Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1065: Emerging Class
Zhu Shenzhui talked to Zhang Xijun about Jiangnan with a pleasant expression and listened to Zhang Xijun's report on Jiangnan. Although Zhu Shenzhui already knew many things, he still heard a lot of things from Zhang Xijun's narration that were not in the memorials, in addition to some other specific situations in Jiangnan and other places.

Zhang Xijun had made great contributions in Jiangnan. He would be punished for his mistakes and rewarded for his contributions! Zhu Shenzhui was never stingy in employing people, and Zhang Xijun was one of his original team members, and he was deeply trusted by him.

This time when Zhang Xijun returned to Beijing, Zhu Shenzui was going to make great use of him. According to Zhang Xijun's rank and previous official position, he could directly serve as the Minister of Six Ministries after returning to Beijing, or go to the Censorate to serve as the Left Censor-in-Chief and continue to be in charge of the Supervisory Office.

Even Zhang Xijun had the opportunity to join the cabinet. According to the current cabinet system of the imperial court, cabinet members have a term of office, which is completely different from before. Although officials had a term of office before, generally speaking, it was three years, but in practice, they were often allowed to be re-elected. This was not only the case for local officials, but also for officials in Beijing. As for the six ministries and the cabinet, it goes without saying that the term of office of the cabinet elders was basically a decoration. As long as the emperor did not object, the term of office of the cabinet elders was unlimited, even if you worked in this position until you died.

But things were different after Zhu Shenzhui reformed and adjusted the official system. He imposed strict restrictions on the terms of office of officials. He not only strengthened the performance appraisal of officials, but also made considerable requirements for the execution of their terms of office.

Ordinary officials, no matter how good their performance was, could only serve two terms. Under special circumstances, they could serve three terms with the emperor's approval. The so-called special circumstances refer to some special regions or official positions that require long-term policies and implementers to promote them. Apart from these, it is impossible for most officials to serve for several terms and sit in a certain position without moving.

The same is true for the officials in Beijing, including not only ordinary officials in Beijing, but also officials at the level of the six ministers and the cabinet elders. From this point of view, according to the time calculation, the cabinet will be adjusted within two years. This adjustment is inevitable, and by then, Zhang Xijun's opportunity to join the cabinet will be ripe.

So before Zhang Xijun came back, Zhu Shencui had already thought about how to accommodate him, but after chatting with Zhang Xijun for half a day, Zhu Shencui suddenly had a new idea.

"My dear, is there any place you want to go after you return to Beijing?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

Zhang Xijun was slightly stunned. The emperor asked him where he wanted to go. This question was a bit strange. He was summoned back to Beijing by the emperor, and according to his rank, shouldn't he be appointed by the emperor? Whether he was selected as a minister of the six ministries, or in charge of the Censorate and the Supervisory Department, or wait two years to enter the cabinet directly, the emperor should have considered it long ago!
However, Zhang Xijun had been with Zhu Shenzhu for a long time and knew him well. He realized the meaning behind his words. He immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "I am a minister of the Ming Dynasty and also a minister of Your Majesty. I only want to work for Your Majesty and the Ming Dynasty. As for other matters, I do not care. I will let Your Majesty arrange them."

"Okay!" Zhu Shenzhui was very happy with Zhang Xijun's attitude. He nodded with satisfaction and said to Zhang Xijun, "Originally, I was planning to let you take over the Ministry of Justice first and then join the cabinet after two years. But after thinking about it carefully, I think it would be more appropriate for you to go to another place."

Zhang Xijun was not surprised and sat there listening carefully.

Zhu Shenzhui said, "I know your ability very well. If you only go to the Ministry of Justice, it would be unfair to you. As for the time to enter the cabinet, it is not right. Moreover, even if you enter the cabinet, it would be a little inappropriate for you. You talked about Jiangnan before and said a lot about the situation in Jiangnan. I have been thinking about many problems in Jiangnan these days."

"Jiangnan is a place that is richer than any other in the world. Its people are open-minded and its trade is prosperous. There are countless local gentry and merchants. After the opening of the country in the Longqing Period, Jiangnan was the first region to come into contact with foreign countries and engage in direct trade. In the past hundred years, Jiangnan's business has developed rapidly and it is the most prosperous region in the Ming Dynasty."

"But despite its prosperity, there were also many problems. Since the Wanli period, the Donglin Party has flourished, and there are intricate ties between the Donglin Party and the gentry in Jiangnan. Because of the Donglin Party, the gentry or merchants have been entangled with officials for the sake of interests. Coupled with some other special reasons, the situation in Jiangnan is different from that in other places in our Ming Dynasty, which also led to many situations later..."

Zhu Shenzhui spoke eloquently, describing some of the situations in Jiangnan. Zhang Xijun listened carefully to the emperor's words, nodding slightly from time to time, but when he heard some opinions that differed from his own, he subconsciously pondered them.

