Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 874 Shock
There is no doubt that although Zhao Shu has a pivotal prestige in the civil service system and is highly respected by the emperor, when it comes to trust, Zhu Mou is No. 1.

First of all, in terms of identity, Zhu Mou belongs to the lineage of the former King Heyang, and after 100 years, he and Zhu Yixi are completely family members.

Just like Zhu Meng, frankly speaking, his ability can only be regarded as above normal, the main highlight is stability, and opening and closing. Compared with You Shiwei and Chen Yongfu, his combat achievements are at a disadvantage.

But among the nobles, he is still the first prince.

There is no way, people are from the clan, theoretically, they can be crowned kings, and they can be crowned kings alive, but the emperor did not.

In terms of ability, although Zhu Mou has only studied Zongxue for a few years, he has wandered in the streets and alleys since he was a child, worked as a bookkeeper, and worked as an apprentice. It can be said that he has a deep understanding of the pros and cons of the folk.

As for this, although Zhao Shu is a juren, the Zhao family has always been a family of poems and books in Daizhou. You can say that Zhao Shu is a talented person, but this is a kind of condescending sympathy.

Zhu Mou is different, he feels the same way.

Frankly speaking, Zhao Shu belongs to that kind of upright character, while Zhu Mou belongs to the combination of righteousness and strangeness.

For example, in dealing with war, the emperor insisted on promoting it, while Zhao Shu was interested in the stubbornness of scholars. On the surface, he always supported the attitude of logistics support, but in private he often persuaded him.

Even though he knew it was useless, he still refused to give up.

Zhu Mou is different, he will fully implement the emperor's strategy with all his heart, even if there are many difficulties, he will persuade himself to complete it.

One is 100% effort, the other is [-]%, which is completely different.

It is precisely because of this that when the aging of cabinet members gradually became serious, after Zhao Shu, Wang Yingxiong and others retired, Zhu Yixi's first consideration was to bring Zhu Mou to the cabinet.

Of course, the reason why the emperor was so reckless was that after more than ten years of development and stability, the Ming Dynasty was completely at the stage of explosion, and its population, taxes, and army were at their peak.

For example, in the ten northern provinces, except for Anxi and Gansu, the remaining provinces are completely self-sufficient and do not need government subsidies at all. Even the four provinces of Henan, Shandong, Hebei, and Shanxi are big taxpayers.

The state where the north was a mess in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, where there were no more than one population, has completely disappeared.

In such an era of chicken blood, a cabinet that can fully implement his orders and ideas is extremely important.

After all, an era needs a cabinet of an era.

Steadiness is out of date.

The most obvious one is the forbearance towards the Xiongnu in the early Han Dynasty. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was completely inappropriate, and counterattack and revenge became the mainstream.

Of course, in the eyes of the emperor, it was stable, but in the eyes of civil servants, it was still aggressive.

Think differently.

In the cabinet department, in addition to Zhu Mou, famous ministers such as Du Yinxi and Yan Yingyuan also constitute the territory of the future cabinet.

Although the presence of the cabinet is relatively high, it can be said with certainty that the abilities of the nine ministers are not inferior to them.

Without it, if the executive department does not have strong executive ability and communication ability, it will not be stable at all.

There was a lot of thunder and little rain in the official department, but there was little thunder and heavy rain in the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies.

There are more than a hundred officials in the ten divisions of the Dudu Mansion, the military and political division headed by them, and because of the business of buying and selling official positions, more than [-] people have been directly dismissed.

It can be said that almost everyone participated in the entire military and political department, and no one was left behind.

It is precisely because of this that when the house was ransacked, a total of [-] yuan was confiscated from this group of people. It may not seem like much, but it is cash.

Some property, such as land, shops, etc., are worth a lot.

The total amount is about one million yuan.

After being tortured and tortured, selling officials like this lasted for about three years.

These people are even very smart. They understand that the commander of the patrol battalion attracts attention, so they sell very little, mainly relying on favors and money to press down.

As for the small officials from the ninth rank like the three elders, firstly, they have a large number, and secondly, their rank is low, so they cannot attract attention, so they are sold loosely on a large scale.

"One of the three elders, one hundred silver dollars."

Zhu Yixi looked at the confession and couldn't help sighing.

He didn't know whether to say the price was high or low, but the soldiers should be pursuing a lot.

Because according to the salary, one hundred silver dollars can be offset in five or six years, and the rest is pure profit.

As expected, the people who bought the places were basically local gentry and some relatives of nobles.

Who doesn't have a few poor relatives?
By giving up a hundred silver dollars, you can gain a good reputation and take care of people, which can be said to be a big profit.

