In the small meeting hall of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Gao Pragmatic, Cheng Wen, and Hu Zhili sat down in order. The fragrant tea had already been served on the pineapple tea table beside the three of them, exuding a refreshing fragrance. The snack plate made into a nine-square grid was filled with neatly cut fresh fruits, as well as some melon seeds, candied fruits, halva and other snacks, but none of the three of them had any intention of tasting them now.
Gao Pragmatic smiled and said in a sincere tone, "Young man has little talent and little virtue, and I am very scared to be in this position. Both of you are senior scholars and have been in Cao Hubu for a long time. They are familiar with civil affairs and have outstanding merits. I will wait for you in the future." We work together in the same yamen, and I hope that you two will not hesitate to give me advice and help the king and the people."
Cheng Wen was the Zuo Shilang, so he spoke first, "Situ has been promoted. He is just a mediocre person. He has accomplished nothing since he was in charge of the Household Department. He only acts in accordance with the holy will and the order of the emperor. He may have done a little or two, but he feels ashamed and dare not say anything about his achievements." Situ is a man of great talent, literary and military, and now he is in Cao Cao. He is truly a blessing to the world. Although his writing is useless, I would like to follow Situ Ji." After saying this, he bowed his hand.
Situ and Da Situ are also the honorific titles of the Minister of Household Affairs, which is the same as Si Nong.
Hu Zhili looked solemn. Seeing that Cheng Wen had handed over his hand, he also did so, and then he said, "Situ is here to relieve the urgent needs of our household department. This year, the overall situation is difficult, and the household department is being chased by various government agencies all day long like a debt collector. Asking for money, I have already been in a state of distress. The local area is also uneasy, and the rebellion in the northwest occurred only a few years ago. I received news yesterday that the two kings of Zhou and Lu were quite dissatisfied with the lifting of the vassal ban."
Seeing that he kept silent when he said this, Gao Pingshi couldn't help but asked, "There are only three of us here, so Duke Yazhai might as well say clearly that these two kings are well treated and the issue of opening the vassal will have no impact on them." , why are you dissatisfied?”
Although Hu Zhili is from the north and has been an official in the Ministry of Revenue for many years, he is not actually a serious official of the practical school. To a certain extent, he is a neutral school, but his experience as an official in these years has made him obviously inclined towards the practical school. The policy strategy was not very popular with the Xin School, which was dominated by southern officials, especially Jiangnan officials.
However, a faction is a faction after all, and he is not a member of the Practical School. Some things are not easy to say directly like Cheng Wen. Without Gao Pragmatic's approval, it is naturally difficult to speak.
At this time, since Gao Jingshi asked, he no longer hid it and said, "King Zhou and King Lu had no influence at first, but you also know the situation of their two families, Situ. The hereditary tradition has been spreading for two hundred years." It is extremely wide, even if it is a close branch, there are many. Not to mention that these two princes have many heirs, but it is a coincidence that the two princes’ favorite sons are not the eldest sons.”
When Gao Pragmatic said this, he understood, and hummed softly, "It means they are not satisfied with the compensation for their beloved son."
Hu Zhili smiled, then sighed, nodded and said, "Actually, this kind of thing is very common even among the people, but when the target is the vassal king, the meaning is completely different."
Gao Pingshi just nodded. Before he could speak, Hu Zhili unexpectedly continued, "And there is something particularly worrying at this time."
"Which point?" Gao pragmatically asked.
Hu Zhili's expression suddenly became extremely serious, and he said in a deep voice, "If the vassal king's beloved son can break the national law, what will happen to the emperor's beloved son? Now the emperor's eldest son is slightly frail, but the emperor's second son is strong, and the emperor The mother of the eldest son cannot be a holy family member, and the mother of the emperor’s second son cannot be a holy family member.”
Gao Pragmatic didn't expect him to think of this, but after thinking about it, it made some sense. The most important thing in the Ming Dynasty is the distinction between the legitimate sons and the younger. Now that the emperor has no legitimate son, the officials will naturally focus on the distinction between the elder and the younger. If anything comes up, they will think about it in this regard. At least they must be better than the elders. Pragmatism cares much more about this.
After all, Gao Pragmatic is a time traveler. Most of his peers at that time were only children. Secondly, even if there were two brothers in the family, as long as the parents were a little more open-minded, they would try their best to insist on "a bowl of water should be balanced" in life. Why? It is said that there will not be as big a difference as in the Ming Dynasty.
The difference between the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty is almost a zero-sum game. I am the eldest son, and all inheritance rights belong to me. You younger brothers have almost nothing.
If I am happy, I will leak a little bit to you through my fingers; if I am not happy, you can expect nothing except the demotion and clan salary stipulated by the court.
However, this system in which the eldest son inherits everything is artificially stipulated. This so-called ancestral rule does not represent the preference of the person involved. For example, the king of Zhou and the king of Lu were probably like this.
