Chapter 169: To abolish the prime minister system, it is necessary to strengthen the Censorate and transform it into the Inspectorate.

"On my body?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze also turned to Zhu Su, and Zhu Su also stretched out his hand, pointed at himself, and said uncertainly.

"Third brother, you don't want to sacrifice me, do you?"

After a pause, Zhu Su widened his eyes and said again.

"You are my brother after all. How can I sacrifice you?"

Zhu Gang gave Zhu Su a fierce look and said.

Zhu Su breathed a sigh of relief instantly.

"What do you mean?"

Zhu Yuanzhang turned to look at Zhu Gang and asked softly.

"Change the title of Lao Wu to King of Zhou, and move the vassal state to Kaifeng."

"Don't let Lao Wu lead the King of Wu anymore. This turmoil will naturally settle down."

"As for the reason?"

"Qiantang is an important town for the imperial court's finances and taxes, and is not suitable to be a vassal town for a vassal king. This reason is sufficient."

Zhu Gang spoke without even thinking.

In history, Zhu Yuanzhang also used this recipe, changing Zhu Su into King of Zhou and moving the vassal state to Kaifeng.

Although I don’t know whether this factor is involved, I think it should be a clue.

Furthermore, Zhu Yuanzhang did not give Zhu Su the title of King of Wu without giving it much thought; he simply did so.

But they forget that at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, after defeating Chen Youliang, there was a dispute between the King of Eastern and Western Wu, so this title of king cannot be conferred easily.

So instead of thinking of an idea, it would be better to just change Zhu Su's seal to Kaifeng according to historical traces, without having to think too much about it.

This rumor is self-defeating, so don't take it too seriously.

It can also be used to consolidate Zhu Biao's position and let these people know that Zhu Yuanzhang will never change the heir.

The crown prince of the Ming Dynasty could only be the eldest son Zhu Biao.

In this way, no matter how many conspiracies and tricks there are, they will probably have nowhere to be carried out.

After all, as soon as the news started, Zhu Yuanzhang extinguished the flames with lightning speed.

"I understand what you mean."

"In fact, there is no need for any reason. The imperial edict to change the title of King Zhou at this time can silence all voices."

"This can also further consolidate your eldest brother's position as the crown prince."

Zhu Yuanzhang also nodded thoughtfully.

"Old Fifth, it depends on whether you are willing to be renamed King of Zhou?"

Zhu Gang turned his head and looked at Zhu Su, and said again.

"As long as I can stop the rumors, I don't mind being the king."

Zhu Su spoke decisively without even thinking.

Young minds are not too complicated, and Zhu Yuanzhang would not give these sons any chances.

After all, in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, the position of crown prince could only belong to Zhu Biao.

Therefore, these sons would not have any chance at all, let alone think too much about it.

And even though Kaifeng is not as good as Qiantang, Qiantang is a fertile land after all, but Zhu Su is still a prince and he still has power, wealth and glory, and he will never lack it.

"Just Father, can your son study medicine?"

While thinking, Zhu Su looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and scratched his head.

It doesn’t matter whether the ban is changed or not, the key point is whether I can study medicine?
After all, Zhu Su was almost obsessed with studying medicine.

Or maybe this brat is rebellious and Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't allow him to do something?
What exactly does Zhu Su want to do?
Anyway, it’s all about a breath of life.

"Go."

Zhu Gang walked down from the dragon throne and pressed Zhu Yuanzhang's shoulder. Then he looked at Zhu Su and waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

"Thank you, Father. Thank you, Third Brother."

How could Zhu Su not understand Zhu Gang's meaning? A hint of joy suddenly appeared in his eyes. He kowtowed again and left the imperial study.

The meaning is very clear, if you want to learn it, go ahead and learn it.

Even if the old man is not happy, there are people above you to support you.

"Can't you teach him something good?"

As soon as Zhu Su stepped out of the imperial study, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhu Tan.

There was obvious dissatisfaction in his tone.

"Why is it bad to study medicine?"

Zhu Gang raised his eyebrows.

"Of course there's nothing wrong with studying medicine, but he was born into a royal family, how can he be a doctor?"

Zhu Yuanzhang simply shook his head.

"Just because he wants to study medicine doesn't mean he wants to be a doctor?"

"And even if I become a doctor, what can I do?"

"Isn't he still your son? Isn't he still the prince?"

"Besides, if he makes achievements in medicine, fewer people in our Ming Dynasty will die from diseases."

"So you should relax and let him learn. If Lao Wu really can't learn it, he will come back on his own."

"But if you learn it well, it will be the treasure of our Ming Dynasty."

"After all, you asked him to lead troops to fight. The Ming Dynasty has no shortage of capable warriors, but talents in the field of medicine are really rare."

