Whether it is the left minister of the Ministry of War who assists in the military affairs of the capital camp, or the governor of Cangchang, the minister of household affairs, these are very important positions, and it is definitely not as easy as taking office immediately with an imperial decree. Before taking office, Gao Pragmatic needs to return to the Ministry of War to hand over his work.
Although Gao Pingshi is the Zuo Shilang and Tang Shangguan in the Ministry of War, his job is relatively "simple" compared to Shi Xing, another Zuo Shilang under the "four ministers system of the Ministry of War", because Shi Xing can be regarded as "assistant" "Shang Shu takes care of everything", while Gao Pragmatism is in charge of the Beijing camp.
But the "simplicity" of Gao Pragmatism is just that the scope of work is relatively simple. In fact, everyone knows that the things in Jingying are not simple.
Especially after Gao Pragmatic personally led the restructuring of the Beijing camp, this "not simple" became even more remarkable. If Gao Pragmatic had not made arrangements and explanations, the new Minister of Rongzheng would have been confused when he took office. He would not even be able to figure out the secrets within a few months.
However, the court has not yet decided on a candidate for the position of Minister of Rongzheng, so Gao Pragmatic can only find Liang Menglong to hand over the work first - Shi Xing has also received the imperial edict, and Yang Zhao has become the minister of the Ministry of Industry.
There are many people who are more anxious than him about Gao Pragmatic's resignation. Qi Jiguang and other generals of the Imperial Guard immediately sent people to report to the Ministry of War. After receiving approval to go to Beijing privately, they all came to the Ministry of War to learn about the situation. Zhu Yingzhen, Zhang Yuangong and other dignitaries from the Imperial Guard hurriedly submitted a joint letter of greeting, saying In the evening, I was going to Zhaohui Jinggongfang to visit Sinong. Even the name of Xu Wenbi, Duke of Dingguo, who had been in poor health, was on the list...
No wonder they were anxious. After Gao Pragmatic "divided the Beijing Camp", the Beijing Camp was divided into two parts: logistics and operations. Although nominally they still obeyed the jurisdiction of the Fifth Army Governor's Office and the command of the Ministry of War, they were "working on their own" after all. Both parties are also very satisfied with the current situation and are unwilling to change again.
Now that Gao Jingshi is about to be promoted to Minister of Household Affairs, they are certainly very anxious about whether the system in the capital will change under the leadership of the new Minister of Rongzheng. How can they not make some preparations in advance?
Qi Jiguang and Gao Jingshi have been friends for many years. Of course, there will be no change in attitude just because Gao Jingshi resigned as Minister of Rongzheng. On the contrary, he became more and more respectful to this 25-year-old big farmer, and changed the signature on the greeting card back to "Qi, the lackey of Mu En's sect, bowed his head to pay homage."
Commander Qi's tone was like this, not to mention the greetings from other generals of the Imperial Guard. It was really humility and intimacy.
Gao Jingshi understood the meaning of changing his identity again in this invitation. Qi Jiguang and the generals made it clear that they still had the word "Gao" on their foreheads, and there would be no changes due to Gao Jingshi's change of position.
This is a smart move.
Gao pragmatism is a rising tone, and you are not forced to become an official. As a civil servant, he has advanced to the first rank (Prince and Grand Master), and is one step closer to joining the cabinet, a position that everyone aspires to be a civil servant. The most important thing is that he is only twenty-five years old now!
Qi Jiguang and others dared to make a prediction: as long as the decisive battle against Chahar goes as planned, judging from the current status of the "literary commanders" in the court in the eyes of the emperor, the battle will most likely be A highly pragmatic leader. So, once the battle is won... isn't the position of assistant minister easily available?
At that time, the "Lao Gaoge" was most likely not even thirty years old!
This is amazing!
You must know that today's cabinet is not the cabinet of the early years. The story of Xie Jin becoming a cabinet minister at the age of thirty-two and the chief assistant at the age of thirty-three cannot be applied - the cabinet at that time was just the emperor's personal staff, but today's What is the cabinet? It is roughly equivalent to the political affairs hall in the Tang Dynasty, and the two are completely different.
