Chapter 154: Malpractice of the Civil Service
For the past two months, Tian Ze and Zhang Zhao have almost always lived in Zhaoxian Hall opposite the Jixia Academy.
He read the articles and essays written by the scholars who came to seek refuge one by one, and interviewed them face to face to test their learning. All those who had real talent and learning were treated with courtesy and granted official positions.
Among them, those who were particularly virtuous and capable would have their essays read aloud by Zhang Zhao himself in public, and they would be invited to the Golden Stage. Tian Ze would give them jade disks, and Zhang Zhao would appoint them to official positions, and their names would be engraved on the jade wall on the stage.
After going through this whole process, one will have fame, respect, money, official position, and a bright future, which is truly desirable.
After this experience, many scholars could not help but feel that gold was nothing but dirt. They walked on gold all the way. Perhaps at the beginning they were trying hard not to lose their integrity, but in the end most of them had become calm.
The scholars of this era were relatively simple and honest, and they paid more attention to reputation. Tian Ze treated them with such great courtesy that they immediately felt willing to die for him.
And since they can step onto this stage, all the treatment they receive is enough to make them satisfied.
The scholars who failed to ascend the Golden Terrace were extremely envious, but with the guarantee of Zhang Zhao, who was famous throughout the world and renowned for his uprightness, and the fact that their corresponding policy essays were all read aloud in public for review, they did not think there was anything unfair in it.
They just secretly hated themselves for not being talented enough, and they all made up their minds to achieve something no matter what, and to walk on this golden platform so that their lives would not be in vain.
Tian Ze had already engraved the names of his civil and military officials and those who had made outstanding contributions on it. Anyone who had made outstanding contributions to his subjects and the people and had reached a certain position could be listed on it.
As for the issue of some scholars being dissatisfied, even Guan Ning and Lu Zhi had no objection, so what can you say?
It has to be said that with world-famous people like Guan Ning and Lu Zhi as servants, some things become much smoother.
A large number of scholars joined his team, and after a period of training, they finally solved the management problem that was most troubling to Tian Ze.
Those who were able to leave their names on the Golden Terrace all had the talent of a state. After a little training, they would have no problem managing a county.
However, Tian Zezi could not allow them to become prefects directly, but they started as county magistrates. The other scholars who had the talent of a county but failed to ascend to the Golden Terrace were appointed as county officials or village heads.
In order to prevent these scholars from becoming dissatisfied and mistakenly thinking that they were looked down upon, Tian Ze and Zhang Zhao explained the pros and cons of the matter at the beginning of their training and patiently calmed their emotions.
After all, the area under his rule was different from other places, and it was not easy to get started. Moreover, if he easily promised people the positions of prefect or county magistrate without certain merits and reputation, others would probably not be convinced.
You know, in recent years, Tian Ze has promoted only Gan Ning. If Gan Ning had not been so capable and gifted, and played an important role in attracting population in the south, Tian Ze would not have easily granted him the position of lieutenant.
After all, in an emergency, one has to take the necessary measures. If Gan Ning can really complete the task assigned by Tian Ze, his contribution will be no less than that of Zang Ba. The position of General Zhechong is not that important. Zang Ba had already been named General Weilu by Tian Ze because of the Qingzhou incident.
Now that troubled times have arrived, the value of so-called generals, lieutenant generals, and colonels has rapidly depreciated. Yuan Shao even dared to directly appoint people in charge of Qingzhou and Yangzhou, and lavishly rewarded various generalships to the aristocratic families under his rule.
Naturally, Tian Ze was unwilling to fall behind. He owned the "Nine Provinces", which was equivalent to at least four Jizhou provinces. It would not be a big deal to appoint more generals of miscellaneous troops.
Although many scholars were appeased, they were still holding their breath in their hearts. However, when they really took up the post, they found that being an official under Tian Ze was really not easy!
It turned out that Zhang Zhao's earnest teachings before departure and Tian Ze's instructions and expectations were not to underestimate them.
Unlike the rough and laissez-faire style of the time, Tian Ze directly implemented his rule to the lowest level and did not hesitate to appoint a large number of officials for this purpose.
Although the effect was immediate and development under his rule was in full swing, it brought tremendous pressure to the local officials.
As soon as many scholars arrived at their posts, they saw a pile of paper documents half a person's height on their desks and were almost scared.
Some people even wanted to back out, but when they thought of the "spontaneous" oath they had made before leaving, they had to force themselves to calm down and grit their teeth and work day and night.
In the Talent Recruitment Hall, Tian Ze heaved a sigh of relief after sending off the first wave of "talented people" to take up their posts. "The people who are working are finally here, which can be regarded as a solution to our urgent needs!"
With the development of his rule, problems in various states and counties emerged one after another and had accumulated a lot. Tian Ze had been extremely troubled before, but this time he could finally put his mind at ease.
"After a year or so of training, this group of people should be able to basically take on their new positions. By then, we'll be able to barely maintain normal operations." Tian Ze couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile on his face.
Zhang Zhao looked at Tian Ze's treacherous appearance and shook his head: "My lord, you are so strong right from the start. Aren't you afraid that these scholars will be scared and quit, or cause trouble?"
Tian Ze raised his lips slightly: "Want to quit? These people swore an oath before leaving. If they really slip away, their reputation will be ruined. They can only work hard for me."
