My father is Jiajing

When Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others heard that Zhu Zaigui was going to arrange a cabinet minister in Nanjing to serve concurrently as the governor-general of Southern Zhili in order to strengthen control over Nanjing, not only did the gloom and worries in their hearts disappear, they even couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

Since the Ming Dynasty abolished the prime minister system, the initiative that originally belonged to civil servants in this regard has been reduced to the extreme, although Emperor Chengzu later created the cabinet.

However, the cabinet was not what it is today at the beginning. It took several decades of evolution to reach its current status as the head of all officials.

However, this position as the head of all officials is still relatively empty. Once one encounters the more powerful ministers of the six ministries who do not listen to the cabinet's advice, the cabinet can only watch helplessly.

Now Zhu Zaigui wants to get an important position of Cabinet Grand Secretary and Governor-General of Southern Zhili in Nanjing. For these civil servants, this is another opportunity to strengthen their own power.

Therefore, they would definitely not have any objection to Zhu Zaigui's idea and suggestion. They only thought about whether they could recommend someone they valued or a political ally they were close to to take up this huge power.

Zhu Zaigui looked at their expressions and naturally understood what they were thinking. He also knew what these people were planning.

But Zhu Zaigui didn't care, because sometimes a good conspiracy is like this, which can make people willing to act for it.

Therefore, no matter what these people have to calculate, as long as the final decision is in his hands, he will not worry about anything.

Zhu Zaigui continued, "Since you all agree with my idea, let's discuss the power and responsibility of the cabinet minister and governor-general of Southern Zhili, who will be located in Nanjing. How do you think the power and responsibility of this position should be defined, and how can it be kept under the control of the court?"

Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others looked at each other, calculating quickly in their minds, trying to give Zhu Zaigui a satisfactory answer.

But after they racked their brains, they also found that there didn't seem to be many suitable means to check and balance these high-ranking officials.

Moreover, when the imperial court first designed the temporary posts of governor and provincial governor, which were not originally part of the Ming Dynasty official system, it did not think about long-term arrangements.

The idea was that once a governor or provincial governor was assigned to a local area, the court could better concentrate its forces, resolve the problem of local buck-passing and wrangling, and gain more power over the local areas.

Therefore, since the emergence of the positions of governor and governor-general, although they have almost become custom-made officials, this type of official is ultimately just a temporary assignment.

The imperial court only needs one word to dismiss these governors and governors-general who seem to be high and mighty and hold great power.

The purpose of doing so is actually very simple, which is to prevent local officials from becoming deeply rooted in the local area and becoming as powerful as the provincial governors in the Han Dynasty and the military governors in the Tang Dynasty.

So when the Ming Dynasty wanted to solve local problems and strengthen central power, they adopted this kind of temporary official transfer to handle local military and political affairs.

But now Zhu Zaigui meant to arrange for a cabinet minister to be stationed in Nanjing to serve concurrently as the governor-general of Southern Zhili, so they became a little hesitant.

The post of Governor-General of Southern Zhili is easy to understand and can be seen as a temporary assignment, but the post of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet cannot be seen in this way.

If these people also deny the authority of the Cabinet Grand Secretary, wouldn't that be tantamount to denying their own authority?
You have to know that the reason they can now make decisions in the cabinet is because of the title of Grand Secretary.

Without this title, they are nothing.

So, for a while, whether it was Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, or Yan Ne, none of them dared to speak out directly about this serious problem.

They were all afraid that if something went wrong, they would be held responsible when the court came to hold them accountable.

Therefore, at this time, they suddenly felt that the sweet dates that Zhu Zaigui had stuffed into their mouths did not seem sweet anymore.

Seeing that Xu Jie and the others were silent, Zhu Zaigui stretched his body again and continued, "Gentlemen, just speak freely. Even if what you say is not good enough, it is fine. After all, what I have proposed now is just an idea and has not been implemented yet. Therefore, it will not cause any real impact. You just need to speak out your thoughts and concerns, and let me refer to them."

