After Gao Hongtu left, Sun Chuanting came again.

The two of them were quite idle and had a chess and tea.

Sun Chuanting said: "The administration of officials has always been the most difficult. It is not only necessary to be honest and honest, and to be active, but also to select and transfer. Every step is inappropriate, which may bring bad consequences."

"The collapse of the government of our dynasty is due to the fact that the officials in the lower dynasties are too many constraints. There are too many checks and balances in the court, which is conducive to fighting and fighting for power and profit, rather than ease the worries of the court and act for the people..."

"The current official atmosphere is extremely bad, and the party struggles are everywhere... Among them, our Zhou clan is the largest, and the various village party and book clubs are coming one after another, and they are not connected, all of which are for the sake of fighting for official positions..."

"In this year's imperial examination, the issue of the senior officials has been released, and it will inevitably be a sensation. The court can't think of peace..."

Zhou Zheng slowly made a move and was also thinking about Sun Chuanting's words.

The Ming Dynasty has long been rotten to the point. All kinds of problems cannot be solved overnight or slowly, and it requires scraping the bone to cure the poison.

Zhou Zheng was always pushed down in an orderly manner, but it also took a long time.

Zhou Zhengluozi said, "It may not be a good thing to be cruel to yourself. For the Ministry of Personnel, you should keep a close eye on it and stay there for another year. You will enter the cabinet next year."

Regarding entering the cabinet, Sun Chuanting knew Zhou Zheng’s thoughts, paused and said, “Sir, are you a candidate for the new Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel?”

Zhou Zhengdao: "No, you continue to work together."

Sun Chuanting understood that this was adding to his strength and increasing his authority.

"I have no problem. I'm afraid there is some trouble in Hengping." Sun Chuanting said.

Hengping is Zhou Fang's character and Zhou Zheng's eldest brother.

It is not a lie to the two brothers join the cabinet together, and it may attract countless criticisms. When Yan Song asked his son Yan Shifan to enter the cabinet, he didn't know how much disaster it caused.

Zhou Zhengdao: "I will talk to you on my brother, so there is no need to worry. The structure of the new system needs to be further promoted, judicial independence is a rigid condition. I am considering letting the Dali Temple Minister enter the cabinet and demoting the Ministry of Justice."

‘Judicial’ actually refers to the Three Departments, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate.

Sun Chuanting was slightly stunned and said, "The Dali Temple Minister has entered the pavilion, where is the Censorate?"

Zhou Zhengdao: "Combined with the six departments, they were split and merged into the Ministry of Justice, the General Administration of Anti-Corruption, etc.."

Sun Chuanting thought carefully and said, "My lord wants to strengthen the control of the court?"

This is a euphemism, in short, it is centralization. The power structure of the Ming Dynasty was complicated and was everywhere for checks and balances.

Zhou Zheng nodded and said, "The six departments in the cabinet are almost at the first level, so we need to consider more detailed considerations. You from the court should study it carefully. I have some ideas in the local area, so I have some ideas to find an opportunity to hold a meeting and talk about it. We must also make corresponding changes to the institutions of each provincial government..."

Sun Chuanting listened, nodded constantly, and occasionally interrupted.

After a while, Sun Chuanting said: "My Lord said, I have recorded it. What do you think about this year's imperial examination?"

Zhou Zheng picked up the teacup and said, "I don't have any opinions. You can give the exam questions and choose the talents. After this exam, all levels of colleges are almost the same. Let's take a look at the talents we train."

Sun Chuanting thought about establishing the college and said, "The six ministries and others are still discussing the establishment of the constitution. In addition to the court, they also bring some quotas to the local government to encourage them to run schools..."

Zhou Zheng said with a hum, "This is OK, you can discuss it. But it must be institutionalized and controlled. Don't create another Donglin Party or resumption of the society, so that the court will never have peace."

Sun Chuanting responded, but sighed in his heart.

