Chapter 521: Separation of Military and Political Affairs
The dismissal of a large number of officials left many vacancies in the already short-staffed court.
Especially for court officials below the fifth rank, it can be said that there are very few left, and even the total number of officials in the sixth rank is only five.
Zhu Youxiao also took this opportunity to start arranging students from Huangming College and Beizhili Academy to join the imperial court.
Then the reform of the system began.
The Logistics Department and the Staff Department of the Yulin Army officially became the yamen of the imperial court, and were not just establishments in the army.
And the military department was formally established, which was independent like the six departments and was directly responsible to the emperor.
The rules and regulations and the division of military power are also very detailed.
The Ministry of War's military power was officially deprived of its military power. From then on, the Ministry of War no longer had the power to govern the military, including military competitions and military training.
Basically, the plan was restored to the Hongwu period. The Ministry of War only had the power to verify military achievements and make plans for the increase or decrease of the army.
Others have been assigned to the military department, and the officials of the military department are no longer civilian officials, but are held by military generals who have achieved military exploits and are mature and stable.
Moreover, following the Han Dynasty's heavy-title general system, all those who serve in the military department will bear the newly added general seals of the front, rear, left, and right titles.
The official position is designated as the second rank. Compared with the ministers of the six departments, both responsibilities and status are equivalent.
At the same time, there are exactly four people with the same status and power, so as to prevent the cabinet from creating a sequence of first and second assistants, and one family being the dominant one.
Of course, they have no military power. They are similar to the cabinet, specializing in assisting the emperor and handling many affairs such as the army and national defense.
Equivalent to the emperor's military secretary, he only has the right to consult but not to make decisions.
The Staff Department and Logistics Department were also placed under the jurisdiction of the Military Department.
The military funds and food allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs are directly connected to the Logistics Department and do not pass through the hands of the Ministry of War, which ensures that corruption is minimized to a certain extent.
More importantly, the relationship between civil servants and generals is no longer that of superiors and subordinates, but equal.
Whether it is the border army or the Five Armed Forces Governor's Mansion in name only, they are directly under the control and jurisdiction of the military headquarters.
As we all know, civil servants and officials who pride themselves on being noble have always looked down upon generals.
Zhu Youxiao made such an arrangement because he was afraid that the generals would lead their troops and horses to fight outside and the logistics would not be guaranteed.
The military has been hampered by civilian officials taking advantage of their powers or some pretexts. This has happened in all dynasties.
As for the promotion and dispatch of generals, this is a major matter, and it requires the approval of both the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Ministry of War in order to be effective. This was Zhu Youxiao's intention.
As soon as this reform system came out, it once again caused an uproar in the court.
The most violent reaction was naturally from the Ministry of War, and even Wang Zaijin was not calm.
Not only officials from the Ministry of War, but also officials from other ministries came to him for information.
No official in the Manchu Dynasty knew that Wang Zaijin was the emperor's most trusted minister.
Not surprisingly, most of the officials did not get Wang Zaijin's good looks, and were either kicked out or drank the northwest wind outside.
"Da Sima, you must have His Majesty's trust. You must go to the palace to see me as soon as possible and advise His Majesty to take back the imperial edict as soon as possible."
"Yes, according to His Majesty's imperial edict, if the Military Department is really established, then what's the matter with the Military Department?"
"Wouldn't we, officials, become useless people?"
The officials of the Ministry of War were all impatient and had no choice but to persuade Wang Zaijin to stop the emperor's actions.
But as a minister, doesn't he have a sense of crisis at this time?
His current mood is the worst, and he is more irritable than anyone else.
This directly reduced the power in his hands.
Just as his subordinates said, once the military department is really established, he, the Minister of War, will be nothing more than a decoration.
But he knew what kind of person the emperor was. He always said what he said and never stopped what he had decided, even if he discounted it.
Fortunately, I am still a bachelor of the cabinet, so I will not be reduced to a decoration without real power.
At this time, Wang Zaijin could only comfort himself silently in his heart.
But throughout the whole day, he was still distracted and had no intention of dealing with matters.
When the next shift was approaching, Wei Zhongxian, who was familiar with him, suddenly arrived.
"Da Sima seems to be worried."
Wei Zhongxian noticed Wang Zaijin's expression as soon as he came in.
Although he is a rough man and uneducated, he is at least over fifty years old and has been in this palace for decades.
This ability to observe words and colors is naturally different from ordinary people, and you can see at a glance why he is worried.
When Wei Zhongxian asked, Wang Zaijin didn't want to reveal too much and replied with a forced smile:
"The affairs of the imperial court are heavy, and military and political affairs have to be decided and dealt with by the officials. Naturally, they are a little worried."
"The relationship between you and me is pretty good, and we are both doing things for Lord Long Live. Da Sima, please stop fooling our family with such prevarications."
"Long Live Master guessed that you must be in a bad mood today, so we specially asked our family to inform you that Long Live Master is waiting for you at Qianqing Palace."
As soon as he heard that the emperor summoned him, Wang Zaijin, who was already listless, immediately became energetic.
It seems that Your Majesty still relies heavily on me, and my king is still an important minister in the Jin Dynasty.
"Then please ask the factory manager."
Wang Zaijin was different from other literati and officials in that he did not have such a great sense of superiority in front of eunuchs and generals like others.
For him, power and merit are the most important, and he also has his own pride and bottom line.
Otherwise, in history, he would not have openly opposed Sun Chengzong, who was the emperor's master, had a high status, and was supported by the Donglin Party members.
After arriving at Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youxiao also quickly summoned him, but he said directly without too much nonsense:
"The new system of separation of military and political affairs is bound to be implemented and cannot be doubted."
"I have always held the view that professional matters should be left to professional people."
"Leading troops in battle is naturally better done because of the military or those from a family of generals."
"Civil officials are mostly people who read books about sages and have been pursuing fame all their lives. How do they know how to arrange troops and how to march and fight?"
"Even after they achieved fame and entered officialdom, they only read military books when needed, and then just copied the gourd and talked about military affairs on paper."
"This is like making a sword. Which one is better made by a blacksmith or a carpenter?"
Although the truth is correct, Wang Zaijin still finds it difficult to accept this fact in his heart.
But he didn't dare to go against the emperor and say things like "I object to my protest".
Therefore, I wanted to do the next best thing, and wanted to use a different angle to tactfully remind and advise, so I said:
"What your Majesty said is indeed reasonable, and I agree with it. However, I have something I don't know whether to say or not."
Zhu Youxiao had already guessed what Wang Zaijin wanted to say.
It was nothing more than those commonplace things that Zhu Youxiao didn't want to hear. It was a waste of time, so he stopped him decisively.