After hearing this, Guo Zhengyu waved his hands and said, "No need!"
Then, Guo Zhengyu bowed to Xie Jie and said, "But I still want to thank you for speaking out for me. You are worthy of being my best friend!"
"Why do you insist on going?!"
"Your Majesty may have just said something out of anger in the Imperial Palace today. I'm afraid that now, Your Majesty has already regretted what he said to you today!"
Xie Jie said at this time.
Guo Zhengyu glanced at him, and then said: "Did your Majesty say something out of anger?"
Having said this, he looked at the moonlight outside, and continued: "Let's talk about it, if the government is not in line with the original intention, what is the point of staying in the center? It is better to roam in the forest!"
Xie Jie hurriedly said: "Once Duke leaves, it may be difficult to return to the temple. It will be a huge loss to the country and the people!"
Xie Jie wiped the corners of his eyes as he spoke, as if he was really crying for Guo Zhengyu.
On the contrary, Guo Zhengyu comforted Xie Jie: "Why do you need to shed tears for me! I have a sage in the country, but I am afraid that there will be no virtuous ministers to help me? What's more, your majesty is right. If I stay in the court any longer, I'm afraid I won't be able to see you." auxiliary."
Xie Jie nodded and said: "I know, I just feel sorry for you."
Guo Zhengyu said nothing after hearing this.
after awhile.
Guo Zhengyu sighed: "Actually, personal career is nothing. I'm just worried that if Wang Taicang really lets Ming Dynasty Qian Faxing Yin eat all his food, will the consequences be really serious?"
"After all, throughout the ages, no wise king or prime minister has advocated doing this."
"At that time, Zhang Taiyue also advocated economical use of national funds! He worked hard to solve the deficit and make the country have more savings. Only he, Wang Taicang, wanted to do the opposite. I really don't know whether it was a disaster or a blessing. !”
"Hopefully he's right."
"It's just that there is no precedent for his approach! So it always makes people uneasy."
After Guo Zhengyu said that, he looked back at Xie Jie.
Xie Jie smiled and said: "I am not a prime minister or assistant. I don't have a high understanding of how to govern the country and ensure peace of the country. I can't say much."
Guo Zhengyu couldn't say anything else, so he went to the chief minister's official residence and met Wang Xijue.
Wang Xijue asked: "Why did the Duke come to visit late at night?"
Guo Zhengyu said: "I have decided to submit my resignation. Please don't ask Yuan Fu to stay when the vote is drawn up."
Wang Xijue took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "I have no intention of retaining the Duke for my country."
Guo Zhengyu was stunned for a moment, his face turned slightly red.
But at this time, Wang Xijue spoke again: "Isn't this the only reason why I'm here?"
Guo Zhengyu nodded and replied: "That's right! Today in front of the emperor, I haven't gotten an answer from Yuan Fu for my speculation about Yuan Fu, so I came here to ask Yuan Fu for an answer. Otherwise, if I don't have this answer, , I can never return to my hometown with peace of mind."
"You might as well speak more clearly."
Wang Xijue replied at this time.
Guo Zhengyu really sat upright and said: "Yuan Fu advocates that the annual debt of the imperial court should be more than the annual income. Is it really for the long-term benefit of the country, or is it just for the sake of personal achievements that can far surpass Zhang and Shen?"
boom!
Wang Xijue put the tea cup on the table: "My lord, I have always regarded myself as a gentleman, why do you treat people like this?!"
Guo Zhengyu was speechless. After a while, he nodded, then stood up and said:
"I shouldn't have come today, farewell!"
Wang Xijue nodded.
At this time, Yang Junmin, the censor of Zuodu, walked out from behind the screen.
He had been talking to Wang Xijue here before Guo Zhengyu arrived, but because Guo Zhengyu suddenly came to the chief minister's residence, Wang Xijue also chose to meet Guo Zhengyu first, so Yang Junmin took the initiative to temporarily hide behind the screen for a while, and He expressed his unwillingness to see Guo Zhengyu again.
It wasn't until he saw Guo Zhengyu leaving that he stood up and said to Wang Xijue: "Guo Minglong is still a bookish person after all!"
"But all scholars have the ambition to serve the country, and he is no exception."
Wang Xijue also smiled and replied at this time.
Yang Junmin looked at Wang Xijue and smiled: "Fortunately, His Majesty trusts Yuan Fu. Next, Yuan Fu can make great achievements."
"I'm a scholar too!"
Wang Xijue replied, and then added: "I am walking on thin ice and nervous about presiding over the restructuring, and I don't dare to do something unprecedented. After all, if I make a mistake, I will be infamy for the ages!"
"Gong Yuanfu is loyal to the country, and there are some things that he has to do."
Yang Junmin replied with a smile.
"It's not something I have to do."
"In today's world, people from all over the world are at home, scholars have no difficulty in developing their talents, and people have no worries about hunger. The national wealth and people's interests are increasing all the time, and there are still many external interests that have not been tapped like mountains of gold."
