Chapter 138: Unfavorable climate and customs

After more than 200 years of existence, the Ming Dynasty inevitably became increasingly bloated and bloated, especially the bureaucratic system.

But correspondingly, the court's assessment of officials became increasingly strict - at least that was how the system was formulated.

It was stipulated in the early Ming Dynasty that officials in Beijing would be promoted or demoted upon completion of the examination.

That is, irregular inspections.

Whenever the emperor encountered problems, he would check to see if the people below were cruel enough to hide the truth from him.

By the eighth year of the Tianshun reign, nearly a hundred years after the founding of the country, the imperial examination had finally become a custom: "It is held once every ten years, regardless of whether one is in office, receiving a salary, in mourning, on official business, recuperating from illness, or attending a memorial service, all are examined by the same officials in the same government office."

And it was in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi.

Under the continuous petitions of Huang Bao, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel, Lin Han, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel, and Xu Tianci, the Jieshizhong of the Ministry of Personnel, the inspection in Beijing was changed to once every six years. "The Ministry of Personnel in the two capitals shall work together with the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the officials of each government office to conduct an inspection. From now on, it shall be conducted once every six years. This shall be decreed."

But after the Zhengde period, once every six years was too long.

The so-called leap year inspection was introduced, meaning that in addition to the one every six years, additional inspections would be conducted depending on the circumstances.

For example, after Gao Gong took charge of the Cabinet, he wanted to plow the officialdom before the New Year's Day, so he used the haze as an excuse to conduct a leap year inspection.

In addition to the annual inspection of officials in Beijing, the Ministry of Personnel also conducts an assessment of the length of time officials have served in office.

Once every three years after serving as an official, each official would review the merits and demerits of his subordinates over the past three years and submit the results for review to determine promotion or demotion.

The two methods are similar. For officials of the fifth rank and below, the Ministry of Personnel will conduct an investigation together with the Censorate and the seal-holding officials of each hall. For officials of the fourth rank and above, the emperor will personally decide whether to keep them or send them.

In short, this inspection, one large and one small, covered all officials, both big and small, inside and outside the capital.

In the Wanli Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng proposed the performance evaluation system, which was a step further. It combined the functions of the two and directly changed it to a nationwide regular annual performance evaluation system.

Although it is a big step forward, it is also a continuation of the past and has developed slowly to where it is today.

It's easy to say that they are of the same lineage, and the original team will be more adept at their work.

In particular, the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Office has been in charge of the examination, promotion and demotion of officials. No matter which inspection or selection is carried out, it is always the main force and can be said to have experienced many battles.

Today, even though the emperor made a surprise inspection, the Examination Office did not panic. Instead, it quickly prepared the files and documents according to the emperor's requirements.

Zhu Yijun openly occupied the office of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Department and sat in the hall reading through the case files compiled by the Ministry of Personnel.

From time to time, he asked the two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Personnel standing beside him, "Mr. Shen, Mr. Wen, how many officials in the two capitals and one province have passed the examination this time?"

Shen Shixing and Wen Chun were specially granted seats by the emperor, sitting on the left and right of the Ministry of Examination.

When the emperor asked a question, it was natural for the Left Vice Minister to answer first.

Shen Shixing recalled for a moment and answered, "Your Majesty, this time the examination showed that there are 1,996 officials in the capital, including 580 from Nanjing."

"The two Zhili provinces and Fujian Province, the number of officials in the prefectures, cities and counties totaled 5,240."

"Two capitals and one province, with a total of more than 7,000 officials."

Zhu Yijun flipped through the case files, listened to Shen Shixing's words, and nodded.

There are now 28,963 officials on the register.

Although seven thousand people is only a small number, it is not a small number.

No wonder it’s been two months and it’s still not finished.

Zhu Yijun asked again: "How many are good and bad so far?"

Shen Shixing and Wen Chun looked at each other, and then looked at Liu Dashou, the doctor of the Ministry of Examination, who was accompanying the emperor to interpret the case files.

Liu Dashou was knowledgeable and took over the conversation for Shangguan: "Your Majesty, so far, our company has passed the examination for more than 5,000 people, of whom 211 were excellent, 672 were inferior, and the rest were qualified."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun couldn't help but shook his head.

This is too lame.

One percent is unqualified, and that’s before we even start measuring the fields!

Now is the first year of the performance evaluation, and we are focusing more on improving the system.

