Xiyuan, the absolute power center of this era.

The morning sun rises slowly from the east, a ray of golden sunshine shines on the palace complex, and the clear lake surface of Taiye Pond is covered with a layer of sparkling golden light.

An official wearing a crimson official uniform walked in from the gate of Xiyuan, walked along the neat palace road facing the rising sun, and headed towards the splendid Wuyi Palace.

From this moment on, he will enter the power center of the Ming Dynasty as a bachelor of the Wenyuan Pavilion of the Ming Dynasty and become one of the ministers who directly participate in all political affairs of the country.

Lin Haoran met Zhang Siwei at the entrance of Wuyi Hall, who had been waiting for a long time. Zhang Siwei informed several cabinet ministers that they were in the cabinet meeting hall, and led Lin Haoran to the cabinet meeting hall.

The first assistant, Xu Jie, the second assistant, Yan Ne, and the cabinet ministers Li Chunfang and Guo Pu were all sitting here, drinking tea, and following their usual practice, they greeted the newcomer to the cabinet.

"I've met Lord Yuansuke!"

"I've met Mr. Jisuke!"

“I’ve met Mr. Li Ge!

"I've met Mr. Guo Ge!"

When Lin Haoran came to the meeting hall, he looked polite and saluted the four seniors one by one.

No matter how lofty his external status is, he is still the last cabinet minister in the current cabinet. He can only become the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty when the four cabinet ministers in front of him are gone.

"Ruoyu, you don't have to be polite. If you enter the pavilion, you will be one of your own. Please take a seat!" Xu Jie is a person who is very good at disguise. He pointed to the seat next to him as if he was in a spring breeze.

"Yes!" Lin Haoran maintained the official etiquette, returned a bow to Xu Jie, and then sat down on the fifth chair in a polite manner. He did not accept the tea sent by Zhang Siwei, but asked Zhang Siwei to

Putting the tea cup on the coffee table, he turned his attention to Xu Jie.

Although the cabinet is superior to the six ministries, Xu Jie, the chief minister, always has the real say. The authority of other cabinet ministers is largely restricted by Xu Jie.

The reason why Yan Shifan was able to disrupt the government at that time was that he was a genuine "little cabinet minister". That was because Yan Song firmly held the power of the cabinet, but he gave the power to Yan Shifan and not to Xu Jie and other cabinet ministers.

How much voice he can have in the cabinet now depends to a large extent on Xu Jie's "power distribution."

Xu Jie took a sip of tea and raised his eyes to look at Lin Haoran. Although he had slowly digested the fact that Lin Haoran had entered the cabinet, when he saw Lin Haoran actually sitting here, he felt mixed emotions in his heart.

Naturally, he would not show his thoughts lightly on his face, so he kept a kind expression on his face and said: "Ruoyu, my cabinet job is to participate in the maintenance of the machine, pay the emperor's orders, write down brief questions, propose suggestions and comments, and prepare for the consultants.

This assistant and the ministers and cabinet ministers drafted memorials on weekdays, and also asked the emperor to send orders to the emperor every night.

The affairs of the pavilion are many and complicated, and if you join the pavilion, you will be able to share your worries!" After a pause, he continued: "I have just entered the pavilion, and I am also responsible for the military department. It is not appropriate for me to arrange the affairs immediately! You should familiarize yourself first.

Is it appropriate for the secretariat in the cabinet to take care of the affairs of the Ministry of War and then make specific arrangements?"

Yan Ne and others also turned to look at Lin Haoran. This was a unanimous decision they had just discussed, but they did not know how this newcomer who had just joined the cabinet would react.

"Everything will be subject to Yuan Fu's arrangement!" Although Lin Haoran guessed that Xu Jie would not vote for him, he was still slightly disappointed when he learned of this arrangement, but responded calmly.

It is impossible for him to challenge Xu Jie just after entering the cabinet. In fact, the current arrangement is still good.

When Yuan Wei entered the cabinet, he was sent by Xu Jie to write and compile "Xingdu Zhi". When his father-in-law, Guo Pu and Li Chunfang entered the cabinet, they were sent by Xu Jie to write and compile "Chengtian Dazhi", but they all did some extremely boring work.

