Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty Two: The Court Pushes the Cabinet (Part 2)
Although court recommendation is a selection system in the imperial court system, in essence, it is just the courtiers recommending officials to the emperor who they think meet the requirements.
These are recommendations and suggestions only, not final decisions.
Ever since Emperor Taizu abolished Zhongshu and dismissed the prime minister.
The decision-making power for all affairs of the imperial court, no matter how big or small, was returned to the hands of the emperor, and the same was naturally true for the appointment and dismissal of officials.
Whether it is the selection of civil servants or the selection of ministers, they are all selected on behalf of the emperor, and essentially have no decision-making power.
After all, the emperor has so many things to do every day that he has no time to examine the officials one by one.
Just like this time, if there is no court recommendation, the emperor will need to select three people from among hundreds of Beijing officials and local officials who have the basic qualifications to join the cabinet.
The imperial court had to transfer so many officials every day, and they all relied on the emperor to select them. Even Taizu couldn't handle this kind of workload...
Therefore, it is necessary for officials or courtiers to make selections. The former is the official selection, and the latter is the so-called court recommendation.
However, whether it is the selection of officials by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, recommendation by the court, or recommendation by ministers, the final decision-making power always lies in the hands of the emperor.
The most obvious feature of this point is that the emperor has the right to reject the results of the court's recommendation, which is not uncommon in the Ming Dynasty.
The court recommendation does not present a final candidate, but recommends at least two, and the emperor finally selects the winner.
If the emperor is not satisfied with the selected candidates, he can also order the candidates to be re-elected, or simply put aside the selection. This has been done before.
Of course, generally speaking, the emperor will still give face to the officials.
This is mainly because whether Ting recommends it or not depends on the emperor's will.
The purpose of court recommendation is to select high-ranking officials of third grade or above, but this does not mean that all third-grade officials must go through court recommendation.
In most cases, if the emperor likes an official, he can appoint him directly as long as he meets the basic conditions.
Shi Pu, the former minister of the Ministry of Industry, who had just been sentenced to death, was a typical official who was directly promoted and appointed by the emperor.
Generally speaking, the officials will only carry out the imperial edict when the emperor cannot make up his mind.
This order is very important. Tingtui was done in accordance with the will of the emperor.
That is to say, under normal circumstances, the selection process for third-rank officials is not directly recommended by the court, but a list of vacancies submitted by the Ministry of Personnel. If the emperor has someone who is in his heart, he will appoint him directly.
If not, he would order a recommendation, and if the emperor was still dissatisfied with the results of the recommendation, he would simply not choose him.
After the Heavenly Official read the long list, there was a burst of discussion below.
News of this kind of matter involving the transfer of important officials in the imperial court spread very quickly. Even before the election was held, the courtiers had roughly learned about the candidates on the list.
This is also why they are strange.
Because, in the list that was circulated before, there was no such person as Zhang Min, the Minister of Industry.
This old man, since the recent restructuring of the craftsmen industry has been very popular, it is said that it is coming to an end.
At this time, something happened to Shi Pu, Minister of Industry.
Many senior officials were speculating that Zhang Min's next step would be to take over as Minister of Industry, but they never thought that he would actually appear on the cabinet's candidate list.
If this is the case, who should take over the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry?
Let’s look at the old Heavenly Official who has the old god in the palace. This one is the same. He said he wanted to become an official, but so far there has been no result.
It’s really hard to guess what the big guys are thinking!
However, no matter what they thought in their hearts, the voting continued. After the Heavenly Official read out the list, the next step was voting.
The ministers suppressed their doubts, lined up and cast their sacred votes.
Not long after, the results came out.
The old Heavenly Official took the compiled results, turned around, and reported to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, the veteran minister presided over the court recommendation and selected the five people with the highest votes. They are Yu Shiyue, Minister of Dali Temple, Jiang Yuan, Minister of Criminal Affairs, Wang Yining, Minister of Rites, Xu Bin, Minister of Taichang Temple, and Zhang Min, Minister of Works. Who will be selected specifically?
Please give me your Majesty’s Holy Judgment!”
This result was almost what the courtiers had expected.
But what surprised them a little was that Zhang Min was hanging on a tail and was included in the final list of royal tours.
You must know that to a large extent, Tingtui not only looks at a person's ability and qualifications, but also his personal connections.
The short list of candidates for Tingtiao had been circulated two days ago.
These officials are basically third-grade officials with actual duties. Although the second-grade cabinet officials only have additional titles and have no real power, it is still a big step forward.
Therefore, the court officials who could be selected began to run around two days early to win the votes in the nomination.
At this time, Zhang Min intervened and was not excluded from the imperial list. It has to be said that it is a strange thing.
With this thought in mind, a young chamberlain came down from the imperial steps and presented the results of the court test in the hands of the old Heavenly Official to the emperor.
The emperor hesitated for a moment, then picked up the ink pen, drew a circle on it, and then handed it to Cheng Jing, who was standing by.
