Zhu Yuanzhang can see my dreams

Chapter 215: 215 passed the test

Zhu Biao was very surprised as to who Wang Buli said wanted to harm him.

Why does this kid react so quickly?
"Yes, you just need to realize this. Some people want to praise you and suggest that your father give you a high-ranking official position so that they can find more loopholes to attack you. My father refused. Besides, the Beijing official has to be on probation for one year. You will be evaluated after a year.”

Not only did it take nine years for civil servants to have a chance, but those who became officials in the capital were mostly evaluated at the end of three or six years. In the ninth year, the decision whether to be dismissed or promoted was made by the emperor alone.

It's just that because of the empty seal case, many people did not make it to nine years.

Even after being shackled, don't think about any good comments.

Wang Buli snorted, referring to Lao Zhu's subsequent operation of purging courtiers for imperial power.

It's probably because after being promoted, you come into contact with more officials, the easier it is to get involved.

Now that he is his son-in-law, he can be a minor Ninth Grade Dianshi and have less affairs to deal with, which is just right for Wang Buli.

If he really wants to work desperately for Lao Zhu, he will never be happy.

Earn money without being cleaned.

Wang Buli didn't know what it meant to be thin-skinned, so he climbed up the pole:

If you can really make good suggestions, and you come forward to reward or promote him, you can be regarded as cultivating the prince line, and everyone will be willing to curry favor with you, the future prince. "

Starting from the sixth year of Hongwu, Yushitai and others were ordered to conduct inspections once a year.

In this way, officials who cooperate with the inspection can go through a formality to deceive the court.

This is good for you and me, but not good for the court!
If they are given time to deal with the local forces that disobey him before they start doing things, it will probably be easier to achieve political achievements.

Zhu Biao did not refute the statement that he was a prince. It was normal for a current prince to train one or two of his own team.

Taking advantage of the fact that Jinshi have not yet entered the imperial court in large numbers, especially during the break period, it would be good to occupy more positions.

After Zhu Biao thought clearly, he nodded and said:
"Your method of asking the officials is a good one. It also gives them room for advancement."

"Some of the courtiers in the court are unclean." Zhu Biao picked up the tea cup and blew on it: "I want you to go away."

Zhu Biao also nodded. According to Wang Buli's current image among the six officials, someone would be in trouble if he went there once.

So early this morning, many ministers used Wang Buli to clear the ditch in advance to prevent the people of Jiangning County from suffering losses from heavy rains, and pushed him up.

"Go, go, go."

Zhu Biao nodded slightly, as long as Wang Buli didn't think his official position was small.

"Brother Prince, why don't you ask the officials about this kind of thing?"

"Those people are so bad. They all want to kick me out of the capital. Are they afraid that I will find out some cases behind their backs?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. Although the laws of the imperial court are strict, they don't have rules and regulations that cover everything. Moreover, the laws of the Ming Dynasty need to be updated and modified from time to time."

Listening to these words, Wang Buli laughed, feeling that these scholars could still praise others.

Wang Buli didn't bother again. This was considered a chance for officials from all over the country.

Zhu Biao was flipping through Wang Buli's work diary and suddenly said:

It just sounds "foolish".

"Ah."

Zhu Biao nodded slightly, and the official went to a place where he was unfamiliar to be an official alone.

"You mean to collect from various county offices?"

"Father is wise. I'm so grateful for rejecting the offer. I didn't fall into someone's scheme. The prince will turn around and thank my father for me."

"What I mean is, if you ask at the grassroots level, those officials and scribes are the first to implement it. Which official in the government would personally do that kind of thing?

Anyway, life and death matter, who knows which day I will be purged.

But we have to conduct an investigation in the name of the prince and wait for the policy to be promulgated, which may be when!
In this way, their current interests will not be taken away.

Listening to Zhu Biao's inquiry, Wang Buli glanced at him:
"I flatter you so much. I give you suggestions every time. What else do you want from me?"

If you want to achieve results in just one year, I'm afraid it will be easier to collude with local forces.

"Yes, the prince can personally order the selection of county governments in several surrounding prefectures and let them make suggestions based on the formulated policies.

Wang Buli also picked up the tea cup and smiled. Lao Zhu tried to formulate an eternal law, how could it be possible?
"That makes sense." Zhu Biao took a sip before saying slowly:
"After what you said yesterday, there are so many problems. Is there no way for you to avoid them?"

Although his father and the two of them share the same team, those ministers are all veterans who have followed his father to conquer the world. When he comes to power, how many will be available?
"Why don't you please me?"

