The heavens begin with the Dharma of absorbing power.

Chapter 355 Zhou Huaian Zhao Huaian... The water in this matter is very deep... The emperor is probably dying...

"Thank you, Xiongtai, for helping me! You are my brother!"

In a secluded house in the capital, Xu Xin put He Hu down to heal his injuries. When He Hu stood up to thank him, he revealed half of his face for him to recognize. It was the face he used when he was at the Longmen Inn in the past.

He Hu knew this face, and it was easier to win people's trust and get words from him.

"Brother He, you have done great things over the years..."

Xu Xin and He Hu exchanged pleasantries, and under his persuasion, He Hu told Xu Xin the current whereabouts of Zhou Huaian and some of their affairs.

Zhou Huaian now changed his name to Zhao Huaian, which was not what Xu Xin expected.

And the gentleman he is meeting now is indeed a big shot. He has a much higher status than the deceased Minister of War, Yang Yuxuan. He is the current Minister of Civil Affairs, Wang Shu, and the real boss in the court at this time.

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the highest-ranking official of the Ministry of Personnel among the six departments, is known as Otsuka Zai. This position can be traced back to Cao Wei, who changed the Han Dynasty's Li Cao Shangshu to Li Bu Shangshu, managing the selection, assessment, appointment and removal of officials.

In the Sui Dynasty, the six departments were established, and the official official department became the first of the six departments. Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty once changed it to Si Lietaichang Bo, and Wu Zetian once changed it to Tianguan Shangshu. It remained a permanent position for future generations. After the Ming Dynasty abolished the prime minister, the Minister of Personnel became the nominal head of the officials.

The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for the promotion and inspection of officials, and has very important powers, and the person in charge of it, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, is called the Heavenly Official.

Especially in the Chenghua Dynasty, the current three cabinet ministers are all obedient paper puppets, and even Wan An is not involved with Concubine Wan Gui. Under such circumstances, the upright Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs naturally became the leader among civil servants.

Wang Shu is a very famous person, and he is known as the Three Gentlemen along with Ma Wensheng and Liu Daxia.

In the early years of the Chenghua Dynasty, the emperor also worked hard to govern. However, as he grew older, the conflicts with the foreign court deepened, and he began to resist and restrict civil servants. Li Xian, who was in charge of the world, died in office, and the great imperial examination master, Shang, defeated the princess of the Shang Prime Minister to become an official.

During that period, the court became "three pavilions made of paper and six ministers made of clay".

There was a ballad at that time: There are twelve parts in two capitals, and there is only one king, Shu. It is said that this person is fair, upright, loyal, and has the hope of the world.

As the saying goes: When Wang Duanyi was in Quan (official department), he was as good as a phoenix or a phoenix, and the world looked at him and knew his auspiciousness!

In the 20th year of Chenghua, Li Yu, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was slandered and resigned. Wang Shu took over as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he did do some practical things.

But later it seemed that the emperor's bottom line was touched, and he took the lead in writing a letter against the ministers.

The appointment of officials was one of the characteristics of the Chenghua Dynasty. No scientific examination was required. As long as the emperor passed the examination, he could become an official. In the seventh year of Tianshun, there was a similar special case, but it was carried forward during the Chenghua Dynasty.

This type of officials can be regarded as special talents. As long as they are awarded the title of "Special Order from the Central Palace", they are special officials who specialize in helping the court to do one thing. It is said that the officials are under the control of the emperor himself and not the Ministry of Personnel. They are officials who wander outside the normal system.

This kind of official transfer was naturally looked down upon by officials with formal imperial examination backgrounds, and they angrily denounced the destruction of officialdom at this time.

Many civil servants said that officials who harmed the imperial court were flatterers who were created to satisfy the wishes of the emperor or a concubine or eunuch in the harem.

However, this statement has some truth, but it is not comprehensive.

Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen's purpose in setting up ministerial officials was indeed to satisfy his selfish desires, but it was also a means for him to target the outer court civil servant group, and it was a method he used to divide the power of the original civil servants. During the one hundred years of development in the Ming Dynasty, a system for selecting civil servants was established. The appointment and dismissal of officials were mostly based on proposals from the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel, or the ministers recommended candidates to the emperor, and then the emperor approved them.

The cabinet system was originally designed to serve the emperor, but after Tumubao, the power of civil servants increased significantly, and this system also had some problems.

If the emperor was strong, this system would be nothing. However, as long as the emperor becomes weak, he will be reduced to a sealing machine and can only agree to the memorials submitted by the cabinet. The emperor's power is not as powerful as that of the cabinet.

At that time, Zhu Jianshen wanted to strengthen the imperial power and make a fuss about the selection and promotion of officials. However, the imperial examination was a long-term policy for selecting officials and could not be changed lightly. Finally, he chose to personally appoint some officials to the court.

In this process, the officials were excluded and turned into yamen that could only abide by appointments. Zhu Jianshen successfully suppressed the cabinet and increased the imperial power, but he also made a not-so-good opening.

Although we cannot believe everything that the civil servants say, some of them are indeed reasonable. For example, it is said that officials satisfy the selfish desires of some concubines and eunuchs and specially arrange their own affairs. This is indeed the case.

They all came from orthodox imperial examinations and were all officials passed through the imperial examination system. Many of them had to study hard for more than ten years, or even decades, before they were admitted to the Jinshi and became officials of the Ming Dynasty. They were naturally He is not the same person as Chuan Fengguan.

However, the deeper meaning of their suppression of the Chuanfengguan is because the Chuanfengguan is not from the same faction as themselves, but a direct descendant of the serious "eunuch party".

Xu Xin didn't say anything about the affairs of the imperial court, but he had been operating in the capital for many years, and later became the prince's attendant. He was considered an official, neither big nor small, and he was somewhat aware of these situations.

Although he just got some words from He Hu, by working backwards based on the clues he has, it is easy to get more information and discover situations that many people don't know.

"The civil servants and the emperor are fighting again!"

Xu Xin peeled off some recent information and pieced together a relatively complete situation.

I am afraid that there will be a big storm in the court recently, the capital will be in turmoil, and a number of high-ranking officials will definitely be dismissed.

The water on this matter is deep, but it is also an opportunity. If the operation is done well, the power of one's own "king party" can be strengthened. For example, Wang Hua, who has been a member of the Imperial Academy, or Xie Qian of the Jiangxi Party, may be able to move.

Xu Xin's premonition was correct. In the 22nd year of Chenghua, a big storm broke out in the capital.

One day, headed by Wang Shu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, dozens of officials, large and small, came together to impeach the admiral of Dongchang for being cruel and unjust, killing innocent people indiscriminately... and he deserved to be punished.

However, the final result was that the emperor was furious and scolded all the officials in court, making random accusations without knowing what was happening.

The final result of this incident was that a group of officials headed by Wang Shu were forced to retire from office. It seemed that the "eunuch party" had won a great victory.

But when Xu Xin analyzed the situation, he discovered unusual problems.

The emperor has repeatedly shown his strength. This situation is very abnormal, combined with some news in the palace.

Xu Xin was basically certain that the emperor's physical condition was probably not very good. Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen, the master of the Ming Dynasty's resurgence, was probably close to death.

(End of this chapter)