It should be said that the emperor must have had a clue about the reform of officialdom.
Many ministers present had expected this. However, what they did not expect was that the regulations proposed by the emperor were so radical.
Let’s first talk about the restrictions on the power of remonstrance and remonstrance in science and technology. The system of open memorials and secret memorials may sound easy to listen to, but in fact, it undoubtedly shakes the long-standing practice in the officialdom of the integration of remonstrance and impeachment.
There is no doubt that these two edicts would still cause an uproar even if they had been agreed upon on a small scale when they reached the outer court.
In addition, the three measures just proposed by the emperor are also quite good, and normally they would be enough to cause shock to the court.
Although the expansion of Kedao's staff is temporary, it is also a great reward.
As for the re-evaluation of the six subjects and thirteen Taoist grades, although it is not a big deal, it still falls into the category of updating the canon system.
If these two items can be considered as being a favor and will not cause too much trouble, then the third item will truly change the situation in the court.
This involves the entire officialdom, and even various issues of birth and status!
Due to various reasons, Qingliu Kedao has a very high status in the court, second only to Cong Longzhichen. It has strict restrictions and a very bright future. Of course, the competition is also fierce.
Although the two are called together, in fact, because they serve the Sutra feast and are closely related to the cabinet, Qingliu's status has always been higher than that of Kedao.
The so-called Qingliu, in a broad sense, refers to officials who came from imperial examinations and Jinshi. In a narrow sense, it specifically refers to officials with Hanlin experience.
Generally speaking, after the palace examination, the top three in the first class will be directly selected as Hanlin editors. After the rest take another test, the outstanding ones will be selected as Shujishi and enter the Hanlin Academy to study politics. After three years,
After disbanding, depending on their achievements, the first rank will be awarded Hanlin official position, the second rank will be awarded censor or other ministry officials, and the third rank will be awarded local official position.
Moreover, those with clear qualifications can be promoted as appropriate, whether in a ministry or at a local level.
With the Jingyan system, Qingliu means that Jane is in the Sacred Heart, with the Shujishi system, Qingliu means the best connections, and with the cabinet, Qingliu means the smoothest future and backing.
These three factors jointly created Qingliu's special status in the court.
However, since the emperor came to the throne, this situation has obviously changed. First of all, the Sacred Heart and the Holy Grace, the scriptures are read at the banquet. Although the emperor has never neglected his duties, he has never given preferential treatment to the officials of the Qing Dynasty. Even at the beginning of his accession to the throne,
, the emperor had issued an order that only Hanlin officials should be allowed to serve at the Sutra Banquet, and the rest of the common people who had not been awarded officials were not allowed to serve at the Sutra Banquet.
Later, with Wang Ao entering the cabinet, Chen Xun was transferred to the Ministry of Industry, Gao Gu was transferred to Nanjing, and Xiao Fan was appointed as a Hanlin bachelor. In the past two years, the cabinet has been separated from the cabinet, both superficially and substantively.
If there is any weak connection, it is that the cabinet ministers also take turns attending the scripture banquet and reading.
However, since the prince left the cabinet, only Wang Ao, who is also in charge of the affairs of the Hanlin Academy, still serves Jing Yan. The rest of the cabinet ministers take turns reading for the prince. Now that Yi Ming has taken office, Wang Ao no longer serves Jing Yan.
, the weak connection between the two was thus severed.
Coincidentally, according to usual practice, the officials of the Crown Prince's Palace and the officials of the Hanlin Academy were supposed to serve concurrently with each other. However, this time when the prince came out of the cabinet, the emperor directly abolished this convention and made them no longer concurrently serve each other.
As a result, the Hanlin Academy lost its saints and its cabinet. All that was left was a group of people who had the best academic performance in the same year.
However, without the bonuses of the first two, this thing is all that’s left. What’s the use?
Yes, there are many people who can enter the Hanlin Academy who are in the top three of the first class, and most of them are among the top three of the second class.
But the problem is that these concubines themselves do not have official positions!
No matter how good your grades are, no matter how beautiful your qualifications are, they must be able to be fulfilled to be useful!
Nowadays, the embarrassing situation faced by Qingliu is that the qualifications of Qingliu that they are proud of have been difficult to fulfill.
From this point of view, the group of concubines who have just been elected to the Hanlin Academy should be the worst, and they have never caught up with the good times.
As for the so-called imperial censorship that the emperor just mentioned...
All the ministers present were hesitant. Even Wang Wen, who had always been in step with the emperor, was hesitant this time and said tentatively.
"Your Majesty, the imperial court has never talked about trial positions. If this matter is done, I'm afraid it will need to be discussed by the imperial court!"
