I

Wenhua Hall.

The monarch and his ministers were silent, and there was dead silence.

Today is the 21st of the first lunar month, and before the ten-day Lantern Festival holiday has ended, the ministers of the Cabinet, Academy, and Science were urgently summoned by the emperor to discuss matters.

Among the rebel bandits in Jiangxi, although the religious bandits in Qianshan and Nanfeng were wiped out, and although the bandits in southern Jiangxi were eliminated, the Zhao bandits in Luling became more and more troublesome. The imperial court also attributed the territory of the Sweeping King to Zhao Han, thinking that Zhao Han had expanded to three prefectures and seventeen counties.

By the way, just some time ago, King Sweeper tried to expand westward, failed to attack Chaling County in Huguang, and plundered the villages and towns in Chaling County.

Cabinet minister Qian Shisheng held up his hands and said: "Li Maofang has imposed excessive levies in Jiangxi and has refused to advance in fear of the enemy many times. He should be recalled to the capital to hold him accountable. Xue Guoguan recommended an unjust person and should also be held accountable."

Li Maofang was appointed governor of Jiangxi on the recommendation of Xue Guoguan.

Unfortunately, Xue Guoguan went home to attend the funeral, and is still in the period of Ding You.

The longer he was emperor, the more impatient Chongzhen became, and messes were everywhere in the country.

"Withdraw Li Maofang, who is worthy of this responsibility?" Chongzhen tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart and asked in a seemingly calm tone.

Everyone was silent.

Chongzhen pointed casually: "Say it!"

Cabinet minister Kong Zhenyun could only stand up: "Zhu Xieyuan, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, can be the governor of Jiangxi. Although the four provinces have worked together to suppress bandits, civil unrest has broken out in Guangdong and Guangxi, and there is no unified control. Shen Youlong should be removed from the post of governor of Guangxi and Guangxi, and only retain His position as governor of Guangdong was changed to Zhu Xieyuan as governor of the five provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Zhejiang. He also served as governor of Jiangxi and gathered the power of the five provinces to encircle and suppress the Zhao bandits in Luling."

Cabinet minister Zhang Zhifa added: "Although the soldiers from Huguang are going north to encircle and suppress the bandits, they should set up a governor or general army on Huguang South Road and also be under the control of the governor. Only in this way can they form an encirclement against the Zhao bandits."

"Zhejiang cannot use troops!" Hou Xun quickly stood up and objected.

The king and his ministers were silent.

Now the imperial court's financial resources are seriously insufficient, and they are all supported by Nanzhili and Zhejiang. Zhejiang really cannot use troops, otherwise the national finance will completely collapse.

As for Fujian and Guangdong, you can attack them however you want. The taxes contributed by these two provinces are negligible.

After Chongzhen thought carefully, he said: "Order Li Maofang, the governor of Jiangxi, to return to Beijing, and transfer Zhu Xieyuan to be the governor of Jiangxi, and the governor of Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Huguang South Road! Give Shang Fang the sword!"

Zhu Xieyuan once held the title of Minister of War (a false position) and served as governor of the five provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, and Guangxi. He spent several years quelling the She'an Rebellion. Because of his meritorious service, he was promoted to Zuozhuguo, and one of his sons was hereditary to guard Qian's affairs.

It was not until the rogue bandits in the northwest became more powerful that the military affairs of Sichuan and Huguang provinces were transferred to the governors of the five northern provinces.

This man is not easily fooled. The She'an Rebellion spread to several provinces, and he defeated more than 100,000 chieftain rebels successively.

Of course, there are still several remnants of the rebels that have not been eliminated, and I don’t know if there will be another riot in Guizhou after Zhu Xieyuan leaves.

After the major matter was finalized, Chongzhen said angrily: "Jiangxi Commander-in-Chief Yang Jiamo led troops to plunder villages and towns in the name of suppressing thieves. He was captured alive by a group of farmers, which also led to the fall of Fengcheng County. How to deal with this person?"

Solving problems is difficult, but solving people is easy. The results were quickly discussed and the entire Yang family was exiled and sent to the army.

