The civil servants below did not quite believe their ears.
Set up an advisory office and let them act on behalf of the government?
Did you hear that right?
You must know that the greatest ideals of scholars in this era are to cultivate their moral character, manage their families, govern their country, and bring peace to the world.
This is every reader's dream.
To realize the ideal of governing the country and bringing peace to the world, it is inseparable from handling government affairs.
Only in this way can one realize his political ambitions.
Bound by etiquette, few people dared to dream of the throne of the emperor.
But almost all scholars aspire to one day become a "powerful prime minister" and then govern the world according to their own ideas.
Make meritorious service.
Of course, once any scholar becomes a "power prime minister", he will be frantically surrounded and suppressed by other scholars.
Wen Wu is the first.
Why can't I be the one who governs the world?
Therefore, what scholars want is for the emperor to ignore government affairs, be a moral model, and be polite.
How to govern the world should be left to us, not the emperor.
To put it nicely, it’s called “governing by hanging down the arch”.
To put it mildly, you can just be a "signature" and we will be responsible for managing the country.
Of course, it cannot be said that their thinking is completely unreasonable.
After all, those who can enter the court and become important ministers are all outstanding scholars.
The best among people, the carefully selected "elite".
As for emperors, except for the first generation of founding emperors, the emperors of later generations did not go through a lot of screening due to the existence of the hereditary system.
Genetically speaking, there is no such thing as a dragon giving birth to a dragon or a phoenix giving birth to a phoenix.
There are such cases, but they are only rare examples.
Most of the time, the IQ of offspring follows "mean regression."
The first generation is the elite, and the second generation is often not as good as the first generation, but disappears from the crowd.
It is only possible to survive by inheriting the legacy of the first generation and being under the shadow of the first generation.
As for ordinary people's children, although most are extremely ordinary, there are always a few who are exceptionally talented.
In terms of personal abilities, these selected "gifted" people are naturally better than the unselected second-generation successors.
These second-generation successors may have received a good education and received special training, and their abilities in all aspects are still far stronger than ordinary people.
But compared with the "unparalleled" genius, it is difficult to compare.
Most of the ministers in the court have a sense of arrogance and believe that they are geniuses, far superior to ordinary people.
Of course, to some extent, this is true.
There is no one who can pass the imperial examination and rise step by step from a low-level official to a high-ranking member of the imperial court.
Everyone is a human spirit, and everyone is an "old fox".
But after hearing Zhu Yunxuan's words, the old foxes couldn't sit still.
"His Royal Highness Taisun's words are quite reasonable to my subordinates. The key to governing a country is to employ people. As long as you know how to use people well and do what they can, why should the ruler have to do everything personally?"
Liu Sanwu was the first to stand up and said: "It's just setting up an advisory office to act as an agent for government affairs. This is a big deal, and I'm afraid your Majesty won't agree to it."
Since Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister, political affairs have been handled personally.
The ministers could also see that His Majesty wanted to keep everything under control, so naturally they did not dare to interfere.
Although I really want to act as an agent in the government.
But they can only place their hopes on the next generation of emperors.
Otherwise, offending Lao Zhu is no joke.
At this moment, hearing Zhu Yunxun take the initiative to mention it, they all felt excited.
But I have to worry about it.
"Yes. What His Highness Taisun said is very good, but His Majesty's place is not easy."
"The lower officials are naturally willing to share the country's worries and dedicate themselves to death. But Your Majesty..."
One of these people began to complain.
They wanted to go back to the past, but they were cunning and unwilling to touch Lao Zhu's head.
"Grandpa Huang's health is not as good as before." Zhu Yunzhen looked serious and reprimanded loudly: "As ministers, can you bear to see His Majesty work so hard?"
"What is the purpose of raising a scholar in the imperial court?"
"As important ministers of the imperial court, you set an example for all officials. If you don't share the worries of the imperial court and His Majesty shares the worries, what's the use of supporting your family?"
These few words made the ministers all blush and lower their heads, wishing they could bury themselves in the sand.
Isn’t it just about occupying the moral high ground?
I can do this trick too!
Zhu Yunzhen said "cough" twice and felt that the time was almost ripe.
"I know it's hard for you, but I'm afraid that Grandpa Huang will be angry and have you dismissed and beheaded."
"But who doesn't have it?"
"As a minister of the imperial court, how can I not have any responsibility?"
"Well, I don't need you to speak out and give advice. Just try to help me handle today's memorial and let His Majesty see your abilities."
"You read the memorial first. Then, everyone will use a piece of paper to write down their opinions on how to deal with it and put it inside the memorial."
"Remember, the handling opinions should be simple and clear, to the point, and do not write too many words."
"Otherwise, you won't be able to handle all the memorials."
"When each of you has approved and written, I will come back to check."
"This is also a test of your ability to act as an agent of government."
"If all the opinions you criticize are to the point and are handled properly, I will ask your Majesty for permission in the future to allow you to enter the newly established Counselor's Office and act as an agent of the government."
"I hope you won't disappoint me."
Hearing what Zhu Yunxuan said, all the ministers became excited.
Handling government affairs and reviewing memorials are things that I didn't even dare to dream about before.
Now, the opportunity has come.
Who wouldn’t want to take the opportunity to show off?
Even if it’s not for promotion, just to experience the dream of handling political affairs and reviewing memorials, it’s still worth it!
"My subordinates will follow the instructions carefully and will do their best to serve His Majesty the Grand Sun and fulfill their duties as ministers for His Majesty."
Including Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai, no one objected anymore.
They also want to seize this opportunity.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Zhu Yunzhen nodded with satisfaction.
He also said: "The memorials submitted by the officials are not trivial. To prevent them from being lost or stolen, they are not allowed to be taken out of the Wenhua Palace."
