The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 421 Untitled

Chapter 421 Untitled
The so-called secret politics refers to the secret memorial system during the Qing Dynasty.

In the officialdom, it is not allowed to report matters to a higher level. Generally, one has to go to the direct superior to report matters. Reporting matters to a higher level is a violation of the unspoken rules.

If the county magistrate wanted to send his memorial to the emperor, it had to go through several rounds of review.

At the local level, it has to go through the hands of the prefect, the provincial governor, the provincial judge and others, and when it is sent to the central government, it has to be screened by the cabinet first.

Finally, it can enter the emperor's sight.

It is possible that your application will be withheld at any stage of review.

Let’s put it this way, for a county magistrate to deliver a memorial to the emperor is harder than climbing to heaven.

In this situation, the channels for speech can easily be blocked.

If the emperor was a little weaker, his ears would be blocked directly.

In order to deal with this situation, Wu Zetian established the copper box system during the Tang Dynasty.

But the fundamental purpose of her establishing this system was to encourage officials to inform on each other and prevent rebellion.

The roots are not right.

During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Jinyiwei, whose purpose was also to prevent ear blocking.

It’s just that the Jinyiwei made secret politics public, lacking a bit of mystery and black box attributes.

During the Qing Dynasty, the secret memorial system was creatively created.

This is typical black box politics.

The emperor selected people he trusted and gave them the privilege of reporting directly to him.

There is no limit on the content of the secret letter, which means anything can be written.

Interesting things you hear, opinions on policies, and even gossip about your colleagues.

You must do it yourself when copying, and not let others do it for you.

After writing, the memorial was written on a folded white paper and then put into a special leather box.

There are only two keys to the leather box, one is in the hands of the official who submits the memorial, and the other is kept by the emperor. No one else can open it.

Officials should send their trusted family members to the capital, and should not disturb the post stations, but should go directly to the emperor.

And the emperor himself approved it.

Just think about how important this privilege is.

The emperor now had an additional channel to understand the outside world, reducing the possibility of being sidelined.

Moreover, this identity is kept confidential and is not allowed to be disclosed to the outside.

In other words, no one knows who has the power to submit secret memorials.

Any colleague around him may be the emperor's little trumpet.

The ministers would become suspicious of each other, which would in disguise strengthen the imperial power.

Moreover, the bureaucrats have more concerns in their minds and dare not be so rampant when engaging in corruption.

It has some effect in curbing corruption.

Of course, the secret memorial system also has its disadvantages, as it can affect administrative efficiency due to suspicion.

It will also make officials conservative and afraid to try new things, which will lead to a lack of vitality in the entire society.

But on the other hand, if the imperial court stipulates that the five-year plan is national policy, then officials will no longer dare to disobey it.

We must find a way to get this task done.

Otherwise, be careful about being reported by your competitors.

In short, any system has two sides and we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The more than 200 years of Qing Dynasty rule proved that the secret memorial system had more advantages than disadvantages.

At least in the feudal era when information was poor, this system was very useful.

After listening to his explanation, Zhu Yuanzhang and his two generations of grandparents' eyes lit up frighteningly.

Old Zhu slapped his thigh and said, "If we talk about playing with people's hearts, it has to be you, Chen Jingke. You can even think of such a sinister idea."

"If those people outside knew that you gave us such an idea, they would definitely jump up and down and scold you."

Chen Jingke: "..."

No, are you praising me or scolding me?

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "This method is indeed not what a gentleman would do, but it is very practical."

"It complements the Jinyiwei and can effectively prevent the monarch from having his ears blocked."

"If used properly, it will be a good policy that benefits the country and the people."

Zhu Xiongying said straightforwardly: "It doesn't matter if he is a gentleman or not, as long as he is useful."

A monarch is destined to have no connection with a gentleman. If a monarch wants to practice the way of a gentleman, it will be a misfortune for the country.

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "That's settled then..."

Zhu Yuanzhang touched his chin and suddenly said: "The three of us will each choose someone we trust and establish our own secret channel."

"Normally, we do not interfere with each other and exchange information regularly..."

Chen Jingke couldn't help but give a thumbs up. You are worthy of being called Old Zhu. If we really talk about skills, even ten thousand of me tied together are not as good as one of your hairs.

The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren established three lines. Hey... all the civil and military officials played the real-life version of Werewolf every day.

Zhu Xiongying said happily: "Grandpa Emperor is so smart, so wise."

Zhu Biao frowned slightly, but he didn't think this would undermine his authority as an emperor.

However, playing with people's hearts in this way is not conducive to the stability of the country's political system.

It's a very simple logic. Zhu's little trumpet would think that I am the emperor's man.

Zhu Biao’s little trumpet would think that I am the emperor’s man.

Zhu Xiongying's trumpet believes that he is the prince's man.

At that time, the officialdom will naturally split into three factions, which is very dangerous.

However, considering the current situation, he did not object.

Chen Jingke didn't think it was a big deal, as the three founding monarchs of the Ming Dynasty trusted each other.

