When selecting and promoting qualified personnel, it is necessary to hold a comprehensive viewpoint and not to make partial generalizations, so as to eliminate the occurrence of things that cause harm to the country due to improper employment of personnel, and specifically, at least in terms of probability, it is necessary to reduce official corruption.
In fact, it is particularly difficult to achieve the latter point, which is due to the lack of social supervision and political opacity under the feudal autocratic system, but the criterion of measuring people with talent and virtue, that is, appointing people with both moral integrity and ability, is a consensus of different eras, and Kangxi Xuanye also demanded this.
When the new emperor takes office as a new official, there will inevitably be some changes in personnel. In the early years of his pro-government period, Kangxi Xuanye repeatedly discussed the principles of employment with the ministers who served as lecturers on the feast day.
One day in August of the eleventh year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Kangxi asked Xiong Zhilu, a lecturer who was a university scholar, for his opinion. Xiong Zhilu believes that when examining talents, it is necessary to use the character and behavior of this person, and as for people's talents, each has its own strengths, and there is no fixed and unified standard.
When the emperor employs people, on the basis of the correct conduct of people, he must use talents to suitable posts according to their strengths. I am born to be useful, and the sages do not abandon people, and this truth is very clear. Kangxi agreed with him.
Later, Kangxi asked Xiong Zhilu about whether there was a rule for people and no way to cure them. Xiong Zhilu said that since ancient times, the laws of any era have more or less shortcomings, and the most important thing is in the employment of people: "To obtain their own people, change their hearts, and be able to govern themselves; if they do not have others, although they are indifferent to the palace ceremonies, it is difficult to be perfect." The emperor only pays attention to the use of people, and the talents are obtained, then the political affairs are reasonable, and the way is not appropriate. ”
Xiong Zhilu further explained that neither a person's ability nor his ability can be judged from his appearance, and he must make a comprehensive judgment from many aspects such as his actual ability and morality.
The young Kangxi Xuanye also talked about his own criteria for measuring talent: to see people, we must first look at whether his mental skills are correct, and only then look at whether his talents are high or not. If the mind is not right, what is the use of learning to be high? Although it is not easy to know and employ people, "the way to cure is all about this, that is, the desire is not exhausted, and it is impossible to get it."
These theoretical discussions fully show that Kangxi not only held the viewpoint of employing both moral integrity and ability, but also practiced it and did not dare to take it lightly.
Xiong Zhilu was very happy to see that Kangxi was in agreement with his own point of view and grasped the key to the way of employing people, saying: People's talents are big and small, and their learning is shallow and deep, "The imperial court is difficult to be eclectic because of talent." The supreme determination to make a rule, the foundation of man, the sages and the emperors, must be the first to be strictly discerned. The Holy Prophet and this, sincerely know the essence of man. ”
Since then, throughout his life, the Kangxi Emperor has been very cautious in appointing and promoting officials, and resolutely implemented the selection criteria based on morality and both ability and political integrity.
It is precisely because of this that he can unremittingly punish corruption, clear up, and straighten out the officials. In this regard, it is different from the Yongzheng Dynasty's emphasis on talent and light morality, and the idea of binding by the law, which is a later story.
In June of the 26th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Kangxi selected three well-known old ministers, tang bin, Lian Hata, and Geng Jie, to be the teachers of the crown prince, and asked them to set strict requirements and teach the crown prince to know the book and pay tribute.
Once, when Kangxi went to the crown prince to look at him, Tang Bin said a word of praise to him in public: The emperor "Yu taught Yuanliang, which is nothing in ancient times, that is, Yao Shun is unattainable."
This remark was immediately severely criticized by Kangxi: "The Great Fan Committee is honest with Gui, and all these words are slanderous and slanderous, and now it is not the world of Yao Shun, nor is it the king of Yao Shun, Er Zhiyun is far more than Yao Shun, and the center of its results is true. The words and deeds of the great mortals are one and the same, and if they do not match inside and outside, they are non-human. ”
Kangxi this is almost cursing, although Tang Bin's words are inappropriate for a while, it is not necessarily insincere, but Kangxi is angry about it, which can be seen that he is insincere. The hatred and hatred of the slanderous courtiers.
On another occasion, Kangxi received a newly appointed official, and in his lecture to the officials, he emphatically pointed out: When the state selects talents and entrusts them with heavy responsibilities, people with excellent talents can certainly afford it, but those who act impartially and are sincere and kind are also of great benefit to the administration of the government.
It has been twenty years since I listened to the government, and when I saw those who sometimes arrogantly and arbitrarily acted arbitrarily, I thought with my heart that it was very dangerous for the state to use such people. He believes that in selecting and appointing officials, it is necessary to regard people with both talents and moral integrity as the best, and if only talent and bad moral character are not good, it will not be beneficial to the governance of the country in the end.
The general Who guarded Hangzhou, Hu Tu, was very well-known and was recuperating at home from a serious illness, and the university scholars often mentioned this person in the DPRK. Kangxi once felt a lot of emotions because of this, saying: The state arranged officials according to the requirements of different posts, originally so that the people could live a prosperous and stable life, and if a place could be governed by officials with good talent and moral integrity, the people here would have enough food and clothing and a stable life.
Although officials at all levels are honest and honest, they are only afraid of the law of the land. There are very few people who are really honest from the roots like Inspector Yu Jackie Chan.
