The emperor issued an edict and held a court meeting.
The six ministers, the minister, the censor of the imperial court, the admonishment officer of the admonition court, the minister of Dali temple, the general envoy, the imperial minister, plus the cabinet bachelor, the co-organizer bachelor, the Hanlin bachelor, and the six subjects' palm seals were all given to Shizhong
, the Censor of the Thirteen Palm Seals, the Yin of Fengtian Prefecture, the Governor and Governor of Shandong, and other important officials attended the court recommendation.
The so-called court recommendation refers to the recommendation by the court.
"I heard that the chief minister of the Song Dynasty asked to be released, and he has been appointed governor of Yunnan and Guizhou and governor of Yunnan?"
Penglai Palace is about to miss a room, and many ministers have already received the news.
"Does Your Majesty really want to change cabinets?"
"I wonder why your majesty holds court!"
Everyone has gradually become accustomed to Emperor Shaotian's dictatorship, and now that he suddenly wants to be promoted, they are still not used to it.
In the past, when employing people in the imperial court, the appointment and dismissal of middle and low-level officials was the responsibility of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. For some important official positions below the third rank, the Ministry of Civil Affairs had internal recommendations. The Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and the left and right ministers, together with the chief doctors in charge of each department, held a centralized meeting.
After discussing suitable candidates, the final decision will be made by the Minister himself.
For ministers of third rank and above, they are generally appointed by the emperor.
However, it will only be recommended in some controversial cases.
Tingtui is also a type of court conference, which discusses military and state affairs. It is now gradually replaced by the Prime Minister's Office. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, civilian politics has become more and more mature.
Especially the civil servants in the middle and later periods not only had their own say in the selection of officials, but also were able to reflect their own opinions on various national affairs, and various systems such as ministry recommendation, court recommendation, and court consultation were established for this purpose.
However, court meetings and court meetings are actually held infrequently. The former mainly discuss the appointment of the crown prince, national ceremonies, important border military matters, etc., while the latter are mainly used when the selection of important officials of third rank or above is highly controversial.
To put it bluntly, it was a manifestation of the emperor's weakness.
It is impossible for powerful emperors like Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di to monopolize power. This kind of system is impossible.
There were also few examples during the Renxuan period.
It was not until the power of the civil servants after the Yingzong surged, and the subsequent emperors were mediocre and tired of government, that the originally highly centralized imperial power was torn apart. It was not until the Hongzhi period that such a system became common practice.
But since Zhu Yihai raised his army, he has gone his own way, so how can he be bound by these constraints?
In the beginning, they were always leading troops outside. Officials below the third rank were recommended by the ministry, but above the third rank, they were basically directly appointed by the emperor.
However, even during the Chongzhen period, the court recommended and after the court deliberation, the civil servants only provided suggestions to the emperor, or proposed candidates, and the final decision-making power was still in the hands of the emperor.
For example, when Liu Hongxun and his colleagues recommended cabinet ministers, they asked the court to recommend ten candidates. In the end, the emperor took six name tags with Kuai Zi, selected six out of ten, and worshiped him as a cabinet scholar.
The emperor could also completely ignore the plans and candidates of his ministers and make decisions based on his personal preferences. Although there were not many cases of complete refutation, the imperial consultation was indeed a very influential political system in the late Ming Dynasty.
But in Shaotian Dynasty, this method has been abandoned for a long time.
Now that the emperor suddenly wants to be promoted, it is surprising in such a sensitive period.
They waited until the eunuch from the Internal Affairs Office came to announce the decree and led them through the palace gate into the hall to meet the saint. Only when they arrived at the hall did they know the content of this court recommendation.
The six cabinet ministers, as well as the co-organizers, have all completed their terms and have to change cabinets.
Change cabinet.
A new cabinet came to power to assist the government.
The emperor asked the ministers to discuss the candidates for the new cabinet and the whereabouts of the bachelors from the old cabinet.
Although some people had already said that the first minister, Song Zhipu, was going to Yunnan, but now all six cabinet ministers have to withdraw, which is shocking.
There are currently six cabinet elders, the first is Song Zhipu, the second is Qi Biaojia, and then Zhang Guowei, Chen Hanhui, Ke Xiaqing and Yu Ying.
This cabinet team is the first cabinet. From the time when the government was in charge of the country to the time after taking the throne, it was relatively stable, and its achievements are also there. I thought it would continue, but who knew that now it would all have to be replaced.
