Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 124 Jinyiwei Northwest Town Envoy
After confirming the adjustment of the rank of casual officials, Zhu Youjian immediately appointed:
"Huang Liji, the chief minister of the cabinet, has served me well in assisting me to reach the highest level. He has been working hard these days, from Zuo Zhuguo to Zhuguo."

"Zhang Juzheng, the original Shangzhu Kingdom, continues to give posthumous gifts to Shangzhu Kingdom."

"The official ruler is Yuan Keli, and his rank is changed to the highest protector of the country."

The names of three people were specially named. Yuan Keli's rank was just a name change, and there was nothing to say.

Zhang Juzheng continued to give posthumous gifts to Shangzhu Kingdom, which showed the emperor's high regard for Zhang Juzheng, and no one objected with open eyes.

It is a bit surprising that Huang Liji was added from Zuozhuguo to Shangzhuguo.

You know, after the fall of Wei Zhongxian, there were not many memorials to impeach Huang Liji. The emperor's attitude was obviously to keep Huang Liji.

For a moment, Huang Liji, a long-established figure, couldn't help but be moved. He knelt down tremblingly, saying that he did not dare to accept Shang Zhuguo.

Zhu Youjian helped him up and said pleasantly:
"I am young and have little knowledge, so I need the assistance of ministers like Huang Qing."

"Let the outside world speak out about the criticism. Don't I know Huang Qing's loyalty?"

"Huang Qing must work hard and leave a legacy."

This sentence had a certain meaning, and all the ministers guessed that the emperor wanted Huang Li to try his best to refine the method.

But given Huang Liji's reputation in both the government and the public, does he have that ability?

He is not a powerful chief minister like Zhang Juzheng. His power is completely dependent on Wei Zhongxian. Now that Wei Zhongxian has fallen, who in the government and the public will listen to him?

The emperor wanted him to push the method, but he had chosen the wrong person!

Zhu Youjian did have the idea of ​​​​letting Huang Li work hard on the investigation, but he didn't fully count on him. The reason why Huang Liji was retained was purely because he felt that this person had more eyes.

Huang Liji and other great scholars never had objections to the memorials they wanted to approve. Even if they are unwilling to approve the vote, they can also draw up a vote.

So he decided to keep the four people first to avoid any problems if they were replaced.

In his heart, he felt that such a cabinet was not bad, and it could be regarded as a relatively convenient secretarial agency.

It is not planned that the Ming Dynasty will have another Zhang Juzheng, who will almost become a prime minister who is extremely courteous to all officials.

He highly praised Zhang Juzheng's ability, and Zhu Youjian also hoped to have a prime minister to save him.

But there are obviously no such figures in today's government and opposition parties. In history, there were fifty cabinet scholars in the Chongzhen Dynasty, the most famous of which were the two treacherous prime ministers Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru. These two people did not show much ability in governing the country, and their talents were all focused on political struggle.

Considering that the cabinet bachelor came from the Hanlin Academy, his original intention was to help the emperor draft decrees, and he had almost no experience in local governance, Zhu Youjian was not surprised by this phenomenon. People with extraordinary abilities like Zhang Juzheng are the exceptions. Most academics are not very capable of governing the country.

In this era of internal and external troubles, such a cabinet is obviously unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility. In addition, the power of the cabinet was so great that it almost threatened the imperial power. Zhu Youjian decided to weaken the power of the cabinet and elevate the status of Jiuqing. Think of Jiuqing as the deputy prime minister in charge of one stall, and use regular meetings to strengthen their decision-making power. The cabinet is not completely ignored, but its presence is not strong.

In this case, if the cabinet bachelor is too strong, he will conflict with Zhu Youjian. Huang Liji and these four people had the original sin of being attached to the eunuch party, so they were more suitable to stay.

Once they disobey Zhu Youjian's wishes, they can just let go of the protection and let anyone impeach him. When the time comes, as long as they still want to lose face, they will have no choice but to resign——

It’s a wise saying that it’s better to do good than to do wrong!

Zhu Youjian did not express this idea clearly, but some people in the government and the public saw it.

