My father is Jiajing

Chapter 492: The Rise of Prince Yu's Party
After Zhu Zaigui made his announcement and submitted the results of the court recommendation to the Western Garden, he left the Huangji Hall first without caring about the reactions of the ministers in the hall.

After Zhu Zaigui left, a group of ministers could not help but start buzzing discussions.

"It seems that Prince Yu hasn't announced the result of the imperial examination just now?"

"Yeah, did you forget?"

Everyone looked at each other, scratching their heads, as if they couldn't sleep without knowing the result of the court recommendation.

So everyone turned their attention to Xu Jie and Zhou Yan. As the people who monitored the results, they must know who the final candidate chosen by the court would be.

But when they were about to surround Xu Jie and Zhou Yan, these two old foxes would definitely not say anything.

"Please tell us who will be elected as a result of the election?"

People who were close to Xu Jie began to ask questions.

But Xu Jie did not even look at the man, and directly said to everyone: "Disperse, disperse, since the results of the court recommendation have been sent to the West Garden by the prince, I believe that His Majesty will announce it soon. You should not gather in the palace, and go back to your respective offices to handle official business. The cabinet still has a lot of things to do, so I will not stay here."

After saying this, Xu Jie turned around and helped Yan Song up, and left with Lu Ben, Li Chunfang, the six ministers, the chief censor and other senior officials.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng walked slowly together. Neither of them had any extra questions, nor did they ask each other a single question.

Following behind them were Chen Yiqin and other ministers from Prince Yu’s Palace.

However, the official ranks and grades of these ministers were not high. Except for Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, who had reached the high position of the third rank, later comers like Chen Yiqin were only high-ranking officials of the fourth or fifth rank in the capital.

Those with some ability could work in the Hongwenguan or Daming Book Bureau to get an official position with real power. Those without ability and background could only be a reader in the royal palace.

But now Zhu Zaigui seldom attended the lectures of his tutor. Even if he did, he just followed the routine and listened to two sections of the sage books and daily studies such as the classics, history, and miscellaneous books.

As for other questions, Zhu Zaigui would not ask them, so the tutors who came later were actually very depressed, wondering why they came to the palace at this time.

Of course, if they reflected on their teaching methods and found a practical subject to lecture on, Zhu Zaigui might also be interested.

But these people are born to seek stability, and apart from the books of sages and the classics and historical collections that have been interpreted countless times, there is really nothing new.

Therefore, it was quite difficult to make Zhu Zaigui look at them differently.

Yan Song was supported by Xu Jie on the way back to the cabinet. At this time, only Xu Jie, Lu Ben, Li Chunfang and several ministers were with them.

Yan Song looked up at the snowstorm in the Forbidden City and sighed, "The emperor's heart is like an abyss, and Prince Yu's heart is also like a deep sea. This is truly a blessing for our Ming Dynasty!"

When Xu Jie and others heard Yan Song's sigh, they all nodded in agreement.

They never expected that Zhu Zaigui would simply fold up the results of the court recommendation and have someone send it to the Western Garden.

Such divine conduct is truly awe-inspiring.

You must know that the result of this court recommendation is very important. If Zhu Zaigui had announced the result in the hall at that time, then this matter could naturally be handled according to the previous procedures.

But Zhu Zaigui folded up the result and had it sent to Xiyuan, which was different.

When Emperor Jiajing sees the result, he can announce who the winner is in any way he wants, and that will be the result. Even the cabinet and all the ministers involved in the court recommendation will not dare to have any doubts.

After all, they themselves voted for these results. Could they really slap themselves in the face?

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui's move was simply a stroke of genius, which directly attributed all the rights of interpretation to Emperor Jiajing and further demonstrated what supreme power is!
It can be seen that Zhu Zaigui's heart is like a bottomless abyss, which makes people feel awe!

At the same time, Emperor Jiajing, who was far away in the Western Garden next door, finally received the results of the court recommendation submitted by Zhu Zaigui.

Before this, he was still laughingly talking to Huang Jin about how Zhu Zaigui used beans to discipline the cabinet and Xu Jie.

Emperor Jiajing also praised: "San'er is very clever. He used this small bean to dissolve the power of the cabinet and gave all officials a chance to recommend officials without worrying about the consequences. This is really brilliant. Gao Gong should be able to take advantage of this and will not be directly pushed out of the court."

Huang Jin also said: "Yes, Prince Yu is really amazing. He used this small bean to suppress the cabinet and Xu Jie. Otherwise, based on the influence of the cabinet and Xu Jie's previous words, maybe this time the court recommendation would be just a formality like the previous ones, and whoever the cabinet recommends would be the winner."

