Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 377 Want to make progress too much

Newcomers come on stage and old ones take their bows.

The curtain of the tenth year of Taichang is about to begin, and everyone knows that this will be a new era for the Ming Dynasty.

A new era in which the prime minister and ministers, under the leadership of the emperor, govern the vast Ming Dynasty through more sophisticated central government offices.

Someone requested to change the reign title, but Zhu Changluo did not agree. However, he asked the Academy of Scientific Research, the Imperial Observatory, the Hanlin Academy, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Rites and other departments to work together to do one thing: to determine a set of numerically continuous methods and standards for dating and timekeeping.

Someone petitioned to organize a grand celebration of the emperor's 30th birthday, calling on all nations to come to the throne. Zhu Changluo agreed, but the plan was different: he would still ask the Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Industry to jointly determine a larger range of measurement standards, and then celebrate the birthday in Guangzhou, and hold a trade fair at the same time.

Some people petitioned to open a system of imperial examinations, because the prosperous times had arrived and it was time to promote culture and education and recruit talented people. This was also a good thing, and Zhu Changluo thought it was okay.

In fact, these petitions were all aimed at the current official position, so they were mainly about flattering, praising, and celebrating achievements.

Zhu Changluo was very clear-headed and he derived everything he wanted to do from every incident.

Finance, official documents, daily measurement... The improvement of efficiency and potential depends on the refinement of standards. Weights and measures are the foundation of many things.

Subsequent scientific research requires more sophisticated measurement methods for time, size, weight, etc., as do industrial manufacturing and engineering construction.

Zhu Changluo had asked Zhu Zaiyu to prepare the foundation in this regard a few years ago.

Now, this matter has become an important topic of the Institute of Research, and it is also a reflection of the value of their existence.

Among them, when should the continuous calendar that the emperor wants to establish begin?
Even the retired academicians got involved in this matter.

What is required is to determine which year of the new era each year should correspond to, which is of course a lot of work. But there are at least four suggestions on when to start counting.

The first is to start from the first year that can be traced back and corresponded in the current historical materials; the second is to start from the year when the First Emperor ascended the throne, after all, there is a saying from the pre-Qin period; the third, of course, is to start from the year when the Ming Dynasty was founded and Taizu ascended the throne and became emperor.

The last one is simpler, and it starts counting from the year when the current emperor ascends the throne.

Zhu Changluo did not hesitate on this question. He looked at the eager Shen Shixing and said, "Let's start from the year when the First Emperor ascended the throne. Today, we are still building on the foundation laid by the First Emperor."

Shen Shixing was so earnest because this matter would surely go down in history.

One dynasty after another came and went, and each emperor had one or several reign titles, but when looking back on history thereafter, there will always be a series of consecutive years.

This is not writing history for any particular dynasty, generation or emperor, but for the entire Chinese nation!
Is it the end of the matter to determine this method of dating? There will definitely be a major project like the Yongle Encyclopedia in the future, at least to establish the context of the entire Chinese history, using this method of dating as the format!
Otherwise, how can latecomers respond?
Zhu Changluo pondered for a moment and said, "Since that year is designated as the first year, this year should be 1831."

Shen Shixing couldn't help but be stunned.

He had participated in the discussion before, so naturally he already knew how many years it would take to calculate using different calculation methods.

But at this time, he just came alone based on his identity to tell the emperor his opinions orally, and said that there were three options.

Shen Shixing hoped to start counting from ten years ago. After all, this honor would be bestowed on him and the emperor: it would be good for everyone!

But now the emperor actually calculated it directly. If we start from the time when the First Emperor ascended the throne, this year should be the first year.

"…Your Majesty is a man of genius, and his mental arithmetic is far superior to that of ordinary people."

Zhu Changluo just smiled, and then said: "After it is decided, we should take this Chinese era as the pulse and sort out the history. This major project should be presided over by Shen Zizheng. This is a major event in Chinese history. Shen Zizheng should call on all the people and people with lofty ideals. I will be consistent and continue to provide money to guarantee this matter."

Killing two birds with one stone. This great change will surely cause many people to fail in their careers.

In this case, let’s use our remaining energy to write history.

For the Ming Dynasty and the entire Chinese nation, it is of great significance to preserve the various historical materials that are still preserved now, which are more complete and older than those in later generations.

"Let Zhang Sixiu go too."

