The seasons rotate, year after year. Fengtianmen is still the same Fengtianmen.
The people who came to court changed one after another. Fengtianmen stood there quietly.
Changfeng came to Fengtianmen as usual.
Ma Wensheng walked to Chang Feng's side with steady steps.
This old guy, Lao Ma, is simply a monster. He gets younger and younger as he lives. He is already seventy-seven years old, and he is still energetic and strong. He can cook three large bowls of rice in one meal.
Last time Lao Ma Daitian inspected the 12th Regiment Camp. He also rolled up his arms and sleeves, insisting on wrestling with a strong man in his twenties from the regiment.
The opponent he picked was tall and powerful. The opponent is thinking about how to show his personal sophistication and let Ma Laobu Tang win without being too deliberate.
Before he could think about it, he was slapped and thrown to the ground by the old horse.
Ma Wensheng still serves as the official of the Ministry of Personnel. According to the rules of Ming Dynasty officialdom, ministers cannot be appointed for a long time, especially officials in the Ministry of Personnel cannot be appointed for a long time.
Emperor Hongzhi let Lao Ma manage the staff for a long time, which shows his trust in him.
Chang Feng praised Ma Wensheng: "If I can have a body like yours when I am seventy-seven, I will be satisfied. No, I will be content if I can live to be seventy-seven."
In sharp contrast to Ma Wensheng is Emperor Hongzhi.
All the officials gathered in the front courtyard.
Emperor Hongzhi was helped by Xiao Jing to sit on the dragon chair. His face was sallow and the circles under his eyes were frighteningly dark.
Xiao Jing shouted at the top of his lungs: "Discuss!"
A group of ministers began to speak.
Halfway through the morning court, Emperor Hongzhi suddenly remembered something: "Lu Lun, the eunuch guarding Hangzhou, reported that in recent years, land annexation in the south of the Yangtze River has become increasingly serious."
"Most of the land owned by the common people belongs to the nobles and powerful men. However, the imperial court's land tax has not increased."
"Cough cough cough"
Emperor Hongzhi coughed violently. Xiao Jing quickly offered him a bowl of tea and helped him rub his back.
After a long time, Emperor Hongzhi stopped coughing. He continued: "I have decided to clear the land in the south of the Yangtze River. Let's start the pilot project in Hangzhou."
Clearing out the land will harm the interests of the gentry.
Liu Jian, the chief assistant of the cabinet, came out: "This is for your Majesty. You must not do it! Half of the imperial court's finances and taxes are in Jiangnan. The Qing Dynasty's estates are very involved and may cause chaos in Jiangnan."
Li Dongyang, the second assistant, echoed: "Your Majesty, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the land tax in Jiangnan has been very stable in recent years. There is no need for the imperial court to create extraneous problems."
Cabinet member Xie Qian left the class: "I second the proposal!"
Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian were all famous officials. It is irrefutable that he has great talents in politics.
But at the same time, they were the biggest spokespersons of the gentry group in the court.
There is no way. The number of Ming officials was limited. In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, officials were not the herdsmen, but the gentry, large and small, were the herdsmen.
Without the support of the gentry, they would not be able to sit firmly in the cabinet chairs.
Regardless of their true intentions or not, they must safeguard the interests of the gentry in the world.
It is said that the emperor has a golden mouth and jade teeth, and he keeps his words true. In the Ming Dynasty, at least in the Hongzhi Dynasty, it did not exist.
The emperor proposed a major policy, but three important ministers opposed it. If it were Taizu, he would have dismissed and punished the important ministers for resisting the decree.
Now the cabinet is trying to check and balance the emperor.
Because the cabinet holds two powers. One is the right to seal and return, and the other is the right to vote.
During the period of Emperor Taizu, in order to prevent future generations of emperors from being foolish and issuing imperial edicts indiscriminately, a system was designed to use small ones to control large ones, called "Feng Huan".
Taizu set up a seventh-grade position in the six departments for Shizhong, that is, the official of the six subjects.
If the emperor's imperial decree to the six ministries is felt to be unreasonable, the imperial decree can be returned to the emperor.
This is like a game of chess, where the elephant eats the lion, the lion eats the tiger, and the cat eats the mouse. The rat, which seems to be the least powerful, can eat an elephant.
