In the Qianqing Palace, Wang Dehua bowed to the emperor Zhu Youjian and said: "Your Majesty, the King of Qi has made a condition that Cui Changwu will be appointed as the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet. Only then will he support the emperor's Jiangnan policy and send troops to Jiangnan to deter Xiao Xiao! "
"Cui Changwu is the brother-in-law of King Li Zhi of Qi."
Hearing this, Zhu Youjian sat down on the chair unhappily, his face as dark as water.
Wang Chengen looked at the emperor, then at Wang Dehua, and said: "Li Zhi is so brave, he wants to control the court!"
"If someone from Li Zhi becomes the chief minister of the cabinet, wouldn't he have to discuss everything with Li Zhi?"
"Isn't this imperial court going to have the surname Li?"
Wang Dehua looked at the emperor's face and said: "However, now the civil servants are collectively disobeying orders. If we do not rely on King Qi, the world will be decided by the civil servants. Rather than letting the civil servants make their own decisions, it is better to discuss it with King Qi."
"At least the one sent by King Qi is just the chief minister of the cabinet. The chief minister only has the power to vote. The emperor still makes the final decision."
The Ming Dynasty used a cabinet system to govern the world. After memorials from various places were sent to the court, they went to the cabinet first. The bachelors in the cabinet discussed countermeasures. Finally, the chief minister wrote the cabinet's suggestions on paper and pasted them on the opposite side of each memorial. Presented to the emperor. This process is called ticket drafting.
After the emperor receives the cabinet's vote, if he feels that there is no problem, he will ask the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch, to copy the proposal with red ink as the final decision. Of course, if he feels that the cabinet's vote is not good, the emperor will also The final decision will be written separately. This is called red approval.
Therefore, although the cabinet has the power to make suggestions on major world affairs, the final decision-making power still lies with the emperor. As long as the emperor is diligent and reads all important memorials personally, the "power of the prime minister" of the chief minister of the cabinet is still relatively limited.
Therefore, Wang Dehua believed that since he had to rely on the power of Qi King Li Zhi at this time, there was nothing wrong with letting Cui Changwu be the chief minister of the cabinet. Even if there were problems with Cui Changwu's various suggestions, the emperor would only change them when he approved the red.
And as long as the King of Qi supported the emperor with his tiger and fierce troops, the emperor could control the entire Ming Dynasty.
Wang Chengen said: "Although the draft can be changed, the people of the world will not accept it!"
"The King of Qi is already too powerful, and his local strength has surpassed that of the imperial court. Now that the imperial court's chief minister is also appointed to the people of the King of Qi, what will the people of the world think?"
Wang Chengen bowed to Zhu Youjian and said: "The emperor is not afraid of the people of King Qi as the first assistant, but the people of the world are. The servants are afraid that the talented people in the world will join the king of Qi like hundreds of rivers flowing into the sea. Then the world will only I know the King of Qi, but I don’t know the imperial court!”
Zhu Youjian looked at Wang Chengen and took a breath. Obviously, the emperor was indeed worried about this issue.
After all, this is the chief minister of the cabinet, the head of the cabinet who rules the world, not the minister of official affairs.
Wang Dehua thought for a while and said: "Since the Holy One is worried that Li Zhi has too much power, why not discuss it with the King of Qi. The person sent here will not be the first assistant, but will be the second assistant in the cabinet."
"The position of chief assistant will be vacant from now on and will not be created."
According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, if the chief assistant is present, the cabinet will be headed by the chief assistant. If the chief assistant is absent, the second assistant consul will be appointed. Therefore, Wang Dehua said that he would no longer appoint the chief assistant and gave the position of the second assistant to Cui Changwu, which was given to Cui Changwu. power, but did not give him the title of chief assistant.
In any case, the authority of the second assistant in the cabinet is still far lower than that of the first assistant. This can make Li Zhi's power look less conspicuous.
Zhu Youjian thought for a while, turned to Wang Dehua and asked, "What kind of person is this Cui Changwu?"
Wang Dehua raised his hand and said: "Cui Changwu is Li Zhi's brother-in-law, and he is currently the chief of the disciplinary inspection team in Tianjin. I heard he is a sensible person."
"Head of the Disciplinary Inspection Team?"
"The Disciplinary Inspection Team of King Qi is responsible for admonishing discipline and discipline. It is the same position as Zuo Du Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
Zhu Youjian thought for a while and said: "It turns out he is a censor."
After thinking for a while, he said: "This matter is of great importance and cannot be careless."
"Let Cui Changwu come to the capital. I have to meet him in person before I can make a decision."
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In the Yining Palace of Prince Qi's Mansion, Cui Changwu sat on the chair in front of Cui He and said with a smile: "Sister, don't worry, this is a good thing."
Cui He hugged his youngest son Li Rong, touched Li Rong's temples, and said: "A good thing is a good thing, but I heard that the rules in the capital are very different from those in Tianjin. Over there, birth and seniority are emphasized, and you are just a scholar after all.
, All the officials in the capital are old Jinshi, I'm afraid you will be ostracized if you go there."
Cui Changwu smiled and said: "Sister, don't worry. Although Yudi is just a scholar, behind Yudi is the prince. Based on this, the civil servants have to come up to flatter Yudi one by one. Yudi is only worried that he will try too hard to steal the limelight in the capital.
With the majesty of the Emperor, I don’t have to worry about being ostracized by others.”
Cui He said: "I'm afraid of you, but I also reject you in my heart. I'm just afraid that at the critical moment, those civil servants will stumble you."
Cui Changwu thought for a while and said: "Sister, don't worry, my brother will be careful."
Cui He thought for a while and then said: "Brother, you are not here to show your prestige in the court this time. You must comply with the emperor's wishes in everything, and you cannot go against the emperor for the sake of Tianjin's interests."
"Your brother-in-law has risen rapidly over the years, developing Tianjin's business into such a large town and nine provinces, and now even conquers Nanyang. The only thing my sister has been worried about these years is the relationship between Tianjin and the imperial court."
"This king with a different surname is unbecoming after all. Your brother-in-law can sit down today, but I don't know if my son Li Huan can."
"Your brother-in-law is descended from the stars, and people everywhere support him. When he is around, the people all over the world turn to him, so he is naturally carefree. However, if he is gone, will the imperial court come back and destroy Tianjin? Will it hold grudges against the Li family?
Are you so domineering? Will he hunt down our mother and son? What I worry about every day is whether your brother-in-law, Li Huan, will be able to maintain the hearts of the people in Tianjin a hundred years from now."
"So when you go to the court this time, you have to give more benefits to the ministers in the court, respect the emperor more, and make the court look decent. If you can establish some foundation in the court and win over some ministers to follow you sincerely, then in the future
After your nephew inherits the throne, he can be regarded as someone in the court, and he can be regarded as a big help!"
"When the time comes, with the help of my uncle Li Xing internally in Tianjin and the support of your uncle externally, only then can Li Huan, a man with a different surname who is not in line with the Ming Dynasty, be able to sit on the throne."
"Otherwise, when the people's hearts are dispersed and everyone goes to curry favor with the emperor, Tianjin will collapse."
Cui Changwu looked at Cui He and felt that although his sister usually didn't care about anything and even looked a little confused, she was actually a person who understood important things.
On weekdays, she doesn't care about anything because she doesn't need to worry about it and because Li Zhi has already taken care of things. But for key matters, my sister is as meticulous as her hair.
Cui Changwu raised his hands and said, "Sister, don't worry. Cui Changwu will bring Tianjin's resources to the capital this time. He will definitely carve out a world for his brother-in-law and Li Huan."
