Daming: Lend the system to Emperor Hongwu at the beginning

Chapter 144 The Reform of the Official System in Daming

A light show in Nanjing city last night stimulated many people.

For the light that was as bright as day, even after a whole night, everyone still remembers it vividly.

Early the next morning, businessmen with some connections in Nanjing began to ask around how the lamp was made.

But it's a pity that this thing was invented by the Academy of Sciences, and Zhu Biao directly arranged for the construction of the electric lights and wires that spread throughout Nanjing last night.

For a while, they really couldn't detect the slightest bit of wind.

And while those businessmen were anxiously looking for the business opportunities brought by the light bulb, Zhu Biao also called the left prime minister Li Shanchang, the right prime minister Wang Guangyang, and the officials of the six ministries to the Sumeru fantasy world at the same time. Come.

And what surprised them was that waiting for them was not only Zhu Biao, but also Zhu Yuanzhang sitting in the corner.

This immediately made all the ministers a little unnatural.

In the face of Lao Zhu, to be honest, everyone was still a little apprehensive.

"You don't need to worry about me, I'm here today to listen in!"

"You just talk to the prince!" Zhu Yuanzhang explained with a smile.

Although everyone was still apprehensive after hearing the words, they finally calmed down and took their seats after respectfully saluting.

"Your Highness, I don't know why you called the veterans over this time?" Li Shanchang spoke first as the leader of civil servants.

Li Shanchang, who is now 69 years old, is still full of energy.

Although his authority has been reduced a lot compared to the original history by Lao Zhu and the Hanlin Academy, and has always been checked and balanced by Liu Ji, the censor of Zuodu, he is still the head of the civil servants, Prime Minister Zuo.

This kind of treatment is much better than being forced to return home after four years in Hongwu.

Although it is not possible to monopolize power and say what it says in the past, the risk is much smaller at the same time.

At least he doesn't have to end up being suspicious of Lao Zhu like before, and end up with a whole family of gangsters.

Li Shanchang is generally quite satisfied with the current situation.

"There is indeed a big deal!"

Zhu Biao looked around and said with a smile: "You all know that the plane warfare has completely stopped in the late Qing Dynasty, and our side has also entered a critical period of the industrial revolution. The next five to ten years will be very important. ten years of development."

"It can be said that there are new things in the country every day, such as the railway opened before, and the electric lights yesterday. If our court does not make corresponding changes, we will gradually fall behind the times!"

"Your Highness wants to reform the bureaucracy?" Li Shanchang was very experienced, and he guessed his intention in an instant just by listening to Zhu Biao's voice.

"You know me, Mr. Li!"

"I do have such an idea!"

"Nowadays, the official system of the Ming Dynasty is that the prime minister commands six ministries, and the six ministries command hundreds of officials!"

"If it was before, it would be no problem, but now it seems that the central management organization of the imperial court seems a bit too small!"

"For example, the issue of electric lights. In the future, the imperial court will deploy a large-scale power grid across the country, and strive to make the whole country have access to electricity. But who will do these things? When the power grid is completed, who will manage it? "

"There is also the General Administration of Railways that was established before. This unit has always been directly managed by me, but in the future there will be more and more departments like this. Someone is responsible!"

"But who will be in charge, that matters a lot!"

Hearing what Zhu Biao said, the hearts of all the people present couldn't help but move at the same time.

They could tell that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seemed to want to refine his authority this time.

In such reforms, the real power sector and the non-real power sector are worlds apart.

"I'll just say it straight!"

"In the future, Ming Dynasty will completely abolish the official position of Prime Minister of Zhongshu Province."

Zhu Biao saw that everyone's eyes were twinkling, and he didn't bother to continue playing charades. With one sentence, Li Shanchang was scared to death.

He has seen the original history of Ming Dynasty, and he is very clear that Lao Zhu did this before, so it seems that it is not incomprehensible for His Royal Highness to do it again now.

"Of course the prime minister is gone, but that doesn't mean that the institution exercising the power of the prime minister will be cancelled."

