Zhu Zhanji's eyes shone: "This will fundamentally solve the hidden danger of the gentry continuing to grow bigger."
"Uncle Qing, I am really yours, you are really doing a disservice..." Zhu Zhanji was so proud that when he saw Li Qing's unkind eyes, he quickly added, "I am just praising you."
Li Qing: "..."
You really have the same virtues as your grandfather, even your speaking skills are the same.
"Don't be too happy too early," Li Qing said. "As the saying goes, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. They still have room for change."
"That's okay." Zhu Zhanji said with a smile, "After the imperial decree is issued, they can cause trouble themselves, and at worst they can cause a fire in the backyard of those gentry."
After a pause, "Uncle Qing, do you have any other plans?"
"Then there's the imperial examination system." Li Qing told Zhu Zhanji what he had told Zhu Di before.
To put it simply: the imperial court directly determined the quota of Jinshi and divided the quota equally among the provinces of the Ming Dynasty.
In this way, the phenomenon of one dominant family in the south can be put to an end.
In addition, there is another hidden advantage, that is, some wealthy gentry will migrate from the south to the north for quota.
Because the allocation of Jinshi places will definitely increase the difficulty of the imperial high school examination for candidates in the south, while the education in the north is generally not high and it is relatively easier.
The migration of wealthy gentry has a much greater impact on the development of the north than ordinary people. With their participation, various industries can be quickly stimulated.
Of course, these are all based on the smooth issuance of the decree.
After all, doing so would directly shake the entire Jiangnan civil service community, and one can imagine the difficulty.
Zhu Zhanji is also well aware of the difficulty, but he does not want to back down. Now is the time when he is full of energy.
"Done!"
"You have courage!" Li Qing gave a thumbs up, "However, you must also be prepared for their counterattack. Those people are not the ones who will suffer."
Zhu Zhanji smiled: "Whatever tricks they have, just use them, I will take them one by one!"
Li Qing nodded, feeling happy.
To put it bluntly, if a dynasty wants to prosper, the emperor's will is the most important thing.
"Can the army be stable?" Li Qing asked.
This is his biggest concern. No matter how chaotic the government is, it can be controlled, and the most it can do is make compromises, but the army must never be chaotic.
"Don't worry, everything is under control." Zhu Zhanji said confidently, "After I came to the throne, I released Wei Qing as soon as possible and reinstated him to his original post. At the same time, I gave an additional 30% salary increase to the military officers, big and small, which boosted military morale. It’s very stable and there won’t be any surprises.”
"real?"
"Do I need to lie to you?" Zhu Zhanji said amusedly, "Do you think civilian officials have infiltrated the army?"
Li Qing laughed dumbly: "That's right, I'm just too worried."
After a pause, "In that case, when do you plan to start?"
"Tomorrow comes to the morning court!" Zhu Zhanji had been holding it in for so long and didn't want to wait any longer. "You can't be lazy tomorrow. You must come to the morning court."
"good!"
…
After returning home, Li Qing took his fishing rod and prepared to go fishing in the pond to relax. However, he heard from his servants that there were guests at his door, so he had to return to the front yard.
The person coming is Jian Yi.
Li Qing was a little puzzled, and after a brief greeting, he invited him into the room.
Arriving at the living room, the guests and hosts took their seats. Jian Yi got straight to the point: "Li Shangshu, does the emperor want to promote the cabinet?"
"have no idea."
Jian Yi: "..."
"Li Shangshu and we are on the same side. The cabinet cannot become bigger, otherwise there will be endless troubles." Jian Yi said sincerely, "You may think that this official is all for his own power, but... it's not!
The cabinet is an organization that is somewhat similar to the Central Secretariat. Once they are delegated power, they become prime ministers. Taizu abolished the prime minister system in order to prevent one family from becoming dominant..."
Barabara...
After Li Qing listened quietly, he said, "Don't worry, even if the emperor promotes the cabinet, the cabinet will still be far from the level of a prime minister!"
"So, the emperor really plans to promote the cabinet?" Jian Yi asked.
Li Qing: "I don't know."
Jian Yi: "..."
Seeing that he really couldn't come up with a reason, Jian Yi simply gave up and said, "Li Shangshu, I will tell the truth. If the emperor promotes the cabinet, I, including Xia Shangshu, and all the officials of the six ministries, will strongly oppose it and insist on it." in the end."
Li Qing was noncommittal and said with a slight smile: "Does the officials of the six ministries that Jian Shangshu mentioned include our Ministry of War?"
Jian Yi's face heated up, and he immediately advised, "Li Shangshu is a member of the Six Ministries, so he naturally has to think about the Six Ministries. If he thinks about catering to the emperor in everything and does not consider the people below him, he will eventually become alienated from morality and find it difficult to convince the public. .”
"Thank you, Master Jian, for your advice." Li Qing picked up the teacup with a smile and took a sip of tea, "Does Master Jian have anything else to say?"
Jian Yi smiled bitterly and sighed: "Li Shangshu...well, to speak from the bottom of my heart, like you and me, we have no control over many things. The people below support you and me, except that you and I are their superiors. , more for their own future;
In this whirlpool of power, even if we don’t want to, they will push you and me to go. If we refuse to leave, we will be trampled under their feet;
Of course, Li Shangshu, you can transcend yourself, but I can’t!
