Bi Ziyan and the others were discussing, from time to time there were internal prisons, and the forbidden army passed through the lobby, and every time they would stop abruptly, and then the voice was quieter, unusually restrained, and careful.

Cao Huachun and Liu Shimin also kept shuttling back and forth, they had to communicate with the cabinet to determine the ways and means of work, especially the entry and exit of the notebook, decision-making, and promulgation, all of which required close cooperation between the cabinet secretary and the celebrant supervisor. In the past, the two were far apart, but now they are together, and they must be more meticulous and not allow mistakes.

Zhu Xu sat in the living room of the class room, boiling tea, listening to the movement outside, and smiling silently.

It's normal to not get used to it now, but in the future, when it's on the right track, you'll get used to it, and even be presumptuous.

Not long after, Cao Huachun came in and said, "Your Majesty, the cabinet is open." ”

Zhu Xu said 'um', wiped his mouth, walked out of his class room, and came to the lobby.

As soon as Zhu Xu came out, everyone who was already standing next to the chair raised their hands in unison, and they were about to salute "Ministers and other ......"

Zhu Xu waved his hand and said: "In the future, you can bow down and signal, no need to be formal, sit down, today is our first cabinet meeting, everyone relax, speak freely, come to someone, serve tea." ”

Bi Ziyan couldn't understand Zhu Xu's routine, so he had to follow: "Yes." ”

A group of people sat down in turn, all beside Zhu Xu's hands.

The left hand is Bi Ziyan, King Jing, Fu Changzong and others, and the right hand is Sun Chengzong, Wang Qiaonian, Shen Yongmao and others, all of whom can be regarded as the highest decision-making level of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Xu looked around, he was very satisfied, he had thought about today's scene a long time ago, put his hands on the table, and said with a smile: "Don't be restrained, let's start, what are you discussing today?" ”

Bi Ziyan glanced at the people on both sides of the table, raised his hand and said: "Back to the emperor, there are three things in total, one is the proposal of 'demoting the lord', the second is the disaster and disaster relief, and the third is the appointment and dismissal of some personnel of the six ministries. ”

At this time, the cabinet people came up with tea, Zhu Xu picked up the teacup, nodded slightly, and motioned to go down.

Bi Ziyan looked around again, and said to Zhu Xu: "Regarding the matter of 'demoting the lord', the ministers think that it is indeed necessary to do it, but it needs to be slowed down, and it cannot be done rashly, for fear of causing riots, so the cabinet first sorted out the number of clans, the number of nobles, and the list, and made a final conclusion on some people and things, thoroughly sorted out, and then carried out the 'demotion' or demotion in batches and stages, and finally the prince of the clan, and the specific methods, the ministers still need to carefully consider ......"

Zhu Xu's expression did not move, this is in line with the style of Bi Ziyan and others, the word 'stability' is the first, but I don't know that at this time, in the face of such a situation, we must be resolute and decisive, once these people are given a chance to breathe, the movement will only be greater, the pressure will be more, and it will be more restrained.

This was the first time he presided over a cabinet meeting, and Zhu Xu didn't want to be unpleasant, so he put down the teacup and didn't say anything.

Bi Ziyan saw that Zhu Xu did not speak, and then said: "The second thing is about the disaster situation and disaster relief, judging from the situation collected from various places, the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu and other six provinces is not optimistic, the harvest of several provinces is almost decreasing every year, this year it has decreased by two percent, and next year it may be more, river, south, mountain, west, mountain. East, River. Although the disaster situation in the west, lake, and Guangzhou is different, in general, it will be reduced by at least one percent, except for the river. Su, and other provinces also have their own minus. Next year, the revenue from the state treasury's tax and grain is estimated to be around 16 million stones, and the tax and silver are estimated to be around 30 million taels, and the gap between tax and silver and tax grain will be very large......

Zhu Xu listened quietly, did not speak, and looked at others from time to time.

Except for Bi Ziyan, none of these people seemed to have the intention of speaking, and they all listened quietly to what Bi Ziyan was saying, and their expressions did not change at all.

Bi Ziyan also didn't wait for others to speak, and said to himself: "The minister's plan is to reduce the scale of disaster relief, and disaster relief cannot rely on the imperial court to open warehouses and release grain, and the local yamen needs to bear enough responsibility......

Zhu Xu figured out the situation a little, nodded slightly, and thought about it.

Bi Ziyan said for a while, and then the topic changed again: "Regarding personnel, the cabinet discussed, Sun Chuanting was transferred to the cabinet, Zhou Yingqiu took over as the prime minister of Liaodong, and the prime ministers of six provinces including Shaanxi and Gansu were set up, and Fu Changzong was transferred for a period of three years. Zhao Han was transferred to the secretary of the ministry, and Zhang Bingwen was appointed as the secretary of the household department......"

