Chapter 344: Separation of Powers

Dead.

Wang Fa, the first assistant of the cabinet, took the second assistant Qian Chenghai, Lu Ruhui, Sun Anbang and others into Wang Pu's study, among which Qian Chenghai was the distant nephew of Qian Qianyi, the first assistant of the former cabinet, and Lu Ruhui was the grandson of Lu Daqi, the former cabinet assistant, and Sun Anbang was also Sun Chuanting's cousin.

The four major families of Wang, Sun, Zhu, and Chen are the four major families economically.

Correspondingly, Wang, Sun, Qian, and Lu are the four major bureaucratic families, since the rise of Longwu Zhongxing, the cabinet has changed more than a dozen terms, from the original Sun Chuanting, to the later Qian Qianyi, Lv Daqi, until the current first assistant Wang Fa, each of the first assistants are from these four bureaucratic families.

Speaking of which, the cabinet chief assistant is only produced in the four major families, which is contrary to Wang Pu's original intention, but at this stage, this is also a way to concentrate the supreme power in the hands of a small number of bureaucrats, which will not only help the political situation stabilize, but will not form a situation of one dominant family, which can be said to be the most appropriate strategy that Wang Pu can come up with.

From beginning to end, Wang Pu has not been the first assistant of the cabinet for a day, but the military power of the Central Army has always been firmly in his hands, even if Wang Pu is now eighty-nine years old, Wang Fa, who has been the first assistant for a few years, has also knocked on the side several times, hoping that Wang Pu can hand over the military power in his hand, but Wang Pu is not moved at all.

In fact, Wang Pu did not intend to hand over military power to Wang Fa.

Wang Pu can guarantee that he has no ambition to be the emperor, but he can't guarantee that Wang Fa does not have the ambition to be the emperor, if the military power is handed over to Wang Fa, in this way, Wang Fa will combine military and political power, if he wants to change the dynasty and be the emperor, no one can stop him, so Wang Pu can't do this.

When Wang Fa and the others came in, Wang Pu was lying on his back on the rocking chair with his eyes closed and pretending to sleep.

Thinking that Wang Pu was already asleep, Wang Fa looked back and signaled Lu Ruhui and the others behind him to silence, and then walked up to Wang Pu and lowered his voice and called: "Old man......"

Wang Pu slowly opened his cloudy eyes, and said, "Oh, you're here, you're all here." ”

The rest of Qian Chenghai, Lu Ruhui, Sun Anbang and others hurriedly stepped forward, respectfully shook to the ground, and said in unison: "See the old man." ”

Speaking of which, Qian Chenghai and others are Wang Pu's juniors, and it is better to call him an old man.

"Excuse me." Wang Pu waved his hand and said with a smile in an old voice, "Sit, sit down." ”

"Thank you, old man."

Qian Chenghai and the others thanked him, and then sat down in turn, not daring to stick only half of his butt on the chair, including Wang Fa, no one sat down, in the past fifty years, Wang Pu's authority has been extremely strong, don't look at this old guy now looks old, but once the power is launched, it is God who prevents God from killing God, and Buddha prevents and kills Buddha!

In the spring of the year before last, the Australian governor Zhang Tieling became independent and tried to be a local emperor who seized Australia, but Wang Pu was angry and transferred 20 battalions of elite Central Army, and the rebellion was put down in less than three months.

"Old man." Wang Fa glanced at Lu Ruhui and the others, and asked cautiously, "Your old man hasn't rested so late, but you sent someone to find us, but do you have any orders?" ”

"Well, it's something." Wang Pu nodded and said, "You'll find out later." ”

Wang Pudu had already said so, and Wang Fa and the others didn't dare to ask anymore, as long as they sat and waited.

But after waiting for a long time, heavy and hurried footsteps sounded outside the study, and before Wang Fa and the others got up, the five Central Army officers had already entered with high spirits, saluting Wang Pu and standing upright, Wang Pu's old face finally bloomed with a smile, waved his hand and said: "Hehe, you are here, sit down too." ”

The five officers who came were Li Dingxi, Zhao Zhengyi, Tang Hao, Zheng Yuan, and Li Qi.

