The civil service yamen in Beijing can be roughly divided into six departments, six departments, six divisions, five temples, three courtyards, three prisons, two offices and the remnants of the original Zhongshu Province.
There is no need to go into detail about the six departments and departments, but these six departments range from being independent to a certain yamen to being affiliated with a certain yamen, and the official grades range from the third rank to the ninth rank. The General Affairs Department is the most prominent, and the General Affairs Department is one of the nine ministers. The Shangbao Department, a separate department, is responsible for the official seal of civil servants. The Jiaofangsi, which is in charge of Lehu households, is subordinate to the Ministry of Rites but is relatively independent.
As for the five temples, Dali Temple is one of the three ministers of law, and the minister of Dali temple is also one of the nine ministers. Taichang Temple only deals with rituals and music, Taipu Temple specializes in horse administration, and Honglu Temple and Guanglu Temple have been introduced in the previous article.
The three hospitals are the Imperial Academy, the Hanlin Academy, and the Taiyuan Hospital. The third prisons are the Imperial College, the Qintian Palace, and the Shanglin Garden Palace. The second mansions are the Zongren Palace and the Zhanshi Palace.
The remnants of the Zhongshu Province will either become small and transparent Zhongshu Sheren, or they will become the current cabinet.
For a long time, the establishment of the Ming Dynasty Central Government Office has three points that cannot be ignored.
First, there are a large number of departments and officials who serve the emperor's legal system and enjoyment. Among them, things related to sacrifices, observing the sky, and etiquette are related to the supreme authority of the emperor's "order from heaven", while vegetable gardens such as Shanglin Yuanjian, imperial medical institutions such as Taiyuan Hospital, kitchen departments such as Guanglu Temple, and the Ministry of Etiquette Some departments under the Ministry of Industry are considered to serve the material and spiritual enjoyment of the emperor.
Secondly, all major matters in terms of direction and review of the country's practical affairs must be handled by the central government, but the grades of the chief officials who handle the specific practical matters are too low. In fact, the highest level is only the fifth grade. They can't even wear red official robes in the capital. , how much say do they have?
Third, due to the emperor's control requirements for power, all important decisions must go through the emperor in principle. The overwhelmed emperors gradually allowed the rise of the ceremonial supervisor and the cabinet, but this was just laziness. In fact, power was still highly concentrated.
Zhu Houcong is also very clear that the existence of this structure must be the "optimal choice" that meets current needs in a large sense.
Before making this decision, he thought for a long time whether this would be a little too hasty.
But after thinking about it, the biggest hurdle is actually the emperor himself: whether he is willing to delegate power, whether he dares to delegate power, and whether he wants so many personal services.
After the Ming Dynasty, the imperial power was concentrated to its peak.
When things go to extremes, things must turn against each other. Later, China had no real remnants of hereditary imperial power, while many countries around the world still retained some so-called royal families.
Zhu Houcong weighed it for a long time and decided to take this step.
He can still retain the core power and maintain a highly centralized imperial power in essence, but in terms of specific powers to handle government affairs, officials need to be given space. This is also a way to win over people - more official positions , greater power, better treatment.
In the Jinshen Hall, which has been renamed the National Policy Hall, the conference has not yet been held, and it is still a classroom.
Those who attended the lecture were the governors of various provinces, the political envoy from Zuo, the governors of the two capitals, the nine ministers of Nanjing, and the civil servant leaders of the border towns. This time, the old and new advisers, and the chief officials of various government agencies in Beijing were also sitting here.
The person in class was naturally Zhu Houcong.
"Guangdong has the Chief Envoy's Department, the Capital Command Envoy's Department, the Punishment Department, the Public Security Department, the Ducha Department, and the Taxation Department. Under the Chief Envoy's Department, except for land tax, all other subjects and taxes have been moved to the tax department. Section Secretary. All the heads of departments attended the provincial affairs meeting, plus the governors of each province, plus the two people who will be accompanying the provincial Xiangxianyuan in the future, there are nine people in total."
