Chapter 117                                                             

Yan Song said: "I guess Lord Zhou must have wanted to stay in the capital. After all, when Lord Zhou went out and chose the way to accumulate strength, I knew that Lord Zhou would definitely become a great man in the future. But Lord Zhou had two obstacles, that is, it was easy to go out and difficult to come back. It was easy to come back and it was difficult to enter the cabinet."

"I, Yan Song, fell into trouble today. But I still have some connections in my hands. I am willing to contribute my strength to Lord Zhou. I only hope that the Lord will be open to the future. There are certainly unworthy people within the Yan Party. But there are also some talents who can do things, such as Lord Fang Dun and Fang."

Zhou Mengchen shook his head slowly and said, "Mr. Yan still has not realized the status quo. Your Majesty's thunderous anger has just begun. Now, everyone who is involved in the word "Yan" is in the liquidation. At this time, doing anything for the Yan Party is causing trouble. And you should be clearing that I can't make the decision in this matter. The one who can make the decision is Mr. Xu. No, it should be the Shoujiao Xu."

Yan Song said: "He is also your greatest enemy in the future, isn't it---?"

Zhou Mengchen said, "Don't say it anymore. It's already like this. Master Yan, please take care of it without authorization."

It’s time to say it. Zhou Mengchen had nothing to say anymore and left.

From then on, Zhou Mengchen never saw Yan Song again. Yan Song's era was gone. Xu Jie's era came slowly.

However, within a week, the Yan Party collapsed.

Yan Shifan was involved in many crimes. The Yan Party in the center was almost wiped out, and almost all the six ministers needed to be re-elected. In order to stabilize the court, Xu Jie proposed that the Yan Party in the local area remain unchanged for the time being, and asked them to write a letter to defend themselves.

There is no way to do this either.

After all, the Yan Party in the court is of great momentum, but it is fundamentally a rootless duck. It cannot cause any waves, but the Yan Party in the local area is in control of the key positions. If you are not careful, a rebellion will be launched.

Therefore, when Xu Jie cleaned up the central government and strictly enforced the party, he used thunder means, and the officials fell and they all fell like rain.

Even Fang Dun, who has always made achievements, became a member of the Yan Party because he was dismissed.

Zhou Mengchen also heard a news that Mrs. Ouyang died of illness.

Zhou Mengchen didn't know when Mrs. Ouyang went in history. But at this moment, Zhou Mengchen felt a little sad. When Xia Yan was defeated, Zhou Mengchen's status was still low. Seeing that only the court was unfair, he wanted to find justice and uphold justice. However, Yan Song now really showed Zhou Mengchen the scene of a loser in power struggle.

My relatives and friends were demoted one after another. Fang Dun and Ouyang Bijin were not considered perfect. Although they were a qualified bureaucrat. They were competent for their own work. Don’t underestimate this.

Talents and senior talents are short of all times.

Being able to arrange affairs of the imperial court in an orderly manner, especially Fang Du. Being able to serve in the Ministry of Revenue for many years, working hard to maintain the Ming Dynasty's finances is outstanding. Such talents are not so easy to find.

It is a pity to donate it to the public now.

If Zhou Mengchen had such a situation, Zhou Mengchen would be able to remember a long list of names, one by one, which disappeared from the political map of the Ming Dynasty. Yang Jisheng, Tang Shiying, Wang Zongyuan and other a series of personnel could not hold official positions. The Qi science he advocated might also become a forbidden study. For example, Wang Anshi and Wang Anshi were also famous scholars at that time. However, as Wang Anshi's rival, the knowledge of the Cheng brothers spread and became the origin of Neo-Confucianism.

But where is Wang Anshi's knowledge?

there is none left.

This is how politics is, win everything, lose everything.

"I must never lose." Zhou Mengchen said in his heart.

If Zhou Mengchen had been following a simple mind before this, he was stained with a hint of blood at this moment. He really couldn't afford to lose.

While liquidating the Yan Party, Xu Jie was the leader.

Because the person who presided over the liquidation of Yan Song was Xu Jie.

And don't forgive him if he has to.

Because no one except Xu Jie can hold on to this situation. While liquidating the strict party, it also maintains the normal operation of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhou Mengchen was also extremely honored and favored during this period, and he often accompanied him in the palace. Not only did he say that his official reinstatement, he also watched the entire process of Xu Jie's liquidation of the Yan Party. Zhou Mengchen knew it in his mind. His wish to stay in the capital was very likely to be fulfilled.

