Power does not disappear, it only shifts.
As long as the emperor was inattentive to state affairs, power would be transferred to the cabinet, which was almost a natural thing.
Therefore, even the current cabinet does not have the power to make decisions on government affairs like the prime minister.
But as time goes by, once power is transferred downward, the cabinet will be equivalent to the de facto prime minister.
This is extremely attractive to these civil officials.
Even though the cabinet has many restrictions, its rank is not very high, it has a lot of work to do and its pay is low, but as the core of power, people still flock to it.
This is the magic of power!
In the eyes of these civil officials, an emperor who is willing to share his power is a good emperor!
Zhu Biao, who brought out the cabinet system at this moment, was truly a model of a sage and wise ruler in the eyes of these civil officials. There was light in the eyes of these guys when they looked at Zhu Biao.
However, Zhu Biao felt very uncomfortable. He could clearly feel that after he proposed the cabinet system, the ministers looked at him differently.
However, he was not qualified to propose the cabinet system, nor did he have the courage to propose it in front of his father, let alone the ability to think of such a complete auxiliary mechanism.
All this is thanks to my father. It was my father who personally gave this credit to me!
His father went against the majority to complete these dirty and tiring tasks, such as reducing the treatment of royal family members, establishing military academies, medical academies, agricultural academies, and mathematics academies...but when it came to proposing the cabinet system, it was left to him.
Zhu Biao suddenly thought of a long time ago when he went to see his father and was very excited to preside over the reform. At that time, he was full of enthusiasm and hoped to change the world with the new policy.
In Zhu Biao's view, as the crown prince of a country, this is what he should do!
However, his father directly rejected him and gave him the task of forming a cabinet.
At that time, Zhu Biao did not think much about it and went to form a cabinet excitedly because this matter was also very meaningful and of great importance.
However, now that he thinks about it carefully, reforming the law will offend more people, so his father rejected him without a second thought and gave him this task instead.
After thinking about all this, Zhu Biao felt ashamed and embarrassed, even a little embarrassed.
However, this double act had to be completed. Next, Su Che raised a few more questions about the specific situation of the cabinet system and the selection of personnel.
Zhu Biao answered all the questions without hesitation.
Su Che pretended to think for a long while, and finally frowned as he approved Zhu Biao's proposal on the cabinet system, allowing him to serve as the first chief minister of the cabinet, assisting in state affairs together with many cabinet members!
The prince being the chief minister of the cabinet... could only happen in Zhu's case.
If it were any other emperor, the crown prince would usually be the emperor's number one enemy and would never be given this position.
When the emperor agreed, all the civil officials breathed a sigh of relief, with looks of joy on their faces. There were gains and losses. They could not stop those messy academies, but the emergence of the cabinet gave them hope for a turnaround.
However, some ministers sensed something was wrong. They frowned and couldn't help thinking in their hearts that without His Majesty's permission, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would not dare to make rash preparations for the cabinet, let alone come up with such a system. This was not His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's style.
This matter... no matter how I look at it, there seems to be something wrong.
When the court meeting was over, some were happy while others were sad.
The faces of the nobles and military men were all beaming . The Military Academy was different from the Military Conference. It was a formal training institution of the country, equivalent to the Imperial College. It cultivated talents with both civil and military skills. This might very well change the court structure of civil and military officials.
As for those civil officials who were selected into the cabinet, they were equally elated and could not hide the smiles on their faces at all. Although the cabinet had just been formed, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this would definitely be the core of power in the future!
Those who failed to enter the cabinet were in a very bad mood at this time. All good things had nothing to do with them. They had to watch that group of military men rise and their colleagues enter the core of power. They felt very uncomfortable.
Many people even planned to do something bad, whispering their plans to make it difficult for these colleges to run smoothly, and even spreading some rumors.
However, as soon as these words came out, someone immediately shook his head, and then looked at this person with the eyes of a fool, and said speechlessly: "If you want to die, you can find another way. Why do you have to implicate your family?"
Then he turned around and walked away, fearing that the blood would splatter on him.
If it were any other emperor, you could trip him up secretly or even pretend to obey his orders but without evidence, even the emperor would be unable to do anything to you.
But the current emperor really dares to kill people. Maybe after this person said this, it has been recorded and appeared on some list. If I say one more word to him at this time, I might really be implicated!
This is simply stupid to the extreme. It's fine to keep this in mind, but how dare you say it out loud? How dare you associate with such a fool! What a shame!
