The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 461 Unintentional Mistake
Not to mention Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, even until the demise of the Ming Dynasty, no one would have realized this problem.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be no changes in the end and no one would even mention it.

It's not that they are slow or anything like that, but it's the limitations of the times.

This is also Chen Jingke’s biggest advantage now, modern thinking.

When the times have changed beyond recognition and the knowledge from previous lives has gradually lost its effectiveness, modern thinking becomes his greatest reliance.

His status and position enabled him to understand everything about the Ming Dynasty.

Then, by analyzing it with modern thinking, we can find many problems that are difficult for people of this era to discover.

One of the achievements was discovering the drawbacks of court promotion and cracking down on factionalism.

It may not be 100% correct.

After all, a huge social problem cannot be caused by one or two factors, but is the result of a combination of multiple factors.

But it can always provide a different reference opinion.

Many times, this "difference" can play a key role.

Chen Jingke said: "First, let's talk about the imperial recommendation."

"Since the First Emperor, there have generally been three ways of appointing officials."

"First, the monarch appoints directly."

"Second, the prime minister recommends and the monarch appoints."

"Third, the Ministry of Personnel recommends, the Prime Minister discusses, and the monarch appoints."

“Usually, all three exist simultaneously.”

Zhu Yuanzhang and the other two nodded slightly, it was indeed the case.

The First Emperor completed the centralization of power and returned the power to appoint officials to the hands of the monarch. County magistrates had to be appointed by the emperor himself to have legal effect.

Although there were exceptions in some periods, such as the early Western Han Dynasty when the prime minister also had the power to appoint officials.

Even the prime minister in the early Ming Dynasty could appoint some officials without the emperor's permission.

Hu Weiyong relied on this power to cultivate his own party.

But these are special cases, and this power will soon be taken back by the monarch.

Since the First Emperor, the process of appointing officials has been generally fixed.

Of course, the emperor could not do everything himself.

There are more than a thousand counties, hundreds of prefectures and counties, and tens of thousands of officials across the country.

Unless the emperor is a computer, it is impossible for him to manage it.

Therefore, generally only important officials would be appointed by the emperor himself, such as the prime minister, the three dukes and nine ministers, provincial governors, etc.

Relatively important officials, such as provincial and county governors and heads of major government offices, were recommended by the prime minister and appointed after being reviewed by the emperor.

Of course, the Ministry of Personnel also has the right to recommend.

Especially for low-level officials and less important positions, they were basically recommended by the Ministry of Personnel, discussed by the Prime Minister and then reported to the emperor.

The emperor took a symbolic look at it and then stamped his seal to appoint it.

But doing so can easily lead to the creation of powerful officials.

Especially when the emperor is weak and incompetent, a strong prime minister will often emerge and in turn suppress the imperial power.

It would also make the Ministry of Personnel too powerful, and the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel would be de facto half-prime ministers.

Zhu explained: "That's why we changed the process of appointing officials. When there is a vacancy, let the officials jointly recommend and discuss the candidates."

"The emperor only needs to control the overall situation, which can save a lot of effort."

Chen Jingke secretly shook his head, taking it for granted: "This is where the problem lies."

"The previous dynasty's process for appointing officials determined that this power was in the hands of the emperor, the prime minister and the Ministry of Personnel."

“Ordinary officials are not qualified to intervene.”

“When a position becomes vacant, no one knows who will ultimately fill it.”

"For ordinary officials, even if a position becomes vacant, it is difficult for them to get a turn."

"If a person wants to be promoted, he can either work hard and make achievements, or use connections to build relationships."

"But after the implementation of the court recommendation law, everyone... at least those who are qualified to attend the court, have the power to intervene."

"This means that when a position becomes vacant, 'I' have the opportunity to take the position myself or recommend my friends to take the position."

"The court is looking at who has the loudest voice, and officials will win over more people to increase their chances of winning."

“This also means that ambitious people will inevitably form cliques.”

"The most fatal thing is not that officials form factions, but that the court forces them to engage in factional struggles."

When there is a vacant position, everyone forms a party to grab the vacancy.

What if there is no vacancy and I happen to have a friend who wants to be promoted?
There is only one answer. If you remove one person from his position, the position will be vacant.

"In the past, officials from Shandong and Guangdong had no conflicts of interest with each other. It was all about what was good for everyone."

"It's different now. As long as two people are not from the same faction, they may kill each other."

"Because only when the other party comes down can the members of our faction be promoted."

"The stronger your faction becomes, the higher your chances of getting promoted will be."

“So, even if two officials have never met or even heard of each other, they can become mortal enemies.”

You said I shouldn't form a party.

No.

As long as you are an official, you are blocking the way for others.

Others will push you down and take your position.

Once this situation is formed, all officials will have to form a party.

Someone said, Hai Rui, he never formed a clique.

