Chapter 283 Zheng Guoben (6) The Dragon has Regret
What is the biggest problem in exchanging with Gao Pragmatic? It is that the option of “giving money” must be eliminated first.
Everyone knows that he is highly pragmatic and has no shortage of money. The biggest characteristic of this Nanning Marquis is that he is not short of money both in public and private affairs. He is a veritable living god of wealth in the Ming Dynasty.
Yu Gong, he was in charge of finance as a bachelor, and also directly served as Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs. After the reform of the Ministry of Household Affairs, almost all financial power in the world, except for internal funds, was under his control. From the Metropolitan Procuratorate in Beijing, to the Six Ministries and other ministries
The yamen go to the provincial governors, the yamen and the procuratorate have ministers. Without his seal, you can't get a penny.
Don't say you can't get it. Even if you get too much or don't use it all, you still have to report to the Ministry of Accounts to explain the situation. Or if you get too little and you don't have enough, you want to apply for another sum, or even get more next year, which requires the Ministry of Accounts even more.
Review and review.
In short, no matter how powerful the government is, it cannot keep the money bag in his hands. If he likes you, you will have funds to advance the work at hand. If he doesn't like you, don't talk about living.
If you don't do it well, the people under you may become alienated.
What, you mean to appeal to the emperor? Don't be kidding me. Look at the gift the emperor gave him last time. "You are just salt and plum blossoms, and you are the boat's boat." I can't do anything without you, my beloved - do you think?
Does the emperor believe in you or him?
For private matters, let alone that. How much money does Jinghua have now? Maybe even Gao Pragmatic himself has lost count. The money on the books is okay, it must be counted, but how to calculate Jinghua's assets?
Jinghua Bank, Jinghua Trading Co., Ltd., Jinghua Infrastructure, Jinghua Pharmaceutical... as well as several huge industrial areas in Jinghua that are as large as cities, as well as the North and South Ocean fleets that don't know how to calculate the value, etc., these are already innumerable, not to mention
Jinghua also actually controls a huge territory in southern Xinjiang and Nanyang, so how can it settle accounts?
Therefore, everyone inside and outside the Ming Dynasty knew that "giving money" is the most meaningless way to have a relationship with Gao Pragmatic. Even if you spend all your wealth, it may be nothing more than a drop in the bucket to others, and you will not be able to get into his eyes at all. Therefore, you must
In exchange with Gao Pragmatic, we can definitely only offer some political chips that are meaningful to him.
Of course, having said that, Zhao Zhigao had to find a way to fill the hole for Zhao Fengwei's 70,000 taels of silver. He would definitely not advance this money to him.
Leaving aside where the money will be raised from, what political bargaining chips can Zhao Zhigao offer that will make Gao pragmatically excited?
In fact, when he first heard the news that day, Zhao Zhigao's first reaction was to resign. Of course, resigning cannot be regarded as an exchange. What can be called an exchange is that while resigning, he recommends an official from the Practical School as a substitute to the cabinet.
The current composition and ranking of the cabinet is as follows: Wang Jiaping, a bachelor of Zhongji Palace, Liang Menglong, a bachelor of Jianji Palace, Gao Pragmatic, a bachelor of Wenhua Palace, Zhao Zhigao, a bachelor of Wuying Palace, Shen Yiguan, a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, and Shen Yiguan, a bachelor of Dongge University.
Scholar Zhou Yong.
Except for Wang Jiaping, the chief assistant, among the other five cabinet elders, three are from the practical school and two are from the heart school. As we all know, Wang Jiaping and Liang Menglong will not stay in office for too long and will soon retire and return to their hometowns.
At that time, that is, when Wang Jiaping leaves office, it is not yet known whether he will recommend someone to replace him in the cabinet. However, according to convention, he has the right to recommend, and the emperor will definitely consider and summon the Jiuqing court to recommend him.
, or engage in big court promotion.
But even if he does this, he should recommend an official from the neutral school, that is, the traditional Neo-Confucian school, and it is unlikely that he will choose an official from the Practical School and the Heart School. Besides, according to the emperor's thoughts
, he may also prefer that Wang Jiaping recommend a neutral official.