With the release of these policies, various discussions were heard in Yingtian Prefecture.
The old scholars shook their heads and sighed, feeling deeply saddened. They said that the world was in decline and people's hearts were no longer the same as before. The emperor was actually planning to open an agricultural college. This was really absurd. When did people need to be taught how to farm? Such low-brow knowledge was actually being established in a college. How could it be compared with the knowledge of the Master?
People on the street were whispering to each other, talking excitedly about those strange colleges. The Military College had nothing to do with them, as it was said to train people with both literary and military talents. But the Agricultural College, the Mathematical College, and even the Medical College, did have some relationship with them.
"I have been farming in Lijia Village for seventy years. I can grow magical rice with my eyes closed. I wonder if I can become a teacher at the Agricultural College?"
An energetic old man said with a grin.
He came to Yingtianfu City to do some business, but he didn't expect to encounter this new thing. He immediately became interested. If he could become a professor at an agricultural college and eat government food, wouldn't it bring honor to his family?
"If you dare, you can really try it!" passers-by immediately cheered.
Old Li was really interested and asked quickly, "What are the requirements for the teachers recruited by the Agricultural College? Do you need to be able to read and write? I only know a few words. If that doesn't work, I can try to go to the medical school. I have a medical book passed down from my ancestors at home. Maybe I can make a living there!"
"Father-in-law, you are a jack of all trades. You also know medical skills?" someone on the side immediately joked.
Someone else talked about the requirements for recruiting teachers at the Agricultural College. They said that the teachers needed to know how to save seeds, how to apply fertilizers, how to choose the right time to sow seeds, how to cultivate better seedlings, and also things like hybridization and genetic modification. They didn't understand what they meant, but they were definitely related to agriculture.
"Hybridization? Genetically modified?" Old Li frowned at the time, his eyes a little confused. He muttered: "What does this mean? Is it related to farming?"
"Father, if you don't even understand this, then you are not the talent the court needs!"
"No!" Old Li shook his head and said seriously, "How can I know it won't work if I haven't tried it myself? And if it really doesn't work, I'll go to medical school and try it!"
Old Li had made up his mind and went to the Agricultural College first.
Old Li originally thought that no one would dare to come, but when he arrived at the place designated by the court, he was shocked to find that there was already a group of people queuing up here. They were all honest farmers who came to try and see if they were qualified enough to become teachers at the Agricultural College.
They may not have much confidence in other fields, but after a lifetime of farming, they will more or less accumulate some experience and their own unique understanding.
After waiting in a long queue for half a day, it was Old Li's turn. Facing the questions from the court officials, Old Li answered stutteringly, and when he came out, he was completely confused.
Normally, he could brag for an entire afternoon in the village, but when he came to the court officials, he couldn't even speak a word clearly. Fortunately, he told them all about his general situation. Whether it would work or not depended on the officials' opinions.
Old Li took a deep breath, and without pausing, turned around and went to the medical school. There were already quite a few doctors queuing here, and the line was even longer than that at the Agricultural College!
It was really strange for a farmer like him to be among them.
But Old Li didn't care. He was very confident in the family medical book!
As time goes by.
The news that the emperor had established four major academies, namely the Military Academy, Medical Academy, Agricultural Academy, and Mathematical Academy, gradually spread. Originally, it was only discussed in Yingtian Prefecture, but gradually the whole world was discussing this matter.
During this period, the imperial court took many actions, both large and small. The Single Whip Law was used to rectify taxation, and many corrupt officials were brought to justice. Countless people applauded, and the entire society was in great turmoil.
The treatment of the royal family members was cut, and the royal benefits would be cut off after seven generations. The royal families in all states of the world could not help but complain about this news, but no one dared to refute it, let alone speak loudly, just because the person who said this was the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang!
The opening of the four major academies, although there are only four academies, the gap is too big compared to Confucianism, which has students all over the world, but their appearance means a change in the policy direction of the court.
This is not all good news.
For a moment, all the literati in the world were in an uproar, and everyone felt threatened. Many people subconsciously looked towards one place, hoping that the role model of literati in the world could stand up and say something.
During Zhu's reign, he relied on his supreme authority to suppress all other voices, and he had the final say throughout the world.
But all the rules he set became dead paper after he was gone.
It is perfectly normal that a government ceases to exist when a person dies.
History has proven this.
