I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 466: The advent of a simple and unpretentious new era

Prime Minister Li Chunfang sat in the attic, looking intently at Zhu Yijun's comments with a serious expression.

This is Zhu Yijun's red-ink comments on the "Regulations on the Central and Local Officials System of the Ming Dynasty in the Third Year of Longqing" drafted by the cabinet. It is more of an important supplement than a red-ink comments.

Li Chunfang looked at the vermilion words on it, most of which were vernacular Chinese that was very typical of Zhu Yijun.

"In order to make Ming officials serve the court wholeheartedly and benefit the people, the new official system must achieve two things. The first is to ensure that officials at all levels have enough food and clothing.

Food is the most important thing for people. How can people do their work if they don’t have enough to eat?

Second, only when the demotion is clear and the future is bright, it will motivate officials to be brave in their work and fulfill their responsibilities.”

Not only do they ensure that they have enough food and clothing, but they also have to feed the cattle and horses with enough fodder.

The important thing is to open up the upward channel.

That’s right, the road to promotion is very difficult. You need noble people above you and wings below you. Only by pushing and pulling from above can you move up step by step.

But you have to make this upward path clear so that officials know what they should not do and what they must avoid, otherwise their careers will be in jeopardy; they should know what to do and how to do it in order to rise quickly.

Let everyone see the direction and have something to work towards.

Li Chunfang had been in the officialdom for many years and had served as the Minister of Personnel for several years. After careful consideration of the clauses and regulations added by Zhu Yijun, he could taste the flavor.

In the new official system supplemented by Zhu Yijun, the previous system of relying on academic research, moral cultivation, and reputation is completely impractical. Even just relying on flattering the superiors and gathering the support of colleagues is not enough. Those are only part of your promotion conditions. The most important thing is that you have "political achievements" to show for it!
Only performance matters?

Isn't this going to cost the lives of those upright people?
These people are only good at talking, standing on the moral high ground to criticize others, gathering popularity and fame in order to get promoted and make money.

I'm not good at doing things, but I'm the best at finding faults!

They are ignorant of the different kinds of crops and are lazy. They feel very wronged when they are sent out to serve as examiners for imperial examinations. How can we expect them to achieve any political achievements?

It just so happens that such civil servants occupied a large proportion of the Ming Dynasty officialdom before. The more Confucian scholars and celebrities who were proficient in classics, the more likely they were such civil servants.

If your highness implements the new official system, these officials will soon be eliminated without a trace!
When Li Chunfang thought of the "Officials Performance Evaluation Method" presented by Zhang Juzheng a few days ago, his face became even uglier.

The new official system is a basket, which is used to put the officials of the Ming Dynasty into it and make them unable to move.

The performance appraisal system is like a whip, which whips people indiscriminately and drives them to do things.

Li Chunfang stood up suddenly, feeling depressed.

He was born as a top scholar and a traditional Confucian scholar.

In his mind, when a king employs his ministers, he should first consider their virtue and then their ability.

And what is it?
The most important thing is to learn and comprehend the sage's teachings. Once you understand the sage's teachings, you can further learn the sage's knowledge of governing the people and improving your ability to handle practical matters.

However, Li Chunfang is better than other great scholars in one aspect.

Those people think that as long as they thoroughly learn the teachings of the sages, follow the ancestral system, educate the people, and implement benevolent policies, the world will naturally be at peace!

Learning other things is "miscellaneous knowledge", which is treasonous and heretical.

Li Chunfang was sincere and devoted, had profound knowledge and great talent. He believed that virtue was the foundation and the teachings of sages were the basis. In addition to self-cultivation and moral cultivation, one also needed to care about civil affairs and have the courage to take on responsibilities in order to bring peace to the world.

Li Chunfang once submitted a memorial entitled "Requesting for Discussion on the Title of the Sufan Zhu Jincong" regarding the issue of his succession to the title of the Sufan. He pointed out the fact that the clans had multiplied and the people were suffering, and lamented that the court must amend the clan-vassal system.

In October of the 1562st year of the Jiajing reign (), Li Chunfang, then Vice Minister of Rites, used Lin Run and others to cause a sensation in the court and the country. The Jiajing Emperor attached great importance to the memorial and repeatedly met with the officials of the Ministry of Clan Affairs and various halls of the government, as well as the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. In accordance with the principle of "being accommodating and saving, and cutting the surplus to make up for the deficiency", he reviewed Lin Run's original memorial and the proposals of various princes' palaces in detail, and decided on systems with reference to the grace examples of previous years. He compiled the "Please Publish the Regulations on the Clan and Vassal States" and submitted it to the Jiajing Emperor.

The core idea is "the legitimate son who has no children can be granted the title of king, and the legitimate sons and illegitimate sons can only be granted the same official title as usual."

After reading it, Emperor Jiajing was very pleased. Zhu Di approved it and ordered the Cabinet to announce it to the whole country for immediate implementation.

