Chapter 57 Officials Can No Longer Make a Living

Inside the Hall of Diligence-Avoiding.

This time, regardless of faction, everyone shared a tacit and clear understanding of the implications behind the Methods of Performance Evaluation proposed by Zhang Zhi.

This was tantamount to placing a collar around the necks of all the civil and military officials in the entire imperial court!

As things stood today.

From the central government down to the local prefectures, for civil and military officials of all ranks, managing to report for duty on time every day was already considered the utmost devotion to their duty.

As for actually handling affairs and getting things done?

Paying the annual taxes owed to the imperial court in full was deemed sufficient.

If they encountered natural disasters or man-made calamities, they could use the opportunity to feign diligence.

Even in times of peace and prosperity, they could easily find an excuse to delay the collection of taxes.

And now, Zhang Zhi was declaring that the Methods of Performance Evaluation would be implemented, requiring every single matter to be planned in advance with strict deadlines for completion?

Was this being an official, or serving as an ox and a horse?

This was driving officials to the brink of despair!

Originally, they could sleep until they woke naturally, pampered by maidservants in their official residences who tended to their washing and dining, before strolling leisurely into the yamen around midday. They would deal perfunctorily with any litigious commoners, then conspire with officials of various ranks on where to extract illicit profits that year, and finally head out by evening to the banquets hosted by the wealthy local gentry.

After studying avidly for the better part of a lifetime, and managing against the odds to pass the imperial examinations and become officials, shouldn't they be allowed to enjoy themselves?

The singing must never cease, and the dancing must never stop!

With so many fine luxuries and charming young maidens to be found across the localities, if they did not indulge themselves, wouldn't it be an utter waste of Heaven's bounty?

Consequently.

When Zhang Zhi proposed the Methods of Performance Evaluation and detailed their specific rules, even Yan Shifan completely lost his momentum, appearing deeply hesitant as he cast repeated glances at his father.

My old man had never mentioned this so-called Performance Evaluation Method to me beforehand.

Yet Zhang Zhi was a thoroughbred partisan of the Eastern Palace.

Should I follow suit or voice my opposition?

Zhang Zhi, who had mentally prepared himself for a fierce battle, had never expected that although the evaluation method was undeniably harsh on officials, not a single voice would be raised in his support.

At that moment.

This cabinet minister, usually regarded as a kind and amiable elder, felt his heart fill with desolation.

Yet in the next second, Zhang Zhi's face hardened with absolute resolution.

"Your Majesty, our Great Ming currently boasts a hundred thousand civil and military officials, all partaking of the sovereign's emoluments. By right, they should be sharing the burdens of the ruler. The officials of both the central and local administrations, each fulfilling their respective duties and acting in accordance with regulations—what is there to hesitate about now that we are merely adding a time limit?"

With these words, Zhang Zhi slowly knelt to the ground.

The elderly official's entire body trembled slightly. At this moment, within the Hall of Diligence-Avoiding, he seemed like a lone traveler treading an isolated path.

He bowed respectfully and devoutly before the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, this minister humbly implores Your Majesty to grant approval for the Methods of Performance Evaluation, to be first implemented on a trial basis in the maritime trade affairs of Laizhou."

"Once the opening of maritime trade proves successful and the evaluation method is validated without error, this system shall be extended across the two capitals and thirteen provinces of Great Ming, applying universally to all civil and military officials!"

Faced with an imperial court where he stood entirely alone.

Zhang Zhi made no attempt to conceal his intentions, explicitly stating the ultimate goal of the evaluation method to encompass every single official.

A gaze mixed with a trace of sentimental recollection and deep indifference flickered in the eyes of the Jiajing Emperor as he looked upon the silent ministers before him.

How similar today's scene was to the past.

When he had first ascended the throne years ago, burning with the ambition to govern with renewed vigor, whenever he touched upon the fundamental interests of these men, the exact same scene would replay itself.

Those officials who usually indulged in grandiose rhetoric would all suddenly turn silent, as if struck dumb.

He cast his gaze toward his son standing to the side.

The Methods of Performance Evaluation had been proposed by this son, upon whom he now pinned such high hopes.

With his own vision sharpened by decades of navigating the art of statecraft, how could he fail to recognize the immense merits of this system?

Naturally, he had also foreseen the tempest such a proposal would stir within the court.

