Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 164: Resurrecting the Donglin Party Members
There are six bachelors in the cabinet who have joined the direct service to participate in aircraft maintenance.

This statement is very interesting, because it clearly shows that Sun Chengzong, a great scholar who went out to supervise the division, was not counted among the six.

At the same time, he also reminded the courtiers that with the addition of Sun Chengzong, a bachelor, the cabinet now has seven bachelors. This number is already quite large and should not be increased further——

After all, there are usually only about four bachelors in the cabinet, and sometimes there is only one person.

Before the emperor dismissed Huang Liji and the other four people, the addition of two new bachelors was already an additional addition.

The opinion put forward by the courtiers was that the cabinet should be increased to six or seven or eighty-nine people.

Now that the emperor has made this decision, it has naturally been recognized by many courtiers. They believed that the emperor accepted the advice of his ministers and was a wise king.

Officials from the eunuch party believed that the emperor had once again shown that he had no intention of deposing Huang Liji and others. Otherwise, it would not just be two more people, but it would be impossible to replace the entire cabinet——

This means that the former eunuch officials will not be completely kicked out of the court, and they can rest assured.

There is also a small group of people who feel that adding only two bachelors is not enough and that a few more should be added. In order to replace Huang Liji and others in the future, the eunuchs can be completely driven out of the court.

But their opinions are not mainstream and they do not have the support of many officials. Most officials believe that adding two grand masters is good enough and there is no need to add more.

Zhu Youjian successfully divided the ministers by offering two bachelor's places. Let them turn to the dispute over two spots and think of nothing else.

Seeing that the ministers were no longer solemn, Zhu Youjian breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that this test was passed and would not cause confrontation between the emperor and his ministers in the court.

But thinking of the dangers involved, Zhu Youjian became more determined to divide the civil servant group and prevent the civil servants from forming an overall will.

“The overall will of civil servants comes from the same values, such as the ethics they learned from Confucian classics. 』

"There are also previous precedents, especially those that are beneficial to civil servants, such as court recommendations, court discussions, and voting drafts. 』

"As long as you pay attention to these two points, don't touch them easily, they can still divide and disintegrate, and don't let them unite to oppose the emperor. 』

Analyzing today's events, Zhu Youjian decided to pay more attention to his methods and strategies. At the same time, he also realized that as the reform deepens, he will inevitably face these two points in the future.

In particular, he has begun to change the recommendations, discussions, and votes. There were many officials who criticized the matter of promoting the minister of waiting for the imperial court last time.

If the solar calendar is implemented in the future and the first day of the first lunar month is separated from the first day of the first lunar month, it will be more likely to cause protests from the civil service group as a whole.

Therefore, before that, Zhu Youjian had to make preparations in advance and change the thinking and concepts of some civil servants first. They should not let them feel that the emperor was doing something wrong and then protest collectively.

The newspaper was once again thought of by Zhu Youjian. I want to create a platform to influence the world's ideas and let officials and scholars debate.

Once there is a dispute, it is impossible for civil servants to form an overall will. Zhu Youjian can choose to amplify the voice of support and then formulate a decision.

For example, when it comes to matters like grinding the survey law, there are many officials who oppose it. However, Zhu Youjian created public opinion in the government and the public, influenced the attitudes of ministers, and then used these ministers to finally form a court discussion.

The same is true for newspaper comments. In the future, Zhu Youjian can amplify his remarks in support of himself and let newspapers controlled by the inner court reprint them, giving the government and the public the illusion that many people support the emperor's actions.

In this way, some officials would change their minds and also choose to support the emperor.

Therefore, newspapers must be run, and they must take the initiative to create a public opinion platform and then influence public opinion.

If he doesn't seize the position of public opinion, he will be controlled by others. We cannot allow scholars to clear up discussions and affect the affairs of the imperial court.

A party like the Donglin Party, which is united by giving lectures and caring about current affairs, cannot have a second one.

