I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 800: "Good Days" Gone

"Performance evaluation method?"

The first person to take the book was Xun You.

His face was full of suspicion, not understanding when and where Su Yao got such a brand new and exquisite book.

As far as he knew, the movable type printing industry was almost destroyed by Dong Zhuo. Although Su Yao arranged for a workshop to rebuild it after returning to Beijing, due to time and cost issues, the new printing house seemed to use woodblock printing technology, giving priority to producing books such as classics, history, and miscellaneous works that served as "examination materials", and even these have not been completed.

The book in front of me is not only beautifully bound, but the paper is also white and delicate, and it feels soft to the touch. You can tell at a glance that it is made of high-quality materials and is incomparable to ordinary books.

Although I haven't seen the content yet, just looking at the craftsmanship, it is truly priceless.

Where did the general get such a treasure?

He couldn't have written it himself, right?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Xun You, filled with confusion and shock, slowly opened the "Kaocheng Fa". As soon as his eyes touched the words on the page, he seemed to be fixed and could no longer look away.

At first, his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was pondering the deeper meaning of the book's contents, but as he read deeper, his expression became extremely solemn, especially when his fingertips moved across the eight-character seal inscription of "Monthly tests are expected, yearly achievements are expected", his fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.

When he turned to an entry called "Three Books", his pupils suddenly contracted:

"what?!"

"This is to divide the power of the Situ Mansion into three parts!"

Hearing Xun You's sharp exclamation, Sima Lang, who was already anxiously waiting nearby, hurried forward to check.

He leaned closer to Xun You, stretched his head and read:

"Each government office shall keep three books: one book shall be sent to the Ministry of Education for record, one book shall be submitted to the Cabinet for verification, and one book shall be kept in the Ministry for self-examination."

As he spoke, Sima Lang's voice suddenly rose:
"For all matters concerning the six ministries' reports and investigations, the time limit shall be set according to the distance of the road and the urgency of the matter, and a written record shall be kept!"

"hiss--"

As soon as Sima Lang finished speaking, there were gasps in the study.

Why are they so shocked?

Everything has to do with the Han Dynasty's system of reporting to the emperor.

The so-called Shangji is the year-end performance appraisal system, which began in the Warring States Period. Ji refers to "Ji Shu", which is the statistical book.

Yes, there was auditing in the Han Dynasty, but it was still relatively primitive.

"General!" Xun You said hurriedly, "Since Emperor Gaozu established the system of reporting the number of households and cultivated land, at the end of the year, the counties and prefectures have always reported the number of households and cultivated land, and the Prime Minister's Office will check the actual situation and that's it."

"And this thin book in front of me actually requires that it be recorded from the moment the imperial edict is issued: on a certain day a certain order is received, on a certain day a person is sent to supervise the work, on a certain day the initial review is completed, and each step must be signed by the person in charge for record?"

"How does this work?"

"This is like roasting all the dukes and ministers on the stove!"

Immediately afterwards, Wei Ji also ran up and muttered to himself as he looked at the "Six-Department Supervision" clause.

According to this Kaocheng Law, in addition to the supervisory and auditing officials of the Censorate, the Jieshi Zhong, who was previously only an additional official, will also become a permanent position. Six departments will be set up according to the six ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, Military Affairs, Justice, and Works to assist the emperor in handling government affairs, and supervise the six ministries and criticize and criticize officials.

Among them, the Secretary of the Personnel Department had to bring the original files to the Ministry of War to check the military equipment accounts, and the Secretary of the Revenue Department had to measure the grain reserves in Taicang on the spot - this was equivalent to letting a small official of 600 dan hold the imperial sword to supervise an official of 2,000 dan!
Moreover, he conducted a second review, reviewing it again after the Audit Department!
With all these levels of review, if something goes wrong, how many people will lose their heads?
Xun You's fingertips trembled slightly.

He realized that the most fatal innovation was hidden in the four words "test success at every level":

The county magistrate's political achievements had to be guaranteed by the prefect, the prefect's evaluation had to be confirmed by the governor, and the governor's evaluation had to be jointly signed by the Secretariat.

If a county falsely reports the reclamation of land, not only will the county magistrate be executed, but the prefect and governor who acted as guarantors will also be held accountable - this is clearly Shang Yang's "Law of Collective Responsibility" coming back to life!
"General, do you know how many lives this 'Performance Record' has destroyed?"

Xun You's voice was hoarse and his hands and feet were cold.

The reason why the Hongnong Yang family had three officials in four generations was because they controlled the "discretionary handling" of timekeeping in the prefectures and counties.

Today's document system with layers of signatures is almost uprooting the network of relationships that the aristocratic families have built up over the years.

Just when Xun You and Sima Lang were watching with fear, Guo Jia clapped his hands and laughed:
"Excellent, excellent!"

"Back when the Yellow Turban Rebellion was just put down, Jizhou falsely reported that 50,000 refugees had returned home, but when the governor's office checked, there was not even a ghost."

