Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 481 The Six Parts of the Hollow

A few people were stunned, and the atmosphere in the hall was slightly dignified.

Undoubtedly, several prime ministers did not want to be enemies of the imperial power, and also had a desire for power.

In fact, except for the first assistant, other cabinet members want the power of the first assistant to be cut, but except for the first assistant to take the initiative to give up power, don't think otherwise.

For example, Xu Jie, who served as the first assistant after Yan Song, took the initiative to ask the second assistant to sign it together in order to avoid the reputation of authoritarianism, which won a lot of praise.

And what about the emperor?The lazy government of Jiajing and Wanli, as long as the chief assistant is obedient, no matter how arbitrary the power is, it will not endanger the imperial power anyway.

Zhao Shu's expression was calm, as if he didn't care about the loss of power.

But who knows about the entanglement between gains and losses?From the moment the cabinet was born, it could not compete with the imperial power.

"In the cabinet, it is the first assistant, the second assistant, and the group assistant. Although there is no clear text, it is a convention."

After a long time, Zhu Yixi saw that the slight expressions of several people were obvious, and he smiled in his heart, and then he opened his mouth and said:

"It's not as good as this. As long as it involves the Ministry of Households and labor, the chief assistant will be the chief drafter, and the second assistant will be the countersignator. The second assistant will be the master of the Ministry of Rites, and the first assistant will be the countersigner."

"For the officials, the cabinet co-signs."

"Soldiers and punishments are jointly administered by the group, and the first and auxiliary offices are added."

To put it bluntly, it involves the right to speak about the six parts.

The right to speak of the first assistant lies in the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry, one of which is the big money-receiving households and the big money-spending households.

In the case of the second assistant, the right to speak lies in the Ministry of Rites, because it involves sacrifices and imperial examinations, and it can be regarded as noble. Although it cannot be compared with the first assistant, it is also slightly contended.

But in the same way, the first assistant and the second assistant both countersign the department in charge of the other party, which leads to at least two opinions on one matter, so that they will not monopolize power.

The rest of the group assistants will jointly act as the rest of the ministries, but the first assistant will also countersign to shape the power of the first assistant.

The Ministry of Officials involves personnel power, so all cabinet members have the right to speak.

In this way, the first assistant was reduced from being involved in everything to being in charge of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry, and his power was greatly reduced.

The power of secondary assistants has risen significantly, and the same is true for group assistants. They finally have a say, especially in terms of personnel rights, and have the same right to speak.

Zhao Shu and the others were stunned, and then thought deeply.

Although Zhang Shenyan lowered his head, the emperor still saw a slight smile on his brows and eyes; while the young Yan Chongxin couldn't restrain his joy, the corners of his mouth curled up.

The first assistant, Zhao Shu, smiled slightly, showing a sincere and sincere look: "Your Majesty, Shengming—"

"In this way, powers and responsibilities are clearly defined without evasion, and the cabinet is orderly without exclusive power. The world and the people are very lucky to have such a holy king in Ming Dynasty."

The eyes of Zhang Shenyan and Yan Chongxin showed disbelief, and they immediately bowed their hands and bowed down, also praising and agreeing.

After being flattered, Zhu Yixi felt much more at ease, and waved his hand and said, "Besides the cabinet, the six ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate also need to be rectified."

Now, Zhao Shu's calm face became a little restless. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is too radical, and the officials will not be able to adapt for a while..."

"The six parts involve the operation of the imperial court, Your Majesty, think twice!"

Zhang Shenyan and Yan Chongxin had no choice but to persuade them.

No wonder they are so nervous, since the system of three provinces and six departments has been in operation for more than 1000 years, it has already taken shape, everyone is familiar with it, and rash changes are prone to accidents.

And the six ministries are not equivalent to the cabinet. To use an image metaphor, the six ministries are regular employees of state-owned enterprises, while the cabinet is contract workers, so it doesn't matter if the cabinet is randomly manipulated by the emperor.

Because the cabinet is no longer in the order of the court, there is no real establishment.

"Don't worry, I have a plan in mind, you might as well listen to it."

The emperor had a well-thought-out plan, and he spoke out his plan in full.

It turned out that after gaining an in-depth understanding of the power of the cabinet, Zhu Yixi went to the Sixth Ministry to understand its power composition.

Who knows, he was taken aback.

Originally, he thought that the six ministries at this time were the same as the central ministries of the later generations, but who knows, they are quite different.

Because the six parts look huge, but they are hollow buildings.

In other words, there are fewer officials and more officials, and most of the officials are officials.

For example, the Ministry of Officials, which is the head of the six departments, the chief is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials (one is called Dazai, and the deputy is called the Minister of the Ministry).

There are four divisions under it: in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it is the Wenxuan Qingli Division, the Seal Inspection Division, the Jixun Division and the Examination Division.

The chief of the department is Lang Zhong, and the deputy chief is Yuanwai Lang. The subordinate officials are in charge, order history, book order history, etc.

For example, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials is the second rank, the servant is the third rank, the doctor is the fifth rank, Yuanwai Lang is the fifth rank, and the principal is the sixth rank.

There are no more than 20 people, and the rest are subordinate officials, that is, pen posts, documents, etc.

Moreover, between Lang Zhong and Shi Lang, one ranks three and the other ranks five, two ranks and four ranks apart, which is equivalent to jumping directly from the department level to the ministerial level.

According to common sense, they basically have no hope of promotion.

But from another point of view, if you have connections, you can jump from the center very fast.

For example, Zhang Juzheng, he has never been transferred to other places.

Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing, stayed in the Imperial Academy for more than ten years, then went to the Imperial College as a secretary (cong Sipin), and then served as the attendant lecturer of Yu Wang Zhu Zaihou.

When Emperor Jiajing died, Xu Jie directly promoted him to be the right servant of the Ministry of Rites.

After that, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials joined the cabinet.

Like Zhang Juzheng, as long as he stays in the central government for 20 years, plus his connections, he can serve in the six ministries, and he also has the opportunity to go to the cabinet.

"Zaifu must start from the state and county, and the fierce general must be sent from the army—"

Zhu Yixi concluded with this sentence, and said angrily: "The center only has officials from top to bottom, but no middle layer. In this way, many people will be enthusiastic about the center and shy of the local government."

"From the magistrate to the chief envoy, how many layers does it take? How many years? How can the central government be comfortable?"

"As long as you find a relationship and work through your qualifications, you will definitely be promoted. What's the reason for this? One exam determines life?"

The emperor's words were suffocating, but they spoke the truth.

As long as you become a good scholar, enter the Hanlin Academy, and enter the Six Departments, it's just a matter of time.

"A change has to be made."

Speaking of Zhu Yixi, he directly changed the system: "Among the six departments, such as the second rank and fourth rank between the assistant minister and the doctor, must be filled."

"If there are three grades, there must be three grades, from nine grades to three grades, and fourteenth grades. You must list them one by one for me. You must be promoted in order, and you must not jump away."

"Don't you want to stay in the center? Then give me the first rank and first rank to climb and get seniority, don't think about such a beautiful thing."

As he spoke, the emperor became more and more indignant.

How can there be justice in this feudal society?Even the imperial examinations and official positions are full of unfairness.

The three of them were stunned and couldn't believe it.

Having said that, Zhu Yixi continued to make a big move: "From today, the closing of the Imperial Academy will be changed from three years to two years, and the official positions of the Imperial Academy, such as lecturers and readers, shall not be held for more than half a year."

"If you have more than two terms, you must go to a local office."

(End of this chapter)