The cabinet is a new person replacing the old, and Liu Ji has become the first person in the cabinet who deserves it, and has ushered in his era.

Although the Ming Dynasty has abolished the prime minister system, since Sanyang, the civil and military officials have silently regarded the cabinet chief as the head of the hundred officials.

Liu Ji is now the new head of the cabinet, and to some extent can represent hundreds of officials.

It has always been the practice that every time there is a new cabinet change, there is often a more formal dialogue between the monarch and the minister, and this is the case today.

Since Liu Ji had a formal dialogue with the emperor on behalf of the hundred officials, he naturally had to listen carefully to the different demands of the officials under him before this dialogue.

Due to the span of the Spring Festival holiday, Liu Ji's preparations this time were very sufficient, and he had some exchanges with officials of all sizes in the capital.

Liu Ji had just proposed to the emperor to forgive He Qiaoxin, but it was not Liu Ji's personal will, but a strong demand from him on behalf of many officials.

Nourishing the heart hall, the needle drop can be heard.

Although Zhu Youzhu is the Son of Heaven, he must also make a posture of seeking talent, so as to exchange for the following "talents" to continue to sell blood for himself.

In fact, many people have a serious misunderstanding, that is, they one-sidedly believe that the Son of Heaven is the master of the emperor, and the civil and military officials under him must obey the emperor unconditionally.

It's just that the fact is that the emperor is often a real loner, and the civil official group he has to face has long been one circle of interests after another.

Unlike in the early days of the dynasty, the officials of that era were usually from a truly poor background, and they had a strong desire to serve the country's food, even if it could provide them with food and clothing.

Now more than 100 years have passed, and most of the officials standing in the middle and upper echelons are from gentry families, and there are not a few second-generation officials like He Qiaoxin.

They have more choices, and once the interests of their circle are harmed, even if they resign from their official positions and return to the local area to live the life of a rich man, they are still a respected and respected official gentry.

This is true in any era, and those in power actually have to make some compromises.

Like in later generations, the wealthy collectively chose to emigrate overseas, which negatively affected the domestic economy to a certain extent, thus forcing concessions.

After Zhu Youzhu did not fully cultivate his own team of filial piety, he knew that he could not be reduced to a lonely family, and the combination of rigidity and softness was the correct model of the emperor.

Although he knew that the empire would only slowly decline if it was controlled by the civilian clique, he also knew that it was not the time to directly overturn the table, so it was necessary to communicate with the officials below through Liu Jiwei.

"Forgive He Qiaoxin? How are they going to ask me to forgive? Zhu Youzhu didn't expect such a ridiculous thing to appear in the first conversation, and asked quietly.

Liu Ji knew that this issue was very sensitive, but he still stubbornly said: "According to the general demand of some of them, He Qiaoxin is not corrupt this time, and he should be acquitted!" ”

"No sin at all?" Although Zhu Youzhu saw through the faces of those civil officials, he still couldn't help but laugh.

It is forgivable if the scholars who are blinded by the value of the real thing, but these officials are all old foxes of officialdom, how can they not do things for others if they have taken 100,000 taels in kind?

It's just that now these people actually think that He Qiaoxin is innocent, which is really a big joke in the world.

Liu Ji had been with this emperor for more than three years, and naturally realized that it was impossible for the emperor in front of him to compromise on this matter, so he stubbornly said: "Their opinion is: If Your Majesty thinks that He Qiaoxin's behavior is inappropriate, you can order him to do it!" ”

"In the end, He Qiaoxin lost his position as the secretary of the Criminal Department, this is what they think is the biggest punishment, right?" Zhu Youzhu figured out the logic and seemed to be crying and laughing.

In fact, there is a cognitive gap here. It is said that the position of Shangshu of the Criminal Department was given by the emperor, but in the eyes of civil officials, it was a position that should have belonged to them.

Now He Qiaoxin has "given up" his position, which is already a sacrifice.

Liu Ji knew that this treatment could not satisfy the emperor, but he still swallowed his saliva and explained: "Your Majesty, this is all the appeal of the ministers listening to many officials below, and the ministers are just truthfully relaying!" ”

Since he replaced Wan An as the first assistant of the cabinet, his mentality has also undergone a subtle change, and he can't help but get closer to the civilian clique, thus becoming the leader of the civilian clique.

During this year's Spring Festival, his Liu Mansion became the most beautiful mansion in the capital.