The performance requirements for local prefectures and counties were mostly just some indicators of tax collection, transportation, and maintaining stability. Not to mention the officials in Beijing, as long as they maintained the normal operation of the department and completed the tasks assigned by the emperor and the cabinet, there would be no failure.

If it is a minor problem, the Ministry of Personnel may even show leniency and will not record it in the case file as long as the person is willing to correct the problem within a specified period of time.

But even so, the number of unqualified officials still far exceeded Zhu Yijun's imagination.

This can only mean that these people are either not doing any work at all, or are simply deliberately dragging their feet.

Zhu Yijun randomly picked up a case file and studied it carefully - he wanted to see how it failed.

"…In December of the sixth year of the Longqing reign, the Crown Prince Shang Yong of the King of Zhongshan of the Ryukyu Kingdom sent his entourage to pay tribute with a memorial, requesting to inherit the title of king. The Ministry of Rites ordered the Fujian Provincial Patrol and other officials to investigate and report, but the Fujian Provincial Patrol and other officials did not report. In May of the following year, he accepted a bribe of 1,600 taels of silver from the Crown Prince Shang Yong of Zhongshan, and then reported it."

Attached below are the censor's impeachment and the complaint from the Prince of Zhongshan.

Good, he's very enthusiastic.

It has to be said that Zhu Yijun was already accustomed to such expected operations, but it was really outrageous that this delayed the Ministry of Rites' business.

He continued to scroll down.

"The tax arrears of Changzhou, Yangzhou, and Suzhou reached over 170,000 yuan a year, but the prefects and other officials were lax, and despite the urgent collection, they still had not been paid in full on time."

Attached to it are the accounts posted by the Ministry of Revenue and the accounts posted by the Ministry of Personnel, indicating in black and white which officials of the prefectural yamen are responsible for this.

Tax arrears... Zhu Yijun shook his head.

Last year, the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang complained bitterly at a court meeting, saying that it was difficult to collect taxes. Local authorities either blamed it on natural disasters or reported that the people were uncooperative. In any case, they just dragged their feet and refused to pay, so he kept submitting petitions requesting tax reductions.

After the censors from various places went down to urge the authorities to stop the corruption, they summarized four points: one was obstruction by the powerful and wealthy; two was laziness by officials; three was encroachment by wealthy families; and four was monopoly by the accumulated thugs.

It is a euphemism for speaking, but it is actually a collusion between officials and gentry.

Zhu Yijun now saw the name of the corresponding provincial official.

Zhu Yijun silently made a note, then handed it to the Hanlin editor Wu Zhongxing beside him: "You all take a look at it, and tell me later whether it is fair to be judged unqualified as an official like this."

Wu Zhongxing bent down, held the case file with both hands, and respectfully took the case file handed to him by the emperor.

He watched it together with the Shujishi standing beside him.

Zhu Yijun let them look at it themselves while he began to look through the files again.

Greed, cruelty, impetuousness, insufficiency, old age, and illness are the only ones that can be mentioned.

Zhu Yijun sometimes had smoke coming out of his seven orifices, sometimes his mood was uncertain, and sometimes he enjoyed the meal with gusto.

Unknowingly.

Two rare guests walked in from outside the lobby of the Examination Office.

The little emperor was looking down at the files and was unaware of anything, but Shen Shixing, Wen Chun and others saw him and hurriedly stood up to salute.

Zhang Juzheng stretched out his hand and gestured to Shen Shixing that he did not need to greet him. Then he and Gao Yi stood beside the emperor and waited silently for the emperor to turn the page.

The young emperor himself had not noticed anything, and without even looking up, he asked Liu Dashou, the doctor of the Ministry of Examination: "Dr. Liu, among these unqualified officials, the reason is that they are not doing their job. What does this mean?"

Zhu Yijun roughly looked through it and found that among these unqualified officials, only a few were corrupt and tax resistant.

Most of them just record a sentence of unemployed.

It made him a little confused.

Liu Dashou glanced at the two officials and the two ministers on the scene, and seeing that neither of them had the intention to respond, he replied to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the so-called failure to perform duties mostly refers to the county magistrates, prefects, and other officials and officials of various ministries and yamen who do not report to work, do not sign their names, and do not perform their duties."

"Even if you have not committed a crime, but you have caused the government departments or the duties you are responsible for to not function properly, you are derelict in your duty."

