Looking at Zhang Chengtian's smiling round face, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt a chill all over his body. His hands and feet were trembling, and his whole body was trembling.
"Chengtian, are all our civil and military officials like this?"
Zhang Chengtian thought about it seriously, "Not all, at least I didn't find Xu Da's crimes, nor Tang He, nor Liu Bowen, and Sun Yan just entered the court not long ago, and he doesn't seem to have either, so I can't say the rest...
…”
"Stop talking!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked up to the sky and sighed, "If even these people are unreliable, we won't be emperor anymore."
At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang also felt a strong sense of powerlessness... When it comes to working hard to govern, there should be no emperor who can be more diligent than him.
Even after Zhu Biao took charge of the country, Lao Zhu still handled more than a hundred government affairs every day, not to mention the previous matters.
But overall, people's livelihood remains the same.
In times of peace, you can have enough to eat, but in times of famine, you have to rely on relief.
The administration of officials has also improved a bit, but corruption is still rampant. Major cases come one after another. It's not that Zhu Yuanzhang can't kill. Starting from Tang Lu, one after another, Lao Zhu can kill, but he can't just kill.
This is also Zhang Ximeng's change to Lao Zhu. We cannot go all the way to the dark side. We should find ways to solve the problem fundamentally. Even if it cannot be completely solved, we must explore better ways.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought over and over again and finally had a rough plan, but this plan still needed Zhang Ximeng's help.
"Chengtian, please go home first. I'll talk to you later."
Before leaving, Lao Zhu grabbed a bag of candy and handed it to Zhang Chengtian, "The best coconut candy is sent from Lingnan."
Zhang Chengtian took it over, thanked Lao Zhu, and then he left and went home.
Walking on the road, Zhang Chengtian sighed. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor, was really pitiful. There was really nothing good in the palace.
Zhu Ying had already sent several boxes of coconut candy to the Zhang family and placed them all in the cellar.
Lao Zhu still needs to be treated as a treasure, why don't he just make a complete change, meddle less and enjoy life more, wouldn't that be great!
Zhang Chengtian shook his head and returned home.
He secretly went outside Zhang Ximeng's study, poked his head and looked inside, and found that his father was also looking at him.
"Come in! When did you become a close minister of the emperor?"
Zhang Chengtian said with a smile: "Dad, today I followed your old teachings and told His Majesty the truth. I didn't tell the whole truth, but His Majesty looked very disappointed. What's going on?"
Zhang Ximeng sneered, "If you tell me everything, Your Majesty will be depressed." Zhang Ximeng sighed: "In fact, the current Ming Dynasty does need a thorough reform, and the official system I set up at the beginning also needs to be adjusted. Otherwise, everything will be decided by Your Majesty.
, each yamen is still in name only. They all depend on His Majesty’s wishes. Now that there is an additional prince to supervise the country, it is just a change of soup without changing the medicine. Of course, taking back power and delegating power is not a trivial matter. Some officials are incompetent and need to be eliminated. If Your Majesty
If you are willing to reform, I will fully support it!"
Zhang Chengtian blinked, "Dad, I don't understand these words, can you explain them?"
"No!" Zhang Ximeng said rudely: "You better hurry up and study and do your homework. If your final grade falls behind, I will melt your gold seal and send you to your elder brother to discipline you!"
"Don't!" Zhang Chengtian cried. Just now he was showing off his power with his eldest brother, asking him to be his deputy. In the blink of an eye, he was about to be handed over to his eldest brother, so he might as well kill him.
The little fat man yelled and ran away quickly.
Zhang Chengtian had not left for a long time when Lao Zhu came. Zhang Ximeng was not surprised at all, because he had expected it.
"Sir, we really can't figure it out, but I still feel like it's time to adjust the official system. Maybe it can be much better than it is now?"
Zhang Ximeng laughed and said, "My lord, you are not worried that I will oppose the reform of the official system, are you?"
Lao Zhu was startled, "Sir, this official system is your hard work!"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "My lord, you are too underestimating the ministers... In fact, this official system was originally established to adapt to the situation of officials at that time. To put it bluntly, the division of Zhongshu's subordinates was also to facilitate the division of power between ministers and Prime Minister Li.
, to assist the lord...Now that Prime Minister Li has gone to Goryeo, I have also jumped out of the Menxia Province. If the lord doesn't mind, I propose to merge the Zhongshu Menxia."
"How to merge?" Lao Zhu asked curiously.
"First, abolish the left and right prime ministers and replace them with the chief minister!"
"Chief assistant?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "Yes, when I was designing the official positions, I had conceived a cabinet belonging to His Majesty for consultation. The chief assistant foreman is equivalent to the head of His Majesty's close ministers. However, it has not been functioning properly for many years.
The time is right now. If my lord is able to push it forward, I can guarantee that there won’t be any major problems within thirty years."
"Thirty years? Is it too short?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled helplessly, "Thousands of generations are indeed beyond my capabilities!"
Lao Zhu took a deep breath helplessly, "Tell me, what are you going to do?"
"The chief assistant is in charge of the secretary of the Central Committee, and in charge of all the ministers and important ministers, officials are assigned from the provinces under the door to assist the chief assistant in matters, and the remaining ministers are in charge of the ministers. The minister is in charge of the government orders, and is responsible for the execution of the affairs, and then removes the ministers
, Streamline the number of officials!”
