Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 39 It’s better to do the job than to do the job
It was determined that the matter of increasing the title in Nanjing was relatively important, and Yang Jingchen asked for a formal decree. Zhu Youji thought for a moment and decided to convene the staff to attend a standing meeting tomorrow to formally determine the matter in the name of the court.

With his heart full of worries, Yang Jingchen left the palace. Thinking of what happened today, he still doesn't understand what he should do. After thinking about it, I decided to ask the seniors from my hometown to see if there was any enlightenment.

General Affairs Envoy Lu Tunan and Yang Jingchen are both from Jinjiang. They are already sixty years old this year and can be said to be seniors. When Yang Jingchen came to this fellow countryman's home, he saw him writing and painting, and couldn't help joking:
"Greetings, old gentleman!"

"I, a Chang Chao Guan, will bow down when I see Chang Shen Guan in the future!"

Lu Tunan put down the brush in his hand, waved his hand and said:

"Stop joking!"

"I, as the general envoy, am just like the Minister of Dali Temple. I am a member of the Chang Shen Guan."

"I have only seen ministers who were envoys to the general administration and ministers of Dali Temple transferred to ministers, but I have never seen ministers to ministers to ministers to ministers and ministers of Dali Temple."

"Although they are called Jiuqing, in fact, this dynasty only has six ministers and seven ministers."

Yang Jingchen said seriously:

"That was before, but it will be different from now on."

"The Chang Shenguan can see His Majesty every day. Can a minister like me be compared with the Chang Shengguan like the old gentleman in the future?"

"Not to mention that so many officials have the title of General Secretary. They just don't serve in the General Secretary. They should bow when they see you as General Secretary, right?"

"The old gentleman, as the general ambassador, has caught up with you at a good time!"

Lu Tunan pursed his lips slightly and did not refute this. The General Secretary is listed as a permanent official, and his influence in the government and the public is naturally much greater. In the future, he may be directly transferred to the minister instead of going through the minister. As for those who have been given additional titles, although their positions have nothing to do with the General Affairs Department, they will undoubtedly be a little shorter when facing themselves as the General Affairs Secretary.

It can be said that the two things of becoming a permanent official and increasing the title have made the general official truly become the ninth minister, and his influence is different from before.

When it came to adding the title, Yang Jingchen said that the emperor planned to add the word "Nanjing" before the title, and wondered:
"I wonder why Your Majesty, who is so good, adds the word Nanjing to all his titles?"

"Do you want to strengthen Nanjing, or do you plan to attack Nanjing?"

Lu Tunan thought for a while and said:

"Perhaps I didn't think much about it. His Majesty just wanted to activate Nanjing officials and kept thinking about the word 'Nanjing'."

"The matter of adding a title just happened to be in time, so I added these two words by the way."

Yang Jingchen was surprised when he heard this and asked:

"Is there anyone in Nanjing that Your Majesty cares about so much?"

Lu Tunan stroked his beard and said:

"It's not necessarily someone from Nanjing, but he came to the official position from Nanjing."

"Have you forgotten who your majesty's teacher is? In which official position did he become an official?"

Yang Jingchen suddenly realized:
"Yuan Keli!"

"He was recommended by the court to serve as the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. His Majesty thought of him!"

Lu Tunan nodded and said:

"Exactly this person!"

"He Zongyan, the chief examiner of the subject in the second year of Tianqi, and Zhu Guozuo, the deputy examiner, have both passed away. The teachers they recognized were Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli, the same examiners of the palace examination."

"His Majesty's teacher in Qiandi, Liu Hanru, came from this subject. For this reason, he promoted Lu Xiangsheng and selected many Jinshi from the Hanlin Academy in the second year of Tianqi to serve as daily assistants."

"I guess His Majesty wants to use their tutor Yuan Keli, so he is thinking about the word Nanjing." Yang Jingchen admired after hearing this, and also thought of the reason, stroking his palms and saying:

"Sun Xueshi is not easy to use, but Yuan Shangshu is not so troublesome."

"But there are six ministers in the court. Who does your Majesty want to replace him with?"

