With Qin Tai's in-depth investigation and bold analysis, Qin Tai seemed to have sensed something. The local government, the vassal king, the eunuch of the palace, the cronies of Xu Jie, the former head of the cabinet, and the people around Qin Tai, these people almost have nothing to do with each other, which always makes Qin Tai feel that there is some kind of unspeakable connection.

Local officials directly managed the common people on behalf of the imperial court and the emperor, and were the bridge between the imperial court and the local common people, so they were very important. Historically, the emperor and the imperial court have attached great importance to local officials, especially the appointment of local governors is very strict.

Perhaps there may have been such a thing as overstepping the promotion within the six yamen of the capital, but this kind of thing rarely occurs in the local area, which reflects the importance that the imperial court and the emperor attach to the appointment and promotion of local officials.

Governors at the local level can be divided into four levels according to their positions and jurisdictions, namely provinces, provinces, prefectures, and counties.

In ancient times, the chief executive of each place was not called "chief" in modern society, but in modern society, there was a county magistrate, a city had a mayor, and a province had a governor. In ancient times, when the imperial court and the emperor appointed someone as a local governor, the appointment letter would write "Quan Zhi XX", which meant that someone would manage and manage a certain place on behalf of the court and the emperor. For example, if a new person is appointed to administer a county, it will be written in the appointment letter that the person will be informed of the county, and this person will be the chief executive of the county. Because of this, the people below can't directly call this person what right to know a certain county, so it is convenient and respectful to call this person a county. And so on, the chief executive of the state capital is the prefect or the governor.

At the provincial level, there is a new situation, and the so-called "Dao" is actually equivalent to the current provincial department, which is the leader of the provincial competent unit in charge of a certain aspect. Generally, there will be yamen such as grain roads, salt roads, and military roads in the localities, which are specially designed to facilitate the management of important materials of the imperial court. In ancient times, grain was very important to the people and the country, and the collection of grain that was planted in spring, harvested in summer, planted in summer and harvested twice in autumn was the most important thing for the imperial court. Every year, when the imperial court makes a plan for the next year, the most important basis is the grain production of that year. Grain is not only the wealth of the country but also an important material distributed to officials and soldiers, once the grain is not harvested, it will affect the national policy and economic trend of the next year or even several years to come, so the imperial court should set up grain routes in each province to be responsible for the collection, storage and transportation of grain.

The establishment of the salt road was caused by the imperial court's control of the monopoly of salt and iron. In ancient times, every household needed salt, so controlling the production and sale of salt was equivalent to curbing the behavior of ordinary people. The grain court cannot be strictly controlled, and even if it is controlled, substitutes will appear. However, if a person does not eat salt for a long time, various diseases and even death will occur. Therefore, the emperors and imperial courts of successive dynasties have been very strict in the management of the production and sale of salt. It is stipulated that the imperial court specializes in the production and sale of salt, and the production and sale of salt without the permission of the imperial court is illegal, and once caught, it will be severely punished. In ancient times, iron was an important raw material for the manufacture of weapons, and once an unofficial person had a weapon in his hands, it would pose a threat to the imperial court. In order to emphasize and control the uniqueness and importance of the central government, the imperial court strictly prohibited the production and manufacture of weapons, and even the local government did not have the right to make weapons privately. The weapons of the imperial court were managed by a special manufacturing agency, and each batch of weapons also had batch numbers and special marks. The management of raw materials for weapons is also quite high, and the mining of iron ore is very important in any dynasty. Later, it developed to the imperial court to carry out all the minerals

It is officially managed, and it is strictly forbidden for anyone to mine privately. The imperial court's monopoly on salt and iron was to control it, of course, it could not affect the daily operation of the province, so the local government should set up a salt road to manage the sale of salt and iron. The imperial court had a fixed amount of salt and iron every year, and the amount distributed to each province was different, and then the local salt governor distributed it to the local subordinates and monopoly operators. This small certificate is called "salt citation", and without this "salt citation" it is equivalent to illegality, not only is it not protected by the government at all levels, but all illegal gains must be confiscated and investigated for criminal responsibility. Therefore, having a "salt guide" is a way to get rich.

