Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 15 New Selection of Minister of War

Qianqing Palace.

This day is the day for the imperial examination.

Zhu Houzhao also returned to the Qianqing Palace specially, sat on the dragon throne, and looked at the cabinet ministers and the six ministries and nine officials of the Ming Dynasty.

These people formed the ruling core of the Ming Empire.

But it was these people who became the key chess pieces in the game of the Ming Dynasty.

Perhaps it was related to the "democratic and free" atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty, or perhaps they really felt that the new emperor Zhu Houzhao was a young and inexperienced emperor and did not need to care that he was in the imperial court. Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and others did not hide their disgust for Ma Wensheng and others at all.

Zhu Houzhao watched the unfriendly looks that Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian cast towards Ma Wensheng and Liu Jin as if he was watching a play, and just smiled secretly.

Ma Wensheng was in a good mood at this time, especially when he saw Liu Jian and other cabinet ministers hating him with gnashing teeth but being helpless.

However, Ma Wensheng was one of the few ministers who knew that Emperor Zhu Houzhao was not a young and ignorant boy, so he did not dare to show any domineering attitude in front of Zhu Houzhao.

Liu Jian and the others just thought that Ma Wensheng would definitely choose his people this time. Xie Qian even said sourly: "The Ministry of War will need more horses in the future."

Ma Wensheng did not fight back explicitly, as he believed that His Majesty Zhu Houzhao, who was sitting above, was aware of the situation.

Only Ma Wensheng himself knew that although nominally he, the Minister of Personnel, was the one who selected the qualified official for the position of Minister of War, in fact, he knew that he was not selecting the Minister of War for himself, but selecting a reliable Minister of War for His Majesty, so he had to be cautious and not only consider whether the person was from his own faction.

Ever since Zhu Houzhao went to see Ma Wensheng late at night that day, Ma Wensheng began to realize that Zhu Houzhao was not a cunning emperor. In the last court discussion about the little prince's detention, he was the only minister who carefully observed Zhu Houzhao. He also saw that Zhu Houzhao had long been dissatisfied with the Minister of War Liu Daxia, otherwise he would not have guessed that Liu Daxia's death was related to Zhu Houzhao.

Even because of Liu Daxia's death, Ma Wensheng began to have some fear of Zhu Houzhao and did not dare to form a clique for himself too obviously. Therefore, when selecting the Minister of War this time, he basically chose officials with both qualifications and abilities, not all of whom were his students and old friends. But one thing is certain, none of them were students or old friends of the three cabinet elders.

Ma Wensheng reported the candidates for the new Minister of War to Zhu Houzhao and the nine ministers of the cabinet present, and explained their resumes one by one. Among them were Nanjing Minister of War Wang Shi, Right Vice Minister of Rites Wang Hua, Left Vice Minister of War Xu Jin, and Shaanxi Governor and Left Vice-Censor-in-Chief Yang Yiqing.

Among them, only the Right Vice Minister of Rites Wang Hua and the Left Vice Minister of War Xu Jin did not have official connections with Ma Wensheng, but they were not cabinet members such as Liu Jian either. They did not form cliques or use connections with the outside world.

Although the others were Ma Wensheng's men, they were indeed capable. Needless to say, Wang Shi, the Nanjing Minister of War, had high official qualifications and there was no objection to his promotion from Nanjing Minister of War to the Minister of War.

After Ma Wensheng recommended the candidates for the position of Minister of War, it was time for the Cabinet and the six ministries and nine officials to vote.

It was obvious that Liu Jian and others did not want to give Ma Wensheng an advantage, so they deliberately voted for Wang Hua, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Xu Jin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

In other words, the new Minister of War could neither be a member of Liu Jian's party nor a member of Ma Wensheng's party.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but smile secretly, thinking that this was a good deal for him, because as an emperor, what he wanted were people who did not form cliques. Such people meant they were in the same party as the emperor. Factional struggles have always been a great harm to dynasties. These people who did not form cliques would naturally be more beneficial for him to control the government.

Generally speaking, the court would select two candidates, and ultimately the emperor himself would choose one.

As an emperor, Zhu Houzhao still had this right. Because when the forces of all parties were balanced, he, the emperor, was the only one with legal effect.
Ma Wensheng, Liu Jian and others all looked at Zhu Houzhao. They wanted to know who Zhu Houzhao would choose.

Zhu Houzhao held his forehead and said, "It's too difficult to choose. If Liu Aiqing hadn't died, it would have been much better. We wouldn't have to go through so much trouble."

Zhu Houzhao's words made Liu Jian and others more certain that Zhu Houzhao was a tyrant with no ambition, so they looked down on him even more. Naturally, they no longer suspected that Liu Daxia was killed by Zhu Houzhao.

