My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 415 The Legend of the Ministry of Personnel, Part Four

After the fat pigeon flew back, Su Ze took out the latest bred rice again, which finally appeased the pigeon that had been away on business trips twice.

Su Ze opened the mailbox and read Li Chengliang's reply.

After reading Li Chengliang's letter, Su Ze sighed with admiration, "Yang Sizhong, the Minister of Personnel, truly knows how to recognize and utilize talent!"
Duan Hui was clearly a talent for frontier development, and his work in Liaodong was indeed quite successful.

Ethnic assimilation is a delicate and technical task.

After Duan Hui arrived in Liaodong, his approach to settling the Jurchens was gradual.

His first action was to promote the Han Chinese clothing and etiquette system.

Duan Hui's first order upon arriving in Liaoyang was that Jurchens with Jurchen hair and beards, and those dressed in Jurchen clothing, were not allowed to enter the city.

To enter the city, one had to change into the clothing and attire of the Han people.

However, Duan Hui did not impose any mandatory "shaving order"; whether or not to adopt Han Chinese customs was the "freedom" of the Jurchens.

But this was supposed to be "freedom," and Duan Hui also put pressure on the Jurchens who were unwilling to be Sinicized.

Jurchen people dressed in Jurchen clothing were not allowed to enter the city. If anyone traded with a Jurchen tribe that had not been assimilated into Han culture, the Liaoyang Military Commissioner's Office would punish them.

While this may not necessarily prevent merchants from trading with Jurchen tribes, the strict enforcement of the law has made merchants hesitant.

Unless it's something you absolutely have to buy, it's better to just buy from a Jurchen tribe that has been Sinicized. After all, many Jurchen tribes are now Sinicized, so why bother trading with those barbarians deep in the mountains?
Upon seeing this, Su Ze was already about to applaud.

The key is to use both kindness and severity. A brutal, one-size-fits-all approach will only provoke the Jurchens' resistance and foster a sense of national identity through that resistance.

However, unlike Li Chengliang, who only employed people without winning the hearts of the Jurchens, the result was that while he was in power, he could control his arrogant and fierce generals, but when he was gone, these Jurchens began to have their own ambitions.

On the one hand, they isolated those Jurchen tribes that stubbornly refused to be Sinicized, and on the other hand, they economically brought in those Jurchen tribes that actively adopted Sinicization. Then, they used Sinicization as a benchmark to determine the treatment of each Jurchen tribe.

Those who actively localize their work and achieve a high level of localization will enjoy more benefits.

In fact, this approach was also commonly used in later generations, which is to use various policies to create a system that extends from citizens to non-citizens.

For a non-citizen to become a naturalized citizen, they must climb the ranks within the system step by step. In the process, they will come to accept the culture and order of this country from the bottom of their hearts.

As for those who are unwilling to climb the ranks within the system, the only option is to eliminate them by force.

Duan Hui is a real talent!
Su Ze looked at his memorial, but was somewhat troubled.

After deciding to use the timber issue to guide the imperial court to expand into Liaodong, Su Ze came up with a new plan.

Memorial Requesting the Expansion of Liaodong

The memorial was quite simple, requesting the court to increase resources for the expansion of Liaodong.

Su Ze also informed Gao Gong about this matter, and Gao Gong agreed to his memorial in principle.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty opposed expansion mainly due to cost considerations. Maintaining stability on the frontier already required a large amount of silver, let alone expansion.

However, Su Ze has now changed his mind, realizing that expansion can also be profitable.

The horse market in Jiubian brought a large amount of wealth to the Ming Dynasty and solved the problem of insufficient manpower in the north. These were all tangible benefits.

Developing the forest resources of Northeast China to provide timber for the shipbuilding industry of the Ming Dynasty was also a practical need.

The development of farming and breeding techniques has made it possible to cultivate the land here, and has also greatly reduced the cost of development.

If the benefits of expansion are equal to the costs, then who wouldn't want to expand their territory?

Civil officials are not inherently conservative; early Confucianism emphasized the possibility of becoming a high-ranking official or a military leader.

There is no economic opposition, and the wave of ideological opposition has also diminished considerably.

The New Gentleman's Gazette adopted the slogan "Restore the former territories of the Han and Tang dynasties." While the upper-class officials of the Ming court held reservations about this slogan, it had a considerable impact on lower-ranking officials and ordinary people.

This also allowed The New Gentleman to rise from last place among the four major newspapers to become the third largest newspaper in terms of circulation, surpassing The Commercial Daily.

Of course, there are now five major newspapers.

Since the current emperor ascended the throne, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty has indeed been rising steadily. Its foreign conquests have not only been victorious, but have also brought tangible benefits.

But the real headache is finding talent.

If we want to expand into Liaodong, we will definitely need talented people, especially civil and military officials.

