Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 174 Adjustment of Mazheng Station
Hearing that the emperor wanted to personally examine the officials of Taipu Temple in Beijing, Yuan Keli said:
"Guo Xingzhi sparsely attended Fang Zhenru. He had a purpose to arrest and question him, but he was later executed."

"Now that Fang Zhenru's case is being retried, Guo Xingzhi has not yet been convicted."

"Guo Cunqian did not sign the paperwork for establishing the temple, and he has not been promoted in three years."

When Zhu Youjian heard that Guo Cunqian refused to agree to build a temple for Wei Zhongxian, he immediately expressed his appreciation:

"Guo Cunqian is a man of integrity. He actually serves as the General Secretary of the General Affairs Department, and he is promoted to the Secretary of General Affairs and the left to participate in politics. He is responsible for the confidentiality of memorials."

"How good is Guo Xingzhi's ability? How did he do at Taipu Temple?"

Yuan Keli thought for a while and said:

"Guo Xingzhi is an upright and honest official. He once served as the household department's right-hand officer, the official's department's left-hand officer, and the military officer's officer."

"Now I'm still working as an engineering major, and I used to go to Shu to give advice."

Good guy! He was responsible for four of the six subjects, and he almost transferred all six subjects.

Zhu Youjian didn't need to think too much, he knew that Guo Xingzhi must have some ability, otherwise it would be impossible to become a department official, let alone work in the six departments.

So after thinking about it, he decided to be lenient and said:

"Although Fang Zhenru was involved, he was not the one who decided to commit the death penalty. Guo Xingzhi is responsible, but he is not the mastermind."

"He will be designated as the sixth-grade director of praise, and all his official ranks will be removed. Based on his past achievements, he will be restored to the rank of fourth-grade Shaoqing, and he will assume his original duties."

He also thought of Xingtaipu Temple and Yuanma Temple, which are now subordinate to Taipu Temple, and asked Yuan Keli:

"How many Xingtaipu temples and Yuanma temples are there in various places now? How many high-ranking officials are there?"

Yuan Keli said as he thought, and replied:

"There are five Xingtaipu Temples in Shanxi, Beiping, Shaanxi, Gansu and Liaodong. Later, Xingtaipu Temple in Beijing was upgraded to Taipu Temple. Now Liaodong has fallen, leaving only three in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu."

"Xingtaipu Temple has one person from the third grade, the temple minister, and one person from the seventh grade, the chief registrar."

"Originally, there was only one person for the fourth-rank Shaoqing. Later, Shaanxi and Gansu added one person to take charge of Yansui and Ningxia."

"There are three people from Shanxi and Shaanxi, and one from Gansu."

"Shaoqing and Sicheng are selected to be officials and commanders, and thousands of households are responsible for them."

"Yuanma Temple originally had four locations in Beizhili, Liaodong, Pingliang, and Gansu. Later, Yuanma Temple in Beijing was merged into Taipu Temple, and Yuanma Temple in Gansu was renamed Mu'enjun. Liaodong is now lost."

"Yuanma Temple has one junior minister of the third rank, one junior minister of the fourth rank, one minister of the seventh rank, and no fixed number of chief ministers of the sixth rank."

"There is also the Nanjing Taipu Temple in Chuzhou. There is one minister of the third rank, one minor minister of the fourth rank, one prime minister of the sixth rank, and one chief registrar of the seventh rank."

Zhu Youjian listened to Yuan Keli's narrative and was really troubled by the complicated horse administration institutions of the Ming Dynasty. After thinking and discussing for a long time, I decided:

"Establish the Northern Xingtaipu Temple and manage the Northern Mazheng Post."

"The ministers of the Taipu Temple in the north are of the third rank, and Guo Xingzhi is in charge. There are two young ministers of the fourth rank, who are in charge of Beizhili and Xuanda in Shanxi. There are two ministers of the fifth rank, who are in charge of Shandong and Henan."

"Shaanxi Xingtaipu Temple and Pingliangyuanma Temple were changed to Northwest Xingtaipu Temple, responsible for the Northwest Mazheng Post."

