I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 197 Field Survey in Progress! Hai Rui: The Method for Examining the Abuses of Field Surveys is Needed

On the nineteenth day of the second month, at the beginning of the morning, the regular court assembly was held at the Huangji Gate.

Civil and military officials stood in rows on the left and right.

At this moment, all officials learned from the officials on duty at the Office of Transmission that all the officials in the capital who held real positions had submitted a memorial requesting that the young Wanli Emperor assume personal rule.

in queue.

Shen Shixing looked at Shen Nian and thought to himself: It's better to have one's heart for the Emperor than for the world!

moment.

After reading the other memorials, the official on duty at the Office of Transmission announced to the assembled officials that all officials had submitted memorials requesting the emperor to assume personal rule.

"Your Majesty, we humbly request that you assume personal rule!" the officials shouted in unison, bowing their hands.

The young Wanli Emperor straightened his chest and looked down.

"I am aware of your intentions, but I believe that it is not yet time for me to assume personal rule."

All the officials listened quietly.

They've been through this "humble deference" tactic far too many times.

Yesterday, some officials who were "pursuing progress" wrote three memorials in a row requesting that the young Wanli Emperor assume personal rule.

Send one letter and keep two.

Because they were certain that after the young Wanli Emperor yielded twice, he would agree to the officials' requests. The sooner they submitted their petitions, the more they could gain a sense of presence in front of the young Wanli Emperor.

Just then, the young Wanli Emperor changed the subject.

"My refusal to assume personal rule at this time is not out of humility, nor is it to order my ministers to continue submitting petitions. I sincerely believe that assuming personal rule at this time is inappropriate and would hinder the new policy reforms!"

Swish!
These words immediately made all the officials raise their heads.

This is clearly not a humble statement.

The young Wanli Emperor continued, "At present, the nationwide land survey has just been implemented, and the officials selected through the performance evaluation system are being given important positions by the court. All of this is thanks to the efforts of the Grand Secretariat, the Six Ministries, and all the ministers!"

"Now that I am in charge of the government, some officials will inevitably try to please me and focus their energy on things outside of politics in order to gain an opportunity for special promotion."

"Furthermore, the Drafting Office has just gotten on track, and I do not want to disrupt this balance. As for when I will assume personal rule, I will inform you all when I am ready!"

"From now on, my ministers, please refrain from discussing my personal rule. The most important thing is for us, as ruler and ministers, to work together to thoroughly implement the new policies within these two years!"

……

The officials all understood what the young Wanli Emperor was thinking.

He did not mention Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary.

But every sentence mentions Zhang Juzheng, expressing approval of him.

Emperor Wanli believed that the framework for the new policies and reforms established by Zhang Juzheng during his tenure was now complete, and it was time to implement them.

He then took control of the government.

This will undermine the integrity and consistency of the current new policy reforms.

The young Wanli Emperor did not say what Shen Nian had said: "Your Majesty has just gotten married, and immediately assuming power would hinder the continuation of your lineage."

He knew that Shen Nian's reason was something he had prepared for Empress Dowager Li.

this moment.

Lu Diaoyang, Ma Ziqiang, and Yin Zhengmao suddenly realized that the young Wanli Emperor had grown up.

The young Wanli Emperor was ambitious and had a broad vision.

In his eyes, the time for him to assume personal rule was when Zhang Juzheng submitted his memorial earnestly requesting him to do so.

At present, his hasty assumption of power and excessively rapid transfer of authority may result in internal strife and factional infighting.

this moment.

Shen Shixing looked at Shen Nian with surprise and delight, and murmured to himself: Ziheng is really amazing!

this moment.

A satisfied smile appeared on Shen Nian's face.

In recent years, he has devoted himself to teaching the young Wanli Emperor, and the results have been quite obvious. The latter understands that the stability of the country is above all else.

"Your Majesty is wise, we have no objection!" the ministers shouted, bowing with their hands clasped.

……

February 20th.

Emperor Wanli issued an imperial edict, bestowing the title of Consort Zhao upon Lady Liu and the title of Consort Yi upon Lady Yang, and held a ceremony to formally confer the titles of consort.

