,!
"... Recommended, the good laws of ancient times can be seen everywhere today among officials. Those who are virtuous and have excellent political performance are limited by their qualifications and years, and are subordinate to subordinates. Those who are talented in literature and worthy of appointment are hidden among the people, and officials The Dismissal Committee will recommend those who have no bribes and serious circumstances but who have useful talents and learning. They will listen to the officials of the fourth rank and above who are overseas governors and superintendents, and they will be commanded by the governors of prefectures and counties. As evidenced by their actual deeds, they will be recommended to the capital for examination. They are not allowed to engage in improper behavior for personal gain. Those who are promoted are guilty of committing stolen goods. Those who are guilty are sitting together. The leader is promoted at a loss. The outline is always upright and the family is Yong. The style is strong and down-to-earth. The deputy expert is reserved and the country's rule is continued. The foundation is permanently consolidated. The subjects are informed. I cherish you deeply."
Thanks to Cheng Jing's long Qi channel, which he had developed through many edicts, he was able to read this lengthy edict.
Indulgence for the whole world does not just mean the forgiveness of sins.
Take the edict just read out as an example. There are more than thirty items for amnesty, including the people involved, including the assessment and selection of officials, names and titles for marriages in the clan, tax exemptions in various places, It can be said that it benefits all aspects, including ordinary military households, craftsmen households, people's labor, criminal cases, refugee household registration, exiles, etc.
The real officials, soldiers and people are celebrating together.
Even for many ordinary ministers, this is great good news, because one of the edicts for amnesty is the last one, which relaxes the assessment of seniority and speeds up the selection of officials. schedule.
For many young officials who aspire to a career in government, this is a good opportunity that comes only once in decades.
If nothing else goes wrong, the next time I get this opportunity, it will either be the crown prince's wedding, or...ahem...
In short, this kind of opportunity is rare.
However, this is for those officials below the third rank. For the officials above the third rank, it is basically a carrot and a pit. Although there are still pitfalls, this kind of position is no longer something that can be obtained by such a wide selection. Arrived.
Therefore, for them, the overall situation is polarized.
Some of them, including the Seven Ministers and Cabinet Ministers, who had already known the contents of the edict, as well as some old men who had long been hopeless in their official careers, were already wandering around, some were unscrupulous, and their heads were sinking.
The other part is the majority of ministers who are young and powerful. For them, this kind of edict has equally extraordinary significance.
First, because many matters inside require their backbone to be responsible for execution and must be understood thoroughly.
The second reason is that in these imperial edicts issued all over the world, as long as you carefully study them, you can actually see many clues and gain insight into the political trends in the court.
For example, any minister who is familiar with the court's practice of amnesty and has a relatively keen political sense.
After listening to this edict carefully, I discovered two problems.
First, in this edict, the amnesty of criminal cases, taxes, and labor services are all biased towards civil affairs. Military and political aspects are mentioned in all directions, but there is no mention of the suspension and amnesty of farming. .
This is to be expected, but it is also worth noting.
To put it bluntly, if a joyful event like the amnesty that is universally celebrated cannot make the imperial court slightly shaken in its determination to organize the military garrison, then if you want to make a fuss about this matter, you have to think carefully.
Secondly, and what the noble military ministers present were most concerned about, this edict did not mention anything about the pardon and reinstatement of the noble military ministers who accompanied the Civil War.
If when the emperor ascended the throne, public opinion was too fierce, so he did not mention this matter, then now, it is time to grant a pardon.
but none.
And more importantly, as for the civil war, this edict did not mention it at all, but it was mostly targeted at civil servants.
"In the 14th year of Zhengtong's expedition, he fell into the hands of officials such as the chief censor and other officials in the matter. Those who had not been asked to be given imperial edicts and gifts because they failed to pass the first test were investigated by the ministry. Regardless of the seniority of their tenure, they were all granted imperial edicts and gifts, and If there are descendants who should not be employed, I will order one of them to be sent to prison to study in order to honor his integrity."
For the military and civilian officials who died in the Civil War, most civil and military ministers gave posthumous rewards.
However, there are still some omissions, part of which is what was just mentioned in the edict. Because he has not been in office for a long time and has not reached the evaluation period, so those who have not been awarded gifts will be awarded according to the evaluation period of full years, and Xu Yin will have a son.
The other part, in addition to the ordinary military officials and troops, some distinguished families represented by the Chengguo Duke's Mansion, is still unresolved.
You know, even Ningyang Bo Chen Mao, who was demoted for crimes, and Huichang Bo Sun Zhong, who was dismissed for crimes, in this amnesty, according to the usual practice, those who should be reinstated should be reinstated. Promotion of promotion.
