Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 189 No way, the Emperor even knows these things?!

Inside the Hall of Literary Glory, Prime Minister Hu Weiyong looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and spoke solemnly.

We firmly oppose the idea of ​​clerks becoming officials.

Seeing that Prime Minister Hu Weiyong actually dared to raise objections at this time, let's set the record straight on this matter.

Many officials attending the morning court session looked at Hu Weiyong differently.

My admiration for him grew stronger.

Prime Minister Hu, well done! You did not disgrace yourself!
Faced with the tyrannical Zhu Yuanzhang's rampant misdeeds, we still had to rely on Prime Minister Hu at the crucial moment!
They dared to stand up, were not afraid of powerful figures, and dared to fight for the interests of the majority of officials and the emperor.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is right, this door must not be opened."

An official is an official, and a clerk is a clerk.

How can a lowly clerk become an official?
No matter how well he does, he's still just a clerk.

Governing a country and managing its affairs are not matters for officials to concern themselves with!

After Hu Weiyong spoke, more people immediately stepped forward to echo his sentiments and jointly advise the emperor on this matter.

We need to weld this car door completely shut.

Even the emperor wouldn't be able to make a single loophole in this!

This matter concerned the interests of all the officials, and they could not tolerate Zhu Yuanzhang's reckless behavior.

Even if Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to do this, they would have to dissuade him.

They never took clerks seriously, considering them to be the lowest of the low in the officialdom.

Even the lowest-ranking official is not comparable to a lowly clerk.

Now, however, the emperor wants these officials to sit down for a meal.

How can this be?

Do those lowly clerks even deserve it?

Furthermore, at this time, the emperor wanted to promote clerks to official positions.

So in the future, when punishing officials who have made mistakes or those whom the emperor wants to target, will these officials be demoted to clerks?

Therefore, we must nip problems in the bud.

This matter must be completely blocked.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne, watching the performance of these people, and was not surprised at all.

Many of these people have an exceptionally keen sense of smell; they've become quite shrewd with age.

Especially when it comes to their own interests, their noses are sharper than a dog's.

I've only made a small initiation in this matter, and it's already alerted these people, making them want to oppose it.

"Gentlemen, listen carefully. We are not saying that all clerks can become officials in the future."

Those who failed the exam were made into clerks.

Only by doing well in the future can one be promoted from a clerk to an official.

This only applies to those who are properly trained scholars from the Imperial Academy, unlike ordinary officials.

They were groomed by us to be officials.

"Your Majesty, if they fail the exams at the Imperial Academy, then they are unfit to be officials."

In the past, students who failed their studies at the Imperial Academy would be sent home if they failed the exams and had to repeat a year.

They are not qualified to be officials.

Now that you, in your great mercy, have allowed those who failed the exams to become officials, you have already bestowed upon them an immense favor.

At this point, giving them another chance would be too biased.

Although these people were students at the Imperial Academy, they failed the exams one after another, which shows that they were mediocre talents.

He was never qualified to be an official.

Those who become officials are all fortunate to have been given the opportunity by your benevolent superiors.

How could we go any further and make an exception for them?

It has been a long-standing practice that clerks cannot become officials.

Your Majesty, you absolutely cannot break this precedent and violate the rules for the sake of such an ignorant and incompetent person.

Hu Weiyong chose to continue his hard stand and refused to back down.

He will not be misled by the emperor's words.

In retrospect, this was indeed a small-scale matter, targeting only a small group of students at the Imperial Academy.

But who knows how many more people will be involved in the future, turning this small opening into a huge hole?

Nowadays, the emperor is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with; he knows everything perfectly well.

He was extremely distrustful of officials, and his guard was particularly high.

At this point, it appears that only a small opening has been made.

However, Hu Weiyong felt that in the future, it was very likely that the emperor would allow all officials to be promoted and dismissed normally.

Any clerk with satisfactory performance can become an official.

Honestly, if it were just about those who failed the exams at the Imperial Academy becoming clerks and then helping them become officials if they did well in the future, that would be a huge problem.

It wasn't a big deal for him.

