Chapter 760 859 Jingcha
In the Ming Dynasty, although the government offices were about to open in the first few days, the officials did not take their minds back and were still immersed in the atmosphere of the festival.
This leisurely atmosphere will last until the 20th of the first lunar month, which is ten days after the Lantern Festival. Because there is a three-day holiday during the Zhengdan Festival, but there is a seven to ten day holiday during the Lantern Festival.
The specific number of days to be kept is determined by Qin Tianjian, perhaps through some kind of yin and yang magic, and is finally reported to the emperor for approval.
The difference between Zhengdan and Lantern Festival is only about ten days. Naturally, officials will not relax and handle state affairs seriously.
Of course, important yamen like the Ministry of War will be an exception. After all, military matters are not trivial matters.
Furthermore, each yamen will also arrange personnel duties during this period, while others will just go to the yamen to order a meal and then move around freely.
But this is only true for most yamen. In addition to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel and the Metropolitan Procuratorate are also very nervous during this period, because they are also busy with inspections in Beijing.
Before the establishment of the Beijing inspection system in the Ming Dynasty, the assessment of Beijing officials mainly took the form of full examination.
However, the full examination system focuses on the performance of the official in the position, and the official will be deposed after three years of examination, which is nine years.
Because the examination period was too long, greedy and undisciplined officials could not be dismissed in time. Officials needed to be inspected regularly or irregularly to ensure the purity of the bureaucratic team. The Beijing inspection system was gradually established.
The Beijing Inspection is an inspection of the virtues and abilities of all Beijing officials, distinguishing between virtuous and unworthy officials, punishing unjust officials, and rectifying the official atmosphere.
Any new thing has a process of continuous improvement, and the same is true for the Beijing Chao system pioneered in the Ming Dynasty.
In September of the sixth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, issued an edict to conduct an assessment for Beijing officials every thirty months. Each examination could lead to one promotion. This was the prototype of the system for Beijing officials to pass the examination.
In December of the ninth year of Hongwu, it was stipulated that one test should be taken every year, and nine years would be completed.
In October of the 14th year of Hongwu, the assessment methods and assessment cycles for Beijing officials were stipulated. For Beijing officials below the fifth rank, the officials of the Yamen Hall where they were located would fill in the evaluation statements.
The assessment results are either competent, ordinary, or incompetent. The three-year cycle is a cycle of nine years.
The appointment and dismissal of officials above the fourth rank shall be directly decided by the emperor.
It was customized in the early Ming Dynasty that "the inspection of Beijing officials will be deposed when the exams are completed." During the Hongwu period, Beijing officials were assessed in the form of exams. At this time, there was no theory of ten or six years of Beijing inspections. .
After a period of no regular inspection of Beijing officials, it was not until the eighth year of Tianshun that an order was issued to inspect Beijing officials once every ten years.
According to the "Da Ming Hui Dian" records: "Tian Shun's eight-year memorial: held once every ten years, regardless of appointment, salary, Dingyou, official business, recuperation, provincial sacrifices, etc., all are inspected by the official of the Yamen Hall."< br>
The system of passing the examination stipulates that Beijing officials will be deposed after a nine-year general examination, while the Beijing inspection team will be inspected every ten years. Many Beijing officials may have been transferred to other positions during the Beijing inspection period, so the inspection of Beijing officials every ten years is imperfect. .
So in February of the ninth year of Hongzhi, Huang Bao, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, took the lead in proposing that Beijing officials conduct an inspection in every six or nine years.
Emperor Hongzhi did not pay attention to this, and naturally he did not issue an order because of it.
In July of the 14th year of Hongzhi, the Ministry of Civil Affairs reconsidered Lin Han, the Minister of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, and others, and reiterated that the inspection cycle in Beijing was too long, and local officials came to Beijing once every three years to conduct pilgrimage inspections.
