Domineering Daming

As for the other ministers, except Zhang Wenda, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, everyone else felt uneasy, and could vaguely sense that the day when they would be "repurposed for other purposes" was not far away.

As time passed, Bi Ziyan didn't say too much, just looked outside, quietly waiting.

Wearing ordinary clothes, Zhu Xu took Cao Huachun, Liu Shimin, more than 20 internal eunuchs, and a team of imperial guards, turned around the gate of Guiji, and came to the cabinet.

"See the emperor!"

The guards along the road and Wang Yizhou greeted him, and they all knelt on one knee to salute.

Zhu Xu laughed, waved his hands and said, "No etiquette, Wang Yizhou, when I come to the cabinet in the future, just bow your head along the way to signal, and other etiquette will be avoided."

"Obey." Wang Yizhou stood up and said.

Zhu Xu strode through the crowd and came to the gate of the cabinet.

Bi Ziyan and others already knew the news, Qiqi stood at the door, saluted and said: "I will see the emperor."

Zhu Xu glanced at a group of people, and suddenly laughed.

This group of people are all dressed in neat court clothes, as if they were in court, neat and uniform.

"Normal body." Zhu Xu said with one hand behind his back, "From now on, you should wear regular clothes, no different from usual. From now on, we will work together for a long time. Don't be so serious. Everyone, relax and be normal. I'm not harsh. People, as long as there is nothing too excessive, I don't care..."

Bi Ziyan listened to Zhu Xu's words, felt a little relieved, and said with a smile: "Yes, I will wait for the order."

"Let's go, take me to see the classroom first." Zhu Xu said.

"Your Majesty, please come with me." Bi Ziyan gestured sideways.

Zhu Xu nodded and walked ahead.

After adding such a group of people, dozens of people behind Zhu Xu rushed into the cabinet.

Bi Ziyan followed Zhu Xu, and introduced: "Your Majesty, the cabinet will be expanded and changed next year, and it is only for temporary use now. There are edict rooms on both sides. Inside the cabinet, the outermost ones are Zhongshu, rotation, and wing rooms. There are four rooms on the left and right of the inner room, each of which is for eight ministers, and the innermost room is a big room, one inside and eight outside, which are arranged for the emperor and the inner eunuchs..."

Zhu Xu walked all the way and went straight to his classroom.

The doors are all open, the four rooms on the left and right are relatively small, and the fronts are bright and open. The sandalwood incense is wafting, giving you a warm feeling. You can see a large desk, the four treasures of the study, and a desk.

Zhu Xu walked in and took a look. There was a small greenhouse on the right, with a bed and bedding, like a small bedroom, and a table and chairs on the left, like a living room, with tea and pastry sets.

"Not bad!" Zhu Xu was quite satisfied, turned to look at Bi Ziyan and the others, and said, "It's better than I expected, who did it?"

Zheng Youyuan came out, raised his hand and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliment, it was arranged by my minister."

"Zheng Youyuan." Zhu Xu took a look at him. He was handsome, talented, and capable. He nodded with a smile and said, "Very good. Mr. Bi Ge mentioned it to me, um, it's not too bad to let you be a servant at your level. That's enough, just wait a little longer, the Prime Minister of Shuntian Mansion is still fine, don't let me down."

Zheng Youyuan was overjoyed, and quickly said: "Yes, I will definitely live up to the emperor's grace!"

Bi Ziyan's eyes moved slightly, his head was slightly lowered, and he didn't speak.

Zhu Xu smiled again, turned to Bi Ziyan and said, "Old Bi Ge, what are we going to do next?"

Bi Ziyan glanced at Sun Chengzong, and said: "Your Majesty, you can take a break first. After an incense stick, the cabinet will hold a meeting, and the Emperor must attend."

Zhu Xu nodded excitedly, and said: "Okay, I am also familiar with the environment, you are busy with your work, I will attend on time."

"Yes." Bi Ziyan and others raised their hands together.

Zhu Xu turned around and took another look. Facing Cao Huachun, Liu Shimin said, "Each of you can choose your shift room, Wang Yizhou. You also arrange someone to guard you, and make a shift, safety, and confidentiality plan."

"Yes." Liu Shimin, Cao Huachun, Wang Yizhou and others responded at the same time, and began to lead people and make arrangements separately. The cabinet was quite chaotic for a while.

Zhu Xu didn't bother, came to his table and sat down, tried it, and Er nodded with satisfaction, feeling pretty good.Looking up, there is the cabinet lobby outside, a big table is in front of you, this table will be the highest decision-making place for Daming in the future!

Taking a breath, Zhu Xu looked at the empty table, smiled, and could imagine some scenes in the future.

Bi Ziyan and the others were outside, and now they dare not speak loudly. A group of people gathered in Bi Ziyan's classroom, discussing in low voices.