Zhang Yinggao, who committed suicide and died for his country, was posthumously awarded the post of Jiangxi Zuobu Envoy because of his meritorious service in annihilating the Qianshan and Nanfeng religious bandits and his heroic death for his country. One of his sons was named Jin Yiwei Baihu.

The first assistant was gentle and silent throughout the whole process.

The more this happened, the more Wen Tiren gained the emperor's trust, and he was already a bachelor of the Jianji Palace, a junior master and the crown prince's grand master, and a minister of the Ministry of Officials.

Chongzhen asked again: "Yang Jiamo was captured alive by the rebels. Who will be the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi?"

Lin Mao was already dying of illness and did not have so many worries. He went out and said: "Jiangxi has many waterways. To suppress thieves, it is necessary to use the naval army. Zhu Guoxun, the deputy commander-in-chief of Fujian, is good at water warfare and can be the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi."

Seeing that no one objected and Chongzhen had no better choice, he nodded and said, "Yes."

Three years ago, when Zheng Zhilong was promoted to guerrilla, Zhu Guoxun was also promoted to commander-in-chief.

These officers in Fujian rose through the ranks very quickly by swiping pirates. Zhu Guoxun was promoted from chief to deputy chief in three years, and now he is being promoted to chief in Jiangxi.

Everything had been agreed upon, but Qian Shisheng suddenly said: "The Zhao thieves in Luling are so difficult to suppress, can you try to recruit them and ask them to lead troops north to help suppress the thieves?"

Everyone was shocked. They didn't expect that there was someone in the cabinet who dared to talk nonsense.

Chongzhen suddenly picked up a copy of "Datong Collection" and threw it towards Qian Shisheng: "Read it for yourself!"

Qian Shisheng picked it up curiously. There were not many words in this book and he could finish it quickly by reading it briefly. The more he watched, the more frightened he became, and he never dared to say another word. In terms of nature, the Luling Zhao bandits were more serious than the northwest bandits!

Because the Luling Zhao thief has already put forward the theory of rebellion and even put forward a policy program.

What made Chongzhen most angry was that the Zhao thief in Luling actually strictly enforced the "Da Ming Law" and said that as long as the emperor could do the same, he would go to Beijing to accept his punishment and die.

Chongzhen felt deeply insulted...and helpless!

At this moment, the important cabinet ministers who opposed Wen Tiren were not actually thinking about suppressing the bandits. Instead, he was thinking about how to take advantage of Li Maofang's case to eliminate Wen Tiren's gang members.

In their view, the reason why the Ming Dynasty was in such trouble was because of the treacherous Prime Minister.

Only by weeding out the treacherous prime minister Wen Tiren can good governance be truly implemented and the country be able to improve step by step.

The two sides have reached the point where they are fighting to the death. Wen Tiren can defeat one or two political opponents every year. If this continues, all the cabinet, departments, and departments will become Wen Tiren's world!

The ministers retreated, and Chongzhen sat alone in the Wenhua Hall and opened the "Datong Collection" again.

Chen Yuding's secret report also included travel notes from Ji'an. The patrol censor actually went to the territory of the rebels for a private visit incognito.

After reading "Datong Collection", Chongzhen read the copy of the secret memorial, which recorded many strange things.

Zhao Han has the most records, and he has been identified as a scholar of Jishui. Because the imperial court canceled the privileges and exemptions for scholars, he started an uprising because he could not survive. He also said that Zhao Han was frugal and honest. After his wife became pregnant, he hired an old woman and only seven servants. Zhao Han distributed the land to the common people, leaving only a symbolic 100 acres for himself, and paid taxes every year to set an example.

Zhao Han himself did not wear silk clothes, only ordinary cotton clothes.

Zhao Han also treated officials well, and the mayor's salary was equivalent to that of the magistrate of Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, he was good at government administration. If he embezzled more than twenty taels, he would be sent to work as a miner. Officials under Zhao Han did not dare to take bribes and bend the law.

However, Zhao Han treated the gentry harshly and forcibly divided the gentry's property. Even if he was a thief, he had to start as a civil servant.

Zhao Han also built water conservancy projects and organized farmers to reclaim wasteland. The whole of Jiangxi was Zhao's territory, and grain harvests were achieved year after year. The farmers in the area under their jurisdiction only knew that there were Zhao thieves, but they did not know that there was an emperor of Ming Dynasty.

