I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 652 Reform of the Ministry of Rites
"The six departments are the basis for the operation of our government and are of vital importance. Therefore, whether we increase or decrease the number of subordinates, we must be cautious and adapt to the time and local conditions. Dear ministers, you want to plan it slowly. I know the painstaking efforts. Only However, I am really not satisfied with this result. I am just busy with my affairs and did not explain it clearly. I do not blame you."

Seeing what the emperor said, Ye Xianggao and others felt ashamed and quickly knelt down and kowtowed:

"I am ashamed, I owe you the emperor's favor, and I ask for your Majesty's approval."

Seeing them like this, Zhu Youxiao waved his hands and didn't care.He must make his meaning clear today.

"Get up, I actually think that we need to plan it slowly, step by step, it will be feasible in two to three years or even five or six years. There is no rush for this, but we have to start well, otherwise things will be difficult later. I did it. So after much thought, I think we should start with the restructuring of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry?"

The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry?
After hearing this, everyone immediately tried to figure out the meaning of the emperor's words. In fact, their memorial also mentioned the restructuring of these three parts. It seems that the emperor may have other ideas.

"Since I came to the throne, I have tried my best to carry out reforms, but in fact most of the reforms revolve around these three departments. These three departments also face the most new situations, so reform from these three departments is the best."

This was actually something Zhu Youxiao had carefully considered, even though Zhu Youxiao wanted to change the entire Ming Dynasty's administrative system.

But now he is no longer as stupid as the later Emperor Guangxu. Guangxu's reform will change the entire system. He will abolish this and that at every turn. In the end, hundreds of officials will oppose him and the reform will fall short.

Therefore, in his plan, the rhythm of his reform is to pull out nails one by one and reform one department after another, and the three departments just mentioned are the first ones to start.

Zhu Youxiao, on the other hand, didn't do any ink. He paused for a moment to sort out his thoughts, and then slowly said:

"Then I will tell you my opinion. Dear friends, you can listen. If you have different opinions or doubts, you can put them forward. Let's start with the Ministry of Rites."

After hearing the words, everyone immediately cheered up and looked at the emperor on the throne, wanting to hear what the emperor had to say.

"When I attended the Sutra Banquet before, I heard that the Ministry of Rites was responsible for the country's auspicious ceremonies, etiquette and sacrifices, education and examinations, entertaining foreign guests, banquets for meritorious officials, etc. Since the 13th year of Taizu Hongwu, each department has been appointed to have a doctor and a member of the staff. There is one foreigner and one person in charge.

After 29 years, it was changed to four Qing official departments: the Ministry of Rites and Ceremonies, Temple Sacrifice, Host and Guest, and Fine Food, and it also had jurisdiction over the Casting and Seal Bureau.After the establishment of the Zu Dynasty, the imperial court handed over the affairs of the Zongren Mansion to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.This shows the importance of the Ministry of Rites.

But in my opinion, it is extremely important for the Ministry of Rites to be in charge of matters such as court etiquette, imperial examinations, diplomacy and even the clan's government.But now matters such as imperial examinations, diplomacy, and clan offices are really important and must be dealt with separately. "

When everyone present heard this, they secretly felt that something was wrong.But Zhu Youxiao's words did not stop, and he continued to speak.

"In the matter of the imperial examination, I still want to let the Department of Rituals and Regulations of the Ministry of Etiquette be in charge. But now the imperial court is reforming the academic system and reorganizing the Imperial College.

But I think that the reform of the Imperial College is just the beginning. In the future, the chief secretaries will also reform the schools in various prefectures and counties, so the Department of Rituals, Regulations, and Officials will be changed to the Department of Education in the future.From now on, the imperial examinations, as well as government schools and private academies all over the world, will be managed by the Department of Education. "

As soon as these words came out, everyone was slightly surprised. They did not expect that the emperor had such thoughts, but the news was indeed good.

Because although there are many academies in the Ming Dynasty, in fact since Zhang Juzheng's reform, the Ming court actually did not like academies and even banned academies many times.

The most famous one is that in the third year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng formulated eighteen measures to rectify the academic style, one of which prohibited the establishment of academies.The reason he gave is very simple. To study, you have to go to government-run schools to read the books of sages. There are many schools in all states and counties. Why do you need to run private schools to gather to discuss Taoism?Running a school privately and discussing government affairs without permission are crimes that cannot be forgiven.

Once this article is violated, the official will be dismissed from office and the people will arrest him and punish him.But everyone knows that Zhang Juzheng's real purpose is to eliminate hidden political dangers.

Even after Zhang Juzheng's death, this policy fell into disuse.But after this incident, the previously prosperous academy style suddenly died down, until the emergence of Donglin Academy.

Therefore, the emperor's suggestion was exactly what the Zhonglin Party members wanted.If this proposal comes to fruition, wouldn't it be possible to rectify the name of Donglin Academy and even allow it to flourish further?

"Your Majesty, this is good governance. Ever since Zhang Taiyue banned academies, there has been a lot of public opinion. Now that the imperial court has changed the Department of Etiquette and Cleaning to the Department of Education to manage academies all over the world, scholars all over the world will definitely applaud and praise His Majesty's sage."

Sun Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, was the first to stand up and agree. In his opinion, this was a rare good governance, and the emperor did the right thing.

Zhu Youxiao nodded when he heard this, secretly thinking that if I don't give you any sweeteners, how can you agree with your idea?He is very clear about the advantages and disadvantages of the academy.In particular, its disadvantages are huge.

Since Wang Yangming revitalized Xinxue, the lecture activities he advocated were originally intended to break the rigid Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and rediscover the value of human beings, but they have gradually turned into empty talk.

Especially under the initiative of Wang Yangming, a half-sage, the style of lecturing became popular again in the Ming Dynasty. Powerful scholars built academies in various places, so much so that academies at that time were used to replace administrative offices.

In an era when excellence in learning leads to official service, most of those who are capable of giving lectures are either current officials or officials who have left their posts and become official officials.In order to free up more time for lectures, they simply took time to deal with government affairs while busy in the academy.

Over time, the academy has become a place where lecturers express their opinions, argue endlessly, and even party members oppose different parties. The trend of party formation among ministers in the DPRK and China is prevalent.

What's more, some officials use teaching in academies to seek personal gain, giving bribes, bribery, corruption and bending the law a cloak of elegance, which is extremely harmful to the ethos of the court.

It is precisely because of this that Zhang Juzheng banned academies in order to put an end to the style of lecturing.

But Zhu Youxiao knew in his heart that although academies have various disadvantages, it would be absolutely bad if they were banned blindly. After all, it is better to block the development of things than to open them up.

In particular, he now wants to develop "practical learning" and will promote science in the future. The development of science and technology is inseparable from education and promotion in schools.

And these are not feasible just relying on the court's schools, so he must rely on the power of private colleges or schools.

Therefore, for him, allowing the establishment of a college is only the first step. The key is how to let the college develop and teach according to his own ideas.

And he had already thought about this.

(End of this chapter)