As soon as he entered the signing room and saw the pile of documents, Yang Ling heaved a sigh of relief. Although he still had a headache, he was not as anxious as before. According to the usual practice of his reincarnation, he always died mysteriously. The longest time he died was less than two months. Now, he had been in this world for a month.
The only difference from the past was that this was the poorest life he had been reincarnated in. When he woke up, the first girl he saw was crying her heart out. Therefore, he came to the past as a modern person. In his limited life, he only wanted to leave some pitiful money for Young-niang to settle down. He had no ambition, nor did he dream of winning the favor of many beauties. He could not afford to live a mere two months.
Now, there was an additional forty taels of silver in his house. It was considered a great fortune for the farmers in this area. If he left this money for Young-niang, he would have nothing to worry about if he died one day. Therefore, when he saw the thick stack of documents, he did not feel as pressured.
He was not in a hurry, so his mind was much clearer when dealing with matters. After drinking two cups of tea, he had gone through six or seven documents. He filtered out the ones that required Lord Min's personal attention and put them aside. When he picked up another one, he realized it was a yellowed post. It didn't look like it had been written recently. Could it be that someone had made a mistake and submitted the previous one?
Yang Ling picked up the post curiously and saw that there were scribbles on it. Obviously, it was not written without hesitation. However, the regular script was beautiful. He liked to write calligraphy, but he could not write such beautiful regular script. He could not help but exclaim in admiration.
He opened the post and read it carefully. On it was written, "Today's most serious and urgent political malpractice is due to the lack of discipline, the incompetence of the ministers, the excessive rewards, the inconvenience of the laborers, the endless offerings, and the inability to return from exile. This is the reason for the changes in the world. Today, there are more than ten supervisors and six or seven generations of supervisors. Some are distributed in the counties and enjoy the tributes of the king. Some are in charge of the borders and have the power of a general. Some are in charge of money and take advantage of the law. Some are in charge of money and grain and take advantage of the law. Some are in charge of the tributes and goods. Those who kill will be found guilty and those who commit crimes will escape punishment. "
Yang Ling was surprised. The content of the post was basically discussing national policy. Why would such a post appear in the official documents of a county magistrate? Yang Ling was engrossed in reading it. Someone laughed and said, "Scholar Yang, are you still dealing with the official documents?"
Yang Ling looked up and saw an old man in his fifties. From his official robe, of a minor official of the eighth rank, he could not be called an official yet. He was the county magistrate Huang Qiyin who had been in the county for many years.
Yang Ling quickly stood up and cupped his hands in greeting. "So it is Magistrate Huang. This student has been impolite."
Huang Qiyin waved his hand and sat down on a nearby chair. He smiled and picked up the stack of posts on the table. Glancing at them, he laughed and said, "Li Zisheng, Deng Changen? Oh, these are all important officials of the court during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. It seems that they were drafted by some official. Where did Young Master Yang get them? "
He did not wait for Yang Ling to answer. He pointed at the table and quickly skimmed through the contents. He looked up and asked, "Scholar Yang, what do you think of the content?"
Yang Ling first saw a draft of a memorial from the reign of Emperor Xianzong, which was nearly twenty years ago. Then he saw Magistrate Huang, who never showed his face, suddenly appear. He could already guess the reason. He saw Magistrate Huang's deep eyes staring at him. His gaze seemed to be inquiring, but also a little eager, like a child hoping to be praised by his teacher.
Yang Ling had been in the insurance business for six or seven years and had seen all kinds of people. He was also the best at reading other people's minds. When he saw the meaning in Magistrate Huang's eyes, he could not help but think of a bold idea. "First, it was a memorial from twenty years ago. Then Magistrate Huang, who has not shown his face for many years, said that it was a draft of some official. Looking at the content of the post, it seems that the one who was demoted was an important official of the court at that time. Could it be … he was the one who wrote this? And because of this, he was punished by the court and demoted again and again until he was reduced to a lowly official in this Nan Ming Inn?"
Thinking of this, Yang Ling tried to figure out Magistrate Huang's purpose for coming. He pretended to say, "This junior is ashamed. I do not know the details of these important officials during the reign of Emperor Xianzong, so I really cannot comment."
