Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 23: The newcomer in the imperial prison with his brocade robes and swords drawn!
Outside the Yuxi Palace, there were swords and spears.

Among the three judicial departments in the Ming Dynasty, the office that actually managed officials was the Censorate.

Whether it is the annual assessment of officials at all levels or the supervision of official conduct in government offices at all levels, the Censorate has direct power of impeachment and supervision.

Except for the Left and Right Censors-in-Chief and the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, ordinary censors were three levels higher than the officials.

Today is the sixteenth day of the first lunar month in the fortieth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, which is the real beginning of the new year. On this day every year, the chief and deputy chief officials of the six ministries and nine government offices and the censors stationed in Beijing would come here as usual to send the Censorate's performance evaluation of the officials of various ministries in the previous year.

At this time, the lobby was filled with gauze hats and dazzling red robes.

What is different from previous years is that the people who came today were in the same camp. After decades, officials from the six ministries and censors from the Censorate were finally able to sit at the same table and talk.

The wind of reconciliation between Yan Song, leader of the Yan Party and the chief minister of the cabinet, and Xu Jie, leader of the Qingliu Party and the second minister of the cabinet, swept through the court and the country.

There may be many people in this world who see things in black and white and hate evil, but in the imperial court, it is very difficult for such people to make progress.

A friend may be one today but not tomorrow, but interests are always the common and unremitting pursuit of officials.

The Yan Party official and the Qingliu Censor, who had been confronting each other for twenty years, changed their previous hostility when they saw that they had only experienced a slight embarrassment. They invited each other to sit down in a friendly manner and then started chatting and laughing.

Following the precedent, the first person to speak today was Ouyang Bijin, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, who looked at the chief and deputy officials standing on both sides and said, "You may have heard about this, but some of you may not know it yet. The Imperial Finance Conference cancelled the budgets of the six ministries at the beginning of the year, and the Emperor wants to use the performance evaluation method.

If nothing unexpected happens, this will be my last year in charge of performance appraisals at the Metropolitan Procuratorate.”

As a close friend of Yan Song, Ouyang Bijin was able to be in charge of the Censorate and was ranked among a group of upright censors. He was famous in the court for his maturity, dignity and prudence.

Normally, he was not only on good terms with officials from the Yan Party, but also with the Qingliu Censors. When he opened his mouth, everyone in the room fell silent.

The great power of the ancestors' laws and regulations collapsed in an instant. Although there had been rumors long ago, some people were skeptical while others were hoping for the best. Now, hearing Ouyang Bijin's announcement in court was like the mighty power of heaven, like the sound of thunder!

The officials in the six ministries are slightly better. They have been accustomed to being criticized by the Censorate for so many years. The court has changed its inspection and assessment methods. The worst that can happen is that they will be more cautious in their work and appear more diligent. There will be no problem.

of course.

Be greedy when you should be greedy.

Fighting to the death with the Qingliu Censors would not stop them from engaging in corruption, not to mention that the civil service group would unite again and protect each other, making corruption even more convenient and safer.

The Book of Songs says: "Big rat, big rat, don't eat my millet! I have pierced my daughter for three years, but no one cares about me."

This folk song has been passed down for more than 2,000 years. Rats are hunted every year, but they can never be completely hunted. Corrupt officials are killed every dynasty, but there are corrupt officials every dynasty.

Is it that the swords of Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi were not sharp, or that the swords of Tang Zong Mingzu were not sharp? Neither is the case.

No matter how sharp the knife is, it cannot kill many people because the blade will bend.

Many people have already thought about how to embezzle money next.

Collusion with businessmen, misappropriation of public funds, taking empty salaries, kickbacks...

The Censors in the Censorate were really having a hard time. Censors had always been noble and superior to others. They were in charge of the rank assessment of officials in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. A single word could result in promotion or demote.

Now that the power to inspect and assess is gone, what’s the use of just having the power to report things based on rumors?
When power loses its function, the Censorate is left with only the word "clean" of poverty but without the word "noble". What is the point of being a censor?
I haven't studied hard for decades just to become a gossipy woman in the imperial court.

Instead, they wanted to bring the real money back home. All the censors of the Censorate hung their heads, their faces pale, frightened and confused!
Ouyang Bijin smiled calmly, seeming to be very calm.

The decline of the Censorate is a decline, so what does it have to do with him, who is about to take office as the Minister of Personnel?
His old friend had arranged everything for him, and what he had to do next was to issue a final performance evaluation of the six ministries at the Censorate, and then wait for the imperial edict to arrive.

"In accordance with ancestral rules, I would like to read out to you the results of the performance evaluation of the important officials of the six ministries last year."

At this point, Ouyang Bijin pulled out six books from his sleeve and handed them out to the six ministers in turn, explaining, "But last year, there were severe droughts in two provinces, floods in three provinces, several major wars in the north and southeast, and a fire in the palace. All of these were overcome with the hard work of the officials of the six ministries.

Coincidentally, there was no snow in several provinces at the beginning of last winter, and some evil people took advantage of this to attack the imperial court.

Fortunately, the emperor fasted and worshipped heaven, and I, the officials in Beijing, did not smoke or eat meat during the New Year holidays. Our sincerity moved heaven, and that’s why we had the heavy snow yesterday.”

At this point, Ouyang Bijin paused, and after everyone present agreed, he said loudly: "Now, our Ming Dynasty is at its peak, the country is safe and the people are prosperous. It would be too inhumane for the Censorate to criticize the civil and military officials too harshly. Therefore, last year's performance evaluations of the officials of the six ministries were all rated as medium, and the performance evaluations of the chief and deputy officials of the six ministries were all rated as high."

Ouyang Bijin was an honest man. Knowing that the Censorate was about to lose power, he did not make things difficult for other censors in the Censorate before leaving, but instead rushed to prepare a new performance evaluation book overnight.

With such a gorgeous performance appraisal book of the six ministries, the hatred between the censors of the Censorate and the officials of the six ministries over the past years can be wiped out.

as well as.

The censors of the Censorate and officials of the six ministries were grateful to him, Ouyang Bijin.

Finished reading.

Ouyang Bijin looked at the officials in the hall with bright eyes, ready to enjoy this wonderful moment of being admired by his subordinates, the censors and officials from the six ministries.

He is seventy-three years old this year, and he probably won't have the chance to enter the cabinet and become a prime minister. He would be content to retire peacefully as the Minister of Personnel.

Sudden.

There was a commotion outside the Censorate, and Ouyang Bijin frowned. Why would anyone disturb his fun at this hour?

Then the attention of Ouyang Bijin, the Censor of the Censorate and officials from the six ministries were attracted by a "flying man".

The gatekeeper of the Censorate "flew" directly into the hall.

Following closely behind him was Jinyiwei Commander-in-Chief Lu Bing and countless Jinyiwei cavalry.

The Censorate was completely blocked.

Lu Bing walked into the lobby of the Censorate as if he were entering his own backyard, and said in a loud voice: "Imperial edict!"

Ouyang Bijin was panic-stricken.

The censors of the Censorate and officials from the six ministries were shocked and knelt on the ground.

"Ouyang Bijin, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, has been corrupt and perverting the law for personal gain. His actions are increasingly severe. The government is in chaos and corruption is rampant among officials, both big and small. How can the country be safe? How can the people be safe?"

Lu Bing read out the decree loudly, "Immediately send Ouyang Bijin to the imperial prison!
All the performance appraisals of the six ministries and yamen officials last year will be cancelled and await further review!"

(End of this chapter)