The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 311 Centralization
The grand assembly concluded amidst the dejected atmosphere of the assembled crowd.

Following this grand court assembly, the Ming Dynasty confirmed its system headed by the five Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.

The courtiers couldn't help but turn their attention to these individuals.

Of the five cabinet members, Li Xianmu and Yang Rong exited Fengtian Hall from the left side, while Yang Shiqi, Yang Pu, and Hu Ying exited from the right side.

The two doors are actually separated by only a door frame, yet they convey a clear sense of separation.

Upon witnessing this scene, the court officials immediately had a few thoughts running through their minds.

The earlier rumors of discord within the cabinet seem to be true, and the current situation serves as proof.

The five men left the hall, all keeping their eyes straight ahead, and headed straight for the Wenyuan Pavilion, leaving behind a group of officials who were watching from behind.

The five walked side by side, and gradually the surrounding officials dispersed. The Wenyuan Pavilion appeared not far away, and Li Xianmu suddenly spoke up: "Yuanjie has just entered the cabinet, why don't we discuss the future?"

future?

The group turned around in confusion, and saw a worried look on Li Xianmu's face. "The cabinet is now very powerful, but is the future really going to be smooth sailing?"

Supervisor of Ceremonies..."

As Li Xianmu continued his explanation, the expressions of the group became slightly serious, and they all trusted Li Xianmu's judgment.

Yang Shiqi, in particular, understood that Li Xianmu was reminding him that the cabinet was not in a position to be complacent and that he should not do anything that would hurt his friends and please his enemies.

He pondered for a moment, "The late emperor left behind regents, and it is our duty to safeguard the country. What you said is of utmost importance. I wonder if you have any thoughts on this?"

As they talked, they entered a side hall of Wenyuan Pavilion, a small room. After the servants served tea, they left, leaving only the group. Li Xianmu sat at the head of the table, while the other four sat facing each other on either side.

“The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs alone is nothing special, but if it can control the Six Ministries, then that is quite terrifying.”

The fact that their expressions remained unchanged was quite obvious.

Throughout history, the inner court alone has never been able to accomplish anything, but once the outer court can be controlled, that is a large part of the imperial power.

Isn't the cabinet's current power derived from its ability to manipulate the outer court through systems like the draft bill?

“Once the ministers and vice ministers of the six ministries, the censors of the Censorate, and the governors and provincial treasurers of the provinces all join the Directorate of Ceremonial, the authority of the cabinet will inevitably be greatly weakened, and this is very likely to happen.” Li Xianmu pointed to himself, then to the others, “You should all know that this is not an exaggeration.”

Yang Pu suddenly spoke up: "What if the outside world speculates about discord within the cabinet? Would they not align themselves with the Directorate of Ceremonial, but instead..."

The rest was left unsaid, but the meaning was clear.

Many people in the court who oppose the cabinet are actually opposing Li Xianmu. Since there is already another person in the cabinet who opposes Li Xianmu, they don't need to seek refuge with the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Upon hearing this, Yang Rong immediately retorted sharply, "With a formidable enemy at hand, are we, the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, going to fight amongst ourselves?"
While there are indeed those in the court and among the people who oppose the Grand Secretary, aren't most of them targeting us, the four regents?

We, the four regents, have served in the cabinet for over thirty years, wielding power over the realm for far too long. We are figures countless officials would love to eliminate, especially those officials of the second or third rank, who have been suppressed by the cabinet for many years and harbor resentment. This is hardly the work of the Grand Secretary alone!

Yang Pu had a good temper and didn't react much to Yang Rong's attitude. "Zirong, don't be so angry. I was just discussing something."

Finally, it was Hu Ying, who had just joined the cabinet, who spoke up: "Zi Rong is right. The Six Ministries hold great power, the Censorate is aloof, and the governors of the nineteen provinces are all regional governors."

Originally, everything should have gone directly to the emperor, but now everything has to go through the cabinet. The lower-ranking officials don't think anything of it, but the high-ranking officials of the second or third rank, such as the ministers, vice ministers, censors, and governors, are very dissatisfied.

They are the ones who most want to disband the cabinet.

Many people even believe that the reason why the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs held the power to approve imperial edicts was because of the emergence of the cabinet's draft proposals, and the emperor allowed the eunuchs to hold great power in order to check and balance the emperor's power.

Therefore, they were even more opposed to the cabinet, believing that abolishing the cabinet would allow them to simultaneously abolish the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Everyone in the cabinet knew about what had happened before, but even Li Xianmu was hearing about what happened afterward for the first time. Everyone was immediately flustered. What kind of extraordinary people were these?

Yang Shiqi couldn't help but speak up, "Does the Grand Secretary have any ideas? Just say them. The five of us can work together and find a solution."

