"Since we talked about corrupt officials and cunning officials today, I will give you an assignment. How can the court prevent these corrupt officials and cunning officials from sucking the blood of Ming Dynasty to the greatest extent?"
With the popularization of gewu studies, it has become normal to assign homework after class. I didn't expect that today in the Jinluan Palace, the emperor actually gave homework to the courtiers.
For a moment, many officials were trembling when they heard this.
Emperor Chongzhen glanced at the ministers below, not caring what they were thinking, and continued: "First, most of the officials at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty were passed down from father to son, and from son to grandson. Although it is conducive to the inheritance of work experience, but their heart
If you do evil, the means of doing evil will inevitably be passed down;"
After a pause, he continued: "Secondly, what should the new officials do so that they have the experience to deal with these corrupt and cunning officials, not to be influenced by them, and to understand every detail clearly and manage the place well?"
At this point, Emperor Chongzhen raised his voice and shouted decisively: "Within three days, all ministers must write memorials to explain countermeasures!"
Then, just as the civil and military officials wished, the great court meeting ended!
The officials who retired from the court left in groups of twos and threes with familiar officials. Each group of officials discussed in low voices the assignment assigned by the emperor.
Many officials are not stupid. They have already sensed the emperor's intentions, and it is time for some drastic reforms!
In fact, the emperor's intention had already begun to show signs. Now he took this opportunity to formally propose it.
When these officials returned to their respective yamen, news spread that all the yamen working in the capital also had subordinates. For a while, some people were panic-stricken and some were hopeful.
After it spread to the people, the political atmosphere in the capital was strong, and people were accustomed to discussing government affairs. Discussions on this matter were also held in the streets, and Li Xu became the most popular topic in the capital.
"The Ming Dynasty has been doing this since the founding of the country. How can we change this issue of officials and subordinates?"
"That's right, if it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't know how to do things, right? When the time comes, things will be messed up, what should I do?"
"Haha, I haven't seen that military households have been hereditary since the founding of the country? But what happened after the military households were reformed? The Ming Dynasty's combat power is now invincible!"
"No, our Ming Dynasty's current territory is unprecedentedly vast. I heard that the rebellions in neighboring Nanyang, including Annan and other places, have been almost quelled, and they are about to enfeoff the vassal king. Has such a thing happened before?
"
"That's right, the affairs of officials and subordinates must be innovated just like military households!"
"I agree. It's like the study of physics. It summarizes the rules of things that various officials and subordinates have to deal with, and then new people learn it. Then they all know how to do things, right?"
"Actually, the imperial court has already done this. The Royal Official Academy of the Ming Dynasty does not just do this kind of thing. If there is another official academy, it will be solved!"
"That's right, if the officials and subordinates are also given a salary, they can definitely pass the scientific examination and be admitted on a merit-based basis!"
"..."
No one is stupid. In the discussions among the people, they quickly got inspiration from the existing cases in the court and gave the innovation method that Emperor Chongzhen wanted.
Of course, the factory guards sent by Emperor Chongzhen to guide him were inevitable. Otherwise, if the memorials submitted were not to his liking, the matter would be out of his control.
Sure enough, three days later, most of the memorials presented by civil and military officials were similar to what was discussed among the people, imitating military households, abolishing hereditary inheritance, turning handymen into hired servants, setting up an official academy, and recruiting the best. Officials can also learn from it and reduce the number of people. The situation of being deceived by subordinates because they don’t know how to do things.
Some officials even proposed that important positions should be taken up in other places to prevent local forces from becoming entangled and making it difficult for outside officials to do their jobs.
Of course, there are some officials who do not agree with this. They feel that if this is done, the imperial treasury will spend more, which is far inferior to the current service method. The imperial court will not pay much and save finances.
Emperor Chongzhen asked the Superintendent of Ceremonies to sort out the memorials, classify them into categories and publish them, and announced that the plans proposed by most officials would be implemented.
First, for the important official and subordinate positions in the yamen, the handyman method should be abolished and replaced by the employment method; the candidates should be admitted through job examinations on a merit-based basis.
Second, set up official colleges in each province and set up entrance examinations. Anyone who passes the graduation examination can enroll. Those who pass the graduation examination will participate in the local official and junior examinations, and priority will be given to admission under the same conditions.
Third, subordinates will no longer have a lifelong tenure. They will be assessed every five years and those who fail will be eliminated. Subordinates in important positions will have to be transferred after serving a maximum of ten years.
Fourth, the Royal Official Academy of the Ming Dynasty is no longer just for the officials who want to be exiled officials according to the national policy of returning to the land. It has been expanded to include all officials of the Ming Dynasty. Be an official.
If this innovation had been carried out more than ten years ago, there would definitely have been a big problem!
However, by the 23rd year of Chongzhen, the whole world had been turned upside down. Many things that had not been available before were now available, and relevant systems were also innovated.
