The imperial city of the capital, the residence of the Minister of Civil Affairs.
Not every official will live in an official residence.
Although the official residences in the yamen were relatively elaborate and spacious when they reached the second-rank official level such as Shangshu, some families who had made great achievements in making money usually had their own residences in the inner city of the capital.
For example, Zhan Hui's house was given to his father by Zhu Yuanzhang. This kind of reward was equivalent to giving away the land deed.
This is true for Xu Da's Zhongshan Palace, Chang Yuchun's Kaiping Palace, Lan Yu's Duke Liang Palace, etc.
There are also some that I bought with my own money. Of course, in terms of position, they are definitely not as good as the rewards from His Majesty.
When Zhu Ying arrived, Zhan Hui had already been waiting at the gate for a long time.
Zhu Ying's actions were not done in private. For the sake of royal dignity, officials were given some preparation time. When a decision was made, eunuchs would go and inform them.
After receiving the notice, Zhan Hui asked the mansion to prepare fruits, snacks, hot tea and snacks immediately, and then he went to wait at the gate.
This is a necessary regulation. If we go directly, if we encounter Zhan Hui going out, wouldn't it be the minister's fault?
"Zhan Hui, I would like to pay my respects to His Highness Taisun. Your Highness Taisun is able to come to my residence today, which really brings glory to this place."
Zhan Hui, who is in his sixties, has already turned white at the temples, but his body is relatively strong, his words are full of energy, and his eyes are bright.
Zhu Ying said with a smile: "I am also interested, so I want to come to Zhan Shangshu's place."
Listening to His Highness Taisun's calm tone, Zhan Hui was overjoyed. He quickly bowed and led the way to the lobby of the mansion, asking His Highness Taisun to sit down.
After His Highness Taisun took his seat, Zhan Hui sat down at the lower end, and then his servants served him tea.
After chatting for a while, Zhu Ying said: "If I remember correctly, Shangshu Zhan was concurrently appointed as Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel in June of the 23rd year of Hongwu. It has been exactly three years now."
Zhan Hui cupped his hands and bowed: "Reporting to Your Highness, this is indeed the case."
Zhu Yingdao said: "I have been in charge of the Ministry of Personnel for three years, and I have also inquired about it. Under the management of Zhan Shangshu, the governance is in an orderly manner. Among the many officials, there is no one who is dissatisfied."
"This makes Shangshu Zhan worry a lot."
Zhan Hui said quickly: "I don't dare to be praised by His Highness, I just did my duty well."
Looking at Zhan Hui, Zhu Ying sighed a little in her heart.
This year is already the middle of May in the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu. If in the original history, the Lan Jade case broke out in February, Zhan Hui, who was Prince Shaobao, Zuo Du Yushi, and Libu Shangshu, was already involved.
At that time, Jiang Gu, the commander of Jin Yiwei, accused Lan Yu of treason. Zhu Yuanzhang appointed the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunwen and the official minister Zhan Hui to interrogate Lan Yu, but Lan Yu refused to accept it.
Zhan Hui scolded him: "Tell the truth quickly, don't implicate others in vain."
Lan Yu shouted that Zhan Hui was his party member, and the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunwen immediately ordered Zhan Hui to be taken down, and was subsequently executed.
Now that Zhu Ying is the grandson of the emperor, Lan Yu naturally survives. Without the Lan Yu case, naturally Zhan Hui also survives.
Perhaps it has a lot to do with ability. Although Zhu Yuanzhang still has some thoughts of destroying the Huaixi Xungui Group, he has not mentioned his intention to get rid of Zhan Hui.
This shows that in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, Zhu Yunwen is unable to control talents like Zhan Hui, but Zhu Ying, as the grandson, is fully capable of controlling him.
In this case, there is no need to get rid of Zhan Hui.
Zhan Hui has a reputation as a cruel official. The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the management, assessment and promotion of officials. The emperor will definitely not be able to take care of it. The only thing he can do is balance.
If Zhan Hui has a good reputation, it will not work.
According to convention, ministers will be transferred after being re-elected for three years. This is also to avoid excessive concentration of power among officials.
For example, local governors in prosperous areas are basically transferred every six years.
However, until this year, Zhu Yuanzhang still had no intention of changing Zhan Hui's position as Minister of Civil Affairs. Obviously, he felt that his current job was not suitable for him.
The officer is still good.
Zhan Hui is talented.
Zhu Ying can also feel this clearly. Nowadays, with the decline of talents, the official atmosphere of Ming Dynasty is relatively positive. Although the majesty of Emperor Hongwu is at the forefront, Zhan Hui's assessment is also key.
"Zhan Shangshu has been in the Ministry of Civil Affairs for three years. He should have some knowledge of the world's talented people." Zhu Ying asked.
