I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 296: Hai Gong knows me!

"Hey Hey!"

Hai Rui chuckled and said, "If I take other people's money, it's bribery. If I take your money, it's a reward. I am willing to take it. And I know that your money is not obtained by exploiting the people. I feel at ease taking it.

Since receiving the help from Your Highness, my wife, children and I no longer have to eat pickled vegetables for twenty days a month."

Zhu Yijun's cheerful laughter danced on the surface of the lake, just like the rippling waves.

"Haha, Mr. Hai is still willing to tell the truth. Being an official in the Ming Dynasty is indeed hard. Emperor Taizu's approach is to want the horse to run without feeding it.

Officials are ordinary people too, they have to support their families, so isn't this forcing them to embezzle? The Ministry of Revenue is currently working on a salary reform.

In the future, salary will only be a part of officials' income. It is the ancestral system and we will not change it. However, we can provide position allowances, business subsidies and various benefits.

If the salary is not enough, the allowance will make up for it. Lord Hai, you won’t object, will you? "

"Your Highness, I will not object. I am only against corruption and bribery. I have no objection to the court giving out more or less. However, I think that since the court cares about officials and uses subsidies to keep everyone well fed and clothed, then all the previous levies and bad customs should be abolished."

"Haha, Lord Hai and I have the same idea.

In addition, the Guanglu Temple and the Ministry of Personnel are rectifying the administration of officials and comprehensively reforming the official system. Lord Hai, you should know that the local officials are very cruel to the people. "

"I know. When I was the magistrate of Chun'an County and inspected various places, in addition to monitoring officials for corruption and dereliction of duty, I also focused on monitoring clerks.

The county magistrate and prefect were muddleheaded and hid in the government office to have fun, which actually did not cause much harm to the people. On the contrary, the clerks, who were in charge of lawsuits, ate up the defendants and then the plaintiffs, and were in charge of land registration and taxes, and they manipulated the people and extorted money.

The victims are all ordinary people, who are suffering terribly! Your Highness, how are you going to rectify the administration of officials?"

"Mr. Hai, let's take the example of officials. If you want the clerks to work and obey the law, you have to give them enough salary. You can't do the work like before, but don't pay them. This is like asking a weasel to guard the chicken coop or a wolf to watch the sheep.

How could these clerks not be greedy and do evil when they had power in their hands? The higher-ups had to rely on them to get things done, so they blindly sympathized with them and turned a blind eye, resulting in the tyranny becoming worse and worse.

Gu meant that all the clerks in government offices, including clerks and recorders, would be incorporated into the government and classified as non-official clerks. They could be promoted to the ninth rank after they had passed the examination. All officials were counted from the eighth rank onwards.

With a rank, you can calculate the salary, and then calculate the allowance according to your qualifications, rank, and position, so that these officials can have enough money and food to support their families. "

Zhu Yijun paused and continued, "The court sympathizes with them, so they must abide by their duties and be honest and upright. Otherwise, the imperial court will punish them."

Hai Rui thought for a moment and said, "That's good too. It's a way to discipline the clerks. But how do we recruit them? We can't recruit all the officials in the prefectures and counties at once, right?"

"The Guanglu Temple is setting up institutions, clarifying responsibilities, and calculating quotas for each county, state, prefecture, and provincial government."

"How to determine the calculation?"

"A county usually has only three offices: the Household Department, the Works Department, and the Rites Department, which are responsible for local household registration and land registration, taxation, construction and transportation, river engineering, and education schools.

The magistrate is in charge of the affairs of the county.

The county magistrate is directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Law and Inspection and is responsible for correcting corrupt officials, suppressing treason and violence, settling lawsuits and redressing grievances.

The chief clerk is in charge of the general affairs of the county government. The rest are set up in the police and patrol bureau, with the eighth-rank county police and patrol envoy as consul.
Once the organization of a county is determined, the number of officials in each county government agency is determined based on the county's rush, busyness, fatigue, and difficulty, and the same is true for the state, prefecture, and provincial government. Lord Hai, this is the clear calculation. "

Hai Rui nodded.

"How to recruit clerks? The Guanglu Temple and the Ministry of Personnel have set a rule. Starting from this year, it will take two years to follow the example of the Imperial Academy. The prefectures will conduct examinations for the clerks in each county under their jurisdiction. Those who pass the examinations will be appointed as clerks and officially included in the Ministry of Personnel's roster.

After that, the "Regulations for Recruiting Civil Servants" were implemented, and each provincial government held civil servant recruitment examinations based on the example of the provincial examinations, recruited civil servants uniformly according to the vacancies in the prefectures and counties, and then sorted them out to the prefectures and counties after training. "

Zhu Yijun talked a lot and Hai Rui understood it.

"Your Highness explained it to me very clearly. After the calculation was made, it was clear how many officials a county had and how much their monthly salary and allowances were. It was also clear for a prefecture, a prefecture, and even a provincial government.

I have also heard that the Gaobutang of the Ministry of Revenue is implementing a budget system. Every government office, including prefectures and counties, must clearly know how much money and grain they spend each year and where they are used, whether it is used to repair city walls, build bridges and roads, help the poor and orphans, or run schools and education.

