Chapter 87: Appointment due to appointment, tacit understanding

In the Wanshou Palace, there were only the emperor and his minister, one kneeling and the other standing.

Xu Jie bowed his head, confessed his guilt, and asked for pardon in a frank manner.

Zhu Yijun did not comment.

He asked something else for no reason: "Xu Qing was born in September of the sixteenth year of the Hongzhi reign?"

Xu Jie was stunned, not understanding what was going on, and nodded hesitantly.

Zhu Yijun looked puzzled and said, "Then this year is exactly seventy."

Xu Jie added: "I have reached my age in nominal terms, but my actual birthday is on September 20th."

Zhu Yijun sighed and said with emotion: "It is rare for a person to live to be seventy. Get up."

Xu Jie stood up in confusion, not understanding what the emperor meant by this question.

Zhu Yijun ignored him and knocked heavily on the imperial desk.

Li Jin was waiting at the door of the hall. When he heard the noise, he hurried into the hall.

At the emperor's signal, he took out a congratulatory letter entitled "Preface to the 70th Birthday of Mr. Xu, the Junior Master Cunzhai" from his sleeve and handed it to Xu Jie.

Xu Jie looked at the signature in astonishment, and his disciple Ju Zheng respectfully presented it, not knowing what to do.

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "Mr. Xu, the Prime Minister entrusted the congratulatory letter to me several months ago."

"He said that if he wanted to execute you in Songjiang Prefecture, he would have the Jinyiwei burn you in front of your body."

"If I show mercy and spare your life, I will pass the congratulatory letter to you on his behalf."

"The Prime Minister said that he was ashamed to see his mentor."

"Mr. Xu, if it weren't for the Prime Minister's plea, you wouldn't have been able to enter the capital. I didn't expect that you would ignore his difficulties and come to embarrass him yesterday."

"Ugh……"

Zhu Yijun sighed and was about to get up and leave.

It was a rare occasion that he made concessions for personal reasons, and the emperor was no exception when it came to matters of personal relationships.

Although Zhang Juzheng seemed to be distancing himself from the matter, he had actually made his attitude clear several months ago - Zhang Juzheng supported the emperor's decision, but he still hoped that Xu Jie could celebrate his birthday in peace.

Since his teacher had spoken, Zhu Yijun had no choice but to go along with it.

Of course, his thoughts changed after meeting Xu Jie.

Xu Jie was so talented and looked unwilling to accept the result, which made Zhu Yijun want to convince him.

He turned around to look at the dazed Xu Jie, then turned and left.

Xu Jie held the congratulatory letter in his hand with a complicated expression.

Yesterday he thought that his disciple was heartless and heartless, but unexpectedly, he had actually pleaded for him early on.

On the other hand, he showed no concern for the disciple's difficulties and went to make things difficult for him.

Now that the emperor has shown mercy, he feels even more mixed emotions.

Xu Jie's heart was filled with emotions. He slowly opened the memorial and lowered his head to read it - "In the past, I read the secretaries of the Central Secretariat, and you were my teacher..."

After that, it is about reminiscing about the teachings and learning between teachers and students, as well as birthday congratulations.

Although it is a common content in birthday congratulations, it was written by the Prime Minister of the time after all. It is sincere and heartfelt, and the admiration for his father is moving.

Especially when he thought of the disciples who showed no mercy to him yesterday, Xu Jie felt torn between the lines.

He is truly a good disciple.

Xu Jie sighed silently and turned to the next page.

"Ju Zheng once said: What a scholar and gentleman does is to respect the lord and protect the people, establish the classics and system, and stabilize the country. Some people do this by themselves, while others do not need to do it personally, but their principles will spread throughout the world and benefit all people. I think that only my teacher can do both..."

Xu Jie read to the end and gently closed the congratulatory letter.

No wonder he asked the emperor to pass it on, it turned out that he came to lobby him - to persuade him to "respect the lord and protect the people."

Xu Jie sighed.

Naturally, he had no reason to blame Zhang Juzheng. Although it was somewhat of an underestimation of Xu Jie, he had to accept this kindness.

However, Zhang Juzheng was both pleading and lobbying. If Xu Jie offended the emperor again in the future, he would probably be affected and lose the emperor's favor.

I'm afraid I owe you too much of a favor.

At this time, after Xu Jie finished reading the congratulatory letter, he looked up and saw that the emperor was no longer in the hall.

He looked at Li Jin standing beside him with an inquiring look.