This is the rule for the emperor's wedding; after the empress is established, the concubines must be appointed immediately.

The person chosen was naturally selected by the two empress dowagers.

……

February 24th.

Emperor Wanli (the young emperor) officially announced: The grand wedding is complete, and sacrifices are offered to Heaven, Earth, the ancestral temple, and the altars of the land and grain.

He also ordered the Ministry of Personnel to add honorific titles to the two empress dowagers.

Empress Dowager Rensheng was renamed Empress Dowager Rensheng Yi'an, and Empress Dowager Cisheng was renamed Empress Dowager Cisheng Xuanwen.

At the same time, a general amnesty was announced.

Wu Qingbo is also among those pardoned, and his name will certainly not be on the list for execution this autumn, but he is not yet eligible for release from prison.

None of the officials questioned this.

On the one hand, the Wuqing Bo family has recently been helping the people almost to the point of "going bankrupt," which is a very good thing.

On the other hand, the amnesty was announced when the young Wanli Emperor was overjoyed, which was completely in line with the etiquette and laws of the Ming Dynasty and had no fault to find.

On the day.

Empress Dowager Li issued an imperial edict announcing the formal removal of her regency from behind the curtain, signifying the end of her rule.

After the young Wanli Emperor established his empress.

The nominal master of the inner court was the Empress, who resided in the Kunning Palace.

In the following days, everything in the court proceeded normally.

The young Wanli Emperor was radiant and full of energy, which showed that the Empress had taken very good care of him and that the two had a very harmonious relationship.

……

February 25th.

Before the censors sent by the Censorate could investigate the matter of "the Shen family selling the Xiaoge Lao brush at a high price", the situation took a turn for the worse among the people.

Some merchants who had done business in Hangzhou and knew the Shen family well praised them highly.

The prefect of Hangzhou and the magistrate of Qiantang County jointly submitted a memorial to Emperor Wanli, presenting all the good deeds done by the Shen family for the benefit of the people. Emperor Wanli then made the memorial public.

It is no exaggeration to say from their memorials that—

"In Qiantang County, anyone who dares to say a bad word about the Shen family on the street will definitely be beaten up by a mob!" The outcome of this matter was almost certain that the Shen family would be innocent.

Also.

Emperor Wanli specifically ordered Feng Bao to arrange for people to praise the Shen family's merits in Hangzhou Prefecture in local tabloids, in order to make up for the injustice suffered by the Shen family.

Meanwhile, the Embroidered Uniform Guard began investigating the mastermind behind the incident, but finding this person proved to be extremely difficult.

……

In the blink of an eye, it's March.

As the weather warms up, the grass and trees turn green.

The imperial lectures resumed, and land surveys were carried out vigorously throughout the Ming Dynasty.

All the officials were busy.

……

March 5th, afternoon.

Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission, Xi'an Prefecture, suburbs.

In a simple post station.

Hai Rui, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate in charge of inspecting censors throughout the country, sat at the table. His hair was gray, his face was thin, but he had a ruddy complexion and was in good spirits.

The Ming Dynasty had 110 censors serving as supervisors in 13 provinces and 13 circuits.

Hai Rui had visited four provinces: Sichuan, Henan, Shanxi, and present-day Shaanxi.

There are a total of 32 censors in these four provinces.

Following Hai Rui's inspection, 30% of the 32 supervising censors were replaced by the imperial court.

Currently, there are seven censors in Shaanxi.

Four of them had just taken office at the beginning of this year. Their predecessors were all impeached by Hai Rui and were either demoted or imprisoned.

Hai Rui was meticulous and thorough in his work.

Upon arriving in a new place, he would thoroughly investigate the abilities, character, reputation, family members, and clansmen of the local censor.

Those who embezzle or accept bribes are impeached directly; those censors who are on the verge of violating the laws of the Ming Dynasty are summoned for a face-to-face meeting.

at this time.

Seven censors from Shaanxi quickly arrived at the front hall of the post station where Hai Rui was staying.

Although the Censor was a seventh-rank official, his duty was to supervise and inspect the emperor's territory on behalf of the emperor.