Zhu Yijun's hand, which was about to turn the page, paused in mid-air for a moment, and then silently pointed at the two people on the file and ordered: "Ask Honglu Temple Minister Tu Xiying and Hanlin Editor Zhao Zhigao to come to the Ministry of Personnel to see me."

Then he sighed again: "It's just a deadbeat... He doesn't even attend classes, and I don't know what he's doing all day."

I was just talking to myself, and didn't expect anyone to respond.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came into my ears: "Your Majesty, most of them are traveling and giving lectures."

Zhu Yijun was absorbed in his thoughts and was caught off guard by the sudden voice, startling him so much that he trembled.

As expected, when he looked up, he saw Zhang Juzheng standing beside him with dignity and bowing to him.

After the two men finished their greetings, they stood beside the emperor without looking away.

Zhao Yongxian on the side looked a little flustered, lowering his head and not daring to meet his teacher's eyes. However, Wu Zhongxing bowed respectfully towards Zhang Juzheng and remained calm.

Only then did Zhu Yijun come to his senses.

After calming down, he smiled and said, "You two gentlemen, why don't you just sit in the cabinet and come here quietly to scare me?"

Zhang Juzheng had no expression on his face. "I heard that Your Majesty was forced out of the palace by a group of scholars. I was very worried and had to put aside the affairs of the cabinet and put Your Majesty's safety first."

Zhu Yijun smiled awkwardly.

Pretending not to hear the dissatisfaction in his words about not saying hello, he looked at Gao Yi and changed the subject, "Sir, when you mentioned traveling and giving lectures, were you referring to Tu Xiying and Zhao Zhigao?"

Gao Yi also wanted to "sarcastically remonstrate" the emperor, but when he saw the emperor's expression, he did not say anything.

After thinking about it, he decided to give the emperor an excuse to back off, so he replied, "Your Majesty, I don't know about Tu Xiying's matter."

"But Zhao Zhigao did not go to the Imperial Academy to work all day, but instead gave lectures in Beijing."

"Yesterday, he and Geng Dingxiang, Zeng Tongheng, Zou Dehan and other Yangming scholars in Beijing held a lecture conference in a Taoist temple."

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

He looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked in confusion, "Sir, I remember that the emperor once issued an edict that officials in office in our dynasty were not allowed to give lectures."

This matter was promoted by Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.

Why does it seem like it’s only in name now?
Speaking of business, Zhang Juzheng's expression finally eased a little, and he explained to the emperor: "The late emperor did issue this decree, but those who violated it were usually impeached by the imperial court, and there was no fixed rule."

Zhu Yijun said "oh" and nodded.

The meaning of this statement is very clear, that is, Emperor Muzong only forbade officials to give lectures, but did not say what the consequences would be for officials who gave lectures.

At that time, Gao Gong controlled the channels of public opinion, and he could suppress the rebellion temporarily by asking the Ministry of Rites to impeach it.

Now Zhang Juzheng was not like Gao Gong, who had no support for public opinion - otherwise the students would not have impeached him one after another.

Therefore, this decree is somewhat ineffective now.

"Your Majesty, Tu Bu Tang and Zhao Bian Xiu are waiting outside the hall."

While the few of them were chatting briefly, Deng Yizan, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat who had gone to call people, had already turned back - whether it was the Honglu Temple where Tu Xiying was, or the Hanlin Academy where Zhao Zhigao was, they were only two walls away from the Ministry of Personnel.

Zhu Yijun put away the good expression of chatting with the two gentlemen and said solemnly: "Let Tu Xiying come in."

Not long after, a fifty-year-old official in a red robe walked in slowly, following Deng Yizan.

Tu Xiying has been in officialdom for more than ten years and holds the position of fourth rank official. Now that the emperor has suddenly summoned him, he naturally knows that nothing good is going to happen.

But he remained calm and bowed meticulously: "I am Tu Xiying, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun looked at the visitor carefully.

He looked dignified and dignified, and he looked good in sales.

Zhu Yijun did not directly question him, nor did he even mention the real business. Instead, he started chatting: "I remember that Tu Qing was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Jiajing?"

Tu Xiying responded calmly, "I'm sorry to worry your majesty, I am indeed a Jinshi in the 35th year of Jiajing, and my hometown is Nanzhili."

It is certainly not something he is proud of to mention his hometown for no reason.

Rather, the emperor suddenly visited the Ministry of Personnel and sat in the Ministry of Examination, which must have been for the purpose of evaluating the performance.