This was also the "political achievement" that Li Chunfang was proud of. Unexpectedly, in the third year of Longqing, Zhu Yijun took advantage of the Liao vassal incident to summon the royal family of various vassal states and carried out drastic reforms to the system of feudal fiefdoms.

The six feudal states were abolished, dozens of princes and dukes were imprisoned, and thousands of royal family members were demoted to commoners.

The actions were swift and decisive, and the means were so cruel that Li Chunfang felt terrified.

Li Chunfang felt that his submission of the "Request for Discussion on the Enfeoffment of Vassal States" and the "Request for the Publication of the Regulations on the Enfeoffment of Vassal States" were extremely courageous and heroic acts.

But when he looked at His Highness's "Regulations on the Enfeoffment of Imperial Family Members in the Third Year of Longqing" and its implementation in the third year of Longqing, Li Chunfang felt that he was really as timid as a mouse and extremely conservative.

Now looking at the "Official Positions Regulations" with His Highness's red seal on the table, Li Chunfang felt like sitting on pins and needles.

Other people’s reforms are patchwork, and the most drastic ones are just scraping the bone to heal the wound.

His Highness's reforms are like swinging an axe and chopping hard. Not only do they not scrape the bones, they even break the bones.

Li Chunfang walked around the attic for more than ten times. Finally, he could not hold back any longer. He straightened his official uniform and hat, hurried out of the attic, crossed the open space in front of the Meridian Gate, entered the Imperial Household Department, and found Feng Bao who was on duty.

"Mr. Li, do you have something to talk to us about?" Feng Bao asked in surprise.

This Prime Minister was not as cunning as the former Prime Minister Xu Jie. He had a gentle temperament, and was polite and methodical in his work. He seldom came to the door in such a hurry.

"Eunuch Feng, I want to see His Highness."

"Your Highness? What a coincidence! Your Highness has just left the West Garden."

Li Chunfang asked without thinking, "Where did your highness go?"

As soon as he said it, he realized he had said the wrong thing.

"Excuse me, I am being disrespectful. Your Highness's whereabouts are not something I can ask about casually. It's just that I have something urgent to do and I want to see Your Highness."

"An emergency of state?"

Li Chunfang was the chief minister of the cabinet. He said he had urgent matters, and Feng Bao did not dare to delay.

He knew best that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince put state affairs first.

"It's a matter of state."

"Very urgent? Extremely urgent?"

Li Chunfang hesitated for a moment. His personality made him unwilling to play it safe, so he said, "It is an important matter, but it is not urgent. It's just that I am anxious."

Oh, it’s not an urgent matter that requires Your Highness’s decision!
Feng Bao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Old sir, His Highness is out and may be back in the afternoon. When His Highness comes back, I will report to him immediately and then invite you to come over. Is that okay?"

Li Chunfang thought about it and decided to do the same. He bowed to Feng Bao to thank him, turned around and left the Imperial Household Department in dismay and returned to the Cabinet.

Zhu Yijun went to the Imperial Observatory.

The Imperial Observatory has now become the "Ming Imperial Academy of Sciences", where gathers the "talented and extraordinary people" recruited by the Young Imperial Eminence, the Taichang Temple and the Taifu Temple.

There are skilled craftsmen who can make any fine parts; there are Taoist alchemists who are good at making a pot of stew and then emit all kinds of gases; there are stargazers who observe the sky at night and calculate the positions of stars with their fingers; and there are "actuaries" who are familiar with the arithmetic classics and can perform various complex mathematical operations.
Each of them was talented and well-spoken. As soon as they met, they bowed respectfully and shouted, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

The Imperial Observatory now has institutes of astronomy, mechanics, mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc. These talented people are recruited to conduct research in different categories.

They first carefully studied the "unparalleled knowledge" compiled by Zhu Yijun, such as "Mathematics", "Physics", "Chemistry" and "Mechanical Structure and Processing".

Zhu Yijun, a senior civil servant, studied mechanical manufacturing in college, worked in a large machinery factory for two years, passed the civil service exam, and then encountered the policy of streamlining the bureaucracy, and was transferred from the Machinery Industry Bureau to the Religious Affairs Bureau, where he worked for more than ten years.

He was a well-rounded talent who was capable of both literature and martial arts, engineering and science, and transcended time and space. He was more than qualified to lead the Ming Dynasty in launching the first industrial revolution.

"Huang Daolin, where is my steam engine?"

Zhu Yijun asked impatiently.

Huang Daolin is in his forties. He is a jewelry craftsman with a sixth-generation heritage and is good at processing various fine metal devices.

He invented the escapement regulator and precision hairspring, and produced high-precision marine clocks required for measuring longitude at sea. He was awarded the title of Daliangzao and the fifth-rank Fengyi Doctor, and is now the director of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering.

Zhu Yijun hurried here today just to hear Huang Daolin's report that the steam engine he had long dreamed of had come true.

"Your Highness, please follow me."

Huang Daolin took Zhu Yijun out of the lobby and walked outside.

