After the founding of the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years, the body of the Ming Dynasty inevitably became increasingly bloated, especially the bureaucracy.
But correspondingly, the imperial court's assessment of officials has become increasingly strict - at least this is how the system is formulated.
It was custom-made in the early Ming Dynasty and inspected by Beijing officials, who immediately deposed Zhi when the examination was completed.
That is, irregular inspections.
When the emperor encounters something, he will check it out when he thinks of it to see if the person below is ruthless enough to hide it from him.
In the eighth year of Tianshun, which was nearly a hundred years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Beijing Chaoxiang finally formed a custom-made system - "held once every ten years, regardless of appointment, salary, Dingyou, tolerance, recuperation, provincial sacrifices, etc., all public and private yamen The superior officer of the hall inspected."
And in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi.
Under the continuous advice of Huang Bao, the official doctor, Lin Han, the official secretary, and Xu Tianci, the official official secretary, the Beijing inspection was changed to once every six years. The superior officer of the hall will conduct inspections from now on, once every six years, and write an order."
But after arriving at Zhengde, once every six years is too long.
The so-called intervening inspection was born - that is, in addition to once every six years, additional inspections are temporarily added depending on the situation.
For example, after Gao Gong took charge of the cabinet, he wanted to plow the officialdom again before the official inspection period, so he took advantage of the haze to conduct intercalary inspections.
In addition to the annual inspection of Beijing officials, the Ministry of Personnel also conducts assessments on the number of years officials have been in office.
Once every three years after serving as an official, each officer will review his merits and demerits within three years and submit them for review to determine his dismissal.
The two methods are similar. For those with five ranks and below, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will jointly inspect with the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the chief seal officials of each court. For those with four ranks and above, the emperor will personally decide whether to stay or leave.
In short, this inspection of large and small institutions covers officials, both large and small, both inside and outside Beijing.
In today's Wanli Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng proposed the examination method, which went a step further, combining the effects of the two, and directly changed it into a national normalized annual examination.
Although it has been a big step forward, it is also the same as the same origin and has developed slowly until now.
It's easy to say that they are of the same origin, and the original team is more comfortable at work.
Especially the Department of Civil Service Examination, where officials have been in charge of examinations and deposed. No matter which time they are inspected, they are the well-deserved main force. It can be said that they have experienced hundreds of battles.
Today, even if there was a surprise inspection by the emperor, the examination department did not lose its position. Instead, it quickly prepared the case files and documents as requested by the emperor.
Zhu Yijun majestically occupied the yamen office of the Ministry of Personnel Examination, sitting in the hall and reading the case files compiled by the Ministry of Personnel.
From time to time, he would ask the two ministers of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on the side: "Shen Qing, Wen Qing, how many officials are there in the two capitals and one province that I have passed the examination this time?"
Shen Shixing and Wen Chun were specially given seats by the emperor, and sat on the left and one on the right under the examination hall.
When the emperor asked questions, it was natural that Zuo Shilang would answer first.
Shen Shixing recalled for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, after passing the examination this time, there are 1,996 officials in Beijing, including 580 in Nanjing."
"The two direct jurisdictions merged with Fujian Province, state, prefecture, and county officials, a total of 5,240."
"Two capitals and one province, totaling more than 7,000 people."
Zhu Yijun flipped through the case files, listened to Shen Shixing's words, and nodded.
There are currently 28,963 officials on the books.
Seven thousand people, although only a fraction, is not a small number.
No wonder I haven't finished it after two months of work.
Zhu Yijun asked again: "So far, how many are good and bad?"
Shen Shixing and Wen Chun looked at each other, and then looked at Liu Dashou, the doctor of the examination department who was accompanying the emperor to interpret the case file.
Liu Dashou knew what was going on and quickly helped Shangguan take over the conversation: "Your Majesty, so far, our company has passed more than 5,000 people, of which 211 are excellent, 672 are inferior, and the rest are all
qualified."
When Zhu Yijun heard this, he couldn't help but shook his head.
This is too much.
10% are unqualified, and we haven’t even started working in the field yet!
Now that it is the first year of passing the exam, more work is being done to improve the system.
Most of the examination requirements for local prefectures and counties are just some indicators for tax collection, transportation, and stability maintenance. Not to mention the officials in the capital, if they maintain the normal operation of the department and complete the tasks assigned by the emperor and the cabinet, there will be no failure.
