Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 58: Want to Take Charge of the Government

Supervisor of Ceremonies.

Liu Jin knew that now that he was the Prime Minister of the Inner Court, the three elders of the Cabinet would definitely resign, so he could guess that the Cabinet would not send any draft memorials in the next few days, and he, as the Prime Minister of the Inner Court, would naturally not be too busy at the beginning.

But this was the first time that Liu Jin was qualified to work in the core area of ​​the Ming Dynasty's inner court, and he was in the capacity of a eunuch in charge of the seal, so he was naturally very enthusiastic.

Therefore, Liu Jin came to the Silijian early. In his opinion, the books in the Silijian were fragrant, even the air in the Silijian was fragrant, and even the eunuchs in the Silijian were more pleasing to the eye. So even if he was just wandering around with nothing to do, he would come to the Silijian to sit and relax.

Liu Jin, who was sitting in the first seat, felt as if he was ten years younger. He kept touching the back of the chair and looking at the furnishings in the room, as excited as a groom about to enter the bridal chamber.

Of course, Liu Jin will never experience the pleasure of passing a minor imperial examination in his lifetime, but the pleasure he feels now is no less than that of a normal man passing a minor imperial examination.

Liu Jin now feels that he is now the Prime Minister of the inner court and should have the temperament and vision of an inner minister. Therefore, when he first became the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, he always smiles when he meets everyone.

However, the eunuch Chu Ke from the Imperial Household Department still sat upright below Liu Jin, very respectfully, and Liu Jin asked with concern: "Chu Sui Tang, when did you enter the palace?"

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, I entered the palace in the seventh year of Hongzhi," Chu Ke stood up and bowed.

"How can you be considered an old man in the palace? Are you from the inner study hall?"

The Imperial Household Department had an Inner Book Hall, where Hanlin officials taught eunuchs to read and write. Naturally, those who came from the Inner Book Hall were from a more noble background in the inner court, which is why Liu Jin asked about it.

"Replying to the Prime Minister, I am from the Inner Academy," replied Chu Ke, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

"Indeed, you look quite cultured. May I ask which Hanlin scholar you learned from?" Liu Jin seemed to be in a good mood and chatted with his subordinates patiently.

"I dare not hide the truth from you, my subordinate is Wang Shaozai's disciple." The eunuch Chu Ke from the Imperial Household Department mentioned Wang Shaozai, who was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Wang Ao, who was currently in mourning at home and was once a top scholar in the imperial examination. Therefore, Liu Jin nodded and said, "So you are Wang Shaozai's disciple. You have a bright future!"

Chu Ke, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, was obviously taciturn and did not answer.

Liu Jin was not angry, but asked again: "Has any memorial from the cabinet arrived?"

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, only one memorial has arrived," replied Chu Ke, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

Liu Jin nodded and asked the eunuch Chu Ke from the Imperial Household Department to give him the memorial. He saw that it was a letter from Wang Hua, the Minister of Revenue, asking for his son Wang Yangming to resign instead of the three cabinet ministers. He shook his head and said, "These three people are really ignorant!"

... Zhu Houzhao was just finishing lunch with Empress Dowager Zhang when he saw Liu Jin waiting outside the gate. He said goodbye to Empress Dowager Zhang and asked Liu Jin, "Have the resignation letters of the three cabinet ministers arrived?"

"In reply to Your Majesty, no, there is only one memorial drafted by the cabinet, which is about the resignation of the Minister of Revenue Wang Hua on behalf of his son Wang Shouren. The cabinet voted to approve the resignation." Liu Jin had been reminded by Zhu Houzhao a long time ago that he knew that as the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, he could not follow the cabinet's vote and had to follow the opinion of his grandfather Zhu Houzhao when approving it.

Zhu Houzhao did not expect that the first letter to arrive at the Imperial Household Department was not the resignation letter of the three cabinet ministers but the resignation letter of the Minister of Revenue Wang Hua on behalf of Wang Yangming. However, this incident also surprised him, after all, Wang Yangming was a person he was quite familiar with.

