.Jiang 8 In the late winter of the 42nd year of Jiajing, in a blink of an eye, I went to work in the Ministry of Rites for more than two months, and I got along very well with my superiors and colleagues.
In fact, it is difficult to think about it. Because Yan Ne, the Minister of Rites and Li Chunfang, the Left Minister, are both good-looking people in the court. In addition, Chen Si, the Right Minister, who has always been a good temper, has these three officials in charge. For a time, the Ministry of Rites was harmonious and was called "Bodhisattva Hall" by the Beijing officials. Although it was called "the Bodhisattva Manchu Hall" by the officials, it really became a place that middle and lower-level officials yearned for.
Of course, the Ministry of Rites can be harmonious, and it is also related to its responsibilities. It can be divided into three parts: one is responsible for the use of the five rituals of abandonment, Jia, military, guest, and evil, which is also the origin of the name of the Ministry of Rites; the second is to manage national school affairs and imperial examinations; the third is to be responsible for the exchanges between vassals and foreign countries. They are all extremely gentle things, so they can maintain peace of mind.
If it were replaced by the Ministry of Works responsible for national engineering, the Ministry of Revenue responsible for money, grain revenue and expenditure, or the Ministry of War responsible for national criminal names; the Ministry of Personnel responsible for official appointment and removal; the Ministry of War responsible for all matters, or the Censorate who specifically complained about impeachment, "You just want to be calm, it is impossible.
Among the three major affairs of the Ministry of Rites, Yan Ne takes charge of the overall situation and focuses on "rituals and etiquette, which is also the top priority of the Ministry of Rites' work. We should not underestimate these things that seem useless in later generations, because in this era, etiquette is the foundation of the country!
The Book of Rites says: "Rite is the great master," so that the ruler is safe. "Shifu says: "Rite is to govern the country," and "Confucius said: "Rite is to govern the country," and Yan Ying said: "Rite is to serve the country for a long time. "Zuo Zhuan" quotes the gentleman: "Rite is to follow the country, to stabilize the country. The daughter Shuqi said: "Rite is to obey the country, to enforce its government, and to do its orders without losing its people. Xunzi said: "The order of the country lies in etiquette.
It can be said that the idea of ​​governing the world with etiquette has been deeply rooted in people's hearts, and people firmly believe that "the governance and chaos of a country is related to the rise and fall of etiquette. Therefore, Xunzi said: "Etiquette is the ultimate in governance and discrimination, the foundation of a strong country, the way of power, and the general of fame and fortune. The reason why the princes and princes won the world is not help but lose the country.
Why do we say this? Because "rituals and morality are the rules. We should correct the monarch and ministers, be loyal to the father and son, be harmonious with brothers, be harmonious with husband and wife, establish systems, establish a field, be virtuous, wisdom and courage, and take merit as oneself." According to the silent understanding, rituals can establish a stable social order, so that people can understand the differences between nobility and low, high and low, old and young, and closeness, and require people's behavior to conform to their identity, social and political status within the family, and different identities have different behavioral norms. This is etiquette.
Therefore, rituals and ritual governance are the foundation stone and code of conduct of this Confucian society. The Ministry of Rites, as the highest department for managing and practicing the ritual system of a country, is self-evident. It is precisely because the Minister of Rites are proficient in the rituals of a country and have rich experience in ritual governance that it becomes a prerequisite for joining the cabinet.
Therefore, when Sister Yuan died of illness and was the only minister of the cabinet, Yan Ne would almost certainly become a Grand Secretary. Therefore, Yuan's ministry did not care about the daily affairs of the Ministry of Personnel in public or private affairs.
As for the second-in-command Li Chunfang, he was responsible for the exchanges between foreign countries and foreign countries. This job was also part of the courtesy and barely called "external courtesy". However, the Ming Dynasty had always been in trouble with the great country, so its importance was far from comparable to "internal courtesy. It can even be said that it was not valued. But after Sister Yuan's death, Li Chunfang became a well-written Qingci. The emperor could not leave him for a moment, so he could only receive this job symbolically. But if there is really foreign affairs, he still had to ask Chen Si for help.
