?

Zhu Qizhen understood very well that what he did was actually no different from the policies adopted by Renzong and Xuanzong since then. In fact, he was giving up the prestige of the Ming Dynasty in southern Xinjiang.

Although he had every last resort, he could comfort himself. But in fact, Zhu Qizhen still felt very uncomfortable in his heart. He could only comfort himself that there was a long way to go. It would be irrational to use large-scale troops anywhere else before solving Waci.

.

Not to mention, what is northern Myanmar like? Just look at the expeditionary force and you will know.

This era will only get worse.

If you mobilize your troops rashly, you may lose a lot of men before the battle begins.

Zhu Qizhen discussed other matters with Wang Ji.

For example, how much should Huguang pay for Yunnan and Guizhou, and other big and small issues.

It seemed that Wang Ji accepted that he would be tied to Yunnan and Guizhou in the future. Naturally, he wanted to ask for more conditions from Zhu Qizhen. Zhu Qizhen also fully agreed and asked him to talk to the six cabinet ministries.

There are many details that Zhu Qizhen need not go into. The details are all discussed by the people below.

Zhu Qizhen finally persuaded Wang Ji to stay and said: "There are signs of severe drought again this year. Wait a moment, the Sixth Ministry of the Cabinet and the Five Military Governors' Office are discussing matters in the Wenhua Hall. You can listen here."

Zhu Qizhen was also one of the people who compensated Wang Ji. But when Wang Ji heard this, he felt a bit bitter in his heart.

He was also a member of this kind of imperial meeting before, but he didn't expect that now he is just a spectator. This is a political status that he cannot get back no matter how much salary he is given.

As soon as the time came, more than twenty ministers arrived one after another.

There are seven people in the cabinet, six ministers and seven ministers. Among them, the minister of Wuzhong leads the Dushui Division. So there are also the governors of the five armies, including Cheng Guogong, Wei Guogong, Baoding Marquis, and Xining Marquis Du Gonghou.

The imperial censors from the left and right of the Metropolitan Procuratorate also arrived.

It can be said that the palace is full of nobles.

In fact, Zhu Qizhen wanted to reduce the number of people, just like the Fifth Army Commander's Office, there was no use coming here. Zhu Qizhen's original intention was to have seven people in the cabinet.

However, Zhu Qizhen's act of delegating power to the cabinet also encountered some backlash.

In actual status, although the cabinet is above the six ministries, Zhu Qizhen even clarified the leadership responsibility of the cabinet to the six ministries, that is, each cabinet minister is responsible for reviewing the memorials of a certain ministry.

But many people here at Liubu Shangshu feel uncomfortable.

Why? Because it is stipulated in the laws of the Ming Dynasty that the Six Ministries are the highest civil service organization of the Ming Dynasty and are directly responsible to the emperor.

Therefore, when they asked the emperor to convene a meeting, it should not be limited to the cabinet, but should be based on the opinions of the public. Many people even wanted to restore the morning, middle and late court decisions.

Of course Zhu Qizhen refused.

It's not that Zhu Qizhen felt tired in the morning, but that he felt ineffective.

In the early days, all officials of the fourth rank and above were present in the capital. Whenever something happened, most people could attend and speak. If they were really brave, lower-level officials might not be able to confront the emperor directly.

But if you think about it, you will know how efficient a meeting with so many people can be. If there are too many things to handle in one morning, Zhu Yuanzhang did it and connected the morning and afternoon meetings.

Most officials do nothing but accompany the emperor. This is too inefficient.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen did not want to discuss matters in the morning meeting. Of course, this format still had to exist. Everyone would sign in and meet every morning, so that the lower-level officials below would have a channel to express their opinions.

If someone feels that they are too wronged, they may not be able to go to court in the morning and directly report it, just like Li Shimian did.

Of course, people who do not follow the rules and go beyond their immediate superiors are generally not welcome. Zhu Qizhen has never seen him except Li Shimian.

But this channel must be retained.

However, what the minister said below cannot be wrong.

After Zhu Qizhen discussed with seven members of the cabinet, he made the decision. In fact, it increased the power of the cabinet. A cabinet with too much power is actually not what Zhu Qizhen wanted.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen simply decided.

This set the tone for the imperial meeting. Only ministers from the Cabinet, Six Ministries, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Fifth Military Governor's Office could be present. If anything happened, they could summon the lower-level officials below to report the situation.

This time, the drought was discussed.

In fact, it has little to do with the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army, but they still have to attend, and they only need to wear an ear.

