In terms of system, the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty had no administrative power. Its task was simply to advise the General Political Department according to the Emperor's ideas, which were called voting drafts, and submit them to the Emperor for approval. Ye, who served as the chief minister of the cabinet three times from the end of Wanli to the Apocalypse, knew this and felt deeply about it. He said, I am a cabinet minister, but I am not the prime minister. Those who were slightly stronger in one or two places stole the power of the monarch, occupied Cao Cao's position in the Six Kingdoms, and finally caused trouble. I have been a servant for six years and have been blessed by hundreds of people. I dare not bully them. Those who try their best to hear the Lord dare not hear anything about the Lord. According to the system, various matters are voted on by the cabinet and then submitted to the emperor for approval. The emperor's approval was given by e
Except for Zhang Cong of the Jiajing Dynasty, all the cabinet ministers of the Ming Dynasty came from the Hanlin Academy and had good writing skills. Yang Shiqi during the Renxuan period and Li Dongyang during the Xiaowu period were both recognized literary leaders. After that, the power cabinet of Ming Yingzong gradually concentrated on the chief assistant, who became the de facto prime minister. Except for Yan Song, most of the cabinet ministers in the Ming Dynasty, especially the chief ministers, were responsible and competent. The relationship between the emperor and the ministers was basically harmonious. Therefore, after the mid-Ming Dynasty, although there were several cases of eunuch monopoly and some emperors' neglect of political affairs, under the leadership of the cabinet, the state machinery basically operated normally.
As an emperor, the most important thing is to know people well and be inclusive. When Zhu Youjian first came to power, Wei Zhongxian was cut off, and the government had good weather. It's a pity that after some achievements, he thought he was the emperor, so he was willful. He removed Han, the very outstanding first assistant, and started the eunuch remnant. Zhou Yanru recorded it. A large number of capable ministers such as Xiong Tingbi, Yuan Chonghuan, Sun Chengzong, and Lu Xiangsheng were killed or shunned. Except for the two eunuchs Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren who had longer tenures, all the cabinet records of the sixteen years in power are the same. People call Chongzhen the Fifty Prime Minister, and more than 50 people have served as cabinet members in the past 16 years. With such an emperor, the Ming Dynasty will inevitably perish.
Attachment: Hu case, party prison in the Ming Dynasty. Hu, a native of Dingyuan, Anhui Province, surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang in Hezhou in the 15th year of the Yuan Dynasty and became the marshal's office. Later, he successively served as the chief secretary, county magistrate, inspector, secretary of Taichang Temple, and participated in the political affairs of Zhongshu Province. From the sixth to thirteenth year of Wu's reign, he served as Prime Minister Zuo, dominating one side and threatening the imperial power. During the thirteenth year of Wu Hong's reign in the United States, he was convicted of conspiracy and divided the title into six departments. The prime minister system, which had been implemented for more than a thousand years since the Qin and Han Dynasties, was abolished. Zhu Yuanzhang took this opportunity to build a large-scale party prison, and in the 23rd year of Hongwu, Li Shanchang, the Duke of South Korea, and Lu Zhongheng, the Marquis of Ji'an, were killed on the charge of colluding with Hu. Records showing traitors were promulgated around the world, implicating more than thirty thousand people. Hu is China's last prime minister of nine ethnic groups.