The original establishment of the cabinet was partly because the emperor was too busy, and partly because the emperor wanted to use the cabinet to contain the six ministries and the six branches of power. At that time, Chengzu probably did not expect what would happen today: the cabinet completely suppressed the six departments.
Gao Pragmatic is now the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. If he had followed the tradition in the early years, he would not have been able to join the cabinet. However, according to the habits of recent decades, it means that he is very close to joining the cabinet. It is necessary to talk about the changes in systems and habits involved.
From the Yongle period when the cabinet was first established until the Hongzhi period, there has never been a formal transfer between the six ministers and the cabinet. This mutual opposition has already been reflected in the early days of the cabinet.
At the beginning of spring in December of the second year of Yongle (1404), the founder Zhu Di gave a banquet to all ministers in the Fengtian Palace. As usual, he rewarded the six ministers and the minister Jin Zhiwen each with a robe. Huai, Hu (Guang), ministers to Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, and Jin Youziyi are the same as Shangshu." He also pointed out very clearly: "I am not partial to Qing and others. Those around me are hardworking and benefitful, and they are not under the minister. Therefore, when you give gifts, you must be praised for your merits, and there is no need to limit your rank." He also emphasized: "In the initial system of my emperor's examination, the rank of the Hanlin chief is the same as that of the minister, and the ministers must do their best. appoint."
How to understand this paragraph? In the early days of the establishment of the cabinet, although it was still under the jurisdiction of the Hanlin Academy, and the ministers in the cabinet at that time also respected their official positions in the Hanlin Academy, at this banquet, Zhu Di rewarded the cabinet ministers equally as those of the six ministers, and clearly emphasized that although their official ranks It is only the fifth grade, but its functions are not under the six ministers.
This basically shows that Zhu Di's original intention of establishing the Grand Scholars in the Palace was to weaken the status and responsibilities of the six ministers, and thus established a mutual check and balance relationship between the two.
Of course, this serious mismatch of positions and powers in the cabinet did not last long. With the improvement of the status of the cabinet, during the Renxuan period, it became a practice for cabinet ministers to be given false titles such as Six Ministers or Ministers after joining the cabinet.
For example, in the first month of the first year of Hongxi (1425), "Huang Huai was Shaobao, the Hubu Shangshu was still a bachelor of Wuyingdian, a Shaofu was also a scholar of Huagaidian, Yang Shiqi was a minister of the Ministry of War, and the prince Shaobao was also a scholar of Wuyingdian. Jin Youzi The minister of the Ministry of Rites, all three stipends are supported simultaneously, and he is still in charge of internal control."
Although this kind of sealing is "not in advance of the promotion", it is also an infringement of the six ministries' powers to a certain extent. People at that time also clearly pointed out that it was against the wishes of the ancestors, "If you want to add the fifth rank of a great scholar to the six ministers, why not respect his rank?"
Although this additional title destroyed the restrictions on the cabinet, it obviously gave it the convenience to interfere in the affairs of the six ministries to a certain extent, and further strengthened the cabinet's checks and balances on the six ministers.
In addition, the selection method of the cabinet at the beginning of its establishment was also significantly different from that of officials from the Six Ministries. The cabinet was basically directly selected from officials of the Hanlin Academy. For this reason, some new scholars and officials of the Hanlin Academy were even selected to observe the government in the cabinet as cabinet officials. The minister's preparer. This rule still exists in the Wanli period, that is, the so-called Guanzheng Jinshi - their common characteristic is actually not "Jinshi", but "Hanlin". There is absolutely no one who is not a Hanlin but has become a Guanzheng Jinshi.
Regarding this situation, there are about two clear records in "Records of the Ming Dynasty". The first time was around the second year of Yongle (1404). He entered his studies in the pavilion." When the three-year examination was finally completed, Peng Ruqi, Wang Zhi, Yu Ding and others were able to stay in their posts.
The second time was in August of the ninth year of Xuande (1434), "Ming Xing was in the Hanlin Academy to compile Ma Yu, Chen Xun, Lin Zhen, and Cao Nai, and to edit Lin Wengong, Qi Zhongfu, and Zhao Hui. Zhang Yi, who was a commentator on the affairs of the left, together with the common people Saqi, He Xuan, Zheng Jian, Jiang Yuan... thirty-seven people, studied in Wenyuan Pavilion."
