Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 367: The children of the officials and wealthy families are dissatisfied, the Jiajing Huihan clan!

And next.

Zhao Huang left the cabinet and returned to the Ministry of Personnel.

However, the next morning after Zhao Huang returned to the Ministry of Personnel, Wen Renhe, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, hurried to see him and said, "Something happened!"

Zhao Huang asked hurriedly: "What's the matter?"

"Many officials in the Ministry of Personnel and the court set up sacrificial sheds to worship Zheng and Shen. They used this to criticize the ministers in the court for being cold and harsh in their treatment of their subordinates, and to express their dissatisfaction with the new policy of the Ministry of Personnel."

Wen Renhe replied.

Zhao Huang was furious when he heard this: "The emperor wants to stop the donation and rectify the Ministry of Personnel. What does this have to do with us ministers?"

"They dare not directly oppose this policy and go against the emperor and father, so they can only criticize the officials to vent their dissatisfaction with the new policy of the Ministry of Personnel."

Wen Renhe replied.

Zhao Huang asked, "Why don't you go?"

"They don't welcome me. I became the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel after Zhang Yongjia said in front of the emperor that the imperial court's recommendation was not correct and His Majesty ordered the imperial court to re-recommend me. Naturally, I was labeled as a member of the party that advocated rituals, and was not classified as a member of the group that protected rituals."

Wen Renhe replied.

Zhao Huang nodded.

Wen Renhe continued to persuade him, "Grand Chancellor, we can't let them make such a fuss. If His Majesty knew about this, he would think that you, the Grand Chancellor, were secretly condoning it!"

“It’s really the opposite!”

Zhao Huang's heart trembled after hearing this, and then he said this angrily, then walked out quickly and asked, "Take me to the sacrificial shed!"

When Zhao Huang arrived at the sacrificial shed where Zheng Jie and Shen Zizhong were commemorating, officials such as Wang Xuekui were there denouncing the cabinet ministers and officials.

"These superiors only care about flattering their superiors and don't know how to be considerate to others. They pushed us to death and forced Zheng and Shen to death. Therefore, until now, no ministers above the rank of Shangshu have come to pay their respects!"

"We are all disciples of the emperor. Do they think the lives of Lords Zheng and Shen are worth less than grass?"

"That's right! In order to please His Majesty, they ignored the truth and blindly changed the law, which led to the tragic situation today!"

"And what about them?"

"Naturally, they all made a good impression in front of His Majesty as capable ministers of the restoration of the country, but they made us, the officials under us, miserable day and night, with no place to appeal for our grievances!"

"It's really boring to be an official like this. I might as well go back to my hometown and study!"

"It is for this reason that many of us in the Ministry of Personnel have decided to resign rather than stay here and suffer such humiliation and be bullied by the treacherous party and flatterers!"

"When a rabbit dies, the fox mourns. All creatures feel grief for their own kind. Today it is the Ministry of Personnel, tomorrow it may be our Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, or even the Censorate and the Imperial Academy! Today it is Lord Zheng and Lord Shen, tomorrow it may be us! Rather than being tortured to death by these treacherous and flattering officials, it is better to return to my hometown to study and farm. After the world is clear, it will not be too late to repay the emperor's kindness!"

These officials expressed their views passionately.

Zhao Huang saw this and frowned. He walked over and shouted, "What treacherous and flattering officials! The court stopped the donation in order to clarify the administration of officials. What's wrong with that? I don't understand why you object to this! And you are still making a scene here! If you really want to resign, I won't stop you. Then just resign. There is no shortage of loyal and good people who want to serve the court!"

"The Great Master still remembered to come."

"Where are Yang Anning, Lin Putian and others in the cabinet, and what are the people like the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan doing?"

"Are their hearts so hard that they forced someone to death without even saying a word?!"

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Dong Qi, asked in a cold voice.

Zhao Huang looked at Dong Qi and said, "What do you want them to say? Should we stop paying the donations to clean up the government?"

Dong Qi flatly denied it, saying, "I didn't mean that, but it's unreasonable for them not to come and take a look."