Of course, even if Wang Jiaping recommends a neutral official to the cabinet, there will be no loss for the pragmatic school, because once Wang Jiaping and Liang Menglong withdraw, it is almost certain that Gao Pragmatic will be the first assistant.
The position of the first assistant is much more important than the new cabinet minister who joins the cabinet step by step, especially if Gao Pragmatic is appointed.
How should we describe this? In short, it means how much power the chief assistant has. It does not mainly depend on how much power the position itself gives, but how much power the person who serves as the chief assistant has the ability to control.
This may sound a bit outrageous. Why is it that the leader of the Ming Dynasty's civil servants does not have power conferred by his position, but depends on the individual?
This is the fucked up part of the Ming Dynasty’s cabinet system: the cabinet department itself is not an “economic official” in the traditional sense! I have said many times before that the cabinet was originally just an auxiliary left-wing agency for the emperor to handle government affairs.
His status is so great that he is just a "secretariat".
The prime ministers of previous dynasties before the Ming Dynasty were very powerful, so they often adopted a group system to disperse the power of the prime minister. It can be seen that sometimes the prime minister with the most powerful position can still monopolize power, which directly involves the monarchy, and there are many such examples.
yes.
After all, the main powers that the prime minister has include decision-making power, participation power and administrative power. People often say "one person is below and above ten thousand people", which refers to the prime minister.
After Hu Weiyong's death, Zhu Yuanzhang played a big trick and directly abolished the prime minister system. This move seemed very cool, and it could be said that China's feudal monarchy reached its peak. But the problem is that in ancient times, monarch power and prime minister power went hand in hand.
The long-term reality is that objective conditions require such a system.
As a result, because of Zhu Yuanzhang's actions, the Ming Dynasty stipulated that the decision-making power on court affairs must be the emperor himself. The main power of the cabinet could only be participation in political power. The six ministries mainly had administrative power. The local affairs were divided by the Chief Envoy and other agencies.
The three powers of administration, judiciary and military restrict each other.
The separation of the three powers is such a "modern" and "advanced" term, but is the separation of the three powers really that good? Let us look at the reality under the separation of the three powers in the Ming Dynasty.
At first glance, the separation of powers in the Ming Dynasty is indeed very good, and the cabinet system is also extremely advanced. For example, during the Jialong and Wan Dynasties in original history, the emperor either indulged in monasticism, concentrated on creating people, or was angry with the foreign court and did not see his ministers, but there was no such thing.
It took the three emperors to take over the power of the world, but they did not panic at all in handling the affairs of state behind the scenes, and the political system seemed extremely stable.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! But here is a famous saying: So, what is the price?
Because relevant issues have been discussed in various aspects in the previous chapters of this book, I will only give the conclusion here. The most obvious costs are in two aspects: first, it is easy for eunuchs to cause chaos in government; second, it will inevitably lead to intensified party disputes.
The issue of eunuchs disrupting the government mainly depends on whether the emperor himself takes the threat of eunuchs disrupting the government seriously. In theory, as long as the emperor wants to control it, the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty cannot disrupt the government.
However, it must be noted that although the Ming Emperor theoretically had the ability to control any eunuch, there were still times when eunuchs would inevitably lead to chaos. If the emperor came to the throne at a young age and was seriously dependent on one or more eunuchs, this could easily lead to
Eunuchs can cause chaos in the government; and when the emperor's monarchy and the civil servant group's ministerial power are in serious conflict, the emperor pretends to rely on the eunuchs to suppress the civil service group, which will also lead to the eunuchs causing chaos in the government.
As for "it will inevitably lead to intensified party strife", this may require a little analysis of the reasons.
The cabinet system is not a real prime minister system, and the chief minister of the cabinet is not a real prime minister. However, from the perspective of real political needs, if there is no civilian leader in the administrative decision-making system of the imperial court, it will lead to two most direct consequences:
First, the court's decision-making process was slow and slow, and since the chief minister was not the prime minister, the authority of the decision-making was greatly reduced.