The whip sounded.
The emperor appeared in a nine-regiment dragon robe. After sitting down, he went straight to the point and said that the current cabinet had worked hard and had great achievements. However, the first assistant proposed to change the cabinet after three years of service. After careful consideration, the emperor decided to accept it and change the cabinet, allowing the ministers to recommend it.
"This time the election is to select a new cabinet of bachelors and co-organizers of the bachelor, tentatively six members each, and re-select to form a new cabinet.
From now on, the cabinet will serve a three-year term."
The emperor changed the topic, but reminded the ministers that the new cabinet does not mean that there must be replacements.
The key point is that in the next three years, bachelors with political achievements and good health can still be elected for re-election, and can serve up to two terms of six years.
Everyone is confused, isn't it a cabinet change? Why is he talking about re-election?
But most people know that Song Zhipu is going out, so he must change everything this time.
The great scholar of the Shaotian Dynasty is a first-class scholar and a highly respected official. Now that he is changing the cabinet, how to arrange his position is unprecedented in history.
"My proposal is internal and external exchanges."
"Let's first elect the chief minister of the new cabinet!"
Zhu Yihai's cabinet reorganization was not too avant-garde. He did not say that he would choose a chief minister and then let him nominate new cabinet members.
Everyone in the palace praised the ministers, but they did not expect that this time there would be such a big change.
When facing the emperor, the first thing to start directly is to select the first assistant, and everyone has no choice but to start discussions along the way.
Xu Shiqi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a bachelor of the cabinet and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, was the first to propose the candidate. "The veteran thought that the chief minister of the Song Dynasty had been in the cabinet for three years, during the Conglong uprising, and his hard work and achievements were obvious to all. Now he is still young and strong, and he can continue to lead the cabinet and assist His Majesty Zuo.
, the old ministers elected Song’s chief minister for re-election!”
Huang Daozhou, Jiang Dejing and other co-organizers also agreed.
Song Zhipu's talents are not very good, but the cabinet he has led has been very stable for three years. Moreover, he also has a Donglin identity. If he were to leave the prime minister at this time, it would inevitably cause bad associations.
Hong Chengchou, the Zuo Jianyi doctor, had been thinking about the emperor's words. He knew that given the emperor's temperament, since the matter was made so formal, there was no need to stay with Song Zhipu.
Moreover, since he returned, he has actually become a completely lone minister in the court. He also deliberately maintains his position as a lone minister, rarely interacting with his former contacts, and faithfully acting as his advisor to the officials.
He is responsible for his duties, and he still performs his duties very well in the field of supervision.
Since taking office, he has impeached and removed hundreds of officials.
"Your Majesty, the chief minister of the Song Dynasty has indeed worked hard and made great achievements. However, since a new cabinet is to be formed, I think it is better to have some new atmosphere. The change of cabinet can also make the central government more energetic.
The minister recommended Wen Anzhi, the governor of the five provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi, as the first assistant. He presided over the southwest and performed extremely well. He not only stabilized Sichuan, but also quelled the Yunnan rebellion. He also incorporated the Western Camp, defeated the Qing army, and recaptured Hanzhong and Gansu.
, has made great achievements, it is extremely suitable for him to enter the court, lead the new cabinet, and assist His Majesty the Left!"
The selection of Wen Anzhi was a suitable candidate found by Hong Chengchou following the emperor's ideas.
Not only must one be of upright birth, but also must have strong moral character, and one must also have sufficient merit, and these places of civility and security all meet the criteria.
Wen Anzhi is fifty-six years old this year, not yet sixty, so he is in the prime of life. In the second year of Tianqi's reign, he was selected as a Jinshi scholar. Zhang Guowei and Jiang Dejing were in the same class. Jinshi Shujishi also had a very upright background.
Before the Shao Dynasty, he had successively served as editor of the Hanlin Academy, Nanjing Secretary, Shao Zhanshi, Minister of Rites, and Guozi Jijiu, etc., all of which were important positions in the Qing Dynasty.
What's more, because Xue Guoguan was framed and his status was reduced, it was a bonus.
In the Hongguang Dynasty, he was summoned to be Zhan Shi, but he did not come out. He was again worshiped as the Minister of Rites, but he still did not come out. This is also a bonus.
