The courtiers of the Song Dynasty really did not work hard to govern. Under normal circumstances, they spent much more time having fun than governing.
Even though Zhao Xi promoted the supervision of yamen, he did not prohibit it in this regard.
Such as banquets, play, domestic prostitutes, contracted maids and concubines, officials holding courtesans, ministers and servants competing for maidens, etc.
Zhao Xi's later generations recorded that the poems passed down were either about being in love or having sex, which also shows what the atmosphere of the country was like.
The courtiers have never been nervous about government affairs, even those who come to attend the great court meetings.
As a result, things are different these days.
After the cabinet approved the five-year plan proposal, the courtiers who came to Beijing began to get busy.
Because the officials began to continuously summon the chiefs and adjutants of the imperial yamen, and each official had at least an hour to report, the officials in Bianliang suddenly became nervous...~
There is no way, Zhao Xi also knows that it is too hasty. Formulating a country's five-year plan certainly shouldn't be done in such a short time.
The five-year plan is a major topic involving social and economic development. It requires preliminary research, full demonstration, joint participation and many other processes before a plan that is consistent with the actual situation can be formulated.
But today's country has no precedent at all, or even this kind of thinking...~ Perhaps it cannot be said that Fu Bi and Han Qi's words of not talking about military matters for twenty years should be regarded as planning advice.
Now, Zhao Xi proposed to formulate the five-year development plan of the Song Dynasty in written form...~
What is the basis of this plan, what does it include, how far will it develop in five years, what measures will be implemented, what methods will be adopted, how will the states, prefectures, and counties allocate tasks, what responsibilities will the six ministries and nine ministers and yamen bear, etc., all need to be discussed.
An explanation.
In view of the fact that the court officials, including the cabinet ministers, did not have a clear concept of image and had only accepted the official concept, Zhao Xi had to complete it himself.
Fortunately, the current social division of labor is not so detailed. Fortunately, this is a new concept...~ Anyway, no one except him, Zhao Xi, understands it.
Although he only needed to make a framework, Zhao Xi still wanted to make it as feasible as possible, so he had to summon the chief and deputy officers of each government office to understand the actual situation of the country one by one.
This also has the advantage that he can have a general understanding of the country.
Unfortunately, the courtiers really disappointed him.
"This is the sixth time I have been reprimanded by officials!"
The purpose of Han Qi's words was very vague. He seemed to be saying that the officials were harsh, or that the ministers were incompetent.
"Reprimand? In my opinion, he should be demoted! If the chief official of the Yamen does not know the affairs of the Yamen, how can he have the dignity to be above the court?"
There is no need to inquire about this kind of thing, it has been spread throughout the court. Zhang Fangping also had old disciples who came to him for advice.
"The officials are trying to figure it out!"
Fu Bi could vaguely sense the official's intentions. He was not sure.
"Bottom of the plate?"
Chen Shengzhi’s question.
"Looking at the results of the official summons to the ministers and workers, it seems that it is really at the bottom of the table, and it is indeed at the bottom of the table. However, the five-year plan proposed by the officials must have the current base before formulating the plan."
Wang Anshi did not think that those officials should be reprimanded, but also believed that the officials' actions were necessary.
"It seems that we, the cabinet ministers, are also a bit incompetent. Once the officials have a sample, it will be time for us to intervene."
Fu Bi felt a little ashamed.
During the meeting that day, the cabinet ministers approved the official five-year plan, but they were not clear about how to formulate the five-year plan.
Time was too tight, so in order to avoid repeated mistakes, the officials drafted it themselves. This was indeed a bit shameless for the cabinet ministers.
"It's a bit too much to blame!"
No one refuted what Han Qi said. It was indeed a bit too much to blame.
I heard questions from officials: How many newborns are born in the country in a year? What are the differences among the newborns in various states, counties, and counties? How much farmland was cultivated in the country last year? How much wasteland was opened? In which state capitals? What crops are grown?
What is the yield per mu? What are the differences between the proportion of grain cultivation in different countries and prefectures, counties, and counties?
Oh my god! These cabinet officials are considered capable, but even when they encounter such a problem, they still don't know anything about it.
The evaluation standards for officials were formulated in the 9th year of Kaibao's reign, that is: those with extraordinary political achievements are ranked high, those who stick to official positions are ranked high, those who manage their duties rudely are ranked middle, those who are careless in handling affairs, and those who are incompetent are ranked low.
In other words, those who do have outstanding political achievements can be rated as excellent; those who manage official affairs carefully and can generally perform their duties can be regarded as medium; those who procrastinate in doing things and deal with things as they come are considered inferior.
These assessment standards focus on strict restraint on slow behavior and chaotic administration, and emphasize the performance of officials.
