Forbidden City, Wenyuan Pavilion.

Feng Bao, eunuch Bingbi, the Superintendent of Ceremonies and governor of the East Factory, came to announce the decree. Lin Haoran was promoted to the Grand Bachelor of Jianji Hall, the Young Master and the Crown Prince Taifu. He was given the title of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Minister of the Ministry of War, and was given the robe of a python.

After entering the cabinet in the 44th year of Jiajing reign, after seven years, during which he had to go through Xu Jie, Yan Na, Li Chunfang and Guo Pu, it was finally his turn, as the cabinet minister who was once ranked fifth, to take over as the first minister.

Everything was like a dream, scenes from the past were replayed in his mind, but his glory finally arrived.

"I accept the decree, long live my emperor!" Lin Haoran faced this unexpected appointment and thanked him with suppressed excitement.

In the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing, he became an official with six consecutive victories. After fourteen years of struggle, he finally sat on the throne of the chief minister and became the true master of this dynasty.

Along the way, although the official career seemed to be smooth, it also experienced countless risks. Not only had to deal with Yan Dang's offensive, but also had to be wary of Xu Dang's hidden arrows, and even turned against Guo Pu at one point. Every step was actually

None of it is easy.

Fortunately, he did not fall into the vortex of power struggle at all and worked hard to realize his ambitions.

From the opening of the sea in Leizhou, to the opening of the Nanyang Channel in Guangzhou, to the elimination of miscellaneous taxes in Shuntian, and then to Yangzhou to organize Huai salt... Although he was inevitably involved in party disputes, he has been doing things for the people these years.

What makes him most proud is that in recent years, he has not only introduced governance measures that benefit the country and the people, but also used his military talents to solve the problem in the north.

The same is true, even though he only struggled for fourteen years before sitting on the throne of the chief minister, he believed that no one would dare to point fingers at him, nor could he point fingers at such a chief minister with such outstanding political achievements.

"I congratulate Sir Yuan Fu on his promotion!"

Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng followed him to greet the edict and congratulated Lin Haoran heartily.

Although the two of them did not receive promotions, they only moved a step further in the ranking of the cabinet, especially Chen Yiqin, who had become the second minister of the dynasty.

"I congratulate Sir Yuan Fu on his promotion!"

Since Bachelor Jianjidian was a Shangguan of the Hanlin Academy, the officials of the Hanlin Academy were the first to take action and immediately came to Wenyuan Pavilion wearing red auspicious uniforms to pay homage to the new Shangguan.

This is the true situation of the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. No matter how noble officials are, they all adhere to the same code of conduct, and Lin Haoran is determined to be their new leader.

"I congratulate Sir Yuan Fu on his promotion!"

"I congratulate Sir Yuan Fu on his promotion!"

"I congratulate Sir Yuan Fu on his promotion!"

…

When Lin Haoran left the government office, officials from all over the capital flocked to Lingshi Hutong, bringing gifts to congratulate the newly appointed chief minister of the cabinet.

This night, the lights in Lin Mansion were bright and it seemed very lively.

Facing the visit of officials from the entire capital, fortunately, Lin Jinyuan had already previewed this, so he arranged the coming officials in an orderly manner.

Nowadays, there are more and more familiar faces in the court, and Lin Haoran seems to be everywhere.

In addition to Zhu Heng, Ma Sen and Wang Bai who were single-handedly promoted by Lin Haoran, there are also his friends from the same year, Yang Futian, Zhang Wei and Long Chizhong, as well as his former subordinates He Bin, Liu Yao and Zhao Ziquan, and others.

Wang Honghai, Wang Jun, Chen Wude and a large group of disciples.

Although Lin Haoran was the youngest chief minister in the history of the Ming Dynasty, his "mass foundation" was stronger than that of any previous chief minister. This is why he had the confidence to promote reforms.

As early as when he was the second assistant, Lin Haoran was already the leader of the civil servant group, and now he is undoubtedly responding to the call, and no one can challenge his authority.

But tonight, facing the endless congratulations from Beijing officials, Lin Haoran seemed to be dealing with it very calmly.

Perhaps he was very happy at the moment when the imperial edict was promulgated, but after the excitement passed, he knew that his journey had actually just begun.

When he first entered the officialdom, his biggest goal in life was indeed to become the chief minister.

After so many years of experience, especially the sacrifices and long-cherished wishes of Wu Shan, Pan Sheng, Lin Fiao and Guo Pu, he no longer simply pursues personal glory and wealth, but also wants to shoulder the responsibility for the revitalization of the nation.

