Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Replacing the Prime Minister and recommending the Grand Secretary was just the beginning of this official selection.

Since Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, he has been constantly standardizing official order, and the selection of officials has become more institutionalized and no longer replaced at will.

Generally speaking, officials are transferred in February and August. Most of those transferred in February are local officials, and officials in the court attach more importance to the selection in August.

Especially this year, the Prime Minister will be replaced, and the Grand Secretaries and Nine Ministers will be replaced accordingly, which will lead to many position changes.

All the officials took this very seriously, and many who were keen on promotion made great efforts before the selection in order to become the main candidate.

However, not many people dared to make trouble for the position that the current emperor was supposed to control. This was not only because of the prestige that Zhu Youjian gradually established after ascending the throne, but also because he reformed the imperial recommendation system and allowed the ministers of state to participate in the imperial recommendation.

Most of the current ministers have stepped down due to their involvement with the eunuch party, as well as some nobles.

Almost all of these people followed the emperor's orders, allowing the emperor to manipulate the court to a large extent.

Moreover, with the help of Yang Jingchen, Zhu Youjian also strengthened the review of candidates. Most of those who passed the screening and appeared on the candidate list were ministers who met his wishes.

Although his workload was heavy, it strengthened his control over the imperial nominations. He was no longer unable to control the candidates as before, and could only appoint the candidates who were recommended by the emperor. If the emperor wanted to promote someone, he could only do so under pressure from his ministers.

The same was true this time. For the position of Minister of Personnel vacated by Yang Jingchen, Zhu Youjian chose three candidates: Guo Yunhou, Xue Fengxiang, and Wang Yongguang.

None of them were from the Donglin Party and had expressed their loyalty to him.

After the list was announced, all the officials of the Donglin Party frowned, because the three candidates were from the eunuch party and were on the list of traitors.

Hou Xun, the censor of Guangdong Province, said:

"The traitor Wei Zhongxian stole the fate of the country and disrupted the order of heaven. At the time, villains rushed to join him. This would not be tolerated in the era of Yao and Shun."

"Your Majesty pardoned him for the sake of stabilizing the government, but why did you grant him the position of Heavenly Official?"

As soon as this statement was made, officials of the Donglin Party all echoed it.

Zhu Youjian did not give them a chance to speak and shouted:

"I have authorized Han Xueshi to make the decision on the matter of the rebellion."

"The list will be published soon and announced to the world."

“If anyone has objections, they can raise them after the list is made public.”

"Don't mention this matter in the court, it will only disrupt government affairs."

Let the Prime Minister Han Yu come forward to suppress these Donglin Party members.

As the current leader of the Donglin Party in the court, Han Yu still has some prestige in the Donglin Party.

Moreover, confirming the list of traitors was the first thing Han Yu had to do after becoming the Prime Minister. If they did not give him face and questioned him, how could Han Yu establish his authority as the Prime Minister?

So after Han Yu came forward, these people retreated one after another.

Zhu Youjian also breathed a sigh of relief temporarily, knowing that he had suppressed the dissatisfaction of the Donglin Party.

But what is more important is the list of reversal cases. This list must stand the test and become a conclusion.

Otherwise, the conflict between the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party might have continued.

Zhu Youjian did not want to see a situation where most of the remaining eunuchs turned into the emperor's party.

In his heart, he attached more importance to confirming the case of rebellion and also remembered the name of Hou Xun. Zhu Youjian stared at him and scolded:

“The list of candidates has already been publicized and notices have been issued.”

"Why didn't you express your objections earlier? Why are you disrupting the court now?"

"Where is the Imperial Censor in the Palace? Write down his mistakes."

Han Yilian, who was given the title of Palace Censor, was asked to record Hou Xun's mistakes, and the subsequent handling would be made by the Censorate.

This made Hou Xun even more indignant, but with Han Yu watching him, he did not dare to disrupt the court again and could only kneel down and confess his guilt.

There was no one to interfere with the following court session.

