What is the biggest problem in communicating with Gao Pragmatism? The first thing is to eliminate the option of “giving money”.
Everyone knows that he is pragmatic and has no shortage of money. The biggest characteristic of this Marquis of Nanning is that he is not short of money for both public and private affairs. He is a veritable living god of wealth in the Ming Dynasty.
Yu Gong, he was in charge of finance as a bachelor, and also directly served as Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs. After the reform of the Department of Large Households, almost all the financial power in the world, except internal funds, was under his control. From the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Six Ministries and other ministries in Beijing, to provincial governors, Fuyamen and Procuratorate departments, without his seal, you can't get a penny.
Don't say you can't get it. Even if you get too much or you don't use it all, you still have to report to the Ministry of Accounts to explain the situation. Or if you get too little and you don't have enough, and you want to apply for another sum, or even get more next year, you need the Ministry of Accounts even more. Review and review.
In short, no matter how powerful the government is, it cannot keep the money in his hands. If he likes you, you will have the funds to advance the work at hand. If he doesn't like you, don't say that the work is not easy to do, and the people under you may become alienated.
What, you mean to appeal to the emperor? Don't be kidding, take a look at Chen Han, whom the emperor rewarded him last time, "You are salt and plum blossoms, and you are the boat's boat." I can't do anything without you, Aiqing - do you think the emperor believes in you or him?
For private purposes, let alone that. Maybe even Gao Pragmatic himself has lost count of how much money Jinghua has now. The money on the books is okay, it must be counted, but how to calculate Jinghua's assets?
Jinghua Bank, Jinghua Trading Co., Ltd., Jinghua Infrastructure, Jinghua Pharmaceutical... as well as several huge industrial areas in Jinghua that are as large as cities, as well as the North and South Ocean fleets that don't know how to calculate the value, etc., these are already innumerable, not to mention Jinghua also actually controls a huge territory in southern Xinjiang and Nanyang. How can this be settled?
Therefore, everyone inside and outside the Ming Dynasty knew that "giving money" is the most meaningless way to have a relationship with Gao Pragmatic. Even if you spend all your wealth, it may be nothing more than a drop in the bucket to him, and he will not be able to attract his attention at all. Therefore, in order to exchange with Gao Pragmatic, we can only offer some political chips that are meaningful to him.
Of course, having said that, Zhao Zhigao had to find a way to fill the hole for Zhao Fengwei's 70,000 taels of silver. He would definitely not advance this money to him.
Leaving aside where the money will be raised from, what political bargaining chip can Zhao Zhigao offer that will make Gao pragmatically excited?
In fact, when he heard the news that day, Zhao Zhigao's first reaction was to resign. Of course, resigning cannot be regarded as an exchange. What can be called an exchange is that at the same time as resigning, a substitute official from the Practical School is recommended to the cabinet.
The current composition and ranking of the cabinet is as follows: Wang Jiaping, a bachelor of Zhongji Palace, Liang Menglong, a bachelor of Jianji Palace, Gao Pragmatic, a bachelor of Wenhua Palace, Zhao Zhigao, a bachelor of Wuying Palace, Shen Yiguan, a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, and Shen Yiguan, a bachelor of Dongge University. Scholar Zhou Yong.
Except for Wang Jiaping, the first assistant, among the other five pavilion elders, three are from the practical school and two are from the heart school. As we all know, both Wang Jiaping and Liang Menglong will not be working for much longer and will soon retire and return to their hometowns.
At that time, that is, when Wang Jiaping leaves office, it is not yet known whether he will recommend someone to replace him in the cabinet. However, according to convention, he has the right to recommend, and the emperor will definitely consider it and summon the Jiuqing court to recommend him. , or engage in big court promotion.
But even if he does this, he should recommend an official from the neutral school, that is, the traditional Neo-Confucian school, and it is unlikely that he will choose an official from the Practical School and the Heart School. Besides, according to the emperor's wishes, he might also prefer that Wang Jiaping recommend a neutral official.
