Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 140 Governor’s term limit

The officials in the court were very happy when they heard the shortcomings raised by Yuan Keli.

It is not convenient for officials from other places to write policy outlines, but they can!

They are not willing to serve as low-level foreign officials, but there are many people who want to be the governor of the border areas.

Therefore, many people began to speak out and support the policy outline proposed by the emperor. The implication behind the words is that they can write policy outlines and govern the place for the imperial court.

Seeing that his policies were supported due to shortcomings, Zhu Youjian was a little bit dumbfounded.

Although he intends to strengthen the exchanges between the capital and local officials, he will not select all governors from the capital officials.

So after thinking about it, Zhu Youjian said:
"The term of the local governor is three years, with one-third being replaced every year. The term begins in September."

"The remaining governors will continue to serve, and the governors who have not retained their posts, together with other people who are qualified to serve as governors, will hold positions in the court such as Tianzhu Shilang and Qiandu Censor."

"According to his additional title, he will observe politics in the Ministry of War, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and other departments, be familiar with court affairs, and participate in the governorship of the next year."

"If you are recommended by the court as a capital official during this period, you will naturally stay in the court and no longer serve as governor."

This strengthened the exchanges between the court and local officials and avoided the problem of foreign officials being unable to write policy outlines in time.

The ministers whispered among themselves, still feeling that after the implementation of the policy outline, there was a high possibility that Beijing officials would be elected governors, and they agreed with this policy.

With their support, Zhu Youjian quickly finalized the method of supervising the governor's court and said to the ministers:
"In the future, when the Governor's appointment is made, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will first propose a list. All officials who are qualified to serve as Governor will be listed."

"Then we solicit opinions and ask them if they are willing to serve as governor. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will draft five to ten candidates from those who are willing to serve."

"Among these candidates, those who are Beijing officials are preparing in the capital to hand over the affairs at hand and can leave their posts at any time."

"Those who are foreign officials will be transferred to the capital to observe politics in the Ministry of War, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and other departments, and prepare to participate in court promotion."

"After the court recommendation is over, those who are not selected by the Beijing officials will continue to hold their original positions. Those who are not selected by the foreign officials will still watch the politics in Beijing."

"If he has been in office for more than three years and still has not held a formal position, it means that he has done too badly. Let him take the initiative to become an official."

"This is the new governor's recommendation method. Do you agree?"

Most of the ministers agreed. Zhu Youjian saw no objection and passed the policy without even a show of hands.

Let the officials start from this group of governors and select them according to this method.

Then talking about the issue of tenure, Zhu Youjian ordered the local patrol censor to supervise the implementation of the policy outline.

A few months before the end of the governor's term, a joint investigation team was sent by the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to examine the implementation effect of the policy outline. After reporting to the court, it will be decided whether to stay in office.

Governors who remain in office naturally do not need to be recommended, and governors who do not remain in office will automatically resign at the end of their term. The court needs to recommend new candidates from among the candidates.

This is a complete process, which also means that most governors' terms are followed by three years. The three-year term does not end and generally will not be re-appointed.

In Zhu Youjian's view, this period of time is actually a bit short. In later generations, most of them were elected every five years.

Nowadays, transportation and communication are not convenient, so it should be five years.

But five years is the time for the military attache examination, and the civilian officials will definitely not be happy.

It takes five years to get promoted, which is too slow for them.

Therefore, after Zhu Youjian thought about it, he did not change the civil service practice and still set it at three years.

Three years is enough time to see whether a governor is capable. Those who do well can be retained or even promoted to the court. Those who do not do well will be asked to leave after their term ends.

As for those who have done too poorly and are constantly being impeached, we cannot wait for the end of their term before the court can replace them. Zhu Youjian said:
"The governor changes one-third every year, and the term of office cannot be changed at will."

"If a governor resigns due to various reasons during the three-year term, in order to prevent chaos in local affairs, someone recommended by Jiuqing Ting will take over quickly." "The term of this person, added to the term of the outgoing governor, will still be Still three years.”

"It does not affect the regular replacement of governors after the term ends."

This actually determines the term of the governorship, rather than the term following the official who serves.

The ministers did not notice the difference for a while. They only felt that one-third of the number was fixed every year, and the chance of being promoted by the court was greater.

Therefore, the governor's term was fixed at three years.

It was necessary to strike while the iron was hot. Zhu Youjian then discussed with the ministers the time for the governors of various places to change. Calculate which governors there are and need to recommend candidates.

