Whether it is the left minister of the Ministry of War who assists in the military affairs of the Beijing camp, or the minister of household affairs who is the governor of Cangchang, these are very important positions, and it is by no means as easy as taking office immediately. Before taking office, Gao Pragmatic needs to return to the Ministry of War to hand over his work.
.
Although Gao Pingshi is the Zuo Shilang and a senior official in the Ministry of War, his job is still relatively "simple" compared to Shi Xing, another Zuo Shilang under the "four ministers system of the Ministry of War", because Shi Xing can be regarded as an "assistant"
"Shang Shu takes care of everything", while Gao Pragmatism is in charge of Beijing operations.
But the "simplicity" of Gao Pragmatism is just that the scope of work is relatively simple. In fact, everyone knows that the things in Jingying are not simple.
Especially after Gao Jingshi personally led the restructuring of the Beijing camp, this kind of "not simple" is even more remarkable. If Gao Jingshi had not made arrangements and explanations, the new minister of Rongzheng would have been confused after taking office within a few months.
After a while, I couldn’t even figure out the doorway.
However, the court has not yet decided on a candidate for the position of Minister of Rongzheng, so Gao Pragmatic can only find Liang Menglong to hand over the work for now - Shi Xing has also received the imperial edict, and Yang Zhao has become the minister of the Ministry of Industry.
Many people were more anxious than him when Gao Pragmatic resigned. Qi Jiguang and the generals of the Imperial Guard immediately sent people to report to the Ministry of War. After receiving approval to go to Beijing privately, they all came to the Ministry of War to understand the situation; Zhu Yingzhen, Zhang Yuangong, etc.
A group of nobles from the Jingnan Department hurriedly submitted a joint letter of greetings, saying that they would go to Zhaohui Jinggongfang to meet Sinong in the evening. Even the name of Xu Wenbi, the Duke of Dingguo, who had been in poor health, was on the list...
No wonder they were anxious. After Gao Pragmatic "divided the Beijing Camp", the Beijing Camp was divided into two parts: logistics and operations. Although nominally they still obeyed the jurisdiction of the Fifth Army Governor's Office and the command of the Ministry of War, they were "working on their own" after all.
Both parties are also very satisfied with the current situation and are unwilling to change again.
Now that Gao Jingshi is about to be promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, they are certainly very anxious about whether the system of the Beijing camp will change under the leadership of the new Minister of Rongzheng. How can they not make some preparations in advance?
Qi Jiguang and Gao Jingshi have been friends for many years. Of course, there will be no change in attitude just because Gao Jingshi resigned as Minister of Rongzheng. On the contrary, he became more and more respectful to the 25-year-old senior minister.
The signature on the post was changed back to "Qi, the lackey of Mu En's sect, bowed his head and paid homage".
Commander Qi's tone was like this, not to mention the greetings from other generals of the Imperial Guard. It was really humbling and affectionate.
Gao Jingshi understood the meaning of changing his self-identification again in this invitation. Qi Jiguang and the generals made it clear that they still had the word "Gao" on their foreheads, and there would be no changes due to Gao Jingshi's change of position.
This is a smart move.
Gao Jingshi was promoted, and he was not forced to become an official. As a civil servant, he was promoted to the first rank (Prince and Grand Master), and he was one step closer to joining the cabinet, a position that everyone aspired to among civil servants. The most important thing is that now he
Only twenty-five years old!
Qi Jiguang and others dared to make a prediction: as long as the decisive battle against Chahar goes as planned, judging from the current status of the "literary commanders" in the court in the eyes of the emperor, the battle will most likely be
He leads the troops with high pragmatism. So, once he wins the battle... isn't the position of assistant minister easily available?
At that time, the "Lao Gao Ge" was most likely not even thirty years old!
This is amazing!
You must know that today's cabinet is not the cabinet of the early years. The story that Xie Jin became a cabinet minister at the age of thirty-two and the chief assistant at the age of thirty-three cannot be applied - the cabinet at that time was just the emperor's personal staff, but today's
What is the cabinet? It is roughly equivalent to the political affairs hall in the Tang Dynasty. The two are completely different.