Although the officials of Liuke Langyan have the right to be granted titles, they still have the right to return. But they were of low rank and had no ability to counterattack the imperial power.
During the "Three Yang Cabinet" period, the cabinet was strong. He actually took the right to return the title from the hands of those in charge.
Nowadays, if the imperial edict issued by the emperor is deemed unreasonable by the cabinet, it can be returned.
This was the cabinet's first trump card to check and balance the imperial power.
The second trump card is the right to vote.
Originally, the system established by Taizu was that if local officials and Beijing officials wanted to handle important matters, they must first submit a memorial to the emperor for instructions.
The emperor would use a red pen to mark "acceptance" or "disapproval" in the memorial, and clearly explain the reasons.
It was also during the Sanyang cabinet period that the voting system appeared.
Before official memorials are sent to the emperor for comments, the cabinet bachelor must "write them in ink on a small note", write the comments and suggestions on paper, and affix them to the memorials and submit them to the emperor.
The vote will be valid only if it agrees with Zhu Pi's opinion.
For example, the governor of Zhejiang Province petitioned for the clearing of land in Zhejiang Province.
The fold arrived at the cabinet. The cabinet felt this was inappropriate. Then write a negative opinion on the small ticket, or simply not vote.
When the memorial came into the hands of Emperor Hongzhi, even if Emperor Hongzhi approved it with Zhu's imperial approval and sent it back to the governor of Zhejiang, Zhu's approval would not count.
The local officials in Tong Province, Zhejiang, could resist Zhu's approval, and this did not count as resistance to the decree.
The ticket plan and the seal are similar to each other. They were both compromises after a long-term game between the emperor and the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty.
Let us say that in front of Fengtian Gate, three cabinet members opposed the clearing of land in the south of the Yangtze River.
Emperor Hongzhi had no choice but to say: "Okay. Let's drop this matter."
Chang Feng sighed in his heart: Alas, I wonder who has the final say in the court today.
It is said that factory guards are vicious dogs raised by the emperor.
But if the owner of the vicious dog is a kind (or weak) person, he will never let the vicious dog bite people. There is nothing a vicious dog can do.
Yang Tinghe came out and said: "Your Majesty. Fuyou Tianjue of Yongning Town, Fujian Province died in a bloody battle for his country. He is truly a loyal and brave man."
"I and Jin Yiwei commander Zuo Tongzhi Changfeng jointly request the emperor to grant You Tianjue's son You Jingwu the hereditary rank of commander."
The bloody battle in Yongning was extremely tragic. Emperor Hongzhi did not know about this.
Compared to the huge empire, the Battle of Yongning was just a small matter.
Emperor Hongzhi would definitely give his approval to the memorial jointly signed by Zuo Chunfang's bachelor and his close retainers.
Emperor Hongzhi said: "Please give the memorial to the cabinet for approval and then give it to me for approval."
Yang Tinghe cupped his hands: "Yes, Your Majesty."
Morning ends. This is the current situation in the court. Civil servants suppressed the imperial power to death.
Chang Feng went to the morning court and returned home instead of going to Jinyiwei.
From ancient times to the present, no matter whether it is a yamen or a work unit, Xiaokarami must click and clock in on time.
But big leaders can come and go freely.
In the past two years, Chang Feng generally didn't go to Jinyiwei very often. If something big happens, Qian Ning, Wang Miaoxin, Shi Wenyi and the others will come to Chang Feng to report and ask for instructions.
After returning home, Chang Feng saw Liu Xiaoyan dancing a Japanese sword in the front yard.
In the tribute system of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese swords were the most important tribute from the Japanese state.
Chang Feng said casually: "This knife is pretty good."
Liu Xiaoyan praised: "It is indeed a good knife, and it can cut off the hair just by blowing it."
Chang Feng asked: "Where did you get it?"
Liu Xiaoyan replied: "The concubine of Governor Ye's family of Zuojun gave it to me. Look, it's like cutting iron into clay."
Chang Feng took the Japanese sword. He discovered something unusual.
Japanese swords were all transported to the Ming Dynasty through tribute. On the blade of the Japanese sword, there will be engraved tribute from a certain vassal of the Japanese country.
There is no word engraved on this Japanese sword. Obviously the Ming Dynasty did not come to Ming Dynasty through tribute.
If it's not a tribute, it can only be smuggled over.
