Chapter 129 Linfeng Residence
Capital.
Gaoliang Bridge on the outskirts of Beijing is an excellent place for an outing in spring. The clear stream on Yuquan Mountain is gurgling down. The tender green water plants in the river are swaying with the waves, and groups of swimming fish are playing in it. From time to time, a naughty guy would float to the surface, swallow a mouthful of slowly swirling duckweed, and then spit it out, and the big piece of fresh green would float away into the distance with a bubble. The strands of weeping willows along the river reach the water, dancing gracefully under the caress of the breeze, and the chirping of swallows comes from the thick branches. The fluttering dragonfly sometimes hovers in the air and sometimes surges forward, attracting children to chase and run happily. Occasionally, someone falls down and cries loudly, and the cry of a child adds infinite vitality to the bright spring scenery. There is a huge stone on the shore, engraved with the four characters "Charming and Smokey". The vigorous and vigorous writing power and the gentle and gentle meaning of the text are so harmonious that it attracts many literati to stop and comment on the verses, saying "The article is made by nature, the wonderful hand puppet" "Get" praise.
Linfengju is a rather elegant wine shop, built about ten feet west of Gaoliang Bridge, with a panoramic view of most of the scenery along the river. The food at Linfengju is also great. Although it does not belong to any of the Sichuan, Hunan, Guangdong and Shandong cuisines, the layout is elegant and the utensils are exquisite. Whatever you order, what you serve later will never be inferior to any famous chef in the city. . However, most of the people who come here are regular customers, and the store owners know what they like to eat even better than the customers themselves. Most of the time, customers don't need to look at the menu and think about it, just give an order. The location is good, the taste is good, and the price is not cheap. Even the lobby on the first floor is not affordable for ordinary people.
In a private room facing the window on the second floor, two men dressed as scribes sat facing each other on the railing. On the table are four exquisite fruit plates, two dried and two fresh, and the Mingqian Longjing tea in the tureen exudes a faint but lingering aroma of beans that fills the room. Guessing that the time was almost up, the waiter knocked on the door twice and said, "Come in." Someone in the room responded. The waiter hunched over and lowered his eyes, gently picked up the half-empty hot water bottle on the table, and replaced it with the newly filled hot water. Without saying a word, he bowed slightly to the two of them and walked out, turning back. Raise your hand and close the door.
These two were frequent visitors to Linfengju, Mi Xuepeng (also known as Liangyou), a doctor in the examination department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Xiao Guanghao (also known as Cunpei), a foreign minister in the literary and art selection department. Looking at the casual clothes both of them were wearing, the waiter knew that what the two adults were talking about today was a very important matter. Not only could they not be disturbed, but they could not be eavesdropped on, otherwise... hum, just wait to be beheaded!
The Ministry of Personnel is known as the head of officials. How powerful is its power? In charge of the selection, examination, and knighthood of civil servants (military officers returned to the Ministry of War) across the country! Except for cabinet bachelors and ministers of the Ministry of Personnel who are recommended by the court* or who are subject to special orders from the emperor, all internal and external officials are "jointly discussed" with other senior officials by the Ministry of Personnel or elected by themselves - even the appointment and removal of governor-level feudal officials are not determined by the court. The recommendation is just a formality: the nine ministers share it, and the official department takes charge!
It's said to be "unity", haha, you know. To put it bluntly, for official assessment and official nomination, please raise your hands. disagree? Oh, okay... By the way, I can't find your assessment form. Try it again... Look, you failed! As expected, I discovered it and almost got fooled by you! You are not qualified to raise your hand, get out! Anyone else disagree? OK, unanimous vote passed. By the way, another seat has just been vacated. I have nothing to do these days in the evening. Who wants to discuss the issue of being honest, serving the public and loving the people like a son?
