Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Having successfully achieved his goal, Zhu Youjian felt no joy.

He watched the officials leave the court, his backs showing considerable disappointment.

This confrontation with his ministers made him realize that implementing constitutional government in the Ming Dynasty was very immature, and many ministers were simply not prepared for it.

They had no concept of compromise whatsoever; they only wanted to lock the emperor in the palace, just like they had done with the Wanli Emperor.

By having such a minister oversee the revision of rites and music, Zhu Youjian could determine the successor...

No, in my later years, I might become a figurehead ruler.

Even powerful emperors like the Taizu and Chengzu faced challenges to their power in their later years.

Emperor Jiajing was shrewd his whole life, but in his later years he was fooled by Xu Jie and others, and acted like a fool.

Zhu Youjian did not want to end up in that situation, so he had to firmly grasp the initiative in re-establishing rites and music.

Only by establishing a balance in the relationship between the emperor, his subjects, and the people, and by having the court and the parliament check and balance each other, could the emperor be more secure.

Therefore, he had to be patient and wear down these ministers.

This is the only way to ensure that power is not lost quickly and that it is not gradually eroded by one's subjects.

However, this matter is easier said than done. Zhu Youjian was quite unwilling.

Especially among the officials in the court now, many have noticed his impatience. They are using various forms of subtle resistance to wear him down.

Sometimes he wished he could purge the court, just like the Tianqi Emperor.

"calm down!"

"You must be patient!"

Zhu Youjian wrote the four characters "戒急用忍" (meaning "avoid haste and be patient") and then issued an order:
"Please summon Privy Councilor Yuan; I wish to have a private audience with him."

Under the pretext of discussing cooperation between the Imperial Guard and the Beijing Garrison, they requested an audience with Yuan Keli.

He believed that this veteran minister would not let him down; he was someone he could work with.

Yuan Keli actually had something to say to the emperor, because he realized during the court meeting that the emperor was not satisfied with the process of the meeting.

Although the outcome was largely in accordance with the emperor's will, the confrontations that occurred during the process still filled him with lingering fear.

The current emperor is not someone to be trifled with. His methods of disciplining ministers in recent years were even more adept than those of the Jiajing Emperor.

In the last two years, things have calmed down a bit in order to maintain stability.

However, if the court officials do not satisfy him, chaos will soon ensue.

Unwilling to witness the chaos of the Tianqi era, Yuan Keli addressed the emperor:
"Your Majesty, please calm down and don't be anxious."

"Reconstructing ritual music is not something that can be done overnight; it requires sufficient patience."

"I will not live to see that day, but Your Majesty is still young and has plenty of time."

"Even the founding emperor took several decades to establish the nation and its institutions; this matter cannot be rushed."

Taking the "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty" as an example, it is pointed out that many systems were finally established in the 26th year of Hongwu's reign. As the founding emperor, it was already so difficult to establish systems on a blank slate, so the restoration of rites and music must not be rushed.

Otherwise, the lessons of the Jianwen reforms are still there, and the failures of the Yongzhen Reforms, the Yuanfeng Reforms, and the Wang Anshi Reforms of the previous dynasty also illustrate the difficulty of this matter.

He believed that the emperor must be patient and be prepared to spend twenty or thirty years establishing laws and regulations and convening a parliament.

No matter what happens during this process, the arrangements cannot be disrupted, so the drafting of the articles was somewhat rushed this time.

Zhu Youjian humbly accepted the advice, realizing that he had indeed been somewhat impatient lately.

In fact, he didn't need to rush this much; he could have negotiated with his ministers one point at a time.

Zhu Youjian intended to let his ministers and the parliament argue about the civil rights and obligations outlined in Chapter Two of the "Great Ming Etiquette and Law Convention".

He must play the role of emperor well and act as a neutral arbiter.

Having fully understood the situation, he was prepared for a protracted battle with his ministers.

Upon hearing Yuan Keli's advice, he immediately said:
"I know what you're saying, sir, and I'm also worried."

"Looking at the past failures of reforms, the problem mostly stemmed from issues with military power."

"I can't control local affairs even if I want to, and I don't even know the details. I can only rely on my ministers to manage them."

"But Shuntian Prefecture and Beizhili must not be in chaos, and military power must be returned to me."

"The Imperial Guard and the Eagle Flying Army must be strengthened, and the Imperial Guard of the Capital and the Great Wall Army must also be under my command."

"What kind of person is Sun Chengzong? Is he capable of shouldering important responsibilities after Mr. [referring to the teacher]?"

This question asks about Sun Chengzong's stance, whether he still belongs to the Donglin Party or has turned to neutrality.

More importantly, is this person capable of communication, like Yuan Keli, serving as a mediator between the emperor and his ministers?

Rumors that Sun Chengzong had purged corrupt officials during the Tianqi era made Zhu Youjian quite uneasy.

Having experienced this incident firsthand, Yuan Keli was well aware of the emperor's concerns, and after much deliberation, he spoke:
“Supervisor Sun is loyal to His Majesty and also has connections with the Donglin Party.”

"But to say that he would purge the court of corrupt officials according to some people's wishes is nonsense."

