I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

After that, Yan Song gradually came to his senses and began to think about Xu Jie's intention in saying this to him.

"Is it possible that Xu Jie wants me to join him in persuading His Majesty not to act rashly?"

At this moment, Xu Jie's voice was heard from the side: "Inventorying acres of land and suppressing land annexation is certainly a good medicine for the Ming Dynasty, but now is not the right time. Mr. Yan Ge, what do you think?" "

After Xu Jie finished speaking, he turned around and looked in the direction of Yan Song, quietly waiting for his response.

"Hmph, I knew how this Xu Jie could be so kind. It turns out he wanted me to work with him to persuade His Majesty!"

After that, Yan Song suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, and after pondering for a moment, he spoke in agreement.

"Well, what Mr. Xu Ge said makes sense. For today's Ming Dynasty, checking the acres of land and suppressing land annexation is like a strong medicine!"

"Although there is a saying in medical books that strong medicine can be used to remove maladies, the current Ming Dynasty cannot withstand the power of this strong medicine."

"If you are not careful, it will backfire on you and cause chaos. Moreover, our Ming Dynasty's national strength is slowly recovering at the moment. Everything should be based on stability. Only when the time is right can it be implemented!"

Xu Jie deeply agreed with Yan Song's words and responded without hesitation: "Well, what Mr. Yan Ge said makes sense!"

No matter how fiercely Yan Song and Xu Jie fought on weekdays, no matter how incompatible they were with each other, in the final analysis, this was a conflict within the civil service group.

Civil servants privately owned a large amount of land, so how could they watch the court inspect the acres and inhibit land annexation?

Therefore, whenever faced with such a crisis that will affect the interests of everyone, the civil servants will abandon their past grievances and unite.

After all, there are only a few reformers like Zhang Cong who have great determination, perseverance and forge ahead.

More people are thinking about how to protect their own interests.

Although he had temporarily reached an "offensive and defensive alliance" with Yan Song, Xu Jie was still very uneasy.

Because Jiajing was not an emperor who listened to advice. There was no room for negotiation on anything he decided on. Whether it was lifting the maritime ban or integrating officials and gentry to pay grain, Jiajing never listened to their opinions from the beginning to the end.

"Oh, I hope everything goes well from now on!"

Immediately, Xu Jie lowered his eyes and looked at the ground casually, thinking this.

Just when Xu Jie was worried about this, Lu Fang came to him and Yan Song with silent steps, leaned down and said respectfully: "Mr. Yan Ge, Mr. Xu Ge, you can go in, Your Majesty." Waiting for you inside!"

"Well, I'm sorry to bother you, Eunuch Lu!"

"Mr. Yan Ge, Mr. Xu Ge, there is no need to be so polite. This is our family's duty!"

After that, Yan Song and Xu Jie followed Lu Fang's steps and stepped onto the stairs of Qianqing Palace.

……

After entering the Qianqing Palace, Yan Song and Xu Jie did not hesitate at all. He immediately looked in the direction of Jiajing, knelt on the ground, and said in unison.

"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"

"Well, get up!"

When Jiajing heard this, he glanced at the two of them, waved his hands, and gave instructions.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After receiving Jiajing's permission, Yan Song stood up from the ground tremblingly with Xu Jie's support.

After getting up from the ground, Yan Song was seen hunched over and with his eyes lowered, looking decrepit, while Xu Jie beside him also looked anxious.

Jiajing took in the expressions on the two people's faces. After pondering for a moment, he said, "I came to you today because I have an important matter to discuss with you two!"

When Xu Jie heard Jiajing's words, his heart suddenly rose in his throat: "Sure enough, His Majesty plans to inventory the acres of land and suppress land annexation!"

"No, I have to find a way to persuade His Majesty to take back his life, otherwise, everything will be over!"

Just as Xu Jie was organizing his words in his mind, preparing to state his interests and dangers, and urging Jiajing not to act rashly, he heard Jiajing's slightly emotional voice.

"It's almost the end of the year. I plan to ask your cabinet or the Ministry of Civil Affairs to take the lead and come up with a ranking based on the performance and efficiency of each department over the year."

"At that time, year-end bonuses will be given to the Sixth Ministry, the Fifth Army, the Five Temples, various departments, and other departments according to their rankings. What do you think?"

Xu Jie obviously did not expect to hear these words from Jiajing's mouth. Therefore, his brain suddenly shut down and he did not know how to respond.

"What on earth is going on? Your Majesty called Yan Song and I here with such a big fanfare. Isn't it to discuss the matter of inventorying land acres and suppressing land annexation?"

"Also, what is the year-end bonus?"

