Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 284: The King's Heart is Unpredictable
The emperor was "not doing his job", and all the heavy burden fell on Chen Jian.

The position of phase is important, one is the main one and two are the assistant ones.

This time it was much more "fair" because the emperor had issued an edict that the thirteen censors did not need to be distracted by participating in the court recommendation.

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel, Chen Jian, had to preside over the court recommendation before he even recognized all his subordinates. But precisely because of this, he only had to follow the rules: summon important officials in the court who were qualified to participate in the court recommendation, and have them come to the Ministry of Personnel's office at the appointed time.

At the court meeting on the first day of July, it was decided that the minister in charge of the Secretariat and the minister in charge of government affairs would be elected the next day. However, there was no court meeting on the second day of July, and the Ministry of Personnel was ready to welcome all the ministers early in the morning.

The first person to arrive was Wang Xijue.

"Junyong." Wang Xijue bowed to Chen Jian, "Please select someone as soon as possible. I really miss my hometown."

"The governor is still strong..."

Chen Jian was polite to him, but Wang Xijue just smiled.

If he insisted on working for another two years, Wang Xijue estimated that his body would be able to hold out, but why bother?

Since he returned to the court in the 28th year of Wanli, he was first a cabinet minister and later a regent. The stability of his position and the length of time it lasted were the most rare in his life.

However, because of the stability and long history, the promotion and appointment of many officials cannot be separated from his influence. If he wants to make further reforms, he will face resistance from these people.

Besides, where will the new policies of the Taichang Dynasty end? Let younger people with less baggage come.

Not long after, Zhu Geng sent his second son Zhu Jingfu to come. He did not come in person, but Zhu Jingfu, who served as a servant in the Administrative Council, brought his vote.

Chen Jian carefully put it away and sealed the envelope tightly without opening it.

He just took the envelope and showed it to all the ministers who were present, especially Shen Li.

The last first-rank official to arrive was Ye Xianggao. After entering, he first greeted Wang Xijue and Shen Li, and then smiled at Chen Jian and said, "I'm afraid the whole capital is waiting for news from the Ministry of Personnel. Can the great official handle it?"

"I am in charge of the imperial selection according to the regulations. Apart from taking care of the affairs, I am not worried about the discussion of the court and the public about the selection of the chief assistant." Chen Jian replied calmly, "Besides, it is only the selection of the chief assistant. Who will be selected to take the position is still to be decided by the emperor."

Ye Xianggao smiled and nodded, but his heart was heavy.

Looking at Zhu Guozuo again, Ye Xianggao became worried about the outcome of today's court trial.

Last time, he helped Shen Li push the person he thought was more suitable to the position of Minister of Personnel, but the emperor then pointed out both of them bluntly.

This time, if they nominate the Minister of the Secretariat and the Minister of State Affairs, I am afraid that they may not be able to push Zhu Guozuo out of the Jinxian Academy. And Chen Jian does not seem to care about Ye Xianggao's kindness, after all, he seems to have more power over the Jianchayuan.

With Ye Xianggao's arrival, all the people from Jinxianyuan were present, as well as some assistant ministers from Shizhengyuan.

"According to the imperial decree, the court has appointed the Minister of the Secretariat..."

The Ministry of Personnel's court recommendation officially began, and the important officials of the Privy Council who did not participate in the court recommendation were waiting in the Wuying Hall.

After a while, Zhu Changluo came.

"I have considered for a long time, and I think it is better to let Jingzhong be the Minister of War."

Zhu Changluo came to tell them this decision.

After Jian Da resigned, the position of Minister of War remained vacant. Although the Privy Council now has a different structure, the Ministry of War still exists and is the department in the Privy Council that specializes in managing the daily affairs of many local guards in the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the Zhifang Hall and Tunmu Hall, there are also several Yichuan Halls that manage post stations.

The Privy Council is very special, and the appointments of officials are all specially appointed by the Emperor.

Tian Le hesitated for a moment: "Then Li Qing..."

"Promote him to Chief of Staff!" Zhu Changluo stated his thoughts straightforwardly, and then said to Xing Jie, "Since Lord Jie knows my intention, he should take over the position of Deputy Chief of Staff Wen."

Although the Wanli Dynasty had frequent wars, the selection of important members of the Privy Council was currently tight.

The original Right Commander of the Left Army was Xing Jie. Now Xing Jie has gone to the Privy Council as the Chief of Staff. He is old, and the Right Commanders of the Left Army are both selecting candidates.

