The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 277 Core Issues of the Cabinet

This is a tricky question and there is no good answer.

Therefore, Chen Jingke did not answer directly, but analyzed and explained to them the composition of central power.

"...The vote can be regarded as the right to participate in and discuss politics. The red vote represents the final decision-making power, while the refutation actually represents the executive power."

"The prime minister also had such power in the past...the battle between imperial power and prime minister power was about these things."

"Your Majesty abolished the prime minister system and transferred all the power of drafting and approving votes to himself..."

"Although there are no specific provisions on the power of refutation, in fact this power has been transferred down to specific yamen such as the Sixth Department."

"Each government office is an executive agency. When they receive His Majesty's final decision, they will consider whether it is feasible based on the actual situation."

"If they feel there is a problem, they will make suggestions...In fact, they are exercising the power of refutation."

"It's just that their right to refute has been weakened and there is no compulsion..."

It is the six ministries and other yamen that specifically implement the decree.

"How could a second-grade official be willing to be controlled by a fifth-grade official?"

According to the regulations, whoever has a higher grade will have a more respected status.

Zhu Xiongying said: "If the cabinet is given the right to vote, they can overtake the six movies, right?"

Chen Jingke nodded again and further analyzed:

In officialdom, in addition to job rank, rank is also very important.

"Logically speaking, the power of the cabinet should be above the six yamen, acting on behalf of the prime minister."

Why does the right of refutation represent the right of execution?

"The reason is very simple. The cabinet bachelor is only fifth grade, and the six ministers are all second grade officials."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "As a staff agency, the cabinet provides advice to the monarch and actually has the right to participate in and discuss government affairs."

There is a huge difference between the fifth grade and the second grade.

"If they are given the right to vote, then their power is given by law."

It is easy to understand that the political power controls the formulation of policies, and the executors can only passively implement them.

"Furthermore, although the cabinet has deliberation power, it does not have decision-making or refutation rights. Legally, it cannot directly order the six ministries and yamen."

It's very simple, because it is the person with the power to refute who has the final say whether to implement this order or not.

If this power is given to the cabinet, it means that the six ministries and other yamen will become subordinate agencies of the cabinet.

If the name is not correct, the words will not be correct. In officialdom, the name is very important.

Besides, after spending half a lifetime to become a second-rank official, how can I be willing to listen to you, a fifth-rank official?
Zhu Yuanzhang slapped the table and said, "Yes, how can a fifth-grade official order a second-grade official?"

After such an analysis, many thoughts came into their minds.

Chen Jingke shook his head and said: "No, but even if His Majesty gives them the power to draft votes, they still can't suppress the six departments."

Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao suddenly realized that the composition of central power could be divided in this way.

"Then, the only things that can be lent out are the legislative power and the executive power."

"Normally speaking, those who hold the power of deliberation take the initiative, and the power of execution is subject to the power of deliberation."

"It's just that they don't have the right to vote, so they always have a name."

"As long as the right of refutation is not given to them, they will always be subject to the monarch and cannot compete with the imperial power."

"Manpower is sometimes poor, and the monarch's energy is also limited. He needs the assistance of his ministers to govern a huge country."

"The prime minister's office has complete refutation power. If they are not satisfied with the monarch's policy, they can refuse to implement it."

"Their political power was lent to them by His Majesty."

"However, this is not the case in fact. A cabinet without the right to vote has no real name."

"Giving them the right to vote is giving them the name to participate in and discuss politics."

"On the surface, the legislative power and the executive power appear to be parallel, but in fact they are not."

Chen Jingke nodded and said, "Yes, giving them the right to vote is tantamount to clearing their names."

"This means that the monarch must lend part of his power to his ministers."

Borrowing power from others has completely different meanings than power granted by law.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought: "But they can only participate in political power, but have no decision-making or execution rights."

"The current situation in the Ming Dynasty is that the cabinet actually controls the deliberation power, and the executive power lies in various yamen."

"If the name is not correct, the words will not be correct. The six departments and other yamen will not take orders from a group of staff."

"If His Majesty does not agree with their opinions, they can only carry out your will."

This also means that whoever has the power to refute will control the six departments and other yamen.

"Decision-making power can only be in the hands of the monarch and cannot be left to others."

Naturally, the former is more proactive.

"As a result, the cabinet and various government offices will be dissatisfied with each other and dislike each other."

"A cabinet without the support of various yamen is like a tiger in a cage, unable to hurt anyone."

Again, reputation is too important in official circles.

The cabinet has a low rank and no refutation power, so the power it can exert is always limited.

