prosperous age

Chapter 870 959 Feng Bao torments Lu Shusheng

Zhang Juzheng carried out a major reform in the early Wanli period, which contained many contents.

But for Wei Guangde, he only knows two things, one is the test method, and the other is the whip method.

When I saw the charter sent by Zhang Juzheng, I knew that the chief assistant was planning to do something big and drastic.

Of course, Wei Guangde would not obstruct Zhang Juzheng's actions, and was even happy to support him.

After all, he did not know the specific contents of Zhang Juzheng's reforms, but from the perspective of later generations, Zhang Juzheng's reforms were believed to be very effective in restoring the national power of the Ming Dynasty.

Since it is right, why object?

Continue reading, "I have secretly heard that Yao ordered Shun to inquire about matters and test his words, and the results can be achieved based on his words. Gao Tao's theory of governance said that if you take the lead in making things happen, you will succeed after repeated calculations.

It is not difficult to legislate the affairs of the world, but it is difficult to implement the laws; it is not difficult to listen to the words, but it is difficult to ensure that the words are effective.

If one inquires about things without considering the end, and starts things without considering them again and again, there is no clear understanding of the overall situation, and people have the idea of ​​being careless. Even if Yao and Shun were kings, and Yu Gao were assistants, it would still be difficult to achieve success.

If an official proposes a law and the court approves it, and if it is posted and circulated to all directions, then the official's responsibility has been fulfilled, and the consequences of the law are not needed.

When the ministers discussed a shortcoming, the imperial court said, "Yes." If it was sent by post and circulated to all directions, then the responsibility of the ministers has been fulfilled, and there is no need to clarify the consequences of the shortcomings.

If a certain crime needs to be questioned, or it may hinder the privacy of the entrustment, it will be postponed; if something needs to be discussed, or it may involve an explanation of whether it is possible or not, it is difficult to report it.

When I was the late emperor, I once wrote in the "Six Things of Cheap Purpose", which contains a section of "Chongzhao Ling". I also tried Qian Qian's words. Following the official title, I wanted all the yamen to set up a collection of documents, and all the affairs were dealt with. Officials all clearly set deadlines and ordered to complete the report. However, I have never heard of anyone actually fulfilling the order as scheduled.

I found a paragraph in the "Da Ming Huidian", "Every day the six departments receive the original memorials from each yamen, and those who have received the imperial edict, each have their own notes and send them to the director of etiquette for delivery; they also set up a booklet and numbered them one after another. The original form will be sent to the prison for collection."

Another paragraph says, "Every government office that has written a memorial to the original form will be accompanied by a written record. Five days later, each government office will have a date of issuance and cancellation, and those who have expired will be suspended."

Another paragraph says, "Every year in the foreign affairs department or the government department, the sales of the six departments in two capitals will be transferred to the inspection and consolidation, fill in the notebook, and send it to each department for storage for inspection. I hereby express my gratitude."

And I found the case study. If it is in the Sixth Section, it will be in the first and second half of the year, and the transcript will still be paid; if it is in the ministry, it will be in the first and second half of the month, and it will be cancelled.

Please clarify the old chapter from now on. When the six departments inspect the court, when they meet each chapter, or write a clear edict, or repeat the imperial letter, and transfer to their respective yamen, they will first consider the distance and urgency of the matter, set a schedule, and set the schedule. Keep a record of the document and cancel it at the end of each month."

Wei Guangde read Zhang Juzheng's proposed memorial twice. When he saw that the memorial was blank, he felt itchy in his heart. He picked up a pen and wrote the title of the memorial on it - "Please inspect the memorial and examine it according to the situation to revise the actual political summary." .

To say that this examination method is actually quite simple, but for this era, it still seems a bit troublesome.

Its specific method is to put three books in each yamen, one of which records the affairs of the yamen and serves as a base book to exclude some official matters that are not necessary for inspection.

Then make two identical books, one is placed in the six departments, and one is written off when an official business is performed. If it is not completed on time, it is handed over to the corresponding department in the six departments for processing; the other is in the cabinet, and the other is in the cabinet. Prepare the cabinet for inspection at any time.

Later official documents also had special reading pages, which were generally divided into several columns. Each official who read the official document had to write his comments, signature and leave the time on it. Some even had to specify that it should be handed over to someone for reading. In fact, it was the same as taking an exam. There are different ways to achieve the same purpose.

It's just that the division of labor in later generations of government departments was very detailed, and almost every document could be implemented to the handling personnel for questioning, so in the end it became a series of procedures, just to see whether the signatures on it were complete.

After the leaders give their approval, the document will naturally take effect, or it will be discussed at a meeting.

The overpopulation of people in the Ming Dynasty was actually just a later saying. In fact, the number of officials in the Ming Dynasty was really small.

Even if a group of scribes are added to help in the yamen, due to the small government model, the number of officials in each yamen is actually not very large.

Official documents within the yamen will not be greatly affected, but official documents across yamen will be hard to say.

