I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 827 They all have bad habits!

Zhang Juzheng opened his eyes and smiled.

There is bitterness, unwillingness, relief and calmness in a smile.

"Your Majesty, please do not use a heavy hammer on this old minister. I am old and weak and cannot withstand a few blows."

Zhu Yijun raised his head and laughed loudly, but did not say anything else, continuing to wait for Zhang Juzheng's words.

"The Emperor entrusted the Wanli New Deal to this old minister, and I am grateful to him.

To make the country strong and the people rich is the lifelong wish and ambition of this old minister.”

Zhang Juzheng raised his head, squinted his eyes, and looked towards the west side of the West Garden.

"I still remember vividly the time when Your Majesty and I, a pair of teacher and student, discussed our expectations and plans for the future of the Ming Dynasty in the Xi'an Gate Academy.

Now, the Emperor has entrusted an extremely important task to this old minister. I have worked hard and tread cautiously, not daring to let the Emperor down.

These old ministers actually don't care about the myriad of issues, obstacles, and dangers.

What worries me most is that after the implementation of many new policies, I find myself getting old, not only physically, but also mentally.”

Zhang Juzheng spoke eloquently, but his droopy eyelids, dark circles under his eyes, loose facial skin, and a few age spots made him look very old.

Only his eyes, looking at Zhu Yijun, were still so bright.

It seemed as if he was in the Xi'an Gate Academy in Xiyuan ten years ago, discussing with his "good student" Zhu Yijun the best way to save the world and govern the country. His eyes were also full of hope, excitement and satisfaction.

"On the tenth day of May, I followed the emperor on a train to Luanzhou.

The train roared forward with the whistle blew, speeding along at lightning speed, unstoppable.

The old minister sat in the car, feeling filled with emotion, and finally realized that he was old and could not run, just like an old horse-drawn carriage that could not keep up with the train of the Industrial Revolution.

The times are changing too fast and the old officials can no longer keep up.

This old minister finally understands what the emperor said: ten thousand years is too long, we must seize the day!
Unfortunately, I am old! "

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng, at his gray hair and old face, and couldn't help but smile with his eyes shining, and nodded slightly.

Are times changing too fast?
Maybe soon.

Historically, it took hundreds of years for steam locomotives to develop from horizontal multi-smoke tubes to articulated locomotives and then to expansion locomotives before they finally matured.

In Daming, it only took ten years from the beginning of research and development to official operation.

Because I was cheating.

Over the hundreds of years of historical steam locomotive development, 90% of the time was spent on exploration, trial and error, and going back and forth to find the optimal solution and configuration in practice.

The current Ming Dynasty does not need to grope and try and error, as the best answer is directly placed in front of it.

What the Ming Dynasty engineers and workers have to do is to work hard to optimize and improve under the existing conditions and achieve their best answers one by one.

In the past ten years, a large part of the time is actually spent waiting.

Other supporting industrial technologies such as smelting, forging, chemistry, etc. were upgraded under their own guidance and with the efforts of other engineers and technical workers, providing supporting materials and processes that meet the requirements.

The same is true in other aspects.

If you know the best answer, there is no need to explore and try. The biggest problem is how to copy the best answer under the existing environment and conditions.

What I consider most is not to take steps too fast, as it is easy to hurt yourself!

It’s just that in this situation, whether it’s the present people or future generations, whether they are living in that era and experiencing it personally, or looking back from a historical perspective, they will feel it.

too fast!
It’s so fast!
Your Majesty, you have turned the entire Ming Dynasty into a speeding train, running at lightning speed and moving forward without stopping. We cannot keep up.

Zhu Yijun stood up and walked away from the desk. He walked over to sit next to Zhang Juzheng, stretched out his hand and gently pulled his left hand, and gently stroked the back of his hand with his right hand, and slowly said: "Master Zhang, each generation has its own mission!
Master Zhang, you have done well enough, and you are worthy of the Ming Dynasty and your era."

Zhang Juzheng also smiled, "Thank you, Your Majesty. With your words, I have no regrets in my life!"

However, Your Majesty, please give me another three years to serve my last shift."

Zhu Yijun nodded, "No problem."

He sat up straight, withdrew his hand naturally, and his expression became serious.

"Master Zhang, I asked you to come here because I have three things to discuss with you."

Zhang Juzheng also sat up straight and looked serious.

"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."

"Pan Fengwu has been busy with two things in recent months: one is the exchange of officials, and the other is the construction of grassroots organizations. The exchange of officials is going very well so far.

