After Gao Hongtu left, Sun Chuanting came again.

The two have a lot of leisure, playing against each other and drinking tea.

Sun Chuanting said: "The rule of officials has always been the most difficult, not only requires honesty and calmness, active work, but also selection and transfer, every step is not appropriate, it may bring bad consequences." ”

"The collapse of the rule of my court, from the perspective of the lower officials, lies in the fact that there are too many constraints, the three local divisions, and the checks and balances in the court, which are conducive to fighting and fighting for power, rather than worrying about the court and doing ......things for the people."

"The current atmosphere in officialdom is extremely bad, and party strife is rampant...... Among them, we are the largest in the Zhou system, and the consequent various township parties and book clubs have risen and fallen, and they are not clearly connected, all for the sake of competing for official positions......"

"In this year's imperial examination, the topic of the lower officials has been released, and it is bound to be an uproar, and the imperial court is not thinking about calming down......"

Zhou Zheng slowly fell into the ground, and he was also thinking about Sun Chuanting's words.

Daming has long been rotten to the roots, and all kinds of problems can not be solved overnight, or slowly, and they need to be scraped to cure the poison.

Zhou Zheng is overthrowing it in an orderly manner, but it will take a long time.

Zhou Zheng fell and said, "It may not be a good thing to be cruel to yourself. On the side of the ministry, you keep an eye on it, stay up for another year, and you will join the cabinet next year. ”

Regarding entering the cabinet, Sun Chuanting knew Zhou Zheng's thoughts, paused, and said, "Your Excellency, do you have a candidate for the new Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials?" ”

Zhou Zhengdao: "No, you continue to do both." ”

Sun Chuanting understood that this was adding weight to him and increasing his authority.

"I don't have a problem, I'm afraid there is some trouble over there." Sun Chuanting said.

Hengping is Zhou Fang's word, Zhou Zheng's eldest brother.

The brothers entered the cabinet together, which is not a lie, and may attract countless criticisms. At the beginning, Yan Song let his son Yan Shifan enter the cabinet, but he didn't know how much trouble he caused.

Zhou Zhengdao: "I'll go and talk about it over there, big brother, don't worry." The structure of the new system should be further promoted, and the independence of the judiciary is a hard condition. ”

'Justice' actually refers to the three divisions, the Criminal Department, the Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Sun Chuanting was slightly stunned and said: "Dali Temple Qing enters the cabinet, what about the Metropolitan Procuratorate?" ”

Zhou Zhengdao: "Combined with the six sections, it will be split and merged into the Criminal Department, the General Anti-Corruption Administration, etc. ”

Sun Chuanting pondered carefully and said, "Your Excellency wants to strengthen the control of the imperial court? ”

It's a euphemism, in short, centralization. The power structure of the Ming Dynasty was intricate, and there were checks and balances at every turn.

Zhou Zheng nodded and said, "The six ministries of the cabinet are almost at the same level, and we must consider more detailed." You in the imperial court should study it carefully, and I also have some ideas in the local area, so I will find an opportunity to hold a meeting to talk about it. Changes should also be made to the institutions of the provincial governments......"

Sun Chuanting listened, nodding his head and occasionally interjecting.

After a while, Sun Chuanting said: "What the lord said, the lower officials have written it down." What do you think about this year's imperial examination? ”

Zhou Zheng picked up the teacup and said, "I don't have any opinions, you come up with the exam questions, and you choose the talents." After this exam, the colleges at all levels are almost the same, let's take a look at the talents we have cultivated. ”

Sun Chuanting thought about the establishment of the academy, and said: "The six ministries and others are still discussing the establishment of the charter, in addition to the imperial court, they also bring some places to the local government to encourage them to run the school......"

Zhou Zheng sighed and said, "This is okay, you can discuss it." However, it must be institutionalized and controlled. Don't make another Donglin Party or Fushe out, then the court will never have peace. ”

Sun Chuanting responded, but sighed in his heart.

The party struggles of the past dynasties have not stopped, and the Ming Dynasty is particularly fierce, I am afraid that there will be more in the future, even if they make a layout early, it is useless.

