There is no doubt that Xiao Daheng is an official of the Practical School, and he is also a veteran of the Practical School - after all, he was born in the 11th year of Jiajing, and he is already sixty-eight this year (virtual age). If nothing else happens, there will only be two or three years of official career left.
In later generations of official circles, there was often a saying that "the power should be used only when it expires." This led to the emergence of the so-called "May-Nine phenomenon", which means that some officials deteriorated in their thinking before retiring and gave up their originally good ethics to make a fortune.
Of course, there was a similar phenomenon in the Ming Dynasty, but interestingly, this situation was not so common at least compared to later generations. why? Perhaps this is because officials in this era are more concerned about their posthumous reputation as they approach the end of their official career.
In later generations, the good reputation of the fathers and ancestors can only be said to be of some benefit to the younger generations, but it is generally not very obvious. However, it is different in an era like the Ming Dynasty. The good reputation of the fathers and ancestors is simply a huge wealth for the younger generations, and Not to mention that the imperial court already had systems such as grace and grace. Even if it did not, the social benefits would be difficult to measure.
This kind of social atmosphere has caused many officials to worry about the loss of their official reputation. The closer they get to their official career, the more cautious they become as officials, and they do not dare to make fun of their official reputation.
Xiao Daheng is also such a veteran. Originally, his background was not very good. He was only from the same background as Jinshi. He was similar to Shen Yiguan. Both of them were at the bottom of the rankings among senior officials in the imperial court.
Grades are determined after taking the exam, and there is nothing you can do to change them. Therefore, if you want to have a good reputation, you can only accumulate good reputation bit by bit during your career as an official. Xiao Daheng spent most of his life on this, and finally became the president of the imperial court from a poor background and became one of the seven ministers of the imperial court. He was not only proud of this, but also satisfied.
[Note: Qiqing is a term used to refer to the Zuodu Yushi of the Ducha Yuan and the Six Ministers of the Ministry of Finance. It can be seen as the collective name of the top leaders of the seven functional departments with real power in the Ming Dynasty. ]
As the dignified censor of Zuodu, Xiao Daheng was aware of the emperor's coughing up blood, and he also received some attention from the Nanning Marquis Mansion.
Therefore, the day after Zhao Zhigao returned to discuss with Zhong Zhaodou, Xiao Daheng was not too surprised when he heard that Zhong Zhaodou's superior suggested that the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dongchang should jointly supervise the investigation of Yikun Palace.
According to the news sent by Gao Pragmatic, Zhong Zhaodou's memorial is just a prelude, and there will be other performances later, and he does not need to express his position for the time being, just wait and see what happens.
Sure enough, Zhong Zhaodou's memorial was just the unveiling, and soon there were six or seven other officials' essays who also raised the same issue. Xiao Daheng briefly looked at the names of these people and found that they were all officials from the Xinxue school, and almost all of them were related to Zhao Zhigao - either his disciples, or township party members, or at the worst, they had received favors from Zhao Zhigao.
Xiao Daheng just passively accepted some news sent to his door from the Nanning Hou Mansion, but he did not know what other secrets were involved in this matter. However, since Zhao Zhigao's people have begun to propose that the Metropolitan Procuratorate play a greater role in this matter, it seems that he and Mr. Gao Ge have reached some kind of agreement, at least some kind of tacit understanding?
Xiao Daheng had some speculations in his mind, but he still stood still and did not express his opinion on this. Shortly afterwards, he received news from the cabinet that the emperor had sent a eunuch to ask the cabinet what it thought about this. The cabinet therefore held a meeting to discuss, and the result, needless to say, was "unanimously adopted" in support of the proposal proposed by Zhong Zhaodou and others.
Tycoon Xiao didn't quite believe this news - it wasn't that he didn't believe in the resolution, but he felt that the "unanimous vote" was suspicious.
Although Gao Pingshi's previous message was a bit vague, its general meaning was nothing more than a prediction that Zhao Zhigao and Shen Yiguan might have a disagreement.
If Mr. Gao Ge's speculation comes true, then Shen Yiguan should oppose the proposal of Zhao Zhigao's group. How could it be "passed unanimously"? This makes no sense.
But not long after, Xiao Daheng realized it again after a second thought. Yes, the simultaneous supervision of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the East Factory means that the outer court has more say at this time, so the cabinet, as the representative of the outer court, should naturally support it.
That is to say, Wang Jiaping, as the first assistant, must agree. In this way, Zhao Zhigao proposed, Wang Jiaping agreed, Gao Pragmatic also definitely agreed, so Liang Menglong and Zhou Yong naturally also agreed, and the six cabinet elders already had five votes. At this moment, Shen Guangyang knew that it was useless to object, so he might as well just express his approval - after all, this was the political correctness of the foreign court.
