Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 409 Newspaper: Give talented people a chance!
"Does Your Majesty know?"

Liu Sanwuxu sat on the chair and looked up at Xia Zhibai.

He was eager for the answer.

As a subject, he was not as courageous as Xia Zhibai, and had long lost the ability to take risks. He could only obey the orders of his Majesty. If the Majesty did not allow, he would never agree, no matter how wonderful Xia Zhibai's words were.

He didn't dare to take the risk.

"After the first edition of the newspaper is finalized, it will be shown to Your Majesty first." Xia Zhibai smiled.

Liu Sanwu sat down heavily.

He knew that Xia Zhibai still chose to act on his own and did not inform His Majesty in advance. This kind of "acting first and reporting later" was a very dangerous thing, even if Xia Zhibai gave very sufficient reasons.

"That means your majesty doesn't agree, and I won't agree either." Liu Sanwu pondered for a moment and rejected it directly. "Your idea is good, but it's not very feasible. Not to mention how long it takes to edit a newspaper, how much manpower, material resources and financial resources are needed, even if it is disseminated, it can only be spread in the capital at most, and it can't achieve the effect you want. It's just a waste of effort to toss and turn."

"It will only push you to the opposite side of more people."

"Why bother?"

Liu Sanwu looked at Xia Zhibai with confusion in his eyes.

He is old.

It is true that he no longer has the vigor and drive of his youth, but even when he was young, he had never been as bold and reckless as Xia Zhibai, and he would never have the idea of ​​shaking the existing system of the world by himself.

"It's not a bad thing to try. If you don't even have the courage to try, that would be the nightmare of the world." Xia Zhibai stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Since I entered the court, I have been aiming to change the existing situation in the world. Now I am just moving forward step by step."

"What the Master is worried about is nothing more than the criticism from the ministers."

"But I don't really care about the criticisms of the officials. They are indeed very powerful and have great influence in the court and in the local areas. It's just that Master has read so many books but overlooked a very critical issue."

"What's the problem?" Liu Sanwu frowned.

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Every reform in the world is a redistribution of power. Today, the power of the world is basically concentrated in the hands of the six ministries in the court. With the current number of officials in the six ministries, they cannot support such a large concentration of power. Therefore, the more concentrated it is, the less effective it will be."

"But if other forces emerge in the court, the situation will change greatly."

"The Hanlin Academy used to be considered a think tank."

"If you join the newspaper, you will become the mouthpiece of the court. This will indeed greatly strengthen the status of the Hanlin Academy, but it will also form a new interest group, and this interest group itself is in conflict with the old interest group."

"So the Master is worrying too much."

"Because the things I'm proposing are, at their core, about the redistribution of power."

"If the new does not come, the old will not go."

"The beneficiaries will not be willing to give up the power they have obtained, and the vested interests that have finally become them will not do so either. Therefore, it will not turn into a fight alone, but rather one interest group attacking another. However, given the current situation of the six ministries, this situation is nothing to be afraid of."

"The Six Departments are clearly out of date."

"In the process of the world's rule, the professionalism and expertise of officials have become stronger and stronger, and the functions of the six ministries are too general and too broad. It seems to maximize the ability of officials, but in fact it limits the initiative of officials. Therefore, splitting the six ministries will be inevitable."

"Your Majesty's approval of the Hu Weiyong case has almost clearly abolished the prime minister system."

"Among the six ministers, the positions of Minister of Personnel and Minister of Revenue are still vacant, and no one has been appointed yet. Isn't this also an attempt by Your Majesty?"

Hearing this, Liu Sanwu was stunned for a moment.

Splitting the six ministries was also something he had never thought about before, but after hearing what Xia Zhibai said, he felt that it made some sense, because the power of the six ministries was too concentrated and too great. Even His Majesty was afraid of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel. Therefore, splitting the six ministries and breaking the six ministries' offices into multiple offices was not unreasonable.

immediately.

Liu Sanwu sensed something was wrong again.

All of this was inferred according to Xia Zhibai's ideas.

Your Majesty has been pursuing a small government since the founding of the country and has always advocated reducing the number of officials. If the six ministries are split up, wouldn't it mean that the number of officials in the court will increase significantly? As the number of court officials increases, the number of local officials will also have to increase, which will undoubtedly increase a lot of fiscal expenditure.

This is something the Ming Dynasty cannot afford.

Liu Sanwu said in a deep voice: "This is just your personal opinion, it doesn't count. As an old scholar of the Hanlin Academy, I can't watch you drag the Hanlin Academy into this political vortex. If you are not careful, it will lead the other Hanlin scholars in the academy into a dead end."

“I need to be responsible for them.”

Liu Sanwu spoke sincerely and frankly.

If he only represented himself, he would be ruthless enough to give it a try with Xia Zhibai, but Xia Zhibai wanted to mobilize the entire Hanlin Academy, which was something Liu Sanwu was unwilling to accept. He was already very old, and half of his body was buried in the ground, so he naturally didn't care about these things, but what about other scholars?

They are still young and in the prime of their lives, how could they be killed here so early?

Xia Zhibai was not surprised.

Liu Sanwu is generally a conservative person.

Especially when he gets older, he is reluctant to take risks easily, but he has his own way.

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Master, don't be so hasty to refuse. The Hanlin Academy is a place for talent storage. How can His Majesty know about talents? It must be through writing. Most of the things that can make Hanlin scholars write are things that the court needs to solve urgently, or things that His Majesty asks about. But Master also knows that there are very few articles that can catch His Majesty's eyes, and there are also very few scholars who can hear His Majesty's ears."

"The vast majority of Hanlin scholars don't have this opportunity."

“Newspapers are different.”

“There’ll be a copywriter above him!”

"The names of the scholars who wrote the articles will be written on them. Since current affairs cannot be published, it is always possible to write a commentary on current affairs, right?"

"Expressing one's own opinions and views does not involve any secrets. Whether it is good or bad depends on the individual."

"When the time comes, I will simply summarize and collect these current comments, compile them into a book, and submit them together. I believe that many scholars and students in the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College will be happy to compile the articles."

“No matter how talented you are, if you don’t have the opportunity to display your talents, you can only sigh that your talents are not appreciated.”

"I will give these talented people a chance right now!"

Liu Sanwu stared at Xia Zhibai in a daze.

He sighed helplessly. Xia Zhibai had already made his decision, and there was no point in persuading him any further. He also didn't think that other Hanlin scholars and Imperial Academy students could resist this temptation.

Xia Zhibai really knows how to "give people what they like"!

(End of this chapter)