Chapter 561 Central Steering Committee of the Performance Evaluation Law
Zhang Juzheng took note of the expressions of Pan Sheng and the other three and sneered in his heart.

I’m going to blind your minds!
The emperor is only sixteen years old and not senile. How could he leave such a big loophole for you to exploit?

He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, “Four of you, please continue watching.”

Oh, there are details later.

Pan Sheng, Wang Chonggu, Wang Guoguang, and Fang Fengshi hurriedly lowered their heads and continued to look through the pages.

The following are the regulations for the Court Assembly.

The Emperor defines the Court Assembly as:
In accordance with the provisions of the National Law, review and decide on major military and national affairs of the Ming Dynasty that are of overall concern.

Review and examine the annual budgets and final accounts of the Cabinet, the Military Government, the Censorate and the Xuanhuiyuan.

Review and decide on the appointment and removal of civil and military officials from the second rank to general and above proposed by the cabinet, the Censorate, and the military government
Review and decide on other military and national affairs designated by the brief and proposed by the Advisory Bureau.
The decisions made by the Supreme Court were strictly followed by the Cabinet, the Military Government, the Censorate, and the Imperial Academy.

When necessary, the Court of Justice shall amend the law based on the decision.

Since the imperial assembly is so sacred and so important, no one can be allowed to participate casually.

In the text, the four people saw small notes, which were annotations added by the emperor.

In these annotations, the emperor denounced the previous court meetings, in which the spirit of empty talk prevailed, the root causes of the problems were not investigated, and only moral character was blamed; party-building was used to attack dissidents, and attacks were made at will. As a result, what should be discussed were not discussed, and what should be decided were not decided.

The court meeting, which was originally intended to discuss and solve problems, created more problems out of thin air.

Therefore, in the rules of the imperial court, the emperor stipulated that only those who were granted the title of Imperial Court Official were qualified to participate in the imperial court and discuss and decide on military and national affairs.

The emperor also stipulated the review process. During the initial review, each person had one minute to speak.
When making decisions, people vote by raising their hands, the minority obeys the majority, and a decision is passed if more than half of the people agree.

The emperor then has the final veto power.
Your Majesty, so you were waiting for us here!
Pan Sheng and the other three looked at each other. We were not seeing things. The emperor was still the same emperor, but his methods were now more advanced.

Don’t you want to have a public vote in the court?

I give it to you.

but!

This public election at court must be under my control.

Now the key is how to become a court official?

This won’t also be promoted publicly, right?
The four continued reading and found that the emperor wrote in the entry that because it was setting a precedent, they did not know how the court officials would be elected, and it was temporarily decided that they would be directly appointed by the emperor.

The word “tentative” is used very cleverly!
Temporary, can be long or short, the emperor has the final say.

But it leaves you with thoughts, it is always temporary and will change.

So when exactly is that?
The time is ripe, and it’s time once the emperor has spoken.

However, the emperor did not completely fool people. He stipulated in detail the requirements for being a court official.

First of all, he must be an official of the fourth rank or above.

It is understandable that in the past, the people who criticized the most and jumped the highest in the court meetings were the seventh-rank officials and the supervisory censors. Most of these officials were newly-passed Jinshi, who had great ambitions and were eager to make their voices heard.

What’s worse is that some people want to step on other people’s heads to get to the top.

Those who have reached the rank of fourth-rank official have mostly experienced ups and downs in the officialdom and have been beaten by the realities of officialdom. They are no longer so impulsive and are more steady in doing things.

Secondly, the emperor stipulated that the court officials should be allocated according to departments, with three in each of the six ministries, two in each of the temples, eight in the Censorate, and three each in the Law Courts and the Imperial Academy.

The Rong government has a total of 26 people.
The total number of court officials is tentatively set at eighty.

The emperor also considerately pointed out that during the court meeting, the court doctors may be unable to attend the court meeting due to various reasons such as being sent abroad or being sick. Therefore, it was stipulated that the number of court doctors attending the court meeting must exceed three-fifths of the total number of appointed court doctors.

After reading it, Pan Sheng, Wang Chonggu, Wang Guoguang and Fang Fengshi fell silent.

After a while, Wang Guoguang said, “The emperor is cautious in every step. Only now do we understand the emperor’s intention in setting up the Advisory Bureau and the Cabinet.”

Pan Sheng nodded: “The civil and military are separated, the cabinet is the political minister, the military government is the military minister, and the advisory bureau and the court council are the bridles on their heads.

We used to think it was a four-horse carriage, but we were wrong. The emperor has always been a civil and military officer, and the rest are just pulling the reins of the two horses.”

Wang Chonggu said slowly: “Mr. Shuilian, I think it is a troika.”

“Troika?”