Emperor Jiajing snorted, "Whoever the cabinet recommends will be the winner? That's wishful thinking. If I don't appoint someone, it doesn't matter who they recommend."

Although Emperor Jiajing said this, when faced with such a situation, he had no choice but to act on his own or accept the result of the court recommendation, otherwise he would fall into an embarrassing situation of separation between the monarch and his subjects.

Therefore, many times, as long as the result of the imperial recommendation did not make Emperor Jiajing particularly unhappy, he would still use the imperial pen to circle it.

After all, superficial harmony and unity among the court are still needed.

Otherwise, if people all over the world saw that an emperor did not trust his ministers and that the ministers were helpless in the emperor's court, that would be a very serious political crisis.

So after Emperor Jiajing and Huang Jin praised Zhu Zaigui's intelligence, another report was quickly submitted, "Your Majesty, the results of the imperial recommendation are out. Prince Yu sent it to you."

Emperor Jiajing looked at the person holding the urgent gift and asked casually, "Who is it?"

The eunuch delivering the express hastily replied, "I don't know. After Prince Yu had Lord Xu and General Zhou write down the results, he did not announce them on the spot."

When Emperor Jiajing heard this, his expression suddenly froze, "Show it up!"

Huang Jin hurried over to take the urgent letter and immediately presented it to Emperor Jiajing.

After receiving the urgent letter, Emperor Jiajing did not rush to open it. He asked again: "Do all the officials know the result?"

The eunuch delivering the express said, "The officials may not know, but Lord Xu, General Zhou, and the guards distributing the beans should know."

Emperor Jiajing hummed, "Okay, you can go down."

After sending the eunuch who was delivering the urgent message away, Huang Jin looked at Emperor Jiajing blankly and asked, "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Jiajing suddenly laughed, "San'er is smarter and more sensible than I thought. He has now handed me the result that no other officials know about, so whoever I say will be the winner. Even Xu Jie and Zhou Yan, who know the result, will not dare to disobey, otherwise they will be accused of manipulating the court. This is a powerful move."

Huang Jin understood, but still showed a bewildered expression, because at this time only this expression could highlight the wisdom and intelligence of Emperor Jiajing.

Emperor Jiajing was indeed very satisfied when he saw Huang Jin's expression. He then asked, "Who should I choose?"

When Huang Jin heard what Emperor Jiajing said, he also hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is the one who makes the final decision. How dare I interfere?"

Emperor Jiajing said: "Yes, it is indeed my turn to make the final decision."

After saying this, Emperor Jiajing opened the folded paper and saw the results inside.

After Emperor Jiajing pondered for a moment, he said to Huang Jin, "Go to the Cabinet and convey the imperial edict, saying that the bean selection method created by Prince Yu is very good and can continue to be used in future court nominations. Then tell the Cabinet to prepare an imperial edict to transfer Ouyang Bijin to the position of Minister of Personnel."

Huang Jin looked at Emperor Jiajing in confusion when he heard the result. Didn't the Emperor dislike Ouyang Bijin? Why did he choose Ouyang Bijin as the Minister of Personnel? Could it be that the result on this piece of paper still showed that Ouyang Bijin won by a landslide?
But then Huang Jin heard what Emperor Jiajing said next.

Emperor Jiajing said: "I will promote Gao Gong to be the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he will be responsible for the salary adjustment of officials and the housing provident fund for Beijing officials. Now the atmosphere inside and outside the capital is much stronger than that of the previous dynasty. Officials in the special districts of the capital have been arranged with housing provident funds. I can't be stingy with the Beijing officials in the court."

"Otherwise, comparing these two, who would be willing to work for me? Therefore, Gao Gong's suggestion this time is very timely and practical. It is indeed time to keep up with the times and reform the management of the Ministry of Personnel and the salaries of officials."

Emperor Jiajing had actually already noticed that Gao Gong had mentioned the issues of officials' salaries and housing provident funds in the Huangji Hall.

It’s just that all these things were carried out in the Beijing Special District, and when the Beijing Special District was first established, it was indeed promised that it would remain unchanged for fifty years.

But now, in just less than ten years, the Special District of the Capital has surpassed the Inner City at a speed visible to the naked eye, and has become a new prosperous place inside and outside the capital. The caravans of merchants traveling to and from the capital also gather in the Special District of the Capital, providing a steady stream of income for the treasury of Emperor Jiajing.

Today, some officials in the Beijing Special District have received subsidy adjustments that exceed their original salaries, and have also received benefits such as the "housing provident fund" that was invented later. These systems may seem to be a waste of money, but they have also greatly improved the administrative efficiency and management level of the officials in the Beijing Special District.

