The Donglin Conference in the spring of the 18th year of Chongzhen was just as Zhu Cixiang envisioned. In an atmosphere of unity, progress and harmony, it opened and closed successfully, and also opened a new era leading to victory!
The "Gentlemen Group" of the Donglin Association, headed by the "Three Gentlemen and Seven Sons", was also publicly elected. Although it was a public recommendation, it was a public recommendation under Zhu Cixiang's complete control. The "gentlemen" to be recommended are all determined in advance.
The three monarchs are Wei Zaode, Qian Qianyi and Hou Xun.
The seven sons are Huang Zongxi, Luo Dagong, Zheng Sen, Gong Dingzi, Wumeicun, Bijiucheng, and Su Ziwen.
Zhu Cixiang himself was not among the three gentlemen and seven sons, but everyone knew that the Donglin Party was now under the complete control of the prince. Most of the so-called Three Lords and Seven Sons are characters that Zhu Cihong can completely control. For example, Wei Zaode, the first assistant among the Three Lords, is Zhu Cihong's rubber stamp. Among the seven sons, Gong Dingzi, Wumeicun, Bijiucheng, and Su Ziwen were either Hanlin or Changshi, and were all close ministers of Zhu Cixiang. Zheng Sen is Zhu Cihong's elder brother and brother-in-law... In other words, six of the ten "gentlemen" are Zhu Cihong's own people.
As for the remaining four, Hou Xun is from Henan and has no interests in the southeast, and has long been tied to Zhu Cixiang. Qian Qianyi is also afraid of cold water, which is insignificant. Grand Duke Luo was obsessed with being an official, so he was obviously a villain. Huang Zongxi loves both officialdom and fame, a typical hypocrite.
Since the power structure of the Donglin Party organized by Zhu Cihong is from top to bottom, that is, the ten-member Gentleman Group elected by the Donglin Congress leads the entire party group, and the local Donglin branches are all appointed by the Gentlemen Group, not by the local Donglin Party Committee. Party members elect themselves.
Therefore, with the ten-member Gentleman Group under his control, the Donglin Party is also under Zhu Cihong's control! With the control of the Donglin Party, not only did Southeast Shilin's voice fall completely into Zhu Cihong's hands, at least half of it was controlled by Zhu Cihong.
As for the other half, it depends on whether Prince Zhu can find a few southeastern scholars who are good at manipulating public opinion and can be honest and practical?
In Zhu Cixiang's plan, the Donglin Party had two main functions. One was propaganda, helping Zhu Cixiang master the scholarly debate and public opinion in the southeast.
The second is to upload under the circumstances - Zhu Cixiang drastically cut off most of the power of Ke Daotai's admonishment. The purpose is to improve the efficiency of administration, but it does not mean that he does not need to listen to opinions widely. Therefore, after Zhu Cixiang calmed down a little, he needed to establish a "consultative system" that was independent of the existing bureaucracy, of which the Donglin Party was a part.
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The Imperial City of Nanjing was built as the residence of the emperor after Zhu Yuanzhang opened up the Ming Dynasty. This imperial city is actually more majestic than the Forbidden City in Beijing.
In terms of area alone, it is nearly one-third larger than the Forbidden City in Beijing! Moreover, the outer perimeter of Nanjing Imperial City was also more open - after all, the Nanjing City Wall at this time was much larger than the Beijing City. If the outer perimeter of Nanjing was considered to be the scope of Nanjing City, then this city would undoubtedly be the largest city wall in the world. !
The Imperial City of Nanjing is located in the center of Nanjing City and at the eastern protrusion of the inner city of Nanjing. Therefore, on the north, east, and south sides of the imperial city, there are also tall and towering Nanjing inner city guards, which are extremely majestic. To the west of the Imperial City of Nanjing, there is a long, open and straight street called Taiping Street, which separates the bustling urban area from the majestic residence of the Emperor and the various yamen of the imperial court.
However, this spacious and magnificent residence of the emperor has fallen into disrepair due to more than two hundred years of inactivity. The high walls on the outside look good, but there are only some dilapidated palaces left in the middle, which are not suitable for the emperor to live in peace.
Therefore, Zhu Cixiang, who first entered Nanjing, did not move into the imperial city with Emperor Chongzhen. Instead, he used Xipu and Dagongfang as his temporary residence.
At the same time, Zhu Cixi ordered the Ministry of Industry to start the imperial city repair project.