The Imperial Observatory was originally crowded together with the Imperial Medical Bureau. Later, the Imperial Medical Bureau moved to Berlin Temple, and the Imperial Observatory was also moved to the Temple of Heaven north of Yongdingmen in the south city.

It was reasonable for the Imperial Observatory to observe celestial phenomena and have its offices near the Temple of Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven is big enough, even bigger than the Forbidden City.

The Imperial Observatory did not dare to occupy the main buildings of the Temple of Heaven, the Great Hall of Enjoyment, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Palace of Abstinence. It occupied the Shenle Temple, and the area was larger than the six ministries put together, enough for them to spend as much as they wanted.

What’s even more interesting is that when they turned left after going out of the gate, they saw the endless Nanyuan beyond Yongding Gate, where the first hot air balloon and the first parachute of the Ming Dynasty were tested.

When he arrived at a yard, Zhu Yijun saw the steam engine he had been dreaming of. The first thing he said was "It's so ugly!"

So fucking ugly!
A long round barrel more than six meters high stands on the ground with two long chimneys on its head. It looks like an enlarged Bald Qiang's head with two Teletubbies' antennas on it.

"Your Highness, there is a well behind this steam engine. This well is a cement pipe buried sixty meters below the ground. There is a pump on top, and the steam engine is connected to the pump.

We are demonstrating the steam engine, which is to demonstrate how it can drive a water pump to draw water from a pipe well 60 meters deep.

Zhu Yijun nodded.

That's right. The first commercial steam engine in history was used to pump water and was widely used in coal and iron mines.

A TV documentary about the Great Yin Empire showed their local coal mines. There were several steam engines from the Watt era, which were said to be the world's first commercial steam engines. They were nearly ten meters high and could pump out water from a depth of one or two hundred meters in the coal mines.

Zhu Yijun used to believe that sealing was the weak point of steam engines, and rubber, which played a sealing role, was one of the most critical materials.

Huang Daolin and others used sand casting to cast large parts and hand-kneaded small parts to build a primitive version of the steam engine. When Zhu Yijun saw it for the first time, he suddenly had an epiphany.

For such a bulky and stupid machine, even if it needs a woolen seal, it only needs a lot of force to work miracles.

In addition to Zhu Yijun and his eunuchs, the crowd also included dozens of students from the Bai Ta Academy who were studying astronomy, mathematics and mechanics and came for "internship". It was the first time for them to see a steam engine.

Looking at this tall and ugly steel monster, I felt fear in my heart.

Zhu Yijun stood far away from everyone else, while Huang Daolin directed several "boiler workers" to shovel coal into the furnace and start burning the boiler.

Black smoke was coming out of the Teletubbies' antennas.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the thick soup began to hiss and emit steam.

The boiler of the steam engine has been specially modified. One end of the six copper rods is in the furnace, heated by the fire, and the remaining four-fifths extend into the boiler and are surrounded by water.

Due to the good thermal conductivity of the copper rod, the water in the boiler is heated quickly and evenly, and the steam becomes larger and larger, bubbling out with a harsh sound.

The operator turned the valve switch and opened the air duct. The piston of the steam engine was slowly pushed forward, and the connecting rod drove the pump, again and again. Suddenly, water gushed out of the drain pipe of the pump, splashing onto the ground.

Zhu Yijun stood up suddenly and applauded enthusiastically.

Everyone stood up involuntarily and clapped foolishly.

The operator got excited and pulled the switch, and steam rushed into the whistle, making a sharp whistling sound.

The smoking steel monster is angry!

The people around were frightened and panicked. Some squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands, some turned pale and their legs were shaking, and some just cried for their parents.

Listening to the shrill whistle and smelling the wafting coal smoke, Zhu Yijun felt extremely comfortable.

This is what the Industrial Revolution feels like!
The world's first commercial steam engine was born, and since then, human civilization has entered the steam age.

He looked at the students of Baita Academy and the eunuchs who were frightened into a panic, and sighed in his heart.

For such an important historical moment, the scene was too plain and simple.

In the cabinet of Zuoshunmen in the Forbidden City, north of the Temple of Heaven, Prime Minister Li Chunfang, who had already walked back, sat in his chair and pondered for a long time, and then found Zhang Juzheng.

"Brother Zishi, please take a seat!"

Zhang Juzheng was surprised by Li Chunfang's visit.

The two were in the same subject, and Li Chunfang was the top scorer, but he was already 37 years old that year.

Zhang Juzheng ranked ninth in the second class, and he was only 23 years old that year.

Li Chunfang sat down worriedly, looked at Zhang Juzheng and said, "Uncle, as His Highness's teachers, we must do our best to fulfill our responsibilities."

"What's wrong, Brother Zishi?"

"Alas, Your Highness likes the words of the Legalists, and willfully goes beyond the ancestral rules. He also likes to study the real world, but does not govern with benevolence. If this continues, it will not be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty. You and I are Your Highness's teachers. Alas, how can I have the face to see the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty?"

(End of this chapter)