For example, the hereditary military household system already had a recruitment system before the Chongzhen Dynasty. Therefore, it is not very abrupt that the Chongzhen Dynasty abolished the hereditary military household system and changed it to a recruitment system.
Then, the hereditary military household system has been reformed, so it won’t be too surprising that the hereditary civil servant system should be abolished!
However, although this innovation involving the lower-level officials of the Ming Dynasty has experience to follow, it will still take a lot of time to really implement it, and there must be no chaos in the place.
Therefore, after Emperor Chongzhen announced this reform, the key event in the 23rd year of Chongzhen was this reform of official administration.
This year, the Ming Dynasty basically did not expand its territory. It only cleaned up Nanyang, including the remnants of the Dongwu Toungoo dynasty, and those so-called allies including Annan.
In later generations, there would probably be many difficulties in carrying out a cleanup in a place like Nanyang. But in this era, it is different.
Not only are the populations of these countries in Southeast Asia sparse at this time, but also because of underdeveloped productivity. Human beings here in Southeast Asia generally gather in areas suitable for human habitation. As long as the Ming army captures these places, those who escape into the mountains and forests will either be killed. Natural elimination, or they cannot stand the harsh conditions of the rainforest and have to surrender.
It is simply impossible to hide in the rainforest and fight guerrillas like later generations.
Not to mention, in this era, it is impossible for the people at the bottom and the ruling class to be of the same mind. If they can live better under the jurisdiction of the Ming army, why should they sacrifice their lives for the master who originally oppressed them?
Therefore, under the pincer attack led by Dongwu Mu Tianbo and Annan Yang Zhan, the eradication was basically completed in the 23rd year of Chongzhen, and the Annan Ruan family had not yet been captured.
On the side of the Ming Dynasty, two vassals were assigned to go there, but there was no coastline. The two provinces of Annan and Dongwu directly covered the coastline, leading directly to the Strait of Malacca.
On the Nanyang island country, the imperial court sent additional reinforcements to raid various islands. The operations were similar, killing all the local lords or moving them to other places. Then, the vassal state and the mining company started.
During this period, Ming Dynasty also established a planting company, also raised funds through the issuance of shares, and began to plant rubber and other plants suitable for tropical cultivation on a large scale in Nanyang.
In short, after the behemoth of the Ming Dynasty reached out to Nanyang, it dominated the area, vigorously planting, mining, etc., all over Nanyang.
The Ming Dynasty also had a large number of merchant ships, which brought prosperity to Southeast Asia.
With the establishment of a large number of schools and the promotion of the Four Books and Five Classics, Chinese has become the most popular language. It is estimated that when the new generation here in Nanyang grows up, there will be only Chinese as a language, and at most a dialect.
On the Liaodong side, Wu Sangui was granted the title of Dongjiang Bird as he wished. He was ordered to go north and took away the Tsarist Russian stronghold in the Far East. The entire Siberia belonged to the Ming Dynasty.
To the west of the Ming Dynasty, the railway to Luntai could basically be repaired in the 23rd year of Chongzhen. The population on the Hetao Plain increased dramatically, and some people would be diverted to Luntai, mainly those who originally belonged to Wac.
Can adapt to the west.
The garrison here in Luntai is still using Luntai as the center to catch fish that have slipped through the net, but they have not moved westward on a large scale. However, the pressure on the surrounding areas is definitely great.
After the surrender of Gushi Khan, the Torgut tribe in the Volga River Basin sent people to persuade them to surrender. Together with the prisoners who were originally released by the court, the surrender of the Torgut tribe was basically a certainty.
It is in Tibet that the pace of reform is the slowest.
This is not to say that the resistance here in Tibet is very strong, but because of the inconvenient transportation and the low level of enlightenment of the people here, it is more difficult to convert the people back to their hometowns.
However, with the cooperation of Gushi Khan, the reform of the land and return to the local people is also progressing in an orderly manner. It is expected that the basic reform of the land and the return to the local people will be completed before the end of the 23rd year of Chongzhen.
Some chieftains and lamas were unwilling to give up their power, but Gushi Khan's surrender left them unable to resist, so they fled to the Mughal Empire.
On the Japanese side, after the demise of the Tokugawa shogunate, the new vassal state also established a vassal state and began to attack Ezo Island, which was later known as Hokkaido.
On the Japanese side, the imperial court mainly supervises the vassal state, opens coastal supply ports, and prepares for large-scale crossing of the Pacific Ocean to the Americas.
The Ryukyu Kingdom is still there, but there is a court navy stationed there. In addition, the court officials and ministers of the Ryukyu Kingdom are all from Kume Village. The Kume clan, with the support of the Ming Dynasty, has become the most powerful clan in the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Thanks to the fact that the Ming Dynasty's population and strength far exceeded those of the surrounding countries, it was able to rectify and digest these surrounding countries in a short period of time.
It can be expected that in one or two years, the Ming Dynasty will be able to expand again. No, it will expand its territory!
During the period when the Ming Dynasty was reorganizing its internal affairs, Li Zicheng and others also lived in Europe for some time.