Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 549 Binding Interests: A Strategy for Governing the Country!
Upon hearing this, Xu Miaojin's almond-shaped eyes widened instantly. She stared at the young emperor before her in disbelief, too shocked to speak.

"When disasters occur, granting them the power to make temporary decisions is a decision of the Administrative Office, and I agree to it."

"They took advantage of this to indiscriminately kill innocent people; it was indeed a miscalculation on my part."

Zhu Yunwen frankly admitted his mistake.

In the event of a major disaster, it has been a common practice throughout history to temporarily delegate some powers.

He didn't think about the drawbacks in detail.

I never imagined that officials in the feudal era would dare to be so lawless.

"But their corruption after the reforms was not unexpected to me."

"This has always been the principle of governing a country."

Zhu Yunwen's voice was calm and composed: "If there weren't sufficient incentives and temptations, how could my new policies have been implemented smoothly?"

"Why would those obstacles, those deeply entrenched old forces, willingly submit if there were no benefits to be gained?"

"As you said before, without the new policies and the industrialization reform of the Ming Dynasty, even if there were no corrupt officials and all officials were as clean as water, those disaster victims suffering in misery would never have been able to eat hot white steamed buns, porridge, rice, and pickles smoothly."

"In that case, during a major disaster, the number of people who die unjustly due to officials abusing their power and breaking the law may not necessarily decrease, but the number of disaster victims who die from hunger will certainly not be just a few hundred, but tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even more!"

Upon hearing these words, Xu Miaojin's delicate body trembled violently.

She stared intently at Zhu Yunwen, her cherry lips slightly parted, as if a thousand words were stuck in her throat, but in the end, she couldn't utter a single word.

This is a fact.

Previous dynasties were not capable of providing disaster relief like we are today.

Whether officials are corrupt or not is of no use.

After the Yellow River breached its banks, the number of people who starved to death must have been countless.

Zhu Yunwen sighed softly, his gaze carrying a depth that was difficult for ordinary people to understand: "Do you know how many voices of opposition there were, both inside and outside the court, when my new policies were first implemented?"

How many people have been obstructing us, both openly and secretly?

"Even if it passes smoothly in the court, it is not the high-ranking officials in the court who will actually carry it out and implement it in practice."

"To implement the new policies, we need the bureaucrats at all levels who are spread throughout every corner of the Ming Empire."

"They are the key to whether the new policy can be implemented."

"Most of them are conservative and have rigid thinking."

"If we don't give them some benefits, if we don't let them taste the sweetness of success, how can they truly work wholeheartedly and do their best?"

"In that case, no matter how decisive and relentless the court is in pushing forward, the new policies will eventually become unrecognizable and even impossible to implement."

"Those who govern a country must always choose the lesser of two evils." Zhu Yunwen's eyes were firm and resolute, and his words were resounding: "I have no other choice."

He suddenly raised his voice and said loudly, "As long as the new policy can be successfully implemented and millions of people can benefit from it, what does it matter if these corrupt officials embezzle a little money?"

"Compared to the enormous benefits brought by the new policies, I can give up this paltry advantage."

Why didn't the devastation in Henan this time result in widespread starvation and death?

Why were the disaster victims able to be properly resettled?

"This is the tangible result of the new policy being implemented!"

"Otherwise, faced with such a catastrophe, what a horrific hell on earth would Henan become?"

Xu Miaojin was so shocked by these words that she was speechless for a long time.

Although the young girl is exceptionally intelligent and quick-witted, she is still quite young and has never been involved in such a grand topic as governing a country, let alone pondering the power struggles and intrigues involved.

At this moment, upon hearing Zhu Yunwen state this shocking "way of governing the country" so frankly, she felt her mind and spirit shaken, overwhelmed with mixed feelings, and complex emotions surged and churned in her chest.

However, when Xu Miaojin carefully savored Zhu Yunwen's words and pondered their deeper meaning, she discovered that this seemingly paradoxical logic actually revealed an irrefutable rationality.

