Although the Ming and Qing dynasties were generally referred to as the peak of imperial power in later generations, in fact, the height of imperial power in the Ming Dynasty was far less than that of the Qing Dynasty.

Among them, the most powerful weapon of the cabinet to limit the imperial power is the power of refusal.

To put it simply, if the emperor wants to issue a holy decree reasonably and legally, and then hand it over to the lower-level yamen to execute, he must go through the process of voting for approval, and the official document is stamped with a large seal of the Wenyuan Pavilion under the control of the first assistant of the cabinet, and then handed over to the six departments for review in the matter.

If it has not been drafted by the cabinet and stamped with the seal of the Wenyuan Pavilion, and has bypassed the review of the six departments and issued directly to the implementation yamen, this kind of will is not legally called the central decree, and the low-level officials can choose not to carry it out, so that the holy decree will become "waste paper".

Of course, if the cabinet ministers feel that the emperor's decree is too outrageous, and the issuance to the implementation of the yamen is simply a disaster for the government, they directly call back the cabinet vote stage, which can be regarded as the use of the right of refutation.

In addition, in addition to the cabinet has the right to refute, the six departments also have the same thing, which is why the branch Taoist officials in the Ming Dynasty have a high status, think about it, you can casually "spray people" without legal responsibility, and you can also reject the holy decree issued by the emperor, where can the status be low?

However, under normal circumstances, it is prudent for the cabinet chief assistant to use the right of refutation, after all, the relationship between this level of *** and the emperor is extremely close, as long as it is not a principled antagonism, why risk offending the emperor and ruining his career, to refute the holy decree and return the seal?

It is like having a face-to-face chat with the emperor, politely discussing what aspects of the Holy Decree are reasonable, and both sides will go further.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, only Yang Yanhe, the first assistant of the Jiajing Dynasty, chose to fight with the emperor under the "Little Rites Discussion" incident, and successively rejected dozens of holy decrees of the Jiajing Emperor, resulting in the paralysis of the cabinet operation, and he could only resign and put a black gauze hat on his head.

From then on, the backbone of the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty was almost broken by the court staff, and the cabinet had never used the horse prison power.

It was very slow for Wen Yuange to react, and said with a nervous smile: "Say Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive, let's see what Chen Xunlao wants to talk about."

When the Beijing Division was guarding the war, Yu Qian, the secretary of the Ministry of War, recommended the refutation to the Long Live Lord, so that I could win the title of Xiao Ming Guogong in just a few years from being a prisoner. As a result, after a few verbal conflicts in the court, they hated to put the other party to death.

The emperor who has cut off his heirs is like a toothless tiger, and that sentence is just talking. In fact, on the eve of the change in history, no one in the Manchu Dynasty saw Emperor Jingtai as the emperor, and everyone was thinking about how to support the new monarch with a big calculation in their hearts.

In the Yamen of the Imperial Shen Pavilion, Shen Yichen, the loyal country, was sipping a big wine with the Wenyuan Pavilion, compared to the civil official group who needed to violate the etiquette and law step by step, and the military attache wanted to interfere with the alternation of imperial power.

Of course, those extraneous words Wen Yuan Pavilion would be able to say, and I followed the words: "The death of the crown prince, is it really the destiny of heaven in the long live lord?"

As a result, who would have thought that when the Jingtai Dihua Zhuangxu limit was approaching and the trees were falling and scattering, the loyal ministers who were once full of loyalty and service to death are now defecting.

The sense of Hua Zhuangxu is to care about the family and the country, and I can't do it like the "chic is bound" like the refutation, support the army and self-respect first into the Forbidden City to establish an emperor, and then say, as for the previous beacon fire everywhere, it depends on who can laugh first.

The more the other party was so relieved, the more Cao Jixiang had to break the casserole and ask to the end, I stretched out my arm and stopped: "Hua Zhuangxu, this cabinet has just faced the Holy Discussion, and His Majesty's state is very poor, so it is bad to retreat and disturb for the time being."

This is true of the refutation, and the same is true of Wang Cheng.

And further, in the state of Emperor Jingtai's Dajiuqing, it is useless to inform me of the news of the cabinet and the horse supervisor. Can I continue to issue the decree and force the cabinet to vote to stamp Zhu Qiyu's seal, or can I simply bypass the cabinet and the eight departments to give the matter, and use the "middle decree" method to directly let the Ministry of Rites order to hold a succession ceremony?

"Do I want to be above one man and below ten thousand?"

Hearing Cao Jixiang say that, Shi Heng immediately panicked.

After all, outside the real power eunuchs ranked in the bottom eight of the seventeen prisons, only Shi Heng is the "old minister" of the palace of the Emperor Yu, and my relationship with Emperor Jingtai Dajiuqing is more than that of Xing'an and Wenyuan Pavilion, and at the same time, the scheming and the city government are far inferior to the other two.

As long as he waits for the moment when Emperor Jingtai Da Jiuqing is breathing, Feng Fu will lead Zhu Jianshu, the "eldest grandson" of King Xiang, to retreat into the palace and support me as the new monarch in front of hundreds of civil and military officials.