Internal and external military officials also have to undergo examinations every five years. Only officials below the fifth rank in the two capitals are inspected only once every ten years. The interval is too long.
Ming Xiaozong also agreed with this, but still did not issue an order to change the Beijing inspection system.
Until May of the 17th year of Hongzhi, Li Ke reported the disaster to Xu Tianci and once again requested Beijing officials to inspect it every six years.
It can also be seen from this that the use of disasters to request adjustments to national policies actually began in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and it also became an opportunity to change national policies.
Perhaps due to the repeated suggestions of the ministers in the DPRK, in June of the 17th year of Hongzhi, Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty finally issued an order: "Order the two capital officials to join the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the officials of each Yamen Hall to conduct inspections from now on. Once every six years, it is an order.”
Since then, the six-year inspection system has been fully established. However, due to the occurrence of special circumstances, the six-year inspection system is sometimes not strictly adhered to.
Perhaps due to the succession of a new emperor, the occurrence of natural disasters, or the need of those in power to eliminate dissidents, Beijing inspections will be held temporarily. Such inspections are also called leap inspections.
Runcha originated from the Zhengde and Jiajing periods and became a pit where powerful officials fell into the trap of loyal people.
The Beijing Inspection is carried out by the collaboration of various yamen of the government and the public. "The Ministry and the Academy preside over it, and the Department of Civil Affairs, Henan Province, and the Kao Gong Department assist below." hosting work.
The Examination Department is the department directly responsible for the Beijing Inspection and is mainly responsible for the specific work of the Beijing Inspection. The Kedao is mainly responsible for a series of preparatory work before the Beijing Inspection, as well as the collection of artifacts after the Beijing Inspection, and the inspection of officials. As a result, the emperor decided to decide whether the officials under investigation should stay or leave.
The inspection of Nanjing officials "should be carried out jointly by the Nanjing Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the inspection should be conducted independently." The inspection of Nanjing officials was not under the control of the Beijing Ministry or the Institute, but was fully responsible for the Nanjing Ministry and the Institute.
The Imperial Examination is headed by the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The Shilang of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for "praising the Dazai" and assisting the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in his work. His functions run through all aspects of the preparation, conduct and conclusion of the Imperial Examination.
Unfortunately, the person in charge of the Jingcha launched this year, or the Runcha, is Gao Gong, the Grand Scholar of Wuyingdian who has just returned to the court, and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
After Yang Bo became official, Emperor Longqing did not let the cabinet recommend a new Minister of Personnel, but directly appointed Gao Gongzhang as the minister.
This is also the reason why Gao Gong was not eager to retaliate against some people after returning to the court. He had plenty of opportunities to slowly manipulate some people.
The preparation stage for the Beijing inspection began with the pre-inspection suggestions from the Ke Dao official. Later, the officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs reviewed the content of the Ke Dao official's statement and petitioned to start the preparations for the Beijing inspection.
The subsequent filling out of test statements and interview forms is an important task in the preparation stage for the Beijing inspection and is the main basis for the ministry to conduct the court inspection.
The official of the Libu Hall ordered the division chief of the headquarters to make a list of officials who should be inspected. The Mitoko Taoist officials jointly conducted the interview and filled in the interview form based on the income from the interview and reported it back to the hall official.
In addition, the test statements filled out by the officials of each Yamen Hall for subordinate officials, or the evaluations, and the self-reports of the officials themselves are all collected after being notified by the officials of the Libu Hall.
The collected documents will be sealed in the Department of Civil Service Examination, waiting for the emperor to decide the time for the inspection in Beijing.
After the Beijing inspection began, the Department of Civil Service Examination and the Department of Education jointly held a meeting to discuss the initial inspection results of the officials under inspection, so that the officials of the Ministry and Hall could understand the official's basic situation before the inspection.
In addition, more than 20 days before the official start of the Beijing inspection, the officials of the Examination Department need to handle the matters of the Beijing inspection. The general time is "after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Ministry of Examination and Examination will go to the Subu Department."