At Zhu Youjian's suggestion, Guo Yunhou, the Minister of State Council and Minister of Agriculture, was recommended by the court as the Minister of Personnel.

This person was originally the Minister of Revenue. Later, he was punished by Zhu Youjian for arrears of pay for the nine frontiers and was demoted to the Minister of Taifu Temple and the Minister of Sinong Temple. He has been working hard and diligently to implement the new tax system.

In order to reward him for his merits, Zhu Youjian promoted him to the position of Minister of Personnel, making him the head of the Nine Ministers, ranking before the Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyan.

He wanted to use Guo Yunhou's financial talents to promote more officials who could pay sufficient taxes.

In order to better assist him, Zhu Youjian also arranged in advance for Yang Jingchen to appoint Wu Zhaoyuan as Langzhong of the Ministry of Literature and give him the title of third-rank councilor.

This person was an outstanding talent recommended last year, the most honest among the prefects, and had rich experience in local administration. He was previously appointed as the Right Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household Department, and he was honest and diligent in his work.

Zhu Youjian thought highly of him and arranged for him to gain experience as a Langzhong in the Ministry of Literature.

As for the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Han Rizhun and the Right Vice Minister Li Ruoxing, they were both promoted last year. Zhu Youjian did not replace them as they were still qualified.

Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyan, Vice Minister of the Left Li Changgeng, and Minister of the Imperial Household Department Dong Yingju were still retained.

However, the Right Vice Minister Zhai Fengchong was transferred to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and was given the title of Second-Rank Minister of State Affairs.

Because he had spoken out in the case of the assassination, he was listed as a member of the Donglin clan by the eunuch party. He made great achievements in building the Changping warehouse and exchanging grain for famine relief, and he also petitioned to cultivate wasteland in Tianjin.

Zhu Youjian was quite impressed by this and arranged for him to serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and concurrently as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

This position was previously held concurrently by Yuan Keli, but Yuan Keli repeatedly requested to resign because he was in charge of too much power in the Privy Council.

Zhu Youjian saw that the possibility of the Ji Si Incident was low and agreed to his request.

The former Minister of Agriculture Guo Yunhou concurrently served as the Shuntian Prefecture Minister, but under Zhai Fengchong, he became the Shuntian Prefecture Governor. This position was still held concurrently by a high-ranking official in the court in order to control Shuntian Prefecture.

The position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue vacated by Zhai Fengchong was promoted to a local official.

Zhejiang Governor Zhang Yandeng was promoted to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue because of his achievements in suppressing pirates and establishing customs last year, as well as his son Zhang Wanzhong's contribution in raising military pigeons.

Use him as an example to show local officials that they can be promoted to the court, so that local officials will work hard.

As for the vacant post of Governor of Zhejiang, since there was still one year left in his term, Zhu Youjian temporarily appointed Wu Shangmo, who was ostracized by Shanxi officials because he had reported on the entire Shanxi officialdom, through the recommendation of the nine ministers.

This incident made the officials look at him with awe, because Wu Shangmo had been promoted many times since the current emperor ascended the throne. First, he was promoted from the censor to the governor, and now he became the governor.

In addition, he had a good reputation, so many officials began to follow his example and report on other officials to gain merit.

After the Ministry of Revenue was the Ministry of Rites, and many officials in this department were replaced.

The Minister of Rites Wen Tiren has been recommended to the cabinet by the court.

The ministers in the court recommended another candidate for Grand Secretary, Cheng Jiming, to become the Minister of Rites.

Meng Shaoyu, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, was transferred to the position of Minister of Rites in Nanjing.

Qian Xiangkun, the Minister of Rites of Nanjing, was transferred to the position of Left Vice Minister of Rites and was given the title of Second Grade Councillor.

The positions of the two men were swapped. One went to Nanjing to be promoted, and the other came to Beijing to take power.

Wang Zuoyuan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was inactive and fantasized about being promoted by accumulating experience as before. He was even reported by some officials for jumping up and down before the selection of officials because he was eager to be promoted. This time, he was dismissed from his post as Right Vice Minister and transferred to the position of Minister of State Affairs.