Sorry, Hai Rui also has his own friends to help each other.

That friend was Zhu Heng, a little-known big shot.

Without his promotion and protection along the way, given Hai Rui's character, he would have been framed to death long ago.

To be more precise, Hai Rui was a juren, and no one promoted him in the Ming Dynasty, so it was difficult for him to even become a county magistrate.

It was Zhu Heng who promoted him from a teacher to a county magistrate.

After he entered officialdom, Zhu Heng helped him resolve several major crises.

For example, when he was serving as a county magistrate, he offended Yan Maoqing, and Zhu Heng happened to be the Minister of Personnel at that time.

The Yan Party did not want to offend Zhu Heng, so they did not touch him.

It was not until he was published in the "Public Security Memorial" and became famous all over the world, and had fame as a talisman, that no one dared to touch him.

Of course, the friendship between the two of them is as pure as water.

Zhu Heng admired Hai Rui's temperament and integrity, and Hai Rui respected Zhu Heng very much.

They are a model of mutual support and assistance.

But it is also true that Hai Rui had support from people in the court.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, people had reached the point where they could not survive without forming factions.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and the other two suddenly realized.

But after understanding it, Lao Zhu became even more confused:
"If that's the case, then wouldn't it be a good idea to curb party disputes if we crack down on factions?"

“Why do you still say it will intensify party disputes?”

Chen Jingke sighed, "That's the problem. What is a clique? What are the criteria? Who will judge?"

"He and I are colleagues, and we've had a few meals together. Does that count as forming a clique?"

"He and I have similar political views. In order to implement a policy, we worked together in the court. Does this count as forming a faction?"

"When I pull someone down, I just free up a position."

"If I label him as a clique member, I can pull down a large group of people and free up more positions."

"So in this case, is there anyone who is deliberately exaggerating?"

Old Zhu and the other two were silent, as they knew the situation in the officialdom too well.

It is not a question of whether it will be expanded, but it will definitely be expanded.

Chen Jingke paused for a moment, giving them time to think, before continuing:
"In the future, when an official is imprisoned for committing a crime, the first question he will be asked during the interrogation may not be what crime he committed or why he committed the crime."

"But first ask who his accomplices are."

"You had dinner with him, formed a clique, and were arrested."

"You once spoke for him in the court. You formed a clique and were arrested."

“It’s not enough to just form a party, you have to become stronger and make your party strong enough.”

What do you think is okay for us to stick together as a small circle, not cause any trouble and just protect ourselves?
Sorry, no.

You are blocking my way when you are in office, so I must get rid of you. It is even better if you form a small circle, and you are guilty of forming a clique.

Officials can only try their best to expand the power of their own party, even if it is just to protect themselves.

The stronger the party, the greater the chance of surviving party struggles.

"There are only so many positions. If you want to expand your power, you must fight, rob, and attack..."

"Try to attack others in every possible way."

"By that time, everyone from top to bottom had only one thought: to form a clique for personal gain."

“No one wants to do anything anymore.”

"Because if you don't do it, you won't go wrong. The more you do, the more mistakes you will make."

"So, the court's overt crackdown on factions will not only fail to curb factional strife, but will intensify it."

"Let the court become a state similar to that of a chaotic world."

Both Ma Niangniang and Zhu Xiongying looked solemn. They had not expected that the two strategies they had previously thought to be good would lead to such serious consequences.

And they were sure that Chen Jingke was not exaggerating, but that this situation would really develop into something like this.

The principle is actually not complicated, and you can get the result by deduction.

It’s just that everyone fell into a misconception in the past and didn’t think about it in this direction.

Old Zhu frowned and said, "What you said does make sense, but isn't it a bit exaggerated to say that we are caught in a chaotic world?"

Chen Jingke asked: "What do you think is the biggest difference between a chaotic world and a peaceful world?"

Old Zhu said: "In times of chaos, rituals and music are destroyed, wars and chaos occur, and people live in misery... In times of peace, the laws are sound, and the people live and work in peace..."

Chen Jingke shook his head and said, "This is just an appearance."

“The difference between chaotic times and peaceful times is that in chaotic times everything is uncertain, while in peaceful times everything is relatively certain.”

Zhu Yuanzhang, Ma Niangniang, and Zhu Xiongying were all confused: "Certainty? What does that mean?"

Chen Jingke said: "Let's talk about governing the country first, because there is a relatively stable order, and most things are relatively certain and predictable."

"For example, if I work hard on farming, I usually get a good harvest."

"If I build a house made of blue bricks and tiles, it can be passed down for two or three generations."

"I am an official. I am honest, I love the people and I protect the peace of the area. Even if I cannot be promoted, I can retire smoothly."

"Let's talk about the uncertainty of troubled times."