.

However, it is not known whether it is because the history of Chengtian Mansion cannot be revised, or because he is also the Minister of the Ministry of War. Xu Jie does not seem to intend to send him and Guo Pu to compile history this time.

For such an arrangement, although it is not good, it is not bad either, but it is within the acceptable range of Lin Haoran.

Xu Jie gently stroked his gray beard, nodded with satisfaction and said: "Haha... Since Ruoyu has no objection, then the matter is settled!"

Lin Haoran picked up the tea cup and nodded gently, knowing that there was nothing he could do if he didn't agree.

Li Chunfang noticed Xu Jie looking at her and said to Lin Haoran with understanding: "Ruoyu, your room and residence have been arranged. Ziwei will take you there later!"

"Okay!" Lin Haoran faced the old boss and naturally nodded gently.

Guo Pu sat aside and drank tea silently, but he saw the exchange of eyes between the two. He already knew that these three cabinet ministers were in the same boat. Even if he joined forces with Lin Haoran, he could not change the cabinet Xu Party.

A dominant situation.

Lin Haoran knew that the situation was pressing, so he pretended to accept it passively and obeyed their arrangements. Fortunately, this time he was appointed to the cabinet by Jiajing, and Xu Jie did not dare to make too drastic arrangements.

Yan Ne couldn't help but frown slightly when he saw that Lin Haoran was still so calm and calm even though he had already entered the cabinet to pay homage to the Prime Minister. There was no hint of arrogance in his body.

A few people were polite here again and then dispersed.

Lin Haoran exchanged glances with Guo Pu, smiled and nodded at Li Chunfang who was looking at him, and then asked Zhang Siwei to lead him to the office.

The official official location of the cabinet is in the Forbidden City. However, with the move of Jiajing to Xiyuan, the current office is also located in Wuyi Hall.

Lin Haoran's duty room was arranged in the outermost room. Although it was still eight or nine o'clock in the morning, the room felt obviously stuffy. Working in such a place would undoubtedly be a hardship.

However, Xu Jie did not target him intentionally. The office environment of several other cabinet ministers was also similar.

While enjoying the supreme status, their cabinet ministers also had to show an honest and simple style, so as to persuade the emperor to save palace expenses.

"Mr. Lin Ge, are you dissatisfied with anything here? I will try my best to help you!" Zhang Siwei observed Lin Haoran's reaction and said cautiously.

Although he entered the officialdom earlier than Lin Haoran, he returned to his hometown in Shanxi to observe filial piety not long after he was awarded the Imperial Academy editorship. When he returned to the Hanlin Academy, Lin Haoran also left Beijing.

In the following days, he had been working hard to gain qualifications in the Hanlin Academy, but Lin Haoran had made great achievements one after another, and eventually became one of the people he wanted to serve tea and water to.

Lin Haoran used to be a Si Zhilang, and he was already familiar with the situation here. He was mentally prepared for this, so he nodded gently and said: "That's good!"

Then, the two of them left Wuyi Hall and went straight to the east wing.

Although there are also neat rows of wing rooms on the west side, the west wing in this era was reserved for female relatives. Due to the strong yin energy, it was recognized that it would affect official career, so officials would not choose to live in the west wing unless they had to.

Lin Haoran chose an unoccupied small room in the east wing. From now on, if he was on night duty in the Xiyuan, he could spend the night in this small room.

After handling these matters, he walked into the chief assistant's duty room and said hello to Xu Jie, then left Wuyi Hall directly and strode towards the palace.

Although the status of cabinet ministers is noble, they may not have much power in reality, which is also one of the reasons why many officials and ministers are reluctant to join the cabinet.

Although he is now in the cabinet, he and Xu Jie are in hostile camps, and their political views are obviously at odds. However, the second assistant Yan Ne and Li Chunfang both firmly support Xu Jie.

Not only could he not participate in specific government decisions, he could not even influence Xu Jie's decisions at all. In fact, Xu Jie alone had the final say in this cabinet.