Li Biao, the Minister of Taichang Temple and the additional Right Vice Minister of Rites, was actually appointed as the Right Vice Minister of Rites.

The position of Taichang Temple Minister vacated by him was taken over by Qian Qianyi, the Right Junior Minister of Taichang Temple.

Zuo Shaoqing Cao Sicheng was not pushed forward by the ministers this time because he was not from the Hanlin Academy.

Zhu Youjian compensated him by appointing him as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lifan Yuan, and also as the assistant to the Lifan Yuan, responsible for sorting out the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the vassal states and foreign countries, especially the titles, official positions and religious affairs. The two junior officials of the Taichang Temple were recommended by the court officials to be Jinshi in the 41st year of Wanli and Shujishi. Luo Yuyi and Wu Shen, who passed the imperial examination and became Shujishi, were appointed as the two junior officials of the Taichang Temple.

This yamen was completely regarded by civil officials as the Zhanshi Mansion and became a transferred institution of the Hanlin Academy.

Zeng Chuqing, the Junior Minister of the Zongzheng Temple, was retained this time. Although he did not make any great achievements in the affairs of the imperial clan, he did not make any great mistakes either, and managed the newly established Zongzheng Temple in an orderly manner. In addition to the title of Chengzhengshi, he was also appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and his rank was slightly promoted.

Fan Jingwen, the Minister of Guanglu Temple, took over a mess after a thorough investigation of Guanglu Temple last year. He rectified the atmosphere of the government office with his clean and honest style.

Unlike Han Yu who was implicated in the gift money case by his relatives and friends, Fan Jingwen politely declined all requests from his relatives and friends, and even posted six big words "No requests, no gifts" on his door, which was called "the second injustice".

Zhu Youjian admired him very much, and this time he was also appointed as the Minister of State Affairs and continued to serve in the Guanglu Temple.

Zhang Tianlin, the Junior Secretary of the Guanglu Temple, was also retained. He was one of the few officials who was retained during the thorough investigation of the Guanglu Temple last year.

He was as honest and self-disciplined as Fan Jingwen, and assisted Fan Jingwen in rectifying the atmosphere of Guanglu Temple. He was promoted to Zuo Shaoqing, becoming one of the highest-ranking officials among the Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi.

The Ministry of Rites recommended Qian Shisheng as the Right Junior Minister of Guanglu Temple. Qian Shisheng was the top scholar in the 44th year of the Wanli reign and a graduate of the Hanlin Academy.

He was equally respected as Qian Xiangkun, Qian Longxi and Qian Qianyi, and was known as the "Four Qians" in the Hanlin Academy.

This time, Qian Xiangkun became the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Qian Qianyi became the Minister of Taichang Temple, and Qian Longxi was also about to be reinstated. They were known as the "Four Qians" and attracted much attention.

Qian Longxi was promoted very quickly, and was recommended by the ministers for the next post of Honglu Temple Minister. And because he had served as the Right Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel, he was also appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, becoming a senior official in the Ministry of Rites.

Liu Hongxun, the Left Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, was quite disrespectful to Zhu Youjian and even said in private that "the master is the ruler after all", and was quite dissatisfied with the new system established by the court.

Zhu Youjian hated him very much. Some time ago, he asked Yang Suoxiu to instruct Yang Weiyuan to impeach his mistakes and dismiss him from his post and make him a commoner.

The person who succeeded him as the Left Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple was He Fengsheng, the second place in the imperial examination in the 44th year of the Wanli reign.

After the initial adaptation, officials from the Cabinet, the Ministry of Rites, and the Hanlin Academy have made full efforts to treat the Taichang Temple, the Zongzheng Temple, the Guanglu Temple, and the Honglu Temple as transfer agencies for Hanlin officials and seize official positions in these four yamen.