"Even Liu Zhao was able to send 3,000 troops to approach the capital. Commander Sun has been training the various armies in Liaodong. If he wanted to purge the court of corrupt officials, he would have sent troops long ago."

"But he accepted the emperor's order to give up his official position, which is enough to show his loyalty."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, outwardly agreeing, but inwardly he still had doubts.

Because in such matters, one cannot only consider loyalty, but also the ability to purge corrupt officials from the emperor's inner circle.

Given Sun Chengzong's prestige in the army, if he were to be persuaded, it would be a major disaster for him.

Therefore, after noticing the resistance from his ministers, he already intended to reassign Sun Chengzong's position.

The problem, however, is that Sun Chengzong was formerly a civil official, but now he represents the meritorious officials of Liaodong. His successful acquisition of some troop deployment authority in the court this time was also due to the support of these people.

If Zhu Youjian demoted Sun Chengzong, the meritorious officials in Liaodong would be dissatisfied and would feel that the emperor was discarding them after they had served their purpose.

At a time when he needed to rely on them to control military power, Zhu Youjian would not do so, so after thinking it over, he said:

“Commander Sun is a man of great talent, like Pei Du, capable of serving as both a general and a prime minister.”

"It's such a waste to confine such talent to the Beijing Garrison."

"I intend to establish a Frontier Commission to integrate the Ministry of Border Defense and relevant departments of the Ministry of War, the Court of Colonial Affairs, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Rites, and to be responsible for the governance of the frontier."

"The planning and construction of the three major border defense lines—the nine borders, the coastal borders, and the remote borders—as well as the education, religion, ethnic groups, industries, and trade in the border regions, are all the responsibility of the Border Affairs Commission."

“General Sun is renowned for his defensive prowess and is also skilled in fortification. He will be in charge of repairing the defenses and overseeing these tasks.”

"What do you think, sir? Is Commander Sun capable of undertaking this task?"

Yuan Keli considered it carefully and replied:
"Let Commander Sun take charge of these matters; he will surely be able to handle them."

"But he is now a marquis and should not interfere in politics at court."

"Moreover, the Frontier Commission is currently a mere shell. I believe that Governor Sun could concurrently serve as the Great Wall Supervisor, which would facilitate the repair of the Great Wall defenses and also demonstrate the importance attached to it." This proposal not only demonstrated the stance against aristocratic interference in politics but also suggested transferring Sun Chengzong to a lateral position, thus avoiding any appearance of demotion.

After careful consideration, Zhu Youjian felt that Sun Chengzong was indeed more mature and that it would be more appropriate to appoint him as the commander-in-chief of the Great Wall.

So he nodded and said:
"After Zhu Xieyuan left office, the commander of the Great Wall did indeed need someone to take over."

"Moreover, Governor Sun has made great contributions and should have greater power and a more prominent position."

"Dukes, marquises, earls, and sons-in-law are not allowed to participate in the affairs of the Nine Ministers and cannot serve as ministers in the court."

"But there is no problem in being in charge of a committee."

"In this way, apart from the head of the Court of Colonial Affairs, which is equivalent to one of the Nine Ministers, other positions in the Court of Colonial Affairs will not be open to nobles. Sun Chengzong will be appointed as the executive director of the Court of Colonial Affairs to preside over the Frontier Committee."

"The Frontier Commission is a coordinating body, and its rank is determined by the highest-ranking government office within it. Since it has the Six Ministries and other departments, and there is no Grand Secretary among them, it is ranked on the same level as the Public Security Commission, which is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Justice, and is considered a second-rank government office."

"Letting Sun Chengzong take charge of this organization is not a bad thing."

Of course, this was not considered unfair treatment, which meant that although Sun Chengzong did not hold the title of one of the Nine Ministers, his actual power was no less than that of the other ministers.

In particular, the Frontier Commission integrated various government agencies, which meant that the Nine Border Regions and the areas beyond the Great Wall were all handed over to Sun Chengzong for governance.

This is a place Sun Chengzong is familiar with, so he will definitely be happy to go.

Yuan Keli immediately agreed on his behalf:

"I will persuade Commander-in-Chief Sun to resign from his post in the Beijing Garrison."

"Who does His Majesty intend to appoint as the next Governor-General of the Beijing Garrison?"

Zhu Youjian already had someone in mind, but he didn't say it aloud. Instead, he discussed it with Yuan Keli:
"The Beijing Garrison, the Imperial Guard, and the Eagle Flying Army are the three main military forces stationed in the capital."

"If there is a coup attempt by the army, we must mobilize them."

"Secondly, there is the Great Wall Army around the capital, responsible for Shuntian Prefecture, Beizhili, Xuanda and other places."

"The power to appoint the Governor-General of the Great Wall should be the same as that of the Governor-General of the Beijing Garrison; it must be in my hands."

This was his demand, to ensure that he held all military power, both inside and outside the capital.

After thinking it over, Yuan Keli did not object, but instead made a request:
"The Governor-General of the Great Wall may follow the precedent of the Governor-General of the Beijing Garrison, and be appointed by His Majesty through selection of meritorious officials."