Even in front of a provincial governor of the second rank, they dared to speak with their heads held high, and even dared to curse the governor.

But now...

The seven men were filled with trepidation; upon seeing Hai Rui, they were like mice before a cat.

They had no idea what mistake they had made that led to Hai Rui's sudden and urgent summons.

present.

All those who served as censors shared a consensus.

If impeached by Hai Rui, the best course of action would be to quickly confess and request leniency.

If Hai Rui wanted to resist, he would present all the evidence to the capital.

More importantly, the young Wanli Emperor trusted Hai Rui very much. Whenever Hai Rui submitted a memorial, the young Wanli Emperor would approve it without having anyone investigate it.

Hai Rui made the Ming Dynasty's censors work diligently, as if a sword was hanging over their heads, and they dared not do anything that violated the law.

"Greetings, Imperial Censor!" the seven censors shouted in unison, bowing with their hands clasped.

Seeing that the seven men were covered in sweat and some of their legs were trembling, Hai Rui couldn't help but smile faintly.

"Rest assured! You have already been inspected by me, and you are all worthy of your current positions. I have summoned you here today to entrust you with something."

Upon hearing this, the seven people couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Based on Hai Rui's current influence.

Even if they were innocent, if Hai Rui said they were guilty, then they were guilty. Not only would the court believe them guilty, but the people of the world would also be convinced that they were guilty.

Of course, Hai Rui would never falsely accuse anyone.

This is Hai Rui's current reputation.

After saying this, Hai Rui waved to the clerk beside him, who immediately came to the seven men with a stack of booklets.

The seven men looked down and saw six large characters written on the cover: "Essentials for Examining the Abuses of Field Measurement".

Hai Rui said, “The nationwide land survey has just begun, so problems may not be apparent yet, and opponents will not take any action. However, problems will arise over time. This booklet is a summary of the potential problems and solutions for local land surveys that I have compiled. Please take a look.”

Immediately, the seven censors began to peruse the document.

In terms of land surveying, Hai Rui can be considered a pioneer of the Ming Dynasty and the first official to dare to confront the former Grand Secretary.

As early as the third year of the Longqing reign, when Hai Rui served as the governor of Yingtian, he began to order wealthy families to return their land.

At that time, Xu Jie, the Grand Secretary who had already retired, had more than 100,000 mu of land that his family had annexed. Hai Rui submitted several memorials to impeach him.

Hai Rui was born into a poor family and was very clear about the problems that existed in land surveying among the common people.

He predicted that after Zhang Tian:

There will inevitably be bureaucratic landlords who use methods such as smuggling and deception to conceal land ownership under the names of tenants and the poor.

There will inevitably be some members of the imperial clan who collude with clerks to confuse land boundaries, falsely report land area, and even secretly organize armed forces to sabotage and obstruct operations.

There will inevitably be people who falsify the fish-scale map, deliberately writing down the wrong acreage or recording tens of thousands of acres of fertile land as saline-alkali wasteland.

There will inevitably be local officials who will be perfunctory in measuring land, alter the boundary markers, deliberately destroy land boundary signs, or even spread rumors that clearing land will lead to people's bankruptcy.

……

Hai Rui recorded all the possible actions of those who opposed land surveying and the corresponding countermeasures in the booklet.

After the seven censors finished reading through the book, Hai Rui reminded them, "You can use the strategies in this book to conduct inspections, but you must never let anyone else know the contents of this book, including local officials. Once they know, they will surely come up with new schemes!"

"Your humble servants understand!" The seven censors bowed in unison.

If any other official had written such a booklet, it would have been presented to the emperor long ago, awaiting praise.

However, Hai Rui believed that once some strategies were made public, the latter would have countermeasures, so he did not want the censors to spread the strategy.

This is the kind of person who gets things done.

Everything is driven by the outcome of the matter.

Next.

Hai Rui would also send this booklet to the censors in other provinces in the form of letters.

If these censors, despite having this policy, still fail to effectively supervise and various problems arise that are exposed by the people, then Hai Rui will not be lenient with them.

(End of this chapter)