Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 476 Hmm? Is it still possible?

Zhu Cilang's attitude towards Lianghuai was very clear. Once he captured a city, he had to settle accounts with it and take control of it. He would never allow the local people to act recklessly as he had done in the past.

This is not because he has any prejudice against Lianghuai. After all, you reap what you sow.

Not only did Lianghuai surrender when the Tartars marched south, but it also did its best to provide military supplies to the Tartars, which became one of the factors that led to the demise of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

According to records, before Duoduo approached Yangzhou, a gentry named Han alone presented 300,000 taels of silver to the Qing army.

In comparison, the entire Yangzhou paid only 262,750 taels of tax in the 16th year of Chongzhen, but it is unknown what benefits he could get after the Tartars took control of the Central Plains.

It is obvious that the attitude of Lianghuai towards the Qing court is completely different from that of other areas.

Take Jiangsu for example. Although this place also surrendered, the people's resistance to the Tartars lasted throughout the entire war to destroy the Ming Dynasty. This was completely different from the situation in Huaibei and Huainan where the upper class surrendered but the lower class people had no reaction.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Cilang's actions naturally received the support of most court officials.

In the end, the clerks represented by Liu Shirong not only controlled all the government offices, but also took the opportunity to report the traitors to completely wipe out the larger local forces.

Such actions were naturally of great benefit to the Ming Dynasty. Not only did the court's control over Yangzhou, Gaoyou and other prefectures greatly increase, but the national treasury also received more than 1.3 million taels of silver. However, what really concerned Zhu Cilang was the subtle influence behind the scenes.

In the past, there was no clear distinction between officials and clerks. Generally speaking, positions with greater power and responsibility were monopolized by powerful families, while positions with less power and responsibility were occupied by weaker families.

Later, the imperial examination was introduced, and the content of this examination was monopolized by the aristocratic families. When the vast majority of common people and small families were unable to pass the imperial examination to enter the government, the large families gradually divided officials and clerks into two levels in order to monopolize power.

It must be said that although the imperial examination played a role in recruiting talents in a certain period, with the gradual spread of technologies such as paper and printing, the monopoly of knowledge by large families also encountered difficulties to a certain extent. The imperial examination, which took several years to recruit hundreds of people, could no longer play its original role. This path gradually became another way for large families to monopolize power.

Things had developed to this point, and the reform of the imperial examination system itself was urgent. However, breaking down an old one was extremely difficult, and establishing a new one was even more difficult than ascending to heaven. Although Zhu Cilang had the blessing of later experience, he still hesitated for a long time when facing the current situation.

Although he had been constantly killing local forces since he came to power, he had reasons that could be made public for each of those times. In the eyes of others, it was either the emperor suppressing his disobedience or some personal grudges, and it had nothing to do with class struggle or shaking the foundation of the country.

As a result, when he dealt with the Liang father and son, all the officials in Yingtian watched coldly; when he suppressed the rebellion in Hangzhou, most of the local forces in Zhejiang had no reaction.

Like the one caused by the assassination of Ruan Dacheng and this one caused by Liu Zongzhou, even if the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty used various methods to attack the aristocratic families, they could all be regarded as contradictions within the class, and the resistance they faced was naturally within the controllable range.

The imperial examination was ultimately an extraordinary event.

If it were during the Song and Yuan dynasties, he would probably only need to issue an edict to greatly expand the number of places in the imperial examinations, and when the number of candidate bureaucrats reached a certain level, he would place all of them in clerk positions.

Although this decree will encounter opposition from some senior bureaucrats at that time, this opposition voice can be directly ignored in the face of thousands of scholars who have fame but no power or responsibilities.

But the Ming Dynasty was different from before. Because of Zhu Yuanzhang's early experiences, the status of clerks continued to decline.

By this time, not only had the clerks become lowly subjects like musicians and beggars, their descendants could not take part in the imperial examinations. If one wanted to merge the officials and the clerks into one, once Zhu Cilang's imperial order came out, one would have to be careful not to be easily ignited or melted.

Zhu Cilang knew that he was repairing the plank road in the open while secretly attacking Chencang.

Earlier, he had established an inconspicuous advisory council in the name of resettling disabled soldiers. Later, when all the disabled soldiers who participated in the war in the south of the Yangtze River were properly resettled, he also resettled the clerks from Yingtian.

