Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 348 Xia Yan secretly befriends Yan Song
Zhu Houzhao did want to change the situation in which the empire emphasized culture over military power, but he knew that this would not happen overnight.

Since the Imperial Guards were made independent and not under the control of the Ministry of War, Zhu Houzhao began to intentionally let generals who understood military affairs have the final say in military affairs.

However, due to the special situation of the Ming Dynasty, the important positions in the Imperial Guard were still held by civil servants who were originally governors of border towns.

It made the Ming Empire seem to be ruled by civil officials in the early Zhengde period. However, as the children of military officers and nobles began to receive cultural and military education, and scholars began to be absorbed into the military ranks, civil officials also became military officers, and military officers sometimes became civil officials, the phenomenon of emphasizing culture over military was becoming less and less serious.

And as the status of soldiers improves, people no longer look down on martial arts.

And now, Zhu Houzhao allowed military officials to become ministers of the Council of State, which was naturally to further change the phenomenon of emphasizing civil officials over military officials and to prevent civil officials from becoming too powerful, to the point that military officials had no say in decision-making bodies such as the Council of State.

Duke Yingguo Zhang Rong naturally never expected that he would become a minister of state affairs. Now that he has been appointed as such, he is very happy in his heart, because he never thought that there would be a day when he would be able to decide on world affairs together with the emperor and these cabinet ministers!
“After the Tumu Fort Incident, all the noble military officers were sidelined. Not to mention participating in confidential matters, it was good enough if their achievements were not taken away by the civil officials. Even if they were noble dukes, a seventh-rank civil official would sometimes dare to be so arrogant to the noble military officers!

Now that he has become a minister of state, it shows that His Majesty still cares about us military officials and nobles. Not only does he spend money to train us, but he also lets us participate in important military and political affairs! This is truly a great favor from the Emperor! A wise and enlightened Lord!"

When Zhang Rong thought about this, he couldn't help but straighten his chest, thinking that he was now a minister sitting in the same room with the emperor and making decisions on all matters of state, just like the prime ministers in the Tang and Song dynasties. He had to have some bearing, even when holding the ivory tablet, he held it straighter, and stopped looking around, standing properly in the first seat on the right.

Jiang Dong had never thought that he would become a minister of the council. Born as a governor of a frontier town, he thought that the highest position he could become in his lifetime would be a minister. But he had never expected that he would become a minister of the council who looked like a prime minister.

But no matter what, in order to repay the king's kindness on the Golden Terrace, Jiang Dong was willing to die for the king, and he sat upright and began to listen to Zhu Houzhao's instructions.

Zhu Houzhao didn't say much, but just asked Xia Yan to start presiding over the ceremony of the Council of State Affairs.

The entire procedure and rules and regulations for nominating ministers in the Council of Political Affairs were drawn up by Xia Yan, so naturally he was the one who presided over the first nomination of ministers in the Council of Political Affairs.

"First, let's talk about the candidates for the Minister of Personnel. Xia has been ordered to list the following qualified candidates: Nanjing Minister of Personnel Li Ben, Minister of Criminal Affairs Wen Yuan, Minister of Railways Xu Jie, Minister of Agriculture Yan Song..."

Zhu Houzhao, who was sitting in the middle, started to speak after listening to Xia Yan's introduction: "You can each express your opinions. I will not punish you for what you said in the court recommendation. You can speak freely. The Minister of Personnel is in charge of the national selection. Who do you think is the most suitable?"

Xu Jin smiled slightly, and did not speak first. He only complained in his heart:
"Although His Majesty has adopted your proposal, Xia Yan, you can still expect to be severely scolded by the civil officials of the world! Even if you can have a good end, you are destined to not be easily spared by the pens of the literati and scholars throughout your life!"

Next, it was Xia Yan who spoke first: "Your Majesty, colleagues, the Ministry of Personnel is responsible for the selection of officials throughout the country, and its responsibilities and powers are very heavy. To be the Minister of Personnel, fairness should be the most important. Xia believes that among the people on the list, the most fair and strict one is Wen Gong, so Xia recommends Wen Yuan as the Minister of Personnel."

As soon as Xia Yan said this, Xu Jin started thinking immediately. Although he was very reluctant to see Xia Yan's suggestion to set up a council office become a reality, he also had to pay serious attention to who Xia Yan would nominate as the Minister of Personnel.

"Wen Yuan is a Jinshi in the 18th year of Hongzhi. He has a long history and great prestige. Once Wen Yuan becomes the Minister of Personnel, it means that I, the deputy assistant of the cabinet, will not be able to interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel. At that time, the cabinet will be under the pressure of Xia Yan, and the Ministry of Personnel will have Wen Yuan as a Buddha. What can I, the leader of the Qingliu, do? This Xia Yan is really good at recommending! Could it be that Xia Yan and Wen Yuan have colluded in private?"

Xu Jin muttered a few words in his heart, then stood up and bowed to Zhu Houzhao and said:

"Your Majesty, I recommend Li Ben, the Minister of Personnel of Nanjing. If we talk about fairness, Li Ben can discuss it with Wen Gong. When Li Ben was the Supervisor of Education, he dared to dethrone the unlearned nephew of Yuan Fu, which is enough to show that Li Ben is fair!"