Not long after Zhu Yuanzhang left, countless scholars gathered around Emperor Jianwen, trying to trick this foolish boy into overthrowing Zhu Yuanzhang's system and even directly forced the Jingnan Campaign.
At that time, Emperor Wu of Han only respected Confucianism, and Confucianism was just a card in his hand, which he used to achieve his own goals.
At this time, Confucianism was completely subservient to imperial power.
Legalism on the outside and Confucianism on the inside, moderate virtue and punishment, a mixture of hegemony and kingship.
But with countless changes of dynasties, political power came and went, and emperors followed one after another, but Confucianism remained the same Confucianism, still standing firm.
This creates a situation where the subject and the object are reversed.
By the Song Dynasty, emperors had begun to govern the world together with the literati.
Volume 221 of "Zizhi Tongjian Continued" records: In March of the fourth year of Xining reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty, Emperor Shenzong summoned ministers Wang Anshi and Wen Yanbo to the Zizheng Hall to discuss political reform.
Wen Yanbo, a veteran of three dynasties and the Privy Councilor, scoffed at Wang Anshi's reforms. He believed that the laws set by the ancestors were still there and there was no need to change them, so as not to lose the support of the people.
However, the emperor believed that the reform was necessary. Although it would damage the interests of some scholars and officials, it would make the people's lives better and the world would surely be governed well.
Seeing that his hints were useless, Wen Yanbo said directly, half threateningly: "Govern the world with the scholars and officials, not with the people!"
By this period, the emperor and the scholar-official class had transformed from master and servant to equal partners.
Confucian scholars and civil officials are an absolute behemoth, and the most resounding banner among them is the Confucius Mansion.
The Kong Mansion and the Kong Family are the roots of scholars all over the world. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the present, no matter how dynasties changed, how many aristocratic families were massacred, but the Kong Family still stood firm .
Qufu, Confucius Mansion.
The Confucian literary spirit is connected together, and above the sky, colorful auspicious clouds are floating. This is the territory of the Kong family, a country within a country. Several great Confucian scholars have come here one after another, hoping to ask Duke Yansheng to mediate.
The Hundred Schools of Thought have ended for many years. If any agriculturalists, mathematicians, military strategists, or medical strategists appear at this time, it will give them a headache for a long time.
The Kong family is a rare prominent family in the world. The Kong family once boasted: "There are only three families in the world: my family, Zhang from Jiangxi, and Zhu from Fengyang. Zhang from Jiangxi is a Taoist; Zhu from Fengyang is a nouveau riche, a petty family."
What he meant was that only his Kong family was the truly immortal family.
The head of the Kong family at this moment is Confucius' 54th generation grandson, Kong Xixue.
It is recorded in the "Veritable Records of Ming Taizu": In Jiachen, Xixue, the 56th generation grandson of Confucius, inherited the title of Duke Yansheng and became the hereditary magistrate of Qufu.
This Kong Xixue was also the Yansheng Duke of the Yuan Dynasty. After the Ming army conquered Shandong, he led his clansmen to surrender. Zhu Yuanzhang then canonized him as the new Yansheng Duke in order to calm the hearts of scholars all over the world.
About the Kong family.
There is such a story in history.
In the fifth year of Chenghua, Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen received an urgent memorial from the Shandong Provincial Inspector.
The content is about the case of Confucius Mansion in Qufu, Shandong.
Kong Hongxu was guilty of four murders and raped more than forty women.
In theory, although the case is serious, it can be handed over to the three judicial departments for trial.
However, this memorial made Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty feel troubled, and he didn't know how to make a judgment for a while.
Just because the criminal is the 61st generation grandson of Confucius, Yanshenggong Kong Hongxu!
After a joint trial by the three judicial departments, Kong Hongxu was sentenced to "beheading" in accordance with the criminal law.
However, under pressure, Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty, in accordance with the principle of "special matters should be handled specially for descendants of Confucius", simply stripped Kong Hongxu of his title and demoted him to a commoner.
He also let Kong Hongxu's younger brother Hongtai inherit the title of Duke Yansheng.
After Kong Hongxu became a commoner, he still lived a very good life, still wreaking havoc on the village and being tyrannical - with the Kong family's golden signboard here, what can he do even if he is the emperor? Who dares to kill him?
After this incident, no matter what happened, no one dared to report it to the central court and let the emperor make the decision.
Because this is the root of Confucianism, even the emperor has no right to judge!