Of course, even if Wang Jiaping recommends a neutral official to the cabinet, there will be no loss for the pragmatic school, because once Wang Jiaping and Liang Menglong withdraw, it is almost certain that Gao Pragmatic will be the first assistant.
The position of chief assistant is much more important than the new cabinet minister who joins the cabinet step by step, especially if Gao Pragmatic is appointed.
How to say this? In short, it is how much power the chief assistant has. It does not mainly depend on how much power the position itself gives, but how much power the person who serves as the chief assistant has the ability to control.
This may sound a bit outrageous. How come the power of the most dignified civil servant in the Ming Dynasty is not conferred by his position, but depends on the individual?
This is what’s wrong with the Ming Dynasty’s cabinet system: the cabinet department itself is not an “economic official” in the traditional sense! It has been said many times before that the cabinet was originally just an auxiliary left-wing organization for the emperor to handle government affairs. Its status was so great that it was just a "secretariat."
The prime ministers of previous dynasties before the Ming Dynasty had very great power, so they often adopted a group system to disperse the power of the prime ministers. It can be seen that sometimes the prime minister with the most senior status can still monopolize power, which directly involves the monarchy, and there are many such examples.
After all, the main powers that the prime minister has include decision-making power, participation power and administrative power. People often say "one person is below and above ten thousand people", which refers to the prime minister.
After Hu Weiyong's death, Zhu Yuanzhang played a big trick and directly abolished the prime minister system. This move looks very good, and it can be said that China's feudal monarchy has reached its peak. But the problem is that the long-term reality of the parallel existence of monarchy and ministerial power in ancient times was because objective conditions required such a system.
As a result, because of Zhu Yuanzhang's actions, the Ming Dynasty stipulated that the decision-making power on court affairs must be the emperor himself. The main power of the cabinet could only be participation in political power. The six ministries mainly had administrative power, and were divided into local agencies such as the Chief Envoy and the Secretary. The three powers of administration, judiciary and military restrict each other.
The separation of powers is such a "modern" and "advanced" term, but is the separation of powers really that good? Let us look at the reality under the separation of powers in the Ming Dynasty.
At first glance, the separation of powers in the Ming Dynasty is indeed wonderful, and the cabinet system is also extremely advanced. For example, during the Jialong Wansan Dynasty in original history, the emperors either indulged in monasticism, concentrated on creating people, or were angry with the foreign court and refused to see their ministers. However, this did not delay the three emperors from gaining power in the world at all, and they did not panic at all in handling the affairs of the country behind the scenes. The system seems remarkably stable.
But here’s a famous quote: So, what’s the price?
Because related issues have been discussed in various aspects in the previous chapters of this book, only the conclusions will be given here. The most obvious costs are in two aspects: first, it is easy for eunuchs to cause chaos in government; second, it will inevitably lead to intensified party strife.
The issue of eunuchs disrupting the government mainly depends on whether the emperor himself takes the threat of eunuchs disrupting the government seriously. In theory, as long as the emperor wants to control it, the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty cannot disrupt the government.
However, it must be noted that although the Ming Emperor theoretically had the ability to control any eunuch, there were still times when eunuchs would inevitably lead to chaos. For example, if the emperor ascends the throne at a young age and is seriously dependent on one or more eunuchs, this can easily lead to eunuchs disrupting the government; another example is when the emperor's monarchy is in serious conflict with the ministerial power of the civil servant group, and the emperor pretends to rely on the eunuchs. Suppressing the civil servant group will also lead to eunuchs disrupting the government.
As for "it will inevitably lead to intensified party strife", this may require a little analysis of the reasons.
The cabinet system is not a real prime minister system, and the chief minister of the cabinet is not a real prime minister. However, from the perspective of real political needs, if there is no civilian leader in the administrative decision-making system of the imperial court, it will lead to two most direct consequences:
First, the court's decision-making process was slow and slow, and because the chief minister was not the prime minister, the authority of the decision-making was greatly reduced.