The rest were all silent chores, or almost all the affairs of the Ministry of Rites were all over his shoulders. In addition to managing national schools and institutions including Imperial College, Shuchangguan, prefectures and county schools at all levels, and imperial examinations at all levels, he also served as a Hanlin Bachelor. Chen Si wanted to resign from this position, but Yan Ne did not accept it, and Li Chunfang did not accept it, which made him work harder for those who could do it.
Chen Si can see that these two were lazy Hanlin officials and believed in the way of governing without doing anything. As for himself, although he had not done serious work in the past few years, he had earned the title of "a cadre official," and was very outstanding in the southern tour. This time he fell into their hands. That wasn't it that the young steward entered the landlord's house. Who do you need to do if you don't have to?
It would have been fine if it were just this. After being silent for several years, my bones would have been loose. Besides, there are so many departments, departments, bureaus, doctors, officials, and officials who listen to his dispatch. Why do you have to do everything yourself? It just so happened that his strength is to arrange commands. No matter how complicated the errands are, they can be recorded layer by layer and distributed clearly. Even if there are more things, they will not delay going home for dinner."
But this does not mean that Chen Shu is not upset. On the contrary, he has been annoyed recently, very angry and extremely depressed, but he has never been on his face. The source of his troubles comes from a yamen sect who was once extremely noble but now he is in the reign of the Ministry of Rites.
The Zongren Mansion was in charge of the royal family and the yamen of the Mu Xiu Yudie, and was in charge of the royal family's vassal affairs. In the third year of Hongwu, a Dazong Yuanyuan was established along the Yuan system, and in the 22nd year, it was renamed the Zongren Mansion. It was established, left, right Zongzheng, left, right Zongren. It was the first rank, and the prince was appointed as the prince.
Bai mentioned that later, Zhu Jie, the true ancestor, could only serve as the Youzong, and he could rank third, so he knew how prominent his initial status was.
But don't worship it, it's just a legend. After the Jingnan Campaign, the Youzong of the year became the emperor, while the original emperor Zhu Yunfan was missing. The close relationship between the royal family no longer exists. Instead, it is replaced by surveillance and guarding and suppressing. Therefore, at this time, an institution like the clan mansion that has a high status that can command the royal family and even point fingers at the emperor will naturally become a thorn in the emperor's eyes, and the thorn in the flesh will definitely be greatly weakened.
Starting from Zhu Lin, emperors of all dynasties first abolished the provisions of the prince's affairs, and replaced them with the old relatives of the emperor's affairs. Later, they directly placed the ancestral affairs under the Ministry of Rites, completely evading this extraordinary force.
Now the emperor was relieved, but the officials of the Ministry of Rites were upset. "What is the ancestral family in charge? The royal family! Although these people have no power, they all regard themselves as nobles. They have a big temper and a big ambition. They have been reproducing for more than a hundred years of conditions and have been thousands of times the number of members of the royal family that was founded. But the country still has to support them. The pressure on finances is so great. Even after military spending. If anyone becomes the emperor, they would want to be in this matter. Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestors, even if they are their own ancestors. This shit policy is really too shit, and what's worse, it is also the ancestral system, and there is no way to change it.
Therefore, emperors and their ministers of all dynasties have been committed to reducing expenses in this regard. Although they cannot reduce the vassals in a big way, they can be divided into pieces and accumulated into small amounts. For example, as long as the prince and the prince have no sons, they will be eliminated as soon as they die. If they commit crimes, they will be directly demoted to common people and eliminated as vassals. Even those who can inherit the king will be delayed for several years without reason because the procedures are not completed, there will be no salary." As for Fengguo, Zhenguo, auxiliary generals and lieutenants who have no fiefdoms, there will be even more no guarantees. The matter of owing harsh deductions of Lumi will be born, and anyone else will be shocked and resentful.
To be honest, now the sect mansion is an air-exhaust bucket for the royal family. Every day, people slam the table and scold their mothers. If you say something wrong, you will be fist-and-foot, and you will even have to die. But you can't beat or scold you, and you can only smile and apologize. By coaxing these masters, the degree of annoyance is the best in the world.
Such a department that hinders harmony naturally cannot be placed in the Ministry of Rites, so the clan mansion is not in Dongjiang Mi Lane, but is assigned to the Nandaji Lane alley of Caishikou, south of Xuanwumen. It is so unhappy.
