Regardless of whether the nobles, officials and businessmen in Shuntian Mansion and Yingtian Mansion were still lucky, Zhu Jianyan, the Ming Emperor, led the Ming Dynasty to stay in Yingtian Mansion and ushered in the thirteenth year of Ankang.
However, after the Lantern Festival in the thirteenth year of Ankang, on the first day when the court resumed operations and the first morning of the new year, someone put another equally important issue on the table.
The sixty-three-year-old Li Hongbin, the current Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, went to Shu to ask for his retirement and return to his hometown.
As soon as Li Hongbin finished speaking, the court immediately fell completely silent.
The resignation of an old official can be communicated directly to the emperor privately, or publicly at the court.
However, in most cases, they would communicate with the emperor privately beforehand.
Especially senior bureaucrats above the level of minister.
On this basis, if the minister really wants to retire and the emperor also needs it, he will hint that the official will resign publicly in the morning.
The emperor will approve it on the spot and do other things.
Li Hongbin was born in Nagasaki County, Fengyuan Kingdom, and was the former Zuo Changshi of the Fengyuan King's Palace.
After Fengyuan Kingdom withdrew from the feudal vassal, Li Hongbin became the left-hand political officer of Fengyuan Chief Envoy, and his rank was from the third grade.
Li Hongbin was always good at dancing and played a very active role in the process of Fengyuan Kingdom withdrawing its feudal vassal and establishing provinces.
The chief envoy who appeased the king of Fengyuan and the original officials and cooperated with the subsequent court arrangements completed the restructuring.
In the next twelve years, Li Hongbin took the Chengdu exam every three years and got an excellent grade.
From Fengyuan Chief Envoy Zuo Shenzheng, he was promoted all the way to the second-rank official official minister.
Although after the emergence of Jiuqing, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is no longer the official of the outer court, it is still the most popular position among the ministers.
It was a coincidence that Li Hongbin was able to get the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
First of all, Li Hongbin himself is indeed capable and very good at being a good person.
At the same time, the emperor intended to set a benchmark for officials born in the vassal state.
Eliminate the doubts of officials born in the vassal state and prevent local officials from discriminating against officials born in the vassal state.
Let everyone believe that in the eyes of the emperor, people from the Ming Dynasty who were born in the vassal country are also Ming people, and there is no difference between them and the local people.
Finally, Li Hongbin's age is a coincidence. He turned 63 in the thirteenth year of Ankang.
The position of Minister of Civil Affairs is the last stage of political training for the emperor's chosen successor.
After sixty-three-year-old Li Hongbin became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he no longer had the chance to be promoted to Jiuqing in a normal way.
Now he can retire just two years before the emperor retires and make way for the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Now that Li Hongbin has resigned publicly, no matter whether it is the emperor's signal or not, as long as the emperor agrees, it is impossible to appoint another Minister of the Ministry of Personnel at this time. There is a high probability that the selected heir will be directly taken over.
So the emperor's successor is about to be officially announced.
Although almost all senior bureaucrats know that Zhu Jianyan's successor has already been determined.
Zhu Jianyan has a total of six sons, and only three have completed political training this year.
The key is that the treatment gap between the three princes can even be described as a huge difference.
Someone really stands out.
When he was only fifteen years old, when the Supreme Emperor was still in power, he directly received the title of prince.
Later, through the armistice and peace talks, he received a bunch of excessive rewards and became the richest prince.
I also run Daming Airlines and Dashi Clothing Store, two super manufacturers.
He also had the past of Dashi Country, a feudal country that was really extremely rich.
The other two survived until they were in their thirties, completed all practical training in local governance, and had just received the title of prince.
At present, they can only live on the prince's salary.
But no matter how obvious the speculation was, it was still speculation, and the emperor's final official announcement still focused everyone's attention.
Zhu Jianyan looked at Li Hongbin, who was bowing slightly below, and then opened the resignation letter brought by his secretary.
Zhu Jianyan basically didn't hesitate at all, he just picked up the pen and wrote two lines:
"Li Hongbin, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, is promoted to the rank of First Grade Jiuqing Tomb Slayer, and is granted the title of Prince of Nagasaki Prefecture. He is allowed to retire and return to his hometown."
