My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 442 It's actually forbidden
Ministry of official affairs.

Wenxuanlang Zhang Siwei looked at Song Zhihan, who was sent by the Fifth Office of the Secretariat, and a strong sense of dissatisfaction arose in his heart.

However, he quickly calmed down and warmly welcomed Song Zhihan.

There was no other way; Song Zhihan and Gao Gong were both under Gao Gong's tutelage, and sending Song Zhihan to the Ministry of Personnel was also the will of Grand Secretary Gao Gong.

The process of recommending candidates for cabinet ministers was originally overseen by the Ministry of Personnel.

The Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel were usually also candidates, so to avoid suspicion, the task of overseeing this work was generally assigned to the Selection Officer.

This was also an important right of the Wenxuanlang (a type of official in charge of selecting officials).

Of course, the Wenxuanlang (a minor official in charge of selecting officials) did some secretarial work. The real decision-makers for recommending candidates were the ministers and vice ministers of the Six Ministries and the heads of the Nine Ministers' Offices, namely the Nine Ministers.

However, the work of a secretary should not be underestimated.

The organization and arrangements were also quite remarkable.

The Grand and Junior Nine Ministers were both the recommenders and candidates for the cabinet ministers.

The next cabinet minister will likely be chosen from this list.

Wenxuan Lang worked tirelessly, and even if he didn't achieve anything, he certainly put in a lot of effort.

Moreover, by organizing the work well, it will leave a good impression on the high-ranking officials and future Grand Secretaries, thus removing any obstacles to future promotions.

This was originally a power exclusively belonging to the Wenxuanlang (a position in the imperial examination system).

However, Song Zhihan's arrival divided up this power.

Aside from the power to distribute profits, the Nine Ministers' Court Appointment was a closed-door meeting.

The Wenxuanlang (a high-ranking official in charge of information) is a good source of information for the cabinet if it wants to know the details of the meeting.

Now the cabinet has sent Song Zhihan to supervise, and Song Zhihan himself is a member of the Fifth Office of the Secretariat-Chancellery. It is as if the cabinet has personally sent an informant, so the Wenxuanlang's advantage in information channels has been completely lost.

If it weren't for the fact that Song Zhihan was an ally of Zhang Siwei, Zhang Siwei would have made things difficult for him.

Thinking about this, Zhang Siwei became increasingly anxious.

After Song Zhihan became the chief of the clerk's office, he served Gao Gong day and night. Now, when Gao Gong sends people to the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers' offices, it is Song Zhihan who carries out Gao Gong's will on his behalf.

As a result, Song Zhihan, who was originally not well-known, has become more famous within the faction than Song Zhihan, who was originally a candidate for the imperial examination.

The power of the Wenxuanlang (a high-ranking official in charge of selecting officials) was limited to the appointment and evaluation of officials.

Now the cabinet also has the power to appoint and dismiss officials below the seventh rank. Su Ze has handed over this power entirely to the personnel department, namely Song Zhihan.

The cabinet itself has the final say on the assessment, so the power of the head of the five offices of the Secretariat-Chancellery is actually similar to that of Zhang Siwei, the civil official.

Song Zhihan worked closely with Gao Gong, and it was obvious to anyone with eyes to see who was closer to him.

This also made Zhang Siwei feel bad.

In fact, Gao Gong initially favored himself.

However, Zhang Siwei was unwilling to work under Su Ze's name and took the initiative to refuse the opportunity.

Now, Song Zhihan, who isn't even a junior scholar, has climbed over my head.

Despite his resentment, Zhang Siwei still organized the first joint recommendation of replacement cabinet ministers as required by the imperial edict.

In fact, there are only a handful of people in the capital who are qualified to be cabinet ministers.

The most popular choices were naturally Yang Sizhong, Minister of Personnel; Li Yiyuan, Commissioner of the Court of State Ceremonies; and Wang Shizhen, Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies.

When cabinet ministers were last appointed, these three were the shortlisted candidates, and the results of this meeting are no different.