"High pressure can lead to better growth. It's okay to make some small mistakes. You can correct them slowly. It's better than leaving them there and waiting for them to rot."
"And I'm not unreasonable. According to your estimates, these people can basically finish the work in six hours a day, and they can rest one day a week. They should be able to hold on for a short time."
"When we have enough officials later, we can restore their normal work and rest schedule. At most, we can give them more money and food during this period, and give them a few more days of vacation in the future."
Zhang Zhao sighed when he heard this.
It can be said that his lord has really utilized the value of his subordinates to the extreme. He is really ashamed of himself for not being able to do this.
"Zi Bu, can you estimate how many officials we need in total to meet normal governance needs?" Tian Ze suddenly asked.
Zhang Zhao stroked his beard gently. "I have calculated with Gongtai before. According to the current situation, we need at least 10,000 officials and 500,000 minor officials." "And judging by the increase in problems under our jurisdiction, this number may double in the future, and this does not take into account the increase in population."
Tian Ze frowned when he heard this: "Do you still need so many?"
This number actually did not exceed Tian Ze's imagination. In history, the ratio of civilians to officials in Shu Han was probably around twenty.
With his governance style, being able to maintain this number shows that the officials under his rule are very capable.
"The key to governance lies in three aspects: efficiency, stability and flexibility," said Zhang Zhao.
After listening to Tian Ze's lectures on a lot of messy knowledge, and combining it with his own learning, he has sorted out some of his experience, and even published a book himself, which is kept as a treasure in the Wanshu Pavilion.
"The people under our jurisdiction were in similar situations and had similar problems, and most of them were newly relocated. Therefore, we only needed to ensure efficiency and stability, and there wouldn't be any major problems."
“So the requirements for officials who have an overall view are not high, and even for minor officials, there are not too many requirements.”
"However, as people become more prosperous, wealth becomes more concentrated, and conflicts accumulate over time, there are more and more people with personality problems and taking advantage of loopholes. The rigid pursuit of stability and efficiency is no longer appropriate."
"Let's take the example of the Ministry of Justice's judgments. In the past, if there were a thousand cases a year in a county, there were only dozens of categories. If they were directly judged according to the cases compiled by the lord's order, two or three minor officials could solve the problem. Moreover, among the hundred cases, only one or two were wrongly judged."
"But now, the number of cases in one county has increased several times, and the number of types is also the same. Most importantly, the new cases are more complicated."
"If we continue to follow the previous method and only pursue efficiency and stability, a dozen or so minor officials may be able to do it, but I am afraid that more than 10% of them will be wrongly accused or miscarried. This may even cause the proportion to increase because of a bad precedent."
"As time goes by, the work of the Ministry of Justice will become increasingly slack, eventually causing public resentment and becoming completely useless."
"So in this case, we must pay more attention to flexibility, but it is impossible to take into account all three of efficiency, stability and flexibility, so we must reduce one of the other two."
"It's very difficult to grasp and balance this scale, and the disadvantages of flexibility and imbalance are self-evident."
"If we sacrifice efficiency too much, we will need more officials, more than the Ministry of Finance can bear, and we will end up with redundant officials and a situation where the tail is too big to be cut off."
"Even so, as time goes by, people who want to sue may have to wait in line for a long time."
"If stability is sacrificed too much, the outcome will be similar to what the Ministry of Justice did before, becoming a mouthpiece for the aristocratic families and powerful people."
"The government makes a ruling according to the law, and the noble families can change the verdict of the case by simply finding a book to explain it. Moreover, the right to interpret these books is still in the hands of the noble families."
After saying this, a trace of weakness appeared on Zhang Zhao's face.
Although this is just one perspective on the problem, from this perspective, this is a dead end.
It is not only a dead end for the government, but also a dead end for the dynasty.
He learned so much from Tian Ze, and he had a more thorough understanding of many things. He even felt that he had vaguely touched a little bit of the essence of them.
Tian Ze naturally understood the hidden meaning of Zhang Zhao's words, but he actually couldn't think of a solution to this problem. Even if he could be an immortal emperor in this world, he could not ensure that he would always be right.
Moreover, this triangular balance board itself is not something he can easily operate, there are too many things involved. Every citizen and every official is not an NPC, and they all have their own thoughts and feelings.
The best he could do was to use absolute force to start all over again when one corner was completely out of balance or the whole world was in tatters. But this involved many difficult problems.
For example, the simplest question is, what should the people do? Should we continue to maintain the gap between the rich and the poor or return to an average state? It seems that neither is appropriate.
Not all rich people are unkind and uncaring, some become rich through hard work and wisdom. Not all poor people are powerless, some become poor because of laziness and idleness.
Every time he thought about this, Tian Ze got a huge headache and couldn't think of a solution no matter how hard he tried.
Finally he figured it out. Future generations will have their own blessings. Why think so much? Future generations can solve their own problems.
Just try your best to build a good foundation and cultivate your own immortality with peace of mind. I really want to create a dynasty that will last forever!
Even the legendary heaven may have many dirty things. The Jade Emperor has been replaced several times. Even if he builds an immortal dynasty, it will collapse sooner or later.
Just take care of the things at hand.
"It seems that we still have to rely on the Jixia Academy!"
(End of this chapter)