The Ministry of Personnel has one Shangshu and two assistant ministers, and there are four Qing official departments: literary selection, merit examination, merit examination, and seal verification. The Literature and Selection Department is responsible for the promotion, assignment, appointment and dismissal of officials; the Merit Examination Department is responsible for the performance appraisal of hundreds of officials, providing the decision-making basis for the Literature and Selection Department; Seventeen months, this is called Ding You. This word is reserved for officials. Ordinary people who go home to observe filial piety are called Ding Jian.) How can the Holy Emperor remember which magistrate and magistrate's father and mother died and how many days are left before the filial piety period? Ji Xunsi is responsible for recording, and when it expires, he will find a new place for appointment. There is also the family situation of officials. For example, if an official has meritorious service, he will have a son. If he makes new achievements again, he must protect his second son. It happened that the head wife gave birth to a girl for her second child, and the side wife gave birth to a fat son. This was considered a concubine, and she didn't even have much inheritance rights. At this time, she asked the Holy Emperor to show her favor*. The Feng Verification Department is responsible for officials' canons, pensions (funeral level), and hereditary status of native officials. Most of the southwest ethnic minority areas implement chieftain autonomy. If the old chieftain dies, his son will inherit it, or someone will lead someone to hack the old chieftain to death. After becoming the boss, the court felt that as long as he could worship the Ming Dynasty as Zhengshuo, there would be no big difference between the old chieftain being hacked to death and his death from old age, so he issued a new approval document to the hacker, and this matter was settled. In charge of inspection and sealing.
Of course, the most powerful departments in the Ministry of Civil Affairs are the Literary Selection and Examination Departments. Even though the official positions of Langzhong (the fifth rank), Yuanwailang (the fifth rank), chief officer (the sixth rank), etc. are not big, they all hold real power. Would you like to compare them with the fourth-rank prefect? No one will agree!
Next year will be a triennial plan, so although the two adults are here for an outing today, they are all talking about work.
Just listen to Xiao Guanghao say: "Brother Liangyou, I can't understand the Huguang thing more and more. You know, before Yun Fu took office, the boss was reluctant. I thought he would do everything possible to change places this time. But I've been going crazy lately. I've checked out so many private salts in the past three months, it's almost 20 million pounds, right? With this attitude, there's no way you want to leave?"
Mi Xuepeng continued: "Of course I remember. Before he left, he went to Master Liu (Liu Zhijin, the right minister of the Ministry of official affairs, also named Shendu) and made a lot of gossip. I was present at the time. I also explained that although it was We made a list of five people in total, and Jian Kuaiji (Jian Jingneng was from Shaoxing, Zhejiang) was the second to last. The Holy Spirit appointed him, so what can we do? In the end, he even blew his beard and glared at me, and I How could I not remember? A few months ago, not long after I recruited Guan Shengyun, his disciple from Honglu Temple came to me and begged me in a roundabout way to move his teacher to another place."
Xiao Guanghao said: "Are you talking about Mao Zangfeng (Honglu Temple Qing Mao Qian, also known as Zangfeng)? He has also looked for me."
Mi Xuepeng said "Oh" and asked, "How did you answer him?"
Xiao Guanghao smiled, looked at Mi Xuepeng and said, "Just like Brother Liangyou."
Mi Xuepeng was startled and raised his eyes to look at Xiao Guanghao: "How do you know what I said?" Seeing the latter blinking slyly, he burst into laughter with sudden realization - Honglu Temple is in charge of tribute, greetings and farewells for Seyi. , banquets, labor and other matters are not considered important departments at all. The minister of Honglu Temple is only a fourth-rank official. No one of the two powerful officials will take him seriously. Naturally, his answers are all about the talk of the soup. .
The two laughed for a while, and Mi Xuepeng said thoughtfully: "Brother Cunpei is right. I also think the recent situation in Huguang is very confusing. There is another strange thing I want to tell you."
"Oh? What's weird? Let's talk about it."
"Someone came to me the day before yesterday and brought three thousand taels."
"It's indeed a bit strange. Why is there a thousand taels missing? Li and Teng are both talented people. How can they not know the market if they start dredging so early? Don't tell me, these two are really good! The feudal lords in each province Tianjie was always at odds with each other. Of course, the imperial court also meant the same thing, so the imperial court could rest assured. Originally, we arranged for them to live together, thinking that they would not be able to urinate in the same pot no matter what, but we didn't expect that they would be in peace with each other all these years. Ming Ming Although there are mutual criticisms on the surface, today one accuses the other of drinking wine, and tomorrow the other attends a pear orchard and the other indulges in it... But they are all for outsiders to see. Not only are they trivial, but they are also just gossip. I heard that We have a good relationship in private, so good that my wife and daughter won’t avoid it!”
"Ahem, cough, cough, Cunpei, you deserve a slap in the mouth! I just took a sip of tea and you said you pissed the pot!" Mi Xuepeng choked, "I can tell you that the taste of this tea has changed!"
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. I'll teach them how to change tea later. How about Qimen Red?"
"Let's go to Lu'an Guapian. Drink some green tea in spring, black tea will help you get angry."