Actually, these people played a great role when Yingtian was besieged. In the eyes of the literati, placing them was equivalent to rewarding them, and the waves they caused were probably only because of His Majesty's nostalgia.

Later, the Advisory Council secretly organized a series of examinations at the same time as the imperial examination under the pretext of verifying clerks. Although some people took notice of it, it was after all something that happened in the clerk circle, and no one would risk angering His Majesty and follow in Liu Zongzhou's footsteps.

Things had come to a point where the truth was revealed. Even though Zhu Cilang had distracted the attention of court officials with the war in Jiangbei, the purge in Huaidong, and his tough approach to officials, when clerks became the actual rulers of prefectures, counties, and cities such as Yangzhou and Gaoyou, the warm room of the Qianqing Palace still received a joint visit from several important officials.

"Your Majesty, Jiangbei is in the midst of a war, so it is reasonable to have clerks in charge of the area, but if the situation stabilizes, it is better to rely on those who have a legitimate background in imperial examinations. Otherwise, the cunning clerks will surely bring disaster to the area and cause great trouble."

Watching Xu Yu's tone change to tears, Zhu Cilang sucked his teeth but didn't know what to say.

Xu Yu certainly played an indispensable role in his successful control of the Yingtian garrison. If it were anyone else, even if they didn't rely on this contribution to act recklessly, it would be inevitable that they would grab some benefits for themselves.

However, after the new emperor ascended the throne, this old minister did not show off his merits in saving the emperor. Instead, he stayed in the Inspection Office all day and retired early.

Zhu Cilang knew that Xu Yu did not want to embarrass him because of trivial matters, and he was also prepared to pass on the good story of the monarch and his ministers knowing each other well.

What was both unexpected and reasonable was that when this old minister who came from the Imperial College realized some of his majesty's intentions, he began to advise and remonstrate.

"Mr. Xu, get up quickly. The weather has been getting colder these days. Don't get caught in the cold."

After a greeting, Zhou Quan immediately walked quickly to Xu Yu, and the old minister did not act like "I won't get up unless you agree". He stood up from the ground after Zhou Quan put his hand on him.

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"Your Majesty, I know that you have been using clerks since Yingtian, and the clerks in Yingtian have lived up to your expectations. However, there are more than thousands of clerks in the world, and most of them are people who deceive their subordinates and lie to their superiors. They really don't deserve to be used!"

I have to say that based on the current situation, there is nothing wrong with what Xu Yu said.

Take Gaoyou where Liu Shirong was located for example, none of the leaders in the government office were clean.

They first colluded with each other to make the accounts perfect, and then set up a second barrier, preparing to put the blame on the former governor and the Tartars.

If Liu Shirong had not also come from a clerk background, such an arrangement would have stunned the officials who had no political experience, and the court's jurisdiction over the local areas would have been out of the question.

But then again, this just illustrates the drawbacks of the current appointment of officials. If every chief official knew everything about the operation of the government office, how could it become a common practice for clerks to deceive their subordinates and conceal the truth from their superiors?
"Mr. Xu has misunderstood!"

Just when Xu Yu's full attention was focused on the use of clerks, Zhu Cilang let out a long sigh. Then Mr. Xu looked puzzled, and after being in a trance for three or five breaths, he began to speak.

"When I was in Sichuan, I heard about an old student who won the third place in the imperial examination when Zhang Xianzhong was recruiting scholars. He said in his paper: Western Sichuan is a small corner of the country. Those who travel there are like frogs at the bottom of a well. They are not capable of achieving great things." At this point, Zhu Cilang stood up from the dragon chair, walked two steps in the pavilion, and then continued: "In my opinion, what the old student said can be regarded as a good strategy for establishing a country. If the traitor Xianzhong can adopt it and take the opportunity to march east when our army is fighting with the Tartars, then the southwest will be a different scene."

Xu Yu listened to the words. Although he didn't know why his Majesty mentioned this, he felt that the suggestion made by the old student was indeed worthwhile, so he nodded slowly.

"Mr. Xu, this is just an old student who couldn't even pass the exam. If the Ming Dynasty could recruit talents like the old scholar, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong, would the Ming Dynasty still have the Jiashen Rebellion?"

Having said this, Zhu Cilang's eyes had turned slightly red, and it was not known whether it was because he thought of the tragic scene where the previous emperor hanged himself when the city was broken, or for some other reason.

