"I plead guilty! Your Majesty does not need to blame yourself!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, it's not good for all the ministers to wait!"
"Your Majesty, please pay attention to your body, and be less angry!"
Xu Jie looked at the officials who were about to make a fuss just now, but now they were reduced to tears by the emperor in just a few words, and even blamed themselves. This made him dumbfounded.
The last time all the officials collectively cried bitterly was when Yan Song and his son fell.
"You have good intentions, and so do I!"
"Think about it, do I want to kill people just after I ascend the throne? I blame all these things on you. Is it not good for me to play in the harem every night instead of going to court early, and to accompany the prince and queen every day?"
"We will hold two great court meetings every month, and all state affairs will be left to you. If you do well, I will gain a good reputation. If you don't, I will put aside the relationship and deal with a few people and still be a wise king."
"I did it myself, for what reason?"
"It's not for our Ming Dynasty! This Ming Dynasty is not only mine, but also yours! I want our monarchs and ministers to leave a mark in the history books. Emperor Longqing was a good emperor, and the ministers of that dynasty were also good. A minister?"
After this combination of punches, the official kneeling on the ground was even more moved.
Many people even beat the ground and cried loudly, constantly mumbling about how they had failed the late emperor.
In fact, Zhu Zaijing really likes these upright people. They are very cute, they have a clear distinction between love and hate, hate evil as much as hatred, and have a straight heart. Whatever they think in their hearts is written on their faces.
As an emperor, such ministers are very useful. As a person, it is also easy to get along with such friends. They are all a lovely group of people.
Zhu Zaijing just didn't want such upright people to be led astray by those with ill intentions and used as gunmen.
Such ministers may not have much ability, but their hearts are very clean! If the country is in trouble, these ministers will be the first to die.
"Forget it! Everyone get up!"
"Your Majesty, I have indeed misunderstood Your Majesty, please punish me!"
Zhu Zaijing smiled.
"There is no need for punishment. Just apologize to the cabinet ministers and then go back to work!"
The cabinet serves as a barrier between the emperor and the officials. They cannot live in harmony with each other, but they cannot be too antagonistic.
Xu Jie, who just now suspected that the emperor was playing with people's hearts like Jiajing, was actually moved when he saw this scene.
This is the kind of respect the cabinet has not felt from the emperor for a long time.
It seems that the emperor is still a kind man!
The officials who caused the trouble collectively bowed to the cabinet and said, "My lords, please forgive me!"
The cabinet, led by Xu Jie, returned the favor.
"Don't dare!"
After both sides shook hands and made peace, everyone went back happily. The cabinet was on duty, the emperor returned to Qianqing Palace, and the troubled officials returned to their respective yamen.
Wang Lin was left half-dead on the ground touching his buttocks, staining the few bricks beneath him red.
~~
When Zhu Zaijing returned to Qianqing Palace, he did not sit down and continue to rest. Instead, he sent someone to call over the eunuch who was punched and kicked by King Dai at the dinner party.
After a while of burning incense, the little eunuch was led over and knelt tremblingly in front of the emperor.
If you want to hold the pen in your own hands and compete with the literati group for the right to speak, start with newspapers.
The so-called imperial power does not extend to the county means that the power of public opinion is in the hands of local gentry and officials. They can interpret the imperial decrees however they want, and they can interpret the legal provisions however they want. In a word, everything in the local area Everything is decided by the gentry and officials.
The salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty was the lowest in all dynasties. A county magistrate's salary was only 40 taels a year, which was barely enough to support a family, and even more children could not be supported.
Therefore, grassroots officials usually collude with the local gentry, make some money from them, and speak for their interests. Naturally, whatever policies the court adopts become policies that are beneficial to the gentry.
The importance of the right of public opinion can be imagined.
For example, the braided dynasty of later generations spent almost a hundred years compiling Ming history, and also strictly prohibited all Ming history among the people, thus tarnishing the Ming Dynasty a lot.
Generally, it only takes three to five years for a dynasty to compile the history books of the previous dynasty, and it will only take more than ten years if it is longer. After all, the previous dynasty was only a few years ago, and a lot of information is complete, and you can just piece it together.
But our Ming History in the Qing Dynasty has been revised from Shunzhi to Shiquan Laoer in one go. How much content has been changed internally and externally!
For example, the record that Zhang Xianzhong massacred 60 million people, which is impossible even with a little common sense, is an important manifestation of the power of public opinion.
What? China didn't have that many people at that time?
There weren’t that many people in Sichuan at that time?
Those mud-legged people know nothing!
The pen is in the hands of the gentry and the Tungus nobles. Whatever they say is what they say. The mud-legged people can just eat some sweet potatoes, plant some grain, and have more children to serve as slaves. How can they have the thought to question this!
For another example, the Tungus nobles showed their frugality and wisdom by saying that the Ming Dynasty had 100,000 eunuchs, while our Qing Dynasty only had a few thousand eunuchs.
But anyone with a little bit of common sense knows how big the Forbidden City is, how big would it be to have a hundred thousand eunuchs squeezed into it?
Could it be that every time the emperor travels, the scene looks like this:
Come on, come on, move your legs, the emperor is here, make way, make way! Those who are lying down stand up!
This guy can't fart alone and the whole palace will be wiped out!
Therefore, in the long run, the pen barrel is even more important than the gun barrel!
"What's your name?" Zhu Zaijing took a sip of tea.
"Your Majesty, my name is Chen Hong!"
Damn it!
Zhu Zaijing was shocked. He didn't even look for him yet, but he showed up at his door?
Chen Hong, this is a very good tool man!
In history, Chen Hong was ruthless and sinister. He was only loyal to the emperor and had a strong desire for power.
Such a person is so helpful!
"Do you know why I asked you to come here?"
"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions!"
"Can you read?"
"This slave knows how to read!"
In fact, the Ming Dynasty did not allow eunuchs to participate in government affairs at the beginning. At Lao Zhu's time, they could only do some of the hardest and most tiring work in the palace. When Lao Zhu and his ministers were discussing, they had to stand ten steps away and not approach without reason. The guards in front of the gate can be killed without asking the emperor for instructions.
The reuse of eunuchs started from Lao Si.
It is true that Ma Sanbao is a genius, and he has grown up in front of him since childhood. It is understandable that your usurping emperor does not feel safe and uses his own people. The key point is that Ma Sanbao's achievements are worthy of being a famous official throughout the ages.
But the bad thing was the Dongchang thing. It was the commander of the Jinyiwei at that time who made Ji Gang more and more arrogant. Even the show girl who was looking for the fourth brother dared to interfere, and finally planned to rebel.
From then on, the fourth child felt that the Jinyiwei family was so dominant that there had to be a check and balance, and the commander of the Jinyiwei was often away from the palace, so he felt insecure.
So Lao Si established Dongchang, which was an organization like Jinyiwei to picket officials and spy on intelligence. The only difference was that the top leader of Dongchang was a close eunuch beside the emperor, so he could rest assured.
Later, when Xuanzong and Zhu Zhanji met, this good saintly grandson could not stand the work pressure of the emperor directly commanding the six ministries, so he set up an inner study hall and began to teach the eunuchs around him how to read and let them participate in political affairs. Share your own stress.
Later, eunuchs began to extend to every corner of the Ming Dynasty and gradually began to spread. This was also one of the major reasons for the ruin of the Ming Dynasty.
Indeed, the eunuchs also had Ma Sanbao, Wang Zhi, and Feng Bao, who were equally capable eunuchs.
There are also loyal eunuchs like Wang An and Wang Chengen.
But there are more things like Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian who bring disaster to the country and the people.
