The news of Yu Qian's release from prison quickly spread throughout the capital.
Although when he was in trouble, everyone in the government and the public remained silent, and there were even many people who secretly impeached him. But after Yu Qian was released from prison, there was still an endless stream of people coming to visit him.
However, what everyone can't figure out is that this guy in Shaobao has been claiming to be ill and doesn't see anyone. In fact, he doesn't even go to court.
What's even weirder is that the emperor didn't react at all to this kind of behavior. He always accepted Yu Qian's request for leave, and sent an internal prison to visit him. However, after the visit, there was still no reaction, as if Yu Qian had forgotten about it.
However, if the emperor forgets, the ministers will not forget.
In the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Qiyu looked at the pile of memorials in front of him with a somewhat inexplicable expression.
Most of these memorials say that the Ministry of War has important affairs and the official in charge of sealing cannot be absent for a long time, so please appoint the new Minister of War as soon as possible.
In the imperial court, most people are motivated by profit. Yu Qian is now out of prison, but he has also been removed from his position as Minister of War.
In the past few days, most of the people who went to see him must have wanted to find out Yu Qian's attitude towards this matter from his mouth.
After all, Yu Qian has been in charge of the Ministry of War for several years since the Civil War. In particular, in the past few years, he has not only fought several big battles, but also implemented reforms to organize military camps. To put it bluntly, Yu Qian today
, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is like a master of the Ministry of War.
Even though he resigned from the post of Minister of War, the prestige and power accumulated over the years are not so easy to shake.
Of course, the sacred mandate is like a mountain and cannot be changed overnight. Therefore, it is basically impossible for Yu Qian to take charge of the Ministry of War again in a short period of time.
However, his great influence in the Ministry of War allows him to have a great say in the selection of the next minister. If Yu Qian wants to maintain his authority, then it is not impossible to recommend one of his confidants to the top.
possibility.
However, the emperor's previous transfer of Xiang Wenyao had the intention of suppressing the Ministry of War, so there is a high probability that Yu Qian would not use such drastic measures.
But even so, if he is willing, there are always people who want to be friends with him and use his power to succeed him as Minister of the Ministry of War. After all, in today's Ministry of War, Yu Qian's words are still effective.
Therefore, after a few days, many people expressed their opinions modestly, but who would have thought that no one would be seen in Shaobao. With such an attitude, naturally many people could not hold back.
Opportunities are limited. They respect Yu Qian's position in the court and will not immediately jump out to fight for the military department. However, if Yu Qian doesn't say anything, then they cannot wait for Yu Qian forever.
However, after all these years, Yu Qian's reputation and power in the court have not been low. Therefore, at present, no one has directly recommended a candidate to succeed the Minister of the Ministry of War. They are just tentatively submitting reports, saying that the Ministry of War is busy, and in addition to the recent official
When it was time to reorganize the military government, there was only one minister in charge of the ministry, which might delay the affairs of the court, so I requested that a new Minister of War be selected as soon as possible.
Putting aside the memorial he had just approved in front of him, Zhu Qiyu did not open the next one, but glanced at Huai En next to him and asked.
"How's the situation outside?"
Today is the day when the court recommends ministers. Originally, according to the previous decree, Zhu Qiyu was going to come in person. But at the end, he changed his mind and only sent an eunuch to attend. He did not go there.
.
Regarding this, the ministers were somewhat unexpected, but they did not react much. After all, strictly speaking, the court meeting was originally a large-scale ministerial meeting of the Ministry of Personnel. Even if the emperor was present, the presiding officer
He is also the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Moreover, in most cases, the process of court promotion is too boring, so the emperor usually does not go there. That is to say, after Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, he was very 'diligent' and would be present for several large-scale court promotions.
.
However, this is not a regular system, so Zhu Qiyu did not go this time. All the ministers just felt that the emperor found it novel a few times before, but now he was tired of this boring process, so he stopped coming, and it did not cause a big stir.
of waves.
"Back to your Majesty, I just came to report that the election has started. Calculating the time, it will take about a stick of incense to finish."
The nomination process can be said to be simple or complex. It is not simply a matter of recommending a few people. Before the nomination process, in addition to introducing the resumes of the candidates one by one, the ministers often also
Everyone has to express their opinions, so the time it takes will naturally not be short.
"oh?"
Zhu Qiyu raised his eyebrows slightly, seeming to have thought of something, and asked.
