Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 28 The Struggle for Heavenly Officials: Zhongxian's Defeat
Emperor Chongzhen seems to have completely neglected his duties.

This kid would rather wander around in the fields than see any court officials!
Moreover, many of the comments on those memorials were as if the author had not understood their contents at all.

For example, the memorial stated: "Ni Yuanlu's memorial is biased towards Donglin, and his words are mostly contradictory."

approve.

For example, the memorial stated: "Wang Er, a bandit from Baishui County, along with deserters from Shanxi and the imposter Jia Fu, plundered Pucheng and Hancheng."

Approval: Not permitted.

For example, a memorial stated: "The eunuch Wang Guoxing went to the sea without authorization, claiming to have a secret imperial decree summoning Mao Wenlong. His whereabouts are shrouded in mystery."

approve!
Is this a matter of approval or disapproval? Why approve or disapprove all kinds of memorials? Is this a sign of incomprehension or a deliberate attempt to annoy people?
The Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party all thought that this was just another case of Wei Zhongxian, an uneducated street thug, haphazardly reviewing memorials.

Han Kuang, Feng Quan, Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru, and others still couldn't figure out what the young emperor really meant.

Does this young emperor want to continue to rely on Wei Zhongxian, or to deal with him? Or does he want to keep Wei Zhongxian around to fight against them?
Unable to see the young emperor, they could only try to probe him by submitting memorials.

Early that morning, around 7 a.m., Zhu Jue had just sat down in the enclosed house where the steam engines were assembled when Fang Zhenghua rushed in with a memorial in his hand, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, the Cabinet has sent another memorial."

Oops, I forgot to guard against that.

Should we guard against these guys submitting memorials bypassing the Directorate of Ceremonial?
Zhu Jue thought about it carefully and decided to forget about it, since reading a memorial wouldn't take much time anyway.

Furthermore, he could not completely allow Wei Zhongxian to act without restraint; he still needed to review the memorials sent from the cabinet.

He took the memorial and looked at it, then frowned again.

Huang Chenghao, the Right Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, submitted a memorial stating that Zhou Yingqiu, the Minister of Personnel, was imitating Yan Shifan of the Jiajing era by openly selling official positions and titles, which was lawless and outrageous!

Huang Chenghao is definitely a minor character, used to test the waters.

The Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party wanted to seize control of the Ministry of Personnel!
Should Zhou Yingqiu be protected or not?
He frowned and pondered for a while, then asked, "Ruoyu, is Zhou Yingqiu really selling official positions and titles openly and honestly?"

This is related to the official position of a minister, or even Zhou Yingqiu's head!

Liu Ruoyu thought for a moment, then said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I have never personally witnessed Zhou Yingqiu selling official positions, but I have heard this rumor many times. It is said that as long as someone can afford the price, Zhou Yingqiu is willing to sell any official position!"

So it's probably true.

Zhou Yingqiu is far too arrogant.

Zhu Jue frowned and asked again, "You once said that he had a good relationship with Feng Quan. Is he on Feng Quan's side?"

Well, since you didn't ask for details at the time, I couldn't explain it to you in detail.

Liu Ruoyu quickly explained, "Zhou Yingqiu has good relationships with many people, such as Cui Chengxiu, the former Minister of War and Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and Wei Liangqing, the Duke of Ningguo."

This guy tries to please both sides and rake in money from all sides!
Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then announced loudly, "Summon Wei Zhongxian to come and pay his respects."

Then, he said to Wang Zheng, who was busy at work, "Liangfu, put these away for now, don't let outsiders see them."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zheng quickly and carefully placed each part into a specially made cabinet and then locked the cabinet door.

Wei Zhongxian arrived relatively quickly; he had clearly run there, and was even a little out of breath.

You can't just put on an act in front of me.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue expressionlessly had Wang Chengen read the memorial aloud.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian seemed to forget even his shortness of breath.

Who is trying to seize the position of Minister of Personnel?

The Minister of Personnel is a high-ranking official, in charge of the appointment, dismissal, and promotion of officials.

If the late emperor were still alive, then it would be fine; he could promote whomever he wanted with just a word.