His words immediately created a sense of shared hatred and indignation within the cabinet.

Li Xianmu smiled slightly. Although he and Yang Shiqi had conflicts in many areas, they always stood together in maintaining the cabinet.

Facing the gazes of several people, Li Xianmu finally brought up a major issue that he had been pondering for a long time: "I have been thinking about why, after all these years, the Six Ministries are still dissatisfied with the Cabinet. After much thought, I have come to only one conclusion."

After the abolition of the prime minister during the Hongwu period, from a legal perspective, the Six Ministries and their ministers wielded too much power, which made them inherently resentful of the Grand Secretariat.

A positive example is that after the Ministry of Works was split up, its voice immediately became much weaker, and the Minister of Works often lacked confidence.

This is the method I came up with: split the six departments into a dozen or more, and then reduce the rank of each department to the second rank.

"With their rank and power reduced, they will then realize the gap between themselves and Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet."

boom!
Li Xianmu's words were like a thunderclap, exploding directly in everyone's minds. They never expected that Li Xianmu would come up with such a groundbreaking idea.

“The Six Ministries have existed since the Zhou Dynasty, how can they be split up…” Yang Shiqi, who came from a traditional Confucian family, almost immediately retorted. This rebuttal was completely involuntary and without any thought.

"Why not?" Li Xianmu retorted.

“Because…” Yang Shiqi was about to say, but couldn’t get the words out. Yes, why not?
His eyes were somewhat confused. Yes, why not? He couldn't explain it, but he just felt that something was wrong, that he shouldn't do it this way.

Yang Pu, an observer with a clearer perspective, said softly, "It's tradition. It's always been the Six Ministries since ancient times, and it has never changed. So this is a matter of course."

Yes.

Yang Shiqi nodded. "This is only natural. No one has ever thought of splitting the six departments. If they were really split, it would not be in accordance with the rites of Zhou."

Heaven and earth, spring, summer, autumn, and winter—these were the six officials of the ancient emperor. Taking them apart, their meanings no longer align.

Li Xianmu chuckled and said, "It was unprecedented to split off most of the Ministry of Works' responsibilities and let merchants do the things that the Ministry of Works used to do."

If we're talking about something unprecedented, the abolition of the prime minister system in the Ming Dynasty was truly unprecedented, and ultimately it wasn't accepted.

Haven't our Ming Dynasty done enough unprecedented things?
Is this plan to split the organization into six departments feasible or not?

After Li Xianmu's words, the group came to their senses a little more. As for whether this plan was feasible?
Of course it's feasible! Anyone who hears this knows that this method will definitely work. Dividing it into six departments is like issuing a decree of grace. The power of each department will inevitably decrease. Once the power decreases, they will lose their backbone. If the rank is also lowered, everything will be different instantly.

Don't talk about low position but high power; those are completely different things.

During the Yongle era, Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet were fifth-rank officials. Yang Shiqi and others wielded considerable power and could participate in court discussions, but their words carried less weight than those of second-rank Ministers, and they could not be considered important officials of the court.

During the Hongxi era, after he concurrently held the title of Second-Rank Minister, his influence in the court changed significantly.

Similarly, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet is a fifth-rank official, so the Cabinet is constantly being challenged. But if a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet were a first-rank official, that would be the de facto prime minister, and the six ministers would immediately become quiet.

However, no one dared to do that, since Emperor Taizu had explicitly forbidden the restoration of the prime minister system. If an official position higher than the minister were actually established, it would be impossible to justify.

Li Xianmu was personally raised and educated by Emperor Taizu, so naturally he would not do such a thing and openly slap Emperor Taizu in the face. Therefore, he had always thought of saving the country through indirect means and establishing the position of prime minister in the cabinet in fact.

Since the cabinet's status cannot be officially elevated, the status of the six ministries should be lowered. According to the theory of relativity in officialdom, the decline of the six ministries equals the rise of the cabinet.

The atmosphere in Wenyuan Pavilion had changed somewhat, becoming more relaxed than before. As long as there was a way to deal with things, they were no longer considered difficult.

"Dividing the various departments is neither difficult nor easy; the key lies in the Empress Dowager's attitude."

"As for the six departments that are actually relevant..."

"In the present day, the Ming Dynasty is not qualified to have an equal dialogue with our cabinet."

"Moreover, we already occupy three of the six ministries, and those are the three most powerful seats. They have no right to say no."

"The four regents are now at the height of our power. If we're going to do it, we should crush them completely when we are at our strongest and they are at their weakest."

“But…” Yang Shiqi looked at Li Xianmu, “There needs to be a plan for how to divide these six ministries before we can submit it to the Empress Dowager.”

