You have truly caused me great suffering!

In April, spring is in full bloom.

Jinling was a place of great prosperity, with flowers blooming everywhere.

At this moment, in the residence of Prime Minister Li Tangchen, his expression was somewhat solemn.

Looking at the memorial in his hand, he was still hesitant about whether to hand it in.

Having served as prime minister for so long, some people in the court and the public ridiculed him as a "prime minister who echoes the emperor's words," as he rarely objected to what the emperor said.

Li Tangchen felt wronged. He genuinely agreed with the emperor's proposal. Did a good official have to argue with the emperor to be considered a good official?
My abilities are inferior to His Majesty's; what's wrong with assisting him in accomplishing great things?

We did the same thing back in Hedong, and there weren't so many questions about it then.

It's simply that the position of prime minister is something that arouses jealousy.

You officials all mock me for not doing anything, well then I'll show you what I can do!
Having made up his mind, Li Tangchen put on his court robes and hurried to the palace.

Soon, an article was published in the Da Jing Daily, attracting the attention of countless people.

Grand Chancellor Li submitted a memorial proposing the establishment of additional officials under the Censorate, including the Commissioner for Investigating and Examining, the Commissioner for Investigating and Handling Cases, and the Commissioner for Supervision at the Circuit Level.

Inspect documents from six ministries and conduct inspections of local areas to ensure integrity.

Moreover, he didn't just offer suggestions; he had already conceived a complete organizational structure.

Li Tangchen had served as prime minister for four years and was very familiar with all levels of government in the Great Jing Dynasty.

He proposed establishing the Censorate (responsible for supervision), the Court of Criminal Justice (responsible for judicial matters), and the Court of Accounting (responsible for auditing) in the imperial court.

The three institutes operate independently, mutually inspecting and correcting each other.

The Censorate was in charge of impeaching officials for corruption and dereliction of duty.
An inspector was dispatched to oversee the various circuits (serving a three-year term, with no possibility of reappointment);
An office for handling anonymous reports was established (preliminary investigations were required before a case could be filed), and a system of "joint liability" was implemented, whereby censors who protected others were also punished.

The Court of Judicial Review was responsible for handling corruption cases involving officials of the fourth rank and above, and was directly under the Emperor of Zhili.
The power of the Court of Judicial Review was divided between the Court of Judicial Review and the Court of Criminal Justice. The Court of Judicial Review adjudicated civil cases, while the Court of Criminal Justice adjudicated official cases.

A treasury was established to recover embezzled funds, which were then confiscated and used as public funds. Some of the embezzled funds were also rewarded to whistleblowers.

The case had to be heard by three courts (the Censorate, the Court of Criminal Justice, and the Ministry of Personnel).

Finally, the Institute of Statistics and Metrology audited the national finance, engineering, and military expenditure accounts.
The "Red Calendar System" was implemented, requiring local revenues and expenditures to be recorded in red ink, with copies sent directly to the Bureau of Statistics.

Using "anti-counterfeiting ink" and "watermarked ledgers" prevents tampering. It is also a good time to appoint scholars who are proficient in mathematics and bookkeeping from the civil service examinations.

At the local level, they dispatched interview and handling envoys and road-level supervisory envoys.

It was responsible for accepting petitions from scholars and commoners; conducting surprise inspections of government treasuries and granaries in various regions; and submitting a secret report entitled "Records of Purity and Impurity" to the Censorate every quarter.

As for the imperial power under the jurisdiction of Dajing, the village committees and village heads are also making arrangements to establish a village-level surveillance network.

Li Tangchen devoted himself wholeheartedly to this memorial, working tirelessly for the past few months.

Using his connections from his time as a professor at the Taiyuan Prefectural School, he specially selected a large group of pragmatic and upright students and wrote this plan targeting the bureaucratic system of the Great Jing Dynasty.

After reading it, Chen Shao immediately convened a small meeting with his confidants and then had the Da Jing Daily print and publish it.

Let me give you a heads-up first.

At the small meeting, Chen Shaogang expressed his support right away, setting the tone for the meeting.

In other words, the purpose of calling everyone together is to discuss how to implement it, not whether or not to implement it at all.

The beauty of this is that officials can't easily object.

You object? Then aren't you being greedy?
Otherwise, why would you be afraid of being monitored?

Therefore, the more corrupt an official is, the louder the support should be given to him in order to prove his innocence.

Honest officials, on the other hand, offered their support from the bottom of their hearts.

Dajing adheres to the principle of high salaries to encourage integrity, but such policies are usually accompanied by severe punishments for corruption.

This two-pronged approach ensures that one can live a decent life without being greedy, while the risks of being greedy are too great, thus shaping the atmosphere of officialdom.

Chen Shao hadn't even had a chance to do it yet, but Li Tangchen essentially helped him complete this step.

This made Chen Shao look at him with new respect.

In response to this memorial, Chen Shao postponed his planned trip to the Zhongshan Mountain Resort in April and stayed in the capital, where he held several court assemblies.

The officials performed admirably in court today.

The strange atmosphere made Chen Shao want to laugh.

Whether or not someone is corrupt is one thing, but having such a strict oversight system hanging over everyone's heads is another.

Even those who are not greedy feel uncomfortable in the face of such supervision.

But Chen Shao didn't care about any of that. He said, "You'll get used to it. If you really can't stand it, then don't become an official."

This is nothing other than the fact that 'if you don't want to, there are plenty of people who are willing to take the job.'

Li Tangchen stood at the head of all the officials, his face devoid of any smile, exuding a solemn and dignified air.

