My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 74: The Grand Succession
The next day, Su Ze came to the outside of the Ministry of War wearing a green official robe.

Although he acted very calm in front of Shen Yiquan yesterday, it was only after he went out today that Su Ze realized that this was the first time in his past and present lives that he had attended a meeting of the highest decision-making level.

In his previous life, he was just a grassroots civil servant in the ministry. He was not even qualified to attend meetings of the department's senior management, let alone the highest decision-making level.

The Cabinet meeting is the second most important decision-making meeting after the Imperial Conference. Moreover, compared with the Imperial Conference that sets the tone, the Cabinet meeting discusses more about the actual implementation process. It is a rare experience to observe up close how the highest level of government affairs of this era is decided and operated.

As he was thinking, Su Ze arrived in front of the Ministry of War.

The Ministry of War is one of the lower three of the Six Ministries, but it is also an important department that handles the military affairs of the Ming Dynasty. It is a super department that is in charge of the Ming Dynasty's million-strong army. The entire front of the Ministry of War is filled with guarding soldiers, and outside the gate of the Ministry of War, there are a large number of tea stalls. Many people in brocade clothes are sitting in the tea stalls, looking at the gate of the Ministry of War anxiously.

Among these people, there were some who, like Su Ze, were wearing low-ranking civil and military official uniforms, and were also sitting at the tea stalls staring at the gate of the Ministry of War.

Since Su Ze traveled through time, he has been working in the Hanlin Academy in the imperial city. He has occasionally been to the Ministry of Rites a few times, but the entrance was always deserted.

Su Ze was a little surprised by the lively atmosphere in the Ministry of War.

Su Ze tried to find a way to get into the Ministry of War, but found that the road was completely occupied by this group of people.

Just when Su Ze was at a loss, a group of soldiers rushed out from the Ministry of War. They started to disperse the group of people gathered at the gate of the Ministry of War with weapons in hand.

"Ministers of the Ministry are discussing matters, all outsiders, please disperse!"

The military leader shouted, and the group of people in front of the door were quickly driven away, but they were even more unwilling to disperse. They squeezed on the side of the road, staring at the end of the street.

Su Ze wanted to reveal his identity and go in, but was pushed in front of the armed soldiers by this group of people.

Su Ze's face was almost touching the armor of these soldiers, but the people behind him became even more excited and shouted:
"Lord Gao is here!"

Just when Su Ze was about to suffocate, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Isn't this Su Hanlin? Let Master Su in quickly!"

At this time, a pair of big hands reached out and pulled Su Ze from the crowd. Su Ze gasped for breath and was almost squeezed through again.

"Mr. Guo?"

Su Ze took a deep breath and recognized his savior, who was none other than Guo Zhun, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat who had come to the History Museum to deliver a message yesterday.

I learned from Shen Yikuan yesterday that Guo Zhun was an official appointed by imperial grace. He was able to become a servant of two houses because his father was the retired cabinet minister Guo Pu.

"My Grandfather"?
Like Li Chunfang, Guo Pu entered the cabinet during the Jiajing period with the help of his poems. Guo Pu was good at administration and had served as the Minister of Personnel for many years. He was considered a political ally of Gao Gong.

Guo Pu was an ally of Gao Gong. In the first year of the Longqing reign, he and Gao Gong were dismissed from their posts and returned to their hometowns. Later, when Gao Gong returned to the court, he also thought about re-employing Guo Pu, but Guo Pu had no intention of being an official.

His father was a former cabinet minister and a close comrade-in-arms of the current Prime Minister. Guo Zhun, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, was equivalent to Gao Gong's personal secretary.

"Thank you, Mr. Guo, for saving my life!"

Regardless of Guo Zhun's identity, he was almost crushed to death just now. After thanking the other party for saving his life, Su Ze discovered that Guo Zhun was following a gorgeous carriage.

