Chapter 730: The relationship between monarchy and ministerial power
The morning sun shines on the golden roof of Fengtian Hall, and the smooth golden roof reflects the dazzling light!
Zhu Hongyu, dressed in Tuanlonggun uniform, sat on the dragon chair outside Fengtian Hall, accepting congratulations from the civil and military officials of the dynasty.
"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"
"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"
"..."
All civil and military officials in the court bowed down in unison.
This is also the time when the majesty of the royal authority can best be demonstrated.
As long as you are a man, you cannot refuse this feeling of countless people congratulating you.
The smell of power is really fascinating!
The reason why Zhu Hongyu was able to insist on doing the morning court every ten days even though he knew that morning court had no practical significance was also related to his obsession with the civil and military congratulations of the Manchu Dynasty.
After all the courtiers below had finished paying homage, Zhu Hongyu spoke.
"Pingsheng!"
His voice was not loud, but through the loudspeakers installed on the dragon throne and the speakers installed on the street lamp posts around the square, Zhu Hongyu's voice spread throughout the Fengtian Temple Square.
After Zhu Hongyu finished speaking, a large group of people stood up from the ground and stood still in their positions according to past habits.
Zhu Hongyu glanced around the square of Fengtian Temple and spoke.
"In the past period of time, I have instructed Yu Jinyiwei and the Ministry of Justice to jointly carry out the anti-corruption scavenger operation!"
“Great results!”
Zhu Hongyu's words made the officials in the square change their expressions.
Not only is the effect amazing?!
More than 3,000 officials, big and small, were arrested in one fell swoop. Those who didn’t know it thought they were still alive in the Hongwu Dynasty!
It’s so fucked up!
Zhu Hongyu looked at the Minister of Justice Yan Wei'an and said.
"Minister Yan, please stand up and report on the specific results of this anti-corruption operation!"
Yan Wei'an accepted the order and walked out of the courtroom with a thick stack of documents in his arms.
Then he began to open the document and read.
"So far, the Ministry of Justice has filed a total of 3,213 cases."
"Among them, two cases involved local chief envoys, 57 cases involved local state government officials, and 322 cases involved local county-level officials."
"Now all the criminals have been captured and brought back!"
"How to deal with it, please give me your Majesty's instructions!"
Yan Wei'an asked for orders.
He knew that after this scavenger operation, the label of "cruel official" on him would never be removed.
In order to ensure his own power and safety, Yan Weian can only follow the emperor all the way to the dark side, and play his role as a cruel official with peace of mind.
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly, and then asked.
"Have the results of the interrogation of these officials involved come out?"
After hearing this, Commander Zhou Tianxu of the Jinyi Guards stood up and said.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Jinyiwei has completed the interrogation of the officials involved, and all the files have been handed over to the Ministry of Justice for filing."
The civil and military officials throughout the dynasty were all panic-stricken. This was too fast, and the case had already been filed. If the emperor had not planned this for a long time, even a dog would not believe it!
However, no one dared to stand up and say anything!
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly.
"Send the dossier!"
Yan Wei'an took the order and gave instructions to the Ministry of Justice officials behind him.
After receiving the order, the official from the Ministry of Justice turned around and left. Not long after, he came back with a large stack of files and presented them to Zhu Hongyu's desk.
Zhu Hongyu flipped through the files casually, and the descriptions in the files were relatively concise.
The purpose is to facilitate the emperor's review.
Zhu Hongyu kept flipping through the files, nodding slightly from time to time, as if to express approval.
After a long time, Zhu Hongyu stopped reading and said.
“Let’s deal with it according to the outcome of the Ministry of Justice’s trial!”
According to the trial results given by the Ministry of Justice, although there are only more than 3,000 officials involved in this purge, the family records of officials, businessmen and gentry who were implicated can add a zero after the number.
For these criminals, the Ministry of Justice has given varying degrees of punishment!
However, not many people were actually executed like Su Wenze, only about one-fifth of the total number of people involved in the crime.
Of course, this does not include those who went too far and were thrown to the Tai Hospital by Zhu Hongyu as experimental materials.
