Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 78 Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked. There is such a method in the world! (Subscribe)

"Year-end awards?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately curious about this word he had never heard of before.

He seemed to have guessed who had brought it up.

He just didn't point it out in public, but let Zhu Biao continue speaking.

Zhu Biao was also very direct and generously introduced the year-end bonus that he had replanned.

"This award is another larger reward taken out of the full attendance salary just now.

The prerequisite for obtaining it is that you have not been absent from school once throughout the year.

If they can complete their tasks on time every day and make outstanding political achievements for the twelve months of the year, the amount of their year-end bonus can be increased on the original basis.

In this way, officials in the court can live a hopeful life.

There are full attendance bonuses every month and year-end bonuses every year. These rewards will be obtained as they work hard. "

With just a brief introduction, Mu Ying quickly realized that these two operations both took advantage of people's hearts to a certain extent!
The desire to change their current lives will force them to work hard.

The amount of the attendance award may not be high, and the conditions for obtaining it are not difficult.

But once it is linked to the year-end bonus, huge changes can occur instantly.

Those who have outstanding political achievements and have achieved perfect attendance for a year have undoubtedly made a great contribution.

These extra salaries may not be much for a great contributor like him.

But for those poor officials, it is a great favor.

“Father, I have found through investigation that some corrupt officials are just living a hard life, not knowing where their future lies, and their families are suffering.

In the end, he was forced to resort to corruption.

This type of officials accounts for nearly half of the officials who commit corruption and bribery.

If we don't change the current situation in time, we are forcing them to be greedy.

The introduction of perfect attendance and year-end bonuses can help this large group of officials to mend their ways.

Become the most energetic official in the Ming Dynasty who is most sincere in serving the people.

There will inevitably be opportunists during this period, but we can impose strict regulatory systems.

If found, the most severe punishment must be meted out.”

At this moment, Mu Ying looked at his younger brother, the Crown Prince who was the regent of the current court.

He found that this usually humble and polite relative seemed to have changed a little!

Become more courageous!

According to Mu Ying's usual understanding of Zhu Biao, Zhu Biao would always discuss matters with Zhu Yuanzhang.

The ups and downs in the relationship between the two are obvious.

But now Zhu Biao's courage has suddenly increased. Not only that, he also has a clearer understanding of criminal law and sentencing.

They don't even worry about the harm that strict laws may cause.

Mu Ying was very happy with such a prince, because he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang would approve of him.

"You need to have perfect attendance for a whole year to be eligible for the year-end bonus. Doesn't this seem too easy?

Think about it, the amount of the year-end bonus must be quite large. If some people collude with each other and deceive their superiors and subordinates, they might have missed the full attendance in a certain month and finally bribed the supervisor with a little money.

Wouldn't that mean he could take advantage of the situation and get this generous year-end bonus?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was able to become emperor not only because of his Bloody Hand Pagoda.

His talent in politics is even higher than in war!

Otherwise, he wouldn't be so eager to abolish the prime minister.

The reason is that in his opinion, he alone can connect with the six ministries and handle matters across the country.

Of course, Zhu Biao helped during this period.

But in the past, Zhu Biao was not yet the Crown Prince Regent and did not have the power to assist.

Zhu Yuanzhang maintained a high-intensity working state for nearly five consecutive years.

“Yes, Prince, what father said makes sense.

The Ming Dynasty's imperial court in Kyoto held inspections every few years, although there were ways to intimidate those lazy officials.

But there are still many people who take advantage of loopholes to avoid being investigated.

Not to mention that the territory of the Ming Dynasty is so vast that every place has a different way of getting along.

It would probably be quite difficult to obtain real information about every place again.

In addition, the amount of this year-end bonus is so huge that it will definitely attract many people to use their cleverness to do some shady things behind the scenes. "

Mu Ying also continued speaking along with Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

Although he is a military general, he is not in the court now.

In addition, his relationship with the two was that of a family, so when they discussed these things in private, neither Zhu Yuanzhang nor Zhu Biao felt offended.

The two looked at Zhu Biao, and saw that the other person's face did not show any worry of encountering difficulties and not being able to think of a solution.

He just nodded slightly and said softly:

"There is nothing wrong with what my father and elder brother are thinking. Simply relying on full attendance to get a year-end bonus is very tempting for officials with the means.

It is so simple, just a little trick can make up for the missed work.

For this reason, I added an extra test to the prerequisite of obtaining the year-end bonus.

That’s called a ‘performance review.’ ”

"Performance appraisal? I think the tricks here are quite interesting. Biaoer, please tell me."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, his brows frowned instantly, indicating that he was quite interested in this.

Zhu Biao, who was standing between the two people, stood up and spread the rice paper in his hand flat on the ground.

