Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 349: The Alliances among the Civil Officials
Xia Yan didn't know whether Yan Song's fear was real or fake, but because of this, he looked down on Yan Song in his heart and felt more and more that it was the right choice to help Yan Song take the position.

After all, it seems that Yan Song is favored by the emperor, but he is not a very rigid person.

Xia Yan did not beat around the bush with Yan Song and said directly: "You are highly valued by His Majesty and have made contributions to the country. You can be said to be a capable minister of the country. I intend to recommend you as a cabinet minister in the Council of State Affairs!"

Xia Yan glanced at Yan Song as he spoke.

Yan Song instinctively raised his eyes to look at Xia Yan, and took a step forward, but then he quickly lowered his eyelids: "The Prime Minister wants to recommend me as a cabinet minister, how can I be worthy of this..."

"You don't have to be modest. I know you should have entered the cabinet a long time ago, but someone didn't want you to enter. You should know who didn't want you to enter. You have been in the Ministry of Agriculture for so many years. You should know who you have offended repeatedly. It's the businessman!"

Xia Yan slammed his hand on the table as he spoke: "Xu Jin has no respect for the emperor, he has colluded with merchants, exploited the people, accepted bribes and embezzled money, and even nearly ruined the foundation of the Ming Dynasty several times. If this thief is not removed, it will be detrimental to the country.

Moreover, he still relies on his integrity to manipulate the issue of the throne, wantonly belittling corrupt officials, and even saying that you are not a loyal official. As long as Xu Jin is in office, not only will you Yan Song be at peace, I will also be at peace, Your Majesty will also find it difficult to sit on this throne, the people of the world will find it difficult to maintain peace, and the eldest prince will find it difficult to inherit the throne!"

When Yan Song saw Xia Yan listing Xu Jin's crimes so aggressively, he felt that Xia Yan was overbearing and deeply moved. He couldn't help but think of the time when he was humiliated by Hou Lu. The reason was that his political behavior did not conform to the interests of businessmen, which meant that he and Xu Jin would definitely not be able to get along.

Although there was no direct evidence to prove that Xu Jin was related to Hou Lu, Yan Song, like most officials, believed that Hou Lu's confession was true, but Xu Jin was too cunning.

Of course, after hearing what Xia Yan said, Yan Song understood that Xia Yan could not tolerate Xu Jin and wanted to support himself, but he also had to promise Xia Yan some things.

Yan Song understood from Xia Yan's words that he supported the eldest prince as the crown prince, and that he and Xu Jin should have started to have a grudge when Zhou Luo and others said that it was better to establish a virtuous prince than an heir. But no matter what, Xu Jin was now a common enemy of himself and Xia Yan.

Therefore, Yan Song decided to agree to Xia Yan: "Thanks to the Prime Minister for his high regard, I will obey your orders!"

Xia Yan smiled and saw Yan Song agreed: "Wait for the news."

……

At this time, Xu Jin also began to discuss with his party members who should be nominated as cabinet ministers.

Yan Song was naturally not within his consideration.

"Yuan Wei, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, is the major shareholder of the largest trading company in Cixi, Zhejiang. He is also the teacher of His Royal Highness the Second Prince. Teacher, you might as well recommend Vice Minister Yuan to do good to the Second Prince. Of course, the First Prince can't be counted on now, but the Second Prince has always loved talents, so you can take this opportunity to show your goodwill."

Xu Jin's student Deng Dong couldn't help but say.

Xu Jin also nodded: "Mr. Yuan is a talented and noble official, and he is a third-place winner. Naturally, he is very suitable. However, I am not the only one among the ministers of the Council of State. In addition to the Prime Minister, there are also Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong. So, you have to tell the Second Prince that Xu Jin is willing to do his best, but I cannot guarantee that it will be him."

"Teacher, please rest early. Students, please leave!"

Deng Dong naturally understood the meaning of Xu Jin's words. It seemed that he could not guarantee it, but in fact he revealed the names of the ministers of the Council of State that the outside world did not know yet.

In this way, there is no need for Xu Jin to go around in person, Yuan Wei and the second prince behind him will naturally know how to go around.

Although the new way of recommending candidates to the imperial court and the new way of making decisions in the government have not yet been made known to the whole world, the high-ranking officials of the empire no longer have the leisure to criticize how much power they will lose as a result of such reforms. Instead, they have adapted to this change and have begun to use the new rules to gain more benefits for themselves.

……

Zhu Houzhao also learned about these developments from the Western Factory, but he did not make it public. He was happy to see the civil and military officials under him running around for promotion and vying for power. He only needed to ensure that the general direction of the empire remained unchanged.

"Your Majesty, Yan Song and Xia Yan had a long discussion at the Agricultural Science Institute today. This is what they talked about."

Gao Zhong from the Western Factory handed the book to Zhu Houzhao, who took a quick look at it and couldn't help but sigh to himself, "History doesn't seem to have changed. These two people are still together. I just don't know if they will go their separate ways and become incompatible in the future."

The next morning.