"So it can be said that even if we really take one step at a time and seek stability and peace, it will not be a problem for the prosperous age to last for a hundred years. It is very promising for the country to transcend the shackles of three hundred years."
Wang Xijue said: "I personally don't need to compete with Zhang Shen for the sake of posthumous fame. I have to do something unprecedented. It is also a prudent and wise move to gain the reputation of a good prime minister like Xiao Gui Cao. I am afraid that only those in the world will respect me and respect me, and there will be no one who will destroy me or belittle me."
Yang Junmin smiled coquettishly: "That's right, it's just that."
"It's just this person. As the saying goes, if you are less than a hundred years old, you will always worry about a thousand years old."
"It's okay if you don't know or understand some truths. You can be a fool and live a complacent life, enjoying the admiration of the world with peace of mind."
"But as long as you understand something, you won't feel at ease."
Wang Xijue took Yang Junmin's words and said, "If I don't tell His Majesty what I think and see, I will feel uneasy."
Wang Xijue then stood up and said, "But whether you choose to implement a financial concept like mine is entirely up to Your Majesty!"
"However, if His Majesty does not support me and supports Guo Minglong and others, I will feel at ease! After all, the prudent strategy advocated by Guo Minglong and others is also highly praised by the former Grand Master, so it cannot be said that it is not good, I can only say that it is not innovative enough, and the key point is that it is consistent The people of the world really have to wait for the shortcomings to be criticized, which will already be several generations later, so why should they care about praise and criticism at that time?"
"Even if there is praise or criticism, it will be because it is in line with the people of the world in advance, so the blame will only be borne by everyone in the world, instead of the chief minister alone."
"But now, His Majesty supports my idea, which makes me feel uneasy!"
Wang Xijue looked up to the sky and sighed as he spoke.
"The most difficult thing for people to seek is peace of mind!"
"If Yuan Fu wants peace of mind, it would be better not to come to this world!"
Yang Junmin replied bluntly at this time.
After hearing this, Wang Xijue felt as if he was enlightened and said: "What you said is very true. It is better to do your best and obey the destiny!"
"Yes, if Your Majesty wants it to be like this, then it will be like this!"
Yang Junmin nodded and said with a smile.
Wang Xijue nodded, and then said: "It's just that this thing may not be possible. When I put forward such a point of view, it is just throwing stones at others. The most fundamental thing is that it depends on whether your majesty dares to make further changes in the ancestral system." step!"
After hearing this, Yang Junmin thought for a while and asked: "Yuanfu means that this financial turn is just a trivial matter. What he really wants to see is whether His Majesty is willing to let Yuanfu do such an unprecedented thing?"
"That's right!"
"It's not just Guo Minglong who is uneasy about Yin eating Mao grain. I'm afraid everyone in the world is also uneasy. After all, for thousands of years, we Han people have been accustomed to eating as much grain as we can."
"When Zhang Taiyue was in power, he was named Fu Bi and was actually the regent. When Shenwu County was in power, he just took advantage of Zhang Dang's concerns and changed the etiquette system according to his actions. Qi Penglai is a member of the noble army and has the support of a military official;"
"So, they are doing something against the people of the world, and there are people who support them, so they are not afraid!"
"I don't have any natural wings that I can use. If I want to do something that makes the world uneasy, I must have the power to govern the world that truly comes from the imperial power of the Tianxian Constitution. Otherwise, who would dare to violate the people of the world?"
After Wang Xijue nodded, he looked towards where Ziweixing was.
…
"Wang Xijue wants me to allow the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty to have the real and legal power to appoint the nine ministers."
Zhu Yijun quickly received the content of the conversation between Wang Xijue, Guo Zhengyu and Yang Junmin from Jin Yiwei, so he spoke meaningfully.
"Your Majesty, the ministers believe that Yuan Fu should not have such rebellious thoughts!"
Huang Xun, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, couldn't help but make a report.
Zhu Yijun therefore asked: "Why are you so treasonous?"
Huang Xun replied: "This dynasty cannot have a prime minister in Zhongshu. Not to mention it is an ancestral system. However, in the dynasty, the ministries and academies are directly under the control of the emperor. This has been a long-standing system. Therefore, this system has no Really powerful ministers bring harm to the country. Even if there are occasional eunuchs and traitorous ministers, the emperor can destroy them with the help of his hands. If there is a real name for prime minister power, he must have the respect of the prime minister. In this way, the emperor must be cautious no matter how he kills the prime minister. , even if you dismiss the prime minister, you have to be careful, because once the title of prime minister is given, it must represent the face of the heavenly family and the dignity of the country."
Zhu Yijun said: "But only the actual power of the prime minister, without the name of the prime minister's power, is to govern the country by skills, which is difficult to win the hearts of the world."
"That's what the emperor said."
Huang Xun replied at this time.
Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang deposed the prime minister, the Ming Dynasty has always had a problem: the power of the prime minister is unknown, that is, there is no supreme chief executive under the king.
