Because quite a few military commanders and meritorious nobles had colluded with gentry and local officials to seize military farmland, following the vine to find the melon, they first traced the matter to the localities, then from the localities back to the capital.
Yu Qian submitted a memorial directly before the throne, launching a major purge of official administration ahead of schedule.
Winter had arrived, precisely when every region needed to prepare winter stores and winter disaster relief. The Imperial Guards, the Censorate, and the Supreme Court were worked half to death—confiscations in the provinces, confiscations in the capital—and the corrupt silver seized flowed into the treasury without end.
Once official administration had been cleansed, whether out of fear or lofty aspirations, at any rate, officials demanding bribes greatly decreased.
At the same time, the Emperor ordered that the Treasure Notes in officials' salaries be eliminated, with all pay settled in silver or copper coins. Meanwhile, he raised this year's charcoal allowance for officials.
In truth, it was a disguised increase in officials' compensation.
The Imperial Preceptor had said that if one wanted the horse to work, one had to feed it well.
Ming Dynasty officials, especially those at the lowest levels, had rather meager salaries, which did not benefit administrative efficiency.
Sure enough, higher compensation coupled with reforms to official administration quickly improved the efficiency of officials' work.
It was only a limited improvement.
Having finally completed his inspection of South of the Yangtze and returned to the capital, Xue Shao seized the opportunity to submit a memorial proposing the addition of an evaluation system.
Officials would be assessed regularly each year. Those who failed to meet the standard three times in succession would be dismissed; once meant a warning, twice meant demotion.
As soon as this method emerged,