Chapter 321 320 Difficulty in Entering the Cabinet

The three of them were drinking and eating meat at Wei Guangde's house, while guessing who arranged for Wei Guangde to go south and what was the purpose?

Naturally, nothing came out. After all, the three of them were like blind men trying to figure out the elephant, unable to get a full picture.

However, Wei Guangde also heard it. Neither of them was very optimistic about his future appointment to the cabinet. Instead, they thought that he might be in charge of one of the six yamen, or even the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Thinking about Wei Guangde, he probably understood that although "non-Hanlin Academy members will not join the cabinet" was not a necessary condition for cabinet ministers in the Ming Dynasty, there were indeed very few cabinet ministers without Hanlin Academy experience.

Compared with the previous dynasty's statement that "the prime minister must start from the state department", the cabinet members of the Ming Dynasty did not have rich local administrative experience, and it can even be said that they had no local experience at all.

However, this does not mean that the selection system of the modern cabinet is unreasonable.

First of all, Hanlin officials are the emperor's close servants, and may even be the emperor's teachers. They are relatively familiar with each other and can easily establish a "trust relationship." In an imperial society, nothing is more important to governance than the emperor's trust.

Secondly, Hanlin officials were the most successful people in the imperial examinations. Taking this as their qualification could reduce the struggle for power and internal friction within the bureaucracy and make it easier for them to be recognized by their colleagues in the officialdom.

Third, Hanlin officials have no experience in local administration, which does not mean they have no experience in handling government affairs. They have served in the central government for a long time, are responsible for drafting edicts and other matters, and are familiar with document exchanges and administrative operation mechanisms.

Finally, these Hanlin officials did not engage in local politics, so they had nothing to do with the intricate local forces. After they came to power, they had to avoid suspicion in their hometowns. Instead, they could "equalize the water in a bowl" and handle the relations between all parties in a more balanced manner. .

Wei Guangde met the qualifications for Hanlin to enter the cabinet, but his flaw was still obvious, that is, his literary talent was not obvious.

Wei Guangde originally prepared a large number of essays for the imperial examination, and with a little luck, he was able to reach where he is today.

For those who are not familiar with Wei Guangde, Wei Guangde is a legend and ranks very high. Naturally, they will think that he has a lot of writing skills. However, those who are familiar with him know that in fact, Wei Guangde's literary talent is not outstanding, but very ordinary.

Well, literati look down on each other, that's probably the case.

As for joining the cabinet, there are actually two ways to do it, either through appointment by the emperor, or through selection and court recommendation. The ministers of the court elect the candidates and then the emperor determines the candidates.

First of all, the simplest and most direct one is the emperor's appointment. There were not many such cabinet ministers in the Ming Dynasty, because most of the ministers who were favored by the emperor would directly refuse the emperor's orders. They would rather resign than enter the cabinet through the emperor's unilateral will.

Because it is difficult for a cabinet formed in this form to get the support of the six ministries, it can easily lead to chaos in the country, and they will become national criminals.

The selection was naturally made by the Ministry of Personnel who selected candidates for the Emperor's decision based on the results of previous years' assessments, or by the recommendation of officials of the third rank or above in the court, who recommended two or three people and reported them to the Emperor for selection.

Cabinet ministers who come out in this way, let alone their ability to do things, must meet the most basic condition of "high moral character and high respect", so that someone will support you, otherwise you will not be included in this big list.

Morality and prestige, these two things are relatively difficult to deal with based on their familiarity with Wei Guangde.

Of course, this does not mean that Wei Guangde's moral character is unworthy or defective, but that this character actually needs to be reflected in poetry and articles to a large extent, and this is Wei Guangde's weakness.

Chinese people are accustomed to judging a person's character by his works. If the poems and articles are good, then the person's character is good, and there will be no problem with his moral character.

As for prestige, this needs to be accumulated, and it is not what Wei Guangde can possess now.

Of course, Wei Guangde is only twenty years old now, so he is not in a hurry.

After seeing the two of them off, Wei Guangde did not go back to his room to rest. Instead, he sat in the study alone and thought.

As Zhang Ke said, Wei Guangde feels that the route he is currently assigned seems to deviate from what he originally wanted.

The first goal of officials who entered the Hanlin Academy was naturally to join the cabinet, and Wei Guangde was no exception.

However, he seemed to be an outlier among his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy.

As a Hanlin official, he was constantly sent out on official business.