Wenyuan Pavilion is the place where cabinet ministers enter Zhizhi to handle affairs. The essence of these two admissions is for the cabinet to select successors. What is more clear is that Wang Zhi once wrote edicts in the cabinet for a long time, and Ma Yu and Cao Nai worked under Yang Shiqi. After Yang Rong became an official, he entered the cabinet to prepare for maintenance. It can be seen that the custom of moving cabinets at that time was to focus on Hanlin Academy officials, which continued to be followed after Zhengtong. "Therefore, during the Zhengtong period, Chen Xun, Gao Gu, Miao Zhong, Ma Yu, and Cao Nai If the scholars enter it, and if Zhang Yi, Peng Shi, and Shang Ren enter it as repairmen, then the old meanings still exist and can be tested." 16
This method of selecting cabinet ministers directly from "civilians" or "historians" obviously attaches great importance to secretarial duties. "Those who are appointed to the cabinet by the imperial court are all from the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy only selects words, and does not test their performance." ".
This is completely different from the emphasis on administrative ability in the selection of six ministers. During this period, the six ministers such as He Wenyuan, Wang Ao, and Li Bing all had administrative experience at the local and central levels. They were promoted from local officials such as prefects and officials to the central post. , who was moved to the post of Shangshu.
I just said that if according to the past rules, Gao Jingshi became the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he would basically have no way to join the cabinet. This is the same reason that Gao Jingshi was looked down upon by many people when he was appointed as the inspector of Guangxi in the early years. This is There are examples.
There is a very typical representative figure, Wang Zhi, who once served as the Minister of Personnel. His official experience fully reflects the checks and balances between the cabinet and the six ministers.
Wang Zhi, a native of Taihe, Jiangxi Province, was a Jinshi in the second year of Yongle (1404). He was awarded the title of Shujishi and served in Wenyuan Pavilion. He is also the first batch of new scholars selected to study in the cabinet since the establishment of the cabinet. In the end, when the three-year examination was completed, Wang Zhi was able to continue to serve in the cabinet, "for the sake of the grass".
Of course, strictly speaking, Wang Zhi is not a real cabinet minister. He does not have the name and reality of a grand scholar, and can only be regarded as a candidate for a cabinet minister.
Wang Zhi's cabinet career lasted until about the fifth year of Zhengtong (1440). He had been in the cabinet for more than 30 years. He was highly regarded for both his literary talent and ability, and was "relied upon by both China and foreign countries". Moreover, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong and other cabinet ministers were already old at the time of Zhengtong and were about to retire. Wang Zhi and Yang Shiqi had a hometown friendship, so becoming official cabinet ministers was a matter of course.
But an accident happened. At this time, Wang Zhi had a rift with Yang Shiqi. Yang Shiqi's son Yang Ji was "violent at home, and the villagers suffered a lot." Wang Zhi reminded Yang Shiqi about this, but Yang Shiqi was deceived by his son, thinking that "Yuan" (Wang Zhi) is jealous of his fame, so he said this in vain." He hated Wang Zhi and immediately excluded him from the cabinet.
After Wang Zhi left the cabinet, he served as Minister of Rites, and then was promoted to Minister of Personnel in the eighth year of Zhengtong (1443), where he remained until the first year of Tianshun (1458). During his tenure, Yang Shiqi died of illness in the ninth year of Zhengtai (1444). However, the status and prestige of the cabinet ministers such as Ma Yu, Cao Nai, Chen Xun, Miao Zhong, and Gao Gu could not be compared with him. Since the second year of Jingtai (1451), due to Wang Zhi was old and frail, so he successively appointed He Wenyuan and Wang Ao as Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel to assist in the management of the ministry.
It can be said that all obstacles to Wang Zhi's entry into the cabinet have been basically eliminated. But the actual situation is that Wang Zhi still served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel at this time, which is roughly the same as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Jian Yi and the Minister of Hubu Xia Yuanji in the Xuande period. In other words, if the officials at this time were If you are promoted to minister first, you will not have the chance to join the cabinet - because in the cabinet at this time, the attribute of "secretary" is more important as a whole.