"What's wrong with that?" "Did they kill the person?"

"Say it again!"

"These two people did not understand the difficulties of the court, nor did they consider the overall situation at hand. They committed suicide to escape the problems they caused. They deserved to die!"

"The court is already very kind by not blaming them for this!"

Zhao Huang replied sternly.

After hearing this, these officials became even more angry and grief-stricken, but they could not refute, so they could only grit their teeth and clench their fists.

"I really don't want to be an official anymore!"

"Whoever wants to do it can do it!"

But at this time, someone finally couldn't hold it anymore, took off the crown and band directly, and walked out with a look of disdain on his face.

He has obviously completely lost his mind.

When reality made it impossible for him to maintain his extravagant life by talking about benevolence, righteousness, and morality as he did before, he completely abandoned the rules required by the saints and was unwilling to even mention them.

"If anyone does not want to be an official, he can submit a petition to resign."

"Especially the Ministry of Personnel, I won't advise!"

"Those of you who don't want to resign from the Ministry of Personnel, come back with me now. Otherwise, don't blame me for giving you a dereliction of duty review when you pass the exam at the end of the year!"

The Minister of Personnel Zhao Huang still answered strongly at this time, and then he turned his sleeves and left.

After Zhao Huang said this, many people followed him obediently, especially the officials from the Ministry of Personnel.

There are many people who want to spend a lot of money to buy an official position, so those who have passed the examination to become an official will not give up their official position easily.

Especially the Beijing officials who are being watched by many people.

Only the children of families with generations of officials may not care whether they become officials or not. For them, if they do not become officials, their relatives who are officials will help them.

of course.

This does not mean that the court cannot pay attention to the boiling grievances of officials.

Because although they dare not resign, they still dare to deliberately be lazy and idle.

"Your Majesty, the reform of the Ministry of Personnel is a sudden change to long-standing bad habits, so problems are inevitable, which is why Zheng and Shen committed suicide."

"I am worried that this incident will exacerbate the dissatisfaction of officials, and some people may even stir up trouble and slander the court, which will then affect almost all bureaucrats and cause them to become alienated from the court!"

After meeting the emperor, Yang Yiqing still told Zhu Houcong about his concerns, and no longer said in front of Zhao Huang that he didn't care about the death of the two men.

Zhu Houcong also knew that the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Personnel would become dissatisfied because they could not make ends meet after their gray income was suddenly reduced.

He had already planned for this.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong said at this time: "Although many people become officials for wealth and honor, being an official is not like doing business. One cannot be profit-driven. The court does not appoint officials to satisfy the desires of all officials without limit. For those bureaucrats who spend a lot of money because they are used to extravagance, I can't help them. I can't use the national treasury to satisfy their selfish desires. I can only ensure that most bureaucrats have a good and prosperous life!"

"How about this, since Zheng and Shen committed suicide because they bought a house in Xicheng and owed a loan to Xingming Bank, then their loan will be forgiven, but the house will also be taken back!"

"In addition, the national treasury gives the Ministry of Personnel a fixed amount of money every year to purchase and build rental houses for middle and lower-level officials who have no guild halls to live in. Another amount is used to set up a canteen to entertain officials who report to the Ministry of Personnel and its own officials, to provide cotton shoes and socks for the three festivals and two ceremonies, and to provide travel expenses for official business trips. The Ministry of Personnel can use this money to solve the problem of food, clothing, housing and transportation for low-level officials who cannot afford to rent a house or eat. Senior officials also give them servant fees. In addition, it is also used to repair the government office and to pay for pens and ink and other expenses."

"This money is called ambassadorial money. Although it is used to subsidize bureaucrats and improve work efficiency, it must be accounted for clearly."

"If there is any money left over from the annual grant to the envoys by the imperial treasury, it can be used as additional subsidies. The officials in charge of the Ministry of Personnel can decide who to subsidize and reward based on the actual situation. After all, you never know who may have some temporary difficulties, or who may have outstanding performance and need special rewards."

(End of this chapter)