The army is very important to the imperial court, so the imperial court's management of the army is not only strict but also unique. In order to prevent the military commanders from privately controlling the army, the imperial court controlled the army in many ways. First, it is strictly forbidden for the military to meddle in local affairs, and military commanders are not allowed to have personal relations with local officials. Second, the army commander only has the power to train and exercise authority over subordinate soldiers, and does not have the power to transfer and appoint subordinate officers and soldiers. Third, the daily expenses of the army need to be managed by a special person, who is assigned by a higher authority or the military department. Fourth, the army's salaries and equipment are paid every three months by the military headquarters or local yamen, so as to avoid a shortage of troops or mismanagement. In fact, it is to contain the army, to control the army in terms of weapons and finances. Fifth, local governments only have the power to supervise the armed forces, and cannot directly intervene in the management of the armed forces. However, once a problem is found in the army, it can be reported to the imperial court or all kinds of supplies can be stopped. The Ming Dynasty added another way to use eunuchs as military supervisors to monitor army commanders in real time. Although the army has soldiers, it has no materials and no right to transfer, and the right to transfer is in the hands of the Ministry of War or even the emperor. However, the materials are in the local government or the military department, and in order to collect and manage these military materials, special yamen must be set up in each locality. These yamen are the origin of the Bingbei Dao, and another task of the Bingbei Dao is to monitor the use of local weapons. Once it is discovered that the weapons of the local yamen or someone exceed the quota, they will take it seriously and even take over the management directly.

The prefects of the first level of the province are called Daotai, although the level is only a little higher than that of the prefect and the governor, but because of the importance of the power and resources in their hands, they are much more majestic than the ordinary prefect and governor, and their life is much more nourishing.

The provincial governor was originally a political envoy, and later the governor became the provincial chief executive. The political envoy is in charge of the administrative affairs of a province, especially the people's livelihood and general affairs. The procurator is responsible for the sentences and sentences in the province. The Admiral is the governor who administers the army at the provincial level. Therefore, the political envoy, the procurator, and the admiral were in charge of civil affairs, punishment, and military management at the provincial level, and they contained and monitored each other. Later, the imperial court appointed governors to supervise the localities on behalf of the imperial court and the emperor, and the governors gradually became the superiors of the political envoys, the envoys and the admirals. When the governor's stationing at the provincial-level yamen became the norm, the governor's power had surpassed that of the three provincial-level officials, and he became a real local magistrate and a feudal official.

Generally speaking, the magistrate is a civil official of the seventh rank of the imperial court, but if the territory under the jurisdiction of the magistrate is relatively large, it is also possible that the magistrate is from the sixth grade. If the county magistrate is not qualified enough or is from a Jinshi, there are also only from the seventh grade. If this magistrate is not from a jinshi or is not from the imperial examination, it can only be regarded as an alternate magistrate, and it may be an eighth grade. The prefect is generally a civil official from the fifth rank or the fifth grade, and the governor is generally a civil official from the fifth rank or the fourth grade.

The unification of the Taoist platform is a civil official of the fourth grade, and if he also holds other positions, he may be a civil official of the third grade. The political envoy is a civil official of the third rank, and the envoy is generally a civil official of the third rank, the admiral is a civil military attache of the third rank, and the governor is a civil official of the second rank. Later, in order to reflect that the status of the central government was higher than that of the local government, the imperial court formulated a policy that the governor's product system should not be too high, so as to show that the status of the cabinet and the six ministries was higher than that of the local governors. The governor and the following local officials are automatically demoted by one level, the governor is a civil official of the third grade, the political envoy is a civil official of the third grade, the envoy is a civil official of the fourth grade, the Taoist is a civil official of the fourth grade, the governor is a civil official of the fifth grade, the prefect is a civil official of the fifth grade, and the county remains unchanged. Later, because of the emperor's attention and trust, the governors of some important provinces added the title of six Shangshu or Shilang, and their positions and grades were still retained in the second-rank position. This result further widened the gap between the governor and the envoy. The promotion of a local political envoy to the governor of other places is a high promotion, and the appointment of a governor as a political envoy in other places is a clear promotion and a secret demotion or even a disguised punishment.

Qin Tai was born in a serious class, and he learned the system of officialdom. He knows how difficult it is for a student to become an official, and he knows how difficult it is for a county magistrate to be promoted to a provincial governor. Every local official has to undergo a year-end evaluation, and the people who are evaluated are all over the local officials, and some of the people who are evaluated are the governors of various provinces, some are the examiners of the Ministry of Officials, and some are the inspectors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. An assessment once a year, a summary every three years, to determine the stay, stay and promotion of each official. Once a year, the assessment is divided into upper, middle and lower levels, with one point added by the superior, one point deducted from the subordinate, and no points deducted from the intermediate level. At the triennial summary, those who deduct three points in a row are the lowest and immediately dismissed from their current positions. Those who add three points at the conclusion are the best, and it is recommended to be promoted or transferred from their current position for another reuse. Some officials who are capable but not in line with their superiors are often transferred from their current posts in this way. As long as each official does not deduct points at the time of summing up, he can stay in his original post for one term, that is, for another three years. In some fat vacancies or important positions, officials would rather evaluate the official and leave the post in the middle office. However, even if he remains in office, an official cannot serve more than three terms in the same position. In other words, it is impossible for an official to have served in one position for nine years, unless that person is a big figure like the head of the cabinet. Generally speaking, even if you reach the level of governor or political envoy, you have to change places every nine years and start over again, and some people don't need nine years.