I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 826 Uncle Zhang, don’t be stubborn!

In the Western Garden of the capital, Feng Bao led Zhang Juzheng along the tree-lined path.

Zhang Juzheng looked around and saw that the eunuchs in front and behind him were keeping a distance, so he said softly, "Eunuch Feng, how is the emperor feeling today?"

Feng Bao bent his waist slightly, leaned forward, and walked in front with a whisk in his hand, leading the way.

"Is Lord Taiyue worried that the emperor's wrath caused by the Henan case has not yet subsided?"

"Yes. No one expected that such a big case would suddenly emerge in Henan when the economy was booming."

Feng Bao was deeply touched: "Yes, it's like a feast is about to start, and when everyone is enjoying their meal, suddenly they find a rat dropping in the dish. It's so disgusting.

When the emperor saw the petition submitted by the Ministry of Public Administration, he was furious! But Lord Taiyue, rest assured that the emperor can let it go and his anger has dissipated. "

"Is it really gone?"

"Disbanded? It was already dispersed when the imperial decree ordered Lord Hai and Wang Bu Tang to personally supervise the case."

"I asked Lord Hai and Prince Jianqin to lead a joint task force to Henan. It was so strict that it made people a little scared."

Feng Bao turned around and said with a smile: "Taiyue Gong, you are pretending to be ignorant even though you know the truth."

"Eunuch Feng, to be honest with you, Henan paid the full amount of land tax for three consecutive years in the second, third and fourth years of the Wanli reign, and was praised by the Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue as an advanced provincial government for three years.

As a result, such a major case occurred, the cabinet was in trouble, and the impact was far-reaching.

Rumors are spreading across the court and the public that Wanli's new policies are disrupting the laws of our ancestors and bringing disaster to the country and the people. Now that the situation of harming the people is emerging one by one, if the emperor does not stop before it is too late, there is a fear that the reforms of the previous Song Dynasty will lead to the destruction of the country."

Feng Bao shook his head disapprovingly. "These days, there are too many hypocritical people. Henan has been an advanced province for three consecutive years. The cabinet and Taiyuegong were just temporarily negligent. In the end, they found out and are about to deal with it severely, right?
Why should Taiyuegong listen to those people who gossip? These people wear reading glasses and stare at the new policy reforms with their eyes bulging, just waiting for something to go wrong.

Haha, in this world, can you be sure of success as long as you do things sincerely?

They sit there, not doing any practical work, but just talking and finding faults in others. They seem to be justified even though they have done nothing wrong.

Taiyuegong should keep calm. With the emperor here, no one can overturn the Ming Dynasty."

Feng Bao's consolation made Zhang Juzheng feel a little better.

When the major case in Henan broke out, Zhang Juzheng was the first to bear the brunt of the consequences.

Countless conservatives who had been hiding under the surface finally waited for this moment and jumped out one after another.

The New Deal reforms lasted nearly five years, and only resulted in this thing.

The strict examination system for central government departments produced such a bunch of bastards?
Isn't this a repeat of the old path of Wang Anshi's reform in the Song Dynasty?
They called for reforms to strengthen the country and enrich the people, but in the end all the new laws they enacted were extortionate and harmful to the people.

You didn't allow us to talk about it before, but now, such a big case has broken out in Henan, thousands of people have been harmed, spread across more than 20 counties in Henan, and hundreds of families have been broken up and people have died.

The proof is like a mountain!

Countless people were like insects hiding in the soil. When they heard the command, they came out and performed their own specialties.

Countless criticisms of the New Deal reforms, such as posted notices, copied articles, memorials, and memorials, whizzed towards the cabinet and Zhang Juzheng like countless cold arrows.

Feng Bao squinted at Zhang Juzheng and saw that his eyes were red, his eye sockets were black, and his eyes were full of deep worry.

The magnitude of the storm caused by the major case in Henan was beyond everyone's expectations, as it could make Zhang Taiyue, who had always been as calm as a mountain and steady as a rock, so anxious.

The wind is strong and the waves are high!
"Mr. Taiyue, how do you think you compare to Mr. Wang Jing?"

Zhang Juzheng replied proudly, "On par with the others."

"Mr. Taiyue, how does Emperor Shenzong of Song compare to the emperor?"

"How can the glow of a rotten grass compare to the bright moon in the sky?"

Feng Bao smiled and said, "If that's the case, why is Taiyuegong so anxious?"

Zhang Juzheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Eunuch Feng, don't you know that half of my anxiety is due to your incompetence?

Outsiders all think that I am in charge of the outer court and you are in charge of the inner court, and we are allies who can respond to each other both internally and externally.

But ever since you went to Chengde to supervise the construction of the imperial palace, you have become extremely low-key since you came back, so low-key that people almost don't know that you are still the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department!
The "forbidden" news that used to be delivered continuously from the Western Garden has suddenly decreased by 90%. Especially the emperor's thoughts, you dare not give any of them.

