In fact, the reduction of vassal status was not so urgent for Zhu Yunxi at this time.
The vassal kings are there, are you afraid that they will escape?
Besides, he, Zhu Yunxi, is not the fool that Emperor Jianwen was in history.
Since Jianwen ascended the throne, the throne under his butt has never been secure. There are vassal kings looking covetously from outside, there are struggles within the civil service system of the warrior group, and the local chief secretaries and commanders are secretly watching.
Zhu Yunxi did not need to cut down vassals to establish his own authority and consolidate his imperial power. The Chief Secretary of the most elite place in the world ordered him to replace all the people he promoted. There was no party contention in the court, and there was no clear flow of empty talk without shame.
There was imperial power and military power, so the vassal king could not have any influence on him. Besides, he wanted to reduce the vassal status to remove the future burden of the country, not an individual.
For Zhu Yunxi at this time, what was more important was how to sort out the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty.
The huge, bloated and intertwined bureaucracy is a headache. How to improve efficiency, how to develop people's livelihood, and how to move in a prosperous direction without being complacent or arrogant.
Since the old man abolished the Zhongshu Province, the emperor had great power, and the six ministries were directly responsible to the emperor. Later generations have shown that the Qing Dynasty had reached its peak after the abolition of the Zhongshu Province. However, in Zhu Yunxi's view, the price of the peak was that the emperor not only had to be a workaholic, but also a workaholic.
If you are paranoid, even an iron man.
Zhu Yunxi knew the most important point in his heart: he was just a mortal.
How can one man rule the world with his own virtue?
Such a country, such a territory, and hundreds of millions of people and living beings. We really have to be cautious and walk on thin ice. Sometimes one man is poor, even if he is an emperor, so what?
Therefore, both the cabinet in the Ming Dynasty and the military department in the Qing Dynasty were the products of a wise monarch who realized that the power of one person could not benefit the world.
The biggest problem facing Zhu Yunxi at this stage is that outstanding virtuous ministers need a long period of training and experience. Therefore, the more the transition between the old and the new in the Ming Dynasty was completed, the more he felt that there was no one available to him.
On the way back to the palace, he just walked forward silently with his hands behind his back, full of thoughts.
~~
Outside the main hall of Qianqing Palace, there is a row of slightly smaller houses surrounding it.
From the left, there are the refreshment room and tea room, the guard room where the minister is on duty, the infirmary where the minister is on duty, the dressing room, toilets, etc.
Veteran minister Ling Han was waiting for an audience in the duty room, looking out the window with turbid eyes. Dozens of eunuchs were busy under the command of Wang Bashi, the head of Qianqing Palace. In the distance, there were guards monitoring a group of craftsmen who came in fear.
"Manager Wang!" Ling Han stood up and walked outside the house.
The bastard was directing the eunuch to move things into the room next to him. Hearing this, he quickly turned around and said with a smile, "Sir, would you like to call me Zajia?"
"What are you doing?" Ling Han stepped forward with a cane and asked with a smile, then looked into the room.
From the outside, it looks like one room, but when you look inside, you realize that there are two or three rooms connected, making it very spacious.
This room was originally used by the General Affairs Department. Every day, memorials from all over the world would be sent here first. Then the officials of the General Affairs Department would check to see if there were any important military and state affairs. If so, they would pick them out and send them to the emperor immediately.
If not, they will be sent to the Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace in order of priority.
"Your Majesty ordered these rooms to be cleared out, saying that they will be used by the ministers in the court in the future!" the bastard said with a smile.
"Isn't there a duty room...?" As he said this, Ling Han's eyes looked thoughtful as he continued to look at the room where the eunuchs had arranged tables and chairs.
"In the future, the duty room may be used for the rest of the courtiers who are in attendance!" Ling Han thought to himself, "This room seems to be the place where the emperor's closest ministers will stay alone in the future."