In the past two years, Mei Guozhen passed away, and the Right Commander of the Rear Army faced the Northern Tartars directly. The Privy Council had no choice but to transfer Li Hualong to the Rear Army Commander's Office as the Right Commander and concurrently the Governor of Xuanda. Now, the Right Commander of the Front Army is also vacant.

The Left Army Governor's Office will be crucial in the next few years. Wang Chengxun, the Left Army Governor, can only do the preliminary preparations and will have to be replaced by a brave general later.

Tian Le felt that Yuan Keli was suitable to be the Minister of War, and after some more experience he could go to the Military Governor's Office to take charge of military and political affairs. Unexpectedly, the emperor's candidate was actually Shen Yongmao, and he was prepared to make an exception and use Yuan Keli.

"There are not many people in the court who are both civil and military, and many of them are still young." Zhu Changluo said helplessly, "Not only the Left Army, but also the Front Army Governor's Office is difficult. Pingyi Bo has been ill recently, and there are only two or three people in the navy who can be of great use. Shen Shihong can't be transferred to the Yangtze River Navy to waste his talent. I plan to let him command the Beiyang Fleet and let Xinjian Bo go to the Front Army. Let Ninglu Bo be the Left Governor of the Left Army. The Right Governor of the Front Army..."

He looked at Li Wen and said, "Zong Qi, are you willing to take up the post of Right Commander of the Front Army with the title of Deputy Privy Envoy?"

They didn't expect that the emperor's candidate was Li Wen.

"I obey your orders, old minister."

Li Wen didn't say anything.

He was already seventy-three years old, and taking up the post as the Deputy Privy Councilor was his last transition before retirement.

If there weren't so many old ministers in the Imperial Study and the Council of State Administration who needed to be replaced all at once, he would have been ready to resign.

Tian Le sighed: "If Deputy Secretary Li goes to the Front Army Commander's Office, then this Deputy Privy Envoy..."

"After Maofu is promoted, Zheng Boxiao will be appointed as his deputy, in charge of military selection and military discipline." Zhu Changluo said, "The Military Strategy Hall will have left and right staff officers, one from the army and one from the navy. Since they are responsible for providing advice, seniority will not be a constraint. Sun Chengzong and Jie Jingfu, both of them are quite knowledgeable and talented, they can be promoted to the fourth-rank strategic staff officers and serve temporarily." Li Ruhua, who had long served as the governor of Liaodong, had previously served as the left and right staff officers with Yuan Keli, and now they were promoted together.

Sun Chengzong, who passed the imperial examination in the third year of Taichang, was promoted directly to the fourth rank and became a senior official of the third rank Privy Council, second only to Li Ruhua, who was in charge of them.

The emperor will start to make use of young and strong people in the Privy Council.

Zheng Jizhi was to be transferred from the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice to the Privy Council by the Emperor. Tian Le thought for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to issue an edict before the court selects the ministers of the various ministries?"

"That's right. I'll first decide on the people the Privy Council wants, so that there won't be a few more choices for the chancellor that will upset people's hearts." Zhu Changluo said, "Let's also discuss the rest of the Privy Council officials in Beijing today and decide on them first."

By the time Chen Jian sent the results of the court recommendation to the Huangji Palace, Zhu Changluo had already returned.

The emperor had not yet decided on the candidates for the two prime ministers, but a group of appointments related to the Privy Council came out first, involving only three civil officials.

But these three civil officials were originally popular candidates for the position of Shangshu or even the two positions of prime minister.

For example, Zheng Jizhi, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, Li Sancai, the governor of the grain transport, and Shen Yongmao, who was promoted from the Minister of the Honglu Temple to the right vice minister of the Ministry of Justice after Shen Shixing stayed in Beijing to compile the Veritable Records of Emperor Zhezong and Taiyue Gongji.

Li Sancai has been the governor of the canal for many years and has extensive connections in the officialdom, but his private comments are very intriguing.

Now the emperor directly appointed him to be the Right Commander of the Central Army, which had been vacant for many years. He was about to come to Beijing, but he entered the Privy Council.

It is not a good idea for civil officials in the Privy Council to get along with other civil officials. It is also not a good idea for civil officials in the Privy Council to get too close to military officials.

As for Shen Yongmao, as the son of Shen Shixing, Shen Yongmao was actually quite talented. He served in the Ministry of War as the Director of the Chariot Department, the Deputy Director of the Armory Department and the Official Department, and the Director of the Military Selection Department and the Official Department. It can be said that he spent most of his time in the Ministry of War.