Li Jin motioned Xu Jie to stand up and said softly, "Master Xu, His Majesty is going to the Wenhua Palace, and would like you to accompany him."

Xu Jie was stunned, and was supported by Li Jin as he waited outside the hall thoughtfully.

Soon, Zhu Yijun led Zhang Hong out of Wanshou Palace.

He glanced at Xu Jie and said, "Let's go. I'll go to the court for a meeting today."

There are many things to be discussed in court today, so Zhu Yijun has to go in person.

Especially the exchange of prisoners and Tuman Khan's request for rewards involved large-scale military affairs, so he had to make his position clear.

In addition, Hai Rui privately divided half of the silver he brought back with Zhang Juzheng, and he also had to go to the cabinet to show his support.

In addition, there are some rewards for Hai Rui and others who handled the case, and the debate about yesterday's sacrifice to Qian Yuan.

Busy.

Zhu Yijun was sighing in front, and Xu Jie followed silently.

After walking a little further, the former handed back the latter's "Five Major Malpractices in the World" and an unidentifiable voice said, "Mr. Xu, now that you have listed the five major malpractices, do you have any good suggestions?"

The five evils pointed out by Xu Jie were official administration, annexation, taxation, Japanese pirates and Tatars. They all hit the nail on the head and he was truly worthy of being the Prime Minister.

Although he was wagging his tail intentionally in order to save his life, it did not prevent Zhu Yijun from hearing Xu Jie's good advice.

Xu Jie opened his mouth slightly and was about to speak out the good plan he had prepared, but suddenly stopped.

Of course there are good strategies, and there is more than one prepared, just like the three strategies of ancient strategists, namely the best, the middle and the worst, all of which are good strategies.

However, some good strategies are for doing things, while some good strategies are just for telling people about them.

In order to survive, Xu Jie had naturally prepared for the latter.

But now...

He raised his head and glanced at the emperor's back, then thought of the conversation in the hall just now and the consolation of his disciples.

The young emperor acted with great dignity, and there was no reason for him to be outdone.

Furthermore, if the emperor believed in the good advice of castles in the air, although Xu Jie would benefit, his disciple who really wanted to do things would be in trouble.

After thinking about it for a long time, I finally decided to come up with a good plan to do things seriously.

Xu Jie tried to slow down his tone and said, "I dare not hide the truth from Your Majesty. I think these five problems need to be solved in order, but they all have prerequisites."

"If you want to pacify the northern Tatars, I have ways to do it. Whether it's paying tribute or asking the gentry to move to the border, there are always countermeasures, but... the premise is that we can only do it if we really destroy all the warlike Tatar tribes. Otherwise, it will be a castle in the air."

"As for the Japanese pirates, please forgive me for being frank. Even though everyone knows that the key to this matter lies in the Japanese pirates in the country, we still need to annihilate the Japanese pirates overseas first before we can turn around and slowly deal with them. Otherwise, we will be dragged to death."

"Both of them will have to fight a big battle, and the winner can only be determined when there is enough money and resources."

"The lack of financial resources is due to the limitation of land and taxes."

"And if Your Majesty really wants to take action on land and taxes, you must at least rectify the administration of officials first."

If the emperor simply cleaned up the salt administration, tea tax, and horse market, it would only be a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.

Even if a large sum of money came in every time, it was just adding fuel to the fire.

Only by reforming the tax law and surveying the land can the fiscal problem be temporarily solved.

Then, during this window period, the national treasury would accumulate enough money to fight a few major wars, and then there would be hope of eliminating the threats from the north and south.

However, reforming the tax law and surveying the land would inevitably require officials who could be ordered around at will.

This is the truth, of course, but the difficulties and obstacles involved are naturally self-evident.

Moreover, even if this step is achieved, it is still only a temporary solution.

Xu Jie glanced at the emperor's back, his mind filled with thoughts.

This step is still a long way from what the emperor said about suppressing annexation and resisting the rotation of the four seasons.

I just don’t know if I can wait until that time.

After hearing what Xu Jie said, Zhu Yijun smiled fleetingly. This approach was quite consistent with Xu Jie's.

He turned his head and glanced at Xu Jie: "So, Mr. Xu, do you think the performance evaluation method is not enough?"

Since we are talking about the administration of officials, it is impossible to fool him with what we already have. We must have some opinions of our own.

Xu Jie nodded and said, "Your Majesty, the performance evaluation system can only motivate officials, but there are two other problems that are also huge hidden dangers for our dynasty."

