Chapter 350 Qingliu Civilian’s plan to take power completely failed
This time, Xu Jin was very confident about the recommendation of Zuodu Yushi.
After all, Cheng Wende whom he recommended had at least two votes, namely himself and Deputy Privy Councilor Jiang Dong.
"As long as the British public Zhang Rong supports Cheng Wende, Cheng Wende will get three votes, overwhelming Xia Yan, and then your majesty will no longer be able to favor Xia Yan! Besides, your majesty can't let the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, the new cabinet minister, The censors of Zuodu are all Xia Yan’s people, and the British Duke cannot dare to disgrace the second prince and abstain from voting.”
The more Xu Jin thought about it, the more he felt that he had a chance to win. He couldn't help but glance at Xia Yan. The more he looked at it, the less he felt that Xia Yan had any advantage in blocking his plan to nominate Cheng Wende as the censor of Zuodu again.
Xia Yan was indeed not sure whether he could ensure that Wu Shan, the minister of the Ministry of Industry whom he recommended, could become the censor of Zuodu, but he did not have such a strong desire.
Unlike Xu Jin and other civil servants who represented the interests of the merchant class, Xia Yan did not think about restricting the imperial power and fighting for the interests of the merchants. Instead, he only thought of relying on the imperial power to ensure that the country continued to be stable and strong.
Therefore, Xia Yan's true inner thought is to try to keep the empire in a balanced state, but he also means to realize his political intentions in balance.
At the beginning of the political meeting, Zhu Houzhao spoke first: "The Metropolitan Procuratorate has very heavy powers and responsibilities. Supervising civil and military affairs is the foundation of the court's legal system and the cornerstone of ensuring social justice. Therefore, as the general constitution of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he must be upright and upright. , impartial, neither concealment nor false accusation, but the previous censors of Zuodu have disappointed me, especially the recent one, Ni Song, who blocked the way of speech and concealed the people's sentiments without reporting them! "
"Therefore, all the ministers must be rigorous in recommending candidates for Zuodu Yushi. Those recommended must be self-denial and dedicated to the public. If there is a blockage between the superiors and the subordinates, I will definitely ask them for their responsibility for the recommendation!"
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he glanced at the British Duke Zhang Rong and said: "The post of Zuodu Censor does not need to be limited to civil and military affairs. Anyone who does not hide personal interests and is biased can be recommended!"
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he asked the four ministers to start the recommendation.
Xia Yan naturally recommended Wu Shan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry: "Your Majesty, Mr. Wu is known for his uprightness and is an upright official. He has never done anything corrupt in presiding over various projects. He is suitable for the position of Zuodu Censor."
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"Your Majesty, although the Duke of Wu whom Yuan Fu recommended is upright and upright, he is also too rigid. I believe that if Duke Wu is appointed as the censor of Zuodu, your Majesty will undoubtedly put shackles on all the officials, which will make the entire Ming Dynasty rigid. "Old-fashioned", Xu Jin directly responded to Xia Yan's proposal.
Immediately, Xu Jin said again: "I recommend Cheng Gong, the Minister of Academic Affairs. Cheng Gong is an upright official and has always been magnanimous and magnanimous. With Cheng Gong in charge of the affairs of the court, he will undoubtedly make the court more political and harmonious."
"Your Majesty, I think that Cheng Wende is not suitable for the post of the General Constitution. Cheng Wende is good at flattery, he likes to flatter his superiors and bully his subordinates, and he is also good at making peace with others. I am worried that if Cheng Wende is allowed to take charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he will be like Ni Song and make the Metropolitan Procuratorate too weak. Nothing happened, but great things happened all over the world!”
Xia Yan also bluntly pointed out Cheng Wende's shortcomings.
When Zhu Houzhao saw Xia Yan and Xu Jin quarreling again, he couldn't help but hold his forehead and said hurriedly: "Okay, let the British Duke and Jiang Aiqing express their opinions."
then.
British Duke Zhang Rong came forward first and saluted Zhu Houzhao.