When Shen Shixing served as the Grand Secretary of the Jinxian Academy, it was inconvenient for him to stay in the Privy Council, so he was given a fourth-rank position as the Minister of the Honglu Temple and was later promoted to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Was this actually paving the way for him to return to the Privy Council and serve as the Minister of War?

The emperor still trusts Shen Shixing.

For a whole day, the civil officials in the capital were waiting for the emperor to finalize the candidates for the Imperial Study and the Council of Executive Yuan, while also thinking about the chain reaction that would be brought about after these three people were appointed to the Privy Council by the emperor.

In the Shen Mansion, Shen Shixing, who was the only one who specialized in editing books, now looked much better.

He was already seventy-three years old when he looked at his son, feeling somewhat emotional.

"Your Majesty knows how to appoint the right people. Since you are familiar with military affairs, you should go to the Privy Council and ask for advice from the Privy Councilor."

"Father, I am worried about Jiangnan..."

"You are the one who shoulders the burden of the Shen family. His Majesty wants to use you in the Privy Council. After my father has finished compiling the Veritable Records and the Taiyue Gongji, I will return to my hometown to help you and prevent any chaos in Jiangnan from causing you trouble."

Shen Shixing sighed. As a senior official for many years, he could naturally see the emperor's intention.

Chen Lin might not have much time left. The right commander of the vanguard army has been absent for almost two years, and the emperor is preparing to use military force.

It is actually very subtle as to whether the Ming Dynasty gentry still has the courage to do anything.

Li Sancai, the governor of the grain transport system, was also transferred to the Privy Council. The emperor wanted to use his son as the Minister of War, so the Shen family had to make a choice.

On the one hand, there was his son's future, and on the other hand, there was the slim chance of success of "making trouble". After Shen Shixing returned home, of course, he could only do his best to use their past influence to make the emperor have more bargaining chips, just like Shen Yiguan.

The father and son have successively served as Prime Minister and Minister of War.

Shen Yongmao is only 48 years old, and who knows if he will become the Privy Councilor in the future - as long as Shen Shixing knows how to choose.

After dawn, in the Huangji Hall, the court officials listened to Wang An read out the imperial edict.

After the court's recommendation and questioning, Emperor Qianlong made a wise decision and the Ming Dynasty decided on the candidates for the Chief Secretariat Minister and the Governor-General Minister.

Ye Xianggao was extremely terrified, and with mixed feelings in his heart, he knelt down to thank him: Damn it! He did not go to the very difficult Administrative Council, but he actually appeared on the list of candidates for both the Chief Minister and the Governor-General's Minister of State Affairs yesterday, and he was the candidate for the Governor-General's Minister of State Affairs in the Administrative Council.

Shen Li and Zhu Guozuo tricked him together!
Compared to going to the Administrative Yuan, Ye Xianggao still felt that the Imperial Study was safer - although his power was not as great as when he was in the Jinxian Yuan.

But it seems that the emperor was also dissatisfied with his work results in the Jinxianyuan.

Among the first and second candidates for the governor-general's minister of state affairs, Li Sancai had already been appointed, Ye Xianggao went to the imperial study, and the remaining candidate surprised everyone yesterday: it was not the highly popular Zhao Shiqing, but Xiao Daheng.

Having been in Nanjing for many years, he thought the court would replace him with a young and strong official as assistant prime minister, but he did not expect that it was still an old guy, two years older than Wang Xijue.

After all the twists and turns, Mr. Xiao, who is already 76 years old, can actually come back to take charge of government affairs. What does Your Majesty think?

Why not simply put this result on hold and let the Ministry of Personnel nominate candidates for the two prime ministers, the Administrative Council and the Jinxian Council?
The emperor said, "I will be going to Zunhua soon. Governor Wang will have to work hard for another two or three months while Governor Xiao takes office. As for the Minister of Rites, since the foreign vassal needs to accompany me when I go to the court, I will appoint him. Li Zongxian, you come!"

Li Tingji looked at the emperor in astonishment, and then suddenly came to his senses.

The emperor seemed to have been gently criticized by Ye Xianggao and Shen Li, who had tried too hard to promote the Minister of Rites at the time, and also gently criticized young and strong civil officials such as Zhu Guozuo who thought they would definitely be able to take the position this time.

To employ Xiao Daheng is naturally to reward him for his merits, while to employ Li Tingji is to gain the emperor's favor by doing his job with peace of mind.

Everyone needs to understand how the Jinxianyuan and Jianchayuan should do their work, and how the next ministers should be elected.

The emperor's mind is unpredictable, but Li Tingji can only be grateful.

Bread from heaven.

(End of this chapter)