I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 801 Officials can communicate

After lunch, they sat and drank tea and chatted for more than twenty minutes. The elderly Zhao Zhenji yawned and stood up to say goodbye.

"Your Majesty, I am old and not in good spirits. After I have eaten and digested my food, I want to take a nap. I apologize and will leave now."

"Duke Dazhou, please go back and rest. All the ministers, go back and rest as well. I will also go back and take a nap. Once you have rested up, we can continue our conversation this afternoon."

Everyone went back to their boxes to rest, and Zhu Yijun also returned to his own carriage to rest.

The twelfth carriage is the office area. The walls of the carriage are covered with velvet with dark patterns. The bronze and glass wall lamps complement each other. A hollow screen made of yellow rosewood spans most of the carriage, blocking the office area at the back.

There are several paintings hanging on the wall of the wing. The one on the left is "Spring River Moon Night". The Empress's brushwork is based on Western painting techniques. Her brushwork is still very naive, but the painting is quite good.

The one on the right is "Morning Moon over Yanshan", a traditional landscape painting, with the brushwork of Concubine Song having quite a bit of charm.

Three sofas are arranged in the shape of a Chinese character "几", with a coffee table in the middle, which can be used for meeting guests.

On the left side by the window is a desk with a pile of documents on it. There is also an armchair and a bookshelf against the wall behind it, on which are placed the books that Zhu Yijun has been reading recently.

Zhu Yijun sat down on the middle sofa and pointed to the sofa on the left.

"Jinshui, sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yang Jinshui sat one-third of his buttocks at an angle.

Qi Yan brought the teacups and placed them in front of the two of them, then stood aside with his hands behind his back.

"Jinshui, I have read the reform plan of the Shaofujian organization, especially your proposal to establish a Shaofujian Coordination Committee. Tell me what you think."

From the Coordination Office to the Donation Bureau, and then to the current Shaofujian, it has become a behemoth far exceeding the Shaofu of the Qin and Han Dynasties, spanning multiple industries such as industry, agriculture, commerce, transportation, finance, etc., with its tentacles reaching throughout the Ming Dynasty and overseas.

Known as the Small Cabinet, Yang Jinshui was also called the Real Prime Minister, and his influence gradually surpassed that of the eunuch Feng Bao of the Imperial Household Department.

Yang Jinshui maintained a respectful attitude and answered, "Your Majesty, the Supervisor of the Imperial Household is now in charge of too many things and too many people, and I can't handle it.

However, I have to continue to carry out the task assigned by the Emperor and do it well without any negligence.

After thinking about it, I remembered the collective decision-making and collective leadership method that the emperor had mentioned before. It just so happens that this advisory bureau and the cabinet standing meeting are good examples, where everyone can think together and work together.

So I came up with this suggestion.”

Zhu Yijun looked at Yang Jinshui and asked, "I know that you are in the position of the Shaofu Supervisor. The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop. The big tree attracts the wind. Now you want to arrange a way out for yourself."

Yang Jinshui quickly replied: "I would never dare to have such an idea. I just..."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand to stop Yang Jinshui's explanation, and said with deep emotion: "At today's meeting, I suddenly realized that Master Zhang has aged. In the past few years, he has aged a lot.

He is seventeen years younger than Dazhou Gong, and looks just as old, frail and weak.

The Wanli New Deal reforms consumed too much of his effort.

Yang Jinshui, you are old now, much older than when I saw you in Chaotian Temple. You seem like two different people. You have sacrificed too much for my great cause as the Supervisor of the Imperial Household.

Yang Jinshui's eyes were red, and she replied with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty's words really humbled me. I can make a small contribution to your great cause, even if I die, it is worth it. When I go to heaven and see my godfather, I will have the face to see him."

Zhu Yijun pointed his right finger at him, shaking it up and down, and said with a heartbroken look on his face, "You, what can I say about you?
I have been handing over the position of Shaofujian to you, and I have been at ease from the beginning until now.

Why do you feel uneasy about yourself?"

Yang Jinshui knelt down and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, rumors are rampant, and the outside court is even more vocal. Wanli's new policies need to be implemented by the outside court. I know what is more important.

If I cause trouble to the Emperor, even if I die a thousand times, it will not make up for it. "

"You dog, get up and sit down to talk!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You have followed me for so many years, do you think I am in trouble? Will I be troubled by difficult things? If I encounter a difficult thing, I will deal with the person who is in trouble, and then the difficult thing will be gone, right?

Tell me, what are you thinking? Tell me your heart, liver and lungs. I still don't know what you are thinking. We have been king and subject for more than ten years. "

"In reply to the emperor, I propose to set up a Shaofu Supervisory Coordination Committee. First, as the emperor said, I am old these years and my health is not as good as before. I don't know when I will be unable to work. I have to plan ahead and make arrangements early.

