The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

In the past, the reform of the official system of the Great Yan Dynasty eliminated redundant officials from top to bottom, without escaping any level – even the highest position of the minister was changed from five ministers to three dukes.

The Grand Tutor and Grand Commandant remained untouched, but the Minister of the Imperial Household was stripped of his position and relegated to a marginal role. The Minister of Education and the Minister of Works were merged into the position of Chancellor—the Minister of Education was responsible for most of the duties of this position, while the Minister of Works was only given some supervisory functions.

The other functions of the Sikong position, such as supervising water conservancy and civil engineering, were reduced by one level and transferred to the Ministry of Works. These positions were all promoted by the emperor from among his close associates in the Grand Master of Crafts and the Imperial Household Department, so they were always the emperor's henchmen.

If the emperor gives the order, then the Ministry of Works will naturally cooperate.

But this raises a new problem—if it was only the late emperor who did it, it wouldn't be as discreet.

The answer is simple: the eleven Year Beasts are scattered in various corners of the Great Yan Dynasty. The Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Household Department, and the Ministry of War all have people watching them. The fact that they have managed to keep it a secret from the Grand Tutor for so many years cannot be explained by a single order from the Emperor.

especially--

The late emperor is no longer with us.

So after the late emperor passed away, who was it that continued to do this, continuing to conceal the existence and merits of the Minister of the Year from everyone, and even the Grand Tutor who controlled the Ministry of Rites and the Minister of the Year's Office was among those who were kept in the dark.

The candidate is about to be chosen.

The person who can issue the order must be someone who is in charge of the Ministry of War and whose rank is the same as that of the Grand Tutor.

Cai Yan couldn't do that; he never even set his sights on the Ministry of War.

The Minister of War doesn't have the guts, nor the ability or rank.

That leaves only one, an old man the same age as the Grand Tutor.

Grand Commandant of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Qiao Yelan remembered this person's information. When facing giant beasts and other seasonal signs, the Grand Commandant was a radical at every turn—he wanted to drive out every single giant beast.

This explains why the merits of the ministers were distributed and diluted quietly—killing a minister who had been kind to the Great Yan Dynasty would have a completely different impact on the Great Yan's internal affairs than killing a minister who had done nothing wrong.

interesting.

Qiao Yelan's lips curled up slightly.

He originally thought that persuading just one Grand Tutor would be enough; as for the rest, he could simply intervene once [Wang] and the Grand Tutor faced off.

Since both sides used substitutes, after Qiao Yelan's turn, it was still Qiao Yelan's turn.

But now, it seems there's another person blocking his way.

He took out a communicator and sent a message.

Qiao Yelan wants to find someone to bring back.

No, strictly speaking, that wasn't a person.

-------------------------------------------------- ----

"Your subject, Qiao Yelan, Vice Minister of Rites and Acting Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Minister Qiao, you may dispense with the formalities. This mission has been quite long, lasting from the beginning of the new year until the golden autumn."

The emperor smiled and waved his hand, indicating that Qiao Yelan did not need to be so formal.

These past six months have been arguably the most comfortable six months he has had since ascending the throne.

Cai Yan could no longer control everything in the court and became a ruthless question-answering machine. The emperor had to admit that Cai Yan was indeed quite capable. No wonder his father, before his death, knew that there were signs that something was wrong with this guy, but he was reluctant to take him away.

No matter what the matter was, Cai Yan could handle it in an orderly manner. Even if it was something that couldn't be solved at the moment, he could come up with a workable solution, and the emperor could see that these methods were indeed effective.

Chen Fan was the same. While he was messing around with the Lungmen coin, this old man was still able to continue to counterattack Cai Yan, constantly going against him, and still not affecting the Ministry of Revenue's main operations.

Compared to those two old men, Zhang, the Vice Minister of Personnel whom I had promoted to the position of acting Minister of Personnel, seemed less outstanding. But that's understandable, since I had been giving him orders to handle matters of principle and to deal with some of the bad habits and lingering influence left by Cai Yan.

The emperor was very interested in this matter. Cai Yan had previously controlled the Ministry of Personnel through Gao Cheng and had been manipulating the civil service examination and official system assessment. Therefore, a simple investigation of the Ministry of Personnel would reveal that it was riddled with problems.

Cai Yan dared not offer any help at this point, so the emperor watched Old Zhang pull up the radishes with great pleasure and satisfaction.

This was only because the Ministry of Personnel needed to function normally at the time, so the emperor only removed a few typical cases. When the results of this year's imperial examinations are released, he will take drastic measures.

These were all brought by Qiao Yelan.

Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor trusts Qiao Yelan very much now, and since Qiao Yelan's trip this time is all to secure more tax revenue and trade routes for the Great Yan, that is, to help the Emperor make money, then he values ​​him even more.

"Someone, bring tea—go and call Wang Zhi back. Now that Minister Qiao is back, it's naturally more comfortable to serve him with the same things an elder would."

The eunuch beside him hurriedly ran out to inform them, then returned with a cup of tea and respectfully handed it to Qiao Yelan.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. However, I do not need Eunuch Wang to serve me. After all, we are all of equal rank, and Eunuch Wang is entrusted with Your Majesty's high expectations. We should not delay the progress of the Imperial Household Department for such a small matter."

