Chapter 545 Cabinet
In the upper study, the morning light filtered through the window lattice, casting patches of light on the desk piled with memorials.
Zhu Lan lowered his head slightly and followed Yan Xiuyun in.
“Your Majesty, the matter between Minister Zhao and Minister Xiao has caused quite a stir in the court.
I think that although this is a private matter between the two of them, we must be careful."
Zhu Lan spoke, his voice steady and powerful.
"They are both pillars of the court. If they sacrifice public service for personal gain, it will be a loss for the court.
However, if we allow this matter to develop, it may lead to criticism that the two of them are taking advantage of their positions to seek personal gain.”
Yan Xiuyun sat down calmly at the desk, casually opened a memorial, and looked deep.
"Tell me what you think."
"I think this matter needs to be addressed from two aspects." Zhu Lan said slowly.
“First, strict regulations on official marriages should be formulated, especially marriages between high-ranking officials, which must be reported to the court and subject to strict scrutiny.
The Imperial Censorate under my control can set up special supervisors in this regard, and the review should include whether they have abused their positions to seek personal gain, and whether marriage will affect the performance of official duties. "
Yan Xiuyun frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "In this case, the supervisory agency has too much power, which may be inappropriate."
Zhu Lan nodded in agreement and said:
"Your Majesty is right. What I just said is only a temporary solution. To fundamentally solve the problem, we need to start with the system. As the Chief Censor, I am in charge of supervision and I am well aware of the drawbacks.
Although the supervisory body is established, its power is concentrated and easily abused. I believe that the independence of the supervisory body should be further strengthened, and at the same time, multiple supervision mechanisms should be established to ensure the fairness of supervision.
However, this is only a preliminary idea, and I have a more far-reaching idea. "
Yan Xiuyun nodded slowly, motioning for Zhu Lan to continue.
Zhu Lan took a deep breath, his eyes burning, and took out a thick memorial from his arms.
"I, your humble servant, boldly proposes to abolish the prime minister and establish a cabinet system."
"A waste of prime minister?"
Yan Xiuyun raised his eyebrows slightly, but was not very surprised.
Since the founding of Daliang, the system of left and right prime ministers of the previous dynasty has been continued.
However, at the beginning of the previous emperor's reign, he had experienced the turmoil of the prime minister's power oppressing the imperial power. He had long hated this, so for many years he had been quietly marginalizing the position of the prime minister.
Today, the positions of Left Prime Minister and Right Prime Minister have long lost their real power.
The move to abolish the prime minister is imperative, but it has never been formally implemented over the years because a more reasonable system has not yet been formulated to succeed the prime minister system.
The "cabinet system" proposed by Zhu Lan immediately aroused Yan Xiuyun's interest.
Zhu Lan handed over the memorial in his hand, which was densely written with his plans for the new policy.
The "cabinet system" she proposed was based on the cabinet system framework of the Ming Dynasty in history, that is, the emperor personally appointed cabinet ministers, with a chief assistant and a second assistant.
For all memorials submitted by court officials, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet would first draft an "Imperial Approval" in the name of the Emperor, which was called "Piao Ni", and would eventually be submitted to the Emperor to decide whether to adopt it.
In this way, having many wise and capable people discuss state affairs together can not only disperse power and avoid one person's autocracy, but also pool wisdom and improve decision-making efficiency.
Of course, in addition to referring to the historical framework, she also made some modifications to the system based on local conditions.
For example, it emphasizes the independence of the supervisory body and multiple supervisory mechanisms. Cabinet members must accept supervision by the supervisory body, and the cabinet also participates in the re-supervision of the supervisory body to form a supervisory system that is mutually restrained and ensures fairness.
Yan Xiuyun read Zhu Lan's memorial carefully with an increasingly serious expression, and he even gradually forgot that Zhu Lan existed in front of him.
After a long while, he raised his head with a lingering look and looked at Zhu Lan with complicated eyes.
"How did you come up with these ideas?"
Zhu Lan blushed slightly. She couldn't say that she was standing on the shoulders of her predecessors because she had learned thousands of years more history.
Yan Xiuyun laughed, very happy.
"The late emperor had a keen eye for talent and was able to gain such a pillar of talent as yours truly. This is truly a blessing for our country.
Your proposal is quite far-sighted and meets the needs of the current political situation.
only--"
Yan Xiuyun's expression became slightly more serious, and he said:
“Although Daliang has gradually marginalized the positions of the left and right prime ministers since the last emperor, the position of prime minister still has irreplaceable symbolic significance in the hearts of court officials.
Although the position of prime minister is now an empty title, there are still many court officials who yearn for it. If it is abolished rashly, I am afraid they will not agree.
After all, the establishment of a cabinet involves the stability of the political situation and needs to be planned over the long term and implemented in steps.
However, I think your suggestion on improving the supervisory system and the marriage regulations for officials is feasible.
Especially regarding the marriage of officials, we need to formulate laws and regulations as soon as possible to avoid any more disturbances.”
Zhu Lan felt relieved upon hearing this.
Of course, her idea of setting up a cabinet at this time was not only in line with the situation, but also helped Zhao Sicheng and Xiao Wan.
She still had some selfish thoughts.
Members of the Li family, led by Duke Weiguo Li Lie, had repeatedly made things difficult for him in the court. He had previously been imprisoned and exiled to Lingnan, and Li Lie's instigation was indispensable.
Li Lie has coveted the position of prime minister for a long time. Over the years, he has acted like a loyal and obedient minister, hoping to get the title of left prime minister.
I have no intention of starting a party dispute, but I cannot be treated as a soft persimmon that can be easily bullied.
The proposal to depose the prime minister now is a warning to the Li family.
Yan Xiuyun took Zhu Lan's memorial and read it over and over again. Since Zhu Lan discussed some of the issues in it, he was willing to put it down.
"I wish you a brilliant idea, my dear. What kind of reward do you want for offering this good plan?"
Zhu Lan said respectfully: "How dare I ask for a reward when the great cause has not yet been accomplished."
Yan Xiuyun smiled happily.
"Such a great achievement, I really need to think about it carefully, and I will definitely reward you according to your merits after it is accomplished.
By the way, this inkstone is the Biyundong Inkstone presented by Qingzhou a few days ago. It is the only one in the world.
Since I am a scholar, I will give you this thing. It is a sword that matches a hero."
As he spoke, he stretched out his left hand to take the inkstone on the table, but suddenly he frowned and his hand froze.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" Zhu Lan noticed that he looked different and asked quickly.
Yan Xiuyun didn't say anything. His face suddenly turned extremely pale and his brows were furrowed.
Then his whole body shook violently, he fell off the chair to the ground, and his muscles began to spasm uncontrollably.
You could even hear his teeth clenching, making a "clicking" sound.
Zhu Lan was shocked and went to check on Yan Xiuyun's condition while shouting "Someone come here".
Fortunately, there were palace servants serving inside and outside the study. When Zhu Lan shouted, everyone immediately gathered around. Seeing the emperor suddenly behave like this, they were all frightened.
Manager Zhao was so frightened that he burst into tears.
Zhu Lan was the first to calm down. He loudly asked them what they were doing and why they didn't just stand there. He also asked them to call the imperial physician.
Only then did Manager Zhao rush out in a panic.
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