Among these five people, Li Dingxi is the eldest son of Li Dingguo, the current chief of the General Staff of the Central Army, and the current "chairman" of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Zhao Zhengyi is the second son of Zhao Xin, Tang Hao is the eldest son of Tang Sheng, these two are currently the deputy chief of the General Staff of the Central Army, and are also members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Zheng Yuan is Zheng Chenggong's nephew, chief of the General Staff of the Navy, Li Qi is the son of Li Ang, the former chief of the General Staff of the Navy, and the current deputy chief of the General Staff of the Navy, and the two are also members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

According to the Constitution, the Joint Chiefs of Staff is obliged to exercise the executive orders of the Cabinet, but in Wang Pu's lifetime, this constitution is basically a dead letter, only Wang Pu is still alive, and the Cabinet will never be able to move a single soldier of the Central Army and any warship of the Navy.

Li Dingxi's five people also sat down separately.

Seeing that Wang Pu still didn't mean to speak, Wang Fa's face began to become solemn, and he vaguely realized what Wang Pu was going to do, and he couldn't help but feel a little anxious, stepped forward and gently pulled Wang Pu's sleeve, and said in a low voice: "Old man, can you take a step to speak?" ”

Wang Pu said indifferently: "Is there anything you can't say here?" ”

"This ......"

Wang Fa hesitated, and when he didn't know what to do, a loud voice suddenly sounded outside the study: "His Majesty the Emperor has arrived at ......"

The people who were sitting in the study got up when they heard the sound, although the Ming Empire has canceled the bow ceremony when meeting the emperor, but the etiquette of bowing has been retained, although His Majesty the emperor has no actual right to rule, but in any case, he is the emperor of the empire, and his status is extremely noble, and he should bow.

Only Wang Puyang hid in the rocking chair and did not get up, which was a privilege granted to him by the emperor.

Under the gaze of everyone, Emperor Wanli slowly walked into the study, there were already palace attendants for Emperor Wanli to move a chair and put it on the left side of Wang Pu, Emperor Wanli sat happily, there was no displeasure on his face, as the emperor of the empire, but was summoned to the palace by the courtiers to discuss matters, this matter is quite that, but if this courtier is an old minister like Wang Pu, then it is another matter.

Although Emperor Wanli is not very old, his mind is not stupider than his Laozi Emperor Longwu, he knows very well that with Wang Pu's prestige and power, if he wants to be the emperor, it will be easy, the people and all the magnates in the world will only raise their hands to welcome, and no one will cry out for the Zhu family!

Wang Pu sat up from the rocking chair and said in an old voice: "Well, everything that should have come has already come, so ...... Let's start, the old man invited you here today, just to discuss one thing with everyone, a major event related to the rise and fall of the empire for thousands of generations! ”

Emperor Wanli's heart jumped, and a trace of panic passed through his eyes uncontrollably.

Over the years, there have been a lot of rumors on the streets, saying that Wang Pu has always emulated Cao 'Cao' during the Three Kingdoms period, so he will never usurp the throne during Wang Pu's lifetime, but after Cao's 'Cao' died, his son Cao Pi immediately usurped the Han Dynasty and became independent.

Thinking of this, Emperor Wanli couldn't help but glance at Wang Fa, the first assistant of the cabinet, a cloud of uneasiness has shrouded him, with his understanding of Wang Fa, if this person has real power, it will definitely usurp and stand on his own, can it be said that the Zhu family's country will really be extinct when it reaches him Zhu Hezai's generation?

Wang Fa is also playing drums in his heart, needless to say, this guy does have the ambition to be the emperor, he has always thought that the reason why the Ming Dynasty can have Longwu Zhongxing is not how wise Emperor Longwu is, but completely because of Wang Pu's credit, if it weren't for Wang Pu, the Ming Dynasty would have been destroyed by Jiannu for many years! Therefore, Wang Fa thinks that this country should belong to the Wang family, and the throne of this emperor should be sat by their Wang family father and son.

