Chapter 193: Capital Evaluation + External Evaluation = Comprehensive Evaluation

July 25th, Imperial court assembly,

Zhu Yunwen looked at the officials and solemnly addressed them, “The Wo River, Sui River, and Ying River are flooding, causing numerous people to lose their homes. Do you have any plans to stabilize the situation?”

The officials remained silent.

Zhuo Jing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped forward, holding a tablet, and loudly said, “Your Majesty, the most urgent relief material is grain. Although the counties around Fengyang have some reserves, they are limited and may not be sufficient for the next two or three months. I suggest transferring grain from the granaries in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the north, supplying Fengyang and other areas affected by the disaster.”

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly, “This is a good suggestion, but the transfer from Jiangsu and Zhejiang is too slow. Let’s first allocate ten thousand stones from the capital’s reserves and five thousand military grains. Send them to Dingyuan, Huaiyuan, Fengyang, Lingbi, Mengcheng, and Suzhou. Also, instruct local officials to open granaries and stabilize the supply.”

“As you command.”

Zhuo Jing stepped back.

Ru Chang, Minister of War, came forward and said, “Your Majesty, the disaster has affected various places, and the people are grieving. I propose an edict to mobilize local garrisons and nearby garrisons to participate in disaster relief. Take actions according to the report, without sticking strictly to territorial boundaries to avoid delays in disaster relief.”

Zhu Yunwen frowned.

This was indeed a problem. Each garrison had its own area and jurisdiction, and without a military order from the Ministry of War, they could not leave their designated regions.

This created a significant issue; for example, if Suzhou and Xuzhou were not far apart and Suzhou suffered from flooding, even if Suzhou’s people were in dire straits and urgently needed help, the soldiers in Xuzhou Garrison could only stand idly by.

Without orders, they couldn’t leave their garrison areas.

This was both a military and a sensitive issue.

If today, Huaiyuan suffered a disaster, and the neighboring garrison with five or six thousand soldiers immediately rushed over to help, that would be commendable and worthy of encouragement.

But if tomorrow, the capital suffered a disaster, and garrisons from neighboring areas arrived with thousands of soldiers, if they were there for disaster relief, it would be understandable. However, if they were there for other purposes related to the change of imperial power…

This issue was a potential pitfall.

Zhu Yunwen frowned and looked at Xu Huizhu, saying, “Duke of Wei, what do you think?”

Xu Huizhu stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, as far as I know, Fengyang has already sent additional manpower and has not requested assistance from the court. If there are requests from various places, we can dispatch capable generals under the guise of leading troops from the capital. They can coordinate the local garrisons, and this way, our actions will be more justified.”

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly, “So be it. Appoint Tie Xuan of Jinan Garrison as the General of Stabilizing the Kingdom, in charge of coordinating soldiers from Shandong, Henan, Fengyang Garrison, and other places. If there are disasters in various areas, they should rush to aid, and no delays should be allowed. As for Jinan Garrison, Geng Bingwen will take command.”

“As you command.”

Duke Xu Huizhu and Ru Chang stepped aside.

“Is there any other memorial?”

Zhu Yunwen asked.

Right Censor Lian Zining saw that no one else had anything to report, so he stood up and loudly declared, “I have a memorial.”

Zhu Yunwen looked at Lian Zining. Although he was also the head of the Censorate, he was different from Jing Qing.

Jing Qing was upright but somewhat stubborn, and sometimes even considered obstinate.

Zhu Yunwen had wanted to send Jing Qing home several times, but he couldn’t find any problems with him. It wasn’t easy to directly dismiss him. Moreover, having an old-fashioned person nagging sometimes wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, so he endured it.

Compared to Jing Qing, Lian Zining’s thinking was obviously more flexible. He wouldn’t stick to old ways and was willing to criticize himself, correct his mistakes, and adapt.

Zhu Yunwen looked at Lian Zining and said, “Speak.”

Lian Zining solemnly spoke out, “Your Majesty, I believe the court should promptly initiate an examination to assess the capabilities of the officials, determining who stays and who goes…”

Speaking directly to the issues at hand, hitting the nail on the head.

Zhu Yunwen glanced at Xie Jin, curious if he was the one who leaked information and prompted Lian Zining to speak. Xie Jin understood Zhu Yunwen’s intention and slightly shook his head.

