Xie Hong's idea of reforming the rule of officials can actually be seen in detail in the capital. However, except for a few wise men like Li Dongyang, who are very far-sighted, or can also be described as cautious, no one realizes it.

Whether it is Zhengde's various bizarre behaviors, or the improvement of the treatment of low-level officials, and the improvement of the social status of military households and artisan households, they are all regarded as Xie Hong's suppression of the scholar class and the co-optation of other classes, and no one thinks that this is a harbinger of the reform of official governance.

In fact, even the most cautious Li Dongyang often feels that he is worrying about the sky. If Xie Hong's attempt to erase the thousand-year-old glory of Confucianism and restore the contention of a hundred schools of thought is madness and madness, then it can only be said that it is against heaven to revoke the privileges of all officials, and even reduce their status to a level lower than that of craftsmen and soldiers.

For thousands of years in China, the bureaucratic class in the name of scholars and doctors has always been in a transcendent social position, and the so-called argument that doctors are not punished is only the tip of the iceberg of this transcendent status.

They may speak freely, but they will not be convicted of what they say; The acres of land in their names can be taxed without paying taxes, and the land can be annexed on this basis; They will also engage in collusion between officials and businessmen, suppressing non-governmental businessmen, while making a lot of money themselves...... And so on, and so on, but as for bullying men and women, it can be separated from the law, and it is not a crime at all.

This detachment, even in later generations, was justified by the bureaucracy standing against the people, or rather on the head, in whatever name and in whatever system it was imposed.

Therefore, although many signs were found, no one really thought that Xie Hong would have such a plan to completely pull down the scholar? Not to mention how much resistance he will encounter, even if he really succeeds, does he think that with those down-and-out literati in the academy, he can support the operation of the Ming Dynasty?

Contrary to Xie Hong's cognition, the scholars and doctors all think that the technical content of governing the country and the world is very high, so high that no one can understand what they say, and they can't understand it, do they still want to do it?

However, there are also people who smell the smell of reform, and closely follow in the footsteps of Xie Hong, and even have their own understanding of the new official rule, this person is Yan Song.

can become a well-known annihilation in later generations, Yan Song's quality is very high, which is not only reflected in his ability to deal with affairs, but also in observing the situation to the fullest.

Before coming to Tianjin, Tang Bohu had taken advantage of the situation in the court at that time to reveal some changes to him, and then he was the director of Tianjin and the governor of Denglai.

Under normal circumstances, no one in the officialdom will like this kind of change, after all, their own interests will be affected, and no one is a saint, and of course they will not accept it willingly. But Yan Song accepted the errand without complaint, and conscientiously started a pilot project in Tianjin.

In fact, the rule of the new officials is very simple, that is, to do official business, set the rules, and then clearly publicize them to the public, and finally do things according to the rules, no prevarication, and use as few people as possible to deal with as many things as possible.

The abolition of various privileges was accompanied by a move called High Salaries. The salary system handed down from the Taizu era is really unreasonable, and the officials who live on the salary are called an embarrassment, which leads more people to be more inclined to use privileges. Therefore, the new officials have changed these two aspects at the same time, which can be said to be fundamentally transforming the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty.

The capital is mixed with dragons and snakes, and if the new system is fully implemented, it is likely to cause unpredictable reactions. However, it is much easier to implement in Tianjin.

Originally, there were not many forces that paid attention to Tianjin, although Caoyun had a lot of oil and water, but there were also many big people standing behind the boats, and they were not waiting for idlers to touch.

Therefore, although Tianjin is not like a blank sheet of paper like Liaozhen, compared to the capital, it is a borderless place that can be played at will.

Shi Pan, the deputy envoy of the military garrison, who might have become an obstacle, and Zhou Wen, the Qing army, had already recognized the situation after the battle at Dagukou. The two of them just closed their doors every day, drank and wrote poems happily, turned a deaf ear to the changes in the outside world, and even showed Yan Song the recital sent to the capital before sending them away, without any restraint at all.

And Yuan Jie, the chief soldier of the river transport, was transferred to a contract foreman, surrounded by Yan Song throughout the whole day, and served very properly before and after the saddle, and the work in Tianjin was carried out extremely smoothly.

The attachés brought by Yan Song were either students of the academy or officials from the Ming Classics, and they basically had no merit. They did not have privileges in the first place, and they did not resist the abolition of privileges, but they were very satisfied with the salaries raised in the name of performance and subsidies, especially those officials, when they received several times or even ten times the previous salaries for the first time, many of them were moved to tears.

Zhu Yuanzhang's low-salary policy had little effect on those scholars from wealthy families, but provided them with a justifiable reason for corruption. It is these officials who suffer the most, and it is reasonable that they will be so moved.

Yan Song himself is famous, but he is sincere and has no dissatisfaction. Although the new rule of officials has weakened the power of officials, it has also reduced the risks in officialdom.