Finally, on the day of the trial, the doctor of the examination department is responsible for the "roll call" and other related matters, and the Yuanwailang is responsible for submitting the manuscript. "The doctor is responsible for Charlie, and the Yuanwailang is responsible for the manuscript."
After the officials’ evaluation results came out and were written down, the Beijing inspection was not over yet, even though the emperor had given instructions, because there was still a final review by the Department of Science and Technology.
Therefore, after the inspection in Beijing is over, the merit examination department still needs to stay in the department to deal with the inspection and review of officials with objections. This is the matter of collecting artifacts from the Kedao.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate was the highest supervisory agency in the Ming Dynasty. It was responsible for impeaching hundreds of officials and supervising various departments. Its own supervisory functions inevitably required joint participation in the inspection work of the capital together with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. .
The Metropolitan Procuratorate is divided into thirteen departments, and of course not all of them will participate in the Beijing Procuratorate. According to the division of functions, the Henan Province Censor is generally responsible for assisting the Beijing Procuratorate in matters related to the Beijing Procuratorate and impeaching the Beijing Procuratorate officials.
It seems that Gao Gong, the Minister of Civil Affairs, seems to have huge power at this time and can influence the results of Beijing officials' inspection. In fact, this is not the case. The Ming Dynasty did a good job in checking and balancing among officials.
The imperial court officials mainly play the role of supervising their subordinate officials in the whole process of Beijing inspection, but they have to directly participate in the court inspection chaired by the Minister of Personnel, or in the evaluation of Beijing officials, the imperial court officials Shi also has important rights.
So, if Gao Gong wants to use the Jingcha to attack and retaliate against a group of officials, then the first thing he has to face is Wang Ting, the censor of Zuodu, the Metropolitan Procuratorate. This was also the main reason why Wei Guangde was not worried about Ouyang Yijing and others being retaliated by Gao Gong at the beginning. With Wang Ting here, everyone on their side should be able to escape unscathed.
The imperial inspection in the fourth year of Longqing was also the last thing Wang Ting had to deal with. After that, he would beg for leave and return to his hometown in Sichuan to retire.
At this time, Wei Guangde was also discussing with Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen about the selection of the censor of Zuodu in the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
This position is too important. It can be said that if this official position cannot be controlled by their people, no one can check and balance Gao Gong, and the officials below may be moved at any time.
"After the inspection in Beijing, Gao Xinzheng should understand the importance of the position of Zuodu Yushi. It is probably difficult for the person recommended by Brother Yifu to gain the emperor's approval."
Wei Guangde sighed.
"Dazhou is loyal and majestic, and his opinions are generous. He has the style of Confucius and Wenjue Su Zizhan."
Of course Chen Yiqin picked it up, so he said.
Hearing Chen Yiqin say that Zhao Zhenji has the character of Kong Wenju, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of a joke he saw on the Internet in later generations. It was said to be an American child's view of "letting pears".
That's unfair.
First of all, it was strange that Kong Rong’s father asked the four-year-old Kong Rong to share the pears. Secondly, why should he share the pears with everyone? If he didn’t want to eat or not, whoever wanted to eat could get it by himself, right?
In the end, all the brothers have to get pears according to Kong Rong's preference. Their opportunity to choose is deprived of them. The brother who gets the biggest pear may happen to not like pears
and even more so. At that time, Wei Guangde was amazed that Kong Rong had inconsistent and absolutely opposite standards for his elder brother and younger brother. Because the pears he gave to his elder brother and younger brother were both bigger than him, he was questioned for not having principles in doing things.
This makes people suspect that he doesn’t like pears, so he picked the smallest one for himself.
Thinking of this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but smile, but it looked strange in Chen Yiqin's eyes, and he didn't know what he said was wrong.
What he just said was not his comment on Zhao Zhenji, but was given by others, and was believed by most people.
