On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month in the fifteenth year of Hongzhi's reign, the weather in the capital was very good. The wind was gentle and the sun was clear, and the sky was cloudless. The cold wind that had been howling in the past few days disappeared completely, and the winter sunshine shone brightly.
It was warm on people's bodies, and in the streets and alleys of the capital, old and young men came out to bask in the sun and chat, and their days were very leisurely.
However, for the officials from various places who came to the capital to report their duties, they were in no mood to enjoy the beautiful weather, because today was the day when they reported their duties to the Emperor of Heaven.
On the Taihe Square outside the Jinluan Hall, after the morning dynasty, the ministers who were facing the court did not disperse, but gathered here in Taihe Square.
On Taihe Square, rows of chairs are arranged neatly. All officials have sat down according to their rank and order. Emperor Hongzhi's dragon chair is also placed above the dragon steps, and on both sides below the dragon steps,
The three ministers in the cabinet, the six ministers, the British Duke Zhang Mao and others also sat straightly in the civil and military ranks.
Under them, both sides were filled with civil and military officials, all wearing crimson robes. Looking from a distance, everything was red.
“The weather is quite nice!”
Emperor Hongzhi is still in a pretty good mood. Of course, the main reason is that his body is getting better and better, and his spirit is getting better and better. Since the removal of the intestinal carbuncle, Emperor Hongzhi's health has gotten better and better. He has become younger and his weight has improved.
It also increased, and the hair on my head slowly turned black.
In the past, during this winter, even if there was no wind, he would not have dared to sit outside like this, because his body was too weak and he would easily get sick if there was any slight wind or cold.
But things are different now. My body is getting better and better, my resistance is getting stronger and stronger, and I am no longer afraid of the cold.
"Your Majesty, the time has come~"
Xiao Jing looked at the time, checked with Xiao Huangmen beside him, and then came to Emperor Hongzhi's side to remind him.
"Then let's get started!"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, he was actually looking forward to it.
The examination system created by Liu Jin is not that unusual. It has existed in all dynasties. It is just that Liu Jin's examination system is more detailed and meticulous. However, the work reporting system created by Liu Jin is the first of its kind.
It was a pioneering work for the feudal officials from all over the country to come to Beijing to report on their duties. Emperor Hongzhi really wanted to see what tricks Liu Jin could play in this regard.
"The chief envoy of Northern Zhili came forward to report his duties!"
Xiao Jing took two steps forward and shouted at the top of his lungs.
As Xiao Jing finished speaking, among the many officials below, someone stood up and came under the dragon steps and said respectfully to Emperor Hongzhi: "Your Majesty, Zhang Mingzheng, is attending!"
"Um!"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly.
Beizhili is the place under the emperor's feet, so Zhang Mingzheng is naturally very clear about every move in the capital. He is also very confident about reporting on his duties. He took out a note from his sleeve and began to read loudly.
road.
"Thanks to His Majesty's grace and trust, and the support of all the princes in the DPRK, I am honored to be in charge of the government."
Just the beginning made Emperor Hongzhi and the princes next to him nod slightly, and also made the following officials who came to the capital to report on their duties couldn't help but widen their eyes.
"Can you prepare lyrics in advance?"
When Chen Xin, the chief envoy of Liaodong, saw this scene, he couldn't help being slightly dumbfounded.
He was naturally prepared in advance, but he memorized all the contents and did not expect to write them down in the form of a memorial.
"Why didn't I think of that? At this time, I must write a memorial to His Majesty to explain it in detail."
Under the dragon steps, Zhang Mingzheng's voice was loud and he began to talk to Emperor Hongzhi and the ministers present about his gains and losses in governing Beizhili.
“In the fifteenth year of Hongzhi’s reign, Beizhili completed a tax revenue of 35.8 million taels, an increase of approximately 10 million taels compared to the 25 million taels in the fourteenth year of Hongzhi’s reign!”
"In the fifteenth year of Hongzhi, in addition to the three main cement roads built by the imperial court, namely Beijing-Shanxi, Beijing-Shandong, and Beijing-Henan, Beizhili also completed the construction of cement roads between state capitals. All state capitals already have cement roads. Cement roads
The total length exceeds three thousand miles!”
"Compared to the 14th year of Hongzhi, the length of new cement roads has been 1,500 miles, 25 new reservoirs have been built, 7 new ports have been built, 352 new bridges have been built, and the length of new rivers has been built..."
"In the fifteenth year of Hongzhi's reign, Beizhili has built 257 new schools, 53 traditional private schools, and 12 colleges, which have basically met the needs of school-age children in Beizhili."
"..."
Zhang Mingzheng obviously clearly grasped the main content of this report and used data in detail to explain how much he had done in the fifteen years of Hongzhi.