Zhu Changluo said another sentence, Shen Shixing looked at him deeply, bowed and said yes.

Shen Shixing is already very old, and this project is so huge? Now the successor of this matter has been pointed out. And Zhang Juzheng's son will continue to preside over this matter. Isn't the signal sent simple?

One is to continue to clear Zhang Juzheng's name, and the other is to tell the world that the new policy must continue to be implemented.

Shen Shixing and his group do have good bodies. He is now 75 years old, Wang Xijue is 76, and Shen Yikuan is already 79, but they all look quite healthy.

Nowadays, these advisors are not forgotten. At this time of great changes in the central government, countless people come to them.

The fact that the emperor could often consult them on state affairs shows that their influence was still considerable.

Now that the position of prime minister is to be established, how much thought must the emperor have on the selection of candidates for this important position? After all, it involves the checks and balances between the imperial power and the prime minister's power, and it is not just a matter for the current emperor.

So maybe I'll ask for their opinions.

Ye Xianggao is the most excited recently. The New Policy Reform Department is a new agency under the Imperial Study Room. It doesn't need to be that complicated, so it can be set up quickly.

After he took charge of the New Policy Reform Department, the first thing he was asked to organize personally was the grand court meeting on the central government's reform strategy.

As for the compilation of the civil registers in the Nine Frontiers, Chengde Prefecture, and Liaoning Province, Wang Heng, the head of the New Policy Reform Department, was responsible for it on a daily basis. As Wang Xijue's son, his appointment now seemed to indicate that the emperor expected him to inherit his father's will and continue to carry out the reform.

Ye Xianggao was going to organize a grand court discussion on the central government's reform strategy. To put it bluntly, it was to organize enough or key officials in the capital to recommend a new team of important officials, including the prime minister!
As for how to change it, they had already heard the emperor's ideas a few years ago.

Now it’s just a matter of passing it on again and improving the details.

Small meetings were held for important events, and there were less than eighty people in attendance in the Huangji Hall.

Compared with all the officials in the capital and the court, this was certainly a small meeting.

But they were just shocked to hear the plan for the reform of the central government offices determined at a smaller meeting.

The Executive Yuan, plus the Privy Council, the Censorate, the Imperial Study, the Academy of Advancing Talents, the Academy of Official Property, the Academy of Public Security, and the Academy of Lifanyuan, that's one prime minister plus seven ministers!
From then on, the emperor and eight important ministers ruled the country together.

Under the Executive Yuan, the six ministries of finance, taxation, agriculture, industry and commerce, culture and education, and transportation, the two departments of disaster relief and health, plus the national treasury, constitute a huge civil affairs system.

However, the top officials of local provinces, prefectures, and counties all held the title of Censorate and kept an eye on the heads of the local executive governments.

The Ministry of Rites under the Jinxianyuan was almost emptied out. The cultural and educational part went to the Executive Yuan, the diplomatic part was upgraded to the Lifanyuan, and the etiquette part went to the Honglu Temple.

From then on, the Jinxian Academy was in charge of personnel matters, and the Ministry of Rites was retained only to be responsible for the examination and recruitment of talents.

The Ministry of Justice has changed, and the local censors no longer exist. The military and political fields they spanned have been replaced by the system of the Court of Public Security, the Department of Public Security, and the Office of the Supreme Court. In terms of criminal cases, the Court of Public Security is also responsible for investigating cases, but the trial and adjudication of cases are handled by the special court system that was transformed from the Dali Temple. In the past, the Dali Temple was only responsible for the review of major cases, but now it is actually a review at each level.

The changes were so huge, not to mention the new things like the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Among them, the government-run hospital is particularly eye-catching.

After that, there were two systems: Yamen and Hang. Yamen were important institutions directly managed by the government, including the Bank of China, the Maritime Customs, and the Border Market. Hang were government-run businesses, including the Salt Administration, the Iron Administration, the Horse Administration, and the Water Transport Administration, which would all be operated as government-run businesses in the future.

"Starting from the central government, the core purpose of the new policy is to ensure that those who should have official positions have official positions, and to allow specialized affairs to be handled by specialized officials."

After Ye Xianggao finished interpreting the plan for the reform of the central government offices, Zhu Changluo spoke up and set the tone.

