My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 402 Emperor Qianlong sternly rebuked his court officials, proposing that both gentlemen and scoundrels could be employed!

"Xuan!"

After a long silence, Hongli uttered this single word.

At the same time, he placed his hands on his knees and looked up towards the entrance and exit gate of the palace.

The Xianliang Gate is the second gate of the Yuanmingyuan Garden after entering the main palace gate and crossing the Imperial River.

The courtrooms inside the Xianliang Gate were specifically for ministers who were about to be summoned for an audience.

Not long after Hongli said this, many ministers who were waiting to be summoned were rushing towards the gate of Xianliang, and many of them looked panicked.

When these ministers arrived before Hongli and performed the grand ceremony, some of them fell to the ground due to their panic and haste, and had to get up and kneel down again to beg for forgiveness, which was quite embarrassing.

Seeing this, Hongli said irritably, "What kind of behavior is this! We could have been at ease and relaxed, but now you're all rushing around like scrambling scrambled ...

"If they had been even half as diligent in their duties to the king, they wouldn't be in this predicament!"

The ministers were all speechless, keeping their heads down and not daring to breathe heavily.

"Get up."

However, despite his reprimands, Hongli didn't intend to waste too much time criticizing these ministers, so he simply raised his hand.

These Grand Secretaries and Ministers of the various ministries also rose after expressing their gratitude.

"I have read all the memorials you recommended."

"But after reading it, I was furious!"

Upon hearing Hongli's words, all the Grand Secretaries and ministers of the various ministries felt a chill run down their spines.

Ortai, Zhang Tingyu, and other Grand Councilors couldn't help but raise their eyes to look at Hongli, whose face was solemn.

Hongli continued with a stern face: "Some recommended more than a dozen people who could serve as ministers and governors, while others only recommended one or two. It's like two extremes!"

"And those recommended, numbering over a dozen, including many ministers who were clearly unsuitable for the positions of minister or governor, were also included in the recommendation list!"

"As Ma Lantai has recommended, De Ning is capable of serving as Minister, but as for Der Ling, even I know that she is addicted to alcohol and muddle-headed in everything!"

"In the past, he was reprimanded by the retired emperor for being incompetent as governor, so he was transferred to the capital and appointed as the military commander of the Imperial Guard. Later, because he was originally a civil official, he was temporarily appointed as the vice minister of the Ministry of Works."

"It's tolerable to appoint this person as a vice minister, but how can we appoint him as a minister and entrust him with the affairs of state?!"

"Furthermore, Xu Zheng has served as the Provincial Administration Commissioner for many years and is quite knowledgeable, but since becoming the Vice Censor-in-Chief, he has only sought to avoid mistakes rather than achieve anything, and has been quite complacent. How can he be promoted to Vice Minister?"

"I understand now. You recommend more than a dozen people, only wishing you could take the opportunity to recommend more, in order to gain a reputation for being good at promoting virtuous and capable people, without considering their merits."

"Those who only recommend one or two people are afraid that the recommender will implicate them in the future. Therefore, in order to protect themselves, they only recommend one or two people who they are sure will not make any major mistakes. Even if they make mistakes, they will not be too implicated. At the same time, they can get by and get away with it."

"Is it acceptable for an official to be so perfunctory and irresponsible, only caring about the safety of his own family and clan?"

As Hongli asked in a deep voice, he also glanced disdainfully at the Grand Secretaries and Ministers of the various ministries.

These Grand Secretaries and Ministers of the various ministries stood motionless like wooden statues.

Hongli felt a sense of powerlessness, as if he had punched cotton.

He began to genuinely feel that most of these ministers, aside from not knowing what to say at this moment, were definitely using non-violent non-cooperation to resist him, the emperor who wanted to govern diligently and combine leniency with severity, while expressing their own desire to lie down and enjoy the peaceful life of the prosperous era.

"Your master is wise!"

Ortai knew that this was the time for him and his ministers to ease the tension between the emperor and his subjects, so he stepped forward and said this.

then.

As Hongli looked at him, Ortai said, "Most of you gentlemen are indeed either too mature and worldly-wise or only interested in seeking fame and reputation. Your intentions are no longer on practical matters. However, we cannot dismiss you immediately. It would be better to identify a few promising young men who are capable of being promoted and given important responsibilities."

"This humble servant dares to recommend my father-in-law Maizhu, Haiwang, Yang Mingshi, Hao Yulin, and Zhang Yunsui."

"When employing people, we should not consider whether they are virtuous or petty, but only those who can accomplish tasks. They are all usable, and even petty people should be cherished and trained. But those who cannot accomplish tasks are useless, and even virtuous people should be transferred."

“My father-in-law, Maizhu, has always been clear-headed on important matters and dares to take on responsibilities; he is suitable to serve as Minister.”