As a result, all the ministers cheered up and pricked up their ears.
If nothing else, the results will come out!
Cheng Jing respectfully took the results of the court recommendation, then turned to face the ministers and said loudly.
"I am ordering Yu Shiyue, Minister of Dali Temple, Jiang Yuan, Minister of Punishment, and Zhang Min, Minister of Industry, to serve as counselors at Wenyuan Pavilion."
After the words fell, the ministers were a little surprised, but soon they understood why Zhang Min was temporarily thrust in and still entered the imperial list. The feeling was that Jane was in the emperor's heart.
You know, in the nomination process, Wang Yining and Xu Bin had higher votes than Zhang Min, but in the end it was Zhang Min who was selected.
Coupled with the fact that Zhang Min was suddenly put on the candidate list, the ministers still didn't know, and for a moment, they looked at Zhang Min with a little more admiration.
This old man, who usually looks haggard, would just keep his head down and do things. Unexpectedly, at some point, he secretly fawned over the emperor. It turns out that a person cannot be judged by his appearance.
Feeling the various looks from around him, Zhang Min was also confused.
I was very surprised when his name appeared in the nominations. Who would have thought that he would actually be selected in the end.
What exactly is going on?
Although it was not clear, he still went out in line with the other two people and kowtowed in unison: "I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness!"
Logically speaking, this trial should end here.
The three cabinet ministers have been selected. Although there is no specific order and title yet, it will naturally be determined later.
However, at this moment, the old official who presided over the court tremblingly stepped forward again and prostrated.
"Your Majesty, I am old and unable to serve, but Your Majesty loves me so much that I have tried to persuade you to stay. However, as a young man, I left home to study. Since I became an official, I have served the court conscientiously for more than 40 years. Now I am old and suffering from old age and illness.
I only hope that I can return to my hometown and return my leaves to my roots. I am presumptuous enough to beg for the bones again. I hope your majesty will allow it."
Alas?
There was a burst of discussion below, although everyone already knew that the old official was not far away from becoming an official.
But no one expected that the Heavenly Official would be presiding over the court in high spirits on the front leg, while the back leg would look like he couldn't even stand, begging for bones.
Are you a little too anxious about this?
Just now you were so loud, you don't look like you are suffering from an old illness!
How about you go home, stay sick for a token two days, go through procedures and so on?
but none.
The old man was kneeling on the ground tremblingly, looking like he was dying and would fall to the ground in the next second.
On the throne, the emperor's eyes were slightly moist, and he sighed deeply.
"Tianguan is the pillar of the country. He has contributed to the country and is kind to me. Now that the imperial court is in ruins and waiting to be revitalized, my original intention is for Tianguan to sit in charge of the court. However, Tianguan has worked hard for the country for many years, and I cannot bear to make Tianguan uneasy in his later years.
, since the Heavenly Official has resigned several times, I have no choice but to endure the pain and prepare to serve as the Heavenly Official and become a respected official?”
"The minister is here!"
The emperor stood up from his throne and spoke in a deep voice.
"In passing on my will, Wang Zhi, the Taibao Crown Prince and the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, served as an official for several dynasties. He worked hard and made great achievements. He saved the court from dangers several times and supported the holy king in the country. He was actually the pillar of the country. He was promoted to Taifu, and he was awarded the title of official.
this."
Cheng Jing immediately knelt down to receive the order. At the same time, the old Heavenly Official bowed down again and said loudly.
"I, the King, are so sincere, and I thank God for his grace!"
There was silence in the main hall, and many people had red eyes.
Lao Tianguan served as an official for several dynasties, and his prestige and position in the dynasty was unmatched by anyone.
Although they had been prepared for it, when the moment actually came, many people couldn't help but shed tears.
However, the sadness was only temporary, and the next moment, they put this emotion behind them.
On the throne, after a brief silence, the emperor spoke again.
"The Foreign Ministry is the backbone of the imperial court. Although I can't bear the appointment of Heavenly Officials, it is really inappropriate for two of the six departments to have vacancies."
"Wang Wen, censor of the right capital of Jin Dynasty, was appointed as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he was appointed as Shaoshi. Chen Xun, the great scholar of Jinshen Palace, was appointed as the minister of the Ministry of Works. He was also the crown prince and Taifu. Gao Gu, the great scholar of Wuying Palace of Jin, was appointed as the bachelor of Jinshen Palace.
Added as Minister of Household Affairs."
"Yu Shiyue, minister of the Dali Temple in the Jin Dynasty, is a bachelor of Wuyingdian and a minister of the Ministry of War. Jiang Yuan, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment, is a bachelor of the Wenhua Palace and a minister of the Ministry of Rites. Zhang Min, the minister of the Ministry of Industry of the Jin Dynasty, is a bachelor of Wenyuange and the minister of the Ministry of Processing."
The series of appointments dazzled the ministers below. By the time they reacted, the emperor's figure had disappeared from the palace...