Chapter 44 6. Abolish the phase system and pacify the civil strife in the court

After Hu Weiyong was killed, Zhu Yuanzhang learned from the pain, thinking about the ending of several prime ministers after the founding of the country, he couldn't help feeling distressed.Wang Guangyang was cowardly and didn't care about things, but in the end he still caused trouble for himself; Yang Xian and Hu Weiyong began to act recklessly as soon as they took charge of the government.If you want to say that the prime minister is the best, you have to count Li Shanchang. He handles all kinds of things in an orderly manner and understands the emperor's thoughts, but it is still worrying after all.Liu Bowen is the most talented, but he doesn't plan to be the prime minister at all.Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't understand it.

Just when he was distressed, someone suddenly reported that Liu Bowen's eldest son, Liu Lian, had come to see him.Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him immediately. "Your Majesty, my late father wrote a ten-thousand-word book before he was alive, and asked my minister to hand it over to the emperor after Hu Weiyong's death. Now that Hu Weiyong is dead, I present this ten-thousand-character book according to my late father's last wish." Liu Lian said. Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help feeling sad after receiving the Wanyan book.I'm really sorry for Liu Bowen, he was so loyal, and even entered the Wanyan Book after his death, but in the end he was killed by a villain.Zhu Yuanzhang was very guilty.

After reading the Wanyan book, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed again: Liu Bowen was an outsider, and he saw everything clearly. He was really a genius.He refused to be the prime minister for life or death, because he knew that whoever became the prime minister was doomed to a bad end.Of course Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he, the emperor who would win the world immediately, really couldn't tolerate others taking power alone.As Liu Bowen said, it's not that the prime minister is not good for people, but that the position of prime minister is not good for people in this position.The Zhongshu Province has too much power. It should follow Liu Bowen's suggestion and reorganize the Zhongshu Province.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but miss Liu Bowen.Liu Bowen is still alive and he can still talk to him and discuss the strategy to stabilize the country.But now that the Sri Lankan has passed away, only myself, a lonely family, is left to face all this.As Liu Bowen said, no matter how difficult it is, Zhu Yuanzhang should persevere for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang's military life for many years has made him accustomed to making decisions by himself.He was dissatisfied with all the previous prime ministers, either arrogating power or doing nothing.He has long been dissatisfied with the existence of the prime minister, even disgusted.He couldn't tolerate a prime minister between him and his ministers to connect them.Hu Weiyong served as prime minister for seven years, and Zhu Yuanzhang felt that his power was falling apart.He felt that he still had the ability to cut off powerful officials like Hu Weiyong. If future kings did not have this ability, then his Ming Dynasty would be in danger.

Zhu Yuanzhang made up his mind to reorganize the Zhongshu Ministry, no matter how much resistance he encountered, he would continue to do so.In order to concentrate the power in his own hands, he even ruined the great cause of his Zhu family. One morning, Song Lian, a great scholar, said: "Your Majesty, Hu Weiyong has been expelled for many days, and the Zhongshu Province has been left unattended. Please also ask the emperor to determine the prime minister as soon as possible so that he can preside over the overall situation of the Zhongshu Province." "Song Lian, is there any trouble without a prime minister during this time? Wouldn't there be us, the emperor, without a prime minister?" Zhu Yuanzhang said loudly.

Song Lian wanted to say something else, but Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "Let's talk about it first, and I will retreat if there is nothing else." After speaking, he got up and left. Song Lian kept shaking his head and sighing when he went down to court.Someone asked: "Master Song, what's wrong with you?" "The emperor wants to abolish the prime minister. Since ancient times, the imperial power and the prime minister's power have always ebbed and flowed, and it is difficult to reconcile. Since the founding of the country, the successive prime ministers have abused power and made the emperor feel that the imperial power has been violated. Now I am afraid that the emperor is trying to change, you and I You have to be careful." Song Lian said with a heavy heart.

It just so happened that the good-natured man heard this and immediately reported it to the emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious after hearing this, and said fiercely: "Who is he Song Lian! He dares to criticize the government because of his talent and learning. He thought Fengtian Palace was his study in the Song Dynasty. Come, call me Song Lian !" Prince Zhu Biao heard about this and immediately came to meet the emperor. "Father, please calm down. I believe Master Song just said such things in a moment of confusion. Please forgive me." Prince Zhu Biao pleaded.Song Lian is the prince's teacher, and the prince has always respected him.

"Biaoer, why are you so confused. If you are like this, how can we rest assured that we will hand over the great Ming Dynasty to you. How can we tolerate Song Lian who dares to criticize the government based on his qualifications and talents?" Zhu Yuanzhang said. "Father, Master Song is right. Hu Weiyong has been dead for so long, the court should elect a prime minister." The prince continued. Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes tightly with a pained expression.In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart was even more bitter. He had painstakingly cultivated the prince for so many years, but unfortunately the prince could not see through the current situation at all. If he ascended the throne in the future, how would he be able to fight against those treacherous officials.Zhu Yuanzhang's heart to waste his prime minister became firmer.