As parents, if you "have no choice" like later generations, then that's fine. Now you not only have choices, but there are many to choose from, so you will naturally favor your favorite son. Even if he is not the eldest son, according to the original practice, they will definitely find ways to give more wealth to their beloved son in advance to prevent him from "suffering" in the future.
But now Gao pragmatism doesn't play this game with them. In the process of relieving the people's poverty and enriching the country by inviting relatives and clan members to open feudal vassals and bans, Gao pragmatism almost put everything aside. They are all restricted.
I will not discuss the "reasonable" part of his memorial for the moment, but let's just say that the first solution he proposed was to limit the title of nobility.
"I found out that the people in Jiajing requested to limit the number of children, but the Shimiao did not agree. I said that there is no need to limit the life, but the title can be limited. In the past two hundred years of the current dynasty, people have discussed it with relatives, and they have also reduced it. For the first time, the prince was granted the title of a prince as usual, and after the third generation, there were more detailed discussions, and the titles granted by the successive dynasties should be set as restrictions.
For example, if the eldest son of a prince is granted the title of prince, the second son of a legitimate concubine may be granted four titles, making a total of five titles. The eldest son of the prince of the county is the king of the county, and the second son of the prince of the county is granted the title of the second son, making a total of three. If the general of Zhenfu Fengguo has a legitimate son, he can be granted the title of two. If there is no legitimate son, he can only be granted the title of a concubine. The lieutenant of the Zhenfu Fengguo Kingdom, regardless of his direct concubine, is allowed to have a son. If there are any children in the above titles and titles, and the number of children cannot be exhausted, the names will still be applied as usual.
Those who are aspiring to study should be admitted to the school together with the handsome children of the people. Those who should be admitted to the first class will be banned from serving as officials, just like the prince's case. For other industries such as field general industry and other industries, it is acceptable to meet the needs of the people. If it is considered that they cannot make a living due to their strength, it is appropriate to provide them with funds.
The son of a prince cannot be granted the title, and when he reaches sixteen years old, he will be given a crown and belt, and will be given six hundred taels of silver. Those who are willing to enter school will be given clothes and scarves, and two hundred taels of silver will be given to each son. Therefore, whether you are an official or not, there is no risk of losing your position.
If there are wandering and useless people among them, it will be like having unscrupulous sons in each family, and nothing can be done about it.
I also heard that today's poor sect is a lazy worker, and the subordinates do everything, serve anonymously, and are willing to beat Chu. If they appear to be among the Jin gentry, they will all be promoted and impeached by the public, and the four people's industries will be divided, and they will be treated according to the laws of the city officials. , this is the most righteous way of justice, why should it be insulted?"
Here, he clearly proposed "restriction on sealing", and it is precisely because of the restriction on sealing that "funding" is needed.
However, Gao pragmatic originally thought that the "limited title" he proposed was actually quite lenient. For example, King Zhou and King Lu were both princes. According to his vassal ban, "For example, if the eldest son of a prince attacks the prince, the legitimate concubine will be the next." Zi Xu granted four of them four titles, making a total of five."
You have already been demoted to four other "loved sons" except the eldest son. Why are you still dissatisfied that you have given birth to dozens of piglets?
However, Hu Zhili told him that he was sorry, but he really gave birth to dozens of children.
Damn it
Gao Pragmatic couldn't help but roll his eyes, wishing he could say, "Are you guys really just focused on having women when you stay at home every day?"
But after thinking about it, I decided to forget it.
Judging from the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, if a prince really just "stays at home and has women every day", then he is not only not bad, but can even be called a virtuous king. Because there are many princes who are more unworthy and ten times worse than this.
What kind of hell is this world? Well, why didn’t I travel through time and become a wise king? So now, every day I am thinking about how to improve this country, but this country is not mine.
Cough, I'm sorry, my consciousness has declined. It's my fault. I'm going to reflect on myself.
However, Gao Pragmatic thought for a while and shook his head: "Prince Yuzi has been conferred four titles. He is already a favor of the emperor. The country can only bear this level. What channel did the capital know about the affairs of King Zhou and King Lu?"
Hu Zhili looked slightly relieved. Although Gao Pragmatic did not express his opinion on the issue of "the emperor's beloved son", he insisted on his previous restriction strategy, which clearly supported his own opinion in practice, that is, "irrespective of elder and younger" was not allowed. .
Faced with Gao Pragmatic's inquiry, Hu Zhili replied, "The sources of dissatisfaction between the two kings are different. It is said that the news about King Zhou came from the eunuch guarding Henan. It was supposed to go directly to the palace, but for some reason, the news leaked out." , so much so that even I heard about it. The source of the news about King Lu was that the Shandong Inspector happened to be in Yanzhou at that time, and found out that King Lu was drunk in the palace a few days ago and said some bad things."
Gao Pangshi's eyes narrowed when he heard this, and he asked calmly, "Oh, what did Lu Fan say?"