What's frightening is that in the future, Zhu Yuanzhang might scale it up and expand it further.

He also felt that it was most likely true.

The emperor was capable of such a thing; Zhu Yuanzhang was always tireless in his efforts to address any infringement upon the interests of these officials.

"An established precedent since ancient times?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Hu Weiyong and spoke, his tone changing slightly.

"You, Xiao Hu, haven't read enough books."

Or do you think we haven't read enough books and don't understand the intricacies of this matter?
Where did you get this "since ancient times" argument from?

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Hu Weiyong felt a surge of disgust.

Good heavens, he was actually looked down upon by the emperor, a beggar and cowherd, in terms of scholarship.

It's understandable that some respectable and truly talented scholars in the court might look down on him in this regard.

He can understand and accept it.

But now, the emperor, who is widely recognized as not very knowledgeable, is looking down on this.

This feeling is even more unbearable than being looked down upon by the person who is in the bottom ten of the class.

Hu Weiyong was about to continue speaking.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke up, and shifted his gaze from Hu Weiyong to a person standing a little behind him.

The man's hair and beard were somewhat gray, and he looked quite old.

He seems to be older than Liu Bowen.

At this moment, the matter of clerks becoming officials has captivated the attention of countless people in the imperial court, who are all watching with utmost care as the situation unfolds.

Some people are watching from the sidelines, while others are preparing to join the battle.

Some people are already in the midst of a battle.

But this person was an exception.

Standing here, seemingly lost in thought, he appeared completely oblivious to the conflicts unfolding in the court.

"Prime Minister Wang, you tell me, has this existed since ancient times?"

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke up, asking the man to explain the matter.

This person was none other than Wang Guangyang, who is now the Right Chancellor of the Secretariat.

Wang Guangyang was also a veteran minister under Zhu Yuanzhang.

They were people who had worked for Zhu Yuanzhang before the founding of the dynasty.

Moreover, the contributions they made were considerable.

When the Ming Dynasty was established and titles of nobility were conferred, only three people from scholarly backgrounds were granted titles.

The highest among them was naturally Li Shanchang, the Duke of Han.

Then came Liu Bowen and Wang Guangyang, both earls.

This shows that Wang Guangyang held a very high position.

He made significant contributions, and Zhu Yuanzhang had high expectations for him, wanting him to continue to shine.

Before this, he could be considered Hu Weiyong's superior.

After Li Shanchang stepped down from his position as Left Chancellor of the Secretariat, the Right Chancellor of the Secretariat at that time was Wang Guangyang.

Without the Left Chancellor, he, as the Right Chancellor, would have been all-powerful.

At that time, Hu Weiyong was the Left Vice Minister of the Secretariat.

The difference between the Left Chancellor and the Left Prime Minister is only one character, but their status is vastly different.

The Left and Right Chancellors were subordinate to the Chancellor, serving as his deputies.

Logically speaking, the Left and Right Chancellors could not defeat the Left and Right Prime Ministers.

Unfortunately, Hu Weiyong was a very capable person with an extreme desire for power.

As a subordinate, he was not honest; he was too eager to advance his career.

He used many underhanded tactics against Wang Guangyang, who hindered his progress.

Various people impeached him, and since Wang Guangyang had indeed committed some offenses, Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed him from his position as prime minister and sent him to serve as an official in a local area.

Then Hu Weiyong was promoted from Left Chancellor to Right Chancellor, replacing Wang Guangyang.

After the Blank Seal Case, he went from Right Chancellor to Left Chancellor of the Secretariat.

The position of Right Chancellor was thus left vacant.

According to general practice, the person who can become the Right Chancellor is usually selected from among the Left and Right Chancellors.

However, after such a long time, the Left and Right Chancellors have basically been trained by Hu Weiyong.

Under these circumstances, Zhu Yuanzhang would naturally not allow them to become the Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat.

In order to limit Hu Weiyong, Wang Guangyang was brought back and allowed to continue serving as the Right Chancellor of the Secretariat.

Zhu Yuanzhang's approach to Hu Weiyong was a combination of appeasement and pressure. He wanted him to do things, but at the same time, he needed to maintain a certain level of vigilance.