Whether it is a civil servant, a military officer, or even a local gentry, basically all of them participated in it, and they didn't feel any difference at all.

There is no way, the three elders entered the rank stream in name, but they are the lowest from the ninth rank, and there is no room for advancement at all. They can only stay in the countryside all their lives, and let the government servants drive them.

It belongs to the lowly turbid current that can no longer be lowly.

It is precisely because of this idea that no one feels ashamed of buying and selling.

Zhu Yixi was silent.

Because everything has two sides.

In a sense, a large number of civilian gentry and officials were bound to the chariot of Ming Dynasty because of the sale of officials, which was very beneficial to the rule.

Because the gentry class belonged to the local wealthy class, coupled with the popular folk tradition of beggar-thy-neighbor and favoring the villagers, their prestige was extremely high.

When these prestigious people all agree with Daming, the so-called rebellion among the people has no room for development at all.

Just like in the Qing Dynasty, during the Qianlong period, there were endless reports of buying officials and nobles, and even the imperial court sold them openly, with clearly marked prices, such as Li Wei.

The advantage of this is that those local tyrants who have money but no literary talent will devote themselves to the Qing Dynasty and will not pay attention to those Tiandihui or anti-Qing Fuming organizations.

A rebellion without the participation of scholars would not be a major event at all.

For example, the White Lotus Rebellion and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can only be rampant for a while, and there is no power to continue.

At the same time, these wealthy people will form a competitive relationship with scholars, which will make the Han people extremely introverted, and there will be four or five candidates behind each official position.

The officials were all about making money, and there was no threat to the imperial power at all.

The most obvious thing is that in the Ming Dynasty, most of the local county magistrates were filled by juren and supervisors, and there were not one out of ten dignified scholars.

In the Qing Dynasty, even Jinshi had to be a candidate. Although it was a tiger class, every vacancy must be filled, but it still had to wait and spend money.

The gold content of Jinshi is greatly reduced.

"There's a good side and there's a bad side."

Zhu Yixi murmured, thinking of Man Qing's operation, it really made him dumbfounded.

You can say that Qianlong was very successful, that Qianlong imprisoned his mind, was greedy for money and lustful, but his ruling art, his wrist, was already at its peak.

It can also make money, stabilize the rule, and strengthen the imperial power.

For a moment, he was in a daze.

Should it be changed or not?

"It can only strengthen the patch."

Zhu Yixi said in a deep voice.

For the position of the three elders in the local area, the patrol battalion and the Beijing battalion have formed a competitive relationship.

In terms of numbers, the two are comparable, but the house patrol camp is a local snake, so it is naturally in an advantageous position.

In a sense, this is also a game between the central and local governments.

Therefore, in this case, we can only learn from the imperial examination and implement the policy of dividing meat.

That is to say, among the original three elders, the township elders presided over the litigation and education, and the elders who were highly respected in the local area were in charge. Cao Lin could only preside over the distribution, the township head and the township police.

These two official positions are suitable for local recommendation and central appointment.

The emperor immediately asked Zhu Mou to come over and express his thoughts:
"Anyone who holds the position of village elder must have strict rules and conditions, and only those who meet the requirements can be recommended."

Zhu Mou agreed, and immediately figured out a set of standards: "In addition to being highly respected, the most important thing for a village elder is age, because there is no standard for being highly respected, and age is the only thing that matters."

"First of all, you must be over [-] years old; second, you must adopt a rotation system, and the same family cannot go out of the country to grow old consecutively."

"What about the mayor?" The emperor didn't bother to use his brain and asked directly.

"The head of the township is naturally still the same. He is recommended by the governor's mansion and reviewed by the Ministry of officials before he is appointed."

Zhu Mou flashed an embarrassing smile, he was really ashamed to see the emperor for such a big trouble with the officials.

"However, in terms of age, the head of the township must be at least [-] years old; and in terms of official position, he must be above the team leader."

"Finally, the service period must be five years."

"The rest of literacy, good posture, etc., are the same as before."

Speaking of this, he said in a deep voice: "If according to the distribution law, the Ministry of Officials can be the head of the township, and the county government will recommend the township police."

"The prefect is responsible for the review."

"Standards are the same."

After such a change, the selection of the three elders became more regular.

It's not like before, as long as the official position is satisfied, you can get a recommendation.

Zhu Yixi nodded with satisfaction. Zhu Mou's ability is as good as ever, especially his execution ability, which is very trustworthy.

If this is Zhao Shu and Zhao Shoufu, he must first talk about the importance of the three elders.

"However, it's all about good looks,"

The emperor smiled and said casually: "How many good-looking people are there in the army? Besides, the officers who can retire are basically injured and disabled to some extent."