Hearing His Highness Taisun's words, Zhan Hui's eyes lit up and he knew that he had guessed correctly.
He didn't answer directly, but clapped his hands. The old slave, who was already ready, walked in from outside the hall, holding three thick books in his hands.
"Reporting to Your Highness, these three volumes of documents are my records of the literati in the world. With the convenience of the Ministry of Officials, I have recorded them clearly one by one, dividing them by provinces and surnames."
"Please take a look at it, Your Highness."
Zhan Hui's tone was undoubtedly a bit triumphant. He had already guessed that His Highness Taisun would definitely come to him, and he was looking for him for official matters.
Zhu Ying looked at Zhan Hui's expression and sighed in his heart that the historical records were indeed correct.
Guoyan commented on Zhan Hui: "Hui is talented and decisive, and he is the most entrusted by the superior. However, it is easy to get a glimpse of the superior's order, but in the end it will lead to disaster."
It is conceivable that in his previous tenure, Zhan Hui must have guessed the old man's intentions many times, and even often.
This kind of behavior is really like Yang Xiu of the Three Kingdoms. From ancient times to the present, there are a few people who spy on the thoughts of superiors and have a good death.
In history, Zhu Yunwen killed an official minister on the spot just because of Lan Yu's words. Behind this, in the final analysis, it was Zhu Yuanzhang's intention.
When an emperor's thoughts are understood by his ministers, as an emperor, he does not appreciate it, but only fears it.
When the emperor is afraid of a minister, what future does the minister have?
There is a saying that if the king wants his ministers to die, the ministers have to die.
In this case, death is the only way out.
If you don’t kill, you will feel uneasy.
In this situation, Zhu Ying finally understood Cao Cao's choice at that time, and also understood why the old man used Zhu Yunwen's hand to kill Zhan Hui.
It has to be said that after seeing the current situation, Zhu Ying had a murderous intention in his heart.
But this trace of murderous intention disappeared after reading the three volumes of documents sent by Zhan Hui.
On top of the documents, there are very clear records of each official's talents, preferences, personality, and even areas of expertise.
If you look through it casually, there are hundreds of people.
There are records of at least nearly two thousand people in the three volumes of documents.
It can be seen that in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhan Hui, who was a scholar in the fifteenth year of Hongwu and only entered the official career at the age of forty-nine, was able to rise through the ranks and continue to receive the attention of the old man.
As soon as he entered the official position, he was promoted to the position of censor of the Supervisory Capital. In only eight years, he became the prince Shaobao, the censor of Zuodu, and the minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He was a highly respected minister.
All this has something to do with the old man's importance, but this talent and learning are really not just words, they are really real.
"Grandpa must have never read these three volumes of documents." After Zhu Ying flipped through a section, he put down the documents and asked.
Zhan Huidao: "Reporting to Your Highness, I have not yet completed the document recorded by this official, only part of it."
"I just wanted to wait until it is generally completed before submitting it to His Majesty for review."
For Zhan Hui, these records are of great use to the country.
Even though he is already sixty this year, he has great ambitions and is committed to discovering and promoting talents for His Majesty.
And this is also the work of his painstaking efforts, and he is proud of it.
Zhu Ying sighed.
If in the original history, the old man had seen these three documents, would he still insist on executing Zhan Hui?
I'm afraid not.
It's just that when the old man kills people, he always makes a plan, like thunder and wind, leaving no one with the slightest chance to react.
These three volumes of documents can become life-saving treasures. It is feared that Zhan Hui will have his head chopped off before he has time to react.
After thinking about it in his mind, Zhu Ying said: "Zhan
Shangshu should know that our Zhanshi Mansion is currently short of talents. There are only two or three big and small cats in the huge Zhanshi Mansion, so I would like to ask Shangshu for help and introduce some talents. "
"I think that with Zhan Shangshu's familiarity with the talents of our great world, he should be able to understand them better. There is no need for me to go and select from this booklet myself."
At this point, Zhu Ying did not call herself "this palace", but "I".
This is a kind of respect for Zhan Hui.
Respect for those who have dedicated themselves to the Ming Dynasty and dedicated themselves to their duties.
Even though he was already sixty years old, Zhan Hui's mind was still sharp. When he noticed the change in the title of His Highness Taisun, he knew that His Highness Taisun was extremely satisfied with the book he had written, so he was happy in his heart.
Immediately he asked, "I don't know what kind of talent Your Highness is focusing on. I may have some direction to look for."
James Mansion is the department responsible for assisting the prince.
In other words, the prince is more clear.
However, Prince Zhu Biao did not care much about this aspect of Zhan Shi's Mansion, because the talents cultivated by Prince Zhu Biao were all veterans from the Zhu Yuanzhang period.