If they perform well, they will be rewarded, and maybe the prince will be able to find some good way to avoid it. "

"By the way, since you attach so much importance to grassroots officials, I think it's better to conduct assessments for civil servants below the fifth rank."

"Once a year seems to be too frequent, and it also costs a lot of money. Why not do it so intensively? You need to think carefully about it."

The assessment of civil servants was an original creation of the Ming Dynasty.

"I said a lot of things last night, but they didn't quite satisfy me, so I wanted to ask you, who can raise the issue, if you have any solutions."

It was not easy for Zhu Biao to ask too many questions, but conducting an investigation based on the emperor's order would indeed make people mistakenly think that it would be implemented soon.

Zhu Biao then told Wang Buli some things that happened in the court today, focusing on the words of many officials who praised Wang Buli.

As for the Beijing inspection, it was started after Zhu Dijing succeeded. It was not until the first year of Zhengtong that the Beijing inspection was set as a fixed rule.

"Brother-in-law, do you think it would be okay if I followed your template and asked the officials below to do the same?"

Wang Buli immediately remembered that Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister who was not good at finding a career, came to help his subordinates to pass the examination, because the local officials all invariably concealed the public sentiment from their superiors and did not report the truth to the court.

Over time, money stopped flowing into the national treasury and flowed into the hands of corrupt officials, and the people's curses had to be shouldered by the court.

"Great idea."

Wang Buli immediately praised him.

"Please help me think about how to improve it. I think once this method comes out, it will definitely be much better than the assessment method formulated by my father."

Zhu Biao suddenly became interested because his father's method was too broad.

The officials from the fourth grade to the top are all self-reported by the ministers, and then handed over to the emperor for free inquiry. They mainly focus on moral character and are much weaker on administrative aspects.

Wang Buli pretended to think for a while:
“Although the examination and inspection methods are good, it is difficult for local officials to implement them.

In the capital, it was okay to have His Majesty personally watching over him, but in the officialdom outside the capital, he was perfunctory and irresponsible, leading to a lack of discipline and laws, and I'm afraid there were a lot of them. "

"Well, that's true."

Zhu Biao deeply felt that the larger the territory, the busier the emperor would be, and he would have to submit letters to various places.

The emperor alone is too busy.

Although Zhu Biao believes that he is currently sharing the pressure with his father, in the future he will have to help his son handle government affairs early, otherwise he will sooner or later be tired and die young like Zhuge Liang by himself.

"Brother Prince, I have an idea. The chiefs of the six ministries and the chief envoy will set a deadline for completion of the official duties that the subordinate officials of each ministry should handle, and register the official duties to be done.

Secondly, an official document book should be made in triplicate, one copy should be kept with the Chief Secretary as a base, and one copy should be sent to the Sixth Section.

The Sixth Section will be used as a record, and the other copy will be handed over to the Zhongshu Provincial Department for review.

The chiefs of the Six Ministries and the Chief Secretary must inspect the matters that their subordinate officials should undertake on a monthly basis. All official duties must be completed according to the priority and distance of the journey, and must be completed within a set time limit, and then be written off one by one.

If it is not completed within the prescribed time limit, it must be reported truthfully, otherwise it will be punished with a felony.

Zhongshu Sheng leads the six ministries and controls the six departments and the Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary then controls the local areas and inspects officials at all levels, so that the inspection work of officials is directly responsible to the Zhongshu Sheng.

Systematically, the inspection responsibilities of Zhongshu Sheng have been improved, and the administrative status of Zhongshu Sheng has also been improved, which can gradually strengthen the power of the central government and weaken the power of local governments, so as to avoid the use of empty seals, etc. of clearing others. "

Wang Buli was speechless, and was dazzled by what he said to Zhu Biao. He knew clearly that his father would abolish the prime minister system, and there would be no Zhongshu Province.

In other words, the emperor will replace Zhongshu Sheng. What Wang Buli just said is also a way to strengthen the imperial power.

Zhu Biao carefully reflected on Wang Buli's advice. He stood up and walked back and forth.

His fists were clenched excitedly, and his face was getting redder.

What a great idea!

"Brother-in-law, what do you think this should be called?"

"The method of examining the effectiveness of officials is abbreviated as the examination method." Wang Buli replied.

"Take the test ~ good!"

Zhu Biao continued to circle in circles, his face extremely excited.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was a king of scrolls, and Zhu Biao was no less generous.

Now there is a good way to change Ming Dynasty's policy, just like winning a battle.

"Good good."

After Zhu Biao turned around in a small circle, he turned around in a big circle. Official governance has always been a problem for the country.

Despite his father's strict criminal laws, he could not get rid of a large number of people committing corruption and crimes.

