The room was quiet, and the sound of turning pages was clearly audible.

Shi Chongwei's heart was itching, and he couldn't help but stand beside his father, and after Shi Fangzhen saw it, he picked it up and watched. Just as he was looking at it, he suddenly heard a "pop" sound, and saw Shi Fangzhen slamming his fist on the table with a blue face.

Shi Chongwei was startled, and quickly knelt down and pleaded guilty: "Father, the son is rude, please forgive my father." ”

Shi Fangzhen was stunned for a moment, and said with a smile: "Wei'er, it's none of your business, I am angry at what Jiang Anyi's diary has written." Go and see your mother, these diaries are kept with your father for the time being. ”

Shi Chongwei secretly wiped his cold sweat, and said in his heart that he scared me to death, the Son of Heaven was angry, who could stand it, or Master Zhou was right, he couldn't exceed the slightest in front of his father.

After the prince left, Shi Fangzhen instructed: "Summoning Wei Xiang, Kong Province (Secretary Zuo Supervisor), Chen Chengji (Political Hall Zuo Cheng), Ma Suizhen (Zhongshulang) and Pan Linfeng (Ministry Shangshu) to see him." "These are the most important of the courtiers, and there must be something big going on when you summon them. After a pillar of incense, Shi Fangzhen drove the Zichen Palace, and the five ministers were already waiting in the hall.

Shi Fangzhen took out a few copies of Jiang Anyi's diary and handed them to Wei Yishen, who smiled bitterly and said: "Long live, the old minister's eyes are dizzy, the small characters on this paper are no longer clear." ”

"It's me who was negligent, Wei Xiang and sit quietly. Ma Suizhen, you read it aloud and let everyone listen. "Shi Fang really asked people to sit, and he returned to his position and sat down.

Ma Suizhen, the youngest of the five, stood in the hall with a paper and read aloud: "...... When the people complained, the officials had to collect registration fees, handling fees, production costs, and door fees...... In the summer cool, it is necessary to collect the consumption of many items, such as tide consumption, rat consumption, mildew consumption, sand mixing, transportation loss, etc., and Fuluo will lose one bucket and three liters for each stone of grain collected, and according to Weichen's investigation, the amount of grain used by the county government is actually one bucket and a half liters......"

Without waiting for Ma Suizhen to finish reading, Shi Fangzhen interrupted angrily: "It's appalling, if it weren't for Jiang Anyi's writing, I would never have thought that those unpopular officials would be so bold in embezzling the court's ointment and self-fattening, and the court's annual taxes were actually swallowed up by these people, and the people still thought that I was the king of tyranny, and these dog thieves could really be killed but not kept." You tell me, is what Jiang Anyi said true, how many places in my Great Zheng Country are like Fuluo County? ”

There was silence in the hall, and Shi Fangzhen saw that everyone's expressions were clear about what Jiang Anyi had written, and said angrily: "It seems that you already know it, but you are just hiding it from me." Above the court, the ministers praised the Son of Heaven and the people, but they were all coaxed. I'm afraid that one day the thieves will attack the gate of the imperial city, and you Aiqing will say that the world is peaceful. ”

The Son of Heaven was furious, everyone knelt down and asked for guilt, Shi Fangzhen took a deep breath, stopped his anger, and said: "Whose sin should be said later, Wei Xiang, you have served as an official in the local area, you should know these officials, you tell me." Everyone got up, sat down and talked. ”

Wei Yishen sat down, organized his words, and said: "Long live the anger, if the ministers don't report it, this Xu official's chaotic government is the drawback of the previous dynasties, and when I wanted to come to Long Live to study, there was also a master who said: In the last years of Wei, the hundred officials were famous, and the rulers of the country were also officials." ”

Shi Fangzhen woke up, yes, when he was studying in the East Palace, the teacher did mention it when he commented on the rise and fall of the Great Wei Dynasty, and at that time he still scoffed, thinking that the emperor of the Wei Dynasty was too stupid, and the officials were incompetent, and he actually let the national government be in the hands of the officials, and now it seems that he is almost the same as the stupid emperor.

Dark clouds rose outside the temple, and the wind blew the dust, and it was about to rain. Wei Yishen's old voice echoed in the hall, and the window paper was "rustled" by the wind and sand, and the scene was stormy.