Wang Zhi also lamented about this in his later years: "Xi Yang did not want to serve as a colleague in the cabinet, so he had to handle ministry affairs, so he had to regret it." Combined with Wang Zhi's official experience, this regret, while targeting Yang Shiqi, is obviously It is also related to the fact that the political system at that time blocked his way back to the cabinet.
In addition, the power of "voting" obtained by the cabinet during the orthodox period also has a strong check and balance with the administrative power of the six ministers. The most incisive explanation of this is Gao Gong.
Gao Gong mentioned in "Three Prayers for Heaven's Grace and Exemptions and Concurrent Appointments": "The affairs of our country are all decided by the ministers, and the cabinet ministers draw up the votes. If it is not done properly, it will be refuted; if it is not done properly, it will be corrected. To mediate. Don't mind the similarities and differences, just join the army. So there are many things that have their own reasons, and people dare not commit adultery. This is because the cabinet and the ministry cannot be confused...
Since Chunfang has been relieved of his duties, and I still take the position of the second assistant, if I still take charge of the civil affairs, I will write my own papers, draft my own votes, and it will be inconvenient to refute, correct, and mediate. This is said to use water to save water. Who can eat Of……
Nowadays, the cabinet is in order and matters are important. The personnel department advances and retreats, and hundreds of officials have their power. Since the ministers are ahead of the cabinet ministers and still hold the position of chief official, isn't it too heavy to exercise power? If the power is too heavy, not only will it be difficult for ministers to live, but the state structure is also unsuitable. "
This is Gao Gong's third memorial to resign and serve as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It clearly points out that the powers of the cabinet and the six ministries in the central power structure complement and restrict each other. This is also the court's carefully designed outer court after the abolition of the prime minister system. If the operation and restriction mechanisms are combined in one place, the power exercised will be too heavy, which will seriously threaten the stability of the imperial power and the stability of the country.
Of course, there is something special here, that is, the Minister of Libu is different from other ministers. Gao Pragmatic, the current Minister of Hubu, is not as sensitive as the Minister of Libu.
"Everything is difficult at the beginning." After Gao Gong became the first assistant and also the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, it became normal whether he was the minister of the cabinet and the minister of the cabinet, or he was the minister of the cabinet.
In other words, the cabinet and the six ministries are no longer as distinct as in the early years. Now they have not only begun to merge, but have even been divided into superiors and subordinates: the cabinet commands the six ministries.
Of course, this is not absolute. In the original history, during the Wanli Dynasty, once the chief minister had a weak character or lacked strong support from the emperor, the six ministries might in turn sideline the cabinet.
The reason why Qi Jiguang and others did not dare to show any disrespect to Gao Pragmatic was that, firstly, Gao was expected to join the cabinet, which everyone knew; secondly, at this time, both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were the home of the Shi School.
The cabinet manager who supervises Gao Jingshi is Zhang Xueyan. He is a leader of the Shi school and an important supporter of Gao Jingshi. It is conceivable that Gao Jingshi will definitely support Gao Jingshi's deployment in the household department.
As for the Ministry of War, although the Minister of Rongzheng was temporarily absent, Qi Jiguang concluded that this must be because the changes in the cabinet and the Seven Ministers were too sudden. The Real School itself was also caught off guard, so it had not had time to recommend a candidate.
Qi Jiguang believes that there is a high probability that the new Minister of Rongzheng will come from the pragmatic school, and it is very likely that the emperor will summon Gao Pragmatic and ask him to recommend a successor - this is also a tradition, just like when Pan Sheng promoted Xu Xuemo. .
With this judgment in mind, Qi Jiguang and others naturally continued to be respectful, while Zhu Yingzhen, Zhang Yuangong and others naturally had to quickly submit their greetings to see Gao Pragmatic.
Therefore, Gao Pangshi met with the generals of the Imperial Guard under his command at the Ministry of War for the last time and gave him face-to-face instructions.
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PS: The next chapter or the second half of the chapter will list the new cabinet and the list of seven ministers, so that everyone will not remember it - I still remember it, and then I will "change the copy".
