The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The vacancy of the Ministry of Personnel had little impact on the affairs of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ministry of Personnel was operating normally.

The emperor did not go to court, but asked the staff to conduct ministerial meetings on their own to see if a suitable candidate could be recommended. This was tantamount to giving traditional civil servants a chance. When the news reached Liu Jian's ears, he seemed to have no idea about it. Have an opinion.

"Your Majesty is testing." Seeing Liu Jian's cautious look, Li Dongyang guessed what Liu Jian was thinking and said bluntly.

Liu Jiandao: "Now that there are vacancies in the six ministers, what we have thought is that His Majesty must want to arrange someone he likes to take over, but we have never thought about why the person we recommend must not be in His Majesty's mind?"

Li Dongyang asked: "The implication is that we want to select someone who can satisfy us and satisfy His Majesty? Is there such a person?"

Liu Jian shook his head.

Obviously, in today's situation, there is no one who wants to satisfy both parties.

"This is the situation." Li Dongyang also said helplessly, "Who would have thought of this a few years ago? Until now, His Majesty has not yet decided on the candidates for the Nangong Examination, but at this time, he asked the staff to There is a vacancy in the Secretariat, so it seems that the situation this year may not be as good as last year.”

Liu Jiandao: "The future may be even worse. At least for now, some people in the DPRK still have concerns about cultivating their power."

Compared with the past few years, the worst year is actually the best year in the next few years. At least now we still have the opportunity to change.

Li Dongyang heard this meaning.

Liu Jian asked: "If it is up to you to select someone, who should it be?"

Li Dongyang did not answer directly, but said seriously: "We can't decide too much about the Ministry of Personnel. But I heard that His Majesty wants to make some changes in the Ministry of Household Affairs. Do you remember that Ma Futu strongly recommended it before he left? man of?"

"Who?" Liu Jian frowned.

Li Dongyang said: "Governor of Xuanfu, Liu Daxia."

Liu Jian suddenly fell silent.

Li Dongyang said: "Given the current situation, if His Majesty insists on cultivating young people, he may directly promote Wang Bo'an to be the Minister of Household Affairs. However, his qualifications are obviously not enough, but it seems very possible to promote Wang Dehua to be the Minister of Household Affairs." If there is really no candidate who can be promoted, then the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Ji Zhong, will be the next candidate for the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. What do you think?"

Liu Jian thought for a while, nodded slightly, and seemed to agree with this "workaround."

Li Dongyang continued: "It seems that the Ministry of Household Affairs is determined to appoint someone who can help Zhang Bingkuan. Wang Dehua is the best candidate, but it is not ruled out that your Majesty will use Lu Quanqing. This person is very ambitious and has been with us several times. Tit for tat, and Wang Dehua is still serving in the northwest at this time, if His Majesty returns to the court as Minister of War in the future..."

Liu Jian interrupted Li Dongyang and asked: "He was promoted to Minister of War. Do you mean that Zhang Bingkuan joined the cabinet?"

"It's not impossible." Li Dongyang said.

Liu Jiandao: "Right now, among these people, who do you think should come first... I mean, should we get them out of the court battle?"

Suppress dissent.

Those who are not from our race must have different minds. We must choose one of Zhang Zhou, Wang Qiong and Lu Wan to take action. Suppressing Zhang Zhou has proven to be unworkable, so we must choose from Lu Wan and Wang Qiong. Choose one.

Li Dongyang said: "If I have to choose one person...it would be Lu Quanqing."

Liu Jiandao: "This person has deceitful ways of doing things, and he is fighting against the cabinet for the above reasons. He has no intention of maintaining the stability of the court. This kind of person may not be acceptable. So what method should be used?"

Li Dongyang said helplessly: "Please make it clear."

Obviously, here in Li Dongyang, everything is taken lightly. From a simple point of view, there is no breakthrough at all. Unless a very tricky entry point can be found, there is a chance to take down the core members of the Zhang Zhou faction.

Liu Jiandao: "Lu Quanqing has served in the local government for many years, and his character is not perfect."

Li Dongyang shook his head and said: "Your Majesty does not pay too much attention to the usual violations of the law by these people. Even for people like Liu Yu, Zhang Bingkuan took action personally, otherwise His Majesty would have no intention of investigating."

Liu Jian said coldly: "But with such a bad reputation, how can he still stand in the court?"

Without going into too much detail, Li Dongyang seemed to understand the intention, which was to ruin Lu Wan's reputation first and make Lu Wan a street rat that everyone in the court wanted to beat up.

Li Dongyang said: "What we are talking about now is the Minister of Personnel, the Minister of Hubu who may be vacant, and even the people who join the cabinet."

Liu Jian shook his head and said: "Whether we should fight or not, we don't have a chance to fight. His Majesty's intention is very obvious now. Even His Majesty Yu Qiao doesn't care about the past feelings. What else do we have to fight for? If we don't fight... it's also for us. Don’t worry about who is vacant recently, just pretend you don’t know.”