Kao Chengfa records what the government has to do so that it can be traced and held accountable at any time. It is undoubtedly a way to improve work efficiency, especially for some sensitive official documents and when various ministries are passing the buck. It is very easy to have a book with this record. Find the whereabouts and execution status of official documents.

After Zhang Juzheng's death, cabinet minister Shen Shixing and others thought that the method of passing the examination was wrong. However, the three things of collecting money and food, capturing thieves, and questioning officials were actually biased.

Taking history as a mirror, the things we encounter in later generations may have been encountered by our predecessors. Therefore, this is why we should read more history books.

The same goes for Zhang Juzheng's examination method. It was not made out of nothing, and it is not entirely his own. His examination method was also developed based on previous system reforms.

According to the "Book of Rites of Zhou" records, the Emperor of Zhou would regularly inspect the vassal states to inspect the political performance of each vassal, and also required the vassals to report on their duties regularly.

After the unification of the six kingdoms, the State of Qin formulated the "Guidelines for Officials", which was a law specifically designed to review and assess officials.

By the Tang Dynasty, the examination system had been very complete. The first part of the "Tang Order" was the "Examination Order", and the third one in the Tang Code was the "Office System" chapter about official duties and crimes. It can be seen that the examination of officials has been legalized.

The content of examinations is to investigate the merits, demerits and performance of officials. Official promotions, demotions, rewards and punishments, and salaries are related to examinations. It is also an effective method to rectify the administration of officials and encourage officials.

In the Song Dynasty, the institutions were complex and there were many redundant personnel. The important reason was that the examination system in the Song Dynasty only valued qualifications but not political achievements, which resulted in the examinations being relatively formal and hollow.

The Ming Dynasty learned from the lessons of the Song Dynasty and made the examination system more stringent.

Because of the strengthening of imperial power, the examination system of the Ming Dynasty further safeguarded the autocratic monarchy. The Department of Examination of the Ministry of Civil Affairs "is responsible for the selection, conferment, and examination of officials in the world." Is the virtuous person in charge of the Ministry of Personnel deposed?"

The two agencies complement each other and not only work in division of labor, but also supervise each other.

There are two systems for management assessment, the full test and the inspection. The full test is "one test for internal and external officials after three years, another test for six years, and a general test for nine years to depose Zhi." This is the so-called "in ancient times, three years of performance appraisal, three tests to depose Zhi Youming" Legacy".

Because the examination system and content as well as the standards for promotion and appointment will be different depending on the region and level where the officials are located.

Zhang Juzheng's examination method originated from the previous examination system. Since there was no discipline to clean up the court, bureaucratic corruption frequently occurred.

Zhang Juzheng wrote in "Chen Liu Shi Shu" written during the Longqing period, "In recent years, discipline and rules have not been strictly enforced, laws and regulations have not been upheld, and the top and bottom affairs have been appeasement, and everything has been partial."

It can be seen that the official administration of the Ming Dynasty was in dilapidated state from the reign of Longqing to Longqing. The main drawback was that officials only conveyed the emperor's edicts, and no one cared about the implementation process and results. This made the imperial edicts just a decoration and had no actual effect.

Of course, Shen Shixing believed that the examination method was to collect money and grain. Although it was indeed an important part of the examination method, it did play an important role in solving the financial dilemma of the imperial court in the early Wanli period.

At that time, the country's financial situation was poor, mainly due to difficulties in land annexation and taxation.

Farmers have to bear various taxes in order to annex land. In the end, it is difficult to afford the huge taxes, and even farmers go bankrupt and flee, leaving people displaced. This is the current economic background.

In addition, due to the increasingly serious phenomenon of private tax arrears, not only the tax collection business, but also the entire imperial court's fiscal slump was caused.

Therefore, the original intention of introducing the entrance examination method at the local level is indeed to collect money and food.

In the past, whenever the Ministry of Household Affairs couldn't get rid of the problem, it would demand tax arrears from the local government. However, Zhang Juzheng's examination rules directly held the officials who were in arrears responsible for this, so naturally they did not dare to condone the arrears of the wealthy gentry.

Although this process indeed caused some people to go bankrupt or even be forced to flee, it is an indisputable fact that after the introduction of the Kao Cheng Law, the tax arrears of the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty were greatly reduced.

The reason why there was tax arrears in the Ming Dynasty was that ordinary people could not do it. Only local gentry could do it, and it was done in collusion with the government.

Whenever there is a great event in the country or a new emperor ascends the throne, there must be a general amnesty for the whole country, and the amnesty is not only for some minor crimes, but also for the arrears of taxes.

Just imagine, as long as it can be postponed for a few years, once the old emperor dies and the new emperor ascends the throne, there will be no need to pay taxes. Who wouldn't want to do such a profitable thing? Although local officials are floating officials, they mostly turn a blind eye to this in order to ensure the stability of their rule.

