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After hearing Prince Zhu Heyu's inquiry, Zhao Shancai's expression was full of emotion, and he slowly said: "Human nature is greedy. Throughout the ages, there are only a very small number of people who can restrain their greed, and the officialdom is a vat of fame and fortune. People enter the officialdom. After that, how many people can stick to their true intentions when they hold power, are often tempted, and lack checks and balances? Since the Song Dynasty, how many people have praised the famous saying "worry before the world's worries"? On the contrary, sentences such as "Thousands of miles to be an official only for wealth" and "Three years of clearing the prefecture will cost one hundred thousand snowflakes of silver" are becoming more and more popular. Now, the court is full of corrupt officials and honest officials are hard to find. The so-called people's hearts are not ancient, this is about it ”
Prince Zhu Heyu looked solemn and silent, but he also agreed with Zhao Shancai's statement.
Zhao Shancai took a deep look at Prince Zhu Heyu and said slowly: "Back to the topic, why are most of the Qingliu officials useless? On the contrary, those corrupt officials can do practical things? In fact, there are no Qingliu officials who are capable, willing to do things, and flexible. No, but they were either jointly suppressed by corrupt officials and were unable to stand out at all, or they gave up on themselves and joined in with the corrupt officials!
In officialdom, there is never an argument for being independent. On the contrary, stance determines everything! When officials enter their official career, most of them start as county magistrates. However, after they take office, they will find that most of their subordinates are corrupt officials, most of their colleagues are corrupt officials, and most of their immediate superiors are traitors. Such a situation If he still wants to stick to his integrity, he will become a different person. Naturally, he will be squeezed and suppressed by others, and it will be difficult for him to get promoted. If he wants to do something practical, people below him will hold him back, people around him will hinder him, and people above him will secretly make things difficult. As a result, not only will he fail to do things, but he will also give others leverage, and ultimately he will lose his official position and be held accountable. "
After a pause, Zhao Shan shook his head slightly and continued: "In this way, honest officials who can do things are suppressed before they show up. On the contrary, after they give up their persistence and choose to go along with the flow and live in harmony, then When people are surrounded by people of their own, no matter what they do, they will always have party members to help them. Not only is it easier to get things done and achieve political achievements, but the more things they handle, the more experience they have, and the abilities and means they have will naturally develop. This is probably the reason why corrupt officials are better at getting things done..."
Seeing that Prince Zhu Heyu was still silent, Zhao Shancai added: "The world always says that 'good will be rewarded with good and evil will be rewarded with evil', but in the officialdom, such cases are only a minority. Honest officials want to do something beneficial. Good deeds that benefit the country and the people often face difficulties and receive bad retribution. Although corrupt officials are caught again and again, most corrupt officials still slip through the net and are at large. Because of this, there are more and more corrupt officials. Officials took chances and resigned themselves to corruption.”
"According to Mr. Zhao, can it be that honest and self-responsible officials can't stand out at all? Are you and I going to allow evil and evil to run rampant in the temple and become more and more smoky?" After hearing Zhao Shancai's explanation, Prince Zhu Heyu felt a little bit in his heart. Reluctantly, he gritted his teeth and asked.
Zhao Shancai's expression also looked a little weak: "This is not only the current general environment of our dynasty, it has been like this most of the time throughout the ages and dynasties. Even if there is an occasional peaceful and prosperous era, it only lasts for a while and cannot last long... …
Of course, the imperial court needs to work together to maintain checks and balances, and honest and self-reliant officials naturally have a way to get ahead. The best way is to enter the Metropolitan Procuratorate and become a censor! The censors are in charge of the power of impeachment and supervision, and are relatively independent. They do not need to deal with practical matters, will not be suppressed too much, and the environment is relatively simple... Therefore, most of the Qingliu people are concentrated in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but they have always stood on the side of the Bureau. In addition, lack of experience in doing things, and being used to finding faults and finding faults in others, they gradually become a little out of touch with reality and have low ambitions and low abilities. This is one of the reasons why Qingliu people always lack the ability to do things. "
After Zhao Shancai finished speaking, Prince Zhu Heyu was silent for a long time.
Then, Prince Zhu Heyu said slowly: "Mr. Zhao suddenly brought the topic here, maybe he had other intentions? Mr. Zhao should know that these things are not enough to shake my ambition! I am now the crown prince. , From now on I will be the Supreme Emperor, supported by the people of the world, even if the future is difficult and dangerous, I will not give up!"
