Chapter 23: Alas for the King and Father, and the People in Trouble

This is the excellent experience from the previous life - pilot project.

Zhang Juzheng took a big step, not to mention the two palaces were hesitant.

Moreover, if we really want to roll it out, the current administrative power is simply not enough to support it.

It is also difficult to estimate how many disgruntled officials there are and how much trouble that will be caused.

Being overwhelmed will only waste time.

Even if it was forcibly promoted and aroused public anger and backlash afterwards, I'm afraid the only option would be to leave the person but keep the politics - someone's fate would be too bleak by then, and Zhu Yijun did not want that.

The pilot project is much more controllable, it's like boiling a frog in warm water.

The most influential leaders in the Ming Dynasty, whether it was Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, or himself who was hidden behind the scenes, all supported the performance evaluation system.

In Shuntian Prefecture, a little trouble is acceptable, but there is no energy to gather together to submit a joint petition and kneel down in tears.

There are also announcements about resigning from office and returning home, or sailing across the sea, but these also fail to generate much momentum.

If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will. No matter how hard it is to find honest and upright officials, you can't find an honest official in a prefecture even if you don't believe in him.

Sure enough, when Concubine Li heard this, her eyes lit up immediately, as if she was moved - she had been scolded a lot by the upright officials these past two days because of the performance evaluation system.

My son's method really has the best of both worlds.

It not only narrowed the scope of the performance evaluation system and reduced its intensity, but also saved money for the palace and allowed people to see the results right under their noses.

The expenses in the palace are already quite high.

Since there was no place to increase revenue, she didn't mind cutting back. Her two sons hadn't gotten married yet, and if she let the treasury be emptied, she would be unworthy of being a mother.

She thought about it, and said with the intention of filling in the gaps: "There is nothing much to say about Shuntian Prefecture, but why is it not Feng Daban who is in charge of this needlework bureau? After all, he is also the seal holder of the Silijian."

Zhu Yijun was shocked. Well, it was time to make slanderous remarks again.

He glanced at Feng Bao behind him, who looked confused and didn't know what was going to happen.

He said softly to Concubine Li Guifei, "Mother, Feng Daban is not only the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, but also in charge of the Eastern Depot. In addition, the Imperial Horse Administration, the Imperial Guards, and the Imperial Treasury all have to pass under his nose. I'm afraid he is too busy to handle everything."

"Besides, even if Zhang Daban is in charge of this matter, Feng Daban can still control it. After all, Zhang Daban was appointed as the eunuch commander by my mother, but Feng Daban is always in charge of everything."

This Feng Bao is too powerful. He is also responsible for the malpractices in the palace. Moreover, he pretends to obey your mother's instructions when employing people. My mother, please be more careful in choosing people.

Sure enough, Concubine Li fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he nodded: "What my son said... does make some sense."

Zhu Yijun breathed a sigh of relief. This was the advantage of Concubine Li's soft-heartedness. Anyone's slander would be effective.

Concubine Li asked again: "This is the first one, what about the second one?"

Zhu Yijun only mentioned one just now, but it turns out there are other ideas.

Zhu Yijun continued, "Mother, the so-called 'pilot' is one thing, as for the other two, I call them 'performance'."

The two palaces are afraid that it will damage their holy virtues, so just show them mercy.

Concubine Li asked curiously: "Performance?"

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "This performance evaluation system is too harsh. Mother knows that officials in our dynasty are lazy and most of them make a living by corruption."

"If we rashly add burdens and prohibit corruption, I am afraid we will not be able to make a living."
"Maybe there's going to be trouble."

I was living a good life by just lying down and not working.

Now we have a performance evaluation system that not only makes people work, but also prevents them from taking bribes? This is ridiculous!
Kneel down and cry at the gate! You must kneel down and cry at the gate!
Concubine Li nodded and said, "I am worried about this. Even if we follow Jun'er's idea and only take Shuntian Prefecture for the time being, judging from the cabinet's intention, we will have to expand it in the future."

Zhu Yijun understands the leader's thoughts very well and seeks stability.

Boiling the frog in warm water is only smooth at the beginning. Once it spreads and reaches the critical point, it will eventually be linked together and use the performance evaluation method to oppose the performance evaluation method.

He began to explain: "My child's point is, since you are afraid of chaos, it is better to divide it up."

"The cabinet's performance evaluation system is to promote those who excel, retain those who meet the requirements, and dismiss those who fail. It is simple but brutal."

"But mother, there are so many officials in this world, how many are the best? How many positions can be promoted?"

"I'm afraid most of them are between qualified and unqualified?"

“If most people only increase their power and responsibilities, but fail to receive the saintly virtues, I am afraid they will feel resentful and face many obstacles.”

"According to my idea, it is rare for an official in our dynasty to be qualified, so why not give him some benefits and reward him with some silver."