When Xu Jie was still going through the brainstorming, Yan Song was the first to react, looked at Jiajing who was sitting on the dragon throne, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen feels that in order to ensure fairness, this matter It’s better for the cabinet to take the lead!”

When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment and then continued to add: "After all, the officials are also involved in the selection, so they should avoid suspicion!"

After hearing what Yan Song said, Jiajing nodded, looked in the direction of Xu Jie, and asked, "Mr. Xu Ge, what do you think?"

When Xu Jie heard Jiajing's words, he suddenly came back to his senses and responded in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I agree with Mr. Yan Ge's opinion that this matter should be led by the cabinet to ensure fairness!"

Hearing this, Jiajing pondered for a moment, nodded, and then ordered: "In that case, then this matter is settled!"

Then, Xu Jie summoned up the courage, looked in the direction of Jiajing, and asked: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please forgive me for being stupid, but what is the year-end bonus you mentioned earlier?"

When Xu Jie finished speaking, Yan Song on the side also cast a curious look at Jiajing, waiting for his response.

Jiajing took in the expressions on the two men's faces and responded without thinking: "Year-end bonus, as the name suggests, is the reward given by the court to those departments that work efficiently and conscientiously at the end of the year!"

When Xu Jie heard what Jiajing said, he immediately reacted: "It turns out that His Majesty is planning to use the assessment to distribute rewards to everyone before the end of the year!"

Thinking of this, Xu Jie felt a little dazed. He couldn't believe that everything in front of him was real.

Not only did the emperor not mention restraining land annexation, but he also wanted to distribute rewards to various departments in the capital according to ranking before the end of the year. This was an unprecedented good thing!

After thinking about this, Xu Jie fell to his knees on the ground with a plop, and flattered Jiajing.

"In this way, all the civil and military officials in the court will be grateful for your kindness. There will be no two days in the sky, and the only sun in my heart is your Majesty!"

After Xu Jie finished speaking, he bowed again and looked at Jiajing with eyes full of reverence.

Seeing this situation, Yan Song was not to be outdone at all. He followed Xu Jie's steps and began to flatter Jiajing.

After that, Jiajing glanced at Yan Song and Xu Jie, waved his hand, and said: "Okay, this matter will be handled by your cabinet. Don't let me down!"

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

Hearing this, Yan Song and Xu Jie looked at each other and responded in unison.

"This matter is settled, you can leave!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will resign now!"

……

After walking out of the Qianqing Palace, Xu Jie still had a bit of shock on his face. He looked at Yan Song aside and couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect that His Majesty called us there with such a big fanfare, actually for this matter. !”

Yan Song seemed to be quite emotional about this. He looked away from the distance and said in agreement: "Yes, no one thought that things would be like this!"

Before that, Yan Song had the same idea as Xu Jie, thinking that Jiajing came to them this time to discuss matters related to inventorying land acres and inhibiting land annexation.

For this reason, Yan Song also specially prepared a draft in order to stand up at the right time and admonish Jiajing.

Unexpectedly, from beginning to end, Jiajing not only did not get involved in this aspect, but also generously wanted to provide benefits to officials.

Thinking of this, Yan Song couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Your Majesty is really kind-hearted. He just raised the salary of all officials not long ago, and now he is giving out year-end bonuses!"

The salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were among the lowest in all dynasties.

You know, before the emperor raised the salary of hundreds of officials, the monthly salary for the first-rank officials in the imperial court was eighty-seven dan, and the monthly salary for the ninth-rank officials was only five dan, which was not enough to support their families.

Under such circumstances, it is a rare thing to be able to eat meat occasionally.

After the emperor raised the salary of all officials, he greatly increased the salaries of middle and low-ranking officials, allowing them to support their families' expenses only by relying on their salaries, and even have a surplus at the end of the year.

After that, Xu Jie glanced at Yan Song and said solemnly: "Mr. Yan Ge, we have to be careful about rankings, otherwise, we will easily get poked in the back!"

Yan Song heard Xu Jie's words, nodded, and then sighed: "Yes, it's hard to figure out the scale!" Yan Song knew very well in his heart that the interests involved in this matter were huge, and if he didn't pay attention, he would be It is easy to favor one over the other and cause trouble.

You must know that the year-end bonuses are distributed from high to low through ranking.

The evaluation criteria are based on a combination of factors such as each department's annual performance, work efficiency, and level of professionalism.

It's almost the end of the year, who doesn't want to occupy a good ranking and show his face in front of the emperor?

No one wants to be the last one, because wouldn't it be equivalent to confirming that their department is inefficient and has no achievements?