It is not that Hanlin Academy officials cannot be sent abroad, but most of them are on errands such as canonization by feudal kings, and what he does is highly overlapped with the work of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Could it be that I really have no hope of joining the cabinet?

Wei Guangde never thought that he would not be able to join the cabinet. In fact, after learning that he was selected as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, the ultimate goal of his official career was already aimed at the cabinet, and that was his end.

However, Zhang Ke's words today, as well as the errands he received, all secretly revealed another possibility. Perhaps he would be sent to a department in the Sixth Department like most of his colleagues until the end of his stay in the Hanlin Academy. , or simply go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate as an errand.

If you survive until the end, you may be able to become a court official and become a second-rank minister in the court.

Although he was a little reluctant, it was the first time that Wei Guangde had the idea in his heart that perhaps the Sixth Film was his final destination.

As for which Yamen you will go to in the end?

Wei Guangde also felt a little unsure. After the First World War in Baoan Prefecture, the Ministry of War wanted to get him there, but in the end Emperor Jiajing probably thought that he still needed to be tempered and rejected the proposal.

The Ministry of War is naturally one of his most likely places to go.

However, this will be at least 20 years later, and the person who makes the final decision may not be the current emperor.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of Prince Yu.

When he met Gao Gong before, Gao Gong mentioned that Prince Yu seemed a little disappointed after knowing that Wei Guangde gave up entering Prince Yu's mansion, but he didn't say anything because Wei Guangde's words made sense.

After Wei Guangde entered Prince Yu's mansion, he could only give some ideas, and the job of the Zhanshi Mansion, supervising Prince Yu's words and deeds, was really not more helpful to Prince Yu's mansion than Wei Guangde getting some power as a clerk outside.

Although the current Emperor Jiajing has always been in good health, as Jia Yingchun gained a foothold in the Ministry of Revenue and became more powerful, some aspects of Prince Yu's mansion began to loosen up, and it was not as tight as it was in the past.

Such changes naturally made Prince Yu slowly develop some ideas, and his desire for power was rapidly rising.

However, although Gao Gong was no longer on duty at Prince Yu's mansion, he privately asked Yin Shizeng and others to pay more attention to Prince Yu's behavior, especially his greed for power.

These were said by Gao Gong and Wei Guangde. When he was chatting with Zhang Juzheng in the Imperial College, Zhang Juzheng reminded him many times to pay attention to Prince Yu's recent words and deeds.

Nowadays, with both princes in the capital, it is very important to be consistent in words and deeds.

In front of Wei Guangde, Gao Gong did not shy away from his appreciation of Zhang Juzheng, saying that he was talented, decisive, and capable.

Wei Guangde could hear that the relationship between the two seemed to progress quickly after they met in the Imperial College.

Perhaps, if Gao Gong had not died early, Zhang Juzheng might not have had a chance to come forward.

Wei Guangde did not hear much about Gao Gong in later generations, but he often saw Zhang Juzheng's name. It was said that he was the last hope of the Ming Dynasty, but in the end, he died and his politics died.

Therefore, Wei Guangde could only speculate that it was because Gao Gong died early that he did not leave a great name in history, but benefited Zhang Juzheng.

In this era, the medical level is so low. The emperor's son died prematurely. It can be seen that the mortality rate of illness is still very high. Didn't Prince Yu just lose his son?

In private occasions, Gao Gong always insisted that Prince Yu was the crown prince chosen by Emperor Jiajing.

Well, if even people around Prince Yu like them have no confidence in this, how can they gather a group of people around Prince Yu.

Therefore, Gao Gong often talked with Wei Guangde about the current situation and how to eliminate the malpractices of the court.

At this time, Gao Gong was upright and could listen to other people's opinions. In his opinion, the fundamental reason why the Ming Dynasty had come to this point was that the improper use of people led to the rampant lawlessness of corrupt officials. As long as the court was rectified and the government was clean, the Ming Dynasty would gradually recover.

Wei Guangde did not comment on this. There were so many corrupt officials that they could not be caught or killed. The Taizu’s brutal anti-corruption efforts failed to curb corruption.

In later generations, Wei Guangde read articles about the demise of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, most of them mentioned the word "death by financial collapse". However, although Wei Guangde knew that the financial problems of the Ming Dynasty were very serious, he really did not see that the court was short of money.

There was plenty in the Changying Treasury, but the conditions for withdrawal were very harsh. When the country was in crisis, this money would not be waiting in the treasury for the new master.

Therefore, when he was still studying in the countryside, Wei Guangde thought that after entering the court, he would find a way to solve the court's financial problems. Maybe he would change history and make himself a figure comparable to Zhang Juzheng.