“Zhao Gong, the Chief Censor, was transferred to the Administrative Bureau, and the Dali Temple and the Censorate were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

At present, the cabinet is the only one in power at the center, and the military government and the Metropolitan Censorate are in control. At the local level, the provincial government is under the cabinet, the provincial censorate is under the Metropolitan Censorate, and the military preparation department is under the military government.

From the central government to the local governments, there are three horses pulling the cart. But the cabinet and the chief minister are in the front and are the leading horses.

Wang Chonggu made everyone nod their heads. Zhang Juzheng, who had been silent all this time, also nodded slowly, agreeing with this statement.

“The Emperor first took back the power, and then distributed it. I mean to divide the power by subdividing the authority of the central government into detailed parts, with clear responsibilities. Once the power is divided, it can be delegated.”

Zhang Juzheng said, “The emperor has good intentions. After the plan, the cabinet, the military government, the Censorate, and even the three local officials all feel that their power has increased.

I just exchanged the three one-hundred-yuan bills for thirty ten-yuan bills, and then distributed them to everyone. It seemed that each person had ten bills, so the number of bills in their hands increased.

But what about the reality?

Wang Guoguang laughed, “The total amount of money is actually the same. But everyone is very happy and feels that they have made a fortune.

The Emperor’s methods are brilliant!”

Fang Fengshi, who had just lowered his head to speak, suddenly raised his head and said, “Mr. Taiyue, Mr. Shuilian, Mr. Jianchuan, and Mr. Shu’an, the court officials will be the key to the future. Whoever wins over more court officials will have a great advantage in the court.”

Zhang Juzheng, Pan Sheng, Wang Chonggu and Wang Guoguang all turned to look at him.

Yes, the Imperial Court can decide on major national policies, guide the direction of the Ming Dynasty’s government, and can also decide on the candidates for the heads of the Cabinet, the Military Government, and the Censorate.

Wang Guoguang was a straightforward person and could not help but say, “Back then, Emperor Shizong used the grand ceremony as an opportunity to rectify the government. I never thought that the emperor would now use the court officials as the basis to rectify the government.”

Zhang Juzheng shook his head, “Brother Shu’an, it’s not that simple. According to what the emperor said before, he is setting up a stage for the court to let the civil and military officials in the court come on stage to perform and show their magical powers.

He played gongs and drums for us next to the stage. The faster the drums beat, the faster we sang. The slower the drums beat, the slower we sang.

Fang Fengshi echoed, “If the emperor feels that the opera on stage is not sung well, he can quietly replace a few of the court officials. With a little effort, the opera on stage will be sung in a new way without anyone noticing.”

Wang Chonggu shook his head. “Your Majesty has indeed inherited the true teachings of Emperor Shizong, and he is even better than his master. How did your Majesty come up with these unprecedented customs?

Taiyuegong, you are the emperor’s teacher, do you know the whole story?” “What do I know? I know nothing.”

Zhang Juzheng shook his head.

“Two days ago, I went to the Western Garden and reported to the Emperor that the cabinet was preparing to set up a supervision group for the performance evaluation law.

Guess what the emperor said? “

“What did the Emperor say?”

“The emperor said, Master Zhang, your name is not loud and can’t control people, so I will give you a name. I said yes, the emperor gave you a name, and I am very grateful.

As expected, the Emperor gave me a very loud and impressive name. “

Everyone became more and more curious and urged: “Taiyuegong, what name did the emperor give?”

“The Central Steering Committee of the Ming Dynasty’s Examination System.”

Pan Sheng and the other three were stunned.

This name is so tall and strong!

Pan Sheng explained: “Central means the center, which is easy to understand. Guidance means to point out the way and make it clear, which means to instruct and teach. One word points out its responsibilities.

Commissioner, a commissioner appointed. Committee, interesting.

And with so many words, reading it in one breath really gives people a great feeling.

The Central Steering Committee of the Ming Dynasty’s Examination System, haha, very interesting.”

Wang Chonggu smiled and said, “The emperor likes to invent new words, and Emperor Shizong likes to establish new rules. They are really like grandfather and grandson.

Lord Taiyue, what is the structure of your appointed Central Steering Committee for the Ming Dynasty’s Examination System?”

A wry smile appeared on Zhang Juzheng’s face.

“Before I instruct others, I first receive instruction from the Emperor.

The emperor instructed me to be the chairman of the committee, Fang Jinhu and Zhang Fengpan as vice chairmen, and Lü Heqing, Zeng Sanxing and five others as committee members. Zeng Sanxing also served as the chief historian of the committee.

Pan Sheng and the other three were both amused and confused when they heard this.

