Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 742 Launch
When Xu Xiancheng first entered Beijing, many people were wary of him, especially the Prime Minister Wen Tihen.

After all, Xu Xiancheng had no problem with his background, held a high official position, and had a close relationship with Zhu Shenzhui, so he was definitely Zhu Shenzhui's right-hand man.

Wen Tiren was able to become the Prime Minister because he was quick to surrender and he always regarded himself as a lone minister in the court, which was why he was valued by Zhu Shenzhui. However, as Zhu Shenzhui's position as regent gradually became more stable, Xu Xiancheng was suddenly transferred back to the capital to serve, and Wen Tiren instantly felt the pressure.

Wen Tiren was very panicked at the time. He was even prepared for Xu Xiancheng to enter the cabinet and even replace him. If that happened, Wen Tiren really didn't know what to do. His backer in the court was Zhu Shenzhui. Without Zhu Shenzhui's support, he couldn't continue to be the prime minister. Xu Xiancheng was older and more experienced than Wen Tiren. How could he compete with him?

But what happened next surprised Wen Tihen greatly, because Xu Xiancheng never entered the cabinet, and even did not go to the six ministries. He was just a Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and in addition, he had an additional position as the so-called Minister of the Imperial Guard.

Zhu Shenzhui's arrangement made Wen Tiren a little confused. It shouldn't be like this! With Xu Xiancheng's qualifications and abilities, it would be no problem for him to be a minister. As for entering the cabinet, it would be a normal arrangement. But Zhu Shenzhui didn't do that.

Afterwards, Zhu Shenzhui specially met with Wen Tihen in private, telling him to rest assured in his duties as a cabinet director and not to worry about other things. Xu Xiancheng's position as Right Censor-in-Chief in the Censorate would not pose a threat to his position as Prime Minister, and everything should remain the same.

After this reassurance, Wen Tiren was still somewhat confused, but relieved. As time went on, Wen Tiren found that Xu Xiancheng had no intention of joining the cabinet. He only managed his affairs of the Censorate and the Minister of the Interior, and never interfered in the affairs of the cabinet. This gradually dispelled Wen Tiren's concerns.

But unexpectedly, Xu Xiancheng, who had never spoken actively in the court, expressed his opinions one after another today. The first one was about the conclusion of the Gong Dingzi incident. He directly used his identity as the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate to pressure Yang Tinglin, pointing out that Yang Tinglin, as a censor, had inappropriate remarks.

As for the second one, it was a big firecracker that shocked everyone. Xu Xiancheng actually proposed to completely restore the imperial examination system, which shocked Wen Tiren. He then completely understood why Xu Xiancheng did not enter the cabinet, but became the Right Censor-in-Chief. Zhu Shenzhu and Xu Xiancheng had already made preparations and secretly arranged for a long time for this purpose!
The Beijing Examination System looks ordinary, but in fact it is very complicated. It is a sharp blade, a weapon aimed at the civil service group.

Zhu Yuanzhang set up this system for the purpose of effectively controlling and managing officials. To put it bluntly, the so-called Jingcha system is actually no different from the disciplinary committee system of later generations. Assessing the performance of officials is one point, but more importantly, this system is used to review the official group, including violations of regulations, corruption, and inaction during the term of office.

The civil service group of the Ming Dynasty had problems of one kind or another. There was only one honest official like Hai Rui in the world, but corrupt and incompetent officials were numerous. If we really investigated, we would find a lot of problems. No one was clean. Once the problems were found, how to deal with them next was beyond the control of the person being investigated.

How did Zhang Juzheng implement his new policies? Didn't he first defeat a large number of political enemies by controlling the imperial examination system, and then intimidate officials from all walks of life, and finally monopolize power to implement the new policies?

Zhang Juzheng started with the Beijing inspection system, bypassing the Ministry of Personnel and the imperial power to control the personnel power of officials. The promotion, demotion and even life and death of officials were almost all in Zhang Juzheng's hands. Which official dared to resist? This is how the Ming Dynasty was revived.

After Zhang Juzheng's death, the New Deal was abolished, and Zhang Juzheng's reform efforts were wasted. At the same time, the Beijing Inspection System became a mere formality. After all, no official wanted to have a knife hanging over his head, a knife that could fall at any time. The best outcome would be to abolish the Beijing Inspection System without abolishing it. This way, it would benefit everyone, so why not?

Zhu Shenzhui's current approach is almost the same as Zhang Juzheng's back then. He also started from the Beijing inspection system. Moreover, the person who put forward this suggestion was Xu Xiancheng, the second-in-command of the Censorate. No matter from which aspect, it is impeccable and irrefutable.

Some people may say that the Beijing Inspection System only assesses officials below the fifth rank in Beijing. Although this group is large, it does not involve high-ranking officials. Why should we be so nervous?
If you think so, you are totally wrong. Zhu Yuanzhang had already figured it out when he established this system. He deliberately set the targeted officials at this level not to exclude senior officials, but because he did not want to cause a strong backlash by directly targeting senior officials.

