Pan Cheng's retirement and Fang Fengshi's entry into the Cabinet had a far-reaching impact. All the officials in the court realized that the big shots were getting old, so their own opportunities had come. This would cause many people to be impatient, and at the same time, many people would start to run.
But there was no way to stop this kind of thing. Whether it was human nature or not, the key was that you didn't know who was running, or whether everyone was running.
Of course, on the surface, the matter was still silent, as if it had passed.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Yijun looked at Shen Shixing in front of him, put down the document in his hand, and said with a smile, "Is this the salary document drawn up by the Cabinet?"
Shen Shixing braced himself and said, "Your Majesty, yes, these are the salaries of the officials in the capital and the officials in the Shuntian Prefecture that the Cabinet has decided according to the prices of the capital and the prices of the surrounding areas of the Shuntian Prefecture.
"In a few days, the salary of the officials in North Zhili will probably be completed."
Zhu Yijun nodded. In the document, the Cabinet separated the salary of the officials in the capital from the salaries of the other officials in the Shun Tian Mansion, but the difference was not very big.
The salary of the yamen in the capital was the same as that of the officials in the capital.
The salary of a first-level official was 100 stones per month, 1,200 stones per year, which was 200 stones higher than before.
The grain was not the key, the key was the money behind it. The salary of a first-level official in the capital was 90 taels per month.
The salary of a low-level official was 95 taels per month, and the salary of a low-level official was 85 taels per month.
After that, it was basically reduced according to this amount. Rank Two was eighty taels, Rank Two was seventy taels, Rank Three was seventy taels, and Rank Seven was thirty taels of silver and thirty stones of Lu Mi every month.
Compared with the original salary, it was really a big increase, especially the salary.
It was basically impossible to count on the salary, because all kinds of deductions and banknotes were used to fool you.
Zhu Yijun reached out and tapped on the document, looking at Shen Shixing playfully. In fact, he could see that the document was all fake. Shen Shixing, or the Cabinet, was going to let him squeeze out the fake salary.
But Zhu Yijun was really not going to squeeze out the fake salary. This was definitely a high income in this era.
Even for a seventh-ranked official in the capital, the monthly salary was enough for them to live well.
It was just that it was impossible to go to brothels and play poetry songs, but the officials didn't allow it.
"Alright, let's act according to the cabinet's report!" Zhu Yijun smiled and put the document aside.
Hearing Zhu Yijun's words, Shen Shixing was stunned. Did he agree so easily?
He was a little absent-minded. Aren't they going to bargain?
The officials were already used to the Emperor's big discounts. They were really not used to this.
"What's wrong?
Are you absolutely not suitable? "Seeing Shen Shixing's appearance, Zhu Yijun suddenly had a wicked idea and asked directly with a smile.
Only then did Shen Shixing come back to his senses. He sighed inwardly at his lack of self-control. He quickly said, "Suitable, suitable, of course suitable!
Since that's the case, I'll take my leave. When I return, I'll send a letter to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Appointments. Starting from next month, the officials in the capital will be paid according to this standard. "
Nodding, Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Alright, you can go now!"
When it was time to leave, Zhu Yijun's expression also became serious. He reached out and knocked on the table. Zhu Yijun said to Zhang Jing, "Are Wang Zhuan and Wang Jiaping here?"
One of them was the Left Imperial Censor, while the other was the Right Imperial Censor. They were newly appointed by Zhu Yijun.
At this time, it was time for the two of them to play their role. The salary had already been discovered, and it was very generous. Since they were taking my money, they should work for me. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for them to play the game of corruption?
Since the officials' salaries had been increased, Zhu Yijun wasn't going to use this money from the national treasury. It was time for him to start cracking down on corruption.
He didn't do so in the past because he had no choice. Now, it was time to crack down on corruption. If he increased their salaries, there would be no reason for them to be corrupt.
Of course, there was another reason for cracking down on corruption. It was to prepare for the future commercial taxes.
Cracking down on corruption would basically break the collusion between officials and merchants. It would reduce the merchants' expenses and make it easier to collect taxes.
Since he was on the side of righteousness in cracking down on corruption, he didn't have to worry about anyone and didn't have to care about anyone's reputation.
Zhu Yijun now completely understood why the civil officials liked to stand on the side of righteousness and point fingers at others. It felt great.
Of course, this also led to the civil officials looking for righteousness even if they didn't have it. It was precisely because they had righteousness that they had to create righteousness that they had to do.
Although this era was filled with officials and merchants, and the officials' families were doing business, this kind of thing couldn't be regulated.
It didn't make sense for one person to be an official when his uncles and second uncles didn't allow him to do business.
Being an official in a foreign land and cracking down on corruption could, to a great extent, prevent this kind of situation from happening.
The best places to do this kind of thing were Dongchang and the inner court, but Zhu Yijun wasn't prepared to use them. Once he used them, there would definitely be new conflicts, which was not appropriate.
It was better to use the civil officials. They were on the same side, so they could go and cause trouble!
Zhang Jing didn't know what his Imperial Majesty was thinking, but when he heard the Imperial Majesty's question, he quickly said, "The two sirs are already waiting outside."
"Let them in!" Zhu Yijun nodded and said with a faint smile.
Not long after, Wang Jiaping and Wang Zhuan walked in under Zhang Jing's lead.
