Ming Empire

Chapter 200 Cao Yue's Position

After Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, although Nanjing was left out in the cold, the Nanjing Imperial Palace was still very well preserved. After Queen Zhou and others entered the city, they also lived in the Nanjing Imperial Palace with all the facilities still complete.

However, the officials in Nanjing are not idle. Everyone knows that their days will not be idle and difficult.Many people are apprehensive, but there are also many people who are full of expectations.Heroes come out of troubled times, and they who were originally assigned to work in Nanjing may bid farewell to the days of frustration and return to the stage of history.Therefore, they are all busy, busy inquiring about the situation, and working hard for their future.

After initially stabilizing the affairs, Cao Yue, Sun Chuanting, Gao Hongtu, Shi Kefa, Ma Shiying and other major officials and dignitaries in Nanjing also discussed the issue of the new monarch and the state affairs arrangements after the war.

On the issue of who should support the throne, Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu mentioned the name of Ding Wang Zhu Cijiong without hesitation, and then the treacherous and treacherous Sun Chuanting also agreed with this proposal, and Cao Yue, who finally expressed his position, of course had no objection.In fact, everyone knows that supporting Ding Wang Zhu Cijiong is the only choice for everyone. If anyone proposes other candidates, they will certainly not be able to convince the world.

After the decision to support Dingwang Zhu Cijiong as the new king, the selection of officials in the court has become an unavoidable issue for anyone.However, all of this has to be decided by the emperor. Although the newly enthroned emperor Zhu Cijiong is young and unable to govern himself, he still has to make a gesture.

Because of the urgency of the situation, after it was agreed to support Zhu Cijiong as the new emperor of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cijiong proclaimed himself emperor in Fengtian Temple in Nanjing on a certain auspicious day in the future.After Zhu Cijiong ascended the throne, he still used Chongzhen as his reign name, and swore to the world that he would change the reign name when the bandits were pacified, Jiannu was destroyed, and the capital was returned to Beijing.

When Zhu Cijiong ascended the throne, he also announced his posthumous gift to his father, Emperor Chongzhen.In the posthumous decree, Emperor Chongzhen's great achievements and his last unyielding were praised, and he was given the posthumous title Shaotian Yidao Gangming Kejian Kuiwen Fen Wudun Renmao Xiaolie Emperor, and the temple name was Huaizong, and he was buried Near the Ming Xiao Mausoleum in Zijin Mountain, the mausoleum is named "Si Ling".

Immediately, Zhu Cijiong, who was trembling and hadn't fully entered the state, presided over the court meeting to discuss the selection of court officials.Before the court meeting, Empress Zhou, Cao Yue, Sun Chuanting and Zhu Cijiong had a secret discussion, and finally Zhu Cijiong obeyed the orders of the three adults.

The court meeting to discuss major state affairs and the selection of court officials was held on the day after Zhu Cijiong ascended the throne. The first was to discuss the selection of the cabinet's chief assistant.

"I think Mr. Sun is the most qualified to be the chief assistant of Ming Dynasty," Cao Yue stated his opinion before everyone else, "Mr. Sun's strategy must be admired by everyone. If the emperor gave him the opportunity earlier, let him preside over the imperial court." The rogues might have been put down long ago. If he hadn’t changed generals after he suffered a temporary defeat this time, the rogues wouldn’t have gotten bigger.”

"The lower officials also think that Mr. Sun is the best candidate for the first assistant!" Gao Hongtu expressed his opinion immediately after Cao Yue expressed his opinion, saying that he followed Cao Yue and selected Sun Chuanting's talents.

After pondering for a while, Shi Kefa also agreed with Cao Yue's proposal and supported Sun Chuanting as the chief assistant.Seeing that Gao Hongtu and Shi Kefa expressed this, King An Zhu Tongzhen, Duke Wei Xu Hongji, Uncle Xincheng Zhao Zhilong, Uncle Chengyi Liu Kongzhao, and Yushi Gaozhuo, the imperial capital of Youqin who escaped from Beijing, all followed suit.Ma Shiying, who originally wanted to compete for the position of chief assistant, saw that Cao Yue blatantly supported Sun Chuanting, and none of the other officials stood up to oppose it, and did not dare to speak out to fight, so he finally reluctantly agreed to let Sun Chuanting be the chief assistant.