Su Ze recognized that this was the carriage bestowed by Emperor Longqing to Gao Gong. He saw the curtain of the carriage open, and Su Ze saw Gao Gong's iconic round face.

Su Ze saluted quickly: "Lord Gao."

Gao Gong just nodded, and the people around him cheered even more when they saw Gao Gong.

Some cried loudly, some shouted something, and some made all kinds of weird movements to try to attract Gao Gong's attention.

Gao Gong was so annoyed that he got off the carriage and strode into the Ministry of War, pulling up his sleeves.

Su Ze was stunned by the noise. He asked Guo Zhun beside him in confusion:
"Mr. Guo, what's going on?" Guo Zhun said as he led Su Ze to follow Gao Gong.
"Su Hanlin is a Jinshi this year, and he has never seen such a grand ceremony of 'inheriting a position'."

"Inherit the position?"

Although Guo Zhun was only a secretary of the Secretariat, as a secretary of the two departments, he often traveled between the nine ministries and the yamen to convey the cabinet's instructions.

Guo Zhun said:

"The Ming Dynasty Code stipulates that all military households in the military garrisons must undergo approval and investigation by the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War. These are either those who are seeking to inherit their positions or those who have come to the capital to file complaints in order to compete for military positions."

After hearing what Guo Zhun said, Su Ze understood.

Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang established the Wei Suo system, in which military households were hereditary, and the positions of military households were also hereditary.

The son of a commander is still a commander, and the son of a captain is still a captain.

For example, Qi Jiguang, he inherited his father's position as the commander of Dengzhou Guard.

Yu Dayou also inherited his father's position as a centurion in Quanzhou, and was promoted for his military merits during the anti-Japanese war.

According to the "Da Ming Hui Dian", after the death of a former military household, his family members needed to submit an application for succession to the superior Dusi Yamen, and the Dusi Yamen would then issue a guarantee document and send it to the Ministry of War for inspection. After approval, the descendants could inherit the position.

Naturally, there are various special cases.

For example, when the eldest son is underage, the successor must wait until he reaches adulthood and completes the assessment of the Ministry of War before he can inherit his father's position.

For example, if a family line is extinct, it is the job of the Ministry of War to determine which branch of the close family will inherit the position.

In addition, there were cases where the successor was not his biological son, and the second son accused the eldest son of being unfilial and asked the court to cancel the succession.

These people gathered in front of the military department day and night, creating a "grand occasion" of "succession of office".

Guo Zhun continued:

"The next time Su Hanlin goes to the Ministry of Personnel and sees the grand occasion of 'filling the vacancies', it will be three times more lively than the Ministry of War."

Su Ze nodded silently. Speaking of Buque, Su Ze understood. This was the procedure for scholars who had obtained meritorious service to wait for appointment in the Ministry of Personnel.

Theoretically, if you pass the imperial examination and become a Juren, you can become an official. For example, Hai Rui was a Juren who became an official.

However, during the Longqing period, there were more and more people with meritorious service, and there were not enough official positions. Many successful candidates had to wait until an official position became vacant.

There are also officials who have ended their mourning period due to the death of their parents and need to wait for vacancies to be filled in the Ministry of Personnel.

The grand scene of these candidate officials queuing up at the entrance of the Ministry of Personnel to fill vacancies was also described in many Ming Dynasty official notes.

Since Su Ze traveled through time, he has only met senior cabinet ministers and important officials. Originally, he did not take the Ministry of War seriously.

It was only then that he realized that the "lower three departments" that he looked down upon were actually the top departments that could decide the fate of countless people.

You have to know that the captain waiting to take over the position at the door is also a fifth-rank military officer, and these people can't even enter the gate of the Ministry of War.

When Su Ze walked into the gate of the Ministry of War, he saw an official in a vermilion robe welcoming Gao Gong.

Guo Zhun whispered:

"This is Huo Butang from the Ministry of War."

(End of this chapter)