Entering the Qianqing Palace and heading west, you will walk through a light-leak corridor to the attendant's room and the place where the emperor usually summoned ministers.
Other chief officials from the Cabinet, the Military Aircraft Department and the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers lined up in two rows to wait, all wearing red official robes.
After a while, a eunuch came out of Xinuan Pavilion, saluted and said, "The emperor has a decree, come in."
With these words, the two rows of ministers straightened their official hats and walked in.
The young emperor had just washed up. He was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe today, with dragon shapes on his chest and shoulders, and a jade belt around his waist. He took off the black hat on his head and put it aside, revealing the young man's bright forehead.
The young emperor is full of vigor, but he rubs his hands with a relaxed expression, but actually behaves calmly.
"I am here to see you, Your Majesty."
The emperor was pacing, and happened to be facing the ministers sideways. He waved his left hand and exhaled, "They are all flat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Houzhao picked a memorial from the table and gave it to Liu Jian first. No matter how many rumors there were in the court because of the military aircraft department, he was still the chief minister of the cabinet after all.
"...This is what I asked the attendants to sort out. It is a letter of advice given by the ministers to the court since the eleventh year of Hongzhi. It includes Liu Ge Lao Hongzhi's policy of keeping the captives at bay in the twelfth year of Hongzhi's reign, Li Ge Lao Hongzhi's The actual situation of the people was reported in the 17th year, the seven civil articles reported by Xie Ge Lao Hongzhi in the 14th year, and even the shortcomings of military and political affairs mentioned by Liu Daxia, the eight military preparations mentioned by Ma Wensheng, Yang Yiqing's recommendation to improve Ma Zongzheng, and other ministries. The officials, censors, and local dignitaries have complained about their strong opinions and shortcomings...all this has been going on year after year since the eleventh year of Hongzhi alone."
"But so far, has there been any change in the court? Maybe Ma Zheng has, but I have spent a lot of effort and directed hundreds of memorials to achieve some small achievements. What about the others? Ma Wen said when he was promoted to Minister of War Liu Daxia also said about the shortcomings of military politics, and now Wang Shangshu, I guess he is brewing, and will make another announcement in two days..."
"My dear friends, the court cannot fall into a vicious cycle of talking about problems every year, but there are problems every year. We monarchs and ministers who play gongs and drums seem to love the people and are diligent, but after shouting for a long time, other than moving their mouths, nothing else It's absolutely not okay to stand still! Do you all understand what I mean?"
"I understand, Your Majesty is wise!"
Zhu Houzhao raised his hand, pointed and made a "three" gesture, "So today, we, the monarchs and ministers, have to solve two things. The first is to find out what malpractices the court has? You are all veterans of several dynasties. There are also some of them whom the late Emperor pointed out to me in front of me and whom I considered to be the pillars of the country. What kind of bad governance is there in the Ming Dynasty now? These should not escape your eyes, right? Mr. Liu Ge, Mr. Li Ge, Mr. Xie Ge , the scene of that day is in Qianqing Palace, you have to show your talents!"
Liu, Li, and Xie did not dare to rely on others. "The late Emperor will not give up and His Majesty trusts me, but if necessary, I will do my best."
This means that what went wrong with the Ming Dynasty, the emperor said, you also said it, everyone spoke up and expressed their stance.
"Second, it's the question of what to do. This is my consistent style. Don't be afraid of problems, but it's scary to ignore them. So since we, the monarchs and ministers, have listed all the bad policies of the Ming Dynasty, we must solve them. But there are so many problems, and they cannot all be solved in a short time. You cannot have your cake and eat it too, and the priorities must be sorted out. So what should be solved this year? What should be solved next year? This needs to be clearly thought out, stated clearly, and written clearly. You can't be too vague. For example, I know that the maladministration of the Ministry of War has been chronic for a long time and was not formed in a day or two. So, should these chronic diseases be resolved in three years or five years? This must also be decided. "….
"Your Majesty!" Wang Chang was newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of War. It was time to do something practical, so he said: "The Ministry of War, from ministers to subordinates, must put your Majesty's imperial edict first. Changes that need to be made, and rectification that needs to be rectified. Three to five months is enough to see movement."
"Your words are enough." Zhu Houzhao began to praise him, "That's what it means anyway. Third, we need to discuss how to solve it. Analyze specific problems in detail, and the proposed solutions must be realistic and not It is said that the disease will be cured by medicine, or at least the symptoms will be relieved. All of these must be included in the court's annual plan."