The Hongzhi Dynasty was an era of praise from scholars, but there were still many disputes in the seemingly prosperous court, and there were not a few who fell in the political disputes, and it was even difficult to save the lives of the whole family. The danger in this can be seen from Tang Bohu's encounter.

Moreover, combined with his own experience, Yan Song can also make a similar judgment. When it was just a slight mistake in the feast, but the consequences were extremely serious, if he hadn't turned around in time and took refuge in Lord Xie, it can be imagined how bleak his future career would be.

Therefore, even if he did not consider the strength of the imperial power and Xie Hong's methods, Yan Song had no complaints about the new officials. If this unprecedented change can be successful, then the person who played a pioneering role in it will surely leave a name in history and be admired by future generations.

It is not much of a risk to be able to show his ambitions, no matter from which point of view, his current job is not much different from that of entering the cabinet, at least Yan Song thinks so.

"Lord Yan, it's windy on the beach in winter, so let's go back to the city and rest."

"There are still things to be done here, this official will stay for a while, if you are foolish, you have worked hard these days, go back first." Staring at the vast sea, Yan Song shook his head with a smile and rejected the other party's proposal.

"All the maritime merchants are on the road smoothly, and the regulations on the port side have been perfected...... Lord Yan, is there anything else missing? "Jiang Hongben is a small official in the household department, through arithmetic examination to obtain the Ming Classics, the best at overall planning, after coming to Tianjin, can be regarded as Yan Song's deputy, but also the most powerful assistant.

He knew very well that in Tianjin's overall planning, the seaport and the ensuing maritime trade were the top priority, and now at the beginning of the grass, everything was blank, and the maritime merchants were inexperienced, so since Yan Song and below, Tianjin's new officials have devoted all their energy to this aspect.

Today, the last fleet also went to sea with a full load, and Jiang Hong was also greatly relieved, but seeing Yan Song's somewhat solemn face, his heart hung again, for fear that something was missing. Master Tang said that Tianjin may become a model place in the world in the future, and everything should be done perfectly.

"There is no omission, if you are foolish, you may have been too busy, so you forgot, don't you remember? But there are guests coming today. Yan Song smiled, still not looking back.

"Guest?" Jiang Hong was stunned for a moment, followed Yan Song's eyes, and then he suddenly realized, "That's what I said before, the road construction experts from Liaodong are coming?" It turned out to be today, ashamed, ashamed, the lower official really forgot. ”

"It's okay, there have been too many affairs recently, and the official has also been reminded by someone, so I ......remembered it" Yan Song turned his head and glanced in the other direction of the dock, and said thoughtfully: "General Meng is really a talent, not only is he so familiar with the affairs of businessmen, but he also has the ability to never forget, if he didn't know in advance, who could know that he was the general in charge of the Shenji Battalion before?" ”

"A strange man indeed." Jiang Hong nodded in agreement.

Among Yan Song's attachés, what is most lacking is people who understand business, after all, the status of businessmen in this era is too low, and if they are not desperate, few people will devote themselves to it. Most of the merchants who run for the family have a deed of sale, and they are not allowed to move freely.

Originally, Jiang Hong was a little worried about this aspect of business, who wanted to leave before leaving, Tang Bohu stuffed such a person in, who was not only a general, but also a professional counterpart, which made Jiang Hong even more worried.

But what I didn't expect was that this Meng Shen General didn't look like a military general at all, he was proficient in the business of goods in and out, and accounting for accounts, and even those merchants from the capital were full of praise for him, not to mention those who had never been in contact with businessmen.

So, in addition to lamenting the wisdom of the long-known Hou Ye, Jiang Hong can only praise the scholars and doctors of this dynasty, it is under their cultivation that such a wonderful talent will emerge in the Shenji Battalion.

"But, Lord Yan, there is a canal connecting Tianjin and the capital, and the official road is still smooth, is it necessary to rebuild the road? Although the distance between the two places is only a few hundred miles, if one side is repaired again, I am afraid the cost will not be small. ”

"If you want to get rich, build roads first, this is the truth that Hou Ye said, and if you think about it carefully, it is also thought-provoking. This year's sea trade is just booming, the scale is not large, but wait until next year, it is bound to expand sharply, as a shipping center, Tianjin's traffic is indeed not much convenient, this is also Hou Ye's rainy day strategy. ”

The canal is not spacious, and the boats coming and going are indeed a little crowded, Jiang Hong also understands what Yan Song said, but this can't completely dispel the concerns in his heart, even if the official road is smooth, it can't compare to the waterway.

"Then don't worry, this time Master Hou is going to build a special kind of road, called a railway." Regarding Jiang Hong's concerns, Yan Song smiled slightly and gave an answer with confidence.

(To be continued)