After Zhang Huaichang and Qi Yongtai talked with her, Feng Ziying understood that her identity was different from before.
If in the past, he was more used as a general who could stand alone, then now he has a hint of letting himself participate in central affairs.
Like Zhang Huaichang's communication with himself, Qi Yongtai's solicitation and discussion of his own opinions are actually very subtle changes.
In the court, the ministers of the third rank are important ministers, but they are more of executors. But once they step into the second rank, or the seven ministers and the censor of Zuodu, they are in the decision-making circle, but they have the right to speak. It is still not comparable to the core circle in the cabinet, but it can already express opinions on anything, unlike the minister who can only be limited to a certain field.
As the right censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, I am the only one in embarrassment. In theory, I am already on the same level as the second-level official and the minister, but in fact, there is also a left censor above me, and it is not my turn to be the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. He makes the decision, but when he reaches this position and the level is there, it can be said that it makes sense to adjust to which ministry he wants to serve as minister.
It's just that Feng Ziying knows her own affairs, and her qualifications and age are still a bit embarrassing. But when she comes back from Liaodong, I'm afraid it's a bit unreasonable to give herself a minister. In other words, even if she joins the cabinet, even if it's a little abrupt, it will be okay. There are sufficient reasons and basis.
In this case, Feng Ziying must be fully prepared before leaving. Although Master Qi is his most powerful guarantee, others are also indispensable.
I just came back, and I still don’t understand many things in Beijing, so I have to take my time to find out.
"Brother Zishu." This was not the first time that Feng Ziying came to Chai Ke's house, but it was one of the few times she came, especially after she was promoted to the Minister of War.
It doesn't mean that visits between important ministers are not possible, but generally speaking, there must be sufficient reasons. In the past, Long Jinwei kept an eye on the emperor, but now the ministers in the cabinet also have some knots in their hearts, and no one is willing to touch them.
But Feng Ziying didn't care about this. Firstly, he was Qi Yongtai's favorite disciple. Secondly, he would leave Beijing soon, and he would probably go to Liaodong for a few years, so it was normal to visit anyone.
"It's rare, a rare guest, Ziying, you just came back and came to my place?" Chai Ke was very happy.
If someone comes to you as soon as they come back, that means they sincerely regard you as a confidant friend. The relationship between the two of them is also extremely close, but even so, Chai Ke is still very satisfied.
"Where can I go if I don't come to you?" Feng Ziying also responded with a smile: "After a few months of walking, I feel that the situation in Beijing has changed drastically and I feel unfamiliar. Some of my feelings are too big and I can’t find anyone to talk to.”
"What are you worried about? Go to Liaodong and completely solve the Jianzhou Nuzhen. The whole government has unanimously agreed. Who dares to neglect you? I will solve it for you without telling you anything. But it is definitely the same. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households are all dedicated After studying it, once the war in Hebei is over, I will fully support you in conquering Liaodong and completely eliminate the Jianzhou Jurchens."
As the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Chai Ke still had some influence in the court, and his words were not without purpose.
"Well, to be honest, I'm not too worried about the Liaodong war. It's nothing more than a matter of three years, five years, or eight years. As long as the court's support is sufficient, I'm confident that it will be resolved." Feng Ziying mused: "But I'm worried about the big issue. The situation after Sunday is still a bit worrying..."
Chai Ke was very sensitive and frowned: "Why, do you feel that Qi Xiang succeeded you and you are not satisfied with it?"
"It's not about this, but I feel that our government does not have a clear direction for future cabinet governance. Yes, the next step is to focus on solving Liaodong, but from the Shanshan-Shaanxi Civil War to the Bailian Rebellion, there is also the earlier Ningxia The rebellion, the Bozhou and Anshe rebellions, not counting things like Jiangnan, nor the Mongols and Jurchens, this is probably how many internal chaos and wars the Zhou Dynasty has experienced in less than ten years. Is this true? Shouldn’t we take a closer look?”
Feng Ziying's words made Chai Ke look serious, "Ziying, what do you want to say?"
"I think our court should make a more detailed or specific long-term plan for future governance. It cannot just focus on the immediate matters. It is a bit like treating a headache and treating a sore foot, but it does not come up with a long-term plan. A response strategy, such as formulating a one-year, then three-year or five-year, or even ten-year long-term plan. What should we achieve or achieve in a certain field in this year, three, five, or ten years? Goal, to what extent it is achieved, and what measures are used to ensure its realization..."
Feng Ziying was calm but confident: "I think this can be named a three-year and five-year plan and written into the policy program. Of course, before confirming this policy program, we need to solicit opinions extensively and obtain the support of the vast majority of people. and recognition, and the goals in these policy programs must be specific and feasible, and should not be too ambitious or unrealistic..."
