The First Lackey Under The Empress

The Bureau of Scholarly Affairs was located outside the North Gate of the Imperial City, encompassed within the palace walls.

This ensured the Imperial Guards could protect it, preventing unauthorized personnel from approaching and secrets within the Bureau from being leaked.

After the carriage stopped, Zhao Du'an stepped out and instantly sensed dozens of gazes, both overt and covert, sweeping over him.

This was due to the significant enhancement of his senses after advancing to a higher rank.

"Remember not to speak carelessly once we're inside," Mo Chou said, stepping out of the carriage, the burning heat on her face now suppressed, switching back to her official mode.

She didn't forget to remind him.

"I know," Zhao Du'an said helplessly, wondering just how much this unexpected 'rival in love' distrusted him…

With Mo Chou leading the way, the guards at the entrance of the Bureau of Scholarly Affairs didn't check their identities but instead stepped aside, inviting them in.

Stepping into the courtyard and passing the screen wall, they could faintly hear intense voices coming from the largest building ahead.

However, the soundproofing was excellent, and even with Zhao Du'an's sharp hearing, he couldn't make out the specific content.

It wasn't until they reached the door that Mo Chou gently knocked twice and slowly pushed it open.

The "open office" of the Bureau of Scholarly Affairs came into view.

An old, aged voice became clear:

"The governance of officials is the most important matter!"

Then, the "scholarly air" formed by the collection of fresh ink, paper, and inkstones, along with the serious and intense atmosphere of everyone's discussions, rushed toward them.

Zhao Du'an felt a wave of nostalgia, recalling the mountains of materials in the archive room of his previous life and the strong tea and cigarettes during all-night meetings.

Well, he preferred to collectively call it the "office vibe"…

Inside the spacious, enormous room, desks were scattered, each with the necessary writing tools and unlit lamps.

At this moment, about a dozen people were sitting around a large table pieced together in the middle, seemingly discussing something.

Zhao Du'an instantly understood that he was late.

"Therefore, if the problem of official governance cannot be resolved, the subsequent new policies cannot be implemented! The court's decrees cannot be transmitted to the lower levels and effectively executed."

At the head of the large table.

An elderly man with white hair and beard, wearing a scarlet Grand Scholar's robe, sat upright, his eyes sharp on his square face, setting the first tone for the debate.

Grand Tutor Dong!

Zhao Du'an recognized him at a glance.

Then, he saw next to Grand Tutor Dong, also in the seat of honor, the Great Yu Empress, dressed in plain white clothes and wearing a crown, her expression dignified and cold.

Today, Xu Zhenguan had her black hair styled up, appearing particularly dignified and solemn.

She sat there silently, and when she saw the two entering the room, she only glanced at them without any other expression.

Today, it's the serious and earnest Empress…

"Let's go," Mo Chou gently nudged him with her elbow, signaling him not to make a sound.

Zhao Du'an thought to himself, I understand, if you're late for a meeting and the leader doesn't call on you, just quietly find a corner to sit down.

He scanned the room and noticed a stranger official at the end of the table in the corner, holding a pen and intently copying Grand Tutor Dong's words.

"A meeting recorder…"

Seeing this, Zhao Du'an simply pulled up a chair and sat next to him.

He put down the basket of pears he was carrying, making it convenient to peek at the recorded text later and catch up on the beginning of the meeting.

The recorder glanced at him, seemingly surprised.

But seeing Mo Chou nod, he continued to focus on his writing, acting as if the two who had come over didn't exist.

Seeing this, Zhao Du'an blinked, feeling like something was missing, making him uncomfortable.

He slapped his forehead and, under Mo Chou's confused gaze, took a stack of white paper from the thick pile next to the recorder and casually grabbed a slender writing brush.

He struck a pose of listening to the leader and taking notes, and immediately felt comfortable all over.

—That's more like it!

Only then did he have the leisure to observe the eight "Academicians."

Sure enough, they were all quite young.

Although there were no nameplates on the table, he still matched the people with their names according to their "distance from the Empress."

"The First Talent" Han Zhou was closest to Grand Tutor Dong, a scholar of about thirty years old.

Wearing an academic robe, he was slightly frail, his hair neatly combed back, his eyes clear, and his scholarly air was extremely strong.

He was a gentle and refined scholar who fit people's stereotypical image of a "gentleman."

Wang You, from a prominent aristocratic family, was about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, also wearing an academic robe.

With fair skin, one well-proportioned hand of a noble scion, untouched by manual labor, rested on the table, gently tapping.

The other elbow rested on the armrest of the chair, seemingly in thought, his posture the most casual and relaxed among the young academicians present.

The "Guo Jiexuan" ranked third was the oldest, around thirty-five years old, with ordinary looks, the kind you couldn't find in a crowd.

His temperament was the most vulgar, and he was also the only one of the three who looked over at Zhao Du'an.

At this moment, their eyes met, and Guo Jiexuan smiled, nodded gently, and then turned back, continuing to focus on the meeting.

