I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 544: Gongs and drums welcome Hai Rui

The next morning, Zhu Yijun listened to Song Gongliang's report in Ziguang Pavilion and remained silent.

He stood up and stood in front of the open window, looking at the lake and mountains outside, and after a long while he slowly said, "Song Qing, you are a veteran in handling cases.

Based on your experience, who do you think is behind this?

Those who opposed the performance evaluation system, or those in Luanzhou and Taiyuan?"

Song Gongliang swallowed.

Your Majesty, aren't you making things difficult for me? It doesn't matter who I think it is, what matters is who you think it is. Now you haven't expressed your attitude at all, how can I guess?

I can't guess for sure. I'm in a dilemma.

Facing Zhu Yijun's sharp gaze, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

The emperor had previously instructed that the Jinyiwei must make sure that their cases are ironclad.

What is an ironclad case? It is a case in which there is irrefutable evidence, irrefutable and irrefutable.

Only an ironclad case will not be criticized or doubted.

He also told himself that the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division handled major cases and that they had to base their work on evidence, make bold guesses, and carefully verify the facts. Finally, all the evidence and information had to be strung together to form a chain of evidence.

It may not be possible under the current investigative conditions, but when the Jinyiwei investigate a case, they must first keep this positive mindset in mind to avoid false and wrongful convictions as much as possible.

These words flashed through Song Gongliang's mind and he understood instantly.

Song Gongliang answered loudly: "Your Majesty, I think the saying of the mastermind is just speculation. The real evidence is that the victims of the unjust case teamed up to take revenge on the corrupt officials in the Ministry of Justice who created the unjust case."

Zhu Yijun looked at Song Gongliang and nodded with satisfaction: "Mr. Song, this is how it should be. Everything should be based on evidence. If we speculate about every case, we will be further and further away from the truth.

Let's make a temporary decision based on the evidence at hand and give an explanation to the government and the public. But the Jinyiwei will continue to investigate this case and follow the existing clues. The two people who escaped must be brought back as soon as possible."

Song Gongliang asked carefully: "Your Majesty, what if new evidence is found?"

"When new evidence is found, new conclusions can be inferred. There is nothing shameful about this. It is better to make inferences based on the evidence at hand than to make random guesses without any evidence."

"The minister obeys the order."

Zhu Yijun paused and said, "Mr. Song, how is the investigation of Ding Shimei's case going?"

"Your Majesty, the case is under investigation and is expected to be closed next month."

"Case closed? Good."

Not long after Song Gongliang left, Zhang Juzheng arrived.

"Master Zhang is here, please take a seat."

After Zhang Juzheng finished his greetings and sat down, Zhu Yijun got straight to the point and said, "Jinyiwei Song Gongliang has already reported the Tongzhou Post Station case to me."

Zhang Juzheng's heart sank.

"Song Qing said that based on the existing evidence, it can be inferred that this case is a case of the victim of an unjust case looking for an opportunity to take revenge. The case file has been transferred to the Shuntianfu Police Patrol Department."

The victim is waiting for revenge?
Zhang Juzheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Transferred to Shuntianfu Police Patrol Department?
Does the emperor mean that this matter should be handled in a low-key manner?

That's fine too.

Keeping the matter low-key will benefit everyone.

Zhu Yijun continued, "Jiangsu Governor Hai Rui happened to be at Tongzhou Post Station the night before and encountered this incident. He submitted a memorial to impeach you and Fang Fengshi.

Master Zhang, please take a look."

Zhang Juzheng had already learned the situation from Fang Fengshi, so he was not panicked.

He took Hai Rui's memorial and after reading it, he felt grateful.

Zhu Yijun said: "Master Zhang, Grandfather Emperor once told me that the most loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty is Lord Hai. Master Zhang, please keep in mind the good intentions of Lord Hai in this memorial."

"Your Majesty, I will keep this in mind."

"Master Zhang, Hai Gong's suggestion is correct. We must implement this resignation review, starting with the financial affairs handled during the tenure.

"Superiors and successors must supervise and review the situation. If the review is not thorough and corrupt officials get away with it, the successors will have to bear the brunt of the losses, and the superiors will also be held jointly liable."

In fact, the resignation financial audit has always existed in ancient China, but it was just a check of the official treasury accounts during the handover.

Due to the mutual protection among officials and the poor accounting system, this system existed in name only, and the huge deficits that were ultimately caused were never resolved.

The exit review that Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Juzheng to carry out was similar to the modern exit review, which requires a sound accounting system and the determination and strength to implement it.

"As for the government affairs tracing system I talked to Master Zhang about last time, let's first implement the resignation financial review."

Zhang Juzheng was startled.

The emperor's two moves are more ruthless than setting limits for examinations and blaming people for the problems.