"For those who fail, three times is the upper limit, and then they will be dismissed to leave some room for improvement."

"This will not only increase legal income, but also moralize those corrupt officials who are hesitant and in a dilemma, and make the two sides work together, so as to urge all officials to do their best."

"The cabinet plays the good guy role, and I will be the bad guy in the middle, which will also show my kindness and virtue."

Zhu Yijun finished speaking in one breath, his mouth felt dry.

After all this, the patched performance evaluation system, although still not perfect, can alleviate most of the resistance.

It is imperative to increase legal income.

High salaries cannot maintain integrity, but if basic living needs cannot be guaranteed, corruption will definitely breed - it is unrealistic to expect everyone to be born a saint.

While ensuring basic survival, the right strategy is to hang a sword over our heads, use both carrots and sticks, and apply both kindness and severity.

To show favor blindly is to aid and abet the evil.

If you keep suppressing others, you will be counterattacked.

If the evaluation is not dialectical enough, the people will perish and the government will cease to exist sooner or later.

As for why it is considered as performance instead of being added to one’s own salary?
Firstly, it is to show the contrast and inspire people. Secondly, it is naturally convenient to make dynamic adjustments at any time and do some work - this power must be firmly held in his hands.

Zhu Yijun turned around and glanced at Concubine Li who seemed to be in deep thought. It was obvious that she had heard it, and he nodded secretly in his heart.

Of course Concubine Li understood.

Not only did I understand it, but the more I thought about it, the more I found it wonderful!

In this way, the holiness that she was most worried about would not be damaged.

I have done so much, and if you don't do your job well, can you still blame me?
Not only that, but he can also gain a good reputation among the clean officials. After all, court officials who want to get things done but don't engage in corruption are really hungry for food.

The only flaw is...

"Then is the Ministry of Revenue willing to pay for the reward?"

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "Mother, the performance of this year's pilot project will be determined by our palace."

Concubine Li opened her mouth: "Ah?"

Zhu Yijun explained: "Mother, this time the Ministry of Revenue has sent 100,000 taels. We will put it into the imperial treasury in name, but we don't want the money. We will put it in the Ministry of Revenue and use the name of the imperial treasury as 'performance'."

"There are 28,963 officials on the list of our dynasty. There are only 800 officials in Shuntian Prefecture and the Needlework Bureau. This 100,000 taels is more than enough for performance awards and to make up for the shortfalls."

"Didn't Gao Gong refuse to give the money? Gao Gong can still get together with other officials to stop the palace expenses, but if it is the source of good governance, all officials will definitely stand on the side of mother. Even if Gao Gong is determined, he can't stop it."

"It's better to use it to show our kindness than to use it to buy people's hearts."

The inner court wanted to give money to court officials, and no one could stop it.

However, he was reserved in his words. After all, this number did not include clerks, otherwise it would have been more than ten times larger.

But as I said, you have to eat one bite at a time. He is not a god and cannot take care of everything.

The annual salary in the Ming Dynasty was calculated to be more than 130,000 taels of silver, but the actual amount paid out over the years was less than 50%. Is it that officials at all levels don't want to pay their own family members?

No Money!
If we don’t improve the tax laws or even measure the land, these are just treating the symptoms and not the root cause!

But no matter what tax law or new policy it is, it requires the cooperation of the entire bureaucratic system. How can we implement the new policy together with insects?

It takes money to rectify the administration of officials, and getting money requires rectifying the administration of officials, which creates a paradox.

What Zhu Yijun has to do now is to find a way out of this paradox.

Use small costs to gradually promote administrative reforms, and then use the results of administrative reforms to promote new laws, thus forming a virtuous circle.

Of course, there is no need to tell this to Concubine Li.

Seeing that Concubine Li did not respond, Zhu Yijun continued, "This way, it will not only save our reputation, but also help mother win back a point with Gao Gong."

"Anyway, if the performance evaluation method doesn't work, we won't issue it next year. If it does work, the money saved by the inner treasury will be more than 100,000 taels a year."

"After the performance evaluation system is effectively implemented, not to mention the money saved from cost-cutting, there will certainly be ways to increase revenue in the future. At that time, we can discuss with the Ministry of Revenue how to spend it."

"We won't lose anything after all."

There is a trick that costs more than 30,000 taels for just tribute tea. Even if the performance evaluation system is only 30% effective and saves 10,000 taels, then if the rest of the gold flowers, millet, silk, tea, wax, pigments and other items are all saved a little, the total amount will be more than 100,000 taels.

What if it doesn't even have 30% of the effect of curing rot? If you don't give me face, why keep it if you don't kill people?
There is no need to settle political accounts with the women in the deep palace. The right remedy is to vaguely calculate the economic accounts. If the performance evaluation system is implemented, it will be good for all parties.