Zhu Houcong looked at them and pointed to the structure diagram that had been prepared next to him: "The same is true in Beijing. From now on, the general principle is that national policy, provincial affairs, government affairs, and county affairs will decide on major matters, while the actual work will be done by various ministries. The governor, the prefect, the county magistrate, and I all just grasp the direction and coordinate the various government offices. In addition to military affairs, criminal names, public security, constitutional inspections, and taxation, the chief envoys are in charge of the civil affairs of a province, starting from the fourth-level government. The order oversees the civil affairs of a government, and the sixth-grade county magistrate oversees the civil affairs of a county."
"As for the center of the imperial court, the cabinet should not be unclear from now on." Zhu Houcong said calmly, "The name is a fifth-grade scholar, but in fact he is the prime minister. The word cabinet means that he only bows to the emperor internally. From then on, The cabinet was renamed the State Palace. The Wenhua Palace is still on duty, but one of the three former palaces is left, where the meeting is held. Living in the country, in front of me, is the most important thing in the country!"
The middle is not allowed to be blasphemed.
When entering the Forbidden City, civil and military officials could only go through the side door, and only the emperor always walked through the middle.
As for the three main halls of the former dynasty located on the central axis, one hall is now reserved for the use of the State Palace, and the cabinet has also removed this word. How trustworthy is it?
"The title of Bachelor of Science will be changed to a title, and all the ministers of state in the State Palace will be of the first rank; there will also be a Prime Minister and Minister of State of the first rank." Zhu Houcong looked at everyone, "There will be many practical matters in the future, and the Palace of State will handle them with approval. No need to go through Zhu’s approval again.”
"All the members of the Zhongshushe belong to the State Palace. There is one Zhongshu Supervisor, the third rank, to assist the Prime Minister and the Minister of State; there are six Zhongshu Ling, the third rank, to assist the six ministers of state. Each of the six ministers of state is responsible for one thing. There is no order of precedence.”
This really gives the Prime Minister, the Minister of State, the Prime Minister some real power, but it is not without checks and balances now.
"As for the National Policy Conference, there are seven ministers in the State Palace, all of whom serve as counselors. The nine ministers are still the same as before, and they all serve as counselors. However, among the nine ministers, the general affairs envoy is changed to be subordinate to the national policy conference. The general affairs envoy is the second rank, and the general administration There are two deputy envoys, both of whom are of the third rank. One of them is responsible for communicating with Zhongshu Supervisor on memorials and imperial edicts. The other is dedicated for communicating with Liu Ke and Du Cha Yuan on memorials and imperial edicts. In addition to Shizhong, each of the Six Branches has a chief and deputy minister. , the fourth rank of Zheng and Cong, and the third rank of Zheng, six subjects. The six subjects are responsible for all matters, and the general committees are composed of six scientific committees. If they are not responsible for impeachment, the six subjects are dedicated to providing advice on military and civil affairs. The six subjects are general Participate in national policy meetings.”
First, the National Policy Conference was used to restrict the entire State Palace, and then the National Policy Conference was connected to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Sixth Section through the General Affairs Department to check and balance the entire State Palace. Within the State Council, each minister of state has two votes, and can put pressure on the prime minister and minister of state at national policy meetings.
But this is not the end.
"In addition to the chief of the Imperial Study Room, the Assistant Director of the Beijing Ying Rongzheng under the Metropolitan Procuratorate participates in the national policy meeting. The Wuying Palace has a military affairs meeting, with one general staff and several staff officers. One of the general staffs of military affairs, one of the five military governors, and one of the capital governors. There is one battalion admiral, one chief security officer, and one chief tax officer, so a total of twenty-four people are present at the national policy meeting. At the enlarged meeting every three years, just like today, there are many more people present."
The military's right to speak in national policy meetings has been further enhanced. Originally, only Cui Yuan represented the honorable ministers of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, and only Yang Yiqing, an important border town minister, was present. First, Wang Shouren and then Yao Rong attended on his behalf. Now, a total of There will be five people linked to military interests.
The top-level structure was determined, followed by the six departments and other offices.