The party struggles in all dynasties have never stopped. The Ming Dynasty was particularly fierce. I am afraid that there will be some in the future. Even if they make arrangements early, it would be useless.

The system is for destruction.

Sun Chuanting stayed at Zhou's house for a long time, then left after a meal.

The next day, Zhou Zheng started working and entered the cabinet.

I just made a few simple and polite words with Qian Qianyi, but before I could sit firmly, the Minister of War Jiang Guangyue came.

Jiang Guang said that he was not as direct as Gao Hongtu and Sun Chuanting. He looked very straightforward and said with a blank face: "Sir, you are from the north and the south. The officials think that the rebellion of Wu Sangui and others should be resolved, and Liaodong can wait a little longer."

Zhou Zheng looked at him and said, "Shu Gao said that the millions of money and grain in Liaodong each year have seriously dragged down the national treasury. I hope to solve the problem of Liaodong first."

Jiang Guangyue was stunned. Unexpectedly, Zhou Zheng blocked him with him. After a while, he said, "The officials know the situation of the treasury. However, if Liaodong cannot be determined in one battle, it will drag down the treasury even more. If Wu Sangui and others are dealt with, Yunnan will be lighter and the court will breathe a sigh of relief."

Zhou Zhengdao: "Wu Sangui and others did not invade the border, and the pressure on the south side was not high. The Ministry of War gritted its teeth again. Even if it cannot be determined next year, the establishment of the army will inevitably be severely damaged. Liaodong can also streamline its military and government, and reduce the cost by half. We will all be more relaxed."

Zhou Zheng used the cost of money and grain to block Jiang Guang said, and Jiang Guang said that he could not find a suitable excuse to refute. After all, money and grain are the foundation of everything. If Liaodong had been dragging the court so much, the treasury might be exhausted in less than two or three years and the court would collapse on its own.

In the afternoon, more people came to see Zhou Zheng one after another, and they were basically opposed to the Northern Expedition. Perhaps they had heard the exact news that they would be Northern Expedition this year.

Zhou Zheng pushed them back for various reasons.

Before getting off work, Zhu Cilang, who was in the Qianqing Palace, couldn't sit still and invited Qian Qianyi and Zhou Zheng to come over.

Zhu Cilang was less resentful and calmly asked Zhou Zheng about his confidence in the Northern Expedition.

Zhou Zheng also explained seriously and analyzed various factors, but did not mention the matter of boosting morale.

Before Zhou Zheng left, Zhu Cilang was still very nervous. Even though he was still young when Huangtai Jibing surrounded the capital, he still knew the terrible difficulties.

‘The Jurchens were not satisfied with ten thousand, and they were invincible’, which spread throughout the Ming Dynasty and was a big stone in the hearts of almost everyone. Facing Jianlu, they breathed rapidly and could not treat them calmly.

However, almost all the power of the Ming Dynasty is in the hands of Zhou Zheng. Zhou Zheng decided that there would be no obstacles to convince the six armies.

By March, the atmosphere of the war became stronger and stronger. From the official roads of the capital to Shanhaiguan, there were mobilized soldiers, food, armor, cannons, etc. everywhere.

There are also hundreds of warships in the Bohai Bay to practice from time to time, appearing at the mouths of the Liaohe River and other places.

The Liaodong armies also mobilized to rehabilitate and pressed northward almost all the way.

Cao Bianjiao, Man Gui's 20,000 cavalry were also moving frequently. Cao Bianjiao even crossed the sea, and 10,000 cavalry appeared on Pi Island.

Jianlu could not have known such a big move in the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty shook more than 100,000 troops and obviously wanted to attack Shenyang in two directions. The pressure on Jianlu, who was short of troops, was huge.

While they were gathering troops, they were raising food and grass.

A storm is coming in Shenyang City and rumors are flying.

There were endless arguments in the palace, and various arguments arose in the Jianlu court about the attack of the Ming Dynasty.

Including tactics, strategies for dealing with them; issues of victory or defeat, and war, etc.
Chapter completed!