Some people may disagree and think that although the decision-making of the Ming Dynasty was not made by the "prime minister", it was decided by the emperor's final approval! Why, the emperor's authority is not as good as that of your mere prime minister?
This is the key point - the "authority" recognized by officials at all levels of the imperial court is actually different from the "authority" recognized in their hearts.
Verbally, any court official will say that "the emperor is no wiser than the emperor", but in fact, the people who really trust are the civil leaders who have experienced all kinds of ups and downs, or have endured many years of hardship.
You want to ask why? The emperor is inherited, but talent cannot be inherited. No matter how wise and mighty the late emperor was, he might still be worth two hundred and fifty today;
Civilian leaders are different. Even if some people seem to have worked hard to get to the top through qualifications, they are still the best in the dangerous officialdom. If you can just work through the qualifications, you will have been pushed out. Being a civilian leader means that you must have done something right no matter what.
In this case, who's ability will the officials who are also civil servants trust more? Is there any need to say? But as a result, the current resolution is not necessarily the opinion of the civil leaders, but only the opinion of the emperor. Even if everyone dare not express their opposition, no one will say in their hearts: This is a mess of fate.
In this way, it can be explained why the cabinet system will cause the authority of the court's decision-making to be affected - this thing is not necessarily recognized by our civil servant group!
Secondly, under the premise of the previous article, the process of generating the chief minister has intensified the internal strife among the civil servants.
The abolition of the prime minister system left the civil service group without a legitimate leader. However, if a group wants to be united and efficient, it must have a core presence. In order to become this core figure, everyone has to try their best to get to the top.
Some people may want to ask, wasn't the previous prime ministerial system also "a core"? Why is it that under the prime ministerial system, there is no "inevitable party struggle to intensify", but on the contrary, the false prime minister with a false name will lead to "inevitable party struggle to intensify"? This shows that the system of the Ming Dynasty is indeed amazing.
How did the prime ministers of previous dynasties come to be? Appointed by the emperor.
Yes, it's that simple: the emperor appoints the prime minister, and the prime minister controls all officials and is responsible to the emperor.
Although this system is simple, the responsibilities and rights are very clear. I appoint you as prime minister, and you are responsible for doing xxxx work well. If you do well, I will reward you; if you do not do well, I will replace you.
As a result, the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty changed this rule. What was it replaced with? The famous Ting Tui.
Later generations often praised Tingtui, thinking that it even had the style of Panzi and was very advanced. This is actually as ignorant as many people praising the Athenian dish cooking system when talking about the Western cooking tradition.
The culture of Athens has never been the culture of the whole people, it is the culture of the aboriginal people in the city of Athens. Several other classes in the city do not even have sexual rights. What kind of ghost culture are they talking about?
The reason why the tingtui system emerged is essentially because the imperial power cut off the power of the prime minister with a single blow, and the resistance of the civil servant group was growing day by day. It was an adaptation made as a last resort. It is a product of compromise.
However, this system is fundamentally a deformity, because it makes the responsibilities and powers of the leader of the civil service group very unclear - do you, the chief minister, stand for the emperor, or for our civil service group?
The teacher said that the first task in handling the conflict between the enemy and ourselves is to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy. Therefore, if it is not clear which side you, the chief assistant, are on, then your position will definitely be awkward. However, the imperial recommendation system pushed this ambiguity to its peak: important ministers discussed it together, and the emperor made the final decision.
Well, now, the chief minister is elected by the top representatives of the civil service group, but ultimately it is determined by the emperor's decree - Which side are you from now?
Why is it difficult for the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty to be a powerful minister or a mediocre minister? This is not something that the chief minister can change with his own will. The foundation of the system is here.
If you and the emperor are of the same mind, the emperor will tolerate you being a powerful minister on the surface, but this means that you will have conflicts with most of your fellow civil servants, and they will often not be very tolerant of you.
