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

Chapter 767 Roster
Since changes have taken place on the Liaodong battlefield, Zhu Shenzui naturally has to adjust his tactics in Liaodong.

In addition to Zheng Hongkui and Li You continuing to carry out guerrilla warfare in Liaodong and sabotage and harass the enemy's rear, some arrangements must also be made on the Liaodong front battlefield.

Zhu Shenzui instructed Wen Tihen and Yang Sichang to have the cabinet and the Ministry of War make preparations and to transfer part of the troops from Xuanda and Jizhou to form a reinforcement force, with Hei Yunlong as the main general and Zhang Keda, the general of Jizhou, as the deputy, to rush to Liaodong to cooperate with the Liao army in the battle.

This army was estimated to have more than 10,000 people. Their main task was not to defeat the Eight Banners that surrounded Jinzhou, but to join forces with Wu Sangui's troops and launch a tentative attack to the north based in Ningyuan, constantly harassing and carrying out small-scale flexible operations to put pressure on Huang Taiji.

Huang Taiji was now in a dilemma. If he withdrew his troops now, the battle of Jinzhou, which had been under siege for several months, would come to an end. But if he did not withdraw his troops, Huang Taiji would not be able to bear the unscrupulous actions of Zheng Hongkui and Li You in various places in Liaodong. In addition, the Ming army's reinforcements attacked from south to north, making it impossible for Huang Taiji to achieve his goal of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements, nor could he continue to trap the defenders of Jinzhou.

Wen Tiren and Yang Sichang immediately agreed with Zhu Shenzhu's arrangement, and both said that the cabinet and the Ministry of War would cooperate with the frontline troops to prepare for reinforcements to Liaodong. After explaining it to them in detail, Zhu Shenzhu asked them to go back and prepare as soon as possible. After the two left, Zhu Shenzhu did not stay in Wenhua Hall for long, but went to Wenzhao Pavilion.

Wenzhao Pavilion was originally also called "Wenlou", which was the venue for the Boxue Hongci examination. The corresponding name of Wenzhao Pavilion was "Wulou", which is Wucheng Pavilion. Both names were changed by Emperor Jiajing. Historically, after the Manchus entered the Pass, they changed Wenzhao Pavilion to Tiren Pavilion, and Wucheng Pavilion to Hongyi Pavilion. The original functions of the two pavilions were cancelled and they were directly assigned to the Imperial Household Department. The two pavilions became warehouses for the Imperial Household Department to store gold, silver, jewelry, jade and other valuables.

Now the functions of the two pavilions remain the same, and the names remain the same. Zhu Shenzhui temporarily allocated Wenzhao Pavilion to the Supervisory Department as its office space.

When he arrived at Wenzhao Pavilion, Zhu Shenzhui walked in directly without notifying anyone.

Wenzhao Pavilion is not small in area. After it was allocated to the Supervisory Department, the interior was slightly adjusted. As soon as you enter, there is a large office. This is the office for ordinary officials of the Supervisory Department. When Zhu Shenzhui came in, many people were busy. When they saw Zhu Shenzhui, they stopped what they were doing and saluted him.

Zhu Shenzhu nodded kindly, stopped and asked a few questions about the work situation, and encouraged him, then asked where Xu Xiancheng and Zhang Xijun were.

"Reporting to the Regent, the two adults are discussing matters in the cabinet." A young official replied quickly.

"Thank you for your hard work. I can go on my own. You guys continue to be busy."

"yes……."

Zhu Shenzui walked straight towards the office. When he entered the cabinet, Xu Xiancheng and Zhang Xijun, who had heard the noise outside, stood up and were about to go out to take a look. At a glance, they saw Zhu Shenzui coming straight towards them.

"Regent..."

The two of them saluted quickly. Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and walked directly to the main seat and sat down: "No need to be polite, sit down!"

"Thank you, Regent." Xu Xiancheng and Zhang Xijun sat down on Zhu Shenzui's left and right respectively.