These are all in accordance with Zhu Xu's ideas, and there is no deviation.

After finishing speaking, Bi Ziyan looked at Zhu Xu and said, "I don't know what else the emperor has to say?" ”

Is this a cabinet meeting? It's totally a recital, right? What is the difference between playing in the Imperial Study? Is it just an extra group of onlookers?

"That's what you usually do?" Zhu Xu picked up the teacup and said lightly.

Bi Ziyan and the others were stunned, looked at each other, and Sun Chengzong spoke: "Your Majesty, these things have already been discussed by the ministers, so please ask the emperor to decide." ”

"What about the others, is there nothing to say?" Zhu Xu put down the teacup and looked at the humanity in both hands.

These things have been discussed a long time ago, and today is the first time that the emperor has presided over the cabinet meeting, and no one wants to make trouble, and he has not made a sound when he hears the words, which is equivalent to acquiescence.

Zhu Xu sighed, he understood that if he wanted a normal discussion meeting, he still needed time to cultivate.

After a while, Zhu Xu said, "That's it, about the 'demotion of the lord', you have to discuss it again, you have to do it quickly, not for a long time." Don't be in a hurry about disaster relief matters, wait for the governors of various provinces to enter Beijing, learn more about them, and then make specific arrangements; as for personnel appointments, they can be announced, and they will all take office before the year. ”

"Your Ministers obey!" Zhu Xu's words fell, and a group of people got up in unison and raised their hands to worship.

Zhu Xu pressed his hand and said, "Okay, you don't need to make a big salute in the cabinet in the future, just be casual, let's stop here today, how did you do in the past, you don't need to worry too much about me." ”

Bi Ziyan, Sun Chengzong and the others all looked solemn, and they didn't relax at all, and said, "Yes." ”

Zhu Xu raised his eyebrows, turned his head to Cao Huachun and said, "Send all the scripts I want to approve to the cabinet, and I won't go to Jingyang Palace in the future." ”

"Yes." Cao Huachun responded.

"You're busy with yours." Zhu Xu stood up, waved his hand, and walked towards his class.

Bi Ziyan and the others instinctively raised their hands to 'send off the emperor', but they stopped stiffly.

A group of people looked at Zhu Xu's back, they were a little confused, Sun Chengzong and Bi Ziyan glanced at each other, and said in a deep voice: "Let's do this today, and after noon, we'll meet again." ”

Everyone didn't know what the emperor was going to do, and they were very vigilant, and they didn't see anything in the cabinet, so they had to nod with a calm face.

Zhu Xu returned to the class room, closed half of the door, sat on the chair, looked at the stacked notebook, and picked up one casually.

The current atmosphere of the government and the opposition in the Ming Dynasty is still very rigid, and it can be seen from the cabinet that the controversy that should have been fierce turned out to be a performance, and it has long been discussed in private, and the cabinet meeting has become a decoration.

The unity of the courtiers should be a good thing, but this is not necessarily the case at the moment.

"Looks like we're going to have to find something for them to do." Zhu Xu muttered to himself, and immediately didn't pay attention to it, just like in the imperial study, he reviewed the starting script here.

It was quiet outside, even if someone shuttled between Bi Ziyan and the others' classrooms, the footsteps couldn't be lighter.

Under the heavy pressure of the cabinet, it seems that everyone's breath outside is deliberately suppressed.

Cao Huachun was in the class room on Zhu Xu's right hand, his door was also ajar, and the figures came and went, busier than anyone else.

Liu Shimin was in Zhu Xu's left-hand room, he was relatively few, but the inner prisoners were also going in and out next to each other, without stopping for a moment.

There were also three classes on each side of them, and they also came one after the other, crowded away, whispering constantly.

Zheng Youyuan, the secretary of the cabinet who was only two feet away from them, had been watching, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, even the cabinet was not so busy, no wonder they all said that the emperor was diligent in government today, and there was no way to do this kind of workload even if he was not diligent.

This atmosphere didn't last long, as everyone in each class room gradually calmed down to do things, and forgot that there was also this section where Zhu Xu was there, every class room was in and out, noisy and shouting, endlessly.

When some officials outside came in, they were still hesitant to go to see the emperor first, but in the end they were all blocked by Liu Shimin, and a new rule was established: come and go, and the head and owner are clear.

It wasn't until noon that the imperial dining room came to deliver the meal, and a group of people suddenly woke up to the fact that the emperor was still in the cabinet. But then, as if he didn't feel anything, the cabinet continued in a strange atmosphere.

Not long after noon, Sun Chengzong received the news and hurriedly left the cabinet.

- Cao Wenzhao has returned to Beijing.