Imperial City Street was lined with government offices on both sides, and the buildings inside the walls were magnificent. Many officials on the street were either rushing back to the government offices, or running quickly to other government offices with boxes containing documents to hand over. There are also many officials who came from the local area for the first time and asked around about the department they were looking for. From time to time, carriages specially delivering documents rushed past.
After Yang Ji told Feng Ang, he left Zuoyi Guard's office. He looked at the hourglass when he went out and saw that it was early 4:00. He thought for a moment, and as soon as he left the south gate of Zuo Yiwei, he walked towards the east of the meeting hall. Walk towards the hall.
The prime ministers in the parliament adopt a system of taking turns to stay behind. Whoever is in office is the prime minister. If there are no major events, the prime ministers who are not in office will work in their own official offices. It's just that there are too many things going on around the Spring Festival, and all the prime ministers and ministers are basically in the meeting hall to deal with emergencies at any time.
Today's prime minister is Yang Ji's father-in-law Pei Ju. When he saw Yang Ji, he smiled in surprise and said, "What a rare guest!"
When everyone heard this, they all smiled knowingly: Ever since he was granted the title of Prime Minister, this old man has still gone his own way and acted independently; he has never regarded himself as Prime Minister or Minister. Recently, due to the addition of a new child to the palace, the most he could do was attend the morning court, and then go to Renshou Hall to discuss matters with the emperor. If there was nothing else to do, he would usually go home after the court meeting. However, even the emperor couldn't cure him, so what could everyone do? What's more, some people don't want Yang Ji to take away their power. They want him to be like this and simply treat him as if he doesn't exist.
"There have just been three more children in the family. There are many things going on, and there is really nothing we can do about it. Please forgive me!" Yang Ji returned the greetings to everyone who stood up to greet them one by one, and sat down in his seat. He didn't want to make people laugh about his family affairs, so he mentioned it appropriately and got back to the topic: "Just now I heard everyone outside the door seemed to be discussing something big. I wonder what it was?"
"There are two main things. Let's talk about it briefly first!" Pei Ju also sat down and introduced to Yang Ji: "The sage just issued an edict, appointing General Zuo Xiaowei to protect his son as the Southern Navy Commander. Governor."
"Really?" Yang Ji was greatly surprised when he heard this. It had only been half an hour since he left Tongming Hall, but Yang Guang actually issued the edict. The speed of his actions really surprised him. But when he thought of the anti-Sui alliance in the south, he understood Yang Guang's anger and urgency again.
In fact, when Yang Guang mentioned this anti-Sui alliance, he had already locked three targets in his mind: The first object of suspicion was Xiao Mian, but Xiao Mian was the great-grandson of Xiao Qi, the founding emperor of the Western Liang Dynasty and Emperor Xuan, and his grandfather Xiao Yan Ranked fifth, he was named King of Anping. After Xiao Kui surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, Xiao Yan was unwilling to lose the power in his hands. He betrayed the Sui Dynasty and surrendered his land to Chen, becoming a warlord of Nanchen. When Nanchen was destroyed, he and his son Xiao Xuan were executed by Yang Jian. The remaining Xiao Mian was a descendant of a traitor, and the Xiao family did not dare to take care of him, so he lived in poverty when he was young and made a living by copying books. It was not until Yang Guang ascended the throne that he was promoted to the county magistrate due to the kindness of his relatives.
Considering the prosperous and stable situation in the Sui Dynasty, it was impossible for the Xiao family to support Xiao Mian's rebellion. If Xiao Mian dares to show his rebellious intentions, I am afraid that the Xiao family will be the first to take action, lest he implicate the entire Xiao family. He could neither get the support, resources, or connections of the Xiao family, nor could he gather the grassroots bandits from all walks of life as he had done in history. It was simply impossible to establish the anti-Sui alliance throughout Yangzhou with just the power and influence of a mere county magistrate. So Xiao Mian can basically be ruled out.
Followed by the Nanchen remnants, the Nanchen remnants launched many rebellions in the early stages of the founding of the emperor. Although the court suppressed them many times, the hatred deepened step by step, so the Nanchen remnants were more likely.
The third is the unity of the North and the South. When the Guanlong nobles destroyed the country in Nanchen, they extended their overt and covert forces to Jingzhou and southern Yangzhou. During this long period of time, they had already established intricate relationships with the southern nobles. It is very likely that he avoided Guanzhong, which was the focus of the imperial court, and went to Yangzhou to unite with the southern anti-Sui forces.
