"First, the local officials."
"Let us begin with the standards for promotion, transfer, and dismissal."
"These are what I consider the merit assessment standards, and these are the standards for discretionary promotion..."
Zhong Hui had someone spread the thick documents before Xun Yi. Zhong Hui and Xun Yi did not get along particularly well.
The two had often disparaged each other in the past. Zhong Hui thought Xun Yi was all show and no substance, while Xun Yi thought Zhong Hui could do nothing but talk big.
Yet now, through a combination of many factors, these two were actually about to join forces to undertake something important.
Xun Yi found this deeply irritating, but he could not let a personal feud ruin important affairs. He could only bottle up his anger and listen to Zhong Hui's ideas.
Zhong Hui truly never sat idle for a moment. In an extremely short time, he had produced a detailed set of rules governing the promotion, appointment, and dismissal of officials. These measures drew extensively on the experience of both Han dynasties, with the addition of some bizarre flights of fancy unique to the Wei-Jin era.
With these rules, there would henceforth be something to follow when promoting, appointing, and dismissing local officials.
Such matters would no longer be entirely controlled by county magistrates, governors, and the like. If these men wanted to promote their own trusted followers, they would have to submit a memorial to the imperial court, providing reasons and records of merit. Only after verification by the Ministry of Personnel could they proceed.
This would undoubtedly increase the Ministry of Personnel's burden, but it could solve many problems.
The "two-lord system," which had existed since the Former Han, would suffer a tremendous blow. Although Cao Pi had implemented the Zhongzheng system,