If I get the last place, what will my colleagues in the court think? Will my face still be bright?

Later, Yan Song came back to his senses, looked in the direction of Xu Jie, and suggested: "Without further delay, let's go back to the cabinet, and then announce the news as soon as possible!"

Xu Jie also agreed with Yan Song's proposal. He nodded and said in agreement: "Well, let's go!"

After that, Yan Song and Xu Jie returned directly to the cabinet.

……

As soon as Yan Song and Xu Jie returned to the cabinet, everyone cast curious eyes on them. After all, judging from this posture, the emperor should have something important to discuss.

Combined with the incident that is currently spreading in the capital, the answer is already obvious - His Majesty came to Yan Song and Xu Jie to discuss matters such as inventory of land acres and suppression of land annexation.

"Is it possible that His Majesty has made up his mind to resume the policies implemented by Mr. Zhang Cong and Zhang Ge and start to suppress land annexation?"

"As for what happened to the Yuan family in Jiaxing, His Majesty ordered Zhao Zhenji to kill chickens to scare the monkeys, in order to frighten the wealthy gentry!"

Zhang Juzheng thought so, and looked at Yan Song and Xu Jie with eyes full of expectation.

Facing everyone's curious eyes, Yan Song cleared his throat, faced everyone, and said slowly: "The reason why Your Majesty called me and Xu Gelao is because there is an extremely important matter that needs to be handled by the cabinet. Come take the lead!”

When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment and continued: "It's almost the end of the year. Next, the cabinet will take the lead and come up with a ranking based on the performance and efficiency of each department over the year."

"At that time, year-end bonuses will be given to the Sixth Ministry, the Fifth Army, the Five Temples, various departments, and other departments according to their rankings!"

When talking about this, Yan Song also explained to everyone what the year-end bonus is.

When Yan Song's words fell, Hu Zongxian stood up after thinking for a moment, and then said: "In other words, our cabinet will draw up the corresponding rankings based on the performance of each department, and then the emperor will Corresponding rewards will be issued based on ranking, right?"

Xu Jie on the side heard Hu Zongxian's words, nodded, and then said: "Well, that's right, that's it!"

After the words fell, Gao Gong stood up and expressed his attitude after thinking about it for a long time: "Mr. Yan Ge, Mr. Xu Ge, this matter involves many things, our cabinet can have a bowl of water, otherwise If you do, it will easily cause trouble!"

Zhang Juzheng also agreed with Gao Gong's words, and immediately responded: "Well, what Gao Ge said makes sense. After all, there are many things involved, so we must be cautious!"

Immediately, Yan Song waved his hand and then ordered: "Okay, without further ado, let's announce this matter first!"

Seeing that Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, had made a decision, everyone started busy without stopping.

The efficiency of the cabinet was very fast. Soon after, the emperor asked the cabinet to take the lead in issuing year-end bonuses based on the performance and efficiency of each department for the year, which spread throughout the court.

……

Soon after the news spread, the bulletin board near the cabinet was quickly surrounded by officials who came after hearing the news.

At this time, the relevant announcement has been posted on the bulletin board. Not only that, but also a thoughtful explanation of the term year-end bonus.

"Your majesty is wise, you actually want to give year-end bonuses to everyone at the end of the year. It seems that you can have a good year this year!"

I saw a tall official wearing a green robe squeezed out from the crowd and said with emotion.

After that, an official from the Ministry of Etiquette wearing a scarlet robe spoke excitedly after reading the contents of the piece of paper posted on the bulletin board.

"It says here that year-end bonuses are awarded based on rankings. Our Etiquette Department not only organized exams this year, but also prepared for the Queen's canonization ceremony. We have done so many things. No matter what, we must be ranked among the top three among the six. !”

When the official from the Ministry of Rites finished speaking, an official from the Ministry of Works not far away sneered and mocked with a look of disdain.

"Hmph, it's just a wishful thinking. Don't forget, your Ministry of Rites has had quite a trouble this year, including fraud in the imperial examination and leaks of test questions. Only our Ministry of Works can really do practical things for the Ming Dynasty..."

When the official from the Ministry of Rites heard this, his face suddenly became extremely gloomy, and then he sneered and said mockingly.

"Humph, your Ministry of Industry is not much better off. You know, the imperial court spent nearly four million taels of silver on the embankments in Zhejiang. However, the embankments that the imperial court spent huge sums of money to build collapsed after being washed away by heavy rains. In my opinion, it’s probably because your Ministry of Industry is greedy and cutting corners!”

When the official from the Ministry of Industry heard this, veins sprouted on his head and he looked quite ferocious. He said word by word: "What did you say? Can you say it again if you have the ability?"