Now that there is such a big step to pass the examination, he is really excited.

Officials who deceive and lie will be severely investigated and punished according to the law.

It is required to be carried out on a monthly basis and a summary must be carried out every year.

This will naturally improve the administrative capabilities of officials more than the previous examinations and inspections.

Rather than engaging in "character".

The Ministry of Personnel is still the main department in the process of implementing the examination method.

Officials in the hall responsible for the assessment of the Ministry of Personnel need to inquire about matters and make a comprehensive assessment of the officials' diligence, so that the process of processing official documents is relatively simplified.

Zhu Biao thought that this was also in line with his father's ideas, lest someone be inconsiderate of the people and cause thieves to run rampant, and eventually the court would have to come out to clean up the mess.

And it is also in line with the idea that the father likes to personally intervene without slacking off at all.

Because the officials in a place are not well governed, the place will not be peaceful.

Such capable officials can come up, but those who are incompetent can go down.

Zhu Biao chatted about the details for a while, then the two said goodbye to each other, and Zhu Biao returned directly to the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a long time after listening to Wang Buli's advice.

He does not prevent his son from cultivating some forces of his own, but Wang Buli's behavior as a "hardcore princeling" is too obvious, right?
Not hiding anything, Zhu Biao also frankly talked about the benefits of doing so.

It is true that sometimes the prince and the emperor have different people who need to do things.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang did not understand what irreconcilable conflicts arose between his good son-in-law Wang Buli and the future Emperor of Ming Dynasty after his death, so that he went to greet the fourth son and remind him.

Maybe on the battlefield, Wang Buli would secretly provide a stumbling block for the new emperor's army to cooperate with Lao Si.

Zhu Yuanzhang believed that Wang Buli was a smart man and would never do anything stupid, because according to his status, there was no real threat to the new emperor.

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you."

Since our good son-in-law gave the idea to his uncle, we, the father-in-law, got involved.

"Yes."

Zhu Biao responded: "Dad, there is one more thing that I think will be extremely useful to Ming Dynasty."

After Zhu Biao finished explaining the test method, Zhu Yuanzhang also stayed where he was.

He thought carefully about the usefulness of this method and also stood up and walked around.

Every time before making a decision, he would pace back and forth, thinking over and over before making a decision. "This test method sounds very good."

Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his beard and squinted his eyes: "I wish he would often ask those nonsensical questions and ask the students to answer them during the interviews at the Imperial College.

Although the character of an official is important, if he does not have the ability to govern, it will be a great harm to the people and they will be unworthy of the salary paid to them by the court. "

"Yes, and it is mainly assessed from six aspects, including schools, fields, household registration, taxes and servitude, lawsuits and prisons, and thieves. This is something that magistrates below often encounter, especially household registration, which can effectively prevent local tyrants from hiding people."

There is another meaning in Zhu Biao's words.

That is to say, the power of the local vassal king will be considerable in the future, and it will also be a considerable challenge to the imperial power. He is confident that he can subdue those younger brothers, but what about his son and grandson?
There will always be people who can't suppress it, or those feudal kings who want to go further.

So when Wang Buli mentioned the test method and talked about it in detail for a while, he thought about it for a long time and understood the many hidden truths in it.

If this method is not promoted immediately, Zhu Biao will not be able to sleep.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about this suggestion made by Wang Buli, and it was really better than the inspection method he set.

Damn you.

If you have such a good idea, if you don't take it out early, we will be in trouble. You kid will take it out again, right?

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled down his sleeves. With his inherent belief that he was omnipotent, even if Wang Buli suggested this method, he might not be able to use it.

"Dad, my brother-in-law also said something about things that scholars care about, which can satisfy their vanity and give him or his family some honorary titles.

It is also after they become official that the recognition and respect for them during their tenure can also inspire those who come after them. Especially rewarding their deceased ancestors is a great honor, which shows that after studying hard and serving the court, they can bring glory to their ancestors.

Once they engrave it on an epitaph or write some articles to commemorate it for future generations, it will be difficult for any scholar to refuse. "

"Humph."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his son and said with a smile: "This good son-in-law of ours really understands the urine of those scholars."

He believed that such civil servants were in the minority, and that most scholars liked fame but had no ability to govern.

"Dad, let's discuss the details quickly. I can't wait to implement this matter immediately. Before the end of the year, we can pilot it in the capital for three months to take a look."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang no longer thought too much, but continued to carry forward the examination method. He was ready to add something of his own.

……

The Jiangning County government office soon became lively.

After the officials from the two county offices in the capital finished writing their suggestions, they could go directly to the wooden boxes specially set up outside the imperial city to deliver their letters.

