The party struggle in the Ming Dynasty did not appear by chance, but was closely related to the establishment and rise of the cabinet.
This is actually easy to understand.
The history of struggle in the Ming Dynasty is actually divided into three stages: civil and military struggle, cabinet struggle, and party struggle.
After the civil servants defeated their relatives, the cabinet began to fight for power with the six ministries.
Later, Zhang Juzheng appeared, suppressing the six ministries and losing their temper, and the cabinet itself began to fight within the party.
After fighting and fighting, the Ming Dynasty was gone.
Therefore, the party struggle in the Ming Dynasty actually began with the cabinet.
The six ministries hold the real power of the court. If the cabinet wants to control the six ministries, it can only win over court officials.
At the same time, the cabinet is responsible for coordinating internal and external affairs, and it needs to have good relations with many ministers from outside the country.
With the right time and right place, parties will naturally form.
Zhu Qiyu knew this very well.
However, it is not advisable to suppress the cabinet because of concerns about forming factions.
Zhu Qiyu had seen a lot about the temperament of the emperor of the old Zhu family.
To a certain extent, the cabinet strengthened the emperor's control over foreign dynasties.
So even if he doesn't do it, others will do it later.
If Zhu Qiyu remembers correctly, the cabinet was further re-emphasized, and the boundary between the first and second assistants officially appeared, that is, during the Tianshun period.
This has nothing to do with who is the emperor, it is just because the court needs it.
So as the emperor, he still needs to support the cabinet.
And not only that, he can rest assured only if he finds a system in his hands that can curb party strife and limit the cabinet.
Party strife is certainly terrible, but in terms of the role of the cabinet in the country, the benefits actually outweigh the disadvantages.
The six ministries, the cabinet, and the ceremonial department are a stable political system that can ensure the normal operation of the court to the greatest extent.
The political system of the Six Ministries and the Emperor has only two ends and is too unstable.
Either the emperor overpowered the six ministries, acted arbitrarily, and destroyed the country immediately, like his unlucky brother.
Either the Six Ministries overwhelm the emperor, return to the age of prime ministers, or even give birth to powerful ministers.
Of course, with Taizu's ban, there is a high probability that it will not happen.
But all in all, there is no way out for both sides. When conflicts occur, one party must be suppressed.
The cabinet can alleviate this very well.
Therefore, at this stage, strengthening the cabinet is necessary.
The existence of the cabinet is not a mistake. If it is just an institution that mediates internal and external affairs, then there are no advantages or disadvantages.
The mistake is that it surpasses the six departments and becomes the de facto head of the hundred officials.
The six ministries will not form a party, because each of the six ministries has real power, and everyone wants this real power, so there is no way to form a party.
But the cabinet can.
Because the cabinet communicates internally and externally and does not have much overlap in power with the outer court, it is possible to form cliques with officials in the six ministries.
The only way to curb party strife and treat the symptoms is to maintain the aloof status of the six ministries and suppress the cabinet.
But most of the time, the cabinet sided with the emperor, which was equivalent to breaking its own arm.
So if you want to cure the root cause, you have to start at the root.
Mencius said it well: when you enter, you will be helpless at home, and when you go out, you will be invincible against foreign patients, and the country will be permanently destroyed. Then you will know that you are born in sorrow and die in peace and happiness.
These civil servants just live too comfortably.
If you want to curb party strife, as long as you maintain the status of a good general, the six ministries and the cabinet will naturally unite to fight against him.
There would be no so-called cabinet disputes, and there would be no internal conflicts between parties.
At the same time, the so-called rule that non-Hanlin officials are not allowed to join the cabinet must also be changed.
Only by eliminating the difference in the selection of ministers and cabinet ministers, turning the cabinet into a normal court department, and getting rid of that damn sense of superiority.
Zhu Qiyu has a clear understanding of this point.
He did not expect that the Ming Dynasty would last forever and last forever.
But since he has been reborn, he will naturally try his best to make the Ming Dynasty last longer and be worthy of his ancestors.
Therefore, for the cabinet, we must both use and prevent it, and we must find an effective method.
He doesn't have much clue yet.
But things have to be done step by step. Even if we have to suppress it, we must at least support the cabinet first before we can talk about the rest of the matter.
…………
cabinet.
After the next court, Chen Xun and Gao Gu returned to the cabinet room. They had a tacit understanding and did not speak. Instead, they each went back to their own rooms to deal with government affairs and calm their excited moods.
By the time it got dark, the memorials on hand were almost finished.
The newly minted Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Jin Shen Dian, a bachelor, entered the Zhi Wenyuan Pavilion. Mr. Chen Xun, commonly known as the Second Assistant, stepped to Gaogu's Zhi Fang and said.
"Brother Shiyong, how about going to the Yamen together today?"
Gao Gu put down the pen in his hand, stood up and nodded. He had been waiting for Chen Xun for a long time.
The two returned to Chen Xun's mansion together, had dinner together, and finally sat down in the study.
In the flickering candlelight, Chen Xun sighed quietly.
"It's a pity that Shang Ren and Peng Shi had bad luck and missed this big change."
Gao Gu also sighed: "It's also my fault that the two of them were timid and did not follow the holy will, so they missed the opportunity."
The emperor had ordered them to nominate ministers. Although they suspected that the emperor intended to select ministers, they were concerned about the rules of the cabinet and had some selfish motives of their own.
They all unanimously selected and recommended people from the Hanlin Academy. Chen Xun recommended Shang Ren and Gao Gu recommended Peng Shi. They were both their disciples.
Unexpectedly, the emperor did not express any dissatisfaction with this and gave it to him.
But when the edict arrived, Shang and Peng declined because of their lack of qualifications and ability.
Originally, this was just being polite.
But who would have thought that after going to the internal surveillance station where the edict was delivered, he would go back home directly.
This is a disadvantage because the cabinet ministers used the official edict to enter the cabinet, rather than the official imperial edict, otherwise it would not be such a trivial matter.
However, after this incident, Chen Xun and Gao Gu finally decided that the emperor did not want his ministers to be restricted to the Hanlin lineage.
Otherwise, just an internal eunuch who is delivering the decree would not dare to act like this. There must be the emperor's instructions behind it.
It's a pity that Shang and Peng, if they hadn't deliberately acted like that, they would have reached the sky in one step at this time.
As for now, I can only wait for it to be transferred to the Ministry of Education, and suffer step by step.
After all, the emperor has already said that those who join the cabinet will be given the title of six ministers, and the title of minister is the second rank.
In other words, from now on, if you want to join the cabinet, you must be at least a third-grade official or above.
Gao Gu said: "But maybe this is the original intention of the emperor. After all, you and I are already senior enough. It is common sense for the emperor to promote him a little to determine the structure of the cabinet. But if Shang and Peng really join the cabinet, they will use their Due to his seniority, the emperor would not be able to rank all ministers in the cabinet with the title of minister."
Chen Xun nodded, then ignored the matter and asked.
"What the Emperor did today clearly demonstrates his reliance on the cabinet. However, there is something that I cannot think through, and I would like to discuss it with Brother Gao."
Gao Gu also smiled and asked.
"Brother Chen, are you talking about the chief assistant?"
This chapter has been completed!