Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 14: Enlarged Cabinet Meeting (Part )

From the day the Qianqing Gate court meeting ended on August 22, Minister of Personnel Zhou Jiamo fell into an extremely embarrassing situation.

Those who could stand in the court were all shrewd people. No one could have guessed that Yang Lian's "Sarhu Case Closing Memorial" was aimed at the Donglin Party's "Official Recommendation Memorial". It was obvious that the emperor had changed his mind and did not want the former prince's party to dominate the country.

The subtle point is that the "Sarhu Case Closure Memorial" was not an impeachment. Yang Lian did not impeach anyone, and no one was dismissed from office or imprisoned as a result of this incident. Even Li Rubai was not reinstated as a result of this "living rehabilitation." The Donglin Party was not purged, and Qi, Chu, and Zhejiang did not benefit.

What exactly does the emperor want to do? Everyone is guessing, but no one can guess.

But Zhou Jiamo was irritated because he had submitted the "recommendation for official position." Those outside the Donglin Party's inner circle were intentionally or unintentionally distancing themselves from him, as if he were about to be dismissed and they were afraid of being implicated. Perhaps the only person within the Donglin Party more anxious than him was Liu Yirong, who had previously been linked to the eunuch Cui Wensheng.

"The Emperor has arrived." Zhu Changluo, guarded by a group of eunuchs, came to the cabinet duty room south of the Wenhua Hall on the left and east of the Huiji Gate in the Forbidden City.

Today's cabinet meeting was considered an expanded one, as in addition to the cabinet members present, the heads of the five ministries of civil service, revenue, rites, military affairs, and punishment, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and the Supreme Court Minister were also present. At first glance, it might seem that the Ministry of Works had been sidelined.

However, adding the heads of other government offices to the cabinet meeting only means that the issues being discussed today are related to them and they need to express their opinions or make suggestions.

The joint attendance of the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Supreme Court at the cabinet meeting was clearly related to the recent "Zheng Yangxing case." The Ministry of War's presence at this time was definitely related to Liaodong.

But what are the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel here for?
Were Li Ruhua and Sun Ruyou also summoned? Zhou Jiamo glanced at the Minister of Revenue and the Right Vice Minister of Rites.

Because Emperor Shenzong was negligent in his administration, the Ministry of Rites had no Shangshu and Zuo Shilang at that time, so the You Shilang Sun Ruyou was in charge of the ministry's affairs.

After the ministers finished their ceremony, the cabinet's chief minister, Fang Congzhe, began to preside over the meeting. He coughed twice and said to Zhang Wenda, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, "Censor Zhang, let's talk about Zheng Yangxing first." Zheng Yangxing no longer had any official position to call his own.

"After review by the Censorate, it was found that all the impeachments made by the Imperial Censor Wu Liangsi against Zheng Yangxing were true, and Zheng Yangxing is guilty." After saying this, there was nothing more to do with Zhang Wenda, but he still had to sit.

"Alas, I have to work overtime again today." Zhang Wenda sighed inwardly.

Huang Kezan took over, omitting the charges and stating his conclusion: "The Ministry of Justice believes that Zheng Yangxing should be sentenced to death by hanging and his property confiscated."

The Dali Temple official then said, "The Dali Temple believes the sentence is too harsh. It should be changed to 100 strokes of the cane and exile. The property should also be confiscated."

After the Grand Court Minister finished speaking, everyone turned to Cui Wensheng, dressed in a bright red dragon robe. His opinion was crucial. However, Cui Wensheng had no objection; he was merely Zhu Changluo's mouthpiece. "The Imperial Household Department believes that the Ming dynasty governs the country with filial piety, and the relationship between Concubine Zheng and Zheng Yangxing should be considered. The care and support of the late emperor's concubines should not be affected by this case. Therefore, we suggest that the sentence of caning followed by exile be replaced by exile back to their place of origin, with the confiscation of property." This was a pardon beyond the law.

"As Cui Wensheng requested." The final decision lies with the emperor.

The case of Zheng Yangxing was finally concluded.

"The matter of confiscating property will be handled by the East Factory and assisted by the Imperial Household Department." Zhu Changluo said.

"The Eastern Investigation Bureau has received the order." Wang An received the order.

"The Imperial Household Department has received the order." Cui Wensheng received the order.

As expected. With the exception of Fang Congzhe and Huang Kezan, all the officials sighed inwardly. Confiscating property generally enriched the emperor's treasury.

