Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 138 The wonder of power! Yao Guangxiao's intelligence and worries!
Concubine Lu's funeral lasted only a few days and ended hastily.

After all, His Majesty has issued an edict that Concubine Lu is a Crown Princess with both talent and virtue, and she has always advocated frugality.

Her funeral was kept simple in accordance with her wishes.

Zhu Yunhuan was very satisfied with this.

After all, the various procedures of a funeral are very torturous.

Of course, it would be a good thing if it could end early.

After finishing the funeral, he returned to the Prince of Wu's Palace, and the first thing he did was to have a good sleep.

It’s not easy to perform a funeral play!

It's really tiring.

When I woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.

When the sunlight shines in through the screen window, you can see countless tiny particles dancing in the light and shadow.

When he turned his eyes, he saw a pretty maid.

Seeing Zhu Yunxun wake up, the girl smiled sweetly and saluted, "Your Highness is awake!"

Then he gave an order outside: "Your Highness, get up."

Immediately, light and dense footsteps were heard outside.

Afterwards, the girl, together with other palace maids, began to help Zhu Yunhuan get up, get dressed, wash his face and rinse his mouth.

Her name is Wen'er, and she was selected from among the palace maids in the mansion during this period.

Yang Shiqi was right when he said it, it is just as the saying goes, governing the family and the country is the key to pacifying the world.

If an emperor wants to govern the world, he must first govern the people around him.

From palace maids and eunuchs to guards, it takes some thought and effort.

These people cannot help you succeed, but if you don't choose good people, they can definitely ruin your plans.

Zhu Yunhuan observed carefully and found that this palace maid named Wen'er was not only beautiful, but also cautious, sophisticated, smart, and had a clean family background.

So she was promoted and put in charge of taking care of the affairs in the backyard of the palace.

Wen'er really lived up to his trust and arranged the affairs in the palace in an orderly manner.

After washing up, Zhu Yunxun walked out of the room.

It's sunny outside.

The warm sunshine in winter is extremely rare.

It is completely different from the scorching sun in summer. When it shines on people, they feel extremely comfortable.

"See Your Highness!"

Yang Shiqi was standing in the yard, and it seemed that he had been waiting for a long time.

"Morning, Mr. Yang!" Zhu Yunxun greeted him with a smile, "Why are you here so early? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Yang Shiqi nodded slightly: "There are two matters that I would like to ask Your Highness to decide."

"First, the former Minister of Revenue Zhao Mian and his wife and children have all committed suicide at home out of fear of punishment."

"The position of the Minister of Revenue is of great importance and should not be left vacant for too long. Your Highness, please decide who should be the Minister of Revenue."

Even though Zhu Yunhuan didn't have much time to deal with government affairs on weekdays.

General affairs were left to Yang Shiqi and Yao Guangxiao.

But he still attaches great importance to personnel rights.

He specifically asked Yang Shiqi to get all the archival materials of important officials.

When he had nothing to do, Zhu Yunhuan would look through the information of these people.

However, his time as regent was short, and there were not many changes in positions within the court.

Zhu Yunhuan just watched the normal official transfers, examinations and performance appraisals coldly and did not express any opinions.

But if we look at it from another angle, Zhu Yunhuan was not completely ineffective.

It's just that he focused his energy on the newly established institution.

Yang Shiqi was in charge of the Ming Bank and was in charge of the Ming Treasury which was separated from the Ministry of Revenue.

Yao Guangxiao was in charge of the "Da Ming Daily" and the "Investigation Department", as well as the "Da Ming Intelligence Bureau" which was about to be established.

There is also the Ming Manufacturing Bureau headed by Zhu Gaochi and supervised by Zhao Rui.

All were arranged and arranged by Zhu Yunhuan.

The original court officials didn't even have the chance to intervene.

Each of these three institutions and departments is extremely important.

However, the officials in the court did not realize this at first, and naturally would not compete for personnel arrangements over this issue.

What's more, the grades Zhu Yunhuan gave them were not high.

No one would think that the importance of Ming Bank would be no less than that of the Ministry of Revenue, or even more so.

No one would think that the influence of the Ming Daily could surpass that of the Ministry of Rites, which subtly and quietly controls public opinion throughout the world.

No one knew clearly what the Ming Manufacturing Bureau, whose first investment was as high as 30 million taels of silver, meant.

As for secret agencies such as the "Investigation Department" and the "Ming Intelligence Bureau", even fewer people paid attention to them.

Unknowingly, Zhu Yunhuan had already firmly grasped the most important departments of the Ming Dynasty in his own hands, like a spring breeze and rain that moistens everything silently.

In addition to his status as the president of the Ming Military Academy and the support of military generals and nobles, he has already truly held power in the court and has firmly established his foothold.

