Create a better system and completely replace the prime minister?
Zhu Biao had considered this idea before, but he didn't have any good ideas.
Moreover, even if he had ideas, he did not dare to tell his father, for fear that Zhu Yuanzhang would think he was lazy and negligent in his work.
After all, my father has worked so hard. As a son, how can I still complain of being tired?
Even though Zhu Biao was under a lot of pressure, he still didn't dare to say anything and could only hold on.
Zhu Biao felt like he was walking on thin ice as he had to carefully handle various national affairs every day, which kept his mind in a tense state.
His only way to relieve stress was to do some sexual activities, which created a vicious cycle and caused his health to deteriorate. Although there were no problems or illnesses at present, the roots had been planted and it was only a matter of time before they took root and sprouted.
If Su Che wants to change Zhu Biao's outcome, he can only change it fundamentally.
If we just regulate Zhu Biao's body, problems will continue to occur over time!
So, Su Che thought of changing the system.
Let the emperor’s work pressure be reduced!
He was not worried that this would cause dissatisfaction under Zhu Yuanzhang, because history had proven that this was a mistake. Future emperors would not be diligent in their work and might not even attend court for decades!
In Su Che's opinion, the emperor does not need to do everything himself. The most important thing is to assign the right tasks to the right people, understand the division of labor, and be good at identifying people.
The Ming Dynasty's last emperor, Chongzhen, worked too hard and was too diligent in his work, which led to further collapse and accelerated the process of national demise.
From this we can see that if you don’t have enough ability, doing everything yourself is not a good thing.
When Zhu Biao heard this, his eyes widened. He asked curiously, "What does Father plan to do?"
"It's simple, form a cabinet!"
Su Che directly took out Zhu Di’s cabinet system.
Since ancient times, the prime minister has either been the emperor's right-hand man or the emperor's nemesis.
It is not uncommon for the prime minister to be in power and completely suppress the emperor.
China had a system of one prime minister since the Qin and Han Dynasties, and a system of joint prime ministers during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the prime minister was abolished and the cabinet was established, which made the prime minister disappear completely.
The essence of the cabinet system is that it is the emperor’s private institution, similar to a secretariat, rather than a statutory institution of the state.
This determines that the power of the cabinet actually represents the imperial power, so when the emperor lets it go or trusts it, the power will be great, and when the emperor does not let it go, the power will be very small.
This arbitrariness proves that the cabinet is a vassal of imperial power and is entirely decided by the emperor's likes and dislikes.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, cabinet chief ministers such as Yan Song and Zhang Juzheng manipulated government affairs and held great power. In essence, this was not a manifestation of the hollowing out of imperial power, but rather a strengthening of imperial power.
If it were in other dynasties, he would have been awarded the Nine Gifts, promoted to the title of king, driven by six chariots, and used the imperial imperial ceremonies when entering and leaving.
Ultimately, the power of the cabinet is granted by imperial power, while the power of the prime minister is granted by the system.
Even a cabinet chief like Zhang Juzheng could not undermine the imperial power, and he had to win over eunuchs like Feng Bao.
The cabinet system can only come up with one solution, which is the so-called "vote".
Finally, the emperor's approval was required before it could be sent to the six ministries for execution.
If the emperor was lazy, an institution like the Silijian would come into being, because it could approve and seal documents on behalf of the emperor. This would directly expand the power of the eunuchs and lead to the phenomenon of eunuchs ruling the country in a disorderly manner.
Even though Yan Song was a powerful figure in the Jiajing Dynasty, second only to the emperor, he could only bow down and scrape before Emperor Jiajing.
Emperor Wanli was addicted to alcohol and sex and did not attend court for many years, but the country was able to function normally. It can be said that the cabinet played a very important role.
Of course, even if it gets going, it will be very difficult.
The reason why problems arose afterwards was essentially because there were problems with the emperor, not the cabinet.
Therefore, in Su Che's view, it is completely feasible to completely replace the prime minister system with the cabinet system.
The cabinet system has advantages and disadvantages, of course - no system is perfect.
As for the fact that this system will have problems in the future, that is certain - no system can always remain and run perfectly.
At this moment, Su Che was explaining the cabinet system in detail. Zhu Biao on the side listened very carefully. The more he listened, the more surprised he was, and the more powerful he thought it was.