You can observe his (referring to Hutu) as a person, loyal and upright by nature, and has not made friends, but is bent on diligent government and love for the people, if there are similar good officials, no matter how big or small, you can let Jiuqing Bao lift up and play a good story.
Kangxi believed that officials of all sizes should not be afraid of the law to make a superficial incorruptibility, but should strictly demand themselves from the inner cultivation and have a loyal and upright nature, so that the country will have a bright future.
In the era of feudal autocracy, it was not necessarily an ideal of Kangxi to be able to do this, but he hoped to establish a contingent of officials who were diligent in government and loved the people, to guard against corrupt officials, and to standardize the methods of strict employment standards.
This has played a positive role in social stability, economic development and people's living and working in peace and contentment.
Kangxi was able to have a unique vision at a critical moment, breaking through the rules and surpassing his talents, so that the development of the situation changed from unfavorable to favorable.
Before Shi Lang was appointed admiral of The Water Division of Fujian, Kangxi had put him to the test.
This was because Shi Lang had been a member of the Zheng clique after all, and it was the imperial court that let him lead a large army to invade Taiwan alone, and whether he would defect and defect to the enemy once he lost was a concern of the imperial court. At the same time, Shi Lang's eldest son and nephew were still serving on the enemy side, and some people in the DPRK believed that "it cannot be sent, and if you go, you will rebel."
Later, when he learned that his son and nephew had been killed by Zheng Jing, Kangxi completely dispelled his suspicions about Shi Lang, and firmly believed that without Shi Lang, "Taiwan could not be determined", and resolutely reappointed Shi Lang as the admiral of Fujian Water Division in July 2020, and let him lead the army alone and handle all affairs with full authority.
Kangxi's cautious attitude toward the selection and appointment of officials was nothing more than to make the Qing Dynasty less chaotic, so it was necessary to conduct a qualification examination of the appointment and dismissal of officials.
Of course, this will be of great benefit to the reorganization of the ranks of officials in the imperial court, coordination and unified management, and strengthening the centralization of power. For example, among the high-ranking officials of the imperial court, he required that all kinds of officials must be born in the right way to serve, and those who were guaranteed by officials at all levels or who bought the qualifications by spending money and donations could not be filled.
Because of this, in the selection of the chief examiner of the Shuntianxiang examination, the cabinet proposed to let Gao Shiqi be appointed, but Kangxi rejected this decision. The reason is very simple, although Gao Shiqi is a generation of talents, he is not from a jinshi, and it is of course inappropriate for a person who is not a jinshi to serve as the chief examiner of the township examination.
But then again, the knowledge of talent does not depend on how they are born, so can an official who has entered the military be suitable for this position? However, if someone from a jinshi origin can be qualified for this position, then it is natural to choose a person who is both from a section and a competent person to hold this position. It can be seen from this that Kangxi was diligent enough in employing people.
On November 6, 2002, the ministers of the Imperial Gate Hearing Council were inclined to make up for the vacancy of the deputy capital Yushi, but Kangxi believed that Gong Jiayu was from a different origin and that it was enough to have his current position.
These two examples were a means adopted by Kangxi in improving the system of appointment and dismissal of officials, and in fact played a positive role in the regulation of the administration of officials.
In the examination of the qualifications of ordinary officials, Kangxi also advocated that officials must be born innocent. He believed that the eight banner households below, the Han family slaves and the long followers, could not enter the shi casually.
Of course, this view now seems to have class limitations, but due to the influence of the environment, some domestic slaves, long-term ears and children, may form some irreconvertible vices, which is not conducive to the imperial court to carry out regular rule, from this point of view, Kangxi's demand is also justified.
However, his words still have room for maneuver, saying that these people "must not abuse their status", in other words, as long as they have both talents and morals, they still use them correctly, and the key is to prevent an "indiscriminate" word.
Xiao Bian believes that it is not difficult to find from some facts that Kangxi holds a comprehensive view of understanding and employing people, and the center of which is to strengthen the centralized system and reduce the occurrence of maladministration. In the selection of new officials, the Qing Dynasty originally had a "pushing" system, that is, the imperial court selected from among the lower-level officials according to actual needs, and after being selected, it was necessary to go through the recommendation of the Nine Secretaries' Conference before it was possible to be appointed.
The advantage of hui push is that it can brainstorm and can introduce excellent talents for the use of the imperial court. However, the premise of this system is based on openness and fairness, in order to ensure the introduction of qualified talents that meet actual needs, if the recommenders are suspicious and take advantage of this opportunity to form a party for personal gain, the results are often the opposite.
Kangxi commented on this system: "After pushing that the stakes are very high, or whether they are cited or not, if what they have seen is agreed by all the people, and no one argues, how can there be no disadvantage of the party's unity?" ”
So he stipulated in ten years, Shang Shu. Zuo Du Yushi, Shilang, Vice Capital Yushi, Tongzheng Envoy, Dali Temple Secretary, etc., all vacancies are no longer elected by the hui, but by the promotion and transfer of each official to the list, by his own decision, in the determination of the advice of the university scholars and bachelors.
The reference content includes: who is at the top of the ranking, who are the next few people, how the performance of the main and deputy posts is, whether this person is thick and steady, and so on.
For this reason, Kangxi and his ministers often met when they were listening to the government at the Imperial Gate, especially for cabinet ministers, such as Xiong Zhilu and Li Guangdi, who not only understood their talents and morals, but were even very familiar with their personalities, and sometimes evaluated them consciously or unconsciously in front of other ministers, with the aim of producing a guiding role and achieving the purpose of employing people.