After completing their education, the princes were usually just adults, and they were sent directly to the local government to participate in the so-called practical training of governance.

is like an ordinary person who has just graduated from college and has just been admitted to show his talents, and wants to be a real grassroots official.

Ordinary officials take the examination every three years, while the princes and grandsons of the emperor in the practical training of governance are tested every two years, and the cycle of assessment and promotion is completely staggered from ordinary officials.

Ordinary officials who pass the examination may not be promoted, and promotion does not necessarily change the region in which they serve.

The prince will be eliminated directly if he gets the "inferior" evaluation, and the "flat" evaluation will be leveled in a different place, and he will be assessed again after two years.

Those who get "excellent" and "good" evaluations will be promoted to other places to serve as higher-level bureaucrats, and enter the next round of two-year evaluations, and so on.

After serving on the ground for more than 10 years, their official rank usually rises to the rank of political envoy, and the older ones will be replaced by a political envoy every two years.

"This star really wants to retire"

A few years before his retirement, the old emperor would summon the prince of the right age to the capital and assign them to various ministries as chamberlains for the final inspection and screening.

This cycle usually lasts only one to two years, and the selected prince will be promoted to the rank of secretary of the ministry, and those who are not selected will serve in other ministries.

After the heir is promoted to the rank of secretary of the ministry, he usually ascends to the throne after another two years.

In this whole process, the princes certainly have the opportunity to develop their own henchmen, but most of them will be scattered locally.

With the continuous dislocation of promotions and the constant isolation from the princes, it is difficult to maintain a close relationship all the time.

In the vast majority of cases, the prince will only remember that a certain person is capable, and he can use it when he ascends to the throne in the future, this kind of relationship and impression of modern bureaucracy.

You can't get the kind of ancient society that serves your subordinates as a courtier.

More crucially, the local bureaucrats who had worked with the prince for a long time were not allowed to be promoted to the capital before the new emperor ascended the throne.

Therefore, before the prince ascended the throne, even if he had party henchmen in the local area, he could not help much in the competition for storage positions, and he could only use it after he ascended the throne.

As for saying that a high-ranking official takes the initiative to invest in a certain prince in the local government, this situation is not completely impossible, but it is too difficult and the return cycle is too long.

Whether the prince is excellent or not, he must serve in the local government for more than ten years.

During this period, no return can be given to investors, and investors will have to take risks for more than ten years, and it will be time for the prince to retire when he returns to Beijing.

If you are really optimistic about a certain prince, it is better to let the children of the family go to the local place to take refuge, and after the prince ascends the throne, the children of the family will be summoned to Beijing as officials.

The time for the prince to be screened in Beijing was not enough to develop a strong and stable team in the court.

When the prince can ascend the throne, most of the existing scholars should retire, and there is no need to make up for the merits of Conglong, in case the wrong choice is not guaranteed.

The retirement time of the old scholars is not completely fixed, but according to the custom, they will retire with the old emperor, unless the old emperor asks him to help the new emperor for a few more years.

The Minister of War and the Cabinet may be a little younger, but there is no possibility of promotion.

As for the second-level ministers, such as the squire, there may be speculative ideas.

But the time window is too short, and many people have not yet made up their minds, and the heir has already been decided.

It was also the short period of time in the past two years that prevented the princes from forming a deep partisan camp, and the ordinary bureaucrats did not have to worry about being hit if they did not surrender.

After the identity of the heir is decided, there is no need for the heir to develop his own henchmen.

The heir has been recognized by the old emperor, and after ascending the throne, all the courtiers are their own open henchmen, as well as the direct care of the old emperor.

Why should such heirs go to woo the bureaucracy?

Therefore, after the Renmu Dynasty, the princes had their own henchmen, but they were all local, and they could only be used after ascending the throne.

The heir to the throne, among the high-ranking bureaucrats in the capital division, does not and does not need die-hard type henchmen.

The old emperor would retire at the age of sixty, and he himself would ascend to the throne in the prime of his thirties.

There is no need to take risks at all, and the benefits and risks are completely disproportionate.

In today's Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, there is no longer the kind of classical era where ministers surrender to a certain prince as the future lord in advance, forming a soil of personal dependence that binds each other.

Even the mentality of many ministers in the face of the emperor is no longer regarded as the lord of the classical era, but similar to the mentality of the highest boss bureaucracy, let alone the uncertain prince.

To put it bluntly, people's wisdom has gradually opened.

As a result, if a prince is really chosen as the heir and then abandoned, they have little room to resist at such times.

For ordinary officials, it made no difference who became emperor, and it was impossible to temporarily help the renounced heir.

Zhu Jianfeng's situation is a bit special, after becoming a semi-public heir, he stayed in this position for six years.

The increasing pressure forced him to try to liaise with and develop other bureaucrats as a high-ranking official at the Shangshu level, and become a relatively close political ally.

Cao Zhenyong is Zhu Jianfeng's ally.

Cao Zhenyong himself believes that his relationship with Zhu Jianfeng is not at all the courtier mentality of pursuing the merit of the dragon before the Renwu Dynasty.

The two are at best political allies, friends rather than retainers.

The key is that even the old emperor knows this relationship between the two.

The current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is very open, as long as there are people where there are rivers and lakes, it is impossible to completely prohibit the friends, as long as the overall situation is relatively controllable.

Cao Zhenyong subconsciously turned his head to look outside, and then persuaded earnestly:

"So Your Highness, instead of continuing to struggle like this, it's better to accept it calmly.

"As the best prince of this generation, you will be indispensable for Zongzheng's position in the future.

"Now that the power of the Zongren Mansion, especially the Zongren Courtyard, is getting bigger and bigger, and the imperial court is beginning to be affected by it.

"The clansmen of the Sect of the Sect, although they do not have direct power, can question any policy, and the relevant officials must also give explanations.

"Except for Your Majesty, the sect members are the only ones who can justifiably meddle in any government affairs."

Zhu Jianfeng is definitely not a fool, listening to Cao Zhenyong's persuasion, he snorted and looked at Cao Zhenyong with his eyes:

"It was my father who asked you to persuade me! Is this the arrangement of the father? ”

Cao Zhenyong did not speak, and was regarded by Zhu Jianfeng as a tacit acquiescence.

The scene was quiet for a few seconds, Zhu Jianfeng raised his head, closed his eyes, and asked in an extraordinarily heavy tone:

"Why is this happening? How did it come to this? ”

Cao Zhenyong thought for a while:

"If you have to say it, Xiyi has to bear part of the responsibility, if there is no war......"

Cao Zhenyong just started slightly, and didn't finish what he meant, and Zhu Jianfeng reacted reluctantly:

"That's right! It's Xiyi! It's Xiyi! If there was no war started by Xiyi! I was already five years ago—

"Five years ago, that kid in Jingyuan was just a hairy child, and even if he showed his talent, he was just a precocious child.

"If it weren't for that war, everything wouldn't be what it is, everything should be as it was supposed to be!"

Cao Zhenyong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, this highness needs an excuse and a direction to vent, otherwise it will be really difficult to accept the reality.

As for whether Xiyi provoked the war or was forced by the Ming Dynasty, it doesn't matter:

"So Your Highness, do you want to take over this errand and participate in the peace talks with the Taixi countries as a representative of the Daming Clan?"

Zhu Jianfeng's tone was particularly gloomy and he said loudly:

"Go, why not! No one knows how to deal with barbarians better than I do! ”