He was open to the wealthy gentry in the area, and other officials would be especially kind to his family in his hometown. In the end, not everyone benefited, only the court suffered.

Well, the imperial family has a great business and won't care about so many hundred thousand taels of silver.

In fact, governing a country fundamentally depends on finance.

If the court has money, it can provide relief when there is a disaster, and it can provide enough salary to train elite soldiers. This is the so-called enriching the country and strengthening the army.

Although scribes boasted that they were noble by treating money like dung, they could serve as officials in the court, but they really could not do this anymore.

By establishing a system and reasonably collecting appropriate taxes from the people, the national wealth will have a surplus after being spent, and the country will be rich and powerful.

It's just that usually at the end of a dynasty, exorbitant taxes and excessive taxes are imposed, which makes the people unable to make a living, and then the people are forced to rebel, and then the dynasty is destroyed.

In fact, the reason for this is that the dynasty still knows the importance of money.

However, the expenses were too high and there was no other way to replenish the financial resources, so they had no choice but to take action against Sheng Dou Xiaomin.

Compared with local gentry, it is undoubtedly easier to grab money from ordinary people.

However, when the common people's money was looted, in order to balance the dynasty's finances, they would eventually attack the wealthy gentry, and this was the last straw that broke the dynasty's back.

In fact, rebellion by the common people will only lead to instability in the world, and the change of dynasties is more likely to happen because the gentry are also forced to do so.

They have the ability and connections to unite and gather stronger strength to rebel.

In the history of dynasty changes, apart from Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who revolted in civilian uprising and completed the class leap from the bottom to the top of society, there is no other person throughout history.

The other founding emperors who established dynasties were all members of the gentry class, or at least a small cadre of the imperial court.

Therefore, there is some truth in the old saying that the scholar's rebellion failed for three years.

Those who truly succeed in rebellion are mostly those in the ruling class who switch sides, and there are almost no cases of successful rebellion by the ruling class.

It can be seen from this that Zhang Juzheng's examination method played an important role in the continuation of the Ming Dynasty. It was definitely not as simple as collecting money and food, but it could truly extend the life of the dynasty.

Later, the implementation of a whip method in the world and the clearing of land for this purpose made up for the depleted finances of the Ming Dynasty.

These are what Wei Guangde has figured out since meeting Zhang Juzheng.

Now, Zhang Juzheng is finally going to start his reforms, and Wei Guangde will not only not oppose it, but will also secretly support it.

Yes, he chose to support implicitly rather than express his support clearly.

As the second assistant, although he has to stand with the first assistant, externally, especially to the people in the palace, it is safe to remain at odds with each other.

If he and Zhang Juzheng colluded, he might lose his hair.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng's reforms touched the interests of many people in the ruling class, which was also the reason why he was ultimately unable to survive.

Too many people hated him, and if they couldn't do it in life, they would take revenge after death.

Wei Guangde didn't want this. Only by becoming the leader of Zhang Juzheng's opposition could he preserve the achievements of his reforms.

There is no need to tell Zhang Juzheng about this, it just needs to be tacitly understood.

Wei Guangde put away the memorial and shouted outside: "Lu Bu, come in."

After Lu Bu entered the room, Wei Guangde handed Zhang Juzheng's memorial into his hand and ordered, "Send it back."

"Yes, sir."

Lu Bu agreed, but then he tentatively said, "Wait a while before sending it over, okay?"

"what happened?"

Wei Guangdehu asked doubtfully.

"Just now, Mr. Lu, the Minister of Rites, stormed into the first assistant's duty room. It shouldn't be a good thing."

Lu Bu replied.

"Do you know what you are angry about?"

Wei Guangde naturally asked why Lu Shusheng was angry. In the past two days, the cabinet had not drafted any memorials that dissatisfied the Ministry of Rites. Even if Lu Shusheng wanted to get angry, he should not direct his fire at the cabinet.

"I asked just now, and someone said that Lu Shangshu was sent to Huijimen again to receive the order."

Lu Bu didn't explain it clearly, but Wei Guangde still knew what was going on.

Earlier, Feng Bao wanted to use the position of Minister of Rites to benefit himself and win over the officials in the court, but Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng secretly worked together to sabotage it. In the end, Lu Shusheng became the Minister of Rites.

From then on, Feng Bao had a grudge against Lu Shusheng, thinking that this man must have spent a lot of money to get the recommendation qualifications from Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde.

Well, for such a good thing, it was really abominable that he didn't send any money to him.

Therefore, when Feng Baofan had an edict to the Ministry of Rites, something that could only be handled by passing a message or a note in the past, he had to ceremoniously call Lu Shusheng, the Minister of Rites, to Huijimen, and it was serious. deliver an imperial order.

After repeated tossing like this, Lu Shusheng was naturally very dissatisfied.

"Okay, you can send them there after they leave."

Wei Guangde didn't want to get involved in this matter, so he ordered Lu Bu.

(End of this chapter)