Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 40: Spread the edict to the world
On September 4, Zhu Youjian did not attend the morning court for the first time since he ascended to power. However, he has a big thing to do today, which is to appoint envoys and send them to officially spread his imperial edict to the world.

Looking at the low-level officials such as Zhongshu Sheren, Xingren Si Xingren, Dali Temple Judges, and Honglu Temple Preface Team in front of him, Zhu Youjian encouraged them and asked them to determine the era of the Yellow Emperor, the twenty-four-hour clock, and the lunar calendar. The imperial edict of the Changshen system was brought along with it, and he explained it carefully to the provinces.

These people agreed in unison and set out for North and South Zhili, the Thirteen Provinces and Liaodong with the prepared edicts. Zhu Youjian looked at their figures and warned himself again not to be impatient:
With the current speed of information dissemination, it would be good to spread the news about the new emperor's ascension to the world within a month, but it is really not appropriate to make any big moves. Especially since the ministers in the court are all former ministers of the late emperor, he cannot take the initiative to touch them during the twenty-seventh day of observing the system.

Therefore, after seeing Wang Tiqian's resignation document, Zhu Youjian immediately objected and encouraged Wang Tiqian to take control of the Supervisor of Ceremonies and help him get approval. Zhu Youjian ignored other officials' impeachment of Cui Chengxiu and left the matter to the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies, leaving them to their own devices.

When Wang Tiqian saw the emperor's attitude, he was immediately reassured. When he went back and talked to Wei Zhongxian, Wei Zhongxian felt at ease and believed that the new emperor still needed them, but he was not as trusting as the previous emperor and would use some private individuals.

Thinking that Xu Yingyuan had mentioned to him that the emperor planned to use his teacher Liu Hanru's disciples, Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli, Wei Zhongxian said:
"Back then, Wei Guangwei told me that Sun Chengzong wanted to oust the emperor, so we drove him away. Now it seems that Wei Guangwei was completely trying to scare me. Sun Chengzong did want to impeach me, but it was impossible for him to evacuate the emperor."

"Li Guopu and Sun Chengzong are from the same hometown. He explained this to me. Xu Yingyuan also said that His Majesty wants to recruit some close people, and the top ones are Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli."

"Whether Sun Chengzong will use it, you can ask the four bachelors. As for Yuan Keli, whether he can succeed Cui Chengxiu depends on Ting Tui. Anyway, Cui Chengxiu doesn't understand military affairs, and he has to return to his hometown to defend the system."

Wang Tiqian was surprised when he heard this. He didn't know why Wei Zhongxian gave up on Cui Chengxiu so easily. He advised him:

"Mr. Factory, once Cui Chengxiu resigns, someone may turn the blame and impeach the Factory Gong instead."

Wei Zhongxian chuckled and said:

"What's the point of their impeachment?"

"As long as His Majesty trusts us, we will not fail."

Wang Tigan wanted to say that this was what he was worried about, but when he thought about the emperor's behavior after he ascended to the throne, he really couldn't tell why the emperor didn't trust them. They were still in charge of the inner court offices such as Si Li Jian, Yu Ma Jian, and Dongchang. Xu Yingyuan, Wang Wenzheng, and Wang Guotai around the emperor were also recommended by them. Even if you say you don't trust him, why do you want the emperor?
After thinking about it for a while, Wang Tiqian could only feel that he was overthinking and was a little suspicious. It was decided to follow Wei Zhongxian's wishes and allow Cui Chengxiu and others to return to their hometowns to maintain the system, and their successors would be recommended to the court at the next regular meeting.

Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he saw Wang Tigan's criticism. In fact, he didn't know that the emperor didn't completely trust him, and letting Cui Chengxiu go back now was completely risky.

However, Wei Zhongxian is now more worried that Cui Chengxiu will turn back and tell the emperor about Jiuxi, which is a more fatal thing for Wei Zhongxian.