Zhu Yijun signaled him to continue with his eyes.

Xu Jie pondered for a moment: "First, the term of office of our dynasty's officials is too short!"

"Often, they were transferred or promoted within one or two years. Some officials even received a transfer order as soon as they arrived at the office."

"Take the Shandong Provincial Governor as an example. From February of the fourth year of Longqing to December of the fifth year of Longqing, in just one year and ten months, the Right Provincial Governor of Shandong was replaced by Chen Zan, Xu Shi, Tao Chengxue, Chen Jiang, Cao Ke, and five others!"

"Each person only has a term of a few months. I'm afraid they can't even understand the local area, let alone govern it!"

"The superiors don't know the situation of the subordinates. They just want to study a resume and leave after a few months. The subordinates are like old trees with twisted roots, which will not move for thousands of years. This is one of the reasons why the central government has gradually lost control over the local areas."

"Besides this, there is another one."

"My superiors recommend me to you. If I fail to do my job, my superiors will be held responsible."

"Everyone seeks profit and avoids harm. Your Majesty, if I really fail to do my job, I will force my superiors to cover up and I will surrender!"

"If officials form cliques like this, the consequences will be endless!"

After hearing this, Zhu Yijun frowned.

He really didn't know much about this matter. In the past year, he just observed the government affairs and did not interfere in the operation of the six ministries. He didn't care too much about the term of office of officials.

Only a few months! ?

During his several-month term, he has not been able to hold democratic life meetings many times. What kind of person is he as astute as the provincial leader?

As for the recommendation of collective punishment, he knew something about it, but he was not particularly clear about the details.

Zhu Yijun suddenly realized that he seemed to be in need of an old minister who was ready to be called upon and familiar with the country's system so that he could consult him.

After all, he has not yet taken power, and it is impossible for him to know everything about the operation of the country.

In this situation, the role of veteran ministers like Xu Jie becomes very important.

He had originally planned to release Xu Jie, but now he suddenly hesitated.

Zhu Yijun temporarily suppressed this thought and turned his attention back to the present.

He did not express his opinion immediately, but asked: "Xu Qing means that if the person who recommended him fails to hold the post, the superior will no longer be implicated?"

"If that's the case, I'm afraid that when recommending someone, they won't even consider their moral character or talent, right?"

Since there is no responsibility for recommending, doesn't that mean just recommending any former student or official?
The harm may not be less than the old method, which is also the two-sided nature of things. Unexpectedly, Xu Jie shook his head: "Your Majesty, since there is already a performance evaluation method, isn't talent obvious at a glance?"

"In my opinion, the recommendation of a minister is probably not as good as the excellent results obtained through three years of examinations."

Zhu Yijun was startled and looked at Xu Jie in surprise.

He is very familiar with this method.

In the past, he was trying to get promoted, but this bad habit tortured him a lot.

Xu Jie continued, "So, there are rules for the term of office. For example, promotion to the fifth rank requires three years of excellence, and promotion to the third rank requires five years of excellence, and so on."

"Then cooperate with the review of the six departments, the review of the censors, and the review of the Ministry of Personnel to gradually improve it."

"By eliminating the trend of forming cliques through recommendation, the petty officials without cliques can also have some prospects. Isn't this an improvement?"

Zhu Yijun grabbed Xu Jie's hand and made him walk side by side with him.

He sighed and said, "Xu Qing is indeed a talented person. He is worthy of being my loyal minister."

"I will submit the memorial to the cabinet later so that they can discuss it carefully."

Sure enough, people who have been caught in the rain really want to have the umbrellas they gave to others stolen.

The drawbacks and good solutions mentioned by Xu Jie may have been thought of before.

But at that time, everyone was eating from the same pot, so who could be so cruel as to destroy the pot? After all, the power of recommendation was in their own hands.

Now a Zhang Juzheng wanted to rebuild the Ming Dynasty and came up with a performance evaluation system.

Xu Jie was forced to become a loyal minister and asked to be promoted and examined.

If the promotion mechanism can be made transparent, the stagnant civil service system will probably begin to ripple.

Even if the person dies and the government ceases to exist, it will always be a direction for future generations to refer to.

Of course, the resentment should still be attributed to Xu Jie.

Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Jie with satisfaction, and a series of compliments came out without any charge.

It seemed as if he was not the one who had humiliated the old minister before.