Before the time came, seven members of the cabinet arrived.

This is probably because Wenyuan Pavilion, where the cabinet is located, is closest to Wenhua Palace. It is only a few hundred steps away from the back door of Wenhua Palace courtyard.

Zhu Qizhen asked the seven people to sit down and asked Yang Shiqi casually, "Sir, what do you think of what I asked Mr. Hu to bring to you before?" Zhu Qizhen was afraid that Yang Shiqi would not be able to remember, so he said: "It's about the removal of the emperor.

Matters concerning the ban imposed by the Heavenly Prison officials.”

Yang Shiqi said: "I think it's impossible."

Zhu Qizhen frowned and said, "Why?"

Yang Shiqi said: "The astronomical and calendar numbers are so vast and profound that they cannot reach the realm of heaven and man without exhausting the strength of a lifetime. Your Majesty, if you want the essence of the calendar, you should seek the prosperity of talents. I sincerely offer you good advice, but if you seek the prosperity of talents, naturally

When we should be enlightened on the principle of sincerity and excellence, why should we entrust it to secular affairs?"

"The ancestors set up prohibitions for this reason."

"Your Majesty thinks that the salary of the officials of Qintianjian is not high enough to attract the talents of the country's scholars. I think that they should be given more posts and salary to protect their descendants, but this ban cannot be abolished."

"Firstly, the forbidden skills are suspected of being leaked to the outside world. Secondly, the disciples are eager to gain fame, but who taught the forbidden skills?"

Zhu Qizhen couldn't find a reason to refute it for a while.

It may not be unreasonable for Yang Shiqi to say that professional people do professional things. It may not be a good choice for future generations of astronomers to become officials.

But what Zhu Qizhen was thinking was whether Yang Shiqi had seen what he was thinking.

The corner of Zhu Qizhen's mouth twitched slightly. Seeing that everyone had almost arrived, he said, "Let's talk about this later." He didn't say yes or no, so he put it aside first. He asked a eunuch to escort the ministers outside the Wenhua Palace.

Introduced.

"I am waiting to see your Majesty. I am late, so please forgive me." Headed by Guo Jin, the Minister of Civil Affairs, they all bowed to Zhu Qizhen and apologized.

However, they arrived a little late and saw that Zhu Qizhen was talking to Yang Shiqi. They stood outside the door and did not dare to come in, waiting for Zhu Qizhen to send someone to lead them in.

Of course, they heard clearly the conversation between Zhu Qizhen and Yang Shiqi.

Zhu Qizhen said: "What's your fault? It's because I came early. Sit down."

Most of the palaces in the Forbidden City face north to south, but Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall are different. They are separated by three main halls and face each other far apart.

Wenhua Hall is in the east and Wuying Hall is in the west, so Wenhua Hall sits east and faces west.

Zhu Qizhen is sitting on the main seat. In the northernmost row of the Fifth Army Governor's Office, he sits facing south. The six ministers are in the southernmost row, sitting south and facing north. In the middle are seven cabinet members and two governors.

The nine of them also sat opposite each other. The one at the top was Yang Shiqi. Opposite him was an empty seat, indicating his status as chief assistant. Wang Ji added a seat among the six ministers.

Among these nine people, there is a road that can accommodate three or four people walking side by side. It is paved with wool carpets from the Western Regions. It leads directly to the gate.

Zhu Qizhen waited for everyone to sit down and said: "I have summoned all ministers today because Yu Qian, the governor of Zhili, has received news that there are signs of severe drought in Zhili this year, and there are traces of locusts everywhere. I heard that Shandong, Henan,

Officials from other places have reported that it is not much different from Zhili. From last winter to now, there has been no rain or snow. How should we deal with it?"

Just as Zhu Qizhen finished speaking, someone suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I think this is a disaster from heaven, to warn the court that there are villains in the court. Your Majesty should get rid of the villains and cultivate your inner virtue."

This person is none other than Liu Qiu, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Wang Wen, the last censor of Zuodu, was still out inspecting various vassal kings' illegal activities, tormenting the vassal kings, and punishing many unfilial sons of the clan. His reputation became so great that everyone thought it was Wang Qingtian. But he wanted to come back but he failed.

No more.

Chen Qiu was promoted again. Zhu Qizhen also looked at his resume. I don’t know whether he is practical or not, but he is a moral gentleman.

After Zhu Qizhen heard this, he suddenly felt secretly angry. Firstly, he had never believed this. Secondly, he felt that this person was saying that he was immoral. He was extremely angry and said: "With Liu
Chapter completed!