Chang Feng said: "There is no inscription on the blade. This is a private sword."
Liu Xiaoyan sat down at the stone table and took a sip of tea: "What's so strange about a private knife?"
"Nowadays, in the weapons shops in the capital, there are a lot of private swords from the Japanese country. Warriors and wealthy households are vying to buy them, and the supply exceeds the demand."
The Ming Dynasty banned armor, secondly, crossbows, and thirdly, firearms, but not bows, crossbows, swords, and guns. There are many weapons shops in Beijing selling swords and guns.
You Tianjue just died at the hands of Japanese pirates. Chang Feng became angry when he heard this: "Japanese swords smuggled into the Ming Dynasty are illegal."
"Those smuggling merchants along the coast got together with the Japanese pirates. They smuggled Japanese knives to the Ming Dynasty in exchange for silk, porcelain, and tea from the Ming Dynasty."
"In order to suppress smuggling, how many Coast Guard officers were killed by Japanese pirates and died for their country?"
Liu Xiaoyan asked: "What's wrong with you today? Is it like you took a bullet?"
Chang Feng said: "Nothing."
Coincidentally, Chang Feng's sister Chang Tian, the princess of Wanping County, came to the front yard.
Chang Tian is no longer the greedy little Tangtang he used to be. She was twenty-three years old, quite feminine, and she and her husband Huang Yuan were inseparable.
She also held a Japanese product in her hand, an exquisite Japanese fan.
Chang Tian smiled and said: "Sister-in-law, I just got some good fans from the Japanese country. The characters on them are really interesting. I specially give you one as a filial piety."
Chang Feng muttered: "Another Japanese pirate."
He took the fan from his sister's hand: "Where did you get it? Did the Queen give it to you as a reward?"
Chang Tian replied: "Huang Yuan bought it for me when he was visiting a fan shop."
Chang Feng frowned: "Fan shop? Both the Japanese country and the fan are tributes. How come there is one in the fan shop?"
Apparently, this Japanese fan was also smuggled.
He handed the fan to Liu Xiaoyan. He went straight out to Jinyiwei.
Jin Yiwei is still the same. The commander made Mou Bin not take care of things very much. Qian Ning and Shi Wenyi were in charge of the North Division. Wang Miaoxin is in charge of Nansi.
Zhang Cai, Chang Feng's former follower, has now been promoted to a thousand households. In Jinyiwei, everything is going strong.
Chang Feng gathered everyone together and ordered: "Zhang Cai, I have an errand for you."
"Recently, there seems to be a lot of smuggled goods from Japan in the shops in Beijing. Please check the source of the goods for me."
"Let's see which bold businessman dares to distribute smuggled goods."
Zhang Cai cupped his hands and said, "Yes."
Qian Ning was a little surprised: "Master Chang, why are you interested in such a trivial matter?"
Chang Feng asked back: "Do you think this is a trivial matter? Those smuggled goods are stained with the blood of the officers and soldiers of the Coast Guard."
Fatty Xu interjected: "I understand. You are still sad about You Tianjue."
Chang Feng said: "Yes. We have always been brothers who have lived life and death together side by side. He died for his country, and I feel very uncomfortable."
"Oh, by the way, Shen Zhou is old. The Thousand Households of Fusi in Beizhen are missing one member. Don't move up the ranks, leave them vacant."
"When You Tianjue's son comes to Beijing, let him fill the gap for thousands of households."
Chang Feng's power in the factory guard is second only to Qian Neng, the governor of the East Factory. Even the commander Mou Bin wanted to give him three points.
He can directly decide on the candidate for Jinyiwei Qianhu.
Qian Ning's heart skipped a beat. He had just accepted a bribe of three thousand taels from a deputy Qianhu. I am preparing to let that pair of thousand households fill the vacancy.
When Mr. Chang spoke, it was difficult for him to raise objections. The three thousand taels of silver must be returned.
Qian Ning is a righteous person. You have to pay for services, and if you don't get the job done, you'll be refunded.
Chang Feng glanced at Zhang Cai: "Why are you still sitting here? Hurry up and go out on errands. Within a month, I will make Japanese smuggled goods disappear from all the shops in the capital."
Zhang Cai stood up quickly: "Yes, Mr. Chang, I'll do it right away."
To fill the vacancy of Jin Yiwei, the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War needs to go through a selection process.
