The cold wind howled and blew across the sky in Seoul, and snowflakes fell from the sky, covering all the streets. Under the eaves, strings of crystal clear ice skates hung on them, which was really cute.

In the Governor's Mansion of North Korea, Cui Mingji was warming himself around a stove. The winter in North Korea was no worse than in Beijing. At this time of year, he did not dare to go out.

Next to the stove, there is a small table with some water on it and a stack of newspapers. This is his favorite thing to do in his free time now, reading newspapers.

He was too busy some time ago, and various government affairs kept him from touching the ground. Now the road is blocked by heavy snow, and he can't do anything. He just has some free time to read the newspaper and understand the current political changes in Ming Dynasty.

Since Emperor Ming left, North Korea has been relatively calm. Even if there are occasional minor disturbances, Li Xingli, a North Korean general, can solve them. The prefects and county magistrates and other officials sent from Beijing are relatively easy to use, although they are a little indifferent to him.

But everything he was told was done very well, which saved him a lot of energy.

It is precisely because of this that the first winter after the annexation of North Korea was relatively calm, and we were able to welcome the New Year peacefully.

"His Majesty the Holy Emperor was intercepted and killed on the way, suspected to be a counterattack by the decadent landlord class."

"The cement technology auction was a complete success, with a harvest of 33 million taels, all of which will be invested in road construction."

"The Holy Emperor cares about people's livelihood and will invest an additional 20 million taels of silver dollars in road construction."

"The national road construction plan was officially launched, and officials from the Ministry of Industry rushed to various places."

"Shanghai County Magistrate Lu Xiangsheng said that Shanghai County will be the first to complete road construction."

"Living Temple - How can there be any reason to sacrifice to living people!"

"Everyone is equal before the emperor; everyone is equal before the law."

"The law, the emperor's words, is equivalent to the emperor's order."

"Chinese Pinyin—A Gift from Western Priests!"

A series of shocking titles made Cui Mingji's blood boil with excitement, and he wished he could personally participate in it. This is the Ming Dynasty, this is the world, this is the real life!

From this series of reports, Cui Mingji saw something with his own wisdom. The struggle for power within the Ming Dynasty gradually slowed down, and the emperor gradually gained the upper hand. From the policies gradually implemented by the cabinet, there was a very distinct personal color of Tianqi.

You can see it.

"It really feels like I'm participating in it now!" From those paragraphs of text, he felt a power of change, which made him infinitely fascinated.

"My Lord Governor, General Li wants to see you." Just as Cui Mingji was thinking about it, Li Xingli came over.

"Let him come in." He put down the newspaper and straightened his expression. These are his team members, and he also wants to bring them into the political situation of the Ming Dynasty, so he must keep in touch to maintain the relationship.

"Master Governor." Li Xingli came over and gave a military salute. Although he had not undergone formal military training, he still tried hard to imitate the behavior of the emperor's generals.

"Yeah." Cui Mingji accepted the gift calmly. The other party's current status is entirely due to his support and guidance. Otherwise, Li Xingli would be like other North Korean forces and parties, either killed, imprisoned, or disarmed and returned to work.

A rich man.

"How about it? North Korea as a whole is still stable recently."

"It's all safe. With the city defense army setting up camp in the county, there will be less local disturbances, and the unwilling landlords have basically been strangled." Li Xingli said indifferently, this is often the case.

, one's own people are even more powerful against their own people, just like the Green Camp when the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the Japanese and puppet troops when Japan invaded China, etc.

"That's good. Maintaining local stability is our best political achievement." Cui Mingji said this, but he thought in his heart that local stability is only the merit of the general, and the merit of the governor and even the governor is the development of the region. Today, North Korea

The biggest development is Chineseization, complete Chineseization.

Ban the use of Korean, ban the use of Korean characters, use all Ming Dynasty Mandarin, and all use Chinese characters. This is Cui Mingji's biggest thing today, and it was also what the emperor told him before he left.

"My Lord Governor," Li Xingli said hesitantly, "The day before yesterday, the General Staff of the Governor's Office sent a notice asking me to go to the Ming Dynasty Royal Military Academy in the capital for training. You see..."

"Are you alone?" Cui Mingji asked. He knew exactly what the other person was thinking. He was just worried that it was a trap or something.

"No, there are still many officers. In the entire North Korean city defense, the captain and all the school-level officers have to go." Li Xingli said honestly.

"Then you are afraid of nothing!" Hearing this, Cui Mingji was really helpless. This kind of political sensitivity is really not enough to hang out in the Ming Dynasty. So many people are going, how can it be a trap? If he really wants to deal with you, the emperor will also

I won't wait until now.

"What is the first of the three major disciplines and eight points of attention?" Cui Mingji continued to ask.

"All actions follow the command!" Li Xingli replied immediately. He still remembered the essence of this Central Field Army very firmly.

"That's right. Now that the General Staff's order has come down, you just carry it out. There's no need to make it so complicated. If the emperor really wants to deal with you, you can't hide. You might as well face it calmly." Cui Mingji explained that he was the same.

