svetikya Chapter 357 Rectification of Dali Temple
Chapter 357 Rectification of Dali Temple
Shun'an 24th year
After the New Year, Wen Zongji started working, and Rui Ge'er officially began his early education.
Ling'er was used to being with her brother every day, and she felt uneasy when he didn't appear for a long time. She kept asking for her brother: "Brother~ Brother~"
Pei Rujing explained to her, "Brother is studying. He will come to find Lingjie after he finishes his studies."
Lingjie didn't understand what studying meant, and pouted, "I want~ brother~"
To distract her, Pei Rujing took her out of the mansion to play.
Lingjie loves excitement, and once she sees the excitement outside, she forgets about her brother.
On the other side, Dali Temple
Wen Zongji's three fires are about to burn.
On the first day of the new year, Wen Zongji convened a meeting of officials at the middle and higher levels.
Inside the main hall, Wen Zongji sat in the main seat, glanced at everyone, and said, "Gentlemen, you should all be aware of the Emperor's and the Crown Prince's dissatisfaction with the Dali Temple."
The group exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
"I have been in office for two months and have gotten to know you all quite well. In my opinion, you are all quite capable and have all been promoted to this position based on your merits. So why do you keep making mistakes when you are on duty?"
"Of the wrongful convictions uncovered in the past decade, only 50% were discovered during the review process by the Court of Judicial Review. Do you think this statistic is accurate?"
The three judicial departments each perform their respective duties: the Ministry of Justice presides over the trial, the Court of Judicial Review reviews the cases, and the Censorate supervises the proceedings.
A few years ago, due to the Jiangnan case, the Censorate entered a period of rectification, which lasted for several years before it was completed. Now, the atmosphere is obviously different from that of previous years.
Now that the Crown Prince has dismissed the former Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and sent Wen Zongji to the Court of Judicial Review, it is clear that he also intends to reorganize the Court of Judicial Review.
Having learned from the experience of the Censorate, the officials of the Court of Judicial Review could understand the Crown Prince's thoughts.
So they've been waiting for Wen Zongji to make his three moves, and it's only today that they've finally started, which is already too late.
The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was the first to step forward and said, "Your Honor, we have indeed failed in our duties. Please give us your instructions, and we will certainly obey and never disappoint the Emperor and the Crown Prince again."
The others also pledged their loyalty: "We will obey your orders, sir."
Wen Zongji smiled and said, "As the saying goes, when superiors and subordinates are of one mind, their strength can break metal. I don't believe that we, superiors and subordinates, can't do a good job if we are of one mind."
"In order to reduce the error rate when reviewing cases, I hereby decide that from now on, the review of each ordinary case must be handled by three people: one official and two clerks, while the review of major cases must be handled by five people: two officials and three clerks."
"If a minor official discovers an error but the official fails to notice it, it will be recorded. If this happens more than three times, the official will fail the performance evaluation for that year."
"If a minor official can discover three mistakes, he can participate in the assessment. If he passes the assessment, he can be promoted to an official."
Wen Zongji originally intended to reward officials with silver, but fearing that the minor officials might be bribed by higher-ups for personal gain, he changed it to performance-based rewards.
No minor official doesn't want to be an official; it's something that can't be bought with money.
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed slightly: "Sir, a lowly clerk has been promoted to an official? This is against etiquette."
Throughout history, there has always been an insurmountable gap between officials and lower-ranking officials. It's not that there have never been examples of low-ranking officials being promoted to higher ranks, but rather that they are extremely rare.
Wen Zongji's implementation of this kind of assessment at the Dali Temple was a departure from convention.
Wen Zongji said helplessly, "Gentlemen, I have no choice. The Emperor and the Crown Prince are watching. If the Court of Judicial Review doesn't change, I'll be in a bad mood, and do you think you'll be in a good mood too?"
Everyone was speechless.
The current poor performance of the Dali Temple is not entirely the responsibility of the previous Dali Temple Minister, but the Crown Prince's punishment of the previous Dali Temple Minister alone already shows leniency. If they still do not change, then they are being disrespectful.
Looking at their expressions, Wen Zongji reassured them, "To put it bluntly, this is just to motivate junior officials. Moreover, if they want to get a spot in the assessment, they need to find three errors when reviewing cases, and these errors must have been discovered by officials who did not notice them."
"Our Court of Judicial Review is full of talented people. Do you all really think that the abilities of our officials are inferior to those of minor clerks?"
The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review hurriedly replied, "Of course not. The abilities of officials are naturally far superior to those of ordinary clerks."
Wen Zongji laughed and said, "Therefore, as long as you all do your jobs conscientiously, this so-called assessment is just a formality."
After speaking, Wen Zongji paused, his tone turning serious: "But if a minor official really gets the assessment spot, I will have to reassess the abilities of officials. If they are not even as good as a minor official, are they still suitable to stay in the Dali Temple?"
Wen Zongji raised an eyebrow slightly: "I don't want any useless subordinates!"
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
This usually mild-mannered superior finally revealed his true colors.
Wen Zongji's last words were very strong, yet no one dared to refute them.
After all, Wen Zongji had already given them a chance, and if they couldn't seize it in the end, it was only their own incompetence that led them to blame others.
……
The news quickly spread throughout the Dali Temple. The joys and sorrows of the people were not the same. When the officials heard the news, they frowned, worried about their future, and their gazes toward the clerks became complicated.
The minor officials, now with the hope of being promoted to higher positions, couldn't hide their joy.
Their gazes toward officials were no longer filled with awe, but with fervor, as these officials could all be stepping stones for their own promotion.
As for whether it will offend these superiors?
As long as I can become an official, I don't care if I offend someone.
The status of officials and clerks is worlds apart. A clerk dreams of crossing that chasm. Now that the opportunity is in front of him, how can he not seize it?
As a result, the relaxed atmosphere at Dali Temple vanished without a trace.
Especially after the group list was released, a fiery atmosphere filled the entire Dali Temple government office.
They didn't expect Wen Zongji to give them the group assignments directly without asking anyone's opinion at all.
It is evident that in the two months before the Lunar New Year, Wen Zongji not only reviewed the case files, but also learned about the officials of the Court of Judicial Review; otherwise, he would not have directly provided the group list.
At the same time, everyone realized that Wen Zongji was serious, and they could not go against his will, so they could only follow his rules.
Slack off?
Don't even think about it!
In contrast to the tense atmosphere at the Dali Temple, Wen Zongji was quite relaxed. The arrangements had already been made, and he was just waiting to see the results.
After finishing his shift, he returned to the county magistrate's residence.
Wen Zongji immediately inquired about Rui Ge'er's studies.
"How was your first class?"
Rui Ge'er said, "Sir, you are very knowledgeable and also very interesting."
Upon hearing this, Wen Zongji didn't ask any further questions: "Then I'll study hard with you, sir."
Rui nodded.
Wen Zongji patted his little head, put a piece of meat on his plate, and said, "The key to studying is perseverance, and having a healthy body is even more important. Starting tomorrow, get up early every day and practice health-preserving boxing with me."
Rui-ge was stunned: "Huh?"
"That's the decision."
Wen Zongji did not give Rui Ge'er a chance to refuse.
Rui Ge'er finally realized that many things had drifted away from him since he started school.