In Gao Pragmatic's view, there are many types of strength.
Like Yan Song, he relies on guessing the emperor's thoughts at all times, thinking about what the emperor wants in everything, being anxious about the emperor's urgent needs, doing everything appropriately, and not being afraid of what others say. This is strength.
Like Xu Jie, he relied on forbearance for many years, won over party members, and established a wide range of opinions. He had obviously been complicit in the evil, but in the end he was able to clear his name. Instead, he gained unparalleled prestige and was praised as a good person at home. This is strength.
Like Gao Gong, relying on the emperor's students' unparalleled support for him, even if he is not the first assistant, he is actually the first assistant. The disciples would rather die than rebel. This is strength.
Just like Zhang Juzheng, relying on internal and external collusion and the Queen Mother's dependence, the emperor was deeply afraid of saying "Let Mr. Zhang hear about it, what can I do?" This is strength.
Like Ye Xianggao, relying on... well, relying on no matter what the nonsense reasons are, anyway, if someone can be alone for seven years, that can be regarded as strength.
But are these strengths really considered strengths? In other words, are these strengths considered hard power?
No, these don't count.
What is hard power? Except for you, it's useless for anyone else to be the first assistant. That's called hard power!
It stands to reason that in the Ming Dynasty, this situation was simply a fantasy - without you Zhang Butcher, the emperor would have to eat pigs with hair on them? If we change the chief minister, the world will not be able to function normally, and the sun will rise and the moon will stop?
This kind of situation actually happened at certain times. For example, Zhou Gongdan was the leader of the people, and the world's focus was irreplaceable. Another example is Cao Cao, who was the most powerful warrior in the world, overwhelming all heroes, and irreplaceable.
However, those were all abnormal phenomena that appeared under special circumstances in a special era, and they did not seem to be what might happen in the Ming Dynasty. After all, under the system designed by Zhu Yuanzhang, it seemed impossible for someone within the imperial court to threaten the imperial power.
Unless the world is in chaos and reaches the point where Chongzhen has nothing to do with Zuo Liangyu - but after all, Zuo Liangyu is only a minister of the Ming Dynasty, but actually a separatist regime, and has not taken advantage of the situation to become the chief minister.
Therefore, Gao Pragmatic's desire to have this kind of strength is really unreliable no matter how you look at it.
But he is really working towards this goal.
Because he knew that otherwise, it would be impossible to change the deep-rooted power structure of the Ming Dynasty and achieve the best system under his ideal imperial system.
When Gao Pragmatic looked at the history of the Ming Dynasty, he saw that the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty was already the predecessor of Panzi politics.
He didn't care whether his predecessor was tall or pragmatic, and he didn't want to delve into it, because he was an extremely pragmatic person. Anyway, in his opinion, he never saw anything happening in the Ming Dynasty - even when it perished.
Does the cabinet system mean it’s broken?
As long as the Chief of Ceremonies, who represents the imperial power, does not approve it, your cabinet draft is just a piece of straw. Can it be implemented as an administrative decree?
Historically, Emperor Wanli had a stalemate with the civil service group because of the dispute over the country's foundation. After many official positions were vacant, the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel and other departments recommended successors. When the votes came to the emperor, Wanli picked a few missing people. It is true that big things will happen. Approval is needed. Most of the succession of vacant official positions is not approved. What will be the result? The result was that these positions were vacant for many years.
Why is this happening? Because from a institutional perspective, the final and sole decision on the appointment and dismissal of these officials rests with the emperor. Whether it is the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, or even the cabinet, they only have the power to recommend, not to appoint or dismiss. If the former official in this position dies of illness and the emperor does not approve the recommendation of the cabinet or the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, then the position can only be left vacant until he is in the mood to approve it.
Does it mean that courtiers need to be recommended by court to join the cabinet?
Innocent! If the emperor does not agree, even if you recommend him a hundred times, he will not be able to enter the cabinet. What's more, there is another way to enter the cabinet called "by special order". This is like writing code in later generations. Zhu Yuanzhang left such "low-level loopholes" long ago.
The ministers recommended by the court can be vetoed by the emperor; ministers cannot veto the ministers appointed by the emperor.