This is also an issue that Emperor Jiajing cannot ignore.

At the same time, those noble and helpless officials in the capital have long been jealous of the officials in the special district of the capital who are one level lower than them in status. They not only live a more comfortable life than them, but also have special housing subsidies.

You have to know that most of them still rent houses in alleys with average conditions. Some of those who feel there is no hope of promotion are even thinking of letting a county magistrate or prefect go to the local area to enjoy a good life.

Therefore, in order to ensure the continued stability of the court officials and to give the court officials the administrative efficiency of the Beijing Special Administrative Region, Emperor Jiajing felt that it was time to copy the Beijing Special Administrative Region's homework and give the court officials some benefits.

Huang Jin responded, "I obey your order."

Emperor Jiajing thought for a moment and gave another instruction, "After you go to the cabinet and announce the decree, go tell Ouyang Bijin that you should let the young man take more responsibility for the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel and not let him worry so much."

When Huang Jin heard Emperor Jiajing's words, he immediately understood what he meant.

Letting Ouyang Bijin be the Minister of Personnel is to give face to the cabinet, but how many positions this minister can hold is another matter.

From this we can see that Emperor Jiajing's disgust for Ouyang Bijin has not diminished in the slightest. He only gave Ouyang Bijin this opportunity out of political considerations, otherwise he would have no chance of becoming the Minister of Personnel.

Huang Jin said: "I understand. I will go and announce the decree right away."

Emperor Jiajing hummed, "Go ahead."

Then he began to meditate with his eyes closed and continued his cultivation.

When the cabinet received the edict from Emperor Jiajing, a huge stone was lifted from its heart. However, when they heard that Gao Gong was to be transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, both Yan Song and Xu Jie could not help but be stunned.

Obviously they did not expect this result.

But since the imperial edict had already been issued to the cabinet and was to be carried out according to the court's recommendation, even if Yan Song and others wanted to refute the imperial edict, they had no reason to do so.

After all, they all have to accept the court proceedings and their results.

Otherwise, how will they proceed with the promotion in the future?

You should know that this court recommendation is not just a formality, but also a symbol of power for all officials in the court.

If they were destroyed, the officials would be the first to get angry.

Therefore, the cabinet had no objection to Gao Gong's appointment, and everything was done in accordance with the will of Emperor Jiajing.

At the same time, Zhu Zaigui's method of pushing the ball in the Huangji Hall with beans was officially named "Bean Selection Method".

Moreover, all future court recommendations must be carried out in accordance with this law to prevent individual officials from abusing their power and obstructing the fairness of court recommendations.

It can be said that after this court recommendation, the structure of the court began to change slowly. It was no longer the original secret struggle between Yan and Xu, and Prince Yu's party was also about to rise strongly in the court.

After the cabinet finished drafting the edict and officially announced the result of the imperial recommendation, Ouyang Bijin and Gao Gong also presented a memorial to Emperor Jiajing to express their gratitude for the grace of heaven.

Then Gao Gong came to Prince Yu's mansion again to express his gratitude.

After all, the fact that he was able to become the Minister of Personnel this time, and a minister with clear and exclusive powers, was all thanks to Zhu Zaigui.

Otherwise, even if he could become the Minister of Personnel from his current position, he would just be a minister suppressed by the Shangshu. As for how much power he could have, it all depended on the Shangshu's mood.

But now it is different. Now with the explanation in the edict of Emperor Jiajing, it means that Gao Gong is an extraordinary minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He can compete with Ouyang Bijin in the Ministry of Personnel.

"I thank you very much for your support, Your Majesty!"

When Gao Gong saw Zhu Zaigui, he immediately bowed deeply to him.

Zhu Zaiqi laughed and said, "Mr. Gao, there is no need to be polite. Remember to work hard from now on. By the way, Ouyang Bijin has been transferred to the position of Minister of Personnel, so the position of Minister of Justice is vacant. I think Zhao Wenhua is a good candidate. You can discuss it with Ouyang Bijin and submit a recommendation to His Majesty, and try to get this done before the New Year."

"Otherwise, the officials of the Ministry of Justice will be absent from their posts until after the Lantern Festival next year. If any major case happens during this period, there will be no one to take responsibility."

Gao Gong was also stunned when he heard Zhao Wenhua's name, and couldn't help but ask, "Why Zhao Wenhua?"

But Zhu Zaigui did not explain. He just looked at Gao Gong meaningfully and finally said, "He has the qualifications."

Just from these few words, Gao Gong immediately understood his position. There were some things and some words that he really shouldn't ask about.

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(End of this chapter)