If it is a minor problem, the officials will even show their favor. As long as they are willing to make corrections within a time limit, it will not be recorded in the case file.
But even so, the number of unqualified officials still far exceeded Zhu Yijun's imagination.
This can only mean that these people either don’t do any work at all, or they are simply delaying on purpose.
Zhu Yijun randomly pulled out a case file and studied it carefully - he wanted to see what was wrong with the law.
"...In December of the sixth year of Longqing, Prince Shangyong of Zhongshan in the Ryukyu Kingdom sent his companions to pay tribute, requesting him to be crowned the king. He sent a letter to the Ministry of Rites and ordered the Fujian town patrol and other officials to inspect the document. The Fujian town patrol and other officials did not
Report. In May of the following year, I accepted a bribe of 1,600 taels of silver from the Crown Prince of Zhongshan, Shangyong, and I reported it."
Also attached below are the impeachment of the imperial censor and the complaint of Prince Zhongshan.
Okay, I’m very energetic after eating and taking cards.
It has to be said that Zhu Yijun is used to the expected operations, but it is a bit outrageous to delay the official business of the Ministry of Rites.
He continued to scroll down.
"The tax burden of Changzhou Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, and Suzhou Prefecture has reached more than 170,000 yuan a year. It is because of the manipulation of the prefects and other officials that although they quickly collect taxes, they are still not fully paid according to the limit."
It is followed by the accounts posted by the Ministry of Accounts, and who is responsible for the prefecture and Yamen officials posted by the Ministry of Personnel in black and white.
Tax arrears... Zhu Yijun shook his head.
Last year, the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang complained bitterly at the court meeting, saying that it was difficult to collect taxes. The local government either complained about natural disasters or man-made disasters, or complained about uncooperative people.
After the censors from all over the country went to press for it, they summarized four points: one is that powerful people are blocking it; the other is that there are officials who are idle; the third is that big fishermen invade the fishing industry; and the fourth is that the sticks are all over the place.
To put it mildly, it was actually a collusion between officials and gentry.
Zhu Yijun now saw the name of the official who corresponded to the state government.
Zhu Yijun silently wrote down a note, and then handed it to Wu Zhongxing, the Hanlin editor on the side: "Please take a look at it and tell me later whether it is fair to be sentenced to be unqualified for an official."
Wu Zhongxing bent down, held it in both hands, and respectfully took the case file handed over by the emperor.
He and the Shujishi on the side watched together.
Zhu Yijun let them read it by themselves while he read through the files again.
Greed, cruelty, impetuousness, inadequacy, old age and illness are just some of them.
Zhu Yijun sometimes has smoke coming out of his seven orifices, sometimes it is cloudy and clear, and sometimes he feels relish.
Unknowingly.
Outside the examination hall, two rare guests walked in.
The little emperor was looking down at the file without realizing it, but Shen Shixing, Wen Chun and others saw it and hurriedly stood up to salute.
Zhang Juzheng stretched out his hand and pressed it weakly, indicating that Shen Shixing did not need to see the courtesy. Then he and Gao Yi stood beside the emperor, silently waiting for the emperor to turn over the scroll.
The young emperor himself was not aware of it at all. Without raising his head, he asked Liu Dashou, the doctor of the examination department: "Mr. Liu, among these unqualified officials, what is the reason for not doing their job?"
Zhu Yijun roughly scrolled through and found that among these unqualified officials, corruption and tax resistance were still in the minority.
Most of them just record a sentence of disloyalty.
It made him a little puzzled.
Liu Dashou glanced at the two court officials and two cabinet ministers on the court. Seeing that neither of them had any intention of answering, he replied to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the so-called incompetence mostly refers to county magistrates, prefects, various ministries and yamen, etc."
All the court officials, prefects, etc., do not attend their duties, do not sign bonds, and do not perform their duties."
"Although no crime has been committed, it is a breach of duty to prevent the department or the duties of the government from functioning properly."
Zhu Yijun's hand turning the page suddenly stopped in mid-air, and then he silently pointed at the two people on the file and ordered: "Ask Tu Xiying, the minister of Honglu Temple, and Zhao Zhigao, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, to come to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to see me."
Immediately he sighed again: "The corpse seat is a vegetarian... I don't even sit in class, I don't know what I am doing all day long."
I was talking to myself and didn't expect anyone to answer.