As for whether it is the remnants of the Southern Chen Dynasty or the alliance between the North and the South, no one can be sure now. Everything has to wait for Yang Zhiji's investigation results or the fish takes the bait on its own.
"It's true." Pei Ju saw the surprised look on Yang Ji's face, and his expression didn't seem to be fake. He thought that he really didn't know about the appointment, so he asked, "Is it possible that King Wei has never heard of this?"
Yang Ji glanced around and saw that everyone was looking at him. He shook his head and said, "I just came from Zuoyi Guards Office and I haven't heard about it. What do you think of this appointment?"
Pei Ju glanced at Yang Ji and said, "After Zhou Fashang became the commander-in-chief of the Northern Navy, only General Lai from the imperial court could revive the Southern Navy."
"What Prime Minister Pei said is true!" Gao Jiong also said: "General Lai has rich experience in land and water warfare and has strong commanding ability. He is undoubtedly the best candidate."
Others also expressed their support.
Seeing everyone's highly unified opinions, Yang Ji felt a little incredible at first. After all, the Navy Commander and the two Deputy Commanders were high-ranking officials. When the Northern Navy was first established, the major factions wanted to win over the Commander and the two Deputy Commanders. The position of deputy governor was almost a quarrel. But when he thought about it, he immediately understood why everyone was so "united". On the one hand, the major factions really couldn't come up with a more suitable candidate to protect the child.
On the other hand, all the main forces of the Southern Navy went north and were thoroughly purged. As a result, the strength of the Southern Navy was greatly reduced and it was in chaos. Now we want to rebuild the Southern Navy on top of the "ruins". It is not easy to build. Moreover, the Southern Navy has to be linked to the Maritime Silk Road, so the deputy commander-in-chief of the Southern Navy seems to be fat, but in fact it is a very hard nut to crack. In addition, the reduction of the military government was in full swing, so the major factions prioritized stability and did not dare to fight rashly.
"General Lai is indeed the most suitable candidate, but I don't know who the deputy governor is?" Yang Ji asked.
Pei Ju pointed at a burly civil servant and introduced to Yang Ji: "This is Zhu Kuan, the general manager of Jiangdu Navy. He and He Man, on the orders of the saint last year, led the navy across the Ryukyu Strait to understand the local situation and at the same time make Ryukyu pay attention to us. In the Sui Dynasty, he was proclaimed a minister and was named the Prime Minister of Honglu Temple due to his meritorious service. We believe that Prime Minister Zhu is familiar with the navy and the sea conditions in the south, so he is more suitable for the position of deputy governor, but it still needs the approval of the saint."
Yang Ji also knew that Zhu Kuan and others led the army to the sea last summer and established diplomatic relations with Ryukyu, so he bowed his hand to him and said: "I have heard about the feat of General Zhu who led the army to the sea, but I didn't know that the general arrived in Yizhou." Is there an island?”
Yizhou is the treasure island of Taiwan in later generations. It was called Yizhou during the Three Kingdoms period. In the Sui Dynasty, it and the Ryukyu Islands were collectively called Ryukyu. Yang Ji didn't know whether they were going to the treasure island or an island in the archipelago. Hearing this, Zhu Kuan quickly stood up and returned the salute: "What the king said should be Ryukyu Island, which is where Xiaguan and others went. However, Xiaguan and others only made some replenishment at the mouth of the river and then led the army back. The king also knew that A big island?”
"I've heard people talk about it, but I've never been there." Yang Ji said, "If General Zhu is appointed as the deputy commander of the Southern Navy, he can open up the Maritime Silk Road southward. According to Liu Prefecture, it is more fertile and has many big cities. Sui precious spices, woods and gems.”
"Speaking of the Maritime Silk Road, it reminds me of the Red Earth Kingdom, which established diplomatic relations with us in the Sui Dynasty last year." Pei Ju smiled and introduced another civil servant to Yang Ji: "This is Chang Jun, the director of the field. He and the Yu tribe last year Chief Wang Junzheng went on a mission to the Red Earth Kingdom. The reason why we called Chief Chang here was firstly because we wanted to understand the situation in the southern countries; secondly, we felt that he and Chief Wang knew the south far better than others. If they could go to the southern water The appointment of the division will definitely play a huge role in the future development of the Maritime Silk Road, and it will also save a lot of time."
