Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

This adjustment of senior officials can be seen as a continuation of last year's adjustment.

After overthrowing the eunuch party last year, Zhu Youjian took advantage of the power vacuum and pushed for the appointment of many officials, many of whom had a one-year term and needed to be adjusted this year.

Taking advantage of this August official selection, Zhu Youjian planned to make adjustments at the same time to prevent the officials in the court from being in turmoil and unable to perform their duties wholeheartedly.

Nearly a year after ascending the throne, Zhu Youjian's throne could be said to be secure, and the situation in the court was generally stable and operated according to his will.

Zhu Youjian had enough confidence to handle this official selection.

First, it was the position of Minister of Personnel. After Yang Jingchen had acted for several months, Zhu Youjian formally approved Fang Zhuangli's resignation before the official selection in August and transferred him to the position of Chief Advisor, responsible for presiding over the Council of State.

When Yang Jingchen was recommended in the court, he was undoubtedly nominated as the Minister of Personnel and officially became one of the Nine Ministers.

Dong Qichang, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, also submitted his resignation and became a counselor.

Li Ruoxing, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, had the word "addition" removed from his title and he officially became the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, in charge of supervising examinations and audits.

The vacant post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was nominated by the court officials to be Han Rizuan, the Minister of Rites of Nanjing, for the post, at the suggestion of Zhu Youjian, in accordance with the convention that one of the two vice ministers of the Ministry of Personnel must come from the Hanlin Academy.

This person was a Nanjing official retained by Zhu Youjian. He was neither a member of the Donglin Party nor a remnant of the eunuch party. When Li Ruoxing, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, belonged to the Donglin Party, Zhu Youjian appointed him as the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, specifically supervising and promoting him.

The Ministry of Revenue, which is next to the Ministry of Personnel, had Li Qiyuan, the assistant minister in charge of military pay, who was unable to take up the post due to illness and had been transferred by Zhu Youjian to be the advisory minister.

In addition, the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue had been vacant for a long time. After consideration, Zhu Youjian decided to merge the two positions into one, with the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue being responsible for military pay matters.

Zhu Youjian preferred Li Changgeng, the Minister of Works in Nanjing, as the candidate. Li Changgeng had supervised the military expenditure in Tianjin and was nominated as the Minister of Revenue, but he did not take the position.

Zhu Youjian treated Han Rizun the same way he did, by giving him the title of Second Rank Minister of State Affairs and transferring him to the Ministry of Revenue in the capital.

It can be said that after nearly a year of observation, the Nanjing officials recognized by Zhu Youjian were transferred to Beijing on a large scale this time.

The Ministry of Rites saw the least changes, with Shangshu Wen Tiren and Youshilang Wang Zuoyuan remaining unchanged. Meng Shaoyu, who was demoted to Acting Zuoshilang for his treasonous behavior, removed the word "acting" from his position after completing the formulation of the pinyin and the general standard character table for printing, and returned to his full position.

Yuan Keli, the Minister of War, holds the most stable position. He has contributed to Zhu Youjian's achievements since he ascended the throne, such as pacifying Chahan and suppressing the pirates. He is now the head of the Nine Ministers and a minister of government, equivalent to the second assistant.

Min Mengde, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, was also retained because of the war in the southwest. After all, the decisive battle in the southwest that Zhu Xieyuan was preparing to launch was largely based on his strategy.

When Zhu Youjian thought of this, he became furious with Zhang Heming, who had taken Min Mengde's position. This man had no ability but sought the position of Governor of Sichuan and Guizhou, which delayed the natural quelling of the She'an Rebellion by two or three years. So he instructed the Trial Committee of the Treason Case to list Zhang Heming as a traitor and confiscate his illegal income.

The vacant Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War was transferred to Qin Shiwen, who was acting Minister of the Imperial Household Department and Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

This person collapsed at work due to exhaustion some time ago, so Zhu Youjian had to promote him just to reward him for his merit.

In addition, Qin Shiwen had served as the governor of Xuanfu and was familiar with the northern border affairs. He could complement Min Mengde, who was familiar with the south, and also met the requirements.