Facing the threat from the official from the Ministry of Industry, the official from the Ministry of Etiquette was not afraid at all. He met the man's eyes and continued: "What, you dare to do it but you don't want to admit it?"

Everyone present saw that the two sides were getting into a fight and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Sigh, the people in the Ministry of Works have a bad temper and will take action if they disagree with each other. The Ministry of Etiquette only knows how to talk. In my opinion, it is the Ministry of Revenue that deserves the most credit. You know..."

"Bah, shameless. It is our Ministry of War that has obviously made the most contributions. Apart from anything else, our Ministry of War dispatched the navy to suppress Japanese pirates this year..."

While the many officials present were arguing over who had the greatest credit, the officials from the Inspectorate lurking in the crowd were secretly observing all this and recording it.

……

On the same day, after the assignment, everyone in the cabinet did not leave in a hurry, but stayed. They planned to exchange opinions on the next issue that would affect the evaluation of the year-end bonus.

At the same time, everything that happened near the bulletin board was spread to everyone's ears through various channels.

I saw Yan Song put down the tea cup soaked in wolfberry water, looked around, and said slowly: "Everyone, please tell me your opinions first!"

After Yan Song finished speaking, Xu Jie stood up, faced everyone, and put forward his own ideas.

"It can be seen from what happened near the bulletin board not long ago that there are great differences and contradictions between various departments. Therefore, rankings should be done with caution!"

After Xu Jie, Hu Zongxian stood up and said: "Well, Mr. Xu Ge is right. You should be cautious about this ranking. After all, it involves many departments of our Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty will This matter is left to our cabinet to handle, and we must not betray His Majesty’s trust!”

Zhang Juzheng, who was on the side, thought about it for a long time and put forward his own suggestion: "As Mr. Hu Ge said just now, this matter involves many departments in our country. I think it should be based on the premise of not causing trouble as much as possible, and then proceed with various aspects." Department rankings!”

"Besides, didn't His Majesty say before that the year-end bonuses will be distributed based on the ranking of various departments this time. This does not mean that departments at the bottom will be punished. It is just a matter of how much reward they will receive!"

Yan Shifan, who was not far away, raised his eyebrows when he heard Zhang Juzheng's words, and secretly complained: "This Zhang Juzheng, his calculations are quite loud. Anyway, I will not give in. No matter what, the Ministry of Industry cannot be ranked last." One!"

At this moment, Gao Gong looked around and put forward his own suggestion: "It might as well be like this. Let's first decide on the rankings of those departments that don't have much controversy."

"Then take your time with the remaining ones. This way, you can save a lot of unnecessary trouble. What do you think?"

As soon as Gao Gong finished speaking, Xu Jie responded without hesitation: "Well, I agree with Gao Ge's idea!"

After Xu Jie, Hu Zongxian, Zhang Juzheng, and Yan Shifan also expressed their positions and agreed with Gao Gong's suggestion.

Seeing that everyone agreed to his suggestion, a hint of excitement flashed across Gao Gong's face.

After careful consideration for a long time, Gao Gong just faced everyone and put forward his suggestion.

"As for the six departments, let's just let the official department take the first place. In this way, no matter who it is, they can't find any big faults."

"You know, the Ministry of Personnel has just successfully completed the imperial court's triennial plan not long ago. Officials at all levels from top to bottom have received rewards from His Majesty. Ranking the Ministry of Personnel at the top can also avoid many disputes. Everyone What do you think?"

As soon as Gao Gong finished speaking, Zhang Juzheng stood up and responded without hesitation: "Well, I think it's feasible. As for the six departments, the staff department takes the first place. There's no big problem!"

After Xu Jie pondered for a moment, he also agreed with Zhang Juzheng's idea: "Well, I also agree that the staff should be ranked first. Mr. Yan Ge, what do you think?"

After Xu Jie finished speaking, he looked in the direction of Yan Song, waiting for his response.

Upon hearing this, Yan Song made his position clear without any thought: "I have no objection!"

Hu Zongxian, as his most valued student and the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, ranked him first, which made him proud.

Hu Zongxian on the side saw this situation and had no intention of declining.

He knew that if the staff were put first, the officials would only mutter a few words in private, which would not cause too much controversy.

After that, everyone turned their attention to Hu Zongxian, the person involved, and waited for his response.

Immediately, Hu Zongxian looked around, nodded, and then said: "In that case, among the six departments, the staff department should be ranked first!"

"Over the Twelve Prisons, the Chief of Ceremonies is at the top of the list..." (End of Chapter)