However, Duke Chengguo's mansion, Xiuwu uncle's mansion, and Yongning uncle's mansion, which had been unable to attack the prince because of the civil war, were not mentioned at all.
This is not a good sign!
Not to mention that the noble families are in the same spirit, the current situation of these noble families actually reveals the current situation of many noble families to a certain extent.
For most mansions, especially those with children and generals accompanying them, their titles are intact, but such a large family cannot survive solely on their titles.
The young people in each house, whether they are in a prestigious position, serving as an official, or joining the army, must have a future, and the family business must continue to be run.
However, under this political signal from the court, the entire noble family was actually affected.
The titles of these families are like a signal. If their titles cannot be restored, it means that the civil war is not over yet. It means that most of the mansions that once accompanied the expedition and the future of the children , will be full of hardships.
This is not the result they want to see.
Therefore, after listening to the edict, even in such a ceremony, many noble military ministers could not help but look at each other and talk in low voices.
Relatively speaking, the civil servants were quieter, but within just a moment, many ministers looked confused and frowned.
It's not because they are dissatisfied with the edict, but because, considering the time, it's time for His Highness the Crown Prince to finish paying his respects and return to the outside of Fengtian Palace to receive congratulations.
However, looking to the east, there was no sign of His Royal Highness returning, nor did the ceremony officer on Danqi continue to guide him down.
The joy has not ended, but the ministers below are already looking around, and there are faint voices starting to discuss.
The leader of civil servants, Mr. Hu, who had been dozing off just now, woke up the moment Cheng Jing's voice fell.
Seeing this situation, the old man also frowned and looked up at the emperor.
However, before he asked the etiquette officer next to him to go up and ask questions, he looked up and saw two eunuchs hurriedly coming out of the small door on the east side and heading straight for the royal chariot.
From a distance, although the specific situation could not be seen clearly, many ministers looked at the anxious look of the two young chamberlains and the ugly expression on Eunuch Huai'en's face after listening to their whispers. Realize.
It seems that something unexpected happened...
Sure enough, as Huaien stepped forward and reported a few words in the emperor's ear, the emperor said something.
Then, Cheng Jing on the side accepted the order, came to the front of Danqi, and said.
"Your Majesty has spoken, and the crown prince has come out of the cabinet. The edict has been completed. Today there is no need to congratulate him. He ordered all the civil and military ministers to enter the Wenhua Hall in court tomorrow. I would like to express my congratulations!"
Sure enough, something happened!
Several civil servants present looked at each other with solemn expressions.
The ceremonial note for leaving the pavilion has been handed over long ago, and the emperor has nodded. All the preparations have been made without any problems, and so far, it has been going smoothly.
In this case, if there was no particularly big accident, the emperor would not be able to interrupt the ceremony at will.
But the facts are right in front of us. The emperor's decree has been issued. Today's ceremony, no matter what else is to follow, is over.
Fortunately, after several times when the emperor cheated on important ceremonies, the deacons on Danchi were also carefully selected by Hu Hui. They were not only handsome in appearance, familiar with etiquette, but more importantly, able to adapt to changes.
Hearing the emperor's words, he immediately reacted and signaled the ceremonial officer beside him to blow his whip three times, causing the place to quickly quiet down, and then said loudly.
"bye!"
When all the ministers bowed their heads and worshiped, they burst into great joy, accompanied by a loud shout from the eunuch.
"Get started!"
This time the ceremony for the prince's departure from the imperial court finally came to a 'successful' end.
However, although the imperial chariot was on the scene, the ministers present still had to leave from the east and west sides under the guidance of the guide.
After leaving the palace gate and without the censor Jiu Yi, all the elders finally breathed a sigh of relief. They all dispersed and gathered together in twos and threes. It was a pity that they did not congratulate the prince in person today.
After all, according to custom, when a prince is congratulated, he must be given a reward.
But it doesn’t matter, there’s still tomorrow...
Most of the elders went back to the yamen to work happily. A few people looked at the sky and planned to go back to have lunch and take a nap for a while.
But as an important minister, you are not so lucky.
Outside the palace gate, the sedan chairs of several elders were not far away. However, they all stood at the palace gate without moving in tacit agreement. Even several ministers who were supposed to go back to the cabinet directly were waiting in the palace. door.
As expected, it didn't take long for Wynn to lead a team of servants and hurriedly chased them out. After taking a look at everyone, he breathed a sigh of relief and said.
"My lords, please invite me. Your Majesty has summoned us. Please come to the palace with us as soon as possible."
So, a group of elders finally arrived at the Wenhua Hall.