The only difference was that Mao Kai, the Minister of Justice, who had always been relatively unknown among the Nine Ministers and was eager to retire, suddenly spoke out and questioned the candidacy of Yang Sizhong, the Minister of Personnel.

According to Mao Kai, the Ministry of Personnel was in charge of the recommendation process, so if Minister of Personnel Yang Sizhong was among those recommended, wouldn't that mean the Ministry of Personnel recommended itself?

This matter naturally aroused opposition from many officials. Officials who were on good terms with Yang Sizhong jumped out and argued that the imperial recommendation was not the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel, but was only conducted within the Ministry of Personnel. If the Minister of Personnel could not be nominated because of this, then who would want to be the Minister of Personnel?

Zhang Siwei was perfectly aware of all of this.

Minister of Justice Mao Kai usually doesn't get involved in affairs, but this time he's probably jumping out because of Li Yiyuan.

When Li Yiyuan served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he had a good relationship with Mao Kai. Now that Mao Kai is blocking Yang Sizhong from entering the cabinet, it is naturally to help Li Yiyuan.

In the end, the matter was dropped when Yang Sizhong took the initiative to put his name last on the nomination list.

The list of names to be recommended only has three names, and the order of these three names is also very important.

The earlier a name appears in the list, the more support it receives in the court recommendation process among the Nine Ministers.

Of course, the emperor would not always respect the opinions of the Nine Ministers. Ultimately, the emperor's choice of whom to appoint depended entirely on his own wishes.

Yang Sizhong probably didn't care about the order of rankings.

The list of nominees is sent to the Cabinet, and after the Censorate confirms that the nominees are free from major scandals, the Cabinet sends it to the palace with its seal.

The appointment of new cabinet ministers is a matter of great importance, and this time Su Ze personally brought the official documents to the inner court.

Entering the Directorate of Ceremonial, it is Zhang Cheng's turn to be on duty today.

Upon seeing Su Ze, Zhang Cheng stood up to greet him:

"Is the memorial personally delivered by Prosecutor Su about to be released with a result?"

Su Ze nodded, held up the cabinet's stamped document, and said:
"The Nine Ministers' joint recommendation has concluded, and the Cabinet has already affixed its seal. Please review it, Eunuch Zhang."

Zhang Cheng quickly said:

"How dare we, your servants, interfere in such an important matter as recommending a cabinet minister! Please, Inspector Su, do us the trouble of delivering this to His Majesty."

During the Longqing reign, the power of eunuchs was greatly restricted. In the early years of his reign, Emperor Longqing withdrew many of the eunuchs stationed in the capital and also prevented the inner court from interfering in the affairs of the outer court.

Zhang Cheng was the last to enter the Directorate of Ceremonial, so naturally he had to be even more cautious.

Although Zhang Cheng entered the court later, he had the best reputation among the officials outside the capital.

After taking control of the Imperial Treasury, he first exposed several corrupt officials in the Imperial Transport Warehouse and then used his authority to gain control of it.

The imperial treasury is now abundant. Since Zhang Cheng took over the treasury, he has done a lot of things to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Both the inner court and the outer court believe that he can achieve this.

Only Zhang Cheng knew that most of his financial success was due to Su Ze's efforts.

Back then, he served as the eunuch of the Maritime Trade Office in Laizhou. Although Zhang Cheng was in charge of minting coins, the minting plans and techniques were provided by Su Ze.

Since joining the Directorate of Ceremonial, Zhang Cheng has also been exchanging secret letters with Su Ze through Fat Pigeon. Su Ze has also given him a lot of advice on the imperial treasury, and several reforms have achieved good results.

Of course, it was taboo for eunuchs to associate with officials outside the court, and Zhang Cheng and Su Ze's interactions were private, though they maintained a professional attitude when they met in person.

Although it was not allowed by the rules, it was an unspoken rule that powerful eunuchs in the inner court should associate with those in the outer court.

The relationship between Feng Bao, the current head of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and Zhang Juzheng, the second-in-command, is unclear.

