Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Zhu Biao read very seriously and carefully. When he saw the name of each recommended official, he would try hard to recall the details of that person in his mind.

But soon Zhu Biao frowned.

Because he saw that this so-called list of officials was entirely a list of officials from the Huaixi Party, and all of the more than 20 officials on the list were members of the Huaixi Party.

very good!

Very direct!
Zhu Biao also saw Huang Zicheng's name in it.

Everyone knows that Huang Zicheng is Li Shanchang's most proud disciple and student!

Of course, Zhu Biao still recognized Huang Zicheng's abilities, but the abilities of the others could only be described as average, slightly better than the officials who had voluntarily resigned before. It was obvious that Li Shanchang had put them on this list just to take up a spot.

Without leaving out a single one, all of them were replaced by officials from the Huaixi Party. The ambitions of Li Shanchang and the Huaixi Party were obvious.

In fact, Li Shanchang was also very clear that replacing all the officials with officials from the Huaixi Party would not give Zhu Biao a good impression, but Li Shanchang had no choice. In recent years since Hu Weiyong's incident, the power of the Huaixi Party in the court has been declining. On the one hand, it was due to Zhu Yuanzhang's suppression and deliberate repression, and on the other hand, it was the competition between Ouyang Lun and the Prince Consort Party!

Most of the more than 20 officials who voluntarily resigned this time were from the Huaixi Party. If the Huaixi Party does not find a way to take over all these vacant positions, it will be a failure!

It was precisely because all the nominees were from the Huaixi Party that Li Shanchang was worried that Ouyang Lun would object, so he did not take out the list until Ouyang Lun said that he would not object. Only then did Li Shanchang feel at ease to take out the list that he had been holding in his hand for a long time!
As long as Ouyang Lun has no objection, he will be sure to pass this list!

Li Shanchang made a serious analysis. First of all, there was Emperor Zhu Biao. Zhu Biao's goal was to rectify the administration of officials. The officials he recommended this time, except for their identities as members of the Huaixi Party, were basically faultless in other aspects. They might not have remarkable political achievements or extraordinary abilities, but these people were down-to-earth and had been promoted step by step.

After all, Zhu Biao had been emperor for a short time and did not have his own team. Even if he had a team, it would be impossible for him to come up with a list of more than 20 people who were qualified for these official positions at once!
You have to know that these are more than 20 Beijing officials above the fifth rank.

Since Ouyang Lun did not recommend anyone and Zhu Biao himself did not have any suitable candidates, it was very likely that Zhu Biao would agree to his list. As for the neutral faction represented by Song Lian and Lu Chang, now that Ouyang Lun and Zhu Biao both agreed, if they dared to say a word more, they would know that they would face crazy suppression from the Huaixi Party.

The current Huaixi Party may have some difficulty in dealing with the Prince Consort Party, but it is absolutely easy to deal with the neutral party, so there is no need to take it seriously at all.

Another point is that Li Shanchang also put a lot of thought into the arrangement of the list. The identities of many officials in the Huaixi Party were not so clear. Zhu Biao might not identify this person as a member of the Huaixi Party, but thought he was an official of the neutral faction or the Prince Consort Party.

If all these conditions are met, then this list is the most perfect list, and the probability of passing is as high as 90%!!

Of course, even if Zhu Biao found out in the end, it didn’t matter, because Li Shanchang could just give up some places and the problem could be solved.

This is the whole logic behind Li Shanchang's list.

"Yes, Lord Li recommended these people. I have heard of most of them. They are indeed much better than the previous incompetent officials who were just sitting there doing nothing!"

Zhu Biao nodded. Although he knew very well that the list in his hand was the list of Huaixi Party officials, Zhu Biao did not choose to reject it at this moment, but nodded in approval.

"Thank you for your approval, Your Majesty!"

When Li Shanchang heard what Zhu Biao said, he was so happy!
Now it’s stable!

"Master Song, Master Lu, do you have a list?"

Zhu Biao only looked at Song Lian and Lu Chang.

"This"

Song Lian and Lu Chang both looked conflicted and hesitant.

In fact, they also had a draft list in their hands, but the list just proposed by Li Shanchang was approved by Emperor Zhu Biao, and Li Shanchang had already hinted to them before coming that if they dared to oppose the Huaixi Party's list, they would inevitably suffer retaliation.