Zhu Jianyan's secretary once again received the memorial from Emperor Zhu Pihou and read out Zhu Jianyan's order on the spot.
Li Hongbin bowed again to express his gratitude.
Then the most nervous moment arrived. All the courtiers pricked up their ears, waiting to verify their guesses.
Zhu Jianyan directly asked his secretary to draft the edict:
"Appoint the fourth prince Zhu Jingyuan as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."
There were no surprises, and all the officials felt relieved.
If the emperor makes a mistake at this time and does not appoint Zhu Jingyuan as the Minister of Staff, the whole court will not be at ease.
The situation, which is already somewhat unstable, may become even more turbulent.
If Zhu Jingyuan is not allowed to be the heir, a lot of major problems will arise in the current good situation.
The resources Zhu Jingyuan has at his disposal will become a big problem for the next emperor.
But at the same time, the entanglement in my heart became intense again.
The matter of announcing the heir was all handled directly in Yingtian Mansion. The emperor really didn't want to go back to Shuntian Mansion.
Now that the news was finally confirmed, Zhu Jingyuan himself breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he did all kinds of things and caused a lot of trouble for his father, he still trusted him.
Zhu Jingyuan bowed obediently to thank him, took over the imperial edict prepared on the spot, and then clarified another question:
"Father, should we return to Shuntian Mansion?"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone at the scene pricked up their ears.
Ordinary ministers would be embarrassed to ask this question, but Zhu Jingyuan was just right.
Even if the emperor doesn't answer, he won't blame anyone.
Zhu Jianyan glanced at Zhu Jingyuan, and his feelings towards this boy were still so direct:
"Why do you want to return to Shuntian Mansion? Do you want to go home to Shuntian Mansion?"
Zhu Jingyuan immediately said:
"My son is indeed homesick, but more importantly, Shuntian Mansion is the capital of the country.
"Father has been here for a year and a half on his southern tour, and has spent two New Years in Yingtian Mansion.
"The people of Shuntian Mansion are all looking forward to it, hoping that my father will return to the north as soon as possible."
Zhu Jianyan said directly:
“Yingtianfu is also the capital, the old city of Shuntianfu is Beijing, and the city of Yingtianfu is Nanjing.
"In the past three hundred years or so, the imperial court has stayed in Shuntian Mansion most of the time, and the people of Yingtian Mansion are also looking forward to it.
"From now on, let's stay in Yingtian Mansion for hundreds of years..."
With Zhu Jingyuan's cooperation, the emperor finally made it clear.
Although there is no Yingtian Mansion, the imperial court will stay in Yingtian Mansion for "hundreds of years."
This is no different from moving the capital.
When the news was confirmed, the court immediately remembered the whispers.
Some officials who come from bureaucratic families have basically accepted their fate.
Yingtianfu is also very good. Living in the Jiangnan water town is indeed more comfortable than Shuntian, and the living and entertainment facilities are richer.
But it is more difficult for bureaucrats who have property at home to accept this.
Officials from the south actually did not want the imperial court to continue to stay in Yingtian Mansion.
From Jiangnan, far away from the capital, to the capital of the imperial city under the eyes of the emperor, the market and officialdom will become harsh.
Many things that were possible in the past may not be possible in the future.
Things that I could originally influence and control were interfered with by more powerful individuals.
Officials in the north did not hope that the imperial court would completely return to Yingtianfu.
They have become accustomed to using their connections with the central court to deal with various matters in life.
Completely away from the central court, not only the lifestyle will change, the key is that the market rules will be reshuffled.
Being far away in the south of the Yangtze River, my influence on my hometown will definitely be weakened.
However, due to the system created by Emperor Shizu, the current emperors of the Ming Dynasty are very powerful and basically have Chengzu-level authority.
The emperor wanted to return the capital, not to move to a strange place, but to return the old capital, which would be difficult for his ministers to resist.
Many people began to expect that after the new emperor ascended the throne, he would return to Shuntian Mansion again.
The original founder Zhu Di moved the capital to Shuntianfu in the 19th year of Yongle, and died in the 22nd year of Yongle.
Renzong Zhu Gaochi, who succeeded to the throne, wanted to move the palace back to Yingtian Mansion.
As a result, Zhu Gaochi died after less than a year as emperor.
