Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 142 I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of!
When a superior disagrees with a subordinate's request, it is called "rejection".

When a subordinate refuses to carry out the order of his superior, it is called "feng huan". The two orders are collectively called "feng bu".

Throughout the 200-year history of the Ming Dynasty, it was not the cabinet that had the power to seal the emperor's will, but all civil servants had that power.

Moreover, not only the cabinet could return the emperor's edict, but the six ministries could also return the cabinet's orders, and local governors and prefects could also return the orders of the six ministries.

In short, everyone in the Ming Dynasty system had the power to seal or refute.

However, the officialdom is the officialdom after all, and rejection is rare, after all, it is a loss of face. In most cases, visas are refused.

For example, if the cabinet drafted a memorial, the emperor would not comment on it in his own hand, but he would not reject it either, but he would not agree with it either.

This is called "keeping it in and not releasing it".

The emperor and the ministers had saved face for each other, so there was no need to reject the proposal in such a way that would hurt their reputation.

Therefore, another rule was added later: every request must be responded to, and for formal document requests, one must give a clear opinion of agreement or disagreement, and one cannot try to get away with it by keeping silent.

However, apart from national policies and military affairs, there are few official documents or memorials that require "reply". If the superiors or the emperor do not approve them, it will make the officials, the monarch and his subjects lose face.

Various restrictions and considerations make it so that the "right to seal and reject" is almost never used.

That is the way of "overcoming the superior with the inferior", trying to change the superior's mind. Once it is used, there is no turning back.

Take the memorial on separation of military and politics in Hu Zongxian's hand as an example. If Gao Gong chooses to reject it, let's not talk about whether this is the will of the entire cabinet. Even if the entire cabinet opposes it and returns it to Yuxi Palace, given the emperor's arbitrary and tyrannical rule, I am afraid that either Yuxi Palace or the cabinet will fall.

As long as the emperor is alive, Yuxi Palace will not collapse, and only the cabinet will fall. This is why Zhang Juzheng chose to follow the emperor's order.

Faced with Gao Gong's opposition, Hu Zongxian did not hesitate and directly chose "General".

Either reject the imperial edict or act in accordance with it.

Gao Gong's lips moved slightly, but when the word "sealed and rejected" came to his lips, he could not utter a single word. In the end, he said, "I will go to see the emperor and explain the pros and cons to him!"

Gao Gong left.

The cabinet became inexplicably harmonious.

"Ruzhen, you have caused me so much trouble." Li Chunfang said with a wry smile.

He was in charge of the Ministry of War concurrently. Once the military and politics were separated, the Ministry of War of the imperial court would become an empty shell, and Li Chunfang's voice in the cabinet would be greatly reduced.

But Li Chunfang also knew about the chaos in the Ming Dynasty's army, and supported Hu Zongxian's idea of ​​separating military and political power and reforming the army.

"Gancao Ge Lao", I'm afraid that in the future even the "Gan" will be gone, only "cao" will be left.

It's a double entendre, but it doesn't imply any blame.

Hu Zongxian could tell and apologized to Li Chunfang. Li Chunfang smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Power is a public tool, not the property of one family or one person. The Ministry of War is the court's Ministry of War, not my Ministry of War. Don't feel sorry. Let's talk about what's on your mind. This is a huge matter. If it's not detailed and appropriate, not only will the emperor not approve it, but it won't even pass the cabinet's draft."

Chen Yiqin nodded gently to Hu Zongxian.

Although the separation of military and political affairs may lead to separatist regimes, which is unfavorable to Chen Yiqin's family with a long tradition of poetry and literature, it is also within the tolerable range.

According to the Chen family's records, the influence of the separatist rule of the warlords in the late Tang Dynasty on literati was actually not as great as the influence of the Yuan court on Han literati.

During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, only one in a hundred aristocratic families survived and countless sage books were lost. However, after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, it reached both economic and cultural peaks in just a few decades.

