Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 116: The fire is over, and new rules are established

How is it possible to have no objection to everything?

When the emperor said this, was he trying to explain why he has been so "indecisive" recently?

Is it to silence dissent?
Shen Shixing felt that he had grasped the emperor's intention, and said, "Your Majesty, the court officials were selected through several imperial examinations and entered the court after several examinations. Their talents are naturally outstanding. However, they have held different official positions in the past, and the customs of the people in each province are also different. Since their experiences are different, they naturally have different opinions on state affairs. Therefore, the establishment of the Ministry of Personnel, the division of the government offices, and the appointment of cabinet ministers have a system to deal with things, to make up for omissions and seek benefits and avoid harm."

"We are ashamed to be in the position of the ministers. We dare not say that we have thought everything through, but our strategy is generally appropriate. We are going to present it to Your Majesty for your wise decision. If it is approved, it will be useful in the future, which is our duty. If it causes disaster, it will be our stupidity and incompetence. In recent days, there have been many discussions, and we are already ashamed. If Your Majesty seeks perfection and there must be no mistakes, how can we dare to take on the job?"

Wang Xijue also spoke up: "Your Majesty adheres to the principle of listening to all sides to understand the main idea, and it is a blessing for the state to open up the channels for people to express their opinions! However, I dare to make a remonstrance, and Your Majesty listens to the opinions of the people. This is not only useless to state affairs, but also not a sign of trusting the cabinet ministers! Now the cabinet ministers have jointly proposed the major plan, and the six ministries and the government offices have participated in the discussion. If Your Majesty is still worried, then we are really just sitting there doing nothing."

Shen Yikuan was also much bolder: "Your Majesty attaches great importance to the court meeting. I hope that all the ministers can express their opinions. I hope that you will worry about the omissions in the court's strategy because I am sick. I am happy and impressed, but also worried. If all matters can only be decided in the court, why should we set up different offices? Why do we still need to submit a memorial, send a draft to the cabinet ministers, and ask for your approval?"

The ministers' hearts were pounding when they heard this: Could it be that the emperor really wanted to change the cabinet and return power to the various ministries?
When the three cabinet ministers spoke out together for advice, it was of course to maintain the authority of the cabinet as a whole.

They were in a dilemma for the time being. After all, if there were such a big change, how would the government be run in the future?

It is impossible for everyone to argue at the court meeting, and there is not much room left for handling and implementation, and the efficiency is too low.

The emperor nodded as if he had understood something. "You all have a point, but... I may have been too worried before. However, when I consulted the court about the strategy you proposed, there were indeed many opinions. I also think that the strategy you proposed should be generally appropriate. Why do the court officials still have so many objections and don't understand the priorities?"

The others felt a chill in their hearts: After all this time, they are just pretending to move the cabinet, and then forcing us to shut up?

What does it mean to not know what are the priorities? Isn't that stupid?

It is enough to emphasize it once, why bother everyone for half a month just to reduce opposition.

Moreover, he first suspended the court meeting temporarily because the important ministers refused to take up their duties, as if he was dissatisfied with them.

Your mind is really hard to predict.

Wang Dewan was unhappy: "Officials are preparing to present their plans for various matters, and the Ministry of Justice is investigating and correcting omissions and shortcomings. The decision is entirely up to the emperor! If Your Majesty wants no criticism in the court, then you are blocking the way for speech!"

"What Wang Jieshi said makes sense!" Zhu Changluo nodded. "It's just that you all expressed your opinions, either in court meetings or in memorials. When they were piled up in front of me, I thought some of them made sense, and others made sense. With so many different opinions, I couldn't help but feel torn."

"Your Majesty has suddenly been faced with a lot of state affairs. I hope that everything will be planned properly. I am really happy that Your Majesty is lenient and wise. However, all matters have been assisted and supported by the ministers, and the implementation is all decided by the emperor. Your Majesty is diligent, and we all know it. But does Your Majesty lack counselors? The subjects hope for a king who can make good decisions! If the consequences are not appropriate, it will not damage Your Majesty's reputation for wise judgment. The king and his ministers will correct their mistakes when they hear them, and they will improve day by day."

Shen Yikuan said this and looked at the emperor eagerly.

Can I try another route?
I have corrected my mistakes. Please keep your power to yourself. We all know that you have your own opinions. Why would you be in a dilemma?