Not only do they trust each other, they also use the same team, with just some minor adjustments.

When Zhu Biao became emperor, the backbone of the court were still those left by Zhu Yuanzhang, and his focus was on training new officials.

These old ministers were also very loyal to Zhu Xiongying.

It can be said that these ministers were Zhu's men, Zhu Biao's men, and Zhu Xiongying's men.

This situation is rare in the world.

I don’t know if it will happen in the future, but the probability of it happening is low.

Therefore, the possibility that the three people each established a secret information channel would only exist for a period of time.

It will not have much impact on the Ming Dynasty's political system.

Of course, if Zhu Xiongying had a good relationship with his son, he would also want to do so.

He will stand up and stop it.

Because doing so will indeed lead to the division of the bureaucratic system, and then things will be really messed up.

Just think about the Nine Dragon Fight for the Throne in the later years of Emperor Kangxi's reign and you will know that the situation will only be much more serious than that.

What Chen Jingke didn't know was that Zhu Biao actually had the same idea as him.

The current situation is indeed complicated and everyone is groping forward. The three secret channels have certain positive effects.

So he did not oppose Zhu Yuanzhang's proposal.

When the various policies of the Ming Dynasty gradually stabilize in the future, he will merge the three lines into one.

Moreover, he had roughly calculated the time, which was the time when he would abdicate and hand it over to Zhu Xiongying.

It will neither cause conflicts between father and son nor cause shocks to the bureaucratic system.

But he didn't say this plan out loud, there was no need to.

Speaking it out loud may easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings, so just do it in the future.

This was settled, and the secret political system was established.

As for how to establish effective communication channels and how to select suitable loudspeakers in the future, that is their own business and Chen Jingke did not participate.

And because of Lao Zhu's suggestion, he remembered another thing.

Political groups are divided and there are party struggles.

There were three serious party struggles in Chinese history: one was the Niu-Li Party Struggle in the Tang Dynasty, and the other was the New-Old Party Struggle in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Another time was the Donglin Party in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

However, there are differences between these three party struggles. The Niu-Li party struggle was a power struggle between two factions.

They fight simply for power.

It is the inevitable result after the loss of imperial power, there is nothing much to say.

Although the struggle between the new and old parties in the Northern Song Dynasty was also for power, it was also mixed with ideological struggles.

To be honest, this party struggle does have its merits.

In the end, the New Party won and implemented many policies that benefited the country and the people.

However, the Song Dynasty was later involved in the Jingkang Incident, which reduced the value of this party struggle.

The Donglin Party in the middle and late Ming Dynasty was a bit strange.

They are a bunch of mad dogs that bite whoever they catch.

Not only did they attack others everywhere, but they also attacked people within their own party. The Donglin Party was primarily responsible for the political chaos in the late Ming Dynasty.

However, the mad dog-like Donglin Party did not cause any trouble during the Chongzhen reign.

The reason is very simple. Regardless of Chongzhen's personal abilities, he really knew how to deal with party struggles.

It's just one word: kill.

You want to impeach someone, right?

The imperial court will investigate, and if it is false, you will be severely punished, and if you still refuse to tell the truth, you will be killed directly.

However, Chongzhen still did not fundamentally solve the problem of the Donglin Party.

Later, this group of people joined Li Chuang and engaged in factional struggles.

Go to Southern Ming and continue the party struggle.

When the Qing Dynasty entered the country, they surrendered again, and then wanted to engage in party struggles.

The Qing Dynasty no longer tolerated them.

Dorgon said bluntly, you people are doing the most disgusting things in the world under the banner of justice.

If you really have virtue, you should die with the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty was destroyed by a bunch of bugs like you, and now you want to bring disaster to the Qing Dynasty?
Therefore, an imperial decree was issued that censors should be responsible for their words and deeds, and if they impeached others for the purpose of factional struggle, they would be severely punished.

The Donglin Party was wiped out by this heavy blow.

This raises a question: How did the Donglin Party become so powerful?
Because the gentry in the Ming Dynasty were powerful, did they have the support of the gentry group?

the answer is negative.

The support of the gentry group is certainly important, but if the imperial court does not provide them with a breeding ground for survival, they will not be able to grow stronger.

Chongzhen is the best example. Due to his strong style, the Donglin Party immediately stopped.

So the question is, what was the soil for the Donglin Party to survive? What did they rely on to stir up trouble?

The answer is actually very simple: it is the privilege of censors to report on matters they hear.

This is a rule passed down from ancient times, and censors can impeach people without any evidence.

The original purpose of our ancestors in designing this system was to allow censors to help find loopholes and fill gaps, and to monitor all officials at the same time.

But in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the number of scholars increased dramatically due to the further popularization of knowledge.

Especially in the wealthy southern regions, there are a lot of scholars.

Only a few of these people can become officials, and a large number of young people who can't find a way out gather among the people.

They also want to express their own political views and want to have a group that can accommodate them, and gradually they come together to form political parties.

