The so-called industries of the four peoples are scholars, farmers, industry and merchants as traditionally referred to.
If we can say that emphasizing religious education, setting up subject selection, system of worship and sweeps, and eliminating redundant positions can barely be based on past legal precedents, then the establishment of a business for the four people is a pure New Deal.
During the Hongwu period, there were provisions for selecting clan members to serve as officials, but they were very few. When the emperor wanted to establish a clan school and recruit clan sons, he also relied on this old practice.
However, starting a business for the four peoples has a completely different meaning.
This measure goes further than dismissal from redundant posts.
According to the teachings of Emperor Ming's ancestors, all descendants of the royal family are members of the clan. Those who are the sixth generation descendant of a county king or below will be awarded the title of lieutenant of the country. This is the so-called "not serving the people of Qi", but being supported by the imperial court for the rest of their lives.
To put it bluntly, in the ancestral system established by Emperor Taizu, all descendants of the Zhu family, no matter how many generations apart, have aristocratic status, which is different from the common people.
What was removed from redundant positions was the privileges and ancestral status of distant clan clans, but their names were not removed.
To put it bluntly, if the measures to eliminate redundant posts are implemented, then no matter how many generations of descendants, they will still be awarded the title of Lieutenant of the Kingdom. However, it is just like the honorary title of civil servants, it just sounds good, there is no salary to receive, and there is no clan. Unique immunity.
At most, it means that they can have the same power as ordinary people to hold office without kneeling, but other privileges will be abolished uniformly.
In fact, speaking of this, it is also taking advantage of loopholes.
The ancestral precepts of the Huangming Dynasty mentioned that Lieutenant Fengguo was awarded, but it did not say that the Lumi of Lieutenant Fengguo and the treatment he enjoyed could not be changed.
Although this move is suspected of covering one's ears and stealing the bell, it can still be justified if it is forced to be said.
But starting a business for the four people is different.
In addition to official careers, agriculture, industry, and commerce are all businesses of the common people.
Once the clan is allowed to open a business for the four people, it is actually recognized. These clans whose privileges have been revoked have also become common people in terms of status.
This is not only contrary to the ancestral teachings of Huang Ming, but also many clans cannot accept it.
Not to mention now, Lieutenant Fengguo still has lumi and privileges. Even if it is gone, it is just a false name, but the sense of superiority in status cannot be given up so easily.
If not, someone will give the emperor the reputation of being mean and unkind and torturing the clan.
Therefore, both Zhu Huixun and Hu Hui looked a little sad after hearing the emperor's words.
Faced with this situation, Zhu Qiyu smiled and said.
"Actually, the affairs of the clan have been discussed for a long time in the court. In these days, I have read a lot of memorials from previous years and saw a few sentences. My uncle and eldest uncle might as well help me with the details."
"...Since ancient times, no law has been prepared before Cheng Zhou. The fifth generation of the Zhou family has been exempted. Yan Hui has nothing to do with it, and Qing has no way to ask for it. This king uses nobles to seize the bride, and only stops at what he has to do. The most benevolent and righteous."
"However, in the country, from Lieutenant Fengguo down, they are all five generations of foreign relatives. If you want to exhaust people and support them, it will be difficult to stop their moaning mouths. If you want to exhaust people and restrain them, it will be difficult to suppress their fierce and unfair feelings. Although they are born, If you say it, the injury will be..."
"These few words make me feel a lot. I wonder if my uncle and eldest uncle think they are reasonable? If so, how can they solve this dilemma?"
Ah this...
Hu Hu silently uttered something in her heart.
Your Majesty, you don't even bother to save face now, right?
After all, I still had the memorial book out last time, so just read it this time, right?
Please tell me which year this memorial is from. Mr. Hu has never seen such a courageous minister in his fifty years in power.
Why are you a fifth-generation foreigner? Try saying this in front of Emperor Taizu. I’m afraid you’ll die if you try!
From the bottom of her heart, Hu Hui knew very well that these words made sense.
There is no patriarchal system like the Ming Dynasty in the past dynasties.
Let's not talk about distant affairs. Take the Tang and Song Dynasties as an example. Although the kings granted titles in the Tang Dynasty could inherit, they had no fiefdoms.
As for the Song Dynasty, it was even simpler. The prince was granted the title of king, but the title could not be inherited. By the third generation, he was a commoner.
Only in the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu was born in poverty, so he attached great importance to the lives of his descendants and set such generous clan treatment.
Theoretically, this is unreasonable. Just as the emperor said, if this continues, sooner or later the clan will become the biggest burden on the court.
