Douluo: The blue phoenix cries loudly, and the wind whistles through the air

“Everyone in Gengxin City is burdened with huge taxes from birth. The tax officials are all fat and bloated, while the people under their jurisdiction are living in misery and all curse the Spirit Hall!”

"Gentlemen, is this the Spirit Hall under your rule?"

For a moment, all the elders present fell silent, trembling with fear.

How could they not know these things?

In the past, they were all Bibi Dong's subordinates, and these things did not happen overnight, but gradually grew out over the past twenty years when Bibi Dong let things go unchecked.

Don't these elders want to take care of this?
In the past, they were either powerless to change the status quo due to their low status or they were vested interest groups who turned a blind eye to it and even secretly provided some assistance to those corrupt officials.

Wu Qi brought this matter to the forefront in order to eradicate it completely. The elders who were involved in this matter were all trembling with fear, afraid of being implicated.

Although a Title Douluo can get along well anywhere, most of them are trained by the Spirit Hall from childhood. If they betray the Spirit Hall, the consequences are unimaginable.

In contrast, directly facing the wrath of the new pope would result in the least loss.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Wu Qi continued, "Starting today, Qian Renxue will lead the establishment of the Judgment Hall. Qian Renxue will serve as the Judgment Elder, and Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo will serve as the Judgment Hall Guardian Douluo."

The establishment of the Hall of Judgment was like a sharp blade hanging over the heads of all the elders.

If this matter were discussed directly, it would inevitably be met with strong opposition. But right now, these elders are all preoccupied with their own problems; if they were to step forward, wouldn't that prove they have a guilty conscience?

Those elders who act with integrity have even less reason to oppose it; on the contrary, they will strongly support it to show that they are upright and have nothing to fear!

Seeing that all the elders raised their hands to vote, Wu Qi nodded slightly, "Since everyone has no objections, the Hall of Judgment shall be established immediately."

"The Miles I just mentioned is not an isolated case in the various branches of the Spirit Hall; it's almost a universal phenomenon. The focus of the Judgment Hall's work for the foreseeable future will be to purge these parasites from our ranks and allow those who truly speak out for the people to take the lead."

A large-scale anti-corruption campaign will inevitably cause internal turmoil. But let's not forget that there are many people within the Spirit Hall, and countless others who aspire to rise in rank but lack the opportunity.

If they were to report and expose their respective leaders for misconduct and have them dismissed, wouldn't that be their opportunity?

Of course, Wu Qi also formulated corresponding strategies to prevent malicious reports.

As for these elders...
It is not easy for the Spirit Hall to cultivate a Title Douluo. If even a Title Douluo is executed, it will surely cause great alarm among officials at all levels within the Spirit Hall, leading to their successive departures from the Spirit Hall.

An organization that cannot continuously attract talent is not far from its demise.

"Those of you present who feel you have committed a wrong, you may come to me and confess within two weeks after the end of this meeting. If you exceed this time limit and are discovered by the Hall of Judgment, you will bear the consequences!"

Upon hearing this, the elders calmed down considerably. At least, Wu Qi had given them a chance to reform. For some serious offenses, sending someone from the family to take the blame, ensuring they wouldn't repeat the mistake, would be considered a closed case.

……

Before long, Qian Gu Chang Kong stood up and began the next topic: "Your Holiness, after conducting an investigation these past few days, I have discovered that the Spirit Hall suffers from a serious problem of redundant officials." The existence of redundant officials is due to the drawbacks of the lifelong tenure system.

If a low-level temple master has no chance of rising in his lifetime, then the branch temple he belongs to will not change hands for decades.

As new generations of Soul Masters continue to rise, some may even surpass the Hall Master in strength. Therefore, in order to balance the interests of both new and old Soul Masters, the Hall Master will inevitably apply to higher authorities to add a Deputy Hall Master position to the area.

Over time, a branch hall could have as many as ten deputy hall masters, and the salary of one deputy hall master was equivalent to that of ten or so ordinary stewards. As a result, a branch hall with a staff of thirty people had to pay the salaries of two hundred stewards. Even if the Spirit Hall was large and powerful, it could not withstand such consumption and would inevitably run into a financial deficit sooner or later.

These elders had no objection to the reform of the official system.

Even though they have a family behind them, the family members are not many, the number of positions needed is small, and most of the family disciples stay in Wuhun City and live off their parents. The current bureaucratic system is something Bibi Dong deliberately tolerated in order to win over lower-level officials, and it even infringes on the interests of these elders. Now that this matter has been brought to the forefront, everyone is offering their own solutions.

However, these elders' policies only address the symptoms, not the root cause, and may even cause unrest among lower-level officials.

Wu Qi tapped the table lightly, interrupting the elders' conversation.

"I have some suggestions regarding the reform of the official system. Please take a look."

As he spoke, he took out the white paper he had prepared earlier from his soul tool and turned to the page on the reform of the official system, which was then passed around among the elders.

Wu Qi did offer several suggestions for reforming the official system, which would also solve the problem of redundant personnel.

In his plan, the temple masters of the lower-level branch temples would serve fixed terms, similar to the platinum bishops of the temples in the two great imperial cities. Wu Qi stipulated that each term would be ten years, and each person could not serve more than two consecutive terms. The first term would be served in the empire where they were born. At the end of each term, Wu Qi would personally review their merits and decide whether to grant them another term.

Of course, a Platinum Bishop must leave his birthplace for a second term and serve in another location. For example, a Platinum Bishop of the Heavenly Dou Temple must serve in the Star Luo Temple for his next term.

If a platinum bishop is removed from office during his term, his successor continues to serve the remainder of his term.

The remaining branch bishops all serve a five-year term. Their first term is usually held in their hometown branch, while subsequent terms require them to travel to other places, and each person can serve no more than four terms.

All of the above-mentioned officials, if they are not promoted by the end of their term, will never be rehired. At most, they may be rehired as lower-level officials or special advisors in a branch hall, and generally no more than three rehired personnel will be assigned to a branch hall.

“Even in his native land, it’s difficult for a new Palace Master to be involved in collusion between officials and businessmen. On the contrary, because he serves in his birthplace, he can receive help from his family and friends and quickly adapt to the governing environment. I agree with His Holiness the Pope’s proposal.” It was Qian Daoliu who spoke.

Since he had spoken, the other elders naturally had no reservations.

After all, those temple masters who willingly degenerate usually do so when they clearly know they have no hope of promotion. New temple masters, on the other hand, take office full of enthusiasm, so it's rare for this to happen.

According to Wu Qi's plan, a lower-level palace master can generally serve at least two terms, so if he stays in his hometown for his first term, there is unlikely to be any serious problems.

However, Qian Renxue raised her own questions. (End of Chapter)