Chapter 260 Officials' Promotion Records

The prince came with something this time. The guard brought something that looked like a food box upstairs, and soon went downstairs alone.

Shen Yibai touched his nose and said, "The prince really knows how to enjoy himself. He eats while listening to Jin Cheng bragging, just like he is listening to an opera."

"Pfft..." Wei Xinglu was amused by him and quickly reminded him, "Don't say anything. I'm afraid Jin Cheng will hear it and jump down to beat you up."

Shen Yibai narrowed his eyes and said, "Just cover He Zheng's mouth, Brother Wen Xiu won't report us."

He Zheng's eyes widened, and he stepped back repeatedly: "Two big brothers, it's a misunderstanding, I never complain in front of Jin Cheng. Especially you guys, how is it possible, we are the most solid four-member group."

Shen Yibai patted his shoulder threateningly and said, "It's good that you know it. The brothers will need your help in the future."

He Zheng nodded vigorously, trying his best to be a good younger brother to his big brothers.

Zong Wenxiu smiled and shook his head. He wanted to say that He Zheng was really thinking too much. Shen Yibai and Wei Xinglu were penniless now, and their education was not even as good as He Zheng's. They couldn't provide any benefits to him, and their ideas were just empty promises.

Second floor.

After the guards left, Zong Jincheng, concerned about the prince's health, took the initiative to help carry the food box, but he did not expect that the box was quite light to lift.

"Huh? Isn't there food in here?" the little devil asked doubtfully.

The prince smiled and said, "Open it and take a look."

Zong Jincheng opened the lunch box and saw a book inside: "It's just a book."

The prince put it in a food box, apparently to conceal his identity and make people think that His Highness just came to bring him some delicious food.

Zong Jincheng picked up the booklet and read the large characters on it: "Records of Promotions of Officials, Ministry of Personnel."

The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the Six Ministries and is in charge of the promotion records of all officials, which is the booklet in front of you.

Zong Jincheng glanced at the prince, and seeing that he was still smiling faintly, he opened the booklet and looked at it carefully. The official adjustments recorded were based on departments, and many people were adjusted at once.

Although there is no record of individual promotions, because the little devil has a good memory, he can remember the years of promotion for everyone. While others are promoted once every ten or eight years, some people can be promoted once every two or three years, just like an expedited post horse at a speed of 800 km.

The booklet was not long and only recorded the promotion records in the past ten years. Zong Jincheng flipped through it slowly and the prince did not urge him but waited quietly by the side.

After a long while, the little devil put down the book and replied obediently, "Your Highness, I have finished reading it."

The prince put down his teacup and did not rush to ask him what he thought. Instead, he asked, "What do you think of the proposition I sent you a few days ago?"

Zong Jincheng thought for a moment and said seriously, "Cultivating direct descendants is a very practical matter. It will be useful for us when we enter officialdom in the future. But it is also something that the sages' books will never tell us about. This is very puzzling to us."

The prince smiled faintly and said, "The books of sages talk about fairness, moral constraints, equality for all, and advancement based on ability. But morality alone cannot bring fairness to people, so laws were born."

"Then why do we still need to read holy books?" the little devil asked, tilting his head.

"Because it can reduce the consequences of human nature at the lowest cost." The prince said, "If everyone has no moral values, then the law cannot control them."

Zong Jincheng said thoughtfully: "The sage's book and pragmatism are both indispensable, which is the same as using courtesy before force."

The prince nodded and smiled, "Now, let me ask you, have you understood this booklet?"

Zong Jincheng hesitated for a moment, but nodded firmly and said, "I understand. The average time for people in the list to be promoted is about five years, but some people can be promoted in two to three years or even one year. Let's assume that these people are all capable and will be promoted naturally, but once these people are transferred to other departments, their promotion will stop. Why do capable people who have been promoted rapidly year after year stop being promoted just because they change departments? Is it because his ability can't keep up, or is it because the original boss who protected him is no longer around?"

Seeing that the prince did not speak, the little devil was the first to speak out his own conclusion: "I think it is the latter. When they go to the new place, they are no longer the direct lineage and their true colors begin to show. So... if you want to deal with such officials, you just need to transfer them to another department?"

As the young man was talking, he suddenly understood.

This surprised even him.

Oh my God, am I so awesome now?

The prince nodded with satisfaction and began today's lecture: "Yes, this is a way to divide and disintegrate the relationship of the direct lineage. For you personally, having direct lineage subordinates can help you do a lot of things. But for corrupt officials, the same is true. Those direct lineage subordinates step on other capable people to climb up, which not only destroys normal promotion, but also helps corrupt officials to do evil. So once such signs are discovered, they must be transferred as soon as possible, and they must not be allowed to raise tigers to cause trouble."

Zong Jincheng nodded repeatedly: "I remember it!"

The prince added, "There is another kind. If you have already become a legitimate heir to the throne, you should not transfer them so blatantly. This will allow bad officials to detect your intentions and cause fierce resistance."

"Yes, some will even rebel." The little devil remembered the stories told by the storyteller.

The prince couldn't help laughing. He said, "So at this time, you can consider making use of this direct descendant."

"Ah? Why do you use him so highly? He is not a good person..." Zong Jincheng's eyes widened, "Could it be that Your Highness wants me to snatch this direct descendant from the corrupt officials?"

However, the direct descendants of bad officials are also bad...

The prince smiled and shook his head, saying calmly, "It is to split their relationship, let the superiors of the direct line misunderstand that the direct line is already your people, and let jealousy and distrust disintegrate their relationship."

"It's dog-eat-dog again..." Zong Jincheng remembered that His Highness had mentioned this last time, but that time it was about using one bad official to beat another bad official.

The prince raised his bright eyes and warned, "Remember, let the direct descendant think that he is really your direct descendant. The acting skills must be good, so good that the fake can be confused with the real. When the bad guy falls, you can deal with this direct descendant who once helped the tyrant to do evil."

Zong Jincheng digested and pondered at the same time, but he still didn't quite understand.

He asked in confusion, "What if this direct descendant is sincere with me in the end? Just like Zhuge Liang's seven captures of Meng Huo and Li Shimin's subjugation of Wei Chigong, if a non-direct descendant is really cultivated into my own, then do I still have to deal with him?"