History is the memory of things that have been said and done. —Carl Baker
Zhu Yuanzhang's abolition of the phase is an important historical event in the political history of the Ming Dynasty. In 1380, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang killed Hu Weiyong for treason; at the same time, Zhongshu Province and Xiang Xiang were abolished. He was responsible for the affairs of the whole country in six parts and was directly responsible to the emperor. He also ordered that no more ministers should be appointed in the future. At this point, the system of prime ministers, which had been practiced since the Qin Dynasty, was abolished.
The names Zai and Xiang were found in the Shang Zhou and Spring and Autumn Periods, respectively, but the names were first mentioned in the Warring States. Except for the Liao Dynasty, "zai chancellor" has always been just a customary term, used to refer to the main official who assists the emperor in exercising power and handling state affairs, not an official name. Overall, "the prime minister must have two conditions, one of which is indispensable." That is, there must be a deliberative power, and there must be the right to supervise the execution of the hundred officials."
The abolition of The Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was not just the case of Hu Weiyong in the thirteenth year of Hongwu, but also a dissatisfaction with the excessive power of the Chancellor and the threat of imperial power. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, except for Xu Da's long-term command of the army, other ministers in the dynasty, such as Li Shanchang, Yang Xian, Wang Guangyang, and Hu Weiyong, almost did not end well. This is enough to prove that Ming Taizu was jealous of Zhongshu Province.
After the establishment of the Ming Empire, Zhu Yuanzhang began a series of rectification measures against Zhongshu Province. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu (1380), Ming Taizu killed Hu Weiyong, the minister of Zhongshu Province, because he abolished Zhongshu Province and Xiang xiang as one. In the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu (1395), he ordered the abolition of Zhongshu Province and its subordinate officials. After Zhu Yuanzhang deposed the prime minister, he began to exercise authority alone. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, the cabinet auxiliary political system of the Ming Dynasty began to take shape.
After Zhu Yuanzhang's abolition, in the Ming Dynasty historical materials, the use of the title of prime minister was more chaotic, either referring to the six Shangshu, or referring to the cabinet, or referring to the celebrant. These three titles are all reasonable, but none of them are comprehensive, and the six ministries assume the power to implement government affairs, and the cabinet and the superintendent of ceremonies jointly assist the emperor and assume the power to discuss government affairs. It can be seen from this that in the Ariake generation, the so-called prime minister system was not completely abolished, but the cabinet, the superintendent of ceremonies, and the six ministries jointly assumed the responsibility of the prime minister.
After the death of Zhang Juzheng in the tenth year of the Wanli Dynasty (1582), although the Wanli Emperor continued to suppress the power of the cabinet and even the ministries, he never established an alternative model for central administrative decision-making. Although Zhu Yijun's practice of allowing bureaucrats to compete for power could have the effect of suppressing all parties and strengthening imperial power, it was also easy to cause confusion and failure in the central decision-making mechanism of the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, the Ming Cabinet vote had basically lost its effectiveness, which in turn led to a chaotic situation of administrative goals in the foreign court. The Wanli Emperor's retention of the Emperor not only weakened the cabinet's power to assist the emperor in handling The Chapters, but worse, the ming dynasty's central administrative system had been seriously disrupted.
This problem extended to the Apocalypse and Chongzhen periods, and it evolved into the almost complete abolition of cabinet power, the emperor became a "single husband", the imperial power lost its restraint and assistance, and the party struggle between the foreign court became increasingly fierce and cruel, and the demise of the Ming court was just around the corner.