Zhu Houzhao took the memorial from Liu Jin and read it. He saw that the reason why the Minister of Revenue Wang Hua asked for resignation on behalf of his son Wang Shouren was that his son was a heretic and might bring chaos to the country and harm the government. Therefore, as a father, he could not bear to see his son bring disgrace to the family and become a traitor to the country. He wanted to dismiss his son from his post and let him return to his hometown to find a good teacher to teach him the orthodox way. The cabinet voted to approve his resignation.

Zhu Houzhao would naturally not let Wang Yangming go back to study, and directly said: "Reject the cabinet's proposal, and approve it as follows: Let Wang Yangming study in the Leopard Room! The Leopard Room is located in the Royal West Garden, which has always been solemn and elegant. It is a good place to study, but it can correct evil hearts!"

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Liu Jin nodded in agreement and hurriedly took the memorial to the Imperial Household Department for approval.

However, when Zhu Houzhao saw Liu Jin taking the memorial to the Imperial Household Department for approval, he couldn't help but think of something.

Although Zhu Houzhao knew that Liu Jin did not dare to abuse power yet, the Silijian was outside the palace, and he would naturally not be able to control the Silijian at any time when he lived in the Qianqing Palace in the future. Liu Jin held the power to approve documents, so it was inevitable that he would take advantage of his absence to manipulate power.

Zhu Houzhao suddenly understood why both Emperor Zhengde and Emperor Jiajing lived in Xiyuan in history. It was not just to escape the control of civil servants, after all, the cabinet was in the palace, but it was to better control the power of approving documents in the inner court, because Xiyuan was closer to Silijian and far away from the cabinet, so as an emperor it was naturally easier for him to directly manipulate the imperial power.

However, Zhu Houzhao did not plan to move to Xiyuan to control only the Silijian. He wanted to control both the Silijian and the Cabinet in his own hands. Not only the Silijian and the Cabinet, but in the future there would also be the highest military command organization, which he also had to control in his own hands.

Zhu Houzhao suddenly had a bold idea. He wanted to bring together the Silijian, the Cabinet and other central institutions of the Ming Empire and place them all near his Qianqing Palace. In this way, he would directly control the empire's judicial, administrative and military power. Neither the Silijian, the Cabinet nor the future highest military command organization could escape the sight of him, the emperor.

Zhu Houzhao's idea was equivalent to the establishment of the Grand Council during the Yongzheng period, which naturally helped to strengthen his monarchical dictatorship.

So, Zhu Houzhao did what he said and hurriedly called Liu Jin back: "Liu Jin, come back! Order people to go to the north side of Longzong Gate and clean up all the rooms there. Now that the Ministry of Works has just renovated the palaces around Qianqing Palace and Qianqing Gate, it's just right to use them. After cleaning, move the seals and seals held by the Silijian there, so that I can listen to government affairs and you can avoid running back and forth to ask for my instructions! When the time comes, the approved memorials can also be sent directly through the Tongzhengsi, which is naturally cheaper!"

After hearing what Zhu Houzhao said, Liu Jin guessed that his majesty's fundamental purpose was not to fear his running back and forth but to want to rule the country alone. However, he had just become the seal of the Silijian and did not have much power, so he naturally did not dare to disobey Zhu Houzhao's will. He only said: "Your Majesty is considerate of me, and I am really grateful. I will do it as ordered and move the Silijian to Longzong Gate before sunset tomorrow!"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Also, immediately send another messenger to deliver the imperial edict to the Minister of Personnel Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War Xu Jin, and the Left Vice Minister of Personnel Jiao Fang. Instruct these three to come to the palace to meet the emperor immediately!"

Liu Jin immediately said, "Yes, Your Majesty," and was very pleased with it. He thought that the emperor was preparing to let these three people enter the cabinet.

Thanks to my friend SuperPang for the 100 starting coins reward. Thank you to my friend Suddenly remembered for the 100 starting coins reward. Thank you to my friend Confused Little Bean for the 100 starting coins reward.

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(End of this chapter)