In July of the first year of Qingli, the first batch of assessment reports were sent to Bianliang.
The new policy on the examination law was promulgated in February. Since the imperial court gave an adaptation period, various prefectures, road offices, and censorship yamen began to conduct verification in late May.
The entire verification process is like this. At the central court, each yamen has three books. One of them records the affairs of the yamen as a base book. Some official matters that are not necessary for inspection are eliminated and placed in the inspection bill of the department.
The internal supervision of this department is not new to later generations, it existed in ancient times. For example, each of the three departments has a procuratorate, which is responsible for the discipline, supervision, and interrogation of the department, and even has the power of trial and ruling.
The Procuratorate will supervise the personnel of the department to see if the tasks have been completed. If a book is completed, it will be crossed out. If it is not completed on time, it will be handed over to the Yushitai for processing.
Then two identical books are made, and the second one is placed in the hands of the censor in charge of this department at the censor's desk to check with the department's prosecutorial laws.
Beginning this year, in addition to the New Deal, the Yushitai has also undergone changes. Each department has censors who specialize in this area of knowledge, such as financial censors, education censors, engineering censors, military censors, judges censors, field censors, inspection censors, etc.
If there is a problem with the internal inspection of a certain department, such as the Ministry of Finance, the financial censor in charge of the Ministry of Finance will truthfully report the situation to the Constitutional Yuan, and the Constitutional Yuan will punish the officials who failed to complete the tasks accordingly.
As for the last book, it is naturally placed in the Constitutional Yuan, ready for random inspection by people from the Constitutional Yuan. In this way, a system of taking exams at any time was formed. One thing was passed in one exam, and one exam was completed in one month.
It's different locally.
Although there are also three books, there is less internal inspection and more external supervision.
For example, among the three books of a county, one is in the local county government office, the other is in the superior state government office, and the last one is in the local censorship department.
The work of a county must be reported to the state capital and accountable to the local censorship department. The work of the state government's Yamen reports to the Lufu, and is also responsible to the local censorship department. The Lu level reports to the imperial court and is responsible to the imperial censor station.
This means that the road level basically checks, supervises, and cooperates with the local censorship department, reviews the lower-level state, county and other departments, and finally reports to the court.
But the verification speed is definitely not that fast.
It would take at least more than a month for the state government, the road government, and the censors from all over the country to investigate and report layer by layer, and then travel back and forth, and conduct field inspections in the local area, and then send the results to Bianliang.
By the time the performance inspection of officials in Bianliang is completed, it will basically be August, and then the June report will come out.
This is also something that can't be helped.
In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient, but the areas around Bianliang and along the canal were pretty good. For places far away from Henan, such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Shanxi, it was considered good to be able to deliver within one month. .
However, Fan Zhongyan also took this into consideration. Officials at the road level are often inspected by the imperial court for verification, while the lower-level state and county governments on remote roads, and the yamen and censorship departments at the road level can handle it themselves.
For example, Guangxi Road to Yongzhou, later known as Nanning City, is two thousand kilometers away from Fengfu. Under normal circumstances, unless it is urgent at eight hundred miles, the delivery of ordinary official documents often takes more than a month.
Isn’t it nonsense to come back this time?
Therefore, for matters at the local county level, decisions can be made by the Department of Appeasement, Transportation Department, Prison Department, Changping Department, and Yushi Department at the road level. Only when you really can't make a decision will you report it, and then summarize the things that happened over the past few months, and report it again after a while.
Moreover, these five supervisory departments all have the power to report to the Constitutional Yuan. There is also the Imperial City Department at the local level. The Imperial City Department also has a town governor's office at the road level. The town governor is also responsible for supervision, supervision and other matters.
Therefore, unless all the censors and imperial city officials along the way rebelled and became corrupt officials. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, senior officials along the way can supervise each other and conduct strict inspections of lower-level departments, so that no problems will arise due to traffic problems.
By July, the Qingli New Deal had begun to bear fruit.
During the inspection in late May, the internal offices of various departments in Bianliang announced the results by early June. The first batch of officials to be punished reached more than 700 people.
More than 400 of them turned out to be corrupt officials, and Zhao Jun failed to detect corruption.
How did these people get caught?
Very simple.