He was already prepared to resign as prime minister.

Because of what he did, he could no longer command the officials, and the officials would harbor some resentment towards him.

However, he did not regret it. He had served as prime minister for four years, and because of this one incident, posterity would never record him as a "prime minister who responded to the call".

It was worth it! As for official rank, what's a higher rank? I've already reached the top. I don't care about money or land. I've long wanted to go back to Taiyuan to teach.

The sun at its zenith begins to decline, and the full moon begins to wane.

My life has been fulfilling enough. I want to emulate Fan Li, who sailed the Five Lakes and retired gracefully after achieving his goals!

After five consecutive court assemblies, the implementation of this memorial was finalized.

Li Tangchen was still in charge of selecting officials, setting up government offices, finalizing funding sources, and establishing a data archive.

In May, Chen Shao left Beijing for the Summer Palace.

Li Tangchen immediately resigned as prime minister.

Chen Shao refused.

Li Tangchen then submitted a memorial, his words earnest and frank, stating that his physical strength was failing and he was no longer suitable to serve as prime minister.

Chen Shao still refused.

This time, Li Tangchen was determined. He had long been prepared, and as he had expected, others in the officialdom viewed him with some dissatisfaction.

Two weeks later, Li Tangchen resigned again.

Chen Shao agreed and issued an edict:
[He was granted the titles of Grand Master of the Palace, Grand Preceptor, Grand General of the Palace, Supervisor of the Grand Palace, and Military Governor of Hedong… He was eligible to retire, be granted a residence in the capital, and receive the same monthly salary. His descendants would inherit the title of Duke of Qingyuan.]

[The portrait of the person was commissioned to be painted by a court painter and hung in the Funing Hall.]

When Li Tangchen founded the country, he was granted the title of Duke of Fuguo for his merits, but it was not hereditary. The title of Duke of Qingyuan, which he concurrently held, was of a lower rank, but it could be inherited by his descendants.

The treatment of the two dukes was comparable to that of Tong Guan back then. However, Tong Guan's case was because the court wanted to save face and finalize the takeover of Youyan. Granting Tong Guan the title of two dukes was to pave the way for his later title of king, but it ended up making him lose face.

This is a genuine honor.

In the Summer Palace, Chen Shao was in Li Yumei's bedroom.

Li Yumei, dressed in a light and thin silk skirt, was still as elegant as ever, with jewels swaying in the breeze.

She always paid great attention to her appearance, and there were many unique little touches on her clothes.

Seeing that her eyes were red and she looked very pitiful, Chen Shao put his arm around her waist and said, "Don't be sad. It's good to retire early. Being a prime minister is hard work and not a good job."

This is no exaggeration, unless you are like Cai Jing, who has long since mastered the art of officialdom to a high level.

Otherwise, being a prime minister is very tiring.

Li Tangchen clearly lacked Cai Jing's shrewdness.

Despite Chen Shao granting him a residence in Jinling, Li Tangchen was a very conservative man and repeatedly expressed his desire to return to Taiyuan to teach. After resigning from his official post, he would certainly return to his hometown of Taiyuan in Hedong, making it difficult for father and daughter to see each other again.

"Go back to visit your family and spend more time with them."

Li Yumei nodded in his arms and asked, "What should I do if I miss Your Majesty?"

"Send someone to let me know I'm coming to see you. It'll be more romantic if we meet secretly."

Li Yumei's face flushed red instantly, but she still nodded.

She was a sensible and discerning person. In the harem, the number of times she and Chen Shao made love outdoors was second only to Chun Tao.
-
After Li Tangchen resigned as chancellor, Chen Shao appointed the next chancellor.

He had already decided long ago that Liu Jizu would take over, and after two or three years, Yuwen Xuzhong would be replaced.

Following Yuwen Xuzhong was Cai Xing and Zhang Run in the same group.

However, now that the matter was at hand, Chen Shao hesitated again. Wouldn't it be a bit bad if the prime ministers were all from the Hedong faction?

He had two other candidates, Xu Jin and Yang Cheng, each with their own shortcomings.

To be a prime minister means to lead all officials, and one needs to maintain good relationships with them to prevent the emergence of factional strife.

Given Yang Cheng's personality, he simply couldn't maintain good relationships with the officials.

After hesitating for a few days, Chen Shao decided to let Liu Jizu go.

The appointment of a prime minister from a merchant background in Dajing is very fitting for the current situation.

Moreover, Liu Jizu is adept at social maneuvering and has a good reputation. He and Li Tangchen have been partners for many years, making him a suitable person to take over and consolidate his policies.
-
When Consort De visited her family, the Li residence was bustling with activity.

This time, Chen Shao showed exceptional leniency, allowing Consort De to take Princess Lingniang back, which brought joy to the entire household.

The family was initially somewhat depressed when Li Tangchen resigned as prime minister, and the head of the household even said he wanted to return to Taiyuan.

Having grown accustomed to living in Nanjing, who would want to return to Taiyuan? Many family members want to stay in Nanjing.

His Majesty also bestowed upon him a residence.

Li Tangchen did not restrict them from following him, but only took his eldest grandson back to personally educate him.

The rest is up to them; they can go wherever they want.

Today, a large group of officials came to offer their congratulations in the flower hall.

Liu Jizu was among them, and looking at Li Tangchen, he felt a sense of admiration.

He could have easily continued as prime minister, but he chose such a dramatic way to exit the position.

Who knows who the future prime minister will be? My partnership with Prime Minister Li has been incredibly smooth; I wonder if it will continue to be so successful. (End of Chapter)