Originally, the cabinet was established, on the one hand, because the emperor was too busy, and on the other hand, the emperor wanted to use the cabinet to contain the six ministries and decentralize the six ministries. At that time, Chengzu probably did not expect the scene today: the cabinet completely suppressed the six ministries.
Gao Pragmatic is now the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. If he had followed the tradition in the early years, he would not have been able to join the cabinet. However, according to the habits of recent decades, it means that he is very close to joining the cabinet. The changes in the system and habits involved
, it is necessary to say something.
From the Yongle period when the cabinet was first established, until the Hongzhi period, there has never been a formal transfer between the six ministers and the cabinet. This mutual opposition has already been reflected in the early days of the cabinet.
At the beginning of spring in December of the second year of Yongle (1404), the founder Zhu Di gave a banquet to all ministers in the Fengtian Palace. As usual, he rewarded the six ministers and the minister Jin Zhiwen each with a robe.
Huai, Hu (Guang), ministers Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, Jin Youziyi, the same as Shangshu", and pointed out very clearly: "I am not partial to Qing and others.
By my side, hard work will bring benefits, not under the minister. Therefore, when giving gifts, you must be praised for your merits, why not stick to rank." He also emphasized: "In the initial system of my emperor's examination, the rank of the Hanlin chief is the same as that of the minister, and the ministers must do their best.
appoint."
How to understand this paragraph? In the early days of the establishment of the cabinet, although the cabinet was still under the jurisdiction of the Hanlin Academy, and the ministers in the cabinet at that time also respected the official positions of the Hanlin Academy, but at this banquet, Zhu Di rewarded the cabinet ministers equally with the six ministers, and
It is clearly emphasized that although his official rank is only the fifth rank, his functions are not under the six ministers.
This basically shows that Zhu Di's original intention of establishing the Grand Scholars of the Imperial Palace was to weaken the status and responsibilities of the six ministers, and thus established a mutual check and balance relationship between the two.
Of course, the serious mismatch of positions and powers in the cabinet did not last long. With the improvement of the status of the cabinet, during the Renxuan period, it became a practice for cabinet ministers to be given false titles such as Six Ministers or Ministers after joining the cabinet.
For example, in the first month of the first year of Hongxi (1425), the title "Huanghuai is Shaobao", the Minister of Hubu is still a bachelor of Wuyingdian, the Shaofu is also a bachelor of Huagaidian, Yang Shiqi is a minister of the Ministry of War, and the prince Shaobao is also a bachelor of Wuyingdian. Jin Youzi
The minister of the Ministry of Rites, all three stipends are supported simultaneously, and he is still in charge of internal control."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Although this kind of sealing is "not in advance of the promotion", it is also an infringement of the six departments' powers to a certain extent. People at the time also made it clear
Pointing out that it goes against the wishes of the ancestors, "If you want to add the fifth rank of a great scholar to the six ministers, why not respect his rank?"
Although this additional title destroyed the restrictions on the cabinet, it obviously gave it the convenience to interfere in the affairs of the six ministries to a certain extent, further strengthening the cabinet's checks and balances on the six ministers.
In addition, the selection method of the cabinet at the beginning of its establishment was also significantly different from that of the officials of the Six Ministries. The cabinet was basically directly selected from officials of the Hanlin Academy. For this reason, some new scholars and officials of the Hanlin Academy were even selected to observe politics in the cabinet as cabinet officials.
Preparers of ministers. This rule still exists in the Wanli period today, that is, the so-called Jinshi Guanzheng - their common characteristic is not actually "Jinshi", but "Hanlin". There is absolutely no one who is not a Hanlin but has become a Guanzheng
Jinshi's.
Regarding this situation, there are about two clear records in "Shilu of the Ming Dynasty". The first time was around the second year of Yongle (1404).
He entered his studies in the pavilion." When the three-year examination was finally completed, Peng Ruqi, Wang Zhi, Yu Ding and others were able to stay in their posts.
The second time was in August of the ninth year of Xuande (1434), "Ming Xing was in the Hanlin Academy to edit Ma Yu, Chen Xun, Lin Zhen, Cao Nai, and edit Lin Wen Gong, Qi Zhongfu, Zhao Hui, Dali Temple
Thirty-seven people including Zhang Yi, a commentator on the affairs of the left, Sa Qi, a fellow scholar, He Xuan, Zheng Jian, Jiang Yuan... entered Wenyuan Pavilion to study."