"If this law is followed, everyone from the petty clerk to the provincial governor will have their names recorded in the book. Who would dare to risk the lives of nine generations of his family to falsify information for others?"

"The general's performance evaluation method is truly the best way to restore order and reform the civil service!"

Guo Jia's praise made Xun You and Sima Lang's faces even uglier.

They knew very well that once the "Performance Evaluation Law" was implemented, it would have a huge impact on the existing bureaucratic system, especially those aristocratic families who relied on relationships and personal connections to maintain their status, which would face unprecedented challenges. Xun You took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and slowly spoke:
"General, this method is good, but I'm afraid there will be a lot of resistance in implementing it."

"If this three-book system is implemented, I wonder how many lives will be ruined."

Before Xun You finished speaking, Su Yao knocked on the table, and everyone immediately fell silent:

"Why did the Han Dynasty decline? The loss of control over the local areas is the most important issue!"

"I checked the files of the Inspector of the Capital Region and found that before the Baibo Rebellion, there was a severe drought in Hedong and the imperial court allocated a million bushels of grain. However, the former governor dared to collude with the powerful and resell the government grain - just because he reported the loss of storage and got away with it."

"This is not an isolated case in Hedong. If we don't plug the loopholes, won't our great cause be leaking everywhere, and those parasites will benefit from it?"

Seeing Su Yao's firm attitude, Xun You sighed:
"Great General, please understand!"

"Although the intention of this law is good, the documents of each state and county are so vast that if it is really implemented according to the 'monthly examination', I am afraid..."

Before he finished speaking, Su Yao pushed the bamboo slips with the words "Statistics Department" that they had discussed before in front of him:
“So we need the Statistics Department to work together with the Censorate.”

Su Yao ran his finger over the newly drawn "Performance Assessment Process":
"The Statistics Department formulates standard documents according to industry, and the Censorate trains mathematical clerks to verify them."

"For example, when inspecting river works, three sets of documents must be submitted at the same time: a list of materials, a list of laborers, and a record of money and grain."

At this point, Su Yao raised his head and looked at Xun You with a half-smile:
"Last month, your uncle Xun Wenruo built a new ancestral hall in his residence in the capital. He even remembered the origins of every rafter, right? Is this really that difficult?"

Xun You was immediately sweating through his heavy clothes.

For a moment he was quite frightened, as he had no idea what was going on in his own house, but the general had found out everything about it.

Seeing that Xun You was silenced by Su Yao's words, Sima Lang had to stand up again.

There was no other way. At this point, he had to go ahead and do it.

If we follow Su Yao's method of performing official duties and require traceable documentation for all government affairs, then the aristocratic families who have controlled local information for generations will lose their greatest bargaining chip. This is too terrible.

"General, please think twice."

Sima Lang advised again:
"Not to mention that this law involves a lot of things, and the specific details are difficult to implement."

"Take Yang Wenxian (Yang Biao), the current prime minister, for example. He has four generations of integrity and virtue, and is admired by the whole country. He has made great contributions to the court. If we treat him rashly..."

"Wait a minute - you just told me that Yang Wenxian has been a clean family for four generations, admired by the whole country?"

Then, Su Yao pulled out the file of the secret report from the Royal Guards and threw it on the table:

"Then let's take a look at the deeds of this man you mentioned: the Hongnong Yang family had twelve granaries in Luoyang, and they strongly supported Dong Zhuo when he entered the capital. That's why he rose to prominence and succeeded Dong Zhuo as Minister of Works, and then became Minister of Civil Affairs. Is this a sign of his great contribution to the court?"

Su Yao's words left everyone silent.

That’s right, Yang Biao was actually in cahoots with Dong Zhuo at the beginning, but he turned against him later.

Everyone in the court knows it, but it actually means nothing.

After all, Dong Zhuo was invited by the Yuan family in the beginning, and Dong Zhuo also reciprocated the kindness and gave many benefits to the aristocratic families in the early days.

These matters can only be treated separately.

Of course, they thought so in their hearts, but if they were asked to come out and refute Su Yao now, no one would cause trouble.

Even with their smart brains, when they saw Su Yao take out the files related to Yang Biao so quickly, they already felt a little wary.

After Su Yao killed Zhong Fu in Luoyang and deposed Sikong, would he speed up the pace of deposing the three officials and prepare to take action against Situ Yang Biao?
Then the nature of the matter is different.

When they thought of this, everyone's expressions became serious, wondering how to respond.

While the external war is still going on, the internal fire of reform is also burning fiercely.

It is hard to say whether the general's actions were good or bad.

With all these factors happening at once, Sima Lang became even more determined to persuade him.

Who knows, at this moment:

"If Yang Biao is like this, what about the others?"

Su Yao suddenly took out another file and handed it to Sima Lang:
"Hennei Sima - it is reported that many people witnessed him smuggling the imperial army's standard armor and soldiers to the fortress in Hanoi at Mengjin Ferry. Isn't this Sima Fang's theft when he was the magistrate of Luoyang?"

"what?!"

(End of this chapter)