So, it wasn’t arranged by Xie Jin?

It seemed that Lian Zining’s awareness was quite high.

During the great debate at the Imperial Academy, Zhu Yunwen had already been contemplating the matter of “examining officials.” Originally, he planned to arrange it after the imperial examination. However, before he could propose the examination of officials, heavy rains along the Yellow River and Huai River caused the Wo River to burst its banks, flooding Huaiyuan…

As a result, the plan to examine officials kept getting delayed.

The magistrate of Huaiyuan was beaten to death by the people, and none of the officials spoke up for him.

Zhu Yunwen’s assessment of the incident was succinct, using the eight words of Tang Taizong: “Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.”

Lian Zining believed that after the severe scrutiny in the early years of the Hongwu era, the fear in the middle period, and the unease in the later period, officials of the court had completely relaxed in early Jianwen era.

The consequence of this relaxation was retaliatory greed.

The so-called “drunken with power and wealth, rampant corruption, not limited to one county” echoed Lian Zining’s resolute voice in the court.

Zhu Yunwen nodded frequently. After Lian Zining finished speaking, he said sternly, “Commence the examination of civil officials, aiming for universal happiness and harmony among the people. Establish a four-member examination team with Grand Secretariat’s Xie Jin, Hanlin Academy’s Yao Guangxiao, Minister of Personnel Qi Tai, and Censorate’s Lian Zining as the leaders. They will oversee the examination of officials inside and outside the capital, not succumbing to personal relationships, and rectify the world!”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the civil officials turned somewhat unpleasant.

The examination, also known as performance evaluation, merit assessment, appraisal, or review, has a long history dating back to ancient China.

In the pre-Qin era, the examination system began to take shape.

The “Book of Shang: Canon of Emperor Shun” records: “For three years, assessments were conducted, and three evaluations were made to dismiss the obscure and promote the clear.”

During this period, the assessment system was not yet perfect, but its method of “three-year assessments” was later adopted by future generations.

There were two main types of assessment during the Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn Periods:

The first, feudal lords would come to the capital for an audience, which essentially means that feudal lords would travel from their own territories to the capital to report on their governance.

The second, the emperor’s inspection tours, eliminated the need for feudal lords to travel extensively. The emperor would leave the capital once every five years, riding in a carriage, engaging in hunting and leisure activities. During these tours, he would visit the territories of various feudal lords, observe the state of land cultivation, assess the adherence to filial piety and respect for the elderly, and then decide whether the feudal lord should continue in his position or be dismissed.

During the Warring States period, reformers like Shang Yang, Li Si, Wu Qi, and others implemented reforms to distinguish military achievements and better govern the country. This led to the gradual establishment of civil and military systems.

During this era, the well-known ‘Shang Ji System’ (Upward Evaluation) emerged.

The Upward Evaluation included aspects such as household registration and finance, prison management and punishment for theft, genealogical records of the imperial family, border garrison conditions, geographical administration, and the encouragement of agricultural and sericulture activities.

In the Qin Dynasty, the assessment of civil officials continued to rely on the Upward Evaluation system.

During the Han Dynasty, in addition to adopting the Upward Evaluation system they introduced the “Ci Cha” (刺察) system, where regional inspectors were appointed to conduct inspections in various localities.

Tang Dynasty examinations became more sophisticated, with the establishment of examiners for officials in the capital and external examiners for regional officials. There were annual small exams and a larger exam every three years. During this time, the criteria for evaluations included the “Four Excellences”: renowned virtue, fair judgment, diligent and unwavering work, and clarity and precision.

In the Yuan Dynasty, despite having an assessment system and the appointment of officials for external inspection, the emphasis on military over civil matters persisted.

Civil servant assessment?

What’s that thing? Not many people understand, and not many bother to investigate.

When Zhu Yuanzhang summarized the reasons for the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, he believed that the lack of assessment and the rampant corruption of officials were major factors.

To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, Zhu Yuanzhang established a civil servant assessment system in the first year of the Ming Dynasty. In the second year, he required local civil servants to undergo assessment at the Ministry of Personnel after three years in office.

Afterward, Zhu Yuanzhang continued to refine the assessment system.

The content of the civil servant assessment by Zhu Yuanzhang included only two aspects: fulfilling duties and being evaluated.

