The two imperial edicts from Fu Xiaoguan were sent to Guanyun City at an expedited speed of 800 miles.
When the Secretariat received these two imperial edicts, it was already the second day after Fu Xiaoguan left Siyang County for Heitan.
When Zhongshu Ling Zhuo and his entourage saw the two imperial edicts, they immediately lost their composure.
"Master Nangong, Master Meng, please take a look."
When the two imperial edicts were placed in front of the two adults, Meng Changping's face turned dark.
"Shame! This is fucking shameful! Someone, someone, go get the Minister of Personnel, Wen Siyuan, to come to me!"
The dignified Emperor of the Wu Dynasty actually served as a county magistrate in Siyang County, one of the six prefectures of Beixiao!
This is simply a slap in their faces!
What does this indicate?
This shows that they have no idea about the governance and are completely unaware of the incompetence of the Siyang County Magistrate!
The subordinates are incompetent, which naturally means they are incompetent!
Meng Changping was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. The emperor being a county magistrate would probably become a huge joke to the people of the Wu Dynasty!
Of course, the people would not laugh at the emperor, but at the officials whom the emperor valued.
Nangong Yiyu sighed and said, "I think we should gather all the officials and hold a meeting in the Xuande Hall."
"This incident appears to have occurred in Siyang County. However, we must carefully understand His Majesty's two decrees. For example, do such officials exist elsewhere in the Wu Dynasty? I believe they do exist, and I'm afraid there are quite a few of them."
"It is imperative to rectify the administration of officials! But don't wait for His Majesty to return. If His Majesty brings up the matter, our positions as officials will be meaningless."
Zhuo and his entourage nodded in agreement. "Lord Nangong, what you said makes sense. A single glimpse reveals the whole picture. If Your Majesty were to visit other prefectures and counties and encounter such officials again, would we be worthy of Your Majesty's trust?"
Meng Changping also nodded. "In that case, then gather all officials and rectify the administration! If the Minister of Personnel fails to do this job... I will personally propose that he be dismissed!"
An emergency meeting jointly initiated by the leaders of the three ministries of Menxia, Zhongshu and Shangshu was held in the Xuande Hall.
The ministers were confused, but when they saw the gloomy faces of the three big men sitting below, they knew that something big might have happened again.
Since the reconstruction of the Xuande Hall, the emperor has presided over three grand court meetings here in the first three months.
Then the emperor left Guanyun City, and no one knew where he went.
In the following days, the three bosses also held several court meetings here to announce local policies for various places, but they had never convened all officials temporarily like today.
Could it be that Your Majesty encountered something bad during his incognito visit?
As the ministers were speculating, Meng Changping spoke:
"Your Majesty is currently serving as the magistrate of Siyang County in the Northern Six Prefectures!"
This sentence immediately caused an uproar.
"What? Your Majesty is the magistrate of Siyang County? Then where is the magistrate of Siyang County?"
"How can this be? He is the emperor, how can he be a county magistrate?"
"Silence!" Meng Changping roared. "Don't you think about why His Majesty became a county magistrate?"
He was furious and gnashed his teeth as he said, "Shame! Such a shame!"
"Siyang County Magistrate Bai Qiusheng has governed Siyang County for four full years! Yet, when Your Majesty asks him about government affairs, he's completely clueless! I'd like to ask the Ministry of Personnel, Wen Siyuan, how did you become the Minister of Personnel? How do you conduct your annual performance evaluations?"
Wen Siyuan's face turned green, and he hurriedly bowed and said, "My Lord, this, this..."
"Bullshit, I think you don't know anything!"
"Sir, I failed to oversee this," Wen Siyuan said, turning to look at the Minister of Personnel Duan Shuwen who was sitting above him. "Minister Duan, you are responsible for the Ministry of Personnel's assessment. Now that something like this has happened, you must step down from here!"
Duan Shuwen was so frightened that his face turned pale. He walked down tremblingly and stood in front of Wen Siyuan in a cold sweat.
"You are answering this official in front of the entire court, whether the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation is just a formality or not?"
Duan Shuwen hurriedly replied, "Your Excellency, Siyang County is too remote, and I'm afraid it was missed during last year's assessment."
"You're talking nonsense!" Wen Siyuan roared, frightening Duan Shuwen so much that he dropped to his knees. "Were there omissions in last year's evaluation? Bai Qiusheng is clearly a corrupt official. He served as county magistrate for four full years. You told me there were omissions last year, but I assumed you made omissions every year!"
Wen Siyuan pointed at Duan Shuwen in a rage, "Your Majesty has repeatedly stressed that the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation is of paramount importance and affects the people under your rule! And you? How dare you deceive Your Majesty in this way, resulting in Your Majesty now being appointed as a county magistrate in Siyang County? You are simply foolish!"
Wen Siyuan turned and bowed to Meng Changping. "I suggest that this document be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for review. I believe it is highly likely that bribes were accepted, so I'm showing leniency to Bai Qiusheng."
"No, sir!" Duan Shuwen was already panicking. How could he know what kind of bribe he had accepted from Bai Qiusheng?
He did accept a lot of bribes, but he really didn't remember Bai Qiusheng.
"I believe that Minister Wen's suggestion is extremely necessary. Come... take this document away. Minister Guan, you will personally examine this document and ensure that this black sheep is eradicated!"
Minister of Justice Guan Shanqian clasped his fists and bowed, "Your humble servant obeys my orders! Take off your official robes and bring this document to the Ministry of Justice for personal interrogation!"
Duan Shuwen collapsed to the ground. He was a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel, but now he was being dragged out like a soulless dog.
Wen Siyuan added, "I have committed the crime of negligence. I voluntarily accept a year's salary penalty and personally conduct a thorough investigation of the administration of officials!"
"As for your crime, we'll have to wait until His Majesty returns to make a final decision, but a thorough investigation of the administration is urgent!"
Zhuo Yihang glanced at the ministers with great seriousness, then added, "Your Majesty is still serving as the magistrate of Siyang County, so I must go there in person. Furthermore, Zhou Tongtong is not at court, so this other imperial edict will be handed over to the Imperial Censorate. The Imperial Censorate is under the personal control of Your Majesty, and they know what to do next."
"I want to tell all of you here that His Majesty is broad-minded and can tolerate any mistakes you make, but the only thing he cannot tolerate is not doing your job!"
"Remember this, His Majesty is a man of lofty ideals! He will surely lead the Wu Dynasty to unprecedented heights! But if you, including myself, cannot keep up with His Majesty's pace, drag him down, or even hinder him, please resign your positions!"
"That's all I have to say. You all should take care of yourselves!"
After saying this, Zhuo and his group waved their hands and left. Nangong Yiyu took a look and said to Meng Changping, "I have to go and take a look as well. I'll ask Lord Meng to preside over the rectification of the Ministry of Personnel."
Nangong Yiyu also turned away, and Meng Changping was very depressed. These two old guys slipped away quickly, but the Ministry of Personnel was originally under the jurisdiction of his Shangshu Province, and it was indeed his job. What else could he do?
"Now, I order all officials of the Ministry of Personnel to conduct a thorough investigation of official administration in all regions!"
A rectification movement that shocked the entire Wu Dynasty began. This was within Fu Xiaoguan's expectations and was the effect he needed.
At this moment, he had just arrived at the Black Pool - an endless pitch-black pool!
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