When the matter reached this point, Xiao Daheng had to take a stand. However, it was already past the time for the investigation, so he could only write a note and submit it to the cabinet, saying that he was very happy to play an active role in this investigation.
The note was sent to the cabinet, and a reply came quickly. The cabinet arranged for Qian Menggao from the criminal department and Zhong Zhaodou from the engineering department to come together to visit, saying that they were here to discuss with Xiao Zongxian the investigation of Yikun Palace jointly supervised by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dongchang.
Tycoon Xiao was a little surprised that these two people came at the same time. The key is that Gao Pragmatic said before that Zhao Zhigao and Shen Guangxi have always been at odds. Since their respective teachers and ministers had different opinions, why did these two section chiefs come together?
Of course, Xiao Daheng also knew that the two section chiefs had always had a good relationship in the past. At the beginning, whether it was to show the unity of the Heart School or for some other reason, the two of them had always been very close to each other in the previous year or two, and even had a sense of being inseparable and inseparable.
But then it was then, and now it is now. At first, Zhao Zhigao and Shen Guanyin were just newcomers to the cabinet, and their status was very unstable, so they needed to show that they were working together; now, however, Zhao Zhigao and Shen Guanyin had conflicts in their judgment of the overall situation. So what happened to their disciples? Can they all appear together?
It was in this doubt that Xiao Daheng ordered his staff to welcome the two of them into the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
At this point, let’s turn back the time and talk about how Qian Menggao and Zhong Zhaodou came together. It turned out that Shen Yiguan had already sensed that something was wrong when he found himself isolated at the meeting. After a little thought, he knew what Zhao Zhigao had planned.
Shen Yiguan naturally refused to sit still and wait for death. At the same time, he was also very angry about Zhao Zhigao's sudden defection. However, after all, he is not a naive person, and he will not jump out in front of others and say stupid things that will only hurt his relatives and make his enemies happy.
Shen Yiguan immediately said that the branch and the Dao family should not be separated. Since the cabinet has decided that the matter should be intervened by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and supervised jointly with the Dongchang, and everyone had discussed before that Qian Menggao, the criminal section chief, should be allowed to play his role. For some functions, since the person who proposed the intervention of the Metropolitan Procuratorate today is also another section chief, it would be better for both of them to go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate together, or for the Department of Science and Technology to join hands in the grand event.
In fact, Shen Yiguan's statement is both reasonable and unreasonable. In particular, he said that "science and Tao are integrated". In fact, this statement is very problematic. Although science and Tao officials are collectively called Yan Guan, science and Tao are not actually "one body".
Of course, the departments of science and technology are supervisory agencies, but how did the six departments and thirteen departments of the Ming Dynasty exercise their supervisory power? From an institutional perspective, the Ming Dynasty was based on "the censor as the platform and the six subjects as the wall."
This is a bit abstract and needs some explanation. At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the central government established the "three major mansions" of Zhongshu Sheng, Dadu Dufu, and Yushitai. This was not only the old system of the Yuan Dynasty, but also directly inherited the coexistence of the "three ministers" of the Qin Dynasty's prime minister, Taiwei, and Yushitai.
At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang summarized the relationship between the "three major offices": "When the country is newly established, the three major offices are responsible for the governance of the world. The foundation of Zhongshu government is that the governor's office is in charge of the military, and the Yushitai inspects hundreds of departments. The discipline of the imperial court is all tied to this."
However, as we all know, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister shortly thereafter, and the national system also underwent major adjustments: the six ministers of official, household, ritual, military, criminal, and industrial work and the censor of the Duchayuan were collectively called the "Seven Qings" , directly responsible to the emperor, the six departments were in charge of national administrative affairs, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate replaced the Yushitai as the highest supervisory organ of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, the Metropolitan Procuratorate is not a simple central agency. It is actually a huge system that can compete with the six ministries.
"History of the Ming Dynasty Official Records" records that the Metropolitan Procuratorate is the "department of the emperor's ears, eyes, and morals." Anyone who is treacherous and disrupts the government, forms a clique for personal gain, is domineering, or does nothing, is greedy and shameless, or is academically dishonest or seeking an official career will be punished. All are subject to impeachment.
That being said, if a high-ranking official of the second rank of the Imperial Censor completely fulfills this series of "impeachment", he will inevitably be suspected of "fighting" and will lose his integrity as a minister. This is one of the reasons.
Secondly, due to his high position and power, once the imperial censor made a mistake in impeachment, there would be no room for maneuver, which would damage the prestige of the imperial censor. Thirdly, those who are able to achieve the second rank of the capital censor and the third rank of the deputy capital censor must have lived in the officialdom for a long time and held various positions at home and abroad. It is inevitable that officials will protect each other out of affection.