He asked "quietly", but after all, he was a military commander who had led troops to fight so many great victories, and he had an evil aura that came from the military. Under this gaze, even though Hu Zhili had a clear conscience, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, as if a sharp knife had suddenly stabbed his chest.
Not to mention Hu Zhili, who was facing him, even Cheng Wen, who was watching from one side, felt his scalp numb and his back was so cold that he didn't dare to breathe.
After the rebellion in the northwest was put down, Gao Pragmatism, who has been called "the best literary commander in the world" by some good people in Beijing, has gradually developed his prestige, and even his colleagues in the ministry no longer dare to challenge him directly.
After calming down, Hu Zhili said, "This Lu Fan was drunk at the time."
"I just asked him what he said." Gao pragmatically stretched out his hand to stop him, his face no longer smiling.
"Ahem" Hu Zhili sighed and said, "Lu Fan said at that time that Qing Fan's loss was due to nothing else but not having a good talk with Kuai Bai."
Gao Jingshi sneered, "Oh, Lu Fan is very insightful. He thinks that Qing Fan should have a good talk with Kuai Bai, and then the two of them will use each other. He borrows names from Kuai Bai, and Kuai Bai borrows troops from him. The two work together." , It’s good to fight against the imperial court, it’s very good, it seems that Lu Fan’s plan has been decided, and he plans to have a fight like this.”
Hu Zhili was a little embarrassed and explained, "I'm afraid it's just nonsense after drinking. The Shandong patrol has already reported it. Yan Lufan has done nothing else. He has never seen any outsiders, especially the Shandong General Soldier and the guards." General. As for the number of guards in his palace and the number approved by the imperial court, not only did it not exceed the quota, but there was even a shortage of more than thirty."
Gao pragmatically snorted, "Why is the general guarding Shandong not stationed in Jinan but in Yanzhou? I hope Lu Fan has a clear enough understanding of this."
Hu Zhili smiled bitterly and said, "I hope so."
Gao pragmatic thought for a while and asked, "Does the emperor know these two things?"
Hu Zhili said, "You should already know."
"What is the decree?"
"Not yet."
Gao pragmatic frowned slightly, thought for a moment, nodded and said, "This matter will be discussed at the headquarters hall. King Zhou only needs to give a lecture. Although Lu Fan's nonsense after drinking does not need to be taken seriously, but as a prince of the imperial court, he speaks Being without status is not only related to government affairs, but also involves rebellion, which is worthy of being demoted."
Not only was Hu Zhili taken aback by this, but Cheng Wen was also taken aback and hurriedly said, "Situ, wait a minute."
Gao pragmatically looked at Cheng Wen, waiting for his next words. Cheng Wen coughed lightly and smiled bitterly and said, "I can understand the reason why Situ did this. However, the imperial court has always been generous to the vassals. This lineage of King Lu was granted the title at the beginning of the country. They have been loyal throughout the ages, and the Lu vassal himself is also quite beautiful." name"
Gao Pragmatic couldn't help but be startled, "He also has a good reputation."
Cheng Wendao said, "Yes, the Lu vassal had a filial piety when they were young. After taking over the throne, he donated his residence at Zhongtian Lake to support the poor. He also resigned from Changlu and distributed it to the poor clan. From Jiajing and Longqing to the present, three generations of emperors have given seals and letters to commend them. Its hard work.”
This was a new thing, and Gao Pragmatic couldn't help but be a little surprised. He usually didn't care much about the specific performance of these vassal kings. Anyway, in his eyes, most of them were not very good. He didn't expect that Lu Fan, who was drunk and talking nonsense, actually did some wise things.
Gao Pingshi recalled it carefully, and remembered that His Royal Highness King Lu seemed to be quite young. It was unlikely that he had any real thoughts of rebellion. Maybe it was just because of the quarrel over his sons' feuding and downgrading. It made him feel unhappy, and then he made a drunken gaffe and revealed some of his inner thoughts.
Such words will not matter in future generations, and they should be detained. However, the ancients did not have the habit of "not being punished for their words." After all, the ancients paid attention to "words and deeds." If they spoke well, they would be praised generously, so if they spoke poorly, Of course he will be punished for it.
But since the Lu vassal has done nothing wrong for decades, and has even been commended several times, Gao Pragmatism is not good because he occasionally made a drunken slip and insisted on asking the emperor to demote him. This is It's a bit harsh.
So he shook his head slightly and said, "In that case, I will let it go this time and ask the emperor to issue an edict to take full responsibility for it."
Cheng Wen and Hu Zhili both breathed a sigh of relief, but unexpectedly Gao Pragmatic said, "By the way, the Ministry of Revenue has temporarily withheld all the salary and subsidies for the Lu Fan family this year and told them that they will be given next year. If they are not convinced, they will It’s what Honbu-do means. Hmm, Honbu-do wants to see if these people dare to dance with me.”
Thanks to the book friend "Single Rider Zhao Bixin" for the reward and support, thank you
Thanks to book friends "Jiahui", "aode", "in disrepairnn" and "keyng" for their monthly support, thank you