Seeing this expression, Xu Yu couldn't say anything. But until now he still didn't quite understand the connection between the two things, so he could only give some advice.

But before he could utter half of his words, he heard his Majesty waving his hand, and then he heard Zhu Cilang's voice coming over.

"Mr. Xu, this is not what I want to talk about. Although my Ming Dynasty is rich, there is a quota for official positions.

After so many years, even the Jinshi degree holders may not be given a real position, let alone the Juren and Xiucai who can only waste their time on the bench.

If we can give the positions occupied by clerks to those students who study hard, how can we worry about the revival of the Ming Dynasty? ! "

As Zhu Cilang's words gradually progressed, Xu Yu's eyes changed from sadness to vitality.

However, there are more than tens of thousands of clerks in the Ming Dynasty. These people have deep-rooted power in the local areas from generation to generation. If what Your Majesty said is really true, how can these people respond?
Thinking of this, Xu Yu's face was filled with sorrow again. He then bowed and said after he stood up, "Your Majesty's idea is indeed a good strategy for governing the country, but taking away the positions of the clerks will inevitably cause a violent backlash, which will inevitably cause some waves."

"It's okay. I have thought about this matter clearly. There is no rush to seize the throne. The court can first give certain positions a certain grade and then keep the people in their original positions. After a few years, these officials who were transferred from clerks will age or retire, and naturally there will be a lot of positions freed up for the court to increase the number of imperial examinations. However..."

Zhu Cilang's words made Xu Yu's heart moved. He had spent most of his life in the Imperial College and naturally knew that there were many students with excellent character and academic performance who had no chance to serve the court.

But when he was looking forward to it, Zhu Cilang suddenly made a turn, and he became doubtful again.

"Your Majesty, do you have any other difficulties?"

"Well, clerks are almost menial. I am only worried that if I vacate their positions, the scholars will also have doubts."

When the words first came out, Xu Yu was somewhat disapproving.

After all, the official position is there. If you don't take it, someone else will rush to it. What's more, occupying the position means having the possibility of further advancement. Instead of standing outside and watching the hustle and bustle in the court, it is better to squeeze yourself into this circle first, so that you can at least retain some hope.

It has to be said that Xu Yu's thoughts represent the majority of people, but when he really wanted to persuade a few, those self-righteous young people emerged in his mind. Then his disapproval gradually dissipated, and a wave of worry emerged.

It was natural that the result that was expected before was to stretch the time infinitely, but when it was first implemented, it was inevitable that some people would be unable to save face and thus drag others into it.

Of course, such a little resistance is nothing, but for the imperial court, there is a little resistance here and a little resistance there. When added together, this resistance is as hard to shake as a mountain, and the imperial court cannot move forward.

We have to find a way to deal with this. We can't let a good thing become a burden to the court.

With this in mind, Mr. Xu's thoughts began to race.

However, he had been teaching students for most of his life, but he had never thought of this before. Even though he had racked his brains, he still could not think of any way to ease the situation, and the warm room fell into silence.

"But I do have a solution."

"Oh? Your Majesty is indeed very smart, but I, an old minister, still have no idea."

Seeing Xu Yu flattering him like that, Zhu Cilang still felt a little embarrassed, but this matter was of vital importance to the Ming Dynasty, and his embarrassment disappeared in a moment.

"Mr. Xu, have you read the court bulletins these days?"

"Ah? This old minister has seen it several times."

Well, I haven’t seen it.

It seems that this old gentleman really intends to retire after achieving success.

Xu Yu's performance immediately made Zhu Cilang realize the truth behind the words, but he would not blame the old gentleman for it. After sorting out his words in his mind, he recounted the situation of the court report in detail.

After about an incense stick of time, Mr. Xu finally understood the differences between the official reports now and those in the past. However, as an old scholar, he still felt that it was inappropriate to pass these official documents to the public, and he felt a little dissatisfied.

But then again, what he wanted to say at this moment was a million times more important than a small report. After Zhu Cilang finished speaking, he waited eagerly for the next words.

"I think that in this matter, the scholars should understand the court's painstaking efforts. It would be better for Mr. Xu to discuss the necessity and difficulty of the court increasing the number of candidates in the official report sent to the county level in his own name."

"Hmm? Is it still possible?"

(End of this chapter)