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs of this dynasty is not qualified to speak on matters concerning the appointment of new cabinet ministers.

Given the Directorate of Ceremonial's cautious approach, Su Ze could only say, "Then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Zhang to lead the way."

"Prosecutor Su, please."

Su Ze followed Zhang Cheng all the way to the emperor's bedroom.

Zhang Cheng first went into the palace to announce the arrival of Su Ze, who then answered the call and entered.

Upon seeing the emperor again, Su Ze sensed that the Longqing Emperor's spirits had weakened once more.

Winter was particularly bad for the patient. The entire palace was heated by fire walls, making Su Ze so hot that he wished he could take off his official robes, but Emperor Longqing was still wearing thick clothes.

Inside the palace, one could still faintly smell the medicinal scent.

Su Ze's heart skipped a beat. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be a medicinal smell in the emperor's bedroom.

The medicines from the Imperial Medical Bureau were all prepared outside the emperor's bedchamber and delivered to him; there was no way medicines were prepared in the emperor's bedchamber.

Could it be that the Longqing Emperor has started prescribing medicine for himself again?
Thinking of this, Su Ze sighed inwardly.

Even Li Shizhen didn't have a good solution for Emperor Longqing's current health.

Simply put, Emperor Longqing's unrestrained lifestyle depleted his health, leading to premature aging in middle age and chronic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by various chronic illnesses.

These ailments would be difficult to treat even in the original timeline. The only solution is to improve unhealthy lifestyle habits and take good care of one's health, which might allow one to live a few more years.

However, the effects of recuperation are very slow to appear.

The effects of long-term medication and a disciplined lifestyle are not visible, especially in winter when bodily functions decline further in the cold environment, which may make the emperor feel that Li Shizhen's prescriptions are ineffective.

In such situations, people naturally seek "shortcuts".

As the saying goes, "long illness makes one a doctor," and under such circumstances, the Longqing Emperor himself would read medical prescriptions and Taoist scriptures to find ways to treat himself.

This has always been the same throughout history. People in the original timeline also use search engines to diagnose and treat their illnesses, and emperors are no exception.

The cabinet also advised against this.

However, the Longqing Emperor always accepted everything without question, and then repeated the same mistake next time.

Su Ze, a mere censor in the Imperial Secretariat, was not qualified to advise the emperor.

After Zhang Cheng announced Su Ze's entry into the palace, Su Ze presented the results of the Ministry of Personnel's joint recommendation to the emperor, and then obediently withdrew to await further instructions.

Su Ze had no particular thoughts about the candidates selected for the cabinet this time.

As the Chief Censor of the Secretariat, he was not yet in a position to interfere with the appointment of new cabinet ministers.

The three popular candidates all have a good relationship with Su Ze.

Li Yiyuan was Su Ze's former superior, and it was Su Ze who recommended Wang Shizhen for his mission to the grasslands.

Yang Sizhong and Su Ze also have a good relationship.

If we consider it from the perspective of Gao Gong's students, these three are about the same.

Neither Yang Sizhong nor Li Yiyuan took sides, while Wang Shizhen favored practical learning, giving him a slight advantage.

However, Wang Shizhen's inclination may actually be a negative factor in his chances of joining the cabinet.

There was no other way; Grand Secretary Gao Gong was already powerful enough. If another scholar were to be appointed, the balance of power within the cabinet would be completely disrupted.

For an emperor, maintaining political balance is a survival instinct, and he cannot afford not to consider all aspects.

Therefore, in the betting market in the capital, Wang Shizhen had the highest odds of entering the cabinet, which also indicates that his chances of entering the cabinet were the lowest.

It's probably a choice between Yang Sizhong and Li Yiyuan.

But after waiting for a while, the Longqing Emperor still did not make any move.

After a while, Zhang Cheng took the document indicating the success of the election and walked up to Su Ze, saying:

"Chief Inspector Su, His Majesty requests the Ministry of Personnel to re-evaluate him."

