Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 133: Changes in the Civil Service, Lu Wang's Appointment [Request for Revision]

Under the notice board (actually a wall) of Jiangning County Government Office.

A clerk was ordered to read and explain the contents of the proclamation to the people.

After he finished reading and explaining a few sentences, a brave man asked, "Is the county government recruiting unemployed laborers?"

In the early Ming Dynasty, in order to streamline the staff of government offices, local prefectures and counties only had three shifts of yamen runners and a small number of servants responsible for miscellaneous tasks such as cooking and cleaning. There was no rule for recruiting unpaid servants.

However, as counties in the capital, Jiangning and Shangyuan had complicated affairs, and relying on only three shifts of yamen runners was simply not enough, so they began to "recruit" unemployed people as helpers a few years ago.

The third shift of yamen runners were regular servants needed by local yamen all year round. Not only did they receive monthly wages and food allowances (financial subsidies), but they were also included in the yamen's personnel establishment.

White labor is different. There is no salary or wages, and no official position.

In addition, the laws were strict at that time, and the capital was under the emperor's feet, so no yamen runners dared to take advantage of the opportunity to make money, so white labor at this time was a pure form of labor.

Since it was forced labor, the unpaid labor at the Jiangning and Shangyuan County offices was certainly forced. Once the work was done, they were sent home, and at most, they were given a few meals during their time at work, which might not even be enough to fill them up.

Recruitment means getting people to apply on their own initiative.

But in this situation, who would volunteer to apply?

So when the man asked, he deliberately emphasized the word "recruit" to express his confusion.

The clerk said, "They are not recruiting white servants, but patrol constables, similar to the fast hands and constables in the three shifts of yamen runners."

The man was surprised and asked, "The kind with food and wages?"

"Yes."

"Then can we apply?"

The clerk was a little annoyed by the question, but this was a task assigned by the patrol chief of the police station, so he had to do it.

He patiently explained, "This time, we're recruiting patrol officers from the Six Gates, not the county government. Therefore, we're not looking for ordinary people. We're mainly looking for talented individuals—at the very least, they need to have good skills."

The man asked, "What kind of government office are these six gates? How much do the patrolmen there get paid? If it's high, I'll apply. I'm not bragging, but I'm born with supernatural strength. Five or six ordinary people can't do anything to me!"

The clerk saw that the man was tall and strong, and considering that the Jiangning County Government had been asked to send at least 100 people, he said, "The Six Gates are directly under the Ministry of Police, so the wages and food allowances are naturally quite high... Oh, you've misled me."

"These patrol officers are said to be similar to constables, but they are actually quite different. They are no longer regular soldiers, but rather clerks on the government payroll—that is, officials on the payroll of the imperial court, similar to the clerks in the county government offices."

"Since you're a regular official, you get a salary. I don't know the exact amount, but it's definitely higher than the wages of the constables in the past."

"You may not know that the work of a constable is both dangerous and tiring. In the past, their wages and food were the highest among the three shifts of yamen runners, almost twice as much as the police squad."

"Double?" The man no longer hesitated and shouted, "We want to apply!"

Seeing that all his words were in vain, the clerk smiled and pointed to the east, saying, "Go over there to apply, someone will sign you up."

"But I have to tell you in advance that when you sign up you have to demonstrate your abilities, that is, your skills."

"Even if you register at the county government office, you will still have to pass several assessments and pass the examinations before you can become a formal Six Gates patrol officer."

The man grinned and said, "It must be a good job to be so selective."

After saying that, the man went to the other side of the yamen to register - there was a police inspector in charge who was in charge of the interviews.

Next, other onlookers asked some simple questions, and the clerk answered them one by one.

Then a passing scholar who had listened for a long time said, "I just heard you say that nowadays, not only have constables changed their names to patrol officers, but they are also administrative officials. So, is it possible for them to take the imperial examinations?"

Constables and other yamen runners were also called clerks (different from the regular clerks). They were considered to have a lowly job in ancient times because they served as the black gloves of the government and did things that offended the people on behalf of the government, such as collecting taxes and conscripting laborers.

The result was that not only did the common people hate the clerks, but the regular officials also looked down on them.

Therefore, there was a rule in the Song Dynasty that clerks could not take part in the imperial examinations.

When Zhu Yuanzhang opened the imperial examination for the first time in the third year of Hongwu, he explicitly stated that "the minds of clerks are corrupt and they are not allowed to take the exam."

As for the rule that three generations of clerks were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, it was a rule that only came into effect in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and became an explicit regulation in the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, the scholar just now only asked the patrolman whether he could take part in the imperial examination.