If you think about it carefully, this system is really perfect!
Although the cabinet shared the emperor's work, it did not share the emperor's power. Instead, it enabled the monarch to exercise autocratic dictatorship.
Under such a system, as long as future emperors are a little more normal... in theory, there won't be any major problems!
Soon, Su Che finished explaining the entire cabinet system, then looked at Zhu Biao and asked, "Do you have anything to add?"
"Your Majesty has considered it very carefully. I believe there are no mistakes or omissions. The cabinet system prepared by Your Majesty is really amazing. Has this been considered for a long time?" Zhu Biao asked curiously.
"I guess so. I've been considering it a few years ago." Su Che nodded.
He couldn't say that he had thought of this system when he saw Zhu Biao coming, although this was the truth...
"By the way, are you here to reform the politics?" Su Che suddenly thought of something and asked hurriedly.
"Yes, father." Zhu Biao said quickly: "I came here this time hoping that you would let me intervene in the reform of the new policy. I hope to be able to witness the birth of this new policy!"
"I am fully aware of this new reform policy. When I heard about it, I couldn't help but applaud and praise you. Your Majesty's ideas are truly indescribable!"
At this moment, Zhu Biao's eyes lit up, and he praised repeatedly: "Simplifying taxation can greatly prevent excessive taxes and levies from harming the people. At the same time, it can also make those landlords have nowhere to escape and make them pay taxes honestly. This can not only make the people live in peace, but also make the treasury full. It is really a strategy that kills two birds with one stone!"
"Moreover, the tax is collected in the form of banknotes. I didn't understand this at first, but after thinking about it carefully, I understood the deep intention of my father. I really admire him."
"Oh?" Su Che heard this and said with a smile: "Then tell me about it."
"Yes." Zhu Biao thought for a moment and said:
"It has been a few years since the introduction of Baochao. Although Baochao has helped the court's finances to improve, its purchasing power has been declining in recent days. Even though the court has made many policies, it still cannot prevent Baochao from becoming less and less valuable, which has caused many adverse effects..."
"For example, the most important part of the salaries given to ministers is treasure notes. Now that the purchasing power of treasure notes has shrunk, those ministers have long been complaining."
"Ministers are living too hard, which is really a loss of the dignity of the court, and it will also aggravate the corruption of officials."
"In addition, as the value of the treasure notes becomes less and less, fewer and fewer people will use them. At this time, the treasure notes will become a hot potato. After all, no one wants their wealth to slowly melt away like ice and snow."
"After the treasure notes inevitably become less and less valuable, no matter what government decrees are made, it cannot be stopped. I have thought of many ways, but it seems to be useless."
"However, after my father withdrew from the reform decree, even though it had not yet been implemented, the value of the private banknotes had already begun to rise. There were even many merchants who were ready to buy the banknotes, which further drove up the price of the banknotes!"
Su Che couldn't help but frown after hearing these words. Hoarding treasure notes? This behavior is really bad!
There is never a shortage of smart people in this world. When these people received the news for the first time, they naturally realized that this was a good opportunity to make money.
The treasure notes are not valuable now, so wait until they become valuable before selling them. The profit will be at least 50%!
Just make money!
but.
This is a clear case of speculation.
Why did they know this news?
It's just that he has someone in the imperial court!
The best way to make money in this world is to take advantage of the direction of court policies.
For example, when a war is about to break out, they would buy up large quantities of related items and then sell them at high prices.
This kind of behavior is definitely a suicidal act, and it seems that no one would do such a stupid thing.
But the opposite is true.
Not only are there people who do this, but there are a lot of them .
As long as there is enough profit, there will be people who will sell it, even if it is a rope to hang themselves.
People die for money and birds die for food. It has been like this since ancient times!
Su Che said calmly: "You have reminded me. We will let the Jinyiwei handle this matter. If anyone dares to hoard banknotes and affect the implementation of the reform decree, no matter how powerful his background is, his family will be confiscated and his clan will be exterminated! Severe punishment!"
When these words came out, Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked: "Is this matter so serious?"
Su Che nodded and said seriously:
"Once these people dare to do anything for the sake of profit, they will have no bottom line in the future. Since we want to reform the law, we must kill and shed blood to let them know that there are some things they can do and some things they can't do!"