"Okay. Let's wait and see - don't care if it's Li Shiteng, this one will be sent, and that one will be sent in these few days." Xiao Guanghao then called out in a loud voice, "Waiter, change the tea, melon slices!"
"Hey, you guessed wrong!" Seeing the waiter come in, Mi Xuepeng stopped talking and looked out the window.
"Ah? Who is that? It can't be the one from Haizhou (Lianyungang was called Haizhou in the Ming Dynasty, and Kou Shiyi was from Haizhou), right?" Xiao Guanghao asked curiously when the waiter went out.
"It's really him!" Mi Xuepeng said, looking at the tea leaves that were standing upright and not yet fully stretched.
"How could it be? Didn't he already let it out a long time ago and said that wherever he likes to tune, it's better than making clay Buddha decorations in Huguang? What, where are you looking at? Three thousand taels... Either the southwest or the northwest, a good place Three thousand taels is not enough."
"You are wrong again!" Mi Xuepeng took a sip of tea and said calmly, "How else can I say something strange... He wants to stay in office!"
"Eh... that's weird! We all know that those two in Huguang wear a pair of pants in private, and their feet will be lifted up wherever they go. Besides, the person named Guan in Northern Hubei is a firecracker that can explode at any time. Who knows? Whoever is close to him is in trouble, who will compete with him for that broken chair? Are you crazy for wanting to stay in the job? These three thousand taels are a bit worthless!" Listening to Xiao Guanghao's tone, he felt a little sorry for Kou Shiyi.
"Who says it's not the case! However, he's not stupid. There's no way he can't see through this layer."
"It's interesting!" Xiao Guanghao twirled the beard on his chin thoughtfully, "Jian Kuaiji suddenly showed off his talents. It has the flavor of a blockbuster after not flying for three years, and Kou Haizhou, a dead pig who is not afraid of boiling water, is actually willing to spend three thousand taels to protect his A chair that no one wants to sit on…well, that’s kind of interesting!”
Mi Xuepeng didn't answer, and Xiao Guanghao said again: "How about giving it a try and letting the wind go..."
"No! Absolutely not!" Mi Xuepeng categorically denied, "There is no grievance or enmity in the first place, but now you are playing this trick. You will definitely offend people on both sides and be unpleasable on all sides."
"That's right. Jian Kuaiji will definitely make a fuss. When we just showed off his skills, we asked him to be transferred. The Holy Spirit would never agree. We ended up with a bad guy in vain." The two have worked together for many years and already have a tacit understanding.
"They can't even get to the Holy Lord. Lord Meng (Meng Liangchen, courtesy name Zhongzhi), the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Lord Liu will not agree." Mi Xuepeng said, "Why do the adults seem to be indifferent on the surface and let us alone?" The head of the sixth rank of the fifth rank doctor decides on the affairs of the second and third rank officials? One is to believe in our abilities, and the other is that if we cause trouble, someone has to take the blame! Brother, I guarantee you, your idea will not be put on paper. Mr. Liu has to ask us: 'Why are you doing this?' What should we say? 'Because we don't understand, so we want to give it a try'? Aren't you just asking for trouble! What happened in Huguang? It’s up to us to figure it out ourselves!”
"Brother Liangyou is right!" Xiao Guanghao smiled sheepishly, "Brother is reckless."
Mi Xuepeng nodded: "It doesn't matter, let's wait and see for a few more days. I guess the people from Li and Teng's place should arrive in the next few days. I will ask my friends in the General Affairs Department later to keep an eye on the situation there. "
"Yeah. I'll go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate tomorrow and hear what the Censor's Office has to say. The person patrolling Huguang this year is probably Li Chang'an (Li Anbang, also known as Chang'an). He and Diao Shangzhi (Diao Xiang, also known as Shangzhi) We are very close, Lao Diao is the same age as me."
"Okay. In ten days and a half, the dredging in Huguang will be almost complete. There is a lot of weirdness there this year, so we must start action earlier than elsewhere. Then we will figure out how to deal with each place - -Alas, we are just the gods of wealth passing by, watching money rushing in through the front door, and rushing out the back door! It’s true that we have gotten a little rich, but who knows how hard it is for us..."
"Hey, who asked us to work hard? After all, it's not easy for adults. Let's stop talking and have something to eat."
"Yes. Waiter!" Mi Xuepeng stood up and pushed open the door and shouted downstairs.
"Here we come." The waiter came running up, "Two adults, what would you like to eat?"
"Just take a look at the arrangements. I've had a full stomach of tea, so I'm not very hungry. Just six dishes, four meat and two vegetarian, and some hotpots. You can also make arrangements for the coachman's servants."