Chang Feng then ordered: "Come here, go across the street and call Wang Shouren, the head of the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War. Tell him that I will invite him to tea."
It has been three years since Wang Shouren entered officialdom, and his official career has been going smoothly.
Emperor Hongzhi had previously decreed that if the Ministry of War was short of personnel, Wang Shouren would be transferred to the Ministry of War.
The Wu Xuan Department is one of the four major oil and water departments in the capital. The other three are the Selected Works of the Ministry of Personnel, the Gong Kao Department, and the Gong Kao Department of the Ministry of War.
However, Wang Shouren was honest and self-responsible during his tenure. Never rely on the power in your hands to make money.
Wang Shouren is thirty-one years old and is more calm and wise.
He came to Chang Feng's room, and Chang Feng told him the matter.
Tiqi personnel matters have always been decided internally by Jin Yiwei. The Ministry of War just put up a sign and prepared a stall for a formality.
Besides, it is common practice to join the Imperial Guard after sacrificing loyalty to the country. Wang Shouren naturally nodded in agreement.
Chang Feng drank tea and chatted with Wang Shouren.
As we chatted, we talked about coastal pirates.
Chang Feng complained: "There were Japanese troubles in the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties. But the Japanese troubles at that time were just minor troubles."
"In this dynasty, it has become more and more serious."
Wang Shouren smiled slightly: "There is no way. Behind the real Japanese are the fake Japanese, and behind the fake Japanese are the gentry and wealthy families from the southeast coast."
"The southeast is the place where the Ming Dynasty's culture is most prosperous. Behind the gentry and wealthy families, there are a large number of court officials."
"If you ask me, the origin of the Japanese invasion is not along the coast, but in the court."
Chang Feng said: "Well said! I once had a master who told me that during the Chenghua Dynasty, the imperial court cracked down on Quanzhou maritime merchants."
"It's because the maritime merchants hooked up with the Japanese pirates and the people in the court. The late emperor believed that if things went on like this, it would lead to catastrophe."
Wang Shouren said: "It is a pity that the tribute system of the Ming Dynasty determined that maritime smuggling can be profitable."
"Businessmen value profits. They dare to do anything for huge profits. Naturally, maritime smuggling continues to be banned."
"A few days ago, I encountered something."
Chang Feng asked: "What's the matter?"
Wang Shouren said: "A Qianhu from Ningbo Guard who has no military exploits was recommended by Zhejiang Bingbei Road Yamen and Dusi Yamen all the way to the Wu Xuan Department to promote him to command the military affairs."
"After a cursory search, I found that he has a maritime background."
Chang Feng frowned: "Ningbo is the seat of the Shipping Department. Ningbo Guard is in charge of inspecting smuggling. If we want him to be the commander, won't we have to investigate ourselves?"
"What did you do?"
Wang Shouren said: "There are too many people trying to protect his promotion. If I refuse to promote him, I will offend a lot of people."
"I just won't stop doing anything. I gave him a promotion. But the place of office was transferred to Xuanfu."
Chang Feng laughed dumbly: "What a move to lure the tiger away from the mountain. As expected of you."
Although Wang Shouren has read sages' books since he was a child, he is by no means a corrupt scholar. Both capable and skillful.
Wang Shouren drank three cups of tea at Chang Feng's place. He stood up and said, "I've been out for too long. I have to go back to the military headquarters quickly."
"Master Chang, one of my father's students just gave him a jar of 20-year-old Hangzhou Nuerhong. If you are free in the next two days tomorrow, come to my house for a drink."
Chang Feng immediately agreed: "Okay. I will go to your house tomorrow night to enjoy the autumn breeze."
Let's say that Zhang Cai investigated the source of Japanese private goods in Beijing for three days. Finally there are results.
Zhang Cai came to Chang Feng dejectedly.
Chang Feng glanced at him: "Why, didn't you find out clearly?"
Zhang Caidao: "Master Chang, we've found out."
Chang Feng asked: "Why are you looking so sad after you found out?"
Zhang Cai sighed: "Alas, the Japanese smuggled goods in various shops in Beijing all come from one trading house."
"The boss of the trading company is an acquaintance of you."
Chang Feng frowned: "Who?"
Zhang Cai replied: "The two uncles of the Zhang family!"
(End of chapter)
