Chongzhen Chat Group

Chapter 1253 Surprise or surprise?

It's not that these officials covet this position and want this official position. The position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel can only be appointed by the emperor. Even if they want to covet it, there is nothing they can do.

If it were the original Emperor Chongzhen, there would still be a possibility. It is not uncommon for the appointment of senior officials of the Ming Dynasty to be determined by drawing lots. It is even common for unscrupulous attacks on officials who are not satisfied with their appointment as senior officials, thereby affecting the judgment of Emperor Chongzhen.

However, in this dimension, the prestige of Emperor Chongzhen lies here, Qiankun is arbitrary, and those seemingly "democratic" court decisions and drawing lots will not occur at all. If you dare to attack senior officials of the Ming Dynasty without evidence, the cold land is waiting to welcome educated officials to enrich the population.

Therefore, those officials below are actually "sexually motivated but not courageous" and can only discuss it in private. At most, they can hide in their own homes and draw small circles, hoping that the new Minister of Civil Affairs will meet their "taste" . Especially those older officials, especially those with more conservative ideas, are looking forward to ushering in "liberation."

"Who do you think the emperor will choose to be the Minister of Staff?"

"It's hard to say, the Sacred Heart is hard to predict! But no matter how you choose, there should be no one who cares more about science and technology knowledge than Mr. Xu, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Xu is the first person in our Ming Dynasty to promote scientific and technological knowledge. Others cannot compare, so I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!"

"Do you think he will be transferred from the position of Minister of Rites to Minister of Personnel? Mr. Sun also strongly agrees with scientific and technological knowledge! And it is a natural thing to be transferred from the post of Minister of Rites to Minister of Personnel. There will not be much change in level."

"This is unlikely. The Ministry of Rites is also the most important government office. The Emperor may not want Master Sun to leave the Ministry of Rites!"

"The person who is most devoted to science and technology knowledge should be Song Yingxing, the doctor of the Science and Technology Department. But he is just a doctor now. To be promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, this span is too big and impossible. Even if he is to accept the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, it is impossible. This is not possible!"

"..."

Speculations about the position of Minister of Civil Affairs spread not only among officials, but also among the common people in the capital. Either because the people in the capital naturally care about political affairs, or because the position of Minister of Civil Affairs is too important, and scientific and technological knowledge has a great influence. Will the candidate of Minister of Civil Affairs insist on promoting scientific and technological knowledge or perfunctoryly promote scientific and technological knowledge? The reason for the great impact on everyone, this topic finally fermented in the capital. In the end, even the cabinet started discussing it.

Finally, when the First Assistant Wen Tiren came to see Emperor Chongzhen, he raised this matter: "Your Majesty, Xu Shangshu has been ill for a long time and the post of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel has been vacant for a long time, which has affected the political affairs of the imperial court."

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is also known as the Heavenly Official. He controls the assessment and promotion of middle and low-ranking officials, which is a very important position. Except for the first assistant and the second assistant in the cabinet, if possible, other cabinet ministers would not even be the assistant ministers, but would be willing to be the minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Among the seven ministers, only the official minister is so attractive. This shows the importance of the position of Minister of Civil Affairs.

Emperor Chongzhen had factory guards as his eyes and ears, and the chat group was unpaid. Whether it was the private chats of the officials below or the direction of public opinion among the people in the capital, he actually knew everything. So he nodded and said: "I know that the new Minister of Civil Affairs will take office soon."

When Wen Tiren heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he came back to his senses. He immediately thought of someone and asked in surprise: "Your Majesty, are you Sun Chuanting, the governor of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong?"

Previously, Emperor Chongzhen had issued an order for Sun Chuanting, the governor of the three provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, and Zheng Zhilong, the commander of the Southeast Navy, to come to Beijing for an audience. Wen Tiren always thought that the emperor wanted to commend them for their military exploits in conquering Nanyang. Because he had already heard from the emperor that Zheng Zhilong would also be made an earl for his merits this time.

"Well, I am going to appoint Sun Qing as the Minister of Civil Affairs!" Emperor Chongzhen admitted immediately without hiding the truth from his chief minister.

As soon as Wen Tiren heard this reply, he quickly said again: "Your Majesty, who will take over as the governor of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces?"

The governors of the three provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong can also be said to have high authority, and they are also among the top officials in the feudal frontiers. He couldn't figure out for a while, who would take over this position?

Emperor Chongzhen listened, smiled and shook his head and said: "No one has taken over. The governors of the three provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong were established for the purpose of opening up the sea. In the past few years, the opening up of the sea has been on the right track. I feel that there is no need to set up a special appointment for the opening up of the sea." The position of governor of the three provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong. If it hadn't been for the war in Nanyang, I would have transferred Sun Qing back."