It is more convenient for three people to see.

“The so-called performance appraisal is not only about checking the other party’s full attendance, but also about checking the other party’s political achievements in the local area.

Every year, the imperial court would promulgate many policies, and this performance appraisal was to see whether officials could complete the tasks assigned by the imperial court.

We can judge officials based on how well they accomplish state affairs.

Only those who reach a certain score in the performance appraisal are eligible for a larger year-end bonus.

If, within a year, some officials are fully present at all meetings, but complete the tasks assigned by the court less often than their colleagues.

And if there are complaints from the public from time to time, then it means that there is something wrong with this official. We should conduct a detailed investigation and severely punish him to serve as a warning to others.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhu Yuanzhang became more and more satisfied with Zhu Biao.

There are rewards and punishments, and the current prince is very satisfied with him.

He even thought about reporting the good news to Empress Ma as soon as he returned, and then consider a way to hand over the throne to Zhu Biao.

What happened next made Zhu Yuanzhang even more certain that his son had changed!
After Zhu Biao finished speaking, Mu Ying subconsciously asked a question.

“Prince, according to what you said, this performance appraisal is to examine the achievements of all officials.

Combined with full attendance, determine whether to give the other party a year-end bonus.

The more work you do and the better you complete it, the higher your year-end bonus will be. So if some official positions are relatively leisurely.

Moreover, the official's character is the type that does not like to fight. Compared with other people, he can only support his family.

In the end, will he feel jealous when he sees others getting generous year-end bonuses and living a good life?

There is temptation in this matter. What if I go astray? "

Hearing this, Zhu Biao looked at Mu Ying with a smile and said:

"Brother, I know what you mean is that if these 'idle' officials become corrupt, we will be held responsible in the end, right?"

Mu Ying nodded, which was considered as an admission.

However, Zhu Biao's expression changed instantly, and his entire body exuded the inviolable majesty of an emperor.

He said in a very arbitrary tone:

“In my opinion, if these idle officials have a little ambition, they will not be content with mediocrity.

If you want to get money without doing anything, there is no good thing in the world.

Since you have chosen a sinecure and accepted it for a long time, don't even think about competing with other ambitious people for the few year-end bonuses.

These rewards are for those who are prepared, not for those who just wait for the food to come.

We did not carefully investigate whether they neglected their duties during their idle period. We thought it was a kind act for them to use their power to make profits for themselves.

How could I possibly consider their affairs?

Besides, my father and I handle government affairs day and night, and we need to issue many tasks to various departments in a month.

These tasks require a large number of people to carry out and convey them, and finally implement them on the people.

In a year, there are at least dozens of times, if not hundreds. Can't they just try to get a handful?

While serving in the Ming Dynasty, even if the Hanlin Academy was responsible for compiling, revising and managing national books, it had to be completed three times a year.

There are countless similar responsibilities and opportunities. If they don't fight for them, how can they be qualified to receive a generous year-end bonus?

All in all, in my opinion, if one does not fight for the official position with a one-in-a-hundred attitude, then the importance of the year-end bonus cannot be reflected.

After all, this reward is already quite generous and was obtained through legal means.

It’s better than risking being beheaded.”

"Okay! Biao'er said it's great!"

After hearing Zhu Biao's words, Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands together to express his approval.

After repeated persuasion from Yang Chen, Empress Ma and Zhu Biao.

He also realized that the salaries of these officials were indeed low, so he could spend a large sum of money to increase their salaries.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang feel that he had suffered a great loss.

But now, Zhu Biao's words made him feel the joy of fishing, especially the feeling of the fish chasing the hook and biting it frantically.

Only outstanding officials were qualified to take money from Zhu Yuanzhang's pocket.

He even thought that the difficulty of picking one out of a hundred as mentioned by Zhu Biao was too low.

You should work with the attitude of choosing one out of a thousand or one out of ten thousand to get it.

The first time he saw Zhu Yuanzhang praising him generously, Zhu Biao's fatigue disappeared instantly.

At least all the time and energy spent was not in vain.

After his last conversation with Yang Chen, Zhu Biao went back and thought about it for a whole night, and suddenly he had an epiphany!

Combining the method Yang Chen mentioned, he figured out a way to let the horse run and eat grass at the same time.

“Father, there must be rewards and punishments, otherwise some officials will realize that they cannot compete with others.

But if he can live a good life simply by being fully present, then he will influence other officials. For this reason, we also need to prepare a "last-place elimination system" in performance appraisal."

Just hearing the name instantly aroused Zhu Yuanzhang's curiosity.

He had already vaguely felt that this last-in-first-out system could make the stagnant officialdom boil in an instant.

