Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty: Cabinet Pros and Cons
In the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Qiyu looked at Wang Wen with a smile on his face.
Just looking at Wang Wen's current performance, we know that his trip to the cabinet was not in vain.
Zhu Qiyu asked after waving his hand to have someone serve him a cup of tea.
"What do you mean, sir?"
Wang Wen knew in his heart that the emperor was testing him, so he didn't dare to neglect him. After sorting out his words, he spoke.
"Today, I and Eunuch Cheng attended the cabinet meeting. Although the matters discussed were simple and the time was not long, we can still see the hidden dangers."
"Let's talk about Wang Ao first. He has always been on patrol in the local area and has no involvement in the capital. He was favored by His Majesty and served as the first assistant, but in fact he is having a difficult time."
Zhu Qiyu nodded slightly, it was not a secret in this court.
In fact, when Wang Ao came to take charge of the cabinet, many ministers in the court did not think highly of him, and even secretly wanted to see his jokes.
First, because he himself has little influence in the capital, and he suddenly ascends to a high position, it is difficult to establish a foothold in the capital immediately.
The second reason is that the cabinet is different from the six ministries. The cabinet is a group of assistants, and there is no distinction between superiors and subordinates like the six ministries. If he, the chief assistant, encounters a powerful cabinet minister, it is not impossible to fight against him or even sideline him.
To put it bluntly, among the six departments, there are obvious superiors and subordinates. If the second officer does not obey the orders of the superior, then he is disobeying the superior's order.
But in the cabinet, everyone has the same status and has the right to vote, but they are responsible for different affairs.
The chief minister is not a superior, so he has no power to issue orders to cabinet ministers. If he encounters a powerful cabinet minister, if he leaves the chief minister alone, others will not be able to find fault.
At that time, Chen Xun and others isolated Wang Ao in public at the banquet, which was a manifestation of the cabinet struggle.
After sighing, Wang Wen continued.
"But looking at it today, the situation in the cabinet has been settled. Gao Gu and Jiang Yuan have the same position, Yu Shiyue and Zhang Min have the same position. Wang Ao, the chief assistant, makes the final decision in the middle. It can be seen that this person is well versed in the art of cabinet balance.
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It should be said that Wang Ao, the chief lieutenant, does not have a following force of his own and can easily be sidelined by the people below him.
But when Wang Wen looked at it today, he could clearly feel that in the atmosphere of the cabinet, Wang Ao was respected.
This was particularly evident at the end of the cabinet meeting.
At that time, Gao Gu was obviously dissatisfied with the final conclusion given by Wang Ao, but he did not speak out to defend it.
This is not just a matter of the minority obeying the majority, but the power of authority.
In just a few months, Wang Ao had completely established a firm foothold in the cabinet.
Zhu Qiyu had no reaction to this and said calmly.
"This is what it should be. Although the cabinet is not divided into superiors and inferiors, as the chief minister, he should be able to balance and coordinate among the cabinet ministers. This is Wang Ao's ability."
It should be said that it is actually very difficult to be a good minister of the cabinet. There is a question of temper.
Deep in the cabinet, it plays a mediating role between the inner court and the outer court, so it cannot be like the six ministries, which have clear top and bottom lines and are controlled by the chief official.
Because in this way, it is easy to breed powerful officials, block the way of speech, and isolate the inside and outside.
Only when every minister in the cabinet has the right to vote, can communicate freely with the inner court and the outer court, and check each other, can the cabinet function smoothly.
This determines that the chief minister cannot completely control the cabinet. Once such a person appears, he will be the first to be killed by the emperor.
However, as the nominal head of the cabinet, if a cabinet minister bickers with the chief minister every day, treats the chief minister as useless, and really makes the chief minister have the same status as other cabinet ministers, then it is also incompetent.
You can neither completely suppress other cabinet ministers and turn them into your subordinates, nor let them be equal to you. You must keep them in a certain respect for the chief minister.