Of course, the prerequisite for being transferred back is that Sun Chuanting must rescue the people of the Ming Dynasty who have looted Nanyang and restore the officials to their original posts, so as to avoid being attacked by others. Therefore, there was no news of Sun Chuanting coming back before.

After hearing Emperor Chongzhen's reply, Wen Tiren thought about it and nodded in agreement. The governor of the Ming Dynasty was not actually a fixed official position, and was often established and abolished. For example, the post of Governor-General Xuanda was established when the Mongols were in serious trouble; and when the Mongols subsided, this official position was abolished. From the second year of Jingtai to the fall of Ming Dynasty, it was abolished eight times.

As for Wen Tiren himself, he actually liked from the bottom of his heart the fact that Emperor Chongzhen transferred Sun Chuanting to the post of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Because he, as the chief minister, wholeheartedly supports any decision made by the emperor, his butt is on the side of the emperor, not on the side of the officials. To be honest, there are officials secretly criticizing him. It's just that the emperor's power is at its peak, he is a wise king, and he cannot be fooled. Otherwise, he would have been attacked by the crowd and would have probably stepped down.

As for Sun Chuanting, his reputation in Ming Dynasty official circles was even worse than his. Not to mention that the stones in the latrine are smelly and hard, just from his nickname of "Cold-faced King of Hell", you can know that once Sun Chuanting takes the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, it is estimated that the officials below him will be tortured to death by Sun Chuanting. . With Sun Chuanting, the dazzling official minister, he, the chief minister, could feel much more relaxed.

After asking about the situation, Wen Tiren left with satisfaction. He didn't say that he was happy that when Sun Chuanting returned to the capital and announced the news, he would be able to surprise the officials who had been looking forward to it for a long time.

Compared with this matter, he was not concerned about Zheng Zhilong being made an earl. Anyway, it was impossible for a civil servant to be ennobled. Of course, this matter will definitely stimulate those generals. You should know that since the Ming Dynasty named Li Chengliang the title of Ning Yuanbo in the seventh year of Wanli, no one has ever been granted a title.

However, in the Chongzhen Dynasty, several marquis and earls had been granted successively. like:

Man Gui, for protecting the capital, he was awarded the title Zhongyong Bo;

Qin Liangyu, for his merits as King Qin and for eradicating the Tonglu and Shanxi merchants, he was granted the title of Uncle Zhonglie;

Cao Bianjiao, commander of the new army, destroyed the Jianlu in Liaodong, and was granted the title of Yong Wu Bo;

Qin Liangyu fought in the south and north, conquered Dongwu, suppressed many chieftains in the south, and was granted the title of Zhongliehou.

This means that for Emperor Chongzhen, as long as he has achieved enough military exploits, he will not hesitate to reward him with a title. If Zheng Zhilong is granted the title of earl again, people will definitely be jealous.

Sure enough, in September of the eighth year of Chongzhen, after Zheng Zhilong rushed to the capital according to the order, he was immediately summoned by Emperor Chongzhen. In recognition of his military exploits in Nanyang, he was granted the title of Nanyang Bo.

As soon as this decree came out, many people were surprised, especially among the generals, and they started talking about it.

"Zheng Zhilong was just a pirate back then. I didn't expect His Majesty to treat him so kindly. It's really surprising!"

"Yes, he is just a naval commander, but he can be knighted. I really didn't expect him!"

"..."

Amidst such discussions, there are also some things that can be figured out.

"You can't say that. Nanyang is now the inland sea of ​​the Ming Dynasty. This contribution is indeed great enough. If you want to be knighted, it doesn't seem that surprising!"

"Yes, look at the few people who have been knighted by the current emperor. Their military exploits are really not worthy of mention. The battle to destroy the country is indeed enough for them to be knighted!"

"It also depends on the emperor's wishes, but obviously, the emperor is very generous to generals who have achieved sufficient military exploits, right?"

"..."

After discussing such a result, many generals were unwilling to accept it. For example, Wu Sangui, he believed that his ability was no worse than Cao Bianjiao. Back then, he became the commander-in-chief earlier than Cao Bianjiao. The same goes for Cao Wenzhao, who is now his nephew's subordinate, and he is not willing to accept it!

It's not just them, there are many people. To be precise, as long as they are military generals, they don't think about being knighted. It's just a pity that looking around the world, the Ming Dynasty seems to have no enemies, leaving them no chance to make military exploits. I have to say that these generals must be very regretful. If they had known this, they should have worked harder at the beginning, maybe they could be knighted!

