Ming politicians

The negotiation of Hou Jinchen's surrender to the imperial court went relatively smoothly, but there were some disagreements on some key issues, such as the issue of the imperial court stationing troops in Shenyang, Liaoyang and other places, and the issue of sending generals, etc., which could not be decided for a while. In the end, Jierhalang was determined not to give in on these issues.

But in any case, the general progress of the negotiations was smooth. At this time, Zhu Youjian considered adjusting the officials.

This matter was naturally entrusted to Zhou Yanru.

Zhu Youjian valued Zhou Yanru very much. This kind of trust even surpassed Sun Chengzong. When Sun Chengzong became the chief assistant of the cabinet, he relied on his prestige in the court, but Zhou Yanru relied on trust. In the same way, Zhu Youjian has been working very hard since he was enthroned for more than ten years. He has to take care of many important things himself, and he is indeed a little tired. In addition, the conflict between the court and Su Tiancheng has become a chronic problem that cannot be resolved for the time being. , This also made Zhu Youjian feel a little pessimistic, and even considered avoiding it.

At this time, Zhou Yanru became the chief assistant of the cabinet, and many major matters were naturally entrusted directly.Zhu Youjian was less worried, and believed that Zhou Yanru would be able to handle it well. Unfortunately, Zhu Youjian had long forgotten the lessons of the past. When he first came to the throne, he faced a severe test. The struggle is extremely fierce, and the cabinet is also extremely unstable. Many ministers only think of their own interests, and they don't think about the affairs of the court at all, because there is no money to use. Zhu Youjian thought of many court ministers. There are very few people who donate money, and it has only been a few years.

Zhou Yanru, who is in power, is very beautiful. If you say that the situation in the court is good, compare it with the time when he was the chief assistant of the cabinet last time.There is a big difference, at least there is still money in the treasury, which can basically maintain everything running. At this time, Zhou Yanru's main task is to maintain the stability of the court.Moreover, we must try our best to figure out the emperor's will, and most of the things are done according to the emperor's requirements.

In this regard, Zhou Yanru has a unique advantage.

In fact, it is very easy to deceive the emperor. The cabinet is in charge of all memorials, unless they are secret memorials, but there are not many civil and military ministers who have the power of secret memorials, mainly local officials who serve as governors .This gave Zhou Yanru a lot of room to maneuver. For example, Zhou Yanru completely covered up Zhang Fengyi's arrival in the capital and did not let the emperor know. Anyway, it was not a big deal. As for the adjustment Zhang Fengyi requested, he also Considered.

The imperial court wanted to adjust the civil and military ministers, and this matter had already spread.For a while, the cabinet scholar became a hot spot pursued by many officials, and everyone wanted to be promoted and reused.What's more, there are several prominent posts vacant in the imperial court. The positions of Minister of War, Minister of Punishment and Minister of Industry are all vacant, which is rare in the past.

Of course, many officials also understand.The most important power is still in the hands of Zhou Yanru, the chief assistant of the cabinet.

Zhou Kang was very busy, but Zhou Yanru didn't have so much time to meet the visiting ministers of civil and military affairs one by one, unless they were ministers with important positions.Many times, Zhou Kang has to deal with it. Of course, Zhou Kang is already familiar with this and knows how to deal with it. During this process, Zhou Kang adheres to a principle, that is, never accept money.

This is Zhou Yanru's cleverness, and it is also a place that many civil and military ministers could not think of. Without money from others, there is a lot of room for speech, and it is not necessary to agree to some people's requests.

When Qian Qianyi came to visit, Zhou Yanru personally came forward and brought Qian Qianyi to the study for a secret talk.

Zhou Yanru knew something about the purpose of Qian Qianyi's visit, and it was for the students of Donglin Academy. Over the years, few of the students of Donglin Academy have entered the imperial court as officials, let alone been reused. , because Qian Qianyi entered the cabinet, as the leader of Donglin Academy, he spoke differently, so many Donglin students saw hope, and begged Qian Qianyi to let them enter the court as officials, so that they could serve the emperor and the court .

Qian Qianyi knew very well that Zhou Yanru's approval had to be obtained for this matter, otherwise it would not be possible. After all, the emperor trusted Zhou Yanru the most. In the cabinet, Zhou Yanru's opinion had the final decision.Of course, in order to get Zhou Yanru's approval and support, Qian Qianyi also needs to make some gestures, such as supporting Zhou Yanru's many decisions when discussing matters in the cabinet, etc. This kind of exchange, the two We all understand.

Qian Qianyi took out a list, there were more than 20 people on it, and all the positions marked on the back were expected to be adjusted.