Here you can almost look at any of the so-called "powerful ministers" in the history of the Ming Dynasty: Yan Song, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, which one was considered by the entire civil service group to be "a wise prime minister" by both the government and the public at that time? Actually no, their "popularity" is not very good.
Needless to say, Yan Song had too many shortcomings, and it was normal for him to be scolded for hundreds of years. But even so, some scholars in later generations pointed out that he actually played a significant role in the stability of the court at that time.
What about high arches? Wang Shizhen was a person at that time and a leader in the literary world. When he wrote "The Biography of Shou Fu", he really wanted to criticize Gao Gong.
Gao Gong acted vigorously and resolutely, pointed out misdeeds immediately when he discovered them, and demanded corrections immediately when he discovered mistakes. This is the spirit that a leader who does practical things should have, but in Wang Shizhen's writing, it turned out to be "anxious, unable to contain things, and unable to hide needs." Forbearance. If you feel dissatisfied, you will be broken if you touch it. Every eye will glare, and the evil voice will follow, that is, both the left and the right are Piyi. Once you gradually gain your ambition, you will see hundreds of Piyi, and you will be cut off in the morning and evening. If you are a teacher of only your will, no one dares to resist. By."
Good guy, they have high-profile officials and have arrested a bunch of corrupt officials. They have newly revised the examination method to strengthen official evaluation. Unqualified officials should be demoted if they should be demoted, and those who should be dismissed should be dismissed. When it comes to you Wang Shizhen, they become impatient. The thing has been transformed into a baby with a hundred visions, and it is a teacher of only one's will. Is there anyone who dares to resist? How can I say that you still have to be nice and polite, pretending not to see any corpses?
Where is Zhang Juzheng? This man was always honored and favored during his lifetime, but after his death he almost had his coffin opened and his body whipped. All the officials attacked him and scolded him like a rat crossing the street. So much so that his coffin-closing conclusion in the "Records of Shenzong" was actually that "the root of his partiality and many taboos, his small tools are easy to overflow, his officials are restrained, and his trust is sycophantic. When his parents doted on him and stole his love, his roots were broken. His authority was shocking. Lord, misfortunes are coming. No wonder the death is not long, but killing and humiliation follow."
Although Gao Pragmatic always said that Zhang Juzheng was only an improvement and could not be called a reform, because he did not do any "innovation" and just repaired the original decaying building, but... at least he repaired it seriously! How did he end up like this, with such a reputation?
Fortunately, some people began to defend him not long after, and later generations of academic circles even brought him out again out of certain needs, boasting about it so much that it was even exaggerated.
In a word, the most difficult thing to do well as the chief minister in the Ming Dynasty is how to define whose representative you are - the emperor or the ministers?
In Zhao Zhigao's view, Gao Pingshi didn't have to worry too much about this, because his identity and position had actually been decided long ago: the Pragmatic School had always been a royalist party.
Therefore, Zhao Zhigao believes that when Gao Pragmatic becomes the chief minister, he must be a powerful minister, because basically everything he wants to do is approved by the emperor, and the emperor will give him all necessary support, which will inevitably bring greater pressure to the Xin School.
However, Shen Yiguan, who also saw this, chose to confront and resolutely oppose Gao Jingshi, but Zhao Zhigao did not see it that way. His choice was to give in and watch Gao Jingshi ascend to the top of power.
So, is Zhao Zhigao really as timid as a mouse as Shen has always seen? If you just look at it this way, you would be looking down on Zhao Zhigao. Zhao Zhigao's concession was not an end, but a means.
When he decided on this matter, he murmured to himself and recited a passage from "The Book of Jin: The Biography of Wang Bao": "Now, with the merits that are hard to appreciate, and the power of the master, he has sole control of Kyoto and exclusive power. If you advance, the dragon will be strong and you will regret it; if you retreat, a pear will grow in the garden, hoping for peace, but you don't know its blessings."
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