Yan Ne and Li Chunfang, the two "Immortals, naturally would not care about such an annoying job. The bullying, Silence, was just a newcomer, and handed it to his shoulders without saying anything.
The first level of official position was tortured, and he was a newcomer. Chen Si could only take over this hot potato with a wry smile, and he could barely deal with it.
However, overall, when the court was full of turmoil and officials were in danger of peace, these three kind-hearted officials established a warm safe haven for the officials of the Ministry of Rites, allowing them to escape the purge of Xu Ge Lao, regardless of their original faction. It was indeed a paradise that everyone envied.
But there is a saying that when you often stand by the river, you can't help but not wet your shoes. In the twelfth lunar month, silence was still dragged into the forefront. "The culprit was his friend of the same year, Lin Run, the hero who sued King Yi.
Because everything was sitting in the Ming Dynasty, Jiajing could not embezzle his merits, and he was the same year as Chen Mo. Naturally, he was also a student of Xu Ge Lao. Therefore, after the great promotion after the Great Purge, Lin Run, the right chief censor of Nanjing, who had a direct name, was actually promoted by the court as the left deputy chief censor of the Censorate, and became the third in command of the censor system. By the way, the Ministry of Yinglong was the right deputy chief censor, and was still under him.
After being able to advance to a high position, Lin Run's morale was greatly boosted. Shortly after entering Beijing, he introduced a "Commentary on the Residents of the Rescue of the Clan and the Rice of the Rice". This commentary was revealed to the world, like a huge rock throwing into water, causing an uproar!
The general meaning of this memorial is: "The most ills and most ills are the most ills of the country! Because the royal family is growing today, and the annual salary is not continued, and the ills and the rice are hundreds of times more than in the past. For example, Kaifeng, Henan, there is only one Zhou royal palace in Hongwu. By the beginning of Jiajing, the princes had increased by 39, and the generals had reached more than 500, and the lieutenant and the courtesy were invincible. One mansion could tell the world. Now it has been more than 40 years since the beginning of Jiajing, and the number of increased numbers is not difficult to infer. It is directly firing at the royal family and vassal kings, directly pointing to the greatest disadvantage in the world!
How serious is this problem? "It is estimated that the world's wealth and tuition are 4 million stones of grain for the capital every year, and the amount of rice for the royal palaces is as high as 8.53 million stones, which is more than twice the amount of grain for the capital. For example, the rice remaining in Shanxi is 1.52 million stones, and the rice for the capital is 3.12 million stones; the rice remaining in Henan is 843,000 stones, and the rice for the royal palace is 1.92 million stones. According to these two provinces, even if the land and tuition are fully collected, it is not enough to provide the cattle for the royal palace's rice. Moreover, the salary and military pay are all out of it. Therefore, the princes and the above are still able to enjoy themselves, and the generals cannot save themselves, and they are hungry, cold and humiliated. The situation must come. Some officials are difficult to provide for their hands, and the vassals are suffering from not giving them. So they are discussed and there is no consensus.
.In other words, most of the country's income must be supplied to the royal palace, while the traditional large amount of national expenditure, such as imperial, official and military pay, can only be expedient in the remaining half. How can the country not be exhausted?
But how to solve it? Lin Run said, "I thought it was appropriate to ask the ministers and the Taoist to discuss the court, and then issue the kings to discuss the power and the disadvantages were extremely difficult and had to be understood. The Ministry of Revenue will calculate the quota for a full amount, based on ten years, and the war is famine, the amount of reserved costs, the amount of additional quota, the amount of additional quota for the royal family, the amount of additional quota for the royal family, the amount of quota for the royal family, the amount of quota for the royal family, the amount of quota for the taxation, and the amount of quota for the expenses. Let the clan know that the tax is limited, and the amount of expenses is endless. We will share the strategies for the aftermath, and then gather the public discussion and ask the emperor to decide on it, thinking that the rules that will not be changed forever.
He has no good idea, and he suggests that everyone get together to have a meeting to solve the problem."