Throughout the ages, China has produced many visionary people who wanted to create eternal peace. However, they were either swallowed up by party strife or destroyed by imperial power, and in the end they were unable to realize their ambitions.

Nowadays, he has become the true master of the Ming Dynasty, but he is no longer constrained by party strife and imperial power. He already has the opportunity to fulfill the long-cherished wish of his ancestors.

The officials who came to visit were also sensible. They said a few words of congratulations to Lin Haoran who was not in a high mood, and then left with satisfaction.

"Husband, just go ahead and do it! Not only will we not be a burden to you, but we will also become your help!" Wu Qiuyu, whose skin was as white as snow, whispered in her ear.

Lin Haoran faced Wu Qiuyu's clear and big eyes, but felt a trace of guilt in his heart. He knew that he should not overly entangle work and life, so he turned around and focused on the pleasures of fish and water.

The moon is very big and round tonight, and the wisps of pure white moonlight are like mercury pouring down the ground, making the entire Lin Mansion look like daylight, and this place has been officially promoted to the home of the Chief Assistant.

Lin Haoran went to Qianqing Palace to express his gratitude the next day, and then began his career as chief assistant.

Since today is a happy day for Lin Haoran to take office, not only Lin Haoran is wearing auspicious clothes, but also Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng are wearing auspicious clothes to welcome him.

There is an unwritten rule in the cabinet: three days after the resignation of the first assistant, the second assistant can move his seat. Although Lin Haoran has become the first assistant, he still sits in the position of the second assistant and holds cabinet meetings as usual.

Since Guo Pu entrusted him with the duties of chief assistant when he took office, and Guo Pu has been claiming to be ill at home in the past six months, Lin Haoran has already been the talker of the cabinet.

After these years of getting along with each other, he, Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng have become well-educated in all aspects, and have already reached a unified consensus on their political concepts.

At first, Chen Yiqin adhered to the traditional concept of official governance, while Zhang Juzheng focused on the idea of ​​governing the country by loving the people, but in the end, naturally, he quietly turned to support Lin Haoran's policy policy.

This has always been the political ecology of the Ming Dynasty. If a cabinet minister conflicts with the political philosophy of the chief minister, he or she will either voluntarily choose to surrender or hand in his resignation and leave.

After Lin Haoran finished the first cabinet meeting, he returned to his first assistant's office, and then asked the cabinet officials to hang a banner: "Development is the last word."

Unlike when Xu Jie tried to win over all parties, now Lin Haoran just wants to express his political ideas and hopes that the people below can implement this political idea and find more like-minded officials.

Valley

The reason why China cannot get out of the endless cycle of rise and fall is not only due to inherent cultural constraints, but more importantly, it does not have the thinking of development and creation.

For thousands of years, the rulers have focused on the production of the land, but completely ignored the importance of industrial development. The Ming Dynasty even closed maritime trade.

But now, Lin Haoran has realized what is wrong with China. Naturally, he will not repeat the wrong path of his predecessors, but will lead China on the road to prosperity.

"It's not about government administration or caring for the people, it's about development!"

"When we prosper, the people suffer; when we die, the people suffer. Lord Yuanfu wants to take us on a different path!"

"I seem to understand Lord Yuansuke's good intentions. Isn't this just to lead us to a better life together?"

…

Civil and military officials have been paying attention to the developments of the new chief minister. After learning that Lin Haoran hung such a banner, many officials seemed to express their opinions with understanding.

In less than a month, this banner spread throughout the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

Thanks to Lin Haoran's public statement, it is undoubtedly easier for the officials below to understand Lin Haoran's political philosophy and thus serve Lin Haoran more effectively.

In fact, many local officials have already understood Lin Haoran's political philosophy and have been working hard to develop industry and commerce over the years, resulting in regional economic prosperity in many places.

For example, the socks made by textiles in a certain county in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the most popular among the world. As a result, after vigorously developing the socks industry, the area has a scene like a prosperous age.

Lin Haoran has officially been appointed as the Chief Assistant, and now he has openly stated his governing philosophy. The officials below will definitely work harder in the direction he planned.

Seeing the harm of the honorary system to national defense, Lin Haoran not only severed the connection between titles and military positions, but also tried to reduce the number of people in the honorary group.

After nobles such as Linhuai Marquis Li Tingzhu were beheaded, the court stopped conferring titles on their descendants.

It's just that a good politician cannot just suppress. Instead, while suppressing one group of people, he also needs to promote another group of people, and this other group of people is naturally outstanding generals with military talents.

While suppressing the Xungui Group, Lin Haoran also awarded honors to generals with outstanding military exploits, giving them a supreme sense of glory.

