I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 227 Imperial Inspection
Lin Shisan hinted to Yang Bo that Hai Rui should be transferred to Xu Jie's hometown and the stronghold of the civil service as governor. This was a ruthless move.

Yang Bo's recommendation of Hai Rui as governor of Yingtian in front of the entire court was like igniting a barrel of gunpowder in front of the Imperial Gate, a truly earth-shattering event!

Not a single member of the civil service stood up to oppose it.

Hai Rui was a paragon of the Ming Dynasty, representing unwavering integrity and incorruptibility. Anyone who opposed his promotion to Governor of Yingtian was labeled a corrupt official, a treacherous minister, and someone with a guilty conscience.

Who dares to object?

Two cabinet members, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, stepped forward at the opportune moment to support Yang Bo's suggestion.

Gao Gong said, "Your Majesty, Hai Rui is the most incorruptible official of this dynasty, and his reputation for integrity is renowned throughout the world. Only someone like him could keep the extravagant lifestyle of Yingtian in check."

"Your subject Gao Gong agrees with Minister Yang's suggestion."

Zhang Juzheng said, "What Grand Secretary Gao said is absolutely right. I agree."

"I second that" is, to put it bluntly, "I agree."

The Minister of Personnel nominated him, and two Grand Secretaries seconded his nomination. This personnel appointment was practically a done deal.

The Longqing Emperor spoke: "Granted. The Grand Secretariat shall draft an edict to promote Hai Rui, the Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and to appoint him as the Governor of Yingtian."

Hai Rui knelt down to express his gratitude upon leaving his post.

Xu Jie remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he felt as if he had swallowed a hundred flies.

After the court session, the officials dispersed through the imperial gate and crossed the imperial river via the Golden Water Bridge.

When they reached the Jinshui Bridge, Lin Shisan and Yang Bo exchanged a smile.

Gao Gong strode up behind them quickly. He whispered, "You two are cunning enough."

Lin Shisan smiled and said, "Grand Secretary Gao, Minister Yang is recommending talented people for the country."

Yang Bo nodded: "As the Minister of Personnel, it is my duty to advise the Emperor to appoint virtuous officials. Under heaven, no one is more suitable to be the Governor of Yingtian than Hai Rui."

Yang Bo was a very arrogant man, and there were few officials in the court who could catch his eye. Strangely enough, he only admired Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.

He despised Xu Jie from the bottom of his heart for his hypocrisy and insatiable greed.

Reminded by Lin Shisan, Yang Bo seized the opportunity and plunged the sword of the Ming Dynasty into the backside of the Jiangnan gentry, much to Gao Gong's delight.

Gao Gong turned to look at Lin Shisan: "Ever since you became famous for finding pets at the elephant training center more than ten years ago, I have felt that you are destined for great things."

"Seeing it today, it's indeed true. You, the third-in-command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, have a bright future ahead of you."

Lin Shisan bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you for your praise, Grand Secretary Gao."

Lin Shisan thought to himself: Why does Gao Gong's praise sound so familiar? Ah, my father always says that he has seen me as a promising person since I was a child.

After the morning court session, Lin Shisan returned to the Northern Garrison Command.

Lin Shisan got promoted, and his fat apprentice Sun Yue also benefited and was promoted to Commander of the Northern Division.

Sun Yue is of average ability and has limited skills. His strengths lie in his lack of greed, ambition, or desire for personal gain. He is of pure character and has an almost childlike, blind loyalty to Lin Shisan.

Only someone like this could Lin Shisan consider a confidant.

Sun Yue is currently in charge of collecting opinions from officials in the Northern Division.

As soon as Lin Shisan returned to the Northern Garrison Command to sit in court, Sun Yue came to him, holding a thick stack of reports on the opinions of the officials collected by his informants.

Sun Yue said, "Master, the comments from officials at the beginning of this month have been compiled."

Lin Shisan asked with concern, "What are the officials' opinions on the matter of opening the sea to the sea?"

Sun Yue replied, "There are only two opinions. One is that it's terrible, and the other is that it's excellent."

"Most of the people who said it was terrible came from powerful and wealthy families in Jiangnan, and their families had been officials for generations."