In his previous life, Zhang Juzheng was criticized in officialdom. Why?

Is it just because his reforms offended the interests of the bureaucracy?
no.

Because he came to power through illegal means.

The power of powerful ministers such as Huo Guang is conferred by the law.

Their power is procedurally just and legitimate.

Zhang Juzheng is not the case.

As the chief minister of the cabinet, he is actually only a fifth-rank official, and the six-rank minister is a second-rank official.

In terms of his position, he could command six ministers, but his status was lower than that of the six ministers.

Both parties are mutually exclusive.

However, he colluded with the eunuch Feng Bao and gained the final decision-making power.

He completely overwhelmed the chief officials of each of the six departments.

You, the chief minister of the cabinet, colluded with the eunuchs to gain power that does not belong to you.

This is no longer a powerful minister, but a treacherous minister.

Zhang Juzheng's poor reputation is also related to this.

After analyzing the matter to this point, Zhu Yuanzhang already had the answer in his heart.

"The power of voting can be given to the cabinet, but we need to set some rules for the cabinet first."

Zhu Biao perked up and said, "You tell me."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "First, the cabinet bachelor is always the fifth grade."

This is easy to understand, because it wants you to be in power with a low profile and unable to deal with the six departments and other yamen on an equal footing.

"Secondly, it cannot be given the right to refute."

By the same token, the right to refute represents the right to execute.

Giving them the right to refute is equivalent to giving them the power to order the six ministries and other yamen.

In that case, the cabinet will become the second Prime Minister's Office.

This is what Zhu Yuanzhang did not want to see.

"Thirdly, cabinet bachelors cannot hold concurrent posts."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao was confused at first, then suddenly realized and showed admiration.

Chen Jingke was also filled with admiration.

It's a very simple reason. If the cabinet bachelor can concurrently serve as the cabinet bachelor, then what about the six ministers serving as the cabinet bachelor concurrently?

The six ministers are all second-rank officials, and they have high authority.

If they are allowed to concurrently serve as cabinet bachelors and control the legislative power, their power will be too great.

Even Chen Jingke himself did not expect this, but Zhu Yuanzhang was able to see it in such a short period of time and find a solution.

As expected of Lao Zhu, this political acumen is really terrifying. Zhu Yuanzhang said several rules one after another, all of which limit the power of the cabinet.

If we really follow his rules, the cabinet will really be like a tiger in a cage.

But Chen Jingke knew that he took it for granted.

No matter how well you set the rules, you can't prevent future generations from having their own ideas.

Zhu Yuanzhang decreed that eunuchs with iron stamps should not interfere in politics. Is it useful?

Chen Jingke was certain that the rules he set to restrict the cabinet would be abolished one by one by his descendants in the future.

This is not something anyone can control.

In fact, there is really no problem with the cabinet system. At least Chen Jingke believes that it is the most advanced political system in ancient times.

The cabinet holds the power of discussion, and everyone works together to solve problems.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The right of refutation was established to limit imperial power, which was actually Zhu Zhanji's original intention.

He was afraid that future generations would become a foolish emperor, so he asked the officials to restrict the emperor's behavior a little, so as not to cause a catastrophe.

It can be said that there is no problem from any point of view.

Even for people in the 21st century, it would be difficult to think of a better system than this.

But this does not mean that there are no problems in the cabinet. On the contrary, there is a huge loophole in the Ming Dynasty cabinet.

The flaw is not the system itself, but the composition of its members.

All cabinet members are civilian officials.

History has told everyone what the consequences will be.

The civil servant group was so big that it even gave the Ming Dynasty emperor the property of being easily soluble in water.

Therefore, Chen Jingke believes that if we want to fundamentally solve this problem, we still need to change the composition of the members.

Civil servants cannot be allowed to completely control the cabinet.

It is naturally necessary to establish rules that restrict the cabinet, but they can only be used as a supplementary means.

Zhu Yuanzhang obviously realized that he had something to say, and immediately asked:
"Jing Ke, do you have any better idea?"

Naturally, Chen Jingke couldn't say that civil servants would make your descendants easily soluble in water. Even if he said it, he might not believe it.

After thinking for a while, he said: "No matter how powerful the cabinet's power is, it is an institution that assists the monarch in handling government affairs."

"A country's government affairs are intricate, including military, people's livelihood, justice, commerce, etc."

"But now all the cabinet members come from scholars and civil servants. This is very unreasonable."

"As the saying goes, there are specializations in the industry, and no one can be omniscient and omnipotent."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him with strange eyes. Can no one know everything?
I believe what others say, but if you say this, I can only treat it as being humble.

