GBP Chapter 261 There's a problem, find your brother-in-law.
Chapter 261 There's a problem, find your brother-in-law.
To quickly win over the people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Magistrate Yang had more than one solution in mind.
For example, like Zhu Yuanzhang, the capital was moved to Beiping, which preserved the economic center of Jiangnan while transforming Beiping into the political center. Then, the Grand Canal was dug, thereby driving the economic development of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.
For example, they could launch a ruthless campaign, conscripting soldiers in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and completely crushing Hu Yuan's territory, then begin eastward and westward campaigns, emulating the ancient story of Emperor Wu of Han smashing the backbone of the Xiongnu.
However, both of these solutions have various drawbacks.
The main problem with the former is that the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun are still sparsely populated, and the Yuan Dynasty has not completely collapsed. Moving the capital directly would not only be risky, but more importantly, there would not be enough people to support the relocated population. As for things like digging the Grand Canal, that would be out of the question.
To put it simply, if Emperor Zhu moves the capital today, announces the construction of the Grand Canal tomorrow, and can prepare to enjoy the fourth emperor's happy song the day after tomorrow.
The main problem for the latter is a lack of money.
Emperor Wu of Han was able to forcefully break the backbone of the Xiongnu when their national strength was at its peak because he had the accumulated power of Emperors Wen and Jing before him. Moreover, the Han Dynasty was blessed by Heaven, and Emperor Wu had two outstanding generals who could lead troops. Among them, the Marquis of Champion directly attacked the Xiongnu royal court, which led to the story of sealing the wolf's lair.
Even so, the Han Empire's resources were completely depleted. Ban Gu, a historian of the Eastern Han Dynasty, wrote, "Inheriting the extravagance and waste of Emperor Wu, after the war, the country was exhausted and the population was halved." Later generations have continued to ridicule Emperor Wu for the phrase "the population was halved."
Zhu Chongba had the accumulated wealth of several generations.
Not only did he have no savings, but with the iron pot sweeping away a large amount of gold and silver treasures and the artisans running away, leaving behind only a mess, Zhu Yuanzhang still had to scrimp and save to squeeze out money for Xu Da's Northern Expedition.
The fact that the Ming Dynasty's economy did not completely collapse during the Hongwu era can only be attributed to the brilliance of the officials in the Ming court, especially those in the Ministry of Revenue.
Therefore, given that relocating the capital is not an option and destroying the Yuan dynasty is unrealistic, they still want to win the hearts and minds of the people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun...
After a long silence, Magistrate Yang sighed slightly and said, "First, we will recruit good men from the northern regions to join the army. Those who make meritorious contributions will be richly rewarded, and those who are wounded or killed in battle will be given generous compensation."
"Second, allocate land to the people so that they may have land to cultivate; set up pharmacies to benefit the people so that the sick may receive medical treatment; distribute the houses of the gentry who fled with Hu Yuan to the people so that they may have a place to live; and exempt them from taxes so that they may recuperate and thrive."
"Third, establish more schools in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, and increase the proportion of students from Yan and Yun admitted to the imperial examinations."
We must take a three-pronged approach, making every effort regardless of the outcome, to at least demonstrate to the people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun our attitude and determination to unify the North and South.
Only in this way can the pace of North-South integration be slightly accelerated, provided that conditions permit.
Zhu Biao was slightly disappointed upon hearing this. Of the measures that Magistrate Yang mentioned, apart from the third one—establishing more schools and increasing the proportion of Yan Yun scholars admitted to the imperial examinations—the other two were already being implemented slowly.
Just then, Magistrate Yang gritted his teeth and said, "Fourth, the court should issue more official gazettes and have officials read them aloud at the public notice pavilions in various places, so that the people can know the court's activities."
"Fifth, send reliable people to serve as officials in the Yan-Yun region, and let them organize the people to express their grievances and appreciate the present, and explain to the people that being classified as a third-class person during the Hu Yuan era was an act of oppression. If the people know that the Ming Dynasty has driven out the Hu Yuan, they will be able to stand tall and be proud in the future."
"Sixth, let those officials lead the people of Yanyun to build reservoirs, ditches, and reclaim wasteland, so that the people know that the court is truly concerned for them and wants them to live a good life."
"Seventh, although the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun are sparsely populated, there are still some gentry and scholars in some prefectures and counties who did not flee with the Hu Yuan court. They win over gentry and scholars who are willing to serve the Ming Dynasty and suppress those gentry and scholars who are loyal to the Hu Yuan court."
"Eighth, make those officials strictly enforce the imperial edict to ban and abolish the customs of the Hu people, and prohibit Hu names, Hu clothing, and Hu language."
