When Wu Qian, the crown prince of Wu State, was analyzing Li Chenan in the courtyard of Yuelai Inn, and when he had the intention to kill Li Chenan, the political hall of the palace was filled with joy.
Wen Boyu, the chief minister of the cabinet, laughed when he saw the good news delivered by Kuai Ma.
Cheng Jingting, the servant of the provincial sect, had an old face and smiled like an old flower.
Nian Chengfeng, the Ling of the Zhongshu Province, and Qi Yao, the Ling of the Zhongshu Province, both stroked their long beards and expressed great comfort.
The six ministers also breathed a sigh of relief. The long-lost joy appeared on their faces, and their eyes were full of undisguised joy!
Wen Boiyu smoothed his short beard, passed on the good news, and said:
"The Regent's victory over the greater number with less at Gohanhara not only created a miracle of war, but its significance was far more far-reaching than the impact of the war itself!"
"After this battle, there will be no more major rebellions in Ningguo."
"Those young people with disloyal intentions will no longer be able to bring harm to the country."
"Those ministers who are greedy and pervert the law...Jiangnan Province took advantage of the regent's power to easily capture all the officials with solid evidence of crimes. In the remaining four states, the Imperial City Department has begun to take action, and officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Punishment have also I need to send my subordinates out to assist the Imperial City Division in handling the cases involving corrupt officials!"
"Next, according to the regent's plan before leaving Beijing, all officials going to Jiangnan Province need to arrive within this month... there will be much less than before."
"Firstly, there are not many officials who can hold big posts, and secondly...the regent said that we should keep our troops lean and simple."
"It means that Ningguo no longer needs as many officials from top to bottom as before!"
"When Ji Tai was in power, he added many yamen with clever names, such as the Royal Horse Division, the Foreign Affairs Bureau, the Civil Affairs Bureau, etc."
"The regent said that these things are completely unnecessary and need to be abolished."
"The reason why the taxes we, the people of Ningguo, bear are so heavy are, firstly, the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes in various places with cleverly named names, and secondly, because there are too many officials who eat the royal food!"
Having said this, the look on Wen Boyu's face became serious.
He picked up a booklet on the table next to him, unfolded it, and said:
"In thousands of years of history, during the Chen State, eight thousand people supported one official. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, this figure had become three thousand people supported one official. By the time the Ning State was founded, four thousand people supported one official, but Now……"
Wen Boyu raised his head and waved the booklet in his hand:
"Now, we in Ningguo have one thousand people to support one official!"
"Compared with the time of the Chen Kingdom, the burden on the people has increased seven times!"
"Compared with when Ningguo was founded, the burden on the people has increased three times!"
"Compared with today's Yue State... Yue State now has two thousand people to support one official. Our people have twice as much burden as theirs!"
"Compared with Wu State, where three thousand people support one official, our people also bear twice as much tax as them!"
Wen Boyu put down the pamphlet, looked at the shocked people, and poked at the pamphlet with his fingers:
"This is the statistics compiled by the Imperial City Secretary before the regent left Kyoto. Even if there are some errors in the data, it will not be much different."
"When he showed it to me, I was also shocked. Only then did I know that the reform of officialdom was imminent!"
Wen Boyu stood up and took two steps:
"Everyone, after comparing these data, I think everyone has a clearer concept!"
"Shocking!"
"The poverty of the people of Ningguo," he stretched out his hand and pointed upward, "is not the fault of God!"
"It's a human disaster!"
"If this disaster is not eliminated, no matter how many battles the regent wins and how many articles he makes, it will not help!"
"How can we solve it once and for all?"
Wen Boiyu stopped and glanced at everyone, "The only way is to carry out a top-down reform of officialdom!"
"This matter is the most important thing at the moment!"
"Streamline all unnecessary institutions and cut off all unnecessary positions. The goal set by the regent for me is to support one official per five thousand people... You can calculate for yourselves how many useless people need to be eliminated from top to bottom. !”
"The officials will start doing this from now on."
"Don't be afraid of resistance!"
"Don't talk about face!"
"If you value things like human nature and sophistication, nothing in the world can be accomplished!"
"If the officials eliminated by various departments think they have the ability... let them all participate in this autumn ceremony!"
"Ningguo needs a lot of officials!"
"But they must be officials who are capable, accomplished, and can truly think and do things for the people!"
"Regardless of age, not to mention family background, everyone must rely on their true abilities. Those who are in the corpse position... those who are resting on the merits of their ancestors and have no intention of making progress... will be eliminated and will never be used!"
Taking advantage of Li Chenan's victory in Wushanyuan, Wen Boyu summoned senior officials from various ministries in the temple and held an unprecedented meeting.
At this meeting, he expressed the advice Li Chenan gave him before leaving Kyoto in Li Chenan's name.
Nian Chengfeng was originally extremely worried about this major change in officialdom, because many officials in the redundant yamen that were to be eliminated in the court were inextricably linked to the ministers in the court.
This is the legacy of the previous official recommendation system.
When it comes to recommendations, people always have selfish motives.
Besides, those yamen are not important. They do not require advanced knowledge or rich experience in governance.
It seems harmless enough to go to those yamen and work as an errand to receive some royal rations.
But it just so happens that there are a large number of people who live in these redundant yamen.
Their support also comes from the taxes of the people!
Li Chenan said that in order to promote industry and commerce, we must first solve the complicated institutional problems of Ningguo.
That is to offend a large number of ministers, many of whom are still the people left by Mr. Chunfu.
Wen Boyu has been waiting until today.
He had the best time.
"I know this may be very painful for some people."
"Many of you are former disciples of Mr. Chunfu, and it was the regent who invited you back to the court to create a prosperous age together."
"The Prince Regent is young!"
"He is courageous! He has enough ability to lead Ningguo to prosperity."
"He hopes that everyone can be of one mind with him, and for the sake of the people of Ning State, we should give up what we have to give up, and we must break up what we have to do... Don't wait until he comes back... That way everyone's face will not look good!"
Under Wen Boiyu's coercion and inducement, this originally difficult matter was silently accepted by the ministers.
After going to court, I returned to Jingxianju.
Nian Chengfeng asked Wen Boyu worriedly:
"If he really brings back the eldest son of the emperor...will all these efforts be in vain?"
Wen Boiyu pondered for three breaths and sighed:
"Hey... sometimes, I really wish there wasn't that eldest son of the emperor!"
Nian Chengfeng looked at Wen Boiyu silently and asked again: "That prince of Wu Kingdom, just ignore him like that?"
"Put it off again and wait until the Ministry of War sends more fireworks to Wuyaguan."
At this moment, a porter hurriedly walked in: "Master, there is a guest outside asking to see... He said he is an old friend of the master!"
