back to ancient times to be emperor

Chapter 16 Governing a Great Country is Like Cooking Small Fresh Food

In order to win a good impression, the Ministry of Officials also put forth their best skills. Acting Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Wu Xianzhi, not only did it himself, but also turned on the lights and worked all night. Finally, in the morning of the second day, he came up with Institutional norms of the Cabinet and the Military Staff.

As soon as Lu Chengqi stepped into the Chuigong Hall, the eunuch on duty came in to report, and Wu Xianzhi asked to see him outside the hall.Lu Chengqi was getting dizzy from piles of memorials, so he immediately said, "Please come in."

Not long after, a young man with panda eyes strode in and saluted, "I've seen Your Majesty."

Lu Chengqi saw that although his black circles were thick, but his spirit was extremely uplifted, he knew that there was a cabinet and a staff department.Immediately said with a smile: "Come here, show Wu Qing a seat!"

Wu Xianzhi obviously didn't care about sitting down, so he took out a memorial from his bosom, handed it to Lu Chengqi, and said, "Your Majesty, it's a good thing that I don't disgrace my life!"

Lu Chengqi didn't care about him either, and immediately spread out the memorial and looked at it carefully.In Lu Chengqi's plan, the cabinet ministers only have the right to consult and have no decision-making power.Of course, they can still make decisions about trivial matters.

What made Lu Chengqi laugh and cry was that since reviewing the memorial for more than half a month, even some ancestral hall disputes were presented to him, and Lu Chengqi directly approved two words - "boring" and dismissed it.It was also at that time that Lu Chengqi thought of the cabinet system.

However, in the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the head and assistant was equivalent to that of the prime minister. It was because the cabinet was too small, the power struggle was too fierce, and most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were absurd, so that the power was left behind.Lu Chengqi intends to write in the law, "Cabinet ministers, whether they are chief ministers or cabinet ministers, are appointed by the emperor. Once the emperor does not trust the cabinet ministers, they can be removed at any time."

The disadvantage of the cabinet system in the Ming Dynasty was that although the cabinet had the power to make proposals, it had to rely on eunuchs to deliver memorials.This greatly violated Lu Chengqi's bottom line, so Lu Chengqi directly stipulated that the memorial must first be sent to the Wende Hall, first reviewed by the cabinet ministers, and then sent to the Chuigong Hall for him to make the final decision.This matter of governing the country is like cooking small fish, if one is not careful, tens of millions of people will suffer.Lu Chengqi did this just to be cautious.

As for the number of cabinet members, it is best to set it at 12 people.It is said that three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang.Not to mention the twelve learned and talented cabinet ministers?Although I dare not say that the efficiency of work has been improved, it can minimize mistakes.

At the same time, Lu Chengqi stipulated that as a cabinet minister, he could not be in charge of the six ministries, and the power of the country must not be concentrated in a certain minister. After all, this was the feudal era, and Lu Chengqi was still afraid that someone would rebel against him.

Lu Chengqi frowned when he saw that there was no restriction on imperial power in the cabinet, and Wu Xianzhi was terrified.After a series of rectification actions, the entire court was plunged into wind and rain, and Lu Chengqi's prestige reached the highest.

Lu Chengqi said slowly: "It needs to be revised again. I hope to see that the cabinet ministers must accept the emperor's will, as long as it is not absurd. But if it is too absurd, it must be rejected. The cabinet ministers must assist the emperor with all their heart. Do not interfere with the affairs of the harem."

Only then did Wu Xianzhi settle down, and said, "I will change it when I get back."

Lu Chengqi looked at the staff department again. He didn't know much about military affairs, but he understood that professional matters should be handled by professionals.Most of the military officers in the court were promoted by military merit.This is all due to Wenzong's military reform, which was able to establish this relatively good military officer promotion system.However, there are also some people who rely on hereditary military officers to sneak in, and Lu Chengqi is well aware of it.In a dynasty, there will always be some privileged families, which is inevitable.But how to make the descendants of these special families useful?Lu Chengqi didn't have a clue for a while, so he had no choice but to let them mix into the staff department.