"Could it be said that Cui Shangshu really wants to abide by the rules?"

Lu Tunan nodded slowly and said to him:
"I'm afraid Cui Shangshu is really going to retreat this time. Didn't you see that he didn't even object to the Ministry of War affairs being taken over by His Majesty using the Standing Council?"

"Yuan Keli later became the Minister of the Ministry of War, and he will be able to replace him after the restoration. Your Majesty has matters at stake, and Yuan Keli is more capable."

Such words were said. Yang Jingchen was still shocked when he heard the speculation. Who is Cui Chengxiu? He is Wei Zhongxian's mastermind and the core figure of the eunuch party in the court. Don't they know what signal Cui Chengxiu's withdrawal will send?

Lu Tunan can answer this question just right. I saw him whispering something in Yang Jingchen's ear, and Yang Jingchen said in shock:
"Duke Zhou? Make him a king?"

"Does anyone really dare to write like this?"

Lu Tunan nodded and said:

"It's a supervisor named Li Yingri. In it, there are words such as Zhou Gong using the emperor's rituals and music, Taigong getting special expedition, Guo Fenyang making the king, etc. He compared the factory Duke to Zhou Gong and asked to make him the king."

"I was shocked when I saw it. I thought the factory owner wanted to rebel, so I made a lot of determination to seal the memorial."

"The factory owner didn't take any other action afterwards, so I thought the matter was over. But now it seems that it's not that simple."

"If you think about it carefully, before the death of the late emperor, the imperial edict to praise the factory owner was to imitate Cao Cao's Nine Xi Wen. Cui Chengxiu was also summoned by the factory owner to discuss it in the palace. Maybe they had some plans at that time."

"Now that your majesty, the new emperor, has been recognized by the court officials, and the imperial edict has been circulated throughout the world, Cui Chengxiu feels scared and wants to use the system to escape."

The first time he heard about these things, Yang Jingchen, a peripheral member of the eunuch party, felt a little dizzy. He participated in the compilation of the "Three Dynasties Essential Code", and it was true that he relied on eunuchs to get promoted, but he never thought of treason!

Once the things that Wei Zhongxian and Cui Chengxiu did are investigated, it will be an ironclad case. He, a peripheral member, will also suffer from this.

Thinking of this, Yang Jingchen's face turned a little pale, and he hurriedly said to Lu Tunan:
"Mr. Lu, help me quickly and tell me what to do!"

"I was not involved in the eunuch's counter-case!"

Lu Tunan, however, was slow and calm, and said calmly and logically:
"Of course I know you weren't involved, otherwise would I have told you this?"

"Now that His Majesty has asked you to take charge of the Literary and Selection Department, this is a ready opportunity. Haven't you figured out the deeper meaning of this?"

Under the influence of Lu Tunan, Yang Jingchen's panic gradually calmed down. Thinking about it carefully, the emperor clearly had the intention of appointing himself in charge of the Department of Literature and Selection. As long as things are done well, it may not be impossible to extract from the reverse case.

So he thought about it carefully and said with some uncertainty:
"Is His Majesty going to make a big move against the court officials and prepare to overthrow the eunuchs?"

Lu Tunan stroked his beard and said:
"Ruzi can be taught!"

"If you can realize this, the Minister of Civil Affairs will be able to secure his position. It may not be impossible to go further in the future."

"Remember, everything must be done according to His Majesty's will, otherwise you, the vice president of the Three Dynasties Code, may be included in the case at any time."

"This so-called 'doing the work is not as good as doing the work' is the art of imperial control!"

After hearing this, Yang Jingchen was convinced and respected his fellow countryman Jiuqing even more. The two agreed to help each other and report any news in a timely manner, striving to maintain their own safety in this turbulent court situation.

　"Chongzhen Changbian" (Lv Tunan's first review)
　　In the past, he refuted the eunuch Lu Wanling and Cao Dai's request to build a Confucian temple, as well as eunuch Li Yingri and other edicts, quoting Zhou Gong's use of the emperor's rites and music, Taigong's special expedition, and Guo Fenyang's title of king...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)