The system is used to destroy.

Sun Chuanting stayed at Zhou's house for a long time and had a meal before leaving.

The next day, Zhou Zheng started work and entered the cabinet.

Just had a few simple polite words with Qian Qianyi, but before he could sit down, Jiang Guang, the secretary of the Ministry of War, came.

Jiang Guang said that it was not as good as Gao Hongtu and Sun Chuanting, he was quite direct, with a blank face, and said: "My lord, at present, the north and the south are coming, and the lower officials feel that the rebellion of Wu Sangui and others should be resolved, and Liaodong can wait a little longer." ”

Zhou Zheng looked at him and said, "Gao Shangshu said that Liaodong's millions of money and grain every year seriously drag down the national treasury, and I hope to solve Liaodong first." ”

Jiang Guang was stunned, but he didn't expect Zhou Zheng to block him with him, paused for a while, and said: "The lower officials know the situation of the treasury, but if Liaodong can't be decided in a war, it will drag down the treasury even more." If Wu Sangui and the others are solved, Yunnan will be lighter, and the imperial court will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. ”

Zhou Zhengdao: "Wu Sangui and others did not commit a border, and there was not much pressure on the south. The military department gritted its teeth again, even if it could not be decided in a war next year, the establishment would inevitably be greatly damaged, and Liaodong could also streamline the administration of the army, and the use of the government would be halved, and we would all be a little more relaxed. ”

Zhou Zheng used money and grain to block Jiang Guang, Jiang Guang said that he really couldn't find a suitable excuse to refute it, after all, money and food are the foundation of everything. If Liaodong had been dragging down the imperial court like this, it would not have taken two or three years for the treasury to dry up and the imperial court to collapse on its own.

In the afternoon, there were more people from the six departments and nine temples who came to see Zhou Zheng one after another, basically all of them opposed the Northern Expedition, perhaps they had heard the exact news that there would be a Northern Expedition this year.

Zhou Zheng pushed them back for various reasons.

Before getting off work, Zhu Cihong in the Qianqing Palace couldn't sit still, so he invited Qian Qianyi and Zhou Zheng over.

Zhu Cihong lost his previous anger and resentment, and calmly inquired about Zhou Zheng's grasp of the Northern Expedition.

Zhou Zheng also explained seriously and analyzed various factors, but he did not mention the morale-boosting thing.

Before Zhou Zheng left, Zhu Cihong was still very worried, even if he was still young when Huangtai Jibing besieged the capital, he still knew the horror of hardship.

'Jurchen is not satisfied with 10,000, full of 10,000 invincible', spread throughout the Ming Dynasty, almost a big stone in everyone's heart, in the face of Jianlu, they breathed shortly, and it was difficult to treat it calmly.

However, at present, almost all the power of the Ming Dynasty is in the hands of Zhou Zheng, and Zhou Zheng has decided, and then convincing these arms of the six ministries will basically have no obstacles.

In March, the atmosphere of the war became more and more intense, and on the official road from the capital to Shanhaiguan, you could see mobilized soldiers, grain and grass, armor, artillery, and so on everywhere.

There are also hundreds of warships in the Bohai Bay that have been practicing from time to time, appearing at the mouth of the Liao River and other seas.

The armies in Liaodong were also mobilized and rehabilitated, and almost the entire line was pressed northward.

Cao Bianjiao, Mangui's 20,000 cavalry also moved frequently, Cao Bianjiao crossed the sea, and 10,000 cavalry appeared on Phi Island.

With such a big move on the side of the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible for Jianyu not to know.

The Ming Dynasty shook more than 100,000 troops, and it was clear that it was going to attack Shenyang on two fronts, and the pressure on the overstretched Jianyu was huge.

While they were also gathering troops, they were also raising food and grass.

The rain is coming in the city of Shenyang, and rumors are flying.

In the palace, there were endless quarrels, and there were also various arguments in the Jianyu court about the attack of the Ming Dynasty.

including tactics and strategies for coping; The question of victory and defeat, peace and battle, etc.