The positions of Minister of the Imperial Household Department and Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War that he retained were continued to be held by Chen Qiuyu as an acting official, and he would take up the positions after he had sufficient qualifications.

After appointing the left and right assistant ministers, Zhu Youjian was about to turn to other ministries, but Yuan Keli, the Minister of War, insisted on appointing an assistant minister to supervise the Beijing Camp, which was previously the assistant to the military affairs of the Beijing Camp:

"According to the ancestral system, the Shangshu, Shilang or Youdu Yushi assisted in the military affairs of the capital camp to prevent it from becoming too corrupt."

"Your Majesty changed the position to the Minister of the Imperial Guard, but he has not appointed anyone since then."

"Today, many of the soldiers in the Beijing camp are fake, and the newly appointed military commander cannot control them."

"Your Majesty, please appoint a special assistant minister to supervise the Beijing camp, or a military envoy above the rank of military commander."

The civil officials were very dissatisfied with the fact that this position had remained vacant. They did not want the Beijing Camp to be out of the control of the civil officials.

Zhu Youjian thought of the Ji Si Incident that would happen the next year in history, and felt that regardless of whether it would happen again or not, the Beijing camp needed to be retrained, at least to have the ability to defend the city.

Therefore, he planned to strictly train the Beijing camp, and last year he appointed Zhu Guobi, Marquis of Funing, as the commander-in-chief of the Shenji Camp in preparation for this.

However, Zhu Guobi's results in rectifying the Shenjiying were not satisfactory to him. After thinking about it, Zhu Youjian felt that he still needed to use civil officials to break the current pattern of the Beijing Camp, so he said:
"The special supervisor of the Beijing Camp Assistant Minister was changed to the Beijing Camp Guard Commander, and concurrently served as Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War."

"Does Yuan Qing have anyone to recommend?"

Yuan Keli had already discussed this with Li Banghua, the Left Vice-Chief Censor, and had chosen him to take on this position. Upon hearing this, Li Banghua immediately stepped forward and stated his military strategy:
"The main problem with the Beijing military camp is the false claim of conscription."

"I think we should cut down on false claims, clear up the conscription, and replenish the military ranks so that the soldiers in the Beijing camp can be fully staffed according to the quota."

"In addition, we will reduce the number of horses, reduce the number of cavalry, refine divine weapons, and practice flying stones, so that the troops in the Beijing camp can be organized and trained in accordance with the new army."

Many officials in the capital paid close attention to Xu Guangqi's training of the new army. After several months of training, the army gradually became stronger and was praised by many officials.

Li Banghua's military strategy was learned from the New Army. In addition, he was brave enough to take on responsibilities and dared to propose cutting down on false accounts and clearing up the occupation of labor, which made Zhu Youjian quite impressed and said:
"Li Qing has put a lot of effort into the Beijing Camp. I think you are qualified for the position of Guard Commander of the Beijing Camp."

"According to the method of recommending the military envoy, he will be recommended by the nine ministers of the imperial court and concurrently serve as the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War."

This position was changed from a vice minister that needed to be recommended by the ministers of the court to a military commander that needed to be recommended by the nine ministers of the court, so that it could be better controlled and the candidate could be replaced later.

The officials did not bother about this point because the position of the assistant minister of the Beijing Camp had been vacant for a long time and they were anxious to let a civil official take up the post. Li Banghua became the military envoy of the Beijing Camp on the recommendation of Yuan Keli and others.

Then he proposed to send a person in charge from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works to serve in the Beijing camp, so that all matters related to money, food, soldiers, horses, and weapons would be under the charge of civil officials.

Although Zhu Youjian thought this might be beneficial, he rejected it without hesitation. He could not allow the power of the Beijing Camp to be completely controlled by the six ministries.

Zhu Youjian comforted the disappointed Li Banghua:
"The Imperial Guards can set up a Guards Department, which is different from the three offices of the local Guard Offices. The Guards Department is modeled after the Southern Office of the Imperial Guards, and has a Department of Affairs, a Department of Officials, a Department of Logistics, a Department of Equipment, and a Department of Training. It is headed by the Guards Captain and is directly managed by the Imperial Guards."