Secondly, over the years, I have been looking for and training qualified successors, but I have never found the right one. Or rather, I have two or three, but I am short-sighted and cannot see how great they can achieve in the future, so I am unsure.

In addition, when the Emperor ascended the throne in the first year of the Wanli reign, he issued an edict to suspend the employment of eunuchs. I have been with the Emperor for many years, and I guess that this suspension may have been customary.

I thought it would be better to take advantage of this opportunity to establish a coordinating committee, pull in officials from the business community and talented people from the industrial and commercial sectors, and give them a chance to demonstrate their abilities. This would also be a form of training, so that when the emperor wants to employ someone, he would have room to choose from.”

Hearing this, Qi Yan, who had been with his hands behind his back and his head down, couldn't help but raise his eyelids, glanced at Yang Jinshui, and then glanced at Zhu Yijun's face.

Zhu Yijun was somewhat moved.

"Back then, Mr. Huang said that you have a mind of seven orifices, and he was right.

And your talent is really one in a million. When Mr. Huang chose you to go to the southeast to work as the weaving master in Hangzhou, he made the right choice. You learned it by yourself in the rivers and seas of the southeast, and you have gained experience without a teacher.

First the Coordination Office, then the Donation Bureau, and now the Supervisor of the Imperial Household. You have been the most resolute and the best in carrying out my intentions.

I really can't live without you, and I can't bear to see you grow old.

If you want to find another person like you, you may never find one in the whole world. Even after a hundred years, it may be difficult."

"I haven't done enough, and I am unworthy of the emperor's praise."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and continued to answer Yang Jinshui's three points one by one.

"You have guessed my intention of suspending the recruitment of eunuchs.

I have established the Wanli Dynasty and ushered in a new era. A new era naturally requires a new atmosphere. The world is changing, the Ming Dynasty is changing, you are changing, and I must change too. The inner prohibition rules that have been passed down for thousands of years must also change.

Eunuchs are used to serve the inner court, which is against human ethics and harms the harmony of nature. Just now, I solemnly said in front of all the ministers that the two most important points of the Wanli New Deal are to develop the economy and to establish fairness.

We must create new wealth with courage and diligence, and distribute it fairly and reasonably. Only when fairness and efficiency go hand in hand, and material and spiritual civilization are taken into consideration, can the Wanli New Deal continue and the glory of the Ming Dynasty last for thousands of years.

I, my descendants, and future Ming emperors must become the totem of the Ming Dynasty and the embodiment of justice, and must set an example. The ancestral rule of Emperor Taizu was that the common people of the Ming Dynasty could not be used as slaves or servants, but he used a group of royal slaves and eunuchs as servants in the imperial palace.

It’s unjustifiable.

If you yourself are not upright, how can you rectify the world?
Therefore, in the new era, many bad customs of the Ming Dynasty must be corrected, and I, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, must set an example and take the lead in correcting them!"

Yang Jinshui said: "Your Majesty has good intentions, and people all over the world will understand."

Zhu Yijun looked at Yang Jinshui and continued, "I know what you are thinking.

The Shaofu Supervisory Coordination Committee will do as you say. There will be an executive department below to specialize in liaison and coordination, and to supervise the execution of decisions. All the seedlings that I think highly of and that you think highly of will be sent there to gain experience.

In addition, your plan elevated the Organization Bureau, Propaganda Bureau and Planning Bureau, and set the chief official as the fourth rank. This is not bold enough, so you set it as the third rank.

The Planning Bureau, in particular, is the top priority and the primary department and should be ranked first.

The Planning Bureau is divided into six departments: industrial planning, industry, agriculture, commerce, transportation, and mining. It is responsible for industrial planning, industry supervision and guidance of the various industries under the Shaofujian.

The Finance Bureau is responsible for the internal fund management and allocation of the Shaofujian, and the Audit Bureau is responsible for the audit of the use of funds.

The Financial Bureau not only represents the Shaofujian, but also represents the cabinet to supervise financial industries such as banks, insurance companies, securities, and bonds.

In addition, a supervisory bureau should be set up to rectify official discipline and work style. Not employing a person under suspicion does not mean letting him go his own way. A reasonable supervisory mechanism must be in place."

Yang Jinshui said quickly: "The emperor has entrusted the important task to the Shaofu Supervisor, which shows his trust in me and the Shaofu Supervisor. I and the Shaofu Supervisor are grateful for the emperor's grace.

But if I do this, I am worried that I will be criticized even more."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "I have an idea for you. Go talk to Master Zhang and the incoming Minister of Personnel Pan Yinglong. Ask the Ministry of Personnel to connect with the Organization Bureau of the Ministry of the Imperial Household, and have the Cabinet and the Ministry of the Imperial Household organize an official exchange.

