Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2283 Economics and Party Struggle () Negotiated

The emperor suddenly said that Gao Jingshi should feel free to do Huo Guang boldly, which indeed surprised Gao Jingshi at first. After all, in this era when Confucianism has penetrated into all aspects of society, Huo Guang's act of abolishing and establishing without permission is undoubtedly a great disrespect for the imperial power, and being disrespectful to the imperial power is contrary to the Confucian "lord, minister, minister, father and father". "Zi Zi" is a very ethical person.

Regardless of whether your abolition of the establishment was actually of great benefit to the Han Dynasty, or even if you did it because you were loyal to the late emperor's will, it still doesn't work. As long as you do it, you will be a traitor to the generals and a traitor to the ministers.

The king must be the one who most firmly supports this kind of formal etiquette system, so when the emperor said these words, Gao Pragmatic was stunned and confused, and even thought he heard wrongly.

However, when the emperor hinted slightly, he thought about it and immediately understood why the emperor dared to let him "be Huo Guang". There are at least three reasons here, and each of them is very good.

First, the political atmosphere is different, or in other words, the degree of influence of Confucianism on social thought is different.

When Huo Guang was in charge of the world, "everything was first Guan Baiguang, and then reported to the emperor." This situation even became the origin of the post of "Guan Bai" in Japan, which shows its far-reaching influence. However, there is a very important point here, that is, the national policy in the early Han Dynasty was originally the art of Huang Lao. It was only during the period of Emperor Wu that he began to "depose hundreds of schools of thought and only respect Confucianism." It was after the death of Emperor Wu that Huo Guang came to power.

In other words, when Huo Guang came to power, Confucianism had only been popular in the world for a few decades. Many people just followed Emperor Wu's wishes and praised Confucianism in words. How deeply they identify with Confucianism, no one dares to draw a conclusion.

Under such circumstances, there was no strong opposition to Huo Guangxing's decision to abolish the throne. He only needs to let everyone see the various misdeeds of "this emperor", and let the nobles and senior officials realize that if this emperor continues to do this, the interests of all of us will not be protected. Then, Feili is no longer a rule of heaven that no one dares to touch.

But what about Ming Dynasty? At this time, Confucianism had been prevalent for more than a thousand years, and everyone had been imprisoned under this kind of ethics since they came into contact with society. Neo-Confucianism had once again strengthened this ethics, so that the dignity of the emperor and his ministers was regarded as It's natural. If we try to abolish legislation at this time, the social foundation will be as thin as a cicada.

This is not because Gao Xiang is overthinking, or because he or she has never heard of the saying, "The emperor is the one who has strong soldiers and horses." He has his own understanding. Two examples can be given:

An example is that the emperor and governor of Nanming changed at every turn, but there was no "strong soldier" outside the old Zhu family to "do it". Instead, they all obediently accepted a certain Zhu Ming clan as emperor. As for themselves, they would rather be powerful ministers than dare to easily establish themselves as emperors. Even the remaining troops of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong wisely switched to Nanming - even though at that time, Nanming only had a tiger skin left.

Another example is that after Wu Sangui started the San Francisco Rebellion, he hesitated for a long time. In the end, he did not bring out the people of Lao Zhu's family to make tiger skins on the table, but instead proclaimed himself emperor. As a result, he suddenly lost all the support from the forces that he could still win over, and was eventually pacified by the Qing court, which had already greatly weakened its combat power.

Popular support itself does not determine the ownership and stability of the throne, but even if a person who loses popular support becomes an emperor, it will only be a crown prince. This throne is absolutely unstable.

Wanli Zhongxing is a real thing. No matter how much contribution Gao Jingshi made in it, it will eventually be attributed to Emperor Wanli. Therefore, Zhu Yijun is indeed not afraid of what Gao Jingshi has planned for him.

Even if Emperor Wanli dies in the future, the political reputation he accumulated will still linger over his prince. As long as the prince does not act rebelliously and cause anger and resentment, even if he is highly pragmatic, he will not be able to shake the throne that the prince inherited from his father.

At most, you can ignore the little emperor. But you are going to die eventually, and the little emperor is more than thirty years younger than you. When everyone is fighting for life, the advantage always lies with the little emperor. When you die, your son can't inherit your official position, right? Then, the little emperor will naturally win.

It’s time to talk about Zhu Yijun’s second reason. The political structure of the Han Dynasty was basically based on the clan system, that is, the power of the powerful could be easily inherited by their next generation. However, the political structure of the Ming Dynasty was not a clan system like the Han Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty implemented an imperial examination system, and the civilized officials produced by the imperial examination system were the main force in maintaining the operation of the country.

Some people may want to say that the Ming Dynasty also had clans, kings, clans, and major nobles, so how could it not be considered a powerful family? Are you kidding me? The clan is just a pigsty. Even Gao Pragmatic now wants to tear down the pigsty. In terms of political status and political power, they are not worth mentioning at all.