After they sat down, Zhu Shenzhui's eyes swept over the many files on the table beside him, and he picked up one and flipped through it: "The Supervisory Office has been established for more than a month, how is the Beijing Inspection?"

"The court has not held the imperial inspection for many years, and the original system has long been abolished. Now it is difficult to sort out the myriad of issues, and we can only start over again step by step." Xu Xiancheng spoke as the chief officer of the Supervisory Office. He told Zhu Shenzhui that what they were doing was only preliminary. They would first prepare a list of officials to be inspected in Beijing based on the list of officials in the Ministry of Personnel, and then evaluate the officials one by one according to the four categories and eight methods of the imperial inspection system.

The so-called Four Grids and Eight Methods are actually assessment standards. The original role of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Department was to be responsible for the evaluation of officials. However, as the imperial examination system was abolished for many years, this function of the Examination and Reward Department has become a decoration. It is not so easy for the Supervisory Department to start over now.

Moreover, according to the original procedures of the Beijing inspection, all officials in Beijing were required to evaluate each other on the inspected personnel, and the evaluation results would correspond to the records of the Ministry of Examination. Then, the parties involved would be directly interviewed and questioned, and a conclusion would be reached after visits and verification of the actual situation.

From the perspective of these procedures, there seems to be no problem, but don't forget that because the imperial inspection has a huge impact on officials and is directly related to their rewards, punishments and promotions, there is a serious problem of fraud and even factionalism among officials. In particular, it is difficult for officials to reflect the real situation when evaluating other officials during the imperial inspection. Most officials evaluate other officials based on "leniency", with the idea of ​​"good for you, good for me, and good for everyone", and the idea of ​​colluding with each other to fool people. Therefore, the previous imperial inspections were nothing more than a procedure in the end. Except for a few unlucky people who were deposed, the final result can be imagined.

But this time the Beijing inspection was different from the past. It had been several decades since the Beijing inspection was abolished during the Wanli period. No one had paid attention to the original Beijing inspection system long ago, and the evaluation of officials was basically carried out according to the procedures of the Ministry of Personnel. Naturally, the evaluation results were unsatisfactory.

If the previous model was followed, it is needless to say what the final situation of the imperial examination would be. This completely violated Zhu Shenzhui's original intention to restart the imperial examination. As Zhu Shenzhui's right-hand men and the people he trusted most in the court, Xu Xiancheng and Zhang Xijun borrowed the previous system to start over and adjust the system to ensure the perfection of the imperial examination. "What is the progress now?" Zhu Shenzhui wanted the result, not the process, so he interrupted Xu Xiancheng and asked directly.

Xu Xiancheng nodded, stood up and took a step forward, took out a list from the table and handed it over: "This is a list of officials below the fourth rank in Beijing. Lord Zhang and I have conducted a preliminary screening of the officials on the list and made a distinction. Regent, please take a look."

Zhu Shenzhu took the list and looked at it carefully. The list was filled with the names of officials below the fourth rank in Beijing, including their ranks, departments, resumes, native places, ages, and other information. In addition, the list also noted various relationships such as teachers and students, friends, etc., plus some family and property information, and some information on their political achievements. It can be said to be extremely comprehensive.

After flipping through a few pages, I have to admit that Xu Xiancheng and Zhang Xijun put a lot of effort into this matter.

Putting the list aside, Zhu Shenzhui said, "I won't go into detail about the details, but can you guarantee that the information in the list is accurate?"

Zhang Xijun replied, "Part of the information in the list comes from the Ministry of Personnel, and the other part is collected and sorted by us. In addition, the Jinyiwei also assisted a lot. This is just a preliminary entry, so there may be some omissions. We will further improve it later, but it is definitely 80% to 90% accurate."

Hearing this answer, Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly. He was still confident in the abilities of Xu Xiancheng and Zhang Xijun. There would be no problem if these two people worked together to do this matter. Moreover, this time the Jinyiwei of the capital were also involved, which could ensure that there would be no deviation.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhu Shenzhui reached out and tapped the list gently, saying, "When everything is complete, send a copy to me."

"Yes!" the two replied in unison.

