As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunying was naturally extremely concerned about the war in the north; he had no reason not to be.
Zhu Yunying was confident in the strength of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was undoubtedly thriving, and its national power was growing stronger. While it couldn't be said that the Ming Dynasty's military strength was currently the strongest, it was certainly still at its peak.
With its formidable overall strength, it could certainly put up a fight against a relatively weaker Tartar. Such an opponent cannot be underestimated, but it can absolutely maintain the initiative. Strategically, it is necessary to despise the enemy; this is certainly a valid point.
However, Zhu Yunying was well aware that he could now maintain the initiative, and he believed that the Ming Dynasty would definitely win. He had a large number of elite troops and generals, as well as a lot of advanced military equipment, giving him absolute initiative in every aspect.
What I'm concerned about now is still the affairs of the court.
Even though the Ming Dynasty seems to be enjoying good weather and abundant harvests now, the affairs of state still need to be handled properly.
Grabbing a handful of roasted soybeans, Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "Grandfather, I intend to entrust some matters to the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet."
"What?!" Old Zhu, who was sipping his wine, was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage. "We've worked hard all our lives so that our word as emperor can be loud and powerful! If you make the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet do things for you now, they'll be able to fool you in the future!"
In reality, the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet now only hold advisory positions; the Emperor has the final say, and the Grand Secretaries rarely have the opportunity to participate in decision-making. In essence, the Grand Secretaries are merely high-ranking secretaries.
Decision-making power, deliberative power, and executive power are all firmly in the hands of the emperor. In fact, after Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the position of prime minister, imperial power was highly centralized, and the emperor directly managed the affairs of the six ministries and hundreds of departments, which was equivalent to concurrently serving as prime minister.
Zhu Yunying looked at his grandfather and said earnestly, "Grandfather, I can be considered diligent in my duties, right? My father was also considered diligent when he was alive, right? But in our current situation, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that we have two emperors handling state affairs."
Old Zhu's silence was essentially an acceptance of this reality, because even if he had let the eldest Zhu handle state affairs in the past...
Zhu Yunying said with utmost seriousness, "Now, all kinds of memorials, big and small, need to be handled by us personally. Furthermore, our Emperor Grandfather loves the people like his own children and has even personally set up the Dengwen Drum, so there are even more things to deal with."
The system of petitioning to the emperor dates back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Zhu, who loved his people like his own children, set up the petitioning drum outside the Meridian Gate and ordered an imperial censor to guard it.
Minor cases, such as land disputes, fights, and other ordinary civil cases, including those involving clan ties or imperial examinations, are naturally not permitted to be heard through the petition drum. However, once the petition drum is sounded, it becomes a headache.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang further established rules in the 28th year of Hongwu's reign, such as requiring the Censorate to dispatch imperial envoys and censors to investigate cases if people living outside the capital went to the capital to beat drums and appeal for justice.
However, regardless of the circumstances, the Dengwen Drum increased the emperor's workload, and the number of cases he personally tried also increased.
Zhu Yunying spoke frankly, without any embarrassment, "Your grandson isn't made of iron, and he can't handle some things. There are some minor matters that I think we shouldn't personally get involved in."
"A trivial matter?" Old Zhu glared, quite displeased. "Today you think it's a trivial matter, tomorrow you think it's a trivial matter. You keep putting these trivial matters aside one by one. What is the emperor supposed to do? Today you make the ministers of the six ministries handle things personally, tomorrow the cabinet will look at the memorials and decide whether they are major or minor matters before sending you a memorial. Sooner or later you will be sidelined!"
Well, what Old Zhu said is very likely to happen. Historically, the cabinet gradually gained power. Subsequently, although the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet did not have the title of prime minister, they had the power of prime minister, and some, like Yan Song and Zhang Juzheng, monopolized the government for more than 20 years. The power of the cabinet was completely the same as that of the prime ministers of the past.
Zhu Yunying scratched his head and said, "I plan to submit all the memorials, big and small, to the Office of Transmission for compilation, then to the Directorate of Ceremonial for the Emperor's review, and finally to the Grand Secretariat. The Grand Secretariat will draft its recommendations, which will then be submitted to the Emperor for approval by the Directorate of Ceremonial. Finally, the Six Ministries will proofread and issue the memorials."
Old Zhu didn't speak, but just stared at Zhu Yunying with great displeasure. He knew very well that his grandson was also a stubborn ox, and that ordinary people simply couldn't change his mind.
This stubbornness is a tradition in the Zhu family; Zhu himself was stubborn, and so was his wife. As a result, their eldest son was stubborn, and not only that, but their eldest grandson is also incredibly stubborn!
Don't be fooled by his grandson's sometimes obedient appearance. Old Zhu knows very well that beneath his docile exterior lies a stubborn streak, and sometimes he simply doesn't know what to do with him.
Zhu Yunying then continued, "I believe that the emperor should be diligent in his duties, but he shouldn't try to handle everything, big or small."
Old Zhu asked rather sarcastically, "Then tell me, what counts as a big deal and what counts as a small deal? What you just said seems to put a straitjacket on the cabinet. But what if the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Commissioner of State Affairs collude and keep it from you? Besides, if the emperor doesn't do his own work and leaves all the big and small matters to his subordinates, what if the emperor gets distracted and starts to play around?"
There's no need to worry about that. There are diligent emperors, and there are certainly emperors who are lazy. It's not that having a cabinet necessarily leads to laziness; it depends on the emperor's own character.
Expecting future Ming emperors to be as diligent as Zhu Yunying was unrealistic. Besides character, they also needed incredible physical strength; otherwise, they simply couldn't withstand the strain. Even Zhu Yunying, who considered himself diligent enough, sometimes couldn't keep up.
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