"Most of those who said they were on good terms came from humble backgrounds." Lin Shisan took the list of officials' statements from Sun Yue and carefully read through it.

Lin Shisan said, "Aside from the matter of opening up the sea to the sea, the most discussed topic here is the Ministry of Personnel's capital inspection."

The Beijing Inspection was an assessment conducted by the Ministry of Personnel of the Ming Dynasty for officials stationed in the capital. It was not held on a fixed schedule; sometimes it was conducted annually, and sometimes every three years.

To conduct an inspection, one must offend people. Some shrewd Ministers of Personnel never conduct an inspection in the capital during their tenure.

The highest record during the Jiajing reign was that no inspection was conducted in the capital for six consecutive years.

The new emperor has only recently ascended the throne, and Yang Bo has just been appointed Minister of Personnel, yet he immediately began conducting the capital inspection. This shows that Yang Bo is a conscientious and responsible person.

The Beijing Inspection was not simply a matter of classifying officials in the capital as good or bad. It required a detailed examination of four categories and eight methods.

The four elements are: Guardian, Government, Talent, and Year.

The first grade of the four categories is called "competent", the second grade is called "diligent", and the third grade is called "serving".

The four categories and three levels are further subdivided into three levels of "guardianship": first level is honest, second level is mediocre, and third level is greedy.

There are three levels of "politics": the first level is diligent, the second level is mediocre, and the third level is lazy.

The character “才” is divided into three grades: the first grade is long, the second grade is flat, and the third grade is short.

The term "year" is divided into three categories: young, middle-aged, and old.

The eight factors are greed, cruelty, inaction, carelessness, old age, illness, restlessness, and lack of talent.

If one receives the assessment of "illness" or "old age" in the Eight Methods, one will be forced to retire and return to one's hometown.

Those who receive comments such as "frivolous" or "lacking in talent" will be demoted by one to three levels in their appointments.

Those who received criticisms such as "greed," "cruelty," "carelessness," or "inaction" were dismissed from their posts.

Those who achieved the highest rank in the capital's assessment would be given priority for appointment to substantive local positions. However, each capital assessment typically yielded only a handful of top-ranking individuals, while hundreds were punished under the "Eight Laws."

In short, the Beijing inspection was a nightmare for officials in the capital.

Sun Yue said, "Master, those officials in the capital have been cursing Yang Laobu's ancestors for eight generations lately. They say that his handling of the capital inspection is a case of a new official starting up trouble."

"What do you think, sir? Should we reinstate a few of those who have foul mouths?"

Lin Shisan said, "The reason why officials in the capital have complaints is that during the reign of Emperor Shizong, the capital inspection often did not consider the merits of officials, but only the amount of silver that officials gave to the inspectors."

"The officials in the capital who had money all contributed. Those who didn't had no choice but to wait to be classified as third-class officials or included in the Eight Laws."

"With Minister Yang in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, this year's inspection meeting in the capital is quite different."

“Our Northern Garrison Command can’t just arrest people because officials in the capital grumble a few words.”

Sun Yue smiled and said, "Master, you have the heart of a bodhisattva."

Lin Shisan said, "A combination of swift and decisive measures and a compassionate heart is indispensable. However, our most pressing task in the Northern Division is not to focus on the capital inspection, but on the opening of the sea and the opening of customs."

"You should tell the brothers below to focus their energy more on opening up the sea and clearing the customs."

Lin Shisan was not a time traveler, so he naturally didn't know about the butterfly effect.

The imperial examination in the capital in the first year of the Longqing reign will directly affect the national policy of opening up customs and the sea.

For the next two weeks, Hai Rui traveled by dilapidated boat through the canal to Yingtian to assume his new post.

The debate between the faction advocating for opening up the sea to the sea and the faction advocating for banning the sea was raging in the court, with both sides exchanging spittle and sending memorials to the Qianqing Palace like snowflakes.

Lin Shisan, meanwhile, was busy investigating the illegal activities of the officials who opposed the sea ban, compiling their black files. If absolutely necessary, he would defy public opinion and use these secrets to blackmail officials and influence national policy.

Meanwhile, the capital inspection, which caused chaos in the officialdom of the capital, began.

(End of this chapter)