As for the county offices in Yingtian Prefecture and the surrounding areas, you can go to the inn to deliver them, and then send them to the capital. After the prince reads them personally, if your suggestions are good, you will definitely be rewarded.

Wen Ke stood in front of the notice and smiled. He understood that his good boss must have mediated the matter, so that the officials had a chance to show off in front of the prince.

"Brothers, think about this policy carefully when you go back. How can we fix the loopholes? This is a rare opportunity that comes once in ten years. We must seize it. There is a one-month limited period for collecting prizes."

When everyone heard this, they sent people from each room to copy a copy of the notice, and then went to the house to study it.

Prison leader Tian Liugen stood in front of the notice, pointed at himself and said: "We can be considered an official, right?"

"Tian Tou, do you also want to earn this money?"

"Of course, this is a prize collection organized by His Highness the Crown Prince. If our name, Lao Tian, ​​catches His Highness the Crown Prince's eye, not only will he take care of me, he will also take care of my son in the future!"

Everyone laughed and wanted to join in the fun no matter what.

Wang Buli called his confidant Wen Ke and asked him to think about it carefully.

"Prince-in-law, I will definitely think about this matter carefully."

"Ah."

Wang Buli lowered his voice and said: "If you can catch the eye of the prince, you can also go to the imperial city to work in the future. It is much better than being a small official in the county government."

"Prince-in-law, I haven't learned all my skills yet, and I don't want to leave you so soon."

"Okay, let's not say this. You also know that I am a person with little ambition. I might stay in the position of Dianshi for ten or eight years. Is it possible that you can also stay in the position of junior official for ten years? Eight years?

When the people from the Imperial College who went to the north to practice come back, do you think you still have a place?

You have to seize the opportunity to get in while scholars are not yet completely filling the court. Otherwise, even if you make a big contribution, it will be even more difficult to operate in the future. There are not so many carrot pits, do you understand? "

Wen Ke was grateful for Wang Buli's words. How could he tell him such a court secret in a normal relationship?

He knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Wang Buli: "The Prince Consort is my reborn parent."

"Gungun, you're talking such nonsense. I'm not married yet. I don't want to recognize my son. I'll seize the opportunity and go do my errands."

Wang Buli waved his hand and asked Wen Ke to go back and think of ways to stand out in this collection.

On the other hand, Jiang Huan, who was watching from the sidelines, fully agreed with Wang Buli's operation.

Such a good big brother who takes care of people really won't suffer any loss if he follows him.

The inn in the capital became increasingly busy.

Even the wooden boxes at the entrance of the capital were taken away by the eunuchs and piled on Zhu Biao's desk.

Zhu Biao was very busy for a while. He carefully looked at the advice given to him by these officials. He had to say that the officials who had been trained at the grassroots level were really assassinated by this group. In order to show their faces in front of the prince, they did not hesitate to break the news on their own. , to prevent officials from taking bribes and bending the law.

In the midst of all the busyness, Wang Buli watched the house in Yong'an Village being built.

They even set off firecrackers for everyone, and then everyone was given a road guide, telling them to fetch their family members, spend the winter here, and officially become craftsmen under the princess's house.

After this is done, they will start manufacturing iron stoves and a series of other things in the new factory building.

At the same time, several wooden ships from the Ming Dynasty finally docked in Kobe, Japan, but no one questioned them.

These people stepped out of their clothes and jumped on the dock.

This group of people, under the guise of envoys, want to stay in Japan for a long time.

The purpose was to find a location with gold and silver mines. The excuse was naturally to persuade the Japanese king to control all the Japanese pirates under his command and not to harass the Ming Dynasty coast at will.

After a group of people disembarked, they tucked away their knives. As long as they found the location of the gold and silver mine, not to mention the money, the titles His Majesty awarded them would be enough for their descendants to benefit from.

Wang Buli was leisurely inspecting the house built by the craftsmen, while Zhu Yuanzhang was really busy.

The father and son have to discuss the details of the examination from time to time, and they also have to face the government affairs at hand.

Because the heavy rain caused floods in surrounding prefectures and counties, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered hundreds of grain chiefs to be summoned to the capital.

Ask them to go back and carefully inspect the damage to the farmland.

Grain fields that have not been affected by the disaster will pay taxes as usual, and grain fields that are affected by the disaster can receive relief.

It is not allowed to resort to tricks such as arranging shortages, spreading factions, moving hills and changing sections.

The Chief of Grain was established by Zhu Yuanzhang, first of all to ensure the collection of Ming Dynasty land tax, and secondly to use the assistance of the landlord class to consolidate Ming Dynasty's control of local areas.