Originally, Song Lian and Lu Chang were expecting Ouyang Lun and Li Shanchang to fight each other, so that no matter whether Ouyang Lun or Li Shanchang won, they could get a share of the spoils.

But what disappointed them greatly was that Ouyang Lun directly gave up the right to recommend, which was equivalent to asking them to compete with Li Shanchang. How could the two of them compete with Li Shanchang alone!
In addition, Zhu Biao had just praised Li Shanchang's list, which made the two of them even more insecure.

Lu Chang and Song Lian looked at each other and then spoke.

"Your Majesty, we have not prepared a list!"

"As long as Your Majesty approves, we will approve too!"

Hearing what the two said, Zhu Biao frowned slightly, but he didn't doubt it too much and nodded, "Since the two ministers don't have a list, let's use Minister Li's list to discuss it!"

"You guys should also take a look at this list."

Having said that, Zhu Biao asked Xiao Lizi to take the list to Song Lian and Lu Chang.

After reading the list, Song Lian and Lu Chang felt disappointed.

It can be said that this list has nothing to do with them.

Although they were jealous and resentful in their hearts, they did not dare to confront Li Shanchang at this time. Even if the list was like that, they had no choice but to accept it.

"Your Majesty, I think there is nothing wrong with the list drawn up by Lord Li!"

"The old minister agrees."

"No objection?" Zhu Biao was obviously stunned when he heard what the two said. He never expected that Lu Chang and Song Lian would not raise any objections.

At this time, Zhu Biao also reacted. It was obvious that Li Shanchang had made a plan.

No wonder Li Shanchang dared to give him this list.

Now that his brother-in-law Ouyang Lun does not recommend anyone, and Song Lian and Lu Chang have no objection, then as long as he, the emperor, nods, the list will be approved, and the positions of these more than 20 officials above rank five will fall into the pockets of the Huaixi Party!
Zhu Biao naturally would not agree.

Zhu Yuanzhang had told him more than once that factional strife was acceptable, but one party must never be allowed to dominate!
As an emperor, he must balance the forces in the court. If the Huaixi Party takes back these twenty officials, their power will surely increase! This does not fit his balancing strategy.

He had just praised the list, and it would be a bit bad to oppose it now. Lu Chang and Song Lian were obviously not worth relying on. So Zhu Biao turned his attention to Ouyang Lun. Now only his brother-in-law Ouyang Lun could change everything.

"Brother-in-law, although you don't recommend the list, it's still okay to give suggestions, right? I'd like to hear your opinion, too!"

Zhu Biao spoke slowly.

"Your Majesty, Prince Consort Ouyang just now..."

When Li Shanchang heard that Zhu Biao wanted Ouyang Lun to speak, his heart skipped a beat, and then he quickly spoke up, trying to stop this from happening.

However, Zhu Biao had already thought of his response this time. Before Li Shanchang could finish, Zhu Biao immediately said, "Lord Li, you always remind me to listen to officials and not just listen to one side. Now that I have listened to your advice, can't I listen to other people's advice?"

"Your Majesty, this is certainly not what I meant!" Li Shanchang hurriedly explained.

"What does that mean? Prince Consort Ouyang is my brother-in-law, and he is also the Prime Minister of the Ming Cabinet. He is also your superior. When the superior is speaking, the subordinate cannot interrupt. You should be very clear about this principle, right?"

Zhu Biao said in a deep voice.

"Uh, this." Zhu Biao's full-throated attack made Li Shanchang a little confused. He never thought that Zhu Biao would be so fierce.

"Okay! I have made my decision, others should not interfere." Zhu Biao looked at Ouyang Lun again, "Brother-in-law, if you have any ideas, just tell me, I will never let anyone disturb you!"

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With Zhu Biao's words, Li Shanchang naturally didn't dare to say anything more and could only look at Ouyang Lun.

Li Shanchang was also quite nervous at this moment. To be honest, he was the one who took the initiative to propose the discussion of the list today. Among them, Ouyang Lun was the one that Li Shanchang feared the most. If Ouyang Lun intervened forcefully, his plan might not succeed!

Although Ouyang Lun said that he would not recommend anyone, he was the leader of the Prince Consort's party. Once he had the chance, how could he not recommend his own people!
Just as Li Shanchang was looking at Ouyang Lun with fear, Ouyang Lun also spoke.