Just check the accounts.
There is a shortfall in public funds, how to fill the account?
Either falsify the accounts or find a way to make up for it.
If you make it up in time, you may be able to conceal the truth, but it will be difficult to falsify the accounts.
Because the previous officials were overstaffed, corruption was commonplace, and they were too lazy to implement policies. There was almost no follow-up and understanding of any matter.
Under the examination method, the censor and the inspectors of various government offices have to inquire thoroughly, such as what is wrong with your account, what you purchased, why you didn’t see it, and where the money went. Once you check, you will be sure to find out the problem. .
The result is that a large number of corrupt officials have been dismissed. These are just corrupt officials, there are even more officials. At that time, the number of officials in the country was more than 500,000. Song Zhenzong once eliminated more than 190,000 overweight officials at one time.
And the number of officials in Guang-Bianliang Jingcheng Yamen can reach 30,000 to 40,000, and there are probably only a few who do not engage in corruption and accept bribes.
Except for the Kaifeng Mansion and the Imperial City Department, which were relatively clean, there were not many clean officials found in the other fifty or so departments.
You must know that there are only more than 4,000 officials in Bianliang. At this time, more than 400 corrupt officials were found, almost one-tenth.
Officials are even more exaggerated. There are probably tens of thousands of people with problems.
The remaining more than 300 problematic officials simply failed to complete their tasks on time. At most, they would be fined or recorded, and in more serious cases, they would be demoted.
And these corrupt officials will be arrested and imprisoned.
For a time, the whole court exploded.
It's not that I'm shocked that there are so many corrupt officials hiding in Kaifeng Mansion, but I'm shocked that the scope of the impact is so large, what should I do?
So officials wrote letters one after another, requesting that the examination be stopped.
the reason is simple.
Putting aside the more than 400 corrupt officials, the tens of thousands of officials are a big problem.
Once these people are dealt with, not only will the imperial court be shut down, but also a huge commotion will occur throughout Bianliang.
The most typical example is the strike among all Bianliang officials.
For example, in the first month of the third year of Jingyou's reign, he ordered Du Yansha, the chief censor, to eliminate three officials. When officials are suspicious, they make suggestions. In Jihai, more than 500 officials from the three divisions went to the prime minister to make noise, and they went to Yan to do dirt and move rubble indiscriminately."
In other words, in the third year of Jingyou's reign, the emperor ordered Du Yan, the censor Zhongcheng, to be responsible for reducing the number of officials in the three divisions.
These officials suspected that Du Yan had suggested this to the emperor, and were very angry. More than 500 officials first went to the offices of Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and other prime ministers to make trouble, and then went to the door of the house of Du Yan, the censor Zhongcheng, yelling and throwing tiles. stone to protest.
Just laying off five hundred people would be enough trouble, let alone tens of thousands now.
Fortunately, Fan Zhongyan and Zhao Jun had anticipated this. As early as May of this year, new regulations were implemented, stipulating that Bianliang officials will become public servants and enjoy medium-level imperial treatment, that is, they will receive a monthly salary if they are thirty years old. About 2.5 seconds.
This salary is not high, because at that time, the price of private labor was between 50 and 100 cash per day. As a porter at the dock, you could earn two to three hundred cash a day, and you could earn four to five cash in a month.
But officials also have other benefits, such as subsidies, allowances, meal subsidies, etc., which translates to about three or four benefits a month, so supporting a family is not a problem.
Fan Zhongyan announced that in the past, they had no wages and no source of income. They were forced to ask for and pay bribes, and they could let it go. However, after the new law is stipulated, if they ask for bribes from the people again, all yamen will be punished.
In this inspection by the imperial court, those who were exempted from crime before the new laws and regulations came out, and those who continued to cause trouble after the new laws and regulations came out, will be expelled from the public domain, and those who commit serious crimes will even be sent to jail.
This reduced the number of officials originally affected by the Bianliang incident to tens of thousands of officials to the few thousand officials who continued to commit crimes even after the new regulations came out in May.
Despite this, there is still an endless stream of people who oppose the examination law, and the resistance is beginning to grow.
Those who are not corrupt feel that taking the exam makes them extremely tired. In the past, when they were officials, they drank tea, had meals, and had sex with prostitutes. One day passed, and they could still receive a salary of more than 100 yuan a month, and their lives were very happy.
