The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 613: The Earliest KPI Assessment - Performance Assessment Method

On the canopy.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said tearfully to the little emperor sitting on the throne:
"Before his death, the late emperor personally held my hand and entrusted me with important matters."

"This is the alliance I pledged myself to make. Although I am a weak and incompetent minister, I am unable to accomplish anything great to repay your kindness."

"As for national affairs, no matter how big or small, no matter how trivial or long, I wish to do everything within my power and according to my duty, with all my wisdom and strength."

"I will never avoid complaints or resentments, and I will never refuse fatigue or exhaustion."

"I only work hard to achieve success and do things, and I dare not have the slightest desire to seek favors or profits!"

……

【Zhang Juzheng witnessed the chaotic political situation during the Jiajing period with his own eyes.】

[In the second year of Longqing, the new policy outlined in the "Chen Liu Shi Shu" was submitted.]

【Emperor Longqing gladly accepted it, but the then Prime Minister Li Chunfang wanted to keep the emperor in peace and did not want to do anything.】

[Second Assistant Minister Chen Yiqin did not comment.]

[This made Zhang Juzheng realize that he could only realize his ambitions after he had mastered the power.]

[In June of the first year of the Wanli reign (1573), Zhang Juzheng proposed the "Performance Assessment System"]

……

The period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
"No wonder..."

Liu Che stroked his beard and said softly:
"In all previous dynasties, ministers of state would investigate and punish the other party's cliques, but this man only wanted to kill Gao Gong without making any further inquiries."

"He wants to use Longqing's policies as a stepping stone."

……

Tang Dynasty and Gaozong period
Li Zhi prepared paper and ink and waited for copying.

Since Tianmu paid so much attention to this person, his reforms must have been effective.

Copy it and use it as a reference.

"But why does this passage look so much like the "Book of Departure"?"

……

[According to the Kaocheng Law, when the six ministries and the Censorate forwarded various memorials and imperial edicts to the various government offices, they would consider the distance and urgency of the matter in advance, set a processing period, and keep a record of it in a written book, which would be cancelled at the end of each month.]

[Except for those official documents that do not need to be examined, other official documents such as re-examination, questioning, discussion, and supervision and verification shall be processed in two separate volumes, with the summary of the official document and the prescribed processing period noted. One copy shall be sent to the six departments for cancellation, and the other to the cabinet for examination.]

[The six departments will check them one by one and will finish selling them next month.]

[A summary review will be conducted once in each of the first and second half of the year to classify and check whether there are any violations or unrecorded events in the book. 】

[If there is any delay, it will be reported immediately and the various government offices will be questioned and ordered to explain the reasons.]

[In the spring and summer of the following year, we will review all the unresolved cases from the previous year, and do the same in the autumn and winter until all the cases are resolved.]

[If there are government offices or officials who fail to follow these regulations, they will be held accountable.]

【If the governor or the provincial governor delays, the six ministries will report it.】

[If the six ministries and the Censorate conceal or deceive others when cancelling documents, the six departments shall report it.]

[If the six departments conceal or deceive others when submitting their reports, the cabinet will report it.]

[In this way, there will be monthly examinations and annual checks, so that the voice will be accurate and the matter can be held accountable.]

[This formed a system of performance evaluation: the Cabinet audited the six departments, the six departments audited the six ministries and the Censorate, and the six ministries and the Censorate audited the governors and inspectors, thus establishing a sound administrative and official document operation system.]

……

{May I ask why you call it the "Kaocheng Method"? I don't understand.}

{Literally, it is a law for assessing performance. The cabinet sets work tasks and rates the progress of the six ministries and local officials. The outstanding ones can be promoted, and there are corresponding reward and punishment systems for different levels of performance.}
｛Every day at work, you have to punch in for attendance, and attendance is one of the performance evaluation methods.｝
｛To some extent, it is already quite close to the current various assessment systems.｝
{In fact, you can also use this method yourself in your daily life. No matter what you want to do, record it in detail in advance, and then complete it step by step according to the date. Believe me, this thing will greatly increase your sense of accomplishment.}
{It is actually a ledger. Now when the superiors come to inspect the work, they first look at the ledger list. If the ledger list is not taken out, it is considered that nothing has been done.}
{The originator of this notebook work method was Zhang Juzheng's Kaocheng method.}
……

Song Dynasty: Zhezong Period
"Wonderful!"

