Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 472 Calendar
If the Ministry of Personnel fails to handle the matter of the Inspectorate properly this time, Emperor Longwu will begin to doubt Wang Fang's competence as Minister of Personnel!
"Your Majesty, this old minister has completed preparations for this matter, but I came to court in haste today and did not bring the memorial."

"This afternoon, this old minister will be able to present the memorial to His Majesty!" Upon hearing Emperor Longwu's words, Wang Fang of the Ministry of Personnel was also startled. Immediately, Wang Fang quickly began to explain.

At this moment, Wang Fang knew that the matter that Emperor Longwu had entrusted to her a few years ago was now of utmost urgency! She immediately expressed her opinion.

In fact, Wang Fang had already completed the matter of setting up inspectors in various places! He had even drafted the memorial to be submitted to the emperor! It was only because some officials were missing that the memorial had not yet been presented to the emperor.

With the Imperial Academy now fully staffed and supplemented by officials already in the Ministry of Personnel's own pool, the number of officials is essentially sufficient. At this point, Wang Fang has no reason to delay any longer!
"Tell me briefly." Upon hearing Wang Fang's words, Emperor Longwu's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked. After all, this was an important measure for Emperor Longwu to supervise officials in the future!
"In response to Your Majesty, each of the thirty-six states of our Dragon Kingdom has an inspection office, with one or two resident officials under each state and county."

The supervisory office was not subordinate to the local government and was directly under the jurisdiction of the capital!

At the same time, Longdu will establish another supervisory institute to specifically handle supervisory matters in various regions!

The reports submitted by the inspectors were mirrored by the performance evaluation of officials by the Performance Evaluation Office.

Ultimately, this led to the evaluation of officials. At this point, Wang Fang briefly described his work regarding the Supervisory Department and some details of the preparations. It could be said that the Ministry of Personnel already had a general framework in place!
"Then let's establish a special supervisory department directly within the Ministry of Personnel!"

Minister Wang, you should know that this Supervisory Office has a very promising future! After hearing Wang Fang's words, Emperor Longwu nodded to himself, agreeing with Wang Fang's preparatory strategy.

Of course, Emperor Longwu knew that this was only a general strategy, and a more detailed plan would be needed later. However, now that the general framework was in place, all that remained was to fill in the details!
However, unlike the idea of ​​Wang Fang, the Minister of Personnel, Emperor Longwu wanted to establish a supervisory office directly in Longdu!

Because, in Emperor Longwu's mind, this Censorate would become a truly powerful department! It would be responsible for cracking down on illegal activities throughout the land, especially those of its officials!
It also involves illegal and disorderly conduct among local nobles and gentry; the verification of fields, mountains, rivers, cattle, sheep, gold and silver in newly developed areas of the imperial court; and matters such as post-war rewards for officials. All of these matters must be directly handled by officials of the Censorate!
"Your subject obeys the decree!" Wang Fang was startled upon hearing Emperor Longwu's words. He knew that the Ministry of Personnel had originally been the head of the Six Ministries. However, over the course of dynasties, it had gradually fallen from its position as the most important of the Six Ministries.
Now that Emperor Longwu is entrusting the Ministry of Personnel with such an important task, it means that the Ministry of Personnel will once again rise to prominence under Wang Fang's leadership and regain its position as the head of the Six Ministries!
Listening to the conversation between the Emperor and the Ministry of Personnel, the Second Grand Secretary Huang Zhong seemed lost in thought, completely detached from the discussion. He knew that since the Emperor had kept him behind, it meant he was to be entrusted with something!

And it must be a big deal!
"Father, the officials from the Imperial Observatory have all arrived!" Just as Emperor Longwu finished discussing the matter of the Censorate with the Minister of Personnel, the voice of the eldest prince, Zhu Qiyu, came from outside the door.

"Come in~" Upon hearing his son's voice, Emperor Longwu seemed to recall something unpleasant. He frowned, took a deep breath, and then spoke loudly.