He thought for a while and said, "Mr. Xu, I originally planned to promote you and let you retire in Songjiang Prefecture, but now, I can't bear to hide your beauty."

He just said this verbally. Before that, he had planned to send Xu Jie to Fujian to take care of the Maritime Customs and maritime transport affairs with Yu Dayou.

But now it seems that if there is an old person in the family, like a treasure, it is better to keep him in the center for consultation.

"Xu Qing, please stay in the capital!"

"You have made great contributions in handling the case in Nanzhili this time, but if you are granted the title of Three Dukes while alive, I am afraid the Prime Minister will say that I am roasting you on the fire."

"Well, the former Junior Minister of the Imperial Household Xu Fan is also a great talent. Let him be promoted to an official! We can move him to the capital so that we can be reunited."

"You don't have to worry about where to live. There is an empty house in Xila Hutong, Nanxunfang. I will give it to you, Xu Qing."

"However... Mr. Xu is the former Prime Minister after all, so it's hard to give him a real position. Can you please make a concession and serve as the principal of the new school? It just so happens that the mansion is outside Donghua Gate. How do you think?"

Xu Jie looked at Zhu Yijun in astonishment. He had never seen an emperor who changed his expression so quickly!
Who would have thought that this Saint King, who had ordered him to execute his second son just a few months ago, looked like he wanted to kill him as soon as possible half an hour ago! ?
However, this feeling of surprise was not disgust, but rather a feeling of admiration!
This is the potential for great things!

Before Emperor Gaozu of Han became successful, he did not accept gifts when attending banquets. Not only would he not give anything, he would also shout "Congratulations on your gift of ten thousand yuan" at the door, which was embarrassing.

When Emperor Taizu of Song was in trouble and penniless, he passed by a melon shed and sat down to eat. After he finished eating, he said, "I will repay you later." He was shameless.

How shameless!

But it’s okay to be shameless!
This is not the shamelessness of the common people, but a manifestation of lofty ambition and a willingness to take small matters into consideration!
Although the emperor was young and did not have the courage of a hero, he did see some of his potential.

Given time, we may be able to catch up with the two ancestors of Han and Song.

The emperor's performance made Xu Jie even more optimistic than his impassioned speech in the palace just now.

Zhu Yijun continued, "You will stay in the capital from now on, ready for consultation."

While Xu Jie was stunned and hadn't agreed yet, the emperor made the decision directly. It was really speechless.

The former sighed and said respectfully: "I obey your order."

He understood that his performance today had gone too far, causing the emperor to not only spare his life but also want him to devote himself to the country.

But... unexpectedly, he did not feel any regret.

in contrast.

Although I know it is impossible to enter the core again, the feeling of being in touch with the supreme power of the country again is really addictive - even if it is only for consultation.

Go home to retire?
Being able to peek into the center again is the best way to retire!

Zhu Yijun glanced at Xu Jie and said inconspicuously, "Since you have accepted the position, you may as well make a statement in the palace later so that the court officials will know that you have returned to the capital."

Xu Jie knew very well that the emperor had a trap to fill.

But he did not resist and took the initiative to ask: "Please give your orders, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "It's not that I want to order."

"But recently, many nobles have committed crimes. The censors have impeached them, but my mother has protected them. As a son, I am not in a position to persuade them."

"I think Mr. Xu is highly respected and has a great reputation. I think he can convince my mother."

There's no way around it, the nobles are all related.

These days, his mother, aunts, princes-in-law, and several dukes all came to plead for mercy.

Even the emperor couldn't withstand it.

Xu Jie also cooperated with the emperor: "Committing crimes? Even nobles must abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty! Even if you plead for mercy, it should be your majesty who initiates the Eight Discussions. How can you just keep it in the palace?!"

"Your Majesty, please tell us who these people are and how they committed the crime!"

On the surface, he spoke righteously, but in his heart he was trying to figure out the emperor's intentions.

Zhu Yijun did not answer for a moment.

Instead, he nodded to Zhang Hong.

The latter immediately took out a book from his arms.

Zhu Yijun took the book and said, "Although I don't interfere in government affairs, Li Zaiting has already reported it to me, so I have made a brief note of it."

When Xu Jie heard Li's impeachment in court, he immediately realized that it was a double act.

Zhu Yijun flipped open the book, cleared his throat, and said, "Zhang Yuanshan, Earl of Hui'an, and Guo Yingqian, Earl of Cheng'an, are dismissed from their posts."

"Nanning Earl Mao Guoqi is violating the law."