We cannot allow Hu Weiyong to act with impunity.

Of course, there were also some instances of indulgence in certain matters behind the scenes.

Otherwise, if Hu Weiyong doesn't rebel, it will be much more difficult for him to find a reason to kill Hu Weiyong and abolish the position of Prime Minister and the Secretariat.

In his previous life, Wang Guangyang was summoned back from the provinces by Zhu Yuanzhang and made to serve as prime minister in the Central Secretariat.

Unfortunately, Wang Guangyang was very lazy and unproductive.

In this life, Zhu Yuanzhang brought Wang Guangyang back and made the same arrangements.

The only difference was that this time Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Wang Guangyang for a separate audience.

He told Wang Guangyang that the prosperity and strength of the Ming Dynasty required the continued efforts of veteran officials like Wang Guangyang.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that after his conversation, Wang Guangyang should be quite different from his previous life, and would no longer be able to slack off in this matter as he had in his previous life.

After all, even Li Shanchang was completely subdued by him through the case of the blank seal.

This made him a lone, loyal minister.

Now, it's incredibly useful for getting things done.

With my guidance, Wang Guangyang should be able to make some changes.

Unfortunately, after some time, Zhu Yuanzhang realized that he had made some mistakes.

Wang Guangyang doesn't seem nearly as arrogant and domineering as Li Shanchang.

Even her personality seems somewhat soft.

But they really are just giving up.

He was incredibly determined when it came to giving up, and it was truly not something that could be changed by a few words.

Having already made his point so clear, Wang Guangyang, upon returning to the Secretariat, did not strive to improve himself and thus failed to play any role in restraining Hu Weiyong.

It's just a clay puppet, a mere decoration.

His daily routine consisted mostly of playing chess and drinking tea; he ignored all other official duties.

Hu Weiyong can do whatever he wants.

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious about this.

For example, even now, in such an important situation, Wang Guangyang can get distracted.

His tendency to give up is clearly ingrained in his bones.

As Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, everyone present turned their attention to Wang Guangyang.

It was only at this moment that Wang Guangyang came to his senses, somewhat bewildered.

She blinked, looking completely confused.

"Your Majesty, um... um, I wonder what Your Majesty needs me for?"

Seeing Wang Guangyang's behavior, Zhu Yuanzhang became quite angry.

This old fellow is truly beyond redemption!
This means they're completely ignoring what I told them and are going to give up entirely!

Many officials in the court, upon witnessing this scene, cast strange glances at Wang Guangyang.

Wang Guangyang is indeed a veteran official; he's truly remarkable.

They dared to put on such an attitude even in front of the emperor, on such an important occasion.

"Hu Xiang said that the fact that clerks cannot serve as officials is something that has existed since ancient times."

This is an established practice.

Now, let me ask you, is what Prime Minister Hu said correct?

Zhu Yuanzhang suppressed his anger and looked at Wang Guangyang before speaking.

Everyone pricked up their ears, waiting to hear what Wang Guangyang would say next.

After listening to the emperor's words, Wang Guangyang nodded and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he spoke up: "Your Majesty, this... I think Prime Minister Hu is right."

This is a precedent, a rule that existed even before the Ming Dynasty.

A clerk is a clerk, and an official is an official; a clerk cannot hold office.

Wang Guangyang still looks like an honest man, and even appears somewhat timid on the surface.

However, when they say it, they are not cowardly at all.

Upon hearing Wang Guangyang's words, many of the court officials present were overjoyed.

This Prime Minister Wang Guangyang is also quite good; he didn't lose any points!

What did the emperor mean by summoning Wang Guangyang to ask such a question at this time?
It's obvious they want Wang Guangyang to refute this!
Who would have thought that Wang Guangyang was also a hero, unafraid of power and daring to face the truth!
Even if the emperor spoke up, he would not give him any face.

Be truthful and say what needs to be said.

The emperor's plan failed, and the project was abandoned.

"Both Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang were treacherous officials who rose to power!"
They deceive the emperor, distort the truth, and deliberately use falsehoods to mislead those in power!
"I request that these two traitors be executed!"

