On December 12, the first year of Wanli, the heavy snow stopped for the first time and the sun was shining brightly.
The monarchs and ministers in the Wenhua Hall had just finished a lecture on Confucian classics.
The lecturers still have more to say.
Emperor Zhu Yijun couldn't wait to discuss with Zhang Juzheng the situation of passing the New Deal exam.
"I have read the test results booklet. However, there are more than fifty medical officials who are incompetent! Are the officials really so bad, sir?"
Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Juzheng directly before and after he came to the imperial court.
Zhang Juzheng cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty. Although it is a bad thing, it is not irreversible. At least Your Majesty can still know how to deal with bad things. This shows that your caress can still be loyal to the court, know how to report truthfully, and do not conceal the report. No prevarication;”
"And if you are not even willing to make a report, or you make a false report and whitewash the situation, then it will be a point of no return!"
"Therefore, Your Majesty does not have to be disappointed in his ministers. Although many of them are lazy or even mediocre, at least they are loyal and not flattering."
"What's more, the test this time is based on the standards expected by Hai Rui. He must be honest and capable without wandering around the powerful. This is difficult. Unless a wise king is in power, he cannot make everyone in the world virtuous."
Zhu Yijun nodded.
Seeing that Zhu Yijun had listened, Zhang Juzheng continued: "Furthermore, this also shows that they believe that the court will deal with it impartially and will make a decision that they are convinced of. They also believe that your Majesty, ministers and other officials can distinguish right from wrong." , have a tolerant and considerate heart, and will understand their difficulties without getting into discord and mutual suspicion.”
"Sir, what you mean is that the emperor is still quite upright at the moment. Although the government is very bad, it is not at the point of ruining the country. But if this continues, I'm afraid it will be completely inconsistent in a few decades, right? "
Zhu Yijun asked.
Zhang Juzheng nodded: "Your Majesty is right, so we should treat it now while it can be cured! We can't prevent it from happening in the future. Every time the palace comes up with a policy, no matter it is good or evil, the material discussion will be opposed. The scholars will gather together to resist, and the material discussion will not advocate it." , then the palace will oppose it, so that the party will rise and the king will be disturbed by it."
When Zhu Yijun heard what Zhang Juzheng said, he suddenly thought of the dispute over the country's foundation in the late Wanli period in history. It could be said that the top and bottom were at odds. Both the monarch and his ministers ignored internal and external troubles and fought over the affairs of a prince for decades. Several consecutive chief ministers also suffered from this. When things went downhill, no matter what the emperor's chief minister said, the subordinates would definitely oppose it, and the emperor would not comply with the suggestions made by the subordinates. In the end, although Zhu Changluo came to the throne, although there was a so-called "people's righteousness and prosperity", it actually intensified the struggle between the party and the palace, and led to the move to the palace, Hong Wan kept arguing about these matters, and even in Nanming, there was a fake prince case and they were arguing endlessly.
And in this comparison, the so-called bad governance in the early Wanli period is indeed not serious. The real-power officials of the local patrols and patrols were at least willing to truthfully explain to the court how they completed their government affairs, instead of questioning the correctness of the rulers' actions and choosing to Disobedience or disobedience.
Of course, Zhu Yijun knew that this did not rule out the fact that Zhang Juzheng had communicated with scholar leaders such as Xu Jie in advance and had planned it for many years, so that the governors and governors were willing to give Zhang Juzheng face and cooperate with him in restructuring. Be honest about your problems.
"So, I can't blame them too harshly?"
Zhu Yijun also asked Zhang Juzheng about this.
Zhang Juzheng raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty's reform of the examination system is not to make enemies of thousands of ministers in the world, but to guide their public and private affairs and manage their yin and yang. As the saying goes, the king is like a father and the minister is like a son. It is not right for your Majesty to use power on his ministers. To kill them is to make them become talents, which will benefit the country and the people. They are all disciples of the emperor, and they are the medicine for your majesty to solve the world's ills. They are not bandits you want to get rid of."
