The old officials, now standing in the new dynasty's court as former officials of the Great Gan, had long ago put personal fame and fortune aside.
Their willingness to stand here now was for the sake of the common people. Since Si Fengwu was willing to listen to them, they no longer held back.
With Si Fengwu's permission, Elder Wen immediately said, "Reporting to Your Highness, the principal officials of the new dynasty were all selected by you and Her Highness the Consort after careful consideration. Currently, the principal officials of the Six Ministries and even the local officials themselves have no major issues.
However, as their positions in the court become more stable, the side effects they bring have also emerged.
Especially those officials from humble backgrounds, their nepotism is even worse than that of officials from aristocratic families in the past.
The power and connections they possess are limited, and what they can achieve is somewhat restricted, but their influence in local areas is truly detrimental!"
Elder Wen sighed heavily, and Elder Chi nodded in agreement.
The Southern King and the Imperial Son-in-law Shao also looked speechless.
Lu Qingwan watched with curiosity, "I say, sirs, what exactly have these officials done that has so angered heaven and earth, that you are all so displeased?
Are the things they have done more egregious than those of Xie Wenzhong or the Duke of Pei in the past?"
Elder Wen and Elder Chi exchanged glances and sighed in unison.
The Southern King shook his head, with a hint of a wry smile, "Elders, please do not be troubled. Let me explain. I am rough and straightforward, and I am not afraid of being disgusted."
Elders Wen and Chi immediately looked relieved, which made Lu Qingwan even more curious.
Her eyes urged the Southern King, "Prime Minister Nan, stop playing coy. Tell us quickly, what is going on?"
The Southern King let out a long sigh, quite exasperated, "Her Highness the Consort may not know, but it is not that I am trying to be mysterious. This matter is indeed difficult to articulate.
Most of the officials you and His Highness selected come from humble backgrounds. They are talented and possess integrity, but they also have their extended families.
Before these individuals took office in the new dynasty, the highest official rank they held was below the third rank, and the lowest was a minor official of the eighth or ninth rank. They have ability, and having been in the officialdom, they have a certain vision.
But their relatives and clansmen do not!"
Prime Minister Nan shook his head repeatedly in exasperation. "Suddenly hearing that someone in the clan has become a high official, this one abuses their influence to oppress the local populace, that one uses the official's name to engage in forced buying and selling…
As soon as officials rise to power, before any achievements are made, they are already busy making fortunes for their relatives and friends…"
Elders Wen and Chi also shook their heads and sighed repeatedly.
Both of them came from families with centuries of lineage. To put it bluntly, no matter how absurd the situations they encountered, they were absurd with a certain level of sophistication.
The kind of down-to-earth and vulgar matters that Prime Minister Nan described were the firsts for these two elders, and their perspectives were truly refreshed.
Lu Qingwan did not find the matters described by Prime Minister Nan so difficult to understand.
"When His Highness and several lords were selecting and appointing officials back then, I was present.
If I recall correctly, among the principal officials of the Six Ministries and the provincial governors who held decision-making power, there should not have been any officials of excessively humble origins, right?"
Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu had indeed considered using the opportunity of the new dynasty's complete reconstruction of the officialdom to expel the aristocratic families from the court, making it a court truly belonging to the new dynasty, rather than a fertile ground for the aristocratic families to cultivate their wealth and glory.
However, given the circumstances, not only in Great Gan, but also in Xiliang, Beibei, and Yunqiang, most of those who possessed the ability to stand in the court or govern a region came from aristocratic families.
People like Han Guang, who came from a humble background and was fortunate enough to be taught by a renowned master, thus entering the officialdom, were extremely rare.
If she and Si Fengwu wanted to immediately cleanse the court, without a single person from an aristocratic family, then the court would likely be empty.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Si Fengwu and Elder Wen and the others directly excluded family background as a factor, and appointed positions based on ability, regardless of who they were.
As expected, officials from humble backgrounds, limited by objective conditions, were few in number who could surpass officials from aristocratic families in terms of ability and competence.
Thus, the official positions held by these disciples from humble backgrounds were not high, mostly below the fourth rank.
Therefore, when Prime Minister Nan mentioned that the families of those humble officials had caused such egregious harm, Lu Qingwan genuinely struggled to understand it for a moment.
Prime Minister Nan sighed, "Among the principal officials of the Six Ministries, aside from Han Guang, the Minister of Justice, and Han Guang, the Minister of Works, the rest are officials from aristocratic families.
Indeed, there are very few officials from humble backgrounds among the provincial governors, but Her Highness the Consort must know that in the eyes of ordinary people, even officials of the fourth or fifth rank who do not enter the imperial court are considered high officials!
These mid-to-low-ranking officials are precisely the ones who manage matters that directly concern the vital interests of the common people.
When their relatives engage in corruption and bribery, the knife is directly aimed at the local populace, which truly hurts!"
Lu Qingwan had initially thought Prime Minister Nan was broadly reporting the drawbacks of employing disciples from humble backgrounds to Si Fengwu. Upon hearing this, something in her mind began to solidify.
"Listening to Prime Minister Nan, it seems you are not referring to a general phenomenon, but rather to specific examples?"
Hearing Lu Qingwan's detailed inquiry, Prime Minister Nan breathed a sigh of relief.
He was not afraid of being bogged down by trivial matters, but he was afraid that Si Fengwu and Lu Qingwan would consider his report unimportant and dismiss it entirely.
Since Lu Qingwan cared about the specifics of the matter, Si Fengwu's involvement was assured.
Prime Minister Nan quickly elaborated, "Basically, every sector has similar situations to some extent, but the asset verification and division of industries are where the most serious problems have occurred.
Initially, it was just about confiscating the property of those convicted officials and then distributing it to the local populace according to the court's standards for them to operate and produce.
But the relatives of those officials, relying on the fact that the officials responsible for asset verification were their kin, wantonly confiscated the property of innocent local gentry and then claimed it as their own…"
With the establishment of the new dynasty, those who were implicated with the previous dynasty, or who had created obstacles during the establishment of the new dynasty, were either executed, imprisoned, or even exiled.
Most of these individuals possessed considerable wealth. After the court sent people to take over, the confiscable assets were confiscated. Things like land and shops, which were inconvenient to confiscate, were distributed to the populace within a certain region.
However, this was limited to the property of convicted officials.
From Prime Minister Nan's account, the relatives of those officials actually encroached upon the property of ordinary people as well.
Lu Qingwan's brows furrowed involuntarily, and Si Fengwu also spoke at the opportune moment, "The number of people involved in the dynastic change in the new capital is not high. Besides this, are there any other typical examples that can be presented?"
"Yes, there are so many!"
The Southern King directly presented the prepared memorial. "All of these are here. I had Tang Xiao and Wen Rusong work together to investigate them. Please take a look."