The sense of proportion in this is extremely difficult to grasp, and the methods required are also very clever.
This is the reason why Wang Wen commented that Wang Ao is not simple.
With a slight sigh, Wang Wen said with a somewhat complicated tone.
"Although the cabinet discussion system seems simple, it is ingenious. In the long run, the chief minister's transcendent status in the cabinet will be unshakable. Wang Ao is not a party member, but he can make the cabinet unite. I am not as good as him.
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Some things are easy to say, but really hard to think about without breaking the layer of window paper.
The format of the cabinet meeting seems simple, but it breaks the cabinet's siled situation.
When there is no cabinet meeting, several ministers in the cabinet are in charge of their own affairs and are basically completely independent, and the presence of the chief minister is dispensable.
However, once the cabinet discussion system is established, the cabinet will form a unified voice on many major government affairs.
This is the scariest bit!
Although the cabinet actually controls the content, which is equivalent to the ministers of various ministries, they do not have the same powers as the chief officials of the six ministries.
But their ranks are all very high. Once they unite and reach an agreement on a certain government matter, their status in the court cannot be underestimated.
This is exactly what the cabinet meeting does.
The division of power in the cabinet is an inevitable phenomenon. As far as Wang Wen saw, Gao Gu was obviously in the same faction as Jiang Yuan, and Zhang Min and Yu Shiyue were in the same faction.
But at the same time, Zhang Min and Chen Xun are very close, and Chen Xun and Gao Gu have been friends for many years, so it is not impossible for Zhang Min and Gao Gu to unite.
The cabinet is like a small court, with complex relationships. Everyone may choose their own allies at different times and based on their own interests.
This was originally a disadvantage for Wang Ao.
Because he is an outsider, other cabinet ministers would not choose him as their first choice when making allies.
Moreover, as the chief minister, if he wins over too many cabinet ministers, he will surely arouse the fear of both the government and the public, leading to impeachment and clique formation.
So Wang Ao chose to connect things but not people.
Through the form of cabinet discussions, the cabinet ministers can reach an agreement on a certain government matter and speak out together, but the cabinet ministers themselves have not changed their positions.
In this way, when Wang Ao needs to speak out in court, he can screw up everyone in the cabinet, but these cabinet ministers themselves have not formed a party with him.
The cabinet's channels of communication are still open, the independence of each cabinet minister is still maintained, and the detached status and personal authority of the chief minister are quietly established.
To be fair, if another minister is replaced as the chief minister, if he wants to establish his own status, he must either use the vote-sharing power in the hands of the chief minister to suppress it, or win over cabinet ministers and compete with other cabinet ministers.
The former is too rigid. The Jingyan conflict that broke out between Wang Ao, Chen Xun and others some time ago was a direct result of his use of voting power to suppress them.
As for the latter, it is easy to be impeached and form a party, and it is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It is also difficult for Wang Ao to do it in his own situation.
In this situation, Wang Ao was able to find another way to achieve the goal he wanted. This is what makes Wang Wen feel ashamed.
Seeing that Wang Wen was a little frustrated, Zhu Qiyu shook his head and said.
"Wang Ao's move has advantages and disadvantages. It is just a matter of assessing the situation. Everyone has their own strengths. Sir, you don't have to be so down on yourself. However, after this incident, I think you can understand why the cabinet took action during this Beijing inspection.
Alright?"
Wang Ao had been implementing the cabinet discussion system for some time, and Zhu Qiyu knew about it earlier than anyone else.
Wang Ao is a smart man.
After joining the cabinet, and after a brief head-to-head confrontation with Chen Xun and others, he roughly figured out the emperor's attitude towards him as his chief minister, and at the same time, he also had a finger on the pulse of the cabinet.
It is the emperor's bottom line not to form cliques for personal gain and not to use public weapons for personal gain.
On this basis, the emperor will give a certain degree of support to those he promotes.
For Wang Wen, this kind of support was the official encouragement before taking office.
