Zhu Yuanzhang can see my dreams

Chapter 312 The Doctrine of the Mean
Although Wang Buli made it very clear, Zhu Yuanzhang refused to admit it.

Zhu Yuanzhang never thought that there was anything wrong with his policies. He felt that the problem lay in the lack of awareness among his “subjects.”

No matter if you are a scholar, an official, a clerk or any other identity, as long as you do not follow his policies, you are not aware enough!
When Wang Buli was a minor official in the county government outside the city, he was crazy about fishing.

Busy all day long, but doing nothing!

This was the monthly salary that Zhu Yuanzhang gave to official clerks. It was all an act of revenge for forcing them to spend money instead of earning it.

The imperial court believed that the work of clerks should be undertaken by the people, so they were not given any salary or any privileges. They were just so-called common people's officials.

Clerks were recruited from ordinary job applicants. If you ask people why they would enthusiastically apply for unpaid positions, there is only one answer, that is, they can make money from their work.

When handling the payment of materials and litigation matters, clerks naturally have to accept some benefits.

In fact, in almost all matters, they are expected to accept bribes.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang still expected a group of people who worked for nothing and had nothing to lose every day to be "loyal and obedient" to build the Ming Dynasty for him. This was simply wishful thinking.

How is it possible that everything in the world develops according to his wishes?

Even though he worked his way up from being a beggar to owning the whole world, it was wishful thinking for him to expect everyone in the world and his future generations to act according to his will.

The saying "When a leader dies, his regime collapses" is very destructive.

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment.

He didn't know how to refute Wang Buli.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang knew this was the truth. He had seen his descendants ruling the country in the fairyland, and it was not just the end of the government, it was a huge step backwards.

The power that he had worked so hard to gather was given away one by one by these individuals, which really made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry.

Then the scene became silent again.

“As long as the imperial court insists on regarding the work of clerks as labor that the people should bear, rather than administrative costs that the government should bear, and insists on shifting this administrative cost onto the people, it will be difficult for clerks to transform into regular employees with a fixed monthly salary.

The lack of a fixed monthly salary means that clerks, regardless of their moral character, will extort money from the people in their daily work.

Without a formal organization, the higher-level government has no way of knowing how many clerks the lower-level government has, and even the government itself doesn’t know how many clerks it has.”

"Dad, what my brother-in-law said makes sense. There are many clerks involved, and bad money is driving out good money.

By then, they won’t even be able to support themselves, and the county government will be full of clerks who accept bribes. Those clerks who keep themselves out of trouble will either starve to death or be squeezed out.”

“Without personnel files, we can’t even figure out the exact number of people, so there’s naturally no performance appraisal or accountability for the clerks, and it’s impossible to establish a formal clerk supervision mechanism.

Without a formal supervision mechanism, corruption among clerks cannot be alleviated.”

Wang Buli took over the conversation: "It seems that the court has avoided the cost of supporting at least hundreds of thousands of clerks, so it has made a profit.

But the price is that the people have to endure the harm of clerks everywhere. This was the case in the Song Dynasty and will continue to be the case in the future. "

Zhu Yuanzhang was actually aware of this matter, otherwise he would not have paid the clerks a monthly salary.

The dietary standard for Ming civilians and craftsmen was "one liter of corn per person per day";
The dietary standard for farmhands was "five stone and five dou of rice" a year, which was about 1.53 liters of rice a day.

The salary of a clerk, even taking into account the fact that the elderly and children eat less, is barely enough to keep a family of five from starving, and there will be no surplus.

The monthly salary of a non-local clerk in a prefecture, state or county was five dou, which was not enough to support a family of five.

Zhu Yuanzhang probably thought that these outsiders would not bring their entire families to their workplace.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang despised clerks very much. When he opened the imperial examination in the fourth year of Hongwu, the Secretariat suggested that "students from prefectures, counties, talented young men from the public, and school officials and clerks preparing for the imperial examinations" should all be allowed to take the examination.

Zhu Yuanzhang specifically instructed: "Only the clerks have corrupted minds and are not allowed to take the exam."