After listening to Zhu Zaigui's words, Xu Jie and others couldn't help but look up at Zhu Zaigui.

When they looked at Zhu Zaigui, their eyes were filled with entanglement and hesitation.

It seems that getting along with a leader like Zhu Zaigui, who likes to get things done, is easier than getting along with a leader like Emperor Jiajing, who does nothing but wants results.

Seems a bit harder to serve.

After all, when Emperor Jiajing wanted the result, he didn't just press the person in front of him. He would first ask for a riddle or point to a point, and then ask for the result.

But Zhu Zaigui always liked to call people in front of him, list the issues in a consultative tone, and then start asking for methods or solutions.

This was indeed a bit heartbreaking for Xu Jie and others.

After hesitating for a while, when seeing that other cabinet members did not speak and Zhu Zaigui did not name anyone, Xu Jie, as the chief minister of the cabinet, had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak first.

And before he spoke, he couldn't help but envy his former prime minister Yan Song in his heart.

When Yan Song was in the cabinet, even when he was summoned to the Jingshe by Emperor Jiajing to answer questions, he was never so passive. His good son would sometimes speak for him first.

If what he said did not satisfy Emperor Jiajing, he would take over the conversation and reorganize his thoughts to figure out what Emperor Jiajing meant. In this way, he rarely lost his composure in front of Emperor Jiajing and could always give some answers that satisfied Emperor Jiajing.

And even if Yan Shifan was not following Yan Song and acting as a microphone for Yan Song to test and error, Yan Song would just sit there with his eyes covered, as if he was about to fall asleep.

When Emperor Jiajing did not blame others for doing so, Xu Jie and other cabinet members could not let the situation remain cold when they encountered questions raised by Emperor Jiajing, and they could only respond first.

When what was said was in line with the emperor's wishes, Yan Song would suddenly come to his senses and say, "I have discussed this with them," and then take the credit.

When what was said was not in line with the emperor's intention, Yan Song would pretend to be asleep until he had figured out the emperor's intention in his mind, and then he would speak.

But what about me, the Prime Minister now?
Although he was in the cabinet, he could also manage the dispatches and work of Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others.

But when they got in front of Zhu Zaigui, these guys started pretending to be dead.

As if they were very sensible, they never snatched the lead from their leaders. What made Xu Jie even more annoyed was that whenever Zhu Zaigui called on him to speak, he would almost always let him speak first.

So many times, Xu Jie really felt sad, but he couldn't say it!

Xu Jie said, "Your Majesty, I have just thought about it and feel that if we want to set up a cabinet minister in Nanjing to concurrently serve as the governor-general of Southern Zhili, we should first determine the checks and balances of this mission."

"Otherwise, Nanjing is thousands of miles away from the capital, and there is such a powerful official who has great power and authority over all the officials in Nanjing. I am afraid that this person might become arrogant in Nanjing."

"If a major change occurs and the capital cannot communicate with Nanjing in time, this official will take advantage of the opportunity to control the local area and oppose the court, which will inevitably lead to disaster."

Xu Jie was very cautious and did not first talk about the benefits and advantages of setting up this position, but instead talked about it from the perspective of crisis. It seems that his concerns were also long-term.

After listening to Xu Jie's words, Zhu Zaigui looked at Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others. "What do you three think of what Lord Xu said?"

Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others immediately responded: "We think what Lord Xu said is very insightful."

Then Li Chunfang, the deputy minister, added: "If we fail to think through the checks and balances as Xu Ge Lao said, if something goes wrong, the court will not only lose the rich and important Jiangnan, but even half of the country will be in danger."

Yuan Wei and Yan Ne also nodded.

After hearing Li Chunfang's additional remarks, Zhu Zaigui nodded with a serious expression.

Zhu Zaigui had thought about this result, but the Nanjing issue could not be thrown out with the bathwater.

If there is a concern that a rebel will emerge in Nanjing who may use his power and influence to establish a separatist regime and oppose the central government.

For Zhu Zaigui, this worry may be a bit groundless.