Some people may disagree, thinking that although the Ming Dynasty's decision-making was not made by the "prime minister", it was ultimately decided by the emperor! Why, the emperor's authority is not as good as that of your mere prime minister?
This is the key point - the "authority" recognized by officials at all levels of the imperial court is actually different from the "authority" recognized in their hearts.
Verbally, any court official will say that "the emperor is no wiser than the emperor", but in fact, the people who really trust are the civil leaders who have experienced all kinds of ups and downs, or have endured many years of hardship.
You want to ask why? The emperor is inherited, but talent cannot be inherited. No matter how wise and powerful the former emperor is, he may still be a mere two hundred and fifty today;
Civilian leaders are different. Even if some people seem to have worked hard to get to the top through qualifications, they are actually still the best in the dangerous officialdom. If you can only endure the qualifications, you will have been pushed out. To become a civilian leader,
It means you must have done something right no matter what.
In this case, who's ability will the officials who are also civil servants trust more? Is there any need to say? But as a result, the current resolution is not necessarily the opinion of the civil servant leader, but only the opinion of the emperor. Even if everyone doesn't say it,
Whoever dares to speak out against this will not sneer in his heart: This is a mess of fate.
In this way, it can be explained why the cabinet system will cause the authority of the court's decision-making to be affected - this thing is not necessarily recognized by our civil servant group!
Secondly, under the premise of the previous article, the process of creating the chief minister has intensified the internal strife among the civil servants.
The abolition of the prime ministership system left the civil service group without a legitimate leader. However, if a group wants to be united and efficient, it must have a core presence. In order to become this core figure, everyone has to try their best to get to the top.
Some people may want to ask, wasn't the previous prime ministerial system also "a core"? How come there is no "inevitable party struggle to intensify" under the prime minister system, but the false prime minister with a false name will lead to "inevitable party struggle to intensify"? This is
It must be said that the system of the Ming Dynasty is indeed amazing.
Where did the prime ministers of past dynasties come from? They were appointed by the emperor.
Yes, it's that simple: the emperor appoints the prime minister, and the prime minister controls all officials and is responsible to the emperor.
Although this system is simple, the responsibilities and powers are very clear. I appoint you as the prime minister, and you are responsible for doing xxxx work well. If you do well, I will reward you; if you do not do well, I will replace you.
As a result, the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty changed this rule. What was it replaced by? The famous Ting Tui.
In later generations, people often praised Tingtui, thinking that it even had the scope of pan cooking and was very advanced. This is actually as ignorant as many people praising the Athenian pan cooking system when talking about the Western style pan cooking tradition.
The democracy of Athens has never been the democracy of the whole people, it is the democracy of the aboriginal people in the city of Athens. Several other classes in the city do not even have the right to have sex, so what kind of ghost culture are they talking about?
The reason why the tingtui system came into being was essentially because the imperial power cut off the power of the prime minister with a single blow, and the resistance of the civil servant group was growing day by day. It was an adaptation made out of necessity. It is a product of compromise.
However, this system is fundamentally a deformity, because it makes the responsibilities and powers of the leader of the civil service group very unclear - do you, the chief minister, stand for the emperor, or for our civil service group?
The teacher said that the first task in dealing with the conflict between the enemy and ourselves is to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy. Therefore, if you are not clear on which side the chief minister is on, then your position will definitely be awkward. However, the imperial recommendation system pushes away this uncertainty.
It reached its peak: the ministers discussed it together and the emperor made the decision.
Well now, the chief minister is elected by the top representatives of the civil service group, but ultimately it is determined by the emperor's decree - Which side are you from now?
Why is it difficult for the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty to do his job, and he is either a powerful minister or a mediocre minister? This is not something that the chief minister can change with his own will, but the foundation of the system is here.
If you and the emperor are of the same mind, the emperor will tolerate you as a powerful minister on the surface, but this means that you will have conflicts with most of your fellow civil servants, and they will often not be very tolerant of you.