The construction of grass-roots organizations originally focused on village heads and village counselors. Now that the major case in Henan has come out, we have come to realize that the county level is the top priority for the construction of grass-roots organizations in Daming.

If the leaders of a county are not selected well and there is no effective supervision, then the so-called grassroots organization construction of the Ming Dynasty will be in vain. "

Zhang Juzheng nodded in agreement: "Your Majesty is wise, what you said is absolutely right. The Wanli New Deal has been implemented for nearly five years, and there are countless problems reported by local governments. However, looking back and looking deeper, most of the problems are caused by the county and below.

The root cause is still in the county government!"

"Master Zhang, if this fundamental problem is not solved, it will be useless no matter how many good strategies and policies the Advisory Bureau formulates! No matter how loud the cabinet, six ministries, temples, and provincial governors shout, it will be useless even if their voices are torn.

There are thousands of threads above and a needle below.

The many strategic plans of the cabinet, six ministries, and provincial governors are like thousands of threads, but to implement them, the county government is needed to do it, to implement them in detail, and to drive towns and villages to comply.

If his needle is powerful, he can thread the needle and weave thousands of threads into a brocade in an orderly manner.

If this needle is a little crooked, the thousands of threads will become more and more tangled, and finally become a mess!"

Zhu Yijun patted the armrest and said, "Master Zhang, we, the emperor and his subjects, have reached a consensus on this point. Then let Pan Fengwu include the construction of the county government team in the construction of grassroots organizations."

He counted on his fingers: "In the past, the county government only had three people: the county magistrate, the county magistrate, the chief clerk, and a county lieutenant.

Now if we want to improve the county government and let the county-level main and auxiliary team play its role to the full, I think we should add two or three county chancellors, one county left chancellor, and two or three county right chancellors. "Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "Your Majesty is comparing the county government to the cabinet. This is also good. One end and one end, echoing each other from afar!"

Zhu Yijun nodded and continued, "The six offices of the county government can be abolished. They are the front line, directly governing, facing the people, and handling specific matters.

It is not a provincial governor, and its responsibilities are more about overall coordination and formulating strategies. The county government abolished the six departments and directly set up functional bureaus. "

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I second your proposal."

“The Henan case also exposed a major problem, which is that our police and taxation departments are the hardest hit areas where corrupt officials harm the people.

The police department has been the focus of rectification since Wang Zijian took office. We will wait and see how things develop.

The Ministry of Revenue should take responsibility for how the taxation department should rectify the situation.”

Zhang Juzheng echoed, "Your Majesty, the taxation department cannot collect taxes in full without the support of the local governments. However, once it is tied to the local governments, it is easy to get involved in bad things.

The Ministry of Revenue is also very troubled. "

"Master Zhang, this is indeed a big problem, but we must face it head-on. Although our goal is to stop the Ming Dynasty from collecting land taxes, the government can still operate by relying solely on industrial and commercial taxes.

The goal is ambitious, but it is still far from reality. At present, we still have to collect land taxes, and this area is the worst hit among the worst hit areas!

Master Zhang, the law is not a problem for dealing with these corrupt officials. The existing laws are very harsh in this area. If they are caught, they will basically be severely punished, and serious cases will be directly sentenced to death.

The key issue is how to expose these bad habits and evil deeds.

The Henan case has given us a lot of inspiration. Correspondents, journalists, and public opinion supervision can be fully incorporated into our supervision system and become an important means of supervision. "

Zhang Juzheng pondered for a while, "Your Majesty is wise. In the past ten years, newspapers in Ming Dynasty have developed rapidly, with thousands of journalists working in the industry, which has also formed a phenomenon.

If a newspaper can break a shocking case, its sales will soar, and it will gain both fame and fortune. The reporter who broke the news will also gain fame and fortune.

Newspapers and journalists are willing to find and discover these news and expose these bad habits and evil deeds.

After I return, I will arrange a cabinet meeting and ask the Ministry of Rites to encourage and protect the normal supervision of newspapers, and the Ministry of Justice to protect journalists who dare to expose bad habits and evil deeds. "

After discussing this issue for a while, Zhu Yijun moved on to the next topic.

"Master Zhang, the second thing I want to ask you to do today is the Yellow River Diversion Project.

The Huaihe River and the Grand Canal have long suffered from floods caused by the Yellow River, and Henan, Shandong and Hebei have long suffered from a lack of water from the Yellow River. One harm and one benefit, it is far from being as simple as one plus one equals two.