Upon hearing this, Su Ze almost disregarded etiquette and looked at the emperor, but he restrained himself from doing so.

Su Ze bowed and said:
"I accept the decree."

Upon returning to the cabinet, Su Ze reported the news to the cabinet ministers, and even Gao Gong was shocked.

The fact that the emperor rejected the proposal indicated that he was not satisfied with any of the three candidates.

That means the emperor had his own preferred candidates.

So who is this candidate?

Gao Gong cleared his throat and said:
"Since His Majesty has decreed that the Ministry of Personnel should conduct a new review and selection process."

Zhang Juzheng frowned and said:
"What if the Ministry of Personnel recommends the same list as this time?"

Zhang Juzheng's words silenced the cabinet.

The results of the joint recommendation by the Ministry of Personnel represent the prestige of the three individuals among the nine high-ranking officials.

Even if a new candidate is nominated, the outcome will likely be the same if no strong new candidate emerges.

If that's the case, then the situation becomes delicate.

If the emperor is not satisfied, and the list of officials he recommends is still the same, wouldn't that mean the officials are going against His Majesty?

Gao Gong also frowned. Now is a sensitive time, and it is better to avoid trouble when it comes to adding cabinet ministers. As the Grand Secretary, he only hopes to have a cabinet minister who can work steadily. Gao Gong does not want to displease the emperor because of this matter.

Then Gao Gong looked at Su Ze and said:

"This meeting will be overseen by the Fifth Office of the Secretariat-Chancellery. Prosecutor Su, you should go there in person."

Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji both turned their attention to Su Ze.

Su Ze was also dumbfounded for a moment. Me?
Su Ze said quickly:

"It is the Ministry of Personnel's authority to appoint cabinet ministers, and I dare not encroach upon it."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Juzheng also supported Gao Gong, saying:
"The power to jointly recommend cabinet ministers is the authority of the nine ministers, both high and low. It's just that the recommendation is conducted within the Ministry of Personnel, so it doesn't constitute an encroachment on the ministry's authority."

"To please His Majesty, I, Su Jian, must carefully consider His Majesty's intentions."

Seeing that Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng were actually on the same side, Su Ze quickly understood what they meant.

The power to appoint cabinet ministers is considerable, and the cabinet naturally wants to have a say in it as well.

Since your Ministry of Personnel failed to handle the matter properly, and the results of the organization meeting displeased the emperor, then the matter should be handled by the five departments of the Secretariat and Chancellery.

As Zhang Juzheng said, the system of appointing cabinet ministers was not a fixed system, nor was it an ancestral system written in the "Daming Code".

Since that's the case, Su Ze had no choice but to bow and say:
"Your Majesty, take your orders."

Su Ze returned to his apartment and began to have a headache.

He summoned Luo Wanhua and Shen Yiguan to discuss the matter.

After hearing the cabinet's message, Luo Wanhua frowned and said:
"The Grand Secretaries hope that our five departments under the Secretariat and the Chancellery will take over the important task of selecting Grand Secretaries, but what if His Majesty is still not satisfied with the results of this selection?"

Shen Yiquan also said:

"Whom does His Majesty favor for the cabinet? What are your thoughts, Chief Inspector?"

Su Ze was at a loss for words when faced with the gaze from his friend and subordinate!

I'm not a mind reader, how could I possibly know who the emperor prefers to join the cabinet?

Given the Longqing Emperor's condition, he couldn't possibly tell anyone, and even the eunuchs who served him with his closest confidants probably didn't know!

Shen Yiguan said:
"Why don't we ask the Crown Prince?"

Su Ze shook his head and said:

"His Majesty would not discuss such important matters with the Crown Prince."

Shen Yiguan frowned again and said:
"Even if there are candidates, the three cabinet minister candidates are currently very popular. If we can't get one of them to withdraw from the race, we still can't finish the list."

"If the outer court insists on making a choice, the cabinet will be caught in the middle and it will be difficult to manage."

Su Ze thought for a while and suddenly came up with a solution.

(End of this chapter)