Now, on this day, Xu Jie proposed a new cabinet list to Jiajing.

Jiajing looked at the new list and looked at Xu Jie. With a little politeness in his tone, he said, "Shoufu Xu, what do you mean?"

Xu Jie was a little excited and said, "That's right."

"Yan Song deceived Shengcong and did many evil deeds, misleading national affairs from the top and misleading the people from the bottom, causing uneasiness of the court, disorderly internal and external order, the people and the people are in trouble, and internal and external military service is endless. Why? The cabinet's authority is too heavy and the responsibility is too little. So Yan Song can cover the sky with just one hand."

"I have been appointed by Your Majesty and have taken on a new mission. I dare not exert my heart's strength to be loyal to Your Majesty."

"I think there are two urgent tasks now. One is to recover the remaining thief Yan and evenly divide the persecuted by Yan Song since the 27th year of Jiajing. The other is to revive the court and look at the hearing. I think I should return the lord with my power and blessings, return the government affairs to the officials, and give the punishment and rewards to the public. Therefore, I think I will be the cabinet, and then the two or three officials will be appointed. The power is too heavy and the number of people who have been assigned to them is too small, so I recommend three people to the cabinet. I will share the worries of Your Majesty and share the work for me."

After hearing this, Zhou Mengchen felt a lump in his heart.

Xu Jie's high argument completely exposed the differences in Zhou Mengchen's political views with him.

Xu Jie felt that the foundation of governance was to establish a good order of superiority and inferiority. Since the Jiajing Dynasty, the relationship between Jiajing and the ministers was actually distorted and abnormal in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty scholars and officials.

Before the Jiajing Dynasty, the cabinet actually did not have that much power. Although Jiajing and Yang Tinghe were politically arch-rivaled, they wanted to take over the expansion of the cabinet's power.

It’s just that Yang Tinghe was trying to take over power, while Jiajing was trying to gain the upper hand in the fight with his ministers. The reason was very simple. If we gathered power in the cabinet, Jiajing only had to face several people. If we follow the previous constitution of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor would have to face the seven ministers and even the ministers.

It can be said that whether it is Xia Yan or Yan Song, their power is essentially not in line with the traditional rules of the Ming Dynasty. It is abnormal.

Of course, this very normal situation may not be something that Jiajing deliberately created.

Because these abnormal powers were given by Jiajing. Then Jiajing could be put to death at any time.

Xu Jie wanted to transform this abnormal state into a normal state.

His political view is decentralization.

The emperor's decision-making power was returned to the emperor, the cabinet invaded the power of the six ministries, and the six ministries. To return it to public opinion, it actually focuses on the public opinion power of the scholars and officials.

This is also Xu Jie knew that the Ming Dynasty cabinet system had been in operation for decades, and it would cause greater chaos. So he added patches to the cabinet system. In addition, Xu Jie himself became the chief minister of the cabinet. Although he had the intention to reduce the authority of the cabinet for his political philosophy, he definitely did not want to reduce his authority. After all, Xu Jie's power may not all come from the chief minister of the cabinet. He did this just to attract internal and external hearts and consolidate his authority. Maintain a balance between the literati and the emperor.

It also shows that he does not want to be the cabinet chief like Yan Song and the emperor's puppet.

Zhou Mengchen understood some of Xu Jie's ideas quite well. For example, Xu Jie attached importance to scholars and officials and led scholars and officials as their foundation of power. He did not want to become a vassal of imperial power. Zhou Mengchen also had this idea.

But what Zhou Mengchen couldn't accept was that Xu Jie's attitude was not a change. He also wanted to make a big move, just to repair and maintain the intention of the Ming Dynasty to move forward.

It's much better than Yan Song. Yan Song has never considered these things.

But in Zhou Mengchen's opinion, this is far from enough. In the history of the world of great changes, a group of reformers emerged. It was not that these reformers were arranged by God in this era at the same time. Instead, the internal reform factors of this era have driven the Ming Dynasty to go in this direction.

After Zhou Mengchen's catalysis and magical reforms, the internal reform factors of the Ming Dynasty were already like magma.
Chapter completed!