Different from other major projects, this time the Imperial City major project adopted an open bidding method from businessmen. Don’t pursue style too much, just comfort, progress and cost. Moreover, the project funds are very sufficient and can be released in time according to the progress. Nanjing is full of famous gardens, so there is no shortage of craftsmen and businessmen who are good at gardening.
Therefore, the major work of repairing the imperial city progressed very quickly. By the spring of the 18th year of Chongzhen, the Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall in the imperial city had been repaired as required.
The Wenhua Hall of the Ming Dynasty Palace was located in the southeast corner of the imperial city, where the Prince's East Palace was located. It was not until the Jiajing period that it became the emperor's guest palace. The newly restored Wenhua Hall in Nanjing Imperial City has been transformed back into the Prince's East Palace, where Zhu Cixiang, the Prince of Fujun, lives and serves as regent. Zhu Cihong's four chosen attendants also lived with him in Wenhua Palace.
Wuying Hall is opposite Wenhua Hall and is located in the southwest corner of the imperial city. It was originally a palace enshrining the portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang. Now it is the residence of Emperor Chongzhen, Empress Zhou and other concubines and two princesses.
Between the Wenhua and Wuying halls are the three main halls: Fengtian, Huagai and Jinshen. Among them, the Fengtian Hall was destroyed by fire during the Jingnan War, and the Huagai and Jinshen Halls were also struck by lightning and caught fire during the Zhengtong Period. Although they were not completely destroyed, they were too dilapidated to be repaired and had to be rebuilt.
The reconstruction project of the Three Halls is very huge and cannot be completed in a short time. Therefore, only the Wenhua and Wuying halls were put into use in the spring of the 18th year of Chongzhen.
These two palaces are not only the residences of Chongzhen and Zhu Cixiang, but also the places where the Great Court and the Noon Court are held.
Among them, the great dynasties held on the first and fifteenth day of each month were held in Wuyingdian Square. Prince Zhu and Emperor Chongzhen accepted the worship of hundreds of officials under the eaves outside Wuyingdian.
The daily noon court was held in the Wenhua Hall. If Emperor Chongzhen was not willing to condescend to his son and act as a puppet, there would be no need for the morning court. With a filial prince in charge of the government, he can enjoy a wonderful life... How enviable!
This afternoon, Emperor Chongzhen was already enjoying life, while Zhu Cixiang was still sitting in the main hall of Wenhua Hall, interviewing a Jinshi master who was about to be named a Jinshi.
Yes, it is an interview, which can also be called a palace examination. But it's not a written test, but a question and answer test. Zhu Cixiang asked the question, and the tribute minister who passed the examination of the Ministry of Rites answered. After passing the interview, the Gongshi becomes a Jinshi and can become an official.
If you fail the interview, the Gongshi who worked so hard to pass the exam will be "deposed"!
Different from the previous practice where the palace examination only determines the ranking and does not actually depose the tributes, this time the interview hosted by Zhu Cixiang has set a "demotion" indicator - 10% of the tributes will be removed from the interview. Falling from the clouds into the mortal world, it is very likely that it will drop two levels at a time...
Because Zhu Cixiang has decided to cancel the honorary title of Juren when the time is right!
The Ming Dynasty established two levels of honors, namely, candidates and scholars, and granted certain privileges to local candidates and scholars. This was definitely one of the important reasons for the financial collapse in the late Ming Dynasty - almost as heavy as the burden brought by the vassal clan.
Compared with the Ming Dynasty, in the Song Dynasty, which was known as the happiness of scholars, only by becoming an official could one have fame...and also have the privilege of tax exemption. But the number of officials is limited after all! Only tens of thousands of people died. The number of scholars and candidates is incredible, there are hundreds of thousands! With hundreds of thousands of people sharing the royal court's taxes, wouldn't Emperor Chongzhen die in poverty?
This bad government must be abolished, so the Gongshi who were rejected from the interview this time will definitely faint from crying!
And now Tianjin Gongshi Lei Shaoan, who is sitting on an embroidered pier and talking eloquently, is a talent with some real talents that can be put to use.
"Your Highness, it's clear that there are no tigers in the city, but three people's words can turn into tigers. People's words can turn into tigers, and people's words can also be feared! And our Qingliu Wuyi is especially formidable. If we can take advantage of the situation and make use of it, then we can. To be used by the country, what you need to fear is the traitors of the country and the enemy. And if you want people to put their words to use, you can't just rely on blocking. You should also have a mouthpiece and pen that can be used by the court! Only in this way can righteousness be upheld... ..”