"Shandai, is there something wrong with what I said?"
Chen Yiqin asked strangely.
"No, no."
Wei Guangde waved his hands hastily. He thought that he couldn't say it just now. The story of "Kong Rong gave up the pear" is a beautiful story through the ages, and it promotes a kind of humility and sharing. spirit.
"To be honest, I think the person most likely to succeed Brother Zizheng after he returns to his hometown is Liu Tiqian."
Wei Guangde immediately corrected the topic and brought the somewhat crooked topic back to the right track. Today they discussed It is the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
The Liu Tiqian he is talking about here is not Liu Tiqian, the current Minister of Household Affairs, but Liu Ziqiang, the censor of the right capital of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate. He and Gao Gong are both fellows in Henan.
And "Ti Qian" is Liu Ziqiang's character.
Wang Ting’s decision to leave was no longer a secret in the court, so after Chen Yiqin proposed Zhao Zhenji as his successor, Gao Gong also proposed Liu Ziqiang, hoping to transfer him to Beijing to serve as the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The censor of Zuodu.
Of course, Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen would definitely not be mistaken about what Wei Guangde said, and they naturally knew who he was talking about.
Whether it is Zhao Zhenji or Liu Ziqiang, whoever sits in that position represents who the emperor Longqing's heart favors more.
Chen Yiqin actually knew in his heart that his status in the emperor's mind was definitely not as good as that of Gao Gong, but he was unwilling to give up.
"Shandai, Zhengfu, is there anyone else you can recommend? Or has Shuda suggested other candidates?"
After being silent for a moment, Chen Yiqin suddenly said.
"It may not be a good thing to muddy the waters at this time."
Wei Guangde frowned, and then said, "We can't recommend it. We should choose to support Meng Jing. But Uncle, you can ask if there are any candidates.< br>
After all , His Majesty may not consider the candidate proposed by Shuda to take over the position of Zuodu Yushi."
After such a long time, Wei Guangde actually understood that what Emperor Longqing wanted was someone with strength. A relatively balanced court.
Since balance is required, whether it is Gao Gong or them, it is definitely not the best choice for one family to dominate.
Li Chunfang is old and has no drive. In other words, he is a veteran who is prudent and not prone to making mistakes. He is basically excluded, but he can stabilize the cabinet.
The other family, Xu Jie's successor Zhang Juzheng, is currently the weakest. It is difficult to balance whether it is the right to speak or actual power in the court.
Appropriate support should be what Emperor Longqing wants to do.
The current cabinet looks a bit like the Three Kingdoms to Wei Guangde.
Because of the emperor, Gao Gong had the most say, so he was naturally "Wei", and his group and Zhang Juzheng were naturally "Wu" and "Shu".
A single family cannot compete with Gao Gong, but if they join forces, they may be able to compete.
It is difficult to get Zhang Juzheng to support them, just as difficult as it is to get Zhang Juzheng to support Gao Gong.
But if it is someone recommended by Zhang Juzheng, the emperor may consider it for the sake of balance. They can unite with him by supporting the person recommended by Zhang Juzheng and fight against Gao Gong.
Wei Guangde expressed his thoughts, and both Yin Shizhen and Chen Yiqin also felt that it made sense. The key was that they could use this to test out Emperor Longqing's true thoughts.
Before, Wei Guangde suspected that the emperor wanted to balance the court, so he chose to recall Gao Gong, but the two of them still had doubts.
If the emperor chooses Zhang Juzheng instead of Gao Gong this time, the emperor's idea will basically be confirmed.
"My uncle never mentioned it to me."
Yin Shizhen said with a frown.
"Don't look at me, I did ask, but my uncle said there was no candidate."
Wei Guangde also said immediately.
"Shandai, please ask again when you have time. I have recommended candidates, so it's really hard to ask."
Chen Yiqin said.
(End of this chapter)