"Your Majesty, I have been feeling very unwell recently, and as I am getting older, I am homesick. Please allow me to return to my hometown for retirement!"
When officials from the south of the Yangtze River in the DPRK started to make a fuss over the reduction of the number of places for the scientific examination in Nanzhili, Xie Qian also stepped forward and handed in his resignation letter, hoping that Emperor Hongzhi would allow him to return home for retirement.
"Thank you, Mr., you must not do this~"
"Yes, Mr. Xie, you are in good health and only sixty years old. How can you return to your hometown to retire now?"
"Xie Gong, you are the mainstay of the imperial court and His Majesty's minister."
Upon hearing that Xie Qian was returning to his hometown to retire, many ministers from both the government and the public stood up, especially the conservative officials and Jiangnan officials.
Xie Qian can be regarded as the representative of these officials in the court, and he can also be regarded as the last great backer and pillar of the conservative faction and Jiangnan officials.
If Xie Qian returns to his hometown to retire, they will have even less say. Then they will all be reformist officials represented by Li Dongyang, Zhang Mao, Liu Jin, and Zhong Zhong. God knows when the Ming Dynasty will be
Let them play whatever they want.
Emperor Hongzhi took Xie Qian's resignation letter and glanced at it quickly.
The memorial said that he was in poor health and homesick, so he could no longer serve the emperor, and hoped to return home to take care of himself. Finally, he thanked the emperor for his trust and importance over the years, and for his kindness to him.
This is an old routine for resigning from office.
Some of them are really in bad health and must resign, but most of them resign on the excuse of old age and poor health.
"Xie Aiqing, if you feel unwell, I will ask professors from Daming Medical College and Daming Royal Medical College to take a look at it. In addition, the King of North Korea recently paid tribute to a batch of Korean ginseng. I will have some sent over later."
"This resignation will be avoided."
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Xie Qian. Although he was not his teacher, he had been his assistant lecturer since he ascended the throne and had been by his side ever since he ascended the throne.
Emperor Hongzhi was also a man who missed old friendships and was also a generous and kind man.
Although he was dissatisfied with Xie Qian, Emperor Hongzhi was still a little reluctant to let go of Xie Qian when he really wanted to resign. The relationship between emperor and minister for many years could not be let go just by letting go.
Therefore, Emperor Hongzhi also tried to retain him.
Of course, this is also routine operation.
It's just like when the founding emperor in ancient times ascended the throne, he had to invite his subordinates once, and again and again. Although the emperor was eager to ascend the throne as soon as possible, he still wanted to refuse once to show that his ability was limited, and to refuse twice meant that he might not be able to take on a big job.
, reluctantly became the emperor, half-heartedly and half-heartedly.
In ancient times, a courtier had to resign and return to his hometown to retire. Unless the emperor was extremely dissatisfied and disgusted with this courtier, he would still have to go through similar procedures.
The first time he asked for resignation, he would definitely not agree to it. The other party said that he was not in good health, and even sent an imperial doctor to see him, and also rewarded the minister with some nourishing medicinal materials.
I will definitely not agree to the second resignation, and will also reward him with some gold, silver, brocade and other things to show that the emperor has treated the minister poorly and hopes that the minister can continue to stay and serve him.:.
If you resign for the third time, it depends on the specific situation. If your health is really bad, or the emperor really doesn't want to keep the other person anymore, or the other person really wants to return home to retire.
Then the emperor will give the other party many rewards, and then add some titles. If your son is an official in the court, he will also give your son a slight promotion, so that you can go home and retire in glory.
Emperor Hongzhi was a generous and kind man, but also a man who missed old friendships.
Xie Qian applied for resignation for the first time, so he naturally wanted to retain him.
No matter what, the other party's face must be given to you. Even if you want to go home to retire, you must let the other party go home and retire in a glorious manner.
"Your Majesty, I have decided to leave. I am really old and my body cannot bear the heavy responsibility. I still ask for your permission."
Seeing Emperor Hongzhi retaining him, Xie Qian was moved to tears.
To be honest, working for Emperor Hongzhi is really comfortable, and you don’t need to worry too much. Emperor Hongzhi is a generous and kind boss, and he is really good to his ministers.
Unless it was against the emperor's will, Emperor Hongzhi rarely had the intention to kill. In several major cases, only a few officials were killed. Most of the officials were dismissed from office and exiled. As for their family members, they would not be killed on a large scale.
of involvement.
Xie Qian was also very touched by the fact that he was now being cared for and rewarded.
But it was a routine operation for the emperor to retain one or two people. Xie Qian had already decided to leave, so naturally he would continue to resign.
"No~"
Emperor Hongzhi left the court without saying a word.
In the Chancery's study room, Emperor Hongzhi once again tried to persuade Xie Qian to stay, but Xie Qian still made up his mind to leave and had no intention of staying.
There is no way, Xie Qian is also a cabinet minister after all, and he also needs face. When Emperor Hongzhi paid a private visit incognito, two of the three cabinet ministers took him with him, but he didn't take him with him. Wouldn't this embarrass himself?
If everyone in the government and the opposition knew about it, how could he still be a cabinet minister?
