Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

These words broke the invisible shackles in Zhu Jianji's heart.

Zhu Jianji was breathing heavily in the pavilion, frantically weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

The reason why those civil officials dared to neglect their duties with impunity was that they were certain the emperor could not do without them.

If the officials were replaced directly by petty clerks, public opinion among scholars across the land would surely sweep in like a tsunami.

He might even be remembered in history books as a foolish ruler who appointed lowly servants.

but!

He looked down at the mountain of memorials and then thought of the room full of rare treasures in the side hall of the Qianqing Palace.

His Ming Dynasty still wanted to expand its territory and subdue the world.

If even an imperial edict cannot leave the Forbidden City, what kind of emperor is he!

"good!"

Zhu Jianji gritted his teeth and slammed his fist heavily on the stone table, a ruthless gamble unique to emperors flashing in his eyes.

"I am the Son of Heaven. I can appoint whomever I want to be an official! If they want to rest, I will grant their wish and let them rest to their heart's content!"

Zhu Jianji turned to look at Wang Zhi and gave a stern order.

"Wang Zhi! Draft an imperial edict immediately! All officials of the Six Ministries, Nine Ministers, and Censors who have recently requested leave on the grounds of summer heat or old illnesses, I, in consideration of these veteran officials, hereby grant them permission to retire and return to their hometowns, and they will never be employed again!"

"Furthermore, the Ministry of Personnel is ordered to work with Pei Yuan, the Right Vice-General, to examine the practical skills of officials and clerks from various ministries and departments in the capital and from various prefectures and counties in the provinces."

"Those who are proficient in finance, law, and water conservancy shall be promoted without regard to precedence, granted official positions, and actually appointed to their duties!"

"This matter must be resolved for me within ten days!"

"This servant obeys the decree!"

Wang Zhi shivered and scrambled off to deliver the imperial decree.

Pei Yuan stood there, watching Zhu Jianji's decisive and ruthless demeanor, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

This is the true wrath of the emperor.

He could destroy people's hearts without killing them, and uproot the foundations of those civil officials.

Three days later.

On the square in front of the Ministry of Personnel, the most ridiculous and absurd farce since the founding of the Ming Dynasty was staged.

Dozens of high-ranking officials who had been on sick leave at home, waiting for the emperor to send eunuchs to comfort them and invite them back to take charge of the overall situation, were among those affected.

They all rushed to the Ministry of Personnel's main hall, stumbling and crawling.

Among them were vice ministers, senior officials, and censors from the Censorate.

At this moment, these officials, who usually looked down on everyone, were looking at the golden imperial edict posted at the entrance of the Ministry of Personnel.

Each of them looked ashen-faced, as if they had lost their parents.

"Granted retirement...and never to be employed again..."

A vice minister from the Ministry of Revenue slumped to the ground, pointing at the imperial edict, his voice stern and trembling.

"I merely caught a slight cold and took two days off. How has this become a request to retire and never be employed again!"

"This must be the work of that treacherous Pei Yuan, who is trying to mislead the Emperor!"

However, what followed was even more despairing and humiliating for them.

The gates of the Ministry of Personnel were wide open.

A middle-aged official dressed in a brand-new seventh-rank blue official robe walked out, surrounded by a group of constables.

The middle-aged official had a dark, thin face, calloused hands, and a slightly hunched gait.

This is clearly a bad habit he developed from spending half his life studying in front of a desk.

The Vice Minister of Revenue, who was slumped on the ground, stared intently and nearly fainted.

He knew this person!

This is clearly an old clerk who has worked in the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Finance and Expenditure for more than 20 years!

Normally, when they see him, they don't even dare to breathe loudly and can only kneel on the ground to reply to him!

But now, this old clerk is actually wearing an official robe, with a mandarin duck patch embroidered on his chest.

He stood arrogantly before him, the former vice minister.

"Lord Zhang, why are you sitting on the ground? Be careful not to catch a heatstroke."