In addition to what Your Highness has just said about the clear calculation, in the future we will be able to see at a glance how much grain the Ming Dynasty collects and spends each year, and where it is spent.

Your Highness, if you can really achieve this, it will be a great policy unprecedented in history!"

Zhu Yijun said happily: "I am very pleased to have the approval of Lord Hai."

Hai Rui answered bluntly: "I have traveled to many places and have come to understand a truth.

Fishing in troubled waters is possible because the land registers and taxation are not clear and the Ming Dynasty is full of confusing accounts. The wealthy and powerful families have the opportunity to collude with clerks, deceive their superiors and bully their subordinates, and exploit the people.

Therefore, Your Highness must survey the land, make clear calculations, and implement a budget system. The purpose of all this is to clear the waters and not give the rich and powerful officials the opportunity to fish in troubled waters and deceive their superiors and subordinates!"

Zhu Yijun was even happier. "Mr. Hai can understand my painstaking efforts. Even if the world doesn't understand, I have no regrets!" Hai Rui said respectfully, "Your Highness, you are too kind! Your Highness is wholeheartedly devoted to the Ming Dynasty and the people and the country. I can feel your sincerity."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, "Okay, Lord Hai, stop flattering me. I should do this kind of thing when I sit in this position. By the way, Lord Hai, it has been a while since I returned to Beijing from Nanzhili. Have you thought about which government office to go to?"

There may be only Hai Rui in the world whom Zhu Yijun would ask, where do you want to go, and I will arrange it for you.

Hai Rui shook his head. "I am too harsh on people and things. I am hated by people everywhere. I'd better go back to the Ministry of Public Security."

Going back to the Ministry of Public Security means being idle at home.

The Tongzhengsi government office used to be as idle as the Hanlin Academy of the Five Temples.

Now that the central government has been restructured, the five temples have been completely renovated and given real power, and have immediately become popular government offices. The only idle government offices left are the Tongzhengsi and the Hanlin Academy.

But Hai Rui was only a juren, and was not qualified to enter the Hanlin Academy.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Forget about the Tongzhengsi, that's not the place for Lord Hai to go. So, Lord Hai will go to the Censorate and hold the title of Right Vice-Censor-in-Chief.

The King of Liao will be escorted to Beijing soon, and then the special investigation team led by Duke Hai will try the case."

Hai Rui pondered for a moment, "Your Highness, the King of Liao does have a bad reputation, but there are some things in the world that cannot be trusted. I would like to go to Jingzhou to investigate the situation on the spot before trying the King of Liao's case."

My dear Hai Qingtian, there is no high-speed rail now. You can go when you want and come back when you want. It will take at least half a year for you to go to Jingzhou for field investigation.

However, Zhu Yijun changed his mind and realized that his purpose in using Hai Rui to try the case was to start cleaning up the royal family, and he must not give anyone an advantage in the first step.

The cases tried by Hai Qingtian are recognized by people all over the world.

In that case, there is no need to be so anxious. If he wants to go, let him go.

"Okay, Lord Hai will rest for a few more days, and then go to Huguang for an inspection. Lord Hai punished dozens of corrupt officials in Nanzhili, and forced the Xu family to give up 300,000 acres of good farmland. The people in the southeast all praised him. It's time to let the people of Huguang enjoy the cool sea breeze."

Hai Rui quickly replied, "I am deeply terrified. Your Highness, thank you for your praise."

Qi Yan stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, it's getting late. It's time to go back to the study and read."

Rather than reminding Zhu Yijun, this statement is more of a reminder to Hai Rui.

Hai Rui immediately bowed and said, "It is getting late. I will take my leave now!"

"Okay, Qi Yan, send Lord Hai off for me."

"Yes!"

Hai Rui sat in a two-person sedan chair and swayed back to the door of his home.

Shu Youliang went forward and knocked on the door, and an old woman came to open it.

"The master is back."

When they entered the front hall, Hai's wife Wang Gongren received him and said, "Master, you are back. Just now, a eunuch from the Shaofu Supervisor said that he was ordered by Xiyuan to send ten silver notes from Wells Fargo Bank, totaling five hundred taels of official silver."

"Well, this is a gift from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to me." Hai Rui said disapprovingly, took off his official hat and official uniform, and handed them to Wang Gongren.

Lady Wang turned around and placed her official hat and official uniform on the official stand and hung them on the screen. She said happily, "Your Highness thinks highly of me. I heard that Your Highness intends to promote you to the cabinet?"

Hai Rui washed his face, sat down on the chair, and sneered twice: "I join the cabinet? If I join the cabinet in the morning, the cabinet will be disbanded in the evening. That is not a place for me."

"What task did His Highness entrust me with?"

"Inspector of Huguang!"

"Ah, you're out of the capital on business again! Master, His Highness is treating you like a beast of burden!"

Hai Rui glared at her and said, "Master, I am happy with it! Where's the eldest brother and the second brother?"

Thanks to Zhu Yijun's care, Hai Rui's eldest son Hai Zhongdi and second son Hai Zhongliang did not die of illness while in prison as happened in history because no one dared to take the risk to help them.

Lady Wang replied, "I just came back from studying at Yi Nian Tang."

Both sons were born to her.

Hai Rui ordered, "Call them here. I want to test their knowledge."

(End of this chapter)