In the next few days, Xie Qian wrote letters to resign one after another, and Emperor Hongzhi also tried to persuade him to stay. After six attempts in a row, he saw that Xie Qian had decided to leave, and finally had to agree to Xie Qian's return to his hometown for retirement.
Of course, Emperor Hongzhi also treated Xie Qian extremely favorably.
First of all, Xie Qian was rewarded with a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, pearls, emeralds, brocades, cloth and other things. This was to ensure that he would have enough money and material to take good care of him.
Then Xie Qian was granted the title of an earl. Of course, it was not the hereditary and irreplaceable kind. This earl could not be inherited. It would be taken back when he died. His son could not inherit it. It was not an iron rice bowl. Generally, it was
Rewards were given to important civil servants, such as Liu Jian who was granted the title of earl.
At the same time, he was also granted the title of Young Master and Crown Prince. This is almost the same as the officials of later generations. When they retire, they will be promoted to another level.
Finally, Emperor Hongzhi promoted Xie Qian's son Xie Zheng to show his gratitude.
Of course, these are all trivial matters. As Emperor Hongzhi agreed to Xie's move back to his hometown for retirement, the topic among the ministers immediately returned to the matter of who should be recommended to the cabinet.
Cabinet ministers did not have much real power in the early Ming Dynasty, but after the mid-Ming Dynasty, cabinet ministers became important officials with real power.
The duties and powers of cabinet ministers generally include the power to draft and approve opinions, draft edicts and seal refutations, consult and advise, make decisions at meetings, conduct joint reviews, and make presentations.
The so-called vote drafting and replying refers to drafting responses or handling opinions to the memorials submitted by various yamen and ministers for the emperor's reference and decision-making. From the initial design of the voting drafting powers, the cabinet is just a secretarial agency.
However, with the reigns of Renzong and Xuanzong, the cabinet voting system was clearly fixed, and voting became an important means for the cabinet to participate in administrative decision-making.
Because before the emperor makes a decision, he must go through the cabinet vote and draft policy opinions. In a period when the imperial power and the power of the ceremonial supervisor were relatively restricted, important decisions were mainly decided by the cabinet vote.
The voting plan has roughly gone through three stages: "joint propaganda and cooperation", first-aid and special voting, and split voting.
In the early days, the cabinet ministers discussed and drafted the votes and handed them over to the emperor for consideration. If they disagreed, the votes were returned and changed. In many cases, there could be up to five changes, forming a political negotiation between the emperor and the cabinet ministers.
To put it simply, although the cabinet ministers are the emperor's secretaries, they have great power and can even overrule the emperor's opinions. If the cabinet ministers disagree with many things, the emperor has no choice but to discuss them with the cabinet ministers.
, compromise with each other.
The imperial edicts were drafted and rebutted. The drafting of edicts was initially carried out by the Hanlin Academy. After the cabinet system was completed, the Imperial Academy and the cabinet were separated, and the edicts were drafted exclusively by the cabinet.
The so-called rejection means that if the cabinet ministers think that the emperor's edict is inappropriate, or that the eunuch falsely conveyed the imperial edict, they can reject it or refuse to draft it. Since the edict needs to be issued by the cabinet, this means that the emperor's will cannot be conveyed downwards.
If it is communicated, it will be impossible to implement it.
The duties of consulting and admonishing can be roughly divided into two types: one is to call in the right consultant to consult; the other is to give advice in a confidential manner.
For those who make secret comments, there will be a special seal, which will be stamped and sent to the emperor. Generally, there will be a reply. Since general memorials need to be copied and reported to the ministers, but secret messages can be left unpublished.
Mi Shu gave the ministers who spoke highly of the right to speak, allowing them to say things that others could not. This greatly shortened the relationship between the emperor and those who spoke in Mi Shu. Therefore, it was a great privilege to speak in Mi Shu.
It has also been criticized frequently.
The duties of meeting decision-making and co-examination are a manifestation of the shift of cabinet power from the inner court to the outer court.
The cabinet meeting is jointly participated by the cabinet, six ministries, six departments, nine ministers, etc., and regularly discusses decisions on major daily affairs. It was established at the beginning of the establishment of the cabinet.
Since government affairs "must be handled by the cabinet," the daily administrative power of the cabinet has been consolidated. To put it simply, the cabinet is not only involved in all matters large and small, but also the cabinet ministers play the role of decision-making and deliberation.
The Sutra Banquet is to explain to the emperor the principles of governing the country, administering government, establishing oneself, and having a correct mind, three times a month. There are also lectures on other days.
This authority is no longer important, especially since it is often talked about. After a long time, there will be nothing to talk about. However, it is equivalent to always accompanying the emperor. As the saying goes, those who are near the water and towers will be able to tell the emperor.
When it comes to governing the country, it is also a great opportunity to get promoted. Why are people in the Hanlin Academy promoted so quickly?
Isn't it because they are all close ministers of the emperor, and they dangle in front of the emperor every day to show that they are better, and promotion is like riding a rocket.
Judging from the active powers possessed by cabinet ministers, the power of this cabinet minister is very great. Naturally, these officials want to become cabinet ministers, who have great power and are in a position of supreme authority. We provide you with the fastest Daming Zhenhai
Wang Gengxin, Chapter 1566, Cabinet Powers Free Reading.:.