"History of the Ming Dynasty·Xu Youzhen" records that "all the sects in Russia were opened, and Youzhen announced to everyone, 'The Emperor has been restored to the throne!' He came to congratulate him. That day, Youzhen was ordered to be a bachelor and join the cabinet to participate in mechanical affairs." On the day Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty was restored to power, he ordered Xu Youzhen to join the cabinet. Is it too late for him to be promoted? It is obviously impossible, it can only be a special purpose to enter the cabinet.
"History of the Ming Dynasty·Zhang Jue" records that "Juan Jue was angry with the court officials and planned revenge every day." Zhang Cong, a person who stood up to the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty during the great ceremony, and whose reputation as a scholar in the officialdom has already fallen into the eighteenth level of hell, is obviously dreaming if he expects Ting Tui to enter the cabinet. But he actually joined the cabinet in the sixth year of Jiajing. How did he join the cabinet? Jiajing specially appointed him.
To take a step back, what if he joins the cabinet? You are the chief minister of the cabinet. If the emperor disagrees with something, how can you force the emperor to agree? The most extreme method of "forcing" the emperor by cabinet ministers, even the chief ministers, is to threaten resignation. Do they have any initiative at all? No. Not to mention, Xu Jie just tentatively submitted a resignation letter, but was directly approved by Emperor Longqing, who was already dissatisfied with him. As a result, he could only pack up his bags and return to his hometown in Songjiang in shock?
This is relatively light, let alone heavy. If the emperor really dislikes you to the extreme, even if you are the chief minister of the cabinet, the emperor can directly terminate your official position and tell you to get out and leave. What's more, it's not a big deal to confiscate your home and behead you - you said you were promoted to the cabinet by the important ministers? What's the use? I, the emperor, the most powerful emperor in the world, can't kill you?
In the final analysis, the only thing that civil servants could restrain the emperor was the vague posthumous name, which had no compulsory binding force at all. If this emperor is cruel, I will no longer have this bullshit reputation, and your civil service group will not be able to do anything to him. This is like Longqing being pushed back even if he wanted to return to Yudi to reminisce about the past, but Zhengde was able to go to the south of the Yangtze River to play with dragons and phoenixes, and to lead troops to kill captives at Border Pass.
What's the difference? However, Long Qing had received a high level of sacred education, and he still cared about face. However, when the Zhengde young man ascended the throne, he acted as he pleased, and face was not as important as "fun" in his eyes.
Therefore, it can be said that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty could indeed not care about too many things, because the cabinet could indeed maintain the normal operation of the country. The emperor only needed to tell the chief of etiquette, "All cabinet votes will be approved as usual," and everything would be basically fine. To be a free and hands-off shopkeeper.
But the problem is that if the emperor wants to take charge of things, no one or anyone can stop him from taking charge of things, and he can indeed take charge of anything - as long as he saves his face. Just like the Chongzhen Dynasty, there were more than fifty chief ministers and assistants in seventeen years. Who can restrict him?
However, ruthlessness lies in ruthlessness. Although this emperor is indeed an emperor who is determined to govern hard and is very rare to be self-denial and conscientious, his ability to govern is really a mess. Obviously, Ming Qi Dynasty has a tendency to slowly regain the situation. Ye Bo Pi is almost killing himself under the blockade, and the domestic bandits are also becoming increasingly weak. Unfortunately, Chongzhen came to power. Under his leadership, Ye Bo Pi and the bandits Not only did they all regain their breath, but they also worked together to hold Daming down to death.
Therefore, to put it bluntly, in order to cure the chronic illness that Ming brought from his mother's womb, Gao Pragmatic must have the same power as Cao and Mang. Without such power, even if it can "treat the symptoms" for a while, it will only be an enhanced version of Zhang Juzheng and extend the life of Ming Dynasty for a few more years. What's the use? As long as there is another saint-king like Chongzhen, or even a worse emperor than a saint-king like Chongzhen who has good intentions and does bad things, Ming Dynasty will still burp.
Therefore, the strength in Gao Pragmatic's mind is, in the final analysis: Even the emperor cannot oppose my will!
As for whether he has mastered such powerful strength but ultimately does not want to usurp the throne, he certainly has concerns about whether this will eventually kill himself and even his future descendants and disciples.