For Wang Ao, this support is more reflected in his free play on the cabinet.
Since the emperor ascended the throne, the cabinet has undergone earth-shaking changes.
As the first chief minister after the cabinet customization, Wang Ao does not have so many restrictions in his actions.
The core issue before him was how to successfully establish his authority in the cabinet without touching the emperor's bottom line.
So he came up with the system of cabinet discussions. Obviously, his guess was very accurate.
As long as he does not form cliques for personal gain and does not use public tools for personal gain, the emperor is happy to see him, as his chief minister, strengthen his position in the cabinet.
Of course, cabinet discussion is not without its shortcomings. It is a double-edged sword.
For Wang Ao, he can take advantage of the situation and gain a favorable position in the cabinet through cabinet discussions.
But at the same time, if other cabinet ministers hold the opposite attitude to him on a certain major government matter.
So as the first assistant, he also needs to compromise.
To a certain extent, cabinet meetings eliminate the specific manifestation of factionalism in the cabinet in government affairs and unify the cabinet's voice on major government affairs.
But sometimes this voice may not be Wang Ao's own voice.
But now that there is a cabinet discussion, no matter whether the outcome of the discussion is in line with Wang Ao's wishes, he must ultimately speak out in court on behalf of the cabinet.
This is his responsibility as the first assistant, and it is also his helplessness.
But overall, cabinet discussions played a very important role in improving Wang Ao's status.
It enables the cabinet to achieve relative unity in their mutual struggles and truly become a political force that cannot be underestimated in the court.
Wang Wen looked solemn, nodded and said.
"The veteran understands that the cabinet cannot keep a low profile forever. Wang Ao has taken control of the cabinet. The next step is to speak out in the court. With the system of cabinet discussions, he will be able to get help from everyone in the cabinet and have the strength to monitor the capital.
Show off your skills."
Wang Wen despised the cabinet before because he, like most ministers in the court, felt that the cabinet was still in a state of fragmentation.
Gao Gu, Jiang Yuan, Yu Shiyue, Zhang Min, and Wang Ao formed their own factions. They were independent of each other and fought for power. They couldn't take care of each other, so how could they interfere with the Beijing Police?
But after watching this cabinet meeting, he completely understood.
Although Wang Ao did not subdue those cabinet ministers, he was able to unify their power to a limited extent.
As a result, it is inevitable for the cabinet to interfere more in court affairs.
After all, in the court, in addition to the power in your hands, prestige and appeal are also very important.
As a heavenly official, Wang Wen still despised the cabinet, let alone other courtiers.
In their view, the cabinet is probably still just a bureaucracy that sends orders to subordinates, not much different from the General Affairs Department.
Therefore, Wang Ao needs a major event to demonstrate the strength of the cabinet, and Jingcha is the whetstone they chose!
Zhu Qiyu sighed softly, looked at Wang Wen steadily, and after a moment, Fang said.
"I can't help you with the Beijing Procuratorate matter. Whether it's the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the cabinet, or anyone else, you need to deal with it yourself. Do you understand?"
As the emperor, he also has his own helplessness.
This time during the Beijing inspection, Zhu Qiyu tried his best to create favorable conditions for Wang Wen, but in the final analysis, the battle in the court still depends on his own strength.
Whether it is Chen Yi from the Metropolitan Procuratorate or Wang Ao from the cabinet, they are both smart people.
What the emperor wants is the result of the imperial investigation, but the emperor will never interfere in every aspect of the imperial inspection, because doing so will only escalate the dispute between the court and the court into a confrontation between the monarch and his ministers.
Therefore, the emperor cannot and will not interfere with the process of the Beijing inspection. He only needs the result of the Beijing inspection to conform to his wishes.
And during this process, if someone needs to sacrifice for the outcome of the investigation, the emperor will not hesitate.
In court battles, there is always blood but no swords.
Those who lose can only say that their own means are not enough.
Wang Wen looked solemn, stood up and prostrated, and said.