In the fourth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang took the lead in establishing the grain chief system in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Those who paid 10,000 shi or several thousand shi each year were divided into districts. Each district established a grain chief, and the government designated the large household with the most fields in the district to act as the chief.

These grain managers are extremely "high-profile" and they are semi-public officials.

Because they were directly responsible to the emperor, they could often be summoned by Zhu Yuanzhang, in addition to giving lectures and asking about the situation among the people. If you respond appropriately and do things effectively, you will be given an official position by Lao Zhu, and it will not be low.

On weekdays, when the grain grower is in the countryside, it is also very prestigious. During this period, most of the large landowners were proud to be the grain grower!
In particular, this position can be hereditary. It was not until the Zhengde period that the grain chief system collapsed.

Because at this time, the grain ministers were polarized. On the one hand, a large number of people worked hard to line their own pockets when collecting taxes and grains. They not only deprived grain households, but also embezzled public funds.

On the other hand, due to heavy taxes, farmers have fled one after another, and the grain chief has nowhere to collect grain, but the government will ask the grain chief to make up for the missing taxes.

As a result, many grain ministers went bankrupt because of back taxes.

But the situation is different now. With Lao Zhu's distrust of officials, the social status of the grain chiefs composed of these "good people" is not low, and it is also a check and balance method for Zhu Yuanzhang to prevent subordinate officials from embezzling the people.

But later the person who embezzled the people and the court changed from a subordinate to a grain chief.

And these grain chiefs often grew up into families that combined bureaucrats, landlords, and big businessmen.

As for why Zhu Yuanzhang asked the grain chiefs of the two Zhejiang provinces to come first, it was not only because of the floods, but also because he believed that corrupt officials in the two Zhejiang provinces had serious problems with land tax collection and needed to be rectified.

In the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the country was governed by officials, and the government was extremely dark and corrupt. This legacy was inherited in the early Ming Dynasty and could not be solved at once.

Therefore, it is better to select some good families from the people, people whom Zhu Yuanzhang thinks are reliable to collect taxes, so that the court's income can be increased.

Wang Buli rode Xiao Heizi back to the city and was watching a group of people come out of the city in a show of force, with a proud smile on everyone's face.

The emperor summons!

Ordinary people have no chance to find a way, and even some high-ranking officials may not have a chance to talk to the emperor, let alone give him a banquet.

"Who are these people?" Wang Buli pointed at the gorgeously dressed people riding tall horses and said, "Are they more arrogant than me when they cross the street?"

Zhong Niu went to the city gate and asked a few questions, and then got the answer.

"Prince-in-law, these are the grain chiefs from Zhejiang and other places. They were called to Beijing by His Majesty. Now they have received the assignment and are rushing home."

"Oh."

Wang Buli nodded slightly and watched the group of people go away. There was still a lot of alcohol smell on the road.

Once a person is too arrogant, trouble will easily occur.

But it's none of my business.

Wang Buli waved his riding whip slightly and slowly entered Nanjing City.

Zhu Biao was sitting in the county government office waiting for Wang Buli, but Wang Buli didn't come back and went home directly.

He is already a classic, so he doesn't need to clock in every day.

Zhu Biao saw that a group of government officials had returned, but Wang Buli had not returned yet, so he quickly sent someone to ask.

After knowing this, he stopped staying at the county government office and immediately rushed to Wang Buli's home.

Wang Buli is preparing food, washing vegetables and so on at home.

Because the weather has cooled down slightly, Ye Qinhuai's Fire and Ice Project is not so popular anymore, so his sister Wang Xingying doesn't have to be so busy every day.

Finally got some time to take a break.

"Little rich woman, go stir-fry."

Wang Buli continued to make his sister work.

Wang Xingying snorted, patted his wallet, and then went to the kitchen with the washed dishes.

Although I was tired this time, I was still very happy. When I counted the money at night, I didn’t feel my hands were sore.

Because of the daily stirring, her wrists were really sore.

Wang Buli threw away his hand and continued to practice martial arts with the veteran in the backyard with a wooden knife. He had many skills but was not overwhelmed.

Just in case it comes in handy.

While Wang Buli was chopping, Zhu Biao walked in, escorted by several people.

"Wang Buli, you can give us a good meal!"

Zhu Biao walked out of breath. Because he was wearing official uniform, he did not ride in a sedan to avoid attracting attention.

"uh-huh."

Wang Buli saw Zhu Biao's sudden visit, so he put away his knife and asked, "Do you have a problem with me?"

(End of this chapter)