Chapter 860 The First Cabinet Meeting

Bi Ziyan and the others were discussing. From time to time, there would be internal prisons, and the imperial guards would pass through the lobby. Every time they would stop abruptly, and then their voices would be quieter, unusually restrained, and careful.

Cao Huachun and Liu Shimin also shuttled back and forth non-stop. They had to communicate with the cabinet to determine the method of work, especially the entry and exit of memorials, decision-making, and promulgation, all of which required the close cooperation of the secretary of the cabinet and the supervisor of rituals.In the past, the two were far apart, but now that they are close together, they must be more meticulous and allow no mistakes.

Zhu Xu was sitting in the living room of the classroom, making tea, listening to the movement outside, smiling all the time.

It's normal not to get used to it now, but in the future when it's on the right track, you'll get used to it, and you'll even be a little presumptuous.

Not long after, Cao Huachun came in and said, "Your Majesty, the cabinet has started a meeting."

Zhu Xu said "um", wiped his mouth, walked out of his classroom, and came to the lobby.

As soon as Zhu Xu came out, everyone who was already standing beside the chair raised their hands together, and they were about to salute: "Your servant waits..."

Zhu Xu waved his hand, and said: "In the future, you can just bow to signal, there is no need to be formal, just sit down, today is our first cabinet meeting, everyone relax, talk freely, come and serve tea."

Bi Ziyan didn't understand Zhu Xu's routine, so he could only follow suit: "Yes."

A group of people sat down one by one, all beside Zhu Xu's hands.

On the left are Bi Ziyan, King Jing, Fu Changzong and others, and on the right are Sun Chengzong, Wang Qiaonian, Shen Yongmao and others, all of whom are considered the highest decision-makers in Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Xu looked around, feeling very satisfied. He had thought about today's scene a long time ago, put his hands on the table, and said with a smile: "Don't be cautious, let's start, what are we discussing today?"

Bi Ziyan glanced at the people on both sides of the table from the corner of his eye, raised his hand and said, "Returning to the emperor, there are three things in total, one is the discussion of 'decreasing the rank', the second is the disaster situation and disaster relief, and the third is the appointment and removal of some personnel in the Sixth Ministry."

At this time, people from the cabinet came up with tea, and Zhu Xu picked up the teacup, nodded slightly, indicating to continue.

Bi Ziyan looked around again, and said to Zhu Xu: "About the matter of 'relegating to the nobility', the ministers believe that it is necessary to do it, but it needs to be delayed, and it can't be done rashly, which may cause riots, so the cabinet discusses it first. The Qing clan, the number of nobles, the list, some people and things are concluded, and they are thoroughly sorted out, and then they are "degraded" or reduced in batches and stages, and finally the clan princes, the specific methods, ministers, etc. need to be determined. Consider carefully..."

Zhu Xu's expression remained unmoved, which was in line with the behavior style of Bi Ziyan and others, and the word "stable" was the first word, but at this time, facing such a situation, he had to be decisive. Once these people were given a chance to breathe, the noise would It will only be bigger, bring more pressure, and be more restrained.

This was the first time he presided over a cabinet meeting. Zhu Xu didn't want to be unhappy, so he put down his teacup and made no statement.

Bi Ziyan saw that Zhu Xu didn't speak, and then said: "The second thing is about the disaster situation and disaster relief. Judging from the situation collected from various places, the situation in Shaanxi, Gansu and other six provinces is not optimistic. Decrease, this year it has decreased by 600%, and next year it may be even more. Although the disaster situation in He, Nan, Shan, Xi, Shandong, Jiangxi, Hu, Guang and other places is different, in general it will be reduced by at least 3000%, except for Jiangsu, Other provinces also have their own reductions. Next year, the treasury’s tax and grain income is estimated to be around [-] million shi, and the tax silver is estimated to be around [-] million taels. There will be a huge gap between tax silver and tax grain...”

Zhu Xu listened quietly, did not speak, and looked at other people from time to time.

Except for Bi Ziyan, none of these people seemed to have any intention of speaking, and they all quietly listened to what Bi Ziyan was saying, without any change in expression.

Bi Ziyan also didn't wait for others to speak, and said self-consciously: "I plan to reduce the scale of disaster relief. Disaster relief cannot just rely on the imperial court to open warehouses to release food. The local yamen needs to bear sufficient responsibilities..."

Zhu Xu understood the situation a little bit, nodded slightly, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Bi Ziyan talked for a while, and then changed the subject: "About personnel affairs, the cabinet discussed, Sun Chuanting was transferred to the cabinet, Zhou Yingqiu took over as the prime minister of Liaodong, and the prime ministers of six provinces including Shaanxi and Gansu were appointed. Fu Changzong was transferred for a period of three years. Zhao Han was transferred. Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Zhang Bingwen as Minister of the Ministry of Households..."

These are all based on Zhu Xu's ideas, there is no deviation.