Mr. Yin Chuan planned for this project for several years and sent out several survey teams to conduct field surveys for several years. The various data reports and survey maps piled together were as high as a person.

It will happen naturally.”

Zhu Yijun emphasized, "I know that the government and the people, including the cabinet, are skeptical and hesitant about this project.

This is absolutely impossible!

The Yellow River diversion project has been discussed several times, and the pros and cons are clearly there. We can't be afraid of taking responsibility for failure and not dare to try hard!
We didn’t know what the consequences of the New Deal reforms would be, but we started bravely and worked hard to implement them.

It's just that we keep our eyes open when driving, observe at all times, analyze problems in a timely manner when we find them, adjust the speed when necessary, turn when necessary, and apply the emergency brake when serious.

Master Zhang was so brave and diligent in the New Deal reform, but why did he hesitate when it came to the Yellow River diversion project? "

That’s right, Zhang Juzheng had doubts about the project of diverting the Yellow River to the north.

Although he did not voice his opposition, as the Prime Minister, his attitude was very clear as he did not publicly express his support for such a major project.

On this project, Zhu Yijun has been working on Zhang Juzheng's behalf.

"Master Zhang, the Yellow River diversion project was decided by me. I will bear all the responsibilities. The cabinet should not feel burdened or worried. We must resolutely implement the strategies and decisions discussed at the court meeting and approved by me!"

The emperor had said so much, and Zhang Juzheng knew that if he did not make his position clear, there might be a rift between the emperor and his subjects.

"Your Majesty, I do have concerns about the Yellow River diversion project. The project is huge and will cost a lot of money. If something happens to the Yellow River, it will bring disaster to millions of people.

As the Prime Minister, I have been entrusted by the Emperor to manage state affairs, so I have to be cautious. "

Zhang Juzheng did not support the Yellow River diversion project. In addition to the above reasons, there were actually personal grudges.

Although Zhang Juzheng and Pan Jixun, the advocate of the Yellow River Diversion Project, had once been in the same Xi'anmen Academy and were both teachers of Zhu Yijun, their relationship was average and they often argued over their different political views, but at least they never fell out.

However, the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and another advocate, the Minister of Works Zhu Heng, was incompatible.

Zhu Heng was an able minister and was indomitable. He often quarreled with Zhang Juzheng in public, and Zhang Juzheng hated him deeply.

However, Zhu Heng was shrewd, decisive and resolute, and was very good at managing complicated matters, especially in the areas of water conservancy and construction.

Because of his ability to coordinate and take on responsibilities, the construction of straight roads and castle fortresses in Luanhe River, Xiliaohe River, and areas south and north of the desert progressed so rapidly.

Although Zhang Juzheng was unable to shake Zhu Heng's position as the Minister of Works, he could not bear to watch Zhu Heng and Pan Jixun go down in history.

The Yellow River Diversion Project was approved by the Emperor.

Zhang Juzheng knew that if this plan failed, the emperor would definitely take the greatest responsibility, and Pan Jixun and Zhu Heng would not get much credit, but would be rewarded for their hard work.

But if they succeed, Pan Jixun and Zhu Heng will go down in history and be remembered forever.

It will not be like the New Deal reforms that I carried out myself, which were praised by many people but also criticized by many people. It is likely that I will have a mixed reputation in history.

For various reasons, Zhang Juzheng was very indifferent to the project of diverting the Yellow River to the north, which caused a chain reaction and made many people dare not speak out in agreement.

Zhu Yijun was well aware of Zhang Juzheng's little thoughts.

Master Zhang is not a mean person. He is very sincere to those he trusts, but he would like to exile those he dislikes to the Sanbao Peninsula so that he can out of sight and out of mind!
No one is perfect, and Zhang Juzheng is not a saint. He always has various flaws.

Hai Rui, the judge, also has a lot of bad habits!
Zhu Yijun continued to listen to what Zhang Juzheng said.

"Since it has been proven by many parties that this project will benefit the country and the people. It has also been approved by the Emperor, I, the old ministers and the cabinet, will resolutely implement it and will not compromise!"

Zhu Yijun smiled, "I said that Master Zhang has a broad perspective and that national affairs are more important than personal grudges. With Master Zhang's words, I feel relieved. I believe that you and the cabinet will definitely attach importance to the Yellow River Diversion Project.

Next, I want to tell Master Zhang the third thing."

(End of this chapter)