"The imperial court will set up a new agency to replace the prime minister to exercise power."

"The name of this institution must be familiar to everyone."

"cabinet!"

Of course, everyone here is familiar with it. Everyone has seen the 270-year history of the Ming Dynasty, and they all know that since the Yongle Dynasty, the cabinet has been active in the political center of the Ming Dynasty.

"Then dare to ask His Royal Highness, the rank of this cabinet minister?" Li Shanchang asked hesitantly.

"The first assistant is the first grade, and the second assistant is the first grade!" Zhu Biao laughed.

Li Shanchang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, he was afraid that Zhu Biao would use the small to control the big like the original historical Ming Dynasty in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

At that time, he will basically be able to return to his hometown completely.

After all, he is now Prime Minister Zuo, who is the head of civil servants, and he is truly a first-class official.

It's okay to transfer at the same level after the restructuring, but wouldn't it be a joke if they were downgraded?
Although it is true that he should retire at his current age, but... say a thousand words and ten thousand, this taste of power is hard to bear!

"In the future, there will be five permanent positions in the cabinet, among which the chief assistant will be the first rank, and the remaining assistants will be the first rank!"

"All cabinet positions are re-elected every five years, and can be re-elected for a maximum of one term!"

"Change?"

This is another new term that no one has heard of.

This sentence means that in the future, cabinet ministers will be elected every five years. After the selection, if there is no major crime of dereliction of duty, corruption, or violation of the Ming Law, it will basically not be abolished, let alone retire, and the term must be expired.

"As for the choice of the cabinet ministers... including the choices of the high-ranking officials below, it's all up to me... ahem, my father, Emperor Gangang." Zhu Biao said.

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to laugh, but after all, this occasion was a bit inappropriate, so he held back.

"Then if it's Ding You?" Someone asked.

"In the future, the Ming Dynasty will completely abolish Ding You's system. If there is a new funeral for an elderly person in the family, you can ask for leave!"

"This...!" Everyone looked at each other when they heard the words.

Ding You embodies filial piety, and China has been governing the country with filial piety since ancient times.

"His Royal Highness, this matter is very involved, do you want to think about it again?" The Minister of Rites said in a deep voice.

"Don't think about it!" Zhu Biao waved his hand and made a domineering decision.

If the parents died, an official would have to go home for three years, and Ding You would still be paid with a salary. This system seemed like a crime to Zhu Biao.

In fact, according to Zhu Yuanzhang and his intentions, this so-called rule of filial piety must be abolished.

Governing the country depends on the law, not a vague word of filial piety.

Of course, it is still too early, things have to be done step by step.

Hearing Zhu Biao's words, and looking at Zhu Yuanzhang next to him, there was no objection, and everyone knew that this matter was settled.

After all, to be honest, the current Ming Dynasty is actually Lao Zhu's words.

He does what he says.

Anyone who dares to oppose it like in the middle and late Ming Dynasty would simply think that his life is too long.

Zhu Biao didn't get entangled in this matter, but continued: "As for the powers of the five cabinet ministers, the chief assistant is like the prime minister to manage all major affairs in the world, and several secondary assistants are in charge of part of it."

"This division is not just talk, but to thoroughly clarify the authority."

"Whoever is responsible for the matter should be done by whoever is responsible. Others must not exceed their authority to manage it, and they must not shirk their responsibility."

"If something happens, the manager should be held accountable."

Hearing what Zhu Biao said, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said, "Let's insert a sentence here!"

"You have all seen the history of Ming Dynasty, and we even went to the end of Ming Dynasty in person!"

"One of the most important problems in why the Ming Dynasty perished was that officials did not act and blamed each other when things went wrong."

"Especially since Emperor Jiajing, this emperor was very smart, but his cleverness was useless. He was lazy and didn't do anything, and used checks and balances to control his ministers."

"Da Ming's party struggle was provoked by him!"

