Zhu Yuanzhang always had a good appetite. With such a big bowl of noodles and five poached eggs, if he didn't rebel, he would have a bright future as a food broadcaster.
After the meal, Zhu Yuanzhang cheered up and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhang, are you thinking that if we become the King of Wu, we will become increasingly arrogant and arrogant, and we will also become greedy for money, lust, and indulge in pleasure?"
San Zhang Ximeng shook his head hurriedly, "How could I think so? My Lord knows self-discipline best."
Lao Zhu pondered for a while and sighed softly: "We have a hard life, I dare not say it, so we can never forget our roots. If one day comes, sir, you must remind us."
After Zhang Ximeng paused, he smiled and said: "Well, one day, I will treat my lord to some noodles!"
"Eating noodles? Yes! It's good to eat noodles!" Lao Zhu laughed.
After laughing, he asked Zhang Ximeng, "Sir, today is our first day as King of Wu. How much work do we have to do? Tell us quickly, don't delay things."
As Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, he stood up and walked towards the second hall of the Yamen, the temporary side hall of the palace, walking in a hurry.
Very urgent.
Zhang Ximeng followed Lao Zhu. He knew very well that Lao Zhu was a workaholic, but Zhang Ximeng did not want Zhu Yuanzhang to be immersed in complicated government affairs. Of course, a powerful king must learn to grasp the big and let go of the small.
Of course, in history, Lao Zhu captured everyone, big and small, and didn’t let anyone go, and he persisted for decades at a stretch. I don’t know what kind of monster he was made of?
"My lord, to be honest, the government affairs you need to be responsible for now are not many at all."
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, "Mr. Zhang, are you kidding? We used to be busy all day long without any rest. Are you telling me that we don't have much government affairs?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "Master, if you don't believe me, you can roughly calculate what the master needs to be responsible for... First of all, every new year, sacrifices to the ancestors of heaven and earth, various ceremonies... There are special procedures for these things, and you will follow them when the time comes.
Just do it, there won't be too many mistakes. The second step is the daily government affairs, which can be summarized in four words: military, money, people, and punishment." "Everything related to the use of troops is the responsibility of the lord. But in reality
If there is no war at the top, the generals will be responsible for the training below, and there will also be specialized people in charge of general evaluations and promotions. The lord can naturally also intervene.
But I think your lord should not interfere easily."
"Why?" Lao Zhu couldn't help but ask.
"Because my lord is the King of Wu. As the saying goes, if the superiors do good things, the lower ones will do the same. If the lord suddenly interferes with something, it will cause the people below to make unreasonable guesses, disrupt the order, and affect other things. It is very likely that the gains will outweigh the losses."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, is that so?
"What about other things? How should we ask?"
"In terms of money and food, expenses are also fixed. What the lord needs to consider is whether there is corruption or bending the law... But I don't think the lord should take the initiative to ask about this matter?"
"Why?" Lao Zhu was anxious, "Is it wrong to arrest corrupt officials?"
"No, no, no!" Zhang Ximeng waved his hand hurriedly, "My lord, as the King of Wu now, you need to pay attention to one thing. Never let the people below prove what you have already concluded."
"What's the meaning?"
"It means that once the lord has an opinion, the people below will try their best to prove that the lord's idea is correct so as to win the favor of the lord. In other words, this conclusion may not be wrong, but it must not be objective and accurate enough.
"
The more Zhu Yuanzhang listened, the more troubled he became, "Then we can't just ask about the remaining two things, right?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled helplessly, "In principle, this is also the case. Let's talk about personnel first. If the lord personally promotes a person and has high hopes for it, if something happens to this person and finally has to kill Ma Su with tears, it will also harm the lord.
Reputation. The best thing is to let the people below recommend you. If something happens, the person who recommended you can bear the responsibility."
"Let's talk about prisons and other matters. There are special criminal regulations for this part. More than 90% of the cases have well-documented evidence and laws to follow, so it is not difficult to handle them. Only the case of Han Xiuniang in front of us involves the conflict between old and new ideas.
When major political matters are involved, the Lord needs to intervene and set the tone. Otherwise, once the Lord intervenes in a certain case,
It’s an ironclad case, and if there are mistakes, it can’t be overturned.”
After saying this, Lao Zhu was completely stunned.
He originally thought that after becoming the King of Wu, he could free his hands and do whatever he wanted... But after Zhang Ximeng said this, Lao Zhu suddenly felt a little discouraged.
Why did he become the King of Wu and become even more constrained?
He thought carefully and found that what Zhang Ximeng said was reasonable.
The higher the status and the greater the authority, the more difficult it is to express your position easily, because if you make a mistake, it will have a huge impact, be difficult to deal with, and damage your own prestige.
Even if it is the right thing, you must consider whether it will disrupt the rhythm below and affect the overall situation...
"Sir, according to you, what do we need to do every day?"
"It's enough to read the Ministry of Education's reports for about two hours every day, and then just use the seals casually."