In addition, Zhao Han also gave preferential treatment to merchants and abolished exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. Whether it was those who opened shops, factories, or merchants, they all wanted to rebel against the thieves. Chen Yuding requested that the private banknote checkpoints in Nanchang be abolished.

Reading these contents made Chongzhen sweat on his vest, and he completely gave up all thoughts of recruiting Zhao thieves.

At the same time, Chongzhen regretted that he should not have canceled the privileges and exemptions for scholars, but actually forced out such an extraordinary rebel.

Chongzhen even thought that if Zhao Ze could get Jinshi as soon as possible, maybe the Ming Dynasty would be able to produce more capable ministers and officials.

Chongzhen left the Wenhua Palace in his royal chariot, and all he could think about was recommending talented people. In the past two years, due to the corruption of officialdom, ministers have been discussing the restoration of the recommendation system in the early years of Hongwu.

It seems that as long as talented people are recommended as officials, the situation of corrupt officialdom can be reversed.

Historically, it has indeed been restored, and it has been done well.

A large number of virtuous candidates and a large number of sixth- and seventh-grade officials with outstanding political achievements were promoted and appointed because of their recommendation.

Wen Tiren was originally a supporter of the recommendation system, and he wanted to use it to promote his own party members. But halfway through the implementation, Wen Tiren requested to abolish the recommendation system because he recommended many Donglin Party members...

At this time, Chongzhen thought repeatedly and felt that the recommendation system should be restored.

Talents like Luling Zhao Yan can be recommended as officials, which will not only improve the administration of officials, but also prevent talented people from rebelling.

Chongzhen really wanted to revitalize the country, or he was more like a drowning man hoping to grab every life-saving straw.

The next day, Chongzhen summoned ministers again to discuss matters. After half a month of discussion, two policies were finally promulgated in February of the ninth year of Chongzhen.

First, recommend talented people. The target group is officials below the fifth rank with outstanding political achievements, as well as those who have failed in many trials and have a reputation far and wide.

Second, recommend clan talents and select talented clan members as officials.

The recommendation system sets many thresholds to prevent localities from making random recommendations. Anyway, whoever recommends someone will be held accountable, and if something goes wrong with the person being recommended, they will have to take the blame.

Especially when recommending clan officials, one clan must be guaranteed by five clan clans to be an official. The prince will send a chief historian to investigate, and the prince will review and conduct interviews. If something goes wrong, the prince will be in trouble, and so will the five clan guarantors.

Wu Jinshi Chen Qixin took the opportunity to take the examination and experienced the shortcomings of the imperial examination.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites also petitioned to reform the rural examinations and the joint examinations, add military science, arithmetic and other subjects, and add riding and archery content after the results were released.

Chongzhen actually agreed, he was really working hard.

But it was useless, because military science and arithmetic were only tested in the second and third examinations of the imperial examination, and were classified as science subjects such as official documents, criminal judgment, and policy theory. The focus of the imperial examination was on liberal arts, mainly eight-part essays, and science subjects could only be regarded as incidental bonus points.

As for cavalry and archery, it will be decided after the results are released. No matter how good the cavalry and archery skills are, they can only be used as appropriate when conferring officers.

In any case, it can be considered an improvement.

At least, Jinshi who are proficient in the art of war and martial arts can be promoted faster, unlike the past where they only read articles about Confucius and Mencius.

Then Chongzhen issued an imperial edict and announced it to the world.

The general content is to admit that rebels in various places are forced to rebel by corrupt officials. As long as you sincerely repent, you can be forgiven. Local officials are not allowed to discriminate against those who return to their hometowns to farm after surrendering. These people should be called "rescuing refugees" and should no longer be called "recruiting rebels." Those with outstanding talents among the "rescued refugees" can be appointed as officials by the Governor-General and the Prime Minister.

Chongzhen finally compromised.

Great thieves like Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and Zhao Han could serve as officials in the imperial court as long as they truly repented.

But which rebel would believe it?

(The previous chapter was not written clearly, but has been corrected. The evaluation of military merit must be recorded and reported by the military missionary officer, but it must be agreed upon with the military commander and military judge.)