Combining the emperor's various measures against Qingliu in the past two years, in fact, the emperor's intention is already very obvious.
In the original system, Qingliu was selected from the first and second grades of the imperial examination. They served at the banquet and became familiar with the emperor first, and then parted ways when the academy was dismissed. The outstanding ones stayed in the Hanlin Academy and worked as editors.
From then on, he continued to serve the emperor and became the emperor's confidant over a long period of time.
During this process, if you are sent to the outside world, you will usually go to the yamen in the capital to gain real power through promotion. If you are promoted all the way and become a bachelor, you will have the opportunity to directly transfer to the cabinet and become a bachelor.
This is the best way to go. If your grades are not good enough, then you can go to a ministry or a college. Through strong connections and the emperor's favor, you can go smoothly.
Qingliu has been doing this for so many years. Although the complete transfer process has only been formed in the past few years, it is actually very mature.
However, the emperor's current actions are undoubtedly to break this path.
If the Shujishi could not serve the scriptures, they would lose the opportunity to show their presence in front of the emperor. The cabinet would no longer select officials with pure Qingliu qualifications, so Qingliu would lose the biggest promotion channel.
Under such circumstances, no one can be sure where Qingliu will go in the future.
Now, the emperor has given the answer.
Ke Dao!
It has to be said that Chen Xun and his group of students should be the last group of officials to enjoy the benefits of Qingliu qualifications.
In fact, there are not many people who are still in the Hanlin Academy. First, when Chen Xun left the capital, under Gao Gu's manipulation, many backbones were demoted from the capital. Later, because of the military cantonment incident, they were expelled from the capital.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate gathered a lot of wool.
In addition, after the prince came out of the cabinet, Zhan Shifu had a few people stuffed in. So far, the original pillars of purity, with the help of Chen Xun and Du Ning, have all hurriedly escaped from the quagmire of the Hanlin Academy.
.
The remaining people who are still in the Hanlin Academy are either old scholars who are knowledgeable and poor in scriptures, or they are common people who have just been elected.
From this perspective, it is difficult to say whether the emperor had the idea of reforming the system first, or whether he basically eliminated these people and then took advantage of the situation and proposed this charter.
If what the emperor said can come true, then from now on, the circulation of officials in the imperial court will undergo tremendous changes.
The transfer path after Qingliu will be to first enter the academy and become a shujishi, then leave the academy after three years, transfer to the "trial position" of the circulation department, and then take the examination and award the officer six months later.
With the two major promotion channels of the Cabinet and the Zhanshifu being cut off, the starting point of these Shujishi will be greatly lowered, and they will become the same starting line as officials who are directly selected as Yushi.
At that time, the most valuable ones will probably have the qualifications to watch the government in the six ministries, followed by the Jinshi who are awarded science and education, then the Shujishi, and finally the Jinshi who are directly sent to other places.
This change is not a big one. Although it does not have much direct interest in the people present, it is related to the official status and promotion process of the court in the future. It is said that it involves the interests of many officials.
Too much.
Even if we don't mention the future, just talking about the implementation of this move, Qingliu's value will inevitably be greatly reduced. This is not a good thing for many officials in the court who rely on Qingliu's qualifications for promotion.
Because of this, it can be seen that the emperor was also very cautious in this matter and used the word "discuss".
After hearing Wang Wen's reminder, the emperor reacted calmly and said.
"Don't worry, gentlemen, I will discuss this matter later, but before that, I want to hear your opinions."
After the words fell, the ministers present could not help but heave a sigh of relief.
It's good that the emperor has this consciousness. What they are afraid of is that the emperor will act arbitrarily and directly decide the matter. When it spreads to the outer court, the public opinion storm caused will inevitably make them clean up the mess.
If you just express your position, it's not that difficult.
The hall was quiet for a moment, but what people didn't expect was that the first person to speak was Chen Xun.
"Your Majesty, I think that although there is no precedent for this move, it is not a bad idea to give it a try. However, the common people are all those who have achieved excellent results in the palace examination. If after the examination, they are still only awarded the post of censor, is it not a bit strange?
fair?"
"In my humble opinion, since Shu Jishi has been observing politics in the Hanlin Academy for three years, then the trial censorship may be placed during the period of observing politics and included in the final examination. If he excels in the final examination, he will be awarded the official title.
At this time, you can directly teach the chief censor or give it to Shizhong as appropriate."
It has to be said that Chen Xun is now completely wise. In general, he will never go against the emperor. Of course, under this premise, he obviously still wants to try his best to gain some benefits for Qingliu.
