Chapter 307 Reform of the Civil Service
Nanxun Town, Huzhou Prefecture.
The governor of South Zhili strictly prohibits disrupting market order and cracks down on evil forces. The notice has been posted for three days.
But the local forces in Nanxun Town did not take this seriously.
Yahang is still bullying and dominating the market, and the green-skinned gangsters are still relying on the support of powerful people to collect protection fees and extort money.
Even the magistrate responsible for the jurisdiction of Nanxun Town didn't care. On the one hand, the local forces would give him benefits, and on the other hand, he couldn't offend the local forces for the imperial decree, so he still stayed in Huating County and still followed the rule of inaction. The rule is that official power does not go to the countryside.
The Police Department has not developed into these new towns, and can only control the surrounding areas of the county.
However, now, Jin Yiwei, who is responsible for rectification, is here.
At this time, Yuan Heng, a member of the Jinyiwei Baihu group, came to Nanxun Town with a team of Jinyiwei.
Nanxun Town, which develops freely and has no regard for others, was not cold to the appearance of Jin Yiwei at first, and still only did its own thing.
Even Meizhi County didn't bother to take care of it after learning about the appearance of Jin Yiwei. He is still worried about whether he will lose his hat if he didn't entertain a nobleman when he came to his place a few days ago.
Officer Zhai has not yet taken these Jin Yiwei seriously. Now he is instigating his slaves to stop a merchant who is unwilling to buy goods from him and prevent him from unloading the goods.
"Just one sentence, if you refuse to sign a contract with our Zhai family, our Zhai family will not let the porters here unload your goods! Your goods will be left on the river without being sold ashore!"
< br>
Said the noble slave of the Zhai family.
"However, your Zhai family has set the price too low. If we come all the way to Nanxun Town to sell, we will lose money!" said the merchant.
"Your grandfather, I don't want to talk nonsense with you! I'll put it here. If anyone helps this merchant named Wei to deliver goods, our Zhai family will beat him to death and let his wife and daughter be sold to the brothel by his clan members. ! ”
As soon as the slave of the Zhai family finished speaking, Yuan Heng, a member of the Jin Yiwei family, came over and said, "Can your Zhai family be the Tianbu of Nanxun Town, and can you represent Wang Fa?"
"My Zhai family is in Nanxun Town, so that's Wang Fa!"
After saying this, the powerful slave of the Zhai family found that there was a knife on his neck. When he turned around, he saw that it was the Jin Yiwei. He was stunned for a moment, and the initial arrogance suddenly disappeared.
Yuan Heng, a member of Jinyiwei Baihu, pulled the knife hard, and the head of the slave of the Zhai family rolled to the ground.
Everyone present was frightened and confused.
"According to a special decree, after the notice is announced, all those who still bully and dominate the market will be killed!"
While Jin Yiwei Baihu Yuanheng was talking, several other Jin Yiwei also killed several other slaves on the spot.
The merchant was so frightened when he saw this that he forgot to place the goods for a moment. When Yuan Heng saw this, he said: "That merchant, you can place the goods now. The helpers who place the goods, don't even think about raising the price. , otherwise, our sword will kill you too!”
The merchants and helpers all replied tremblingly: "Yes, yes!"
At this time of the Zhai family, Zhai Yuanwai was instructing his housekeeper: "Don't throw away this batch of moldy rice. Let it dry in the sun and then transport it to Ningbo to sell. In a few days, the navy will come to collect military rations. This You can still get a good price by wholesale moldy rice!”
As soon as the housekeeper outside Zhai agreed, Yuan Heng came in with the Jin Yiwei.
"One is spared!"
Yuan Heng said something first, then drew his knife and cut the housekeeper in half, then pointed the knife at Mr. Zhai: "How much moldy rice is there in the house? Where is it hidden?"
"There are still three hundred shi, which were hoarded during the famine last year. I wanted to sell them at a good price. Unexpectedly, the Ministry of Agriculture shipped a lot of sweet potatoes, so they were not sold. They were all hidden in the cellar. Master, please spare my life! I just want to sell them at a good price." I am a businessman and my family still has some money, and I am willing to give it to the military master!”
Yuan Heng asked Zhai Yuanwai to find all the moldy rice, and then ordered people to burn the rice.
Zhai Yuanwai and several of his business partners were dragged to the most crowded place in Nanxun Town and were all slapped on the spot! The head fell to the ground!
……
This kind of thing continues to happen throughout Jiangnan.
The Fan family, a juren in Xiaotang Town, Huating County, relied on their status as a juren to openly instruct local gangsters in Xiaotang Town to collect protection fees from ordinary people and merchants to enrich their own family.
A certain team of Jin Yiwei directly broke through the door and killed the head of the Fan family, more than a hundred slaves and three hundred land refugees, and even used firearms.
And Wei Guogong Xu Pengju had to close his eyes and slashed at Zuo Zhong, a wealthy gentry in Jiangning who loaned money and forced his family to die.
Puff!
After Xu Pengju killed one person, he did not hesitate to kill others.