“Performance appraisal is to examine the work ability of all officials. Those with outstanding ability will be rewarded. As for those who don’t want to work, we will give them an opportunity and a punishment.

First, we stipulate that if an official of a certain rank or an important position fails to show full attendance within a year due to laziness, then we will cancel his year-end bonus for that year.

Secondly, within a year, despite being in charge of important responsibilities, he did not achieve any achievements at all, and instead caused problems among his subordinates.

In the second year, we will demote his official position from the first rank to the second rank, the second rank to the second rank, and so on.

In the third year, he still did not repent and did not realize his mistakes in time.

The punishment of reducing official positions continued, and this time the intensity was increased. One major official position was reduced at one time, from the first rank to the second rank, and from the second rank to the third rank.

Nothing has been accomplished for three consecutive years! In my opinion, such officials should be dismissed from their posts no matter what position they hold!

When someone is assigned a new position, naturally someone needs to be promoted.

But there are so few positions, so those who can be promoted must be the best and most hardworking.

Otherwise, if there are only rewards in terms of salary but no reward for promotion of official rank, it means that the ambition of officials cannot be stimulated to the greatest extent. "

Zhu Biao touched his chin and explained the performance appraisal and the last-in-first-out system in detail.

In an instant, Mu Ying felt what it felt like to have his breathing stopped.

This method is really great for the superiors, but for his ministers who hold high positions, it is like whipping them with a bundle of whips.

If they fail to make any contributions, they will be demoted and have to watch their hard-working colleagues not only gain money but also get a bright path to promotion.

At the end of the day, no one will relax even a little.

When I looked up, I found that I had been left far behind.

He is a military general and there is no need to engage in wars on weekdays. He only needs to train his troops and be vigilant of any disturbance on the border.

But the civil servants serving in the court are different.

Civil servants have too much to deal with.

A slightly unexpected thing is working for long hours continuously.

Under the pressure of such a system, they can't even be lazy.

Because once you are lazy, it means that some hardworking subordinates will take your place.

How can you dare to take a rest?
Thinking of this, Mu Ying couldn't help but ask:
“Prince, isn’t this last-place elimination system a bit harsh?

Just think about it, if you do what you just said, a first-rank official might be dismissed or deposed in less than three years because of these things.

I think it’s a little hasty, if you ask me.”

Among the three people present, Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang were the ones in power, so naturally they wanted their subordinates to work hard, work desperately, and work hard with their lives.

But as a minister, Mu Ying could look at it rationally from his perspective.

Regardless of the size of the official position, as long as you fail to do your job well within the specified time, you don't have to make any big mistakes, even if you want to live a safe life.

This is indeed harsh for the ministers.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Mu Ying and then at Zhu Biao, wondering how the other would answer this difficult question.

However, Zhu Biao was not annoyed by the question raised by Mu Ying.

"Brother, it is normal for you, as a subject, to think that this method is harsh.

But brother, as the ancients said, being an official has a long way to go and heavy responsibilities!
The higher you are, the more you can appreciate the feeling that it is lonely at the top. At the same time, you should also understand that a single misstep can lead to eternal regret.

Let me take the Minister of Works as an example.

As the Shangshu, he needed to manage the production activities of all kinds of craftsmen and artisans.

Responsible for the country's water conservancy projects, supervising projects, managing military farms, and monitoring mountain and swamp resources.

The Minister of Works is a second-rank official position. In every dynasty, those who can become officials of this rank are talented!

The treatment he enjoyed was something that many people could never even imagine in their lifetime. Even the efforts of three generations were not more than the salary he received in one year.

If he is not treated harshly, how can he have the face to stay in this position?

He has not made any achievements in a year and is just lazy and gluttonous. If we don't fire such a person, will we let him continue to eat and drink for free?
Official positions were established to better govern the world, but the leaders are leading the way by being lazy and greedy.

If we don't torture him, he should kowtow to us and thank us.

To put it bluntly, the last-in-first-out system means that the capable are promoted and the mediocre are demoted.

If a Shangshu fails to demonstrate his ability to hold this position one day, it means that he is not suitable for this position.

I believe that the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty showcase a large number of talents every year, and many people are envious of this position.

There must be some among them who are willing to bear this hardship, for fame, for profit, as long as they can get things done, so what if they are appointed as Shangshu."

"Good! Good! Good!"

After listening to Zhu Biao's entire plan, Zhu Yuanzhang said "good" three times in a row.

He is now quite satisfied with his son. He couldn't be more satisfied.

From full attendance salary to performance appraisal, and then to the last-place elimination system, the three parties combined can instantly reduce corruption while meeting the needs of the people.
It also allowed all the officials of the Ming Dynasty to make rapid progress in an instant.