"I built a house, and the next day it was taken away by evil gentry and bullies. I had no place to file a complaint with the authorities."

"I worked hard to farm for a year, and when I was about to harvest, it was robbed."

"I am an official, protecting the country and the people... Suddenly a group of bandits came and burned everything down."

"If the Ming officialdom falls into full-scale party strife, then everything will become uncertain."

"I worked so hard to be an official, but I didn't do anything. Suddenly one day, someone put a hat on me, confiscated my property and exterminated my family."

"This uncertainty will make officials feel anxious."

"In order to eliminate their fear and gain a sense of security, they can only desperately form cliques and attack others."

"It eventually plunged the Ming Dynasty into an endless quagmire of factional strife."

Old Zhu, Ma Niangniang, and Zhu Xiongying all looked thoughtful.

This statement was indeed novel and gave them a lot of inspiration.

But what they think about most is party struggles.

After a long time, Lao Zhu sighed and began to reflect:
"If you hadn't reminded me, I'm afraid I would never be able to figure out the truth in this lifetime."

"There were so many people involved in the Zhao Mao case, and I was wondering how they did it."

"Today I finally have the answer."

"It is our bad governance that forces them to form a clique."

"When this case broke, their political enemies united to add insult to injury."

"Perhaps many people were implicated innocently... No, not perhaps, but definitely so."

"In the past two years, when we inspected the local areas, we were able to easily discover the activities of some officials every time."

"When we send people to investigate, they are almost always right, and it's easy to catch a large number of corrupt officials."

"At that time, we thought that Jiang Li and the Jinyiwei were outstanding in their abilities."

"Now that I think about it, I was taken advantage of by others."

Uh... Chen Jingke didn't know what to say.

Old Zhu has gone from one extreme to another.

Given his iron-fisted rule, where people would confiscate property and exterminate entire families at any time, how many officials would dare to openly form a clique?

The Zhao Mao case, in particular, occurred during the early years of the Ming Dynasty and was unlikely to have been caused by imperial decree.

What's more, this case directly emptied the court, and everyone was in danger.

Everyone is too busy protecting themselves to dare engage in party strife at this time.

In the past two years, there was indeed a force pushing forward the anti-corruption campaign.

But it was not a party struggle in the traditional sense, but the result of attacks between reformists and conservatives.

However, he did not appease Zhu Yuanzhang, because these two policies did lead to a tendency for officials to gang up on each other and attack dissidents.

Especially during the years when Zhu Biao was in power, he hoped to establish and improve the country's order through gentle means.

Create a normal and orderly atmosphere between the monarch and his subjects.

It’s just that ideals are full, while reality is skinny.

Driven by the two policies of promoting officials in the court and combating factional strife, his series of good policies created opportunities for officials to form factions.

Fortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang was still alive, and Zhu Biao himself was a wise monarch, so the officials only dared to do small things in private.

They dare not engage in blatant party struggles.

The terrible consequence is very obvious, that is, all officials have realized that only by forming factions can they gain benefits and survive in the court.

When facing competitors, they stick together.

When their rival is the emperor, they are more likely to stick together.

Even the Kong family, who had never taken sides, sided with the conservatives in this change.

This is the reason why there is today’s unprecedented unity in science.

There is definitely competition among them, and it is very fierce.

But when facing imperial power, their interests are the same.

Of course, it is not right to attribute all these bad consequences to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.

But their actions actually led to this result.

However, Chen Jingke did not say these words.

First of all, Mr. Zhu already understands where the problem lies and he will definitely correct it later, so there is no need to blame him anymore.

Secondly, Zhu Biao had no intention of doing so. Moreover, he was already in this state and could abdicate at any time.

Let's save some face for him.

After these two policies were abolished, the official habits of the Ming Dynasty were gradually corrected.

The kind of party strife that occurred in the middle and late Ming Dynasty will no longer occur.

Let this insignificant little black spot be covered up in the long river of history.

Thinking of this, Chen Jingke said: "Party formation can be very idealistic and can easily expand out of control."

"Although all dynasties have cracked down on factions, they have never put it on the table."

"I will not take the initiative to expand it, and it is for this reason."

"Your Majesty's idea of ​​cracking down on factions is good, but his method has some flaws."

"Fortunately, no bad consequences have occurred yet. We can just find an opportunity to abolish these two policies."

Zhu Xiongying's eyes rolled, and he suddenly said, "These two policies are not without benefits."

The three of them looked at him, waiting for his opinion.

Zhu Xiongying chuckled and said, "If it weren't for these two policies, how could the Neo-Confucian school be so united?"

"There's no way our plan could go so smoothly."

Although he knew that he was deliberately trying to comfort him, Lao Zhu still smiled and said:

"Haha... My dear grandson, now that you say that, I feel much better."

Everyone laughed.

To be honest, it is really like that.

(End of this chapter)