The fourteenth year of Yanhuang.
Censor-in-Chief Gu Chi took two years of annual leave in one go.
Shen Tang said, "Wait, how dare you?"
Gu Chi counted on his fingers. "My liege once said, 'Work six days, rest one.'"
It didn't mean working six days and resting one. It meant that after six years in office, officials could take a year of paid leave. In the first few years after the New Era began, there had been a constant shortage of personnel and a heavy workload, so their annual leave had accumulated unused. Now that he could finally catch his breath, Gu Chi had decided to take two years off at once and enjoy himself.
"...'Work six days, rest one' didn't mean you could take two years off in a row!"
Alongside the regular rotation of local officials and the exchange of capital and local posts, [Work Six Days Rest One] was another way to replenish the system. By offering annual leave as a benefit, it temporarily removed long-serving officials from the political arena. During their leave, their positions were held for them, and their deputies temporarily took over their work.
Clever people knew what that meant.
If the deputy did an excellent job while they were away, or a newcomer emerged in the meantime, then by the time they returned from leave, others might already have taken a slice of their power. The competition between them would only grow fiercer.
Even if the officials weren't happy about it, they had no choice but to agree.
The higher-ups had their policies, and the people below had their countermeasures.
Fortunately, [Work Six Days Rest One] was flexible enough to let them split up their leave. Otherwise, if a large number of officials took their annual leave at the same time, how