"Okay! I don't need your orders, for fear of delaying your business, the gentlemen waiting outside have made arrangements! Yangzhou fried rice, with the ingredients for the adults to make soup, ham, old duck and big stick bones, You all are so full after eating that your bellies are round and full! You two adults, please wait a moment. Four meat dishes and two vegetarian dishes are hot and hot, here they come!" the waiter rambled enthusiastically.
*Tingtui: The appointment of senior officials, who are recommended by ministers and approved by the emperor, are called tingtui. In the Ming Dynasty, when the court encountered major political affairs, or when one or two important civil and military ministers were vacant, the emperor would order a meeting of the ministers - the two words are separated, "meeting" and "discuss" means to make plans together - and report the results of the discussion Emperor, please make a decision.
Among them, those who discuss things, such as water transportation, tax increases and tax exemptions, war defense, and officialdom, are called court discussions. Those who discuss personnel, such as promotion and appointment, are called court pushers.
*Jiuqing: There are nine people in total, including the ministers of the six departments of official affairs, household affairs, rituals, military affairs, punishment, and industry, the censor of the capital, plus the minister of political affairs, and the general affairs envoy (the head of the general affairs department, in charge of the memorials of hundreds of officials). Sir. Jiuqing is the highest government agency in the country.
*Because the ancients practiced the system of monogamy and multiple concubines, family relationships would be very chaotic. Due to space limitations, only the three titles of aunt, stepmother and biological mother are taken as examples. A certain person has a wife and a concubine.
Concubine, she has no social status at all. Many dynasties have expressly stipulated that no matter whether it is an official or a citizen, no one is allowed to take a good concubine as a concubine - that is to say, if you take a concubine, you can find a concubine from an opera singer or a hooker in the courtyard. No one will care about how many concubines you take. But if you are a good citizen with "national registration", Absolutely not. Of course, often by the end, no one will pursue the matter. Taking a concubine is very simple, just hire a sedan to carry her away. Marrying a wife has to go through a lot of procedures. Many old ladies say "I was married by a matchmaker in eight large sedan chairs" to emphasize their orthodox status.
Situation 1: Both of them gave birth to a fat son for A.
The son A A born to the first wife is called the eldest son and can inherit A’s social status and most of his property. The son A B born to concubine is called a bastard. Regardless of his social status, the amount of property he can get depends on his feelings for his concubine. However, no matter how good the relationship is, usually one-third or one-quarter at most is enough. If a concubine gives birth to a child, her social status is extremely low and it is difficult to get ahead. The origin of the Beijing curse word "Ya De" comes from here - it is the abbreviation of "Ya Ting De", "Ya Ting De" is also the simplified reading of "Ya Ting De", which means "a concubine gives birth to a child, a lowly child" . Of course, today, sometimes people who are particularly close to each other call each other this way, jokingly.
Scenario 2: The main wife has no children, and the concubine gives birth to a child.
At this time, A and B, who are born to concubines, will recognize their first wife as their mother. This is called their legitimate mother, and their biological mother is called their biological mother. This situation is usually the most ideal for X's concubine - after all, she is her own flesh and blood, and she will usually be good to herself when she grows up.
Scenario 3: The principal wife has no children and dies young, and the concubine gives birth to a son.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, X will not make his concubine his official wife, but will marry a well-matched one - the concubine often belongs to a "lower status" and has a personal dependence relationship with X, unless the Holy Emperor has the decree (minister) ) or have special approval from feudal officials (commoners who have made great contributions), otherwise it will be extremely difficult to gain social recognition. No matter how good the relationship is, if A dares to do this, he will be regarded as a beast that challenges the laws of nature. If A's second wife gives birth to a son, that's situation one, and if there is no child, that's situation two - at this time, in order to respect the first wife, A and B will call the new one their father married as stepmother. Note that today this word has a slightly derogatory connotation, but in ancient times it meant "continuing, inheriting" the "mother's duties", which is a very positive word. There is a related little story. During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the official office was the governor of Huguang, and Hu Linyi was the governor. It was the birthday of the concubine whom Guan Wen loved so much, but no one from the entire Huguang officialdom came to congratulate him... In the awkward moment, Hu Linyi came with my mother! Mother Hu recognized the official concubine as her adopted daughter on the spot - now her identity suddenly changed, and hundreds of officials from Huguang arrived! Since then, Guan Wen has always been loyal to Hu Linyi, obeying his advice and never having any constraints...