There is also the post of Imperial College Jijiu, which was also a rank for Hanlin officials to transfer to. After the current Jijiu, Ma Zhiqi, the second place in the imperial examination in the 38th year of Wanli, died, the officials of the Ministry of Rites planned to recommend Lin Hanhe, the third place in the imperial examination in the 44th year of Wanli and the director of the Imperial College, to take the post.

However, Zhu Youjian had new ideas about the Imperial College. He arranged for Liu Zongzhou, the Chief Censor, to be the Chief Academic Officer of the Imperial College, and gave him the title of the Third Rank Prime Minister and the appointment of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Lin Han was given the title of fourth-rank councilor and continued to serve as secretary.

With this adjustment, the officials of the Ministry of Rites can be said to have undergone a major reshuffle.

The reserve personnel are also confirming that a new generation has begun to be trained.

After the Ministry of Rites was the Ministry of War. Yuan Keli, the Minister of War who was in charge of the Privy Council, strongly declined the concurrent position of Minister of War.

Zhu Youjian agreed to his request and arranged for Xue Fengxiang, the Minister of Justice, to be transferred to the post of Minister of War.

This person may not be very capable, but the current Minister of War does not need to be very capable. He only needs to help Zhu Youjian control the Ministry of War and control the promotion and demotion of military officers.

In this case, Xue Fengxiang was a good fit. He was also a die-hard imperial party member, and Zhu Youjian needed to reward him for his achievements.

Zhu Xieyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Great Wall, was still allowed to return to his post and serve as the Minister of War together with Xue Fengxiang to make up for his shortcomings.

The post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War was originally held by Min Mengde, but now that Min Mengde is the Minister of Logistics, he naturally cannot hold this position concurrently.

Some Donglin Party officials planned to nominate Zhang Fengxiang, the Nanjing Minister of Works, but Zhu Youjian was not very willing to use Donglin Party officials in the affairs of the Ministry of War.

While in this position, he arranged for Border Defense Minister Qin Shiwen to transfer to a new position as a reward for this diligent official.

Zhu Youjian originally planned to appoint Zhang Nai to the post of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, but Zhang Nai fell ill and had to become a counselor.

Zhou Yongchun was even less likely to be a member of the Qi Party. He was placed in the Lifanyuan by Zhu Youjian to be in charge of the affairs of the Waifan Department.

Finally, the post of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War was recommended by the court officials to Xiong Mingyu, who had been the Admiral of Caojiang. Because he was close to the Donglin Party, he was listed as a member of the Donglin Party by the eunuch party. This time, he was reinstated as Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, in charge of the military and political affairs of the navy.

The positions of the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of War were in charge of the military and political affairs of the army and navy, and this was gradually established from then on.

Li Banghua, the Guardian of the Beijing Camp and the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, was retained this time and was given the title of Second-Rank Privy Councilor.

He did a good job in reorganizing the Beijing camp, laying off many old and weak soldiers and saving some military pay. Although he was slandered by many nobles, he was still promoted by Zhu Youjian.

He was also one of the few Donglin Party officials in the court who served in the Ministry of War.

Chen Qiuyu, the acting Minister of the Imperial Household Department and the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, was transferred to a real position this time and was given the title of the third-rank Privy Councilor.

After nearly a year of running-in, the Taipu Temple was still retained in the Executive Yuan, and the chief official was given the title of Ministry of War and Privy Council to cooperate with military affairs.

There was also Zhao Fu, the director of the General Office of Military Supervision, the additional right vice minister of the Ministry of War, and the right deputy censor-in-chief. This time, he was stripped of the title of right vice minister of the Ministry of War and was given the title of second-rank Privy Councilor.

Liu Kexun, the Chief Censor, was appointed to preside over the military court and was given the title of the fourth rank of Privy Councilor.

These two institutions were jointly managed by the Privy Council and the Censorate, and the chief officials held titles in both houses.

The head of the Privy Council is still Yuan Keli, the Privy Co-Director. He also concurrently served as the Chief of Staff, but this time he also resigned.

After returning to the court for more than two years, Yuan Keli had obviously aged a lot. Zhu Youjian was worried that this old minister would be exhausted to death, so he removed many of his part-time jobs.