Institutionally, the chief minister of the cabinet is only the emperor's secretary. He is not the superior of the six ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and he has no right to comment on their appointments.
In this way, if the chief minister of the cabinet wants to do something, if one of the six ministers disapproves, he can only use conspiracy methods to make him leave or get rid of him, and in the name of the emperor.
Conspiracies have always been shady and easily misunderstood.
Therefore, if a chief minister in the Ming Dynasty wanted to do something and got rid of a minister, he would be labeled as a traitor who used conspiracy to exclude dissidents.
And if a chief minister wants to do something and appoints a minister, he will be labeled as citing private parties and using power for personal gain.
Because the process itself of the chief minister in removing and appointing ministers is illegal.
Therefore, ministers and people in the world who oppose the chief minister's governing program can arbitrarily use this illegal procedure to deny the chief minister's character, and then deny his governing authority, and even deny his party members.
This is the biggest headache for the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty.
If you want to do something, but there is no corresponding system to ensure that you can use your power openly and to convince the world, you can only use power tactics or even conspiracy, such as making friends with eunuchs, using tricks in the house to win over the king to maintain his favor, or even using fellow countrymen or people first. Make friends in the name of fellow students.
In short, no method can be put on the table, and it cannot be done openly and justly from the beginning, but must be done from the perspective of selfishness.
As a result, the chief minister's innate unfairness in governing will lead to the treacherous ministers not being like treacherous ministers and the loyal ministers not being loyal ministers. Moreover, if the innate injustice is inherent, it will be difficult to convince people and it is easy to cause misunderstandings.
Historically, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Gu Yanwu learned from the pain. When analyzing the major shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty, he listed the lack of name of the prime minister as an important reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
Because after the middle period of Wanli in history, the entire struggle in the Ming Dynasty revolved around finding out the reason for the chief minister's personal gain and then impeaching the chief minister. Then the chief minister was forced to resign on his own initiative, and then a new chief minister was elected, and then a new chief minister was found. The drama was staged in which the new chief minister was impeached for personal reasons and forced the new chief minister to resign again.
The rise of the Jin Dynasty and the peasant uprising were not as important as this in the eyes of the bureaucrats.
in addition.
What Zhu Yijun had to admit was that although the Ming Dynasty did not have the name of Prime Minister, after strong men like Zhu Yuanzhang, the entire empire still needed the role of Prime Minister to act as a mediator between the monarch and the bureaucrats, otherwise it would not Let the ministers of the cabinet have the actual power of the prime minister, and even the reality of the power of the prime minister will become more obvious later.
Jiajing, who was good at exercising power and unwilling to delegate power easily, had to increase the power of his cabinet ministers. He was even the first emperor in the Ming Dynasty to take the initiative to set up subordinate officials and exclusive offices for his cabinet ministers.
This was naturally not because Jiajing was willing to elevate the status of civil servants, but to make it easier for him, the emperor, to exercise power.
After all, when the Ming Dynasty developed later, it was no longer a simple agricultural empire, and the group of scholar-bureaucrats was not as simple as it was in the early days of the country. Therefore, in the later years, it would be impossible without a prime minister who played the role of buffer and bridge.
If Zhu Yijun wants to be comfortable as the emperor and have an official tool to control the bureaucracy according to his own will, he needs to give this official tool the name of a center. He does not want to face the battles of the bureaucracy alone.
If the entire empire's bureaucracy was a computer, then Zhu Yijun would need a dedicated space to store the central processor, that is, he would need a person who could actually assume the functions of the computer.
Huang Xun's objection was naturally because he was worried that this would further weaken his status as the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
Zhu Yijun did not expose it and only said at this time: "The emperor is chosen by heaven. In the previous dynasties, the prime minister was always appointed by the emperor, so the prime minister was also chosen by heaven. But in this dynasty, the chief minister is first selected by the court and then appointed by the emperor." point."
"Therefore, in this dynasty, the chief minister is the minister responsible for the affairs of the prime minister jointly decided by the emperor and the people of the world. Therefore, if we really want to realize the idea of the chief minister now, it is not to let the chief minister have the title of prime minister. It is not to set up a prime minister, but to let him With the title of Prime Minister's Affairs, it is consistent with the Tianxian and it is administration on my behalf, which is different from that of the Prime Minister!"
"Once the first assistant fails in his duties, his responsibility lies not only with the emperor, but also with the people of the world. On the other hand, if the first assistant is determined at all, his power comes not only from the emperor, but also from the people of the world. Therefore, since the first assistant is the descendant of the emperor and the people of the world, Those who are elected should also be nominated by the people of the world and the emperor to be selected by various ministers."
After Zhu Yijun said that, he said: "Let the official who accepts the decree prepare the decree accordingly."
The two eunuchs Huang Xun and Tian Yi couldn't help but look at each other.
Seeing that the two of them had not moved, Zhu Yijun asked in a deep voice: "What, do you still have something to say?"
(End of chapter)