Because in his opinion, the profession of clerk is a profession that naturally creates bad people.

Even though many of his subordinates were former clerks, including his most valued son-in-law, it did not change his opinion of this group in the slightest.

There is a need for clerks in every government office in the world, but once a son of a good family becomes a clerk, his morals and character are beyond redemption, and there are very few who do not bring harm to the people.

In a few years, Old Zhu will classify clerks as lowly people.

"I want to change the current problem of clerks." Zhu Yuanzhang still looked at the map:

"But I don't have much money, but I can give some food to the clerks and runners for the time being, and ask them to register and count them first. I will ask Hu Weiyong to do this."

Wang Buli did not say anything. To be honest, Zhu Yuanzhang felt sorry for the money he spent.

Now facing the problem, he chooses to give it again, just to make his rule better.

So at the grassroots level, it is difficult for me to help you if you don’t have money, but this is very applicable to the Ming Dynasty.

It’s not that Zhu Yuanzhang didn’t understand, he just didn’t want to give it according to the inertia of the previous dynasty.

"In fact, I am somewhat disappointed with the officials. Could it be that in the future, instead of taking the imperial examinations, the officials of the Ming Dynasty will be tested on collecting taxes, conscripting labor, and being familiar with the laws of the Ming Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, it's not impossible to test like this."

"Ok?"

Zhu Yuanzhang just said it casually, but he didn't expect that he would get Wang Buli's approval.

Wang Buli stood up and walked to Zhu Yuanzhang's side, pointing at the map and saying:
"Your Majesty, the reason you suspended the imperial examinations is because you don't want all the future court officials to be controlled by the Jiangnan faction, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. This was actually what he thought.

None of the literati in Jiangnan are good people. Do you really think that I don’t know why they wanted to curry favor with me in the first place?

As long as I'm here, none of you can succeed!
But Wang Buli's words that a regime will cease to exist when a leader dies were like pouring cold water on Zhu's head.

The debate with Wang Buli in the county government only strengthened his determination to stop the imperial examination immediately, but he never found a good solution.

Sending a large number of students from the Imperial College to the north for training was also an attempt by Zhu Yuanzhang to mass-produce officials.

Otherwise, he would not have done what Wang Buli suggested. After all, he had never heard of such a method before, and he could not find any precedent in history books.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang was very nervous and attached great importance to these students who went north.

"When it comes to the interpretation of the Four Books and Five Classics, the entire Ming Dynasty combined cannot compare to this area." Wang Buli pointed to Jiangnan and other places and said, "After all, most of the examiners are from here.

We can add new subjects such as Ming Dynasty Law and mathematics to the examination content in order to avoid cultivating officials who are only good at talking about various subjects but know nothing about government affairs.

Similarly, the Four Books and Five Classics do not account for the main points.

The two textbooks of Ming Dynasty Law and Mathematics are all learned from scratch, which can eventually bring back some of the advantages of the Jiangnan region and distribute them to students from other places."

Reduce the proportion of the Four Books and Five Classics in the imperial examinations?

Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Wang Buli's words and nodded: "I still need to ask the Secretariat and the Ministry of Rites to discuss this matter before making a final decision."

Old Zhu is a pragmatic person, otherwise he would not be so disappointed with these officials who came from the imperial examination system!

"Dad, I'm afraid those officials will not agree." Zhu Biao knew his teachers well.

When his father wanted to get rid of Confucius and Mencius, it caused a huge uproar.

Now the imperial examinations include testing other things besides the Four Books and the Five Classics. Who can easily agree to that!
"disagree?"

Wang Buli nodded slightly: "Then call them over and tell them that they are very disappointed with the imperial examination and will not hold the imperial examination in the future.

When they advised the emperor, the prince took the opportunity to say that if the imperial examination was to be held, other subjects would have to be added according to the emperor's wishes.

I remember that Confucianists were very adaptable, and they would take the initiative to find excuses to tell the students. "

Zhu Biao still didn't fully understand Wang Buli's nature of wanting to open a window by poking a hole in the roof first.

"Is this okay?"

"Let's give it a try." Zhu Yuanzhang answered for Wang Buli. It is a solution after all.