Now, although the salary of senior officials from the fifth rank up to the fifth rank has been cut, the middle and lower-level officials from the fifth rank below still maintain the original high salary level.
But I can't stand this curling method.
Those who have committed corruption are even more frightened and uneasy. They did not expect that the entrance examination law is so strict, leaving them with nowhere to hide and even if they want to commit corruption, they have no chance.
For a time, everyone took advantage of this turmoil and opposed the continued implementation of the examination law for various reasons.
However, Fan Zhongyan, who presided over the New Deal, did not give in at all.
It was not Zhao Jun who gave him the confidence, but that the treasury was indeed very rich now.
Historically, the imperial court fought the Xixia War for several years, and signed a Qingli increase currency agreement with the Liao Kingdom, causing a serious financial deficit.
But this time, not only was the war short, with a quick victory within two years, but the preparations were also better.
First, Zhao Jun inspected the country and investigated many corrupt officials, contributing tens of millions of dollars to the national treasury.
Secondly, after several years of development, Jiaozipu has expanded in major commercial cities across the country.
Such as Luoyang, Fuzhou, Jiangning (Nanjing), Chang'an, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Jiangling, Mingzhou (Ningbo), Quanzhou, Mizhou (Qingdao) and other places, the money saved in Jiaozipu has already reached tens of millions.
After the reform of state-owned enterprises, a large number of state-owned assets were sold to private traders, earning tens of millions of dollars, and the state-owned enterprises took shares, and received large dividends every year.
The last and most important point is that since the imperial court signed a trade deal with Japan at the end of last year, more than half a year has passed, and the trade volume between Song and Japan has reached more than 10 million guan, and the trade volume continues to increase.
At that time, shipping was risky and difficult, and the tax rate was low, only 10%. Therefore, the trade volume between Song and Japan soared about three to four times in one year, and the tax revenue alone reached more than one million guan. What the court collected was money. About one million taels of silver.
It doesn’t look like much, but it’s already a huge improvement.
The main foreign trade revenue of the Song Dynasty came from Guangzhou and Quanzhou. "Miscellaneous Notes of the Government and Folk since Jianyan" records: "In the 32nd year of Shaoxing, the net revenue from shipping taxes in Quanzhou and Quanzhou increased to 2 million yuan."
That is to say, the tax revenue of Guangzhou and Quanzhou is 2 million guan per year, and the trade volume is probably more than 20 million guan. With Japan, the Song Dynasty mainly imported sulfur and copper, and Japan was closed to the outside world. The trade volume between the two sides was not large before the Southern Song Dynasty.
Now it has skyrocketed so much. Adding in other prefectures and cities' shipping companies, as well as the land Silk Road, Tea Horse Road, and Liao-Song trade, the annual tax revenue adds up to tens of millions of dollars, which greatly makes up for the financial deficit.
Therefore, with so much increase in revenue, and with the war and tax collection in recent years, the Song Dynasty's treasury surplus has not decreased but increased. Not only has it filled the previous fiscal deficit, but now there are still 70 to 80 million yuan in the treasury. The surplus is equivalent to more than half a year's fiscal revenue.
And with the tax coming up in the summer, the national treasury may have more than 100 million yuan this year. Add in the autumn tax and deduct one year's expenses, and the remaining tens of millions will not be a problem.
Once you have the money, you can pay wages to the officials in Bianliang and rectify the official administration in Bianliang. In the future, a two-tax system will be implemented throughout the Song Dynasty, dividing local tax and national tax. The government will be divided and governed nationwide. Officials will be included in public offices and enjoy the benefits of the state. The salary is high, and there is also a promotion path for officials through recruiting talented people, which will greatly encourage officials to work hard.
Therefore, under various conditions, Fan Zhongyan had the confidence to carry out the reform to the end. Even though the first round of assessment had touched the interests of many people and found out many corrupt officials, he still stood tall in the court and was at loggerheads with many colleagues. Resolutely refuse to give up!
This time, the Constitutional Yuan sided with Fan Zhongyan and confronted many officials from various ministries. Zhao Zhen also withstood the pressure and stated that these corrupt officials would be severely punished.