Zhang Ximeng talked eloquently and finally brought out the set of things he had been brewing for a long time.
He did not lie. The original appointment of two prime ministers, the left and right, and keeping them under Zhongshu's sect was also an expedient measure and could be said to meet the needs of the time.
Li Shanchang and Zhang Ximeng, two people at the top of the civil service, would only do bad things if they had to work together.
Now that they are both out of phase, Sun Yan has initially taken control of the court situation, and there is no need to train a second Li Shanchang to control the court situation.
All Zhang Ximeng proposed was to abolish the left and right prime ministers and use the chief minister to assist the leader. In this way, the prime minister's power would be much smaller and easier to control.
As for Menxia Province, Zhang Ximeng finally came up with the final plan. Menxia Province no longer exists, but the spirit of Menxia Province is still there!
That is to make the officials of each sect become subordinate officials who assist the chief minister and the minister. They are responsible for daily affairs, including the promotion and evaluation of officials, which are all their responsibilities.
The original minister was responsible for assisting the prime minister in formulating government orders, and was responsible for their implementation... As for the original minister, he would be removed.
After all, so many ministries have been added, and too many ministers have been added. If this continues, many redundant officials will be added.
"My lord, even if we are still alive, we can still reduce the number of officials. Anyone who wants to do this in the future will be criticized and will not end well. It is not that easy to streamline the army and streamline the administration!"
Lao Zhu couldn't help but sigh softly, "We understand what you mean, sir. Please let us think about it carefully."
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Everything is the lord's decision. No matter what I believe, the lord will definitely choose the best way for the sake of the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, he was finally caught by Zhang Ximeng.
"The country is the most important thing," Lao Zhu had nothing else to say.
What Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Ximeng discussed was naturally top secret, and outsiders had no way of knowing it. However, just this food case was shocking.
As the Mei family was taken down, two more marquises were arrested one after another, and Zhao Yong and Yang Jing were also invited over by the Yushitai.
Both of these two men were once powerful generals under Xu Da, and had repeatedly made military exploits. Who knew that many years later, they would actually face each other again in this way!
Xu Da was sitting in the main hall, and the two of them crawled on the ground, becoming shameful prisoners.
"In the past few years, you have all forgotten about the navy case. You think the national law is a joke and you want to test it yourself! Well, now that you have done it, don't be afraid. Your heads will fall to the ground, your body will die, and your family will be destroyed. You deserve it!"
The two men looked at each other, and finally gritted their teeth and sighed, "Wei Guogong, we all admit that we have committed crimes. If we die, we will die. It is no big deal. But we are not convinced!"
"Why don't you accept it?"
"Why? Take the food this time as an example. He, King Zhu Di of Yan, spends millions of stones of food at every turn! Their old Zhu family is very popular and drinks spicy food, but we people can't get anything, so we can only work honestly
, to be slaves of their old Zhu family? But is this true? Duke Wei, you have been a member of the army for a long time, and we all admire you. If you raise your arms, we might not be able to stand up and follow you to do great things! At that time...
…”
"Shut up!"
Xu Da's eyes were red and he angrily shouted: "You crazy people! You are greedy and perverting the law, but you still dare to shirk the blame and keep arguing! The imperial court allows you to be hereditary and have no worries about food and drink, but you are still greedy! What's the use of saying anything else?
!You are bound to die!"
The two men looked pale and speechless for a moment.
But at this moment, there were footsteps, and Zhu Yuanzhang came unexpectedly.
Xu Da hurriedly saluted, and Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, "No need, we know that we have always been unable to correct ourselves and others. How many times have we made decrees against the vassal kings to limit their land to 500 acres, but now think about it
, may not be appropriate. Let’s do this. All princesses can choose their consorts according to their own wishes. After getting married, their status as royal relatives will be removed except for the third generation. When the princes start a family and start a business, after the fifth generation, they will be removed from the jade book and will not be counted as royal princes.
relative."
Xu Da was startled and said in surprise: "Your Majesty, these are all the flesh and blood of the Tian family, you can't do this!"
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, "Listen to what I'm saying. From now on, there will be no vassal towns within the Great Wall. The King of Qin, the King of Jin, and the King of Yan will all transfer their titles within three years. The remaining princes will remain in the interior, with only salaries and no fiefdoms.
.After five lifetimes, the jade book will be removed."
Zhu Yuanzhang said to Xu Da: "This is what we have thought about for a long time and finally decided... Our children and grandchildren cannot be ignored at all. As for the descendants of the princes, we have also thought of a way out. If you are willing to go out and develop, we can also give you a fiefdom!"
Xu Da was stunned, "Come on, this, does this work?"
Lao Zhu smiled and said, "There's nothing wrong with this! You see, Emperor Zhou entrusted so many countries, including principalities, princes, and uncles... Our son is a vassal king, and your son is a principality... We allow everyone to
Let’s develop together and develop together. We can’t just take advantage of the people of our old Zhu family. A few years ago, Hua Yun went out and did well. From now on, we must vigorously promote it and implement it ruthlessly! Your prince, your honor
, all the noble sons and daughters are on the list!"
Xu Da trembled all over, fell to his knees, and said meaningfully: "If your superiors are like this, our Ming Dynasty will surely last for eternity, reaching far beyond the Han and Tang Dynasties!"
(End of chapter)
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