After Zhou Yanru took over the list, he read it carefully, and secretly admired Qian Qianyi, who knew how to make demands and how not to embarrass others. The list proposed by Qian Qianyi was all from Donglin Academy. Students, some are local officials, some have won the Juren or Jinshi, studied in the Imperial Academy, and some are in the Imperial Academy. Qian Qianyi's requirements are not high, and the positions proposed are only six. Among the doctors, the rank is only the fifth rank, and many of them are the official positions of the sixth rank to the seventh rank, but the choice of place is very good. Most of them enter the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War, and the second is to enter the Ducha Among these people, most of Zhou Yanru has an impression of Zhou Yanru, but there are three people he has never heard of.Moreover, the positions arranged by these three people are also unusual.

"Master Qian, Huang Tingping, Yi Ligao, and Zou Pingzhang, I don't seem to be very familiar with them."

Qian Qianyi had a smile on his face, these three were the former Fourth Young Masters of Donglin, except Liu Yunqing who defected to Su Tiancheng, the remaining three had already passed the examination, but unfortunately they didn't get the Jinshi, they have always been After studying in the Imperial College, Qian Qianyi also valued the three of them very much after he became a cabinet scholar, and directly proposed that the three of them enter the Metropolitan Procuratorate and become the official seventh-rank supervisory censor. This is a rare thing, according to With Huang Tingping's qualifications, at most he can become a county magistrate of the eighth rank, which is a very good arrangement.

"My lord, these three are the students of the lower officials. They are all outstanding. They used to be the three sons of Donglin who are famous in Nanjing."

"Oh, so that's the case. Since he is a hero, the court must make an exception and reuse him."

The two laughed, tacit understanding.

Of course, Zhou Yanru would not continue to ask questions. Since he is a student of Qian Qianyi, it is not a big deal to arrange to be a supervisory censor in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. There are more than 100 supervisory censors in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. , It still takes time to adapt, and it will not cause much sensation.

Officials below the fifth rank can be directly decided by the cabinet. According to the rules of the imperial court, the officials of the sixth and seventh ranks can directly issue imperial edicts. The imperial edict does not necessarily need to be issued by the emperor. It is just that the imperial power has been obtained over the years To stabilize and strengthen, all the officials are ordered directly by the emperor.How could the emperor know so many low-level officials? The cabinet has the final say on everything.

After Qian Qianyi left, Zhou Kang came in.

After closing the study door, Zhou Kang began to report.

"Fang Fengnian, the servant of the Ministry of Rites, came to visit today. He thought he could become the Minister of the Ministry of Industry. Mr. Fang has been in the Ministry of Rites for many years. He is probably the oldest among all the servants. According to the master's order, the younger one did not express his opinion. The servant, Sun Tai, is thinking of going to the Ministry of Punishment and serving as Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, or to be released as a governor."

Zhou Yanru nodded slightly, but did not speak. These people were all within the scope of his thinking. As for whether he could achieve his goal, he still had to weigh it.

Zhou Kang paused and spoke again.

"Half an hour ago, Weng Tongzhang, the right servant of the Ministry of Punishment, also came, thinking that he could go to the Ministry of Industry, or be released as a governor."

Zhou Yanru sat up straight, he knew Weng Tongzhang very well, because Weng Tongzhang was Su Tiancheng's mentor, he used to be the magistrate of Pingliang Prefecture, and later he was transferred to the capital, where he served as the Minister of the Household Department, and later transferred to the Ministry of Punishment, but he was not promoted for many years.

Seeing Zhou Yanru sitting up straight, Zhou Kang hastily spoke.

"My lord, the little one didn't say anything, and he didn't even say anything in front of Mr. Weng."

Zhou Yanru smiled, not blaming Zhou Kang.

"Zhou Kang, you also know that this Weng Tongzhang is Su Tiancheng's mentor. Although he is only a mentor in the government examination, he is a teacher for a day and a father for life. After so many years, Weng Tongzhang has not been able to be promoted, even if Su Tiancheng entered The cabinet, but did not rush to promote his mentor, it can be seen that the relationship between Weng Tongzhang and Su Tiancheng is just average, Su Tiancheng used to be so popular, he recommended many officials, but Weng Tongzhang was not considered, which is interesting ah."

Zhou Kang quickly understood what Zhou Yanru meant. His master had been thinking about how to deal with Su Tiancheng. Although this was not the most important thing at the moment, it still needed to be considered.

"Master, my little suggestion is to let Weng Tongzhang go to Shandong."

Weng Tongzhang shook his head.

"Shandong cannot be moved, and the current situation must be maintained. I have to explain this to the emperor. If Shandong officials are moved, wouldn't it be obvious that they are against Su Tiancheng? At that time, I don't know how many It is difficult for me to deal with the matter, and when you are not sure, don't think about the Shandong matter. This Weng Tongzhang, I think he should stay in the court, but he can be transferred to the Ministry of War and be the left servant of the Ministry of War."

Zhou Kang lowered his head. Of course, there were many officials who came to visit the mansion. For some ordinary officials, Zhou Kang only needs to write down the names and show them to Zhou Yanru. There is no need to mention them in particular. For adjustments, my master has to discuss with many cabinet ministers, and he cannot make all the decisions by himself. (To be continued..)