Compared to Wang Zhuan, Wang Jiaping was much younger. He was just over 50 years old this year.
Because he had taken good care of himself, he looked very young, and there weren't even any wrinkles on his face.
When he walked, he was full of vigor and had a very good temperament.
Zhu Yijun still valued Wang Jiaping very much because he wasn't greedy. Of course, this also had something to do with Wang Jiaping's family, which was rich.
This person had a 'straightforward' spirit and was basically fearless. He was a person who dared to face things head-on. This was also the reason why Zhu Yijun used him.
When Wang Jiaping was editing the World Sect's True Records as a historian, he wasn't afraid of the rich and powerful, and he wrote straightforwardly.
At that time, when Gao Jie, the elder brother of the Grand Secretary Gao Gong, was the Jiangdu Imperial Censor, he had used the treasury's money to bribe Yan Song's henchman, Zhao Yunlong, and this was recorded in the history books.
For this reason, Gao Gong had repeatedly hinted to Wang Jiaping to be merciful and cover up his mistakes, but he had always been rejected. His peers called him a 'good historian'.
When Gao Gong was in power, he did such a thing, which showed how 'straightforward' Wang Jiaping was. Of course, there might be an element of fame involved, but it wasn't easy.
At that time, how many people dared to disobey Gao Gong?
Coupled with the subsequent investigation, Zhu Yijun felt that he was a suitable person.
Waving his hand to indicate for the two to dispense with the formalities, Zhu Yijun then said with a smile, "It's been some time since you were transferred to the Imperial Censorate. Are you familiar with it?"
In reality, Zhu Yijun's question was pointless. The most complicated yamen in the Daming Imperial Court, the yamen with the most influence, and the yamen with the most complicated power was definitely the Imperial Censorate.
From the local to the capital, there was no one who didn't want to get involved.
Classmates from the same year, teachers from the same hometown, and a bunch of messy relationships. Qingliu was the best at this.
Otherwise, the Donglin clique wouldn't have occupied the entire Qingliu system. People played the same hometown, the same year, and the same classmate.
Even if these two were to soak in it for a year, they probably wouldn't be able to straighten out the threads in the Imperial Censorate and see how deep the water was, let alone in such a short period of time.
Zhu Yijun wasn't interested in straightening out the threads and seeing how deep they were.
After coming to Daming for so many years and getting involved in so many things, Zhu Yijun had long understood that the best way to deal with such a situation was to bypass it and start anew. When the time was right, he would replace the old with a new one and abolish it.
Wang Zhuan didn't know how to answer Zhu Yijun's question. If he said that he was familiar with it, it would be against his will. If he said that he wasn't familiar with it, it would seem incompetent.
"I'm untalented and have only been in the Imperial Censorate for a short time. I don't even know everyone, let alone be familiar with the Imperial Censorate."
Wang Jiaping didn't have any scruples about digging up Wang Zhuan's background and said directly, "If you want to straighten out the Imperial Censorate and be confident, I think it'll take at least a year."
Zhu Yijun glanced at Wang Jiaping. You're really telling the truth!
Wang Jiaping was actually a somewhat virtuous person, which made his official career not smooth.
From the first year of Wanli to the 10th year, Zhang Juzheng was the Grand Secretary. He was famous for a time, and the officials tried their best to flatter him.
During Zhang Juzheng's illness, the officials all prayed in the temple to show their concern and loyalty. Wang Jiaping didn't bother to participate.
Less than two years after Zhang Juzheng's death, the officials vented their grievances, and the tide against Zhang Juzheng grew.
Emperor Xianyu of Wanli stripped Zhang Juzheng's three sons of their official positions and revoked the title of Grand Tutor that Zhang Juzheng had obtained when he was alive. Later, he announced to the world that he was guilty of "slandering the vassal state, usurping the royal tomb, suppressing the imperial censor, deceiving the emperor, and tyrannizing the government."
At this time, Wang Jiaping wrote a letter to Imperial Censor Ren Zhengzi to free the descendants of the Zhang family.
He didn't curry favor with those in power, handled matters impartially, and was magnanimous.
Originally, Zhu Yijun didn't think much of it, but now that he saw Wang Jiaping's actions, he laughed. This person was interesting.
In addition, this personality was suitable for what he wanted him to do. As for whether or not he could do it well, that would depend on the future.
"What you said makes sense!" Zhu Yijun smiled at Wang Jiaping and said.
"We are preparing to establish a new government office in the Imperial Censorate, called the 'Daming Official Law and Discipline Department.' It will be in charge of investigating official corruption and breaking the law." At this point, Zhu Yijun smiled at Wang Jiaping.
When the two heard this, their hearts trembled. What was the emperor trying to do?
In the past, it was Dongchang and the Imperial Bodyguard that did these things, but most of the officials felt that it was persecution. But now, he was using the Imperial Censorate?
One had to know that the Imperial Censorate only handled matters based on rumors. It never had the power to investigate or arrest.
"We will give the Law and Discipline Department full power, including the power to investigate and arrest."
"However, the power to convict and sentence will not belong to the Imperial Censorate, but to the Supreme Court."
When the two heard the addition at the end, their hearts almost jumped out of their chests. Not to mention the power to convict and sentence, just the power to investigate and arrest was already incredible!
What was the emperor trying to do?
The two couldn't figure it out.
In reality, Zhu Yijun only wanted to establish a discipline office and "punish" some people.