He looked up at Concubine Li again, but still saw no reaction.

Zhu Yijun actually didn't know that Concubine Li was truly speechless at this moment.

It's not that she didn't understand, nor did she disagree, she was just surprised.

This son of mine... is simply a natural born emperor!
"Strategic, resourceful and decisive" was the phrase that lingered in her mind.

As a woman of commoner origin, she did not understand these twists and turns, but she had seen how the late emperor handled state affairs.

Every time I feel worried and sigh.

She had never seen such a wrist with antelope horns, and it amazed her.

She had only seen this feeling in cabinet ministers, such as Yan Song in the past and Xu Jie later.

Others like Li Chunfang and Gao Gong are not even on the list! This talent and scheming, vaguely, has the style of Sejong, is this the relationship between generations?

The only difference is that Sejong used his political tactics to control his subordinates, while his son used them to discuss major policies with him.

From this moment on, she finally believed without a doubt that what her son said that day about seeing the late emperor in the dark must be true.

The late emperor appeared! The ancestors appeared!

If this young man is well educated and becomes a wise ruler, his deeds will be recorded in the history books of the future.

Unconsciously, my eyes became a little moist.

"Mother? Mother?"

Concubine Li came back to her senses.

Seeing Zhu Yijun calling him, he turned away and pretended to be calm, saying, "Our opinion on this matter doesn't count. We still have to discuss it in the cabinet."

Not to mention that her imperial concubine's decree had just been rejected.

Even if the emperor issued an edict, if it was not drafted by the cabinet, it would be an imperial decree and would be illegal in terms of procedure.

Gao Gong was a radical person and might insist on having his own way, so he simply ignored her. Concubine Li only thought that the performance evaluation system was proposed by Gao Gong.

Zhu Yijun was confident: "Don't worry, mother. I have also told this method to Elder Gao. He has also made many suggestions for the omissions. I believe he will convince the Prime Minister. There is no need for you to issue an order."

"By the way, mother, please don't tell anyone about this. It was my idea. After all, the child is still young..."

Gao Yi was a very useful excuse, and Zhu Yijun naturally made it up out of thin air.

But he was not trying to deceive Concubine Li. He just planned to persuade Gao Yi first and then let Gao Yi come forward.

A moral gentleman like Gao Yi is the easiest to convince by explaining the great principles of justice.

Concubine Li looked at him in high spirits, her eyes filled with satisfaction.

……

The sixth year of Longqing, the seventh day of the sixth month.

It was only three days before the coronation ceremony, and there were more and more people busy running around in the Forbidden City.

But none of them had any effect on Zhu Yijun.

He continued to develop in an orderly manner, strengthening his body, taking care of his oral cavity, pleasing the Li family, and accumulating fame.

Early in the morning, when Zhu Yijun went to Wenhua Hall for a daily lecture, two tutors were missing.

Ma Ziqiang and Tao Dalin, Junior Chancellors of the Chancellery and Attending Academicians of the Hanlin Academy, went to prepare the etiquette for the enthronement ceremony and the posthumous title of the late emperor with the Ministry of Rites, so Rijiang had to take leave.

Zhu Yijun was not impressed by these two people and did not take them to heart.

After greeting each other, Zhu Yijun walked skillfully to Gao Yi, grabbed Gao Yi's hand, and walked in.

"Come, give the sir a seat." He turned his head and looked at Gao Yi, "Sir, which talk are you going to give today?"

Grohe no longer resists this series of moves.

He answered very naturally: "Your Highness, it is the Zicai Chapter and Zhaogao Chapter of the Shangshu."

Zhu Yijun nodded, helped him sit down, and then returned to sit at the desk.

He intended to show a certain intelligence, and his progress in reciting Shangshu was also very fast.

In these six or seven days, he had already finished learning the Book of Shang and had reached the Book of Zhou.

There were even lecturers who deliberately flattered him, boasting that the crown prince could read ten lines at a glance and had a photographic memory.

In fact, this progress can only be considered slightly fast. For him, memorizing two or three articles of 200 words a day is not really difficult. In his previous life, he could memorize seven or eight poems a day when he was seven years old.

Gao Yi sat half of his butt on a low stool, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Who doesn’t want the disciples they teach to have a photographic memory and be able to draw inferences about other situations?
Now the Crown Prince followed the lecturer in reciting the scriptures, pausing and reading each sentence, and he became proficient in it in no more than two recitations.

I also understand the interpretations given by the lecturers, and often have different insights into the different interpretations of the lecturers, and extend them to my own conduct and governance.

A clever disciple, a student who respects his teacher, and a benevolent and filial monarch, almost all of Gao Yi's wishes were met.