Zhao Shancai nodded lightly and said: "His Highness the Crown Prince has a firm ambition, and I naturally understand it. In fact, like His Highness, I also hope that all officials will be self-sufficient and the world will be peaceful. But the current environment is like this. We can be alone, but we can't. You can't walk alone! As the saying goes, 'If the water is clear, there will be no fish, and if the people are clear, there will be no disciples.' If His Royal Highness really wants to do some practical things, then it is absolutely impossible to just rely on Qingliu officials, because the Qingliu officials are really capable of doing things. Anything less will only lead to bad things in many cases. As for those officials who are both capable of doing things and can be honest and self-responsible, they certainly meet His Highness's requirements and are worthy of His Highness's promotion, but such people are too rare. Although I have spent countless efforts searching for hundreds of officials in the imperial court, I have only been able to find twenty-one people."
Then, Zhao Shan raised his finger and pointed at the book in the hands of Prince Zhu Heyu, which contained the list of these twenty-one people.
Looking at the thin roster in his hand, Prince Zhu Heyu felt extremely heavy.
Throughout the court, there were only twenty-one officials who met his requirements. The remaining officials were either insufficient in ability or lacking in character, making it impossible for them to reuse them with confidence.
"Today's temple environment is bad, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is full of evil spirits. It is increasingly difficult for honest and self-responsible officials to gain a foothold. Even the twenty-one people I finally found may one day give up. Depravity... However, the more serious it is, the less drastic drugs can be given, and the more slowly treatment and gradual improvement are needed. In many cases, it is even necessary to fight poison with poison to be effective! If His Highness wants to clear away the smoky atmosphere in the temple, he must first We need to establish a firm foothold and establish prestige, then we can control the situation and accomplish great things... But no matter what, we need enough talents to assist!"
At this moment, Zhao Shancai took out another booklet from his hand. Compared with the list in the hands of Prince Zhu Heyu, this booklet was much thicker.
Zhao Shancai looked serious and said slowly: "If your highness wants to achieve great things, relying only on these twenty-one people will probably be a small amount of money. What's more, most of these twenty-one people are lower-ranking officials. Even if they are focused on training They can't save the fire from afar, and while I was selecting talents for His Highness during this period, I also drew up another list at the same time."
While talking, Zhao Shancai handed the second list to Prince Zhu Heyu and said at the same time: "There are a total of thirty-seven people in this list. They all have their merits in terms of abilities, methods, vision, etc., and they are all considered rare. Talents! The most rare thing is that these people are all neutral factions of the imperial court and have not joined any party. However, His Highness is the prince, so if he deliberately recruits them, it will not be that difficult. If His Highness gets these people again With the help and support of others, the shortage of talents will be greatly alleviated, and you will be able to do things with ease in the future... However..."
At this point, Zhao Shan sighed softly and continued: "However, these people have more or less stains on their bodies, and they are not very honest people. Although these stains are not particularly serious, I also know Your Highness, you have always rejected those officials with stains, so these people do not meet His Highness's employment standards... However, I still give this list to Your Highness. Whether or not to use them in the future is entirely up to Your Highness. Shancai will never reluctantly."
After hearing Zhao Shancai's explanation, Prince Zhu Heyu was silent for a long time. He reached out to take the second roster, nodded slowly and said: "In troubled times, if you want to cure corrupt officials, you must first use corrupt officials... Mr. Zhao carefully Liangku, I will seriously consider this matter."
Seeing that after going through a big circle, Prince Zhu Heyu was finally willing to consider his suggestion, Zhao Shancai's eyes flashed with relief.
Prince Zhu Heyu's employment principle has always been to emphasize character over ability. This is one of the bottom lines of Prince Zhu Heyu. It is extremely difficult to persuade Prince Zhu Heyu to change this. Even Zhao Shancai used a lot of methods. thought.
But this principle of employment is also the key reason why the "princeling party" is always weak. The "princeling party" has not been able to provide enough support for the prince Zhu Heyu, which is also the main reason why the prince Zhu Heyu has not been able to gain a foothold in the temple.
Ever since he noticed that Prince Zhu Heyu's status as crown prince was gradually showing signs of instability, Zhao Shancai wanted to gradually expand the influence of the "princeling party". If Yu provides enough support, then even Emperor Deqing cannot easily depose Prince Zhu Heyu!
Of course, in order to completely stabilize the crown prince Zhu Heyu, in addition to expanding the influence of the "Prince Party", Emperor Deqing's attitude is also extremely critical. As long as Emperor Deqing is willing to continue to support Prince Zhu Heyu , then Zhu Heyu’s status as prince will never be shaken!
