Chapter 240 The power of inertia
In the Wenyuan Pavilion next to the Wenhua Hall, Wang Hua was wearing a bright red official uniform and sitting at the top. Looking at the civil servants in front of him, he only said: "Colleagues, maybe you have already asked in your heart why I suddenly presided over the court meeting. There is no other reason, but there are two things I want to tell you.”
"The first thing is about my resignation. I have decided to resign as the chief assistant of the cabinet."
After Wang Hua said this, he looked at the officials in the hall, and the officials all looked horrified. Some of them were already muttering in their hearts, wondering why Wang Hua, who was so good, suddenly resigned from the position of chief minister of the cabinet. Could it be that he had offended His Majesty? ?
"You don't need to make wild guesses. This matter has nothing to do with anyone. It's just that Wang is old and weak, unable to assist the king in governing the people, and he is no longer able to understand the truth of governing the country."
Wang Hua said and added: "Next, I have to say the second thing. After Wang resigns, I hope that all of my colleagues will clean themselves from now on, be diligent in political affairs, and not be an enemy of the emperor or the enemy of the people." You have also seen Ji’s fate. In the future, don’t think that just because you are an official, you can bully the good. Ming Dynasty still needs you to open up a prosperous age for ten thousand years, instead of forcing the people to rebel because of your corruption.”
“Today’s world has changed. There are more and more business people, more and more workers, more and more literate people, and more and more people who care about state affairs. Those of us who are officials must be more cautious, honest and self-reliant. , otherwise under the pressure of public opinion, if you start corruption from Taizu, you will be stripped of your skin, and you will be infamy for thousands of years.”
"In any case, Wang hopes that scholar-bureaucrats like us, since we have taken the world as our own responsibility, should strive for the welfare of the people of the world." Wang Hua stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Here, Wang Hua bids you farewell!"
With that said, Wang Hua walked out of Wenyuan Pavilion and announced the end of the court meeting.
As a civil servant who personally experienced various changes in the court of Zhengde Dynasty, Wang Hua had many feelings and wanted to say something to these civil servants of his own class, but he seemed to be very lacking in knowledge and could not say anything. , it seems that the only thing that can be reminded is to be honest and self-sufficient and to benefit the people.
Although Wang Hua did not say much in this last court meeting, the civil servants present seemed to understand what Wang Hua, the chief minister of the cabinet, meant. They all stood up and bowed their hands to Wang Hua. No one stood up and said that Wang Hua was not He should resign, and there is no saying that Wang Hua really should resign early.
For the civil servants throughout the empire, they were confused, divided, and even afraid.
Confusion is because they don’t know how to govern the world in the prosperous age. They are divided because everyone begins to believe in different ideas of governing the country. Fear is because they worry that they will be severely punished for corruption or other crimes in the future. After all, this country Tortures such as Chao Shi Clan and Peeling Shicao appeared.
In the final analysis, what will happen to the Ming Empire in the future still depends on the choice of Emperor Zhu Houzhao.
Officials now only know how to follow the emperor's baton. Mindless obedience is always easier to adapt to than learning after questioning, and it is also easier to obtain actual benefits and avoid possible dangers.
Therefore, the civil servants felt that no matter what, just don't go against the emperor.
Therefore, Wang Hua asked them not to be enemies of the emperor, and they all agreed in their hearts.
But in fact, Zhu Houzhao did not want all officials to obey him unconditionally like slaves. After all, he never thought of being an emperor who could have his own way. His purpose was to turn Ming Dynasty into a country of democracy and freedom.
Zhu Houzhao knew that as an emperor, he could do whatever he wanted through violent rule. People's natural rights were life, freedom, and property. As an emperor, he could have them all in the Ming Dynasty. He could even deprive others of their lives, freedom, and property. Property can make you richer and freer, and you can do whatever you want and do whatever you want.
However, you will have to pay it back sooner or later.
Doing this by yourself will only intensify conflicts between yourself and others. If you continue to deprive others of their life, freedom and property rights, after all, these are the most basic rights of human beings. Once you intensify this conflict, others will try their best to deal with it. Own.
As an emperor, he had to get caught up in daily busyness to maintain his violent rule, but he still couldn't help but live in fear.
Zhu Houzhao is not a coward who is afraid of struggle, but he does not want to deprive others of their rights to life, freedom, and legal property. After all, he is a civilized person who has traveled through the past from modern times, not a barbarian who has traveled through primitive society. .
What's more, people have natural rights such as life, liberty, and property, and they also have their own social obligations.
Zhu Houzhao also had his own responsibilities as an emperor. He would not just enjoy his rights without shouldering his responsibilities as an emperor.
Zhu Houzhao admitted that he had taken too extreme measures at the beginning because of the suppression of the monarch by civilian officials, but he did not regret it. To deal with barbarism, he had to use barbaric means. If barbaric forces appeared in the future, he would still Will raise his butcher knife.
But this does not mean that he will give up on establishing order in the civilized world.
Zhu Houzhao respected Wang Hua's choice to resign.
At the same time, Zhu Houzhao also chose Liu Yu as the chief minister of the cabinet in accordance with established practice.
Liu Yu also followed his inertia and recommended Wang Qiong as his second assistant, and recommended Kang Hai to the cabinet to participate in aircraft maintenance.
Whether it is Emperor Zhu Houzhao or the top civil servants of the empire, it seems that they still follow the inherent conventions to exercise their power to ensure the fairness of the distribution of imperial power. According to modern civilization, human rights are natural and sovereignty lies with the people. The political system of the country should be elected by the people, and it is the people who have given the country the power to manage themselves.