After Xu Jin finished speaking, he looked at Xia Yan provocatively. Seeing Xia Yan's displeasure because he mentioned his nephew's ignorance in front of the emperor, he felt even more pleased. He thought to himself, "I asked you, Xia Yan, to propose the establishment of a council office. I am going to recommend Li Ben, whom you dislike, as the Minister of Personnel!"

Of course, although Xu Jin thought so secretly, it did not mean that he recommended Li Ben simply to embarrass Xia Yan. He also recommended Xia Yan's political enemy in order to check and balance Xia Yan.

Xu Jin continued to talk about Li Ben's several advantages, praising him very much, and then said: "And Lord Li has another advantage, that is, he is younger than Lord Wen. Your Majesty has always given opportunities to young people who are motivated, so I chose Li Ben, and Lord Wen is old, mature and wise, so it is easier for him to enter the cabinet to assist in government."

Xu Jin knew that if he recommended Li Ben instead of Wen Yuan, Wen Yuan would inevitably be unhappy when he found out in the future, so he simply added a sentence at the end, saying that it was not that he thought Wen Yuan was incompetent, but that he thought Wen Yuan should be the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

Being an official requires being tactful and not offending anyone if possible.

When Xia Yan heard Xu Jin recommend Li Ben and mentioned his unlearned nephew, he was indeed a little unhappy. He knew that Xu Jin was deliberately insulting him, but he was not someone who could not control his emotions. After Xu Jin finished speaking, he smiled and said to Zhang Rong: "Mr. Zhang is the leader of the military officials and should speak first. Now he is reluctant to speak, which must be due to careful consideration. When discussing politics in front of the king, please speak frankly."

Zhang Rong did not expect that the Cabinet Prime Minister Xia Yan would be so respectful to him, and from what he said, he felt that he should speak first and obviously felt that he should be ranked in the first two. He suddenly had a better impression of Xia Yan, who had served in the military and had been a classmate of his father Zhang Lun at the Imperial University.

Zhang Rong said hurriedly, "Thanks to your majesty for your favor, I am honored to be the Minister of State Council. However, I only know military affairs, and I don't know who the Grand Chancellor should be. However, I think veteran generals should be used in wars, and veteran ministers should be used in government affairs, so I recommend Mr. Wen!"

At this time, Jiang Dong also stood up and said, "I also recommend Wen Gong to be the Grand Chancellor. Li Ben was born as a Hanlin poet with high literary attainments. Although he is fair and honest, he is not good at worldly affairs. The Ministry of Personnel is not the Ministry of Rites. The selection of officials in the country involves many practical political performance assessments such as money, taxation, engineering construction, and people's livelihood. Wen Gong has served in local areas, so Wen Gong is more suitable."

Xu Jin's heart sank as he looked at Xia Yan. "This is definitely a conspiracy! Xia Yan suggested setting up the Council of State Affairs. Now the military official Zhang Rong and the civil official Jiang Dong of the Imperial Guards Privy Council, who is no different from a military official, have been appointed as ministers of state affairs. This must also be Xia Yan's suggestion. This Xia Yan must be relying on the favor of His Majesty the Emperor to deliberately use this to control the power of the court! He wants the court to be full of his people!"

"Among the four ministers, three recommended Wen Yuan. In this case, I will not vote. I will draft an edict to appoint Wen Yuan as the Minister of Personnel and Junior Tutor, with salary!"

"In addition, after Wen Yuan takes office as the Minister of Personnel, the candidate for the Minister of Justice will be discussed later. Bao Xiang, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, will temporarily manage the affairs of the ministry!"

Zhu Houzhao then ordered: "There are other important matters to be handled. The meeting of the Council of State Affairs ends here first. Let's all adjourn the court. We will discuss the candidates for the new cabinet ministers at this time tomorrow."

"We will obey the imperial edict!" Xia Yan and others immediately responded.

The first Council of State Council meeting of the Ming Dynasty made Xia Yan feel very good. Although the emperor appointed two important officials from the Imperial Guards system as council ministers, at least his political goal of making Wen Yuan the Minister of Personnel was achieved.

Duke Yingguo Zhang Rong and the Deputy Privy Councilor were naturally in a good mood. They didn't care who became the Minister of Personnel, but being able to become a councilor and participate in the empire's military and political decision-making made them feel a sense of existence, which made them feel very good. Especially when they saw that even a civil servant like Prime Minister Xia Yan showed them some respect, they were even happier.

Sometimes the feeling that power and status bring to people is so wonderful. Having a higher status and being respected by others can make people feel ecstatic.

Xu Jin now had to be respectful to nobles like Zhang Rong and generals like Jiangdong.
After all, he is now a minister of state affairs. If Xu Jin wants to win more seats for his merchant class in the next recommendation of several important officials, he can only win over these ministers of state affairs as much as possible and get more votes.

"I've heard for a long time that the Duke loves wine. I have a jar of Magu wine that has been stored in the cellar for ten years. I'll ask the servant to send it to the Duke for him to taste. If the Duke doesn't like it, you can use it to make crabs and fish drunk."