Zhao Xu stood up suddenly.

This is a good way to solve the problem of slackness in government affairs caused by civil and military officials!

Every time they take over a matter, the officials involved dare not be perfunctory in their duties.

The sluggish working style can be changed.

The reason for this is that officials were afraid that their bad deeds would be recorded in the performance evaluation, thus cutting off their path to promotion.

Zhao Xu originally had no hope for the Ming Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, a prescription for the Song Dynasty's illness actually popped up!
"Wonderful!"

...Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Empress Ma secretly.

Queen Ma curled her lips and said helplessly:

"Really? You want to make this a ancestral rule too?"

Zhu Yuanzhang clenched his fist and coughed twice.

"Well, good policies must continue."

Empress Ma stuffed the pumpkin seeds in her hand into Old Zhu's mouth and said unhappily:

"You keep changing the ancestral system day by day! Leave some room for future generations to survive!"

"How do you know that this performance evaluation system won't be used by opportunistic officials to seek promotion and profit?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and was about to get angry!
But then he thought of the astronomical phenomena in Longqing and sighed helplessly and gave up.

……

Ming Dynasty Jiajing Period
With one hand on his chin, his eyes were shining brightly!
"Ah……"

A cold smile appeared on Zhu Houcong's lips.

"So, what's the price?"

This sounds like a very good assessment system.

But its essence is a disguised suppression of scientific and free speech.

The six censors had a transcendent status of being responsible for supervising state affairs. Although their rank was not high, they could seal and refute imperial edicts and exercise a veto over the emperor's unreasonable decisions.

The censors were the emperor's eyes and ears, and they supervised the court's administration, judicial affairs, and personnel on behalf of the emperor.

The Kaocheng system was equivalent to abolishing the independence of the censors and imperial censors of the six departments in the name of performance appraisal.

Their official career prospects were firmly controlled by the cabinet, and in turn by Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the cabinet.

"Can you alone suppress the criticism of officials all over the world?"

Zhu Houcong felt that he could not suppress it.

The key to suppressing this is not whether the system is implemented or not, but whether it can be maintained.

How could he guarantee that after his death, the emperor would not abandon this system amid the attacks of the censors?

"clatter."

Zhu Houcong stood up slowly.

The sunlight shines down from the temple gate.

The majestic figure loomed over the throne behind him.

"Only I can control this matter!"

"I have decided on the method of examination and performance evaluation!"

……

【It is well known that the Ming Dynasty was accustomed to following the old ways and the laws established by their ancestors, and was very averse to reforming the old ways and establishing the new.】

[In this political atmosphere, it is easy to imagine the huge resistance to reform and new policies.]

【Therefore, Wanli's New Deal encountered fierce resistance from the very beginning. 】

【However, since the new policies addressed current problems and were very effective, it was difficult for opponents to find any evidence against them, so they attacked Zhang Juzheng's personal conduct and alienated the relationship between Emperor Wanli and Zhang Juzheng, in order to force Zhang Juzheng to step down and interrupt the new policies.】

[In the first month of the fourth year of the Wanli reign (1576), the censor Liu Tai impeached Zhang Juzheng for abusing his power and deceiving the emperor.]

【Zhang Juzheng was furious and asked for his resignation from Emperor Wanli. As a result, Emperor Wanli imprisoned Liu Tai, beat him with a hundred canes in court, and sent him to a distant post.】

【Officials were discussing this, and Zhang Juzheng wrote a memorial to defend himself, changing the sentence to exempt the people from the caning.】

【The voices of opposition disappeared for a while.】

【But the good times didn’t last long.】

[In September of the fifth year of the Wanli reign (1577), news of the death of Zhang Juzheng's father, Zhang Wenming, reached the capital.]

[For most people, the death of an old father is a private family matter. However, for a prime minister like Zhang Juzheng who was under the watchful eyes of the public, how to deal with the funeral of his deceased father was shrouded in a strong political color.]

【People’s words are scary, and this led to a sensational “love-stealing” incident. 】

【The voices of opposition to the new policy that had subsided reappeared. 】

(End of this chapter)