But things are different now; he can't act recklessly anymore.

If he wants to promote someone, he still has to go through the Ministry of Personnel.

Could the position of Heavenly Official be given to someone else? Zhou Yingqiu is, after all, his godson. Although this fellow is somewhat disobedient, he still listens to the messages he sends. If someone else were to take the position, he probably wouldn't listen to him.

His eyes darted around for a while before he cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

So you mean you'll obey me completely, right?
Hmm, not bad, you know what's good for you.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How is the selection of the imperial concubines going?"

Uh, what does this have to do with the Heavenly Official?
Wei Zhongxian was taken aback for a moment before he hurriedly explained, “Your Majesty, if we want to select a thousand beautiful women, we need to hold open selections for at least tens of thousands of eligible women. The eligible women in Shuntian Prefecture are not enough, so I have already ordered Baoding Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture and Yongping Prefecture to start open selections.”

I'm waiting to use some people.

Zhu Juewei said sternly, "Hurry up and select the imperial concubines. Also, have Cui Wensheng, Yang Weiyuan, Ruan Dacheng, and the others been escorted back to the capital?"

I was tricked by that little brat Tian Ergeng!

Wei Zhongxian said somewhat awkwardly, "Your Majesty, Cui Wensheng will probably be escorted back in two or three days, but Yang Weiyuan and Ruan Dacheng have not been captured yet."

These two guys are from the Qi-Chu-Zhe faction.

You have a large group of Qi, Chu, and Zhe factions under your command. Do you think they'll let you arrest their own people?

Ruan Dacheng was historically known for infiltrating the eunuch faction but was never caught.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Let's leave Yang Weiyuan and Ruan Dacheng for now. They have too many accomplices in the court, and I'm afraid it will be very difficult for you to catch them."

Sigh, those two were probably already planning to run away when they submitted their memorials.

no way.

Wei Zhongxian sighed inwardly, then nodded repeatedly and said, "This servant understands."

Zhu Jue then asked, "Zhou Yingqiu must have made a lot of money, right?"

Does this mean you're messing with him?
Wei Zhongxian's eyes darted around for a moment before he cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, do you intend to hand over the Ministry of Personnel to the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party?"

Are you still reluctant to part with it?

Zhu Juewei said sternly, "Zhou Yingqiu openly sells official positions and titles. This cannot be tolerated. If everyone in the court is as lawless as him, then the Ming Dynasty is doomed."

Don't assume he's on your side. He's on both sides. He'll sell any official position for money. What use is someone like that to you?
Besides, he's made a lot of money. You still don't have your million taels for next month, do you? If you catch him, you'll have your million taels for next month.

As for the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party wanting to seize the Ministry of Personnel, let them seize it. Only then can they promote their own people to their deaths.

Zhou Yingqiu is indeed making money everywhere, and he's made a lot of money.

The problem is, if the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party seize control of the Ministry of Personnel, then the entire court will likely be under their control. How will we deal with that then?

Is this considered suicide?
Wei Zhongxian thought for a moment, then braced himself and said, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to say that if the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party are allowed to fill the court, then the court will become like the Wanli and Taichang reigns."

Well, it's really good that you thought of that.

But you're overthinking it.

It’s different in the past.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "The reason why the Wanli and Taichang reigns were in chaos was because the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party controlled enough military force, and we were hesitant to deal with them."

How much military power do they control now?

At the very least, the entire military force in the capital region is under our control. What can they possibly do to us?

Yes, back when I controlled the Beijing Garrison, the Imperial Guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Eastern Depot, the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party in the court all had to kneel down and lick my toes. Anyone who dared not to lick my toes would be sent to their death!
Although I have only recently taken control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Capital Garrison, the Imperial Guards, and the Eastern Depot are all under the young emperor's control.

The Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party are equally incapable of turning the tide!
What if I were to give up the position of Heavenly Official to you?
It may seem like I lost this round, but actually you all lost.

As long as the young emperor trusts me and uses me, you can't defeat me!
Wei Zhongxian's eyes darted around for a moment before he nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, this servant understands."

(End of this chapter)