He is no longer the King of Wu who could only rely on his status and position to oppress others.

Power is a strange thing.

Status is sometimes crucial, but sometimes it is useless and has no substance.

Only by cultivating a group of people of one's own, building one's own personal network system and power structure, and adding status, can power truly become power, able to call the wind and rain and command the world.

Zhu Yunhuan adopted the method of starting a new business.

This was originally for the purpose of reform and transformation of the Ming Dynasty.

But inadvertently, without disturbing the original power structure, he quietly seized power.

Just imagine if these departments had already existed in the court and the ministers all knew their importance, how much blood and gore would be caused if Zhu Yunhuan wanted to seize them and hold them in his own hands?

However, existing institutions such as the Ministry of Revenue are equally important.

You just need to go in slowly and don't rush.

Now that Zhao Mian is dead, it is an opportunity.

Hearing Yang Shiqi's words, Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "You should send someone to inform Grandfather Emperor about this matter and ask him to decide."

The position of the Minister of Revenue is very important. Unlike newly established institutions, its importance is known to everyone.

Although Zhu Yunhuan was ordered to act as regent, the Emperor was still alive. Some things had to be bounded and he could not abuse his power too much.

Of course, when selecting the Minister of Revenue, we must first ask for Zhu Yuanzhang’s opinion.

"That day, the eunuch Ji Yuan came to the palace, and I mentioned it to him." Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "Ji Yuan said that Your Majesty should let His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu make the decision."

A smile appeared on Zhu Yunhuan's face, and he felt a little relieved.

Asking Yang Shiqi to report to Zhu Yuanzhang was both a way of fulfilling his duty and a test for Zhu Yuanzhang.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang did not even say a word about such an important position as the Minister of Revenue and directly let him decide.

This made Zhu Yunhuan a little overjoyed.

I'm afraid that since ancient times, the princes and crown princes who have served as regents have never been given such great power.

Daily state affairs have their own established rules, and the emperor can turn a blind eye to them and let the regent handle them.

But when it comes to major personnel arrangements, as long as the emperor is still alive, he will definitely be involved.

Even when Zhu Biao was regent, he still had the final say on important national policies and personnel arrangements.

Because of this, the father and son often quarreled.

Zhu Biao bluntly stated that he would abolish the national policy set by Zhuge Liang in the future. Zhuge Liang then said clearly that you can only abolish it after I die!

But now, Old Zhu didn't even mention a few names for Zhu Yunhuan to choose from.

Instead, he just became a hands-off boss.

This shows how much trust Lao Zhu has in him.

Of course, this is also because Zhu Yuanzhang is really old, weak, and sick, and he is no longer able to handle state affairs.

On the other hand, since the beginning of this year, Lao Zhu has suffered a series of major blows.

First, his son Zhu Biao died, and then his grandson Zhu Yunwen had such an incident, which made Zhu Yunwen no longer interested in politics. "You came to tell me this, I guess you already have a candidate in mind?" Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "There is no need to hide it, just say it directly."

Yang Shiqi's eyes flickered slightly.

Of course he already had a candidate in mind.

But the power to employ people has always belonged to those in higher positions.

The more Zhu Yunhuan trusted him, the more he had to fulfill his duties.

At this time, when Zhu Yunhuan asked, he said, "Yu Xin, the former Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is quite talented. This time, the Ministry of Revenue checked the accounts, and only the accounts he was responsible for were clear. I think he can be appointed as the Minister of Revenue."

Zhu Yunxi nodded slightly.

He had previously read the file information of Yu Xin, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and found that he was indeed a capable official.

More importantly, although all the civil servants had previously supported Zhu Yunwen, Yu Xin remained unmoved.

He is not from Zhu Yunwen's faction.

To be honest, this person was also Zhu Yunhuan's candidate for the Minister of Revenue.

What Yang Shiqi said coincided with what he was thinking.

"But..." Yang Shiqi suddenly paused, looking hesitant.

"Don't hesitate, just say whatever you want to say." Zhu Yunhuan urged.

"Yu Xin was a Jinshi in the 21st year of Hongwu. He served successively as Zhongshu Sheren, Hanlin, and Shijiang. Later, he was promoted to the Director of the Ministry of Revenue, and then promoted to Langzhong of the Beiping Department, and then advanced to Fengyi Dafu."

"Last year, I was blessed by your majesty's grace and promoted to the rank of Jiayi Dafu and Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"If we promote him to the position of Minister of Revenue at this time, wouldn't that be a little too fast?"

"I am afraid that someone in the court will be dissatisfied and cause criticism."

Yang Shiqi expressed his concerns.

It had only been four years since Yu Xinzhong became a Jinshi, but his rapid ascent to the top was bound to attract attention from both the government and the public.

You know, many of his fellow Jinshi candidates are still county magistrates today.

