Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 107
"Summon the ministers of the cabinet into the palace." Zhu Youxiao's face was solemn, he put down the memorial he was holding, looked at Wang Tiqian with sharp eyes, and said in a cold tone.

"The slaves obey the order."

Wang Tiqian immediately bowed in response, but he was wary in his heart. With the emperor's expression and state, he was afraid that something might happen again in the outer court.

In fact...a storm with ulterior motives is brewing invisibly!

Zhu Youxiao was leaning on the soft cushion, feeling a little bad. The counterattack of the civil servants in the foreign court, no, more accurately, it was the Donglin Party's adjustment and counterattack under the review of the situation, which was much faster than expected.

Zhu Youxiao must admit a fact.

As the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, his control over the outer dynasties is still very weak. Although the various things he did in the past did catch many people off guard, this does not mean that he has a firm grasp on the voice of the Ming Dynasty Central Committee.

Personnel power, financial power, administrative power, military power, public opinion power... are still scattered in the hands of the civil servants of the foreign court, well, it should be the hands of the officials involved.

At this stage of this power game with the characteristics of the Ming Dynasty, the maneuvers and counterattacks from the civil servants have begun.

"The Tianguan of the Ministry of Personnel and the Minister of Finance of the Ministry of Finance are going to Shu to resign. This will inevitably divert the attention of many people."

Zhu Youxiao narrowed his eyes slightly and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, thinking secretly, "This is to eliminate the possibility that the Jinyiwei executed a large number of prisoners who were arrested and imprisoned, the Xunwei arrested a large number of Beijing camp generals, and the Jinyiwei arrested the civil servants involved in the incident in a high-profile manner. The impact of the troops going to Beijing to conduct inspections and other matters under the imperial edict, so that the power of four ounces can stir up chaos again in the court."

The Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of personnel power, and the Shangshu of the Ministry of Hubu is in charge of financial power. These are the two most important powers in the political arena of the Ming Dynasty.

Compared with the situation of the Minister of Hubu, who is in a worrying situation, whoever can serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Affairs will definitely be a very popular minister.

Even the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, in Zhu Youxiao's eyes, is much more practical than the secondary assistant or group assistant of the cabinet. After all, the real power is in his hands.

The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of important matters such as evaluation and promotion. The promotion of officials below the fourth rank is directly decided by the Ministry of Personnel. Only officials above the fourth rank need to discuss with the Cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel to determine a list, which is then submitted to the emperor for selection by the emperor. Personnel adjustments involving the cabinet, six ministries, and officials in the capital required courtiers of a certain rank in Beijing to participate in the meeting and draw up a list, which was then presented to the emperor for selection by the emperor. This constituted the complete personnel power structure of the Ming Dynasty.

It is the default rule in the Ming Dynasty that the ministers of the Ministry of Personnel cannot enter the cabinet to assist in government affairs.

If he really joins the cabinet, becomes the chief minister, and is in charge of personnel power, wouldn't he be the prime minister?
How many people did Hongwu kill and how many heads were chopped off before Emperor Taizu Gao abolished the prime minister system!

So if you become a secondary assistant or a group assistant, where will you place the first assistant?The chief minister of the cabinet who has been emptied out?So what's the point?

"Chen...Fang Congzhe, pay homage to Your Majesty!"

"Chen... Liu Yixiu, pay homage to Your Majesty!"

"minister……"

A series of sounds interrupted Zhu Youxiao's thoughts. Looking at Fang Congzhe, Liu Yizhen, Han Xu, and Zhu Guozuo who were bowing and saluting, Zhu Youxiao leaned forward and raised the corners of his mouth slightly. Now that something happened , then just face the counterattack, and there is no such thing as retreating in the face of battle.

"Li Ruhua, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, is very old. I heard that he is ill and is still in office. Although I don't want him to leave office. After all, Li Ruhua is one of the emperor's appointed ministers, but I am not a heartless person."