Ma Wensheng smiled slightly, and admired the acting skills of his Majesty the Emperor.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Liu Jin. It was time for Liu Jin to come out and continue Zhu Houzhao's script.

Therefore, the clever Liu Jin decisively said behind Zhu Houzhao's back: "Your Majesty, since it is difficult to choose, why not think about it first? After all, the Minister of War is an important position related to the safety of our Ming Dynasty. How can we be careless? Now Your Majesty is tired, and it is time to go back to the Leopard Room to rest. It will not be too late to give an answer then."

"Liu Daban is right. My dear ministers, I am tired. Let me think about who will be the Minister of War. You can step down first. I will decide on a new candidate for the Minister of War later."

As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he stretched and yawned.

Liu Jian and other cabinet ministers were quite angry. They were not angry at Zhu Houzhao's cynical look, but at the fact that it was inappropriate for a eunuch like Liu Jin to come to the court and even interrupted, and even successfully interfered in the government.

In their view, Liu Jin's ambition to manipulate the government was exactly what Sima Zhao intended to do!

This made Liu Jian and other cabinet ministers feel a crisis, and they began to worry more and more that Liu Jin would take charge of the inner court, and that the emperor would listen to him, which would mean that Liu Jin would have power over the world.

What's more, it seems that Liu Jin was colluding with veterans of four dynasties such as Ma Wensheng.

Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and others all looked very unhappy, and they all felt that Liu Jin and Ma Wensheng were trying to frame them.

Regardless of whether Liu Jian and others suffered from paranoia, Zhu Houzhao was in a very good mood now. It could even be said that he was experiencing the pleasure of being an emperor for the first time.

Because now with just one word from him, he can decide a senior official equivalent to the Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff.

Although Zhu Houzhao could choose either Wang Hua, the Right Vice Minister of Rites, or Xu Jin, the Left Vice Minister of War, he was more confident in these two people. The former was a top scholar and his son Wang Yangming was very famous, a person Zhu Houzhao had always wanted to meet, while the latter was a governor of a border town and now had a relationship with himself, the emperor, through Liu Jin.

But Zhu Houzhao did not make a random choice. He already had a candidate in mind, but he would not let this person be promoted to the Minister of War for nothing.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Liu Jin and thought that Liu Jin had probably taken a lot of blame for him, so he had to give Liu Jin some benefits.

So Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Liu Jin, I'll give you a chance to do me a favor. Go ask Xu Jin if he wants to join the Loyalty Society that I asked you to organize the other day. If he wants, apply to join, but don't say it's my idea. Say it's your idea. Just say that the Loyalty Society can help him become the Minister of War. In terms of reputation and qualifications, he can't compare to Wang Hua, who was a top scholar."

For the book friends here who said that I wrote the civil officials too naive, maybe my writing skills are indeed not good enough, but I still want to explain why the civil officials did not suspect the emperor. It was because the civil officials were not clear whether Liu Jin had kidnapped and manipulated the emperor, or the emperor was instructing Liu Jin. Based on their superficial understanding of Zhu Houzhao, they could easily believe the former. In addition, what they wanted was that Zhu Houzhao was really cynical, so they were naturally willing to believe the former subjectively, so they directed their spearheads at Liu Jin. And no matter whether Zhu Houzhao is really stupid or pretending to be stupid, even if the civil officials suspect that it was Zhu Houzhao who instructed him, now they can only say that Liu Jin is inducing Zhu Houzhao. Only after they get rid of Liu Jin, which is equivalent to removing the props that Zhu Houzhao used to disguise himself, can they determine whether the new emperor is really stupid or pretending to be stupid. No matter whether Zhu Houzhao is really stupid or pretending to be stupid, they have to kill Liu Jin and other eight tigers first. Killing the eight tigers is equivalent to breaking Zhu Houzhao's arms. At that time, whether the emperor is stupid or wise, the emperor has been forced into the open by them. They can choose to assassinate or coerce. Anyway, they want to get rid of Liu Jin now. This is why Liu Jian and other civil officials strongly demanded that Zhu Houzhao execute the eight tigers in history. After the death of the eight tigers, Zhu Houzhao faced the civil officials directly, and then fell into the water several years later. So in the case of Ma Wensheng, it was easy for the cabinet to believe that it was Liu Jin who falsely conveyed the imperial edict to retain Ma Wensheng. Even if they knew that Zhu Houzhao had found Ma Wensheng, they had reason to believe that it was Liu Jin who instigated it. And if Ma Wensheng changed his mind, they might also believe that it was Liu Jin who persuaded Ma Wensheng and colluded with Ma Wensheng, just like they colluded with Wang Yue or Zhang Yu.

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(End of this chapter)