It's just that he never thought that since these officials dared to make such a request, and there were not a few officials who mentioned it, he now seemed to be roasted on a fire.

"Elder Liu Ge, what do you think about this?" Zhu Youzhu naturally knew that Liu Ji's door had been trampled on this year, and suddenly asked with a slight move in his heart.

Liu Ji was suddenly shocked, and immediately knelt down at His Majesty and said: "The ministers naturally won't agree, this time it's just to convey their demands, and the minister's loyalty to His Majesty can be seen by the sun and the moon!" ”

Those officials were whimsical, but he was sober in the world, how could this absurd request be accepted by the emperor, and he knew better who gave him his position.

Guo Yong saw Liu Ji kneeling in a panic, but he knew that Liu Ji was a shrewd person.

In the current Ming Dynasty, the emperor really can't replace all the officials, but if he wants to kill a specific official, it's a no-brainer.

If Liu Ji has a different heart, even if he is the head of the cabinet in high ranks, he will be replaced by the emperor in minutes.

"Get up! Those people have been holding back for so long, there is more than this one demand, right? Zhu Youzhu knew that although Liu Ji was not as loyal as Wan An, he was also a conscientious and qualified first assistant, so he was no longer embarrassed.

Liu Ji hesitated for a moment, then took out a notebook from his sleeve and said: "They have different opinions on the "Questioning and Punishment Regulations", so I hope that a few more articles can be added this time, and please look at it!" ”

When Zhu Yuanzhang formulated the "Da Ming Law", he also issued a statement to his descendants: "Don't be smart, mess with the law that I have already done, and not a word can be changed."

It's just that no law can be exhaustive, especially some people like to get into the horns.

If the student is not allowed to have long hair. It's just that how long is this long hair, because there is no fixed scale, so the scale of the director of the academic affairs office of some schools is 2 centimeters, and the scale of the director of the academic affairs office of some schools is 10 meters.

In addition, there are events that lack the guidance of the law, such as the deliberate spread of smallpox last year, and such events have to be sacrificed to deter such behavior.

Although the "Questioning and Punishment Regulations" became notorious in later generations, its starting point was not problematic and even met the actual needs of the time, and the problem was often human greed.

In the original history, it was the "Punishment Regulations" dominated by the civilian bureaucracy that caused this new Da Ming law to become a tool to protect their interests.

After Zhu Youzhu came to power, he gradually realized that there were many text loopholes in the "Da Ming Law", and some areas were not covered, so he made the decision to amend the "Punishment Regulations".

Only now, it seems that history is repeating itself again, and those civil officials want to stretch out their hands again.

Guo Yong stepped forward and handed over the notebook to Zhu Youji.

Zhu Youzhu opened the book to check their appeals, and the first thing that caught his eye was: "Civil servants who commit stolen goods, all the people prove it, and they can pay a specified amount of charcoal, bricks, rice and other property to atone for their crimes."

The meaning of this article is very clear: if the civil officials are corrupt in the future, if the evidence is sufficient, the officials' salaries will be stopped, but the officials who commit the crime can choose to atone for their crimes with the prescribed money and food.

Although there is no explicit requirement to abolish the Daming law of 800 beheadings, once the "Punishment Regulations" are adopted, then future corruption crimes can be exempted through fines, and that Daming law naturally exists in name only.

Zhu Youzhu looked at the first article and found that these people still thought that they were cowardly and shameful, and they were embarrassed to throw out this kind of regulation.

This regulation would not only encourage corruption among officials, but would also undermine the impartiality and authority of the law, and would no longer punish even wealthy officials.

Once he really indulges in official corruption like this, this dynasty will be hollowed out by these shrewd officials sooner or later, not to mention the revitalization of China, and China will definitely repeat the mistakes of the past.

Liu Ji swallowed his saliva and added cautiously: "They say that if Your Majesty adopts these regulations, it will not only show Your Majesty's sage, but also solve the urgent need for the Ming Dynasty's financial revenue!" ”

The most pressing issue in the current Ming Dynasty was the financial problem. Whether it was the three million taels in the early stage of Luzon's gold mining, or the war against the Jurchen tribes in Haixi that was launched at any time, financial support was needed.

Fines to punish corrupt officials would allow many civil servants to escape the law, but they would undoubtedly solve some of the financial problems.

