The Pacification Office and the East Factory were the two major weapons in the emperor's hands.
Of course, when mentioned in history books, the evaluations are often negative.
Because civil servants and eunuchs are like natural enemies, they often criticize eunuchs and eunuch factions, as if the power of eunuchs means the emperor is incompetent, and the excessive power of eunuchs means chaos in the government.
However, in history, there are very few cases of eunuchs disrupting politics. Instead, there are many cases of officials causing harm to the country due to factional struggles.
Moreover, the emperor relied heavily on eunuchs because, on the one hand, he trusted them; on the other hand, he wanted them to be well-informed and not be deceived; on the other hand, he wanted to suppress officials and make them tools for the emperor to command behind the scenes.
Zhu Youxiao also used eunuchs and the Pacification Office for all three reasons. However, as the political situation changed, the emphasis also changed.
At the beginning, the emperor was extremely disappointed with the court officials. He used the Pacification Office and the East Factory to severely punish a group of corrupt officials and those who were involved in factional struggles and harming the country.
Even so, the imperial prison of the East Factory was transferred to the Pacification Office, and arrests and interrogations were separated.
When the political situation changed and the Censorate was replaced by iron-faced officials trusted by the emperor, the main function of the Pacification Office shifted to external intelligence reconnaissance and collection, while the East Factory was responsible for internal surveillance.
Now, the cabinet and the six ministries are basically composed of capable officials trusted by the emperor. The power of the East Factory has been further reduced, and its authority to arrest has also been restricted.
In short, the nature of the Zhenfu Division and the Dongchang was increasingly like the emperor's eyes and ears, ensuring that information from all sides was reflected quickly and accurately.
The judicial power basically belongs to the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice and other relevant legal departments.
The officials agreed and supported this, while the emperor saw it as a step towards the rule of law, which was also his goal.
But the emperor would certainly not agree to abolish the Pacification Office and the East Factory. To ensure mutual supervision, multiple departments are needed, not just one.
The court is now clear and the officials are working diligently, but if time passes, there is no guarantee that the old problems will recur and the Ming Dynasty will return to its old ways.
As long as the Pacification Office and the East Factory existed, the emperor always held a knife in his hand and was able to intimidate the civil service.
Old Wei didn't care about the shrinking power of the East Factory and even breathed a sigh of relief. Few people in history had a good ending when they were high-ranking and powerful eunuchs.
The emperor's trust is still there, and this is the most important thing. As a eunuch, being able to live a peaceful life and have a good end is already a great favor from the emperor.
Eunuch Wei is also old. According to historical records, he is now in a miserable state, or has even hanged himself.
Even though he didn't know these things, it didn't prevent him from making judgments about his own life.
The more the emperor favored you and the more power he gave you, the greater the chance that you would be beheaded and used as a scapegoat in the future. This was not uncommon throughout the dynasties.
Yes, the emperor mentioned Fang Zhenghua, clearly showing his appreciation for him. I'm already old, how many more years can I still work? Saying a few good words about him later would be a good relationship.
Old Wei thought to himself as he listened respectfully to the emperor's orders. It was nothing more than that during a major disaster, one must be on guard against bad guys spreading rumors and causing trouble, establishing religions and causing chaos, and also not relax the crackdown on corruption among local officials.
"Several princes have reached the age to leave the capital and become fiefdoms." The emperor suddenly changed the subject. What he said made Old Wei immediately alert. He pricked up his ears, afraid of missing a word.
In recent years, the emperor's suppression of the royal family and vassal states has been obvious to all. Prince Xin, Prince Gui and other vassal states also stayed in the capital, with no intention of letting them go to their own vassal states.
But now, the emperor suddenly brought up this matter. Has his mind changed?
The surveillance of the princes was indeed within the scope of the East Factory's functions. Old Wei listened carefully and was thinking in his mind which people were more reliable and could be sent to monitor the princes.
The emperor stroked his forehead, clearly troubled. Leaving the capital to become a vassal was a huge expense, but staying in the capital and waiting to die was also disheartening.
Let them study in the religious academy and then assign them jobs, but it seems that they are not cut out for it.
After all, they all have the surname Zhu, and some of them are the emperor's uncles. They cannot be killed like "pigs".
The disaster lasted so long, and the north was particularly severe. How much food would be wasted if these manure-making machines were left in the capital? They were all shipped thousands of miles from overseas and the south.
When the great disaster was approaching, the emperor had imagined the worst situation and even considered moving the capital to Nanjing, taking his wives, children and the families of his ministers to the south for food.
This is not a fantasy. In history, the emperor took his ministers out of the capital to eat. This happened in the Sui and Tang dynasties.
Since there was a precedent, the emperor felt it was not shameful. Of course, after a year of disaster relief, the emperor's confidence had greatly increased, and he had thrown this idea out of the window.
There is no need to relocate the capital, but the people in the capital need to be dispersed, just like the people in the disaster-stricken areas in the north need to migrate, so as to reduce food consumption and ease the burden on the court.
People like those princes and nobles are all living off the land, they should all get out of here!
The south has more food and is less affected by disasters. Wouldn't it be great to go there for food? Further south, like Mekong Province, is also a good place!
The emperor spoke slowly. Old Wei lowered his head, his eyes rolling around. He really didn't expect that the emperor's request for vassalage would be like this!
"I have ordered Dong Yingju to build a palace, and Prince Rui, Prince Hui, and Prince Gui will successively take up their fiefdoms." The emperor leaned back in his chair, exhaled softly, and said, "The ancestral system cannot be violated, and I do not want to be known as someone who treats members of the royal family harshly and is unkind and disloyal."
"Your Majesty is merciful and this is a wise move." Old Wei bowed and said, "I will select the personnel and leave for Mekong Province soon."
The emperor smiled and nodded, then waved his hand to send Old Wei away.
Anyone who sits back and waits for death is mostly useless. Whether it's the Ming Dynasty's "pig farming" or the Qing Dynasty's hard-core crops, in the end they are all parasites who are neither civil nor military.
Therefore, the emperor had no good impression of the vassal states. The opportunity was given. Would it be difficult to learn a skill in the vassal state school? If you want to become an official, wouldn't it be good to exchange your official position for a title?
If you take out your savings and add them to the fund, you might earn more than your salary. Why are you so stingy? You save money at home, but you still ask the court for money. How shameless!
The emperor was very angry and the consequences were serious.
The system of surrender had not yet been formally implemented, and the emperor did not want to make any major moves during a major disaster that would undermine stability.
But if they waited day after day, it would be the court and the country that would suffer. Disaster relief and rescue costs were already huge, but these guys turned a blind eye.
This is forcing me to take action!
"Summon cabinet members Yuan Keli and Sun Chengzong, and Minister of War Xiong Tingbi to the capital for an audience." The emperor walked around the hall twice, made up his mind, and loudly ordered the palace servants to go and summon them.
Political power comes from the barrel of a gun, and the gun is now in my hands. Who dares to move it?
The emperor was confident that he could subdue the royal family and the powerful, but he still remained cautious. He discussed with his lords Sun and Yuan and asked Xiong Tingbi to arrange garrisons in various places in advance.
Anyone who dares to rebel will be arrested immediately. The emperor is worried that he can't find an excuse!
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