However, most people were sentenced to lifelong reform through labor and exile with family papers.
This result made the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty breathe a sigh of relief.
Everyone felt lucky that Zhu Hongyu was not as murderous as Zhu Yuanzhang, and he frequently executed tens of thousands of people.
However, how could they know that a life-long labor reform and family exile would be worse than death!
Lifelong labor reform is really treating people like animals and using them to their death.
Most of the people who were exiled at home were also exiled to Nanyang!
Moreover, don't think about any good place where these exiles will be resettled. Basically, they will be thrown into undeveloped barren mountains and ridges and let them clear up wasteland.
In this process, most people will not survive!
Just a lack of acclimatization and disease can take away the lives of most people.
This is the difference between Zhu Hongyu and Zhu Yuanzhang.
Lao Zhu kills people directly, which is great, but the method is a bit crude and can easily attract criticism.
Moreover, so much labor was wasted, thank you!
Zhu Hongyu, on the other hand, is more sinister. He doesn't like to kill people on the spot, but likes to do underhanded tricks.
Regardless of this scavenger operation, only a few hundred people were killed in the end.
However, among the tens of thousands of people involved, not a few survived in the end.
Needless to say, reform through labor is extracting the surplus value from these people.
After three to five years at most, people will definitely be exhausted!
As for being exiled and thrown into the barren mountains and ridges, most people would not survive in the end.
In this way, we can open up the frontier for the imperial court without having to get blood on our hands. How great is this?
Zhu Hongyu cleared his throat and then spoke.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "I am very satisfied with the results of this anti-corruption operation, but I am also very sad!"
"I am satisfied that Jinyiwei and the Ministry of Justice did not disappoint me. They found so many moths in my Ming Dynasty's body."
"What disappoints me is that such worms are officials of the Ming Dynasty whom I have great respect for!"
Zhu Hongyu said in a heavy tone, his eyes sweeping across the square, his cold eyes staring at the backs of many people.
"Let's just forget about the past. I said let's forget about it, so I won't pursue it further!"
"But how long has it been since the Ming Dynasty was restored? Why doesn't this person have a long memory?"
"Is it because the salary I gave you is not enough? Is it because the treatment Ming Dynasty gave you is not enough? Why do you have to be corrupt!"
"Corruption is all that matters, why do you still need to use the relief food allocated by the imperial court to the local areas?!"
"Don't these people know that these disaster relief foods are life-saving foods for many people?"
"Do they know how many people will starve to death if they take advantage of the money and food?!"
"If I don't deal with these corrupt officials, how can I see my ancestors? How can I see the people of the world?!"
Zhu Hongyu must have learned the lesson from the pre-Ming Dynasty that the salaries given to officials were too low, leading to rampant corruption.
The salary he paid to officials has never been low. Although it is not as high as the high salary of the Song Dynasty, it is still a lot higher than the salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, the reason why official salaries are raised step by step is not to give officials one step.
It’s not that the court has no money!
It was Zhu Hongyu who deliberately controlled it. He knew the principle of favor and enmity. Giving favor can only be done step by step, and it can never be achieved in one step.
"These people are forcing me and Emperor Taizu to learn!"
"Why, do I have to be like Emperor Taizu and give you a corrupt sixty tael of peeled grass and a man who goes to court with a yoke to make everyone clean?!"
Zhu Hongyu's eyes were like cold lightning as he glanced around.
The cold light in his eyes seemed to remind everyone that he was not joking.
no sooner said than done!
All civil and military officials in the court were silent, and Zhu Hongyu was also cold and silent.
It wasn't until Zheng Chenggong from the class stood up to speak that he gave Zhu Hongyu a step up.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say!"
Zhu Hongyu's expression improved slightly, he nodded slightly and said.
"speak!"
Zheng Chenggong said.
"Most of my ministers in the Ming Dynasty are loyal to the emperor, patriotic, diligent in government and love the people. Those black sheep are only a minority after all. Your Majesty, please trust me and other ministers!"