He finished reading the page, licked his fingers, turned the page and continued reading: "Li Yingchen, the Earl of Xiangcheng, was a licentious and perverse official who was arrested and punished."

"Zhao Zuzheng, the Earl of Xincheng, who managed the Red Helmets, is guilty."

At this point, Zhu Yijun interjected: "In addition, there is also Mu Chaobi, the Duke of Qian, who was imprisoned in Nanjing before."

"But... after the beginning of the year, the governor of Yunnan questioned Mu Chaobi and found out that the sister-in-law he raped was pregnant!"

"Now there is a debate about what to do with this person."

It makes a difference whether or not you rape your sister-in-law and have children.

It can be said that this is an aggravated crime.

Xu Jie linked these nobles together and quickly went over them in his mind.

He agreed to the matter respectfully on the surface, but secretly he was thinking about the emperor's purpose.

The emperor continued, "In addition, there is also Zhangwu Earl Yang Bing. However, the facts of his crime are not very clear, but it is possible."

As soon as the words fell, Xu Jie reacted immediately!
The emperor is paving the way for the preparation of the Beijing camp!

Mu Chaobi wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.

The previous group of nobles were probably all good-for-nothings from the Beijing Military Academy, Beijing Barracks, and the Governor's Office, but it was difficult to remove them, so they let him take the blame!

This is even more obvious for Yang Bing, the former governor of the Beijing camp, the Earl of Zhangwu!
Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Jie quietly, waiting for his reaction.

It was indeed as someone thought, his move was to reorganize the Beijing camp.

How can we survey the land and reform the tax system without the Beijing Army?

Civil officials like Xu Jie would deliberately skip over it, but he always kept it in mind.

These days, he has been instructing Gu Huan to reorganize the Beijing camp, but there are always some obstacles.

The quality of the soldiers in the Beijing camp is so poor!

It is extremely rare for a noble family to produce a few useful people.

People like Gu Huan who are both talented in literature and martial arts, and people like Zhu Xizhong who are shrewd and scheming are rare.

Most of them are stupid as pigs and useless, and all they do all day is go to brothels and theaters.

The Beijing Camp is the concentrated gathering place for these goods.

The harm is even greater in the military camp. Not to mention training, they don't even allow others to train. They gather soldiers and officers together to fight and gamble, which corrupts the atmosphere of the entire camp.

I want to kick these people out, but they are too deep-rooted.

Gu Huan sent people to invite these people to report for duty, but they were driven out by their parents every time.

Among them was his cousin, Li Wenquan.

There are countless others such as duke, marquis, aunt and prince consort.

These days, Gu Huan has been beaten up enough by the two palaces and dares not to act rashly.

It was impossible for Zhu Yijun to beat this and scold that person every day just for these small fish and shrimps.

In the end, the training plan was aborted.

The final conclusion is that it is time to arrest and interrogate some nobles and make an example of them - the political direction must be made clear.

Originally, I was going to let Zhang Juzheng be the villain, but now that he is not going to let Xu Jie go... then this villain has a better choice.

Xu Jie glanced at the emperor, suppressed his emotions, and said, "Your Majesty, I have no choice but to arrest those who commit crimes! I will impeach them in the palace later!"

After he finished speaking, he paused and said, "But in my opinion, with so many generals and assistant secretaries of the rear government failing to perform their duties, the Ministry of War is probably also responsible."

As for impeaching nobles, at most the two palaces and a group of princes would have some opinions, but they would not be able to retaliate. Naturally, Xu Jie agreed without any psychological burden.

As for the Ministry of War, it was even more of a test of the emperor's intentions.

After saying this, Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Jie in surprise.

How could he be so sharp! ?

Moreover, not only did he see through his intentions, but he also sold him out to the Ministry of War in the blink of an eye!
Good, it is indeed a pure minister.

Zhu Yijun exclaimed: "Xu Qing is indeed suitable for me to consult. I will remember your advice and will support your third son in the future!"

As for the future, it will be after Xu Jie really gets things done.

The two of them had a tacit understanding.

Xu Jie once again felt a strange feeling in his heart - it seemed that most of the retired cabinet ministers had now been picked out by the young emperor to work hard for him, which was really a good use of their talents.

There was a hint of amusement in Zhu Yijun's eyes, and he glanced at Xu Jie casually. This young master was so old and still full of energy, it seemed that he could be given more responsibilities after the court meeting later?
(End of this chapter)