But after entering the court and learning more things, Wei Guangde suddenly found that the analysis of later generations seemed to be wrong. So when Wei Guangde talked about future policies and strategies with Gao Gong, he tried his best to show support and understanding, because he was really confused and didn't know what to do.

There are definitely problems with the administration of officials, but Wei Guangde believes that he cannot fight corruption.

Let alone the Ming Dynasty, corruption has also been fought endlessly in later generations. Instead, anti-corruption has become a common means for political forces to confront each other and a weapon to attack political enemies.

When countless people applauded the execution of corrupt officials, they did not realize that they were just the outcome of the failure of political struggle.

Wei Guangde did not think much of Gao Gong's strategy. It was basically a small-scale attack, and the effect on the court seemed to be very limited.

As for other problems, in Gao Gong's view, they were actually related to the administration of officials. If the right people were used, other mistakes could be avoided, and there was no need to make major changes to the court system.

In other words, Gao Gong's attitude on foreign affairs was very strong, just one word, "fight".

Gao Gong and Wei Guangde said these things, but Wei Guangde actually understood in his heart. Perhaps the important reason was to make Wei Guangde and others understand that Prince Yu was the true emperor, and they just had to follow Prince Yu closely.

In fact, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng had met at the wine table less than three times, and the time for communication was pitifully short, because Zhang Juzheng spent most of his time at the Imperial College.

In the Hanlin Academy, there were not many tasks, and naturally there was no work for him to do in the academy after he recovered from his illness.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng only maintained a familiar face and a polite relationship when they met.

Although he knew that Zhang Juzheng would be very powerful in the future, Wei Guangde was not good at currying favor with him, at least he could not do so without the opportunity.

Thinking about these things, it was because Wei Guangde had realized that when Prince Yu came to power in the future, the Ministry of Personnel would be Gao Gong's territory, and he would never allow others to interfere.

The remaining ones are the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Revenue is good, but Wei Guangde really doesn't want to get involved in it because the affairs are too complicated. The other two government offices seem to be slightly worse. The Ministry of Works has some money, but not as much as the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Justice is even more so.

As for the Ministry of Rites, Wei Guangde has never considered it, unless he can get into the Hanlin Academy as a reader or lecturer, then he will have a chance to take a look at it.

After finishing this errand, he still has to walk around with Zhang Juzheng more and burn incense in advance. After all, his teacher is still the second assistant of the cabinet.

Wei Guangde sat in the study until late, and then he got up and went back to his bedroom. At this time, Xu Jianglan went to bed after urging Wei Guangde several times to no avail.

With the help of the maid, Wei Guangde undressed and climbed onto the bed. With the help of the weak light outside the tent, he saw a picture of a beautiful woman sleeping.

At this time, Xu Jianglan turned sideways, with her arms placed on her chest, her hair spread out on the pillow like clouds, her beautiful eyes slightly closed, her red lips slightly open, her nose exhaling slightly, she slept very quietly.

The soft quilt covered her body, revealing her bulging chest and slender waist, outlining an attractive curve.

At this moment, Wei Guangde felt his body begin to heat up, not knowing whether it was because of the wine or what, staring at her for a while, after admiring her, he couldn't help but lick his dry lips with his tongue, pulled open the quilt and got in.

"Last night, the rain was sparse and the wind was strong, and the remaining wine could not be eliminated in a deep sleep.

Ask the person who draws the curtain, but he said that the crabapple tree is still the same.

Do you know, do you know? It should be green, fat, red and thin."

After a night of spring, Wei Guangde's biological clock was still working, and he woke up early. Lying on the bed, Wei Guangde unconsciously chanted Li Qingzhao's "Ru Meng Ling" in a low voice.

After lying down for a while, Wei Guangde was completely awake. After the disturbance last night, Wei Guangde was sober now and felt refreshed.

Without waking up Xu Jianglan who was still sleeping, Wei Guangde quietly got up from the bed, called the maid in the outer room to fetch water to wash, and went to the yard to exercise as usual.

The body is the capital of revolution.

At any time, you must have a good body.

Wei Guangde is still very satisfied with this life, so he must eat well and live well.

However, when he packed up and went out to the Hanlin Academy to take up his duty, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of what happened yesterday and sighed. He didn't know when the decree would come down. He was afraid that it would be another trip that he would leave at any time.

It's better to leave early before the canal freezes, at least you can take a boat to the south