Chapter 335: The Benefactor of Scholars All Over the World
Cabinet room.

Li Chunfang was completely dumbfounded.

He looked blankly at the Prime Minister Yan Song, who nodded and agreed as soon as he spoke.

Can't you just have a good sleep?
Did you really understand what Yuan Wei just said?

I’m afraid you didn’t understand, so just start talking!

Fortunately.

Xu Jie immediately said, "Lord, do you also want Zishi to handle what we just talked about?"

Under the gaze of everyone.

Yan Song frowned slightly and said slowly, "What was the matter just discussed?"

This statement came out.

Yuan Wei couldn't help but secretly roll his eyes.

Gao Gong was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

Li Chunfang, who had almost thought that he was about to do something offensive, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and secretly rejoiced.

Xu Jie smiled and said, "It's just that there was an article published in the Changping newspaper today. I wonder if you have read it?"

As he spoke, Xu Jie stepped forward and handed today's Changping newspaper to Yan Song.

Yan Song just glanced at the newspaper in front of him, then looked up at everyone and said, "Please sit down. The cabinet seems to have green bean soup recently. When will it be delivered today?"

As he spoke, Yan Song looked at Yuan Wei.

According to the rules, Yuan Wei is now in charge of cabinet affairs.

Xu Jie and Li Chunfang walked back to their seats.

Yuan Wei cupped his hands and said, "I think it will be soon."

Yan Song nodded and turned his eyes: "Then everyone, please allow me to take a look at today's newspaper first?"

The Prime Minister spoke.

Naturally, everyone nodded in agreement.

Gao Gong and Yuan Wei sat on one side, opposite Xu Jie and Li Chunfang on the other side.

While Yan Song was reading the newspaper.

The four of them looked at each other, each with their own thoughts.

Time passes little by little.

The four of them were not in a hurry.

After all, Changping Daily publishes a large number of articles in each issue.

It still takes some time to finish reading a Changping newspaper.

I don’t know how much time passed.

Yan Song held the newspaper in his hand, looked at everyone, and coughed lightly.

After attracting the attention of four people.

Yan Song pointed to the investigation report with a smile on his face and said, "Is this what you are talking about today?"

Yuan Wei immediately bowed and said, "To reply to the old man, this is exactly the matter. The article "Report on the Investigation of Officials and Yamen Runners in the Imperial Court" written by Chang Zhongping is simple and concise, but the meaning and examples he mentioned are thought-provoking. The Imperial Court has been in existence for 200 years, with 30,000 officials, but there are tens of millions of official clerks and yamen runners in government offices all over the country!

"For example, in a county, the magistrate, the county magistrate, and the chief clerk are the three officials appointed by the court. Under them are the registrar, the six offices, the three classes of clerks, the transport, river and lake, inspection, iron smelting, taxation, inspection, Dao association, Buddhist association, etc. There are hundreds or thousands of people.

"Although these people have no official positions, they have been deeply rooted in the local area for many years and generations. Often, the officials sent by the court, although they are officials in charge of the government seals, often have to be humiliated by the clerks and runners due to the current situation.

"The court is currently rectifying the administration of officials, and the first thing to do is to investigate the officials appointed by the court, not the clerks in the government offices. However, the clerks are like tigers and are more harmful than the officials appointed by the court. Their number far exceeds that of the officials appointed by the court. Since the court is rectifying the administration of officials, the clerks in the government offices must be investigated.

I think that although Mr. Li is new to the cabinet, he has been working in the Ministry of Personnel for a long time. I think he is familiar with the work of minor officials in the government and is most suitable for this position. "

What Yuan Wei said was reasonable in every word.

People may only know that the person in charge of a county is the county magistrate, and if there is no county magistrate, the county assistant or the chief clerk will be in charge.

But no one would calculate how many clerks and runners a county government would need to run normally.

There would need to be dozens of clerks in the six rooms alone.

Not to mention the three shifts of yamen runners, which would require hundreds of people.

In addition, a county has many functional departments to share many matters, and the number of officials required is innumerable.

The power held by these people, their collusion with each other, and their unity from top to bottom, how could a county magistrate control and suppress them?
It is the simplest matter of taxation.

The household department gives a number, saying that a certain village needs a certain amount of tax silver, and another village needs an equal amount.

Can the magistrate really visit all these villages and towns and inspect them?
It's still the accountants in the household department who have the final say.

Yuan Wei nominated Li Chunfang to take charge of this matter, and the reason he gave was very legitimate.

Li Chunfang originally rose through the ranks from the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to enter the Cabinet.

He has been working in the Ministry of Personnel for a long time. Can't he manage the affairs of government clerks and yamen runners?
Then Li Chunfang is not worthy of entering the cabinet.

Even how effective his work was when he was working in the Ministry of Personnel is questionable.

As Yuan Wei spoke.