Suddenly, a familiar voice came into my ears: "Replying to your Majesty, most of them are traveling around and giving lectures."
Zhu Yijun was deep in thought when he was unprepared and trembled by the sudden sound.
But as expected, when he looked up, he saw Zhang Juzheng standing beside him and bowing in salute.
After the two saluted, they stood beside the emperor without squinting.
Zhao Yongxian on the side looked slightly flustered, lowering his head and not daring to meet the teacher's eyes. Wu Zhongxing, on the other hand, bowed respectfully to Zhang Juzheng, calmly and calmly.
Only then did Zhu Yijun come back to his senses.
After calming down, he smiled and said: "It's not easy for you two gentlemen to work in the cabinet, so why did you come here quietly to scare me?"
Zhang Juzheng was expressionless: "When I heard that Your Majesty was dragged out of the palace by a group of concubines, I felt uneasy and had to abandon the cabinet affairs and put Your Majesty's safety first."
Zhu Yijun smiled awkwardly.
Pretending not to hear the dissatisfaction with his own behavior of not saying hello, he looked at Gao Yi and changed the topic: "Sir, when you said you were traveling around the mountains and rivers and giving lectures, did you mean Tu Xiying and Zhao Zhigao?"
Gao Yi originally wanted to follow suit and "sarcastically admonish" the emperor, but seeing the emperor's expression, he still didn't sarcastically speak out.
After thinking about it, he decided to lend the emperor a donkey and replied: "Your Majesty, I don't know anything about the massacre of Xiying."
"But it is true that Zhao Zhigao did not go to the Hanlin Academy to attend classes all day long, but instead gave lectures in Beijing."
"Yesterday, he and Geng Dingxiang, Zeng Tongheng, Zou Dehan and others were studying at the Yangming School in Beijing and held a lecture conference in the capital in a Taoist temple."
When Zhu Yijun heard this, he couldn't help but frown.
He looked at Zhang Juzheng and said doubtfully: "Sir, I remember that Huang Kao once issued an edict that officials in office in our court are not allowed to give lectures."
This matter was promoted by Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.
Why does it seem to exist in name only now?
When it came to business, Zhang Juzheng's expression finally became more relaxed, and he explained to the emperor: "The late emperor did issue this edict, but those who violate it are usually impeached through scientific methods, and there is no customization."
Zhu Yijun said oh and nodded.
The meaning of this statement is obvious, that is, Emperor Mu Zong only did not allow officials to give lectures, but did not say what would happen if officials did give lectures.
At the beginning, Gao Gong had control of the way of speech. When he saw that he had to be impeached by Ke Dao, he could suppress it for a while.
Today, Zhang Juzheng is not as dependent on words as Gao Gong - otherwise, students would not have impeached him one after another.
Therefore, this order is somewhat difficult to use now.
"Your Majesty, Tu Butang and editor Zhao are waiting outside the hall."
While a few people were chatting briefly, Deng Yizan, who went to summon someone from Zhongshushe, had already turned back - whether it was the Honglu Temple where Tu Xiying was, or the Hanlin Academy where Zhao Zhigao was, they were only two courtyard walls away from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
.
Zhu Yijun put away his cheerful expression while chatting with the two gentlemen and said solemnly: "Let Tu Xiying come in."
Not long after.
A crimson-robed official in his fifties walked in slowly, following behind Deng Yizan.
Tu Xiying had been in the officialdom for more than ten years, and he was in the fourth rank. Now that the emperor suddenly summoned him, he naturally knew that something was wrong.
However, he still looked calm and bowed meticulously: "I, Tu Xiying, Minister of Honglu Temple, pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Zhu Yijun looked at the visitor carefully.
I saw that his appearance was dignified, dignified, and he had a good appearance.
Zhu Yijun did not directly question the guilt, or even bring up serious matters. Instead, he started chatting: "I remember, Tu Qing was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Jiajing?"
Tu Xiying responded calmly and replied: "I dare to show your Majesty's concern. I am indeed a Jinshi in the 35th year of Jiajing, and my native place is Nanzhili."
He was naturally not proud to mention his place of origin for no reason.
But the emperor suddenly came to the official department and sat in the examination room, which must be for the purpose of passing the Dharma examination.
This kind of inspection of officials has always been a good time to eliminate dissidents.