Zhu Zhanji, who succeeded Xuanzong, liked the north as much as his grandfather, but ended up not wanting to move back.
Huanying Tianfu's plan just came to nothing.
The current emperor Zhu Jianyan still lives in Tianfu, but the successor Zhu Jingyuan seems to prefer the north.
Zhu Jingyuan is definitely not a premature senile person. If he wants to return Du Shuntian Mansion, he will definitely have time to complete the procedures.
So many people began to place their hopes on Zhu Jingyuan.
It's just that they don't know that the matter of returning to Yingtian Mansion was originally Zhu Jingyuan's suggestion.
Otherwise, even if Zhu Jianyan had considered similar things in his mind, it would be difficult for him to really decide to move the capital here.
So if nothing else, this group of people is destined to be disappointed again.
But regardless of whether they will be disappointed in the future or not, there is finally an official phased response to the question of whether the emperor will return to Shuntian Mansion.
There is no need to discuss this matter again before the new emperor takes the throne.
No matter what your intentions are, just work honestly in Yingtian Mansion for a few years.
Zhu Jingyuan took office as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. After the emperor answered the question of not returning to Shuntian Mansion, the court became more stable.
After the two most important matters were determined, the morning court began to deal with daily affairs.
The new plans for the new year, the reforms that are about to start and continue to be promoted, the various projects and affairs that need to be continued, and the various things that need to be confirmed by the emperor were all discussed one by one.
The morning morning on the first day of the New Year is often longer and has more things to do.
So it lasted until noon without finishing.
However, the morning court ended normally, and the corresponding officials returned to their yamen to work.
The emperor is responsible for decisions at the level he is responsible for, and the nine ministers and ministers also need time to deal with their own affairs.
If you can't finish it in one day, you can only do it separately.
Wait until the morning of the next day to continue discussing the unfinished issues.
After Zhu Jingyuan went to court, he went to have a meal first and then returned to the Jianghuai Chief Executive's Office in the afternoon to preside over the annual meeting of the Chief Executive's Office.
The new Jianghuai Chief Envoy has not yet taken office, so Zhu Jingyuan must continue to take on this job.
Li Hongbin, who has resigned, will continue to be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Two days later, the new Chief Envoy of Jianghuai arrived and Zhu Jingyuan began to handle the handover tasks.
It was not until February 15th of the 13th year of Ankang that Zhu Jingyuan finally finished his duties as chief envoy to the Yamen of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and went to the Yamen of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to handle the handover work with Li Hongbin as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Li Hongbin is very satisfied with his retirement benefits.
Because of his age, he was originally not qualified to be the ninth minister, but during the half month before retirement, he became the ninth minister.
He also received the lifelong title of Viscount as he wished.
It can already be regarded as an honorable retirement.
As someone who was born in a vassal country, to be treated like this can definitely be regarded as an honorable retirement.
All this is thanks to Prince Dashi.
When Zhu Jingyuan came to the Ministry of Personnel, Li Hongbin directly led people to greet him outside the courtyard.
When he saw Zhu Jingyuan getting out of the car, he immediately bowed and said hello.
Zhu Jingyuan hurried over and helped Li Hongbin, who was very respectful:
"Tsukazai is so polite..."
After the two met, Li Hongbin did not immediately take Zhu Jingyuan to handle the handover. Instead, he invited Zhu Jingyuan to his office.
He asked Zhu Jingyuan to sit down in his seat, sat opposite Zhu Jingyuan, and then began to "lecture" to Zhu Jingyuan:
"Your Highness, before the formal handover, please redeem me for a while.
"Please listen to the old minister recite a few words about some miscellaneous matters that are not part of your job as Minister of Civil Affairs, but have a certain impact on your holding this official position."
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and nodded. This was obviously what he wanted to know and should know:
"Tsukazai, please speak, I am all ears."
Li Hongbin quickly smiled and waved:
"Your Highness, you are too polite. I will never dare to hide anything. Now let's start with the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
"It is not easy to be the official of the Ministry of Personnel, especially after the official establishment of Jiuqing.
“It is directly related to the appointment and removal of all officials except Jiuqing and Shangshu, and it also affects the appointment and removal of Shangshu and even Jiuqing.