Seeing this, Xu Jin smiled slightly and glanced at Xia Yan proudly. He was now just waiting for the British Duke Zhang Rong to speak and express his support for Cheng Wende to be the censor of Zuodu.
Xia Yan also noticed Xu Jin's expression, and he began to secretly wonder whether Xu Jin would have reached some compromise with the British Duke Zhang Rong and pulled the British Duke Zhang Rong over. Otherwise, he would not be so confident.
Just when Xu Jin was looking forward to it and Xia Yan was worried, British Duke Zhang Rong spoke: "Your Majesty, I kindly ask that Deputy Ambassador Jiang speak first. I haven't thought about it yet."
"Accurate!"
Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly. He could see that what Zhang Rong said meant that his reminder just now made Zhang Rong change his initial thoughts and start to consider whether to recommend his military minister as Zuodu. Censor.
Xu Jin saw that Zhang Rong said that he had not thought about it yet and was surprised, but he was not disappointed. He thought that maybe the British prince Zhang Rong had received some promise from Xia Yan, and he was hesitating whether he should support Xia Yan's choice of candidate as Zuodu. The censor should still support the person he proposes, that is, the person supported by the second prince, to be elected as the censor of Zuodu.
Xia Yan couldn't help but glance at Xu Jin, not hiding his inner disgust for Xu Jin at all.
Because, he could see that the reason why the British Duke hesitated must be because of the pressure put on him by Xu Jin's side, and he couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty has repeatedly issued orders to strictly prohibit political ministers from colluding in private. This Xu Jin really dares to commit crimes against the odds! ”
Xia Yan was naturally confident when he dared to say this, because he did not have any private connections with the auxiliary ministers Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong. He was using a conspiracy. He believed that as long as he directly proposed it openly, it would be beneficial to him and Jiang Dong. Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong can reach an agreement directly on their plan, so there is no need to collude in private.
Jiang Dong didn't expect that British Duke Zhang Rong would ask His Majesty to let him speak first, but he didn't think it mattered. After all, he already had an idea about the recommendation for the post of Zuodu Yushi, not to mention the second prince saying hello. , even if he didn’t say hello and didn’t care about the second prince’s face, he still had to recommend his in-laws—Cheng Wende.
"Your Majesty, I recommend Duke Cheng to be the censor of Zuodu. During his tenure at the Faculty of Science, Duke Cheng was always fair and strict, and he was praised by all teachers and students..."
Jiang Dong sat down after giving a bunch of very objective reasons.
When Xu Jin saw Jiang Dong's support for Cheng Wende, he was naturally very satisfied. Although he could already guess that Jiang Dong supported Cheng Wende as the censor of Zuodu, Xu Jin couldn't help but glance at Xia Yan, and the beard at the corner of his mouth trembled. After a moment, his pride showed.
"This Jiangdong is such a good person that he does not shy away from relatives!"
Xia Yan cursed secretly in his heart. He didn't expect Jiang Dong to be so unhesitating about recommending his own family.
Zhu Houzhao could tell that this time Xu Jin, the Qingliu leader who represented the merchant class, had a high probability of winning the competition for the official position of Zuodu Censor.
Of course, this was only before the emperor himself intervened.
Now that he, the emperor, has intervened, the result will naturally be different.
Although Zhu Houzhao knew that the emperor should strike a balance and not let one family become the dominant one, he did not want the Qingliu to become too large to affect the court's major policies.
Therefore, after Zhu Houzhao learned about the alliance between Yan Song and Xia Yan, he was unwilling to let Qingliu officials serve as censors of Zuodu, which made Xu Jin and others qualified to compete with Xia Yan's power and even suppress Xia Yan.
However, Zhu Houzhao also knew that he could not let Xia Yan become too powerful. If the Metropolitan Procuratorate only followed the orders of the cabinet, it would also affect his imperial power.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao hopes that a third party will intervene to make the political structure of the dynasty more balanced. After all, the triangle is more stable.
"Mr. British, have you thought about it?" Zhu Houzhao asked.
Emperor Zhu Houzhao's reminder let British Duke Zhang Rong know what he should do, so Zhang Rong replied: "Your Majesty, I recommend Yang Lin, the former governor, Tongzhi, deputy commander-in-chief, and now the police minister, to be the censor of Zuodu!"