"The advisors and staff members are responsible for some official duties, so they should be given corresponding positions. The same goes for the clerks and clerks in the various government offices." Zhu Changluo looked at the important officials who were qualified to come here to discuss these matters one by one, "I don't need to explain the reason. The less room there is for shirking responsibility, the less lazy and indolent government there will be. As for salaries and official expenses, those are the concerns of the Ministry of Property, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Taxation."

Zhu Changluo was also unsure about what the effect would be if this was implemented.

Fortunately, he believes that his general direction is absolutely correct, and he has already determined the tone that the new policies have no end and must always change with the times.

It is difficult to evaluate whether the Ming Dynasty relied on only 10,000 or 20,000 officials to govern in the past. The huge team of clerks, runners and middlemen, since they were not on the list of officials, were outside the supervision of the court.

In the gray area, too many resources are wasted and too much darkness is bred.

An overly large team of officials will bring about enormous financial pressure. To resolve this financial pressure, we must, on the one hand, rely on having no external threats and low military spending, and on the other hand, we must target the wealthy groups.

Therefore, the official system of the Ming Dynasty has always been stable.

After all, after the Battle of Tumu, the pressure on border defense has been increasing; and after the preferential treatment of gentry became popular, how could the officials and gentry from top to bottom have the motivation to promote such changes?
Now Zhu Changluo has preliminarily solved one problem and is about to start solving another one.

Why was he afraid of high government expenditures? He knew better than anyone how much tax the Ming Dynasty should collect. As for the officials, they no longer had much to say about the changes the emperor wanted to make.

The key issue now is how to find your place in the future.

Shen Li, Li Tingji and Xiao Daheng are all old.

Among the prime minister and seven other important ministers who assist the country, only Tian Le and Ye Xianggao are still strong or healthy, making a total of six people holding first-rank high positions.

There were many high-ranking positions of the second and third ranks in the newly established yamen.

The competition for these positions is naturally critical.

Even though the Security Council has an official color, its chief minister, the Minister of Public Security, is still a civil official, but he is assisted by a Public Security Police Commander.

Many names were mentioned to Zhu Changluo, and now he had to consider the issue of continuity.

"To prevent people from being distracted and focusing on transfers and neglecting government affairs, we will set a rule in the future. In principle, those who fail the three-year examination will not be included in the list of promotions. For those above the fourth rank, we will pay special attention to the continuity of government orders, and in principle, the term of office is five years." Zhu Changluo looked at them, "When you recommend important officials, you also need to pay attention to their age."

When these words came out, those who were already around 60 years old felt nervous.

The emperor is really planning to use a group of young and strong men.

The specific court recommendation is not a matter of one or two days. It also involves the clarification of the powers and responsibilities of the second- and third-level yamen and the discussion of the details of the establishment of official positions.

But for Zhu Changluo, he knew which of the eight people in this group should be used.

It’s just that the new policy is very special, and he needs more support from the people below, rather than just appointing people himself.

The details will depend on them.

Li Tingji held a key position in Jinxianyuan, so of course many people came to see him.

But he simply asked the truth in private.

Zhu Changluo felt that his approach was correct, so he summoned him to the Yangxin Palace for an interview.

"It seems that Li Taizai has figured out what the future of Jinxianyuan should be like."

"In terms of men, finances and the military, I should be a helping hand and follow the instructions of the Holy Emperor." Li Tingji was an honest, cautious and diligent official. Sometimes he lacked a sense of the overall situation, but fortunately he admired the current emperor so much that he simply did not consider the overall situation as a prime minister.

But what he said hit the nail on the head. The most important aspect of the imperial power extended to him, so the Jinxianyuan was as pure as the Privy Council.

Don't worry about anything else, just employ people, from the very beginning, the imperial examinations to the examination and appointment of officials.

And the entire court is made up of people.

Zhu Changluo was very satisfied with his realization: "The Minister of Rites is not only a greater official, but I will also give you another great power in the future."

Li Tingji was surprised: "...In the future?"

"You are only 67 years old. Are you ready to be an advisor?" Zhu Changluo said with a smile, "I think you are still in good health. There is no problem in serving another term."

Li Tingji had not thought about it this way, but he thought of something and said solemnly: "I am willing to devote myself to the cause and set an example to clean up the official style."

"That's right." Zhu Changluo also became serious. "I want to give you the power to select officials in the Ministry of Personnel, to teach the students in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and to manage the laws of etiquette in the new Ministry of Rites!"

Li Tingji was shocked. This word was not always used in this way.