These people think that they are talented but not appreciated, and they hate the country, the court, the world and those in power.

When they get together, you can imagine what will happen.

Later, the Donglin Party emerged and became the most powerful one.

Then they were no longer satisfied with private discussions and began to attack those in power and the government under the banner of the Clean Stream.

They stand on the moral high ground and attack everything they see.

The problem is, they attack others not to make the country better.

But for their own selfish gain.

The way they expressed their political views was through censors.

I am a censor and it is my privilege to report rumors. It is useless even if you know that I made it up.

Besides, if a lie is told a thousand times, it becomes the truth.

My Donglin Party has a lot of people, so someone will help me spread the lies I make up immediately.

Word of mouth spreads from one person to ten people, and from ten people to a hundred people. As time goes by, it becomes true.

This is the fundamental reason why the Donglin Party was able to become so powerful.

Chongzhen suppressed the Donglin Party with an iron fist, but did not fundamentally solve the problem.

When the iron-fisted monarch is gone, they continue to stir up trouble.

Until Dorgon solved this problem in one fell swoop.

His solution was actually very simple, which was to abolish the privilege of censors to report on matters they heard.

Censors must also be responsible for their words.

Without this privilege, naturally no one would dare to spread rumors openly.

The Donglin Party no longer had any soil for survival.

Coupled with some other political suppression methods, they disappeared in a very short time.

And to be honest, there were indeed no particularly intense party struggles in the Qing Dynasty.

The most serious one was the Nine Dragon Battle for Succession at the end of Emperor Kangxi's reign, which led to the fragmentation of the bureaucratic system.

But that was caused by internal conflicts within the royal family and had little to do with the system.

With the ascension of Yongzheng to the throne, this split was quickly repaired.

Although everyone complains about the Qing Dynasty, we need to look at things separately and their many merits should still be affirmed.

For example, the privilege of censors to report on rumors was taken back, thus solving the problem of factional disputes.

For example, the secret memorial system solved the problem of the emperor having his ears blocked.

For example, they are really good at dealing with eunuchs.

Of course, some are worth talking about, while others are unnecessary to brag about.

For example, the secret system of appointing a successor is totally useless.

Just look at history and you will know. If secret succession was really useful, would there still be a fight between Hongshi and Hongli for the throne?
As the eldest son, Hongshi was stripped of his so-called title because he failed in the fight for the throne, and finally died in an unclear manner.

During the Qianlong period, he abdicated the throne to Jiaqing while he was still alive, and there was no secret succession.

Later emperors such as Daoguang and Xianfeng either had brothers who were not ambitious enough or were only sons.

There was no doubt as to who would be succeeded to the throne.

It can be said that the secret succession system has never been actually used.

It is purely a fabrication of later street literature.

The point is that the Qing Dynasty took a historical turn, except for a few places worth mentioning.

Overall, there's really nothing to brag about.

Chen Jingke was thinking about something when he heard someone calling him:
"Jing Ke, Jing Ke..."

Then he was slapped hard on the shoulder, causing a burning pain.

"Hiss..." Chen Jingke turned around and glared at Zhu Xiongying: "What are you doing, you want to fight, right?"

Zhu Xiongying, who had taken advantage, said cheerfully: "Grandpa Emperor is calling you. I am reminding you not to behave inappropriately in front of the Emperor."

"Don't be so ignorant of good people's hearts."

Chen Jingke gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you so much."

Zhu Xiongying said proudly: "You're welcome, it's my duty."

Chen Jingke: "..."

Old Zhu smiled inwardly and said, "You two can go down and make trouble... What were you thinking about just now? Why were you so absorbed in it? I called you several times and you didn't even hear me."

Chen Jingke thought about it and did not hide anything. He told the censor what he had heard.

"It is impossible to know why our ancestors established the rule of reporting rumors."

"But times have changed. It is obviously not appropriate to continue to keep this rule under the current circumstances. Otherwise, it will inevitably lead to party disputes."

Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were a little hesitant.

Firstly, reporting things on rumors has been a policy that has been in place for thousands of years, and there is a reason for that.

Secondly, the fact that censors can impeach people at will does have a significant positive effect at present and is a significant deterrent to all officials.

But Zhu Xiongying stood up again: "I have long been annoyed with those censors. They do nothing but believe everything they hear."

"We must base our actions on evidence. This is the most basic logic."

"If you just slander others without any evidence, the world will be in chaos."

"We don't need such people in the Ming Dynasty."

Well, seeing that their grandson (son) had spoken, Old Zhu and Zhu Biao didn’t say anything else.

Let it be useless.

The Ming Dynasty had the Inspector General system, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and now it has secret politics.

There is no shortage of power from censors, so there is no need to keep this hidden danger.

Chen Jingke also breathed a sigh of relief. Today was another fruitful day.

The biggest difficulty in working under Lao Zhu is to convince him.

But once you convince him, everything will become very simple.

Everyone chatted for a while before the meeting came to an end.