Why did the emperor rebel?

The power of eunuchs in Ming Dynasty started in Hongwu, developed in Yongle, flourished in Orthodoxy, and then fell back again due to civil wars caused by Wang Zhen's arbitrariness of power.

When Emperor Taizu founded the country, eunuchs were clearly prohibited from intervening in politics. However, this iron law only lasted for a few decades.

After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, for some reason, he set up the inner library to teach the eunuchs to read, and set up the East Factory to be in charge of detectives and spies. He even reused a group of talented eunuchs, the most typical one being the Sanbao eunuch Zheng Zheng. And, seven voyages to the West with a huge fleet, can be described as infinite scenery.

The guarding eunuch system was born on this basis. In the first year of Hongxi, Emperor Renzong ordered Wang An, the eunuch, to be the guarding eunuch of Gansu, and this name came into being.

During the Xuande Dynasty, guarding eunuchs were successively added in various places. In the early years of Zhengtong, it became a regular system. Every province in the interior and every border town had a guarding eunuch, who was in charge of military affairs together with the admiral.

So from this point of view, the appearance of Wang Zhen is not accidental. Behind Wang Zhen's power is the growing power of eunuchs. The external manifestation of the purpose of authoritarian centralization.

After today's son ascended the throne, although he was more prepared against eunuchs intervening in politics due to civil wars, it was not considered as suppression of eunuchs.

At best, it can only be regarded as limiting the eunuch's power within a relatively reasonable range.

Although it was said that Wang Zhenji's henchmen were sentenced to death, the eunuch system in Dongchang and other places remained unchanged.

On this basis, the power of eunuchs is actually similar to the civil service system in the outer dynasty, forming a comprehensive coverage from the central government to the local government.

However, the difference is that under the civil service system, the Son of Heaven controls all the officials, and the ministries, courtyards, temples, and supervisors each perform their duties, and the cabinet is in the middle to reconcile. The yamen, the imperial court and the local government, and the local government and the local government are intertwined and intertwined with each other, and ultimately they all belong to the emperor, forming a huge bureaucratic system.

However, the power of eunuchs is much more single. Whether it is the chief inspector of the inner court or the eunuch guarding the local area, they are actually an extension of the imperial power.

Among them, there is neither superior-subordinate relationship nor overlap in daily affairs. Each of them is directly subordinate to the emperor himself, assisting the imperial power to control foreign courts and localities.

The biggest advantage of this system is that it ensures that the imperial power will not be coerced by eunuchs.

Different from the institutional power of eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty, although the emperors of the Ming Dynasty also reused eunuchs, because of the strong independence between the supervisor of rites, the guarding eunuchs, and the guarding eunuchs, it is guaranteed that there will be no eunuchs. The situation above the imperial power appeared.

As domineering and arrogant as Wang Zhen, what he can actually control is only the East Factory. Even in his heyday, he was also in charge of the Sili Supervisor, but these forces were limited to the inner court.

There is Jinyiwei in the east factory of checks and balances, and the supervisor of rites depends on the emperor's will to judge the power. Although the guarding eunuchs in various places are afraid of Wang Zhen, they are essentially afraid of the emperor's favor for Wang Zhen, not Wang Zhen himself.

Therefore, it is better to say that the emperor's authority overwhelmed all officials than Wang Zhenquan's overthrow of the government and the opposition.

Under the system of the Ming Dynasty, any eunuch could only stay humble in front of the emperor.

From this point of view, the officials of the outer dynasty actually had no way to interfere with the eunuch's affairs.

Whether Cheng Jing is an eunuch who is in charge of ceremonies, or a eunuch guarding a place, it is all a matter of the emperor's words.

However, the reality is obviously not that simple.

Although it is said that there is no actual superior-subordinate relationship between the eunuch in charge of the chief inspector and the guarding eunuchs in various places.

But in a sense, this position is the same as the three masters and three masters in the outer court, and it is defaulted as the highest title of eunuch.

Cheng Jing wanted to go to Shanxi to be a guarding eunuch. It should be said that there is no difference between holding the seal of the official supervisor and holding other titles in practice.

However, this is a political signal.

This indicated that Cheng Jing went to Shanxi not because he offended the emperor and was demoted from the capital. On the contrary, he represented the will of the emperor and went to Shanxi to supervise military affairs.

Although this is only a subtle difference, when it comes to officialdom, this difference often has a huge impact on the actual power relationship.

Cheng Jing is an old official of Prince Yi's mansion. With his status, he went to a place to be a guarding eunuch, and his power should be heavier than that of ordinary guarding eunuchs.

But now, only from Du Ning and Cheng Jing's simple description, two points can be confirmed.

