Chapter 37 The pros and cons of the cabinet (please read it!)
After listening to the lecture, Zhu Zhanji almost realized that the Xuanzong mentioned by the immortal master was himself.
Although I don't know what my future self did, in the current Zhu Zhanji's view, this has nothing to do with me. I am just a handsome and handsome emperor's grandson.
Can each of you stop looking at me?!
"The nature of the Supervisor of Ceremonies has undergone fundamental changes since the reign of Emperor Xuanzong."
"In order to check and balance the civil service group headed by the cabinet, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty established the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch, and the eunuch who holds the seal in the inner court. All votes submitted by the cabinet will be approved and annotated on behalf of the emperor by the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch.
After the completion of the submission, it was handed over to the eunuch for sealing after the emperor's approval, and then sent to the six ministries to officially take effect. The authority of the eunuch Bingbi to annotate on his behalf is called the 'red approval' authority."
"Since then, the Si Li Jian has formed a huge organization that corresponds to the cabinet ministries, headed by eunuchs with palm prints and pen pens. In essence, it has become another cabinet of the inner court, and its eunuchs with palm prints have actually become rivals to the chief ministers of the cabinet.
The confidential "internal minister", the eunuch Bingbi can be regarded as the second assistant."
"In certain periods, the Supervisor of Ceremonies had overwhelming power, suppressing the six cabinet ministries and being unable to lift his head. He was jokingly called the Supreme Cabinet."
"Wang Zhen, the first powerful eunuch in the Ming Dynasty, was the eunuch who smashed the iron monument of Taizu. He was the eunuch in charge of the ceremony."
"This system of checks and balances between civil servants and eunuchs was followed throughout the Ming Dynasty until the country was destroyed."
Ji Boying's voice was not loud, but when it fell on Lao Zhu and Lao Zhu Di's hearts, it stirred up a storm.
Anyway, the words have already been spoken here, and Ji Boying did not give Lao Zhu some time to think before continuing.
"So, Lao Zhu, you asked me before if I wanted to abolish the prime minister system."
"The answer to whether to abolish or not to abolish requires you to judge for yourself. It is actually very simple. You only need to compare the prime minister system with the cabinet system and analyze the pros and cons of the cabinet system."
"Let's talk about the advantages of the cabinet system first."
"First, strengthen the imperial power: after the abolition of the prime minister system, the imperial power will be greatly improved, and the emperor's power will truly be solemn."
"Up to the Ming Dynasty, there was no real power of the prime minister from the beginning to the end, because the existence of the cabinet mechanism determined that the chief minister of the cabinet could not obtain complete power of the prime minister. Even if the examination method was created, six subjects were in charge of six ministries, and the department
The ceremonial supervisors and eunuchs followed his orders, integrating administrative power, deliberation power and decision-making power into one body. Zhang Juzheng, who was closest to the power of a prime minister, could only be called half-step to the power of a prime minister."
"Here, I would also like to mention that whether it is the cabinet or the Supervisor of Ceremonies, whether it is voting or approving, the source of power is different from that of the prime minister. The power of the prime minister comes from the system, and the power of voting is different from approving
Power is all dependent on the emperor, so as long as the emperor is willing, it can be abolished with just one word. The same is true for arbitrary power such as Zhengde Liu Jin and Tianqi Wei Zhongxian."
"So, from this point of view, deposing the prime minister system is equivalent to putting a layer of gold silk armor on the throne of your old Zhu family. You will never be backstabbed by your own ministers and eunuchs like you did in the late Han and Tang Dynasties."
"The second point is that the election of cabinet ministers is relatively fair."
"Since the improvement of the cabinet system, the style of court recommendation has developed from ministers to cabinet ministers. The cabinet ministers are all selected from the court. Those who enter the cabinet through Zhongzhi are ashamed of the scholars and officials. This can be done to a great extent.
It is forbidden for relatives or sycophants to interfere in politics."
Tingtui: The Ministry of Personnel, together with the Nine Ministers, and the Department of Science and Technology jointly recommend ministers with high prestige and report them to the emperor, who finally approves their appointment to the cabinet.
Central decree: The emperor bypassed hundreds of officials and directly issued decrees and appointments.
"Third, the cabinet has greatly shared the pressure of government affairs, but it has also eliminated the arbitrariness of the prime minister system and avoided the potential risk of authoritarian ministers."