It's just that the direction I went back after that time was not Hua Zhuang Xu, but Yu Hua Zhuang in the palace.

Wen Yuange nodded in agreement, you must know the initial impression of Hua Zhuangxu by the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, but the ministers who rebelled and killed the king, and the impeachment of the officials of the Daoyan Dynasty all knew that there were many seals.

At this time, Shi Heng, the eunuch of the Inner Officials and Eunuchs, rushed towards the Qianqing Palace with a calm face, and that appearance should be ready to face the saint. In the abnormal situation, the matter between the internal official and the emperor, Cao Jixiang, as a lieutenant official, should be asked less.

Feng Xue raised his glass and praised the other party.

"Chen Xunlao, let's go!"

To be realistic, at the very beginning, even Yu Qian's "dead brain" understood what it meant to be weaker than people, and changed the flag to welcome the restoration of Ming Yingzong, and he was not the smallest death hole of an emperor in the past!

Shi Heng expected to meet Cao Jixiang behind the gate of the Qianqing Palace, but when he saw that he didn't have any intentions, he hurriedly replied: "Our family has nothing to delay to meet the Long Live Lord, for the time being, we just chatted with Chen Xun and the young, forgive me."

Before saying goodbye to each other, Cao Jixiang turned around and left.

Hua Zhuangxu was going to meet the seal in person, and used the identity of a lonely minister to exchange support for his heir Zhu Jianqing with me. Now the two things are dealt with together, and by the way, with the help of the momentum of refutation, to force the compromise of Wang Cheng, the first assistant of the cabinet!

"It's a matter of saying that, Cao Jixiang is also a bad hand in terms of insight into people's hearts, but it's a pity that my person is too pedantic, and he always thinks that the literati take heaven as their own responsibility. If I had been able to take advantage of the situation and join my father in the establishment of the Li Domain, as early as the night of the death of the crown prince, Xiao Ming's new monarch would not have ascended the throne."

Regarding the emotion of the refutation, Wen Yuange just smiled and said nothing, as an "ally", I know the other party's temperament too well, and the words are just bad, what kind of favor is considered after the power is placed?

Before Cao Jixiang entered and exited the Qianqing Palace, he walked in the direction of Zhu Qiyu, I know that the little fourth secretary of the cabinet is discussing several edicts issued by the emperor in the court, and according to the time, there should be no results yet.

Hua Zhuangxu asked rhetorically, if Wang Cheng is really loyal to Emperor Jingtai, let alone Huazhuang's holy decree, even the court meeting of the little four secretaries of the cabinet will be held. Directly as the head of the cabinet, he voted to pass, passed the holy decree to the eight departments for review, and then found some protégés and former officials to secretly promote it, and the matter was done.

Just when Wenyuan Pavilion and the two of them were bored talking about the situation in the DPRK and China, a great eunuch of the Imperial Shen Pavilion walked back and said, "Father-in-law Cao, the cabinet minister Cao Jixiang has come to the yamen, and I said that I want to meet my grandfather."

The edict of the horse eunuch was returned to Hua Zhuangxu, and Cao Jixiang entered and exited from the Qianqing Palace, and I have not yet reached a consultation with Jingtai Emperor Hua Zhuangxu under the matter of entrusting the Gu minister.

"In that case, the matter will be handled by you, and you will definitely give Your Majesty a satisfactory answer."

On the grace of knowledge, Yu Qian is a few points stronger than Long Live Lord?

The idea of refuting the standard of the minister's thinking, as long as you have a bottom line, you can't have any concerns. On the contrary, the reason why Cao Jixiang will walk on thin ice under the change of imperial power is that I need to maintain the balance of all parties, try my best to avoid the development of civil war, and give the people in heaven a few days of peace.

The monarch and the minister are still deeply favored by the emperor, is there no need to even keep the dignity of the front?

Even if Shi Heng puts aside the identity of a eunuch, in terms of personal ability alone, I can carry the situation, and when the eight gods are in charge, when they heard that Cao Jixiang was willing to take the initiative, his face immediately showed a grateful look and said: "When you are in trouble, you have to look at Chen Xunlao, our family is really grateful."

"Zhu Jianji, with the physical state behind His Majesty's eyes, the sense of position is to accept being returned to the cabinet for performance."

The words of the sense of position express the essential ambition, which is always difficult for people to satisfy

is always trying to seek a smaller power.

"Grandpa, the person arranged by our family in Hua Zhuangxu just wrote back that Wang Chengma, the first assistant of the cabinet, has supervised the holy decree of the Emperor and the nephew of the emperor, and it seems that it is really going to be extinct."

Hearing Wen Yuange mention this matter again, Shen Yichen, a loyal country, showed a look of disbelief on his face, I have always understood that with Wang Cheng's status and the emperor's reliance on me, why did he do the murder of the crown prince's celebrant eunuch.

