Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 62 Li Dongyang refuses to leave
Ma Wensheng originally thought that His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao would limit the power of the cabinet after controlling the inner court and driving away the three cabinet ministers. However, he did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao would increase the power of the cabinet, let the cabinet ministers take charge of the affairs of the ministry, and even have their own offices. This would undoubtedly further establish the cabinet's central position in the outer court!

Once he enters the cabinet, he will naturally become the prime minister due to his seniority and will naturally have greater power to implement reforms.

Therefore, Ma Wensheng is very excited now.

Now, because Zhu Houzhao mentioned that he wanted to re-recommend the candidates for the positions of Minister of Personnel, Minister of War, and Left Vice Minister of Personnel, Ma Wensheng no longer thought about promoting his own people, but said without hesitation:
"Your Majesty, I think if you really want to reform the civil service and make all officials diligent in their work, you should reinstate Lord Wang Shu and let him take charge of the cabinet again!"

Wang Shu's prestige was no less than that of Ma Wensheng, or even higher than that of Ma Wensheng. Once Wang Shu returned to the court, it would undoubtedly affect Ma Wensheng's position in the court. However, since Ma Wensheng was able to suggest the reinstatement of Wang Shu, Zhu Houzhao could see that he was not doing so out of selfish motives but really wanted to make some changes in the government.

Xu Jin, who was standing by, immediately echoed the words, "As the Grand Chancellor said, the most stringent assessment of officials is carried out by the princes! Moreover, the princes have high prestige and are not pedantic and stubborn. The previous emperor relied on the princes and the Grand Chancellor to manage the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War to build the empire. Unfortunately, the princes were not tolerated by the cabinet ministers and officials, and they are too old, so they have retired!"

Jiao Fang slapped his knees. He had always had a prejudice against southern officials and laughed, "If the prince takes charge of the Ministry of Personnel, it will undoubtedly be a blessing for our Ming Dynasty and a disaster for all officials. Then we will see how those officials in the south who only know how to ask for tax cuts for Jiangnan will deal with it!"

Zhu Houzhao also knew Wang Shu quite well. He knew that he was an old minister during the Chenghua period and that he was already famous throughout the world as early as the Chenghua period. At that time, he had the reputation of "There is only one Wang Shu in the two capitals and twelve ministries." But it is undeniable that Wang Shu is now estimated to be almost ninety years old. It is unknown whether he is still sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, and whether he can still serve the court.

Lian Po is old, can he still have food?
But as Ma Wensheng and others said, if a famous official with many students and former officials all over the country who is also keen on innovation is used for reform, it will undoubtedly be more helpful to the new policy. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao did not hesitate and said: "Then prepare to appoint Wang Shu as the Minister of Personnel! How about the Minister of War?"

"I recommend Yang Yiqing. He knows a lot about military affairs! He is also young. The six ministries in the cabinet cannot be filled with old ministers like us!"

Minister of War Xu Jin started laughing as he spoke.

Jiao Fang nodded: "I think it's very good. Yang Yiqing was excellent in all the examinations conducted by the Ministry of Personnel. It's a pity that he is not from the Imperial Academy, otherwise he would have entered the cabinet directly that year!"

Ma Wensheng didn't say a word. Yang Yiqing was his disciple, so he had to avoid suspicion.

"From now on, the rule that only Hanlin scholars can enter the cabinet must be changed. How can a minister govern the people if he doesn't know how to be close to the people?" Zhu Houzhao said, and then nodded:

"Then Yang Yiqing will be the Minister of War for the time being, and the Left Vice Minister of Personnel will be decided after Wang Shu arrives in Beijing.
My three ministers, please go back and have a rest for a while. At the same time, the Grand Chancellor must immediately draft a memorial on the implementation of the performance evaluation system, clearly stating how the performance of officials will be evaluated, how they will be rewarded, and how they will be punished. When the three cabinet ministers resign, you must immediately submit the memorial and start the reform after you join the cabinet!
Minister Jiao Ai, please also write down the cabinet system according to my wishes and submit it to me;

The Grand Marshal is responsible for writing the assessment method for the military officers. There is no time to lose, so hurry up and do it! Now I just hope that the three of them will resign as soon as possible! That way, it will be more face-saving for both of us!"

"Your Majesty, please leave!"

Ma Wensheng and others were also waiting for the resignation of the three cabinet ministers, looking forward to the day when they would enter the cabinet. It seemed that from this moment on, the resignation of Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian was not only related to whether Ma Wensheng and others could enter the cabinet, but also related to whether the new policy of the Zhengde Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty could be started immediately.

After Ma Wensheng and others left, Zhu Houzhao did not go to bed immediately, but was thinking about how to increase the court's income.

The first thing Zhu Houzhao thought of was to confiscate the property. Moreover, at the moment, Wang Yue and other eunuchs in the inner court who were plotting treason must have their own industries outside the palace, and a lot of wealth could be confiscated. In addition, the confiscation of Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others in the future would definitely allow him to gain a lot of wealth.

……

According to Zhu Houzhao's order, the Silijian was officially moved to the Longzong Gate on this day. In this way, Zhu Houzhao could reach the Silijian by just walking a few steps, and the Silijian could only exercise the power of approval under Zhu Houzhao's nose.

Zhu Houzhao also came to the Imperial Household Department that afternoon, and as soon as he arrived, he asked Liu Jin, "Have the resignation memorials of the three cabinet ministers arrived?"

"Your Majesty, there has not yet been a resignation memorial from the three cabinet ministers," Liu Jin replied somewhat disappointedly. He had been waiting in the Imperial Household Department since yesterday, waiting for the resignation memorial from the three cabinet ministers, waiting for him to write a resignation with his red brush and expel the three cabinet ministers whom he hated so much from the court. However, he did not expect that the three cabinet ministers seemed to be unwilling to leave and had been refusing to submit the resignation memorial.

After listening to what Liu Jin said, Zhu Houzhao also fell into confusion. He couldn't help but wonder if Liu Jian and others still wanted to occupy their positions in the cabinet and not leave. Did they really want to wait until he sent out soldiers to confiscate their property and exterminate their clans before they would give up?

However, at this moment, Chu Ke, the eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, came over holding a memorial and said, "Your Majesty, two memorials have just been delivered. They are the resignation memorials of Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Xie Qian, the grand secretary of the Dongge!"

"There are only two letters. Why not three? Liu Jian and Xie Qian resigned, so why didn't Li Dongyang do the same?"

Liu Jin, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, looked at Zhu Houzhao with surprise and disappointment.

Zhu Houzhao himself was not that surprised. He just couldn't help laughing. He couldn't help but think that Li Dongyang did not submit a letter of resignation, which was different from the history he knew.

But no matter what, what Zhu Houzhao could be sure of was that the Ming Dynasty in this time and space was still following the same course as the original history, that is, Li Dongyang did not leave the court at this time.

However, Zhu Houzhao was quite disappointed and a little angry because Li Dongyang refused to resign. He had no intention of keeping Li Dongyang. And there was no doubt that if Li Dongyang still stayed in the cabinet, it would no longer make much sense for him to increase the power of the cabinet and let the cabinet reform the government. Li Dongyang would even be constrained by his new policies because of his increased power. After all, according to convention, once Liu Jian left, Li Dongyang would be the prime minister!
"Immediately summon the Minister of Personnel Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War Xu Jin, and the Left Vice Minister of Personnel Jiao Fang to the palace!"

Li Dongyang's refusal to resign forced Zhu Houzhao to change his future court arrangements. As a result, he had to re-summon his three most trusted civil servants.

(End of this chapter)