The Council held another meeting.

Zhu Houzhao still came here in person, and Xia Yan still read out a list of people who were suitable for promotion to cabinet ministers.

Then, Xia Yan began to announce his own recommendations: "Your Majesty, I recommend the Minister of Agriculture, Lord Yan, to join the cabinet. Lord Yan is a Jinshi in the 18th year of Hongzhi. He is a mature man who loves the people and is loyal to the emperor. He is also good at handling sudden disasters and relieving the people's difficulties. Now that the world is peaceful and the population is increasing rapidly, the cabinet needs a minister who is good at caring for the people's livelihood, so I recommend Lord Yan to join the cabinet."

Zhu Houzhao nodded. He knew that all the four ministers in front of him had been busy yesterday, and they were all secretly making all kinds of alliances. Now Zhu Houzhao wanted to disrupt their plans, so he directly called on them, "Second Assistant Xu Qing, tell me what you think first."

Xu Jin was stunned. He wanted to wait for Zhang Rong to speak first. After all, didn't Xia Yan say yesterday that Duke Ying Zhang Rong, a military official, should be the first to speak? But now that the emperor had named him, he couldn't disobey. He could only look at Duke Ying Zhang Rong apologetically and said, "I recommend Duke Yuan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to join the cabinet. Duke Yuan has a good character and is known for his literary talent. The cabinet is the center of civil affairs in the world, and the most important thing is to be both moral and literary. Duke Yuan is the most suitable person for this."

After Xu Jin said this, he glanced at Xia Yan, with a look of provocation in his eyes.

Xia Yan just smiled slightly and waited for Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong to speak.

Xu Jin was also waiting for Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong to speak. Although he had to sigh that the Ming Dynasty had reached the point where the election of a cabinet minister was decided by military men, he still had confidence that Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong would support him. After all, he also believed in the power of the second prince, and believed that these two people would not fail to give the prince face.

Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong did feel a headache at the beginning, because Xia Yan was undoubtedly the person they were willing to support in their hearts, but they could not fail to give face to the Second Prince.

However, Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong were fortunate that the Emperor let Xu Jin speak first, which gave Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong an idea all of a sudden.

Zhang Rong first reported to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, I give up my power. Whether it is Lord Yan or Lord Yuan, I cannot choose. They are both responsible ministers of the country. It will be a blessing for the world if anyone enters the cabinet!"

Jiang Dong also said: "Your Majesty, I also give up my right to vote. This is really a difficult decision. The sage king is in power. There are no sages left in the countryside and no mediocre people in the court. The two of them can enter the cabinet!" Give up the right to vote? !

They all gave up?!
Xia Yan was very surprised. He didn't expect that both of them would rush to give up!
Xu Jin had not expected this either. He could not help but shout in his heart, "Why would you give up? What do you mean you can't make a decision? Weren't you very decisive in selecting the Minister of Personnel yesterday? Why would you give up today? Isn't the Second Prince's face useless? I, Xu Jin, don't believe that His Royal Highness the Second Prince didn't say hello to you!"

Zhang Rong looked apologetic towards both Xia Yan and Xu Jin. If Zhu Houzhao had not let Xu Jin express his recommendation after Xia Yan, and let him know that the person recommended by Xu Jin was the same as the one recommended by the Second Prince, he would not know what to do, not knowing whether to give face to Xia Yan or to the Second Prince.

After all, giving face to Xia Yan is giving face to the eldest prince, not to mention that Xia Yan has the same interests as those of himself. But now the throne has not been decided, and the second prince cannot be offended.

Therefore, Zhang Rong was unable to make a decision before Xu Jin spoke, but now, he knew that Xu Jin had the same idea as the second prince, so he just gave up and kicked the ball to Jiangdong, letting Jiangdong decide whether to help the eldest prince or the second prince.

Jiang Dong naturally did the same as Zhang Rong and also gave up, passing the ball to Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

"These two old foxes!"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but curse in his heart. He naturally knew that Zhang Rong and Jiang Dong wanted to avoid offending either side.

Zhu Houzhao naturally knew in advance that the two were in a dilemma, so he let Xu Jin express his opinion first. He also expected that if he did so, the two would abstain from voting.

In this case, the decision on the selection of cabinet ministers still falls on the emperor himself.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao was not unhappy after secretly cursing the two men, and only said: "Duke Ying and Minister Jiang abstained from voting, while Minister Xia recommended Yan Song and Xu Jin recommended Yuan Wei. You two should make your own statements."

"I obey your order and report to Your Majesty that the cabinet is different from the local governments. Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. The cabinet, as the center, naturally needs experienced ministers to take charge. Although Mr. Yuan is talented, he has literary talent but no practical ability. He can manage the Ministry of Rites, but as a cabinet minister, he is inevitably not good at mundane affairs," Xia Yan spoke first.

Xu Jin also said bluntly: "Your Majesty, I think the most important thing in recommending is character. Lord Yan is soft-hearted and loves to flatter. He is a flatterer and is not suitable to be a cabinet minister! Lord Yuan is highly respected and admired by the world. He is more suitable to be a civil official!"