The clerk smiled and said, "Clerks can take the imperial examinations. Since the patrol officers are regular officials, they can naturally take the imperial examinations."

The scholar frowned when he heard this, snorted, "How insulting!", then threw up his sleeves and walked away.

However, after he left, several onlookers heard that the patrol officers were going to take the imperial examination and were quite interested. After asking a few questions, they also ran to the east to sign up...

Outside the Forbidden City, south of the Five Military Commanderies.

A large vacant courtyard was cleared out at some point, and a sign with the words "Six Doors" was hung on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

The afternoon of the tenth day.

After Zhu Tan finished some of the homework left by several teachers in the main hall, he changed into his dragon robe and winged hat and came to this courtyard with his guards.

Zhu Tan was a smart boy. He showed his badge outside the gate but refused to let the soldiers guarding the gate go in to report.

In this way, he went straight into the front yard and saw a tall and burly general training twenty or thirty soldiers who looked very elite.

Noticing Zhu Tan's appearance, the general immediately stepped forward and saluted, "Commander of the Six Gates, Gu Cheng, greets His Royal Highness Prince Lu!"

"Commander Gu, thank you for your courtesy."

Zhu Tan returned the greeting, and the information about this person he got from his elder brother Zhu Biao emerged in his mind, and his eyes couldn't help but light up.

Gu Cheng was from Yangzhou. Although his grandfather was a boatman, his father had already made a fortune and was no ordinary citizen.

Therefore, Gu Cheng was not only tall and strong, with extraordinary physical strength, but also literate, knowledgeable about righteousness, and good at both water and horse fighting. He often traveled between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and made friends with many people from the underworld.

When Zhu Yuanzhang crossed the Yangtze River, he came to join him and was chosen as Zhu Yuanzhang's personal soldier because of his extraordinary bravery.

After that, he fought in many battles in the south and the north, and made many military achievements for the Ming Dynasty.

Last year, Gu Cheng followed Fu Youde to conquer Yunnan and served as the vanguard. He first captured Puding in one battle and then led his troops to stay behind.

During this period, tens of thousands of Guizhou barbarians attacked Puding City. Gu Cheng went out of the city to fight and killed nearly a hundred people by himself, scaring off the barbarian army.

Gu Cheng was actually seriously injured in this battle. In order to prevent the barbarians from attacking again, he deliberately let a prisoner go and stated that he would attack the barbarian city that night.

At night, Gu Cheng ordered his personal soldiers to beat drums and fire cannons outside the barbarian city to make a loud noise, which frightened the barbarian leader so much that he abandoned the city and fled.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, Gu Cheng returned to Beijing to recuperate. Zhu Yuanzhang, in recognition of his meritorious service, bestowed upon him an early reward: a bullfighting uniform (with an ox-head and dragon body), a golden belt, and the title of hereditary commander. Although fifty-two years old, Gu Cheng possessed both courage and foresight. Zhu Yuanzhang, mindful that his injuries would require several years of recuperation and that even if he recovered, he would no longer be a brave warrior on the battlefield, sent him to temporarily assume the post of commander of the Six Gates.

In the past, Zhu Tan would never have had any contact with this kind of general, but now he has become his superior, and the young man was so happy.

"I heard Commander Gu killed nearly a hundred barbarian soldiers in a battle in Guizhou, sustained dozens of wounds, yet acted unharmed, making the soldiers think he was a god. How is your recovery going? Is it safe to come here and recover?"

Gu Cheng didn't expect that Zhu Tan knew how to care for his subordinates at such a young age, and secretly sighed that he was worthy of being Zhu Yuanzhang's descendant.

He said respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. It was only a minor injury, not a serious bone or muscle injury, and it's almost healed now."

Zhu Tan nodded, "That's good."

After saying that, he walked inside.

There is another important official in these six gates, and that is the civil servant appointed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Under the guidance of Gu Cheng, Zhu Tan came to the central courtyard and met a thin but energetic middle-aged man in a side room. He was the third in command of the Six Gates, Chen Jing, who served as the Chief Supervisor of the Six Gates while holding the position of Deputy Director of the Ministry of Police.

Chen Jing was born as a teacher, and later became a censor. Later, he was transferred to the Ministry of Justice. After the six ministries were transformed into nine ministries, he was promoted to the position of Minister of Police.

He is an upright person, capable in his work, and quick in solving cases.

After the greeting, Zhu Tan gestured for the two to sit down and talk.

"Although I have been ordered by my father to supervise the affairs of the Six Gates, I am still young and usually study in the palace. I am afraid that the affairs of the Six Gates will require the attention of Commander Gu and Deputy Minister Chen."