Li Dongyang was obviously unwilling.

Although he also believed in his heart that Liu Jian was right, he couldn't fight for it now.

But he still couldn't bear to let the ministers of the Ministry of official affairs and the bachelor's degree in the cabinet go to the political opponents without even trying to fight for them.

Liu Jiandao: "Your Majesty's health has not been as good as before in the past two years. Government affairs have been gradually devolved to the outside world, and Zhang Bingkuan has been away from Beijing all year round. This is a good thing for us. Even if we don't do anything, I don't believe that some people will still stay with Zhang Bingkuan." In step?"

"Waiting for them to fight among themselves?" Li Dongyang frowned.

Obviously this move is too passive.

Do nothing yourself and wait for your opponent to make mistakes? This doesn't seem like what we should do.

As representatives of civil servants, are we so cowardly that we don’t even dare to fight?

Liu Jian looked very calm and said sternly: "Zhang Tingmian is about to return to Beijing. I don't believe that he will do nothing after returning to Beijing. Moreover, Zhang Bingkuan has done many things in the court and has been tabooed by the local emperor and relatives. Now There will be more and more criticism against him.”

Li Dongyang nodded and said: "Understood, when we faced Zhang Bingkuan before, the emperor's relatives thought that Zhang Bingkuan had a rival and might not jump out. But once we ceased our activities, the emperor's relatives would not be able to sit still."

"Yes." Liu Jian said, "Including Zhang Tingmian, I guess they have the same idea. They all want to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. But once one of the two tigers retreats first, the tiger will make the mountain uneasy, even if it is just a snake. Bugs, rats, and ants should do something when facing tigers. They can’t rely on us for everything.”

"Who... is more suitable to be the leader?" Li Dongyang asked while thinking.

Liu Jiandao: "Bin Zhi, we don't have to force ourselves to do some things. Someone will do it for us. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, so many vassal states were established everywhere. I thought that one day, there would be rebellious officials and traitors in the Ming Dynasty. If this is the case, then we Just wait and see. For this matter, we will stay put and secretly... find out Lu Quanqing's bad deeds first. As for the candidates to join the cabinet, we don't have to think about it anymore. Let Wang Jizhi come. Doesn't he have concerns? It’s him! Since he is Zhang Bingkuan’s mentor, it depends on whether he is helping the government or just controlling it after joining the cabinet!”

Li Dongyang nodded.

Although he does not agree with Wang Hao's political stance, in terms of ability, Wang Hao is definitely qualified to serve as a cabinet minister.

……

...Xinuan Pavilion.

Zhu Youtang held two memorials in his hand, and beside him stood three eunuchs, Chen Kuan, Wei Bin and Yang Peng.

Chen Kuandao said: "The Ministry of Personnel's meeting has come up. The people recommended are Lin Han, the Minister of Rites, and Ji Zhong, the Minister of the Ministry of Husbandry. There is also Zhang Zhou, the Minister of War, but because it is just a departmental meeting, nothing can be done accurately. If it is left to Ting Tui, I guess I will choose from these three people.”

Zhu Youtang frowned slightly and said, "No one else?"

"No." Chen Kuan said.

Zhu Youtang said: "This is very strange. How come Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was not promoted? According to the previous rules of court promotion, when each of the six ministers has a vacancy, Zuo Shilang is a candidate. Even the serving minister of Nanjing can be selected. Yes, why this time...it seems like..."

Zhu Youtang also felt that this personnel change was unusual.

Although in theory, who becomes the minister is determined by the emperor, in fact, the Ming Dynasty's court recommendation system determines that everyone who wants to rise to the throne must pass the court official's test. If this person is unpopular, then in the Those who go up will not be respected, and the emperor will generally not go against the wishes of his ministers.

But this time, the minister seemed to be too knowledgeable. At least Zhu Youtang seemed to be okay with the three people he recommended.

Yang Peng said: "Your Majesty, Fu Han, the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, has not done anything unusual recently. He even took the initiative to decline the ministry meeting. There are rumors in the court that he is about to go to Nanjing. I heard that he is about to go to Nanjing." It is said that there are private discussions that a Hanlin scholar can also serve as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs."

As the eunuch who oversees Dongchang, Yang Peng is responsible for intelligence inside and outside the capital. He can turn some rumors into his own memorial.

Zhu Youtang said: "If he can't fight, that's it. Let Bingkuan come back and serve as minister."

Zhu Youtang's attitude remained unchanged.

It had been agreed a long time ago that Zhang Zhou would be promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. After such a long preparation, the plan would not be disrupted.

Yang Peng said: "A lot of things have happened in the Household Department recently, especially related to food hoarding and other matters."

"Really?" Zhu Youtang said, "Bring me the relevant memorials."