Amidst the regrets of the military generals, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly issued another decree, which shocked the officials who had no idea, that is, the civil servants. The emperor appointed Sun Chuanting as the Minister of Civil Affairs and abolished the post of governor of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

"Have you heard? The new Minister of Civil Affairs has come out!"

"Who, who will be the new Heavenly Official? It'd be best if he's easy to talk to, and if he's well-connected, that would be great!"

"What a beautiful idea! The new Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is the cold-faced King of Hell! Do you know about the cold-faced King of Hell? Have you heard of it? You still think it has something to do with it, haha!"

"What? It's actually the cold-faced King of Hell! It's over, it's not as good as Mr. Xu Tianguan!"

"Who says it's not the case! Oh, I've been looking forward to it all these days in vain!"

"..."

Although Sun Chuanting was the governor of the three southern provinces, his reputation as the cold-faced King of Hell had spread throughout the Ming Dynasty. More importantly, everyone knew that the emperor admired him very much and protected him. This made Sun Chuanting even more unscrupulous and would not give face to anyone!

In the past, he would have brought harm to the three southern provinces at most, but now he has become the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and is in charge of all the middle and low-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty. Thinking of this, almost all middle and low-level civil servants did their work consciously and did not dare to make any mistakes or omissions that Sun Chuanting would catch.

Completely different from the mood of these low- and middle-class civil servants, Sun Chuanting was drinking happily in his mansion, with a rare happy smile on his expressionless face.

Thinking about those days, he remembered very clearly that before he took office, he had a drink with Hong Chengchou, the then governor of Yansui, and discussed heroes.

"There are many people in this world who do great things but cherish their lives, and forget their lives when they see small profits. But you and I, both of whom have real talents and learning, will be the pillars of the country. We will definitely be able to join the cabinet and assist the government together in the future."

Sun Chuanting still remembers these words clearly. Also, later on, he became even more energetic and once said to Hong Chengchou: "Sun X inferred that the emperor transferred Sun X to Fujian, something big must happen. Heng Jiu was in Yansui, and he also wanted to plot the grassland. You and I, one in the south and one in the north, will work together. How about being careful and seeing who makes meritorious deeds early and who takes the lead in the cabinet?"

The scene back then is so vivid in my mind!

When Sun Chuanting recalled those years, he couldn't help but feel very emotional. In the past few years, I have been working hard and met the Emperor Shengming. Now, I am appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel of the Ming Dynasty. Hong Chengchou is still serving as the naturalized governor, and Lu Xiangsheng, who has made great military achievements, is still just the governor. As far as his current official position is concerned, he is obviously one step ahead of them!

Over the years, my efforts have not been in vain! Sun Chuanting thought in his mind and drank the wine in one gulp. Then he turned the cup upside down, looked at the bright moon in the distance, and secretly made up his mind: "I'll wait for three people to see who takes the position of first assistant first!"

A few days later, Emperor Chongzhen held an imperial meeting in the Wenhua Hall, attended by the Supervisor of Rites, the Cabinet and seven ministers.

After the ceremony, Emperor Chongzhen said to his ministers: "I believe you have all seen the capacity of the train this month, right?"

The train from Beijing to Tongzhou is divided into freight and passenger carriages. Sometimes, both freight and passenger carriages are pulled together. In this month, anyone with eyes can see that the transportation capacity of trains is many times higher than that of horse-drawn carriages.

Therefore, upon hearing Emperor Chongzhen's question, First Assistant Wen Tiren went out and said: "I have opened my eyes. This train is indeed an artifact of transportation!"

"Your Majesty's invention has benefited the country and the people like never before." Cao Huachun, the eunuch of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, also immediately came out and said, "I congratulate your Majesty and congratulate the Ming Dynasty!"

The benefits of trains have been recognized. Emperor Chongzhen nodded with a smile, and then continued: "So, I have decided to extend the railway from the capital to Tongzhou and build it all the way to Liaodong. What do you all think?"

"Your Majesty, Liaodong is a very cold place!" Wen Tiren was stunned for a moment, and then quickly reminded: "Building this section of road is not as good as building a railway to the south..."

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and waved his hand to stop Wen Tiren from continuing, and then said: "Wen Qing must not underestimate Liaodong. It is not only a cold place, but also a cornucopia!"

"..." The officials in the Wenhua Palace were speechless when they heard this.

How could Liaodong be a cornucopia of treasure in that cold, cold place? If this were the case, Jianlu would not be "poor" until the country was destroyed.

Although they would not reveal what they were thinking, Emperor Chongzhen could guess what they were thinking without even thinking about it, and he didn't care.

One more chapter at 17:00

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