After Wei Zheng heard what Emperor Yu said, he looked stunned for a long time and kept mumbling to himself.
Your Highness understands him!
It is truly a blessing to have such a winner.
"Wei Zheng, since King Yong praises you so much, I want to test you."
"What are the shortcomings of my current court, Yu the Great?"
"Back to Your Majesty, common people are brave enough to have a brief chat."
Wei Zheng bowed respectfully, then raised his head, looked directly at Emperor Yu and said, "The imperial court today has three major weaknesses."
"Appreciate further details."
"First, the imperial court placed emphasis on military affairs but neglected literature, focused on military expeditions but neglected the people, placed emphasis on officials but neglected ministers, and placed emphasis on agriculture but neglected learning. This has been a long-standing shortcoming."
"Please enlighten me!"
When Shen Li heard this, his expression suddenly became solemn, he bowed his hands to Wei Zheng with a solemn expression, and said softly: "Sir's words are really novel. I am willing to listen to your detailed explanation."
"Don't dare!"
Wei Zheng gave a humble salute and continued: "Since the founding of the country by Dayu, the emphasis has been on martial arts and the neglect of people's livelihood. The root cause is foreign invasion from all directions. However, for a long time, the soldiers have fought hard and the people have been burdened."
"It has been more than a hundred years since the founding of the country by Dayu, but how long did the people of Dayu have to farm in peace and happiness?"
"As the saying goes, people who have been in peace for a long time are arrogant, and if they are arrogant, it is difficult to teach; people who have experienced chaos are miserable, and sorrow is easy to change."
"I, the Great Yu, focused on military affairs and recruited troops on a large scale. Most of the taxes and finances were used to increase military readiness. On the other hand, the people's livelihood was in decline, the people were in exile, and the world was in chaos due to natural disasters."
"This is the reason why it is difficult for me, the Great Yu, to strengthen the country."
As soon as Wei Zheng finished speaking, Lin Qiushi frowned and said in a deep voice: "If, as Mr. said, an enemy country invades our border, how should we defend it?"
"How can soldiers be brave if they don't value martial arts?"
"If we don't recruit troops, who will guard the border?"
Wei Zheng shook his head and said softly: "Master Zuo Xiang, our border with Dayu is heavily guarded all year round. Why are there so many border intruders from all four sides?"
"Does the imperial court have a strategy for diplomacy?"
"Da Yan attacks me, Donghuai attacks me, Southern Barbarians attack me, and the Eight Barbarians attack me too!"
"But why?"
Wei Zheng's question immediately stopped the three of them. Before they could speak, he continued: "Because I, Dayu, value martial arts over literature. If Dayu, when he attacks me, establishes diplomatic relations with Dayi, Dayu will When they attacked me, they made peace with the Southern Barbarians. With such a balance, how could there be constant wars?"
"Besides, the borders on all four sides are heavily guarded all year round. Regardless of whether there are enemy invaders or not, troops must be stationed to support them."
"If such expenditure is used for people's livelihood, how many bridges can be built?"
“How many river channels can be opened?”
"How many victims can be treated?"
Wei Zheng's series of rhetorical questions left the three of them speechless. Emperor Yu shook his head and said, "What should we do if we don't station troops on the border and the enemy invades?"
"Your Majesty, you can send troops to the court to help all directions."
"As for the border, we fight when we are at war and busy when we are idle."
“Farming, building bridges and roads, opening up river channels, and regulating rivers can all contribute to people’s livelihood.”
After Wei Zheng finished speaking, Emperor Yu remained silent, Shen Li had a pensive look on his face, and Lin Qiushi frowned sometimes and relaxed at other times.
"Secondly, the appointment of officials in the imperial court is mostly done by people who talk and talk on paper."
"As far as the grassroots know, the core positions of the imperial court officials are generally recommended by big families. They start from the capital and are promoted step by step!"
"On the other hand, some officials from small aristocratic families have always been in a corner. No matter how outstanding their political achievements are, they have never been promoted in their lifetime."