After finishing speaking, Ji Boying stopped.
I was a little thirsty, so I took a sip of coffee.
After hearing this, Lao Zhu's face, which had darkened all the way, finally saw the light of day.
"We still have some foresight. It seems that deposing the prime minister system has many benefits."
In Lao Zhu's view, nothing is more important than imperial power. As long as his descendants hold on to the imperial power, the Ming Dynasty will not fall into the hands of foreigners.
"My father is wise and majestic."
Although it has been many years since he flattered his father, Zhu Di still went with the flow when it came to flattering him.
“My grandson admires the great grandfather’s foresight and foresight!”
Zhu Gaochi followed closely behind.
"The great-grandfather's talents and strategies are beyond the reach of Zhanji."
Each one beats louder than the other.
Lao Zhu's mood improved a lot.
Ji Boying put down his cup, glanced at the four generations together, and continued to speak.
"Next, there are the shortcomings of the cabinet."
"Lao Zhu, this is why today we are obviously talking about the prime minister system and the cabinet system, but I spend my time talking to you about the eunuchs' chaos in government."
"listen."
As soon as these words came out, the smile on Lao Zhu's face immediately disappeared.
"First, after the imperial power is highly concentrated, the requirements for the emperor will also become higher."
"When power is concentrated in one person, if this person is a diligent and decisive king, then the country will be lucky and the people will be lucky. But if the emperor does not take care of things, then the whole dynasty will be full of demons."
"And this brings about the second drawback."
Ji Boying looked at Lao Zhu.
"The second point is that eunuchs disrupt government."
"I have just talked about the existence of the Li Jian in general. When the emperor is in charge of affairs, the eunuchs holding the pen and the eunuch holding the seal of the Li Jian are like puppets. Their every word and deed is controlled by the emperor."
"But when the emperor is not doing anything, the ceremonial eunuch who holds the power of approving the red is the highest decision-maker. That is to say, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial eunuch will exercise the power of the emperor on behalf of the emperor."
"In this case, the six ministries with executive power and the cabinet that discusses political power are simply unable to compete with them. The entire government and opposition parties will become the eunuchs of the ceremonial supervisor."
"This is the exclusive power of eunuchs."
When he heard the words "eunuch's exclusive power", Lao Zhu's fists clenched red.
The power of our great emperor fell into the hands of eunuchs. How could we give birth to those useless descendants? We hold the supreme imperial power in our hands, but we allow a group of eunuchs to wield power wantonly and poison the country.
Old Zhu Di also frowned when he heard this. After all, he was the one who initiated the use of eunuchs. He somewhat blamed himself. At the same time, he was also thinking about what he should do to prevent this kind of problem from happening in future generations.
"Third, there is no legal guarantee for the position of the cabinet. When the country is in trouble, it is difficult for someone to emerge."
"During the Ming Dynasty, from the beginning to the end, the cabinet did not have a formal organizational structure. It was just a secretariat on the side of imperial power."
"The chief minister of the cabinet does not have the title of prime minister, but has the power of the prime minister. He has the power of the prime minister but does not have the responsibilities of the prime minister. Without Zhu Pi, the six ministries would not be convinced at all, even Zhang Juzheng, the Ming Dynasty's closest to the full version of the prime minister's power. The chief minister of the cabinet still has to cooperate with Feng Bao, the eunuch in charge of etiquette and seal, in order to take charge of the power and realize his ambitions."
"In this way, when the country is in deep trouble, it needs reform ministers. The emergence of famous ministers who can turn the tide is extremely demanding. After all, people like Zhang Juzheng can take care of the six ministries, the cabinet, the ceremonial supervisor, the harem, and the emperor at the same time.
, there was only one in the entire Ming Dynasty in 276 years."
Lao Zhu and Lao Zhu Di, as well as Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji, all listened very seriously, and the three words "Zhang Juzheng" were deeply imprinted in their hearts.
People who can be mentioned repeatedly by immortal masters must be extremely outstanding people.
Ji Boying paused for a moment, moistened his throat, and continued.
"Four, the disaster of cronyism."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Zhanji subconsciously asked.
"Master Immortal, I have a question. There have been cronies in all dynasties. How is our Ming Dynasty different? Why should we attribute it to the cabinet?"