Liaodong was a harsh and cold place, and ordinary officials were unwilling to go there.

Actually, Su Ze preferred the combination of Li Chengliang and Duan Hui.

However, there is a problem: neither of them has the official rank or seniority required.

Although Li Chengliang had military achievements, he was only the general of Liaoyang. There were many generals like him in the Ming Dynasty, but Liaoyang was located in a frontier region, which is why he was remembered by the court.

If it were a general in an inland region, let alone the Minister of War, even someone like Shen Shixing, the Military Selection Officer of the Ministry of War, would be nothing more than a nobody.

Duan Hui goes without saying. He was a fifth-rank official in the military affairs department, which was not considered a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty, at least not one that the big shots had any regard for.

If you don't leave an impression on your superiors, they will doubt your abilities and question your qualifications for key positions.

This is very fatal.

Some positions have no room for error.

For example, if an official in charge of developing Liaodong did this well, it would be a great achievement; if he did it poorly, it could cause unrest on the frontier.

Even after he repeatedly recommended it to Gao Gong, Gao Gong remained hesitant.

Even Gao Gong found it difficult to persuade them, let alone the other cabinet ministers.

Su Ze sighed. The Ming Dynasty was growing bigger and bigger, but it was becoming increasingly short of talent.

Talent is not just about ability; a person who can be entrusted with many responsibilities also needs experience and prestige.

There are no shortcuts to cultivating talent, especially since I've traveled back to the Longqing era, a time when the Ming Dynasty was at its peak in terms of talent.

Forget it, let the system figure it out.

Su Ze inserted the "Memorial Requesting the Expansion of Liaodong" into the system.

——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial requesting the expansion of Liaodong was sent to the cabinet.

Although the cabinet fully supported your memorial, they could not reach a consensus on how to establish this Liaodong Expansion Agency and who should be in charge of it.

Left with no other option, the cabinet had to submit your memorial to the emperor.

Even the Longqing Emperor was unable to decide on a suitable candidate, and in the end, he could only accept your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 580.]

[To approve your memorial, you need to pay 80 prestige points. Do you wish to pay?]

As expected, neither the emperor nor the cabinet could decide on a candidate, and without a system, the memorial failed.

But Su Ze didn't expect that it would only take 80 points of prestige to complete.
That's far too little!

Su Ze didn't know how the system had used it, but since it only used 80 prestige points, he decisively chose to deduct them. [Prestige points deducted, 500 prestige points remaining. Please complete the memorial as soon as possible and wait for it to take effect.]

Looking at the system, Su Ze realized he needed to accumulate some prestige points.

With half of the fifth year of the Longqing reign over, it was unknown how much longer the Longqing Emperor would live. Once the emperor passed away, it would inevitably cause a violent upheaval in the court.

What will happen to the system then?
Should we directly modify the emperor's will?
Or should we try to influence the political situation through other means?

In any case, as long as you have enough prestige points, you can not only get through the crisis, but also gain good political capital in the new dynasty.

Besides cutting back on spending, Su Ze also planned to do some things that would boost his prestige.

After thinking for a moment, Su Ze began to prepare to draft the next memorial.
-
August 10th.

Since the Tongzhengsi (Office of Transmission) reformed the postal stations, news traveled between Liaodong and the capital extremely quickly.

Especially after the opening of the clipper ship route, news from Liaoyang could be transmitted to the capital within three days.

Su Ze submitted a memorial to the court requesting the expansion of Liaodong, but the court could not find a suitable candidate.

Officials in the capital were all wondering if Su Ershu, who never refused anything, was going to break his invincible record for this reason.
This is just too bizarre.

But upon closer examination, this is indeed the case in Liaodong.

Which capable and prestigious minister would want to go to Liaodong?
The emperor and the Grand Secretaries were not at ease with those who lacked ability and prestige.

Ministry of official affairs.

Minister of Personnel Yang Sizhong arrived at his official residence.

After briefly reviewing the official documents, Yang Sizhong began his inspection tour of the department.

Unlike his predecessor, Yang Sizhong disliked having subordinates swarming around him; he preferred to stroll around alone.

Yang Sizhong wouldn't patrol the department at fixed times; he would wander around whenever he felt like it.

This serves two purposes: to observe the work status of subordinates and to allow him to relax and reflect.

Compared to the former Office of Transmission, the Ministry of Personnel was a much larger government office.

Yang Sizhong's habit of inspecting departments gradually became known to the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, and now the officials of the Ministry of Personnel dare not talk about this Minister of Personnel behind his back.

After all, there were rumors in the capital that this Minister of Personnel was petty.

Although most officials in the Ministry of Personnel still did not believe it, Yang Sizhong was an outstanding leader who was kind to his subordinates and could also listen to their opinions. How could he be petty?
However, rumors are always something that should be believed, not dismissed; in any case, this matter became a taboo subject for the Ministry of Personnel.