In other words, officials such as the chief minister of the cabinet who may have the highest administrative power in the empire should be elected and appointed by the people.
However, the Ming Dynasty did not yet have this kind of election system, or even this awareness. The chief minister of the cabinet was appointed by the emperor, and even the highest administrative power of the chief minister of the cabinet was given by the emperor.
But as the emperor, it was difficult for Zhu Houzhao to know which person should be the chief minister of the cabinet who truly met the needs of the people. He wanted every official to give a speech to let him know who was more suitable, but he found that he Without that energy, and the daily government affairs that are constantly happening in the country and need to be dealt with every day, he does not have time to choose a more suitable chief minister.
Zhu Houzhao could only choose according to the usual practice. The first assistant retired, the second assistant took over, and then he took turns according to seniority, regardless of the merits or demerits. This was the most fair and the least objectionable to the entire bureaucratic class.
On the contrary, if I rashly appoint an official with outstanding abilities as the chief assistant of the cabinet without basing his appointment on seniority, then the second and third assistants of the cabinet will definitely be dissatisfied.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao still had to appoint the chief minister of the cabinet as usual.
Liu Yu, the chief minister of the cabinet, also recommended Wang Qiong as the second minister of the cabinet as usual. Although the emperor Zhu Houzhao had given him the power to recommend bachelors and officials of the six departments, he did not dare to be nepotistic or only appoint people who were consistent with his political views. He can only follow the routine.
Zhu Houzhao found that it was sometimes difficult for people within the empire to carry out a thorough reform and change the status quo. It was not that everyone did not understand the principle of meritocracy, but no one could break the existing rules.
Liu Yu became the chief minister of the cabinet. He was naturally very happy and cooperated with His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao. He only followed the methods of Xiao Gui and Cao Sui, and had no intention of going against His Majesty the Emperor.
Wang Qiong became the second assistant in the cabinet, and was very happy. She had already started to maintain her health. She ate fasting and chanted Buddha's name every day, stayed away from beauty, paid attention to her style of work, and became honest and dedicated. This was obviously to prepare for her future position as the first assistant in the cabinet.
Kang Hai also thanked Zhu Houzhao and expressed his gratitude to Liu Yu for recommending him. He was in a good mood and wrote several poems praising the imperial court. After all, the imperial court made him a cabinet bachelor.
No one among the officials had any objections. They all felt that this was a normal outcome of the change of court officials after Wang Hua resigned as the chief minister of the cabinet. If it were not for this outcome, it would make people feel uneasy.
The common people are too lazy to care about who the first assistant is and who the second assistant is.
The only one who was dissatisfied was Zhu Houzhao. What he was dissatisfied with was that even though he delegated power, he still could not make Ming Dynasty embark on the path of political democracy. What made him even more depressed was that although he was not satisfied with the results he had achieved. Satisfied, but the officials and the people were very satisfied with him as a king, and they all praised him for being a quiet and inactive king who allowed nature to take its course without disturbing the people and the government.
Perhaps for many people at the bottom, it is really a good thing that leaders do not bother.
But for a leader, can he be considered a leader if he doesn’t do some hard work? What’s the difference between that and the walking dead?
Zhu Houzhao has this kind of mentality now. He clearly wants to change something, but he still cannot change the internal political structure of the empire. But now he can only let nature take its course and change slowly.
On this day, Zhu Houzhao came to the National Academy of Administration.
The National Academy of Administration is one of the new things Zhu Houzhao brought to the Ming Dynasty. It was an official training institution established by him using the power of the emperor. The most obvious difference between it and the Hanlin Academy is that the National Academy of Administration more clearly stated that it is A base for training imperial officials.
The National School of Administration is also located in the Royal West Garden. It is a building mainly made of cement and stone. The classrooms are all glass windows. It is not far from the Capital University and the Royal Industrial Experimental Base. It is for the convenience of traditional officials who pursue further studies. Can have close contact with new knowledge and new things.
Zhu Houzhao believed that what officials in this era lacked was not intelligence but knowledge. It was Confucianism that restricted their thoughts, rather than real stupidity. Therefore, he felt that by exposing these officials to new knowledge and new things, they might be better at it than himself. Transform this country.
Conglan, the governor-general of Caoyundu, was one of the high-ranking officials selected to go to Beijing for training at the National Academy of Administration. At this moment, he was amazed by the buildings of the National Academy of Administration in the Ming Dynasty. He did not expect that cement could make a house ten stories high.
Cong Lan had to lament the difference in the imperial capital, but he was even more surprised when he took the first class, because in the first class, he saw Zhang Cong, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, actually take out a small white stick, and then easily put it on the The words "human rights", "state" and "separation of powers" are written on the protruding black wall.
He had never heard of any of these three words.
No matter how much Zhu Houzhao wanted to change the Ming Dynasty, the economic foundation determined the superstructure. The people at the bottom had no awakening or desire to participate in politics. No matter how Zhu Houzhao spread the word or changed it, it was impossible to bring the empire into another era at once. In other words, Zhu Houzhao wanted to It’s impossible not to be an autocratic monarch. This chapter is to show this. It is impossible for Zhu Houzhao to be a lazy king who just waits for death. Whether it is the choice of the emperor or the choice of the chief minister, etc., he is still following a certain inertia. Thank you to book friend Hua Chen for the reward of 100 starting coins. Thank you to book friend 20190125102443622100 for the reward of starting coins. Thank you to book friend Ye Yu Qingkuang for the reward of 300 starting coins
(End of chapter)