These departments are more or less linked to Guangdong's new system. Among them, the Ministry of Rites has separately set up the Department of Cultural and Educational Purification and the Department of Religion in terms of culture and education, the Ministry of Industry has specially set up the Department of Technical Litigation and Purification of Officials, and the Ministry of Household has set up a tax department that is almost parallel in grade, with the chief official starting from the second grade. The General Department and the Ministry of War established two new departments: recruiting troops and armaments.
In contrast, all the departments under the six ministries are headed by a certain right minister, so the number of right ministers has greatly increased; and the general director responsible for the daily official affairs of each department is designated as the fourth rank.
After that is Taipu Temple. This department underwent the biggest change after Ma Zheng was taken away by the group of pastoral supervisors. Its new identity became the Director-General of Public Security.
The department no longer exists, and the officials in charge of horse administration have no connection with this line. However, the General Directorate of Public Security suddenly changed from a relatively marginal department to an extremely important department.
This chief of public security can participate in national policy meetings, and he has the rank of second-grade military attache!
As for Guanglu Temple, Taichang Temple, Xingrensi, Senglusi, Daolusi, Shanglinyuanjian, etc., they have either been merged into Liubu and other yamen, or will be changed into enterprises under a certain ministry.
Finally, there is the Hanlin Academy.
"I hereby restore the Hanlin Academy to encompass all kinds of scholars with all kinds of arts. It consists of the Wenhua Garden, the Classics and History Garden, and the Baigong Garden. From now on, the Hanlin bachelor's degree will be a meritorious title and will not be awarded without merit. Except for the Baigong Garden, the rest are as before. Wenhua Garden The imperial edict waiting room under Huayuan is still located in the palace."
From not being admitted to the Imperial Academy to not being awarded the Imperial Academy for meritorious deeds, from being the best Jinshi to the establishment of the Baigong Garden, the path for the elite to rise to the top of the Imperial Academy has now been completely changed.
The emperor's wishes were too clear: focus on practicality and efficiency.
To this end, they did not hesitate to provide more official positions of fourth rank and above, and they did not hesitate to give up the power of some government affairs to be decided independently by the State Council.
At a glance, the important departments in Beijing's government agencies have not actually undergone major changes. Some of the interests of the six departments have been carved out, but some powers have been added. Although Taipu Temple was the most severely punished, it has transformed into a much more prominent position. Directorate General of Public Security.
In fact, the biggest changes can only be felt personally by people of rank 2 or above: the establishment of the State Palace and the changes in the national policy meeting.
Then comes the extremely important question: how to financially guarantee the salaries of so many extra officials and so many titles in the future.
"Three years." Zhu Houcong looked at them. "Many of the expenses in the palace have been purchased. Within three years, all purchases will be made. After three years, if the new law can take shape, the income of the financial plan will increase." and expenditure will eventually be separated. If I feel relieved by then, the treasury will begin to implement unification. From then on, the budget and final accounts can be clarified by each ministry."
The total amount of money and assets confiscated during the "treason and property raids" that started last year is a huge amount, far more than the money confiscated in the Qian Ning and Jiang Bin cases.
In the early days of the implementation of the new law, it was really about enriching the country by copying the family.
Now Zhu Houcong is cutting back on his expenses and has also set up 16 state-owned enterprises to increase revenue.
Spend the past three years with the money obtained from ransacking homes. If the new method can really bear fruit, it will be able to enter its own cycle.
At that time, we will really be faced with how to manage the Ming Dynasty's financial affairs well. A Ministry of Finance that can conduct unified management and know the generally accurate revenue of the country's entire fiscal revenue is indispensable, and a unified treasury is indispensable.
Today, the emperor's own inner treasury and the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue are still managed separately, which is quite confusing.
If Zhu Houcong hadn't often lent money to the Ministry of Revenue, many things would have been called "treasury deficit" now.
The Ming Dynasty did not have a unified treasury, and the Ministry of Revenue had always been limited in the small financial structure. The emperor himself was the largest expenditure item in the Ming Dynasty.