"Although Yang Lin is a son of a military official, he is a top student at the Capital University and has been in charge of the Military Law Office of the Guards for six years. He is an upright man and is not afraid of power. He once dared to impeach Governor Shi Baoshan for illegal activities. Because of this, he was repeatedly dismissed. The favor of the civil servants has made it impossible for him to be promoted. I ask your Majesty to put him to good use. ”
Zhu Houzhao knew that Yang Lin was disabled due to combat and was transferred to a civilian position, but he had never been promoted. Now when Zhang Rong mentioned it, he nodded: "Yang Lin is indeed very suitable. What do you think?" At this time, Xia Yan, Xu Jin, and Jiang Dong all had blank minds. They did not expect that Zhang Rong would recommend Yang Lin, who was a military general, to be the censor of Zuodu.
The most horrified and disappointed person was Xu Jin. He really didn't expect that the British Duke Zhang Rong would introduce a military general.
Letting a military general serve as the censor of Zuodu is not asking the military general to take care of civil servants. If this continues, how can the censor or censor take care of civil servants?
Xu Jin was naturally unwilling.
However, Zhang Rong was extremely willing to do this.
He originally did not dare to recommend officials from his own military ministers and nobles system to take charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. After all, he also knew that the official position of Zuo Du Censor had always been regarded as a position that could only be held by civilian officials.
But when Zhang Rong received a reminder from His Majesty the Emperor, Zhu Houzhao, and heard Zhu Houzhao say that there was no need to stick to civil and military matters and winking at him, he began to get excited, although he was indeed greeted by the second prince and was hinted by the second prince not to abstain again. .
However, Zhang Rong thought that it would be better to please the emperor than to please the second prince, not to mention that he could get benefits by pleasing the emperor and achieve the precedent of a military minister serving as a high-level civil servant. In this way, there is hope that military ministers will become generals and prime ministers in the future, and this will further change The military attache was constantly suppressed by the civil servants.
As for the second prince, he was nothing in front of the emperor and his own interests.
This decision of the British Duke Zhang Rong was destined to offend the second prince, but it did cater to Zhu Houzhao and began to fight for the interests of his military attache group.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but smile. The British Duke Zhang Rong did not choose to be his prince's lackey, but still chose to be loyal to him, which naturally made him happy.
After thinking for a while, Xia Yan stood up first:
"Your Majesty and the British Duke value Yang Lin. After thinking about it, I also feel that Yang Lin is more suitable than Wu Shan. I also apologize to your Majesty. When I first recommended Wu Shan, I had selfish motives because Wu Shan is my hometown. Although Not recommending talents To avoid relatives, the most important thing for the position of Zuodu Censor is fairness, so in order to maintain the court discipline, I think it is more appropriate to recommend Yang Lin! Wushan is a fellow countryman of Chen, so even if he is recommended, he should not be recommended!"
Xia Yan said this, seemingly to plead guilty to himself, but in fact he was showing to the emperor that he was fair, and at the same time he was also insinuating Jiang Dong.
Jiang Dong couldn't help but blush, and he couldn't help but cup his hands and said: "In this case, I also apologize for recommending Cheng Wende. Cheng Wende is my relative by marriage, and I abstained from power!"
"Very good, very good!" Zhu Houzhao laughed: "It is a good custom of the Ming Dynasty that all the beloved ministers can clearly understand their own faults, know their shame and then be brave. Of course, you are not wrong in not avoiding relatives when promoting talents. Now we still discuss Regarding the selection of the censor of Zuodu, since Yuan Fu instead recommended Yang Lin, it would be three votes. In this case, it was proposed that Yang Lin, the Minister of Police, be the censor of Zuodu and be in charge of the affairs of the Procuratorate of the capital. "
"Follow the Holy Order!"
Xia Yan replied first to show that he fully supported Yang Lin's appointment as the censor of Zuodu.
Of course, Xia Yan changed his mind midway and was willing to support the military commander to take charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. It was not really because the emperor and British Duke Zhang Rong wanted Yang Lin to take charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate that he had to follow the trend.