No wonder when I excitedly took the performance evaluation system to the emperor, he was not surprised, and even showed an attitude of making do with it for the time being. It turned out that the emperor had a more complete and stricter official performance evaluation system in mind.

I haven’t brought it out yet, and I’m going to use my own performance evaluation method as a pioneer.

Adding more pressure on others, the frog is boiled in warm water.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Zhang Juzheng reported again: "Your Majesty, the autumn examinations in various places are about to begin. The Ministry of Rites has successively nominated the chief examiners for the provincial examinations, and the list has been submitted to the Western Garden.

This autumn exam is the first provincial exam held by Your Majesty, and it is also the basis for next year's imperial exam. It is of great importance, and I ask Your Majesty to give me clear instructions."

Two days ago in Nanyuan, Zhang Juzheng rejected Zhu Yijun’s very "radical" imperial examination reform plan, and proposed a compromise plan to follow the old Song Dynasty system of dividing the metropolitan and provincial examinations into different subjects.

At that time, Zhu Yijun did not object and nodded in acquiescence.

But Zhang Juzheng felt uneasy because most of his students were opinionated people.

When he was only seven or eight years old, his teacher had no way to deal with him. Now that he has become the emperor, has he changed his temper and is giving in easily?

So I thought of a way to test it out.

Zhu Yijun said disapprovingly: "The matters concerning the autumn examinations in each province should be drafted by the Ministry of Rites and approved by the Cabinet. Only one copy needs to be submitted to the Imperial Household Department.

I will discuss with Master Zhang about the chief examiner for next year's spring exam."

Zhang Juzheng looked up and found nothing unusual on Zhu Yijun's face.

After leaving Xiyuan and returning to the cabinet, Fang Fengshi and Lu Diaoyang, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, arrived together.

Lü Diaoyang was from Lingui County, Guilin Prefecture, Guangxi (now Lingui District, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), and his ancestral home was Daye County, Wuchang Prefecture, Huguang.

In the 1550th year of Jiajing (), he won the second place in the imperial examination and was appointed editor of the Hanlin Academy.

In the 43rd year of Jiajing, he was promoted to the position of Director of Nanjing Imperial College. In the 45th year, he was promoted to the position of Jijiu. In the 2nd year of Longqing, he was appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Lü Diaoyang was mature and prudent, and he was flexible on the outside but firm on the inside. Li Chunfang once praised him for "not being easily pleased or angry, and not being easily dissatisfied with things." He was a key member of the Chu Party, Zhang Juzheng's right-hand man, and the person in charge of the performance evaluation system.

"Prince, what does the Emperor say about the Tongzhou Post Station case?"

Fang Fengshi and Lu Diaoyang asked anxiously.

The Tongzhou Post Station concerns nearly 500 dismissed officials, and how to deal with them also affects the emperor's attitude towards the performance evaluation system.

Zhang Juzheng walked into the duty room first, sat down on the chair at the top, and waved his hand to signal the other two to sit down as well.

"Don't worry, Jinhu and Yusuo. The emperor approved the report of the Jinyiwei and accepted the conclusion that it was revenge by the victim of an unjust case."

Fang Fengshi and Lu Diaoyang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but seeing Zhang Juzheng's expression, he didn't seem very happy.

The two looked at each other, and Lu Diaoyang asked carefully: "Yuan Fu, you look worried and don't seem to be relieved. Is there something else going on?"

Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, Yu Suo. I am not worried about the Tongzhou Post Station. This case is basically like this, and it is unlikely to cause any more trouble later.

I am just worried about the science test."

Zhang Juzheng kept the matter of the imperial examination to himself and did not tell anyone close to him.

He was worried that the news would get out. If someone came out to curry favor with him and agreed to this matter, especially if two of his close confidants did so, he would be in a passive position.

"The Autumn Examination is coming, is the Prime Minister worried about this?"

"Yes." Zhang Juzheng said, "The emperor keeps a close eye on the imperial examinations. There have been several cases of cheating before, and I have been ordered to investigate them.

Now I am deeply favored by the Emperor and I am assisting in state affairs. Please do not make any mistakes in my hands."

Fang Fengshi and Lu Diaoyang were moved.

We don't believe that you show your worry on your face over such a small matter.

Zhang Juzheng also knew that his emotions were revealed on his face, which had made his confidants aware of the situation, so he quickly changed the subject.

“Mr. Hai submitted an impeachment memorial, and the emperor showed it to me. The content is just as Jin Hu said.

Lord Hai is a man of great righteousness and patriotism, and we must not let him down.

The Emperor also thinks that the introduction of the resignation financial audit of the Shaofu Supervisor mentioned in the memorial by Lord Hai is appropriate, and he has earnestly instructed that the regulations be drawn up as soon as possible and included in the performance evaluation law.

Fang Fengshi said: "The resignation financial audit of the Shaofu Supervisor was formulated and implemented by Yang Jinshui when he was still in the southeast. Some people say that the emperor drew up a complete set of plans, and Yang Jinshui checked for omissions and completed them together.