"Being close to the emperor, not only can I help him share government affairs, but I can also summon him at any time to discuss state affairs. It is equivalent to a reduced Zhongshu Province, which will be the most secret place in the future of the Ming Dynasty!"
Ling Han thought about it for a moment and already guessed that he was close to ten.
Three rooms are not enough to accommodate seven or eight people, but they can rule the world and become the core of the Ming Empire.
Suddenly, Ling Han felt a little hot in his heart.
"If I don't retreat, there will definitely be a place for me in this room. Although I don't have the name of prime minister, I have the reality of being a prime minister. One person is inferior to ten thousand people..."
But fiercely, Ling Han shook his head again.
He cursed in his heart, "Damn it, you are an old bone and you are not afraid of dying here. Hey, you are still doing it at this age. Not to mention that the more advanced people in the younger generation will not agree, you don't have the energy and physical strength. Only if you retreat bravely.
This is the way to establish oneself!”
"Sir?" The bastard saw Ling Han deep in thought and asked in a low voice, "What other orders do you have?"
"I don't dare!" Ling Han laughed, "I just asked casually!"
"Wait a moment, I guess the emperor will be back soon!" The bastard smiled sarcastically.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Yunxi's surrounded figure had already entered through the Duanmen and walked up the white marble steps leading to Qianqing Palace.
~~
"Old minister..."
"No courtesy!" In the Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yunxi didn't wait for Ling Han to salute. He stretched out his hand to help Ling Han sit on the stool and said with a smile, "Didn't I say that you are a veteran of the imperial court, so you don't need to be so polite in private?
!" Then he said to the eunuch, "Give tea to Scholar Ling!"
"Your Majesty is a benevolent and virtuous minister, and I'm so grateful, but the etiquette between a monarch and his ministers cannot be abolished!" Ling Han smiled, "If you don't follow the etiquette in front of the emperor when you are old, wouldn't you be relying on your elders to show off your old age?"
"Haha!" Zhu Yunxi laughed twice and looked at you for a moment, "Scholar Ling has been in poor health recently? Why do I feel like you have lost weight!"
"I'm an old man now!" Ling Han said with a smile, "As people get older, they either have this problem or that problem, and they spend all day soaking in medicine jars!"
After saying that, he paused, looked at Zhu Yunxi and continued, "To be honest with the emperor, I am more and more afraid of the New Year and the holidays, because every time they happen, there will be one less. After this year, I don't know if I can survive until next year."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "You have always been in good health. Even if you have some minor ailments, you just need to take care of yourself."
He said this, but felt a little strange in his heart.
Ling Han, an old minister, does not usually speak like this. When the emperor and his ministers meet, they always say what they have to say and get straight to the point. Today, there is no meaning behind what he said.
"I know my body well, I'm just trying to endure it!" Ling Han smiled, "It looks like there's nothing wrong with it, but in fact the foundation has collapsed a long time ago. Maybe one day I won't be able to open my eyes once I close them."
, paused again, "In the early years, I thought I had taken life and death lightly, but now that I am older, I have become confused!"
Zhu Yunxi, who was sitting cross-legged on the Luoshan bed, did not speak, but picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
"Not to mention that I am not in a good state of mind, my mind is always thinking about things from the past, and I have been a little nervous all day long. To put it bluntly, I am suddenly afraid of death! A few days ago, I asked my eldest daughter-in-law to take out the old clothes prepared for me.
Take a look for yourself first!”
"There are also longevity materials for the funeral. I also took them out and took a look. I remember when I was preparing these things, I also said that wearing old clothes is just fooling around. People don't wear the same clothes after they die. I also said,
It doesn’t matter whether the coffin boards are thick or not, they are still bitten by bugs.”
"But now, after looking at these things, I still feel dissatisfied. Either the clothes are too thin, or the coffin board is too brittle, or the feng shui of my cemetery needs to be surveyed again!"
While he was rambling, Zhu Yunxi put down the tea cup and suddenly said, "Scholar Ling, do you want to... resign?"