Huang Qiyin shook his head and said, "Alas … it's all in the past. I have nothing to do today, so I just want to chat with you here. It comes out of your mouth and into my ears, so it can't be considered a discussion. You just need to comment on the content of this post."
Yang Ling's mind spun quickly, and he secretly speculated, "If my guess is correct, this displeased old sir must have been offended by the Son of Heaven because of this invitation, and was demoted again and again. Could it be that he came to test me on these things today to see if I am worthy of his help? Well, I reckon that I don't have many good days left to live, so there's no harm in talking about it boldly. If I want his help, I naturally have to flatter him. But if I don't have my own unique views, I will inevitably be looked down upon by him. "
While calculating in his heart, he carefully looked at the content of the memorial. Yang Ling said, "If that's the case, then I will speak boldly. If what I say is wrong, please do not laugh at me, Magistrate Huang."
Huang Qiyin put on a fake smile and said, "No harm, no harm. You and I can be considered colleagues, so please speak freely without any scruples."
Yang Ling nodded and said, "The opening of this article says that at the time, the imperial court was overstaffed and overstaffed. It asks the imperial court to streamline the personnel of various departments. What it says can be considered pertinent, and the suggestion provided can be considered a wise move, but …"
When Huang Qiyin first heard the eight words of 'overstaffed and overstaffed', his eyes couldn't help but light up. He clapped his hands and applauded, "Wonderful, brilliant! Young Master Yang is truly amazing to be able to explain everything with just these eight words. But what? "
Yang Ling was stunned for a moment before he suddenly realized, "Yes, this term doesn't exist in this dynasty. No wonder he found it so novel. But there's no need to be so excited that his face turns red, right? Is it because he found a soulmate? "Yang Ling laughed inwardly and continued," It's just that this Sir is too scholarly. "
A trace of displeasure flitted across Huang Qiyin's face. Unconvinced, he asked, "Why do you say so?"
Seeing his expression, Yang Ling felt even more confident, so he first flattered him and then suppressed him, saying, "This Sir is upright and resolute, disregarding personal gains and losses. He is anxious to bring order out of chaos and restore order to the imperial court. It can be seen between the lines. But although he is hot-blooded, his way of thinking is a bit too simple."
He thought about how the more simplified the government was in the future, the more abuses there would be. He slowly thought about it and said, "In this student's opinion, although the officials of various departments are becoming more and more overstaffed, this Sir hopes that with a single order from the Emperor, he will be able to clean up the system and streamline the government. That is unrealistic.
Sir, think about it. Since the Emperor has issued an edict, someone has to carry it out, right? The entire country will respond as one and all the foreign envoys will be recalled. The imperial court will lose its eyes and ears. Without any buffer time, the government officials will immediately be greatly streamlined. Many things will inevitably come to a halt. "
He pointed at the documents in front of him with a bitter smile and said, "For example, a student. I am suddenly put in charge of money and grain, taxes, criminal proceedings, and so many other things. I will be swamped. Not to mention the fact that it will take a long time to familiarize myself with the process, without the guidance of an experienced senior, I will have to take many detours. At the very least, I will be bound here and unable to move. In that case, I will have to hand over the specific matters to others to handle. How can you guarantee that these people will be loyal to their duties?"
Huang Qiyin's expression became extremely ugly, but he silently took out his tobacco pipe from his sleeve and shakily filled it with shredded tobacco. He appeared to be somewhat agitated.
Yang Ling continued, "These are not considered difficult. It is like the birth of a baby. After the mother has experienced great pain, the clouds will disperse and the moon will become clear. The difficult part is … how many officials are there in the country? These officials are intertwined with each other, and it is unknown how many relationships they have. Together, they support the operation of this huge country. If many branches are cut off at once, how many people will there be a backlash?
Although this power cannot be seen or touched, it must be extremely frightening. What they want to violate is the interests of the officials in the country. Even those officials who are in important positions and will not be removed will inevitably think that if they have more official positions, they will have more choices. If they have fewer official positions, it will not be easy for them to handle matters. Their path as an official will have fewer feasible paths. Moreover, how can they be willing to abandon their intertwined relationships?