Jiajing may have been placed in a trap by the royal family, and almost lost his life. He also wanted to cure these insects, so he ordered all officials to discuss the Ming Dynasty to see who had any good solutions. In that case, the royal family and vassal kings were not the slaughter of others. They sent people to Beijing to engage in activities and resolutely resist this unforgivable "reverse actions"
As a link connecting the imperial court and the royal family, the clan mansion naturally became the focus of attention and was in a very delicate situation.
In the past few days, the silence has been connected to more than a dozen royal family members. "Without the emperor's orders, the vassal kings are not allowed to leave the fiefdom, but this does not prevent them from sending their children to the capital to run and contact each other. These princes generally have a bad temper, and they can't see the master and have to vent their anger on the officials of the clan's mansion, beating, scolding and humiliating them unscrupulously, for fear that the matter will not be a big deal.
There was no choice but to go out in person. I comforted these old men and invited them to dinner and listen to opera. I was not burned to the yamen.
"Shao Zong Bo. This won't work." Wang Qiming, who followed the silence to the Ministry of Rites and had been promoted to the Ministry of Justice, said with a frown: "Those men are so good at spending money. It's only a few days before their hospitality has bottomed out."
"Don't worry about money." Chen Si held a furnace in his hand and stared at an account book. He said carelessly: "The first thing is to stabilize these old men first."
"Why, do you always have to pay for it yourself?" Wang Qiming knew that this family was too rich.
"I think beautifully, my family no longer does business. I sit and eat at home and eat at the sky, so I can't afford to eat surplus food to beat them." Silently lowered his eyelids and said, "From the Lumili they should be at the end of the year."
"Ah, won't you make a fuss at that time?" Wang Qiming said fussed: "You are called drinking poison to quench your thirst."
"Stop talking nonsense." Silence put the small stove down and turned the page and said, "The boat will naturally go straight to the bridge. Then we will talk about it."
"All right, you always have the final say." Wang Qiming responded and changed the topic: "Sir, the people below have been begging me these days. Let's discuss with you."
"What's the matter?" Chen Si lifted the pen and dug something from the account book, but still didn't look up.
"That's right. This winter is extremely cold this winter. Before the twelfth lunar month, several snow fell. The price of this firewood rolled upwards." Wang Qiming whispered: "Brothers want to ask if you can have more firewood tickets, even if you have less money." Firewood tickets are a kind of welfare for officials, which means you can get a certain amount of firewood with your tickets. And they are high-quality official firewood.
"The accounts are well settled." He said silently: "What is valuable?
"Hehe" Wang Qiming smiled with a calm face: "You can't watch your brothers get frozen."
"Yeah, I know." Chen Mo finally looked up at him and said, "But I can't make the decision on this matter. I have to decide the master of the ministry. When I have the chance, I will talk to him and see if it can do it."
"Don't push me." Wang Qiming relied on his old minister and said softly: "You don't discuss with the ministry that deducted those royal family members. How to give us some firewood tickets is still necessary."
"Okay, Wang Qiming, pretend to be confused with his understanding, right?" Chen Si stopped looking at him again and continued to write, "Get out of here, don't be upset." The former is the blame, and the latter is the city's favor. Can the nature be the same?
Wang Qiming sighed helplessly and said to himself that the lord is becoming more and more difficult to talk now, but he is not as good as before, so he asks out. He has to bow down and hides everyone for several days after he goes back, fearing that they will ask about the firewood ticket.
Who knew that after only two days, the colleagues of the Ministry of Rites came to him one after another, but instead of asking for guilt, they kept thanking him. When Wang Qiming asked, it turned out that the master of the Ministry of Rites came here in the morning, and five thousand kilograms of firewood tickets were already small. Now the winter is enough. Yuan Wutang also told them that the five thousand kilograms of firewood tickets were bought by Minister Chen using his relationship and at the inner court's Xijisi.
Wang Qiming is so strange. He thought to himself, why is this necessary? It has made me afraid to see people these days.
He was thinking about it, someone called him, "Old Wang, Shao Zong Bo is calling you." He hurried over to the silent signing room, and said respectfully, "Shao Zong Bo, you are looking for it."
"Yeah," nodded silently, "Please help me with some gifts, I'll treat you tonight."
"yes"
Chapter completed!