朱元璋只是消灭了丞相这个名字
《明朝那些事儿》（二十七）
一、历史存在神奇的规则，没有人可以抗拒它。一千余年来，王侯将相们根据这一规则确定了自己的位置，而朱元璋无视这一规则，他认为自己能够彻底消灭丞相制度。
1. History operates by a mystical rule that no one can defy. For over a thousand years, nobles and ministers defined their roles according to this rule. Yet Zhu Yuanzhang disregarded it, believing he could completely eradicate the institution of the Chancellor.
二、从某种意义上来说，他确实做到了。他取消了丞相的官位，并禁止今后设置这一职位。
2. In a sense, he succeeded. He abolished the official position of Chancellor and prohibited its future establishment.
三、朱元璋的想法是只要做皇帝的稍微用一点力就可以牢牢把控最高权力，他没想到的是其他朝代会出现很多昏庸无能的皇帝，他老朱家也一定会有。
3. Zhu Yuanzhang assumed that with minimal effort, an emperor could firmly control supreme power. What he failed to anticipate was that future dynasties—including his own Zhu family—would inevitably produce incompetent rulers.
四、历史也证明他搞出了一批名叫内阁大学士的人，这些人除了名字不是丞相外，其余的一切和丞相都没有什么区别，更具讽刺意味的是，他们的权力甚至要大于前朝的任何丞相。
4. History proved that he inadvertently created a group called the Grand Secretaries. Except in title, they were no different from Chancellors. More ironically, their power even surpassed that of any Chancellor in previous dynasties.
五、他们无孔不入，无所不管。他们不但管理国家大事，还管理皇帝的私事，他们不准皇帝随意骑马游玩（正德），不准皇帝吃伟哥（隆庆），不准皇帝选择自己喜欢的继承人（万历），他们甚至开创了属于自己的名臣时代，一个几乎没有皇权制约的时代（高拱、张居正）！
5. They were omnipresent and meddled in everything. Not only did they manage state affairs, but they also interfered in the emperor's private matters: they forbade the Zhengde Emperor from riding horses recreationally, prohibited the Longqing Emperor from taking potency drugs, and denied the Wanli Emperor the right to choose his preferred heir. They even inaugurated their own era of renowned ministers—an age almost free from imperial constraints (as seen with Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng)!
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