Chang Jun is a Confucian general in his forties. They set off by boat from Nanhai County last year and moved along the coast, passing through some islands in the Paracel Islands and Nansha Islands, and then entered the Gulf of Siam and arrived at the capital of the Red Earth Kingdom. The two sides sent each other gifts and formally established diplomatic relations. He stood up and saluted Yang Ji and said, "I have met the king."
"Master Chang is exempt from the gift!" Yang Ji returned the gift and said in a deep voice: "The imperial court is about to open up the Maritime Silk Road, and it needs a large number of talents who are familiar with the maritime conditions; and Master Chang and Master Wang have been to the Red Earth Kingdom, Zhu Sicheng and He The general has been to Ryukyu. I think it is a complete waste of your time to serve as civil servants in the capital. If you are willing to serve in the Southern Navy and take on the mission of surveying and mapping the sea, I will also come forward to recommend you to the saint. What do you think?"
Zhu Kuan and Chang Jun were immediately overjoyed and saluted in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am willing to go to the Southern Navy to serve the country."
Chang Jun and Zhu Kuan were just minor figures here. They knew that it was not appropriate for them to stay here any longer. After getting an unexpected surprise, they left.
. . . . . .
After the two left, Pei Ju took the initiative to talk to Yang Ji about the second matter: "The main thing we argued about just now was the administration of officials last year. The intensity of the review last year was unprecedentedly strict, and all reports from various places were reviewed one by one. , it is not achieved overnight. Among them, many officials have lost the qualification to continue to hold office; some more still need to be liquidated and severely punished by the law. Everyone has no opinion on this."
Pei Ju paused for a moment, then continued: "The key is that there is no unified standard. We all hope to form a customization so that we can follow the rules in the future instead of messing around. However, we have no clue."
Yang Ji pondered for a long time and said to everyone: "It is better to adopt the Four Grids and Eight Methods."
Pei Ju's eyes twitched when he heard this, and he quickly asked: "What are the four grids and eight methods?"
Yang Ji said: "The so-called four patterns refer to Shou, talent, age, and politics; the eight principles refer to greed, cruelty, carelessness, impetuousness, weakness, lack of talent, old age, and illness." Yang Ji explained: "Shou It represents conduct, which is divided into honest, mediocre, and corrupt; politics represents government affairs, which is divided into diligence, mediocrity, and laziness; talent represents talent, which is divided into long, mediocre, and short; years refers to age, and is divided into young, middle, and old."
"The eight rules are based on four patterns, namely greed, coolness, imprudentness, impetuousness, weakness, lack of talent, old age and illness. Among them, greedy, coolness, imprudentness and impetuousness focus on official conduct. And weakness, talent We are unable to focus on talent. As for old age and illness, it is relative to 'year'. The punishment for illegal officials is mostly due to 'shou', followed by 'cai', and then 'year'. And 'policy' The quality of officials is directly affected by the three dimensions of Shou, Cai and Nian, so there are relatively few officials who are punished simply because of poor performance. The eight-law punishment focuses on Shou, Cai and Nian, especially the two dimensions of Shou and Cai, which directly reflects emphasizing both ability and political integrity.”
The "four grids and eight methods" evaluation system originated from the Ming Dynasty and was completed in the Qing Dynasty. This method stipulates the content and punishment standards of the official evaluation system. The four grids cover officials' political integrity, political ability, political attitude and physical condition. Its comprehensiveness, standardization and operability are all better than the assessment system of the Sui Dynasty; and the eight laws use strict punishment standards. Punishment of illegal officials, from dismissal and interrogation to demotion and transfer, to orders to rest, is very systematic and comprehensive.
This method is only about the assessment, rewards, punishments, promotions and demotions of officials, and all dynasties have worked hard to formulate and improve these standards, so it is essentially different from drastic reforms. If the Sui Dynasty had used this method to handle affairs, it would have saved nearly a thousand years of detours. In the end, not only would it not have caused chaos, but it would have standardized the year-end assessment. This was of great benefit to the implementation of the official system in the Sui Dynasty.
The people present are all outstanding wise men who are rare in history. What they lack is Yang Ji's unique vision and insight. It does not mean that their abilities are inferior to Yang Ji's. After listening to Yang Ji's statement, their eyes all lit up. After further thinking according to Yang Ji's words, I have basically understood the benefits of the "Four Grids and Eight Methods" and how to operate and improve them. There is no need for him to explain them one by one.