As for the nobles, they do have a certain political status, but they are not responsible for the operation of the country, but only for defending the imperial power. For example, suppose the court wants to increase or reduce taxes next year. Is the opinion of the chief minister of the cabinet more important, or the opinion of a certain prince?

Don't be kidding, no matter which country you are a prince of, as long as you don't think that the prince of your country is tired of his work, then you won't say another word on this issue at all.

Not to mention these administrative affairs of the imperial court, even those matters in charge of the Fifth Army Governor's Office, the Duke and other nobles will generally not have too much entanglement with the Ministry of War - unless the Ministry of War says that in the future, the nobles will be in the fifth company. Even if the military governor's office doesn't allow them to do so in name, then they might jump out and beg the emperor to make the decision for them.

Of course, in this case, there is a high probability that the emperor will really make the decision for them. After all, if the nobles completely step aside, then the emperor will really become a loner and start to become a little dangerous.

In short, the actual administrative power of the imperial court was in the hands of the civil service group. However, due to the existence of the imperial examination system, the power of the civil service group could not be transferred to their children and grandchildren reasonably and legally. It could only be through "teacher-student", "same year" and "marriage" "Wait for the relationship to be maintained.

Even with all these blessings, studies at home must be done well. Because if you fail to pass the exam in one generation, you can still rely on the legacy of the previous generation, but if one or two more generations fail to pass the exam, then your family will really be ruined.

In this way, the first two reasons are different social thoughts and different power inheritance systems. So what is Zhu Yijun's third reason?

It is the distribution of power that is different.

What does Huo Guang rely on to hold the power? In addition to the status of "Minister Guan Ming" given to him by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty before his death, the most important thing is undoubtedly the position of "General".

General, the highest commander in ancient times. It began in the Warring States Period and was the highest title for a general. It was inherited during the Han Dynasty and was responsible for commanding troops in battle. In fact, most of them are held by noble relatives, who control the political power and hold very high positions. Before the Han Dynasty, the highest military attache was called a general, such as Bai Qi in Qin, Leyi in Yan, and Song Yi and Xiang Yu in the late Qin. They were the highest military commanders of a country. Chen Sheng, during the Wu Guang uprising, King Zhao Wuchen appointed Chen Yu as the general.

During the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang worshiped Han Xin as a general in Hanzhong, and he was the prime minister of military affairs. After Han Xin was executed, he was not permanently placed there. They were only granted temporary seals during the war and were removed immediately after the war. For example, in the third year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (154 BC), seven kingdoms including Wu and Chu rebelled, and Liu Qi appointed Dou Ying as general. Then Liu Che appointed Wei Qing as the general, and stipulated that the general was the highest title for a general, ranking above the three princes, and everyone below him would worship him. Later, the Grand Sima was appointed as the general's official officer.

Because the power of the former prime minister was too great, starting from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, power gradually transferred to China and North Korea. During the reign of Emperor Wu, most of the emperor's guests had the title of servant. However, the generals under Emperor Wu all led troops on expeditions and did not participate too much in court politics. Even Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were both generals, and they were enlarged as Sima. Their trusted followers were unmatched, but they were mainly in charge of military affairs.

When he arrived at Huo Guang, he began to govern in the name of General Sima, with power superior to that of the prime minister. From then on, the general was actually the official leader of China and the DPRK. Later, Wang Feng and others all used the title of "Da Sima" and "General" to foresee political affairs. In the later period of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, the Grand Sima was changed from an additional official to a primary official, and a gold seal and purple ribbon were installed to remove the title of general.

In short, according to the "Han Guan Yi": "When the Han Dynasty was established, a general was installed, and he was the prime minister." According to Volume 59 of "Wenwen Tongkao", it says: "The general is in charge of the country's internal affairs, and externally he is dedicated to military expeditions." , whose power is far beyond that of the Prime Minister."

The last sentence is very crucial, "The general is in charge of the affairs of the country internally, and he is dedicated to military expeditions externally. His power is far beyond that of the prime minister." Therefore, after the death of Emperor Wu, Huo Guang was not only the "chief minister" of the Han Dynasty, but also He is also the "full controller of the military and political affairs."

So, what Zhu Yijun said about asking Gao Pragmatic to "do Huo Guang", can Gao Pragmatic really do it? In fact, we can't, because the official systems of the Han and Ming dynasties were very different.

