Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Cheng Jiming's reminder made Han Kuang understand completely:
Why did the emperor delegate so much power, yet repeatedly emphasize the unity of power and responsibility?

This is clearly putting the cabinet under the blame from both the government and the public, and the prime minister will have to bear the greatest pressure.

From then on, whenever problems arose with an imperial edict drafted by the cabinet, it was the cabinet that was blamed by the court officials.

The emperor then remained hidden behind them, no longer directly facing his ministers.

Having figured this out, Han Kuang gave a half-smile.

Because he realized that he should have figured it out long ago, as the draft code of conduct clearly stated the cabinet's powers and responsibilities.

It even specifically states:
The Grand Secretary should draft or approve one of the proposed clauses.

[A cabinet draft must not be released or leaked without the emperor's approval; violators will be punished for falsely conveying imperial edicts and leaking confidential information.]

This is clearly making the chief minister take the blame, leaving no room for shirking responsibility.

He drafted or approved all the votes; if he doesn't take responsibility, who will?

Even if his draft proposals were written under the emperor's pressure, those proposals containing his true thoughts could not be leaked.

Otherwise, it would be considered falsely conveying imperial edicts and leaking secrets, which would be punishable by the emperor.

It could be said that the emperor had long ago laid a trap for him, so that he would take responsibility when problems arose.

For a moment, Han Kuang didn't know how to feel.

Is it because you don't want to take responsibility for the emperor?

Or are they delighted to have gained power?
Seeing Han Kuang's ever-changing expression, Cheng Jiming knew he had figured it out. He then said:
"His Majesty's intention now is to hold the Grand Secretary accountable."

"However, there is a loophole in this, which is that His Majesty grants the cabinet ministers the independent power to draft decrees. In theory, they can bypass the Grand Secretary and issue decrees through the draft of any Grand Secretary."

"Such an imperial edict without the Grand Secretary's consent should not hold the Grand Secretary responsible."

"Does Lord Han think this loophole should be plugged, or should it be left to exist?"

To close this loophole, any decree must be drafted or approved by the Grand Secretary.

Such a chief minister is a true prime minister, and the emperor cannot bypass him when issuing decrees.

If the matter is not addressed, the Grand Secretary still has room to shirk responsibility.

If you really don't want to do what the emperor asks, you can just sit back and watch the emperor bypass you and let other cabinet ministers write the draft proposals.

Han Kuang pondered Cheng Jiming's words and fell into deep thought.

The same applies to Zheng Sanjun and Li Banghua; neither of them were from the Hanlin Academy and therefore were not qualified to serve as cabinet ministers.

Considering the power of the Nine Ministers, they believed that the independent power to draft proposals should be retained.

After all, the Nine Ministers were also qualified to preside over the committees under the Cabinet, and could have the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet who served as committee members write draft proposals.

If the independent voting power of the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet is abolished, their decisions will still require the approval of the Grand Secretary.

This undermines the power of the Nine Ministers who control the Cabinet Committee, said Jeong Sam-jun, who aspires to become the committee's chairman and thereby gain the power to draft resolutions:

"When His Majesty bestowed the seal upon the Cabinet, he said that the use of the seal was necessary to exercise the independent power of drafting proposals."

"A draft ticket that has not been stamped must be stamped by the Grand Secretary."

"So this loophole can hardly be called a loophole. You can clearly see which committee used which seal in the draft."

"Whoever is responsible should bear the responsibility; the prime minister will not bear all the responsibility."

Li Banghua also said:
"The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet have the independent power to draft proposals, a change His Majesty made after ascending the throne."

"Now that it has been implemented for several years, the government and the public have long been accustomed to it."

"Grand Secretary Cheng is indifferent to this power for the sake of the country, but the other Grand Secretaries may not necessarily give it up."

"It might trigger a political struggle and be collectively opposed by other cabinet ministers."

This was his concern; he believed that a political struggle should not be initiated so soon after the change of leadership.

It's easy to delegate independent voting rights, but difficult to take them back.

The cabinet ministers and nine high-ranking officials who have gained power will not easily give it up.

Seeing that both of them had this attitude, Cheng Jiming sighed inwardly:
Neither of them held the position of head of a cabinet committee; they were merely members with some right to speak.

If they were so opposed to revoking the independent right to vote, then others were even more so.

If Han Kuang dares to propose it, he will likely face collective opposition from the cabinet ministers and the nine high officials.

Furthermore, Han Kuang was not the type to take responsibility, and he said:

"There's no need to discuss the matter of independent voting rights."

"Now that His Majesty has delegated power, if I were to seize all the power for myself, His Majesty would certainly not feel at ease."

"Besides, if His Majesty really wants to bypass the Grand Secretary, he can always find a way."

"With various committees holding the seals, there is no need to worry about His Majesty using this power recklessly."

He rejected Cheng Jiming's proposal, believing that it was not the right time to seize power.

Cheng Jiming also understood this principle, sighed, and did not continue speaking:

After joining the cabinet, he realized the dangers of the independent drafting power.

Since each Grand Secretary can draft votes independently, they cannot completely unite as one.

A decentralized cabinet is no match for imperial power.

There were always Grand Secretaries who would flatter the Emperor and cater to his wishes when drafting imperial edicts.

Therefore, he has always hoped that the chief minister would take power so that the voice of the cabinet would be unified.

Unfortunately, now is not a good time.

