I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 226: Reform of the Court (please subscribe)

In the Ming Dynasty, there were generally two ways to appoint cabinet bachelors.

One is called Tejian and the other is Tingtui.

The so-called special slips refer to secret recommendations from cabinet ministers, that is, cabinet ministers write letters to recommend candidates to the emperor, and the emperor decides whether to appoint them, or the emperor personally selects people to join the cabinet.

This method has not been used since Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, cabinet ministers have generally been selected through court recommendations.

The so-called tingtui, also known as huitui, means that when important people are appointed or dismissed, the officials, nine ministers, and six departments will be summoned to participate in the tingtui ceremony, and several places will be recommended, and then handed over to the emperor for selection.

Although this method seems very democratic, Zhu Youxiao knows clearly that it is up to him, the emperor, to decide who will be chosen in the end.

"Since it is the practice of the country and the dynasty, let's carry out the court promotion. However, the rules of the Shenzong Dynasty regarding court promotion have been changed many times. I think it can be changed."

Zhu Youxiao had been taking Japanese courses before and learned about the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty from Sun Chengzong and Ding Shaoshi, so he had some understanding of Tingtui.

But he discovered a very serious problem regarding Tingtui.

In the Shenzong Dynasty, cabinet ministers were also selected through court recommendation, and the initial list of candidates for court recommendation was also determined by the Ministry of Personnel.

It was just that Emperor Shenzong was extremely distrustful of the officials at that time, so he issued an edict not to allow the officials to participate in determining the candidate list.Instead, he ordered the person in charge of Jiuqing and Ke Dao Yan Guan to each select one person, and Ke Dao Yan Guan could also investigate and impeach the candidates at any time.

This approach was instantly opposed by the cabinet and the officials, but Shenzong had made up his mind and would not change his mind. No matter how they wrote, it was of no avail.

In the Ming Dynasty, the power of the Yanguan was already great, and he could impeach and inquire about matters in the court. Now Shenzong had given him the special power to select and impeach cabinet ministers. This greatly expanded the power of the Kedao Yanguan.

He also acquiesced in the fact that the Kedao spokesperson began to use his power unscrupulously. He often took the opportunity to claim that he had the veto power in the nomination of candidates. He repeatedly impeached officials who did not like him in advance, prevented them from joining the cabinet, and sabotaged the nomination. However, the cabinet did not do this. There is no way, Shenzong is indifferent to this.

Zhu Youxiao was helpless after seeing this situation. He thought that this might be Shenzong's purpose, which was to let the courtiers fight among themselves while he sat firmly on the Diaoyutai.

Shenzong wanted to let them bite each other, but he, Zhu Youxiao, didn't want that. He didn't have a good impression of Yan Guan. The good court was criticized by them wantonly, leaving many courtiers tired of retorting and unable to do anything. , what is the difference between laziness and neglect of government?He remembered that Xiong Tingbi complained to him in a letter last year, saying that he had spent most of the day writing a defense statement to refute the criticisms against him.

Therefore, after he came to the throne, he has been weakening the power of the lectern officials. First, he made the lecturing officials look for things to do. Finally, he kept deposing them and asked them to talk less and do more. Now he wants to cut off their power to recommend cabinet ministers. Let them focus their energy on useful areas.

When Liu and Shen heard that the emperor wanted to change the rules for court recommendation, they wondered if the emperor had guessed what they meant. They originally wanted to propose changes to the rules for court recommendation.

"I don't know how your Majesty wants to change it. Please give me your instructions."

Upon seeing this, Shen Guan immediately bowed his head and asked.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said what he had planned for a long time.

"Emperor Shenzong has an edict, and it is in accordance with the ancestral system. The ministers of the imperial court asked the nine ministers and the chief seal officer of Kedao to name one person they know and send it to the Ministry of Personnel. Although this was decided by Emperor Shenzong, I think it is very inappropriate. .

In the past, the appointment of cabinet ministers in our dynasty was always recommended by the Ministry of Personnel, but now the recommendation of cabinet ministers has nothing to do with the Ministry of Personnel. This is obviously against the ancestral system. Besides, the official is to speak up and have the right to inspect the conduct of the officials. , now that he has the power to dismiss cabinet ministers, he is afraid that it will violate Taizu's original intention of attaching great importance to science, education and officials.

Therefore, I think that in the future, it is better for the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Heavenly Officials to be responsible for drawing up the candidate list for the cabinet ministers. All the six ministers and nine ministers can make suggestions. Finally, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will consult with the cabinet to draw up the list. As for the officials of the Department of Science and Technology, they can only inspect. In impeachment, you cannot participate in the removal, nor can you criticize wantonly. "

When Liu Yishen heard this, he thought that the emperor and he had really thought of the same thing. He had actually wanted to add more cabinet ministers for a long time, but because he could not fully control the ministers, when the time came for the court to recommend, these words In order to deal with themselves, officials will definitely fight against each other and criticize them wantonly.

Therefore, he endured it for so long, and finally pushed Ye Xianggao down, and the imperial censor Feng Congwu also pushed him down.Only then did he dare to suggest adding more cabinet ministers. Unexpectedly, the emperor also agreed with him. They hit it off so well that he had long wanted to weaken the power of the minister.

So Liu Yishui immediately raised his hand and praised the emperor.

"The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for the selection. It knows all the officials' deeds and evaluations, so the selection will be more reasonable. This time it is returned to the Ministry of Personnel. I believe that all the officials will praise His Majesty for his wisdom."

