Chapter 173 The Empress Dowager’s final teachings

Zhu Qizhen knew why Yang Shiqi said this.

Because there is nothing wrong with your majesty.

The emperor is never wrong, only the ministers are wrong.

This political principle has remained in many places from ancient times to modern times.

Every time an emperor admits his mistakes and issues an edict to offend himself, it is a very serious political issue. Of course, Chongzhen does not count. Even so, every time Chongzhen issued an edict to offend himself, it was a big disturbance.

Zhu Qizhen didn't say much and personally helped Yang Shiqi out of the Wenhua Hall.

After Zhu Qizhen sent Yang Shiqi away.

After returning to Qianqing Palace, Wang Zhen separated the memorials from all parties in front of Zhu Qizhen.

There are several tables beside Zhu Qizhen, divided into priorities.

These memorials were first placed on four tables in order of priority. Any items on the table were classified into military, disaster, civil, six ministries, two capitals and thirteen provinces, Jinyiwei, and Dongchang.

Whenever Zhu Qizhen returned to Qianqing Palace, he would see several tables full of memorials.

Zhu Qizhen went through these memorials every day.

Or if you get tired of reading, ask Wang Zhen to read it.

Then he dictated the instructions and asked Wang Zhen to criticize Zhu on his behalf.

Even in order to quickly review, if many cabinet opinions did not need to be overturned, Zhu Qizhen would draw a circle at the end of the memorial to indicate agreement.

Wang Zhen didn't know what Zhu Qizhen said when he met Yang Shiqi. When he came to Zhu Qizhen, he said, "Your Majesty, would you like to start reviewing the memorial?"

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "Let it go for now."

At this moment, Zhu Qizhen had some doubts about himself.

I doubt whether his diligent review of the memorial was correct.

Through these memorials, Zhu Qizhen had a deep understanding of the situation in the Ming Dynasty. But he also saw that there were thousands of problems that needed to be solved.

Whether it is the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Dali Temple, or the Fifth Army Governor's Office, there are too many local problems.

Zhu Qizhen's previous thinking was just to think of ways to correct each problem one by one. But was the emperor's energy wasted on correcting one problem after another?

Before, Zhu Qizhen thought it was.

A person who is diligent, loves the people, is frugal, and treats the virtuous people well is an emperor.

But now, Yang Shiqi said this.

That's not the case at all.

Several times, he almost went into battle naked to promote changes in the court.

But what did Yang Shiqi say? It’s too urgent to seek treatment and too complicated to use.

Is this correct?

That's right. During the earthquake, the Empress Dowager gave up the power of the court and settled down to be a woman in the harem. Within a few months, Zhu Qizhen caused a big disturbance.

This turmoil is from all aspects.

In large aspects, it is based on the entire national policy, such as the feudal policy, and in small aspects, such as Zhu Qizhen's changes in the governance of Beijing, allowing the Five Cities Military and Horse Division to deal with the conflict between the Six Ministries and Shuntian Prefecture.

etc.

In Zhu Qizhen's view, he did not do too much, but do not expect the efficiency of later generations of bureaucrats to be expected of officials of this era. In this era, there were only 12,000 registered officials in the capital.

It seems like a lot, but to be fair, is the political center responsible for the Ming Dynasty, two capitals, thirteen provinces, national defense, diplomacy, military and civil affairs, etc. really a lot of people, twelve thousand people?

There are many more, including a cup of tea, a book, and a shaky pension official position all day long. How high can the administrative efficiency be?

Yang Shiqi knows very well what kind of people the people below him are like.

You can't change the people below, you can only ask Zhu Qizhen to change his own rhythm.

this is the truth.

But Zhu Qizhen was really unwilling.

Zhu Qizhen suddenly thought of the Empress Dowager.

Although the Empress Dowager was no longer involved, Zhu Qizhen still regarded the Empress Dowager as his supporter. When he encountered problems that he couldn't solve or that he couldn't understand, he still went to see the Empress Dowager reluctantly.

Zhu Qizhen left as soon as he said so.

Not long after, we arrived at Cining Palace.

But in the Cining Palace, a series of portraits almost covered the entire Cining Palace.

Zhu Qizhen had something on his mind, but he also asked curiously: "Empress, what are you doing, showing off your paintings?"