"I, the ministers, will never disappoint His Majesty!"
Facing the steps Zheng Chenggong took the initiative to offer, Zhu Hongyu also followed them down.
"Um!"
"Since King Yanping said this, I will give King Yanping some face and let this matter rest for the time being!"
“I hope you won’t disappoint me!”
Faced with rampant corruption in the court, he, the emperor, needed to express his dissatisfaction.
However, you cannot put yourself on the opposite side of the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty!
The relationship between the emperor and his ministers should not be hostile to each other.
There may be disputes between monarchy and ministerial power, which is unavoidable.
But generally speaking, monarchy and ministerial power are still interdependent.
The king needs to extend his power to all levels of society through his ministers to help him rule a huge country.
The ministers also need to obtain power from the king and use power to benefit themselves.
In other words, if ministers want power, they must maintain the sanctity of the monarchy. Only in this way can they derive enough power from the monarchy.
The power of the monarch and the power of ministers are inherently inseparable. To a certain extent, they are integrated.
It's just that the strength and weakness of the two sides will alternate, but it is impossible for the monarchy to completely replace the ministerial power.
Because, without officials, the king cannot rule the entire country by himself.
Therefore, Zhu Hongyu will leave a certain amount of face to his subordinates!
Therefore, after there were steps, Zhu Hongyu followed the steps and came down.
After the anti-corruption matter was settled, Zhu Hongyu glanced around and opened the next topic of the meeting.
The first is after the army regained Guanzhong, the imperial court took measures to restore the people's livelihood and political situation in Guanzhong!
Then there is the matter of the army's expedition to Liaodong!
Without exception, these two things have already been finalized in small meetings.
Now I just take it out to do a work report, that’s all!
As for North Korea's request for help, although the Ming Dynasty received it, no one reported it to the court in the morning.
Because the emperor has not yet made a decision, what is the difference between taking the matter to court now and forcing him to go to the palace?
Seeing those thousands of people being raped down in one breath, decapitated, and re-education through labor officials, no one dared to stroke the emperor's tiger beard!
If the emperor is given a haircut and another anti-corruption campaign is launched, who the hell can bear it?
How many officials can be really clean?
…
Zheng Chenggong’s mansion!
With the anti-corruption campaign in the imperial court during this period, Zheng Chenggong basically did not open the door to Zheng Mansion in order to prevent himself from getting into any trouble.
No matter who came to visit, Zheng Chenggong's response was that the prince was ill and no one would be seen.
However, when it was time to go to court, Zheng Chenggong was not absent even once, and he was still in high spirits in the court.
Although Zheng Chenggong made it clear that he was rejecting guests, no one dared to say anything!
After all, this is King Yanping of the Ming Dynasty!
Although this man has retired, he is still a giant in the court.
Zheng Chenggong finished his morning court and returned to his mansion. As soon as he entered the gate, he asked someone to take off the imperial robe embroidered with dragon patterns given to him by the emperor.
I put on fresh and cool clothes.
This imperial-gifted imperial robe is indeed majestic and beautiful, but it is also really stuffy.
As the cold air of anti-corruption disappears, midsummer in Nanjing is as difficult as ever.
Zheng Chenggong strode towards his study, followed by several servants behind him.
Soon he entered the study room.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! After ordering tea, Zheng Chenggong began to sip the tea and read while holding a book.
This is an outline of the British Navy's construction plan that the Ming Dynasty purchased from Western businessmen.
This includes the tactics of water warfare, the various ship shapes of the fleet, the personnel quota of the ships, etc...
This thing is said to be precious, but it is actually quite precious. After all, the essence of the British Royal Navy is in it.
But to say how precious it is, that’s not necessarily true. Ming Dynasty can buy it with money!
Zheng Chenggong was very fond of the "Outline of the Construction Plan of the British Navy" and would read it when he had nothing to do.
Then I also like to make a summary while flipping through the book, and from time to time write a letter of recommendation to Zhu Hongyu on the reform of the Ming Dynasty Navy.
Zhu Hongyu usually agreed and asked the navy to make corresponding reforms.