It was just a lot of time wasted on both sides arguing and arguing.
As a result, these more than 400 corrupt officials were only temporarily relieved of their duties and were not sent to jail to face charges. As a result, by August, many problems were discovered in the surrounding areas of Bianliang, causing an uproar.
At this time, not only most of the officials in Bianliang were opposed, but officials in surrounding places also wrote to the court asking to stop the examination.
The turmoil caused by the incident affected a wider area than the Qingli New Deal in history.
After all, the Qingli New Deal in history only targeted 80% to 90% of officials in the officialdom, conducting assessments on those with Jinshi background, and abolition of those who entered the officialdom on a large scale.
And this time it involves the assessment of officials all over the world. Everyone hopes to live a more comfortable life and does not want to be so involved.
So even if you are not a corrupt official, you still want to continue to maintain your previous comfortable life.
However, Lao Fan was resolute and refused to give in.
Even though the opposition voices from all over the court were getting louder and louder, he still firmly urged the Procuratorate and Yushitai of various ministries to continue to pass the examination.
The two sides fought, and the time came to October of the first year of Qingli, eight months after the new law was implemented.
On this day, Zheng Jian, the censor Zhongcheng, was sitting in the censor's office with a serious face.
Standing beside him were more than 20 key players in the Yushitai, including Yu Jing, Yin Zhu, Ouyang Xiu, Cai Xiang, Li Hong, Wang Zhi, Wang Zhu, Wang Su, Yang Cha, Zhao Pian, and Chen Xiliang.
Among them, his right-hand censors Cai Xiang and Yin Zhu looked even more ugly.
Because just now, the Yushitai investigated a major case involving Cheng Lin, Minister of Finance, Prime Minister Lu Yijian, and Sheng Du!
Cai Xiang and Yin Zhu are Fan Zhongyan's people, while Lu Yijian and Sheng Du are now supporting Fan Zhongyan's reforms.
If a case involving them arises at this juncture, it is very likely that Lu Yijian and Sheng Du will change their support for Fan Zhongyan.
Once this happens, something big will happen.
However, they were helpless at this time, because Zheng Jian discovered this matter, and he was selfless. This time he summoned many colleagues to discuss the matter directly, just to determine the matter.
I heard Zheng Jian look around and say in a deep voice: "For such a big case, Yushitai has no one else to blame. Please tell me what to do."
Zhao Pian immediately said: "The Yushitai is now responsible for supervising the officials of the world, and the Zhiyuan has repeatedly issued orders saying that it must govern the country and act in accordance with the law. If the matter shrinks because it involves the prime minister and the minister, where is the majesty of the Yushitai and the rule of law? Where is it?"
Ouyang Xiu didn't understand the connection and shouted: "I think this should be punished! Let alone the son of the prime minister, not even the prime minister himself can escape the blame!"
Cai Xiang and Yin Zhu almost didn't punch Ouyang Xiu at that time.
This pig teammate.
He also didn't think about it. Now Fan Zhongyan can promote reforms only because of the support from the Constitutional Yuan.
If Fan Zhongyan cannot gain a foothold in the Constitutional Yuan because of this incident, what should we do with the New Deal, and what should we do with the future restructuring of the court?
But they were both helpless at this time.
After all, Zheng Jian didn't tell them in private, which meant that the matter could only be revealed, so they had no choice but to remain silent.
They didn't speak, but the others expressed their support for Zhao Pian and Ouyang Xiu.
Wang Su said without hesitation: "It must be dealt with by law."
Yang Cha said: "After the new policy was issued, the emperor committed the same crime as the common people. We, the Yushitai, have a mission. How can we bend the law for personal gain?"
Chen Xiliang said: "This case can also serve as a reminder to officials all over the world. Even the ministers and prime ministers cannot escape their culpability. I feel that only in this way can we maintain the spirit of rule of law that the magistrate often talks about!"
"good!"
When Zheng Jian saw that his subordinates Fan Dang and Zhao Dang supported him, he slapped the case and said: "Then let's do it this way, let me go and get the person!"
At that moment, under the leadership of Zheng Jian, they summoned the officials of Yushitai Office and headed straight to Lu Mansion!
(End of chapter)
