dognovel Chapter 1123 Goodness, my brother-in-law really knows how to have fun.
Chapter 1123 Goodness, my brother-in-law really knows how to have fun.
Zhu Biao felt he had a new understanding of the term "transferred official".
Originally, the "liu" in "liuguan" did not refer to movement, but rather to exile, being exiled thousands of miles away to serve as an official.
After silently mourning for the officials of the Ming Dynasty for a moment, Zhu Biao widened his eyes again and said, "That's not right, brother-in-law. The method you mentioned only solves the problem of officials serving in their local areas, but it doesn't completely solve the problems of bribery by powerful families and merchants from the sea."
"I've long heard the saying 'A thousand miles to become an official is only for wealth,' and I've also heard the saying 'It's easier to get past the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings.'"
"Especially those officials who have left their hometowns, even if they can stay true to their principles and remain incorruptible, I'm afraid they won't be able to command the local officials and servants, let alone prevent them from colluding with maritime merchants and powerful families to engage in corruption, right?"
Yang Shaofeng glanced at Zhu Biao with eyes that showed concern for people with intellectual disabilities.
“If the local officials and clerks are determined to oppose the officials, then the officials from other places will indeed be difficult to manage.”
"However, a county needs dozens of clerks and hundreds or even thousands of yamen runners."
“The clerks are divided into different departments, and the yamen runners also have their own duties. How can these people possibly work as one?
"Moreover, there is a small government office in the county called the patrol inspector's office, and there is a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) spy in the patrol inspector's office."
"Even if those aristocratic families and maritime merchants can bribe all the clerks and yamen runners, can they also bribe the inspectors and the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
"Even if they could do that, could they really bribe a prefectural-level inspector or a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
“Even if they can bribe the Censorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Thousand-Household Office at the provincial level, I do not believe they can control the Censorate’s Supervision and Discipline Offices, let alone the “Four No’s and Two Directs” policy that the Censorate decides on every year and every month by rolling dice. I also do not believe they can control the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Garrison Command.”
"If they can even handle these methods..."
Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "Do we still need to shout 'competing with the people for profit'? Do we still need to raise the banner of 'purging the court of corrupt officials' to rebel?"
"To deal with those so-called aristocratic families and gentry, as long as the play 'The White-Haired Girl' continues, their actions will have nowhere to hide."
"To deal with those maritime merchants, we have the Maritime Trade Office, the border markets, the customs, the navy, and the naval force. They can't cause any trouble."
"As for the so-called government officials..."
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "Since you've become an official, shouldn't you declare your family assets to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for record-keeping every three years or even every year?"
"It's only right that officials' direct relatives, or even their relatives within five degrees of kinship, are not allowed to engage in business, isn't it?"
"Anyone who has passed the imperial examinations, whether they are Jinshi, Juren, or Xiucai, will have their academic qualifications revoked if they accept bribes from others. That doesn't seem too difficult, does it?"
"..."
Zhu Biao stood there stunned, while Yang Shaofeng took a sip of tea.
Whether they are officials, merchants, or powerful families, these monsters and demons can only use so many tricks. If you haven't seen or figured out how they play, they might succeed for a while. But once you figure it out, there are plenty of ways to deal with them.
As for whether there will be a problem of scholars being unwilling to become officials?
Do not make jokes.
If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of other people who will.
Although it's unpleasant to hear, it's the truth.
As you can see, during the Southern Han Dynasty, anyone who wanted to become an official had to castrate themselves, and a large number of people were vying to be castrated to become officials.
As you can see, from the first year of the Chenghua reign to the forty-eighth year of the Wanli reign, in just one hundred years, more than three hundred officials were flogged in court, and twenty-nine of them were beaten to death, yet there were still plenty of people vying to become officials.
In the short span of seventeen years of Chongzhen's reign, he killed four Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, eighteen Ministers of the Six Ministries, seven Governors-General, and eleven Provincial Governors, yet there were still plenty of people vying to become the Grand Secretary.
What's even more amazing is that during the Chongzhen era, the position of Grand Secretary had reached the point where it was openly priced. When someone showed signs of becoming Grand Secretary, a large number of merchants and gentry would compete to give them money, land, houses, and women, just waiting for them to become Grand Secretary so that they could recoup their initial investment through various means.
Regarding this phenomenon, Yang Shaofeng could only say that there's nothing new under the sun, and that the revolving door in the idiot eagle's house was something the Ming Dynasty had already done.
Yang Shaofeng even had enough reason to suspect that the squid had actually learned from the "aristocratic families, officials, and merchants" interest group of the Ming Dynasty. For thousands of years, the squid had only been involved in lending and tax farming. How did it learn to run to the home of the foolish thief eagle in the last one or two hundred years?
Tsk tsk, this also fills the gap in the Central Plains Hall's lack of native squid-like parasites!
Yang Shaofeng was pondering this in his mind, while Zhu Biao picked up the kettle and tentatively asked, "If we were to ask all the officials to declare their assets, what would happen to the workshops in Ningyang County...?"
Yang Shaofeng put down his teacup and asked in return, "Does Your Highness want to know if I have shares in the many workshops in Ningyang County?"
Zhu Biao nodded, but Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "Those workshops in Ningyang County have absolutely nothing to do with me."
"If I had to make some connection, it would be that I temporarily lent the money and grain that my father-in-law, His Highness, and the Duke of E had bestowed upon me to the county treasury to set up these workshops."
“After these workshops made money, I used the workshops’ money to redeem the shares I had borrowed from them.”
"In other words, among the many workshops in Ningyang County, there are shares held by the Imperial Household Department, shares held by the Ningyang County Treasury, and shares held by all the people of Ningyang County, but not by me."
Good heavens, my brother-in-law really knows how to play the game—he made money, took the benefits, gained fame, and finally sealed the doors and windows, putting all the officials on their toes.
Tsk tsk, I'm really worried that my brother-in-law might get a sack thrown over his head one day while walking down the street...
Zhu Biao imagined a prince consort being stuffed in a sack, while Yang Shaofeng said nonchalantly, "Actually, these people are only so capable."
"They opposed the imperial examination system, but the court still held a regular examination and also added three years of special examinations."
“They oppose the border markets, but the Dengzhou border market is still making a fortune every day. It’s true that the national treasury is so empty that mice can run around in it, but that’s because mice don’t eat gold and silver. If mice could eat gold and silver, all the mice in the national treasury would be as fat as pigs.”
"As for opposing social studies..."
Yang Shaofeng scoffed and said, "Even their dirty tricks of smuggling their own ideas into textbooks have been dealt with, and the community schools are still springing up everywhere. Now that Your Highness has directly attacked their stronghold, what new tricks can they come up with?"
Zhu Biao blinked, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Brother-in-law is right! It was one thing not knowing what was going on between them before, but now that we know, things will be much easier."