"That's fine. The court should not stick to one pattern when hiring people. Yu Xin is talented, so it's only natural that he should be entrusted with an important task."

Zhu Yunhuan said loudly: "Now that I am in charge of government affairs, the court should have a new look. It doesn't matter if I promote a few people out of the ordinary."

Outsiders think that extraordinary promotion is wrong, but that is from their own perspective.

The butt determines the position.

Promotion for most officials is extremely slow and difficult.

It is natural for them to feel resentful towards those officials who have risen to higher positions.

Why have I not been able to climb up after working so hard for so many years?

How come you have only recently entered officialdom and have risen to prominence like a rocket?
Is it possible to have no resentment in your heart?
But from Zhu Yunhuan's perspective, firstly, Yu Xin is talented and can get things done.

Secondly, his sudden promotion of talented people just demonstrated his power to be arbitrary and have the final say.

Let officials know that only by relying on him can they be reused.

It also helps officials to "take sides".

Kill two birds with one stone.

"Okay!" Yang Shiqi bowed respectfully and said, "Everything is up to His Royal Highness the King of Wu."

Then he retreated.

Zhu Yunhuan thought secretly that now that he was in charge of government affairs, he should recruit more of his own people.

The names of Yang Rong, Yang Pu and others emerged in his mind.

Anyone who can become a prime minister later must have something unique about him.

It is better to cook something than to keep it raw.

Instead of taking great pains to discover talents and testing your own vision, it is better to use famous people in history.

Even if your abilities are not particularly outstanding, at least you don’t have to worry about making mistakes!
However, it is still unknown where they are at this moment.

Zhu Yunhuan could not remember their hometowns.

There are so many people with the same name and surname in the world. Looking for them now would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

And it's unnecessary.

Anyway, they will enter the court sooner or later, so we can use them then.

Just as I was thinking about it, I saw Yoshigaki walking in from outside.

"Your Highness, the King of Wu!" After greeting him, Yoshigaki said, "Your Majesty has ordered Your Highness, the King of Wu, to go to Tianjie Temple immediately."

Is Lao Zhu finally going to see me?
Zhu Yunhuan was shocked.

This was not unexpected to him.

So many things happened during this period, especially Zhu Yunwen went "crazy", so Zhu Yunwen must see him.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang had already issued an order to meet Zhu Yunhuan.

But later Zhu Yunwen went crazy, and he suppressed the decree, and it was not passed down until today.

Zhu Yunhuan was following Yoshigaki and was about to leave the house when he saw Yao Guangxiao rushing over.

"Your Highness, can I have a word with you?"

Yao Guangxiao looked a little strange.

Seeing this, Yoshigaki hurriedly said, "Then I will go outside and wait for Your Highness."

After saying that, he turned and left.

When his figure disappeared and there was no one else around, Zhu Yunhuan asked, "What's the matter?"

Yao Guangxiao took out a stack of files from his arms and handed them to him.

"Does Your Highness still remember the eunuch Nie Huan'er who was previously linked to the assassination of Your Highness?"

"After Lu's death, Nie Huan'er was secretly captured by the Jinyiwei."

"It should be His Majesty's will."

"I felt something was amiss, so I had someone secretly go to Nie Huan'er's residence and searched it carefully. We actually found several private letters between him and the King of Qin."

Zhu Yunhuan frowned slightly and said, "So, Nie Huan'er is indeed the King of Qin's man."

There's something strange about him.

Since the Jinyiwei arrested Nie Huan'er, why didn't they take away all his letters?

Instead, they will fall into the hands of Yao Guangxiao.

This is not the style of the Jinyiwei.

It is impossible for the Jinyiwei to be so careless when doing things.

but……

Zhu Yunhuan glanced at Yao Guangxiao.

With the old monk's cleverness, he would definitely not fail to think of this.

Since the old monk didn't mention it, there must be some other hidden secret.

Time is running out and Yoshigaki is still waiting outside, so we shouldn't delay too long.

Zhu Yunhuan did not open his mouth to ask, but just listened to what he said.

Yao Guangxiao nodded and said, "That's indeed the case based on the intelligence we've collected so far."

His eyes turned to where Yoshigaki disappeared.

"If my guess is correct, His Majesty summoned Your Highness now, probably because he intends to formally appoint Your Highness as the crown prince."

"But I am always worried that although the King of Qin and the King of Jin have left the capital, they may have some backup plans."

"I have now handed over the information and letters about Nie Huan'er to Your Highness. Your Highness can take a closer look at them in the carriage."

"Perhaps it will be useful when I meet His Majesty."

Zhu Yunhuan put the file in his arms and said, "Okay!"

Neither of them said anything more.

Zhu Yunhuan immediately left the house, got on the carriage, and went straight to Tianjie Temple.

……

(End of this chapter)