The problems Zhu Shenzhu mentioned are all facts, and he has personally experienced most of them in Jiangnan. Jiangnan was already prosperous in the Ming Dynasty, which cannot be denied. Moreover, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was Nanjing instead of the current capital at the beginning of its founding. The reason why Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang chose Nanjing as the capital was meaningful. Choosing Nanjing as the capital can, on the one hand, better control the richest region in the country and use the central capital to suppress the financial output of this area. In addition, this is also related to Zhang Shicheng back then. There were two people who competed with Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang for the world, one was Chen Youliang and the other was Zhang Shicheng.

Let's forget about Chen Youliang for now. Although Zhu Yuanzhang had a very high opinion of Chen Youliang and admitted that he was qualified to be emperor and his ability was no less than his own, the reason why he was defeated and killed was because Zhu Yuanzhang had better luck. If it weren't for the problem with Chen Youliang's tactical application in the Battle of Poyang Lake, and the fact that Chen Youliang, as the main general, was shot dead by an arrow on the battlefield, causing the collapse of the entire army, it is still unclear whether Zhu Yuanzhang could have won this battle.

Although Zhang Shicheng was not as good as Chen Youliang, let alone Zhu Yuanzhang, he had a very high reputation among the people of Jiangnan and was deeply loved by the people of Jiangnan. Because of this, after Zhang Shicheng's death, the people of Jiangnan often missed Zhang Shicheng, felt sorry for him, and even built a temple for him. Such attitudes and views made the people of Jiangnan and the Ming Dynasty Zhu family at odds since the founding of the country. In order to avoid local unrest and even rebellion by those who harbored Zhang Shicheng, Zhu Yuanzhang not only set the capital in Nanjing, but also suppressed Jiangnan during the Hongwu period, making the people of Jiangnan miserable.

This situation was not gradually eased until the Renzong and Xuanzong periods. Even though it was eased later, the loyalty of Jiangnan to the court was not as great as that of other places. Moreover, due to the long-term and repeated suppression by the court, the gentry and common people in Jiangnan had deep resentment towards the court.

In addition, due to the special reasons of Jiangnan, Jiangnan is not only the richest region in the Ming Dynasty, but also the first region in the Ming Dynasty to deal with overseas countries. As early as the founding of the Ming Dynasty, slightly later was Zheng He's voyage to the West, and later was the foreign trade during the Zhengde and Jiajing years. After the opening of the Longqing period, Jiangnan was the first region to trade with overseas countries. Relying on the convenience of maritime trade and the original profound heritage of Jiangnan, Jiangnan not only prospered commercially and made the people richer, but also made the power of the gentry and merchants in Jiangnan continue to expand.

On this basis, the gentry and merchants colluded with the scholars of the time, who were the predecessors of the Donglin Party. One had money, the other had a pen, and the two hit it off and formed an alliance, each getting what it wanted.

Over time, a special class group began to gradually emerge in Jiangnan, and this class group later created changes in the political structure of the Ming Dynasty, thus affecting the direction of the Ming Dynasty. On the surface, the civil service class of the Ming Dynasty was powerful, especially the influence of the Donglin Party was deeply rooted in the court. In addition, the Zhejiang Party, Chu Party, Qi Party and other parties emerged like mushrooms after rain, which caused the Ming Dynasty to fall into party struggles and eventually led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty in history.

But if we trace this aspect more deeply, it was the emergence of this class group that actually brought about such changes. In other words, it was the emergence of the "sprouts of capitalism" written in later books.

When a group possesses huge wealth and strong capital, they will inevitably seek political influence to ensure their own safety, while also using political influence to deepen their demands and struggle for rights in certain areas.

This is an inevitable result of history, and similar situations have also occurred in Western history. It can even be said that this situation in the West, especially in European countries, is more serious than that in the Ming Dynasty, and the emergence of this class directly affects the country's political system, resulting in the lifeblood of the country being controlled not by the kingdom, but by these classes.

The Magna Carta of Britain came into being for this reason, and the same was true of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth where Wang Fuzhi was sent as an envoy. The so-called parliament was actually controlled by the capitalist class. In Italy, especially in Venice, the power of bankers surpassed that of many nobles, and they became the real masters of the country.

This kind of situation can be said to exist in all European countries to a greater or lesser extent, and after the emergence of the same class in the Ming Dynasty, many contradictions were bound to erupt. More importantly, the Ming Dynasty and the European countries are fundamentally different. China has always been a unified country since Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms. The emperor is the son of heaven, and the centralization of power has reached its peak in the past thousand years. The emergence of this class has become a new force that challenges the existing class and even the imperial power, thus generating fierce conflicts. This is also the real reason why the Ming Dynasty politics fell into party struggles from the late Wanli period to the Chongzhen period.

Whether it was the Donglin Party, the Zhejiang Party, the Chu Party, or even the Qi Party, what they really represented was not themselves, but the interests of the class groups behind them. The previous treason case that broke out in the capital was fundamentally a counterattack by these people against the imperial power, intending to use this method to suppress the imperial power, replace the emperor, and seize the political discourse power.

Although the Donglin Party and even other parties have been strongly suppressed in recent years by Zhu Shenzhu's successive measures, the Donglin Party has suffered heavy losses in the suppression and has long lost its initial strong strength. However, when the conspiracy case came out, he took this opportunity to carry out another purge, which temporarily suppressed this group.

(End of this chapter)