In the first year of Jingde, on the basis of the original assessment content, the proportion of integrity and self-discipline was increased, that is: being diligent and honest in public affairs, advisable in civil and military affairs, benefiting the country and benefiting the people first; doing things without integrity, and being innocent
Those who have no reputation for governance are ranked second; those who are cowardly and greedy, do not govern the public, have stolen goods that are not exposed, and make a loud noise are ranked below.
In the first year of Tianxi's reign, the imperial court issued an edict: "When he is three years old, he is not limited to Chinese or foreign positions, but if he has not committed any crime and has stolen stolen goods, he is ordered to investigate and hear about it and discuss moving to Zhi".
In order to ensure that the performance appraisal goals are achieved, the assessment content has also been refined and supporting laws and regulations have been formulated, such as "Song Jianlong Detailed Detailed Penal Code", "Seven Judiciary of the Ministry of Personnel", "Regulations of the Jingding Ministry of Officials", "Reduction of Exhibition and Polishing Regulations", "Laws of Observance"
The "Four Good Deeds and Four Sins" and so on have made clear provisions on asking for leave, being on duty, following driving violations, inspecting official affairs, requesting official duties, violating the law and taking stolen goods, and being imprisoned for taking stolen goods.
During the reign of the late Emperor, the increase or decrease in taxes during the tenure of local officials became an important part of assessing their economic performance.
The assessment of road supervisors focuses on five aspects, namely recommending talented people, impeaching corrupt and erroneous cases, maintaining a valid household registration, sufficient financial resources, and promoting benefits and eliminating harm.
During the hundred years since the founding of the dynasty, the evaluation of officials has indeed been improving, but such detailed content as the official evaluation is really a bit picky.
Since the officials have not produced samples yet, although the cabinet ministers have some ideas, they can only talk about it privately.
However, it was a big problem for the chief and adjutant officers of the various yamen of the imperial court. Those who were summoned had to dig into piles of ancient papers every day to excerpt some contents from the reports from various states, prefectures, and counties over the years, in order to extract some content from these memorials.
In the newspaper, you can find the content of the memorial that the officials need.
As for those who had not been summoned, they inquired about each other and began to focus on government affairs. Not only the chief adjutants, but also the officials in the yamen were also bitter.
Did Zhao Xi really reprimand him? Actually, no. He also knew that in this era, statistics were not valued, and neither were the officials of the imperial court.
However, when they were summoned by the officials to give a report and they were ignorant of every question, the officials did not reprimand them, which made these ministers feel ashamed.
"It cannot be said that the management is perfect and blameworthy. Reading the excerpts from the Jiangwu Hall, the State-run Temple, the Shiyi Temple and the Gongfang City, such reports can really make it clear at a glance."
"For example, in the workshop city, everything is unclear from the population, the number of craftsmen, the number of merchants, the number of family members, the number of newborns, and the number of children. In addition, the number that may increase every year is also explained in detail.
, and also indicate the proportion of Dingkou in various industries in Gongfang City."
"As for the number of workshops, the number of finished products produced by the workshops every month, the number of new technological innovations, etc., they are all clearly listed. If the armaments were not kept secret by the court, they would still make it clear to the court in the form of a report.
"
"If Gongfang City can do this in such detail, why can't other yamen do it? Anshi once served as the Department of Animal Husbandry. After taking office, he conducted detailed investigations on the livestock, horses and sheep of the imperial dynasty."
"If those who govern the government want to be targeted, they should be fully familiar with the government affairs they govern! I think the government is very good!"
Wang Anshi's words really cannot represent the majority of courtiers, but they truly understand the official's intentions.
"It's different! Everyone knows that the foundation of Gongfang City is the original Martial Arts Workshop, which is the department that implements the government's ideas most thoroughly. It is not enough to prove that Gongfang City's reports can meet the requirements of the government.
How can we use this as a standard to require all government offices in the imperial court?"
This time, Chen Shengzhi also refuted Wang Anshi. In other words, the officials were indeed a bit harsh this time.
Not to mention the six departments and nine ministers of the imperial court, even the chief officials of local prefectures, counties, and counties may not be able to do this.
"Why can't they be compared? They are both state and dynasty yamen. Is it possible that they are divided into three, six or nine levels? Lu Jifu of Shiyi Temple is not from Gongfang City, and the records he submitted also meet the official requirements."
"The key reason why all the government offices in the imperial court were reprimanded by the officials is that the officials did not calm down and manage the government!"
Wang Anshi was embarrassed to praise himself. In fact, as the chief officer of the first three envoys, he was also summoned by the officials to report correctly, which also met the official requirements.
This is no reason at all! Wen Yanbo, as the chief official of the Privy Council, passed many memorials from the internal supervisor to the cabinet. Although they are not perfect, they can still meet the requirements of the officials.