"Your Majesty, I am not very interested in the candidates for these vacant official positions, and I have nothing to recommend."

This kid is still pretending!

Li Shanchang murmured in his heart, but this was a good thing for him. No matter what Ouyang Lun's conspiracy was, as long as Ouyang Lun did not interfere in the appointment of more than 20 officials, it would be a good thing!

However, before Li Shanchang could be happy for long, Ouyang Lun spoke again: "Since Your Majesty wants to hear my advice, I will reluctantly say a few words!"

"I just looked at the list that Lord Li mentioned. To be honest, the officials on the list are all very good. If I remember correctly, in the official evaluations in previous years, the officials on this list were not rated lower than the upper-middle level. In particular, some officials were rated as excellent, such as Lord Huang Zicheng!"

"So I have no objection to the list proposed by Lord Li."

Um?!?
Um! ? !
When they heard Ouyang Lun's words, Zhu Biao was stunned, Song Lian and Lu Chang were also stunned, and the most surprised one was Li Shanchang.

Li Shanchang even wondered if he had misheard just now. Instead of denying the list he had drawn up, Ouyang Lun praised it highly. What was going on? !

Could it be that Ouyang Lun feels that he cannot defeat me and is starting to show goodwill to me?

No, no, Ouyang Lun is definitely not such a person. There must be a conspiracy here!
"However, I think that these official positions are not just vacant, and there is no rush to fill them again. Hasn't Your Majesty noticed? Although more than 20 officials have resigned, the government affairs of the court are still progressing steadily, and there are no obvious problems! Even if some government affairs are backlogged, other officials can be assigned to deal with them first!"

"And when these backlogs of government affairs are dealt with, does that mean that even without these twenty-odd officials, the Ming court can still function normally?"

Ouyang Lun spoke slowly.

"This..." After hearing this, Zhu Biao fell into thought, but at the same time he seriously thought about what Ouyang Lun said, and a hint of realization appeared in his eyes.

"Brother-in-law, what you said seems to make sense!" Zhu Biao nodded and said, "According to what you mean, do you want to completely remove these official positions?"

When Zhu Biao came to this conclusion, Li Shanchang, Song Lian and Lu Chang were shocked.

Abolish more than twenty official positions at once?

This is too bold!
"No, no, Your Majesty, although streamlining the government is a good idea, I don't think it's time to do that yet. We can hold on to the official list, but we can wait and see. Or we can freeze the appointments of these twenty or so officials first!"

"As the old saying goes, the world will continue to turn without anyone, and the same goes for managing the court."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao showed joy on his face, while Li Shanchang's face suddenly turned ugly.

"Brother-in-law, please continue!" Zhu Biao said hurriedly.

"I think it is not a good idea to fill up all the vacancies of more than 20 officials at once after such a hard struggle. I personally think that we should do it step by step and fill up the vacancies gradually. At the same time, we should actively train more young officials!"

Ouyang Lun said slowly: "However, the source of our Ming Dynasty officials is still too single. Most of them come through the imperial examinations. To be honest, the imperial examinations can only test whether they have the ability, and whether this "ability" is real needs to be confirmed. After all, it is all demonstrated through writing articles. There is no difference between writing with your hands and talking with your mouth, but there is a big difference between actually doing it!"

“This is why many officials can take exams and study, but they just can’t govern!”

Hearing Ouyang Lun's words, Zhu Biao, Song Lian and Lu Chang could not help but nod their heads. After all, this drawback of the imperial examination was nothing new, but the imperial examination was the method of selecting talents with the least drawbacks. As long as the imperial examination was managed well, a lot of talents could indeed be selected. This was much better than the past monopoly of aristocratic families, the selection of filial and honest officials, and the Nine-Rank System.

"Brother-in-law, the imperial examination does have this drawback. Do you have any better solution?"

Zhu Biao asked hurriedly.

"Examinations to select talents is indeed a very good method. Even I don't have a better method. However, it can improve the talent training gradient!"

Ouyang Lun shook his head and continued.

The imperial examination system has been used until modern times. How could he have a better idea? However, he did have many ways to cultivate talents.

“Talent cultivation gradient?!”

Zhu Biao was very unfamiliar with this word. (End of this chapter)