Zhu Youjian planned to urge Lu Tunan to publish the newspaper as soon as possible. At the latest in the first year of Chongzhen, I will see the first issue of the newspaper.

Thinking about these things, in order to further divide the civil servants in the court, Zhu Youjian continued:
"Now let's discuss it first. Should the two newly added bachelors be reinstated as old ministers or promoted as new ministers?"

"Who are the candidates for Qifu, and who are the candidates for Tingtui?"

Let the ministers turn to competing for specific official positions instead of competing for power with the emperor.

As expected, the ministers were distracted by this incident and turned to the dispute between the old ministers and the new ministers.

Those who believed that new ministers should be promoted were led by four cabinet bachelors. Although they want to increase the number of ministers, they do not want the newly added bachelors to threaten their status. It is naturally most appropriate for Ting to recommend a new bachelor to the cabinet.

However, the Donglin Party and officials who sympathize with the Donglin Party believe that most of the officials in the court who are eligible to be promoted as cabinet ministers are eunuchs, and the court cannot recommend new bachelors from among them, but rather restore old ministers first.

But at present, many Donglin Party officials in the court also have disputes over the issue of returning old ministers.

Some people think that a bachelor should be reinstated and directly serve as the first assistant. Some believe that all officials qualified to serve as grand bachelors should be reinstated, and then new grand bachelors should be launched from among these officials.

It can be said that after the emperor announced the quota for two bachelor's degrees, the court was in a commotion, and everyone had their own opinions.

Zhu Youjian also had the same opinion, because there were four auxiliary ministers before, and the bachelor was promoted to the first rank of auxiliary minister and the first rank of minister of state affairs.

The title was granted by the emperor, so he actually held the power to appoint the chief assistant. As long as he does not add an auxiliary minister to the bachelor, it is difficult for the bachelor to be called the first assistant.

Now that the old ministers are about to be reinstated, Zhu Youjian plans to make sure this matter is finalized. He cannot allow the original cabinet bachelor to return to the court and directly serve as the chief assistant according to his seniority, which will affect the situation in the court.

Zhu Youjian also planned to limit the qualifications for Tingtui's bachelor, and try his best to select them from Shangshu. Instead of serving as a minister, he soon became a bachelor. How can such a bachelor handle things well if he doesn't have much experience in governance?

He intends to carefully examine all the bachelors, and cannot produce the "Fifty Prime Ministers of Chongzhen" as happened in history, but few have the ability.

So after Zhu Youjian argued with the ministers for a while, he was worried that things would go off track if the discussion continued, so he decided:

"Initiate a grand maester, chosen from among those who have served as grand maesters."

"Ting recommends a bachelor, elected from officials in the two capitals."

"Those who have previously served as ministers, or are qualified to serve as ministers, can also be proposed to be reinstated together and included as candidates for the court recommendation."

"These resurrected officials will be given priority for appointment when official positions become vacant in the future."

Many officials agree with these two proposed standards. Because the emperor took care of both the original Donglin Party officials and the current courtiers.

Naturally, most of those who can be resurrected are the Donglin Party. The former eunuch bachelors Gu Bingqian, Wei Guangwei, Feng Quan and others are basically not mentioned. Because they were overthrown by the eunuchs who are now in power in the court, and they have a deep hatred with the Donglin Party, they will inevitably be included in the case when they are convicted in the future.

So when the emperor talks about regaining a great scholar, he is basically talking about regaining a Donglin Party member. The Donglin Party members were naturally very satisfied with this.

Officials in the court would naturally be equally satisfied if they could compete for another spot.

As for the emperor's secret decision to limit candidates for bachelor's degree to ministers or those with the qualifications of a minister, many people ignored it. Zhu Youjian secretly added his personal belongings to it.

After the standards for the Grand Bachelor are set, all that remains is the selection of candidates. Recruiting the Grand Bachelor is very simple, because there are only a few candidates. Ye Xianggao, Liu Yishui, Han Xu, Zhu Guozhen and others were all mentioned. Many Donglin Party members hoped that these people would return to the court and serve as bachelors or even chief assistants.

