Chapter 281: The Ming Dynasty changes

At noon, the business of Fengxi Restaurant on Fudong Street was not very good. There were some scattered guests sitting in the lobby. Only a few elegant rooms upstairs were barely filled with guests. In a elegant room by the window on the third floor, there were a few officials, that is, old guests at Fengxi Restaurant. Today, Ye Rutang was busy with affairs and did not come to have dinner with them. The few people had a happy conversation.

Everyone's topics are always inseparable from the hot topics recently. Qiu Haizheng took a sip of wine and said, "It seems that restoring the prime minister's system is a trend. Li Weizheng's appointment as prime minister will be irreversible. However, if the prime minister is a kind of protection for us, the emperor will not deal with us directly. Unlike Emperor Taizu, when he was in charge of the Ninth-rank official, he had to ask about the crime, but he didn't ask clearly. He dragged them out to kill them with a wave of his hand."

Cui Guangqing frowned and said, "What Li Weizheng advocates is to restore the Tang system. If this is the case, there should be a left-right minister. If the right minister doesn't need to be sure that Li Weizheng will belong. So who will the left minister be? Have you ever thought about it?"

Qiu Haizheng smiled and said, "From the qualifications, I thought it was probably Ye Tianming, but Ye Tianming and Li Wei are father-in-law and son-in-law, so how can one be the same as the prime minister?"

"Isn't it a good story for both the father-in-law and son-in-law to be the prime minister?" Wang Fan next to him smiled.

Qiu Haizheng shook his head and said, "It is not a good story for this father-in-law and son-in-law to be both prime ministers. The left prime minister is just a decoration. Will Ye Tianming be willing to be willing to do so with the desire for power as much as Ye Tianming? So if he is the left prime minister, it will inevitably lead to bleeding between the father-in-law and son-in-law, and Li Weizheng will not agree. In my opinion, this left prime minister is most likely Chen Di, the Minister of Rites. He has always been low-key and is old. Retired from the position of the left prime minister is the best ending for him."

"Brother Qiu has a sharp look and is really good!"

Several people clapped and laughed together. Suddenly, the few people stopped applauding, as if they heard some sound. Yes! They heard a loud shout, followed by dense footsteps, and the ups and downs came from outside the window. Several people quickly dropped their chopsticks and rushed to the window. The situation in front of them suddenly shocked them. The vast Tai students were ignorant at first sight, with tens of thousands of people coming from Lu Fei Lane, and at the entrance of Fudong Street, then turned east and headed towards the imperial city. They shouted slogans all the way: "Support the general control, support the restoration of the Zhongshu Menxia Province, and oppose the monarchy!"

Thousands of banners with hundreds of cloth were also filled with slogans with big black characters, "The king and the prime minister separate power... Li Jinglong's defeat cannot happen again!"

There are many things, but the meaning is the same. They insist on the control of the general and oppose the monarchy. The students of Tai are excited and their faces are filled with expectations for change.

Qiu Haizheng and others looked at each other, their eyes full of shock. Qiu Haizheng sighed: "It seems that my Ming Dynasty is about to change today!"

Tens of thousands of Tai students came to West Chang'an Street like a long dragon. This was the main road entering Chengtian Gate. Both sides were filled with troops, but the soldiers did not stop them, but allowed them to continue moving forward. This situation also happened half a year ago. At that time, Li Jinglong was defeated twice, losing millions of soldiers but was impuncilable, and angered the 100,000 tribute students and Tai students in Beijing. They burned Li Jinglong's mansion and sat quietly in front of Chengtian Gate until Zhu Yunwen issued a self-criticism. Today, under the leadership of dozens of Tai students leaders, they petitioned again to demand the restoration of the political norm since the Han and Tang Dynasties.

The team stopped in front of Chengtian Gate. Tens of thousands of Tai students sat on the ground, and dense figures occupied the entire street. Two Tai students representatives handed over a thick petition with ten thousand people to the defenders of Chengtian Gate and asked them to submit it to the emperor.

