Chapter 42: The Evaluation of the Little Emperor

"Soldiers die in the front, while beauties sing and dance under the tent."

This line of poetry comes from the Tang Dynasty poet Gao Shi's "Song of Yan." It speaks of soldiers fighting to the death at the front, while generals watch beauties dance in the middle tent. With such military appearance, how can they not be defeated?

Zhang Juzheng lectured the Emperor, talked about the Battle of Queshu Valley, how the Prince of Qin fought fiercely, and talked about Li Jiancheng's extravagance, hoping to use his own knowledge to educate the Emperor to take it as a warning, and even more hoping that His Majesty the Emperor could seriously manage state affairs.

Zhu Yijun said quite emotionally: "Just like now, soldiers are fighting to the death at the front, while inside and outside the capital, there is singing and dancing. Anyway, the Tatars cannot break through Beijing, and it is the common people in the capital's vicinity who are plundered. What does it have to do with the masters in the capital?"

"At worst, just promise to give more horse price silver."

Zhang Juzheng felt a bit blocked in his heart upon hearing His Majesty say this. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer, just standing there, saying nothing.

Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but think of Qi Jiguang, whom everyone regarded as a wart—a redundant and useless thing.

Zhu Yijun wondered if he had used too much force. The hammer of breaking the wall was swung too hard, causing Zhang Juzheng's indestructible belief to waver?

If Zhang Juzheng hardened his heart, felt despair about this rotten world, and went along with the Jin Party, wouldn't Zhu Yijun be in big trouble?

Zhang Juzheng said quite solemnly: "This minister received the late Emperor's entrustment, serving as the Senior Grand Secretary of the world. I dare not forget the entrustment of the people. I will exhaust my loyalty and efforts, knowing it cannot be done but doing it anyway. As long as one breath remains, this ambition will not slacken!"

"As long as one breath remains, this ambition will not slacken" was Zhu Yijun's annotation for the two words "perseverance and resolution."

Zhang Juzheng had told himself that he knew the various ills of the Great Ming and was determined to improve them, to let the Great Ming rise again. This was his ambition. As long as he had a breath left, he wouldn't slacken.

"When will General Qi return to the capital?" Zhu Yijun asked.

Zhang Juzheng hurriedly replied: "After Qingming."

Zhu Yijun's life was very simple: listening to government and lectures in the Zhao Wenhua Hall in the morning, practicing martial arts after that, running to Jingshan to hoe the earth after practicing martial arts, applying seals after hoeing the earth, summarizing the day's harvest in the evening, and flipping through the agricultural books annotated by Xu Zhenming.

Zhang Juzheng's "Evaluation Method" finally began to be tried out in the capital. There were complaints everywhere, but for the sake of settling the matter, the Jin Party leader agreed to Zhang Juzheng's joint promotion.

Before the Evaluation Method, the Great Ming's evaluation system for officials was divided into "Capital Inspection" and "Great Calculation."

Capital Inspection was to evaluate capital officials, and Great Calculation was to evaluate officials of the world, once every six years. After the government became loose, the country weak, discipline fell, and officialdom became corrupt, the Capital Inspection and Great Calculation had become mere formalities. Zhang Juzheng's Evaluation Method, however, smashed all human relationships into pieces.

The core of the Evaluation Method is: "Set limits to evaluate affairs, use affairs to hold people accountable."

The Evaluation Method in the capital first targeted the supervising secretaries of the Six Ministries. In just three days, the supervising secretaries of the Six Ministries were almost all replaced—not dismissed, but sent out to be officials.

They were replaced by capable officials highly praised by Zhang Juzheng. Most of these supervising secretaries came from all over the country and had no marriage ties, no teacher-student relationships, and no hometown relationships with Zhang Juzheng.

Set limits to evaluate affairs: establish a deadline for a specific matter, and it must be completed within the specified time.

The subject, time limit, and completion degree were all registered in three account books. One was kept by the Six Ministries and the Censorate, one was the responsibility of the supervising secretaries of the Six Ministries, and the last one was presented to the Cabinet. Every month, they would reconcile the accounts according to the account books.

The administrative officials of the Six Ministries and the Censorate responsible for the execution of specific affairs recorded whether they were completed or not as they were.

The supervising secretaries of the Six Ministries were responsible for supervision, supervising and managing the completion, and registering them as they were.

The Cabinet checked the work of the supervising secretaries of the Six Ministries for verification. Once the supervising secretaries of the Six Ministries colluded with the Six Ministries and the Censorate, the supervising secretaries of the Six Ministries would be directly dismissed.