Either choose one or choose two, there is no other choice.

In fact, according to Zhu Yuanzhang's meaning, do you think I asked you to come here for a real discussion?

You have to do it according to my wishes.

There was no need for Wang Buli's theory of moderation, he just forced it through.

So Hu Weiyong, Tu Jie, Chen Ning, Lu Ben and other senior officials were called over.

They have seen the situation in the hall more than once or twice.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the emperor's throne, while Zhu Biao sat on the side. However, a chair was added opposite Zhu Biao for Wang Buli to sit on.

Even the prime minister had to stand! They all knew that Wang Buli was being trained to be the new emperor's partner and prime minister.

Hu Weiyong eventually let go of his resentment.

He is the emperor's son-in-law. He has performed very well and is quite capable in handling government affairs. It is obviously normal for him to be highly valued by the emperor.

Tu Jie felt very jealous. How could someone so young be so respected?
The Minister of Rites, Lu Ben, was all smiles because her daughter had given birth to an imperial grandson.

Wang Buli is a very sensible person. When the prince ascends the throne in the future, it is possible that he will be asked to take care of his grandson.

They are all princelings and natural allies.

As for Chen Ning, his face was expressionless and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

"I have decided not to hold the imperial examination. The talents selected are all trash, not a single one is capable.

I called you here today to discuss how to issue policies and how to select talents. We cannot just limit ourselves to the recommendation system."

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, the whole room fell silent.

Hu Weiyong and others did not expect that the news about the imperial examination would be so earth-shattering.

The postponement of the imperial examination had already caused many complaints from scholars all over the world, and they were all looking forward to having a special examination this year.

As a result, His Majesty not only does not intend to continue the imperial examinations, but also plans to abolish the imperial examination system directly!

So much so that no one dared to speak first.

The imperial examination has been carried out for many years, even in the Yuan Dynasty.

"If you don't say anything, then you think there's nothing wrong?"

"Your Majesty, this matter still needs to be considered carefully." Minister of Rites Lü Ben was the first to raise an objection: "The imperial examination system cannot be abolished so easily!"

If this matter was issued by the Ministry of Rites, the first ones to cause trouble would be the students of the Imperial College.

"What do you think?" Zhu Yuanzhang said bluntly:

"I had high hopes for these scholars, but they don't know how to handle government affairs and push everything to the clerks. The entire county government is controlled by the clerks.

All these Jinshi officials have become puppets. How can I feel at ease promoting them to the government or even the six ministries in the future?
What I want are people who can handle government affairs, not spending so much salary to support a large group of officials who can do nothing.

After the performance evaluation system was introduced, I realized that all those people who I used to think they had talent were fools!"

"Your Majesty, you can let the scholars learn to be officials." Lu Ben could only forcefully defend himself:
“No one is born with the ability to do this or that; it’s all learned. And the fact that they were able to pass the imperial examinations is enough to show that they have enough brains.

If they were given more time, they would have memorized all these government affairs and would not be fooled by the clerks below them. "

Lu Ben's explanation was obviously a little pale.

As the prime minister, Hu Weiyong knew that once the performance evaluation system was introduced, many people would be exposed.

"I hope your majesty will think twice."

Hu Weiyong secretly glanced at Zhu Biao and Wang Buli who were sitting there steadily, and he knew that there was room for maneuver in this matter.

It's just that the emperor called everyone over to let them announce the policy, and he, the prime minister, would do the offending things.

“Once the policy of not holding the imperial examination is announced, the entire Ming Dynasty will become unstable. Many scholars will have no way to serve their country, and they will inevitably do things like Zhang Yuan and others, which will be detrimental to the stability of the Ming Dynasty.”

"So what do you think we should do?"

In response to Zhu Yuanzhang's question, Hu Weiyong bowed again and said, "I think it would be a good idea to follow the Prince Consort's previous approach of selecting people from the Imperial College to go to the north for training and actually serve as officials.

In this way, they will know the difficulties faced by local people and gain practical experience while in office, so they will not be too flustered when they are appointed to govern a region. "

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, then shook his head:
"It's too slow to train talents this way, and there aren't enough positions in the world to train a group of people. By then, the Ming Dynasty will become the Song Dynasty with too many officials.