"What Liu Shoufu said is true, but all the six ministers and ministers of the nine ministers and ministers can be dismissed. Although the talents are selected, there are too many people, and there is fear of favoritism, malpractice, and clique-based measures."

Shen Guan's words made Zhu Youxiao shake his head. He was not worried about this at all.

"It's too much to worry about. These people can only make suggestions and provide reference to the Ministry of Personnel. The final decision is made by the Ministry of Personnel and the Cabinet."

Zhu Youxiao is not afraid of any favoritism at all, because he has the final say on these lists and final candidates.If you are satisfied with the list, you can choose from it. If you are not satisfied with the list, you can call them back and ask them to re-draw the list and recommend it again.Until you choose a candidate you are satisfied with.

"The minister is relieved to wait. After the minister returns, he immediately plans to send six ministries and nine ministers to ask the ministers and ministers of each ministry to recommend to the Ministry of Personnel the candidates for the cabinet ministers. After they are confirmed, they will be reported to His Majesty for a decision."

"Okay, that's it. The candidate list is finalized with six people, and four people can be selected during the recommendation."

Zhu Youxiao nodded when he heard this, and then determined the number of candidates on the list.

In this way, the cabinet ministers are selected through the final selection process. It can be said to be very "democratic". The officials of the six ministries and nine ministers will be very satisfied, but the officials of the Department of Science and Technology are afraid that they will have to submit a letter again, but when the time comes At that time, Zhu Youxiao would not look at it.

"That's good, and the rules about the Enke examination should be announced as soon as possible, and inform the examiner in advance, otherwise it will definitely arouse criticism and speculation from the examiner."

"I understand."

Liu Yishen immediately agreed upon hearing this. The imperial examination has always been a top priority, so he would not neglect it.

"Okay, I'm tired too, so you can step back."

When the two heard this, they leaned over and left with their hands in hand.

Seeing the two people slowly walking out of Dongnuan Pavilion, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but ponder.

Liu Yishen and Shen Guan both did a good job.

And both of them are now isolated or suppressed compared to Donglin and Zhejiang Party.Fortunately for Liu Yishen, he still has Zou Yuanbiao, Zuo Guangdou, Yang Lian and other hard-working people in Donglin to support him, so that he, the first assistant, can continue to do his job.

Shen Guan was even worse. He openly supported Bi Ziyan, which can be said to have renounced the Zhejiang Party.Therefore, these two old rivals in the past are now united in the cabinet to keep warm. It can be regarded as the great reconciliation of the century.

But Zhu Youxiao is happy to see this happen. He doesn't care about the Zhejiang Party or the Donglin Party at all. He just wants a group that can be loyal to him and carry out his will. This group can be said to be a reformist group. It doesn't matter whether it's a new party or not.

At present, Liu Yishen and Shen Guan are doing very well in this aspect, so Zhu Youxiao is also happy to support them, and will even help them expand their power to suppress and divide Donglin, Qichu, Zhejiang Party, etc. wait.

Let’s start now by adding additional ministers to the cabinet.

As for Ye Xianggao's opportunity, Zhu Youxiao not only took a fancy to his talent, but also wanted to use him to contain Liu Yishen.

The news of the great victory in the Southwest did not cause any big disturbance in the capital. In the eyes of the people in the capital, what kind of frontier official was the chieftain of the Southwest?They don't care at all.

What they are concerned about recently is the Enke Examination that is about to start. This kind of temporary imperial examination has not been seen for many years. The candidates from all over the world have also rushed to the capital, staying in guild halls in various places, studying hard day and night to prepare for the exam tomorrow, secretly swearing They must become the first batch of Jinshi of the new emperor.

For the courtiers, Enke's imperial examination was a matter of the Ministry of Rites, but what they were most concerned about now was the changes in the cabinet. The emperor actually did not remove Ye Xianggao, but wanted to keep him in the cabinet.

This aroused strange thoughts in their hearts. It seemed that Ye Xianggao was indeed very important in the emperor's heart.This made the court officials who were busy trying to clear up their relationship with Ye Xianggao regret it. They felt that they had acted too hastily and had offended someone before they thought. Who would have expected that Ye Xianggao would still be able to join the cabinet.

Therefore, many people in Donglin who were very dissatisfied with Liu Yisui, such as Wei Dazhong from the Engineering Department, Zhong Yuzheng from Taisi, and others also sent greetings, hoping to get in touch with Ye Xianggao again.

It's just that Ye Xianggao learned a lesson this time and refused to see guests on the grounds of illness. It seemed that he wanted to hide his capabilities and bide his time.

Compared with Ye Xianggao's few people, Liu Yisui and Shen Guan's house had a constant flow of visitors.

As cabinet bachelors, even though they are separated from the Donglin Party and Qi Chu Zhe Party, many political affiliations are not based on region, but on interests. Now the two are cabinet bachelors, people who want to curry favor with each other. There are many.

But at this time, the two of them were more concerned about the candidates for the cabinet. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve their own strength. It was just a matter of choosing who to choose.

After Liu Yishen returned, he immediately called Zou Yuanbiao, Sun Chengzong and others to discuss the matter.

Shen Guan was no exception. Although he was separated from the Zhejiang Party, he was still a minister of the cabinet. Now that he was faced with such a major matter involving cabinet selection, there were still many disciples and former officials chasing after him.

At this moment, Ye Xianggao, who had returned to the cabinet, timidly came to Dongnuang Pavilion and accepted the emperor's summons.

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(End of this chapter)