The emperor has made all the arrangements for you very clearly!
Zhang Juzheng continued, “The Emperor said that this steering committee is to organize, guide, manage and coordinate the performance appraisal work of the six ministries, temples and provincial governments.

Check and understand the implementation of the performance appraisal law by central and local departments, and submit implementation reports of each department to the Cabinet based on the inspection results, and propose rewards and punishments.

Study the various situations that arise when implementing the Kaocheng System, and promptly provide feedback to the Cabinet, the Council of State Affairs, and the Imperial Household Department so that appropriate adjustments can be made.

The committee chief will lead the committee office and be responsible for the daily work and correspondence of the committee.

Pan Sheng and the other three were stunned.

Are these the details of the Emperor’s instructions?
They knew that it was definitely not Zhang Juzheng who was whitewashing his students, because Zhang Juzheng, including everyone present, could not utter such words.

It sounds very novel, but as veterans in the officialdom, everyone present could understand it and grasp its meaning at once, and then exclaimed that the words used were so damn precise.

How did the emperor figure this out?
If Zhu Yijun, who was in Xiyuan, knew what everyone was thinking, he would definitely say, do you really think that I have been a senior civil servant for more than ten years and have been in vain?
After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he stroked his beard and said, “The emperor’s guidance is more than that.

Your Majesty instructed me to ask the Steering Committee to cooperate with the Taichang Temple. It would be best to invite Taichang Qing Cai Huaqiu to serve as deputy chairman of the Steering Committee.

The emperor said that to fully implement the performance evaluation system, we must first mobilize people. “

“Mobilization? What mobilization?”

“It’s just a meeting!
When appropriate, meetings are held at the level of the steering committee. Cai Taichang is quite experienced in holding meetings.

First, the Right Vice Minister and the Right Junior Minister and above were convened for a meeting. Then, the Langzhong and Deputy Langzhong of each department were convened for a meeting. Next, the Yuanwailang and the Chief Secretary were convened for a meeting.

Then we urged each ministry and temple to hold their own mobilization meetings for the implementation of the examination law, and the members of the Steering Committee took turns to attend, one to give a speech and mobilize on the spot, and the other to supervise.

Hearing this, Pan Sheng could not help but say: “After so many meetings, a momentum will naturally form, a momentum of overwhelming pressure. Even the dumbest people know that it is imperative for all departments and temples to implement the performance evaluation system, and they dare not take any chances.

In this way, everyone is mobilized as the emperor said. “

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, “Yes, in fact, it is just repeating it over and over again, constantly repeating it in the ears of the officials of the six ministries and temples, and naturally, these officials will know the benefits and disadvantages.

The Emperor instructed me that the second thing to do is to clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments in a fair and just manner.

Those who do well should be rewarded heavily and publicly; those who do poorly should be punished severely and publicly.

The emperor’s new law sounds very methodical and clear, I will follow it and see the effect.”

Pan Sheng and the other three looked at each other. They knew that the performance evaluation system had been implemented since the second half of the third year of the Longqing reign, and it had been nearly ten months since then, but the results could only be described as lukewarm.

Zhang Juzheng took ruthless measures to dismiss nearly a thousand officials of all ranks, but this only gave the central government a sense of trepidation, and it was still a long way from being successfully implemented.

Everyone can understand that the performance evaluation system is intended to change the bad habits that have been developed over hundreds of years by tens of thousands of Beijing officials, both big and small, which is no easy task.

But Zhang Juzheng was anxious. He had to achieve results so that he could gain the support of the people and sit in the position of Prime Minister.

At this time, a clerk reported at the door: “Prince, Lu Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel came to report that he is ready and waiting for you and Minister Fang.”

“Got it. I’ll be out right away.”

Pan Sheng asked curiously, “Mr. Taiyue, what’s the matter?”

“The Central Steering Committee of the Ming Dynasty’s Performance Evaluation System is conducting its first inspection today. This old man, Fang Jinhu, and Lü Heqing are here.” Zhang Juzheng bowed and said, “Everyone, let’s stop here for today.”

After everyone dispersed, Pan Sheng took Wang Chonggu and Wang Guoguang to the Censorate to find Zhao Zhenji for something.

Sitting in the carriage, Wang Guoguang was restless, which was noticed by Wang Chonggu.

“Shu’an, what’s wrong?”

“Lord Jianchuan, I am uneasy and feel like something is going to happen.”

Pan Sheng, who was sitting opposite him, laughed and said, “Shu’an, you are not going to pay a visit to Zhao Zhongcheng. You must be feeling uneasy.”

Wang Guoguang shook his head: “I am upright and honest, why should I be so nervous? I am just very nervous and feel that something bad is going to happen, but I don’t know where or what it will happen.

Oh, what misery! “

(End of this chapter)