Therefore, Zhao Shancai did not say anything more, but just reminded: "It is great that Your Highness is willing to seriously consider these matters... However, it is getting late now, Your Highness had better not waste any more time and go in as soon as possible." Lord, it would be better to submit a self-examination memorial to His Majesty! Our top priority now is to regain His Majesty’s support.”
After hearing Zhao Shancai's reminder, Prince Zhu Heyu was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said: "Mr. Zhao's words are reasonable. I will enter the palace to see my father."
After saying that, Prince Zhu Heyu once again advised Zhao Shancai to take a rest, and then left the study to prepare for entering the palace to meet the saint.
Prince Zhu Heyu had just left the study when Zhao Shancai suddenly felt his body go limp and his mind was dizzy. He almost collapsed on the ground. His face became increasingly gloomy and his expression was extremely weak and weak.
In the past ten days, Zhao Shancai's physical condition has become increasingly worse. In addition to using acupuncture for pain relief three times a day, he also secretly takes a large amount of pain-suppressing, overdrafting, and forcibly refreshing drugs. Otherwise, with his current physical condition , let alone planning the future for Prince Zhu Heyu, even ordinary walking is extremely difficult.
Just now, when Zhao Shancai was talking to Prince Zhu Heyu, he was also supporting and trying hard to hold on. Although his voice was a little weak, he did not show too much depression.
Otherwise, Prince Zhu Heyu would definitely force him to rest, and he would definitely be distracted and worried when he went to the palace to meet the emperor. This was something Zhao Shancai never wanted to see.
After slumping on the chair for a long time, Zhao Shancai's body finally regained some strength.
Only when Zhao Shan saw it did he reach out and take out a pill from his arms, put it into his mouth and took it.
After a long time, Zhao Shancai finally looked a little normal, but he still had no intention of resting. He just picked up a piece of information from his hand, his eyes full of worry.
He was not worried about his physical condition, but worried about the future of Prince Zhu Heyu.
This intelligence stated that Emperor Deqing had repeatedly inquired about the current situation of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian in the past ten days, and secretly ordered Dongchang to investigate all relevant information about the seventh prince; at the same time, Emperor Deqing asked the prince Zhu Heyu who had closed himself up and thought about his past. , but did not show much concern.
Zhao Shancai naturally knew what this information meant.
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I don't have much time. Even though I try my best and exhaust all my efforts, I may not be able to reverse the crisis..."
Zhao Shancai murmured to himself.
Then, Zhao Shancai turned his attention to another piece of information.
This information stated that Zhao Junchen would officially accept Fang Ru as a side chamber in three days, and would also host a banquet for guests and invite all close colleagues in the temple.
"Perhaps...we need to see Zhao Junchen..."
While muttering to himself in a low voice, Zhao Shancai's eyes flickered.
At the same time, in the imperial study room in the palace, Emperor Deqing was also reading information.
All this information is related to the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian!
Whether it is Zhu Hejian's comments and views in recent years or the character of the people around Zhu Hejian, all are involved in the intelligence.
This information even contained information about Zhu Hejian advising Prince Zhu Heyu during Emperor Deqing's southern tour.
After reading this information, Emperor Deqing's face was quite serious, and his eyes were full of contemplation.
Emperor Deqing suddenly discovered that the seventh prince Zhu Hejian did not seem to be as simple as he imagined.
In the past, Emperor Deqing always believed that the temperaments of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian and the prince Zhu Heyu were very similar, but Zhu Hejian's methods were not as direct as those of the prince Zhu Heyu, and his personality was more gentle.
But now after reading this information, Emperor Deqing discovered that the intelligence and methods of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian were far beyond his expectations. As a father, he had never noticed this before.
Among other things, during Emperor Deqing's southern tour, the reason why Prince Zhu Heyu was able to suppress Huang Yourong was precisely because of Zhu Hejian's suggestions. This method alone cannot be underestimated.
"He has never shown this scheming in front of me before. Is he deliberately hiding it with ulterior motives? Or has he never shown his ambition before?"
Emperor Deqing thought secretly.
While Emperor Deqing was deep in thought, the eunuch Zhang De suddenly entered the imperial study and reported to Emperor Deqing: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is here."
Emperor Deqing was stunned for a moment, then sighed secretly, nodded and said: "Since he is here, let him come in."
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