"There are scars on the face and broken hands. There are not a few of them. We should understand."

Zhu Mou could only nod his head in agreement.

After such a distribution, the three elders are completely standardized.

Among them, as the core of the township chief, he is served by the children of the Jingying. As a trustworthy Jingying war, his loyalty is self-evident.

The village elders are the dishes of the local gentry, representing their interests and maintaining order in the countryside.

At the same time, the township police are the spokesperson for the county magistrate.

A triangle relationship is the most reliable, and each party has its own spokesperson to safeguard its own interests.

At the same time, on the surface, the distribution of pork was a disadvantage for the imperial court, because local forces accounted for two-thirds, but deep down, the emperor's uneasiness was hidden.

Because compared with the previous Ming Dynasty, the officials and officials of the Shaowu Dynasty merged and a large number of subordinate officials were incorporated. In the previous Ming Dynasty, there were less than [-] people in each county, but now the number of [-] people has basically doubled.

This will inevitably lead to an increase in local strength and a huge increase in the financial and material resources that can be mobilized, which is not conducive to centralization.

At the same time, Zhu Yixi admitted that the bureaucratic system is good for the stability of the rule, but it may not be a good thing for the common people.

Because the county government has more lenient management, the exploitation will intensify.

Coming from later generations, he firmly believes in the tradition that ten officials are corrupt and nine are corrupt, and no official is not corrupt. Because power is in hand, it expires and becomes invalid, and everyone wants to realize it in a short time.

Just like in the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, the imperial court was exploitative, but the control was not strong. Facing the tyranny of the tiger, they could still flee to the countryside to preserve their vitality.

Can you imagine that in the Qin Dynasty, as a wanted criminal, Xiang Liang and the prefect Yin Tong could drink and sing all day long?
Even under the strict management of the Qin Dynasty, the control of local areas is not the same as that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

But in the Shaowu Dynasty, the three elders were entrenched in the area, and even if they fled to the village, they might be caught.

The two discussed for half an hour, and the chat was lively and comfortable.

"By the way, what happened to the southwest?"

Speaking of the end, the emperor suddenly thought of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

"The Kingdom of Dian has been refusing to surrender, and Sun Kewang is very stubborn. He heard that he is constantly buying and selling guns with the Western Yi, and wants to expand eastward!"

Seeing the surprised look on the emperor's face, Zhu Mou realized that he was referring to the plateau.

Is that place in the southwest?
If the emperor says he is, he is.

"Kang Guo played brilliantly, while U-Tsang Kingdom has pampered and pampered them for many years. They are not rivals at all. According to the businessmen, there is a stalemate hundreds of miles away from Lhasa."

"Tsk, play slowly, don't rush for a while—"

Zhu Yixi dragged out her tone, feeling very good.

After leaving the hall, Zhu Mou heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

This difficulty is finally over.

No one is perfect, how could he, as the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, escape in this drama of prostitution?
Of course there are no bribes on the surface, but in private they turn a blind eye and accept some gifts.

After all, after several years of indifference, who would have thought that the emperor would pay so much attention to it today?

After he left, the cabinet received the news.

In the officialdom, as a heavenly official, Zhu Mou is very popular, and now the emperor is favoring him constantly. After all this has passed, who wouldn't envy him?
Zhao Shu sits firmly on the Diaoyutai.

Only Yan Chongxin felt the crisis.

He had a hunch that either at the end of the year or at the beginning of the year, Zhu Mou would definitely join the cabinet.

Because there were only four people in the cabinet at this time, which did not conform to the tradition of five people, Zhu Mou, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was definitely the No. 1 choice in terms of ability, seniority, and favor.

Even, in a sense, it will have an impact on his future position as chief assistant.

The relationship between the two is suddenly subtle.

"The Ministry of Officials is safe." Yan Chongxin sighed casually.

"Stability is a good thing." Wang Yingxiong nodded and said with a smile, "The affairs of the Governor's Mansion can be settled safely, and the Ministry of Officials can cover it well."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone laughed.

The officials are responsible, but the five armies are responsible for a lot.

On the surface, they are just a group of civil officials, but in essence, they have formed a huge impact on the honorable group.

Because the military and political department known as the first division of the Dudu Mansion is presided over by You Shiwei, Duke of Yi, his official position as the Zuo Dudu of the Left Army Dudu's Mansion has been changed to the Right Dudu of the Rear Army Dudu's Mansion.

Division Ten is no longer supervised.

Obviously, You Shiwei has lost the power of the Dudu Mansion and can only be an idle Duke.

(End of this chapter)