Zhu Changluo finally heaved a sigh of relief: "I almost got lost in the devil's barrier! Now that I think about it, there are mainly three reasons. First, there is no division of responsibilities for everything, and everyone can submit a report. I am dazzled by it, how can I not worry too much? Let's make a rule. From now on, except for the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, all officials will only talk about the affairs of their own departments."

The three cabinet ministers and the censors were all delighted: This is indeed not their job, but as long as their interests are involved, they just say something and put pressure on others. How uncomfortable will this make the people who are really responsible?
"The second is that no matter whether a decision is made before or after the event, people still criticize and criticize endlessly. In particular, rumors are spread too much, and those who are in charge are often distracted by them to deal with criticism and accusations, and in the end things are not done well. Let's set a rule, and don't spread rumors at will. Even if there is only human evidence, it should be written clearly from whom the rumor came, and the censors should at least verify it first. Without a rule, there will inevitably be suspicion of false accusation." Now it was the people other than the censors who were happy: Your Majesty is wise, and the censors' mouths are harmful.

The censors were a little anxious: Your Majesty, are you mistaken? You can impeach without evidence just to make the ministers afraid. Are you ignoring the ability of the ministers to do bad things without leaving any trace?

But the emperor continued, "Third, court meetings often lead to arguments because of the discussion of matters, often going off topic, and even attacking private morals. I think that if we want to discuss the matter, we should put it into writing so that it can be serious and organized. Therefore, in the future, court meetings will only convey the matters I want the ministers to discuss, and the court meetings will only talk about the previous situation and the goals. After that, I will only call the cabinet ministers and relevant important personnel to brainstorm and formulate strategies."

Apart from the cabinet ministers and heads of various ministries, everyone else was anxious.

Zhu Changluo continued to shut them up: "Speaking of this, I also think of memorials and memorials, which often have no clear rules. Regardless of whether it is a memorial or a memorial, you are all looking forward to my approval. From now on, let's change it. For memorials, the Ministry of Public Administration will register them and send them to the cabinet immediately. After voting, I will definitely give a reply. For memorials, they will be submitted directly to the study room of the Ministry of Rites. I will not send all of them to the cabinet, but I will select and reply only to those who make memorials. For example, all questions about matters at the court will be submitted in memorials in the future."

These words stunned all the civil officials, and then they all looked at the three cabinet ministers with meaningful eyes and kept silent.

Liu Jing and others didn't understand why many people seemed anxious to say something just now, but now they were all quiet.

Some people couldn't even hide their joy on their faces.

Shen Yikuan, Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue looked at the emperor, not knowing what to say for a moment.

The three new rules are all beneficial to them. They allow them to reduce many burdens and also clearly define their power to decide many matters between themselves and the emperor within a small scope.

But the last additional rule was a fatal blow to the cabinet ministers.

Even though the fact that "after receiving and registering the memorial, it will be sent to the cabinet immediately, and there must be a reply to the draft" is a confirmation of the cabinet's authority, because the memorial was submitted directly to the Silijian and the reply was sent directly to individuals, it actually gave everyone the power to "reveal secretly."

In this regard, the Tongzhengshi, one of the Nine Ministers, did not dare to say anything more: Was it to control the channel for all the ministers in the world to give advice to the emperor?

According to the old rules, all memorials and petitions had to go through the Tongzhengshisi, where they had to be opened to check the format, registered, and then sealed before being delivered to the emperor. Although the emperor usually chose to send the cabinet a draft for review, he could also keep it in his cabinet.

Now all official documents are sent directly to the cabinet, which means that everything will at least go to the drafting stage and will not be kept in the middle.

The emperor said that there must be a response to the memorial, so there would be no case of no response. At most, there would be a few rounds of discussion.

Therefore, it is difficult for the cabinet ministers to oppose it, and it is not easy for them to say that the secret revelations exclusive to the cabinet ministers should not be made public, as this will inevitably lead to private attacks and misleading the emperor's mind.

No one except the cabinet ministers among the civil and military officials in the world would object to this.

Zhu Changluo nodded with satisfaction: "It seems that you all agree, so let's do it. The cabinet's proposals on several important matters in recent days will be approved and implemented. The cabinet is brave enough to take on the task, which is very comforting to me. The lecturers have worked hard in recent days. Starting from next month, the imperial lectures will be changed to twice a month after the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. The cabinet ministers will move to the Yangxin Palace and adjourn the court."

(End of this chapter)