unclear

Chapter 483 Drag the word trick
"Prime Minister, let's choose Guo Zizhang. The customs has both taxation and inspection responsibilities, and the right deputy governor is just right. I think Li Tianjing, a doctor from the Xiyuan Division of the Ministry of Revenue, can be qualified for the job. Although he is not a Jinshi, he is my A student who has been practicing in the Ministry of Household Affairs for more than three years, his abilities are more than sufficient."

At this time, Hong Tao was sitting at the long table of Yangxin Hall, playing tug-of-war with a group of ministers over the issue of customs candidates. To say that the officials of the Ming Dynasty were really patient in order to control the fat vacancies, they spent more than a month in a daze and never let go.

Shangshu repeatedly blocked the official promulgation of the Customs Law, and continued to recommend candidates to serve as Prime Minister of Customs. The meaning is obvious. If you don't let us get involved in the customs, we won't let the customs law pass. It's just a waste.

Hong Tao responded calmly at first, but after half a month he became a little impatient and severely reprimanded two Shangshu officials who opposed the customs law. After another half month, he became obviously impatient and found excuses to demote these two unrepentant guys.

However, these measures of his did not have an intimidating effect, but instead gave the courtiers a certain idea. The more eager the emperor is, the less he can give in easily. This is an old routine. Whoever can last until the end is the winner. Emperor Wanli was exhausted in this way. Although Emperor Jingyang was more capable, he would not turn the world upside down.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty..." No, the emperor finally couldn't afford it. He pinched his nose and picked one of the candidates recommended by the courtiers.

As for whether it is appropriate to let the unknown Li Tianjing serve as deputy manager, no one pays attention at all. The appointment of officials is also a business. What matters in doing business is that both the buyer and the seller are satisfied. You cannot take advantage of everything, and you must leave room for it.

"Now that the customs people have chosen it, how can we judge without customs law?" Emperor Jingyang reached out and rubbed his temples, with a face full of haggard and exhaustion, and once again made a cliché.

"I am working hard to check it, and it will be forwarded to His Majesty by the Cabinet in the near future!" Shen Yingwen, the Minister of Punishment, stood up to report back.

"What day is it?" The emperor was very dissatisfied with this ambiguous answer.

"Uh... in three days, I would like to issue a military order!" Shen Yingwen glanced at the circle of colleagues around the table from the corner of his eyes, as if he had received some kind of hint, and suddenly became decisive.

"Well, I'm feeling a little unwell, so I won't have to go to court tomorrow morning!"

The Customs Law, which has been delayed on and off for more than a month, was criticized verbally and writtenly by both civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty, and two of its directors were dismissed, finally has hope. But the emperor did not show the proper joy and excitement. Instead, he was a little absent-minded, gave a few hasty instructions and turned away.

"Situ, is your Majesty sick?" As the attendees dispersed one after another, Zhou Daodeng, who was walking at the end, happened to be side by side with Zhao Shiqing, the Minister of Household Affairs. Seeing no one nearby, he asked in a low voice.

"Your Majesty is in the prime of life, and he exercises constantly every day. His body is much better than mine. Sir, you are worrying too much." Zhao Shiqing raised his eyelids, glanced around, then shook his head and replied in a low voice.

"But Your Majesty, it's just a morning court. If Zhou remembers correctly, this may be Jingyang's first court, right?" Zhou Daodeng didn't quite understand and was still asking.

"If it happens once, there will be a second or third time... Your Majesty is tired."

"Feeling tired? Situ, can you help me clarify my doubts?" Zhou Daodeng still didn't understand, but he always felt that there was something in Zhao Shiqing's words, so he simply walked two steps to the front, turned around and clasped his fists and saluted as if he was humbly asking for advice. "Sigh... The late emperor was also very ambitious back then, but people's energy is always limited. This is the reason why a person's energy will be exhausted again and again. I am also a little tired today, Situ, take your leave!"

Zhao Shiqing stopped and thought for a moment, first sighed, looking a little lonely, then gave an example, and walked straight away without caring whether Zhou Daodeng understood it or not.

"I can't help myself..." Looking at Zhao Shiqing's slightly hunched figure, Zhou Daodeng looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh. This time I understood that the courtiers were using their time and trivial matters to wear down the emperor's will. Emperor Wanli was the last successful work, and now it’s Emperor Jingyang’s turn.

Does it work? No need to ask, no matter how strong the emperor is, he is still alone, and no matter how weak the courtiers are, there are still hundreds or even thousands. When interests are aligned, it becomes an indestructible system. If you want to fight against the system on your own, it is possible, but if you want to completely suppress the system and truly follow what you say, it is impossible.

Emperor Wanli was not the first, and Emperor Jingyang was not the last. No one could fight against this huge system, and it would be useless to kill them all. It is refined from the lessons of life and blood of thousands of elites. If you want to break it, you have to go beyond thousands of years of accumulation, which is not easy.

The reasons for dynasty changes in history are both complex and simple. They can be summed up in two words: distribution. It's like a chess game that has been popular in the past two years called Monopoly.

You only need a map, two dice and some chips to play. It can be played by two people or ten people. Through the dice points, each participant takes a different number of steps on the map and obtains different opportunities. Some will make a profit, and some will lose money, but regardless of the number of participants, the final results are surprisingly consistent.

Wealth will always be concentrated in the hands of a very small number of people, and most participants will lose everything, and then they can only divide the chips representing wealth equally and start over.

The same is true in the human world. No matter how each dynasty is governed, a small number of people will ultimately control most of the power and wealth, while the majority of people will still have nothing no matter how hard they work. When the gap between the rich and the poor widens to a certain extent, the originally stable situation will take a turn for the worse. No one can stop it and can only overthrow it and start over.

In the early days of the dynasty, the emperors and officials were relatively restrained, and the country was prosperous. But within a few generations, the old ways will return, with emperors and officials ignoring the suffering of the people and working tirelessly to seize power and make money, entering the cycle again.

It is said that this game was created by Emperor Jingyang for the queen and concubines to play when they had nothing to do. Later, it spread to the families of officials through the palace, and then gradually spread to the people.

It doesn't matter whether this is the case or not. It is clear that the emperor also saw the key to stopping the cycle and focused on making changes from the beginning of his accession. The so-called New Deal is nothing more than adjusting the distribution ratio of wealth, taking some of the portion originally occupied by officials and gentry and distributing it to the people.

To be honest, Emperor Jingyang is still very capable and capable. He also understands priorities and has achieved considerable results. But the more this happens, the more likely it will be opposed by the courtiers, because doing so will seriously hinder the operation of the entire system and infringe on the interests of many people in the system.

I am exactly a part of this system. Even though I understand the advantages of change, I cannot escape the constraints of the system. Changing with the emperor would mean denying everything about yourself, smashing the system that made you a master, betraying all your relatives, friends, and colleagues, and becoming a loner. It was too difficult.

(End of this chapter)