Now Cui Chengxiu has the intention to leave. If Wei Zhongxian insists on blocking it, Cui Chengxiu may turn against him. This forced Wei Zhongxian to agree to let Cui Chengxiu return to his hometown to avoid the collapse of the eunuch party.

After dealing with Cui Chengxiu, Wei Zhongxian thought of Li Yongzhen who also knew about the matter, and decided to remind Li Yongzhen when he came back from inspecting Shanling, lest this person change sides and tell the story about Jiuxi.

There were loopholes everywhere and they needed to be repaired, which made Wei Zhongxian feel physically and mentally exhausted in just a few days. At this time, he was already considering whether to hand over power to Xu Yingyuan in exchange for his successor not to be held accountable. But thinking about his nephew's title, Wei Zhongxian was a little reluctant to give it up, and planned to hold on for a while and try his best to keep the title——

The emperor was so generous to the barbarians on the grassland and granted dozens of princes and nobles titles.

Wei Liangqing and others may also keep their titles, or at worst change them to Shuntian titles. With this idea in mind, Wei Zhongxian decided to survive this period no matter what, and seek generational wealth for the Wei family.

Wei Zhongxian told no one about these plans. Although Wang Tiqian couldn't understand why Wei Zhongxian agreed to Cui Chengxiu's return to his hometown to maintain the system, after confirming that the matter would not change, he quickly sent someone to tell Wang Wenzheng, who was accompanying the emperor, to inform the emperor of the news.

After learning about this incident, Zhu Youjian felt happy, knowing that the first step towards the downfall of the eunuch party had been taken.

Just thinking that the positions vacated by Cui Chengxiu and others needed to be recommended, his joy subsided again, and he became more determined to control the Literature and Selection Department and control the list of candidates.

I just don’t know if Yang Jingchen can be used and if he has the ability to convey his will to the officials.

If this person is not good enough, you can only find another one.

Letting Yang Jingchen personally take charge of the Wenxuan Department as the Minister of Civil Affairs was an important move for Zhu Youjian in the court. Although this person is considered an eunuch, he is not deeply involved with the eunuch. He just participated in the compilation of "Three Dynasties Yaodian" like Yu Huang and others, and can continue to use it.

At the same time, because Yang Jingchen was attached to the eunuch party, Zhu Youjian felt that he was not the kind of upright and stubborn civil servant and might rely on him and act according to his own will.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian handed over the matter of resurrecting Sun Chuanting and taking control of the Literature and Selection Department to him to see if he could handle it well.

Today's regular meeting is a test.

At eight o'clock in the morning, in the Wenhua Hall on the east side of the Huangji Gate, Zhu Youjian convened the cabinet's bachelors, Jiuqing and other permanent council officers, as well as relevant personnel from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Civil Service Department, to hold the first regular council meeting after starting the reform of the court meeting system. .

The theme of this meeting was to handle the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, discuss adding titles, and determine the candidates for permanent court officials.

It was the first time for the courtiers to participate in such a meeting. It was very strange for the courtiers. In the past, only cabinet bachelors could often see the emperor, so they had the most authority.

Nowadays, the six ministers, the censor of Zuodu, the minister of Dali Temple, and the envoy of general affairs are also qualified to see the emperor frequently and discuss affairs with the cabinet bachelors at the standing meeting.

This made the ministers clearly feel that the relationship between Jiu Qing and the Grand Scholar was changing, and the authority and status between them would change to a certain extent.

The Grand Scholars and Jiu Qing felt this way, and the officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs had an even stronger feeling in the matter. Do they have the ability to object to the official affairs decided by so many ministers? I am afraid that the Ministry of Civil Affairs will only be able to implement the decisions of the Standing Committee in the future and truly become an executive agency.

This feeling made many officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs feel nervous, and some people who originally planned to speak loudly at the regular meeting quietly retreated.

Even the officials of the Wenxuan Department, who were firmly opposed to the Wenxuan Department being personally controlled by the Minister, were a little uneasy and didn't know whether to continue the riot and resist the emperor's decision.

(End of this chapter)