He thought to himself that the emperor's prejudice against the people of Southern Zhili was probably an excuse to play out, so he was mentally prepared and accepted it calmly.
After hearing this, Zhu Yijun nodded, and then asked casually: "At that time, Tu Qing traveled thousands of miles to Beijing to take the exam, and what was his original intention?"
There is always a reason for being an official.
Whether it is to change the world, to shine on one's family, or even to become a personal master, these are today's mainstream values.
When it comes to individuals, you can even find several reasons.
It was an easy question to answer, but when Tu Xiying heard the emperor's question, she was suddenly stunned.
A long silence followed.
After a while, he responded with a respectful expression and a good tone: "Your Majesty, I was admitted to the Jinshi examination in order to put what I have learned into use, report it to the country, and minister to the people."
Tu Xi's English had not been tempered by the central government, and several lower-ranking household officials could not bear it. They buried their heads as low as possible and gritted their teeth to prevent themselves from laughing.
Still, the assistant ministers, ministers, and common people are better educated and their expressions remain unchanged.
Zhu Yijun was also used to this kind of official language, so he nodded in approval.
Just when Tu Xiying was confused, the emperor's voice reached his ears again.
"If Tu Qing had this ambition at the beginning, then why does he say now, 'You can give up being an official for a day, but you can't stop learning for a day.'"
"Is Tu Qing no longer willing to report to the country and go to herd the people?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tu Xiying's expression changed in astonishment.
Not only Tu Xiying, Wen Chun and Shen Shixing looked at each other with a hint of surprise in their eyes.
Come prepared!
As Tu Xiying was a fourth-grade official, the officials could not directly judge him as unqualified. They could only give an evaluation of "unqualified". The emperor had the final say whether he was qualified or not.
But this test is only about Tu Xiying's absence from work, failure to do business, failure to sign official documents, etc.
The sentence "Office can be abandoned in a day, but learning cannot be stopped in a day", but it is not written above.
Furthermore, except for saying this kind of thing in private to gain fame, who would say it publicly?
If this is not the corner that Jin Yiwei listens to, what else could it be?
Shen Shixing Wen Chun could think of it, and naturally many people could think of it.
Wu Zhongxing looked at the emperor's back with some fear.
Zhao Yongxian looked around and raised his head to check if there were any figures on the beams.
Zhu Yijun ignored these movements.
Seeing that Tu Xiying didn't speak for a long time, he asked: "Qing Tu, if you just said that the official position can be abandoned in one day, that's all."
"But as an official of Honglu Temple, you have been on duty less than half of the time this year. You have been traveling around the temple and Taoist halls all day, giving lectures and teachings."
"Qing Tu, I'm really curious. If you don't want to be an official, why did you want to get the honor in the first place?"
He looked at Tu Xiying quietly.
This type of person is the most likely to fail the exam in this round.
He didn't do anything harmful to nature. Not only was he not corrupt, but he also had a reputation for being honest. He even often criticized this authoritarian and that Xing Jin, acting like an upright official.
But what about my job?
I'm sorry, I don't want fame, and I don't want to do my job.
If you don't do anything, you won't make mistakes.
Eating a vegetarian meal in the corpse's place is commonly known as occupying the latrine and not pooping.
In order to keep the various departments running on a daily basis, sometimes problems often arise.
Take the last Wanshou Festival as an example, the envoys who came to congratulate were not only the filial son of Korea, but also people from other vassal states.
But Tu Xiying was giving lectures in those days, and on the Wanshou Festival, banquets were arranged for each vassal state to go to the Ministry of Rites. Even North Korea had finished eating and left!
What's even more annoying is that such so-called people who "do not seek fame and fame" can often be praised by scholars and promoted quickly.
Tu Xiying's calm expression was swept away, replaced by lowered eyebrows and silence.
After a long while, Tu Xiying said slowly: "Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to be an official, it's just that I'm not used to the environment. As soon as I go to work at Honglu Temple, I feel unwell."
"Please return to Nanzhili."
Zhu Yijun almost laughed angrily.
A dead pig is not afraid of boiling water, right?
After working on it for a long time, is it because you want to get the honors and return to your hometown in fine clothes and wait for retirement to enjoy the blessings?
Historically, this guy sneaked back to Nanzhili this month - "Tu Xiying, the minister of Honglu Temple, repaired the Nanjing Yamen because of the imbalance of water and soil."