"Since the Xia family ruled the world, the Son of Heaven ruled the world with scholars, and scholars managed the people through officials, collecting taxes, organizing labor, and providing relief to the victims, etc., these officials were indispensable. Long live knowing that officials are not officials, if there is no special opportunity, there is no possibility of promotion, and the treatment of officials is very low, although it varies from place to place, but it is no more than four or five taels, less than one or two taels, this money, of course, is not enough to support the family. As a result, some people have tried their best to take advantage of their positions to enrich themselves and enrich their pockets, and even worse, they have even run rampant in the townships and illegal areas in the prefectures and counties, becoming a cancer that endangers the people. ”

Shi Fangzhen frowned and asked, "Is there no way to cure these evil officials?" What have been done by all dynasties? ”

"Long live don't worry, listen to the old minister slowly." Wei Yi took a deep breath, adjusted his breathing, and raised his voice: "According to historical records, Yan Yi, a famous minister during the reign of Emperor Wei Ming, served as the assassin of several states, and he deeply hated the corrupt and disorderly government of the officials. ”

Shi Fangzhen nodded and said: "The officials are diligent, but it is difficult to hide the officials, and it seems that the officials are too lazy, which causes the officials to seize power." ”

Kong Province interjected: "Long live what he said is very true, but the scourge of the officials cannot be eliminated by the diligence of officials alone. Many officials are passed down from father to son, becoming hereditary, deep-rooted in the locality, and the relationship is staggered, and it is difficult for officials to check and balance the officials in the local area, but the officials use local forces, which can not only help officials increase their executive power, but also secretly make bad officials do nothing, thus affecting the performance appraisal and promotion of officials, so many officials turn a blind eye to Xu officials in order to be promoted. ”

Pan Linfeng is the secretary of the ministry, and he is in charge of all the officials in the world, so he naturally felt more deeply, and said: "Xu officials are in trouble, it has been thousands of years since now, and there are many Ming monarchs in history, but there is no way to take these little officials." In the past, Han Taibao once lamented that 'the court raises tigers and wolves among the people, and this generation is greedy', and proposed to punish the law severely, but the officials resigned one after another, resulting in the failure of government decrees, the accumulation of affairs, and the danger of causing a catastrophe. ”

Shi Fangzhen knocked on the table in distress and asked, "Isn't it impossible to think about it?" ”

Wei Yishen asked rhetorically: "Since Jiang Anyi told Banzai about the illegal things of the Xu officials, I don't know what countermeasures this son has?" ”

Jiang Anyi really wrote in his diary his methods to deal with the officials, first, to deter them, kill Zhang Putian, the head of the capital, imprison Su Guoliang, the head of the house, and ask the officials to make up for the deficit in the treasury; the second is to improve the treatment of Xu officials, so that Xu officials have the ability to support their families; The third is to personally supervise and reduce the opportunities for officials to make profits. However, Jiang Anyi was also distressed in his diary, thinking that he could not eradicate the illegal behavior of the officials, so he could only slowly figure it out.

Shi Fangzhen said Jiang Anyi's method, and everyone nodded. Ma Suizhen preemptively said: "The minister has three strategies to govern the officials." "The rumors of the selection of the prime minister are well known, Kong, Chen, and Ma naturally tried their best to show their talents in front of the Son of Heaven, and Ma Suizhen made a preemptive strike.

"First, the world is crowded, mostly for fame and fortune, and the chaotic behavior of the officials turned to greed for money because they could not be promoted in the official career. Therefore, the minister thinks that it is advisable to evaluate the performance of the officials, and the honest and self-disciplined may wish to promote their official positions, so that they feel that they have a future in politics, so that they will not miss the future for small profits; Second, improve the quality of Xu officials, since Xu officials can be officials, you might as well choose their capable people from the children and talents to be Xu officials, these people grew up reading sage books, and their ethics are definitely better than others; Third, the punishment is increased, and if a servant violates the law, he will be punished by three points for knowing the law, and the profit he is greedy for will be punished ten times, and if he cannot be repaid, his home will be confiscated, and his family will be released as slaves to pay off debts. ”