Such examinations of officials have always been a good opportunity to eliminate dissidents.

He thought to himself that given the emperor's prejudice against people from Southern Zhili, he was most likely trying to take advantage of the situation, so he prepared himself mentally and accepted it calmly.

Zhu Yijun nodded after hearing this, and then asked casually: "What was Tu Qing's original intention when he traveled thousands of miles to Beijing to take the imperial examination and obtain fame?"

There is always a reason for being an official.

Whether it is to change the world, to bring honor to the family, or even to become a superior person, these are the mainstream values ​​today.

When it comes to individuals, you can even find several reasons.

This was an easy question to answer, but when Tu Xiying heard the emperor's question, he was suddenly stunned.

A long silence ensued.

After a long while, he replied respectfully and in a firm voice: "Your Majesty, I took the imperial examination to apply what I learned to serve the country and govern the people."

After Tu Xi's speech, several lower-ranking officials of the Ministry of Revenue who had never been tempered by the central government could not help but lower their heads and gritted their teeth to prevent themselves from laughing.

The assistant ministers, vice ministers and scholars were more educated and kept their composure.

Zhu Yijun was also used to this kind of official language and nodded as if in agreement.

Just when Tu Xiying was confused, the emperor's voice came into his ears again.

"Since Tu Qing had such an ambition in the beginning, why does he now say, 'You can give up your official position in a day, but you can never stop studying'?"

"Does Tu Qing no longer want to report to the country and shepherd the people?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tu Xiying's face changed color in shock.

Not only Tu Xiying, Wen Chun and Shen Shixing also looked at each other with a hint of surprise in their eyes.

This is coming prepared!
Tu Xiying was a fourth-rank official, so the Ministry of Personnel could not directly evaluate him as unqualified. They could only give him an evaluation of "unqualified". The emperor had the final say on whether he was qualified or not.

However, this criticism was only directed at Tu Xiying's absence from work, failure to do his job, and failure to sign official documents.

This sentence "One can give up one's official position in one day, but one must keep learning for a day" is not written on it.

Besides, who would say such things publicly, except in private to gain fame and reputation?
What else could this be if it wasn't something the Imperial Guards eavesdropped on?

If Shen Shixing and Wen Chun could think of it, naturally many other scholars could think of it as well.

Wu Zhongxing looked at the emperor's back with some fear.

Zhao Yongxian looked around and raised his head to check if there was any figure on the beam.

Zhu Yijun ignored the noise.

Seeing that Tu Xiying didn't speak for a long time, he asked, "Mr. Tu, if you say that you can give up your official position one day, then that's fine."

"But as an official of the Honglu Temple, you spent less than half of your working days this year, traveling around temples and Taoist temples all day, giving lectures and teaching."

"Mr. Tu, I am really curious. If you don't want to be an official, why did you take the imperial examination in the first place?"

He looked at Tu Xiying quietly.

These people are the majority among those who failed in this round of examination.

He has not done anything harmful to the world, and not only is he not corrupt, he has a reputation for being honest. He even often criticizes the tyranny and the corruption, behaving like an honest official.

But what about your job?

Well, I’m sorry, I’m not interested in fame and fortune, and I don’t want to do my job.

If you don't do anything, you won't make any mistakes.

To be in a position but do nothing, commonly known as occupying the toilet but not doing anything.

This causes frequent problems in the daily operations of various departments.

Take the last Manshou Festival for example, the envoys who came to offer congratulations were not only from Korea, the filial son, but also from other vassal states.

But Tu Xiying was out giving lectures those days, and only on the day of Wanshou Festival did he arrange for the vassal states to attend a banquet at the Ministry of Rites. The Koreans finished the meal and left!
What’s even more infuriating is that these so-called “unseeking fame and fortune” people can often receive unanimous praise from scholars and be promoted quickly.

Tu Xiying's calm expression disappeared, and instead, he lowered his head and remained silent.

After a long while, Tu Xiying slowly said, "Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to be an official, it's just that I'm not used to the climate here. As soon as I started working at the Honglu Temple, I felt unwell."

"I would like to return to Nanzhili."

Zhu Yijun almost laughed out of anger.

A dead pig is not afraid of boiling water, right?

After all this trouble, is the purpose of obtaining a good academic record to return home in glory and wait for retirement to enjoy life?
This guy was the one who slipped back to Nanzhili during this month in history—"Tu Xiying, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, was transferred to the Nanjing government office due to the unsuitable soil and water conditions."