A three-year, five-year or even ten-year policy plan? Chai Ke pondered.
In fact, the imperial court did not have some similar ideas, but they were all fragmented and not very comprehensive, or there was no system integrity, and there was no written customization to determine what it would look like in the end, so there was no constraint. Sex.
For example, in terms of military affairs, it was proposed to solve the Liaodong issue, but the specific description of how to ensure the implementation of this goal was more internal to the Ministry of War, and then it was argued with the Ministry of Household Affairs and even the cabinet. In the process, it continued to evolve and get out of shape.
"For example, people in Shaanxi now feel the benefits of potatoes and sweet potatoes. In fact, I am also supporting promotion in some prefectures in the northern part of Nanzhi. There are also some local pilot projects in Shanxi, and the effects can be proven, but local inertia is not Officials have always had reservations and resistance to these new things, and have always waited and delayed to see. So, when the court knew that such crops would greatly alleviate people's livelihood problems in mountainous and arid areas, should they just Should we take action? For example, set a practical goal and task. For example, Shaanxi must plant one million acres of potatoes and 800,000 acres of sweet potatoes in three years, and Shanxi must plant 1.2 million acres of potatoes and 600,000 acres of sweet potatoes. Or maybe Jiangnan Province wants to realize one million acres of potatoes and sweet potatoes, with an average yield of 1,200 kilograms per mu,..."
Chai Ke laughed, "Ziying, it's easy for you to say this, but the imperial court has issued a plan, and local governments will definitely adopt various methods to fool them, and it may even turn into a policy that harms and harms the people. In these places, You can’t rely too much on the ethics of officials..."
"But we can't stop eating because of choking. I know that if rigid targets are issued, some areas will not be completed, or if they are unwilling to do it, they will go astray or find other ways to deceive the superiors. But what does the Metropolitan Procuratorate do? You can't just focus on it. The personal conduct of these officials is clean and honest, but they ignore whether these officials can do things. In my opinion, sometimes whether they can do things is more important than whether they are greedy or not. You said that a prefect embezzled two thousand taels of silver and avoided three taels of silver because he was able to do things well. Fifty thousand refugees and disaster victims have turned into rioters, who is more important?”
Chai Ke shook his head: "Ziying, the two things you said are not contradictory..."
"I know, I'm just making an analogy. Of course we hope to have officials with both ability and political integrity, but in reality, most of them are mediocre officials who live their lives in disinterest. We have to use rules to force these people to take action or get out. Either you do things well or bad, that is another matter. At least you have to do something, but we in the Zhou Dynasty like to wait for important officials in positions. We never think about how to share the worries of the court, or cheat. Asking for credit to please someone, or just begging for nothing, shouting about poverty,..."
One thing that made Feng Ziying very comfortable was discussing with Chai Ke. There were not as many restrictions as Qi Yongtai, Qiao Yingjia, and Guan Yingzhen, and he stood at a higher height than his classmates, so he felt a bit like an elder brother. a feeling of.
Although he disagrees with Feng Ziying on many issues, Chai Ke still agrees that the court should formulate a longer-term plan, and at the same time have effective means to ensure the goals in these plans are achieved, especially in the official evaluation mechanism The superior should add this to the list, instead of relying more on the so-called official reputation and the approval of superior officials as in the past. If you can't even accomplish the goals set and issued by the imperial court, how can you show your performance? Your ability only depends on maintaining a good relationship with a group of local gentry, or giving gifts to please a superior officer so that he can put in a good word for you?
Each level must have a target assessment plan, which is broken down and detailed under the overall goal, and implemented at every level, from the court to the provinces, from the provinces to prefectures, and from prefectures to counties.
At the same time, each province, prefecture, and county must make a systematic refinement based on their own actual conditions and the imperial court's goals to ensure implementation. Of course, the imperial court is also happy to see the results if the work is carried out creatively.
This conversation lasted for more than an hour, and the two of them were very chatty.
Only later did Feng Ziying slowly shift the topic to the current political situation.
"Prime Minister Ye and all the other ministers are going to step down, and the official master and Duke Ming Qi will enter the cabinet. What about you, brother Zi Shu? You can't continue to delay your position as Zuo Shilang, right?" Feng Ziying said with a smile.
"You kid, what do you mean by delay?" Chai Ke said angrily: "People must be content, and the court has its own arrangements, so we don't need to worry about it."
"That's not what I'm saying. Giving full play to people's talents is the greatest virtue." Feng Ziying curled her lips, "How about the imperial court kicking me to Liaodong?"
One sentence guaranteed to make Chai Ke laugh out loud, "Are you still unwilling to give in? Just be content. Again, the court has its own arrangements."
(End of chapter)