Lu Chengqi flipped through each word, but didn't see anything wrong.The staff department is just a means for him to improve his status as a general. Lu Chengqi's goal is very simple, that is: if you forget the battle, you will be in danger!As the old saying goes, born in sorrow and died in peace, a country has lost even a little blood, and this country has reached the brink of subjugation.The example of Man Qing is still vivid in his memory, Lu Chengqi dare not take it lightly.

Lu Chengqi collected the memorial, handed it back to Wu Xianzhi, and said: "Overall, it's not bad. Remember what I said, and revise it immediately when you go back. Wu Qing, after this eradication of corrupt officials, are there still officials to fill the vacancies?"

Wu Xianzhi said respectfully: "Returning to Your Majesty, there are still many alternate officials. Your Majesty does not need to worry too much. It's just that there are not many skilled officials."

Lu Chengqi said: "Well, I understand, you go down and do things. After the revision is completed, I will give you the list of cabinet ministers."

Wu Xianzhi said: "My minister resigns."

Lu Chengqi sat alone in the Chuigong Hall for a while, and suddenly said loudly: "Come here, please come and see the Minister of Rites!"

To be an official in the Dashun Dynasty, although the salary is quite high, you have to get up early and report to various departments, which is called Yingmao.That is to say, before Chenshi, you have to sign in.If you are late, there will be a merit test record, and once you are late, your salary will be deducted, oh no, it is salary.

The offices of the six ministries are all in the imperial palace. If the emperor summons you and you are not there, it will be a great dereliction of duty.Feng Chengping, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites received Lu Chengqi's summons, he didn't dare to neglect, immediately put down the work in hand, and followed the servant who passed on the word, all the way to the Chuigong Hall.

In fact, Feng Chengping was quite uneasy in his heart. He was also a corrupt official, but he pleaded guilty very well. He almost gave up all his family wealth and donated it all to the national treasury. However, he still felt a little uneasy because he had everything in Lu Chengqi's hands.

Stepping into the Chuigong Hall, Feng Chengping immediately saluted and said: "My minister sees Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty..."

Lu Chengqi said impatiently: "Okay, don't talk about these useless words, let me ask you, when is Chunwei?"

Feng Chengping didn't dare to hesitate, and immediately replied: "Your Majesty, I have been recruiting scholars for three years, and Enke was held only after His Majesty ascended the throne last year, so the Spring Festival will be held two years later."

Lu Chengqi frowned and said: "I can't wait any longer, I need talents, how about this, I decree to convene the Enke, open the examination to select scholars, the topic is drawn up by myself, as long as there is a meritorious reputation, it can participate, and it will be announced to the whole country, next year The exam will start on February [-]th."

Now that Lu Chengqi's power has reached its peak, even if Feng Chengping is dissatisfied, how dare he refute it?He had no choice but to say: "I obey the order."

Immediately, Lu Chengqi called the eunuch Bingbi, drew up an imperial decree, stamped it with the imperial jade seal of "Designed by Heaven, and live forever", and handed it to Feng Chengping, saying: "Today is the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, and there is still half a year to go." , Enough for the students to hurry, you go down and prepare!"

After dismissing Feng Chengping, Lu Chengqi heaved a sigh of relief, but when he saw the mountain of memorials, Lu Chengqi couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Being the emperor is really a tiring job, and it's also the number one high-risk occupation. Uncertain when it will fall on top of the pile of memorials..."

But what Lu Chengqi didn't know was that since he cleared the officialdom, not only his prestige reached the highest point, but he also won the support of the majority of the people.Everyone happily watched the corrupt officials being caught by the inspectors and their property confiscated. They all clapped their hands and cheered, and some even lit firecrackers to celebrate...

(End of this chapter)