God’s will is unpredictable!

If you don't tell me the Emperor's thoughts, how can I feel at peace?
Feng Bao seemed to have guessed Zhang Juzheng's thoughts, and continued to lead the way, saying softly: "I have spent more than a year with a group of Feng Shui masters, and finally found four auspicious sites for the emperor.

Both places are in the west, and the emperor took time to visit them last year.

There are two more in the east. In mid-May, the emperor toured Luanzhou in the east and took time to conduct a field survey. In the end, Qinglong Mountain was determined to be the auspicious place for eternity. After the people from the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Works verify it again and draw a rough map, the emperor's mausoleum will soon be built.

All things are difficult at the beginning. The most important thing is to make the first move. I believe that before long, the emperor will ask me to supervise the work."

The corners of Zhang Juzheng's eyes kept twitching.

Lao Feng, what are you doing?
It's only the fifth year of Wanli's reign. Do you want to retreat from the prosperous times?
Feng Bao continued, "Mr. Taiyue, these days, the new plays are really good. There are battles to kill enemies and serve the country, Ming warriors and grassland flowers fall in love, sisters-in-law get married out of grudges, and the judge solves strange cases and redresses injustice.
I went to see it. It was wonderful, much better than those cheesy plays about talented men and beautiful women.

The new dynasty has a new atmosphere, so there should be new plays and new rules. Those old plays and old customs can be discarded."

The corners of Zhang Juzheng's mouth were also twitching slightly.

It’s an old custom, communicating inside and outside, forming an alliance, isn’t it an old custom, Eunuch Feng?

Are you clicking on me, or are you clicking on me?
When they arrived at the Ziguang Pavilion, Zhang Juzheng was led in.

"Your Highness, I, Zhang Juzheng, pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor."

"Master Zhang, please don't be polite. Please take a seat!"

Zhu Yijun wore a round-necked red robe with a coiled dragon pattern and a Yishan crown on his head, still maintaining his previous decisive style.

"Master Zhang, about the major case in Henan."

Zhang Juzheng quickly stood up and bowed with his arms folded.

"I apologize to His Majesty the Emperor for this case. As the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, I am in charge of national affairs. I am also the Chairman of the Central Steering Committee for Performance Evaluation, in charge of the performance evaluation of officials.

"I am guilty of negligence in the Henan case, and I cannot escape the blame! Please punish me severely to serve as a warning to others."

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and waved his hand, "Master Zhang has a responsibility, and I also have a responsibility. In the past, we only beat tigers and didn't pay attention to beating flies and mosquitoes.

Tigers eat people, mosquitoes suck blood, and the people can't see the tigers, but there are piles of mosquitoes surrounding them, waiting for an opportunity to suck their blood." After explaining a few words, Zhu Yijun motioned Zhang Juzheng to sit down: "Master Zhang, please sit down.

In the Henan case, some people celebrated and said that this was the "Refugee Map" of the Ming Dynasty. For a time, there were many slanderous words and countless open and covert attacks emerged.

But they didn't understand one thing.

Master Zhang is not Wang Jinggong, and I am not Emperor Shenzong of Song. This Henan case is not some "Refugee Map"! "

After receiving a reassurance from Zhu Yijun himself, Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and his half-hanging heart was finally at ease.

He knew his student's temperament very well, and he believed that the emperor would not give up easily.

But things are unpredictable!

Historically, Song Shenzong's support for Wang Anshi's reform was very firm, but what was the result? "The Picture of Refugees" was just a trigger. The key point was that Song Shenzong was shaken in the face of heavy pressure and an uncertain future.

Song Shenzong thought he had only taken a small step back, but he didn't know that a small step in a political struggle would lead to a complete retreat.

Fortunately, the Emperor remains as Emperor Sejong said, his determination cannot be taken away!
Zhu Yijun picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. "Master Zhang, there are not only obstacles but also setbacks on the road to reform. I have said this long ago.

We should not only focus on the long-term goal, but also pay attention to the stones under our feet. If we step on them carelessly, we may fall. However, this kind of stone hidden in the road is difficult to detect unless we step on it.

We have to find a way to sift the stones off the road."

Zhu Yijun tapped the documents on the desk with his right hand. "I have read the files of the Henan case in detail. This case involves 22 counties in Henan. The magistrates of 14 of them are Jinshi graduates, 7 are Juren graduates, and one is a Jiansheng graduate.

What does this mean? "

Zhang Juzheng's heart, which had just been put at ease, was suddenly lifted up again.

"I am confused and don't know what the problem is. Please explain it to me, Your Majesty."

“It shows that it is easy to change the official system, but it is difficult to change old ideas!
Henan used to be the hardest hit area for the royal family of the vassal states. Since the Hongwu period, more than ten vassal kings were enfeoffed in Henan, and by the Jiajing period, there were seven. There were hundreds of thousands of royal family members, a number that was rare in the country.