Although I don't want to admit it, the strongest navy in the world right now is indeed Niu Niu's navy.
It’s not scary to be behind, what’s really scary is that you don’t realize you are behind and don’t learn!
Although the Ming Dynasty has devoted all its efforts to building ships in recent years, the number of warships in the Ming Dynasty still lags far behind that of the British.
That is to say, the area east of Malacca is king and hegemony, while the west of Malacca is rarely visited except by merchant ships.
What's the reason? Is it because the navy of the Ming Dynasty didn't want to go?
of course not!
The real reason is that west of Malacca, the Ming Dynasty could not defeat the fleets of the Netherlands, Britain, Spain, Portugal and other countries!
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Although these Europeans were almost losing their minds in Europe, near Malacca, they reached a very tacit consensus not to allow the Ming fleet to pass through Malacca.
Due to the lack of strength on the Ming Dynasty's side and the fact that it had to focus mainly on the domestic unification war in recent years, it also acquiesced in the status quo in the direction of Malacca.
Now I read books and give advice from time to time. This can be regarded as the adjustment that Zheng Chenggong has found for his retirement life.
Just as Zheng Chenggong was flipping through the book, a steward came in from outside and spoke in his ear.
"Your Majesty, the crown prince of North Korea, Li Yan, is outside asking for an audience!"
After hearing this, Zheng Chenggong frowned subconsciously, feeling very embarrassed.
He probably knows Li Yan’s purpose!
They just came to beg him to come forward and ask the emperor to send troops to rescue North Korea.
However, it is precisely because of this that Zheng Chenggong feels embarrassed.
Because the emperor’s attitude is unclear now!
The emperor's attitude was unclear, and Zheng Chenggong was unwilling to express his position.
After thinking for a while, Zheng Chenggong spoke.
"That's all, bring people in!"
After all, the person outside is the crown prince of the Joseon Dynasty, so leaving people hanging is not the way to go!
You still have to meet someone when you should. At worst, after meeting someone, you can just pretend to be stupid.
…
Just when Zheng Chenggong was preparing to meet the crown prince of North Korea, Zhu Hongyu also summoned relevant personnel from the staff of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion to prepare to discuss North Korea.
North Korea is very important, at least for now!
Because this time the Manchu Qing invaded North Korea, it broke Zhu Hongyu's plan for North Korea.
Zhu Hongyu's original plan was to first absorb North Korea's social resources through trade with North Korea and intensify social conflicts within North Korea.
Nowadays, the most important trade between the Ming Dynasty and North Korea is the human trade, and the majority of them are women.
In the short term, the population of North Korea has decreased. The Ming Dynasty imported a lot of high-quality and low-priced goods to North Korea, which alleviated social conflicts in North Korea and allowed more people to have enough to eat.
However, once the timeline is extended and the male-to-female ratio is unbalanced in North Korea, it is unknown to what extent social conflicts will accumulate!
What you need to know is that men who do not marry and have children are the biggest source of instability in the entire society!
Without family as a source of concern and anchor, a man who can feed one person so that the whole family is not hungry will not honestly work as a cowhorse for the rest of his life!
What else can a large group of social idlers who can't find wives do other than work as cows and horses?
It’s nothing more than rebellion!
Anyway, they will be poor forever and have no one to implicate, so why not give it a try?
If you succeed, you will be a noble person in the new dynasty. If you die, it will be nothing more than a humble life!
Then, Ming Dynasty wanted to reform North Korea by cultivating reformists within North Korea!
Once North Korea begins to reform, the counterattack of vested interest groups and social conflicts will lead to the collapse of North Korea.
At that time, it will be the time when Ming Dynasty takes over North Korea!
However, the Manchu invaders now disrupted Zhu Hongyu's plan.
It seems that North Korea is probably going to die at the hands of the Manchus!
Now facing North Korea's request for help, Zhu Hongyu is temporarily undecided.
Should the Ming Dynasty send troops to rescue North Korea?
In other words, how should Ming Dynasty annex North Korea?