She nodded slightly without thinking.

Previously, Zhu Yunwen had devoted almost all his energy to implementing the new policies.

He naturally acted swiftly and decisively on policies, regulations, and measures closely related to the new policy, carrying out reforms and innovations with great force and sparing no effort to remove all obstacles.

Conversely, for those aspects that are not closely related to the new policy, or that may even cause unnecessary turmoil, he adheres to the principle of leaving them as they are, and tries his best to maintain the status quo.

After all, the new policy has already touched upon too many deeply entrenched vested interests, so there is no need to divert attention from other trivial matters, and it should not be implicated or affected by them in the smooth implementation of the new policy.

Allowing officials to "share" the benefits of the new policies within a certain scope, and even permitting them to obtain some "gray income" from them, was an important foreshadowing laid by Zhu Yunwen when he implemented the new policies, and also one of the lubricants that enabled the new policies to operate smoothly!

This idea is similar to his encouragement of princes and local gentry to actively go overseas, and through policy guidance, to voluntarily transfer a portion of the substantial profits from overseas trade to those princes and local gentry.

This is not simply bestowing favors, but rather a sophisticated binding of interests.

Let these people find their place on the new policy ship and become its staunch supporters.

Similarly, the underlying purpose of establishing a stock market, listing a large number of state-owned enterprises on the market, and allowing landlords to value their land and convert it into shares to participate in emerging industries is exactly the same.

All of this was done in order to, in the shortest possible time, prompt those feudal landlords who had been entrenched in their rural homes for generations to quickly transform themselves into capitalists of the new era.

Admittedly, capitalists may be criticized by the world on some levels, and are labeled with negative tags such as "profit-seeking" and "greed".

However, in Zhu Yunwen's eyes, they were more flexible, more innovative, and more in line with the trend of the times than those old-fashioned and conservative "feudal landlords".

As long as the initial transition from feudal society to capitalism is successfully completed, the Ming Dynasty will have enough interest groups closely tied to the new policies.

By then, the implementation and execution of the new policies will no longer face deep-rooted obstacles, but will receive a stronger impetus from within.

The problem of official corruption is also based on this consideration. In the early stages of implementing the new policies, if officials are not given certain benefits and cannot clearly see the huge advantages that the new policies can bring, then even if Zhu Yunwen holds the power of life and death and kills many people, the officials in the country will choose to respond passively, use laziness and inaction to shirk their responsibilities, and obstruct the process. In the end, the new policies will only be difficult to implement, or even die in the womb.

However, once these bureaucrats personally experienced the enormous financial benefits brought by the new policies, and faced with the temptation of money, they quickly changed their ingrained ideas, unleashed unprecedented enthusiasm, and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to promoting and implementing the new policies, becoming the most capable executors of the new policies.

Touching a person's soul and fundamentally changing their beliefs is undoubtedly extremely difficult.

However, as long as the interests they pursue are changed and they can truly feel the tangible benefits, those stubborn old ideas deep in their "souls" will slowly and naturally change under the drive of those interests.

"However, the speed at which they have become corrupt and degenerate has truly exceeded my expectations." Zhu Yunwen sighed softly, a complex emotion flashing across his eyes.

"In just a few years, their interests have become deeply intertwined with the new policies. I originally thought it would take a few more years, but now it seems that it is unnecessary."

“What you just said is all reasonable. Now, the situation is indeed different.” Zhu Yunwen’s tone changed, and his gaze became sharp. “Now that the new policies have taken root, I no longer need to tolerate and indulge them.”

"It's time for a complete overhaul."

The smooth implementation of the new policy indicates that a brand-new interest group has quietly risen and is gradually growing stronger.

These emerging forces will undoubtedly become the most steadfast supporters and promoters of the new policy.

Therefore, even if a sweeping overhaul is carried out at this moment, it will not shake the foundation of the new policy, nor will it affect its subsequent in-depth implementation.

A glint flashed in Zhu Yunwen's eyes. He had already been aware of all of this and had made full preparations for it.