"Li means respect. What we respect are rules and regulations. In the pre-Qin period, human power was insignificant, so we respected heaven and earth. Later, when the emperor ruled the world, all the ministers assisted him. We respected the emperor, the court ceremony, and the regulations. Li has always required obedience. Although it seems to be a request, there should be a punishment according to the law! I have given the Minister of Rites the power to punish officials. For minor offenses, they will be reprimanded; for medium offenses, they will be punished; for serious offenses, they will be expelled from the government and become commoners."

Faced with a larger team of officials, Zhu Changluo, on the one hand, reduced the law enforcement power of the Jinyiwei, and on the other hand, allowed the Censorate to expand its authority locally, which naturally required another force to check and balance.

This is the new Ministry of Rites.

In Zhu Changluo's mind, they were naturally equivalent to the "Disciplinary Committee." The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for promotions, and the Ministry of Rites was responsible for punishments and demotions.

The power that Zhu Changluo gave him was naturally the minor punishments that officials could impose before being dismissed from office. Needless to say, these minor punishments would at least become an important obstacle when the Ministry of Personnel examined and promoted officials.

It is no exaggeration to say that a warning or reprimand will greatly affect one's official career.

"Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely right! Since etiquette has been advocated, there should be punishments!" Li Tingji thanked the emperor for his grace, "I will start this matter after I return. Regarding the Ministry of Etiquette and Law, I would like to ask your Majesty's opinion, who should be the first minister?"

"Wang Dewan has done a good job in Nanjing," Zhu Changluo said. "He has been in Jiangnan for nearly ten years."

"Your Majesty...I also have great confidence in your integrity."

"There are many virtuous people in the court, and the Jinxianyuan should recommend more of them. As for the rest, if the Minister of Rites thinks someone should be promoted, please tell me."

Li Tingji came here for this matter.

So he said without thinking too much: "Financial planning is the most important thing. I know a person, Bi Ziyan, the right governor of Shaanxi, who was a Jinshi in the 20th year of Wanli. He is dedicated to practical affairs and is especially good at financial planning..."

Newcomers will take the stage, and not all old talents will have to bow out.

What is important is whether the old ministers are still able to do the job and whether they are willing to do the job.

Li Tingji found his own position, just like Tian Le, he only took care of one thing and focused on the emperor's will.

As for the position of prime minister, no one would take the initiative to mention it.

This position can only be chosen by the emperor, not by the public.

Whoever is favored by the emperor is honored with the highest favor.

But there is no sign yet, but... it seems that Ye Xianggao is the most likely candidate.

"...When my father was young..." Ye Xianggao was naturally worried about gains and losses.

"It's good to have used it!"

Ye Xianggao's eldest son, Ye Chengxue, was smart since childhood, but "he didn't study much and was tired of taking the imperial examinations, but his handwriting and rhetoric were very elegant."

Now that his father is expected to become the prime minister, he is of course looking forward to it.

Ye Xianggao shook his head: "Even if you are granted an imperial favor in the future, you must at least finish high school at the Imperial College first. You are thirty years old, don't waste your time studying!"

"Can't my son be a minor official?" Ye Chengxue complained, "Father is cautious, and I have already said that I will be an official under your guidance, so as to benefit the people."

Ye Xianggao knew that his son had always been "generous and righteous, helping others in need without hesitation, and would not hesitate to spend all his money. When he saw someone being wronged, he would work hard to help, and would not stop until he got justice."

He doesn't like reading the classics of saints, but he also doesn't like studying various schools of thought.

Look at Wang Xijue's son, then look at my own son...

"...If you want to be a clerk, then go ahead and do it!" Ye Xianggao suddenly gritted his teeth, "If you want to go, then go to the most miserable place!"

If the father and son prime ministers of the Ming Dynasty were one in the center and the other in the local area, that would also be a new phenomenon.

"…The most difficult place?"

"Go to Fuzhou!"

Ye Xianggao decided to test the waters by throwing a stone.

It shouldn't be too much to ask for a ninth-rank official position in Fuzhou for his son? He had not applied for the positions of Zhongshu Sheren and Shangbao Sicheng in the capital, which were specially used to accommodate the children of important officials, and had repeatedly turned them down in the past few years.

Now, Ye Xianggao and his son only wish to contribute to the development and construction of the Ming Dynasty!

(End of this chapter)