"The proceeds from the confiscation of property will first be used to pay the salaries owed to officials of the sixth rank and below in Beijing." Zhu Changluo seemed not to notice the officials' little emotions and spoke to himself.

Low-ranking officials in Beijing usually had no means of making money, and most were penniless. If they were owed a few months' salary, they would even have to borrow money from banks to make ends meet. The Ministry of Revenue was responsible for distributing salaries. "The Ministry of Revenue has received the order," Li Ruhua replied, realizing it.

"The rest will be used as Liao military pay, and the arrears will be paid first. If there is still any surplus, keep it in the account of the Ministry of War." Zhu Changluo continued to order.

Did the emperor already know how much money he could find before the confiscation even began? The officials gasped, their hearts trembling. They all glanced at Wang An, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the governor of the Eastern Depot. However, the governor still wore a cheerful expression.

"The Ministry of War has received the order." Minister of War Cui Jingrong responded.

Since the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were here to share the confiscated funds, what were the Ministry of Rites and my Ministry of Personnel here for? Zhou Jiamo began to think. Enke?

If there is anything that the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel are jointly responsible for, it is only the imperial examination.

As expected, Zhu Changluo immediately said, "I would like to hold the Spring Examination in the first year of Taichang. What do you think?"

Zhou Jiamo stood up and expressed his opinion: "Your Majesty, I think that holding an imperial examination is certainly a good way to promote talents, but there are many vacancies in the world. After completing the process of imperial examinations, selecting officials, and appointing officials, and then for officials to take up their posts, it will take at least until June of next year. This is really not the best emergency measure." Even though there were factors of party struggles involved, Zhou Jiamo's words were still steady and quite appropriate.

"What do you mean?" Zhu Changluo looked at Zhou Jiamo and asked.

Before Zhou Jiamo could reply, Prime Minister Fang Congzhe suddenly interrupted, saying, "I believe that Minister Zhou is absolutely right. Therefore, we should issue an imperial decree ordering the highest-ranking officials in all local yamen to temporarily take over as chief officials and handle their own affairs until the imperial examination is over before reappointing them."

"Old fox!" Zhou Jiamo cursed in his heart. "Are you Zhejiang Party members addicted to intercepting others?"

His idea was to have those recommended for official positions temporarily fill vacancies, rather than having lower-level officials fill in. As long as the vacancies were filled, some would always remain in office. It was impossible for the emperor to pay attention to every prefecture and county.

"As expected of Lord Fang, this is indeed a mature strategy for serving the country." Zhu Changluo praised with a smile.

But Fang Congzhe had a bit of "Grand Secretary PTSD." After that day's court meeting, whenever someone called him "Grand Secretary," his heart would tighten, as if it was a mockery of his arrogance.

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it." Fang Congzhe bowed and smiled awkwardly.

"Do you have any other opinions?" Zhu Changluo looked around at the officials.

Minister of Revenue Li Ruhua thought for a moment and replied, "The late emperor neglected his duties for many years, and government offices at all levels have long implemented a system of temporary replacements for lower-level officials. They are already well-versed in their own affairs. Suddenly appointing new officials to every prefecture and county at once might cause unrest. Therefore, I believe we should now examine the performance of each official over the years, promoting those who excel and demoting those who do not. Those selected through the special examinations should not be suddenly promoted to senior positions."

"Then which department or ministry do you think should be responsible for the examination?" Should the acting officials be promoted? This idea makes sense, but the problem is that the officials of various departments are scattered all over the country, unlike the imperial examination where they are concentrated in the capital and selected by the central government.

To put it bluntly, the emperor could personally examine candidates, but he couldn't go to every county to evaluate the performance of the acting officials. However, Zhu Changluo didn't trust the Ministry of Personnel, which was responsible for the official examinations. They would definitely have ulterior motives when selecting people.

Li Ruhua was stunned by the question. He didn't think too much about it. But he knew that the answer the emperor wanted was definitely not the Ministry of Personnel.

"What do you think of this? First, according to the opinions of Minister Zhou and Lord Fang, give the title of 'acting chief official' to the officials who actually handle public affairs, so that the government offices of various prefectures and counties can regain their vitality." Zhu Changluo cleverly tied Zhou Jiamo and Fang Congzhe together.

Then, based on Li Ruhua's suggestion, he added: "After the Spring Examination, the selected talents will be sent to the local level to jointly handle the affairs of the ministry with the deputy officials as equals. After that, the officials will be selected and evaluated, and the best ones will be selected from the two local officials."

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not possible!" said the Minister of Justice Huang Kezan in a loud voice.

(End of this chapter)