golden scales

On the 18th day of the first month of the [-]th year of Chongzhen, Zhu Cihong took his personal guards to Huaiqing Mansion after bidding farewell to the emperor.After merging with Weihui Mansion, Huaiqing Mansion has [-] counties under its jurisdiction, and its administrative area is still not large.However, the basis for the division of prefectures and counties in Ming Dynasty is the number of Dingkou, so the population of Huaiqing Prefecture is much higher than that of the same size prefectures in North China and Shandong.

This depends on the level of governance of local officials. Fortunately, although Wu Weiye lacks experience and talent that a herdsman official should have, Shen Jiaxian and Zhang San, the two Jinshi, have shown their ability.

"The best thing to do in the world is to be an official. The most difficult thing to be an official in the world is also an official. If you want to do practical things for the people, you are not afraid of offending people, and you are a strict official, that is the best official. If one day Gao is promoted to be a cabinet assistant, then it may be difficult to become an official." Zhu Cihong stopped in Huaiqing for a day and inspected the people's livelihood in Hanoi County.

Unlike Kaifeng Mansion, which was washed by Liao Xing's blood, there is still blood everywhere.Huaiqing Mansion still retains the original taste of Daming, but the newly established prefectural and county police stations, inspection departments, and the addresses on the door plates of every house all show a different atmosphere from the past.

"How is the spring plowing going this year?" Zhu Cihong asked.

"Reporting to Your Highness, there is still a shortage of farming cattle in various places, but this time the government has purchased [-] 'substitute farming' from the Technical College, which can somewhat alleviate the need for spring plowing." Shen Jiaxian is now in charge of spring plowing in Huaiqing Prefecture, and accompanied him on inspections.

Zhu Cihong looked into the distance, but what he saw in front of him was cattle plowing.This is also understandable, the following prefectures and counties all hope to show their best side to their superiors.To be able to answer honestly like Shen Jiaxian is considered a pass.

"Go and see Daigeng." Zhu Cihong said.

Wu Weiye quickly ordered to let someone clear the way ahead.But Zhu Cihong didn't have that patience, and he moved forward quickly.

A group of people went straight north, and they saw the "substitute farming" invented by Wang Zheng.

This kind of farming equipment was used in the original historical script until the late Qing Dynasty.It is the best supplementary method in the case of insufficient animal power.The original design was for a group of three people to install two turntables at both ends of the field with ropes in the middle.Each turntable is equipped with a strong laborer, and one person in the middle holds the plow.After the turntable turns, the rope pulls the ploughshare, thus plowing a straight field ridge.

Huaiqing Prefecture has a lot of water.Therefore, Shen Jiaxian often uses substitute farming in the fields near the river, and can use water power to reduce manpower.Moreover, generally this kind of high-quality fertile land has a large area and is contiguous into pieces, which is also convenient for the advancement of "substitute farming".Oxen are used to plow the land that lacks water power, and only the inferior mountainous land is used for manpower.

"Originally the fields relying on water belonged to rich farmers' families. They must all have cattle, so they don't have to worry about labor for spring plowing. The poorer the fields, the poorer they are. Often several families raise a cow together, but it's better than nothing. Now the government has come forward to enforce Allocate. The spring plowing area of ​​the whole county has increased, and no one has suffered any losses." Shen Jiaxian said.

"Are those wealthy households willing to lend their cattle?" Zhu Cihong asked.

Shen Jiaxian was slightly taken aback, and said: "Since there is no harm to oneself and everyone is happy, the gentry are still happy to do it."

Zhu Cihong also laughed, and secretly thought that those squires were too bad.

In fact, there were not many local tyrants and evil gentry in the Ming Dynasty, at most they were a little selfish.In the absence of government action, local ditches were opened and porridge was provided for disaster relief.Basically, these squires did it spontaneously.As for building bridges and paving roads, open free schools.It is also a common practice of rich country gentlemen.

In a patriarchal society, the big family has obligations to the small family, and the big family has obligations to the small family. The teaching of kinship is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so if you don't do this, you will be poked in the back.If he dared to take advantage of his power to bully the mermaid and meat village, he would not only be nailed to the pillar of shame by the clan.It will be overturned to the ground by angry villagers, and then set foot on it.

Xu Jie, as the elder of Shoufuge, and Dong Qichang, as the respected minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, were all humiliated by the village, which is a lesson from the past.

On the other hand, however, the patriarchal society was also the biggest obstacle to the New Deal.