After all, if this kind of problem really occurred, it would mean that the Ming Dynasty had completely lost the support of the people and lost its control over various parts of the north.

At that time, even if Nanjing was still in the hands of the imperial court, it was not certain that the imperial court could really use Nanjing’s resources.

Because history has proven the result to Zhu Zaigui.

In the original history, after Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, Nanjing, as the backup of the Ming Dynasty court, not only failed to play its due role, but even the officials in Nanjing city were still thinking about how to fight for power in this small court to gain more benefits.

In the end, not only did Nanjing fail to defend the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, it was also wiped out by the invading Qing Dynasty. Emperor Yongli was escorted to the capital and his body was beheaded in the streets as the ringleader of treason.

Therefore, if Nanjing is to truly serve as a backup for the Ming Dynasty, some powers must be granted in advance.

Otherwise, if the moment really comes when the sky collapses and the earth breaks, the capital is gone, Nanjing is still in a state of disarray, with a bunch of little cuties fighting for power and profit, even a god may not be able to save it.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui could not narrowly consider only the hidden dangers that had not yet occurred.

Moreover, the steam railroad car that Janwatt and his team were testing in Xishan has entered a stable stage. It can not only greatly reduce the probability of failure, but also increase the original driving speed by one-half, approaching 25 kilometers per hour.

Although this speed is far inferior to the high-speed trains of later generations.

But in this era, it is completely sufficient.

Therefore, as long as the steam railway is laid, the transportation between the capital and Nanjing will be more convenient.

At that time, not only can the communication between the two places be accelerated and improved, but even future emperors or cabinet members can visit Nanjing from time to time, so that it can be more closely connected with the capital and the court.

As a result, it may not be so easy for Nanjing or other places to produce warlord forces similar to those in the late years of the previous dynasty.

Moreover, if the times really develop to this point, even if a dynasty changes again in the future, there may not be much need for violent means.

Because the development of transportation not only allows information to be transmitted more quickly, but also allows for more profound changes in the thoughts and cultures of various places.

With such a civilized foundation, it is obviously not so easy to have the kind of collective brutal violence of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" again.

So after listening to Xu Jie and Li Chunfang, Zhu Zaigui looked at them and said, "I have also thought about your concerns. The issue of local officials and checks and balances of power has been a problem that has troubled the court since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties."

"In order to solve these problems, Qin Shihuang abolished the feudal system, the Southern and Northern Dynasties abolished the system of provincial governors and governors, the Song Dynasty abolished the system of military governors, and in this dynasty, the military governor's office was divided into five, and then the three government offices of provincial governors, provincial inspectors, and military governors were set up in the localities to provide checks and balances."

"But facts have also proved that sometimes excessive checks and balances cannot solve the problem, and will make local officials develop the habit of shirking responsibility. Therefore, in order to solve the problem, the court used the governor to be responsible for local affairs during the Zhengtong period."

"Nowadays, the world has changed. With the complexity of the management between the imperial court and the local areas, the governors-general and provincial governors have also begun to change from temporary dispatches to permanent dispatches. Now I want to exercise more powerful control and arrangements over Nanjing. In fact, just like in the past, it is also the beginning of an exploration."

"Moreover, in my opinion, if the cabinet minister of Nanjing wants to completely control the important affairs of Nanjing, he must also serve as the governor-general of Southern Zhili. So, since you gentlemen are worried about the problem of checks and balances of power, I think we can also send a special inspector."

"At the same time, in order to ensure the effectiveness of checks and balances, the term of office of the cabinet minister and governor-general of Nanzhili in Nanjing and the term of office of the special inspector to be sent by the court should be staggered by two years."

"For example, a Nanjing cabinet minister who concurrently serves as the governor-general of Southern Zhili and a special inspector sent by the court can only serve for a maximum of four years, and these four-year terms must be staggered to prevent one from suppressing the other, and to prevent both parties from colluding in the same term."

"As for other issues, we can only take it one step at a time. What do you think, gentlemen?"

------

Ask for monthly ticket~~(End of this chapter)