As for how it went back home?
Reviews are mixed.
Colleagues in Nanzhili praised this person very much, calling him a model scholar and the first person after Chen Jingzong.
But the students in Nanzhili were different. They scolded him for being detrimental to the teacher's ethics and acting erratically.
Bureaucrats who are praised by their colleagues but have the entire Imperial Academy students unite to reject him all know what they are about.
At the end of the development, Nanjing Huke Wang Wei couldn't stand it any longer, and read a book about Tu Xiying, saying that his behavior was irrational, a disgrace to the teacher, and that he had many resentments among his disciples.
Don’t admire the gold content of fame.
Zhu Yijun didn't even bother to answer Tu Xiying's request, so he waved his hand and sent him away.
After Tu Xiying walked out of the official office of the Gongfu Examination Department.
Zhu Yijun then turned to look at the common people Ji: "Among the ministers, are there any who do not admire fame?"
"If you tell me now, it can be fulfilled as soon as possible."
Li Deyou quickly stepped out and said: "Your Majesty, this person is pretentious, you can tell at a glance!"
"There is no country and people in my heart, nor does it mean that I don't admire fame."
"I'm just following the example of Lu Shusheng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, buying fame by asking for invitations, and imitating the good looks of others!"
"How can I follow in his footsteps?"
Zhu Yijun is happy.
You, a fuquet, will now criticize others for inviting you to buy your reputation.
At this time, Wu Zhongxing also came out and said with emotion: "Your Majesty, today I saw the corpse of this person eating a plain meal without shame, and then I realized the need to pass the test."
"People like these who seek fame and support but do not engage in official duties are not as good as my colleagues (chai) in the Hanlin Academy."
All he had to do was say, "I'll do it."
Having said that, Wu Zhongxing also cast a look at Zhang Juzheng, full of understanding, regret, apology, and extremely complicated.
Zhang Juzheng looked intently at first, but then he became angrier as he thought about it, and glared at Wu Zhongxing with his eyebrows twisted.
Naturally, the little emperor didn't see the little action on the field.
Pass Tu Xiying's case file to Li Deyou and let everyone circulate it.
At this time, Shen Shixing, who was sitting in the lobby, finally couldn't help but stand up and reminded: "Your Majesty, according to the examination law, you will be dismissed from office after three years of failure."
"This is to avoid past mistakes and avoid future ones, to treat illnesses and save people. Please consider how to deal with it, Your Majesty."
Although Tu Xiying is a bit irritating.
However, if the entrance examination method is published in black and white, if you fail at the initial stage, you still have the opportunity to make corrections.
The emperor's golden words are one thing, but the credibility of the cabinet and officials is another.
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Chun immediately said: "Your Majesty, I think that although you should not be dismissed from office, you should still be punished a little to warn the courtiers. Otherwise, the courtiers will see that he is okay and will rush to imitate him. I am afraid that the law will not be followed in the future.
Blame everyone."
Gao Yi glanced at the two officials, and looked at Zhang Juzheng without saying anything.
Logically speaking, the matter of legal examination has always been handled by the cabinet, and the emperor has never intervened.
Now Zhang Juzheng and Grohe should at least show their presence.
But the center has its own rules.
In order to balance the township party, the north and the south have always been mixed.
For example, if the first assistant is from the south, the censor of the capital is usually from the north.
Similarly, the emperor was worried that someone from the south of Shen Shixing was in charge of the official department, so he specifically asked Gao Yi to recommend Wen Chun, an old Qin man.
At present, because Tu Xiying, a person from the Southern Zhili Province, has differences, the cabinet cannot say anything more, lest the emperor worry about it and think that the imperial examination has really caused a party dispute.
Fortunately, the little emperor is still very sensible.
Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "I don't know much about political affairs. I just took the concubine and others to inspect it. I have my own regulations on how to deal with it. The two ministers will report to the cabinet when they are due."
He looked at Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi: "Excuse me, gentlemen."
The two of them quickly returned the gift.
Zhang Juzheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but feel relieved. It seemed that the emperor was indeed acting on a whim and was not in a hurry to take over the power of the cabinet.
Zhu Yijun looked back and said casually: "Wu Qing said that his peers in the Hanlin Academy are far superior to this generation, and let me read it before talking."
He turned to Deng Yizan and nodded: "Let Zhao Zhigao come in."
Chapter completed!