"Biao'er, this matter is much more serious than you think!"
"Once these people make a fortune from the policies and taste the sweetness of success, all future policies will not be able to be implemented smoothly!"
"This head must not be opened!"
"This matter is much more serious than you think!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao nodded quickly and said seriously: "I understand!"
In Zhu Biao's view, even if these people drove up the price of Baochao, as long as the right to issue it was in the hands of the court, there would be no problem and it would not be a big deal.
But in Su Che's opinion, this matter had nothing to do with Baochao, but was instead an act of speculation taking advantage of the court's policies, which had caused very serious consequences.
These guys must die!
There is no room for maneuver!
"Biao'er, you don't need to be responsible for the reform of the new policy. Just let Fang Keqin do it. As for those who hoarded the treasure banknotes, we will let the Jinyiwei take care of them!"
"As for you... we have already arranged everything for you. You will be responsible for forming the prototype of the cabinet. This matter is also of utmost importance. We will give this task to you. Do you have the confidence to complete it?"
Su Che looked at Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao did not hesitate, nodded quickly, and said seriously: "I will do my best to complete it!"
"Okay, as long as Biaoer has confidence!" Su Che smiled.
Let Zhu Biao be responsible for the reform and new policies?
joke!
Since ancient times, those who have carried out reforms have never had a good ending!
Shang Yang was torn to pieces by chariots, Wu Qi was shot to death by arrows, Liu Yuxi and Liu Zongyuan were exiled, and Wang Anshi was directly driven out of the court.
Even after Zhang Juzheng's death, his coffin was almost dug up and his body was mutilated. His eldest son was forced to commit suicide, and more than ten members of his family starved to death!
Regardless of whether the reform is successful or not, there will basically be no good outcome.
The reason is simple.
This kind of thing is too hateful!
Having offended countless vested interest groups and become the target of public criticism, do you still expect to reap the rewards?
Even if Su Che was crazy, he would not let Zhu Biao get involved in this matter. It would be better to let Fang Keqin, who should have been executed, do this.
The reason why Su Che spared Fang Keqin's life and promoted him to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief, gave him great power, and made him responsible for reforms was not only to disgust the court officials who were plotting against him, but also to find a relatively suitable candidate!
It’s actually quite difficult to find this person.
After thinking about it, Fang Keqin is the perfect fit!
After being betrayed by court officials, he has completely become a lone minister. He is not bad in ability, but prefers to involute himself. It is really appropriate to use such a person to preside over the reform.
Perhaps Fang Keqin knew what his fate would be. Since ancient times, those who carried out reforms never had a good ending. Once he presided over the reforms, his reputation would become worse and worse. He would be splashed with all kinds of dirty water and become notorious!
But he has no way back, and he also understands that the right and wrong of this achievement will be judged by future generations!
After the reform is successful, he will most likely go down in history, and even have the hope of becoming the number one minister in the Hongwu Dynasty!
To achieve this goal, Fang Keqin will work very hard.
However, this made life difficult for Fang Keqin's son Fang Xiaoru.
In the history that Su Che knew, Fang Xiaoru was the seed of scholars in the world. His fame and reputation were extraordinary.
But now, Fang Xiaoru is likely to become a "traitorous minister" and will never be so famous again!
…
A large courtyard with a tall gate, many carriages came in and out, and many large boxes were loaded on the carriages, which attracted the attention of some passers-by. Some were curious about what was in so many boxes? But no one dared to approach, because the background of the owner of this house was not simple!
Not far from this house, there is a teahouse.
And in a corner on the second floor of this teahouse.
Jinyiwei Commander Mao Xiang picked up the teacup and took a sip slowly. His eyes were fierce as he stared at the house not far away. He couldn't help but sneered and said, "Brothers, we didn't make any contribution in the last empty seal case. We must seize the opportunity this time!"
"Your Majesty has said that anyone who dares to resell banknotes or maliciously hoards them is interfering with the implementation of government orders. No matter what their background is, they will be punished!"
"I have investigated the background of the owner of this house. His backer is Marquis Xuanning!"
"But, if he committed a crime...so what even if he was the Marquis of Xuanning?"
"The more important a person is, the easier it will be for us to achieve great success and establish our authority!"
"Once the carriage has finished transporting the goods, it's time for us to take action!"