Seeing that they were a little reserved, Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile: "Please sit down. This is not the court. I am here today just to see the progress."

Xu Xiancheng and Zhang Xijun smiled at the same time, bowed and sat back.

Zhu Shenzhu then asked about the internal situation of the Supervisory Office, especially the work ability and attitude of the young officials transferred to the Supervisory Office. Xu Xiancheng said that although these young officials lacked experience, their attitude was not bad, and they were very concerned about being responsible for the affairs of the Beijing Inspection. Their morale was high and they could be used. As long as they were trained in the Beijing Inspection, these officials would be of great use in the future, but they were not yet ready and needed some time to hone their skills.

In this regard, Zhu Shenzhui reminded that although these officials were selected by Xu Xiancheng and Zhang Xijun, the officialdom has always been a quagmire. Few people can keep themselves clean once they enter this quagmire. Moreover, the Beijing inspection is a major matter and everyone from top to bottom is watching it. Once they enter the Supervisory Office, they will easily become the target of others. At that time, they may be corrupted by various means, affecting the effectiveness of the Beijing inspection, or even being dragged into the water. This cannot be ignored.

"Please rest assured, Regent. I have anticipated this kind of situation. Lord Xu and I have discussed this before. We have mutual supervision within the Supervisory Department to avoid similar situations. Besides, outside the Supervisory Department, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will also cooperate accordingly. All people in the Supervisory Department are under the surveillance of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Whenever anyone has a problem, we will know about it at the first time." Zhang Xijun replied confidently. Xu Xiancheng on the side nodded slightly, indicating that this arrangement was correct.

Zhang Xijun has always been cautious and resourceful. He was very good at maneuvering and had a keen insight into people's hearts when he was in the capital. It can be said that Zhang Xijun made a lot of efforts for Zhu Shenzhui to enter the capital and control the government. If it were not for his operations and intelligence in the capital, it would not have been so easy for Zhu Shenzhui to take over the capital after he started his rebellion.

This time, Zhu Shenzhui set up the Supervisory Office and restarted the Beijing Inspection. His real purpose was not to simply manage the government, but to achieve other political goals through the Beijing Inspection. Zhang Xijun understood this better than anyone else. So after the establishment of the Supervisory Office, Zhang Xijun began to make preparations and cooperate with Xu Xiancheng to preside over the work. The list that Zhu Shenzhui saw just now was Zhang Xijun's suggestion.

Zhu Shenzhui was very happy to hear their answer. He said solemnly, "Do you know about the changes in the war in Liaodong?"

"I have heard a little bit about it. I admire the regent's ability to mobilize troops. I think given the current situation in Liaodong, it won't take long for the siege of Jinzhou to be lifted."

"Haha, it's too early to say that now. Anything can happen on the battlefield, and no one can be sure until the last step. But it is true that the situation in Liaodong has improved slightly. Before I came here, I met with the Prime Minister and my soldiers, and made some other arrangements for Liaodong."

Zhu Shenzhui said a few simple words, and then continued, "These days, the court has been criticized for not sending troops to rescue the Liaodong war. Although Zheng Hongkui, Li You and others have opened up the situation in Liaodong, the tactics they used are not the right way. The court will hold a meeting in a few days. I think someone may criticize this matter. What do you think?"

A trace of anger flashed across Xu Xiancheng's face. In his opinion, if such a situation really happened, it would be completely nitpicking. The soldiers were fighting on the front line, and the officials in the rear not only did not support them but also hindered them. Such situations have happened in the past. Some officials even exaggerated the situation. It has become a bad habit for these people to make trouble regardless of right or wrong. How could Xu Xiancheng tolerate this?
Moreover, Xu Xiancheng certainly knew what Zheng Hongkui and Li You had done in Liaodong. Although they had a strong record in battle, their actions in Liaodong, especially dispersing the Liao people, destroying farmland and even setting fire to the city, were easy to be criticized. Those who talked about benevolence and morality were capable of doing anything. Zhu Shenzui's concerns were not without reason.

(End of this chapter)