Sun Chuanting pretended to decline a few times, but finally accepted it, saying that he would devote himself to the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, to visit the rivers and mountains of the Ming Dynasty, and to avenge Emperor Chongzhen until he died.

The candidate for the first assistant was initially determined, and the candidate for the second assistant became a question that the officials would discuss next.Sun Chuanting proposed that Ma Shiying, Gao Hongtu, and Shi Kefa be the second assistants of the cabinet. This proposal was immediately supported by Cao Yue. None of the other officials had such prestige as these three. In the end, it was supported by everyone with very few objections. Accepted, Ma Shiying, Gao Hongtu, and Shi Kefa accepted the task after a little humility.

Then we discussed the candidates for the six ministries. The dispute over the candidates for the six ministries became more intense. The main reason was that the Donglin Party had been fighting fiercely with Fushe and other forces in the DPRK. The Donglin Party often became the target of public criticism. The party pick was attacked by others.Fortunately, on the way back to Nanjing, Cao Yue and Sun Chuanting discussed this issue carefully.

Because he could not read books about the late Ming Dynasty, Cao Yue also had a better understanding of the current political situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and he had a little understanding of the disputes between political groups such as the Donglin Party and Fushe, as well as the abilities and character of these officials at the end of the Ming Dynasty. , for the balance of power, after discussing with Sun Chuanting, he expressed his opinion and finally persuaded Sun Chuanting.

The final result of the debate has not changed from what Cao Yue mentioned at the beginning.

Shi Kefa concurrently served as Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Gao Hongtu was still worried about the Minister of Household Affairs. The position of Minister of Punishment was taken by Gao Zhuo. The position of Shangshu fell to Zhang Huangyan recommended by Cao Yue, Wang Duo served as the censor of the left capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Qu Shixu served as the censor of the right capital.

Because of the critical situation, in order to cope with the changes in the situation and coordinate the deployment of the world's troops, the little emperor Zhu Cijiong decided to reset the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, with Cao Yue as the Metropolitan Governor, in charge of the world's troops and horses.

The governor's mansion was re-established to be in charge of the world's soldiers and horses. Cao Yue was appointed as the governor, and he proposed candidates for the left and right governors of the five armies' governor's mansion. As soon as Zhu Cijiong announced this decision, it immediately caused an uproar in the court.Most people knew what it meant to be appointed to this post, but Ma Shiying, Qian Qianyi, Wang Duo and others jumped out desperately to oppose this proposal.

What Cao Yue didn't expect was that those officials whose weaknesses and even lifelines he had mastered, such as Gao Hongtu, Zhu Tongzheng, Xu Hongji, Zhao Zhilong, Liu Kongzhao, etc., did not stand up to support him, even Shi Kefa remained silent .

It was Sun Chuanting who came out to refute Ma Shiying, Qian Qianyi and others. He said that the current situation was critical and that extraordinary things had to be done at an extraordinary time, otherwise the Ming Dynasty would still be in disarray. Cao Yue was in the hands of the imperial court and was dispatched in a unified manner, otherwise he would not be able to resist the bandits and build slaves, let alone talk about restoring the country and avenging Emperor Chongzhen.

Of course, the little emperor Zhu Cijiong also repeatedly expressed his support for Cao Yue's appointment. On the way to the south, he had been brainwashed by Cao Yue. He was able to get the throne thanks to the support of Cao Yue. Before he understood the cruelty and darkness of political struggle, he would not stand up and sing against Cao Yue.

However, the officials who opposed it were still very tough. In the end, this matter was not finalized, and the court meeting can be said to have broken up unhappy.

(End of this chapter)