Later, when Zhu Yihai called him up, he gladly left the mountain and went to Yunyang alone to serve as a patrol officer and supervise the army. He made great achievements in defeating Xiangyang twice. Later, he moved to Pianyuan to be the governor, and he even helped put down the rebellion. After that, he went to Sichuan and served as the commander-in-chief.
Five provinces, let alone this achievement.
Looking at the ministers who guarded one side of the Shaotian Dynasty, no one had more achievements than Wen Anzhi.
Even Zhang Guowei, Huang Daozhou, Du Yinxi, Zhu Dadian, He Tengjiao, Qu Shichu, etc. are not as good as them.
When selecting a new chief assistant, one must not only look at his background, but also his ability, and ability cannot be expressed in words, but must be based on his achievements. Wen Anzhi's achievements are well deserved.
Wen Anzhi is still from Donglin.
Wen'an became a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi's reign, and the number one candidate that year was Wen Zhenmeng. Wen Zhenmeng was Wen Zhengming's great-grandson. They both won the imperial examination in the same subject, and were later assigned to the Hanlin Academy.
Both of them are descendants of Wen Tianxiang. In terms of seniority, they belong to the same family. Wen Zhenmeng is also one of Wen's grandchildren.
Wen Zhenmeng was the great-grandson of Wen Zhengming. He also studied under the name Gu Xiancheng of Donglin Academy. He was a famous member of the Donglin Party. He was forty-seven years old when he won the first prize.
Regarding the younger generation's 29-year-old clan nephew Wen Anzhi, he admired both his talent and his loyalty, so he introduced him to Ye Xianggao, the first chief assistant of the Donglin Party.
Wen Anzhi became a disciple of Ye Xianggao and became a member of Donglin.
Although Wen Anzhi was not particularly famous in the Chongzhen Dynasty, it was because he did not like party strife very much.
Hong Chengchou felt that at this time, Donglin's identity would not detract from Wen Anzhi's points, but would add points to him, because Wen Anzhi obviously belonged to the kind of old Donglin that the emperor appreciated more, rather than the kind of young Donglin like Mao Bijiang and the others.
Lin, or a fake Dong Lin like Qian Qianyi.
Many ministers in the palace also recommended their own candidates.
Some people recommended Zhang Guowei, some recommended Xu Shiqi, and some recommended Huang Daozhou.
Probably a dozen names were recommended.
Basically, they are all good candidates. They served long time in Zhejiang Province and later held important positions in the court or left the town.
Some people also recommended Liu Zongzhou, which was obviously inappropriate. Liu Zongzhou was good as a censor, but if he was a chief assistant or cabinet minister, he was obviously unsuitable, and the emperor simply ignored him.
Of course, Zhu Yihai's nomination today is not really to be recommended by ministers, but to take this opportunity to formally determine the three-year term of the cabinet and the replacement of the cabinet when it expires.
The first assistant, Song Zhipu, has already decided to go out to serve as the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou and the governor of Yunnan, so he needs to replace the first assistant. He even has a designated candidate for this first assistant.
In fact, Zhang Guowei, Zhu Dadian, and Xu Shiqi are all good candidates.
But in the end he still planned to use Wen Anzhi.
The most important thing is that Wen'an's achievements are great enough. Although he is not the hero of Conglong in eastern Zhejiang, his achievements are real. Since he can preside over and run the business so well in such a bad situation in the southwest, then he will definitely become the first assistant in the court.
There will be no problem. Moreover, Wen Anzhi not only did an outstanding job at the local level, but he also held official positions in the court such as Hanlin Review, Shao Zhan Shi, Minister of Rites, and Guozi Jijiu.
The emperor picked up his pen and wrote the three characters "Wen'an" on the rice paper.
Ask the chamberlain to hold it up and face the courtiers.
"The sage selected him to manage the five southwestern provinces, and Gong Wen'an of Yiling County was appointed as the first assistant of the new cabinet!"
"He was granted the title of Grand Bachelor of Jianji Palace of Wen'an, the title of Junior Master and Grand Master of the Crown Prince, the title of Kaifu Yitong Third Division, and the title of Duke of the Jin and Wei Dynasties!"
The emperor asked Xu Shiqi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, to personally write the edict to confer the title of chief assistant and the title of official title.
After the edict was completed, it was ordered to be read in the palace, and then the servants were sent to the palace gate to read the edict, and someone was sent to invite Wen Anzhi, who was gathering in Beijing, to come to the palace to receive the title!