This proposal is simply making the entire country's officials an enemy. If there are fewer official positions, how can the scholars stand out? If the scholars are also offended, what about the landlords and powerful gentry behind them who are close to them? It will inevitably incur fierce opposition and even shake the foundation of the country. Even if the Emperor accepts this proposal, he will change his mind because of the numerous difficulties and the tens of thousands of officials who will submit petitions to oppose it. Although this idea is for the country and the people, it cannot be carried out according to the law. If it is carried out too hastily, it will harm the country and the people. "
Huang Qiyin was in the middle of the situation. How could he understand the problem that Yang Ling had so easily read from the newspaper and magazine that summed up the administrative experience of many generations and combined it with the advanced systems of China and foreign countries to simplify the organization?
Thinking back to when he was young and full of vigor, he saw that the bureaucracy was corrupt and the organization was huge and bloated. Using his hot blood, he proposed a proposal to the Emperor. Sure enough, the Emperor accepted it. Not long after, he dismissed a large number of officials, demoted the State Preceptor, reduced the number of officials by more than five hundred, and wanted the whole country to implement it.
But in less than half a month, he was banished from the capital. The demoted Li Zisheng, Deng Changen and the others were restored to their positions. He was pushed aside everywhere and was demoted again and again. In five years, he was demoted from a dignified Imperial Censor to a small county magistrate.
The new Emperor ascended the throne and Li Zisheng and the others were condemned. He thought that he could see the light of day again. Unexpectedly, many officials who were attacked by Li Zisheng and Deng Changen were restored to their positions. Only he seemed to have been forgotten. He sent people to write several letters to his old colleagues but there was no reply. So this was the crux of the problem.
He was proud to serve the country and the people, but ended up like this. He hated the world and was depressed all his life. He did not expect that a young man who was not even 20 years old to see through his secret. It turned out that he had offended all the officials.
Once he figured out the key points, even though it was a cold day, County Magistrate Huang was still sweating profusely. He smiled sadly and said, "Are we just going to sit back and watch and let this situation continue? In the end, we will be like the maggots of the country and the fat of the people."
Yang Ling sighed and said, "It is not impossible to change, but … it is indeed not a day's work. Not only must the government be unified, but it must also be coherent. It cannot be abolished because of one person. The specific implementation can be done from top to bottom, starting from the point to the whole area. We will start from the capital and only remove some unimportant departments and officials. It is better to be small than big, and the action should be slow than hasty.
In this way, it will take thirty to fifty years to see steady results. At that time, we will have to confirm the appointment of the officials according to the law. Then we will not be afraid of repetition. Although it will take a long time, it is the only feasible way. However, it will take thirty to fifty years to achieve the foundation of the country. Although it is not the work of one person, it will benefit the people of the country. "
Yang Ling brought out his frog theory again and said, "Have you heard of a fable? Pour water into a pot and put a frog in it. Then, light a fire under the pot to boil the water. The water will slowly heat up. Because the speed is slow, the frog will not be aware of it and will not be in a hurry to resist and jump out of the pot. When it leisurely and unbearably hot water, it will be too late to jump out of the pot. At that time, it will be too late to struggle out.
I do not know whether the frog will jump out of the water because the water is hot. But I feel that it is very appropriate to describe the people of the country. The implementation of the country's policies will affect the whole situation. Therefore, changes that are too drastic should be done carefully and slowly. When the results gradually show, even if the opponents find out, it will be the trend of the times and they will not be able to resist. "
County Magistrate Huang was stunned for a long time. He laughed in a hoarse voice and stood up, bowed deeply and said, "Listening to your words is better than reading for ten years. I have learned a lot." After saying that, he turned around and walked out with difficulty with his body bent as if he had suddenly aged twenty years.
Yang Ling hurriedly stood up and rushed two steps forward to block his way. He bowed deeply and said, "Elder Huang, I am only an armchair strategist and only talk big. I am not involved in the situation, that is why I said such words. If I am really involved, I will be in the dark. You see, I can't even deal with the paperwork of this county. How can I talk about learning from you? Speaking of which, I should sincerely ask Elder Huang to teach me."
At this time, he called him Elder Huang and not by his official title. He really considered himself as a student. County Magistrate Huang's expression was uncertain. He looked at him for a long time. Yang Ling bowed respectfully and cupped his fists. He did not stand up. What a joke! After talking for so long, he just wanted a person who understood him to give him some advice. How could he let him go like this?
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