Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 59 After the Prime Minister comes the Cabinet
“Before Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, he and Emperor Tianqi, the previous emperor, were brothers.

According to age and seniority, it was not Emperor Chongzhen's turn to inherit the throne.

But Emperor Tianqi had no children, and his other brothers died early. The only person who could inherit the throne was this younger prince.

The day before he became emperor, Chongzhen was still in his palace thinking about what wooden toys he would play with his elder brother the next day.

Who could have thought that in the end he would inherit his brother's throne and become the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

After hearing Yang Chen's explanation, Zhu Yuanzhang had only one feeling at this moment, that is, he felt disheveled in the wind.

It is most appropriate to put the misfortune on one's descendants.

Unexpectedly, the inheritance of the throne would end up like this.

"Ah~ our descendants, really..."

The moment his eyes lost focus, Zhu Yuanzhang had no idea what to say and could only sigh.

"After Wei Zhongxian was killed by Chongzhen, wouldn't the situation of Emperor Chongzhen become even more chaotic? Is this the reason why you said before, Yang Chen, that the Donglin Party took advantage of the ancestral precepts to find loopholes?"

Zhu Biao's expression was solemn, and he asked the questions that he wanted to know in his heart.

At this moment, he was completely looking at the situation from the perspective of Emperor Chongzhen.

As long as one is not stupid, one can see that without the checks and balances of the eunuch party, one can imagine the extent to which the other parties will harm the people of the court.

Yang Chen also nodded directly to indicate that the other party guessed correctly.

“Yes, without the checks and balances of the eunuch party headed by Wei Zhongxian, it can be said that the decline of the Ming Dynasty was accelerated.

As for the parties I just mentioned as examples, the Zhejiang Party, Qi Chu Xuan and other forces combined are no match for the Jiangnan scholar-official group headed by the Donglin Party.

Until the end, the Donglin Party members deceived Chongzhen, obtained the power of Beijing Inspection, and began to write letters to dismiss the important positions of other parties in the court.

Substitute the opponent and have their players take his place.

At the beginning, different parties competed in various departments, and taxes could still be collected.

But later on, the Donglin Party gained power in the government and the country, and everyone was obsessed with corruption, so gradually the money in the national treasury was insufficient.

The sources of important tax revenues, such as mining taxes, commercial taxes, etc., are all theirs. These taxes continuously reduce the tax base, resulting in less and less tax revenue.

With less taxes here, the people's taxes will naturally begin to increase. The harsh taxes are like a mountain, making it hard for the people to breathe.

At this time, Chongzhen realized that he seemed to have done something wrong, so he thought of using the eunuch party to suppress the Donglin Party again.

But Wei Zhongxian and others had already been killed completely due to the interference of the Donglin Party."

Yang Chen's remarks made Zhu Yuanzhang and others very hostile to these civil service forces.

The hand on the table clenched into a fist involuntarily, and the veins on his wrist bulged, which was enough to show how angry he was.

"Damn it! It seems that we haven't killed enough. These scholars and men of letters usually treat us like grandsons, but I never thought that they would bully our descendants in the future.

"Okay, okay, if that's the case, then let's kill them!" Yang Chen, tell us who the leaders of the Donglin Party are, and tell us their names clearly.

Let's follow the clues and kill his ancestors, then no one will bully our descendants in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang's actions really made Yang Chen realize why later generations regarded him as the Killing Emperor.

If you bully my descendants, I will bully your ancestors. As long as we cut off their roots, you will not appear in the world.

Only he could think of such a stupid method.

Even Zhu Biao was surprised at his father's method, let alone Yang Chen.

"Ahem. Your Majesty, who are the people in the Donglin Party? I can name one or two famous people who hold important positions in the cabinet, but these will happen in the future. If you kill their ancestors now, you can't do anything except vent your anger, right?"

"Father, I think what he said makes sense. Besides, this world has been so long, almost three hundred years. Even if we know their names, we cannot find their specific ancestors."

Seeing that his son was trying to stop him, Zhu Yuanzhang had nothing to say.

I sat in the chair sullenly the whole time, feeling very unhappy.

"Hey! These bastards, if such people appear in the Ming Dynasty, we must torture them and let them know that the dignity of the royal family cannot be touched!"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang's words may not make much of a fuss, what he said was never an empty promise.

If anyone dared to form a clique and engage in private business now, he would really dare to massacre the entire family of the other party. Even if Empress Ma came, she could only spare the family.

All the main members must die.

"By the way, you idiot boy, you just mentioned an important position in the cabinet? What is this cabinet?"

Although he was angry, Zhu Yuanzhang still wanted to understand everything about future generations.

He didn't even let go of the cabinet that Yang Chen had just mentioned.

Yang Chen glanced at Zhu Di again at this time. What is the cabinet?
That was naturally his masterpiece. Zhu Di, who was targeted, felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. Sweat poured down his forehead, and he wondered what this guy wanted to do to him!
If you want to kill me or chop me up, just say so. Why do you keep staring at me with malicious eyes?

This is too torturous!

"The Cabinet is naturally an organization that emerged to assist the king after His Majesty abolished the Prime Minister."

After hearing this, Zhu Biao was stunned at first, then looked at his father in disbelief.

Depose the Prime Minister! My father wants to depose the Prime Minister!

On the stage, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes suddenly became terrifying, as if they could bite someone in the next moment.

He has been thinking about abolishing the prime minister and monopolizing imperial power for a long time.

This matter was a secret in his heart and he had never told anyone about it. Even Queen Ma was not aware of his specific plan.

Why did he want to establish an organization like Jinyiwei? Wasn't it just to take advantage of the situation to get rid of the prime minister?

As long as Hu Weiyong showed any sign of weakness, he would find any excuse to kill him.

And then unify the imperial power.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Zhu Biao's astonished look and stared at Yang Chen with disturbing eyes and said:

"Go on, tell me what happened after we abolished the Prime Minister."

Yang Chen was not stage-frightened. So many things had happened before, and he was not afraid of what would happen next.

"Your Majesty believed that the emperor should be able to directly manage all government officials and the six ministries, so he abolished the Secretariat and the prime minister and other institutions and positions.

With the disappearance of these two, the Emperor will have to bear even greater pressure, causing headaches for the kings after Your Majesty.

So the cabinet came into being. The only difference was that the cabinet was mainly responsible for assisting the emperor in handling court affairs.

Although they do not have the authority to issue imperial edicts, they are the emperor's eyes and the bridge of communication between him and all officials.

In short, the cabinet has the appearance of a prime minister but not the power of a prime minister.

However, even so, as time went on, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the cabinet had surpassed that of all other officials. "

(End of this chapter)