Xu Jin and Zhang Rong were trying to get close to each other. After all, Xia Yan had clearly been trying to sow discord between him and Duke Yingguo Zhang Rong at the council meeting just now. Now that the meeting was over, he had to act deliberately humble to show that he had no intention of disrespecting the Duke Yingguo.

Xia Yan also showed a look of disgust when he saw this. After all, Xu Jin was more than 20 years older than Zhang Rong. A so-called old and virtuous leader of the Qingliu clan was trying to curry favor with a nobleman who was less than 50 years old. Xia Yan felt it was shameful no matter how he looked at it.

Zhu Houzhao also noticed the aggressive behavior of Xia Yan and Xu Jin at the council meeting, but this was exactly what he wanted to achieve. After all, it would be beneficial for him, the emperor, to rule the Ming Dynasty and ensure a smooth transition of power if the chief minister and the second chief minister were not to stick together.

The reason why he made officials outside the civil service system, such as Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong, become ministers of state affairs was naturally to make these ministers neutral and unable to form a group.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao did not really want to engage in internal struggles. In order to continue the empire's reform and external expansion policy, he still leaned towards Xia Yan. He believed that Xu Jin could also see this, but Zhu Houzhao did not think Xu Jin could do anything. The most he could do was to try his best to improve relations with his military officials and civil generals.

But Zhu Houzhao did not want to give Xu Jin such an opportunity, or he did not want to give Xu Jin such an opportunity openly, which also laid the foundation for punishing Xu Jin in the future.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao ordered: "The Imperial Household Department should tell the ministers that I said that they should be loyal to the country, form private parties, and engage in conspiracy. If I find out, I will definitely punish them for forming a party for personal gain! By then, you will not be able to save your face for several lifetimes!"

Then, the eunuchs conveyed the imperial edict to the four ministers one after another.

Zhang Rong hurriedly rejected Xu Jin's flattery, and from then on he dared not have any contact with the other three ministers of the council of state. He was deeply afraid that as a member of the noble class, the position of minister of the council of state that he had worked so hard to obtain would be removed because of forming a clique for personal gain. Moreover, he also knew about the Lan Yu case in the Hongwu Dynasty.

Jiang Dong also stayed indoors, or just stayed in the Privy Council with Jia Yingchun, paying attention to the empire's expedition to Europe.

Xia Yan didn't care. He had never contacted these four ministers in private from beginning to end, but he knew that Zhang Rong and Jiangdong's guards system had the same interests and political ideas as his own. Therefore, even if he didn't contact them, he believed that Zhang Rong and Jiangdong would support him.

Xia Yan knew that this was the emperor's care for him.

Madeline, a Western noble lady who had given birth to a daughter for Xia Yan, was now old, but she still looked at Xia Yan with admiration, "Sir, although you are responsible for the country, you should also take care of your health."

"The emperor's grace is so great, how dare I take a break?" Xia Yan said, and then ordered: "Go and call Xia Wu over."

After a while, Xia Yan's servant Xia Wu came to Xia Yan and said, "Master, you called me."

"Tomorrow, I will inspect the Imperial University of Peking. When we arrive at the Ming Agricultural Science Institute, ask them to stop. I want to meet Minister Yan in plain clothes. You must keep a close eye on the situation and not let outsiders know my whereabouts. You don't have to worry about the Western Factory. His Majesty will be happy to see us do this."

After Xia Yan said this, Xia Wu didn't dare to ask more questions. He just responded and left.

The next day, Xia Yan met Yan Song in casual clothes. Yan Song didn't know what Xia Yan was up to, because, in his eyes, this Prime Minister Xia didn't seem to think highly of him. But Yan Song also wanted to improve himself. In addition, due to his personality, he would try to please anyone in his position first. So, when he saw Xia Yan, he still bowed first:

"The Prime Minister has condescended to come, and I am terrified! I don't know what orders the Prime Minister has, but I should have sent a small official to convey them."

"When it comes to matters involving getting rid of traitors, how can we entrust a petty clerk to convey them? Please stand up, Lord Yan. You are a key minister of the country. How dare I, Xia, accept your great gift? The people of the world, no matter their status, all rely on you for their livelihood," Xia Yan said with a smile.

Yan Song was shocked, thinking to himself, what traitor are you trying to get rid of? Why are you looking for me? But he still bowed and said, "Your Excellency is too kind. This is all thanks to Your Majesty. I wonder who the traitor is that Yuanfu is talking about?"

"Second Assistant Xu Jin!"

Xia Yan was already sitting to the left of Yan Song. After speaking solemnly, he waved his sleeves and said, "If this thief is not killed, the Ming Dynasty will suffer endless troubles!"

Although Yan Song had guessed a little bit in his heart, he still looked like he was struck by lightning. He took a few steps back, and even his hands were shaking so much that he didn't know where to put them. "Prince, you are talking about Lord Xu? I don't understand, what do you mean, Yuanfu?"

Thanks to my book friend Shan Shangke for the 100 Qidian coins reward

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(End of this chapter)