"What?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely surprised, "We, we are responsible for using the seal? There is nothing else? A king can be so relaxed?"
"Yes, this is what is called the Holy Emperor's rule from above!"
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. He held his temples and thought hard... Because he became the King of Wu, his authority and status were greatly improved, so he could not express his position easily, and because he could not express his position easily, he wanted to hand over the power to the people below... because
You have the right, so you don’t have the right!
What the hell kind of logic is this?
Zhang Ximeng saw that Lao Zhu was extremely confused, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Do you know what happened this time? The descendants of your family will fall into this pit.
Why were the emperors of the Ming Dynasty so weird?
Why is it that an emperor who is supposed to be hard-working and diligent in his work has no time to do carpentry?
It is because of the existence of this bureaucratic system that in fact the king can participate in very few government affairs. If he is a playful person, he can leave all the government affairs to the people below him. If he does not go to court for decades, it will be fine.
No problem.
Of course, the emperor was excluded from the affairs of the court, so it is no wonder that the country's power was deteriorating and the civil servants could do whatever they wanted.
"Something's wrong! There's something wrong with this!"
Lao Zhu suddenly shook his head vigorously, and stared at Zhang Ximeng, "Mr. Zhang, don't lie to us! We are not afraid of any criticism. We must intervene in specific government affairs, especially now, when everything is changing, you ask us
Being a King of Peace? You, you are talking nonsense!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that his eyes widened, and it was rare for him to say harsh words.
Zhang Ximeng was not afraid, but smiled and said: "What do you plan to do, my lord?"
"What else can we do? We will follow the example of the emperor going to court in the morning, call them all, and let them handle government affairs one by one in front of us. We will personally see it. Only when there are no problems can we issue an order!"
Zhang Ximeng smiled again, and sure enough, he guessed correctly again... As long as you understand Zhu Yuanzhang's character and understand a little bit about the operation of government affairs, you will understand why Zhu Yuanzhang in history was so diligent.
Why would he go to court before dawn for decades like this? This is Zhu Yuanzhang. There is no need to doubt anything. It would be strange if he didn't do this!
"My lord, I dare to ask, there are many government affairs that my lord can see clearly at once?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a dark face: "We, we will study more and think of more solutions... By the way, don't you have to remind us?"
Zhang Ximeng spread his hands and said, "My lord, there are many things that I may not know clearly. In fact, let me tell you,
There are only two possibilities for calling everyone here in the morning. One is that everyone is busy with a bunch of trivial matters to pass the time. The other is that the lord turns the main hall into Zhongshu Province, and you are responsible for it.
He assumes the responsibilities of prime minister and is personally responsible for government affairs."
Zhu Yuanzhang's brows were still solemn, "Mr. Zhang, let's be honest, I still can't figure it out. Could it be that all the emperors in the past just wanted to be comfortable and handed over power to the prime minister? Why can't all dynasties do without the position of prime minister?"
Zhang Ximeng laughed and said, "My lord, the reason why a king is a king is to have the world in his heart and look down on the world. He wants his ministers to say that what the emperor needs to consider is a hundred years from now, while the prime minister only thinks about things within three years at most.
A country must have someone who has a long-term vision and someone who cares about the current daily necessities, which is why it must have a prime minister."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought again. It seemed that this was true. He was trying to think about the future. As for his civil servants,
A three-year term is enough, as long as nothing happens during the term, it will be difficult for them to think too much.
Of course, there are some exceptions...
For example, Zhang Ximeng proposed the thousand-year cycle of rise and fall.
Some people focus on thousands of years, some people seize hundreds of years, and some people only care about the present...different status and different moods, it can be seen.
Lao Zhu thought about it again and again, and he seemed to understand Zhang Ximeng's intention. He did not tell him that he did not need to do anything, but explained to him the mode of government operation.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask for advice: "Sir, you must have made some sense. What do you think we need to do?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "My lord, I think that as a monarch, I should take charge of the overall situation. For example, there are many urgent matters that need to be solved at the moment. My lord will take care of them here, and then the Zhongshu Province will gather with the relevant yamen to discuss solutions. During this period,
The lord can also specially summon people to come over and listen to the introduction. Only if the lord is deeply involved in government affairs can he not be deceived and ignored."
"In addition... the lord should avoid being influenced by a few officials. The so-called listening to both will make it clear. Some major government affairs,
It should not be limited to the court. The public opinion and opinions of the people should be taken into account, and the thoughts of the officials below should be taken into account. It is best to arrange some specialized civil servants to go down to the people, carefully understand the situation, and come up with their plans. In this way, the Lord can comprehensively consider various aspects of the situation.
According to Fang’s opinion, only by bringing out things can we ensure that the Lord’s will is carried out and that no major omissions will occur.”
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and laughed for a long time, "Okay, sir, you have taught us another lesson!"
At this time, Li Shanchang came with a stack of official documents. When he saw Zhang Ximeng and Zhu Yuanzhang chatting and laughing,
I actually had an ominous premonition that sent shivers down my spine...