First, the emperor issued an oral decree, expressly allowing Cheng Jing to intervene in the affairs of the military settlement. Although it is only to assist Du Ning in name, it is still the same sentence. Du Ning's job is the governor of Shaanxi. Well, the so-called assistance is actually just a nice way of saying it.

For ordinary guarding eunuchs, it is absolutely forbidden to intervene in local government affairs and only limit themselves to supervising military affairs.

However, although the rectification of military settlements is only aimed at the military settlements in name, in fact, it also includes the private fields reclaimed by the officers and soldiers, the resettlement of the tenant farmers in the military settlements after farming and occupation, and the policy of redemption of acres. Implementation push.

All these affairs are related to local civil affairs.

Judging from what the Son of Heaven means now, it is obvious that he does not intend to separate these matters.

This also means that Cheng Jing will have greater authority than the usual guarding eunuch.

Second, Cheng Jing will become the eunuch guarding Shanxi as the eunuch who is in charge of the ceremony, which means that his grace will not decline and he will act on behalf of the will of the emperor.

The status of the former minister of Prince Yi's mansion, the head of the eunuch, coupled with the emperor's oral order and the unmistakable grace, and most importantly, the post of governor of Shanxi is still vacant. Several factors are added together, and the final result is Cheng Jing. Nominally guarding the eunuch, but in fact, it is entirely possible to act as the governor in the capacity of an eunuch.

This is not a good thing for the court...

Watching Cheng Jing and Du Ning leave, all the people present were silent for a while, and all the disagreements in the side hall just now disappeared.

After a while, Chen Xun spoke first, speaking meaningfully.

"My lord, at this moment, the official department... should do something!"

Wang Wen's face was not very good-looking, but at this time, he didn't lose his temper with Chen Xun, he just snorted and said coldly.

"You don't need to teach the old man how to do things!"

The words were not pleasant, but Chen Xun acted as if he didn't hear him, stood where he was, and began to make plans silently in his heart...

Not long after, the servants from the palace came out and clapped their hands together.

"Lord Tianguan, Lord Zongxian, Chen Shangshu, Your Majesty has summoned you!"

Different from Du Ning, Wang Wen and others are all veterans of playing the right game, no matter what kind of thoughts they have in their hearts, they will not show it on the face.

After entering the hall, after saluting each other, the emperor obviously didn't intend to exchange greetings, so he spoke directly.

"A few days ago, the second assistant Yu Shiyue handed me a memorial, recommending Liu Dingzhi, Chen Wen, and Li Shao of the Imperial Academy to serve as subordinate officials in Zhan Shifu. I have approved it."

"The crown prince has been studying in the pavilion for several months. Many ministers have given a presentation, saying that the officials should be ready. I have considered it for a long time, and I also feel that it is not appropriate to procrastinate. Therefore, I called you here today to hear your opinions."

Ah this...

The emperor did not say what it was for this summoning.

Although they had expected before coming that it might be related to Zhan Shifu, they all felt that it was probably because of Yu Shiyue's recommendation of Hanlin Qingliu.

The court said it was not small, and it was not big. It was no secret that Chen Xun went to see Yu Shiyue. The identities of the two of them, and what they talked about, you only need to see what they did afterwards.

Not long after the two talked, Yu Shiyue recommended Liu Dingzhi and others in the book, which would have been impossible without Chen Xun's push.

However, in their expectation, the emperor should have his own plans for the whereabouts of these Hanlin Qingliu.

So most likely, this time I came here to discuss this matter.

However, what they didn't expect was that the emperor took this matter as an opportunity, but didn't use it as the content of the discussion.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the emperor directly determined the whereabouts of Liu Dingzhi and others, and promised to transfer them to Zhan Shifu.

Not only that, but the emperor will continue to add candidates to Zhan Shifu?
The elders were a little uncertain about the emperor's intentions for a while.

They glanced at each other, and Chen Xun, who was the first to provoke this matter, said.

"Your Majesty, since it is a supplementary official of Zhan Shifu, do you want to invite Yu Cifu to come to discuss together?"

Logically speaking, Yu Shiyue should be informed about Zhan Shifu's affairs.

However, this is for ordinary general affairs. Although Yu Shiyue is an official of the Prince's Mansion, he is an official of the Prince's Mansion, after all, he is also an official of the court, and he has no power to appoint.

Therefore, if the official department is not present, it is reasonable to call the official department.

It can be said that Yu Shiyue must be present when discussing candidates for the Zhan Shifu, which is obviously far-fetched...

However, on this occasion, Wang Wen and Chen Yi rarely objected, obviously wanting to find out what the emperor meant.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Qiyu didn't say much, and pushed the boat along with the current, saying.

"In that case, please invite the first assistant and the second assistant to come together, Wynn, you go and pass the decree, and let them come to discuss together."

After a short pause, the emperor said again.