Gao Gong also said: "The rectification of the administration of officials in the court is a matter decided by the emperor. Even those in the public service, whether they are appointed officials in the court or those who are not officials or clerks, should be thoroughly investigated, and the harsh officials should be rectified, and corruption and all illegal activities should be strictly prohibited."

Just when Gao Gong finished speaking, Xu Jie thought that the other party had finished speaking and was about to open his mouth to object.

Gao Gong opened his mouth again.

Get ahead of Xu Jie.

Gao Gong smiled and said, "What's more, not long ago, Lord Xu went to various ministries and yamen in Beijing to conduct a thorough investigation of the officials. At that time, he found that many officials were derelict in their duties. It seems that there are still many petty officials in the yamen in Beijing who have committed illegal acts. Now they have been transferred to the Three Judicial Departments for investigation and accountability.

Now, Chang Zhongping's article highly praises the actions of Lord Xu at that time, and cites it as a legacy of the country. At present, the wind has already started in the capital, and all officials are looking forward to the court's action to deter the petty officials and rectify the power of the officials. "

Xu Jie, who was overtaken, raised his eyebrows.

Yan Shaoting really took advantage of this matter.

But now, he was unable to refute what Gao Gong said.

Could he still say that he did that purely to get Yan Ne into the cabinet and then get Li Chunfang promoted to the Ministry of Rites?

Then what I did at the beginning was not loyalty to the country and working for the country, but for my own selfish interests.

Although that is the case.

But nominally, it is not like this.

Myself now.

It's really like a one-track mind that ends up being blocked in both directions.

Say no.

Saying no is even more unacceptable!
A dilemma...

Xu Jie couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

After a pause, Gao Gong did not speak again.

Xu Jie then slowly spoke: "The court's rectification of the administration of officials originally covers both appointed officials and clerks, but the emphasis is different. Once the appointed officials are rectified, the official authority can be established, and the officials sent by the court will rectify the clerks under their jurisdiction.

If these people are unable to accomplish this, it shows that they are not capable enough to be used, and they can be fired or demoted and replaced with capable people. "

As Xu Jie spoke, Gao Gong couldn't help but hum twice in a low voice.

According to Xu Jie's intention.

That is, this matter is still his own responsibility. If he can supervise the rectification of official administration and put all the officials in order, then future officials will be able to solve the problems of clerks and yamen runners under their jurisdiction by themselves.

Although Xu Jie was saying that if these officials were incompetent, they would be dismissed or demoted.

But wasn't he also mocking himself for not being careful enough in supervising the rectification of official administration, which allowed the clerks and runners of the local government to do things that insulted the officials appointed by the court?

Xu Jie disagreed.

If Gao Gong had not interfered in the last Wanshou Palace meeting, Yan Ne would be sitting in this cabinet room, and Li Chunfang would have been promoted from Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to Minister of Rites.

Wait until Yan Song really steps down.

The Ministry of Rites will be the first to be included in the cabinet when new cabinet members are added.

By that time, Yan Ne and Li Chunfang will both be in the cabinet.

You can have your own opinion in the cabinet.

But all this was ruined by Gao Gong.

Now I just mocked him in person, and it is not enough to pay him back!
Gao Gong naturally refused to be outdone.

I have finally started to supervise the work of rectifying the administration of officials this year. You, Xu Jie, don't look at the reality and want to put the blame on me, Old Gao, for the harm caused by the clerks and yamen runners in the local government?

Gao Gong immediately said in a muffled voice: "If the local administration could really be solved by officials sent by the court in the past 200 years, why would this article come about today, and why would Lord Xu be so furious at the various ministries and offices of the court?"

These words were also clearly directed back at Xu Jie.

Xu Jie was already very angry today.

Just opened his mouth to refute.

But on the other end, Yan Song, who had been silent the whole time, tapped the table lightly with his knuckles.

The table banged.

Everyone immediately turned to look at the Prime Minister.

Only then did they realize that Yan Song had not yet expressed his opinion on this matter.

Under the gaze of four people.

Yan Song smiled, raised the Changping newspaper in his hand, and then casually threw it on the table in public.

"It's just an article written by a person who popped up from nowhere, and it's just about the recent inspection of various ministries and government offices in the capital by Lord Xu."

Gao Gong frowned.

There is something wrong with what the Prime Minister said!
Yan Song continued, "The court has never banned people from discussing state affairs. We should continue to rectify the administration of officials. As for the clerks and servants in the local government offices, let's see what people will say next."

Yuan Wei's eyes flashed.

Prime Minister Yan’s meaning is very clear.

They just argued for a long time, but it was all in vain.

The Prime Minister has said that it is just an article written by someone who came from nowhere. How much influence can it have on the court?

It would be better to wait and see how the follow-up news develops before discussing this matter.

Yuan Wei immediately cupped his hands and said with a smile: "The Prime Minister is mature and wise in planning for the country, and we should emulate him."

Yan Song waved his hand, picked up the mung bean soup that was finally served, and put it into his mouth spoonful by spoonful.