Now it seems that Qingliu's status cannot be maintained. However, officials from Qingliu can improve the practice of promotion and strive for it, and maybe it can be retained.
However, this idea was opposed by Chen Yi.
"Your Majesty, I think it is inappropriate. The six subjects are all given to Shi Zhong and the thirteen chief censors, a total of nineteen. They are all important positions. Especially after your Majesty has changed their rank, their duties and powers will be even heavier."
"Although Shujishi has outstanding academic performance and has been in the Hanlin Academy for three years, he has never contacted the imperial court and was directly awarded such an important position. He is ranked above all the censors and may not be able to convince the public."
Just kidding, not to mention that the emperor had just raised the grades of Shizhong and Censor Zhang. Even if they were at their original grades, these two official positions were examples of small rank and weight.
The six subjects are all in charge, and they are connected to the government affairs of the six ministries, and the thirteen chief censors, each of whom can intervene in the supervision affairs of a province.
Just a few novices who have just finished studying politics in the Hanlin Academy? Just dream!
However, although Chen Yi's words were against the granting of titles to Shizhong and the censors in charge, they did not oppose the issue of trial positions and the promotion of ordinary people.
After he finished speaking, Yu Shiyue from the cabinet also spoke thoughtfully.
"Your Majesty, I do agree with Chen Shangshu's suggestion that the half-year probationary period can be included in the three years of Shuji Shi's observation of politics, and can be used as the basis for the final evaluation."
"However, it's okay to say that the six ministers are all in the capital, but the thirteen censors need to go out of the capital to inspect and check the people's conditions. If they only try their jobs for half a year, it may be difficult to achieve results."
"Therefore, in my opinion, it may be more appropriate to extend the trial period to one year!"
Following closely behind, Wang Ao also said.
"Your Majesty, what Yu Cifu said is reasonable. It is difficult to achieve results within half a year. I think that only within one year can we see whether the common people are really capable enough."
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu glanced down and couldn't help but sigh that these people were all cunning.
These ministers each expressed their opinions. It seemed that they had no opinions on this charter and only made suggestions on details.
However, if this was really the case, then they would not have remained silent at the beginning. They would not have spoken until Wang Wen opened his mouth.
This shows that they do not really agree with Zhu Qiyu's ideas, but they just do not want to conflict with him head-on.
Now, Zhu Qiyu expressed his intention to discuss it with the court.
Then, there is no need for them to object at this moment. When they get to the court, there will naturally be a lot of opponents.
When the time comes, if you act according to your circumstances, you will naturally be more at home.
However, how could Zhu Qiyu be so easy to fool?
Seeing that these ministers were playing tricks on him, he didn't expose it, but said with a smile.
"Since all the ministers think that the job trial is feasible, then after I go back today, I will each write a memorandum and submit it to explain my views in detail. Later, I will bring it to the court meeting and discuss it with the officials. It can be considered that there is a solution
Specific charter!”
Ah this...
The elders looked at each other, feeling like they had been cheated.
They obviously just don't want to offend the emperor now, so why are they inexplicably accepted by the emperor as thinking that the trial job is feasible?
They also wrote a memorial and handed it over. If this memorial was written and brought to the court, how could they just watch from the sidelines?
Looking up, looking at the emperor's half-smiling gaze, the elders all had a wry smile on their faces.
Yes, this time it’s a waste of money.
I originally wanted to divert trouble to the east, but I didn't expect that I and others would become the emperor's means to deal with the court proceedings.
They sighed helplessly. At this time, they couldn't say anything else, so they could only cup their hands and say.
"I obey the order!"
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu nodded with satisfaction and said.
"In that case, thank you gentlemen for your hard work. Today's discussion is almost done here. In addition to what I just said, the first and second assistants still need to work harder. I have an edict here that needs to be drafted."
Seeing this, Wang Ao and Yu Shiyue did not dare to neglect, and immediately stepped forward to receive the order, saying:
"Please give me your Majesty's instructions."
So, Zhu Qiyu smiled and said.
"The imperial court is short of manpower, and I am also short of manpower. After the two gentlemen returned, they immediately drafted an edict and ordered Song Wenyi, the eunuch who guards Liaodong, to return to the capital to report on his duties. There is nothing else, so that's all for today!"
Song Wenyi?
Everyone present was slightly startled, perhaps they were not familiar enough with the eunuchs in the inner palace.
However, the eunuch guarding Liaodong...
Several ministers couldn't help but cast their eyes on Wang Ao who was standing aside.
At the same time, they all remembered the news that Cheng Jing was about to be transferred out of Beijing. If this happened...