Previously, nearly half of Henan's farmland was distributed to vassal states, and two-thirds of it was occupied, annexed, or hidden. Most of the clerks and gentry in Henan were attached to the royal family of the vassal states, bullying others and exploiting the people.

During the Longqing period, I reorganized the vassal states and royal families, and Henan was abolished and land was distributed. Most of the land was redistributed to the people. Obviously, the clerks and gentry in various parts of Henan, whose financial sources had been cut off, found a new way to make money.

I believe that in recent years, the clerks and gentry in various counties of Henan have been working hard to explore new sources of income, but why did it flourish in these 22 counties and become so popular? "

Zhang Juzheng heard the key point in Zhu Yijun's words and replied in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I understand. The key lies in the magistrates of these 22 counties!"

"Yes, Master Zhang is right!
What is the Bureau of Repentance and Good Deeds, what is the secret prison and private detention rooms, how could the magistrate sitting in the county government not know about it?

He really didn't know. There were only two possibilities. One was that he was confused and incompetent, and was sidelined by others, becoming blind and deaf.

Second, he became the backer of these clerks and gentry. "

Having said that, Zhu Yijun drummed heavily on the desk with the knuckles of his right hand, again and again, comparable to the forging hammer Zhang Juzheng saw when he visited the Luanzhou Iron and Steel Plant, hitting his heart again and again.

"Master Zhang had previously promoted the performance evaluation system, which was promoted from the central government to the local governments. People in the government and the public said that this system was like a knife cutting grass and a comb that was too rough. We also hope to completely change the customs of the officialdom.

What's the result? "

Zhu Yijun's knuckles hit Zhang Juzheng hard and then stopped, but it seemed like the heaviest blow to Zhang Juzheng.

Your Majesty, you have to take action eventually.

Zhu Yijun's voice continued.

“If we don’t completely break the old system for training and selecting officials, no matter how strictly we enforce the performance evaluation system, the officials trained and selected under the old system will still be the same.

The abilities do not match, the personal awareness is not up to par, and one is pedantic and rigid, just getting by.

The 22 counties in Henan where the case occurred are a living example. The 22 county magistrates, local officials close to the people, failed to guard the first line of defense for the court, allowing the clerks and gentry to collude and cause harm to the local area.

Master Zhang, we can't investigate, arrest, kill, and replace a group of people when something happens. If the water source is not clean, no matter how much trouble is done downstream, we will still drink dirty water!
If we don’t completely break the old system of training and selecting officials, a large part of the officials we elect will remain the same. Things like the Henan case will continue despite repeated bans!

Master Zhang, it's time to break it once and for all!"

Zhang Juzheng remained silent.

As expected, the emperor finally revealed his true colors to me.

During the Longqing period, when he was the Grand Councilor and Minister of Personnel, the Emperor, who was then the Crown Prince Regent, demanded that the old system of training and selecting officials be abolished.

He did not agree with it, but after much deliberation, he proposed the performance evaluation system, hoping to control these officials with strict laws and regulations, but he also hoped to preserve the old training and selection system.

At least keep half of it.

After some thought, the emperor agreed.

I know very well that the emperor's compromise was mostly due to the lack of new talents to replace the old officials.

During those years, I implemented the performance evaluation system, and the emperor temporarily retained the old training and selection system.

The official system underwent a major change, in which clerks, clerks, yamen runners and other officials without rank were selected and added to the official system.

However, the majority of officials above the level of county magistrate and prefect were still Jinshi with Juren as a supplement.

Entering the Wanli era, the emperor stepped up efforts to cultivate new talents and made major changes to the imperial examination system. Over the course of more than four years, enough talents had been gathered.

Now that a major case in Henan has suddenly broken out, the emperor has seized this opportunity to confront himself and completely break the old official system.

Zhang Juzheng closed his eyes in pain.

He is not particularly nostalgic for this system, nor does he have any deep feelings for the officials who came out of this system.

He just knew very well that he also came from that system, and was even a leader and representative of that system!

Once this old official system is completely broken, a series of breaks will follow.

Our own system and era will be completely swept into the corner of history!
He implemented the New Deal reforms with all his strength, but ended up becoming the gravedigger of his own era and system.

This feeling made Zhang Juzheng feel mixed emotions.

Zhu Yijun also understood his feelings and just waited quietly.

Feng Bao, who was standing in the corner, heard everything. He raised his head slightly and glanced at Zhang Juzheng, who had his eyes closed and was hesitant, and felt secretly anxious.

Uncle Zhang, Zhang the Stubborn Donkey, my old friend, you must not be as stubborn as Wang Anshi. The emperor is not comparable to Song Shenzong!
Zhang Juzheng suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I am your servant."

(End of this chapter)