But here's the thing.
All the regulations of the imperial court were set by Emperor Taizu. Even if he knew it was unreasonable, it would take extraordinary courage to deny Emperor Taizu.
After hesitating for a moment, Mr. Hu sighed helplessly and said.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the laws of the Zhou Dynasty are ancient rituals and have their own reasons. Although the Zhongzong clan in the current dynasty does not have any disadvantages that are difficult to maintain, it does have long-term problems. Therefore, I think that if a clan member invites himself, It may not be that he should not be allowed to carry out the work of the four peoples."
This is both a statement and a push-hands exercise in Tai Chi.
After Zhu Huixuan finished listening, he immediately cursed the old fox secretly.
After hearing these words, Zhu Huixun knew that Hu Hui understood what the emperor meant, but he put the pressure on the clan.
In fact, they both understood that after entering this door today and reading this memorial, the two of them were destined to be the emperor's scapegoats.
It's just that the division of labor is different.
Or to put it more bluntly, what the emperor is saying now is actually not what the emperor said, but what they 'want' to say.
Later in the court, every word they heard just now would become their advice to the emperor.
Otherwise, the emperor would not always express these opinions in the form of a memorial or a minister giving advice.
The biggest difficulty in clan reform is actually that it is inappropriate for anyone to deny these ancestral precepts, unless...
"Your Majesty, I believe that this matter is of great importance, but since it is a matter of the clan, it may be possible for all the clansmen in the world to discuss and advise together. The clansmen are all descendants of the Zhu family, so they will take the country and the imperial court as their priority."
He glanced at Hu Xi with resentment. Although he was unwilling in his heart, under the gaze of the emperor, Zhu Huixuan still spoke honestly.
To put it bluntly, it is not appropriate for the emperor to raise this matter. If the ministers raise it, it will easily attract backlash. The only one who can raise it is actually the clan itself.
Because these clans enjoy privileges themselves, if they "voluntarily" give up their privileges and refuse to receive Lumi in order to solve the court's difficulties and reduce the pressure on the court, it cannot be called a violation of the ancestral system.
This is just like dividing the family property. Your ancestors left you a lot of property. If others want to snatch it, it is definitely not possible. However, if you are upright and upright and don't want it anymore, then it is not impossible.
Of course, the clan issue is not that simple, but if it is raised by the clan members themselves, it will indeed be much less difficult.
You know, if it really follows the ancestral system, then the vassal king can still intervene in local government affairs, and even the King of Sai can intervene in military affairs, but what about now? How were these powers lost?
The answer is, of course, that the kings gave up 'voluntarily'.
Anyway, it was definitely not forced by Emperor Taizong overtly or covertly...
In fact, this is probably the purpose of the emperor coming to him.
This Da Zongzheng is not easy to take seriously!
"That's fine. It just so happens that each clan now has children studying in Beijing. After my uncle returns to the clan school, he can order them to send a letter home asking about the matter. After all, this is a clan affair and it is my uncle's responsibility to handle it."
Reform is never accomplished overnight. Although Zhu Qiyu was anxious, he still had to eat his food one bite at a time. If he took too big a step, it would be easy for him to lose everything.
Therefore, although the direction has been set and even the specific measures are roughly known, Zhu Qiyu is still more cautious when it comes to taking action.
This also reassured Zhu Huixuan a lot.
What he was most worried about was that the emperor was impatient and forced him to implement these measures.
In this way, if the rebellious psychology of the kings is too strong and trouble occurs, it will be him, Da Zongzheng, who will bear the pressure in the end.
Although the kings seem to be weak now, they are not easy to deal with when they make a fuss.
Zhu Huixuan's own family knew about his own affairs. This group of people might not be able to accomplish anything, but they were good at making troubles. Some of them were bold enough to even take the emperor's imperial decree seriously.
Just like King Yi, if the emperor hadn't issued decrees several times and directly summoned him to the capital, if he really wanted him to bow his head, it would be difficult to reach the sky.
Therefore, if the vassal reform is really to be carried out, it should be planned slowly. It is a good way to use family letters to get some information and explore the situation.
At this thought, Zhu Huixuan suddenly understood that not long after the emperor ascended the throne, he established the Zongxue regardless of the objections of the kings. Could it be said that he was preparing for today?
As soon as this idea came up, Zhu Huixuan himself felt a little ridiculous.
How can this be?
You must know that when the emperor ascended the throne, he was ordered to do so in the face of danger. The war was over. The emperor was still in the imperial court in the north. There were many wastes in the court waiting to be revitalized. Government affairs were complicated. It would be great if the emperor could sort them out. How could he think so long-term? thing.