Wenyuan Pavilion is the place where cabinet ministers enter Zhizhi to handle affairs. The essence of these two admissions is for the cabinet to select successors. What is more clear is that Wang Zhi once wrote edicts in the cabinet for a long time, and Ma Yu and Cao Nai served under Yang Shiqi.
, after Yang Rong became official, he entered the cabinet to do maintenance work. It can be seen that the custom of moving the cabinet at that time was mainly based on Hanlin Academy officials, which continued to be followed after Zhengtong. "So during the Zhengtong period, Chen Xun, Gao Gu, Miao Zhong, Ma Yu, Cao Nai
If it is written by a bachelor, Zhang Yi, Peng Shi, and Shang Ren are compiled by Xiu, then the old meaning is still there and can be tested."
This method of selecting cabinet ministers directly from "civilians" or "historians" obviously attaches great importance to secretarial duties. "Those who are employed by the imperial court and join the cabinet are all from the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy only selects words and does not test their performance."
”.
This is completely different from the emphasis on administrative ability in the selection of six ministers. During this period, the six ministers such as He Wenyuan, Wang Ao, Li Bing, etc. all had administrative experience at the local and central levels, and were promoted from local officials such as prefects and officials to the central post.
, who was moved to the position of Shangshu.
I just said that if according to the past rules, Gao Pragmatic became the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he would basically have no way to join the cabinet. This is the same reason that Gao Pragmatic was looked down upon by many people when he was appointed as the inspector of Guangxi in the early years.
There are examples.
There is a very typical representative figure, Wang Zhi, who once served as the Minister of Personnel. His official experience fully reflects the checks and balances between the cabinet and the six ministers.
Wang Zhi, a native of Taihe, Jiangxi Province, was a Jinshi in the second year of Yongle (1404). He was awarded the title of Shujishi and "Served Wenyuan Pavilion". He was also the first batch of new scholars selected to study in the cabinet since the establishment of the cabinet. He finally passed the exam in three years.
At that time, Wang Zhi was able to continue to serve in the cabinet, "serving the grass".
Of course, strictly speaking, Wang Zhi is not a real cabinet minister. He does not have the name and reality of a grand scholar, and can only be regarded as a candidate for a cabinet minister.
Wang Zhi's cabinet career lasted until about the fifth year of Zhengtong (1440). He had been in the cabinet for more than 30 years. He was highly praised for both his literary talent and ability, and was "relyed upon by China and foreign countries". Moreover, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong and other cabinet ministers were among the most respected ministers in the cabinet.
At the time of Zhengtong, he was already old and was about to become an official. Wang Zhi and Yang Shiqi had a hometown friendship, so it was a matter of course for him to become an official cabinet minister.
But an accident happened. At this time, Wang Zhi had a rift with Yang Shiqi. Yang Shiqi's son Yang Ji was "violent at home, and the villagers suffered a lot." Wang Zhi reminded Yang Shiqi about this, but Yang Shiqi was deceived by his son, thinking that "Yuan"
"(Wang Zhi) is afraid of his fame, so he said this in vain." He hated Wang Zhi and immediately expelled him from the cabinet.
After Wang Zhi left the cabinet, he served as Minister of Rites, and was subsequently promoted to Minister of Personnel in the eighth year of Zhengtong (1443), and served until the first year of Tianshun (1458). During his tenure, Yang Shiqi died of illness in the ninth year of Zhengtong (1444), and Ma Yu, the cabinet minister,
, the status and prestige of Cao Nai, Chen Xun, Miao Zhong, Gao Gu and others could not be compared with them. Starting from the second year of Jingtai (1451), due to Wang Zhi's old age and frailty, He Wenyuan and Wang Ao were successively appointed as Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel.
Assist in the management of ministry affairs.
It can be said that all obstacles to Wang Zhi's entry into the cabinet have been basically eliminated. But the actual situation is that Wang Zhi still served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel at this time, and he was in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Affairs with the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Jian Yi during the Xuande period, and Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Advisors are basically the same, that is to say, if an official at this time is promoted to minister first, he will not have the opportunity to join the cabinet - because in the cabinet at this time, the attribute of "secretary" is more important as a whole.