"However, the commanders of the Great Wall Guard, the commanders of the Xuanda Guard, and the commanders of the Beijing Guard should be appointed by the court."

Zhu Youjian nodded in agreement; all he needed was for these two armies not to oppose him.

If it really comes down to mobilizing troops for any task, it's still more convenient to have the Imperial Guard and Eagle Army directly under the emperor's control.

In most cases, he didn't even need to mobilize troops; he only needed to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Investigation Team investigate a particular person.

The patrol brigade, which originated from the same source as the Eagle Army, was also able to suppress sporadic resistance, and there was simply no force in the capital that could oppose the emperor.

Yuan Keli was aware of this, so he readily agreed and did not dwell on the matter. He knew that the emperor held military power to ensure his peace of mind and to safeguard the restoration of the rites and music system.

This made Zhu Youjian realize even more that this old minister, who had wasted many years of his life, was someone he could cooperate with.

He knew what he should and shouldn't strive for, unlike some civil officials who only knew how to fight for power from the emperor.

It would be fine if these people seized power and used it properly, but what angered Zhu Youjian was that they were unwilling to take responsibility and even left their power unused.

Power abhors a vacuum; when the court loosens its control, new powers will inevitably emerge to fill the void.

The current chaos in the Ming Dynasty is a consequence of the power struggles and neglect of state affairs between the emperor and his ministers during the Wanli era.

Zhu Youjian was very dissatisfied with this, but unfortunately most of the officials in the court were former officials of the Wanli Emperor, and they were already used to it.

If Yuan Keli hadn't been so old and lacked experience as a Hanlin scholar, Zhu Youjian would definitely have made him Grand Secretary instead of letting Han Kuang hold the position without doing any work.
-
Thinking of Han Kuang, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but feel disappointed. He asked Yuan Keli:
"What does Yuan Qing think of the Grand Secretary?"

"Should we change it this time?"

Yuan Keli was not surprised to hear that the emperor planned to replace the chief minister.

He also believed that Han Kuang was incompetent and should be ranked lower among the chief ministers of the Ming Dynasty.

This chief minister, who stands on the side of a civil official and lacks backbone, once again revealed his true nature at the recently concluded court meeting.

He stood on the side of a civil official to contend for power with the emperor, but after the emperor's attitude became firm, he quickly expressed his willingness to back down.

How can anyone trust his sense of responsibility and his ability to assume the power granted by the emperor?

However, the list of Grand Secretaries had already been basically finalized and could not be easily changed. After some thought, Yuan Keli helplessly realized that the most suitable Grand Secretary in the court at present was Han Kuang.

If it were the Second Grand Secretary Yang Jingchen instead, many people would be dissatisfied, and the world might think that the eunuch faction was about to make a comeback. No one wants to see the conflict between the Donglin Party and the eunuch faction reignite.

Wen Tiren, Xu Guangqi, and Zheng Yiwei were even less suitable; they were either treacherous and cunning, lacked ability, or had questionable beliefs. Yuan Keli looked down on them.

On the contrary, Cheng Jiming and Yuan Keli are more favored, but they are too inexperienced to surpass the people in front.

So after much deliberation, Yuan Keli couldn't find a more suitable person and could only say:
“If Governor Sun had not been granted a title, he would certainly have been competent to serve as Grand Secretary.”

"But given the current situation, it would be best to have Scholar Han as the chief minister, as this would maintain stability in the court."

"If a new prime minister is appointed who cannot control the Donglin Party, neither the court nor the local governments will be stable."

This is also why Zhu Youjian appointed Han Kuang.

Compared to other members of the Donglin Party, Han Kuang was already considered a moderate, and he wasn't tough enough.

If a radical, hard-line Donglin Party member were to come to power, the court would definitely descend into chaos.

Compared to Han Kuang, who held a position without doing anything but was capable of being whipped, Zhu Youjian preferred to avoid employing such people.

Therefore, after inquiring, he abandoned the idea of ​​replacing the Grand Secretary and instructed Yuan Keli:

"Liu Lishun is your student. Now that he has been transferred to the capital, you must teach him well."

"I hope he can shoulder the heavy responsibility and complete the restoration of rites and music in the future."

"If there are other talented individuals, you may also make recommendations."

This fully demonstrates the trust placed in Yuan Keli, for which he was very grateful.

The emperor's words undoubtedly indicated that Liu Lishun might become the Grand Secretary in the future, and that his influence could be maintained.

If he, already in his twilight years, can put his political ideals into practice through his disciples, that would be gratifying.

He decided to teach Liu Lishun well and pass on his knowledge, connections, and so on as much as possible.

To complete the reconstruction of the rites and music, we also need to rely on these Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from the Chongzhen era, and entrust them with the task of overseeing it.

These are also the people Zhu Youjian has been cultivating, and he has great confidence in them.

Those who grew up under the influence of a re-established system of rites and music will govern the country according to these rites and laws, thoroughly implementing their political ideals.

As for Han Kuang and others, it would be best if they could make a smooth transition.

If someone doesn't perform well, it's not like you can't replace them entirely.

He believed that someone would eventually recognize the situation and that he could find ministers with whom he could cooperate. (End of Chapter)