The reason why Huang Liji and other bachelors have been impeached is because some people hope to change this situation——

Civil servants never wanted the cabinet system they had worked so hard to establish to be used as a decoration by the emperor. Therefore, after Zhu Youjian officially reset the Shangzhu Kingdom, he immediately added Huang Liji to show his support for the current cabinet.

Even if Huang Liji wanted to go, he couldn't say it at this time.

He even recognized the emperor's intention and felt that he must find a way to help the emperor establish the grinding and survey law.

No matter how old he is, it will be difficult for him to retreat safely.

As the chief minister of the cabinet, Huang Liji is already a highly respected minister and has no further ambitions. After the fall of Wei Zhongxian, he felt that he, the chief minister of the eunuch party, would never last long, and he had no idea of ​​fighting for power. He just wanted to retire peacefully. There was not much dissatisfaction with the emperor's behavior of organizing the cabinet with regular meetings.

The emperor just treated him as a decoration, but there were too many other favors. First, he was given the title of assistant minister, and then he was promoted to the rank of national honor. If he doesn't show his performance, he will definitely be laughed at——

You see, the majestic Zhuguo and the first auxiliary minister did not even have a single achievement that can be remembered in history, and he did not feel ashamed.

Thinking about that scene, Huang Liji felt terrible. I can only risk my life to do one thing.

Using his rank to express his support for Huang Liji and encouraging him to do things, Zhu Youjian said to Yuan Keli:

"Yuan Qing's eldest son hasn't passed the Jinshi exam yet, right?"

"He is already twenty-eight years old this year. It is time for him to make great achievements. He no longer needs to take exams and will join the military."

"Draft an edict to recall Yuan Keli's contribution to pacifying the White Lotus Sect and establishing Dongjiang Town, and Yin Yizi Jinwu Guards to serve as deputy to thousands of households."

"Yuan Shu, the deputy Qianhu of the Jinwu Guards, served as the fifth-grade junior captain and captain of the army, assisting the admiral Yang Zhaoji of the three provinces in suppressing the bandits."

This grace is definitely worthy of its weight. The position of captain of the guard army is an even more important position.

While the officials were envious, Yuan Keli said seriously:
"Your Majesty, I serve as Minister of War in the court, and my relatives cannot lead troops locally."

"This has always been a rule. It was previously broken by Cui Chengxiu. Your Majesty, please correct it."

Zhu Youjian had not thought of this rule before, but Yuan Keli mentioned it at this time and thought it was a good thing to have such a rule. Relatives of the Minister of War are indeed not suitable to lead troops, so as not to collude with internal and external parties and cause disasters like Cui Chengxiu and Xiao Weizhong.

He admired Yuan Keli's approach very much. After considering it, Zhu Youjian said:
"Then let Yuan Shu serve in Jinyiwei."

"I plan to establish the Northwest Town Fu Division and appoint a fifth-grade town Fu envoy commander to collect information about bandits and assist in the work of suppressing bandits."

"Yuan Shu served as the captain of the Shaanxi Weiwei Department, acted as the governor of the northwest town, and helped to establish the Shanxi Weiwei Department and Henan Weiwei Department."

"The governor of the northwest town leads the patrol corps of the three provinces and is responsible for exterminating small groups of bandits with less than a hundred people. When a large group of bandits is discovered, he requests the admiral of the three provinces to dispatch troops to destroy them."

"If there are soldiers who violate laws and disciplines in the army, the Northwest Town Governor has the right to deal with it. The Northwest Town Governor should also coordinate the communication between the army and the local area."

Yuan Shu was transferred out of the army and transferred to Jinyiwei, but he had more power and could almost be said to be a big official.

This made the ministers even more envious of the emperor's trust in Yuan Keli, but Yuan Keli was a little worried about whether his son could shoulder this important task.

Although he declined several times, the emperor was extremely determined and believed that Yuan Shu could shoulder this important task and do a good job of coordination. Yuan Keli could only thank him and accept the appointment on his son's behalf, planning to send a few reliable staff to help his son.

In this way, Yuan Shu's position was confirmed, and the person in charge of northwest intelligence was also appointed. However, the captains of the three provinces who are responsible for coordinating local and military work, protecting and supervising the army, and managing the internal affairs of the army have not yet been selected.

Zhu Youjian couldn't think of anyone at the moment, so he could only ask Yuan Keli to recommend him.

(End of this chapter)