But his words were pondered in the minds of several people.

Li Chunfang reacted the fastest.

He smiled and bowed, saying, "As the elder said, I will keep an eye on the wind outside from today onwards to see where the wind will go next."

Seeing that both parties agreed with what he said.

Yan Song smiled and nodded, then glanced at Gao Gong: "But there is also a precedent in our dynasty. Taizu's sacred instruction is that students cannot discuss state affairs. Last year, the prince's guests also reiterated this point in the court, and the emperor has not changed it."

This is a high arch at point.

He now also holds the position of Chief Academician of the Imperial College, which is equivalent to a position in charge of all students in the Ming Dynasty.

Gao Gong understood and nodded immediately: "I understand. I will inform the Imperial College about this matter later."

Yan Song smiled happily.

Then he glanced at the four people present.

The current cabinet structure is actually what I most want to see.

As for Xu Jie, he could bring Yan Ne or Li Chunfang into the cabinet.

so what?
Even if he takes a nap all day, he is still the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty!
Still the emperor's most trusted minister!
Think of this.

Yan Song smiled even more and said, "Come in, everyone. The mung bean soup is quite good today."

Everyone happily accepted it.

As for the matter of the inspection report on government clerks and yamen runners, it seemed that it was temporarily put aside.

But in the following days.

The discussion about this report in Beijing became increasingly heated.

Naturally, most officials stood on the side of this report, calling on the court to introduce new policies as soon as possible to control and suppress the harm caused by local officials and clerks.

And among the people.

However, there are different voices at the local level.

These people naturally represent the complex and powerful forces of the local gentry.

The voice of this force is even more direct.

Why are local governments controlled by clerks and yamen runners? It’s because the officials sent by the court are incompetent.

For this purpose, the group also cited many real-life stories.

Among them were the Changping Public Security Bureau, the current Shuntian Prefecture, and several places where Hai Rui served as an official.

In these places, there has never been an incident where clerks or runners in the yamen bullied the officials.

This rebuttal was undoubtedly a slap in the face of the officials who spoke out.

All parties gradually began to engage in a heated debate over that article.

Both sides have legitimate reasons.

For a moment, they were actually incomparable.

After an internal debate that day, the cabinet shelved the matter and remained silent on it, without expressing any opinion.

at the same time.

Yan Shaoting also hid in Changping, receiving news from all sides and reviewing articles submitted by various parties hoping to be published in the Changping newspaper.

Everyone in Changping Academy is very busy.

Because there are so many submitted articles, the gentlemen in the academy not only have to continue to ensure the academy's courses, but also have to devote more time to reviewing the submitted articles.

On the contrary, Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui became more and more excited.

"Runwu, I think this article is good, would you like to take a look?"

Yan Shaoting took the article handed to him by Prince Yu, whose face was flushed but full of energy.

The article tells a story about a young and inexperienced magistrate of a certain county, who, with the help of the county clerks, managed to govern the county successfully.

Of course it is true.

However, the Spring and Autumn method was used.

After Xu Wei saw clearly which county the matter was about, he immediately found the information of this young and inexperienced county magistrate.

What this article did not mention is that the county magistrate’s wife was the daughter of the most powerful family in the county.

in this way.

This makes sense.

but……

Yan Shaoting glanced at Prince Yu and said, "Mr. Xu, this article is published in this issue of Changping Newspaper."

Xu Wei took a look and then nodded.

Since they could find out the whereabouts of the young county magistrate, others could do the same.

Changping’s inclination on this matter is actually very obvious.

It is to vigorously promote the reform of clerks and yamen runners in the government of the country.

After accompanying Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui in selecting articles for a while and satisfying the mountain head's ambition to succeed.

Yan Shaoting then left the academy teachers in the room and took Xu Wei out of the study.

Got outside.

Yan Shaoting exhaled a long breath, breathed in the fresh air, and then asked: "What is the wind direction in Beijing now?"

Xu Wei whispered, "After the old master spoke in the cabinet that day, the cabinet and the six ministries and nine officials have remained restrained and have not spoken. However, the officials below are indignant and are about to force the court to issue an edict to rectify the local government officials and yamen runners."

Yan Shaoting smiled.

Things turned out just as I thought at the beginning.

As long as these people are given a chance, they will never miss the opportunity to fight for their rights.

And I just happened to give them this opportunity.

but.

Yan Shaoting then asked, "Does anyone have any useful suggestions?"

Xu Wei immediately shook his head.

He smiled bitterly and said, "I haven't heard any such voices yet. I guess..."

"I guess they only know how to ask for power, but don't know how to solve this problem."

Yan Shaoting stated without emotion.

Xu Wei had a smile on his face.

If those in the court knew how to solve the problem, the harm caused by clerks and yamen runners in the Central Plains government would not have continued to this day.

Yan Shaoting smiled immediately.

"In that case."

"Then don't blame me. I'll take the title of benefactor of the world's scholars!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)