The more Magistrate Yang spoke, the more distressed Zhu Biao felt.
To be fair, these methods are excellent and very useful in winning over the hearts of the people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.
However, apart from Article 4, which mandates the frequent issuance of official gazettes, and Article 8, which abolishes and prohibits barbarian customs, the remaining three articles, namely Articles 5, 6, and 7, rely heavily on local officials. The problem lies precisely in the fact that these local officials are unreliable.
Not every official in any prefecture or county is like my cheap brother-in-law.
Zhu Biao felt increasingly uneasy until he heard the sounds of children playing in the front courtyard of the Confucian Temple.
Magistrate Yang smiled and said, "Your Highness, this should be the time for students to rest after class, and also for teachers to rest for about fifteen minutes."
Zhu Biao absentmindedly hummed in agreement, his eyes still gazing absently at the withered lotus leaves in the pond.
It wasn't until quite a while later that Zhu Biao's eyes lit up again.
If there's a problem, ask your brother-in-law.
Zhu Biao glanced furtively at Magistrate Yang, then slowly strolled forward and asked in a casual tone, "Brother-in-law, the methods you just mentioned are excellent, but many of the local officials are unreliable. I wonder how to solve this problem?"
Without much thought, Magistrate Yang said directly, "Of course, we should set key performance indicators and then conduct performance evaluations."
"The so-called key indicators are, for example, whether the population is growing or not, whether the wasteland is growing or not, whether the livestock is growing or not, and whether the officials are corrupt or cruel to the people."
"Other miscellaneous things like the number of lawsuits can be used as an assessment item, but not as a key assessment item, because when the people have a need for lawsuits, but the government wants to reduce the number of lawsuits, the people have no way to express their demands and can only seek the intervention of a third party, and the clan power will naturally take the opportunity to grow stronger."
"In addition to the Ministry of Personnel conducting regular assessments, these assessment items can also be used for surprise inspections in the form of 'four no's and two direct's. This means that no one is notified in advance, no candidates are determined in advance, no reports are heard from the officials, and the officials are not allowed to receive them. They go straight to the county government office, check the accounts directly, and leave after checking."
"Surprise inspections, random inspections, and follow-up reviews."
"They can even go directly to people's homes and ask them questions."
"The good rise, the mediocre fall; those who deserve promotion are promoted, those who deserve reward are rewarded, those who deserve arrest are arrested, and those who deserve execution are executed. If there aren't enough people, the officials can work in shackles."
As Magistrate Yang finished speaking, Zhu Biao was completely numb.
Goodness, my brother-in-law really doesn't think of himself as an official, and he really dares to say that.
Yes, you're not afraid of being investigated, but how many officials in other places can withstand such investigations?
First, the "four no's and two direct" approach is already quite effective, but you also have to add surprise inspections and random checks, and after the inspections, you have to do a follow-up inspection. Are you sure this isn't aimed at directly killing the officials?
Zhu Biao couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Brother-in-law, this 'neither here nor there' is too offensive. Don't mention it to anyone again, and definitely don't write any memorials. But don't worry, I'll start preparing for this as soon as I return to the capital."
Magistrate Yang glanced at Zhu Biao with eyes that seemed to care for someone with intellectual disabilities.
Is this something a prince like you could prepare?
Don't even mention that you're just the Crown Prince. Even if it were that old tyrant Zhu Chongba, who's entrenched in the capital, do you think he'd dare to fully implement the "four no's and two direct" policy?
If he dares to spread these things out today, you, the crown prince, might accidentally fall into the water tomorrow, and Zhu Chongba might catch a cold or something the day after.
This is a mess, it's fine for dealing with some special situations, but it's not suitable for widespread deployment.
If you really anger the officials of the Ming Dynasty, is there anything they wouldn't dare to do?
No, I still have to remind this silly brother-in-law to make sure he doesn't catch a cold or accidentally fall into the water again someday.
Smiling and shaking his head, Magistrate Yang looked directly at Zhu Biao and said, "Your Highness, the reason I mentioned 'four no's and two direct's' is because I just said to speak frankly and without reservation, not that Your Highness should start implementing 'four no's and two direct's' after returning to the capital."
"Your Highness should know that water that is too clear has no fish, and a person who is too discerning has no followers."
"With over a thousand prefectures and counties, there must be at least three thousand, or even four or five thousand, officials, including the chief seal and assistant officials. It's enough to occasionally arrest a few typical cases to deter petty scoundrels. If we were to investigate them all, I'm afraid the officials in these thousand-plus prefectures and counties wouldn't be enough."