In addition, the court will also provide monthly living allowances to generals who have won medals, thus ensuring their quality of life for the rest of their lives.

Lin Haoran knew that the country's military strength never relied on the little wisdom of civilian officials. The real decisive factor was the military commanders, those who dared to fight the enemy head-on.

For this reason, appropriately improving the status of generals with military talents will undoubtedly help build national defense strength and control the situation throughout Asia.

Lin Haoran made a very bold attempt, breaking in one fell swoop the convention that the Ministry of War had always been controlled by a civilian group, and instead conferred official positions in the Ministry of War to some generals with military exploits and abilities.

For this reason, the imperial court specially added two ministers of the Ministry of War, four ministers of the Ministry of War, four ministers of the Ministry of War, and eighteen chief officers of the Ministry of War to the generals.

This move not only solved the problem of insufficient manpower that the Ministry of War had always considered, but also broke the situation in which the civilian clique controlled the Ministry of War. It also gave new hope and status to military generals.

Since the Tumubao Incident, the status of generals has plummeted. This is because the important military positions of generals have been controlled by incompetent noble groups. Therefore, many talented soldiers have never been able to get ahead.

A military prodigy like Yu Dayou, even though he had countless military exploits, was repeatedly demoted by the court, he only had the chance to be re-appointed by relying on the support of the local governor.

In view of this, while Lin Haoran awarded Shi Huashan, Ma Fang, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou and others four-star generals, he also gave them official positions in the Ministry of War, thus greatly improving their status.

Lin Haoran not only elevated the status of military generals, but also provided great benefits to the civil service group, significantly increasing the salaries of Ming officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang came from a poor family. After he conquered the world, he became famous for being harsh on officials. Some people even commented that the salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty was "the lowest official salary has ever been since ancient times."

Lin Haoran has long been aware of the shortcomings of low official salaries. Although high salaries cannot foster integrity, low salaries will definitely breed a large number of maggot officials.

Taking advantage of the popularization of Baili silver dollars, while greatly increasing the salary standards for officials, the imperial court will all distribute Baili bank salaries in the future.

The effect of this move was immediate. As this plan was launched, Lin Haoran also won stronger support from the entire civil service group.

Of course, the main reason to accomplish this was to be strong. The increase in taxes from the imperial court gave Lin Haoran the capital to increase the salary of officials.

If Yan Song or Xu Jie were to handle this matter, it would undoubtedly be a futile move. After all, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, and their talents are not enough to accomplish such a thing that benefits hundreds of officials.

In terms of external affairs, Ming Dynasty's pace did not stop.

Lin Dahu and Hai Batian led the combined fleet to form a powerful army under the Ministry of War, which would rule the eastern seas on behalf of the Ming Dynasty.

Since various countries in Southeast Asia contributed money and personnel, they quickly built a navy with a strength of 30,000, and the navy's headquarters was located on Donghai Island in Leizhou Prefecture.

With such a powerful navy, the Ming Dynasty undoubtedly had absolute say in Nanyang and the East China Sea, and was resolutely the veritable overlord of the East.

The Mo Dynasty still lacked a lesson. Before their envoys returned, they had military friction with the Western Expeditionary Army and the Cavalry Regiment.

However, what they faced was not only the powerful Western Expeditionary Army and cavalry battalions, but also the Mongolian cavalry who were good at riding and shooting, making the war one-sided.

King Mo Maoqia of the Mo Dynasty followed the example of his ancestor Mo Dengyong and led a dozen ministers to tie themselves in front of the Ming army's formation, thus stopping the Ming army's attack.

Lin Haoran was not keen on territorial expansion. He only demanded that the Mo Dynasty pay 300,000 taels of war compensation and that the border areas should not be fortified, so he released Mo Maoqia and his ministers.

Due to the complex and changeable political situation in Indochina and the need to conquer some inland countries, Lin Haoran quietly reorganized an army to conquer the south.

In the army that conquered the south, the Mongolian cavalry was already an important part, and they served as the vanguard.

Although the military expenditure of using Mongolian cavalry to fight is not small, it also consumes the strength of the prairie to a certain extent. This move will undoubtedly weaken the threat from the north of the Ming Dynasty.

On the other hand, Lin Haoran also promoted the integration of China and Mongolia, not only strengthening economic and trade, but also promoting the cultural integration of the two sides.

Lin Haoran established sage academies in all three major tribes, which not only taught these Mongolians free Chinese knowledge, but also allowed them to participate in the Ming Dynasty's imperial examinations.
Chapter completed!