It was precisely when the civil officials saw that the Ming court was short of money, so they took the opportunity to propose this regulation, but they hoped that the emperor would adopt their regulations in order to solve the financial problems.

"Elder Liu Ge, what do you think of these regulations?" Zhu Youzhu saw the wishful thinking of the gang at a glance, and asked bitterly.

If it is impossible to say that the emperor has no weakness at all.

One is that one's own governance needs to stabilize some talents, even if a large factory has called back an immoral executive for the sake of performance, which is the right way to develop an enterprise.

Even if he knew that most of these civil servants were hypocrites, the management of the empire was inseparable from these experienced managers, and he knew that the civilian group had problems and had to continue to appoint them.

Emperor Chenghua realized this in the later period, especially when Datong died thousands of soldiers and no one told them, he began to lie down completely.

Zhu Youzhu learned the lesson of Emperor Chenghua's rule, so he was not in a hurry to have a direct showdown, nor did he plan to reopen the West Factory, but chose to "get along friendly" with this huge civil official group.

The second is that the finances of the imperial court need to be solved, and now the empire needs to maintain a huge number of personnel every year, causing more and more wealth to flow into the pockets of these people.

Now if you want to lead the rise of Huaxia, then you need to seize the time to solve the current financial problems, so as to complete the layout you have been arranging all along.

In particular, the start-up capital of 3 million taels for the mining of Luzon gold mines is related to the continuous financial income of the empire, so it must be even more urgent.

Or for these two reasons, the civil officials took the opportunity to open their chips, so as to force Zhu Youzhu to make a little concession.

Liu Ji knew Zhu Youji's personality very well, and immediately said seriously: "The minister will naturally not agree, but this is the appeal of the officials below, and the minister is only collecting their opinions for His Majesty this time!" ”

"What do they think about the national debt?" Zhu Youzhu closed the notebook and held it in his hand, and asked the question he was most concerned about.

Liu Ji found that this question was much simpler, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said: "They all claim to be Qing officials, but if Your Majesty can agree to release He Qiaoxin and add those regulations, they will make great efforts and will take out all their family funds!" ”

The meaning of these words is self-evident: if Zhu Youzhu makes concessions, they will spend more money to subscribe to the batch of treasury bonds that will be reissued after the year.

Guo Yong had been listening to the side, and couldn't help but shake his head bitterly.

These officials, who keep saying that they are for the country and the people, have always been thinking about their interests, and even want to take the opportunity to blackmail the emperor.

"If I want you to hand over the list of officials who have made the request, would you be willing?" Zhu Youzhu put down the notebook in his hand and asked with a smile.

Originally, he just wanted to take the opportunity of updating his new appearance to have a conversation with the civilian official group, but after hearing the appeal of these people, he now has the intention of killing.

Although he didn't know who the officials who made these demands were, he knew that officialdom was also divided into a core circle and a periphery, and it didn't matter if they killed this inner circle.

Liu Ji hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to kneel down and said: "Your Majesty, this is a long-standing officialdom tradition, and it has always been to give them the preferential treatment of innocence. They trust the old minister to open their mouths to appeal to Your Majesty, if Your Majesty insists on asking the old minister to hand over the list, please remove the minister! ”

Guo Yong saw that Liu Ji did not choose to be treacherous and curry favor with the emperor, but he didn't know whether to accuse the old man of being disloyal or praise the old man for his integrity.

"Stand down!" Zhu Youzhu knew that he was strong by a strong man, so he raised his hand lightly.

He just asked casually, but in fact, this matter took the initiative to listen to the voices of the officials below, because this upline seemed a little unkind.

Even if Liu Jiken handed over the list, he would retaliate against those officials. Although a group of pests have been eliminated, in fact, it still can't solve the situation of those civilian officials who are distracted, and I am afraid that there will be more people who oppose them in the future.

"The old minister retires, long live my emperor, long live, long live!" Liu Ji secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said respectfully.

Although he was a member of the Imperial Party, he also had his own principles. This time, he acted as a bridge of communication between the emperor and hundreds of officials, and if he chose to sell others, then he would be dishonest to others.

Even if the emperor tried his best to protect himself from the attack of the hundred officials, but he did such a treacherous thing, he would not have the face to continue to stay here.

A formal dialogue between the monarchs in the fourth year of Hongzhi ended in a not very friendly atmosphere. (End of chapter)