Although the bandits retreated temporarily, Chongzhen could not be happy at all.
Because just now, Wang Chengen told him that the cabinet chief Li Banghua fell ill.
"Where is Lord Li now?"
"Inside Wenyuan Pavilion."
Strictly speaking, the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty was established during the Yongle reign, and its office was located in Wenyuan Pavilion. Wenyuan Pavilion was located inside the imperial city, behind Wenhua Hall. On the door of the pavilion was a sacred edict: This is a confidential place, and all officials and other people are not allowed to enter without permission. Those who violate the rules will be punished without mercy.
"Let's go. The imperial physician will go to Wenyuan Pavilion with me immediately."
Upon hearing that Li Banghua was ill, Chongzhen did not bother to take the imperial carriage and walked directly to Wenyuan Pavilion.
Li Banghua cannot fall, because the operation of the entire court now depends on him.
Why can't we do without him? Is it because he is the chief minister of the cabinet?
No!
Take the former chief minister Wei Zaode as an example. During his tenure as chief minister, he also held the positions of Minister of Rites and Minister of Personnel.
In a department, does the Shangshu have the final say?
In name, yes, but not in reality.
The nature of the ancient imperial court is similar to that of modern companies. Before the parachuted officials have trained their own people, their control over the department is almost zero.
If you want to complete the task assigned by the emperor, simply passing orders up and down is not enough.
Under the Shangshu there are the Shilang, and under the Shilang there are the Siwu, Langzhong, Yuanwailang, Zhushi, etc.
These people... basically have party affiliations.
Donglin Party, Eunuch Party, Qi Party, Chu Party, Zhejiang Party, Xuan Party...
Each party has different interests and views.
When a policy decree causes damage to the interests of a certain party, although these people cannot change the policy decree, they can delay its issuance, or even use various excuses to prevent the issuance of the policy in a short period of time.
Li Banghua is different.
First of all, he has no party affiliation and does not participate in party struggles, so the various parties have no resistance to him.
Secondly, he is a veteran of three dynasties, having risen from a county magistrate to the position of prime minister of the cabinet, and is a true powerhouse.
When the emperor's decrees were transmitted from the cabinet to various government offices, as long as the decrees were not too excessive, people in each government office would give him face.
This was also the main reason why Chongzhen appointed Li Banghua as the chief minister of the cabinet.
When he arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion, Chongzhen was stunned.
Wow...Wenyuan Pavilion, which was originally an office space, has now been converted into a commercial and residential building.
There was still a desk and a chair facing the door, and on the table to the left were several thick stacks of documents.
The screen that was originally facing the door was placed on the right side. Through the gap between the screen, one could see two beds behind it, with someone lying on one of the beds.
Seeing the emperor in person, everyone in Wenyuan Pavilion knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, long live the emperor!"
"No need to be polite!"
Under the fearful gazes of the crowd, Chongzhen walked straight around the screen and went to the back.
Wenyuan Pavilion is behind Wenhua Hall. Although it is separated by a city wall, it still belongs to the imperial city. Without the emperor's permission, staying overnight here will result in punishment at the least and beheading at the worst.
When Li Banghua learned that the emperor was coming in person, he was about to stand up, but was held down by Chongzhen who came hurriedly.
"Mr. Li, please excuse me."
"Your Majesty, I set up a bed in Wenyuan Pavilion without permission. Please punish me."
After hearing this, the people outside the screen pricked up their ears and listened carefully. To put it bluntly, these people wanted to know how favored Li Banghua was, and then see what kind of dish he would serve.
"Lord Li has worked hard for the country, this little thing is nothing." As he spoke, he grabbed the quilt and touched it, and continued: "Lord Li's quilt is thin and damp. Come, go to the inner court to get a set of quilts for Lord Li."
Li Banghua was so moved that he burst into tears. He was about to thank him, but Chongzhen stopped him with his hand: "It's just a set of bedding. No need to thank me."
"Your Majesty, I have made no achievements since I joined the cabinet. I have disappointed Your Majesty."
"Don't say so much, Lord Li. Let the imperial physician take a look at you first."
During the Ming Dynasty, the imperial doctors were under the management of the Imperial Hospital, and the positions of officials in the Imperial Hospital were divided into the hospital director, the hospital judge, the imperial doctor, and the clerk.
When the emperor fell ill, the Imperial Medical Bureau would send at least two imperial doctors to diagnose him. The prescriptions prescribed after diagnosis would need to be reviewed and approved by the court judge and other departments before they could be given to the emperor.
An imperial physician standing behind Wang Chengen did not dare to delay and immediately stepped forward to place the pulse pillow and placed Li Banghua's wrist on it.
The imperial physician smiled after feeling the pulse, turned to Chongzhen and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Li is not seriously ill. He fell ill because he worked too hard for days without rest. He only needs to rest for ten days or half a month to recover."
At Chongzhen's signal, another imperial physician immediately stepped forward and made another diagnosis in front of everyone.
A moment later, the imperial physician came to the same conclusion.
Ten days or half a month?
Chongzhen just wanted to curse!
God was such a jerk. It would have been fine if he had just one rope at the beginning. Now he finally found a person who could control the court, but he got sick at the critical moment.
Wang Chengen saw Chongzhen's anxious expression and immediately asked in a low voice, "Do the two imperial doctors have any good prescriptions?"
One of the imperial doctors nodded, but his expression was somewhat helpless: "Eunuch Wang, you know that illness comes like a mountain falling and goes away like a thread being pulled out. Although we have a prescription for a tonic, Mr. Li is old. The tonic will indeed have an effect in a short period of time, but it will damage the source and hurt the foundation."
Li Banghua immediately whispered, "Please write a prescription now, I don't care."
Seeing that the patient himself had spoken, the two imperial doctors did not dare to make a decision and had to look at the emperor.
Chongzhen immediately shook his head and said, "Master Li, don't be hasty. The morale of the bandits is low and defeat is only a matter of time."
"But Your Majesty, I..." Li Banghua wanted to say something.
Chongzhen interrupted him directly, "Lord Li, continue to be in charge of the cabinet's duties. I have sent a few eunuchs to serve you. They will read the memorials and petitions submitted to you, and you will decide how to approve them."
"As for the military department's mission...choose a trustworthy person to handle it temporarily."
"how?"
The emperor had spoken, and Li Banghua had no idea what to say. He could only accept the order and express his gratitude.
After a moment, Li Banghua finalized the person in charge of the Ministry of War: Wang Jiayan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.
Hearing the name, Chongzhen nodded in approval.
According to official history, after Beijing was captured, Wang Jiayan tried to commit suicide by jumping off the city wall but failed to die, so he found a house and hanged himself. The bandits found his body and burned it, and his servants collected the remains and buried them outside the city. After his death, the Southern Ming court bestowed upon him the title of Prince Taibao, Minister of War, and posthumously named him Zhongduan. The Qing dynasty bestowed upon him the posthumous title of Zhongyi.
"Okay, just rest and recuperate." Chongzhen said and was about to leave.
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment..." Li Banghua sat up and pointed outside the screen, saying, "Your Majesty, please take a look at the memorial submitted by the West City Military Department."
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