The emperor paused for a moment. He had been a little too excited before, and then he remembered that Wang Zhi had been so busy that he was practically running around non-stop. If he were to pull him out now, not only would the work of the Imperial Household Department be forced to stop, but all the previous efforts might also be wasted.

"However, on my return to the capital this time, I have seen many things that have touched my heart. Therefore, there are some things I would like to report to Your Majesty in person. And since they also involve the duties of the Imperial Household Department, I hope that Eunuch Wang can listen to my report."

"Oh, my dear minister, you have another insightful opinion? Then I will certainly listen carefully."

The emperor comfortably stepped down the steps offered by Qiao Yelan.

When it comes to the art of conversation, Qiao Yelan is a professional.

Not long after, Wang Zhi rushed to the palace.

"Your Excellency, His Majesty and Lord Qiao are in the back garden."

Wang Zhi was taken aback. Wasn't he supposed to be here to serve Lord Qiao? Why did he end up in the Imperial Garden?

Could it be that he has something to discuss, so he found an excuse to summon himself to the palace in order to deceive the outside world?

Wang Zhi hurriedly arrived at the Imperial Garden and saw that the guards had sealed off the area tightly, and in the familiar pavilion, there were only two familiar figures.

"Your Majesty, this humble servant greets you—and pays respects to Lord Qiao."

"I have met Eunuch Wang."

Qiao Yelan returned the greeting and then explained to him with a smile.

"I have many feelings about this trip abroad, and on my way back to the capital, I have witnessed the various aspects of human life and the turmoil in officialdom. Therefore, I have some thoughts to share with Your Majesty. However, this matter is somewhat related to the functions of the Imperial Household Department, so I am requesting that Eunuch Wang return."

"This servant understands, this servant understands."

Wang Zhi humbly walked up behind Qiao Yelan.

"Now that the person has arrived, Minister Qiao, please speak in detail. I am very much looking forward to your memorial."

"Your Majesty is so complimentary."

Qiao Yelan then revealed his entire plan.

"I entered the territory of the Great Yan from Longmen. On my way back to the capital, I passed through many prefectures and met many officials. Some officials flattered and fawned, but the people under their rule were mostly malnourished. Some officials seemed to follow the rules and regulations, but there were many who cried and cried out for justice."

"In my opinion, the atmosphere in the officialdom of the Great Yan Dynasty has reached a point where it is impossible to change, and we must change it—all because of the former Minister Gao Cheng's wanton promotion of incompetent and corrupt officials!"

The man's tone was filled with righteous indignation, like that of a true pillar of the state.

"Now that Gao Cheng has fallen from power, Your Majesty's vision should not be limited to the Ministry of Personnel or the capital. You should look to the whole country, observe the people of the world, and examine the officials of the nine provinces, so as to restore a bright and clear world to our Great Yan!"

When Wang Zhi heard this, his heart skipped a beat.

My dear Mr. Qiao, why do you always talk so outrageously?

Last time you tried to bring down the prime minister, and you did it in no time—this time you're saying you're going to clean up the officialdom.

You think you can clean this up in no time?

The emperor's eyes also seemed a little dazed.

He was well aware of the corrupt practices in officialdom, after all, Cai Yan and Gao Cheng were in cahoots, and not to mention the palace examination, there were countless shady dealings in other levels of the imperial examinations.

In addition, the annual performance evaluations of officials were conducted by personnel sent out by the Ministry of Personnel, who would then compile the results and send them to Cai Yan before finally placing them on the emperor's desk.

If there were no problems in the officialdom, even the emperor himself wouldn't believe it.

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PS: The results of the first bounty for this book, from February 2.6th to February 2.20th, are out.

The initial bounty data is: 4200 monthly tickets, 24 in tips, and 1200 blades.

As of the night of the 20th, the current data is: 5400 monthly tickets, 74 tips, and 2600 razor blades.

Based on the reward price: 200 monthly tickets, or 2 in rewards, or 200 razor blades.

The total number of chapters owed to everyone is currently 6 + 25 + 7 = 38 chapters.

The bounty has ended, and I will start gradually adding more chapters to pay off the debt from today onwards.

Chapter 131 Digging the Hole

The problem is that knowing there are problems in officialdom is one thing, but how to deal with these problems is another.

After the problems are resolved, whether to retain the employee for further evaluation or to dismiss and replace them, and who should be sent to fill these vacancies—that is the third matter.

The emperor hadn't eaten much pork, but his father had at least taken him to see pigs run.

The emperor did not actually intend to take action against local officials right now—after all, time was on his side, and if he started by reforming the localities, not only would the work be numerous and complicated, but the replacements might not be any decent people either.

Therefore, his focus is currently on the capital and the imperial court. He plans to first clean up the Ministry of Personnel, and then, taking advantage of the improved environment for the imperial examinations, gradually rectify the problems in the officialdom.

Qiao Yelan's words did not anger the emperor. In his view, he seemed to be a passionate young man who, after seeing the corrupt atmosphere in officialdom, could not suppress the frustration in his heart and thus spoke so radically.