Gao Yi looked at Zhu Yijun, who was reading, meditating, or in a daze at the imperial desk, and stroked his beard unconsciously and smiled.

Such a school is really a pleasure.

It was not until the lecturer beside him whispered something in his ear that he realized it was already noon and the lecture was over.

Gao Yi quickly stood up and took two steps forward: "Your Highness, let's stop here for today's lecture."

The other lecturers stood up and saluted together.

Gao Yi was ready to leave.

But the Crown Prince's voice came from above: "Sir, please stay."

"I have some insights from today's lecture. Sir, why don't you dine with me so that you can correct me."

Gao Yi was stunned.

Eating ginseng meals has always been a treatment only for the most honored and favored court officials.

When the previous emperor was alive, only Gao Gong enjoyed it.

Now it happened to him, and he was a little at a loss for a moment.

He hurriedly bowed and was about to refuse, but was met with the Crown Prince's expectant and harmless gaze.

Gao Yi's words of refusal suddenly changed into "Your Highness is willing to study, how dare I disobey your order?"

Then, Zhu Yijun grabbed his hand and took him to the dining room.

"Sir, I am in mourning period, so the things I use are a little bland. Please don't mind." Zhu Yijun apologized.

Gao Yi didn't care, as he was no longer old enough to indulge in food and drink.

He would enjoy being able to participate in the meals, even if it was just chewing straw.

"Your Highness, please do not embarrass me. Your Majesty's grace is so great that I feel ashamed."

Having said that, he only took it as a polite remark. The palace was extremely extravagant, so how bad could the mourning period be?

But it was not until he saw the imperial meal being served that he was somewhat stunned.

The Crown Prince's lunch consisted of only eight dishes.

Gao Yi was a Jinshi graduate, so he had naturally read "Nanjing Guanglu Temple Records". Even though Taizu was simple in those days, his lunch had 24 dishes.

Even to take a recent example, when the late emperor was in mourning for Emperor Sejong, there were as many as 27 dishes for lunch.

Now, the Crown Prince is so frugal?

Could it be that he was deceived by the eunuchs?

Zhu Yijun saw Gao Yi's doubts and explained in a gentle voice: "Sir, don't worry too much. It is my idea to reduce the imperial meals."

To be honest, he couldn't finish so many dishes, so why waste them.

Having been in a high position for many years, he no longer had any obsession with this kind of appetite. He was satisfied with six dishes and one soup in the office canteen.

He continued, "The emperor's body is still warm, and eating vegetarian food is not enough to express my grief."

"Furthermore, several gentlemen have said that today people's livelihood is in decline, the people are in hardship, and there are often people who cannot get enough food."

"As a king and father, how can I let my people suffer while I indulge in extravagance?"

"This way, I can accumulate some blessings for my father and show my willingness to share the sufferings of the people."

"I'm sorry to make you laugh, sir."

Gao Yi felt a tightness in his chest as he listened to Zhu Yijun's shy and leisurely story.

He didn't want to think about whether this crown prince was just putting on a show.

As a conservative scholar, he watched helplessly as a monarch could do this.

Whatever the reason, it was a stroke of luck.

It's better than Emperor Sejong who always claimed that he only had eight sets of clothes for the four seasons, but was extremely extravagant and treated the people like grass.

Gao Yi lowered his head and hid his emotions: "The people are suffering. It is the cabinet and I who are guilty."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand: "The guilt of all the people lies with me."

He had just accepted the advice to ascend the throne yesterday, so it would not be a big deal if he just broke the etiquette and said "I".

He looked at Zhang Hong's godson who was on duty in the side hall beside him, and Jiang Keqian who was standing beside him, and exchanged glances with each other.

The two of them tactfully dismissed the people around them and stood far away.

Zhu Yijun extended his hand to invite Gao Yi to sit down, and said sincerely, "Sir."

"In the past 29 years, the country has not seen any real policies to care for the people. Extortionate taxes and levies have eroded the people's flesh and blood in border defense; farming, salt, tea and wine have exhausted their brains and brains in whipping."

"They seem to be enemies, but who can be their parents? They have caused our people to suffer so much and have no one to turn to."

He paused, then sighed, "Sir...it is I who am guilty, and it is the Zhu Ming royal family who is guilty."

　Note 1: People say that Emperor Wanli abandoned the people, but I can still remember the question he asked to Shen Shixing on the Gengshen day of August in the fifteenth year of the Wanli reign - If the officials exploit the people, how can the people not become thieves?

　　Note 2: Number of officials and salary issues - Chen Guanggui: "A Preliminary Study on the Problem of China's Fiscal Support Rate", published in Contemporary Economic Science, July 2003, 7.
　　Wu Jianhua: "Research on Redundancy and Vacancies of Officials in the Ming Dynasty", Xiamen University, doctoral dissertation, 2001, page 60.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)