"Haiwang is diligent, respectful, and conscientious in handling affairs; he is also suitable to serve as Minister." "Yang Mingshi is learned and capable in handling affairs. Although he was punished for being lenient with his subordinates and neglecting his duties, he is a rare talent and can still be reinstated as Minister."

"Hao Yulin is skilled in finance and economics, and is shrewd and diligent. He is suitable to be the governor."

“Zhang Yunsui is good at governing the country and has a good way of pacifying the people. He is suitable to serve as governor, especially in the southwestern provinces. He is competent in this role.”

Ortai listed the people he had recommended.

Hongli nodded after hearing this.

He could tell that Ortai had put thought into this, and that he had even put his own family's interests first when recommending someone, placing his father-in-law Maizhu first, and even making a controversial statement that could be used by both gentlemen and scoundrels.

At that time, Zhang Tingyu also stepped forward and said: "As Your Majesty said, a subject should be loyal and diligent in performing his duties and should not be swayed by personal interests. I dare to recommend Akdun, Buxi and Shaoji."

“Akdun is both talented and virtuous, and has always been good at cleaning up messes and making clean-up decisions. He is suitable to be a minister.”

“Bu Xi is meticulous, honest and capable; he is suitable to be the governor.”

"Shao Ji is honest, upright, diligent, capable, and loves the people; he is suitable to be the governor."

Zhang Tingyu also added his reasons.

Hongli had heard of these three men, so he was certain that Zhang Tingyu had not made any unfounded recommendations.

However, the high quality of Ortai and Zhang Tingyu's recommendations aroused other suspicions in Hongli.

Therefore, he didn't listen much to the recommendations of the other Grand Councilors, only nodding slightly, and soon after announced the adjournment of the court.

"Your Excellency!"

"Your Excellency!"

After the court session ended, apart from Yue Zhongqi, an official who had just been transferred from a military to a civil post in the capital, the Grand Secretaries and ministers of various ministries gathered around Ortai and Zhang Tingyu, all of them showing signs of worry.

Ortai sighed, then shook his head as he walked out with his hands behind his back: "You all really don't understand the master's desire for diligent governance! You're only satisfied when you make the master lazy and averse to work, aren't you?"

"We wouldn't dare to have such thoughts. We just really didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that no one came to the court earlier today."

"That's right, now all we can do is ask the Grand Secretary to put in a good word for us with the Master!"

The Grand Secretaries and Ministers surrounding Ortai pleaded and defended him, and were all deeply disappointed.

At this moment, Ortai glanced in Zhang Tingyu's direction and then said, "Because you are all so useless, the master still has to rely more on scholars who have passed the imperial examinations. Even I, Ortai, have to continue to recommend some people who have passed the imperial examinations. And look at the people you recommended, they are indeed not up to par, and there is even a suspicion that they are playing tricks on the master!"

"Your Excellency is wronged! We are not as good as you in recognizing and employing people, nor would we dare to recommend others without your approval. If Your Excellency had not bypassed the Grand Council and had all the cabinet ministries recommend others, we would not have made a fool of ourselves in front of Your Excellency!"

The officials around Ortai hurriedly began to explain.

Zhang Tingyu waved his hand at the group of officials who had passed the imperial examinations, saying, "You have truly disgraced the scholar-official class! His Majesty has only seen hypocrisy, not true loyalty!"

“We understand, Your Majesty is right to scold us.”

"Fortunately, we have the Grand Secretary. From now on, the task of truly selecting virtuous and capable people for the country can only rely on the Grand Secretary."

“We were unwilling to bypass the Grand Secretary and directly recommend officials, so we had no choice but to do so.”

These officials who had passed the imperial examinations were all dejected, and at the same time said that they relied on Zhang Tingyu to recommend talented people.

Ortai's nephew, Echang, was now working in the document review office, and thus soon learned of these people. He even mentioned this to his student Hu Zhongzao, who had just passed the imperial examination, and laughed, saying:
"It is evident that most of the court officials are content with their current situation and seek only personal gain. They are unwilling to recommend truly virtuous and talented individuals and only wish to rely on and protect my uncle, who is a leading military officer. Therefore, when the emperor asks them to recommend talents, they either deliberately seek personal gain or prioritize self-preservation and do not make serious recommendations."

"This is why the emperor can only rely on my uncle, a senior military advisor and veteran of three reigns, to employ people."

"This is a good thing! From now on, all the heroes of the world will come from the school of Ezhongtang!"

Hu Zhongzao smiled and started talking after hearing this.

E Chang sighed, "That's not how it works. There's also Zhang Tongcheng, who can rival my uncle!"

Hongli then visited Zhu Shi, who was ill, and mentioned the day's events to him, saying, "It seems that I cannot act without E and Zhang. The two may not have the intention to form a faction, but in fact, there is already a situation where all officials follow only the will of the two."

(End of this chapter)