"There will be one person from the third-rank temple minister in charge of the general administration, and five senior fourth-rank Shaoqing ministers will be in charge of Shaanxi, Yansui, Ningxia, Gansu, and Pingliang." "Nanjing Taipu Temple, as the Southern Xingtaipu Temple, is responsible for the Southern Ma Zheng Post. The sixth-rank official is in charge of Shaanxi, Yansui, Ningxia, Gansu, and Pingliang." The Si Cheng was changed to the fifth rank, and five principals of the sixth rank were added to supervise the Mazheng Tea Industry in the post station, and be in charge of southern Zhili, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong."

"The Southwest Xingtaipu Temple was established in the five provinces of Huguang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, and was responsible for the Southwest Mazheng Post. The official positions were modeled on the Nanfang Xingtaipu Temple, and five senior and sixth-grade chiefs were also dispatched to take charge of the five provinces."

"We must ensure the supply of horses and the smooth flow of post roads, and help Zhu Xieyuan, the governor of the five provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou, put down the She'an rebellion as soon as possible."

"The rest of the temple chiefs, chiefs, chief registrars and other officials can be adjusted as needed, and the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War will follow up."

The horse administration and post offices in various places were unified into four Xingtaipu temples in the north, northwest, south and southwest. In the provinces in the north where horses can be raised, the official position of the person in charge is slightly higher.

In southern provinces where it is difficult to raise horses, the level of the person in charge is set at a lower level. Even their main task is not to manage horses, but to manage the provincial stations and provide tea to the tea horses.

After setting these responsibilities, Zhu Youjian ordered:

"The young ministers, temple prime ministers, and chief ministers of Xingtaipu Temple are still responsible for commanding and serving thousands of households, but they are not limited to official positions. Capable officers and guards can also serve."

"Furthermore, each of the four Xingtaipu temples must have a chief assigned by the Horse Administration Bureau, who is responsible for counting the number of horses, especially war horses. If there are any mistakes, he will be held responsible."

"Let Qin Shiwen, the Minister of Taipusi, sort out the Mazheng Post Offices across the country."

"The General Administration of Horse Administration should take up the horse administration affairs, formulate practical horse administration measures, and increase the number of horses."

"There is also the Tea and Horse Administration, which will take over horse trading institutions such as tea and horse markets and horse markets in various places, and uniformly manage the national horse trade."

"Promote officials who are capable and replace those who are incompetent. Check to see if there are any treacherous officials or corruption and perversion of the law."

"As the Minister of the Ministry of War, Yuan Qing must cooperate with Taipu Temple in replacing officials."

Yuan Keli understood clearly and knew that the emperor was taking advantage of the removal of the eunuch party to adjust the organization. The emperor's adjustments to official institutions finally extended from the imperial court to local governments.

However, rectifying the country's horse administration is a serious matter and should indeed be rectified. Yuan Keli agreed to the matter on behalf of Qin Shiwen without thinking too much. Just ask the emperor for more time, don't rush to see the results——

During the Ming Dynasty, Xingtaipu Temple, Yuanma Temple, Tea Horse Temple and inns were spread all over the country. It would be impossible to straighten them out without a year or two.

What's more, Taipu Temple also has driving matters, and Qin Shiwen needs to worry about these things.

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval of Yuan Keli's advice. Qin Shiwen was not required to complete it immediately, but he was given a year to see the results.

Qin Shiwen will be sixty years old. If things don't go well this year, Zhu Youjian will naturally not keep him in his post. When the time comes, it is natural that he will be replaced by a new Taipusi minister.

Chen Qiyu, the left Shaoqing of Taipu Temple, and Wu Zhaoyuan, the right Shaoqing of Taipu Temple, who are about to take office, are both officials who came up from the local government.

Needless to say, Chen Qiyu's ability is the most outstanding among the prefects. Wu Zhaoyuan is the most outstanding. If Qin Shiwen doesn't do well, both of them are capable of taking over.

After dealing with the Taipu Temple episode, Zhu Youjian added Guo Cunqian as a leftist political advisor to the General Affairs Department, and asked Lu Tunan:

"How difficult is it to classify the Di report?"

"Lu Qing, please tell me the problem. All the ministers are here and can help you select capable officials."

It is planned to select a young and capable official to serve as a right political advisor in the General Affairs Department and be responsible for the preparation of newspapers and periodicals.

(End of this chapter)