Especially, I think the previous person did a good job, and the person who comes after him can do it as long as he follows his way, then there will be no mistakes. It is completely like the previous person planting trees for the next generation to enjoy the shade, and his own ability cannot be shown. "

The emperor's words silenced the important officials below once again.

Tu Jie looked at Chen Ning standing beside him, and seeing that he had no intention of opening his mouth, he simply shut his mouth.

There is no use in talking more.

"Dad, I actually have an idea."

The Crown Prince's sudden words made several ministers look at him. Only Wang Buli, who was sitting opposite him, remained expressionless, as if he didn't know what the Crown Prince was going to say.

"You said."

"Since students can study the Four Books and Five Classics, and our Ming Dynasty needs officials to handle many things, why not let them also learn Ming Dynasty law and mathematics, so that they will not be easily fooled by clerks."

Zhu Biao said with great emphasis: "The most important thing is the imperial examination system. I personally think it cannot be abolished at will."

The prince proposed that the imperial examination should not only test the Four Books and Five Classics, but also other things.

Hu Weiyong thought that this must be Wang Buli's idea.

It was just said through the prince's mouth, and it seemed that His Majesty also wanted to give it a try, so he asked them to come.

"I think what the prince said is absolutely right."

Chen Ning, who had been silent all this time, spoke first:
"Your Majesty, instead of letting those students pass the imperial examination and become officials, only knowing how to talk big but not being able to do anything, it is better to train them in this area from the beginning."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, and then asked for their opinions one by one.

Hu Weiyong and others did not have any major problems.

Anyway, the ones who suffer are the students who are going to take the imperial examinations.

Their descendants could directly enter the court as officials through the system of recommendation, saving a lot of trouble.

"Okay, let's make the order."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and told them to get back to work, and he would review it tomorrow. If there were no problems, he would announce it to the world.

"Your Majesty, which book should I use for this math?"

"You can go and look for it. I only remember the book "Nine Chapters on Arithmetic". I have to learn it anyway. Otherwise, I won't be able to figure out the accounts. Won't I be deceived by my subordinates in the future?"

Wang Buli said again: "Your Majesty, in fact, we can also do some on-site calculations such as using an abacus in the palace examination in the future to test whether they really know how to use it.

Because you can pile up articles, but if you don’t know math, you really don’t know it.”

"it is good."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not care much about the books to be used in the mathematics exam. His purpose was to improve the imperial examination system and prevent clerks from controlling the candidates of the imperial examination and causing harm to the people.

Anyway, it’s not him who is studying.

Hu Weiyong and others took their leave.

Zhu Yuanzhang also felt a little tired. As it was getting dark, he invited Wang Buli to have dinner with him before going home.

The father-in-law and son-in-law haven't eaten together for a long time.

In fact, Wang Buli did not like eating in the palace, not because there were too many rules, but because the level of the imperial chefs was really mediocre.

But Mr. Zhu is not pursuing the desire for food, but requires 100% safety!
It just so happened that Empress Ma also had something she wanted to ask, so Wang Buli agreed.

So it was a rare occasion for Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife, Zhu Biao and his family of three, and Wang Buli to sit together at the table to eat.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not so particular and even required the family members to eat separately.

"Buli, the business of the imperial store has been good recently." Queen Ma handed him some pork:

"The abacus method you taught Xiu'er, can you teach it to others?"

"Just ask Xiu'er, mother. This is not an exclusive secret."

Wang Buli shoveled rice into his mouth and tried his best not to eat any meat. Didn’t the royal chef stew pork with thirteen spices?

Not only pork, but mutton also has a strong flavor, it's not as good as kebabs.

"Besides, there will be math in the future imperial examinations, so it would be good for everyone to learn it. Not only can it exercise the brain, but it will also make everyone know how to do accounting, which will increase the cost of falsifying accounts."

Hearing Wang Buli's generous words, Empress Ma picked up another piece of mutton for him and said, "Good boy, eat more. Why are you embarrassed to pick up vegetables?"

(End of this chapter)