The Empress Dowager smiled slightly and said: "What are you talking about? These are the girls of the right age from the families of those who were the heroes of Jingnan and could not be ennobled."

"I'm choosing a queen for you."

The Empress Dowager has defined the scope of Zhu Qizhen's marriage. According to the ancestral family law, she cannot marry into a wealthy family. However, the Empress Dowager still wants to seek more political benefits for Zhu Qizhen.

The Jingnan heroes are the largest group in the military.

It can be said that for all generals who are active in the military today, their common resume must have four words: "Jingnan hero." Even if he is not the hero of Jingnan, he is the hero after Jingnan.

Therefore, although he could not marry into a wealthy family, marriage between middle and lower-level officers could still consolidate Zhu Qizhen's status.

Of course, the Empress Dowager thought she was middle-class, but in fact it was similar to Shi Jing's family. Shi Jing's family also had a hereditary deputy Qianhu.

It won't work any further down.

The Empress Dowager doesn't think that the daughters of some hereditary families are really capable of controlling the Sixth Palace.

The Empress Dowager was extremely disappointed with the Empress Dowager Sun. Another reason why he asked Zhu Qizhen to hurry up and get married was that he directly handed over the power of the harem to the empress.

I don't want Empress Dowager Sun to get involved.

Only then did Zhu Qizhen realize that these words were all portraits, almost paintings of ladies from later generations.

The meticulous paintings are drawn one by one, and they are very vivid. Each woman is either standing in the pavilion or standing in front of flowers and plants. Each woman has her own manner. It cannot be said that the painting is not good. It is just that Zhu Qizhen has seen countless photos of beautiful women in later generations.

, especially those that are true or false. But regardless of whether it is true or false, at least the visual effect is very good.

The photo looks several orders of magnitude better than the person in person, isn’t that bad?

Zhu Qizhen was not interested in the beauty in the portrait, but he was a little touched by the painting itself.

Seeing that Zhu Qizhen was in a daze, the Empress Dowager said, "Emperor, what's wrong?"

Zhu Qizhen said: "This must be the work of Master Dai in the palace. When my father was here, he once learned skills from Master Dai, and his grandson looks familiar."

The Zhejiang School was popular in the painting circles in the early Ming Dynasty, and one of the great masters was Dai Jin. He was also one of the most influential figures, and became one of the first-class painters in the palace.

Emperor Xuanzong often discussed and studied painting with these court painters.

But after Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager dismissed all these people.

After all, the Empress Dowager never thought that painting was the right path, especially for an emperor.

When the Empress Dowager heard Zhu Qizhen talking about Xuanzong, she sighed slightly and said, "If your father were here, there would be no need for me to take care of this matter."

"Tell me, what trouble did you encounter again? You don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for anything."

After Zhu Qizhen heard this, he immediately said: "My grandson is unfilial."

The Empress Dowager said: "What is filial piety? Real filial piety lies in whether you can expand the inheritance of your ancestors. It is not about whether you come to see me, an old woman. During this period of time, you have often been busy in Qianqing Palace until late at night. At your age You are still young, so you should pay attention to your health. The days will be long in the future, so you can ask Wang Zhen to review some of them for you."

Although the Empress Dowager did not care about things, she was not deaf or blind after all. No matter in or outside the palace, big or small, could not be hidden from the Empress Dowager.

It's just that the Empress Dowager didn't care.

Zhu Qizhen said: "My grandson understands."

The Queen Mother said: "What did Yang Shiqi tell you?"

Zhu Qizhen then told Yang Shiqi exactly what he said. Zhu Qizhen said: "My grandson was confused for a moment and didn't know how to deal with it."

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager smiled softly and said: "What Yang Shiqi said is right. When Emperor Taizu was here, he could read many memorials and deal with many affairs even if he worked day and night. However, Emperor Taizong went on several personal expeditions and was isolated from the rear. Didn't you see anything happen?"

"It can be seen that in this world, Emperor Taizu governed by one method, and Emperor Taizong governed by another method."

Zhu Qizhen said: "My grandson understands that the most important thing in government is to employ people, but many of the ministers in the government are not to my liking."

The Queen Mother said: "How is Yu Qian?"

Zhu Qizhen chewed slowly and said: "Yu Qian is a capable minister and official, but he is not a prime minister. If you put him in the position of chief minister of the cabinet, my grandson may not be able to get along with him."
Chapter completed!