Zhu Gang massaged Zhu Yuanzhang's shoulders and said softly, "Besides, the court can also vigorously publicize the fact that Lao Wu is studying medicine, so that the people can understand it."

"The princes of the Ming Dynasty will also take it as their responsibility to practice medicine and treat illnesses, which will make the people feel closer to them. After all, only when you integrate yourself into the people can you gain their support from the bottom of their hearts."

"Also, there is this rumor. The fifth brother has gone to study medicine, so how could he compete for the throne? His mind is not on this. It also shows the brotherhood among the royal family."

"Thereby further consolidating the boss's position."

After saying this, Zhu Gang lowered his head and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang who was in deep thought.

King Zhou Zhu Su was not only the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, he was also a medical scientist in the ancient feudal dynasty.

It had a profound impact on the development of ancient medicine.

It also made great contributions to the people.

This is definitely a wise king.

Take the "Compendium of Materia Medica for Famine Relief" for example. It was compiled by Zhu Su during his time as a vassal in Kaifeng, Henan. It mainly collected a large number of edible wild plants to guide the people in finding food during famine.

In fact, this book has important value for later botanical and nutritional research.

There is also "Puji Fang", another large-scale medical work compiled under the leadership of Zhu Su.

The book contains nearly 10,000 prescriptions, covering various diseases including internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, eyes, ears, nose, and throat, which is of great help to folk medical practice.

There is also a condensed version of "Puji Fang", "Pocket Prescriptions".

"Pocket Prescriptions" is easy to carry and use, contains a large number of practical prescriptions, and plays a positive role in popularizing medical knowledge.

In particular, the original book "Baosheng Yulu" has two volumes, which contains a large number of practical prescriptions, including formulas for oral and external medicines, as well as treatment methods for some diseases.

Moreover, Zhu Gang's purpose in compiling "Baosheng Yulu" was to hope that this knowledge could be widely disseminated so that people could deal with some common diseases on their own without a doctor, thus achieving the purpose of "preserving life".

Therefore, Zhu Su's medical achievements, even in later generations, have a place in the entire history of Chinese medicine. If Zhu Yuanzhang really let such a talent go to war, it would be a real waste of talent.

Moreover, Zhu Gang wanted Zhu Su to study medicine well, which would definitely make outstanding contributions to the future medical field.

Coupled with the theoretical knowledge that Zhu Su brought from later generations, Zhu Su could definitely go one step further and become a leading ancient medical scientist in the history of Chinese medicine.

"I just don't like dealing with you. You are so logical and reasonable."

"But it's not what we like, but we can't refute it."

"Forget it. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Let Old Five do whatever he wants."

"We can't always take care of him forever."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand and gently patted Zhu Gang's hand that was massaging his shoulder, then said with a sigh: "I hope it is true as you said, Lao Wu can go further in medicine, don't be impulsive."

"Don't worry."

"As for the fifth child, my son has confidence."

Zhu Gang nodded heavily again.

"That's good."

Zhu Yuanzhang also smiled with satisfaction.

"By the way, Dad, there is one more thing. Your son would like to hear your opinion."

"Do you still remember the Minister of Personnel, Zhan Tong?"

As he spoke, Zhu Gang patted his head lightly, then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked.

"Of course I remember. Our Minister of Personnel is a man of extraordinary talent."

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly stunned, and then said with some regret: "It's a pity that Tongwen died not long after he retired."

Zhan Tong, whose courtesy name was Tongwen and original name was Shu, was a native of Wuyuan. He was a poet, writer and official in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhan Tongzhong passed the imperial examination and became the principal of Chenzhou Academy.

Later, he served as a Hanlin scholar under Chen Youliang.

After Zhu Yuanzhang captured Wuchang, Zhan Tong was summoned to be a doctor of the Imperial College and was given the name "Tong". Later, Zhan Tong served as the Minister of Personnel and Hanlin Academician.

Moreover, Zhan Tong had a high level of attainment in literature. He revised the "Calendar" together with Song Lian and others and served as its chief executive officer.

There are also works by Zhan Tong, such as "Tianqu Yinxiao Collection" and "Haiyue Juanchen Collection".

This is enough to show that Zhan Tong definitely occupies a place in the literary world of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang would naturally not forget Zhan Tong, who was definitely a great talent in the world.

Unfortunately, he was too old and in poor health, so Zhu Yuanzhang allowed Zhan Tonggui to return to the mountains and farm to spend his remaining years in peace.

But this farewell will be the last time we see each other.

"My son wants to transfer Minister Zhan's son Zhan Hui to the capital and let him serve as the assistant censor of the Imperial Censorate. What do you think?"