Master Zhang has always been worried about the lack of officials who understand economics and have quick brains in the cabinet and local provinces. The Shaofujian will select a group of officials to promote business. They are not limited to those previously sent in by the Ministry of Personnel, but can also be officials trained and promoted by the Shaofujian himself.

The outstanding ones are selected and transferred to the cabinet and provinces to serve as the heads of various departments and bureaus of the six ministries and temples, and the various offices and halls of the provincial administration. They can also be sent to counties to serve as county governors, county magistrates, or county magistrates.

The Ministry of Personnel also selected a group of outstanding talents from the six ministries, temples and local areas, and transferred them to the Ministry of Finance to serve as factory directors and managers of various industrial, commercial and agricultural enterprises. If they were not trusted for the time being, they would serve as deputy positions first.

Let these officials selected by the Ministry of Personnel be on the front line of economic construction and be baptized by the market. "

Yang Jinshui's eyes lit up when he heard this.

What the Shaofujian lacked the least was officials who understood and were engaged in economics. However, these "business officials", whether they were originally sent by the Ministry of Personnel or trained and selected by the Shaofujian himself, could basically only "circle through promotions" within the Shaofujian system.

Although the organization was in the Guanglu Temple and the roster was in the hands of the Ministry of Personnel, the two of them basically turned a blind eye to it. When the Shaofujian submitted an application for appointment or dismissal, they approved it without even looking at it.

The Ministry of Personnel of the Cabinet and the Organization Bureau of the Ministry of the Imperial Household each manage their own officials, and it seems that they will never have any contact with each other.

Now, in his previous summary report on the administration of the first four years of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng clearly stated that the previous measures to break down the pot and establish a fair mechanism had been basically completed. In the next three to five years, the cabinet's focus would be on building the economy, and this heavy responsibility would no longer be left to the Shaofujian alone.

In this case, the cabinet’s biggest headache is the lack of these economic officials.

Prime Minister Zhang would certainly agree to the Emperor's proposal to allow the Cabinet and the Ministry of the Imperial Household to exchange their officials.

First of all, it can immediately solve the major problem of the cabinet's lack of officials who understand economics.

Secondly, it means that he has the opportunity to extend his hand into the Shaofujian, and have the opportunity to use the Shaofujian's huge resources to help the cabinet play the game of national economic construction well. It is even possible to bring the Shaofujian, which has always been independent of the cabinet and not controlled by the civil service group, into "normal management."

Yang Jinshui drew inferences from one example and said, "Your Majesty, I can propose that the cabinet's Wang Zuocheng and Wang Youcheng concurrently serve as members of the Shaofujian Coordination Committee, so that they can also participate in the Shaofujian's decision-making discussions."

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Your suggestion is good. I will invite Master Zhang to come over, and we three, the emperor and his subjects, will sit together and have a good chat."

The Shaofujian was a very unique behemoth. It was one of the foundations of imperial power. It greatly helped him to implement the Wanli New Deal. It was also a weapon for him to not be afraid of resistance and counterattacks from many conservative forces.

It's just that it's getting bigger and bigger. Before it expands to the point where it's out of control, put a bridle on it first, and then slowly figure out how to place it.

After chatting for more than half an hour, Zhu Yijun felt sleepy and yawned twice.

"Jinshui, I'm a little sleepy, I'm going to go in and take a nap. You should also go back and have a good rest."

"It's your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun stood up and walked towards the lounge in the back half of the carriage, saying to Qi Yan: "Please arrange for someone to be on duty and wake me up in forty-five minutes.

You should also have a good rest. Master Zhang and the others will have their lunch break later, and you still have to accompany me and talk to them. It will be very busy."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have arranged it. Just take a nap on this sofa."

"Well, okay, Jinshui, you should go back and take a nap. There are still many things to worry about, and we, the king and his subjects, will be busy."

"The slaves obey the order."

Zhu Yijun walked around the wall behind the desk and walked a few meters along the narrow corridor. The door opened, revealing a luxuriously decorated lounge.

There is a sofa by the window, a wardrobe, a comfortable bed, and a separate washroom and toilet at the end.

Qi Yan followed behind him and asked softly, "Your Majesty, do you want to change your clothes?"

"No need, get up and clean up."

Zhu Yijun fell onto the soft bed, pulled half of the towel blanket over his body, and within a minute he began to snore softly.

Qi Yan took off Zhu Yijun's shoes, gently lifted his feet onto the bed, carefully covered them with a towel blanket, left the room and closed the door.

When he arrived at the office area, he told two eunuchs to be on duty and to wake him up after forty minutes.

He then inquired about the personnel on duty at the Imperial Stables and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and found that everything was normal. Only then did he put on his clothes, curl his legs and doze off on the sofa.

The train continued to speed, and the rhythmic clanging sound was like a lullaby. The entire carriage and the entire train became very quiet.

(End of this chapter)