He even arranged for imperial physicians such as Zhang Jingyue to conduct physical examinations, and gave him tonic medicines such as ginseng and sea cucumber on many occasions.

The person who took over the position of Chief of Staff was the former Deputy Minister Yang Sichang.

The strategy of "four sides and six corners, and ten sides of the network" he formulated was implemented this year and has worked. This time he was promoted from deputy minister to minister, and was given the title of the third-rank Privy Councilor, allowing him to participate in the Privy Council meetings.

The Minister of Logistics Min Mengde was originally the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. This time he was promoted to the title of Second-Rank Privy Councilor, making him one of the highest-ranking ministers in the Privy Council.

The Minister of Equipment Bi Maokang was promoted to the rank of Second-Rank Privy Councilor for his achievements in developing weapons, and was also one of the Privy Councilors.

Qin Shiwen, the Minister of Frontier Defense, was transferred to the post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. The Privy Council and the Ministry of War officials recommended Liu Zunxian to take up the vacant post of Minister of Frontier Defense.

This man was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Wanli's reign. He had served as the governor of Datong and the left vice-minister of the Ministry of War. He retired during the Tianqi period because of the growing power of the eunuch party.

Seeing that the government was in good order and the emperor was willing to pay attention to border affairs, he took the initiative to come to the capital to seek reinstatement and earn a title for his descendants.

Although Zhu Youjian did not find any great talent in him, after communicating with him, he knew that he was dedicated to his work, was quite proficient in fortifications, and was suitable for current needs.

In addition, the current border defense department is mainly responsible for the Great Wall. Liu Zunxian was born in Daming Prefecture and knew the importance of border defense. Zhu Youjian appointed him as the Minister of Border Defense and gave him the title of Second-Rank Privy Councilor.

The Minister of the Navy was still Yu Anying, who was also given the title of Second-Rank Privy Councilor.

The post of Minister of Intelligence was still held concurrently by the Jinyiwei. Zheng Shiyi was also given the title of Second Rank Privy Councillor because of his previous achievements.

The changes in the Ministry of Justice were also very big this time. The Minister of Justice Su Maoxiang was in poor health and was already satisfied after serving as one of the Nine Ministers. In addition, he was awarded the hereditary baron for his contribution to the ascension of the throne a few years ago, and it would be difficult for him to be promoted. So this time he requested to retire, and even refused to be a minister of state, wanting to return to his roots.

Zhu Youjian was already worried about the large number of ministers from Jinjiang, so he was very happy to see this. He gave Su Maoxiang the honorary title of first-class pillar of the state, the title of the crown prince's grand tutor, and allowed him to return home in a hurry.

Zhu Youjian originally wanted Li Ruogui, the left vice minister, to take over the position vacated by Su Maoxiang, but Li Ruogui was in poor health. After receiving the hereditary knighthood, he also insisted on resigning.

Zhu Youjian could not be forced, so after consulting him, he transferred him to the position of Counselor.

Therefore, the post of Minister of Punishments was entirely recommended by the court officials.

Wang Yongguang, who was quite popular in the court, moved up a few steps in the ranking of the Nine Ministers and was transferred from the Left Censor-in-Chief to this position.

The post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was recommended by the court officials to be held by Zhang Fengxiang, the Minister of Works of Nanjing, who was also given the title of Minister of State Affairs.

This person was a magistrate. The Donglin Party finally found an opportunity and added another minister to the court.

The position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice had been vacant since Kong Zhenyun took over the Lifanyuan. This time it was filled by Wu Zongta, the former Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

This was also an official from the Hanlin Academy, and was close to the Donglin Party. This time he was reinstated to serve in the Ministry of Justice to strengthen the relationship between the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites.

It can be said that the Hanlin Academy gained the most from this selection of officials. Not only did it introduce many rising stars, but also many of them served as ministers in the court.

This also shows the emperor's emphasis on etiquette and law, which was praised by his ministers. (End of this chapter)