"From now on, the daily affairs of the Beijing camp, the promotion and demotion of officials, the staffing quota, logistics equipment, and training mobilization will all go through the Guards."

"The guard lieutenants in charge of each department will liaise with the relevant offices of the six ministries."

Civilian officers were not used but were substituted with civilian officers.

Li Banghua could accept this change and happily accepted the order. He was determined to rectify the Beijing camp and live up to the emperor's trust. After the appointment of the positions in the Ministry of War, the remaining positions were the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Works. The Minister of Punishment did not change.

Xue Fengxiang, the Minister of Works, was retained in office, while Zhang Wenyu, the acting Right Vice Minister, was given a full-time position again because of his contribution to the construction of the new city.

Shang Zhouzuo, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Works who was chosen by Zhu Youjian to be in charge of the Department of Commerce, was recommended by the court officials to be the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi.

At this point, the positions of Shangshu and Shilang of the six ministries in the capital were finally completely full and there were no more vacancies.

The six ministers of Nanjing were also replaced on a large scale when Han Rizun and Li Changgeng were transferred to the capital and Huang Kezun repeatedly requested to retire.

The Nanjing Minister of War position vacated by Huang Kezun was transferred to Nanjing Minister of Revenue Cui Jingrong, who was favored by Zhu Youjian.

The position of Nanjing Minister of Finance vacated by Cui Jingrong was transferred to Li Daiwen, the Governor of Yingtian, who is now the Governor of Jiangnan, recommended by the court officials.

The position of Nanjing Minister of Rites vacated by Han Rizun was replaced by Qian Xiangkun, who was previously the incumbent and now living in the capital, and was recommended by the court officials.

Nanjing Criminal Minister Pan Jun resigned due to illness and was replaced by Hu Yingtai, who was recommended by the court officials. Hu Yingtai was a military jinshi from Liuyang, Huguang, and had served as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and the Nanjing Criminal Minister. Now he was reinstated.

The position of Nanjing Minister of Works vacated by Li Changgeng was taken by Zhang Fengxiang, the Left Vice Minister of Nanjing Ministry of War. The position vacated by Li Changgeng was taken by Sun Juxiang, the former Governor of Shaanxi and Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Both of them belonged to the Donglin Party. Their behavior made Zhu Youjian unhappy, so he allowed Sun Juxiang to continue to serve as the Right Vice Minister without promoting his rank.

After this adjustment, among the six ministers of Nanjing, only Wang Zaijin remained the Minister of Personnel of Nanjing.

Next came the governors and governors-general whose terms had expired and needed to be replaced. Because of the martial law in Shaanxi, the governor-general of the three borders and the governor of Yansui were appointed in advance. Baoding Governor Lu Xiangsheng and Fujian Governor Zhu Yifeng were confirmed to remain in office.

Shang Zhouzuo, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, was elected as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. Under the manipulation of Zhu Youjian, the post of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi vacated by Shang Zhouzuo was recommended by the court officials to be taken by Nan Juyi, the former Governor of Fujian and the winner of the Battle of Penghu.

Li Daiwen, the governor of Jiangnan, was elected as the Minister of Finance of Nanjing. His vacant position was filled by Cao Wenheng, the Right Governor of Shandong, who was recommended by the ministers.

This man was transferred to Jiangxi as the Left Governor during the February selection. But because he did such a good job in Shandong, the local people wanted him to stay. Now in August, he was promoted again to the post of Governor of Jiangnan.

Zhu Youjian considered Xie Cunren, the governor of Yunnan, incompetent because of the sudden death of Mu Qiyuan, the Duke of Qian. On the recommendation of Zhu Xieyuan, Zhu Youjian manipulated the nomination and appointed Yuan Chonghuan.

The post of Guardian of the Five Provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou and Guizhou vacated by Yuan Chonghuan was appointed by the Nine Ministers, who nominated Zhang Lun, the former Sichuan Provincial Governor who had made great contributions in defending Chengdu.