"Which people had the loudest voices when it was announced?"
"Back to the emperor, Master Yi Ming of Hanlin Academy, Master Luo Qi of Honglu Temple, and Master He Wenyuan of the Ministry of Civil Affairs are still the people who are favored by most of the adults in the court. However, except for these few, the right deputy is the imperial censor Xuan Xuan.
Your Excellency, the governor of Henan, Mr. Xiao Xi, the governor of Huguang and Zuo, and several others have praised me in court."
As he often serves in front of the emperor, Huaien naturally knows that the emperor still attaches great importance to Tingtui. Therefore, when Zhu Qiyu asked, he immediately answered.
After hearing this, Zhu Qiyu's face became a little confused and he continued to ask.
"I heard that Xuan Xian, Nian Fu, and Xiao Han have more and more talents recommended by the government in the past few days. It seems to be related to the cabinet?"
Wynn nodded and said.
"Back to your Majesty, it is true. It is said that a few days ago, several elders in the cabinet chatted together and commented on the candidates. At that time, the chief minister praised these people quite highly. In addition,
Outside..."
At this point, Wynn hesitated for a moment, but continued, saying.
"It is said that on that day, the First Assistant specifically explained to the Second Assistant that he had no intention of adding insult to injury to Shaobao, but the Second Assistant did not seem to accept it, and in the end, they seemed to part ways on bad terms."
While talking, Wynn recounted all the news he had heard.
"...People outside said that the first assistant acted because he saw Yu Shaobao was released from prison, so he wanted to ease the relationship, but the effect didn't seem to be very good. After that conversation, the two elders Yu Shaobao and Yu Cifu
, there was no reaction. On the contrary, everyone in the court now knew that the Chief Assistant once mentioned in front of the emperor that he wanted to transfer all the Second Ministers of the Ministry of War. These days, there has been a lot of discussion around the Chief Assistant.
, especially several adults from the Ministry of War, it is said that they have quite a few complaints..."
Is this so?
Zhu Qiyu's eyes flashed with understanding, and he didn't ask any more questions.
Not long after, a servant came from outside the palace to report.
"Your Majesty, Wang Tianguan of the Ministry of Personnel, the Chief Assistant of the King of the Cabinet, and Yu Cifu request to see you."
So, Zhu Qiyu nodded, signaled Wynn to tidy up the slightly messy royal eucalyptus, and then gave instructions.
"Let them come in."
The chamberlain withdrew, and not long after, Wang Wen and others appeared outside the palace door.
"I will see you, Your Majesty."
"Let's get married for free."
After asking a few people to stand up, Zhu Qiyu asked directly.
"Several gentlemen came together. I think it's the matter of the court's promotion of cabinet ministers. Is there any result?"
So, Wang Wen stepped forward, handed over a document, and said.
"Your Majesty, I have been ordered to preside over the court selection. After discussion among the ministers, seven candidates have been publicly recommended. They are Yi Ming, the bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, Luo Qi, the minister of Honglu Temple, He Wenyuan, the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the right deputy of the Metropolitan Inspectorate.
Xuan Xuan, the imperial censor of the capital, Cai Xun, the chief envoy to Shanxi, Wang Yu, the minister of household affairs in Nanjing, and Xiao Yan, the chief envoy to the left in Huguang, are the resumes and court recommendations of these seven people. Your Majesty, please take a look at them."
The chamberlain took the document and presented it to Zhu Qiyu. He briefly scanned the resumes of the first seven people, but did not focus too much on them. Instead, he directly looked at the results of the subsequent nominations.
It's not that the resumes of these people are not important, but Zhu Qiyu has already seen the list of these people in advance and has a general understanding of them. And more importantly, the reason why Ting Tui is authoritative is because of his results.
, must be able to withstand the doubts of everyone in the government and the public.
From political achievements and talents to virtue and character, any shortcomings will be infinitely magnified by political opponents in the nomination process. Therefore, the person finally selected cannot be said to have no shortcomings, but at least the current situation of nominations
That being said, it is relatively easy to select talents.
In fact, this is one of the reasons why Zhu Qiyu has always strictly prohibited forming parties, because once a party forms, it will be difficult to ensure fairness when making appointments.
Returning to the recommendation of cabinet ministers this time, this document was obviously written by the court. It recorded in detail how many people approved the seven people who made the final list.