Less than a hundred years after the Yuan Dynasty took control of the Central Plains, not even one Han scholar survived. Rites and music collapsed, as if returning to the barbaric era. Warlords abounded, and it was the scholars who suffered, not the culture. When foreign races invaded, it was the culture that suffered, and as for the scholars, it was both miserable and not miserable.

The miserable ones are the literati who stick to the backbone of the Han Dynasty, and the miserable ones are the Yanshenggong family and the like.

The Chen family migrated several times before they survived the brutal rule of the Yuan court. They absolutely did not want to see the Han dynasty fall into the hands of foreign races again.

Even if I am killed like a dog by a potential warlord!

Seeing that Hu Zongxian didn't know where to start, Zhang Juzheng took the initiative to say, "The court is divided into six ministries: Personnel, Revenue, Rites, Military, Criminal Law, and Works. These include the civil and military affairs of the country. Since the military and the political are separate, we can naturally start with these six ministries.

Let’s start with the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the promotion, demotion, exile and transfer of civil officials throughout the country, but it is also in charge of the granting of titles, rewards, and registration of military generals.

The soldiers in the army fought on the battlefield and shed their blood, all for the sake of being granted titles and having their descendants blessed with favors.

Without the interference of civil servants, the soldiers will no longer care about them.

I am concurrently in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and I can give Ruzhen a clear answer that the military can take back the power to grant titles, rewards, and determine household registration.

From now on, the military can independently review military merits, and then report to Yuxi Palace to request a title."

Zhang Juzheng was very happy and handed over half of the power of the Ministry of Personnel, especially the power that civil officials used to control military generals.

"Thank you, Yuanfu." Hu Zongxian was convinced.

Perhaps Zhang Juzheng was greedy for power, but he would not be careless when it came to major issues. The position of prime minister of the cabinet should belong to Zhang Juzheng.

Li Chunfang smiled and said, "Ruzhen, you can take the entire Ministry of War, but just leave the government office and the plaque to me."

The Ministry of War is in charge of the selection of military officers, military registration, military equipment, military orders, etc., and the military and politics are separated. The military will inevitably take away all the power currently held by the Ministry of War.

Rather than procrastinating and ending up with nothing left, it is better to be decent and generous and voluntarily return military power to the military.

"The Zuo Zhuan, Cheng Gong 13th Year, says: 'The most important affairs of a country are war and sacrifice.'"

Chen Yiqin took over the conversation and said calmly, "But the Ministry of Rites is the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of War is the Ministry of War. They don't have much interaction on major issues. I believe that the military generals understand the methods of boosting morale and boosting the army's morale better than us scholars. The Ministry of Rites is in charge of rituals, music, schools, religion, ethnicity, and diplomacy. If the Ministry of Rites is needed, the military can notify the Ministry of Rites at any time, and they will definitely help."

In the separation of military and politics, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites are two extremes. The military is eager to empty the Ministry of War, but has no interest in the Ministry of Rites who can only sing before the battle what the soldiers cannot understand: "Who says I have no clothes? I share the same robe with you. When the king raises his army, I will sharpen my spears. I share the same hatred with you! Who says I have no clothes? I share the same coat with you..."

In this era, who would be a cannon fodder if they can afford to read and recognize words?

Hu Zongxian also expressed his gratitude.

The Ministry of Revenue did not mention it.

However, Zhang Juzheng did not mention the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Works. Hu Zongxian looked at Zhang Juzheng in confusion, and the cabinet was suddenly filled with joy.

Hu Zongxian also learned that Zhang Juzheng had handed over the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Works to him.

In other words, how the Criminal Department and the Industrial Department performed in the separation of military and political affairs depended on Hu Zongxian's own ideas.

……

Ok Hee Palace.

Zhu Houcong, who was sitting on the futon, opened his eyes and looked at Gao Gong, who was kneeling on the ground and chattering about the separation of the military and the government and the disaster of the feudal lords. He said in a holy voice: "I am not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"

(End of this chapter)