For a moment, the officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony felt a wave of oppression wash over them!

Immediately following them was the eldest prince, Zhu Qiyu, who entered first. Behind him followed a group of about thirty or forty Taoist priests, all dressed in magnificent robes.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Upon entering, a large group of Taoist priests, led by a young Taoist priest who appeared to be around thirty years old, knelt and kowtowed respectfully to Emperor Longwu.
In contrast to the Taoist priest, the eldest prince Zhu Qiyu calmly returned to Emperor Longwu's side, stood still, and quietly watched the scene before him!
"Esteemed immortals, you have been pondering outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony for half an hour. Have you figured out what I have come here for this time?!" Looking at the Taoist priests kneeling on the ground, Emperor Longwu was filled with rage!
Furthermore, Emperor Longwu did not allow the kneeling Taoists to rise; they remained kneeling. After all, they had already been kneeling outside for half an hour, so they certainly wouldn't mind kneeling for a little longer!
"Your Majesty, we are guilty and have failed Your Majesty's grace!" After hearing Emperor Longwu's words, the first kneeling Taoist priest, who was only in his thirties and dressed in a purple Taoist robe, said in a deep voice with a bitter expression.

Upon hearing the words of the purple-robed Taoist priest, Emperor Longwu could no longer contain himself and immediately spoke up angrily!

"The Imperial Observatory was originally established to observe celestial phenomena, calculate the solar terms, and formulate the calendar to assist the people in cultivating crops! But now, look at this, it's been several years since the founding of the nation!"

The calendar system has still not been finalized!
How can I not be angry?!

How am I supposed to explain this to the people of the land?!

How will you explain this to the old supervisor?!
"You are blaspheming the Taoist ancestors!" To be honest, the reason why Emperor Longwu was so angry with the Imperial Observatory, and even made dozens of Taoist masters from various regions, who were considered high and mighty by outsiders, kneel outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, was to teach them a lesson! And then, to make them quickly produce the calendar for the entire Dragon Kingdom!
After all, in ancient times, the calendar often represented the production and harvest seasons of crops! It was also the most important basis for maintaining social order and standardizing time!

But now, the Dragon Kingdom has been established for several years! The Taoist priests of the Imperial Observatory still haven't been able to produce a satisfactory calendar!
In fact, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau did produce several versions of calendars in its early stages. However, these were completely copied from the Chinese calendar!

However, changes in geographical location have led to some discrepancies in calendars! In ancient times, when people relied entirely on the heavens for their livelihood, a one-day error in the calendar was catastrophic!

After the old Taoist priest passed away, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, despite referencing the Central Plains calendar, was still unable to produce a satisfactory calendar! This was the reason why Emperor Longwu was angry and even made all the officials of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau kneel as punishment!
"I am guilty!
"Your Majesty, please punish me!" The purple-robed Taoist priest, kneeling first, respectfully buried his head in the ground once more. At this moment, he too was filled with humiliation. After all, the Imperial Observatory's inability to complete the calendar was an utter disgrace!

"Condemned?!!
What crime did you commit?!
What I want is not punishment, but a new calendar!

"If punishing is effective, what's the point of having a calendar?!" After hearing the words of the first purple-robed Taoist kneeling before him, Emperor Longwu roared again with a face full of indignation.

Suddenly, a deafening dragon's roar seemed to resound throughout the Hall of Supreme Harmony, causing an inexplicable gust of wind to blow through the hall! Immense pressure followed!

For a moment, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was silent, with only the suppressed breathing of everyone present!

"Hmph! I won't talk about the calendar today."

"There are two things to arrange!" After a moment, the terrifying pressure dissipated. But then, Emperor Longwu's voice echoed once more in the Hall of Supreme Harmony!

"Please give your instructions, Your Majesty!" Upon hearing Emperor Longwu's voice, the Taoist priests breathed a sigh of relief. Then, it was the purple-robed Taoist priest who spoke first.

(End of this chapter)