According to the number of votes, from front to back, it is the order just mentioned by Wang Wen. However, if you look carefully, you can see some clues.
The top three in the queue, Yi Ming, Luo Qi, and He Wenyuan, had a tight vote count. Luo Qi had three votes more than He Wenyuan, while Yi Ming only had one vote more than Luo Qi.
After He Wenyuan, Xuan Shi's votes were eight votes less than his, and then Cai Xun, Wang Yu, and Xiao Han's votes were tight again.
According to Zhu Qiyu's previous decree, three ministers will be selected to join the cabinet this time. According to convention, the final list of ministers recommended by the court will be two to three times the number of those actually selected. In other words, if three ministers are elected to the cabinet, the final list will be
There should be six to nine people. As for the specific number, it depends on the game between the elders in the court and the official minister who presides over the court meeting.
Obviously, Wang Wen took the golden mean this time, and did not bite the bottom line of six people, nor did he push the limit of nine people. The final list was generally in line with the expectations of the court officials.
If we proceed according to this expectation, the people who will be selected in the end should be Yi Ming, Luo Qi, and He Wenyuan with the highest votes.
However, after reading the list, Zhu Qiyu did not rush to select the final candidate. Instead, he put the results aside and asked Wang Wen and the others.
"I already know the result. I wonder who among these seven gentlemen, who do you think is more suitable?"
When these words were asked, several people present were a little surprised.
If it were before the court recommendation, the emperor would have asked this, but now the results of the court recommendation have come out. To put it bluntly, it was not easy to choose among a large number of candidates, but now there are only seven people in front of them. Seven
Choose three. Isn’t it easy to choose?
Do you still need their recommendation?
They looked at each other, and finally, Wang Wen stepped forward and spoke.
"Your Majesty, these seven gentlemen are all worthy of their duties in terms of political performance, virtue, and reputation. During the court recommendation, many ministers recommended them. As for who should finally join the cabinet, please leave it to your Majesty's Sacred Heart to decide."
Just kidding, at this time, no matter what the emperor meant by asking, he couldn't answer anyway.
Now that the results of the nomination have come out, it means that the supporters of these people have become clear.
At this time, anyone who proposes it alone may be impeached by other supporters and may be suspected of influencing the nomination.
Therefore, no good words can be said, and no bad words can be said. The emperor can only make a direct decision.
After Wang Wen finished speaking, Wang Ao and Yu Shiyue also echoed his words.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu didn't bother much and said.
"That being the case, I won't mention it in advance. I'll think about it later. In recent days, the Minister of War has been vacant. Many ministers in the court have reported that a new Minister should be selected as soon as possible. Do you have any suitable candidates?
?”
Ah this...
The three of them did not expect that the emperor's topic would change so quickly, and that such a major event would be mentioned so directly all of a sudden.
And, more importantly, the emperor did not say whether he should rush to choose the successor minister, but directly asked who was more suitable.
The meaning revealed in this really makes people think deeply...
The three of them hesitated for a moment, and finally, Wang Wen took the lead and said.
"Your Majesty, the Minister of War is one of the Seven Ministers and holds a high position of authority. Therefore, I believe that the selection of the successor should be done carefully and not too hastily. It is better to ask the ministers to recommend them. After the preliminary list, the court nomination will be held.
To be appropriate."
When it comes to high-ranking officials of this level, it is actually not the officials who have the final say. To be fair, the method proposed by Wang Wen is the safest.
The ministers recommended the candidates and the official selection was conducted. After sorting out a list, they were handed over to the court for recommendation and the final candidates were selected, although it was troublesome and time-consuming.
But the advantage is that it can give all parties enough preparation time so that the final result can be accepted by all parties.
Of course, this is only the safest method under the premise that the emperor does not have a candidate chosen by the Sacred Heart. If the emperor already has a candidate, then it will be another situation.
Wang Ao and Yu Shiyue did not speak, but their faces seemed to agree with Wang Wen.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu was silent for a moment, then gently knocked on the table with his right hand. The sound echoed in the hall and seemed to hit the hearts of several people.
After a moment, his eyes fell on Yu Shiyue and asked.
"Yu Cifu, among the ministers in the cabinet, you have served in the court the longest, and you should know the ministers best. If I plan to transfer someone from the cabinet to take charge of the Ministry of War, who do you think is the most suitable?"