Wang Zhi also lamented about this in his later years: "Xi Yang did not want to serve as a colleague in the cabinet, and he was responsible for the ministry, so he had to regret it." Combined with Wang Zhi's official experience, this regret was obviously directed at Yang Shiqi.
It also has something to do with the political system at that time blocking his way back to the cabinet.
In addition, the power of "voting and drafting" obtained by the cabinet during the orthodox period also has a strong check and balance with the administrative power of the six ministers. The most incisive explanation of this is Gao Gong.
Gao Gong mentioned in "Three Prayers for Heaven's Grace, Ci, Exemption and Concurrent Appointments": "The affairs of our country are all decided by the ministers, and the cabinet ministers draw up the votes. If it is not done properly, it will be refuted; if it is not done properly, it will be corrected.
To mediate it. Don’t mind the similarities and differences, but join the army. Therefore, there are many things that have their own reasons, and people dare not commit adultery. This is because the cabinet and the ministry cannot be confused...
Since Chunfang has been relieved of his duties, and I still take the position of the second assistant, if I still take charge of the civil affairs, I will write my own proposals, draw up my own votes, refute and mediate, and it will be inconvenient. This is said to use water to save water, who can eat it?
Of……
Nowadays, the cabinet is in charge of affairs, and the officials are advancing and retreating. All the officials have power. Since the ministers are ahead of the cabinet ministers, but they are still the chief officials, isn't it too heavy to exercise power? If the power is too heavy, it is not just for the ministers.
It is difficult to live in, and the state structure is not suitable."
This is Gao Gong's third memorial to resign and serve as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It clearly points out that the powers of the cabinet and the six ministries in the central power structure complement and restrict each other. This is also the court's carefully designed outer court after the abolition of the prime minister system.
If the operation and restriction mechanisms are combined in one place, the power exercised will be too heavy, which will seriously threaten the stability of the imperial power and the stability of the state system.
Of course, there is something special here, that is, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance is different from other ministers. The current Minister of the Ministry of Finance is not as sensitive as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
"Everything is difficult at the beginning." After Gao Gong became the first assistant and also the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, it became normal whether he was the minister of the cabinet or the minister of the cabinet.
In other words, the cabinet and the six ministries are no longer as distinct as in the early years. Now they have not only begun to merge, but have even been divided into superiors and subordinates: the cabinet commands the six ministries.
Of course, this is not absolute. In the original history, during the Wanli Dynasty, once the chief minister had a weak character or lacked strong support from the emperor, the six ministries might turn around and sideline the cabinet.
The reason why Qi Jiguang and others did not dare to show any disrespect to Gao Pragmatic was that, firstly, Gao was expected to join the cabinet, which everyone knew; secondly, at this time, both the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War were the home of the Practical School.
The cabinet manager who supervises Gao Jingshi is Zhang Xueyan, a leader of the Shi school of thought and an important supporter of Gao Jingshi all the time. It is conceivable that Gao Jingshi will definitely support Gao Jingshi's deployment in the household department.
As for the Ministry of War, although the Minister of Rongzheng was temporarily absent, Qi Jiguang concluded that this must be because the changes in the cabinet and the Seven Ministers were too sudden, and the Real School itself was caught off guard, so it had not had time to recommend a candidate.
Qi Jiguang believes that there is a high probability that the new Minister of Rongzheng will come from the pragmatic school, and it is very likely that the emperor will summon Gao Pragmatic and ask him to recommend a successor - this is also a tradition, just like when Pan Sheng promoted Xu Xuemo
.
With this judgment in mind, Qi Jiguang and others naturally continued to treat Gao Pragmatically respectfully, while Zhu Yingzhen, Zhang Yuangong and others naturally had to quickly submit their greetings to see Gao Pragmatically.
Therefore, Gao Pangshi met with the generals of the Imperial Guard under his command at the Ministry of War for the last time and gave him face-to-face instructions.
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "System Crash" and "ASolsF" for their monthly support, thank you!
PS: The next chapter or the second half of the chapter will list the new cabinet and the list of seven ministers, so that everyone will not remember it - I still remember it, and then I will "change the copy".