As a mature bureaucratic system, the Ming Dynasty had been operating for two hundred years.

Within such a system, these shrewd civil servants have thoroughly mastered the art of how to please their superiors.

A more astute group is also researching how to exploit the weaknesses of their superiors.

Tang Jinxing was such a smarter person.

As a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) who came from the Liaodong military garrison, he was highly regarded throughout Liaodong.

Tang Jinxing's fellow townsmen from Liaodong took good care of his family there, and people from his hometown would come to visit during festivals.

Among them, General Li Chengliang of Liaoyang was the most considerate to Tang Jinxing. The last time Tang Jinxing was ill, Li Chengliang specially sent someone to deliver ginseng from Liaoyang.

This kind of "investment" using hometown ties as a link is very common. Not only do military generals in border towns do it, but also vassal kings and even some shrewd eunuchs in charge of guarding the town do it.

After all, everyone knows that having connections in the central government makes it easier to become an official.

Tang Jinxing is now the head of the Selection Department, a very important position. Just like his name suggests, he is very cautious in his words and deeds.

But today he changed his usual style and sat in the office chatting with several clerks.

"Does everyone still remember Chief Inspector Duan?"

Everyone nodded.

Duan Hui had been in the Ministry of Personnel for a long time, and most of the senior officials there knew him.

Tang Jinxing said:
"Didn't Chief Duan go to Liaodong? My fellow Liaodong native, General Li from Liaoyang, is on official business with him. A few days ago, he sent me a private message saying that he often complains in Liaodong, saying that our Minister is unfair to him by transferring him to such a harsh and cold place as Liaodong, and he often clamors to resign."

The old officials in the room immediately shut their mouths in nervousness. Since it concerned the Minister of Personnel, they dared not say anything more.

Tang Jinxing quickly said:
"I never expected that Chief Duan would be such a person! Everyone knows that our Minister Yang is good at recognizing and appointing people, and sending him to Liaodong as the Military Commissioner is not considered a demotion. Now, our Great Ming Dynasty values ​​practical experience in serving the people, and this is because Minister Yang has cultivated him!"

The veteran officials present echoed their sentiments, but they were in a state of great inner turmoil.

For these seasoned officials, besides their daily work, their most important social currency is "topics for conversation."

They were the most well-informed group in the Ministry of Personnel. A clerk who had something to talk about was the most prominent person in the Ministry of Personnel during this period.

However, the "talking points" about Minister Yang are dangerous.

But the more "dangerous" something is, the more attractive it becomes.

They wanted to hear the story, but they were also afraid of being implicated.

After Tang Jinxing finished speaking, he also mentioned some of Duan Hui's complaints in Li Chengliang's letter.

Some of the veteran officials present had worked with Duan Hui before and knew his speaking style, so they quickly determined that these words were indeed spoken by Duan Hui.

Having finished "spreading the news," Tang Jinxing decisively stopped the dangerous topic and continued:

"What happened today is not something I made up!"

The veteran officials all nodded in agreement.

Tang Jinxing was satisfied and let everyone leave.

After the old officials left, Tang Jinxing sighed.

He risked his life to help Li Chengliang complete this favor, hoping only that Minister Yang wouldn't discover he was the one who spread the rumors.
-
The following day, while the imperial court was still delaying in deciding on the personnel to develop Liaodong.

Yang Sizhong, the Minister of Personnel, has taken action.

Yang Sizhong first proposed that, following the old system of the Han and Tang dynasties, the Andong Protectorate be established in Liaodong.

The Protectorate was a third-rank institution, meaning that the Grand Protector of the Protectorate was a third-rank official.

However, according to Yang Sizhong's idea, the Protectorate General was in charge of both civil and military affairs, so it was just a nominal position. In other words, no one was actually appointed to the post. It was held remotely by important officials of the court or princes and nobles, and it was just an honorary position of the court.

Next, a Deputy Protector-General will be appointed, a third-rank military officer responsible for the military affairs of the Andong Protectorate.

A new Protectorate General was appointed, a third-rank civil official, to be responsible for the administration of the Andong Protectorate.

In this way, the Andong Protectorate was divided into civil and military positions, which was also a lesson learned from the Tang Dynasty's military governors, giving the protectorate a division of power.

Yang Sizhong recommended Duan Hui, the military commissioner of Liaoyang, to serve as the military commander of the Protectorate General, and Li Chengliang, the general of Liaoyang, to serve as the deputy protector general of the Protectorate General.

Furthermore, Yang Sizhong requested that the capital of the Andong Protectorate be located in the ancient city of Fuyu.

This place was once Huanglongfu, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, and Su Ze knew its future name—Changchun.

(End of this chapter)