But they soon received a blow, because someone pointed out that Ye Xianggao was dead, and died on August 29th. The news has spread, but it has not yet officially reached the court.

This greatly shocked many Donglin Party members, who felt that they had lost their backbone. Ye Xianggao was listed as Tiankuixing and Timely Rain in the "Donglin Point General Record" listed by the eunuch party, which shows his status.

Now that the Eunuch Party has fallen, the imperial court is about to revive the Donglin Party, but Ye Xianggao passed away this year. The Donglin Party has lost a backbone, and Ye Xianggao can no longer lead them.

But Zhu Youjian was a little lucky, because Ye Xianggao served as the cabinet bachelor in the 35th year of Wanli. The following year, he was the only one left in the cabinet, and he served as the independent prime minister for many years.

If this person returns to the dynasty, he will definitely serve as the first assistant, otherwise he will be treated harshly.

Moreover, with such people in the court, the Donglin Party has a core. What it faces is the Donglin Party, which is supported by many scholars.

With the Donglin Party's appeal, it is possible for them to integrate most of the scattered civil service group.

After realizing the overall will of the civil servant group, Zhu Youjian decided to retaliate cautiously against the Donglin Party members. Unlike the previous governorships, most of them chose the Donglin Party.

Now that Ye Xianggao is dead, there is no need to worry. Zhu Youjian immediately ordered that the court should be merciful when official news came. He was very tolerant of the dead and did not hesitate to take advantage of these false claims. After all, people are dead and cannot come back to fight for power.

Therefore, Ye Xianggao's name was crossed out, leaving Liu Yishui, Han Xu, Zhu Guozhen and others.

Zhu You inquired about Liu Yishui's situation and learned that he joined the cabinet in August of the first year of Taichang. At the end of that year, he took over as the chief minister of the cabinet because Fang Congzhe was impeached. Then he recommended to the court that Ye Xianggao should return to the court and serve as chief minister. auxiliary.

This made Zhu Youjian realize that Liu Yishen was the core of the Donglin Party, and he was the kind of Donglin Party member who sacrificed himself for others and put the interests of the party first. This kind of person is a noble person to the Donglin Party, but is an outright scourge to himself.

After learning more about the situation, I learned that Liu Yishen had a dispute with the Hakka family and Wei Zhongxian in the first year of Tianqi, and even succeeded in driving the Hakka family out of the palace. I became even more aware that this man was a general of the Donglin Party who dared to charge into battle.

Therefore, Emperor Tianqi brought the Hakka family back to the palace. After the Hakka family and Wei Zhongxian regained power, Liu Yishen was impeached and dismissed from office at the beginning of the second year of Tianqi for "accompanying Wang An" and became the first Dong to be driven out of the court by the eunuchs. Lin Party Minister.

Zhu Youjian would never dare to revolt against such a core member of the Donglin Party. So he crossed out the name in his mind and looked at Han Xu again.

Han Xu and Liu Yishui entered the cabinet at the same time, but they were ranked behind him. After Liu Yishui resigned, he became the second assistant of the cabinet and served as Ye Xianggao's deputy.

In June of the fourth year of Tianqi, Yang Lian participated in Wei Zhongxian's twenty-four major crimes, and the struggle between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party became fierce. Ye Xianggao became an official because of this, and Han Xu served as the chief assistant for a few months, and then resigned in anger. Later, he was framed by the eunuch party, which led to the reduction of his registration status to pursue the stolen goods. He had no choice but to sell his land and house and live in the cemetery of his ancestors.

This made Zhu Youjian feel that Han Xu's combat effectiveness was a bit weak and easier to control. It would be more merciful to rehabilitate such a suffering official himself. So he immediately ordered:
"The former Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Grand Bachelor of Zhongji Palace, and Han Xu of the Zuozhu Kingdom were restored and their original official ranks were restored."

