《明史·列传·卷五十二》
如今布政、按察二司和府州县官，是洪武年间的两倍，政事越来越混乱，人民越来越不安宁，奸邪弊端丛生，狡诈虚伪滋长。甚至有的官员不能断案，有的小吏不熟悉公文，就容留书写的人，在官府蒙混，贿赂公开进行，案件拖延，都是官员冗杂小吏泛滥所造成的。
近日食地震，阴盛阳微，谪见天地。望陛下总揽乾纲，抑宦寺使不得预政，遏小人俾不得居位，则阴阳顺而天变弭矣。
Nowadays, the number of officials in the provincial administration, the provincial judiciary, and the prefectural and county governments is double that of the Hongwu period, and government affairs are becoming more and more chaotic, the people are becoming more and more restless, and奸邪弊端 (evil and corrupt practices) are growing, cunning and hypocrisy are growing. Even some officials are unable to resolve cases, and some minor officials are unfamiliar with official documents, so they allow scribes to linger in government offices and engage in corruption, and cases are delayed, all because of the excessive number of officials and minor officials.