Wandering back to the county government office, I happened to encounter Lao Zhu after entering the house. He was awarding some Huaiqing officials who had performed their duties faithfully and did not collude with corrupt officials. Zhu Yuanzhang was ruthless towards corrupt officials, but he also promoted and rewarded honest officials quite heavily.
of.
It is said that rewards and punishments must be severe only to convince hundreds of officials. Many officials have risen to the top in one step this time. They have jumped from the original sixth or seventh rank to the general judge and promotion officer to two or three ranks. Basically, they have filled the gaps left by the upper-level officials of Huaiqing Mansion.
Already.
Logically speaking, it does not follow the court's appointment and dismissal rules. After all, it is your basic rule as an official not to take bribes and bend the law. However, if the emperor is willing to promote you, no one can say anything.
Officials who were promoted in this way also benefited from the emperor's kindness and could join the imperial party. They were different from those officials who were appointed and dismissed by the Ministry of Personnel. They were naturally closer to each other. This was the same as Zhu Biao's promotion of Chen Youzong.
After Zhu Biao entered the room, he saluted his father and stood aside quietly. Zhu Yuanzhang continued to teach the kneeling officials below: "You can learn from past mistakes and learn from others. You have all seen the fate of your superiors.
No matter how much gold and silver you collect, what's the use? How can you still bribe us to save your life?"
The five or six officials below bowed down and bowed: "I will definitely remember the teachings of the Holy One, and will never let down the grace of the Holy One. I will be loyal, diligent, honest and cultivate my character."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "That's good. I hope you will remember what you said today. It's still early today, so go see your former superiors and see them off for the last time."
Everyone knew that this was the Holy One's final blow to them, letting them see what their former bosses looked like after being punished and know the price they would have to pay for corruption and bending the law in the future.
Naturally, they didn't want to see it, but they didn't have the guts to refuse. They stood up after accepting the promise, and then bowed to Zhu Biao. Seeing the prince smiling and nodding, they hurried out.
Zhu Biao looked at their backs with interest and said casually: "I wonder how many of these people who have been beaten by Father can listen."
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "I'm afraid it's all temporary. When we leave, they will be high and the emperor is far away. Originally, the incorruptible was probably because of his humble position and low power, and he had to be incorruptible. Now he has become a high official in the state government.
There will be more temptations, maybe even more greedy than the last one."
His father had seen too many corrupt officials, so he naturally distrusted them. However, Zhu Biao felt that this was actually a very good emperor's character. Any emperor who trusted and relied on his officials would probably end up not very good. Emperors and ministers
There is an ebb and flow between them, and natural power conflicts are unavoidable.
What's more, the performance of these few just now was really mediocre. Since they have been honest and upright in the past, there is no need to be trembling in front of the emperor. In the final analysis, they are still a little guilty.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked his son to sit down beside him and said: "Another urging came from the Zhongshu Province, saying that a country cannot live without a king for a day. Please hurry up and drive back to Beijing."
After Zhu Biao sat down, he swung his folding fan to fan his father: "The Liu Chun case is over. The imperial envoys from all over the country feel confident that it is indeed time for my father to return to Beijing."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "It's time to return to Beijing, but we are going to change our way to see the public sentiment in other places, and also to check whether the local officials' report that the government is well-connected and the people can live and work in peace and contentment is true."
While the two men were talking, lunch was ready. It was all the old style. What you eat in the capital is what you eat outside. Both the emperor and the prince ate from the same pot. No one dared to prepare any fresh local dishes. At most, they learned it later.
Working on it when I return to the palace.
After lunch, Zhu Yuanzhang called Wang Shijian again, and without saying anything else, he directly promoted him to a second-class official position, gave him the emperor's sword, and three thousand bodyguards to inspect the disaster in Shaanxi and Gansu on his behalf.
Wang Shijian was grateful, but he didn't dare to look up at Zhu Yuanzhang's expression. Just feeling that cold look in his eyes made his scalp numb in waves, and his whole body seemed to be covered with biting insects.
The more this happened, the more Wang Shijian began to hate the officials who bribed him. If they hadn't tempted him with their gold, silver and beauty, he would be afraid of receiving rewards now.
Zhu Biao said with emotion: "If you are a minister with an improper body and an impure heart, your power and wealth will be like a passing cloud."
Wang Shijian suddenly trembled when he heard this, but he did not dare to say more. Zhu Yuanzhang was not in the mood to say anything more to him and asked him to go down and prepare and set off immediately tomorrow.
After he left, Zhu Biao comforted him and said: "If my father really doesn't like this person, then let him stay in Shaanxi and Gansu forever. Just in time to plan a little, I will have the reasons to clean up corrupt officials on a large scale."
As an imperial envoy, Wang Shijian took bribes and protected criminal officials. This was a crime of deceiving the emperor. It was normal for his entire family to be executed. If it had not been involved in the Liu Chun case, he would have been tortured and awaited execution together with the prefect of Huaiqing and others.
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Corruption must be dealt with in an upright and dignified manner. There is no need to use any secret means. Biao'er, you have been extremely smart and strategic since you were a child. It is a natural good thing, but it also makes you get used to it.
In order to use various means to solve the problem at the minimum cost, there are always some things in this world that cannot be taken even if there is a shortcut to the south. We must overcome obstacles and find a way from the front."
The smile on Zhu Biao's face froze after hearing this, and his expression changed a few times before he sighed and said: "What my father taught me is that as the crown prince of the country, I am indeed a bit petty."
Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and patted his son on the shoulder and said: "Your father is still strong. We are holding him up today and he won't collapse. You don't have to be afraid of anything. Just go ahead and do it."
After saying that, Zhu Yuanzhang went straight to the bedroom to rest. Zhu Biao was still sitting on the stool, reaching out and patting his warm cheek. He knew in his heart how he behaved. He was indeed not like his father, who was like me even if there were thousands of people.
of grandeur.
He is used to solving problems even when he has an absolute advantage. It's not that he's afraid of anything, it's just that his personality is like this. After all, he lacks the arrogance of the founding prince.
But is this really bad? Not necessarily. Even though tens of millions of people have passed away, there are not many unparalleled heroes. Zhu Biao knew that he was not that kind of character, whether in his previous life or this life.
Forcing someone to learn is just imitation. Zhu Biao's face slowly returned to its previous calmness. Everyone is different. Zhu Biao believed that his character was not bad. Maybe he was not suitable for calming down troubled times and creating a new world, but when it comes to governing the world
Maybe it's more appropriate.
Chopping firewood and setting up pots is a skill, as is cooking vegetables and rice. It is said that governing a big country is like cooking small dishes, but it is nothing more than that. After Zhu Biao stood up, he took a look inside, and then left with a smile on his face.
I will never be worse than anyone else, not even my father. My path is not wrong. If I deny myself, then what are I still doing?