Zhu Yijun smiled slightly.
He had to admit that Zhang Juzheng taught himself that he had obviously never intended for himself, the emperor, to regard the bureaucratic class as his enemy. Instead, he was trying his best to persuade himself, the emperor, to trust the Ming Dynasty's bureaucrats and make good use of the Ming Dynasty's bureaucrats.
Zhu Yijun understands this.
After all, Zhang Juzheng is also one of them. Even if he is a politician who is determined to reform, he is also one of them. It is impossible to really encourage him, the emperor, to destroy all the ministers in the world and would rather trust domestic slaves than Confucian scholars.
"If Sir said so, why were you still willing to use Zhao Zhenji in the end?"
Zhu Yijun asked curiously.
Because Zhu Yijun already knew through the factory guard that as soon as Zhao Zhenji came to Beijing, he threatened to remove all incompetent officials and transfer all incompetent officials in the six departments to foreign officials.
In this era, being transferred to a foreign official was a heavy punishment for the Sixth Section, which basically meant that the quality of the official career would be greatly compromised.
Even the end of most people's career can only reach the third rank or below.
There is no doubt that Zhao Zhenji is a more ruthless person than Zhang Juzheng.
That's why Zhu Yijun asked about Zhang Juzheng.
"Reporting to your majesty, Mr. Zhao Ge is not a person of the same kind, so I recommend him with the word of sincerity."
"As a minister, you should be sincere in everything you do. Sincerity means there is no gap, so it is better to be disobedient than to deceive. Although Mr. Zhao Ge is not humble, he can be a good minister of your majesty. Although the officials are afraid of him, it is because of his sincerity. There will be no resentment, and using him will be beneficial to Your Majesty in extending kindness and kindness to the world without losing the wisdom of employing people."
Zhang Juzheng replied.
"I understand. Thank you sir for your advice."
Zhu Yijun said with a smile.
Zhang Juzheng immediately bowed his hands and said, "I am terrified!"
Wanli took the initiative to ask and was still willing to listen, which made Zhang Juzheng somewhat unable to conceal his excitement and opened his mouth to say more.
At this time, Zhu Yijun turned to ask Shen Li behind him: "Do you remember it? Don't miss Mr. Today's words in your daily notes."
Shen Li cupped his hands and replied: "Your Majesty, I have remembered it and have not forgotten anything."
Zhang Juzheng grinned slightly when he saw this, but said nothing more.
Zhu Yijun continued at this time: "I have benefited a lot from what you said today. I know that I need to be a wise king myself first before I can guide the ministers to be wise and capable ministers that meet the requirements of the examination."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Zhang Juzheng replied.
Ask the canal how clear it is, because there is a source of living water.
Zhu Yijun knew that the Wanli Dynasty in history could be revived in its early days because the emperor Wanli at that time had a desire to rule. It was due to the innocence of a young man, or because the young man's energy was still there, or because he was really taught by Zhang Juzheng. In short, the Wanli New Deal was not only related to Zhang Juzheng as the chief minister, but also related to the emperor Wanli at this time.
As for why Emperor Wanli changed later, it was naturally due to Wanli himself, Zhang Juzheng's reasons, and the degeneration of the entire landlord class.
"Your Majesty, after the confiscation of the Feng Baohe family's property, all the property has been sorted out, including the Xu family's one-year profit, which has also been transported to Beijing and registered in the warehouse. The total value is more than 3.5 million taels of silver. .”
After Zhu Yijun returned to the palace, Zhang Hong reported to him the final verification results of the confiscation of Feng Bao's property.
After hearing this, Zhu Yijun thought of what Zhang Juzheng said to him in the morning. He knew that as an emperor, he was currently surrounded by official grievances caused by a group of reformers under him, so that he, the emperor, had no room to make excuses and could only use kindness to mediate grievances. In order not to intensify the internal conflicts among the bureaucracy due to the restructuring, I first asked Zhang Hong: "I remember that the eunuchs and the female officials and maids of the 24 yamen of the inner court have not received full salary for a long time?"