The Ming Dynasty no longer has a prime minister, and the current so-called chief minister of the cabinet is at best a super-weakened version of the prime minister. The chief minister has neither the title of prime minister nor the actual status of prime minister (mainly referring to the power of opening a government and setting up officials). It is just because he is stuck between the emperor and the officials and occupies the "ecological niche" that originally belonged to the prime minister. Therefore, in The outside world will still call him "Xiang". [Note: This point was discussed very early in the book and will not be repeated here. ]

Looking at it this way, the situation is obvious: the general is not only clearly above the three princes, but also holds political power internally and military power externally. Both sides are justified. This shows how huge, stable and unquestionable his power is.

As for the Shofu University Scholar, strictly speaking, he was just a fifth-rank official. In theory, he only had the power to make suggestions to the emperor - whether they were adopted or not depended entirely on the emperor's wishes.

If the name is not correct, the words will not be smooth. Therefore, the chief assistant must do things. First, he relies on the emperor to listen to suggestions and directly issue imperial edicts. He follows the formal procedures and passes the six subjects, and then the six ministries execute them. Second, he relies on writing private letters to important officials in various places, so that he is "just like the prime minister." The officer's strange status as "respected person, like a relative of a close minister" made the officer fearful and he had no choice but to follow his will and implement the meaning expressed in the private letter.

All in all, whether the position of chief assistant has great power depends largely on who is in the position. Just like when Li Chunfang was the first assistant, the civil and military officials of the dynasty did not regard him as a green onion. But as soon as Li Chunfang left and Gao Gong came in, everyone immediately became honest and friendly. Except for a few die-hard anti-Gao faction, everyone else became My dear baby, I wish I could leave home without a pacifier in my mouth.

Of course, in fact, it was not much different when Wang Jiaping was the chief minister. Even though Wang Jiaping had a bad temper, most court officials were not afraid of him. But once he left and Gao Pragmatic took over, everyone immediately became honest again. Even Shen Yiguan was forced to find an excuse to go on a business trip. He first went to Taishan to make arrangements, and then ran all the way to Nanjing.

However, no matter what, the authority of the chief minister is not stable, because even this position is not considered an "economic official". How much authority you have only depends on two points: first, the emperor's attitude towards you, and being close to you has great power. If it is strong, if it is sparse, the prestige will be lost; secondly, it depends on your personal power and prestige.

If you have great power and high prestige, such as Gao Pragmatic, then everyone will still be afraid of you. After all...even if you are not the chief minister, such power cannot be underestimated, and such prestige cannot be desecrated. But one thing is, if you really stay away from the center of power for a long time, no matter how powerful and prestige you originally were, it will gradually dissipate.

In this case, Zhu Yijun can conclude that Gao Pragmatic will not be foolish enough to actually reach Huo Guang's level, because his power is actually not as stable and unquestionable as Huo Guang's back then.

Until Zhu Yijun, even if he suddenly dominates Bintian, Gao Jingshi may be able to exert no less power than Huo Guang for a while, but it depends not on the system, but on the reputation and connections of Gao Jingshi. This is What is not stable will not last long.

Based on his understanding of Gao Jingshi, Gao Jingshi would not take a gamble at this time and make a decision of "I would rather spend decades dealing with the aftermath than I would like to do it today." Sima Yi did this kind of thing, but the Sima family also carried the guilt from then on, which eventually led to disasters from the sky. Each generation of the Sima family's descendants became more miserable than the next... There is a lesson from the past, and Gao Pragmatic will definitely not do it. [Note: Zhu Yijun will believe in retribution. This doesn’t require any further explanation, right? ]

It is precisely because of the above three reasons that Zhu Yijun firmly believes that even if Gao Pragmatic is asked to be Huo Guang, he will not do more than Huo Guang. As long as Gao Jingshi agrees and makes arrangements to prevent future generations of the Gao family - or even Gao Jingshi's children from entering the center of the court - then everything will be under control and there will be absolutely no danger.

As for the so-called "Feng Guogong" mentioned by Zhu Yijun just now, and even "Feng Wang with a foreign surname", they were all compromises made in order to make Gao Pragmatic accept the above conditions.

I will grant you the title of Southern Xinjiang that you conquered by yourself, and give it to you as a prince. You are responsible for educating my son well, and your descendants will not interfere in the affairs of the Ming Dynasty. Do you want to do this deal?

Gao Yingshi was silent for a moment and said slowly: "The emperor is ordered by heaven, and he is responsible for his power and blessings. He rewards merits and punishes demerits, all in one thought. I accept the emperor's favor in this world, but I have orders, and I can only act according to the orders."

Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows slightly and said in relief: "That means you agreed?"

Gao Pingshi bowed and said: "You have an order, but I dare not resign."

Zhu Yijun clapped his hands and said: "Very good, very good. In this case, I will speak frankly. You can watch this battle in southern Xinjiang yourself. As soon as the fight is almost over, stop it. I plan to use For the merit of this battle, Gao Yuan will be given an official title first."

Gao Pingshi's heart moved, he cupped his hands and said: "I obey the order."
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