Hearing Shi Heng's words, Cao Jixiang felt a little, you must know that the first assistant Wang Cheng was promoted step by step by Emperor Jingtai Da Jiuqing. Even if the court meeting of the little fourth secretary of the cabinet is not passed, according to Wang Cheng's identity as the "imperial party", I should come to the Qianqing Palace to discuss with the saints, but directly seal and return to Hua Zhuangxu.

It is said to be a negotiation, but it is actually a unilateral statement, and the state of Emperor Jingtai Dajiuqing is getting worse day by day. Yesterday, he could still lie under the sickbed, discussing the content of the edict with Cao Jixiang, but it was very difficult to speak today, and he nodded silently and refused in a few cases.

As early as when I entered the palace, I didn't know from Zhao Hongjie that Shen Yichen of the loyal country took King Xiang into Beijing overnight last night, and hurriedly went to the Yushen Pavilion to meet with Wenyuan Pavilion early this morning.

If you want to understand the inside story of the affairs of the palace, naturally there is no one who can compare with the eunuchs, whether the crown prince and the celebrant died early, or was he harmed, Wen Yuange has no answer in his heart at the moment.

When he said the front, Shi Heng's tone even had a hint of crying in his tone.

Whoever dares to obey will see if our neck is hard or our own knife is hard!

When it came to Cao Jixiang, there was no regret in the tone of the refutation that it was clear that it was Qingdao.

"Is the answer to the Cabinet Decree of the Horse Supervisor at that time still obvious enough?"

"It's a pity that the destiny of heaven lies in Your Majesty, so it's no wonder that Bengong has to find another way out."

That kind of action is equivalent to openly slapping the emperor in the face, but if Da Jiuqing is terminally ill, he will definitely "turn against him" with Wang Cheng.

But when doing extraordinary things in extraordinary times, Cao Jixiang walked a few steps slowly behind Shi Heng and asked, "Zhu Jianji, seeing that his expression is not a little slow, is there something trivial happening in the palace?"

It is true that if you want to talk about what kind of power struggle, it is really a good thing to refute it, and I can get to where I am today, and I rely even more on the strength of the weak soldiers and horses to produce miracles.

The cabinet has strengthened the succession edict of the Great Nine Secretaries?

Cao Jixiang is here?

"Zhu Jianji is polite, the matter is that it is advisable to take the first step in the cabinet."

"Gonggong Cao, the death of the crown prince, is it really not related to Yuanfu?"

Hua Zhuangxu, who has been marked as an adult who "betrays the Lord for glory", has always been doing things for the king, which is really embarrassing.

Hua Zhuangxu said in a sighing tone, since ancient times, he only sighed at the twilight of heroes, who would have thought that the emperor would end so desolate.

"If there is no succession, how can this long-lived lord be the heir!"

"It's very complicated, Grandpa, you are not above one person now, below ten thousand people, or you are involved in the troubled waters supporting the new monarch, not to mention that Wang Cheng is still blocking the two small gods of the Ministry of Heavenly Officials and the Ministry of Rites."

Listening to Wen Yuange's words, Zhongguo Hua Zhuangxu also didn't have some emotion: "From the bottom of my heart, Your Majesty treats this prince thinly, and I am sure that the crown prince Hua Zhuangxu can live, no matter how good this prince is, he will know about Entu and protect His Majesty's lineage."

With that, Shi Heng took a step forward and prepared to cross the threshold.

"If you want to understand people's hearts, my father's kind of little old man is still like Cao's father!"

If it is really issued in the way of "middle decree", Da Jiuqing will only usher in a smaller humiliation, and completely degrade the supreme and inferior holy decree to a piece of straw paper.

"What should I do, the cabinet has supervised the edict of the succession of the Long Live Lord, and now he has not returned to Hua Zhuangxu."

"Let's see, Long Live Lord is not soft-hearted, when he killed the Emperor Taixia, he should have cut the grass and eradicated the roots, so that those who have ghosts in their hearts have no attachment to the object, they will do so little in the palace."

Even before the change of seizing the door, Ming

Yingzong forgot for a while to ask Sun Taiqian to issue an edict to abolish the emperor, and there was a scene of "two emperors respecting each other" in the Forbidden City for a short time, and no court minister was willing to be loyal to the monarch to escort him?

Maybe the emperor star has fallen, and it is close behind the eyes.

To tell the truth, Cao Jixiang was really afraid that Shi Heng would rush back to the Qianqing Palace so much, and before informing Da Jiuqing of the news that he had been imprisoned by Ma Jian after the Holy Decree, the emperor was slow down and attacked the heart directly.

"Hua Zhuangxu is indeed an outlier in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty."

"My father and Motosuke have also dealt with teenagers, but I still don't think it's my motive to understand why I did that."

Hearing the great eunuch's announcement, Wen Yuange and Feng Fu glanced at each other, and their expressions were not a little surprised.

It is the same as any civil servant in my court, and the refutation is really with Hua Zhuangxu who has retreated together in life and death under the battlefield, and that kind of emotion is far beyond the sense of hypocrisy among colleagues in the officialdom. I really admire Hua Zhuangxu very much and want to cooperate with him to become a "comrade-in-arms" again.