Instead, he also considered that letting Yang Lin take charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate not only catered to his superiors, but also prevented Xu Jin and the prince behind him from taking advantage of the opportunity to control the Metropolitan Procuratorate. At the same time, he also sold out to the British public Zhang Rong Good, so that Zhang Rong can be completely drawn into his camp.
At this time, Xu Jin felt as if he had been slapped hard, his whole body was numb.
The censor of Zuodu is actually not his comrade!
This is the result!
Jiang Dong glanced at Xu Jin helplessly, and raised his eyebrows in the direction of Xia Yan, meaning: "You, Xu Cifu, have also seen it. It's not that I, Jiang, don't want to promote Cheng Wende, my relative, but that the chief minister and the assistants are taking the lead in promoting good people to avoid relatives." , and you are making fun of yourself, you can’t be selfish anymore!”
"Xia Yan! What a Xia Yan!"
Xu Jin really has no intention of being angry with Jiang Dong now, but is very angry with Xia Yan. He did not expect that a civil servant like Xia Yan would rather compromise and let a military minister take charge of the Procuratorate than let himself, a clean-blooded civil servant, take charge of the Procuratorate. !
Because in Xu Jin's view, Xia Yan's behavior was undoubtedly a betrayal of the civil service group, and he was undoubtedly a traitor to Meishang!
But in any case, Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied with the result.
The ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, the newly appointed cabinet ministers, and the censor of Zuodu were all not Qingliu civil servants. This undoubtedly made the business class's plan to control the government go bankrupt.
They even succeeded in putting military generals in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which meant that a situation of mutual checks and balances was gradually formed in which military generals were in charge of civil servants and civil servants were in charge of military commanders.
However, Zhu Houzhao also had to admit that after the fraud in court promotion, during the process of appointing new important ministers at this political meeting, the contradiction between reformist officials like Xia Yan and officials representing the business class like Xu Jin was also reflected by himself. Take advantage of it more and more.
Xia Yan will undoubtedly become the target of public criticism.
Because it was Xia Yan's proposal that allowed him, the emperor, to successfully establish a political affairs office and exclude a large number of civil servants trained by the merchant class from the empire's decision-making level.
As expected by Zhu Houzhao.
Soon, Zhu Houzhao received a report from Han Yiyou, the imperial censor, who submitted a report to impeach Xia Yan for proposing to establish an administrative office, which violated the ancestral law and intended to usurp power as regent. He also directly stated that Xia Yan had twenty crimes, and listed them clearly one by one. , asking the court to kill Xia Yan! And abolish the system of ministers proposed by Xia Yan!
Xia Yan's establishment of an administrative office is clear evidence, and the memorial to impeach the chief minister is not an ordinary impeachment memorial. Therefore, Han Yiyou's memorial can reach the imperial court.
However, Zhu Houzhao also knew that Xia Yan's suggestion to establish an administrative affairs office would be dissatisfied by many officials in the world, so he was mentally prepared.
Zhu Houzhao has only one way to deal with this, and that is to stay in the middle without making a move!
Zhu Houzhao could guess that he would only create a public opinion that he, the emperor, overly favored Xia Yan and allowed him to take power.
But Zhu Houzhao is not a person who cares about public opinion, so even if public opinion says that he trusts Xia Yan and is old and foolish, he still doesn't care.
But Xia Yan cared about it.
As a person from the Ming Dynasty, Xia Yan was not as desperate as a time traveler like Zhu Houzhao. He still cared about his reputation.
After all, people in the Ming Dynasty care about face, respect saints, and admire gentlemen. Everyone motivates himself to become a gentleman and be praised by others, and Xia Yan is no exception. There are only a few people like Zhu Houzhao who don't care about face and only care about lizi.
Therefore, when Xia Yan learned about Han Yiyou's impeachment memorial, Xia Yan resigned from office to show that he was not greedy for power and was not the so-called ambitious power minister as some people said.
Thank you to book friend Mo Youjiao for the reward of 500 starting coins
(End of chapter)