In an instant, Ma Sui was really able to come up with three strategies, Shi Fangzhen was very satisfied, and said with a smile: "Ma Qing has three strategies in a moment, which is worthy of being a talent." ”

Ma Sui really won the praise of the Son of Heaven, and Kong Xing on the other side felt uncomfortable, and he was also an opponent competing for the prime minister, of course, he had to show his talent. Kong Xing chuckled and said: "Although Ma Zhong Shulang's method is good, it is difficult to implement, everyone is greedy for profit, and officials can still be corrupt, not to mention small officials." Besides, Tong Sheng and Xiucai are afraid that they are more unwilling to operate the official business, and increase their criminal responsibility, which is contrary to the "Da Zheng Law" and is not appropriate. ”

Shi Fang was really happy to see his subordinates fighting, so that he could control it, so he asked with a smile: "Kong Aiqing, don't just pick on others, what do you think, you might as well speak it out and listen to everyone." ”

Kong Xing said with a smile: "There is no good way for the minister for a while, but long live is a good way." ”

"Oh, when did I say what to do?" Shi Fangzhen asked in surprise.

"Long live didn't Lord Duan implement the policy of 'combining taxes into one' in Chuzhou, combining field taxes, forced labor, miscellaneous donations, etc., so that the officials would have no place to profit from it, and it was the best policy to treat the symptoms and the root cause. Or long live the far-sightedness, the candle shines on the world, and the micro-ministers admire. Kong Province bowed his hand to the Son of Heaven and made a form of worship.

Shi Fangzhen was slapped by this sycophant and laughed, pointed his finger at Kong Province and scolded: "You are not afraid of others saying that you are a minister." ”

Ma Sui really thought, yes, this kid in Kong Province is a minister.

Shi Fangzhen glanced at Chen Chengji, who was silent, and asked, "Chen Aiqing, I don't know what you think?" ”

Chen Chengji bowed respectfully and said: "Weichen is ignorant, there is no good plan in a hurry, please long live the forgiveness." The methods of Lord Ma and Master Kong are good, and the ministers will follow it after the long live royal decision. ”

When Ma and Kong were competing for favor, Wei Yishen lowered his eyelids and sat on the stool as if he was sleeping, but Chen Chengji had no good answer, Wei Yishen looked up at Chen Chengji. Chen Chengji has been serving as Zuo Cheng in the political hall for six years, and he has always been cautious, diligent, not too much, not greedy for merit, he has always thought that Chen Chengji is a loyal gentleman, not to fight with others, but today he suddenly found that not fighting with others is a big dispute.

The Son of Heaven asked, Ma Suizhen and Kong Province both performed well, and Kong Province attributed it to the Son of Heaven, and it was even better than Ma Suizhen. However, there are so many talents in the world, the Son of Heaven is not short of people who give advice, speaking from the heart, he can also say a few points, Ma Suizhen said that Jiang Anyi also mentioned it, but he did not talk about it in detail.

These propositions are all correct and useful, but as a prime minister, he knows very well that "there are policies and countermeasures", and the real difficulty lies not in coming up with a plan but in implementing it, and Chen Chengji's answer expresses his determination to do practical things. The Son of Heaven thought about it afterwards, the superiority of the three of them, if it was really necessary to choose the phase, Chen Chengji was the first choice, followed by Kong Province, and finally Ma Suizhen.

It seems that it is the best policy to be in a hurry to show merit and fall behind, and to be cautious in words and deeds. Thinking of this, Wei Yi bowed deeply and added: "Long live, the scourge of the officials has lasted for thousands of years, and it is difficult to cure it in a hurry. ”

Shi Fangzhen spread his hands helplessly, and sighed: "Rat-throwing taboo, Ma Aiqing, Kong Aiqing, the two of you summoned the scholars of Hongwen Pavilion and Chongwen Pavilion to discuss the strategy of governing Xu officials, and reported to me and Wei Xiang; Pan Aiqing, when the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Rites confer officials and appraise their performance, it is necessary to teach the officials the law of governing officials; Chen Aiqing, after the policy of governing officials is introduced, you can select some states and counties for trial. Since Jiang Anyi reported first, he counted Fuluo County. ”

Yes, Jiang Anyi has another task.