"It will take some time for the chief assistant and the second assistant to come over. Gentlemen, you might as well talk about the candidates in your mind first."

Seeing this, Wynn at the side immediately understood, bowed his hands and withdrew to deliver the decree.

At the same time, Chen Xun and the others couldn't continue to procrastinate. After a moment of hesitation, Wang Wen spoke first.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to the regulations, Zhan Shifu has one official third-rank Zhan Shi, two official fourth-rank junior Zhan Shi, two official sixth-rank mansions, and a master office to be in charge of clerical affairs."

"Zhan Shi's mansion has Zuo, Youchunfang, and the Bureau of Economics and Economics. There are five ranks left and one right Chunfang University scholar. There is one person from the left of the sixth rank, one person from the right middle Yun, one person from the left of the sixth rank, and one person from the right Zanshan, and one person from the fifth rank to wash the horse in the Bureau of Economics and Economics."

"There should be a total of 16 officials above rank six."

"At present, there are three people in Zhan Shifu, Yu Cifu is Zhan Shifu, Zhou Hongmo is the Chancellor of Zhan Shifu, and he is in charge of Shao Zhan Shishi, and Shen Jing, a military doctor, is also in charge of Shao Zhan Shishi."

"In the Bureau of Economics and Economics, Yu Yan has already served as a horse-washing officer, so it is ready. As for Zuo and You Chunfang, the University of Zuochunfang was originally held by Xiao Yi, a scholar of the Imperial Academy. After Xiao Yi was dismissed, the Zuochunfang University was temporarily vacant. Xu Youzhen is the scholar of Chunfang University, and there are also You Shuzi Ni Qian and You Yu De Wan'an, who are responsible for teaching the classics of His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Total of these people, there are 16 officials in the Prince's Mansion, and there are already seven of them. The remaining nine vacancies are Zhan Shi, the young man of Zhan Shi's mansion, one of the Fu Cheng, one of the Zuo Chunfang University scholars, one of the Zuo concubine, and one of the Zuo Shuzi. There is one Yude, one person on the left, one person on the right, and one person on the left, and one person on the right Zanshan."

"Your Majesty has just said that Liu Dingzhi, Chen Wen, and Li Shao will be transferred to the Prince's Mansion. I don't know what official positions they will confer. Please show me your Majesty!"

As the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Mr. Wang's professional quality is still very good.

The resumes and appointments of officials all over the world are basically in his mind. Now that the emperor asked Zhan Shifu, he naturally reported the current status of Zhan Shifu immediately.

Hearing this, Zhu Qiyu pondered for a moment and asked.

"The official department thinks that these three people should have any positions?"

If you ask the officials for their opinions...

Wang Tianguan blinked, and looked at Chen Xun involuntarily.

Although it was said that it was Yu Shiyue who wrote the memorial, everyone knew who was really trying to block people.

That being the case...

Elder Wang looked at Chen Xun maliciously, with a look of deep thought.

This made Chen Xun feel speechless for a while, this old man really... can put on a show.

After working together for such a long time, Chen Xun is confident that he still has a certain understanding of Wang Wen. This old man usually looks out of tune, but in fact, he is very well-measured, and he is not the kind of person he shows. Calculating character.

In the selection of officials, justice is the most important thing!
If Wang Wen couldn't do this, even if he followed the emperor's footsteps, the emperor would not let him be the heavenly official with confidence.

Not to mention, Liu Dingzhi and others were already transferred to the prince's mansion by the emperor. Even if he was concerned about being in front of the emperor, it was impossible for Wang Wen to deliberately suppress these people.

So, to put it bluntly, what this old guy is doing now is just a prank...

Sure enough, seeing that Chen Xun didn't respond, Wang Wen snorted lightly, then raised his head and cupped his hands at the Son of Heaven.

"Your Majesty, Liu Dingzhi and Chen Wen are all studying for a bachelor's degree from the fifth grade servant, and Li Shao is a sixth grade servant teaching a bachelor's degree. Now is not the time for class examinations, so, as usual, they should be adjusted according to the grade."

"According to my opinion, Chen Wen can be appointed as the fifth-rank Zuo concubine, Li Shao can be appointed as the sixth-rank You Zhongyun, and Liu Dingzhi, who has senior experience and outstanding talents, can be promoted to a level according to the situation, and Ren Zheng is the fifth-rank Zuochunfang University scholar! "

It should be said that this transfer is relatively fair, and even Liu Dingzhi was promoted to a higher level. It can be seen that Wang Wen has thought it through carefully. As Chen Xun expected, he did not give up because of that little grudge. Abandon the public for private reasons.

However, unexpectedly, after hearing these words, Chen Xun frowned slightly and stepped forward to speak.

"Your Majesty, I think it's wrong!"