The only thing he had not anticipated was that among all the vital pillars of the court, only Zhang Zhi would be left shouting alone at this moment.

Zhu Zaixi had long anticipated such a scenario.

Asking this bunch of officials to voluntarily place a cangue around their own necks?

Even in their wildest dreams, they would never dare imagine such a thing.

Look at the current historical reputation of Emperor Xianzong?

An emperor whose cabinet was reduced to clay sculptures and whose ministers were mere paper cutouts, an emperor who possessed the supreme achievement of sweeping through rebellious territories and whose civil and military accomplishments rivaled those of the founding emperors Taizu and Chengzu—yet today, he was rarely mentioned by officials.

Instead, that benevolent Emperor Xiaozong, who treated his ministers with excessive indulgence, was endlessly praised and sung of by officials and scholarly purists across the realm in every era.

Right.

The recommendation system for officials, which had been suspended by the reigning emperor during the Zhengtong era, had even been revived during the reign of Xiaozong.

And that emperor was none other than the notorious Gate-Calling Son of Heaven, Zhu Qizhen.

The so-called recommendation system allowed court officials to recommend talented commoners without official rank, elevating them directly to positions in the imperial administration.

Of course, there was also the complete eradication of Founding Emperor Taizu's harsh statutes—such as skinning corrupt officials and stuffing their hides with straw—which had likewise been brought to a definitive end by a single decree of leniency issued during the reign of Xiaozong.

From then on, aside from the crime of treason, no matter what offenses officials of the Great Ming committed, they could always secure absolution through such means as demotion or financial penalties.

The rule established during the era of Emperor Taizu, whereby the embezzlement of eighty guan of money or grain was punishable by hanging, would never be seen again.

A cold sneer flashed inwardly in Zhu Zaixi's mind.

He might not fully understand how to be an official, but he understood the true nature of these officials all too well.

Therefore.

Amidst the absolute silence of the assembly, Zhu Zaixi stepped forward with a smile on his face.

First, he bowed respectfully toward the old Daoist priest seated upon the imperial throne, then swept his gaze across the tight, tense faces of the ministers before him.

Finally, his eyes rested upon Zhang Zhi, who knelt upon the ground, having truly cast all caution to the wind today.

"Master Zhang."

Zhang Zhi raised his trembling head, looking toward the Crown Prince—whom he regarded as the savior of the state and his own most prized student.

A faint smile touched his face.

"Your Highness."

Zhu Zaixi nodded. "Master Zhang has stated that the Performance Evaluation Method should be used to urge officials in Shandong and Laizhou. Upon completion, those rated superior shall be promoted by one rank, those of middling grade retained in their posts, and those of inferior grade dismissed from office. While I cannot immediately comment on the merits of this, since Master Zhang enjoys the profound trust of my Imperial Father and occupies a seat in the Cabinet, surely these matters have been thoroughly and comprehensively considered by you."

Having said this.

He raised his head once more to look at Yan Song, Lü Ben, Xu Jie, and the others.

Zhu Zaixi maintained his smile, his tone calm and steady. "However, it seems to me that if we are truly to proceed with the Performance Evaluation Method proposed by Master Zhang, relying solely on promotions might not be entirely adequate. After all, a person's life in this world comes down to little more than firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, and tea."

"Coincidentally, the trial opening of maritime trade in Laizhou Prefecture was a reckless proposal of mine, made possible only by the support of my Imperial Father and you esteemed pillars of the state."

"Today, I shall once more boldly venture to discuss state affairs and voice a few thoughts of my own."

An involuntary ripple of tension passed through the hearts of the gathered officials.

By now, everyone was acutely aware that regardless of whether this young Crown Prince was merely observing governance before the throne, just how many earth-shattering events had transpired in the imperial court ever since he began his political tutelage?

The Emperor's inspection of the Capital Garrison had been engineered by him.

The trial opening of maritime trade in Laizhou Prefecture had been proposed by him.

And now, the Methods of Performance Evaluation publicly put forward by Zhang Zhi could hardly be seen as anything other than instigation from behind the scenes.

No!

It was unquestionably instigated by him behind the scenes!

And standing behind this Crown Prince was the Emperor himself.

That very Emperor of the Great Ming who had inherited the main lineage from a lesser branch, spent years locked in power struggles with his ministers, and just last year had ruthlessly executed the former Senior Grand Secretary, Xia Yan!