Scenario 4: Both the principal wife and the concubine have children.
A has repeatedly made great contributions to the court, so the first reward must be for his legitimate son, and the second reward should theoretically be the icing on the cake. However, sometimes A feels that his legitimate son already has a certain foundation in society, and wants to find a job for his bastard. At this time, the Holy Emperor will issue a special favor and grant the title to the bastard.
Scenario 5: The principal wife has two children, or more.
My concubine and my concubine are having a child! The imperial court will have the eldest son Yin Wan, the second son Yin, and the second son Yin Wan the third son... there will never be any concubine giving birth to a child - remember, we talked about "Tang Duan Wang Zhu Shuoji was 'confused by his lover'". Even if the vassal king wanted to have a concubine and have a son, he couldn't!
In novels and commentaries, there is often a reward of "Mrs. Yipingaoming" - this reward will always fall on the head of the wife and has nothing to do with the concubine.
The concubine A B has made great achievements (mostly in troubled times, otherwise society attaches great importance to family background, which is quite difficult, and most of them are military generals who risk their lives to fight for their future). The court wants to reward his mother: the honorary title must go to A's first wife. No negotiation. However, there are often two portions of money and gifts given, including one portion for the biological mother. This does not mean "thank you for giving birth to a good son". The court will not explicitly acknowledge the concubine's social status, but comfort the feelings of hero A and B - but the court will never say it clearly. I read a story, but I can’t remember the protagonist clearly. He seems to be Geng Jingzhong (any readers who know, please enlighten me). The Queen Mother gave Geng's mother a brocade robe, but she didn't expect that Geng Jingzhong was the son of a concubine. Of course, he was officially the son of his wife. As a result, one of them said, "I gave birth to my son," and the other said, "I raised my son." , the two old ladies started fighting! Geng Jingzhong was caught in the middle and had no choice, so he simply gave the cotton-padded jacket to the Queen Mother and took it back, saying: "Both mothers in my family are well-educated and respectful to each other. Neither of them will wear it. I will give it back to you..." The Queen Mother asked someone to ask Got it, just give each one one piece, and then both old ladies put it on, and continued to roll their eyes at each other with satisfaction...
Because I have a personal dependence on A, the worst thing is that A suddenly dies.
If the main wife has children, ninety-nine percent of the time the concubine and the child will be sold or kicked out of the house.
If the first wife has no children, the situation will be much better. The first wife will be concerned about A and B's attitude towards her when she grows up.
If the concubine has no children, it is almost 100% likely that she will be sold by the head wife.
Not to mention a concubine, if someone A dies suddenly and the baby is still young (whether it is A A born by the wife or A B born by a concubine), the wife will often face a life and death test - the husband's family may try to find ways to take care of the orphans and widows. It is not uncommon for a child to have his mother killed, or to be kicked out of the house on arrogant charges - in order to seize the family property. In ancient times, the government often commended chaste and martyr women who observed the moral integrity. In fact, ethics and ethics were just one aspect, and it was just a glossy surface - it contained more of a stable social meaning: You all should watch carefully. The widow has sworn to observe the moral integrity and not remarry. Your family Your family property will not fall into the hands of outsiders. She swore an oath that if you change your mind and marry someone in the future, I will return the property to your family, so please be honest and don't do anything to make money or kill someone to show that I am incapable of educating you!
All these twists and turns above, the Holy Emperor will not have so much time and energy to distinguish, are all the business of Ji Xunsi. In actual operation, it is much more complicated: there are also "adoptive mother" (who adopts the adopted son), "loving mother" (concubine A gives birth to a son and gives it to concubine B to raise), "wet nurse" (wet nurse), "nursing mother" "(the biological mother who was divorced by X), "the married mother" (the biological mother remarried) and many other messy relationships. Therefore, this department is usually very busy.
BTW, there is another misunderstanding. Modern people think of ancient "male chauvinism", where men have the final say in everything. Not quite right. In fact, in ancient times, the principal wife was still highly respected. As the saying goes, men are the masters of the outside world and women are the masters of the house: outside matters naturally belong to men, but at home, the hostess usually has the final say, and men cannot interfere too much. Those who beat their wives and sons in a dignified manner at home are mostly low-class people such as porters. Anyone with a slight social status cannot do that, as they will be looked down upon. Social death in ancient times was much more serious than today - because the circle you live in is so small. The most obvious example is Mrs. Jia and Wang Xifeng in "A Dream of Red Mansions".
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