However, the person sitting in the seat was not His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but His Majesty the Emperor.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty, long live my emperor!"
The scope of this summons is not small, but those who can be present are all people with extraordinary status, and they are both civil and military.
On the civil servants' side, in addition to Jin Lian, the minister of the Ministry of Justice who was not in Beijing, there were six ministers and seven ministers, as well as several cabinet ministers, including Du Ning, the minister of Dali Temple, and Xu Youzhen, a scholar of Zuo Chunfang.
On Wu Chen's side, there are Li Xian, the Duke of Feng, Zhao Rong, the Bo of Xincheng, Fan Guang, the Bo of Jing'an, Chen Mao, the Marquis of Ningyang who has just been reinstated, and Yang Hong, the Marquis of Changping.
Basically, all the ministers with enough influence in the court are almost here.
At this time, it actually showed the reason why the Supreme Emperor and his party were eager to regain the title of Duke Cheng.
Although it is said that both civil and military officials have grades, the existence of the rank of Lord Martial Lord actually reduces the role of the grade of military ministers in a disguised manner.
For example, on the civil servants' side, the six ministers were only of the second rank, and were already important ministers. On the military ministers' side, there were princes and countes above the first rank.
This leads to the fact that for important ministers of the same status, the civil ministers need second-grade ministers, while the military ministers need the superior-grade dukehoubo.
As for the first- and second-grade military ministers, they were naturally pushed down, and their status in the court could only be compared to that of a third-grade minister, or even lower.
From this perspective, looking at the current situation of the court, a strange phenomenon has emerged, that is, Zhang Shi, as the old noble talker, most of the time, his status cannot match.
Taking the current situation as an example, the military officials present are either princes or earls, but they are in charge of the military government.
But Zhang Shi, with his backing to the British government, had a huge influence among the nobles, but on the surface, he was just a second-grade governor-general.
The official British official has just turned ten years old during the Chinese New Year. It is inappropriate to meet him. The other people do not have enough status to make emergency decisions on behalf of the British government in court affairs. This situation is so embarrassing.
Before Zhang Fu, the reason why he wanted to support Ren Li was to solve this situation. However, Ren Li was an outsider after all. As soon as he gained power, he began to secretly encroach on the power of the British government. This was something Zhang Fu could not tolerate at all. of.
From this perspective, it was actually a helpless move for him and Zhu Yi to join forces and throw Ren Li into prison.
At least, compared with Ren Li, the Chengguo Palace and the British Palace were tied by in-laws. Although Zhu Yi was young, if he inherited the title, he would undoubtedly be qualified to go to the palace.
It can be said that once the title of Duke Cheng is in hand, even if Zhu Yi is not asked for his opinion on all matters in the court, he can at least attend and preview them. This is the status of a public palace.
At the same time, Zhu Yi had no military exploits and was a junior. He could make decisions on behalf of the British government, but it was difficult for him to encroach on the power of the British government like Ren Li. He was a more suitable candidate than Ren Li.
Even if Chen Mao is now reinstated, Zhang Min may not dare to make the same mistake again after learning from Ren Li's mistakes.
Therefore, it is inevitable for the Duke of Chengguo to regain his title.
However, before the Chengguo Duke's palace was reinstated, they would undoubtedly suffer a loss in small court discussions on such important matters.
"Ping Sheng, you have worked hard all morning. There is no need to stand. Please sit down."
Although the elders below were all speculating about what accident had happened, the emperor's face was very calm, and he even cared to show sympathy to them for standing there for a long time and specially gave them seats.
"I don't dare to..."
The elders hurriedly handed over their hands in modesty, but when faced with the pile brought by the chamberlain, none of them were polite and sat down without hesitation.
After a moment of tossing, everyone returned to their places, and the emperor got down to business.
"I think you all must have guessed that something unexpected happened when the prince went to Xiezhong Palace just now. As a last resort, I had to skip the ceremony of congratulating the prince and change it to tomorrow. I also called all the ministers to discuss it. .”
At this time, a compliment was needed, so after a busy day, Hu Dazongbo, the Minister of Rites, who was mainly responsible for the ceremony, stood up and asked.
"May I ask Your Majesty, what is the important matter that requires interrupting the ceremony?"
The emperor raised his hand and pressed it, motioning Hu Hui to sit down, then sighed and said.
"Actually, it's nothing. It's just that when the prince went to thank the Holy Mother, she became interested and asked if the ceremony of the prince's leaving the palace went well. By the way, she wanted to reward the meritorious ministers who reported the prince's leaving the palace."
"Then the Supreme Emperor talked about the attack on the incense pavilion the day before yesterday, and the Holy Mother became furious and fainted..."