Just then, a voice rang out, carrying a palpable killing intent.

The person who spoke was none other than the upright and unyielding Korean Duke.

That old scoundrel!
Upon hearing Li Shanchang's words and seeing him step forward, many people present couldn't help but curse him inwardly.

That old scoundrel Li Shanchang is getting more and more shameless!

They completely groveled before the emperor, becoming his dogs!

That scoundrel is truly shameless!
Who would have thought that the Korean prince who led them into battle would turn out like this!

"The idea that clerks cannot become officials is not something that has existed since ancient times."

The Han and Tang dynasties, for example, never had such a boundary.

This rule was established during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song.

Some officials participated in the imperial examinations and achieved exceptionally good results.

Logically speaking, he should have been able to pass the imperial examination, but when Emperor Taizong of Song found out about it, he was furious.

To put it bluntly, a clerk is just a clerk. How dare they take the imperial examination? How dare they serve as an official?

Only after this did the rule come into being that clerks could not hold office.

This kind of thing is no secret.

It's impossible that Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang didn't know.

But here they're saying it's been like this since ancient times—it's clearly just a way to fool those in power.

"I request that these two traitors be executed as a warning to others!"

Li Shanchang didn't care at all about the many gazes falling on him.

They just kept going all out, constantly asking for the execution of Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang.

Wang Guangyang, Hu Weiyong, and many others who heard this were all extremely annoyed with him.

"It seems that you two are still inferior to the Duke of Han in this field of scholarship!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Hu Weiyong and the other man and said something meaningful.

"Is it that they genuinely don't know, or are they pretending not to know?"

"Your Majesty, I truly do not know, but I believe it has always been so."

Hu Weiyong quickly began to explain.

Wang Guangyang also chimed in, saying that he was equally unaware.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at them and said to the crowd, "The swords of the previous dynasty need not be used to behead the officials of today."

There's no need to reuse the old rules.

If it were a rule set by another emperor, we might have a better opinion of it.

But what kind of thing is Emperor Taizong of Song?

"Zhao Lao Er, this 'donkey cart war god,' does he even deserve the title?"

Zhu Yuanzhang openly cursed the Song dynasty in front of the entire court, a daily occurrence.

"Why did Zhao Lao Er do that?"
Some of you know, but most of you are pretending not to.
Some people are truly confused.

Today, we will explain these things to you clearly.

That's because the Song Dynasty was incompetent, and Zhao Lao Er himself was incompetent!

From beginning to end, the Song Dynasty spanned more than three hundred years, yet it failed to conquer Youyun and unify China!

Moreover, the more they fought, the smaller and weaker they became, until finally their country was destroyed.

What a disgrace!
It was never a unified dynasty from beginning to end.

Although he was also called emperor, he also had an established system.

But in essence, it was a large-scale military governor, a kind of hegemonic rule!

Why was the official system in the Song Dynasty so complicated that it made people dizzy and confused?

The most important reason is precisely this!
Zhao Lao Er, this god of war with his donkey cart, suffered repeated defeats and squandered the foundation left by Emperor Taizu of Song.

Not only was he powerless to launch a northern expedition and recover Youyun, but he was also terrified.

So they started to suppress the generals like crazy, and lost interest in recruiting Youyun.

The policy of governing the military with civil officials has begun.

This move was intended to win over a group of scholars and officials, and to get them to stand firmly with him, Zhao Lao Er, in their work.

This is how the emperor and the scholar-officials came to share the world.

However, in our opinion, this is wrong!
My Great Ming Dynasty is not that cowardly Song Dynasty. My Great Ming Dynasty has long since unified the North and South, recovered lost territories, and restored the Han people's land.

It was a unified dynasty!

Let's not even mention those practices of the Song Dynasty!

We don't want our Great Ming Dynasty to become like this, so utterly disgraceful!

When Zhu Yuanzhang said these words, many people present were greatly shocked!
On the one hand, the emperor was not easily fooled and actually figured all of this out.

On the other hand, it was the part that terrified them the most!

(End of this chapter)