“According to the experience of His Majesty Emperor Shizu Guangwu, the number of people that any one person can be directly familiar with and understand is limited.
“The number of second-grade officials has exceeded the upper limit.
“Officials of third rank and above are already two orders of magnitude higher.
“So even when His Majesty wants to select a new Minister, in most cases he will listen to the opinions of the Ministry of Personnel.
"Even if other officials have recommendations, or even His Majesty himself has an impression, he will ask the Ministry of Personnel to check the relevant files.
“The Ministry of Personnel holds the files of bureaucrats all over the world, and the answers they give to His Majesty’s inquiries will affect the careers of most bureaucrats at lower levels or even at the same level.
"Not to mention that few people can be completely selfless.
“Even if I really do it, other people involved in business dealings and arrangements will not believe that a minister in this position can be selfless.
“As long as the parties involved suspect that their arrangements are unfair, they may harbor resentment against the officials.
"The Minister of Rites, who is no longer Tsukasa, is the first to bear the brunt.
“In order to secure this position and run the work of the Ministry of Civil Affairs well, there must be a semi-public rule besides the rules.
"A set of rules for selecting and recommending officials that can be recognized and accepted by most people in the officialdom, and that are as fair and easy to verify as possible.
“In the absence of direct appointment by His Majesty in person, most official positions will be arranged according to this rule.
“Let the people involved know why they were selected and why they were not selected.
“All principal officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs should understand and abide by this rule as much as possible.
"As a prince, His Highness can make exceptions in the officialdom and don't care about the rules of the officialdom.
"No one with a right mind would have any direct conflict with the prince who is the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
"No matter what His Highness thinks, no matter how His Highness wants to be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, all the official affairs of the Ministry of Personnel arranged by His Highness must be completely smooth...
“No matter what the officials have in mind, they will definitely cooperate with the prince at this time to do his job as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
"but……"
Li Hongbin paused slightly here and carefully observed Zhu Jingyuan's reaction.
Although Li Hongbin is already retired, the previous words are straightforward enough.
However, what follows this "but" will be more straightforward and even transgressive...
It would be better if His Highness could understand it on his own, and Li Hongbin himself didn't have to say it directly.
Zhu Jingyuan was also very cooperative and took up Li Hongbin's words quite seriously:
“The prince’s first task as Minister of Civil Affairs is to figure out the logic of appointment and removal of personnel in the imperial court.
“And figuring out the explicit and implicit rules within the bureaucracy.
"If the prince didn't go deeper and was simply flattered by his subordinates, he would have wasted two years in this position.
“The first two years of being an official may go very smoothly, but after that, you may lose touch with the court.
“Whenever you encounter anything, when you are about to make any major decision, you cannot predict the reaction of the bureaucracy.
"So I ask Tsukasa not to hide anything."
Zhu Jingyuan could roughly guess that the so-called selection rules were mostly based on seniority.
Plus some other strings attached.
Which positions can be promoted to which positions, and what conditions must the corresponding personnel meet to be eligible for promotion. After I meet those conditions, I will enter the queue list.
What special qualifications do you have to jump in line?
Which special official positions require special conditions, etc.
Li Hongbin's appointment as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs actually involves various rules related to it.
This can all be regarded as part of China’s traditional culture.
The emperor's direct appointment was the exception among exceptions, and all rules were of no use.
So, is it useful for the emperor to understand these rules?
Still very useful...
In the appointment of a third-grade or even second-grade official, if the candidate recommended by the Ministry of Personnel and other nine ministers obviously or even completely does not comply with this set of rules, the emperor can consider asking Dongchang to investigate whether there is corruption.
If the emperor does not understand these rules, the bureaucracy risks spiraling out of control.
The Ministry of Personnel is the most convenient place to directly contact and understand these rules.
Therefore, Emperor Shizu Guangwu left a rule that the successor chosen by the emperor must go to the staff department...
When Li Hongbin heard Zhu Jingyuan's response, he knew that His Highness knew what he was talking about.
I also breathed a sigh of relief, it would save my worries to talk to someone who understands.
Li Hongbin happily handed over to Zhu Jingyuan:
"His Royal Highness is indeed very intelligent. This veteran must tell you everything he knows..."
(End of chapter)