The assessment process had three stages: the initial assessment at three years, a second assessment at six years, and a comprehensive assessment at nine years.

If you’ve been a county magistrate for three years, you can go to the capital for assessment. You’ll be received by officials from the Ministry of Personnel or the Censorate.

If you’ve been diligent, shown care for the people, and performed well, your evaluation will be “competent.”

Congratulations, sir magistrate, or rather, sir prefect or sir secretary, you are due for promotion.

If you spend your days sitting in the office, standing guard only when someone comes to file a lawsuit, and sleeping when no one seeks your attention despite having the capability but being lazy, your evaluation will be “average.”

Still, congratulations, sir magistrate. You’ll receive a one-way ticket back to your previous post, where you can be a county magistrate for another three years.

If you exploit the common people, engage in corruption, and receive bribes, your evaluation will be “incompetent.” Then you’re finished; apart from demotion, you might also get a three-year stay in the southern prison.

Evaluation includes both the Capital Evaluation and External Evaluation.

Capital Evaluation, as the name suggests, is an assessment specifically for civil officials in the capital. According to imperial regulations, it occurs every six years. There is a distinction based on rank, with officials of the fourth rank and above being personally inspected by the emperor. The method of assessment, well, it’s a bit peculiar:

Listen to you brag.

Yes, that’s how it goes.

You have to write a report first, then recite it to the emperor, explaining your age, place of origin, your past positions, any awards you’ve received, what certificates you hold, and whether you understand foreign languages…

In short, the more impressive you are, the more embellished your report should be.

Why were high-ranking officials safe during ancient capital evaluations?

The reason is quite simple: you write your own report, boasting about your achievements. If you can’t please the emperor with such self-praise, then what’s the point of being in the imperial court?

For officials of the fifth rank and below, capital evaluations were less secure.

If you can’t boast about yourself, and the report isn’t written by you but rather jointly assessed by the Ministry of Personnel, the Censorate, and those in charge of the imperial seal in the court, then if you happen to offend officials from the Ministry of Personnel during capital inspections, or if you’ve insulted colleagues from the Censorate, you’re in for trouble during the inspections.

They can openly and formally report personal grievances, and you won’t have any means of defense.

Therefore, whether it’s the Ministry of Personnel or the Censorate, the months leading up to the capital inspections are the most peaceful for sleeping because usually, there won’t be anyone coming after you.

After the capital evaluations, the pent-up criticisms start pouring in again after a few months, with memorial after memorial of accusations…

In the end, capital evaluations were just to deal with officials in the capital. Local officials still required external evaluations.

External evaluations were further divided into two types: court audience evaluation and touring evaluation.

There’s no need to say much about court audience evaluations; it involves reporting when entering the capital.

Touring evaluations involve the Emperor appointing officials to inspect various regions, such as provincial governors, provincial patrol, and the thirteen censors. This is referred to as “acting on behalf of the Emperor to tour and inspect, conducting examinations and accusations against officials at various levels.”

Zhu Yunwen believed that the assessment system established by Zhu Yuanzhang was overly simplistic, and, coupled with his dislike for self-promotion, he decided to make adjustments to both capital and external inspections, unifying them into an overall examination system known as ‘Comprehensive Evaluation’.

In the Comprehensive Evaluation system for officials in the capital, emphasis was placed on evaluating their abilities and character, introducing a multi-level inspection process.

For example, if you were the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, during the Comprehensive Evaluation you would not only need to write a self-statement but also have superiors like the Minister of Revenue, peers like the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and subordinates like the Assistant of the Ministry of Revenue draft anonymous statements.

The comprehensive assessment, based on all these statements, would determine whether the official should stay or be dismissed.

‘Comprehensive Evaluation’ for local officials, still with ‘Shang Ji^[1]Upward Evaluation’ as main, other than superiors, peers, and subordinates’ anonymous statements, Zhu Yunwen added ‘Public demeanor’, ‘Public opinion’, ‘Public sentiment’ to the report.

The court appoint censor or governor, to be responsible for the ‘Three Publics; reports.

As the officials in the capital were anxiously preparing for the Comprehensive evaluations, the gates of the county office in Dingyuan City, which had been closed for two days, slowly opened. Yu Xin walked out with brisk steps, gazing at the remaining sunlight, and calmly remarked, “The day is turning dark.”