Chapter 37: The Assessment Law

Looking at Zou Yuanbiao, Zhu Youxiao felt helpless. The man before him was a true scholar of the School of Principle.

Zhu Youxiao didn't know whether Zou Yuanbiao was being deliberately obtuse or genuinely believed what he said, but Zhu Youxiao felt the latter possibility was actually quite likely.

Trying to understand Zou Yuanbiao with his own way of thinking, or to understand how these people thought, was probably impossible.

When Zou Yuanbiao's mouth finally went dry from talking, Zhu Youxiao waved to Chen Hong and said, "Go, bring a cup of tea for my dear minister Zou."

Zou Yuanbiao quickly stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Watching Zou Yuanbiao drink the water, Zhu Youxiao finally spoke: "My dear minister, since you approve of the new policies, I too have some ideas."

Zou Yuanbiao was taken aback, but at this moment he couldn't very well say "I won't listen, I won't listen." His Majesty had listened to him talk for so long; if he wouldn't listen to His Majesty in return, did he want to keep his position or not?

Looking at Zou Yuanbiao, Zhu Youxiao spoke directly: "Minister Zou, the matter of framing Xiong Tingbi today has left me unable to eat or sleep in peace. These were censors of the Censorate — remonstrance officials, meant to be the Emperor's eyes and ears and moral exemplars — yet they accepted bribes to frame a high minister. If even the Censorate is like this, then what of the other offices? What of the local officials throughout the realm?"

Zhu Youxiao sighed as he said this, then broke into violent coughing. Only after Chen Hong handed him a silk handkerchief and he wiped his mouth did he feel somewhat better.

"Minister Zou, since you wish to rehabilitate Zhang Juzheng and advocate his new laws, I think perhaps we could start by taking some of Zhang Juzheng's new laws and putting them into practice? For instance, the Assessment Law?"

The so-called Assessment Law was essentially placing a tight band around officials' heads — it was an official evaluation system established during Zhang Juzheng's reforms, aimed at focusing on assessing actual work results and improving efficiency.

Its governing principles were "honor the sovereign's authority, evaluate official duties, implement rewards and punishments, unify commands," and it involved eliminating redundant officials from government organs and rectifying the postal relay system and personnel administration.

Not only were officials at all levels subject to periodic inspection, but every matter they handled was given a deadline for completion. The key features of the "Assessment Law" were what was called "setting deadlines to assess affairs" and "holding people accountable for their tasks."

Later generations' official evaluations and personnel assessments bore the shadow of the Assessment Law. In one sentence: responsibility assigned to individuals, completion within set time limits, and those who failed would all be dealt with — those deserving punishment would be punished, those deserving dismissal would be dismissed. The court had no use for mediocre officials or those who governed lazily; all redundant officials and those who did nothing would be removed and never employed again.

During the years Zhang Juzheng held power, officials dismissed by the Assessment Law reached as much as thirty percent. These dismissed officials formed a group opposing Zhang Juzheng, and among them a great many had mixed into the Donglin Faction.

Zhu Youxiao's words were a trap.

Zou Yuanbiao had talked about new policies at great length, yet Zhu Youxiao brought up the Assessment Law — something the Donglin Faction did not want.

Many later people said the Donglin Faction rehabilitated Zhang Juzheng, but really they only gave him a name. Since they revered Zhang Juzheng, why not re-implement his reforms?

For instance, the Assessment Law, or Zhang Juzheng's tax system?

Clearly these were all things the Donglin Faction did not want.

Now Zhu Youxiao didn't care whether the Donglin Faction wanted them or not — these were things he wanted.

In one sentence: I don't care what you think; I care what I think.

In Zhu Youxiao's view, the very essence of Zhang Juzheng's reforms was the Assessment Law. Once the Assessment Law was accomplished, official governance would inevitably improve greatly.

As for the Single Whip law, of which Zhang Juzheng was most proud, Zhu Youxiao had no faith in it at all.

The Single Whip law bypassed the essence of the problem — that officials and gentry should pay grain taxes together. So what if you surveyed all the land in the realm? Wouldn't it be the same again after a few years?

Moreover, the Single Whip law increased the burden on self-cultivating farmers, because taxes were collected in silver, and grain couldn't turn itself into money. The gentry colluded with local officials to suppress grain prices during tax season, making grain worthless, so commoners who needed silver to pay taxes could only sell their grain at low prices.

During times when the old crop was exhausted and the new not yet ripe, the gentry and officials would drive grain prices up, making it so commoners couldn't afford to buy food and could only sell their land, sell themselves.

It could be said that the Single Whip law was a law of compromise. Precisely because of its compromise, the burden on the common people of the Great Ming increased considerably, turning it from a law that benefited the people into a law that harmed them.

If the Great Ming's new policies had not been abolished, the Wanli era would have seen flames of war everywhere — commoners who couldn't survive would have risen up in rebellion directly. The Single Whip law was merely drinking poison to quench thirst.

As for the solution, it was actually quite simple — the later Qing dynasty's Yongzheng Emperor had already provided it.

The Qing inherited the Ming's systems, and by the end of the Kangxi reign, the old ills of the Ming had essentially reappeared. Taxes couldn't be collected, and land annexation was severe everywhere.

Under such circumstances, the Yongzheng Emperor went straight to the root in one step: merging the poll tax into the land tax.

No tax exemptions. It didn't matter if you were a landlord, it didn't matter if your family had tens of thousands of mu of land — however much land you had, that much tax you paid; those without land paid no tax.

Of course, this also had drawbacks, because landlords would raise rents, and the pressure fell on tenant farmers, whose lives became even more miserable.

There was also a solution for that — develop industry and commerce, freeing the common people from being bound to the land.

Go work as laborers, go into business, go join the army, go colonize — anything but being tenant farmers. Once the people had other ways to make a living, they naturally wouldn't be tenant farmers anymore.

This was what Zhu Youxiao wanted to do, but all of it required one precondition: clean official governance. But with the current state of officialdom, no policy would work.

So Zhu Youxiao went straight for the Assessment Law, and since Zou Yuanbiao had happened to run into him, then let it be him!

Zou Yuanbiao was stunned when he heard Zhu Youxiao's words. The Assessment Law?

In an instant, Zou Yuanbiao rejected the idea in his heart.

How could the Assessment Law be used?

"Your Majesty, the Assessment Law is too strict — putting every matter under regulation shows a lack of trust in your ministers!" Zou Yuanbiao refuted directly: "Your Majesty's ministers are all men who have read the books of the sages. The conduct of a gentleman lies in rectifying himself; the way of a ruler lies in benevolence and forbearance. Ministers must be trusted — one must never do as the Assessment Law does, for it would drive a wedge between ministers and sovereign!"

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zou Yuanbiao and understood the situation clearly.

This was a defender of the School of Principle — one who believed the realm should be governed not by law but by the way of gentlemen. Was this the mainstream ideology of the age?

Though he didn't know whether Zou Yuanbiao said this deliberately or genuinely believed it, it didn't matter anymore — this was his political stance and political position.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Youxiao understood that this man could not be used.

Even if he had integrity, had backbone, and would even dare to kill himself before the Tartars to preserve his honor as a minister, he still could not be used. If he truly listened to Zou Yuanbiao, the Great Ming would probably fall even faster.

Listening to Zou Yuanbiao prattling on about emperors setting an example, Zhu Youxiao shook his head.

He actually believed that if the sovereign led by example, those below would follow suit. It was simply a joke — he had made his own imperial estates pay taxes; would these people follow along?

Absolutely impossible. This talk of emperors setting an example was just something they'd concocted to make the Emperor obedient.