The remaining officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs were not qualified to hear the emperor's personal pronouncement on them. As more than five hundred people were beheaded, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment left with the order, and the hall was instantly filled with the feeling of grief for dead rabbits and foxes.
atmosphere.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the officials and said: "The most precious thing on a fox is its fur, the most precious flesh and blood on an ox or sheep, what is the most precious thing on a human being? It's the solar terms and the bones. I hope you and others will cherish themselves and don't go astray!"
"
The officials lowered their heads to express their respect for listening to the holy teachings, and Zhu Yuanzhang was wasting his time with them. He had already said what needed to be said, and those who did not listen would have their own consequences.
After that, today's court meeting ended. Zhu Biao was not in the mood to watch more than 500 people being beheaded, so he followed Zhu Yuanzhang directly back to the imperial study.
Li Shanchang saw that the father and son above him were gone, so he had to go back to Zhongshu Province to deploy manpower to plug the gap in the Ministry of Revenue.
Yang Xian walked out of Fengtian Hall, ready to see the fate of those officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs. Who dared them to check his background without thinking about whether his buttocks were clean?
When Zhu Yuanzhang and his son walked to the Imperial Garden, Zhu Biao looked at his father and said: "Rectifying officials does not happen overnight. Father does not have to worry about them."
Zhu Yuanzhang held the flower bed and said: "We know this, but I just feel sorry for them. It took decades of hard work to climb to a high position. If you make a mistake in one step, you will never come back."
After the father and son walked around, Zhu Biao said: "The imperial examination is just around the corner. My father has already thought about the content of the imperial examination."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "We know this. When the time comes, let Liu Bowen write a few and submit them, and we will just pick the one we like."
Zhu Biao smiled and nodded: "Three hundred people have passed the imperial examination, which can just fill the vacancies in the household department."
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think so: "We plan to let them go to Shanxi with you to practice. After all, they are knowledgeable in literature. Thank you for helping you handle the relocation affairs."
After Zhu Biao heard this, he thought it was his father who was worried about him: "Father, I am sure that I will do a good job in relocating the people. All parties in the court are in urgent need of manpower. Instead of leaving them in the hands of my son, it is better to put them in the hands of my subordinates who need them more."
place."
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "Most of them are children from aristocratic families who have not known daily necessities since they were young. They may be good at learning, but we don't feel comfortable letting them run errands directly!"
Zhu Yuanzhang clasped his hands behind his back: "Working with you to deal with the resettlement is the best training. Let them take a good look at the suffering of the people at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty. Only then will they know how to deal with local affairs. These cannot be learned from the Four Books and Five Classics."
Arrived."
Zhu Biao smiled, and the melody of educated youth going to the countryside rang in his mind. After knowing what his father meant, Zhu Biao had no intention of declining.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked back at his son and said: "When you get to the place, you don't have to worry about where they come from. The dirty work will be done on them. Take a good look at their appearance."
Zhu Biao nodded in agreement, and the father and son walked around for a few times. Zhu Yuanzhang had to go back to work again, and Zhu Biao also had to check on matters related to the imperial examination.
Zhu Biao went back to the East Palace to change his clothes, and then went to Song Lian's side first. He learned that dozens of northern candidates had arrived in the past two days, and some of them happened to be in special circumstances. Song Lian was about to ask Zhu Yuanzhang for instructions.
It turned out that among the candidates who came from the north this time, they were all recommended by local officials, and four of them were children of government officials. They should not have been recommended, but the local officials also wrote a letter specifically.
The local situation is explained above. Except for the children of officials, there are no other suitable people in the county, so I have no choice but to recommend it. If you don't agree, you can invalidate it and everything will be obeyed.
Zhu Biao thought for a while and decided to agree. Zhu Biao knew that place. It was on the northernmost border. The living conditions were so poor that it was really difficult to find other candidates.
In ancient times, there were actually political examiners. Prisoners, monks, Taoist priests, businessmen, prostitutes, elites, officials, officials, and their descendants were not allowed to take part in the imperial examination.
The first two are easy to understand, but the last two are a bit puzzling. Officials and policemen are still considered members of the public family, so why are their descendants not even qualified to take the imperial examination?
Song Lian explained that because the job of catching a quickie is a bad business, a job that offends others, and a despicable industry.
We always have to arrest people and always deal with bad people and bad things. Serious people are destined to disdain this, so we can only let untouchables do it. Those who do bad things can only be bad people.
Zhu Biao was slightly speechless, but the reality is true. Most local officials are like this. Sometimes they really can't find anyone, so the county magistrate can just arrest strong men to do this. After all, without the armed force of the police, the county magistrate
How to deal with the local ruffians?
Zhu Shijie understood that the security guards of ancient Greek city-states were also served by slaves. When citizens committed crimes, slaves with low status had to catch them. Whenever a citizens’ meeting was held, many citizens who were lazy and refused to come out for the meeting also had slaves to hold the ropes.
drive them out
It seems that ancient civilizations all have something in common, but Zhu Biao intends to improve the status of officials. Those who came from the imperial examination will at least be officials instead of officials after becoming officials.
The difference between officials and local officials is as great as the difference between heaven and earth. Officials usually end up serving as county magistrates. They serve the officials. They are usually the local gangsters and the county magistrates who have a stronghold on the business.
Zhu Biao first wanted to give the officials some channels for promotion. They may not have enough talent and learning, but they are experts in managing local people, collecting grain and paying taxes, etc. It would not be a bad idea if they could become county magistrates.
In fact, the county magistrate of a place does not need much talent and learning, after all, the scope of his administration is very large, but this most important grassroots administrator must have a sufficient understanding of the local people's livelihood.
This is precisely the biggest problem of officials who came from the imperial examination. Their vision is too big. They always think about governing the country and bringing peace to the world. They look at the sky and refuse to keep their feet on the ground.
Most of the candidates were eager to find connections after becoming county magistrates. Local affairs were actually handled by the servants. This became a habit from generation to generation.
An imaginary county magistrate.
Zhu Biao valued talents from the imperial examination, but he valued talents who could do practical things more. There were always people who could read the Four Books and Five Classics, but there were not many talents who could help Zhu Biao govern the place well.
Of course, it is impossible to improve them all at once, and it is also impossible to let them stay in the local area for promotion, otherwise they will form local forces, and their grades and the difficulty of promotion will also be restricted.
And it is not something that should be done now, but Zhu Biao also has to prepare well. This kind of thing is breaking the old system and is not an easy matter. It will not be too late to make plans when he starts to govern.
His father was a person who valued the system, and the literati would not agree. After all, this was seizing their position. Moreover, this matter was not only beneficial, but also had many disadvantages. Zhu Biao himself needed to weigh it carefully.
The pros and cons are not something that can be determined in a flash.