After hearing Zhang Mingzheng's report, Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but nod his head. Zhang Mingzheng was probably Liu Jin's student. Using data to speak is obviously the most convincing.
He clearly and clearly told everyone present what he had done during the year, how much taxes had been increased, how many roads had been connected to the capitals of the states in Northern Zhili, how many schools had been built, etc.
.
"The debriefing is about these things?"
Jiangxi Governor Zhang Tianyu and Gannan Governor Lu Zongxue looked at each other. Both of them were dumbfounded, because they didn't collect this data at all before they came, and the main reason was that they didn't do much in these aspects. You let
How should the two of them talk?
Both of them couldn't help but snort on their foreheads, and at the same time, their entire faces became extremely ugly.
"Your Majesty, I have finished reporting my duties, please review it~"
After talking for a full stick of incense, Zhang Mingzheng finally finished speaking.
"Hmm~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, thought for a while and asked: "Beizhili was originally a major grain-producing province, but there is no grain production this year. Is there anything you want to say?"
"Your Majesty, Beizhili was a major grain-producing province in the past. It is true that there is no grain production this year. This is mainly because Beizhili is the core place of our Ming Dynasty. There are many factories, workshops, and trading houses in the Beijing-Tianjin area. The original cultivation
Farmers all over the country go to work in factories, workshops, and trading houses.”
"Therefore, no one is farming. The fields are used to grow cotton, sweet potatoes, corn, etc. However, food is the top priority, so I have made preparations in advance."
"I have already asked the Transfer Department for instructions to build three major granaries in various places in Northern Zhili to reserve grain and stabilize grain prices."
When Zhang Mingzheng heard this, he thought about it and replied.
"Well, you did a good job."
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly and gave a good evaluation.
Then Emperor Hongzhi asked Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, Liu Jin and others below: "Dear ladies, do you have anything to ask?"
After hearing Emperor Hongzhi's words, the people below looked at each other. It seemed that they had nothing to ask, and then everyone looked at Liu Jin.
As the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the founder of this system, Liu Jin must stand up and ask something.
Liu Jin looked at Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and the others. Seeing that they really didn't have anything to ask, he thought about it and asked: "The development of Beizhili is still very good, but it seems that there are also a lot of problems."
question."
"As far as I know, with the rapid development of the Beijing-Tianjin area, security problems seem to be getting more and more serious. Gangs are running rampant, sometimes even killing each other in broad daylight, so that rivers of blood flow."
"In addition, there are more and more gambling houses in Beijing and Tianjin, so many people have lost everything in the casinos. What do you think about this?"
Of course Liu Jin is not talking nonsense, this is a historical inevitability.
Generally speaking, with the rapid development of cities, along with the development of capitalism and industry, when a large number of immigrants appear in the city, it will definitely experience a period of relatively turmoil.
The current Beijing-Tianjin area is in such a period. There are many gangs, running rampant and constantly fighting for territory. Fights, murders and crimes are also happening one after another. On the sea outside Tianjin and in the rivers of Beijing, there are often
You can see floating corpses.
Hearing Liu Jin's words, everyone present couldn't help but widen their eyes slightly. Liu Jin's question was too sharp.
"As the chief envoy of Beizhili, I am a parent official of one side and have the responsibility to maintain public order on one side. In this regard, I did not do a good job."
"From now on, I will focus on this matter, clear out the gangs in the Beijing and Tianjin areas, and bring peace to the people. At the same time, I will focus on cracking down on gambling houses in various places and strictly investigate gambling."
When Zhang Mingzheng heard this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Public security issues are indeed a big problem in the North Zhili area. Of course, they are mainly concentrated in Beijing and Tianjin. The cities in these two places are developing too fast. There are too many factories, workshops, businesses, etc., and there are very many people employed.
, naturally it is prone to various public security problems.
"Security issues are urgent and we must severely crack down on evil forces!"
Emperor Hongzhi, who was above the dragon steps, heard this and said very solemnly after pondering for a while.
"I obey the decree!"
As soon as Zhang Mingzheng heard this, he immediately replied very seriously again.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen~"
“I believe that the current security problem is not only in the Beijing-Tianjin area, but also in Nanjing, Songhu, and major coastal ports, big cities, etc., the security situation is very chaotic, gangs are rampant, bully the market, rely on violence to monopolize business, and even kidnap and traffic.
The phenomenon of children, women, etc. is very common, which greatly affects the safety and life of the people, and also affects the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty."
"I believe that a severe crackdown on the evil forces should be carried out throughout the Ming Dynasty to clear up the evil forces, maintain social order, and protect the safety of people's lives and property."
Liu Jin thought for a while but stood up and asked Emperor Hongzhi for instructions.
This is not an alarmist statement by Liu Jin, but information collected from various aspects. At this time, the Beijing-Tianjin area is really in chaos, and public security is very poor.