Han Kuang, the chief minister who feared taking responsibility, also did not want to monopolize power and bear all the blame. His proposal was completely rejected and could not even be brought to the court for discussion.

This left Cheng Jiming with nothing but a sigh, thinking to himself:
"The independent voting right, established only five years ago, is already so difficult to overturn."

"Once this is implemented for a long time and is written into the rites and codes of conduct, who can overturn it?"

"It seems that the cabinet will still be controlled by the emperor from now on."

Having anticipated this outcome, Cheng Jiming was genuinely disappointed in Han Kuang.

This is because it means that the cabinet is weaker than the imperial power and has to take the blame and bear various responsibilities.

A responsible cabinet will truly become a "responsible" cabinet, taking on even more responsibility.

After returning home, he wrote down all his feelings in his notebook.

Even later, when the Grand Secretary learned of this, he deeply regretted it.
They dreamed of taking back the independent voting power of other cabinet ministers, but unfortunately this power was enshrined in the rites and laws, and had the support of a large number of cabinet ministers and high-ranking officials, so they couldn't abolish it at all.

This made them appear weak when facing the emperor.

If one is too forceful, the emperor may bypass one and instruct other cabinet ministers to draft a proposal.

The responsible cabinet had completely transformed into a cabinet that assumed responsibility, and Zhu Youjian had achieved his goal.
-
This conversation was a private discussion among ministers of the Donglin School, including Han Kuang.

However, the record of the conversation appeared on Zhu Youjian's case—

According to his regulations, each minister should have at least one secretary dispatched by the Director of the Imperial Secretariat.

They are usually responsible for security and have been trained by the Imperial Guards.

A few days ago, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Equipment Department made a breakthrough in eavesdropping equipment based on the emperor's description of paper cups used as megaphones and stethoscopes.

They used a newly invented wall-peeping device to hear and record all of these conversations.

Zhu Youjian was truly shocked to see Cheng Jiming suggest that Han Kuang cancel the independent voting power.
Because this could be considered the biggest flaw in his responsible cabinet—

The powers and responsibilities of the cabinet are actually not equal.

On the surface, all of the emperor's official decrees had to be drafted by the cabinet, and the emperor handled affairs according to the cabinet's opinions, so the cabinet had to bear responsibility.

In reality, through his independent power to draft proposals, the emperor could always find a Grand Secretary willing to cooperate and transform his intentions into draft proposals.

The emperor should actually bear the responsibility for these kinds of draft proposals. However, the emperor remained behind the scenes, leaving the cabinet to assume the corresponding responsibility.

If problems arise, people will hold the cabinet accountable first because the imperial edict was drafted by the cabinet.

The emperor's responsibility was shifted to the cabinet.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian insisted on the right to draft independent proposals and included it in the drafted rites and laws.

I didn't expect that my plan to oppose this power would be seen through so quickly.

Fortunately, Han Kuang was weak-willed and did not make a scene.

"This Cheng Ji Ming is truly not to be underestimated."

Fortunately, he also understands the importance of considering the bigger picture and prioritizing the overall situation.

"This man has the talent of a prime minister!"

Looking at the content of the conversation, Zhu Youjian felt a surge of emotion.

Compared to Han Kuang, Cheng Jiming was more responsible and politically astute.

Unfortunately, his promotion was a bit slow; he only became a cabinet minister this year.

Zhu Youjian found it very interesting to see his response to "making the ruler like Yao and Shun" as "the minister should be a sage":

"Let the ruler become like Yao and Shun, and let the ministers become like sages."

"This is a good suggestion. From now on, if anyone asks me to be a sage like Yao or Shun, I will first examine whether they are truly wise and virtuous."

"Only memorials that have been verified by the Censorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to be without fault are worth reading."

"From now on, this standard will be used to deal with those who hold the emperor to high standards!"

Overjoyed, Zhu Youjian looked at the meeting records and the description of "average appearance," and gradually formed an idea in his mind.
-
The following day, after the Standing Committee meeting, he left the attending ministers behind and said:

"This is a discussion between Prime Minister Han and several ministers yesterday."

"Take a look and give your opinions."

He directly presented the eavesdropped transcript of the conversation to the assembled officials.

Han Kuang looked at the recorded words, time, and place. He instantly broke out in a cold sweat and knelt down, saying:
"My lord is guilty!"

"Discussing the emperor in private."

"Please punish me, Your Majesty. I will never do it again."

I'm glad I didn't say anything out of line yesterday; I guess the emperor won't punish me too much.

When the emperor had him manipulated and pleaded guilty, his first reaction was to apologize, hoping to give the emperor a chance to punish him as a warning.

Seeing him like this, Cheng Jiming sighed inwardly, but could only apologize in return.

Zheng Sanjun, however, took a firm stance and addressed the emperor:
“Your Majesty, using such methods to eavesdrop on the private affairs of ministers is not the behavior of a wise ruler.”

"Your Majesty, please punish the eavesdroppers and ensure that this never happens again."

Not only did they refuse to admit their guilt, they also believed that the emperor was wrong to do so.

Li Banghua shared the same view, believing that such methods were beneath him.

He also demanded that the emperor punish the eavesdroppers and refrain from using such methods in the future.

While the other ministers were shocked by the emperor's methods, they also agreed with the two men's opinions out of consideration for their privacy.

Even though Han Kuang and Cheng Jiming had already admitted their mistakes, they couldn't come up with any excuses for themselves. (End of Chapter)