Everyone's expressions tightened. Yang Shiqi was ostensibly asking how the Six Ministries should be divided, but in reality, he was asking about the future division of power and responsibility. It should be noted that Li Xianmu, Yang Shiqi, and Hu Ying were currently serving as Ministers of Personnel, Revenue, and War, respectively. Dividing the Six Ministries would actually be dividing the power of these three individuals.

The Ministry of Personnel is essentially impossible to split up.

After all, the Ministry of Personnel was responsible for the promotion of officials, and it couldn't be separated from that.

However, both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War can be separated.

If splitting the organization into six parts results in Yang Shiqi and Hu Ying's power not only not increasing but actually decreasing, then naturally they would not agree.

Li Xianmu was naturally prepared and directly put forward his idea, which he had already conceived: "My idea is not only to split the Six Ministries, but to split and combine all the departments such as the Six Ministries and the Five Temples together, and then list the departments of the second rank and the third rank according to their powers and responsibilities."

Those of the second rank were called "Ministry," and those of the third rank were called "Temple."

This means there would be roughly twenty or even thirty ministries and monasteries. With so many directly subordinate departments, it's impossible for them to speak directly with His Majesty. Therefore, Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet could each oversee several departments and guide their work.

Upon hearing this, the group narrowed their eyes slightly, but their eyes were full of light. According to Li Xianmu's idea, the power of each person in the cabinet would increase.

Yang Shiqi and Hu Ying were not only able to manage their original area of ​​work, but they could even extend their reach to other departments.

Of course, the biggest benefit would be to Li Xianmu. Once this matter is completed, as the Minister of Personnel with full power, and with control over the various departments of the court, he would not have to worry about the corruption of the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, nor would he have to worry too much about officials from outside the court defecting to the Directorate of Ceremonial and causing the situation to completely spiral out of control.

After all, they could all foresee that once the Six Ministries were downgraded, the number of officials who could be brought under the control of the Ministry of Personnel would increase significantly, which meant that Li Xianmu's power would increase.

They all knew that Li Xianmu's plan was so comprehensive that it was definitely not a sudden idea, but rather something he had been thinking about for a long time.

It's just that it's being brought up now.

"As Yuanfu said, we should submit this matter to the Empress Dowager as soon as possible, and Yuanfu should offer more advice on this matter."

We, on the other hand, mobilized officials in the court.

The five cabinet members naturally had many relatives and friends in the outer court over the years. Yang Shiqi dared to occasionally disagree with Li Xianmu in the cabinet, which meant he also had his own group of people.

Hu Ying is even more of a figure to be reckoned with. He has just entered the cabinet, but his roots are in the outer court. He can play a significant role in this matter.

Li Xianmu brought up this matter for discussion because both of them were of great use. He believed that as long as the five members of the cabinet worked together, everything would go smoothly in the Ming Dynasty.

No one can stop the four regents from working together!

……

Although the Empress Dowager did not accept the suggestion to rule from behind the curtain, she still effectively became the supreme ruler of the empire.

Sending Li Xianmu to work on the Empress Dowager also reflects the good relationship between the two; the Empress Dowager clearly trusts Li Xianmu a great deal.

This trust may have existed since the early years of the Yongle reign, when Li Xianmu fought many battles for the Eastern Palace. In that turbulent period, Li Xianmu was like a giant wing that shielded the Eastern Palace from the storms and hardships.

As a woman, the Empress Dowager was emotional. She trusted Li Xianmu and thus gave him absolute trust.

The trust built in humble beginnings has now become Li Xianmu's political capital. Looking back, he can't help but feel a little wistful. Who could have imagined this?

One day, the trust of a woman became the foundation of his rule!
The audience with the Empress Dowager was held in the Hall of Literary Glory.

The passing of an emperor did not change the Huagai Hall in the slightest. Since its establishment, this imperial city has witnessed countless emperors' cruel battles.

Since the Ming Dynasty moved its capital, it has witnessed the passing of three emperors.

It will always be here, witnessing the glory and decline of the next emperor.

Li Xianmu entered the hall and, as he had done in the past when meeting with emperors, bowed to the Empress Dowager with a solemn and serious expression, saying, "Your humble servant Li Xianmu pays his respects to the Empress Dowager. May the Empress Dowager live a thousand years."

"You may rise."

The Empress Dowager calmly replied, "You have come to the palace today for an audience. Is there anything important?"

"Your Majesty, I do have an important matter concerning the system and structure of the Ming Dynasty. This is a joint memorial submitted by my colleagues in the Cabinet. I request Your Majesty's approval."

The Empress Dowager took the memorial with a hint of surprise and quickly glanced at it before her face turned pale with shock!
(End of this chapter)