I went to get a copy of the booklet and read it carefully. It was indeed powerful. After the implementation of this law, hundreds of corrupt officials were found in the Coordination Office, the Donation Bureau, and even the Ministry of Finance.

Up to now, all industrial and commercial enterprises under the jurisdiction of the Shaofujian have been clean from top to bottom. It is not that they do not want to be corrupt, but that they dare not be corrupt.

It is indeed a good practice.

If we just add it into the performance evaluation system, I'm afraid the public outcry will be even more intense."

Although Lu Diaoyang had a worried look on his face, he didn't say anything.

Zhang Juzheng was silent for a while, then resolutely said: "It is better to be decisive than to say it! The performance evaluation system has already offended the central government officials, and it will also offend the local officials in the future.

Since I've offended you anyway, I might as well offend you to death!
Even if it means offending others, let’s clean up the bureaucracy thoroughly first!

Once the bureaucracy is cleaned up, the new policies can be implemented effectively. "

Fang Fengshi and Lu Diaoyang exchanged a glance and responded in unison: "We will obey Yuan Fu's orders!"

At the Xu Mansion in Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture, Xu Jie, dressed in a plain silk Taoist robe and a net scarf on his head, was walking slowly on the path in the backyard garden with his hands behind his back.

Not far away, four beautiful maids followed behind, holding hot tea, snacks and fruits.

Xu Kun hurried to the moon gate of the garden and bowed, saying, "Master."

"Well, Jiro is back. Put the things on the table in the pavilion and go down."

Xu Jie walked into the pavilion, lifted up his clothes and sat down on the pavilion fence. At this time, there were only the two of them in the garden, father and son.

"Has Hai Rui left Beijing?"

"I left the capital on the sixth day of May. Sir, a major crime occurred at the Tongzhou Post Station. Someone set it on fire. Five hundred dismissed officials were panicked. Nearly ten people died and dozens were injured.

Later it was discovered that a doctor in the Ministry of Justice had accepted bribes and committed fraud, resulting in a false case, and the victim came to seek revenge.

The cabinet has clearly notified the matter and cancelled the support work. Those who fail the performance evaluation will be directly dismissed and sent back to their hometowns.”

"A few waves cannot stop the success of the examination.

If I implement this method vigorously, I will definitely be able to establish the prestige of the cabinet. The prime minister of the cabinet is much more powerful than the chief minister of the cabinet I was in before!"

"Master, I heard that the performance evaluation system has caused panic among the people, and there are many complaints. I heard that the central government has finished the work, and it will soon be the turn of the local governments. There are also discussions in various places, and they are in a panic all day long.

There are also many officials who are colluding with each other and preparing to submit a joint petition."

Xu Jie smiled contemptuously, "It's useless to submit a memorial. A new emperor appoints new ministers. Now the emperor wants to implement a new policy and carry out major reforms, and Zhang Shuda is his chief pioneer.

Any new policy must first rectify the administration of officials. If the administration of officials is not strict, no matter how good the new law is, it will be difficult to follow. The performance evaluation system was the first sword of the Wanli Dynasty, and no one could stop it. "

Xu Kun was unwilling, but looking at Xu Jie's expression, he did not dare to ask any more questions.

Xu Jie narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, "Where is Hai Rui?"

"According to the itinerary, we should have reached Linqing." Xu Kun hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, I have something to say that may be unpleasant to the ear."

"explain."

"Master, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences!"

Xu Jie turned to look at Xu Kun and said quietly, "He is your biological elder brother."

"Master, I am doing this for the Xu family."

Xu Jie stopped talking, and the garden fell into silence, with only a few unknown insects screaming hysterically.

On the canal outside Linqing City, in the cabin of a passenger ship, Shu Youliang played his last hand of cards and said excitedly: "Establish the King of Rebellion! Plus I just played Cao Cao well, so I won!"

Wang Shiqiu and Zhao Kuan silently put down the cards in their hands. Fang Zhiyuan complimented, "Brother Shu, I didn't expect you to be the king of cards!"

"The King of Jinchengfang is not just a name!"

Zhang Dao walked in and said, "We are about to reach Linqing Wharf, let's pack up."

"Okay, let's stop playing." Shu Youliang said as he put away the cards.

At this time, the sound of gongs and drums came from outside. Hearing the sound, Shu Youliang and others rushed out of the cabin and came to the deck.

On the distant dock, flags were waving, gongs and drums were beating, and people were surging. Leading the way were officials and gentry, and the whole city's officials and citizens were there to welcome the distinguished guests.

Shu Youliang was amused. "Hey, the sun really rises from the west. There are actually officials and gentry in the Ming Dynasty who dare to take the initiative to welcome my master?"

(End of this chapter)