At this moment, the unified feeling of all the ministers present is: His Majesty is really drawing his own blood to support the Ming Dynasty for the new law.
The emperor is really...
Next, some important candidates were "recommended" on the spot.
This formal national policy meeting was preceded by a half-class, half-discussion meeting, where everyone just recommended their favorite candidates.
Subsequently, the emperor will decide on the matter at a formal national policy meeting where votes will be cast and voted on.
But everyone knows that now is the time to ventilate. As a smart person, you need to know now who will be responsible for what things in the future, so that you can give pertinent opinions during formal discussions and facilitate the elected people to carry out their work.
First, there are several newly established important ministers who can participate in national policies: the General Staff of the Military Affairs Council, the Director-General of the Public Security Department, the Director-General of the Taxation Department, and the General Secretary of the Sixth Section.
Then, there were several other important ministers serving the new imperial court: the two general affairs envoys, the Zhongshu Jian Zhongshu Ling, and the six chiefs and deputies all served.
Finally, there are a new group of red-robed senior officials in the six ministries who are the third-rank right minister, the fourth-rank chief minister and other ministries and above.
During this process, Nanjing Jiuqing was on pins and needles.
It seems that the six bureaucracies have not changed much, but the ministers of the six bureaus in the north and south now have ministers of state who are in charge of government affairs.
At this moment, the grades of many officials within the yamen in Beijing have been upgraded, but it is not said that the same will happen in Nanjing.
In the future, it will also be a department under the Sixth Department. In the Beijing Sixth Department, the right assistant minister of the third rank is in charge and the general manager of the fourth rank is in charge. In Nanjing, the managers of the six departments in Nanjing are only the right ministers of the fifth rank.
Although the six departments in Beijing have always been the most important, at least their superficial titles are the same.
Nowadays, the gap in rank has widened. The various bureaucracies in Nanjing must first be managed by Beijing, and then they will be abolished.
The Nanjing Jiuqing looked eagerly at the heated discussion in the palace, knowing that this was probably the bait thrown by the imperial court to these Nanjing Jiuqing first.
Should we jump on the train to reorganize the Beijing government offices and join the Beijing court or even the national policy meeting?
This means that from now on, we must respond to the call of His Majesty and the National Policy Council, and gradually bring all the officials in Nanjing to Beijing. When only a group of old, weak, sick and disabled are left in the Nanjing government offices, it will be natural for the Nanjing government offices to be abolished.
With a good official position in front of them, looking at the real prime minister who is about to appear, looking at His Majesty who has obviously already planned it, and the new and old advisers now, they don't need to think too much, they just go crazy towards some old advisers with whom they have friendship. Wink.
This time is a real big change in the top leadership of the imperial court.
From top to bottom, there are the Taxation Department, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Public Security Department. These three independent departments will obviously extend vertically to each county. They only accept the leadership of local chief officials, but are controlled by their superiors. This is completely new. system.
The autonomy of the original six ministries and ministers of state has also been greatly increased.
There is no doubt that those who cannot keep up with the version will be eliminated first, those who are above level four. On the contrary, those officials in green robes only have clearer powers and more pictures of promotion and transfer.
After a group of candidates were selected for these newly established important positions, there was a silence in the palace. They did not touch the Prime Minister, Minister of State and the additional minister of state, but discussed the positions to be established in Wuying Palace. Military meeting.
Yang Yiqing was actually elected as the first candidate for the military general staff, which meant that he would not become the minister of state, and he would completely enter the military attache sequence from now on.
But this also means that there can also be civil servants in the military affairs meeting.
"The Minister of the Ministry of War, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and the Minister of Military Affairs are all assigned to serve as staff members of the military affairs meeting. There are also four staff positions. They can be both civil and military. They must know the military."
Not surprisingly, Cui Yuan immediately elected the new Duke Gu Shilong, who had resigned and wanted to avoid the limelight, and he also elected the Chief Secretary of the Guangdong Public Security Department, Ma Yong, who had made meritorious service.
Fei Hong had previously recommended Zhang Jing, the water patrol censor who was quite knowledgeable during the Sichuan Rebellion, to serve as the new fourth-rank military commander, and Yang Yiqing recommended two more border generals.
