding' quickly turned it into a tool to make money."

"Wang Anshi has sent 'shepherd boys' to monitor these 'shepherd dogs'."

"But the officials responsible for supervision are only thinking about party struggle and promotion."

"So, no matter whether they are using the New Deal to make money or not."

"Even officials who implement the New Deal honestly and benefit the people in one place."

"Anyone who is not a reformist will be labeled as corrupt and perverting the law."

"Under such circumstances, no matter how good the new policy is, it will not be of any benefit to the people."

Hearing this, Zhu Ping stood up excitedly and said loudly:

"Sir, I understand. Most of the reforms implemented by previous emperors were due to the New Deal, which was not in line with the actual situation, leading to the opposite results."

"And even if it is a policy that can eliminate ills, if party disputes continue in the court, it will only turn into bad governance!"

"Then it seems that this is the biggest problem that has caused the failure of reform in all dynasties."

A simple shepherd story combined with Wang Anshi's political reform.

Zhu Ping understood very quickly this time.

He eagerly revealed the content of his understanding to Lin Che, hoping to get Lin Che's approval.

Can…

(End of this chapter)