At this moment, in the square of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, several important officials were anxiously waiting for the emperor's reception. Qi Tai, Chen Di, Bao Zhao, Jing Qing, Tie Xuan and Ye Tianming were originally doing official duties in the court room. The vast petition team of Tai students made them feel stressed. Several people discussed for a moment and decided to jointly propose to the emperor to formally restore the general regime. This was the direction of the court and the general trend.

Jing Qing, the Censor, said generously to everyone: "Everyone, the Military Affairs Council is already the de facto political affairs hall, but it is clear that it is not right. One Ministry of War can dominate the entire issue. This is not the norm. Since the facts have been formed, we are responsible for institutionalizing it. The emperor has the power of the emperor, and the political affairs hall has the power of the political affairs hall. It cannot be ambiguous in this way, so that the emperor has no power and the Ministry of War can be large."

Although Jing Qing did not point it out, everyone understood what he meant. The Ministry of War was referring to Li Weizheng. If this kind of ambiguous relationship would only make Li Weizheng cover up the sky. Instead of being in chaos, it would be better to make it clear and establish a real countermeasure, which would instead suppress Li Weizheng's power.

"Mr. Jing is right! We are indeed ending this chaos."

Ye Tianming, who had always kept a low profile, suddenly spoke, and he said to everyone: "The King of Yan has made a clear statement that he would kill all the literati of the Zuo Ban and restore the ancestral system. I guess we are all on his murder list. At this time, if we are still sticking to the form and are reluctant to face reality for a long time, then this chaotic situation will be easily provoked by the King of Yan, thereby affecting the situation of war. Moreover, the restoration of the general system was not the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. We just want to restore the system before the twelve years of Hongwu and realize the checks and balances between the king and the minister. As for the restoration of the Tang system, it is something to be discussed slowly in the future. The most urgent task is to clarify the system and solve the chaotic situation in people's hearts."

Other important officials expressed their opinions: "Mr. Ye's suggestion is reasonable, and we should advise the emperor to follow the general trend."

At the same time when tens of thousands of students petitioned and several important officials urgently asked to see the emperor, another master of Zhu Yunwen, Fang Xiaoru, also persuaded Zhu Yunwen to make up his mind at the end.

In fact, Fang Xiaoru, like Zhu Yunwen, supported the restoration of the general control, but was unwilling to see Li Wei ascend to the position with a strong attitude. However, he was a little more sober and could see more clearly than Zhu Yunwen.

"Your Majesty, I have been thinking about this matter these days. I believe that letting Li Weizheng be the prime minister may not be a bad thing. At least I can determine his status as a minister to prevent him from usurping the wisdom with force. Your Majesty should also think that with his strength, if he intends to take the Ming Dynasty and replace it, it can be done. The most worrying thing about me is that his identity is undecided, and I am afraid that he will have a strange intention. On the contrary, if he sets him in the position of prime minister, if he has another strange intention at that time, he will be unwilling tolerated by the people of the world."

Zhu Yunwen paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. The pressure from all sides almost caused the young emperor to collapse. The petitions from tens of thousands of students outside represented public opinion, and the pressure from important officials of the court represented the opinions of civil and military officials. Now his master also advised him in this way, so that Zhu Yunwen's last little line of defense was gradually broken.

"Okay! I'll go and meet all the ministers." Zhu Yunwen sighed and walked towards the Taihe Palace.

In the side hall of the Supreme Hall, Zhu Yunwen finally discussed the specific matters of restoring the general system with several important officials. It is easy to restore the prime minister, but the difficult part is the division of the monarch's power and the general's power. This is the key to the problem. However, there is no meaning without Li Weizheng's participation in this discussion. If Li Weizheng cannot accept the division plan for power, the final result is very likely to be divided by practical actions to divide the power of the monarch's power, but where will Li Weizheng's bottom line be? Everyone was confused for a moment.