"The original second-rank official minister is no longer awarded, and is instead given the title of second-rank official minister. Based on his original merits, he is promoted to first-rank minister of political affairs."

"Han Qing suffered a lot, and Yin's descendants and grandsons entered Imperial College to study. After passing the judicial arithmetic examination, they can serve as officials."

He directly appointed Han Xu and resumed his post as bachelor.

The ministers were a little surprised when they heard this order.

First, the emperor unexpectedly chose Han Xu instead of Liu Yishen, who had more seniority.

Second, the emperor gave Han Xu the rank of Minister of Bi Affairs, and he would be behind Huang Liji in the court.

After all, Huang Liji had the title of First Grade Assistant Minister, so of course he had to be at the front of the queue.

As a result, he, the chief assistant of the cabinet, would naturally not give up his position as chief assistant to Han Xu, who had joined the cabinet earlier, as per previous practice.

This made some people realize that the emperor really had the power to appoint the chief minister through the title promotion of the four ministers.

Of course, the people of the Donglin Party were unwilling to accept this, and wanted to follow the previous practice and let Han Xu directly serve as the chief minister of the cabinet after his recovery.

The eunuchs had begun to express their gratitude, praising the emperor for his wisdom, and showing favor to the ministers who had reduced their status.

It can be said that the attitudes of the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party are changing regarding the restoration of Han Xu. A previous proposal was made to restore Han Xu, but now there is some opposition. A person changed from worrying before to giving thanks.

The Donglin Party's objection was to let Han Xu directly serve as the chief assistant.

The support of the eunuch party was because Huang Liji could retain his position as chief minister.

With the chief minister of the Eunuch Party in the court and an official of the Eunuch Party who has committed minor treason, he has a backbone. He will not become an outlier who will be attacked by the Donglin Party in the future court.

As for the person involved, Huang Liji, he was filled with joy and some embarrassment.

The embarrassing thing is that Han Xu is older than him after all. According to the previous practice, he should give way to the superior.

The joy is also here, that is, he does not have to give up the throne to Han Xu.

Especially since he saw through this incident that the emperor had no intention of letting him step down. Otherwise, you can completely drive him out as the chief assistant through the resurrecting minister.

After all, from the first assistant to the second assistant, not only the authority has been reduced, but also the face will be tarnished. It's better to become an official directly and keep the title of chief assistant——

There are not many Liu Yishen in the world who are willing to give up their position as chief assistant!
Therefore, after the emperor made his decision, the cabinet's bachelors, under the leadership of Huang Liji, quickly accepted the decree. Restore Han Xu's official ranks other than Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel, and then add him to the rank of Minister of Bi Zheng.

Is this minister Bi Zheng ranked behind Li Guopu as the fifth bachelor, or is he ranked in front of Shi Fenglai as the second assistant? At that time, I will also say that no matter what, there is no threat to Huang Liji, the first-rank minister.

Zhu Youjian successfully took over the appointment of the chief minister through the approval of the current cabinet.

　"Donglin Point General Record"

　　Founding Marshal

　　Li Sancai, the King of Pagodas and the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing

　　The two leaders of the general army:
　　Tiankuixing Timely Rain University Scholar Ye Xianggao
　　Tiangang Star Jade Unicorn Zhao Nanxing, Minister of the Ministry of Officials

　　Two members of the secret military division in charge:

　　Tian Ji Xing Zhi Many Xing Zuo Yu De Miao Changqi
　　Tianxianxing enters Yunlong Zuodu Yushi Gao Panlong

　　Twelve generals guarding the Chinese army:
　　Liu Yishen, a bachelor of Tianshouxing and Jianglong University

　　Tianweixing Jiuwenlong University Scholar Han Xu

　　Sun Chengzong, a scholar from Linlong University, came out of the Earthly Short Star.
　　……

　　
　
(End of this chapter)