……
For a while. The whole Jiangnan changed its color after hearing about the Jin Yiwei. No matter whether they were wealthy gentry, bullies or green-skinned hooligans, tens of thousands of people were killed.
The police force originally established by Zhu Houzhao in Nanzhili also strengthened its control force, especially after several corrupt police officers were also executed.
The local evil forces that affected the security of Jiangnan and disrupted the commodity economic order in Jiangnan were greatly reduced. Local officials in Jiangnan were also frightened and did not dare to protect local forces anymore. They even had to follow the pressure of the imperial court and strictly control them.
In order to consolidate this achievement, Zhu Houzhao plans not to leave Jiangnan for two or three years. He wants to truly establish modern civilization in Jiangnan, a region where capitalism has sprouted, and raise the level of humanistic literacy to people's economic living standards and municipal service standards. Become a benchmark for the future development of Ming Dynasty.
But now is only the first step. It only eliminates the evil forces that hinder the development of Jiangnan's commodity economy and stabilizes public security.
Hua Chen, a businessman from Qiushan County, Sichuan, came to Wangdian Town, Jiaxing County with 500 shi of grain. He saw that there were no tyrants occupying the docks in Wangdian Town. He couldn't help but ask the people in Yahang: "Who dares to ask Boss He? , Don’t merchants usually have to pay dock fees when they come?”
"So that you know, Boss He was executed by the Jin Yiwei last year, and all his men, No. 70, were eradicated as black forces! The entire Qianhe River in Wangdian Town has been red for several days, and there is blood everywhere!"< br>
Said the toothsmith.
"Isn't it said that Boss He has relatives behind him who are doing things in the court? How come he was killed by the Jin Yiwei?" Hua Chen, a merchant, asked.
"The imperial court cracked down hard and mobilized troops. Not to mention the relatives involved, even the relatives of the old minister would be killed. Your Majesty is sitting in Nanjing to rectify the local public security. No one dares to offend Long Yan! Now the whole In Jiangnan, no matter who you are, you can buy and sell freely. No one dares to bully the market anymore. We, the dental shops, must abide by the rules now," said the person from this dental shop.
"This is really a great favor from the emperor. If I had known it, I would have shipped more grain. This year's Shu land will have a great harvest. I heard that there was a severe drought and flood in South Zhili, so I came all the way to sell it, but I was worried that it would be like the year before last in Pu. The town was robbed, and only five hundred stones were brought in!”
The merchant said with some regret.
Like this merchant, other merchants who came to Jiangnan found that the business order in Jiangnan had greatly improved. For a time, the number of merchants coming to Jiangnan for trade increased significantly, which also led to a sharp increase in the trade volume of Jiangnan.
Moreover, because the imperial court has not yet established a complete commercial tax system, many cities and towns are still free trade, and local forces are suppressed by the imperial court. Most of the income has also gone into the hands of the common people, which has greatly increased the income of the people in Jiangnan and made Jiangnan rich. The degree has also increased significantly.
But Zhu Houzhao will naturally not be satisfied with this. Making the people rich can only be a primary purpose, because the free economic market is a market of survival of the fittest. If this continues, the rich will only get richer and the poor will get poorer. As the imperial court We need to avoid this phenomenon and spend the growing wealth of society on public utilities that benefit everyone.
"Governor Wu Wending of South Zhili, Inspector Dai Jin, and you, the chief envoys and inspectors, can now maintain public order in Jiangnan, and the people can trade and produce freely, and no law-breaking incidents have occurred. It's the army, it's the royal guards who are here Maintain! But severe punishments can only be used for a while, not for a lifetime. It is impossible for the court to use its hard-trained military to maintain local security. As Jiangnan local officials, you must shoulder this responsibility!"
Zhu Houzhao gave instructions to local officials in Jiangnan.
Wang Shouren also said from the side: "What your Majesty said is true. The current situation is changing, and the system must also change. Jiangnan is different from other places. Seventy percent of the people in Jiangnan are working and doing business, and there are even more people from Huizhou, Taiyuan, Zhaoqing, and Chengdu. , Merchants from Wuhan live here, and 60% of the world’s refugees are concentrated here, all working and doing business. Naturally, we can no longer manage them like we used to manage farmers!”
"Your Majesty, as well as the cabinet elders, I have been in charge of Southern Zhili for many years. I believe that the bad governance of Southern Zhili mainly includes the following points: first, the tax administration is unclear and local apportionment is messy; second, rogues dominate each side. They collude with officials and subordinates to oppress the people; thirdly, the number of officials is insufficient and governance is disordered. Officials in a county do not know how many new towns and people they have under their jurisdiction! "
Wu Wending also started talking at this time, and said: "Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to change the official system first and then change taxes, and the government should be delegated to local governments. I suggest that the establishment of Nandu Jingguan should be abolished. I boldly say that these Nandu Ministries In addition to doing other things, ministers and temple officials There is no use disturbing the local area! In the imperial court, there are officials in various ministries in Beijing who take charge of the world's government affairs and coordinate everything. The officials in Nanjing can only serve as a constraint. In the south of the Yangtze River, the officials in Nanjing only seek their own interests and not the people of the south. Bliss! ”
Wu Wending's words were like a bomb exploding among the officials. Bian Xian, the censor of Zuodu in Nanjing, immediately stood up: "You are talking nonsense! The Ming Dynasty implemented the two-capital system, which was the old practice of Taizong's time (Yongle here has not been changed by Zhu Houzhao after his posthumous title) Chengzu, in history, Jiajing changed his posthumous title to Chengzu), you are tampering with the ancestral system! Besides, there is a profound meaning in the fact that Nanjing still has six governors.”