Wang Qiong recommended Wang Shouren as the Minister of the Ministry of War. At this time, he officially began to move the position of the Six Ministers of Beijing.
Subsequently, Yang Tan formally recommended Wang Qiong as a supplementary minister of state to take charge of official affairs.
The Great Heavenly Official cannot join the cabinet, but now the rules have changed.
The emperor is still there, but things have changed.
The six ministers moved, and finally pointed to the supreme position in the minds of civil servants: the powerful prime minister, prime minister, and minister of state.
They originally thought that this must be Yang Tinghe's position, but unexpectedly, no one from the old advisers said anything.
Then, it was Yang Tinghe who saluted and said: "My younger brother Tingyi has been recommended to succeed Wang Bo'an as the governor of Jiangxi, and my minister Yongxiu has been recommended to be the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. It is not appropriate for me to attend the national policy meeting again. I recommend Fei Zi to be the prime minister of state affairs." Minister. Fei Gongliang joined the cabinet and supervised the constitution of Sichuan. His virtues and talents are far-reaching and his prestige is great. I am already old, so I ask the Governor Yingtian to work with the Governor of Huaiyang, Jiang Jingzhi, to assist His Majesty in clarifying the major issues of river transportation, maritime transportation, and the Huanghuai flood. , and build a foundation for the Ming Dynasty for all eternity."
There was silence in the hall. For other people who did not often hang out in national policy meetings, this decision was too heavy.
The leader of the new party gives way to the leader of the "old party".
Let the old party implement the new law, and the leader of the new party guides Zhili with his sword. This is not a brave retreat, but a veteran who continues to charge.
There was a Huaiyang Governor and a Yingtian Governor in Southern Zhili. On the surface, they did not dismantle Southern Zhili, but in fact their intentions were obvious.
As for the two brothers Yang Tinghe, one is in Nanjing and the other is in Jiangxi, these two brothers are actually the governors of the important cultural and educational areas in the south of the Yangtze River. It is certain that the government and the public are talking about it.
Coupled with the fact that Yang Shen, who was the right minister in charge of the Provincial Cleaning Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the emperor trusted the Yang family, and the Yang family was going to work frantically to clear up the tax interests in Jiangnan.
Fei Hong was previously shocked by the idea of establishing a new prime minister, Prime Minister and Minister of State, but he really didn't know that Zhu Houcong and Yang Tinghe had made this decision.
In the blink of an eye, he understood the significance of what Yang Tinghe had said to Zhu Houcong before, so he felt very complicated.
Does this count as Yang Tinghe's compensation for not taking care of his mistake in the past, which resulted in his ancestral grave being dug up?
In any case, this is also an important event in history. More than a hundred years later, the new official prime minister of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Houcong nodded: "Do you have any other candidates to recommend?"
He nodded as if he understood what Yang Tinghe said, but everyone else lowered their heads: Although all smart people in the world already know that Fei Hong is an acting insider, he does represent a relatively conservative faction. . If Fei Hong becomes prime minister, this group of people will definitely take over the banner of the new law.
Sometimes they don't really oppose the new law, it's just because they are not in office and unable to protect their own interests and future.
But that will change later.
Zhu Houcong then said: "In that case, I would like to share my views on the new laws in Jiajing five years. Your Majesty and others will also carefully consider their suggestions to form a rough strategy and then review the details at the national policy meeting. I think that next year we will first clear the land and rebuild the land. Yellow book, reform of the government office. It is advisable to mobilize the sons and ministers of the world to serve as officials. Those who do not want to serve as officials, if they support the imperial decree, can be awarded the title of local sage. What do you think, the governor, who is in charge of the administration of a province?"
The establishment of eighteen-level rural sages, in addition to opening up a way for farmers, industry and commerce to rise, the most important purpose is indeed this.
After next year, if the local gentry in the Ming Dynasty do not want to become officials, they will become rural sages by cooperating with the court to sort out the land and people in their families.
If not, what is?
(End of chapter)