In this way, the basic evaluation mechanism of the Cabinet leading supervision, supervision supervising the Six Ministries, and the Six Ministries commanding the officials of the world had a prototype. This was an extremely complete institutional design for officialdom.

"To praise a person's talent, one does not need to test it with affairs; to appoint a person to affairs, one does not need to examine the results—therefore it is called the Evaluation Method."

Whether the Evaluation Method was effective, the little Emperor had his own unique standard of judgment, and that was the resentment of the capital officials.

The heavier their resentment, the more effective the Evaluation Method was.

In these few days, the court officials who were intimidated by Zhang Juzheng's authority finally stood up and began to impeach Zhang Juzheng one after another!

The resentment was so great that they were no longer afraid of Zhang Juzheng's retaliation!

The resentment was so great that they would rather not be officials than impeach Zhang Taiyue!

Boiling over.

The reasons for impeachment were countless. Some impeached Zhang Juzheng for usurping the divine vessel, some for oppressing officials, some for forming cliques, some for having no benevolence or virtue, some for being arrogant, biased, and jealous. The reasons were strange and varied, as if Zhang Juzheng were the great traitor of the Great Ming court, and if this harm were not removed, the Great Ming would perish tomorrow!

Zhang Juzheng was a frame; any crime could be put into it!

Zhu Yijun's evaluation of this was only three words: "I know."

He neither kept them without approval nor drew circles or crosses; only three words: "I know."

If the punishment could not be implemented within the time limit, according to the quantity, they would be punished by salary reduction, demotion, being sent out, dismissal, stripping of official status and being sent back to leisure, exile to malaria-infested areas, border areas, etc.

If the punishment could not be implemented, the results of inspection, supervision, and command would be objective and real, but the Evaluation Method would also be a mere display.

In the 12th year of Wanli, three years after Zhang Juzheng's death, the Wanli Emperor issued an edict to abolish the Evaluation Method, and the Great Ming officialdom became corrupt from then on, with no clear spirit.

In the 1st year of Chongzhen, when the Chongzhen Emperor wanted to pick up the Evaluation Method again and preside over the evaluation himself, everything was already lost, and it had completely collapsed.

Zhu Yijun was waiting for Qi Jiguang to return to the capital. He didn't wait for Qi Jiguang, but waited for the monthly examination first.

On the 19th day of the 2nd month of the 1st year of Wanli, the Great Ming's ten-year-old ruler Zhu Yijun finally welcomed his evaluation. The court officials were restrained by the Evaluation Method, and the little Emperor also had an evaluation for his studies, but no one dared to punish, and no one could punish the Emperor.

The monthly examination arrived as scheduled.

The various charges of the court officials impeaching Zhang Juzheng definitely did not include one thing, and that was Zhang Juzheng's authority shaking the master. As the supreme ruler of the world, who could evaluate the Emperor!

Zhang Juzheng received the late Emperor's order as a minister assisting the country, and he indeed had the power to evaluate the Emperor, but there was no punishment after the evaluation. This was the dilemma of the Great Ming little Emperor's studies.

And the content of the evaluation involved the first two chapters of the "Analects" and four stories from the "Illustrated Mirror for Governing."

Zhu Yijun was also somewhat worried about the monthly examination. If these ministers gave him difficult problems and he didn't pass, how could he justify his slacking off!

With a slightly uneasy mood, Zhu Yijun came toward the Zhao Wenhua Hall.

"Your Majesty." Feng Bao said in a low voice: "Yesterday, Xu Jue left the palace and asked the Senior Grand Secretary for the examination paper. Does Your Majesty want to see it in advance?"

Zhu Yijun was stunned, looked at Feng Bao, and said: "This... doesn't seem right."

What kind of behavior is this! This is public cheating! Is there any law! Is there any heaven!

"Bring it here and let me see." Zhu Yijun reached out.

His monthly examination not only involved whether he could continue to slack off, but also whether Zhang Juzheng's Evaluation Method could be successfully promoted.

The examination paper was the responsibility of university scholars like Wang Xilie, Wang Xijue, and Fan Yingqi, and Zhang Juzheng, the imperial teacher, was responsible for the review.

If the Emperor could successfully pass the monthly examination, it would represent that Zhang Juzheng had the ability to fulfill the late Emperor's entrustment and the duty of an imperial teacher, representing the justice of Zhang Juzheng's assistance to the country.

If the supreme Great Ming Emperor could pass the monthly examination, why couldn't the officials of the world be evaluated!

With such a big matter, for Zhu Yijun, who did not cultivate virtue, what was wrong with public cheating?

