Sitting on the dragon throne, Zhu Yunying made some simple arrangements for the autumn hunt, and that was about it. He only needed to make decisions, and his subordinates would carry them out properly, so he didn't need to worry about that.
Looking at Ru Chang and the others, Zhu Yunying said, "I believe that the Ministers of the Six Ministries should be of the first rank. What do you all think?"
The first-rank official position is gone, but compared to before, it's still a 'promotion,' so Ru Chang and the others naturally didn't have much to say. After all, the emperor had already made the decision, and some things were beyond their jurisdiction to offer any further opinions.
This is not only because the prime minister system has become a thing of the past, and now imperial power is highly centralized. It is also because both the Hongwu Emperor and the Ying Shi Emperor were 'autocratic and decisive,' and their decisions were generally unchangeable by ordinary people.
Reaching the first rank is actually a fairly acceptable thing in everyone's eyes.
The six ministers became first-rank officials, which improved their status somewhat, making them able to barely compete with military merit and no longer at a significant disadvantage. As for military merit, there were plenty of dukes and marquises, and the six ministers were just that—six ministers—merely first-rank officials, which was still quite different from them.
Ru Chang, as the Minister of Personnel, also asked, "Your Majesty, the Ministers of the Six Ministries have been promoted to the first rank. What about the ranks of the other officials?"
With the six ministers being promoted, other officials will certainly need to be promoted as well, at least their ranks will need to be raised.
Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, "The Ministry of Personnel should draft a report to me. This matter should indeed be handled."
This can be considered a 'victory' for the civil service, as everyone was promoted.
However, after a brief moment of joy, Zhu Yunying said, "I previously ordered people to check the official records. When did our Great Ming Dynasty need so many officials?"
The excessive number of officials and staff is definitely a burden on the imperial court. It's not just the salaries that put pressure on the court; the main problem is the overstaffing, which is absolutely not a good thing and has been a headache for dynasties throughout history.
Zhu Yunying slowly opened his mouth and said, "I have also seen it. It is said that in addition to the Provincial Administration Commissioner, there are two other Provincial Administration Commissioners, one on the left and one on the right."
At this moment, Ru Chang immediately said, "Your Majesty, we have discussed this before. The Provincial Governor is in charge of civil affairs, and it is indeed not good for there to be too many people in charge."
The Provincial Administration Commissioner, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and the Provincial Military Commissioner were collectively known as the "Three Commissioners," which could be considered high-ranking officials in a province, except that they did not have control over military or judicial affairs.
“When our Ming Dynasty was first established, the division of various jurisdictions and administrative centers was not reasonable,” Zhu Yunying continued, “Many prefectures and counties were hindering each other. Small prefectures and counties had not yet developed, but there were more officials holding official positions than subjects.”
Well, Zhu Yunying is going to abolish some prefectures and counties, but no one seems too surprised. After all, the division of some prefectures and counties in the Ming Dynasty was indeed not very reasonable. Even in later dynasties, cities and counties would be re-divided according to development, which is perfectly normal.
"The Patrol and Inspection Office, the River and Lake Management Office, and the Transport Office should also be thoroughly investigated," Zhu Yunying said again to Ru Chang. "Although our Great Ming Dynasty is becoming increasingly powerful, we cannot afford to support too many incompetent and parasitic officials. Those that should be dismissed should be dismissed. You should discuss this further when you go down to the capital."
Overlapping institutions and jurisdictions were things Zhu Yunying certainly couldn't tolerate. Since he was receiving a salary from the Zhu family, he had to do more work. Some officials occupied their positions without doing anything; that wouldn't do, and Zhu Yunying wasn't that lenient.
Seeing the gloating military officers, Zhu Yunying suddenly said, "You should also pay attention to the Five Military Commands. Those who need to be cut should be cut. Our Ming army must be composed of elite soldiers and capable generals. We don't want to support incompetent fools!"
The problem of redundant officials and staff is not limited to the civil service; there is also a noticeable trend in the military. Therefore, Zhu Yunying is treating everyone equally this time. Whether civil or military officials, those who need to be cut will be cut, and he will not be lenient on this point.
Xu Huizu and the others were naturally somewhat worried, as they were the ones who would have to do the work that offended people. However, since His Majesty had spoken, they naturally couldn't object, and they were somewhat aware of the problem of redundant officials and bureaucrats.
Moreover, these military officers had privately considered that the dynasty might not wage major wars in the next few years. Therefore, phasing out a batch of soldiers was not surprising; it was a perfectly normal thing to do. Everyone had expected it, and now that His Majesty had spoken, everyone just needed to carry it out.
As if remembering something, Zhu Yunying also said, "When our Ming Dynasty first began to govern, the people's hearts were won over, and it was only right to educate the people. However, there were many cases of officials in prefectures, states, and counties receiving extra salaries without any real effort. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites should pay more attention to this. Our Great Ming Dynasty is surely a land of etiquette, and it is unacceptable for poor scholars to have no way to pursue their studies."
Zhu Yunying's words seem somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, he complained that there were too many teachers in the "official schools," and on the other hand, he felt that there were too few scholars in the Ming Dynasty. This is simply self-contradictory.
However, everyone understood that Emperor Ying Shi did not actually intend to dismiss the teachers in the official schools. He simply wanted to relocate a portion of them to remote areas to continue 'teacher training'.
This is probably where many people have mixed feelings. It seems that Emperor Ying Shi values civil administration and has begun to value scholars. But considering that some teachers are earning barely enough to make ends meet, and have to leave their hometowns to teach in remote places, there's not much to say.
However, there was no other way; not every scholar could achieve academic success. Often, due to practical constraints, they could only become tutors. If their family was well-off, they could live a comfortable life as a wealthy landowner.
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