At this moment, someone reported that Song Lian had arrived.Zhu Yuanzhang retreated to the left and right, and called Song Lian. At this time, there were only Zhu Yuanzhang, the prince and Song Lian in the room. "Song Lian, since ancient times, it has been difficult to reconcile the power of the monarchy. You have read the books of sages and sages, and I would like to ask you, if you were the emperor, how should you deal with the two?" Zhu Yuanzhang cut to the chase. Song Lian was so frightened that he immediately fell to his knees: "Your Majesty, I dare not." "But it's okay to say, we forgive you for your innocence." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"My lord, since the Qin Dynasty, all dynasties have had the emperor sitting in the court and the prime minister governing the country. The emperor came to unify the overall situation, and the prime minister came to administer specific policies. Under this system, prosperous times have emerged one after another, which shows that this system is in line with the law of heaven and the conditions of the country in the bottom!" Song Lian replied. "But since Hu Weiyong became the prime minister, he has deceived the emperor to usurp power, formed a party and conspired against him, and almost became the emperor for us. We abolished the prime minister system because we were afraid that there would be another Hu Weiyong." Zhu Yuanzhang was not ignorant of the benefits of the prime minister system, he was even more worried The bad side of the prime minister system.After thousands of years, this bad side is also difficult to restrain.

"Your Majesty, under the prime minister system, of course there will be traitorous ministers like Hu Weiyong, but there are also famous ministers such as Xiao He, Wei Zheng, and Wang Anshi. I think this is not the fault of the prime minister system. Without the power of the prime minister to assist the government, the imperial power must not be exercised alone. As long as Employing the right people, managing them properly, and the prime minister's formulation can ensure the peace of the country." "How dare you say that we employ people improperly!" Before Song Lian could finish speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted him. "I must never dare, the emperor is an unborn sage." Song Lian said quickly. "What's wrong with an emperor who governs the country while sitting in the court? The emperor directly controls the power, and letting the ministers avoid the relationship of the prime minister will definitely increase efficiency. There will be fewer opportunities for villains to make trouble, and the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe." Zhu Yuanzhang abolished The mind of the prime minister has been determined, and he refuses to listen to Song Lian's words. "Your Majesty, please consider for future generations. Your Majesty is a sage, so naturally you can handle everything yourself. But a person's energy is limited after all. A wise emperor alone cannot govern a country well. Besides, if the ruler of later generations is not a sage, but a weak ruler, who does not have the ability to deal with various problems, if the prime minister system is abolished, who will help our weak ruler?" Song Lian cried. "You Song Lian courted death, and dared to humiliate our future king." Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, you understand in your heart that this minister is only for the sake of the Emperor and Daming." Song Lian said. Zhu Yuanzhang thought so too. Although Song Lian made random comments on the government, he was loyal to the court.Thinking of Hu Weiyong and other villains, he couldn't help secretly admiring Song Lian's behavior.But Zhu Yuanzhang's idea of ​​abolishing the prime minister system and reorganizing the Zhongshu Ministry has been decided, and Song Lian can't change it. In the early morning of the next day, Zhu Yuanzhang officially announced the dismissal of the Central Secretariat and the abolition of the prime minister system. The matter was handed over to the six ministries, which were directly responsible to the emperor. At this time, Song Lian was ill in bed due to anger, and immediately went to court with illness after hearing about it. "Your Majesty, I risked my life to admonish you. The prime minister system must never be abolished. Since you are a minister in the court, you should fulfill your duties as a minister." Song Lian begged on his knees. "Song Lian retired, this matter has been decided and cannot be changed." Zhu Yuanzhang knew that many people did not advocate the abolition of the prime minister system for various purposes. "Your Majesty, the past dynasties have history as a mirror, and the prime minister system must never be abolished." Song Lian insisted. "Pull this stubborn old man down and put him in prison." Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that he must be firm now and deter his officials.I didn't want to take Song Lian's knife at first, but Song Lian risked his life to admonish him, and now it seems that it won't work if he doesn't do it. "Anyone who dares to speak up and support the prime minister's system, Song Lian is your role model." Zhu Yuanzhang said to all civil and military officials. Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it. There are probably not a few people like Song Lian who resolutely maintain the prime minister system. They can temporarily give up because of their own dragon prestige, but it is difficult to guarantee that they will not encourage future generations to reset the prime minister.So Zhu Yuanzhang issued another decree to announce that the heirs are not allowed to discuss the appointment of the prime minister.If the ministers dare to enter the court and invite the prime minister, they will be severely punished and passed on to future generations as ancestral instructions. For a while, there was a lot of discussion in the court.Some people think that the emperor is really a holy king, abolishing the system of prime ministers that existed for more than a thousand years, and raising the status of the six ministries; In any case, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped the Zhongshu Province and abolished the prime minister system.Five government offices, six ministries, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the General Administration Department, Dali Temple and other yamen were set up to handle government affairs, supervise each other, and be directly responsible to the emperor.In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang combined military and political power and became the most powerful emperor in China in history.