The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 126 Abolition of the Central Secretariat and Establishment of the Cabinet

I thought the grandson was young and easy to fool.

Once they pleaded with the Crown Prince in court and then publicized the matter, even His Majesty couldn't change anything.

They can apologize to Zhu Yuanzhang later, and out of consideration for their past relationship, he will definitely let them go.

However, this time Zhu Xiong Ying's actions seem to be more complicated than they appear.

The officials who had just stepped forward immediately shrank back, afraid that they would be implicated in this matter.

Some officials whose families were involved turned pale and fainted.

They knew very well that after the Crown Prince's actions, their family was completely finished.

The Empty Seal Case came to an end, and many officials involved in the matter were removed from their posts, resulting in a significant reduction in the court's manpower.

The Central Secretariat was severely weakened after this incident.

At this moment, an official from the Secretariat stepped forward.

"Your Highness, the Secretariat has suffered heavy losses as a result of this incident, with only two or three out of ten officials remaining. The Secretariat is extremely important, and a prolonged shortage of personnel could be detrimental to the country. I urge Your Majesty to transfer officials from other places to fill the gaps in the Secretariat!"

The other officials nodded in agreement. The role of the Secretariat was extremely important, and it was natural that it should not be left unattended for such a long period of time.

Zhu Xiong Ying said with some difficulty after hearing this.

"The duties of the Secretariat are extremely important, but this time the losses have been heavy. If we were to replace them, I'm afraid there would be losses among officials in other places, and some of them might not even understand the functions of the Secretariat. Who knows what might happen then? So I think we can discuss this matter later!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed immediately. Without the Secretariat, wouldn't the entire court be in chaos? Previously, all matters were first reported to the Secretariat, and then passed on to the Emperor.

During this period, the officials of the Secretariat were extremely idle. If they were idle for a longer period of time, they probably wouldn't even know how to handle state affairs.

"Your Highness, this is not the time! The Secretariat is extremely important and an indispensable department of the court. Without the Secretariat, how can Your Majesty handle the affairs of the court!"

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled.

"It's quite simple. In the Hall of Diligent Governance, my twelfth uncle and the great Confucian scholar Liu Sanwu are in charge of drafting documents for me. The six ministers write down all the details in a booklet. This method is extremely efficient, and there's not much to disclose. I think it's excellent!"

"Therefore, I intend to clear out the Wenyuan Pavilion, which is not far from the Qin Zheng Hall, and then have the ministers of the court draft documents for me again. Once all the documents have been drafted, I will make the final decision!"

"At this time, the cabinet members should be officials who are familiar with the affairs of the court. This position is not fixed and there is no restriction on the rank of the official. I wonder what you all think?"

The high-ranking officials in the court were shocked to hear this, and only then did Zhu Xiong Ying's true intentions become clear.

Zhu Xiong Ying had no intention of re-establishing the Central Secretariat; instead, he planned to create a separate department outside of it.

Previously, the ministers of the six ministries would report directly to the Secretariat, and then the Secretariat would come up with a plan and report it to the emperor.

Of course, many of these matters had already been dealt with before this, and it's inevitable that some people would suppress some of them.

For example, regarding the incident that occurred in Fengyang Prefecture, local officials had submitted petitions to the imperial court more than once.

However, all these memorials were suppressed by the Secretariat, and Zhu Yuanzhang was completely unaware of these matters.

Without the Central Secretariat, Zhu Yuanzhang could have a much clearer grasp of the affairs of each department.

The six ministers were somewhat excited. In the past, they had only followed behind the prime minister, but now the six of them were directly responsible to the emperor, and their power and status were much higher than before.

This was a great thing for them, and they were all extremely happy. There was no dissent whatsoever, and they all agreed.

This was also true for some of Zhao Zhong's lower-ranking officials. The officialdom is like a battlefield; every position is extremely important, like a radish filling a hole.

It is extremely difficult to squeeze out a position among them, let alone become a high-ranking official like a minister or vice minister.

Moreover, although the cabinet does not hold specific power, it can assist His Majesty in handling affairs, and such power is not ordinary.

As the saying goes, "being near the water tower makes it easier to get the moon first," serving in the cabinet is equivalent to being under His Majesty's nose, making it easier for His Majesty to discover one's abilities, and thus the speed of promotion is definitely much faster than that of ordinary people.

This move has received support from many people.

Hu Weiyong's expression changed. He wanted to become the prime minister, but Zhu Xiong Ying's current arrangements clearly intended to abolish the position of prime minister.

What use would it be if I became prime minister? The current Secretariat has no power whatsoever; it's completely useless.

Thinking of this, he looked at the officials of the Secretariat standing to the side, wanting to find some people to oppose him on his behalf.

But when he looked at the officials of the Secretariat, he found that they were all glaring at Hu Weiyong with gritted teeth.

Nowadays, the Secretariat is only left with a few big cats and a couple of small cats, and they can't make any waves at all.

The worst part is that he made all of these things himself, and the thought of it made him feel extremely sad.

She glanced up at Zhu Xiong Ying secretly, her teeth clenched in hatred.

You ruthless Zhu Xiong Ying!

This matter is not over. Don't think that just because you're a little clever, you can cover up everything.

I'll play this game with you to the very end.

The officials of the Secretariat wanted to resist, but with their current strength, they had no room for resistance and could only accept it helplessly.

The nobles from Huaixi in the imperial court secretly sensed something was wrong.

Their original intention in courting Hu Weiyong was to hope that he could cover up the truth.

Who would have thought that Hu Weiyong's Secretariat would be abolished so quickly? Wouldn't that have made things complicated for them?
At this moment, they turned their attention to the six ministers.

The six ministers kept their heads down, and none of them said a word.

Their status has risen dramatically; the prime minister's power has been entirely given to them, and their positions are now highly coveted.

But this did not excite them. Now that they had more power, there were probably quite a few people eyeing their positions.

If you make a mistake at this time, it would be unfair to be taken away immediately.

After the affairs of the court were all dealt with, Zhu Xiong Ying looked at the nobles, who were sitting on pins and needles. They wanted to talk about the matter, but they didn't know how to say it, and they were all hesitant and awkward.

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled.

"Since there is nothing else, please dismiss the court!"

Just as Zhu Xiong Ying was about to leave, these nobles, including Marquis Yongjia Zhu Liangzu, Marquis Ji'an Lu Zhongheng, and Marquis Yan'an Tang Shengzong, stepped forward.

"Your Highness, this old minister has something to report!"

(End of this chapter)