The power of the patriarch is greater than the administrative power of the government.The tribe is not afraid of the government but fears the power of the clan.In Shandong, due to issues such as land division and the ownership of rivers and canals, frictions and collisions between political power and clan power have occurred in various counties.In the end, of course, the regime won, and the patriarchal society was forcibly broken by collecting villages, dividing families, and distributing properties.

This kind of violent practice is still regarded as the standard in Kaifeng Mansion, but Huaiqing Mansion is obviously tender and can't agree with it.

"It doesn't matter whether the cat is white or black, as long as it can catch mice is a good cat." Zhu Cihong said to Wu Weiye and Shen Jiaxian: "I don't care about your governance methods. Whether it can be completed or not. As long as these three points are achieved, being promoted to an official position is just the meaning of the question."

Wu Weiye and Shen Jiaxian quickly thanked each other.

Zhu Cihong could already see the rolling ridges of the Taihang Mountains in the north, tunnel: "I won't turn back. Min Ziruo, let's go straight north. After Meicun returns, let Xingyuan catch up as soon as possible."

Wu Weiye obviously couldn't accept such a big flexibility. It was originally agreed that he would just go out of the city to inspect the spring farming, so why did he just leave?

"Your Highness, the mansion has also arranged a farewell banquet, and there are local old people..."

"It will be another day to walk this twenty or thirty miles twice, time flies like an arrow and we can't afford to delay." Zhu Cihong raised his horsewhip and said, "Go back."

While Wu Weiye and Shen Jiaxian were stunned, Zhu Cihong had already left with a whip.Min Ziruo and other personal guards naturally followed closely behind. Gradually, some people walked side by side with Zhu Cihong, and then two cavalry came forward to clear the way, surrounding Zhu Cihong in the middle.Zhu Cihong waited until he had run more than a dozen miles before he remembered another important reason for Shandong's destruction of the patriarchal clan system: bandits and bandits.

It is impossible for bandits and bandits to live in the mountains without any support. Even if they have a village, they have to regularly trade with villages everywhere.The villagers will inevitably help them conceal, hide, and inform them because of their clan, in-laws, and other relationships.It is precisely because of this that local officials intensified the attack on the patriarchal society, cut off the contact between the common people and the bandits, and finally made the law and order in Shandong a place cleared.

There are more local thieves in Henan, but they are more mobile, so maybe this kind of thing won't happen.

Even if it happens, it is also a lesson.

Zhu Cihong quickly dismissed this thought and concentrated on riding on the road.The ground on the road became harder and harder, and there were more and more rocks, and the Taihang Mountains lay ahead.

Wu Weiye, Shen Jiaxian and the accompanying officials watched the crown prince disappearing on the horizon, and it took a long time before they returned.Shen Jiaxian walked side by side with Wu Weiye, and couldn't help sighing: "His Royal Highness is so resolute, it's really... people..." He is a Jinshi, and he couldn't find a suitable word after searching for a long time, so his surname was vague.

"Shen Tongzhi, next month we will report ourselves to pass the exam." Wu Weiye didn't have so much emotion: "There is a lot of attention to it. If the report is high, if you can't complete it in the future, you will be fined at least, or lose your job if it is serious." If it is more serious, you may be convicted of dereliction of duty."

"Then the price is lower?" Shen Jiaxian tentatively asked.

"The report is too low. If it is found out by the censor or the inspection team sent by the top, it will be opportunistic and unfaithful. It will be directly assigned to teach in the village school." Wu Weiye said lightly.

"What do you think should be done?" Shen Jiaxian was also frightened.

"We still have to let Brother Zhang come back and have a good discussion." Wu Weiye said.

Shen Jiaxian finally tasted the power of the legendary test method.Moreover, as a co-prefect of Huaiqing Mansion, Shen Jiaxian has to take responsibility for participating in the implementation of the goals of the whole government, and at the same time, he also has the task of passing the examination of the department in charge. It can be said that his whole body is firmly tied by this test.

The assessment and evaluation of officials appeared as early as the pre-Qin period. Zhang Juzheng, under the banner of the old system of his ancestors, perfected the detailed rules for the implementation of the test method, making the early years of Wanli the period with the highest administrative efficiency in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Cihong not only followed Zhang Juzheng's detailed rules of the examination method, but also clearly defined the supervisory censor's powers of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, forcing them to focus on the examination task.As a result, the implementation of the examination method itself has been intensified, making officials more concerned about the task of passing the examination while relaxing.

Driven by this kind of institutional power, the work efficiency and attitude of the officials in the East Palace are naturally not comparable to the old-fashioned bureaucrats. . )

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