"Your Majesty is so kind to me. I will repay you with my death. Please rest assured, Your Majesty. No matter who obstructs me, I will do my best to inspect the capital this time. Even if I take off this layer of official robes, I will not let young people disturb the capital again."
Zhu Qiyu nodded, and immediately a gentle smile appeared on his face again, and he spoke.
"I'm very relieved that you have such a heart, sir. However, you don't need to worry too much. I think the cabinet and the Metropolitan Procuratorate are not ignorant people. If they go too far, I won't sit idly by completely."
Wang Wen thanked him and stood up and sat down again, but there was a rare hesitation on his face.
After hesitating for a moment, he still said.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I don't know whether I should say it or not?"
It was the first time that Zhu Qiyu saw Wang Wen so hesitant. He waved his hand and said, "Sir, you have something to say, but there is no harm in saying it."
Wang Wen let out a breath, stood up and cupped his hands.
"I dare to say that your Majesty promotes the cabinet to reconcile internal and external affairs, reduce the pressure on government affairs, and improve the efficiency of handling government affairs. However, the cabinet is getting bigger and bigger, and I fear that one day it will compete with the six ministries for power."
"If one day, the cabinet is superior to the six ministries, it may have the power of writing. Your Majesty must not be careful!"
Zhu Qiyu was a little silent.
After all, Wang Wen was a man who had been in officialdom for many years. Although he had despised the cabinet before, he immediately realized the risks after recognizing the true situation of the cabinet.
In the Ming Dynasty, the dispute between the cabinet and the ministry has always been the main theme of the internal struggle of the civil servant group.
The role of the cabinet is said to be harmonious with the inside and outside, but in reality it is the imperial power's constant plundering of ministerial power.
The relationship between this is very complex.
Each of the six ministries is in charge and has administrative powers, but the cabinet does not have any administrative powers. The only voting power it has is also a suggestion power. Strictly speaking, it is an extension of the imperial power.
To put it bluntly, the voting plan is a plan for the emperor to deal with government affairs. The emperor can be accurate or not.
On this basis, the cabinet relied very heavily on imperial power.
With the emperor's trust, the cabinet can use the power of imperial power to rob the six ministries of power.
Among them, those most seriously threatened are the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War.
The entire cabinet dispute in the Ming Dynasty can be roughly divided into three stages.
Before Hongzhi, the cabinet mainly relied on the imperial power to check and balance the six ministries. At this stage, the cabinet was seriously dependent on the imperial power, and their method of plundering ministerial power mainly relied on the power of the imperial power.
Specifically, it was to rely on divine favor to take away the power of the Ministry of Personnel to recommend officials to the imperial court.
This is also what Chen Xun and Gao Gu were doing some time ago.
Because of the close relationship with the emperor, the cabinet would often recommend talents to the emperor in private. If the emperor thought it was suitable, he would issue an order to the officials and ask for their opinions.
If there are no problems, we will enter the formal selection and appointment process.
But you must know that there are generally two ways to produce high-ranking officials above the third rank. One is that the Ministry of Personnel presides over the recommendation, and the other is that the Ministry of Personnel draws up a list of candidates, and the emperor directly selects the candidates.
The actions of the cabinet actually overstepped the bureaucracy and directly interfered with personnel power. However, what they were doing was under the banner of the emperor.
From the Hongzhi to Jiajing years, the cabinet's usurpation of ministerial power went even further.
In the selection of officials from Zhongshusheren, Hanlinyuan, Zhanshifu and other yamen that were closely related to the inner court, the Ministry of Civil Affairs had no say at all.
Since these yamen are all Qingliu Huaxuan, the cabinet with the power to recommend these yamen has also significantly increased its influence in the outer court, relying only on its own authority and the six-part court resistance ceremony.
In the early years of Hongzhi, a major event occurred, which completely intensified the dispute between the cabinet and the ministry.
At that time, it was said that the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi was impeached and acted inappropriately and should be dismissed.
