The imperial capital of the capital, the residence of the Minister of Personnel.

Not every official lives in official residence.

Although for an official of the second rank like Shangshu, the official residence in the yamen is also built relatively exquisitely and spaciously, some families with merit and wealth usually have their own houses in the inner city of the capital.

For example, Zhan Hui's house was once a reward given to his father by Zhu Yuanzhang. This kind of reward was equivalent to giving away the land deed as well.

This was true for Xu Da's Prince of Zhongshan's Palace, Chang Yuchun's Prince of Kaiping's Palace, Lan Yu's Duke of Liang's Palace, and so on.

Some of them were bought with my own money, but of course in terms of position, they are definitely not as good as the rewards from His Majesty.

When Zhu Ying arrived, Zhan Hui had already been waiting at the gate for a long time.

Actions like Zhu Ying's were not carried out in private. For the sake of the dignity of the royal family and to give officials some time to prepare, eunuchs would go and notify them when the decision was made.

After receiving the notice, Zhan Hui asked the mansion to prepare fruits, snacks, hot tea and light meals immediately, and then he went to wait at the gate.

This is a necessary rule. If we go there directly and encounter Zhan Hui going out, wouldn't it be the fault of the ministers?

"Your Highness, I am Zhan Hui, and I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It is truly an honor for His Royal Highness to come to my residence today."

Zhan Hui, who is in his sixties, already has white hair on his temples, but he is still in good health, speaks with full energy, and his eyes are bright.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "I am also interested in this, so I want to come to visit Minister Zhan."

Hearing the Crown Prince's calm tone, Zhan Hui was overjoyed. He quickly bowed and led the way to the lobby of the mansion, inviting His Royal Highness to take a seat.

After His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took his seat, Zhan Hui sat down at the bottom, and the servants served him fragrant tea.

After chatting for a while, Zhu Ying said, "If I remember correctly, Minister Zhan was appointed as the Minister of Personnel in June of the 23rd year of Hongwu. It has been exactly three years now."

Zhan Hui bowed and said, "Your Highness, it is indeed so."

Zhu Ying said: "I have also inquired about the position of Minister of Personnel for three years. Under the management of Minister Zhan, the governance is in good order and all officials are obedient."

"This is really a big worry for Minister Zhan."

Zhan Hui quickly said, "I don't dare to receive your praise, Your Highness. I am just doing my duty."

Looking at Zhan Hui, Zhu Ying felt a little sad.

This year is already mid-May of the 26th year of Hongwu. If in the original history, the Lan Yu case broke out in February, Zhan Hui, who was the Prince's Guardian, Left Censor-in-Chief, and Minister of Personnel, would have been implicated.

At that time, Jiang Li, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, accused Lan Yu of treason. Zhu Yuanzhang appointed the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen and the Minister of Personnel Zhan Hui to interrogate Lan Yu, but Lan Yu refused to accept the charge.

Zhan Hui rebuked him: "Tell the truth quickly and don't implicate others in vain."

Lan Yu shouted that Zhan Hui was his accomplice, and the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen immediately ordered the arrest of Zhan Hui, who was subsequently executed.

Now that Zhu Ying is the crown prince, Lan Yu will naturally survive. Without the Lan Yu case, Zhan Hui will naturally survive as well.

Perhaps it has a lot to do with ability. Although Zhu Yuanzhang still has some ideas about destroying the Huaixi noble group, he did not mention any intention of getting rid of Zhan Hui.

This shows that in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, Zhu Yunwen was unable to control talents like Zhan Hui, while Zhu Ying, as the crown prince, was fully capable of controlling him.

In this case, there is no need to get rid of Zhan Hui.

Zhan Hui had a reputation as a cruel official. The Minister of Personnel was in charge of the management, assessment, and promotion of officials. The emperor certainly could not take care of it all, and the only thing he could do was to strike a balance.

If Zhan Hui had a good reputation, it would not work.

According to convention, ministers will be transferred after serving for three years. This is also to avoid excessive concentration of power among officials.

For example, local governors in prosperous areas are basically transferred every six years.

However, until this year, Zhu Yuanzhang still had no intention of moving Zhan Hui from his position as Minister of Personnel. Apparently, he still felt good about his current job.

Zhan Hui is talented.

Zhu Ying could also feel this clearly. At a time when talented people were dwindling, the official atmosphere in the Ming Dynasty was still relatively positive. Although there was the majesty of Emperor Hongwu in front, Zhan Hui's assessment was also crucial.

"Minister Zhan has served in the Ministry of Personnel for three years. He should have some understanding of the talented people in the world," Zhu Ying asked.