Power is a double-edged sword. If you can't hurt others, you have to hurt yourself. Being an official... is difficult! "
He told his story of being an official: “The officialdom is a battlefield of mutual use. The people below use our big tree to enjoy the shade, and we can also use them to achieve our political ambitions;
If you want to show your ambition and make a career, without these "branches and leaves", no matter how great your talent is, it will be useless. "
Jian Yi rarely felt his heart ache, "If you don't talk about the distance, let's talk about last year's migration of people from the south to the north. Millions of people migrated in a few months. How can such a great result be achieved?
Isn’t it the people below who are supervising with all their heart?
Without them, not even a million people, not to mention millions, would be able to migrate. Why are they working so hard? "
Li Qing sipped his tea silently, and Jian Yi stopped talking.
Waiting for Li Qing to make a decision.
After a long time, Li Qing said: "With these words, why doesn't Jian Shangshu directly advise the emperor?"
Jian Yi smiled bitterly: "There is a huge difference between the same words spoken by me and Li Shangshu."
This is a fact!
Li Qing has experienced four dynasties, and Jian Yi has also experienced four dynasties, so he is very aware of Li Qing's energy.
Jian Yi was a Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Hongwu. When he entered the officialdom, Li Qing was already a man of great influence.
When he was still obedient and accompanied Be careful everywhere, Li Qing killed the prince-in-law, beheaded corrupt officials, conquered Mobei, and granted Yongqing the title of Marquis. His reputation was unparalleled and could not describe Li Qing's awesomeness.
What makes Jian Yi even more incredible is that Li Qing was not only outstanding in the Hongwu Dynasty, but also in the Jianwen Dynasty.
That's all. After the Battle of Jingnan, Li Qing, Jianwen's confidant, not only was not affected at all, but his status actually improved.
For an emperor like Taizong to be so suspicious, he believed in Li Qing with all his heart, which was... outrageous.
When he arrived at Renzong, Li Qing was almost regarded as a real national teacher, and his words were comparable to the golden rule.
The same is true for the current emperor.
With the absolute trust of five consecutive emperors, throughout all dynasties, Li Qing is definitely the only one.
All the officials in the DPRK and the Central Government knew about Li Qingniu, but no one understood better than Jian Yi how far Li Qingniu had reached.
In the battle between ministries and cabinets, Li Qing plays a key role in who wins and who loses.
"Don't be angry, Li Shangshu, if I say something bad to you," Jian Yi sighed. "Li Shangshu, you started too high. You haven't experienced the hardships of rising up from a humble person step by step, and you don't know the twists and turns involved."
Li Qing's eyes moved slightly, he nodded and said, "Please tell me clearly, Lord Jian."
Seeing that he was willing to listen, Jian Yi felt a little relieved and said seriously: "Actually, many times, I have no choice but to do it. You may only see me throwing away the blame and making peace with the mud, but you don't see my difficulties;
Officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Heavenly Officials are said to be majestic, but who knows the bitterness behind this majesty? "
"Coordination of various ministries, distribution of interests, and sophistication of people..." Jianyi Balabala talked about his difficulties. Although there were suspicions of exaggeration, most of them were true.
In a court where everyone has a lot of talent, how easy is it to secure the position of Heavenly Official?
Jian Yi confessed: "When an official reaches my position, who wouldn't want to make some achievements and leave a name in history?
Yes, I cannot be like a saint, but how could I not want to do good things for the Ming Dynasty and the people?
I came here today not only for myself, but also for the sake of the government! Jian Yi said affectionately, "Li Shangshu, think about it carefully. There are only a few people in the cabinet, but how many people are in the six departments?"
The damage to the cabinet is innocuous, but the damage to the six departments is a thorn in the side! "
After saying this, Jian Yi shut up. He had said everything he needed to say, and there was no point in talking about it any more.
Li Qing pondered for a long time and made a statement: "I will report to the Emperor the truth about what Jian Shangshu said."
"Huh~" Jian Yi breathed a long sigh of relief, stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Well, thank you very much Li Shangshu."
"Haha...where, it should be."
The two exchanged polite business blows, and Jian Yi said goodbye and left.
After Jian Yi left, Li Qing entered the palace again without delay.
…
The nave of the palace.
Li Qing waited for a while before Zhu Zhanji rushed over and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Just a temporary patch."
"???" Zhu Zhanji's face was filled with questions. He moved his sore neck and said angrily, "Stop playing riddles. I still have a lot of official business to deal with."
Li Qing took a deep breath and said, "The following are Jian Yi's original words!"
Barabara...
~
Zhu Zhanji's brows gradually furrowed, "What do you think about this?"
"Are you sure you want to promote the cabinet?" Li Qing asked.
Zhu Zhanji nodded.
"That'll be easy." Li Qing smiled, "Then we'll implement the old tradition and make a compromise!"
"By the way, you didn't show your cards directly, did you?"
Zhu Zhanji shook his head: "Not yet, but...in order to increase their enthusiasm, I have revealed something."
"As long as we don't reveal the truth," Li Qing said, "Actually, Jian Yi has a saying that is right. Damage to the cabinet is innocuous, but damage to the six departments will hurt the muscles and bones.
It is okay to promote the cabinet, but it must not be allowed to overwhelm the six ministries. "
"I understand that." Zhu Zhanji smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know in my heart that the promotion of the cabinet will be postponed for a few days, and the two national policies you proposed must be implemented first."
He said flatteringly: "Uncle Qing, your proposal is a hundred times or a thousand times better than the national policy I have been thinking about."
“…No top hats allowed!”
…