When Chen Kuan heard this, he couldn't help but stare at Yang Peng, thinking to himself, you are a bastard who deliberately stirs up trouble, right? Even if you are a member of the Bureau of Ceremony, when will it be your turn to speak nonsense here?
It is said that there is a problem in the household department, but you do not say hello in advance, how can we prepare?

Before Chen Kuan came forward to explain the situation, Yang Peng said: "Dongchang investigated the situation of Beijing's storage in Tongzhou Granary and found that the granary was often in deficit. The Minister of Household Affairs, Ji Zhong, protected the officials in charge of Beijing's granary, and there were still cases after the year. The unusual mobilization of grain and grass is to transport it southward, which is opposite to the direction of water transportation. "

"What does this mean?" Zhu Youtang frowned.

Yang Peng said: "My servant suspects that Ji Zhong knows that he will not be the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and will not occupy his position again. He wants to make some preparations before leaving this position. In addition to giving and receiving privately, he also has the intention of digging a hole for his successor. My servant has checked Ji Zhong. Zhong’s financial transactions over the past few years have revealed that there are many merchants who have paid homage to him every year.”

"What?" Zhu Youtang frowned.

In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor generally did not care about the bribery of ministers. As long as the corruption was not very public, the emperor would usually turn a blind eye.

The so-called benevolent and filial kings are generally the kind who don't care about anything. They appear to be benevolent, but in fact they also indulge in many illegal things.

Yang Peng said: "Dongchang is still investigating carefully."

Chen Kuan looked at Yang Peng and asked coldly: "Are you saying that there is a deficit in the household department? When Dongchang was investigating this matter, they didn't say hello in advance. You just arrived in Beijing and you found so many clues?"

Obviously Chen Kuan was dissatisfied with Yang Peng's style of doing things.

Yang Peng said in a business-like tone: "Dongchang investigates the case in detail. Many things are indeed not reported in advance, but Eunuch Chen... even if it is reported, you should not be involved in this matter."

Before anything could happen, the two started arguing in front of the emperor.

Zhu Youtang stretched out his hand to interrupt the conversation between the two. Zhu Youtang said: "If there are any clues, continue to investigate. The Ministry of Household Affairs... I believe that we should no longer let some irrelevant people take charge. Now let Bingkuan come back. ...Isn’t it appropriate?”

At this time, neither Yang Peng nor Chen Kuan or Wei Bin understood what the emperor meant.

Just because there are suspicions of wrongdoing on the part of Zhong Zhong, the emperor does not intend to let Zhang Zhou return to the capital to become the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel? But there is already a vacancy in the Ministry of Personnel. Logically speaking, the vacancy should be filled within a month.

"How big is the gap in money and food during the Liaodong War?" Zhu Youtang suddenly asked.

Yang Peng didn't answer this time because this was not within his scope of responsibilities.

Chen Kuan is also in a dilemma, because the detailed figures are not something he can summarize. In terms of ability, he is much worse than his predecessor Xiao Jingke.

Chen Kuan said: "Probably... we are still short of two to three hundred thousand taels of silver and hundreds of thousands of shi of grain."

Zhu Youtang said: "Based on 400,000 taels, if the Ministry of Household Affairs is used to adjust the transportation, who can be the fastest?"

"This..." Chen Kuan couldn't answer.

Yang Peng was very down-to-earth and said, "I think no one but Cai Guogong is qualified for the job."

"That's right." Zhu Youtang said, "I think the same way. The case of the Ministry of Revenue will be investigated in the next few days. There is no need to choose the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, so I will serve as Zhong Zhong."

"what?"

At this time, even Yang Peng was greatly surprised.

The emperor had no intention of promoting Zhang Zhou, nor did he intend to promote Lin Han, but directly promoted Zhong Zhong.

It is equivalent to promoting the person who is least likely to be promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel... Because according to the past rules, apart from the Minister of the Ministry of War, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel, there are only Nanjing The Minister of Civil Affairs seems to be qualified.

Now the Minister of Hubu is directly regarded as the Minister of Libu, which can be regarded as skipping the level of Minister of War.

Zhu Youtang noticed the surprise of the eunuchs around him, and he explained, "I just want to complete the internal replacement of the Ministry of Revenue as soon as possible. During the period when the Minister of Revenue is absent, Bingkuan will serve as the Minister of Revenue concurrently. As for the transfer of money and grain for military affairs, everything will be handled according to his wishes. You can also assist him."

Now everyone understood it.

They were thinking, no wonder the emperor heard that there might be a problem with the Minister of Hubu and immediately decided not to transfer Zhang Zhou back to Beijing to be the Minister of Staff.

There are better options for love.

That is to let Zhang Zhou serve as two ministers. In this way, Zhang Zhou is equivalent to holding both military, political and financial power in his hands, and has more real power than being a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. (End of chapter)