However, this was Zhu Huixun's own idea. If Hu Hui knew about his idea, he would probably think that Prince Min was too naive.
Once upon a time, they also thought the same way. They felt that the emperor's performance in the past was mediocre, and it was already commendable that he could handle huge government affairs.
But the facts prove...it’s okay not to mention it!
Thinking of everything that happened in the past two years, Mr. Hu felt like he was in a dream.
Of course, at this time, he had no time to think about this.
Because after settling King Min, the emperor naturally turned his attention to him and said.
"The clan's joint discussion is the way to go, but the Zongfu and Rites Department is also in charge of matters such as marriage invitations, etiquette arrangements, etc., all of which require the participation of the Rites Department. Since this memorial was written by the eldest uncle, he must have been involved in many of the measures in it. I agree, but how to implement it needs to be carefully considered."
Yes, I still can’t escape!
Mr. Hu gave a wry smile, and he knew that he still had to pass this most difficult level.
"His" memorial put forward nine suggestions.
What King Min just stopped was only four relatively easy ones.
After all, whether it was focusing on religious studies, setting up subject selection, or making worship sweeps, or removing redundant posts, they were all aimed at lower-level clans, and to a certain extent, they solved part of the problem.
Although the clans of the Ming Dynasty have developed so far, although it is not obvious, the lower-level clans have indeed encountered many problems.
If the imperial court has this intention to relax the restrictions on the four people's undertakings, I believe that a large part of them would be willing to support it.
However, the following few items are simply meant to offend people!
The so-called strict protection of inspections and careful marriage is to strengthen the review of the identity of the clan.
The Ming clan's favorite thing to do was to have children.
There is no other way, and basically nothing else can be done. However, serious princesses and concubines need to be canonized by the court. The etiquette system is complicated, but they need to have a clean family background and corresponding moral order, such as being born in a humble family, or in other words, Moral order is a hindrance, and it is impossible to pass the court's review.
Therefore, most of the vassal kings simply beheaded them first and then reported them, whether they would be given the royal title or not. Children were born one after another anyway, and the blood of the Tian family could not be denied.
In this way, the child entered the genealogy, and the mother naturally had to have a title. Just like that, she bypassed the canonization of the court, took in concubines one after another, and asked the court for royal orders one after another.
Strict security and careful marriage, specifically, strengthened the management of marriages in the vassal clan. All women whose family background and moral order did not meet the standards were prohibited from applying for a title, and were not allowed to marry. Those who married privately would be corrected and replaced.
For children born to unmarried women who have not been canonized by the court, they can only be named in the genealogy, but they are not allowed to apply for titles, and they will not be given a title. Regardless of whether they are a feudal prince or a county prince, only the minimum amount will be given each year. Fifty stones of Lumi will not be given to the children of illegitimate marriages below the level of the county king.
As for the worry system and severe punishment, it is even more severe.
It is easy to understand that severe punishments are to strengthen the management of clan crimes. For example, the kings of Yi, Guangtong, Yangzong and other princes and county princes who are arrogant and domineering in the local area. Although the law cannot directly punish them, if the emperor personally bows If this is true, severe punishment including but not limited to lowering the hair and imposing a high wall shall be imposed in accordance with the laws and regulations.
The Liyou system refers to the ritual system during the mourning period. Of course, this is not the focus. The key point is the ritual system, which involves the perfection of the inheritance system. For example, when a prince or a prince is over fifty years old and has no legitimate son, he can create a concubine instead. Prince, for example, if the clan commits fraud, deceives the court, and forges applications for titles, the punishment will be to remove the titles.
These articles basically strictly limit the power of the vassal king from the perspective of the court, which is good for the court, but it is a big bad thing for the vassal king.
It is conceivable that once it is revealed, it will inevitably arouse great opposition from the feudal king.
However, it would indeed be inappropriate for King Min to bring up this matter. It would be too easy to expose this person's position.
Therefore, this unfortunate incident naturally had to fall on the civil servants.
As the Ministry of Rites responsible for etiquette, there is definitely no way to avoid it.
With a sigh, Mr. Hu, with the tragic feeling of not being able to guarantee the end of the festival, finally stepped forward and said.
"Your Majesty, I think this matter involves a lot. Although the ritual system is in the control of the Ministry of Rites, it involves Zonglu, punishment and other matters. Only after discussing with the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Household Affairs can we come up with a complete picture. Detailed charter..."
(End of chapter)