No emperor was more fond of commanding his officials like beasts of burden than Zhu Yuanzhang.

In Lao Zhu's opinion, only when an official works diligently like an ox or a horse and does not complain about the hardship and tiredness can he be a good official.

At this point, Mu Ying, a high-ranking official, was already quite impressed with Zhu Biao's approach.

At the same time, he also changed his status as a minister to looking at this measure from the perspective of the royal family.

"Prince, congratulations! Now that you have come up with these three systems, the Ming officialdom will surely be cleaner in the future.

In the future, people will have a better life.”

Mu Ying was sincerely celebrating for Zhu Biao, as he knew very well how important his younger brother was in the eyes of their father.

At the same time, many officials in the court had always hoped that Zhu Biao would step forward.

The reason is very simple. When Zhu Biao was in power, he was much more benevolent than Zhu Yuanzhang, and at least he did not kill too many people.

However, Mu Ying now thought that the fantasies of these officials were extremely ridiculous.

Once these three systems are implemented, the ones who will suffer are the civil servants holding important positions.

It is absolutely impossible for them to rest. Compared with military generals like Mu Ying, civil officials have too many things to deal with.

Even if you want to find a loophole, it cannot be done in a short period of time.

Zhu Biao responded to Mu Ying with a folded hand:
"Brother, you are joking. Although this method is good, it is indeed a bit harsh for you as a minister. I hope you will not blame me, your younger brother."

Hearing this, Mu Ying burst into laughter.

"Your Highness is too polite! As the deputy governor, I should fulfill my duties. Otherwise, I would not have the face to accept the title of Marquis of Xiping."

"Brother, don't always call me the prince. It's not like you didn't take care of me when I was a child. It's getting strange."

From the moment he entered the study, Mu Ying had been using honorifics to address Zhu Biao, which made Zhu Biao feel a little strange.

However, Mu Ying smiled and explained:
“It’s not like we’re spending time together in private, and it’s not in my palace either.

You are wearing the dragon robe of the crown prince, and I am wearing the robe of a military commander, so naturally we need to abide by the rules and etiquette.

Do not overstep your authority; this is the way of a subject."

In fact, the two of them always called each other brothers during festivals, but Mu Ying understood that it was indeed inappropriate in the current situation, so he explained it this way.

Zhu Biao was also quite distressed about this, but he didn't say anything more.

"Biao'er, how did you come up with this idea?"

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang said this from the middle.

Mu Ying looked expectantly at what Zhu Biao would say.

Faced with this question, Zhu Biao seemed a little embarrassed, but in the end he told the truth.

"Father, with your ability, you should have guessed that these methods all came from Yang Chen.

After getting some advice from him, I returned to my study.

I started giving examples one after another, and on this basis, I suddenly came up with this method.

Therefore, 80% of the credit for this method belongs to Yang Chen, if it weren’t for his reminder.

I'm afraid the salaries of all officials will be a very difficult issue to resolve in the short term."

"I knew it was this little bastard! I should have noticed before that this guy has a really dirty heart!"

"Who is Yang Chen?"

After learning that it was really Yang Chen who said it, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression gradually became complicated.

First of all, he had not guessed that it was Yang Chen who would come up with such a suffocating method.

Secondly, although his son had changed a little, he still relied on Yang Chen.

This feeling made him, as a father, very unhappy.

But he just approved of it, and he had always disliked Yang Chen.

It was like a collision between contradictory water and fire happening in his heart.

"Prince, I know all the officials in the capital, but it seems that there is no one named Yang Chen.

Don’t you know who he is?”

The only confused person present was Mu Ying.

He originally thought that this was Zhu Biao's own idea, but he didn't expect that the other party would turn around and attribute such a great achievement to one person.

Or someone he had never heard of.

Facing his elder brother's question, Zhu Biao was obviously a little hesitant. After hesitating for a moment, he could only say:

"He is a friend of mine, quite special."

Just when Mu Ying felt that this was the case, Zhu Yuanzhang added:

"Mu'er, this Yang Chen is the person I just mentioned. He is also the son-in-law we chose for you."

"What! Father, are you kidding me?

Yang Chen was the one who found no merits after searching for a long time, and finally could only rely on his youth to be praised by his father? "

Mu Ying was stunned at this moment and had no idea what to say.

Apart from him, Zhu Biao was even more disheveled.

"Father, you want to marry my eldest brother's daughter to Yang Chen? Why didn't you discuss this with me?"

Both of his sons asked him, and Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little embarrassed, so he had to bring up Empress Ma.

"Biao'er, it's not that father didn't tell you, but it's your mother who asked you to do this, and there's nothing we can do about it.

I dare not stop your mother from speaking, don't you think?"

(End of this chapter)