Finally, Qi Tai reported: "Your Majesty, Lord Li kept saying that he would restore the Tang system. Then we might as well divide it with the power of the monarch and prime minister during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang to establish the Secretariat, and use the Secretariat as the right prime minister as the commander of all officials. Officials under the third rank are appointed and removed by the Prime Minister. For military and national affairs, we should first report to the Prime Minister, and then transfer it to the Emperor. Finally, the imperial edict will be stamped with the imperial seal and the Secretariat seal before it takes effect. What does Your Majesty think?"

Zhu Yunwen was very sad. What could he think? He could appoint and remove officials from third rank or above, but in fact he could appoint and remove Li Weizheng? Don’t talk about Li Weizheng, can he easily appoint and remove other important officials? Zhu Yunwen has already seen that the restructuring pattern is not only Li Weizheng, but also all the important officials are also benefiting. Even the former emperor’s grandfather had to use major cases to get rid of Hu Weiyong. Now, what power does he have to remove the ministers?

Just here, the guards suddenly shouted from outside the hall, "Li Wei, the chief general of the Five Army, was asking to see Your Majesty!"

The protagonist finally came, and the side hall was silent. After a long time, Zhu Yunwen whispered: "Please enter the hall!"

After a moment, Li Wei strode into the side hall, he bowed and said, "My de Li Wei shou meets His Majesty the Emperor."

"Li Aiqing, we are discussing the issue of restoring the general regime in the Ming Dynasty. I wonder if Li Aiqing has any good suggestions?"

Li Weizheng came for this. He had long been confident and said, "Your Majesty, I have always thought that the Prime Minister was not an auxiliary to the king. It is actually a check and balance of the king's power to prevent the king from abuse of power and causing major losses to the people. Therefore, I have always suggested that the Tang system be restored. Perhaps it will take some time to fully restore the Tang system, but some basic systems should be decided. First, the Secretariat, the Menxia Province and the Political Affairs Hall must be established. The Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Central Committee shall be drafted.

In this way, the edict cannot be written by the Secretariat, but should be written by the Secretariat. The Secretariat Hall is the place where military and national affairs are discussed and decided. The military and national affairs are not decided by the prime minister or the king, but should be negotiated and decided by the important ministers of the court, and finally submitted to His Majesty for approval. This is the real prime minister. I do not want a situation where a prime minister is dominant at the end of the Han Dynasty, nor do I want to be like the late emperor, military and national affairs are dictatorial by the emperor. Please consider it."

It should be said that Li Weizheng's words are very rebellious, such as preventing the king from abusing his power, and for example, the emperor's dictatorship, etc. Any emperor would push Li Weizheng to death. Li Weizheng also knew that this would hurt Zhu Yunwen's imperial dignity, but he believed that it was necessary to explain his system clearly. This was not only to Zhu Yunwen, but also to all ministers.

He, Li Weizheng, did not want to monopolize power, but to establish a true system of ruler and minister. Of course, this is not Li Weizheng's ultimate goal, but things need to be done step by step and cannot be rushed.

Li Weizheng's opinion won the unanimous agreement of all the ministers, especially his sentence: 'Military and national affairs were not decided by the prime minister or king, but should be negotiated and decided by the important officials of the court.' It was this sentence that resonated with all the important officials present.

The general situation was decided, and Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to officially agree to the Ming Dynasty to restore the control.

On April 1st of the third year of Jianwen, the day after Zhu Yunwen was prone to restoring the prime minister, the Ming court officially announced to the world: 'From now on, the Ming Dynasty will officially restore the prime minister, establish the Secretariat, the Menxia Provincial Department and the Political Affairs Hall, and be granted the title of Li Weizheng, the Grand Governor of the Five Armies as the Right Prime Minister, and serves as the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of War, and is in charge of the Secretariat. In addition, Qi Tai, Chen Di, Bao Zhao, Jing Qing, Tie Xuan and Ye Tianming all have the title of the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Secretariat, and enter the Political Affairs Hall to discuss politics, abolish the provisional military affairs meeting, and be granted the title of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites as the Left Prime Minister and the Minister of the Ministry of War.'
Chapter completed!