"What I mean is that the court might as well spend more time on these plans, be more cautious, and careful. Anyway, time is not urgent at this moment. If necessary, it is okay to hold an enlarged meeting to discuss it. There are only so many important things at the moment. Among the evil policies, what is the most important thing for the Ming Dynasty? After discussing it, the court will first come up with a three-year plan and specify what goals it will achieve in three years. Of course, the goals for the eighteenth year of Hongzhi must also be set."
Zhu Houzhao's words made everything clear. But the matter did not end here, and then he began to name names, "It is not easy to accomplish this matter, and it cannot be done unless a high-ranking official of the imperial court can do it. What I want is to set up a special group to take charge of this matter. The specific affairs will be handled by For team members to apply, the Cabinet, the Military Aircraft Department, and the six ministries and nine ministers are all listed as team members and cannot refuse."
This step must be taken, otherwise the emperor would say a long paragraph and no one would know who should do the specific things. Now that the person's name has been dropped, and when the day comes, the emperor's inquiry will yield no results, then there will be a reason for accountability.
This group of officials had never encountered such a pattern before, but if the emperor said so, it was an imperial edict.
Liu Jian was mature and prudent. He spoke: "I think your Majesty's considerations are appropriate. As the saying goes, everything must be done beforehand or abandoned. Many things must be thought out in advance. However, the maladministration in the imperial court that your Majesty just mentioned should be prioritized. , specifically which ones are light and which ones are heavy, I think this is important."
"Well, that's right. If the priority is wrong, we people will use the wrong strength. We will get half the result with half the effort and lose more than the gain." Zhu Houzhao turned to them again and asked: "Does anyone have different opinions? If not, then this group will be established. , tasks will be assigned at that time, and after one year, I will have to investigate people according to the rules."
Everyone was shocked. If Emperor Hongzhi had said this in the past, it would actually have been okay. But now it's His Majesty, he can do anything.
"His Majesty!"
Lin Han, the Minister of Rites, came out and said, "Both Zhang Zongxian and Da Sikong left Beijing on official business. Do we have to wait until they return to Beijing to understand the matters concerning the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Industry?"
At this time, Han Wen spoke, "The cabinet should give them something to inform them. For government affairs needs...there are always several chief officials in the imperial court who are not in Beijing. Since ancient times, there has been no reason for your majesty to wait for his ministers."
Zhu Houzhao nodded, that's true.
Now that the matter was settled, Wang Hao no longer hesitated. He had discussed this matter with Li Dongyang before.
"Your Majesty, there is one thing in the Ministry of Personnel that has been hidden in my heart, and it is about to become a heart disease for me. It is the disadvantage of redundant officials. The salary expenditure of redundant officials will not only increase the burden on the national treasury, but also increase the burden on the same staff. There are many people, which often leads to people being superfluous and pushing each other around. Things originally planned by the court are put aside, and you push me and I push you. In the end, nothing happens. It is really a great harm to the government. "...
Zhu Houzhao nodded, this is a problem.
Liu Jian said: "The disadvantages of redundant officials have existed in all dynasties. It is even more difficult to eradicate it according to the old minister. However, since the old official has proposed it, it is necessary to do some control and mitigation."
As the emperor, Zhu Houzhao made a decision at this time, "You can make a plan every year and reduce the number according to a certain amount. Managing a big country is like cooking small dishes. Cutting too many at once will always cause some criticism, but the staff can be divided into years, one year. Please report the number of cuts you want to make."
"yes."
At this point, Zhu Houzhao felt a little confident, "This is called accumulating small victories into big victories. If the court can make these changes in all aspects, the treasury will not be so empty and the people will not be so miserable. Continue, these tasks are tedious. , but I have to do it.”
…
This is a big meeting,
Zhu Houzhao had explained before that the court would spend several days and so many people discussing this matter specifically.
The ministers were also surprised that the emperor, a teenage boy, was originally a playful age, but he had the patience to listen to the ministers talk about the specific details of government affairs, and he still asked questions himself when there were some that were not detailed enough.
In Qianqing Palace, charcoal fires come in and out, and hot tea comes in and out. But no officials came out.
Because the emperor talked more and more about sex, from morning to afternoon, even the middle
There is no break.
It was not until Min Gui, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, that his kidneys could no longer bear it. He held it in for a long time and sweat began to form on his forehead. Then he risked his life and begged Zhu Houzhao for mercy, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I...I want to relieve myself."