Wang Fa also knows that the vast majority of the people and powerful people in the world are on the side of their Wang family, as long as the Wang family ascends to the top and sets up another dynasty for Ming, it will be in accordance with the will of heaven and the will of the people! What makes Wang Fa puzzled is why Wang Pu has always been unwilling to usurp Ming and stand on his own?

In fact, Wang Pu was reluctant to usurp Ming and stand on his own feet for a simple reason.

Wang Pu can guarantee that he is not a faint king, he can know that Wang Fa is not a faint king, and he can even know that Wang Fa's son and grandson are not incompetent, but what about the son's son and grandson's grandson? Can Wang Pu ensure that the children and grandchildren of the Wang family will always be virtuous and capable?

Of course not.

Since there is no guarantee that the descendants of the Wang family will always be virtuous and capable, then the Wang family's dynasty will inevitably fall in the end, and it will be the people of the empire who will suffer at that time, and it will be the Han nation that will suffer disasters.

Therefore, for the sake of future generations and the Han nation, Wang Pu will never usurp himself and stand on his own! What Wang Pu wants is to rationally distribute the supreme power of the empire fundamentally from the system, so as to ensure that the Ming Empire can prosper for a long time, and to ensure that the Han nation can prosper for a long time!

"I'm old......," Wang Pu said in a lonely tone, "This world belongs to you young people, and the future of the empire and the future of the Han nation depends on you." ”

"Old man." Wang Fa hurriedly said, "You are light and healthy, and you can live for at least another thirty years." ”

"Don't interrupt." Wang Pu waved his hand and said, "We have an old saying in China, good people don't live long, disasters live for thousands of years, the old man has killed countless people in his life, destroyed hundreds of countries and clans, and it can be regarded as a rare scourge for thousands of years, so it is worth living to be eighty-nine years old...... But the old man is old after all, and there is not much time left for the old man. ”

The atmosphere in the study was a little weird and dignified, and no one dared to interrupt Wang Pu with any words.

"When the old man is alive, forgive those clowns who jump off the beam and don't dare to come out to make trouble."

Wang Pu's old face suddenly surged with a pride that had not been seen for a long time, but this pride soon disappeared and was replaced by a ruthless melancholy, "But after the old man dies, I can't control them...... The old man can't rest assured, before some things are done, the old man can't even turn a blind eye even if he dies. ”

"Daddy." Wang Fa hurriedly said, "What's wrong with you, say something dead or alive." ”

Emperor Wanli also persuaded: "Yes, old man, with your prestige, even the King of Yama in the Netherworld has to take a detour when he sees it, and who in the three worlds of heaven, earth and man dares to detain your soul?" ”

"Don't say it's useless." Wang Pu waved his hand, and then said, "There are two things at the moment, if these two things are not done well, the old man will never breathe, and the first thing is the European countries!" Before the old man closes his eyes, he must see with his own eyes the conquest of Europe by the Central Army! ”

"Don't worry, old man!" Li Dingxi Huoran got up and said in an inexplicable tone, "The Ministry of Railways is planning to build a railway through Siberia, and the General Staff has also drawn up a detailed battle plan for Europe. ”

"Well, how to use the soldiers is your business, and the old man only cares about the result." Wang Pu bowed his head slightly, and then said, "This second thing is...... The old man is old, and his energy is no younger than yours, and the affairs of the Central Army should be handed over to you young people......"

Here it comes! Finally get to the point!

Wang Fa and Emperor Wanli's hearts hung up at the same time, and even the eyes of Li Dingxi and other officers suddenly became eager, including Lu Ruhui, Sun Anbang and others, they all wanted to know how Wang Pu planned to distribute the power in his hands? Give Wang Fa the supreme military and political power, or return the military power to the Wanli Emperor?

Wang Pu's cloudy eyes slowly swept over everyone's faces, and he said in an old voice: "From now on, His Majesty the Emperor is the supreme commander of all the armed forces of the Ming Empire......"