He had an extremely flexible standard and scale for morality.

He even wanted to move the examination room to the back hall of the Zhao Wenhua Hall, avoid the supervision of the group of ministers, and take an open-book examination.

Zhu Yijun took the examination paper, looked at it for a moment, folded it, handed it to Feng Bao, and said: "Destroy it. In the future, no need to ask the Senior Grand Secretary for the examination paper again."

Zhu Yijun finished reading the examination paper, felt confident, held his hands, walked in a square step, and walked steadily into the Zhao Wenhua Hall.

The whip sounded three times, and the group of ministers filed in, stood in order, bowed five times and knocked their heads three times, and shouted: "The ministers pay respects to Your Majesty. Is Your Majesty's holy body at peace?"

"I am at peace. Rise, ministers." Zhu Yijun stretched his hands forward and said quite peacefully: "Enough small talk, let's begin."

"The ministers are presumptuous." The university scholars like Wang Xijue handed the examination paper to Zhang Hong, and Zhang Hong spread the examination paper flat on the imperial desk.

Zhu Yijun picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to answer the questions. The Zhao Wenhua Hall was extremely quiet. In order not to disturb the Emperor's monthly examination, the windows of the Zhao Wenhua Hall were even closed.

After two quarters of an hour, Zhu Yijun put down the brush, blew the ink dry, waited for a moment, and signaled Zhang Hong to take the examination paper to the group of ministers.

The assembled officials all looked somewhat nervously at the test papers. It should be known that in the previous six months, the young Emperor's reading homework was actually unsatisfactory—to put it bluntly, nothing had been taught.

With Zhang Juzheng teaching alone, would the situation be any better?

For Zhu Yijun, the content of the examination was simply too simple!

This? This? This is what you call a monthly examination?

It was so simple that Zhu Yijun suspected that Wang Xijue had colluded with Zhang Juzheng to deliberately set some simple questions so that the Emperor could pass.

The examination included dictation—the first two chapters of the Analects, only the first half, dictating the second half;

The examination paper had interpretations, taking out a certain character or paragraph and explaining its meaning;

There were summaries, a story from the "Illustrated Mirror for Governing," asking the Emperor to briefly describe the story.

An examination paper that fit the difficulty of a ten-year-old child.

For Zhu Yijun, what difficulty was there? None at all.

Zhu Yijun naturally felt it was simple. His discussions with Zhang Juzheng on weekdays were all aimed at breaking the wall, while Zhang Juzheng, this wall-facer, felt a headache for the little Emperor's slightly simple and ignorant questions.

Wang Xijue was responsible for grading. He finished reading very solemnly, grading while feeling doubtful. This neat answer sheet exceeded his expectations. In the six months since the Jiajing Emperor passed away, the little Emperor's homework had always been very poor.

Wang Xijue, with a complex mood, finished grading the examination paper and handed it to the university scholars.

After the university scholars checked it correctly, the examination paper circulated to Zhang Juzheng's hands.

Zhang Juzheng actually knew without looking that the little Emperor could pass. With this examination paper, the Emperor could answer correctly with his eyes closed. The little Emperor was very smart; he was just slacking off before and didn't want to study well.

No, it was the university scholars, one word after another, who confused the ten-year-old ruler. It was all the ministers' fault!

This was in line with the moral ritual of the ruler and minister for thousands of years.

Zhang Juzheng teaching alone had outstanding effects.

Zhang Juzheng opened it and looked at the test paper. As he expected, the young Emperor's handwriting was standard, and the answers were very good.

"Your Majesty is wise and talented, and your virtue as a monarch is already evident. If you continue to make progress in the future, then the ten thousand surnames of the four seas will receive your blessings! Your subject congratulates the Great Ming and congratulates Your Majesty!" Wang Xiyue stepped out, knelt on the ground quite sincerely, and said with a vibrating voice.

"Your subject is ashamed before the late Emperor." Wang Xiyue said somewhat excitedly, his tone extremely intense. He was just an old pedant; the young Emperor not reading well meant he, as the lecture scholar, bore the brunt of the responsibility.

As the head of the Hanlin Academy, Wang Xiyue's evaluation of the young Emperor's test paper was truly very high. The late Emperor had passed away for six months, and they had taught for half a day, but nothing had been taught. They were anxious and spinning in circles, but had no way to deal with it.

"Next time, it can be slightly harder," Zhu Yijun said, wanting to speak but stopping, stopping but wanting to speak, already having an idea in his heart.

The Great Ming Emperor's monthly exam could not be utilized.

Recently, the public opinion impeaching Zhang Juzheng was truly too great.