According to normal procedures, the Ministry of Civil Affairs should send officials to verify the facts and then decide whether to remove him.
However, Liu Ji, the cabinet minister at the time, directly bypassed the official department and directly dismissed the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi with the emperor's decree in hand.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs, which theoretically holds the power to evaluate officials, has been excluded from the whole process.
This incident caused quite a stir, and Wang Shu, who was the Minister of Civil Affairs at the time, even wrote a memorial saying that he was "unable to hold his post and begged to leave."
At this stage, it should be said that the Six Ministries had begun to lose ground in the struggle with the cabinet. As the head of the Six Ministries, the Minister of Libu was actually forced to go to the Supreme Court.
Above the court, the cabinet was gradually regarded as having a higher status than the six ministries. At this time, the cabinet no longer needed to use the power of the emperor to suppress the six ministries.
In the eyes of both the government and the public, it is a tacit fact that the cabinet is superior to the six ministries.
In the Longwan period, Zhang Juzheng came into being, and the power of the cabinet reached its peak. The reason was that Zhang Juzheng promoted the entrance examination method.
The merits and demerits of the examination law shall not be discussed for the time being, but it stipulates that each government office shall maintain an examination record book, report to the cabinet regularly, and the cabinet shall evaluate officials on a regular basis.
This directly took away the power of the Ministry of Personnel to evaluate officials. After Zhang Juzheng's death, although the examination law was once abolished, the power that the cabinet had already grasped was never released.
After Zhang Juzheng, the cabinet has completely become the leader of the officials recognized by both the government and the public. The six ministries can no longer compete with it. When the ministers and ministers encounter cabinet ministers on the road, they must avoid it.
Since then, although there have been slight recurrences, the general trend has remained unchanged.
As a result, the unprecedentedly powerful cabinet finally posed a threat to the imperial power, so that the emperor had to support the eunuchs again to compete with the cabinet.
The twists and turns, pros and cons, cannot be explained clearly in just one or two sentences.
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Qiyu spoke.
"I know what the gentleman said, and I will think about it carefully. Sir, please step aside first."
Wang Wen stood up, cupped his hands, and exited the hall.
Zhu Qiyu's expression was a little complicated.
Wang Wen said these words partly out of public motives and worried that the cabinet would become powerful, and partly because he hoped to use his own power to suppress the cabinet.
His vision is very accurate!
The biggest weakness of the cabinet, or at least the current cabinet, is grace.
If you want to usurp the authority of the six ministries, it is not enough to rely on just a few people in the cabinet. You must rely on the power of the imperial power.
In fact, the biggest reason why the cabinet can continue to grow is that the emperor is deliberately supporting it.
Whether it is to master the court faster, or to have fun more easily.
In short, generations of emperors have been encouraging towards the expansion of the cabinet.
Especially from Jiajing to Wanli years, ministers from the six ministries were rarely summoned.
The cabinet has become the mouthpiece and mouthpiece of the emperor, cooperating with the ceremonial supervisor. In a sense, it is acting on behalf of the emperor. How can it not be powerful?
Zhu Qiyu himself knew the dangers of a powerful cabinet, so he always treated the cabinet with caution and a hint of caution. He did not neglect the banquets in the early dynasty, and internal and external exchanges were very smooth.
But the kings of later generations will inevitably give the cabinet such an opportunity.
All Zhu Qiyu can do now is to delay this process as much as possible.
Transferring cabinet ministers to the Sixth Department is the first step. In this way, at least in terms of rank, the cabinet ministers will not be able to compare with the Seventh Minister.
In his previous life, the rise of the cabinet began with the transfer of six ministers into the cabinet. In this life, he went in the opposite direction, which may have unexpected results.
In addition, after the Beijing inspection, the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion cannot continue to delay.
Also, some new things need to be added regarding the prince's teachings, but this is a matter for the future.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the glorious Forbidden City. The young king frowned slightly. After a long time, he let out a long sigh...