Here you can almost look at any of the so-called "powerful ministers" in the history of the Ming Dynasty: Yan Song, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, which one was considered "a wise prime minister" by the government and the public at the level of the entire civil service group? In fact, no
, their "popularity" is not very good.
Needless to say, Yan Song had too many shortcomings, and it was normal for him to be scolded for hundreds of years. But even so, some scholars in later generations pointed out that he actually played a significant role in the stability of the imperial court at that time.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! What about Gao Gong? Wang Shizhen, as a person at the time and a leader in the literary world, had really bad opinions about Gao Gong when he wrote "The Biography of Shou Fu"
Black, if there are no black spots, even if you create black spots, you have to be black.
Gao Gong acted vigorously and resolutely, pointed out misdeeds immediately when he discovered them, and demanded corrections immediately when he discovered mistakes. This was the spirit that a leader who did practical things should have, but in Wang Shizhen's writing, it turned out to be "anxious, unable to contain things, and unable to hide needs."
Forbearance. If you feel dissatisfied, you will be broken if you touch it. Every eye will glare, followed by evil sounds, that is, both the left and the right will be Pi Yi. Once you gradually gain your ambition, you will see hundreds of Pi Yi, and you will be cut off in the morning and evening. If you are a master of your own mind, no one dares to resist.
By."
Good guy, they have high-profile officials and have arrested a bunch of corrupt officials. They have newly revised the examination method to strengthen the evaluation of officials. Unqualified officials should be demoted if they should be demoted, and those who should be dismissed should be dismissed. When it comes to you Wang Shizhen, they become impatient.
It has been transformed into a baby with a hundred visions. It is a teacher of only one's will. Who dares to resist? What should I say? It has to be peaceful and peaceful, and it is better to pretend not to see any corpses?
What about Zhang Juzheng? This man was always honored and favored during his lifetime, but after his death he was almost had his coffin opened and his body whipped. All the officials attacked him and scolded him like a street rat. So much so that the final conclusion of his coffin in "Records of Shenzong" was actually
It is "There are many partialities and taboos, small tools are easy to make money, suppress officials, rely on trust and sycophants, and their parents favor and seize love, the root has been broken. Power shakes the master, misfortune comes. No wonder he died soon."
, and killing and humiliation followed."
Although Gao Pragmatic always said that Zhang Juzheng was just an improvement and could not be called a reform, because he did not do any "innovation" and just repaired the original decaying building, but... at least he repaired it seriously!
How did you end up with such a fate and such a reputation?
Fortunately, some people began to defend him not long after, and later generations of academic circles even brought him out again out of certain needs, boasting about him and even exaggerating.
In a word, the most difficult thing to do well as the chief minister in the Ming Dynasty is how to define whose representative you are - the emperor or the ministers?
In Zhao Zhigao's view, Gao Pingshi didn't have to worry too much about this, because his identity and stance had already been decided: the Pragmatic School had always been a royalist party.
Therefore, Zhao Zhigao believes that when Gao Pragmatic becomes the chief minister, he must be a powerful minister, because basically what he wants to do is something approved by the emperor, and the emperor will give him all necessary support, which will inevitably bring greater pressure to the Xin School.
However, Shen Yiguan, who also saw this, chose to fight and resolutely opposed Gao Pragmatic, but Zhao Zhigao did not see it that way. His choice was to give in and watch Gao Pragmatic rise to the top of his power.
So, is Zhao Zhigao really as timid as a mouse as Shen has always seen? If you just look at it this way, you would be looking down on Zhao Zhigao. Zhao Zhigao's concession is not an end, but a means.
When he was deciding on this matter, he murmured to himself and recited a passage from the "Book of Jin: The Biography of Wang Bao": "Now, with the merits that are hard to appreciate, and with the power of the master, he alone controls Kyoto and wields great power.
If you advance, the dragon will be strong and you will regret it; if you retreat, a pear will grow in the garden, hoping for peace, but you don't know its blessings."
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