Not thinking about government affairs has become a reason! I am afraid that these ministers are more familiar with Bianliang Jiao Niang, the oiran every year, and even the Song Dynasty Cuju competition than the yamen where they work.
Corpse meal!
Wang Anshi's point of view is correct, and Fu Bi agrees with it. This is why he believes that the official family is at the bottom of the market.
It is estimated that the official summons will not be limited to the various yamen of the imperial court, and the state officials who have been selected to discuss government affairs will also be summoned, right?
The Great Court Meeting is just a few days away. Can the five-year plan that the officials are preparing to launch be completed before the Great Court Meeting? If the chief officials of the local prefectures are summoned, the difficulty is not ordinary.
In the past few days, the officials have been summoning ministers almost non-stop. There are often three to five or eight courtiers waiting in front of the gate of the Qinzheng Palace where the officials work...~
Zhao Xi really wanted to summon the local and state officials, but unfortunately time did not allow it.
This was the first time, and he didn't expect to be perfect. He just hoped to make a start, convey a concept, guide the courtiers' methods of managing politics, and at the same time let the courtiers feel the taste of working overtime...~
Tell your ministers and workers that being an official is not an easy task, nor should it be an easy task.
Zhao Xi also wants to guide officials to pay attention to statistical data and guide officials' people's livelihood tendency and overall view of governance.
In addition, Zhao Xi is also paving the way for the next functions of Jiangwu Hall... Zhao Xi positioned Jiangwu Hall as the official training academy of the Song Dynasty, and finally formed the pre-job training routine for officials before taking office.
The only fly in the ointment is that the idea of the five-year plan came to his mind a little late. If it were announced to the world at the same time in conjunction with the three-level decision-making system, there might be time to convey his ideas directly to the local officials in the prefectures and counties.
In fact, if the reform of the official system and the three-level decision-making system are not completed, it will be basically impossible to promote his detailed evaluation methods for officials and the formulation of a five-year plan.
Perhaps this time is just right. After all, it is the first time. It should be the best way to have a concept, a framework, point out a direction, and allow the courtiers to have an adaptation period.
Reform does not necessarily have to cause turmoil, especially since the Song Dynasty was still in an almost precarious situation.
Advancing step by step is Zhao Xi's consistent style of changing the dynasty.
According to original historical records, both Qingli’s New Deal and Wang Anshi’s Reform ultimately failed.
The reasons for the failure include the existence of loopholes and shortcomings in the new laws and new policies, resistance from interest groups, factors of eagerness for quick success, and perhaps even relatively large weight.
After more than ten years of planning, when it comes to success, you should be even more cautious.
"Dear elders, I summoned the ministers this time to lay the foundation for the five-year plan. The ministers have correct records, and you have all seen them. We are not optimistic."
"However, I have no intention of pursuing responsibility. After all, the past governance of the country did not need to be so detailed. I also adopted this approach because of the five-year plan."
"This is the first draft of the five-year plan written by me, or it can be said to be a sample. Since the various government offices of the imperial court cannot provide exact data, I believe that the five-year plan of this court meeting will only promulgate the terms and format of the five-year plan.
…”
We have to admit that the sample five-year plan formulated by the government covers all affairs of the country in just its items.
In fact, it is just a formatted article. Zhao Xi is quite familiar with such articles, but for current ministers, he needs to look up to them.
Since there was no way to play with the guiding ideology, Zhao Xi started with a clear statement and directly outlined the strategic goals.
Then list the items one by one and explain the meaning and content of the items.
On the basis of this large framework, Zhao Xi directly finalized the five-year plans of Guoying Temple, Shiyi Temple and Gongfang City as samples.
Taking Guoying Temple, Shiyi Temple and Gongfangcheng as examples, Zhao Xi's purpose is to clearly demonstrate the role of martial arts halls.
This is also the strategy of starting with the easy stuff and then the harder stuff.
There were guard camps first, and then the new army, and then the army of the country and the dynasty accepted his military philosophy and formed a new army system that was loyal to the court.
Today, Zhao Xi is repeating his old tricks, using the five-year plans of the State-owned Temple, Shiyi Temple, and Jiangwu Hall as benchmarks to promote the formation of an official training system, and then gradually change the ideas of civil servant groups.
Compared with military generals, civil servants are relatively more stubborn due to the country's basic national policy of preferential treatment of scholars. As a party that enjoys privileges, there must be some resistance when accepting new things.
When Zhao Xi was about to convene, Zhao Xi took the opportunity of the five-year plan to leverage the solidified model of civil servant governance in the country based on the responsibilities of the cabinet participating in political discussions...~
Rushing is a bit hasty, but it is indeed a good opportunity.