After knowing this fact, he did not intend to waste too much time and energy on the cabinet, but wanted to put his energy on the Ministry of War first. Not only did he want to eradicate Yang Bo's power, but he also wanted to put his own stamp on it.

The strategy against Mongolia must be shifted from defensive to offensive.

Since it was summer, although it was still early, the square in front of the palace gate was already looking very hot.

Lin Fu and others had been waiting here. When they saw Lin Haoran coming out, Dangjie led the sedan to greet him. Without Lin Haoran saying a word, they knew that Lin Haoran was going to the Ministry of War Yamen.

The Military Department Yamen is located on the edge of East Chang'an Street, facing east and west. It is only separated from the Hubu Yamen by an alley, and is connected to the Gongbu Yamen in the south, and beyond that is the Honglu Temple Yamen, Qintianjian Yamen and Imperial Hospital.

yamen.

In fact, Lin Haoran was not the first person to be a cabinet minister and Minister of War.

As early as the Yongle period, with the establishment of the cabinet, the Minister of War was often concurrently held by cabinet ministers. Of course, cabinet ministers at that time generally did not have much power.

During the Renzong period, a cabinet minister, Yang Shiqi, concurrently served as the Minister of the Ministry of War, and received three salaries (cabinet, Hanlin Academy, and Ministry of War). This is a classic example of a cabinet minister concurrently serving as the Minister of the Ministry of War.

Because of this, it is not uncommon for Lin Haoran to concurrently serve as Minister of War as a cabinet minister, but it is not something that breaks the rules.

The Ministry of War has four responsibilities, namely, the military selection, staff, chariot, and arsenal departments. It also oversees the three yamen of the General Affairs Office, Huitong Hall, and Datongguan.

Among these four duties, the martial arts selection and the staff are the most important.

The Military Selection and Clearing Division is in charge of the selection, promotion, replacement and merit reward of local officials in the guard station. It is mainly aimed at the personnel power of the military attachés; the staff of the Cleaning Division is responsible for maps, military systems, city gods (city), and garrisoning.

, concise and conquest matters, mainly managing the territory and territory of the country.

In other words, the military commander is in charge of personnel affairs, while the official commander is in charge of military affairs.

The Chai Jia Qing Li Division is in charge of the country's horse administration and postal communications, mainly the transmission of information; the Arsenal Qing Li Division is in charge of the country's military registration, weapons and martial arts examinations.

Compared with the first two tasks, driving and arsenal appear relatively leisurely and marginal.

The morning sun shines from behind the Yamen, making the Yamen appear backlit, but there is a lazy atmosphere in the courtyard.

As Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of War, was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, while Bao Xiangxian, the left minister of the Ministry of War, lived at home, and the right minister of the Ministry of War was not in the headquarters, the entire Yamen of the Ministry of War was leaderless.

"Brother Zhang, congratulations in advance!"

"Don't talk nonsense, things are not certain yet!"

"Haha... Don't be humble, your old boss praised you alone last night!"

…

Several officials from the Ministry of War came to the cafeteria. They seemed to be still immersed in the joy of last night, but they congratulated an official who looked young and serious.

Yang Bo had served as Minister of War for so many years, and Xu Jie did not interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of War, so most of the officials here were branded with Yang Bo.

Now that Yang Bo has become the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, due to Yang Bo's historical practice of nepotism, many people in the Ministry of War will mention promotion, and some top officials will have a great chance to serve in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Even though the level has not changed, the authority of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War are completely different. It can be said to be a big jump.

Facing everyone's compliments, Zhang Guohui felt as if he had eaten honey. He is currently serving as a doctor in the Military Selections and Cleaning Division, and is in charge of military personnel. He can be said to be "professional to the point" when he comes to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

But at this moment, a government servant hurried in and said in a panic: "Come on... come on!"

"What are you doing in such a hurry?" Zhang Guohui was about to put the meat porridge into his mouth, but when he heard this, he reprimanded him with official authority.

"To act like this is disgraceful to our military department!"

"Why panic? If the sky falls, we can hold it together!"

"It's just that you didn't see us adults eating porridge here?"
To be continued...