After saying that, he ordered: "Come here, bring a few tables in. Your Excellencies will review and process them here."
Soon, the eunuchs brought tables and chairs and gave them all the four treasures of the study.
Afterwards, Zhu Yunxuan distributed the pile of memorials in his hands.
This group of officials began to read the memorial seriously one by one.
Although they had often read memorials before, this was the first time they had directly reviewed them and put forward suggestions for handling them.
Before that, he could only speak when Lao Zhu asked how to deal with it.
At this time, everyone did not know how excited they were to review the memorial by themselves.
Although it was just a draft opinion and not a final decision, it was enough to make them happy.
Zhu Yunxuan looked at their diligent work and nodded with satisfaction.
Liberated!
Immediately, he ordered the eunuchs to give him snacks and fruits.
Eat and watch them work.
mock up.
If you want to torture me, you should first experience the feeling of inflicting it on yourself.
Time passed by minute by minute.
Zhu Yunzhen had nothing to do and began to write something.
Letting these people review the memorial is only the first step.
Next, we still need to establish a perfect system.
The autocratic monarchy became more and more perfect as time passed. By the Qing Dynasty, the autocratic monarchy reached its peak.
There were many bad things about the Qing Dynasty. It can be said that it was a mess in many aspects.
But only in terms of the emperor's centralization of power, it can be called a model of the feudal dynasty.
One of the most important points is the setting of the military aircraft department.
The Military Aircraft Department has overall military and political power and has become the highest state organ in power.
It was also completely placed under the direct control of the emperor and was equivalent to the emperor's private secretariat.
At the same time, the military is the highest state organ in power in terms of power, but in form it has always been in the status of a temporary agency.
In addition, the Military Aircraft Service has no formal regulations on office space and official settings, and there are no grades or salaries.
In this way, the Minister of Military and Aircraft seemed to have a high and powerful position, but in fact he could rise and fall at will in the hands of the emperor.
However, in Zhu Yunxuan's view, the Military Aircraft Department still has many imperfections.
Moreover, in his opinion, there is another system whose impact on the imperial power is even greater than that of the Military Aircraft Department.
That is the confidentiality system.
The constraints imposed on the emperor by the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty ultimately came from the moral pressure of feudal ethics.
To create this kind of pressure, we must first occupy the high ground of public opinion.
The power of public opinion comes from openness.
There is no pressure from public opinion in private.
Once the publicity is turned into secrecy, strong public opinion will not be formed, and there will be no pressure on the imperial power.
The memorials written by the officials of the Ming Dynasty are basically open to the public.
What memorial was given and what content was written spread throughout the government and the public in an instant.
For example, Hai Rui's "Public Security Shu" is also known as "Speaking Straightly about the First Matters in the World".
As soon as the memorial was published, it was known to both the government and the public, public opinion praised him, and civil servants came out to support him.
In this way, if Emperor Jiajing kills him, it will be equivalent to fulfilling his good reputation, but will make himself known as the "faint emperor".
On the other hand, if the memorial is subject to a strict confidentiality system, it is strictly prohibited to disclose it to a third party.
Then the situation is completely different.
The emperor could kill him if he wanted to, without any pressure at all.
No matter what it is, no one else knows it except the emperor and himself.
At the same time, if the memorials were kept secret, ministers would inform each other.
It means that everyone has become the emperor's eyes and ears, spread inside and outside the capital, and in the central area. No one knows who has made any small reports to the emperor.
This is also the reason why the Qing Dynasty did not need Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and Xichang, but it could still exercise excellent control over its ministers.
Of course, the confidentiality system that Zhu Yunxuan had in mind should be further improved on the basis of the Qing Dynasty.
The secrecy system of later generations was much higher than that of the Qing Dynasty.
And these civil servants can also be asked to help process memorials and put forward opinions when necessary.
But if you want to use this to gain access to the highest power, you are thinking too much.
At least, he would never allow it when he was the prince and emperor.
However, if he dies, it is not impossible to establish a new system.
At least bring in more oversight.
After all, who knows what kind of virtues his future descendants will be?
It would be bad if a useless emperor ruined the entire country.
At this time, institutional constraints and corrections are needed.
Zhu Yunxuan thought silently, gradually having a complete plan in his mind, and writing down the notes faster and faster.
After a while, he almost finished writing.
Looking up, I saw the officials below, all sitting at attention, reviewing the memorial.
There are thousands of memorials, but not everyone only reads some of them.
Rather, everyone must read every memorial and put forward their own opinions.
Use this to tell whose opinion is better.
After Zhu Yunxuan finished writing, he began to eat snacks and fruits leisurely.
"My lords, you must finish reviewing these memorials today! Today's work is done today, and there will be new memorials to be reviewed tomorrow."
When Zhu Yunzhen saw Huang Zicheng rubbing his eyes and taking a rest, he immediately reminded him kindly.
As he spoke, he glanced at him with a smile.
Huang Zicheng's whole body trembled.
When I glanced at the pile of memorials next to me, I felt regretful.
If I had known that I would review it myself, why would I encourage the courtiers to submit so many memorials?
Isn’t this cheating yourself?
But now, I can only bite the bullet and continue reviewing.
He had not rested for a day, and he was now in a trance and dizzy.
But when he thought about the rare opportunity in his life to review the memorial, he gritted his teeth.
Such an opportunity cannot be missed.
You must never take a leave of absence due to illness or shrink from the battle.
Even if you die, you must continue reviewing.
Huang Zicheng quickly opened a new memorial and started working seriously.
…
Zhu Yunzhen nodded with satisfaction.
The next plan is also being planned in my heart.
Letting these people read the memorial is only the first step.
Not only to give them a small punishment, but also to pave the way for the next plan.
Next, there is a bigger "pit" waiting for them to jump into it.
…
(End of chapter)