So although there is this department, it is mostly held by some Hongwu veterans.
Now that Zhu Ying wants to build his own core team, he naturally has to train additional confidants.
James Mansion has one person named James, who is the third grade, and one person is James, who is the fourth grade.
The sixth grade official
Set up the left and right Chunfang, the economic bureau, and the chief bookkeeper.
The official system is relatively rich and detailed, equivalent to a small cabinet system, or it may be more appropriately called the East Palace system.
Zhu Ying thought for a while and said, "I want to find someone who is not afraid of power and has decent talent. It is best to have rich experience in solving cases."
"Nowadays, with the rise of commerce in the capital, when I was reviewing memorials, I found that many cases have become more frequent, so you must have a sense of justice in your heart."
"It is best to have a strong familiarity with Ming law."
Under Zhu Ying's control, the capital of the Ming Dynasty became more and more prosperous, and the flow of people was increasing. Chambers of commerce, merchants, and traders from all over the country continued to gather towards the capital.
In addition, now that the maritime ban has been lifted, the business environment has become more friendly. Although there is no explicit order to improve the status of merchants, the level of contempt that most people have for merchants is constantly decreasing compared to last year.
These developments are closely related to Zhu Ying and the Qunying Chamber of Commerce under his command. From the perspective of the people, His Highness Taisun is a businessman today and has given too many benefits to the people of the capital.
Cheap goods have brought real benefits to the people. Under such circumstances, the prejudice against businessmen will naturally be greatly reversed.
When the capital has a business environment, a large number of dignitaries, large and wealthy households, and a highly concentrated population, you don't have to worry about being oppressed when doing business here.
Not only the merchants from the Ming Dynasty gathered, but many foreign businessmen also came after hearing the news.
It's just that under the bustle and bustle, competition has become more and more fierce, and the number of people with evil intentions who try to steal property secretly and illegally has gradually increased.
There are more and more cases happening in the capital.
Although there are wars outside the Ming Dynasty today, the country is peaceful, and managing people's livelihood is the focus.
Currently, there is a backlog of a large number of cases at the Ministry of Punishment.
Zhu Ying was not very skilled in matters like this, so it was okay to participate occasionally, but it was impossible to actually solve the case and analyze the case, and time did not allow it.
Unlike Zhan Hui who wanted to take people to Liaodong, Zhu Ying thought of developing the Zhanshi Mansion under his name for the current capital, and even to solve cases in various places and protect people's livelihood. That's why today's Xunlibu Shangshu was created. The matter of Zhan Hui.
Listening to His Highness Taisun's thoughts, Zhan Hui began to think deeply in his heart.
From the memory, I began to search for talents that meet the needs of His Highness the Grand Sun.
After a long time, his eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands and said, "After thinking deeply, I really think of one person who can fully meet His Highness's requirements."
Zhu Ying heard this and asked with interest:
"tell me the story."
Zhan Hui asked: "Does Your Highness know Di Renjie in the prosperous Tang Dynasty?"
Zhu Ying said: "Di Renjie's name has been passed down through the ages. Of course I know it. Is it possible that the person Zhan Shangshu mentioned has Di Renjie's great talent?"
Zhan Hui replied: "Of course he is not as talented as Di Renjie, but this person does have some skills in solving cases. He is also a Di family in Taiyuan. He is a descendant of Di Renjie, named Di Yusen."
"This person admires his ancestors the most. He carries "Collection of Dee Renjie" with him all year round and studies it day and night. He wants to be like his ancestor Dee Renjie and realize his ambition."
"But unlike his ancestors, perhaps his thoughts were focused on solving the case. For fifteen consecutive years, half of his life wasted, and his reputation has declined. He is still just a student."
"Now, relying on the path of promoting Xiaolian, he is serving as the official historian in Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi Province, and Pinglu, Xiaxian County, Xiezhou."
Classics and history are not officials, but officials.
Officials have ranks and have household registration in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Those who move around the country are not necessarily above the county magistrate, but there are also those below the county magistrate. Generally, they have meritorious titles.
In a county town, the magistrate, the county magistrate, and the chief bookkeeper are generally the officials, and the rest are all officials.
Officials, on the other hand, are generally local cowards, who may not necessarily have fame or rank, and it is basically impossible to become an official.
To put it simply, the social status of officials and clerks is completely different.
Officials are superior people and hold great power. Although officials hold positions in the government, their household registration is still civilian. If they are kicked out of the county government by officials, they will be no different from ordinary people.
"Since it was recommended by Zhan Shangshu, I think this person must be talented, so I will issue an order to summon this person to the capital to see how good he is."