Finally, based on the situation of each region and the current governor, the terms of office for the governor of Sichuan and Guizhou and the governor of Guizhou, Ningxia, Shanxi, Henan, Shuntian, Denglai, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang were determined, starting from this year.

The terms of office of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Governor of Guangdong, Governor-General of Trilateral, Governor-General Yansui, Governor Xuanfu, Governor Baoding, Governor Huguang, Governor Yingtian, Governor Yunnan, and Governor Fujian are calculated from the first year of Chongzhen.

The term of office of the Governor of Water Transport and the Governor of Fengyang, Tianjin, Datong, Sichuan, Guangxi, Nangan, Yunyang, Shaanxi, and Gansu begins in the second year of Chongzhen.

Governor Xuanda, Governor Jiliao, and Governor Liaodong were temporarily revoked, and Governor Denglai temporarily served as governor of Shandong to see if they could be merged.

The Great Wall Governor and the Liaodong Governor are non-permanent positions and do not have fixed terms.

The governors of the five provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou do not have permanent positions, but Zhu Youjian considered that the reform of the southwest region could not be completed in a short while. Even if the She'an rebellion was quelled, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou would probably be appointed. Therefore, this position was fixed for a fixed term and later turned into a permanent governor.

In this way, there are a total of twenty-six governors with fixed terms of office.

Then look at the candidates. The first one will be replaced this year.

The governor of Sichuan and Guizhou and the governor of Guizhou has been confirmed to be succeeded by Zhu Xieyuan.

Governor Zhang Yandeng of Zhejiang and Jiao Xin, governor of Ningxia, did not act rebelliously, so Zhu Youjian allowed them to stay in office.

Yang Bangxian, governor of Jiangxi, requested to build a temple for Wei Zhongxian after Zhu Youjian ascended to the throne. Although the shrine was not built, Zhu You was still ranked fourth and his property was confiscated.

Sun Guozhen, the governor of Denglai, was ranked sixth by Zhu You for his praise of beauty. His title was demoted from deputy censor of the capital to censor of the capital of Qian, and he still served as governor of Denglai.

Because of Zhu Youjian's high regard, Sun Guozhen seemed to be downgraded, but in fact he still served as governor of Shandong. The real power is said to be increased, which arouses a burst of envy.

Therefore, starting from this year, the four governors who need to be recommended immediately are the governor of Shuntian, the governor of Shanxi, the governor of Henan, and the governor of Jiangxi.

Among the other governors, there were Shang Zhouzuo, governor of Guangdong and Guangdong and governor of Guangdong, Li Daiwen, governor of Yingtian, Xie Cunren, governor of Yunnan, Zhu Yifeng, governor of Fujian; Yin Tonggao, governor of Sichuan, Wang Zunde, governor of Guangxi, and Hong Zhanzu, governor of Nangan. These people did not commit any rebellious behavior and were retained in their original posts by Zhu Youjian.

Shi Yong'an, governor of the three sides, Zhu Tongmeng, governor of Yansui, Guo Shangyou, governor of Caoyun and Fengyang governor, and Huang Yuntai, governor of Tianjin, built the temple. Zhang Sanjie, governor of Gansu, praised the temple and was demoted by Zhu Youjian to stay in office.

The term will start next year, and those who need someone to serve temporarily include the governor of Xuanfu, the governor of Baoding, and the governor of Huguang.

The term of office will start from the year after tomorrow. Those who need someone to serve temporarily include the governor of Yunyang, the governor of Shaanxi, and the governor of Datong.

Here, the governors of Shaanxi and Baoding have been appointed by Zhu Youjian as Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng. Those who need immediate recommendation include the governor of Xuanfu, the governor of Datong, the governor of Huguang, and the governor of Yunyang.

Including the previous four, there are a total of eight governors who need to be pushed out by the court.

Naturally, the four governors who were most valued by the officials were the four governors who had full terms of three years.

Next are the governors of Yunyang and Datong, who still have two-year terms, and lastly, the governors of Huguang and Xuanfu, who only have one-year terms.

Zhu Youjian first asked the ministers to recommend Yunyang to govern. This place was prone to problems due to the gathering of refugees. A capable minister must take over.

　"History of the Ming Dynasty": He was a member of the admiral and governor of Yunyang and other places. In the twelfth year of Chenghua, the refugees in Yun and Xiang rebelled repeatedly. He sent the censor of the capital to appease them, and appointed officials to govern them.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)