"Those who can enter the cabinet are definitely talented people, but they also have areas they are not good at."

"Therefore, cabinet members should not only be civilian officials, but should select talents from all walks of life."

"For example, one person is from the civil service, one is from the military, one is from the judicial officer, and one is from the planning officer..."

“In this way, no matter what happens, there will be professionals ready for consultation.”

"I think this will definitely help us handle national affairs better."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know what he meant, he fully agreed with his proposal:

"Okay, okay, this is a good proposal."

"We used to feel that the cabinet was always a little uncomfortable to use, but we could never find the reason."

"After you said it, we understood what the problem was."

"All cabinet bachelors are scholars, and they are very good at dealing with people's livelihood affairs."

"They always make mistakes when dealing with military, judicial and other issues. Isn't it just that they are not smooth?"

Chen Jingke gave a slight hint: "This also has the advantage of preventing one family from becoming too big."

"The butt determines the head. There is no right or wrong in the face of party struggle."

"The cabinet has the power to discuss matters. If all of them are civilian officials, then the policies they formulate will inevitably favor civilian officials."

"The military, judiciary, accounting officials, etc. will then be suppressed, which is not conducive to the country's long-term peace and stability."

"It would be much easier if there was someone from each party."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood the truth and said: "It's good to say that one family cannot be the only one."

"Biao'er must also write this into the rules. Cabinet members must choose different officials to serve, and they cannot all use people from the same family."

Zhu Biao naturally understood the seriousness of the matter and said, "Yes, in a few days I will select one person from each ministry to join the cabinet."

Seeing that his idea was recognized, Chen Jingke secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

There was only so much he could do.

What will happen to the Ming Dynasty in the future and what the cabinet will evolve into are beyond his control.

But he was sure that it would be better than the previous life where the civil servants were the only family, and that was enough.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked again: "If you have any other suggestions, please tell them all."

Chen Jingke thought for a while and said: "The inner scholar has the power to vote, so he can't stay with His Majesty all the time for consultation."

"Therefore, it is necessary to create a similar position."

"You can add a post in the cabinet to monitor government affairs, such as calling the cabinet minister or something like that."

"His Majesty has some officials whom he thinks highly of, but he doesn't know how to appoint them at the moment. He can be placed in the cabinet as a walking official."

"This will not only allow His Majesty to consult on any problems, but also allow them to observe the cabinet bachelor's experience in handling government affairs."

"If there is a suitable opportunity in the future, I can directly serve as an official."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and said: "This suggestion is not bad, but it is not important. You know what we want to hear."

Chen Jingke spread his hands and said: "Then I really have no suggestions. The cabinet has reached this point, which is the limit of what I can imagine."

Zhu Yuanzhang saw this and did not ask further questions. As he said, the cabinet was indeed complete enough at this point.

The rest can only be left to practice.

Afterwards, several people discussed the details together.

For example, who should be selected as cabinet members, and how to ensure that they will not fall into party disputes and delay political affairs, etc.

They can only discuss such important institutional issues themselves and cannot leave them to others.

This discussion lasted until midnight, and even the food was brought in to make do with it.

Sun Fu came several times to remind them to rest, but Zhu Yuanzhang scolded them and left.

In the end, Queen Ma was invited over, and they, the elders, went to have a rest.
-
The emperor and the prince summoned military representatives and held a meeting for a whole day. Naturally, they couldn't hide anything.

Everyone is guessing, what happened?
Could it be that there is going to be another war?
But didn’t the prince just give the order to shrink the troops?

Doing this is simply a slap in the face, which is impossible.

Someone has a lot of imagination. Could it be that he is... a retired hero?

Originally it was just a casual comment, but more and more people feel that this is the truth.

The Ming Dynasty has basically wiped out all the barbarians, and Beiyuan has also been hit hard.

Now the emperor clearly intends to give up his throne to the prince.

As soon as the emperor and his courtiers came together, the meritorious group became a problem that the prince had to solve.

It is entirely possible for the emperor to retire as a meritorious official at this time and leave a clean political environment for the prince.

Thinking of this, people's hearts are boiling.

Especially the civil service group was simply ecstatic.

Since the Xungui Group has withdrawn, it will be their turn to take over.

Then, Zhu Biao gave them a head-on blow.

Cabinet reshuffle.

The cabinet bachelors are no longer all civilians, but changed to include one from the military, one from the judiciary, one from the accounting department, one from the supervisory department, one from the tax department, and two from the administrative officials.

And it will always be the rule.

(End of this chapter)