The post of Huguang Governor was changed to Governor-General of the Two Lakes. Min Hongxue, who had requested to return home to recuperate many times before, was no longer sick because he had adapted to the climate of Huguang and participated in the election for Governor-General of the Two Lakes.

Zhu Youjian transferred him to this position because he had done a good job in Huguang this year.

The newly appointed Governor of Hunan was nominated by the ministers to be the former Governor of Zhejiang, Wang Qia, another member of the Donglin Party.

These are all governors who have been replaced after their terms have expired. There are also those who have no set terms but still need to be replaced. Wang Xiangqian, the governor of the Great Wall, is one example.

This person was already 83 years old, and Zhu Youjian was reluctant to reinstate him last year. However, because Wang Xiangqian was familiar with the powerful people on the grassland and was good at appeasing them, he was appointed.

Now that next year is the year of Jisi, the Jianlu may cross the grassland and invade the Great Wall as in history. Zhu Youjian certainly cannot keep him in office to avoid missing out on important matters.

Zhu Youjian was very cautious in selecting the governor or commander-in-chief, and asked ministers such as Yuan Keli to recommend capable talents.

However, the current imperial court could not find a commander who could meet his needs. Zhu Youjian did not dare to place Yuan Chonghuan and Hong Chengchou in such an important position. Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng each had important positions. Chen Qiyu and Yang Wenyue were still being trained.

In the end, after rejecting all the candidates proposed by his ministers, Zhu Youjian decided to let Qin Shiwen, the right vice minister of the Ministry of War, serve concurrently as the governor of the Great Wall, and use this diligent official to renovate the Great Wall defenses.

He asked Qin Shiwen to return to Beijing to take up his post after a period of time, to report on the renovation of the Great Wall and to obtain support from the capital.

Finally, the official in charge of immigration that he needed was recommended by the ministers as Henan Left Governor Zhang Mengjing. Zhang Mengjing had served in office for 13 terms and had made achievements in each term. He was an outstanding official recommended at the beginning of the year.

Zhu Youjian appointed him as the Left Vice-Chief Censor-in-Chief and Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in accordance with the standards of a governor-general. In these two capacities, he was appointed as the Imperial Envoy in Charge of Immigration, and was granted the Imperial Sword, putting him in charge of immigration affairs.

Officials who had not taken this position seriously before, after hearing about this appointment, all opened their eyes wide, and some regretted it too late -

Because neither of Zhang Mengjing's two titles had the word "Nanjing" added to them, he was allowed by the emperor to return to Beijing to report at any time, which meant that he, like Qin Shiwen and others, was actually a Beijing official, but was just on a business trip.

As long as the immigration matter is handled well, you can be transferred to a high-ranking official in the court at any time.

This has caused officials who were previously afraid of immigration and felt that it was a thankless task to regret not actively fighting for it.

Zhu Youjian didn't care what they thought. After confirming the appointment of these officials, he asked the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel to draft an edict to urge these people to take office.

All officials are given a deadline to take office, after which they will be reappointed.

Han Yu, who had already arrived in the capital but was ignored by the emperor, felt even more embarrassed after learning about this matter.

Previously, he was dissatisfied with his restoration as the second assistant and wanted the emperor to pay more attention to him, so he delayed taking office. Instead, he asked the Donglin Party members to be the ministers to create momentum in the court.

Unexpectedly, the momentum he created did not impress the emperor, but instead made him disgusted. He even singled him out and Li Qiyuan and blamed them for not taking office.

Now, Lee Ki-won has been confirmed to be ill and has been transferred to the position of Minister of State.

After arriving in the capital, he was neither transferred by the emperor nor summoned to the cabinet to take up his post.

As a result, there are fewer and fewer guests visiting him these days, and the initial hustle and bustle has turned into a sparsely populated place.

Therefore, Han Yu felt more and more uneasy, not knowing how the emperor would employ him.

At this moment, he really regretted his decision and thought that he should not have played tricks on the current emperor.

Now, Yuan Keli has actually become the second assistant and even possesses the power of the first assistant.

Even if he returns to the court, he will have to rank at the back. (End of this chapter)