Zhu Houzhao was stunned. His first reaction was, "Miss Chen Xiang," which made him stunned. It wasn't until he saw Min Gui holding back his urine that he couldn't help laughing, "Really, I forgot about it." Just take a break for a quarter of an hour and take a pee if you want, and then we can continue."
Still going on...
Lin Han, who was not young anymore, helped Li Dongyang out little by little and said, "Your Majesty, you are really diligent..."
Li Dongyang's tongue was bitter, but he didn't dare to say anything.
The emperor's diligence is a sign of a sage in the Confucian moral concept. No one can say anything about this matter, but the problem is that the current Zhengde Emperor is very good at assigning tasks, and he will assign them if anything happens. Go down,
Moreover, he is the emperor. When the emperor is diligent, he has many things to think about. He will do this and do that now. People like them can no longer live an easy life now.
Liu Ge had studied hard all his life and could not bear to hear such words. "Your Majesty's enthusiasm for government affairs is a blessing to all people. We, as ministers, can only do our best to assist the left."
As soon as he said this, his legs went weak when he walked. Fortunately, Xie Qian next to him supported him, "Mr. Liu Ge, be careful."
It turned out that it was just a posture, and my legs were numb without even realizing it.
Zhu Houzhao over there, he walked deep into the Qianqing Palace. He is the emperor, and there is everything here.
After developing the habit, he waited for the emperor to figure everything out for him, and then he acted according to the rules... In fact, he didn't do anything, he just conveyed it to his subordinates and asked them to do it.
If so, it would be easy for them to upload and distribute it. Wouldn't the emperor Zhu Houzhao be exhausted? No matter how good your body is, it can't bear such suffering. ….
So he actually takes care of two things, one is to determine the direction, and the other is to determine the people. The direction is certain and the people are used correctly, so that the emperor can make mistakes only when he is worthy.
…
…
This kind of internal meeting lasted for four consecutive days. The old men's faces were swollen due to Zhu Houzhao's treatment. The attendant's room also recorded dozens of bad policies that could be improved by the court.
With these things in hand, Zhu Houzhao began to arrange them. He glanced at the group of people and said: "Starting from tomorrow, the three-year plan drafting group will officially start trying to draft such a program to guide the direction of the imperial court in the next three years. document. This document must set goals, put forward requirements, and give specific implementation measures. Another point is that it must be simple and clear. It cannot be written as "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion". If it is too profound, in case someone understands it and there is ambiguity, it must be specific in the prefecture or county. If you go in the wrong direction when implementing it, it will be self-defeating.”
"In addition, after the things are taken out, I will announce them during the Great Ming Dynasty meeting, and at the same time distribute the solicitation draft to various places in the form of official documents. The Ming Dynasty has a vast land and rich resources, and the situation in different places is different. It is always best to base it on reality."
Liu Jian sighed inwardly, "Your Majesty, if there are so many procedures, it might be summer before it is officially written down."
"...How about the planning period starts next year?" Wang Hao made a suggestion.
Zhu Houzhao thought about it and it made sense. Things like this were started long in advance. Either don't do it, or do it in a more detailed way, which is better than building a rough and lousy street product that is full of loopholes in the final implementation.
"Zhunzhuo, this year we will focus on drafting this document. The official planning date starts from the first year of Zhengde! This is the first time for us, the monarchs and ministers, to do such a thing. It is normal to be a little rusty. Let's work on a few more three-year plans. That’s good."
Several veterans lamented in their hearts that they would continue to do it in the future? !
Liu Jian didn't have any other opinions. Since he could officially start work next year, things would go well if things were slow. He didn't have to be in such a hurry. It wouldn't be good if he made a mistake while busy.
Although he was a little tired, he fully agreed with the emperor's proposal. To govern the country, run it well, make a list of all plans and goals, and do it step by step. For such a big country, it is impossible to have an idea today, implement it immediately tomorrow, and make the country stronger the day after tomorrow. That is a game, not at all
Untrue.
In order to build up Yang Shangyi's troops, Zhu Houzhao still devoted all his efforts to the country and spent several years... Of course, the effect was also significant.
This army was well paid, had a high proportion of military academy students, and had the ability to fight immediately. So as soon as the imperial edict arrived, he led his troops directly to Guyuan!
===
Today is also 4,000 words. I haven’t slept much for a few days and I’m so sleepy.
Back to normal tomorrow.
lq.
royal hired cat