The newly appointed head of the Revenue Department, named Chen Laoshi, walked up to his former superior and bowed slightly.

Although the movements were still a bit clumsy and awkward.

But the barely suppressed ecstasy in his eyes was obvious to anyone.

"You...you lowly servant! How dare you wear the robes of an official of the imperial court! This is an overstepping of your bounds! It's a capital offense!"

The Vice Minister of Revenue pointed at Chen Laoshi and roared hysterically.

Chen Laoshi straightened up, the submissive look on his face gradually fading, replaced by the toughness of someone who had endured years of hardship to become a mother-in-law.

"Lord Zhang, please be careful with your words. I was personally appointed by the Emperor, and personally examined by the Ministry of Personnel and Governor Pei before being appointed as the Principal of the Ministry of Revenue."

"This official robe was bestowed by the imperial court, and this seal was issued by the Ministry of Personnel."

Chen Laoshi patted the official seal at his waist and sneered.

"Lord Zhang, you usually spend your time in the yamen drinking tea, discussing poetry, and so on. But which of the autumn grains for the thirteen provincial administrations of the Ming Dynasty wasn't calculated by me, penny by penny?"

"Are you aware of the errors and omissions in those ledgers? If you don't manage the affairs, then someone like me who understands practical matters will handle them."

"I still have a lot of messy accounts to settle in my office, so I won't keep you company with our reminiscing, Lord Zhang. Now that you've retired, you should go back to your hometown and enjoy your old age."

After saying that, Chen Laoshi flicked his sleeves and led several constables away.

The Vice Minister of Revenue was left sitting under the scorching sun, watching Chen Laoshi's retreating figure. Overwhelmed with anger and frustration, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted.

Such scenes were repeated one after another in the six ministries, various censorate offices, and even the Shuntian Prefecture in the capital.

Those upright officials who thought the Ming Dynasty couldn't do without them were horrified to discover this at that moment.

It turns out that, stripped of their veneer of classical learning, they were even less capable in handling government affairs than a seasoned accountant who had spent half his life in the field.

The emperor no longer wanted their brilliant writings; he only wanted people who could do the work.

A large number of clerks were promoted without regard to seniority.

This group of people, who have struggled at the bottom and endured countless humiliations, can unleash terrifying efficiency once they gain power.

They are well-versed in the shady dealings within officialdom and have a thorough understanding of the procedures at lower levels.

Those originally piled-up official documents were processed cleanly in just a few days in their hands.

Grain and fodder were allocated from the nine border regions and dispatched on schedule.

The Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Commerce and Industry received all the necessary approvals without any obstacles.

After a brutal reshuffle, the entire administrative center of the Ming Dynasty miraculously began to function more smoothly than ever before.

Inside the Right Vice-Governor's Office.

Pei Yuan remained seated in that open pavilion.

Lu Zheng excitedly recounted the amazing scenes unfolding outside, grinning from ear to ear.

"My lord, your move to cut off the fuel supply is absolutely brilliant! Those officials who claimed to be ill are now regretting it to the core. They cry and complain every day at the entrance of the Ministry of Personnel, saying that they are cured and can go back to work."

"But the Ministry of Personnel won't even let them in the door."

Pei Yuan slowly fanned himself with a folding fan, his gaze calm.

"You give up your seat yourself, and you expect someone else to give it back? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Pei Yuan stood up, walked to the desk in the study, picked up a brush, and wrote a large character "实" on a piece of Xuan paper.

The brushstrokes are vigorous and powerful, penetrating the paper.

"In the end, the world will come down to reality."

"Facts, knowledge, and sincerity."

Having lived for a century, he saw through those empty and illusory moral pronouncements.

Replacing those high-ranking, pedantic scholars with a group of oppressed clerks who had spent half their lives is not just a political maneuver.

It was a necessary step for the Ming Dynasty to reach the vast ocean.