I was afraid that this vulgar warrior might not be able to think straight for a while and then directly refused the order of the General Staff.

According to the military discipline stipulated by Zhu Youxiao, refusing the General Staff's transfer order is regarded as treason.

"That's true!" After listening to Cui Mingji's explanation, Li Xingli thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case.

"Okay, then I will go to Beijing after the new year."

"Go and hope to come back with a lot of success."

Let us withdraw our attention from North Korea, which has restored peace, and pull it westward, back to the land of the Ming Dynasty.

Since September, the entire Ming Dynasty has become restless.

In the past, it was already after the autumn harvest and entering winter. The common people had rare free time. They spent the winter at home, working diligently to accumulate fertilizer for the fields, or doing some profitable work. At this time, it was generally

It was the time for corvee recruitment, and the people had nothing to do, so they had plenty of energy.

From a modern perspective, the people of the Ming Dynasty are undoubtedly leisurely in winter, but this is not their original intention. It is not that they are unwilling to do things, but that they have nothing to do. In the past, they may have to deal with corvee work, but now that they have been cancelled, they are all

It's time to have nothing to do.

But this winter was different. Officials from the Ministry of Industry, large and small, rushed to various provinces, carrying drawings, silver, and cement technology to start huge projects.

Countless idle farmers were hired, countless grains were purchased, and a large amount of grains were shipped in from overseas to supply the consumption of road construction.

All three levels of government in each province are mobilized. The government offices allocate manpower, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate supervises the finances. Once corruption is discovered, an investigation will be launched immediately. Today, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has only one standard for promotion, which is to investigate and punish officials.

This is the most important indicator today.

The people cheered for good money-making, and the gentry who got the quota were also happy. They hired workers, built cement plants, and then supplied a large amount of supplies. In addition, digging sand, quarrying, and paving roads all require a lot of manpower. It has driven a large swath of the economy.

The inspection team headed by Wang Zuo, a scholar of Beige University, began to leave the capital and inspect various provinces. They were accompanied by the deputy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Yushi of Youdu. As soon as they discovered any corruption involving road construction, they would immediately arrest them. Investigate and handle without mercy.

The Jin Yiwei also went out everywhere to investigate officials or civilians. A steady stream of information was sent to the capital, allowing Zhu Youxiao to grasp local intelligence clearly and in detail and make timely adjustments to various policies.

Throughout Daming, this winter is very hot.

In the Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youzheng was half-lying lazily. Opposite him was Xu Guangqi, the nominal second assistant but actually the first assistant.

The chief assistant is reporting work to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, road construction is going well now. All local officials are very attentive. The examination department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs has also formed an inspection team to inspect and assess the provinces. While checking the progress of various tasks this year, they are also inspecting the progress of the road construction work." Xu Guangqi lowered his head, and then read some memorials sent back, which recorded the situation in various places.

"Assessment Department!" Zhu Youxiao muttered this name softly. This was also an organization he had just discovered. It was a subordinate of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and was responsible for the assessment of political performance. Now with the expansion of the lower-level organizations of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the number of to the entire Ming Dynasty. Obviously, the cabinet used this institution to expand its scope of responsibilities and strengthen local deterrence.

After all, fighting corruption and promoting integrity is the responsibility of the ICAC of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so the Ministry of Civil Affairs can only start from the aspect of political performance or even morality.

Listening to Xu Guangqi reciting the various deeds of the Gong Kao Department and the various reports sent back to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Zhu Youxiao said with a half-smile, "Ai Qing is really clever. He quietly created a Gong Kao Department." Come!"

"Ah!" Xu Guangqi was obviously taken aback, then came back to his senses and smiled slyly, "I am just following His Majesty's will. Your Majesty's annual assessment, I think it is too troublesome. Officials are doing things all over the world, and there is something to do every day. If you do something, you should evaluate it every day. If you can't even do something well, then why do you need to do it?"

"Haha." Zhu Youxiao smiled and asked, "Then what is the explanation for these initial measures of being demoted, fined, not allowed to be promoted for three years, or even dismissed, and not allowed to take the imperial examination for three generations?"

"Your Majesty, isn't this the punishment measure prescribed by you? This is how you punish those who fail to do things well." Xu Guangqi blinked, looking confused.

"Xu Guangqi, Xu Guangqi, you are so cunning!" Zhu Youxiao laughed happily.

"Haha." Xu Guangqi laughed. But he was still very nervous at the moment. He didn't know how the emperor would deal with his cleverly built department. After all, no matter what he said was in line with the rules, as long as the emperor didn't like it, then let's stop talking.

"In this case, will the power and responsibility of the official department be too great?" Suddenly, Zhu Youxiao stopped smiling and asked seriously.

"Here comes the drama." Xu Guangqi secretly thought, cheering up and handling it carefully, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Personnel itself is responsible for the evaluation and promotion of officials. The evaluation criteria itself is the performance of officials at all levels. Now this function has only been expanded. If it extends to daily work, although the rights will be greater, it will not affect too much."

"That's it..." Zhu Youxiao pondered, "Let's try it out first."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xu Guangqi was overjoyed.
Chapter completed!