Hearing what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, Zhan Hui's eyes lit up, knowing that he had guessed correctly.

Instead of answering directly, he clapped his hands. The old slave who was already prepared walked in from outside the hall, holding three thick books in his hands.

"Reporting to Your Highness, these three volumes of documents are my records of the literati in the world. With the help of the Ministry of Personnel, I have clearly recorded them one by one, dividing them by province and classifying them by surname."

"Your Highness, please take a look."

There was undoubtedly a hint of complacency in Zhan Hui's tone. He had long guessed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would definitely come to see him, and that he was looking for him because of official matters.

Zhu Ying looked at Zhan Hui's expression and felt that the historical records were indeed correct.

Guoque commented on Zhan Hui: "Hui is talented and decisive, and is the most trusted person by the emperor. However, he likes to spy on the emperor's will, which eventually leads to disaster."

It can be imagined that during his previous tenure, Zhan Hui must have guessed the old man's intentions many times, even frequently.

This kind of behavior is really like Yang Xiu in the Three Kingdoms. From ancient times to the present, how many people who have tried to spy on the intentions of those in power have ever had a good ending.

In history, Zhu Yunwen executed a Minister of Personnel on the spot just because of a word from Lan Yu. Ultimately, the intention behind this was Zhu Yuanzhang's.

When an emperor's mind is understood by his subjects, the emperor will not feel admiration but fear.

When the emperor is afraid of a minister, what future does the minister have?

It is said that if the king wants his subject to die, the subject must die.

In this situation, the only option is death.

If I don't kill, I will feel uneasy.

At this point in the situation, Zhu Ying finally understood Cao Cao's choice at that time, and also understood why the old man used Zhu Yunwen to kill Zhan Hui.

It has to be said that after seeing the current situation, Zhu Ying felt a hint of murderous intent in his heart.

However, this hint of murderous intent disappeared after he looked through the three documents sent by Zhan Hui.

The documents contain very clear records of each official's talents, preferences, personality, and even expertise.

Just flipping through it, you will find hundreds of them.

The three volumes of documents contain records of at least nearly two thousand people.

It can be seen why Zhan Hui, who was a scholar in the 15th year of Hongwu and entered the official career at the age of 49, was able to rise rapidly in the position of Minister of Personnel and constantly receive the attention of the old man.

As soon as he entered the officialdom, he was promoted to the position of Censor-in-Chief. It only took him eight years to become the Prince's Guardian, Left Censor-in-Chief, and Minister of Personnel, the highest position among officials.

All this is related to the old man's emphasis on him, but this talent is not just talk, it is real.

"I guess grandpa hasn't read these three volumes of documents." After flipping through a section, Zhu Ying put the documents down and asked.

Zhan Hui said: "Reporting to Your Highness, the document recorded by this official has not been completed yet, only part of it."

"I thought that I would submit it to Your Majesty for review after it is roughly completed."

For Zhan Hui, such records are of great use to the country.

Even though he is already sixty years old this year, he has great ambitions and is committed to discovering and promoting talents for Your Majesty.

This is also the result of his hard work, and he is proud of it.

Zhu Ying sighed a little.

If in the original history, the old man saw these three documents, would he still insist on executing Zhan Hui?

I'm afraid not.

But the old man always planned before killing people, and his actions were as fast as thunder and wind, without giving people the slightest chance to react.

These three volumes of documents could be life-saving treasures, but Zhan Hui was afraid that he would not have time to react before his head was chopped off.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Ying said, "Minister Zhan should know that my Zhanshi Mansion is short of talents. In such a large Zhanshi Mansion, there are only two or three big and small cats. So I would like to ask the Minister for help and recommend some talents."

"I think that with Minister Zhan's familiarity with the talents of the Ming Dynasty, he should be able to understand more about them, so I don't need to personally select from this book."

At this point, Zhu Ying did not call herself "this palace" but "I" instead.

This is a kind of respect for Zhan Hui.

Respect for those who dedicate themselves to the Ming Dynasty and perform their duties loyally.

Even though he was already sixty years old, Zhan Hui was still quick-witted. He noticed the change in the title of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and realized that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was very satisfied with the documents he wrote, so he was happy.

He then asked, "I wonder what kind of talents Your Highness is focusing on, so that I can have some direction."

The Zhanshi Mansion is the department responsible for assisting the prince.

Or the crown prince is clearer.

However, Crown Prince Zhu Biao did not care too much about this aspect in the Zhanshi Mansion, because the talents trained by Crown Prince Zhu Biao were all old ministers from the Zhu Yuanzhang period.