"Use corrupt officials, then kill them" is not cruel, but sometimes a difficult choice that must be made in governing a country.

In certain special phases, this may even be the only way out, with no other options available.

Zhu Yunwen had already devised a mature and meticulous plan in mind on how to punish these corrupt officials who crossed the line.

As the Ming Empire made great strides in industrialization and financialization, the entire social structure was undergoing tremendous changes.

In the past, most of the corrupt practices of officials were exposed to the public.

For example, they would directly extort money from the people, levy exorbitant taxes under various pretexts, or use their power to seize and plunder fertile land, etc.

These blatant acts of corruption will undoubtedly infringe upon the vital interests of countless ordinary people.

Therefore, as long as a sound complaint, reporting, and supervision mechanism can be established, and the people have unimpeded channels for appeal, this unhealthy trend can be curbed to a large extent.

While it's impossible to say that a 100% complete eradication is possible, at least the vast majority of officials will be wary of such clear risks and will no longer dare to act recklessly.

However, for more covert and complex forms of corruption, such as embezzlement involving construction project funds, this method alone is clearly far from sufficient.

The supervision of construction project funds remains an extremely thorny and troublesome problem, even in today's technologically advanced society.

It is far more difficult to solve than those superficial acts of corruption that directly oppress the people, and it also tests the wisdom and determination of those who govern the country.

Of course, before that, the most pressing issue to be addressed is still the fundamental problem of selecting and appointing officials.

After all, when it comes to getting things done, selecting the right people is always the first hurdle.

Zhu Yunwen declared in a resounding voice: "The selection and appointment of officials must be subject to a significantly strengthened assessment mechanism."

"The assessment should never be decided by just one department, but should be conducted by multiple different departments to form a strict check and balance."

"Officials' direct superiors are responsible for performance evaluation, and the Ministry of Personnel also needs to conduct independent evaluations."

"The Censorate shall also conduct comprehensive supervision and inspection of it."

“Each party conducts the process independently to ensure fairness and impartiality.”

"To govern a country, one must first govern its officials."

"All officials who are included in the Ministry of Personnel's roster must have an independent personal file established within the Ministry of Personnel."

"All performance evaluation data about the official, whether positive praise or negative criticism, must be included in this file in detail, without omission."

"This file is not authorized to be accessed by the individual. Only when the court conducts an assessment and review of the official can it be opened and its contents reviewed by three or more officials at the same time, in order to ensure fairness and maintain strict confidentiality."

"Similarly, if new information is to be added to the archives, the same procedure must be followed to ensure the authenticity and authority of every record."

"When evaluating officials, if any department raises an objection and believes that the official is incompetent or unqualified, that person must never take office and must not wield any important power."

"No matter how strongly his superiors recommend him, if the Ministry of Personnel or the Censorate have any objections, then it won't work."

"Unless there is a special decree from me, no exception can be made!"

"For any assessment of officials conducted by any department, the official in charge of the assessment must bear ultimate responsibility for the assessment results and personally sign and file them."

"With separate assessments of the same official conducted by different departments, the phenomenon of nepotism and favoritism can be largely eliminated."

"Officials selected in this way, even if they don't have particularly strong abilities, will at least not be extremely wicked or evil."

Xu Miaojin had recovered from her initial shock and listened carefully to Zhu Yunwen's strategy for governing officials. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Your Majesty's method is truly ingenious!"

"However, such a rigorous assessment mechanism must be quite costly to operate."

"Officials in the capital are easier to deal with, since they are so close."

"But for local officials who are thousands of miles away, shouldn't the local performance evaluation be the primary factor?"

She raised her concerns: "The various departments in the capital are too far away to accurately grasp the true situation in the local areas."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen gently shook his head, a confident smile appearing on his face: "Otherwise."

“In the past, it would have been difficult for the various ministries in the capital to effectively and comprehensively supervise and evaluate the officials in the local departments.”

"But things are very different now."

……

(End of this chapter)