Zhu Houzhao nodded. He could see that Xu Jin was also very dissatisfied with Yan Song, and his unwillingness to let Yuan Wei join the cabinet was more obvious than Xia Yan's.

However, Zhu Houzhao did not want to let Yuan Wei, an upright official who came from a southern merchant family, enter the cabinet, because once Yuan Wei entered the cabinet, Xu Jin would be even more powerful, and the cabinet would become a upright department, and the court's policy of external expansion would not be able to be maintained.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao said: "Since this is the case, I have made up my mind!"

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Xia Yan and Xu Jin as he spoke. He naturally decided to let Yan Song join the cabinet. After all, Yan Song at least had the advantage of being obedient. However, he also couldn't let Xu Jin see his intentions too deeply, so he deliberately pulled Xia Yan out to take the blame:
"After all, Xia Qing is the Prime Minister. In order to support Xia Qing in the cabinet's political affairs, I have drafted an imperial decree to appoint Yan Song as the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, to join the cabinet to assist in the affairs, and to be promoted to Junior Teacher! He will also be in charge of the affairs of the ministry!"

Lost?

Did I lose again?
The reason was actually because Xia Yan was the Prime Minister, and the emperor had to give face to the Prime Minister!
Xu Jin was naturally extremely depressed, especially when he saw Xia Yan's smug look, he became so angry that his face turned pale and he took a few steps back.

"Mr. Xu looks very unwell. Let's adjourn the court. Remember to see the imperial physician after the court is adjourned. We will discuss the recommendation for the post of Left Censor-in-Chief tomorrow," Zhu Houzhao said as he stood up and left. He could not help but smile secretly. He could imagine how depressed Xu Jin was right now. The Minister of Personnel was not from his faction, and now even the newly appointed Cabinet University was not one of them.

Xu Jin was indeed very depressed, but because of this, he hated this way of recommending officials even more: "This system of ministers of state clearly favors Xia Yan!"

Xu Jin had reasons to think so, because Xu Jin's bargaining chip was the support of many civil servants below him, and Xia Yan was favored by the emperor. So if it was the previous court recommendation, Xu Jin could manipulate the court recommendation candidates by having many civil servants supporting him. But now the number of participants in the court recommendation is small, and except for himself, they are all close to Xia Yan. Even the emperor who plays the final decision is closer to Xia Yan.

Therefore, Xu Jin naturally hated the current method of nomination by the ministers of the council.

But Xu Jin did not dare to raise any objection himself and could only follow this system. He also had to work hard to plan how to take down the important post of Left Censor-in-Chief, that is, to let his own people still control the Censorate.

"Tomorrow the Council of State will recommend the position of Left Censor-in-Chief. Now the Minister of Personnel has become Wen Yuan, and the new cabinet minister is Yan Song. Neither of them is an official of our merchant class. If the Censorate is no longer in our hands, how can we, the officials of the merchant class, seek more rights and interests for the property owners?"

After conveying the information provided by Xu Jin, Zhu Longxi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, couldn't help but say to his accomplices.

"It's a pity that the ministers of state affairs are filled by a bunch of military men and corrupt officials. It's really a lawlessness in the world! I just don't know who the elder intends to nominate as the chief minister. Is there any way to solve this problem?"

Huang Rugui, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, couldn't help but ask.

"What the cabinet elder meant is that he had expected Xia Yan to nominate his fellow countryman, Wu Shan, the Minister of Works, to be the Left Censor-in-Chief, while the cabinet elder intended to nominate Cheng Gong, the Minister of Education. Now he had to find a way to get the other two ministers to nominate Cheng Gong. Fortunately, Cheng Gong and Jiang Gong were related by marriage, so Jiang Gong would undoubtedly support Cheng Gong. The key now lies with Duke Ying, Zhang Rong."

Zhu Longxi said.

"According to the elder's opinion, we need to submit a joint petition to impeach Xia Yan immediately, so that Duke Yingguo Zhang Rong and Xia Yan have to keep their distance. At the same time, the Second Prince will come forward to persuade Duke Yingguo again," Zhu Longxi said, and then he took out the petition: "If you have no objection, this joint petition will be submitted?"

Everyone agreed.

Xia Yan also said to Yan Song: "I intend to recommend Wu Shan. He is from Jiangyou, just like you and me. Wu Shan is upright and honest. More importantly, he supports the establishment of the eldest son as the heir, just like Lord Wen. The throne cannot be left vacant for long!"

"The Prime Minister is indeed wise," Yan Song flattered.

……

At this time, Zhu Houzhao, who was in the deep palace, also learned from the Western Factory about the private movements of these civil servants. Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh: "It's true that they all have their own thoughts, but I still have the final say in the world!"

Thanks to my book friend He Shi Jing Mo Yan for his 500 Qidian coins reward. Thank you to my book friend Ai Xigua and Coke for his 100 Qidian coins reward.

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(End of this chapter)