At this time, as Grand Tutor Dong reiterated the keynote, everyone started talking at once, discussing:

"What the Grand Tutor says is very true, but the corruption of official governance has been a long time coming. In my opinion, if we want to rectify it, the focus should still be on the words 'corruption' and 'redundant officials'."

"How about cutting and streamlining?"

"That's inappropriate. The redundant officials were originally set up by the late Emperor to disperse the power of local officials, splitting one official into two… Now, it seems redundant, but in reality, there is a lack of capable officials. If we cut them, wouldn't we be cutting off our own arms? Or perhaps we could increase salaries to encourage integrity?"

"The national treasury has a huge deficit and is in a hurry to fill the hole. Where can we get the money? Why not restore the ancestral system and use strict laws and severe punishments? Although it is ineffective in the long run, it is feasible in the short term…"

"…All the accumulated problems lie in the Ministry of Personnel, and it should be resolved in the Ministry of Personnel. Humph, isn't it still the remaining poison of Li Yanfu?"

A group of young academicians expressed their opinions, and the atmosphere was lively.

When talking about the Chancellor, they also called him by his name directly.

This surprised Zhao Du'an somewhat.

And what was even more surprising was that, in the face of this almost market-like lively discussion, neither Grand Tutor Dong nor the Empress had any intention of stopping it, but instead welcomed it.

This was a bit interesting.

On the first day of discussing state affairs, they were already getting into the state… This was the atmosphere for discussing real issues, not reporting one by one in a rigid manner, having to consider the leader's expression before saying a word…

Leaving aside everything else, Zhao Du'an had a good first impression of the Bureau of Scholarly Affairs.

Of course, perhaps it was because these young academicians were too eager to show their ambitions and had been holding back for too long.

Today, the Empress's personal presence allowed them to speak freely, and each of them had a strong desire to perform.

"Is the court's official governance that bad?" Zhao Du'an lowered his voice and asked Mo Zhaorong, who was sitting next to him.

Mo Chou had just finished reading the "meeting minutes" and glared at him when she heard this, but still sighed and nodded, whispering:

"The Great Yu capital officials have a capital assessment every six years, and local officials have a major evaluation every three years.

According to this ancestral system, although it is difficult to eliminate corrupt officials, if it is strictly implemented, it will generally not go wrong, but the late Emperor delegated power for too long, and the assessment was in Li Yanfu's hands. Over time, it became increasingly lax, and the assessment became superficial…

Now, there are already numerous problems. This matter is extremely difficult to solve, but now the national treasury is empty, which is the most important thing. Without money, nothing can be done. Therefore, there was the previous proposal to change rice to mulberry… It was also a desperate attempt.

And if we want to fill the national treasury, we cannot avoid official governance…"

Along with Mo Chou's explanation, combined with the information provided during the numerous scholars' arguments and discussions, Zhao Du'an finally had a clear understanding of the corruption of the Great Yu's official governance.

It wasn't surprising, it was easy to deduce.

Whenever people are involved, if there is a lack of effective supervision, chaos will inevitably arise.

And from the results of the Li Party and the Eight Kings becoming powerful, it can be inferred that the old Emperor was definitely someone who didn't care about things and didn't firmly grasp the power in his hands.

It wasn't that he hadn't tried to solve it.

According to Mo Chou, the old Emperor had transferred the assessment matters from the Ministry of Rites to the Inner Cabinet.

This was equivalent to taking the work of this area from the departments below and bringing it to his side, which was also a kind of attempt at "centralization."

But the Inner Cabinet's Chancellor, Li Yanfu, was also the Minister of Personnel, so the assessment seemed to be transferred, but in fact, it remained unchanged and became a formality…

Like shifting.

"A capital assessment every six years? A major evaluation every three years?"

Zhao Du'an frowned, feeling that this method was a bit familiar:

"Is that all?"

This time, it was Mo Chou's turn to be speechless: "Otherwise, what?"

Zhao Du'an didn't say anything. He was just habitually comparing this set of assessment methods with the one he was familiar with in his previous life.

Obviously different, where's the KPI? Where's the evil performance indicators?

It's not to say that the Great Yu's assessment method doesn't involve it, but…

Something's not right.

Very familiar… It seems… I've seen it somewhere…

The discussion in the room continued.

No one noticed that Zhao Du'an in the corner had closed his eyes and began to search his memories from his previous life.

As his brain was squeezed, some knowledge he had noted down when reading books in his previous life began to emerge.

Six-year capital assessment…

Yes, in the Ming history-related books that his leader liked to read in his previous life, there was a record of it. It was the assessment method of the Ming Dynasty.

Later, because of the long time, it became a formality, leading to the paralysis of the assessment mechanism, which was also the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel.

Later, how was it solved?

As the memories deepened, a name suddenly popped into Zhao Du'an's mind:

Zhang Juzheng.

The next entry smoothly spread out: Zhang Juzheng's reform, the Wanli Restoration…

What method did Zhang Juzheng use to solve it?

It seems, I remember that he invented a very well-known assessment method.

Zhao Du'an opened his eyes, and the pen in his hand subconsciously wrote three words on the stack of paper in front of him:

Assessment Achievement Method