Zhu Youxiao calmed down, looked at Fang Congzhe and others and said, "I wonder if there is a suitable candidate in the minds of the ministers to succeed the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Zhu Youxiao deliberately did not mention Zhou Jiamo's resignation, just to see the reaction of Fang Congzhe and others. For such an important position, such as the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Household Affairs, he communicated with the chief minister of the cabinet in advance and did not directly submit the resignation letter. Zhu Youxiao would never believe it if there was nothing else going on.It is understandable for Zhu Youxiao that Li Ruhua resigned as Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Li Ruhua was indeed old, and the financial and treasury conditions of the Ming Dynasty were in an unspeakable state. There were many people who wanted to ask for money and food from the Ministry of Revenue. Not to mention the complicated financial and taxation issues hidden in the dark during the Ming Dynasty. The Finance Minister of the Ministry of Revenue held a high position of power, but the burdens and pressures he shouldered were beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In fact, Li Ruhua only resigned in the first year of Tianqi, but he died of illness not long after leaving office. Although it was earlier than the original trajectory, these were within Zhu Youxiao's acceptance range.

As long as Zhu Youxiao wants to take power and do things and reverse the situation, then the butterfly effect will inevitably occur.

"Your Majesty... the posts of the Ministry of Personnel and the Secretary of the Ministry of Households are important positions in the country." Han Xu stepped forward, crossed Fang Congzhe, bowed and reported: "If Your Majesty wants to grant permission for the two of you to resign and write a memorial, the vacant important positions need to be in the court." The recommendation will be conducted and the cabinet will be responsible for selecting the most suitable person to take up the post."

Zhu Youxiao did not look at Han Xu, but instead fixed his eyes on Zhu Guozuo. He saw Zhu Guozuo frowning slightly. It was obvious that Zhu Guozuo was surprised by Han Xu's reaction.

It seems that on the cabinet side, this was not the case during the previous ventilation.

"Where are the other Qing family members?"

Zhu Youxiao thought for a while and said, "Do you agree with what Han Qing said?"

If Zhou Jiamo can be made to give up the official position of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, there will inevitably be an exchange of interests and even fierce discussions within the Donglin Party.

This also declares that the tingtui mentioned by Han Xu will inevitably hide a lot of troubles.

"My minister agrees."

Liu Yishen was the first to express his position.

"My minister agrees."

Zhu Guozuo hesitated for a moment, glanced at Fang Congzhe from the corner of his eye, and bowed in response.

It seems that Fang Congzhe, the chief minister of the cabinet, will not be able to hold the position for much longer. This person is getting older, and his advantages in the political arena will eventually diminish with age.

Zhu Youxiao narrowed his eyes slightly. It was not enough to rely on the various forces in the inner court to check and balance the court. In the next first year of Tianqi, the main leaders of the outer court would have to be gradually replaced. Otherwise, trying to rectify the officialdom would be empty talk. The administration of officials has not been properly rectified. There is no talk of reforming bad policies or implementing new policies.

Zhu Youxiao finally understood that in the face of absolute interests, any important national affairs or military threats could be used as tools to fight for power and gain if they harmed their interests!
"Since all the ministers have this opinion, let's hold a meeting." After Fang Congzhe made his final statement, Zhu Youxiao said calmly: "Let's hold it in the Wenhua Hall. The positions of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue will be discussed. Just recommend a group of suitable candidates and the cabinet can submit them to the emperor."

"The ministers obey the order."

Everyone bowed in response.

Now that things have happened, it is unrealistic for Zhu Youxiao to stop it. Even he, the emperor, must follow the power game with Ming characteristics. Otherwise, no one will abide by the rules of the game, and the rule will be chaotic. .

You must know that Zhu Youxiao previously controlled the inner court, relied heavily on factory guards, summoned civil and military personnel to Beijing, etc. These are all part of this set of game rules. Although these are not recognized by some civil servants, rules are rules, and now some people are dissatisfied The current situation is that I want to use this set of rules to counterattack.

(End of this chapter)