As for how you do when you go back?

The reviews are mixed.

Colleagues in Nanzhili praised this man highly, calling him a role model of literati and the first person after Chen Jingzong.

But the students in Nanzhili were different. They accused him of damaging the teacher's ethics and behaving erratically.

Everyone knows what kind of bureaucrats are praised by their colleagues but rejected by all the students in the Imperial College.

In the end, Wang Wei, a member of the Nanjing Household Department, could no longer stand it and reported Tu Xiying, saying that his behavior was abnormal and not in line with the teaching standards, which led to resentment among students.

Do not pursue the value of fame and fortune.

Zhu Yijun was too lazy to respond to Tu Xiying's request. He waved his hand and sent him out.

After Tu Xiying walked out of the threshold of the Examination Office.

Zhu Yijun turned around and looked at the common people: "Among you, is there anyone who doesn't want fame and honor?"

"If you tell me now, I can get it done sooner."

Li Deyou quickly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, this person is a fake and can be seen at a glance!"

"I have no regard for the country and the people, but it is not that I do not desire fame and fortune."

"He is imitating the Minister of Personnel Lu Shusheng, seeking fame and trying to imitate the ugly woman!"

"How can we follow in his footsteps?"

Zhu Yijun was happy.

You, a humble person, now criticize others for buying fame.

At this time, Wu Zhongxing also stepped out and said with emotion: "Your Majesty, today I have seen these people who are just sitting there doing nothing and have no sense of shame. Only then did I realize the necessity of the performance evaluation system."

"People like these who seek fame and reputation but do not do their job are not even a tenth as good as my peers in the Hanlin Academy."

He was almost about to say I can do it too.

After saying this, Wu Zhongxing gave Zhang Juzheng a look that was full of understanding, regret, and apology, which was extremely complicated.

Zhang Juzheng originally didn't look away, but then he became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. He frowned and glared at Wu Zhongxing.

The little emperor naturally didn't see the little moves on the field.

The case file of Tu Xiying was handed to Li Deyou for everyone to read.

At this time, Shen Shixing, who was sitting in the hall, finally couldn't help but stand up and reminded him, "Your Majesty, according to the performance evaluation law, only those who fail to pass the examination for three years will be dismissed from office."

"This is to punish the past and prevent the future, to cure the disease and save lives. Your Majesty, please consider how to deal with it."

Although Tu Xiying's behavior is a bit irritating.

However, the performance evaluation method has been published in black and white, so if you fail in the initial stage, you still have a chance to correct it.

The emperor's words are one thing, and the credibility of the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel is another.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Chun said, "Your Majesty, I think that although he should not be dismissed from office, he should be punished to warn the court officials. Otherwise, if the court officials see that it is harmless, they will follow suit. I am afraid that the law will not be enforced in the future."

Gao Yi glanced at the two people from the Ministry of Personnel, then looked at Zhang Juzheng, and they tacitly understood each other and did not speak.

In theory, the performance evaluation system has always been handled by the cabinet, and the emperor has never interfered.

For now, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi should at least make their presence felt.

But the center has conventions.

In order to balance the local factions, the north and the south have always been used together.

For example, whenever the chief minister was from the south, the chief censor would usually be from the north.

Similarly, the emperor was worried about Shen Shixing, a southerner, being in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, so he specifically asked Gao Yi to recommend Wen Chun, an old Qin man.

At the moment, because Tu Xiying, a native of Nanzhili, had some disagreements, the cabinet was reluctant to say much, lest the emperor become suspicious and think that there was really a factional dispute over the Performance Evaluation System.

Fortunately, the little emperor is still very sensible.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "I am not familiar with government affairs. I am just taking the scholars to inspect them. There are rules for how to deal with them. You two ministers should report to the cabinet when you are ready."

He looked at Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi and said, "Thank you for your help, gentlemen."

The two of them quickly returned the gift.

Zhang Juzheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling comforted. It seemed that the emperor was indeed acting on impulse and was not in a hurry to take back the power of the cabinet.

Zhu Yijun retracted his gaze and said casually, "Mr. Wu said that the peers in the Hanlin Academy are far superior to this generation. Let me finish reading it first."

He turned and nodded to Deng Yizan, saying, "Let Zhao Zhigao come in."

(End of this chapter)