Gu Chengdao said: "Your Highness, rest assured. Since we have received the emperor's order, we will do our best to fulfill it."

Chen Jing followed up, "This is our responsibility, so we should do our best."

Zhu Tan nodded, and without further ado, he asked directly, "How is the preparation for the manpower needed by the yamen going?"

Chen Jing, who was in charge of logistics and personnel recruitment, said, "The local government offices in Zhili have only been open for two or three days, so they're still recruiting."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the prefectures and counties of Zhili will send at least 3,000 people at a time. Even if we do a better job of selecting, we can still get hundreds of people."

According to Zhu Yuanzhang's instructions, the Six Gates were initially established and were only responsible for cases within Zhili.

Although Zhili had fourteen prefectures and four counties and a vast administrative area, the Six Gates were only responsible for homicide cases that the lower-level government offices could not solve for the time being, as well as important and major cases.

In the initial stage, a few hundred people should be enough. If there is a shortage, it is not too late to recruit more later.

Zhu Tan nodded and asked, "Have you reminded the local government to look into recruiting some female patrol officers?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jing looked embarrassed, and Gu Cheng also looked strange.

Chen Jing said, "Since it was Your Majesty's order and Your Highness's instruction, I naturally mentioned it in the official document. But please forgive me for being frank, I'm afraid it would be difficult to recruit this female inspector, and it would easily attract criticism from both the court and the public."

Zhu Tan, after hearing this, mimicked Old Zhu's expression at certain moments and snorted, "Whether it's a good move or not is another matter. What's the point of criticism from the court and the public? Who dares to criticize what the emperor has decided?"

Chen Jing smiled bitterly.

Seeing this, Zhu Tan said, "Don't think I'm being reckless in hiring a female detective. Since the emperor has ordered it, there must be a reason..."

Immediately, he repeated the advantages of the female detective that Liu Kuan had mentioned on New Year's Eve.

Finally, he said, "Our Six Gates is a new government office. We should be flexible in employing people and doing things. This will set a new trend for our Ming Dynasty."

"When we recruit female patrol officers in the future, please do not underestimate them. You should carefully cultivate and train them so that they can play their due role."

Zhu Tan had been Liu Kuan's student for more than two months, and he would unconsciously use the new words he learned from Liu Kuan in his speech.

Fortunately, most of the new words are clear to me, and others rarely fail to understand them.

At this time, Gu Cheng and Chen Jing responded, "I will keep this in mind."

Chen Jing then said, "Recruiting personnel is easy enough. We still don't have a clear idea of ​​how to train them, what authority the Six Gates patrol officers should have when they go to the local police station to handle cases, and what branches and personnel should be set up within the yamen to assist them."

"After all, we have never been involved in investigating cases or arresting people before, so I'm afraid it will take some time to figure it out."

Zhu Tan smiled and said, "It's not difficult. We can ask Teacher Liu later."

Teacher Liu?

Gu Cheng and Chen Jing were both stunned after hearing this.

Then it suddenly dawned on him - the one with the surname Liu and was called teacher by the King of Lu must be the Prince Consort Liu or Deputy Minister Liu who taught in the main hall.

The two originally thought that these six gates were the yamen that Zhu Yuanzhang came up with on the spur of the moment, but only then did they realize that it might have been influenced by Liu Kuan.

Zhu Tan realized that he had made a mistake and immediately changed the subject, saying, "If there is nothing else, please ask Deputy Chen to take me to each courtyard to have a look."

"Yes."

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On January 13, Liu Kuan taught the second class of the 15th year of Hongwu in the main hall.

He uses his mobile phone to keep track of time and grasps it accurately, only attending classes for an hour and never staying late.

After class, he was about to leave but was stopped by the burly and strong Zhu Ying.

Liu Kuan suddenly became nervous and thought to himself: I heard that the King of Jin has a cruel personality. Could he be dissatisfied with something and want to do something to me, his teacher?
Zhu Ying, however, showed a respectful and kind expression, and said with a bow, "Teacher, I have a question for you."

It turns out to be a question.

Liu Kuanxi breathed a sigh of relief and pointed to the pavilion next to the main hall. "Let's talk in the pavilion."

"Teacher, I also have a question."

A young boy's voice was heard, and Liu Kuan noticed that Zhu Tan was standing behind him, but his body was completely blocked by Zhu Ying.

This made Liu Kuan more relaxed, and he said with a smile, "Then let's go together."

Arriving at the pavilion, Zhu Yingxian said, "Teacher, you should know that the emperor has entrusted us with the task of training military and police dogs."

"But a few days ago, although we had people search for many hunting dogs, we still have no idea how to train military dogs and police dogs."

"Please teach us, teacher!"

　First update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)