"Officials who have been hanging around in Beijing all year round only need to wait a few years. When the time comes and they have enough qualifications, they can be promoted and make a fortune."
"On the other hand, local casual officials have been hanging around at the grassroots level all year round. They are considerate of the people's sentiments and work diligently, but they have no hope of promotion."
"And the officials in the capital gradually entered the central government. What is ridiculous is that they can't even distinguish the grains. They have never even left the capital, and they sit in the most solemn and noble positions to govern the world."
“Aren’t these officials just talking on paper?”
Wei Zheng's words were like a loud bell, ringing in Emperor Yu's ears. The latter nodded frequently, and Shen Li also lost countenance.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Wei's words are not unreasonable!"
"A local official has no background and no connections. No matter how outstanding his abilities are and how brilliant his political achievements are, his files can never be placed in front of the imperial court."
Emperor Yu looked at Wei Zheng with a serious look on his face and said: "Every year, I ask the Ministry of Civil Affairs to evaluate local officials and promote, demote, appoint and promote them based on their performance. I'm afraid it's not as serious as what Mr. said, right?"
"His Majesty!"
"I dare you to ask how many local officials were promoted to the central government last year?"
"I'm afraid there is only one Chen Shangshu, right?"
"As for the assessment of the personnel department, after the officials are transferred to the capital, which one will give more, which one has the best political performance, and which one will give less, or even none, will neglect their duties, do not do their job properly, and be ignorant and incompetent."
Wei Zheng's words were like an awl, piercing Emperor Yu's heart.
"In your opinion, sir, how should this phenomenon be managed?"
"Back to Your Majesty, according to the common people's opinion, all officials, regardless of their origins, are unified into the Ministry of Personnel and distributed to the grassroots. Starting from the bottom, officials assigned by Your Majesty or officials from the Ministry of Personnel conduct assessments every year, which are divided into local assessments. And the examination for entering the capital!"
"The capable ones go up, the mediocre ones go down."
"This is the right path."
As soon as Wei Zheng finished speaking, Shen Li seconded his opinion: "Your Majesty, what Mr. Wei said makes sense, and this move is feasible."
"Um!"
Emperor Yu also nodded, looked at Lin Qiushi and said: "Leave this matter to you. All officials who have been sent out in the past three years will be recalled. I will personally conduct the assessment and interview!"
"According to the order!"
Emperor Yu looked at Wei Zheng and motioned for him to continue.
"Third, the troubles caused by merchants can shake the foundation of the country."
"Um?"
Hearing Wei Zheng mention merchants, both Emperor Yu and Shen Li's expressions froze, and Lin Qiushi gradually narrowed his eyes.
"My Dayu's salt, iron, shipping, and grain are all controlled by wealthy merchants."
"Especially salt, iron, and grain, this is a big problem!"
"It is related to the people's livelihood and the country. Businessmen value profits. If these three lifelines are controlled by them, they can control the prices of grain, salt, and iron, which will even cause turmoil in the court."
Wei Zheng said bluntly.
Emperor Yu, Shen Li and others immediately understood his intention. He was targeting the four prominent families!
Although it was a problem for merchants, the knife in the back was aimed at the four prominent families.
Could it be what King Yong meant?
"Wei Zheng, since you mentioned the merchants' problems, do you have a solution?"
"Your Majesty, this matter is simple!"
Wei Zheng looked confident, slightly cupped his hands and said: "The management rights of salt, iron and grain will be taken over by the imperial court."
"Salt mines and iron mines in the world are all returned to the imperial court. All salt dealers who deal in salt and grain must obtain permission from the imperial court, and with the approval of the imperial court, they can mine salt and mineral veins!"
"The ownership of its salt mines belongs to the imperial court!"
As soon as Wei Zheng finished speaking, Emperor Yu's expression showed a flash of light, and he said in a deep voice: "This matter must not be mentioned outside."
…