"What's the deep meaning? I'm just worried that if the north is not defended, the southern capital will be established again!"
Wu Wending said it very directly, and then he cupped his hands to Zhu Houzhao and said: "Your Majesty, I have the guts to say it bluntly, based on the conduct and ability of these officials in Nanjing, even if the world changes in the future, the north will lose. They will only surrender and betray the country." They will not defend Nanjing to protect themselves, because apart from oppressing the people in Jiangnan and holding them hostage against the central court, they have no blood at all!”
Zhu Houzhao admitted that Wu Wending's prediction was correct. Historically, after the city of Beijing was captured by Li Zicheng and later fell into the hands of the Qing Dynasty, the old and young people in Nanjing did not defend Nanjing, and the majority did surrender.
However, Zhu Houzhao did not expect that Wu Wending, a versatile civil and military man who was promoted to governor by the prefect because he put down the rebellion of King Ning, would launch such a big cannon at this time and directly attack the entire Nanjing official system. These are thousands of bureaucrats. , although most of them are just eating and drinking, most of them are people with relatively high qualifications.
"What do Wang Qing think?"
Zhu Houzhao asked Wang Shouren that the central official system in Nanjing was a legacy of the Ming Dynasty, but that did not mean that the capital officials in Nanjing were meaningless. Therefore, he did not know whether to withdraw them for the moment, but decided to ask other officials.
Wang Shouren also knew that many Nanjing officials were idle, but it was undeniable that many military and political affairs in the south, especially in Southern Zhili, were still managed by Nanjing officials. After all, the capital was far away from the south, and due to geographical factors, many Southern affairs are naturally handled more efficiently in Nanjing.
What Wang Shouren could guess was that the reason why Wu Wending, the governor of Southern Zhili, dared to bombard various ministries in Nanjing was simply because he, the governor of Southern Zhili, did not want to be constrained by this group of senior officials in Southern Zhili.
Therefore, Wang Shouren only said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, it is not appropriate for the Nanjing officials to withdraw. After all, the household and military affairs in the south still need to be managed in Nanjing. Every year, grain transportation to the north and the southeastern coastal defense all need to be coordinated by the Nanjing officials." , but the words of Governor Wu Wending cannot be ignored. The rights and responsibilities of Nanjing and Nanjing need to be distinguished. Nanjing officials are not allowed to interfere in the affairs of Nanjing, and the responsibilities of Nanjing officials need to be clear! "
Wang Shouren said this, and both the Nanjing officials and Wu Wending had no objections. As for the Nanjing officials, it was good not to revoke the Nanjing officials and not let them order them to serve. As for Wu Wending, he really didn't expect the court to control Nanjing. Thousands of officials from the capital were given away, and he only bombarded them to achieve his goal of being able to fully govern Southern Zhili as the governor of Southern Zhili.
Zhu Houzhao thought that these officials knew the officials well. If it were him, he would really think that Wu Wen was determined to remove thousands of Nanjing officials, and he did have some impulse in his heart to get rid of Nanjing's functions as the capital.
"It's very good. After Nanzhili is moved to Suzhou, Nanjing officials are not allowed to interfere in local affairs of Nanzhili. However, the three bad policies mentioned by Wu Wending hit the point. Now the system of special management zones has been abolished, and pilot projects have begun in Nanzhili and Zhejiang provinces. To reform the civil service system, we must first focus on household administration, criminal administration, and military administration at the provincial level. There must be various bureaus and bureaus in the areas of official affairs, academic administration, ritual administration, and industrial administration. If it extends to the government, there must also be corresponding bureaus and bureaus. If it extends to the county, there must also be various bureaus and bureaus. To increase the local administrative power, each village must implement it. Autonomous system, but court officials are required to be appointed at the township level and above. ”
Zhu Houzhao added: "Now the province has the Chief Secretary, the Inspector General, and the Metropolitan Command Department. They all need to be abolished and reorganized into departments. Each department will be set up according to various types of government affairs. The departments are planned to be the same as the prefects, with four grades, while the prefectures and counties have no detailed administration. As a rule, the general judge is in charge of military affairs, and the official is in charge of punishment. After all, there are few officials and unclear positions, so the government needs to set up bureaus according to various types of government affairs. The same is true for counties. All the original bureaus in prefectures, prefectures and counties have been changed into bureaus. The bureaus set up by the government naturally have to intervene in the management of the counties under their jurisdiction. "Government affairs of the bureau"
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, the officials were all surprised. They thought that His Majesty was going to increase the number of officials. They were probably already preparing for today's move after the Constitutional Outline was set up to ban humble status and restrict subordinates from engaging in politics and education. .
(End of chapter)