Zhu Gang didn't know that he was hiding anything, so he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked.

Zhan Hui, courtesy name Zishan, was the son of Zhan Tong.

In the 1382th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (), Zhan Hui entered the official career as a scholar and served as the Chief Censor.

The following year, he was promoted to the position of Trial Left Censor-in-Chief, and was soon given an actual title.

In the first month of the 17th year of Hongwu, Zhan Hui was promoted to the position of Zuoduyushi, the highest official position in the Censorate, with a rank of second grade.

In June of the 23rd year of Hongwu, Zhan Hui concurrently served as the Minister of Personnel.

In December of the 25th year of Hongwu, Zhan Hui was given the title of Prince's Guardian, with a rank of the first grade.

In February of the 26th year of Hongwu, the Lan Yu case broke out. During the interrogation of Lan Yu, Zhan Hui was involved in the case. It is said that Lan Yu identified Zhan Hui as an accomplice during the interrogation, which led to Zhu Yuanzhang ordering Zhan Hui to be executed at the age of 60.

So Zhan Hui is a talented person, and he is not young either, so he definitely has the ability to govern.

Then he can be entrusted with an important task. After all, in the early years of Hongwu, there was a lot of work to be done. As long as he can be controlled, there is no need to worry about him jumping out of the chessboard.

"Do you want to replace Chen Ning with Zhan Hui?"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Zhu Gang.

"Yes."

Zhu Gang nodded directly.

Hu Weiyong was about to fall, so his followers would naturally not let him go.

The Imperial Censor Chen Ning and the Deputy Imperial Censor Tu Jie were also Hu Weiyong's confidants. They did extremely bad things and also eliminated dissidents on a large scale.

Of course the imperial court would not let him go, but Lan Tai was responsible for supervising all officials, so a smooth transition had to be considered as well.

This is why Zhu Gang wanted to use Zhan Hui.

Let Zhan Hui first become the Assistant Censor and familiarize himself with the affairs of the Censorate. Then when the Hu Weiyong case breaks out, he can smoothly take over the Censorate.

"can."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it again and nodded.

"And Dad, you want to abolish the prime minister system. The imperial power has reached an unprecedented level of centralization."

"But it will also further strengthen the power of the six ministries, so with the current Censorate, can it really take on the responsibility of supervising all officials?"

In response to Zhu Yuanzhang's nod, Zhu Gang spoke again.

"did you mean?"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows.

"Reconstruct the supervisory system and change the Censorate into the Supervisory Office."

“Strengthen central control to ensure that the court’s national policies are effectively implemented and prevent local officials from abusing their power.”

"To improve the efficiency of supervision, because the original Censorate may not be able to meet the needs of the new court in terms of scale and efficiency, so the rebuilt Inspectorate will be able to better cover the whole world and supervise officials more effectively."

"Also, as the territory of the Ming Dynasty expanded, the existing Censorate could no longer meet the new political needs, so the establishment of the Supervisory Office was also to improve the more complex administrative structure."

"To put it simply, it means creating a more effective and extensive monitoring system that covers the entire world."

Zhu Gang thought about it and then spoke softly.

This was Zhu Yuanzhang’s original supervisory system, and it was also the Inspectorate that would be born soon, thus replacing the duties of the Censorate and better supervising the world.

The only difference is that Zhu Yuanzhang’s was the Censorate, while Zhu Gang’s was the Inspectorate.

Because on the basis of the Censorate, Zhu Gang also made detailed adjustments and improvements to improve the shortcomings of the Censorate and further strengthen the Inspectorate.

"I really doubt whether you can see into my heart?"

Facing the Inspectorate proposed by Zhu Gang, Zhu Yuanzhang did raise his head with some complexity.

This is why Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows at the beginning.

Because, although what Zhu Gang said was far better than what he had imagined, it was almost like they were carved from the same mold.

After all, if Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to abolish the prime minister system, he couldn't just abolish the prime minister system.

This involves more complex issues, so we have to consider every aspect.

And it must be extremely comprehensive, otherwise there will definitely be trouble.

This also proves that Zhu Yuanzhang had long thought about strengthening the Censorate and transforming it into a new supervisory system.

But while Zhu Yuanzhang was still pondering, Zhu Gang had already thought of a complete supervisory system and even the name of the new supervisory system.

This deeply hurt Zhu Yuanzhang's heart. His son was too terrifying. His mind was meticulous and his control over the overall situation was no weaker than his.

If Zhu Biao had not been there, even if Zhu Gang was not the eldest son, Zhu Yuanzhang would have gone against the majority opinion and made Zhu Gang the crown prince.

After all, having this ability to control the overall situation can be linked to Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.

(End of this chapter)