Before Wang Pu's words fell, Wang Fa's face had become very ugly, but Emperor Wanli was secretly happy in his heart, but he never dared to show it on his face, and the rest of Lu Ruhui, Sun Anbang, Li Dingxi and others were also a little surprised, they really didn't expect Wang Pu to return the military power to Emperor Wanli.

Wang Pu paused, and suddenly said, "It's just ......"

Emperor Wanli's heart that had just been put down immediately hung again, and Wang Fa's heart resurfaced with a glimmer of hope.

Wang Pu continued: "However, His Majesty's order to transfer troops must be approved by the Cabinet and the two houses of the National Assembly before it can take effect, and whether the Cabinet opposes it, or the upper or lower houses of the two houses of the National Assembly, His Majesty's order does not have any legal effect, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff cannot carry it out. ”

Absolutely!

Wang Pu's move is really amazing!

In this way, looking at the entire empire, only the supreme commander Wanli Emperor has the right to mobilize the armed forces of the empire, but he cannot arbitrarily mobilize the armed forces to do things for himself, such as forcibly dissolving the parliament or cabinet, which is not possible, because the emperor's appointment must be approved by the cabinet and the two houses of the parliament.

Of course, this model of power distribution is not unassailable.

There is a possibility, that is, His Majesty the Emperor controls all the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and directly controls the entire armed forces, so he can bypass the cabinet and the two houses of parliament and do whatever he wants, but within the political structure of the Ming Empire, this possibility is very small.

Because the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are all elected from among the officers at all levels of the Central Army, and this list is subject to the approval of the Cabinet, it is still possible for one or two of the members of the Joint Council to stage Infernal Affairs, and if all the members are bribed by His Majesty the Emperor, then it may be very small, after all, the cabinet people are not dry meals, and it is impossible not to even know that their own people have been bribed by the emperor.

There is another possibility, that is, the chief cabinet assistant who has the actual executive power controls all the members of the joint council through the list review power of the joint chiefs of staff, so that although the chief cabinet chief does not have the right to mobilize the armed forces of the empire in name, in fact, the chief cabinet is the supreme commander of the imperial armed forces, and all members of the joint chief of staff are loyal to the chief of the cabinet, and the chief cabinet can even launch a military coup to directly usurp the throne, or establish a military "government".

This is a serious problem, but Wang Pu has already thought of a way to deal with it, that is, the cabinet only has the final right to review the list of members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but does not have the right to select and send the list, and this power belongs to the two houses of the Congress, in other words, the two houses of the Congress will select a list of 10 to 15 officers with the same qualifications in the Central Army, and then submit it to the cabinet, which will select five to seven of them to form a new Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In this way, it is basically not impossible for the chief cabinet assistant to completely control the Joint Chiefs of Staff, because Wang Pu actually dispersed the appointment and dismissal power of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the two houses of the Diet, which have a large number of people, and if they have too many hearts, they will have disputes, there will be factions, some people will be in favor and some will be against, and in the end, the cabinet and the Congress will play a game of games, and the final result can only be that no one can help anyone, and everyone compromises with each other.

Of course, there may also be another absurd possibility, that is, the emperor's refusal to exercise the power of the armed forces.

For example, in the future, when the empire is threatened by armed threats such as foreign invasions and colonial rebellions, and the central army needs to be sent to suppress it, but His Majesty the Emperor refuses to order the mobilization of troops, then another set of methods is needed to make up for it, that is, the power of the two houses of the National Assembly.

Wang Pu's distribution of power is a bit weird, but it is actually a disguised separation of powers.

The separation of powers in the usual sense of the West generally refers to the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers, but this system is absolutely unworkable in the Ming Empire, because in the Ming Empire, military power is above all powers, and whoever has military power is the master, and the executive, legislative, and judicial forces have to stand aside.

Therefore, Wang Pu's separation of powers is actually to divide the military power in his hands: the right to transfer the army belongs to the emperor, the right to appoint senior officers belongs to the Congress, and the supervision power of the appointment of senior officers belongs to the cabinet, and thus forms a set of effective checks and balances system, avoiding the emperor or the cabinet chief assistant directly controlling the armed forces, and threatening the current political structure of the Ming Empire.