Even if it is aimed at middle and lower-level officials, as long as the problem is found, even higher-level officials will not be able to escape as long as they are involved. In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, classmates, fellow townsmen, and fellow subjects are the three iron bonds. In addition, there is the friendship between teachers and students in the imperial examinations. Often, one person's accident can implicate a large number of people. For senior officials in the court, their real foundation is not themselves, but a large group of officials surrounding them. Among these groups, officials below the fifth rank are the top priority and are an extension of their official rights. Once their officials, disciples, or friends get into trouble one after another, can they just ignore it? This is simply impossible, so nominally it targets officials below the fifth rank, but once the Beijing inspection system is launched, no official in the court can escape.

"What a good plan! It really hits the nail on the head!" Wen Tiren couldn't help but sigh at Zhu Shencui's methods. Wen Tiren had always thought that Zhu Shencui would follow the example of Emperor Tianqi and use direct and brutal means to eradicate the various parties in the court, especially the Donglin Party which claimed to be the pure stream.

But Zhu Shenzhui did not do so. It was true that Zhu Shenzhui restored the Silijian, but the power of the Silijian now was far less than that during the Tianqi period. Although there was no shortage of seal-holders and pens in the Silijian, their current role was just Zhu Shenzhui's inner court secretariat. The power to approve documents was useless without Zhu Shenzhui's nod.

Initially, Wen Tiren thought Zhu Shenzhu would use him as a replacement for Wei Zhongxian, the leader of the Donglin Party. But as time went on, Wen Tiren found that he had made a wrong judgment. Although the power of the cabinet was much greater than that of Emperor Chongzhen, and he was the chief minister in name only, but Zhu Shenzhu did not intend to let him fight the Donglin Party directly, except for some issues where Zhu Shenzhu needed his cooperation.

Faced with such a situation, Wen Tihen even felt that Zhu Shencui was a little "weak". He even suspected that Zhu Shencui, who led the troops to directly break into the capital, and Zhu Shencui, who was now the regent, were completely two different people.

At court meetings, Zhu Shencui never used his power to oppress others. Even though the Donglin Party continued to provoke and test him, Zhu Shencui was relatively tolerant of them. All political discussions were open and conducted in accordance with laws and rules. This is really puzzling.

Until today, Wen Tiren completely understood that Zhu Shenzhui was not "weak" at all, but was a man of foresight and superb means. Zhu Shenzhui did not directly confront the Donglin Party and other parties because he wanted to stabilize the political situation. As for using rules and laws in the court to do things, he also wanted to show a fair and just attitude and control party disputes as much as possible.

Zhu Shencui used the border trade in Shanxi and the opening of Shandong to the sea to win over a large number of northern gentry groups to compete with the powerful southern gentry groups. Now Xu Xiancheng suddenly proposed to restore the Beijing inspection system, which was a thunderbolt. Once the system was completely restored, Zhu Shencui would be able to directly control the officials.

"I second the proposal!" As soon as Xu Xiancheng finished his suggestion to resume the Beijing Inspection, Zhang Xijun immediately stood up.

Zhang Xijun was the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, which was responsible for the promotion and assessment of officials, and was equivalent to the Organization Department in later generations. The Beijing inspection had always been led by the Metropolitan Censorate and conducted in conjunction with the Ministry of Personnel. Zhang Xijun, as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was in charge of this matter. He immediately expressed his approval, which was equivalent to the attitudes of the second-in-command of the Metropolitan Censorate and the Ministry of Personnel, two key departments that were also in charge of the Beijing inspection.

"The imperial examination has been neglected since the 21st year of Wanli's reign. Now the imperial examination system has become a mere decoration. The character, moral integrity and performance of officials at all levels have not been strictly evaluated, so those who are idle are promoted, while those who work hard are left idle. How can the examination function be fulfilled if this continues? As the Minister of Personnel, I agree with Lord Xu's words. I ask His Royal Highness the Regent to restore the imperial examination as soon as possible. Only in this way can officials with outstanding performance and hard work not be neglected, and they should be promoted and reused according to the rules!"

Zhang Xijun's argument was well-reasoned, and he also specifically pointed out the problems with the current assessment system. Currently, the court's assessments are basically just a formality, with the superiors writing comments on the subordinates, rather than being as strict as the imperial examination system.

This will lead to nepotism or retaliation in the assessment results. Those who have a good relationship with their superiors, or even those who are related to them, will naturally get superior grades. Those who have conflicts with their superiors at work, or even those who have different political views, will definitely not get high evaluations.

In this way, the assessment of officials by the Ministry of Personnel has become a means for some people to play political games. Some people who are conscientious, capable and have political achievements are not promoted, but those who are good at flattering are promoted step by step. If this continues, what kind of governance is there? Where is fairness?
Following Zhang Xijun's approval, several other officials expressed their agreement instantly. These officials either had a good relationship with Zhang Xijun or were people who had been retaliated against and suffered greatly in the existing assessment system. In addition, several middle and lower-level officials of the Fushe also expressed their agreement. They had not been officials for a long time and were full of ambition and passion. They were dissatisfied with many situations in the current officialdom. In addition, as the leader of the Fushe, Xu Xiancheng wanted to restore the Beijing Inspection System, which was the best thing for them. Using the Beijing Inspection System to rectify the administration of officials and make the court politics clear was the original ideal of the Fushe. How could they not support it?

(End of this chapter)