"In the late Jiajing period, everyone was fighting for power and profit. No one was in charge of the common people, and no one was doing anything!"

"Can such a great Ming Dynasty survive?"

"If it wasn't for Zhang Juzheng who came out later, we don't think Daming would have survived the Chongzhen Dynasty at all."

Everyone listened to Zhu Yuanzhang's speech quietly, and at the same time, they were thinking about the problems Zhu Yuanzhang said.

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang softened his tone and continued: "The term change system proposed by Biaoer is very good!"

"In the future, when you are an official, don't always stare at the position of your boss, work more, and think more about the common people."

"When it's time for a new term, someone will naturally evaluate what you have done during your tenure. The capable will go up and the mediocre will go down. It's that simple!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Everyone hurriedly stood up and saluted.

"okay!"

"Sit down and listen to Biaoer to continue!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands helplessly.

Zhu Biao continued: "There are fourteen ministerial units under the cabinet!"

"The previous Ministry of Officials, Ministry of Households, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of War, Ministry of Punishment, and Ministry of Industry remain unchanged, and the ministers of each ministry are still the second grade."

"But at the same time, the Royal Bank, the Ministry of Industry, the General Administration of Railways, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the last other world liaison department must be added under the cabinet."

"The chiefs of these departments are the second grade. Although the grade is half a grade lower than that of the sixth department, they do not govern each other, and there is no relationship between superiors and subordinates. They are directly responsible to the cabinet!"

When everyone heard the words, they couldn't help but start to think.

In fact, if you look at it this way, the jurisdiction of the six ministries has not been divided much. Most of the newly added ministry-level units are to manage new things that have emerged in recent years.
But there is no doubt that the emergence of these departments will divide the authority of the six ministers.

"What I said today is actually only temporary. In the future, more ministerial units may be established, and cabinet ministers may be added. These are not static, understand?"

"His Royal Highness, is the Metropolitan Procuratorate under the jurisdiction of the cabinet?" Li Shanchang asked suddenly.

"of course not!"

"The Metropolitan Procuratorate is a supervisory department, and it supervises the cabinet!"

Zhu Biao continued with a serious face: "This is what I was about to say. The rank of Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate has been upgraded to Cong Yipin, and the Secretary of Dali Temple is equivalent."

"The two ministries are separate from the cabinet, and will establish independent agencies in each province, prefecture, and even county. In the future, the Ministry of Criminal Affairs led by the cabinet will be responsible for solving cases and arresting criminals. The Dali Temple will be responsible for trial and conviction, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate will be responsible for supervision."

Liu Bowen's heart moved, and he thought: "I didn't do anything, so I was promoted again?"

"This is stripping the judicial power of magistrates!" Everyone realized something in their hearts.

Of course everyone knows that doing this is of great benefit to the country's control of the region, but it was really impossible to implement it before!

Because doing so will increase countless official positions, the court cannot afford it.

But it is different now. After removing all expenses last year, the imperial court still has a balance of more than 160 billion treasure notes, and some of them are money.

Perhaps this is also the reason why His Royal Highness began to carry out drastic reforms of the official system at the beginning of this year.

Every department that has been added now, and every official in every department needs money to support them!

If you don't have money, change your ass!
After this closed-door meeting, the central organization of the entire Ming Dynasty began to make silent adjustments.

The whole process went smoothly, just like the previous education reform.

In fact, strictly speaking, these are not real reforms, but only changes.

Because the current Ming Dynasty is still a blank slate, these changes will not touch the interests of vested interest groups, so naturally there will not be much resistance.

If it is placed in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, let alone carry out reforms, even if it is just to let the wind out, it will immediately cause huge waves.

After all, the Ming Dynasty at that time was already devastated by the crazy graffiti of the officials of the Ming Dynasty. If you want to paint on such paper without ruining the paper, it is really a test of the skill of the painter.

Anyway, Zhu Biao thinks he doesn't have this ability. Of course, if it is Lao Zhu, maybe he can do it.

(End of this chapter)