"In the past, I was not convinced by one sentence. A person's background determines what kind of knowledge he will have in the future and what heights he will reach in the future."
"The origin here does not necessarily refer to family background, but more to the environment in which one grew up."
"So the origin of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was not very good. Starting from his father Liu Taiweng's generation, he came from a family of gangsters."
"Emperor Gao, the great ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, had an extremely poor background. He had neither enough food nor clothing to keep warm. He was struggling between life and death until the twenty-fifth year!"
"But their foresight and achievements in history are beyond the reach of future generations."
"So when I was young, I thought that a person's background was nonsense. If he didn't make a big career, it should be because he was unlucky or God didn't give him a chance."
"But as I grew older, I realized that there were only two people like the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and the Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty in the vast thousands of years."
"Emperors throughout the ages, especially the emperors of the great unification king Chao, are mostly noble. They have been exaggerating the power and governance of the country since they were young."
"Even among the military leaders and emperors in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, how many of them came from unknown backgrounds?"
"When I was young, I thought about it more than once. If one day I were an emperor, I would change my country and the mountains, and I would make the sun and moon more vast!"
"Only when I sit in this position do I understand what it means to be walking on thin ice and surrounded by thorns."
"Everything you dreamed about when you were young will come to nothing when you become an adult. Even if you are an emperor, the world will not move according to the emperor's will, let alone a complete change."
"And the empire's many and difficult problems can easily make people feel frustrated and even feel powerless."
"The reason why I feel frustrated and powerless is precisely because of my background... I want to take the empire higher and further, but my abilities do not match it."
"That kind of ability is not about power and tactics, nor political checks and balances, but a pattern..."
——Imperial University Press, "The Mystery of History-Diary of Emperor Taizong"
~~
The lights in the Qianqing Palace are still on. Ever since the decision was made to publicly promote the New Deal across the country, the lights in this palace have been burning all night long.
The food on the table has cooled down, and the oil in the stew has solidified into a layer of white flowers.
But Zhu Yunxi was still sitting under the lamp, frowning at the document in his hand.
The Minister of South Study, the Minister of Integrity, Bao Zhao, and others sat opposite Zhu Yunxi, and everyone held their breaths.
"The problem is more serious than imagined!" Zhu Yunxi put down the document in his hand and sighed softly.
"You don't know if you don't check, but you will be shocked if you check!" Baozhao said, "In the entire Zhili territory, not a single official warehouse is clean." He gritted his teeth and said, "Among them, the most serious problem is in the capital.
Okura."
"Because the deficit of Ocang in the capital was directly attributed to the dozens of official warehouses in Zhili." Bao Zhao continued to grit his teeth, "My official warehouse in the Ming Dynasty is like a toilet. If you open the lid, it will be full of white maggots.
..."
Prosperity?
Zhu Yunxi had a somewhat self-deprecating sneer on his lips.
Bao Zhao is right, the prosperous age has raised a bunch of maggots!
"It's only been a few years!" Zhu Yunxi's voice was light, as if he was a little sad, "I have only been the emperor for a few years, and the government has become like this. If it were not for the implementation of the New Deal, I would not know...
.”
"Actually, corruption and fraud in government offices have already happened!" He Guangyi, who was behind Bao Zhao, said hurriedly, "They didn't just become corrupt in the past few years, but they started to be corrupt during the Hongwu Dynasty."
As he spoke, he looked at the emperor's face and continued, "The warehouse envoys of Jingcang, Bei'an and Nan'an, during the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, began to secretly buy land to buy houses and raise shops!"
Zhu Yunxi sighed slightly again, "These maggots have lived for so many years, and you, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, cannot absolve themselves of the blame!"
"I will die!" He Guangyi stood up, knelt down and kowtowed.
"Get up!" Zhu Yunxi waved his hand and smiled self-deprecatingly.
In what sense is it possible to express anger over such a thing? Is it worthwhile to express anger?
He is Jinyiwei...
The princes and ministers are the targets of the Jinyiwei. As for these low-level officials, isn't using the Jinyiwei a cannon to swat flies?
yes!
Zhu Yunxi said in his heart, "We have raised many cannons, but no matter how big the cannons are, they can't do anything to these flies!"
Then he blocked out these emotions in his mind and asked again, "Have all the prisoners confessed?"
"In the face of irrefutable evidence, there is no room for denial!" Bao Zhao was filled with murderous intent.
Zhu Yunxi pondered for a moment, "What do you mean, find the evidence first and then arrest the person?"
Bao Zhao stood up and apologized, "Your Majesty, please punish me first for the crime of acting arbitrarily without asking for orders!"
As he spoke, he raised his head and said, "I ordered the arrest not because of any evidence found...but...?"
"But what?" Zhu Yunxi said, "It doesn't matter if you say it!"
"I first looked at the official register of the Ministry of Personnel. Regardless of whether they are officials or civil servants, the place of origin and the reason why they hold the position are clearly marked. It also includes the number of people in their family before they took up the position.
, several rooms and acres of land..."
"Then..." Bao Zhao said and glanced at He Guangyi, "Thanks to Commander He this time, Jinyiwei was walking in the streets and heard many rumors. For example, where did such and such a small official buy a new
House, a certain official married a concubine..."
"I'll just give you a little!" Bao Zhao paused heavily, "As long as the official's current property has doubled compared to when he first became an official, arrest them all!"
"Wait a minute!" Zhu Yunxi suddenly caught something in his mind, "On the official register of the Ministry of Personnel, their family property before becoming an official is marked?"
"It's not a special mark, just a few strokes!" Bao Zhao said, "Actually, this is an old rule of the Hongwu Dynasty. In the early years of the dynasty, whenever an official took office, he had to declare to the Ministry of Personnel the number of people and property in his family...
..”
"Then why didn't you declare it later?" Zhu Yunxi interjected and asked.
"Because..." Bao Zhao paused, "After several major cases, too many officials were killed. In order to prevent official positions from being vacant, some people were hastily promoted, so this matter gradually...
...forgot it!”
"You're so stubborn and you're so stubborn!"
How could Zhu Yunxi not hear what the other party was saying?
In the early years of the dynasty, before officials took office, they had to leave relevant files in the Ministry of Personnel. Later, the reason why they did not keep them was not because they forgot about them, but because everyone reached a consensus and collectively avoided them.
In the last few years, the old man basically did not care about government affairs. When Zhu Yunxi first came to the throne, he advertised his benevolence in order to win people's hearts, but he did not notice this.
Otherwise, why are the properties of minor officials in the capital marked in the official register of the Ministry of Personnel, but not those of officials?
"Property declaration!"
Zhu Yunxi secretly thought, "There is no method that is 100% effective in the world. Every method is as high as the law and the devil is as high as the devil! But just because it may not work, you can't stop restraining it..."
"This labeling of family property is quite interesting!" Zhu Yunxi pondered slightly.
Bao Zhao lowered his head, hesitating a little.
It is true that he was the second generation Iron Head of the Ming Dynasty, but he was not the first generation Dashou of the Ming Dynasty.
Anyone can troll anyone, and they can spray whatever they want.
But there are some things that you need to think twice before doing.
"I think this method can be implemented in the court!"
Bao Zhao hesitated, but He Guangyi next to him didn't care so much.
"Well, come and listen!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
"Before you become an official, you should declare your family's property to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Integrity Council!" He Guangyi said, "No matter whether he becomes an official or becomes an official in the future, as long as his family property is more than when he declared it, something will definitely happen!