So although this department existed, most of the people in charge were old officials of the Hongwu period.

At present, Zhu Ying wants to build his own core team, so naturally he has to cultivate his confidants.

The Zhanshi Mansion has one Zhanshi of the third rank and one Junior Zhanshi of the fourth rank.

One sixth-rank official

There are left and right spring offices, the Sijing Bureau, and the chief clerk.

In the official system, it is relatively rich and detailed, equivalent to a small cabinet system, or it is more appropriately called the East Palace system.

Zhu Ying thought for a moment and said, "The person I want to find should not fear power, should be talented, and should have rich experience in solving cases."

"Now that commerce is booming in the capital, I have discovered while reviewing memorials that many cases are becoming more frequent, so we must have a sense of justice in our hearts."

"It is best to have a strong familiarity with the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

Under Zhu Ying's control, the capital of the Ming Dynasty became more and more prosperous, with more and more people coming to it. Chambers of commerce, merchants, and buyers from all over the country continued to gather in the capital.

In addition, now that the maritime ban has been lifted, the business environment has become more friendly. Although there is no explicit order to improve the status of merchants, compared with last year, the degree of contempt most people have for merchants is constantly decreasing.

These developments are closely related to Zhu Ying and the Qunying Chamber of Commerce under his command. From the perspective of the common people, the current Crown Prince is a businessman and has provided too many benefits and preferential treatment to the people of the capital.

Cheap goods have truly benefited the people. Under such circumstances, the prejudice against merchants will naturally be greatly reversed.

When the capital had a fertile soil for merchants, coupled with numerous dignitaries, wealthy families, and highly concentrated population demand, people would not have to worry about being oppressed when doing business here.

It was not just merchants from the Ming Dynasty who gathered there, many foreign merchants also came upon hearing the news.

However, amid the hustle and bustle, competition has become increasingly fierce, and the number of people with ill intentions who attempt to secretly and illegally seize property has gradually increased.

The number of cases occurring in the capital city also increased.

Although there is war outside the Ming Dynasty today, the country is peaceful and the focus is on managing people's livelihood.

At present, there is a large backlog of cases in the Ministry of Justice.

Zhu Ying is too busy to handle such matters. It is okay for him to participate occasionally, but it is unlikely for him to actually solve the case and analyze it, as he does not have enough time.

Different from Zhan Hui who wanted to take people to Liaodong, Zhu Ying wanted to develop the Zhanshi Mansion under his name for the purpose of serving the capital and even solving cases in various places and protecting people's livelihood. That's why he was looking for the Minister of Personnel Zhan Hui today.

Listening to the thoughts of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Zhan Hui began to ponder in his heart.

From memory, he began to search for talents that met the needs of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

After a long while, his eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands and said, "After some deep thought, I finally thought of someone who meets all of Your Highness' requirements."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ying asked with great interest, "Tell me about it."

Zhan Hui asked, "Your Highness, do you know Di Renjie from the prosperous Tang Dynasty?"

Zhu Ying said, "Di Renjie's name has been passed down through the ages. Of course I know that. Could it be that the person that Minister Zhan is talking about has the talent of Di Renjie?"

Zhan Hui replied: "Of course he is not as talented as Di Renjie, but he is quite good at solving cases. He is also from the Taiyuan Di family, a descendant of Di Renjie, and his name is Di Yusen."

"This person admires his ancestor the most. He carries the "Collected Works of Di Renjie" with him all year round and studies hard day and night, hoping to realize his ambitions like his ancestor Di Renjie."

"But unlike his ancestors, perhaps he was too focused on solving cases. For fifteen consecutive years, he wasted half his life and failed the imperial examination. He is still just a student."

"Now, relying on the path of being selected as a filial and honest official, I am serving as a Dianshi in Pinglu, a county under Jiezhou, Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi Province."

The Dianshi was not an official, but a clerk.

Officials have ranks and are registered in the Ministry of Personnel. They move around the country. They are not necessarily above the rank of county magistrate, but may be below the rank of county magistrate. Generally, they have made achievements.

In a county town, there are usually three officials: the magistrate, the county magistrate, and the chief clerk, and the rest are clerks.

Clerks are generally local tyrants who do not necessarily have any honors or ranks, so it is basically impossible for them to become officials.

Simply put, the social status of officials and clerks is completely different.

Officials are superior people who hold great power, and although clerks work in government offices, their household registration is actually civilian. If they are expelled from the county government by officials, they are no different from ordinary people.

"Since it was Minister Zhan who recommended him, I believe he must be talented. I will issue an order to summon him to the capital to see how talented he is."