Therefore, this series of "impeachments" should naturally be carried out by supervisory officials with lower status, less seniority, younger age, and less scruples. This is called "using the small to control the big, and the lower to control the upper." ".
This is what Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty used to supervise the governor of the county with 600 shi of 600 shi. Moreover, these officials also need to be relatively independent. If they act excessively or impeach improperly, they do not need the Chief Prosecutor to take responsibility.
Based on this principle, the Ming Dynasty gradually formed a supervisory system called "Ke Dao". The so-called "Ke Dao" refers to the six disciplines of official, household, ritual, military, criminal, and industrial affairs, as well as the thirteen supervisory censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Although the two have different ownerships, their status and responsibilities are similar, so they are collectively called "Ke Dao", also known as "Tai Yuan". The censor is the platform and the six subjects are the wall. They formed the Ming Dynasty to correct the impeachment and prevent officials from perfunctory The two intersecting lines of defense between public affairs and violations of laws and disciplines, and because their duties include "making suggestions" and even "speaking about things based on rumors", they are collectively called "yanguan".
Speaking of which, it seems that science and Taoism are indeed one, so why is it wrong? Don't worry, I'm not saying anything wrong. Although they are similar, there are indeed differences. You have to look at them in detail.
The name "Gi Shi Zhong" had already appeared in the Qin and Han Dynasties. It was named after "Gi Shi Ban Zhong". It was established in each subsequent generation, but the responsibilities changed frequently. From Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen to Emperor Zhu Di, after several twists and turns, the Ming Dynasty's administration system became a relatively independent system, customized to 65 people, including 58 people in Beijing and seven people in Nanjing, divided into subordinate officials The six departments of Hu, Hu, Li, Bing, Xing, and Gong correspond to the affairs of the six departments of Supervision, Hu, Li, Bing, Xing, and Gong.
The ministers of the six bureaus are the second rank, and the ministers on the left and right are the third rank. The chief and deputy ministers, Langzhong and Yuanwailang, of each Qing official department in the six bureaus are the fifth rank and the fifth rank respectively. The chief ministers of each department are the sixth rank, but those in each subject are given to the ministers. The seventh grade is the right one, and the seventh grade is the standard when it comes to things. It is enough to make a small one to make a big one.
The Wanli version of "Ming Huidian" compiled by Gao Jingshi summarized the responsibilities in giving things into four words: "Seal, refute, correct and impeach."
The so-called "sealing and refuting" means sealing and refuting, and it has two contents:
First, edicts issued in the name of the emperor are classified according to their content and distributed to relevant departments for review. Routine matters will be signed and issued by each department; major matters will be sealed and issued after confirmation. If the edict violates the "ancestral system" or has other problems, each department will seal it back and propose amendments - that is, "refutation".
These functions were the responsibilities of the Menxia Province in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. However, in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the ministers of the Menxia Province were called prime ministers together with Zhongshu Ling of the Zhongshu Province and the left and right servants of the Shangshu Province. In the Ming Dynasty, the Shizhong , are all seventh-grade officials.
Secondly, the memorials or reports submitted by the central and local government agencies were copied out by six categories, and errors in them were refuted, suggestions for handling were put forward, and then distributed to various departments for processing.
The so-called "rectification and impeachment" has this explanation in "Zhiguanzhi": "The main virtue is violated, the government fails, and hundreds of officials are virtuous and fawning. Each subject may be single and sparse, or the public and sparse jointly sign a memorial."
Whether it is the emperor's faults, shortcomings in government affairs, or the moral and performance performance of civil and military officials, they are all within the scope of "correction and impeachment" in the six subjects. The method of "correction and impeachment" can be carried out by a certain department alone. For major matters, the counterpart department, such as the official department or the household department, can take the lead and unite multiple departments to jointly "rectify and impeach" to cause consequences to relevant officials and even the emperor. Strong pressure.
Looking at the thirteen supervisory censors, they are affiliated with the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The so-called "Thirteen Roads" correspond to the thirteen chief secretaries or provinces in the country: Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou. After several adjustments, the maximum number of supervisory censors in the Thirteenth Road was 110 in Beijing and 30 in Nanjing, for a total of 140 people, all of whom were ranked seventh grade.
Thirteen censors supervise the officials and various affairs of the corresponding chief secretaries and yamen in Beijing (including civil yamen, military yamen and eunuch yamen), and participate in "court discussions" hosted by the Ministry of Rites.
Thirteen censors in Beijing and Nanjing worked in the yamen of the two capitals respectively. The censors who patrolled the provinces and the two Zhili in the south and north on behalf of the emperor. The evaluation of officials by each province and the reports to the central ministries were all It must be approved by the censor of the governor and jointly signed by the censor of the governor (i.e. the governor) - this was already very clear during Gao Pingshi's tenure in Guangxi, so I will not describe it in detail.
Such a list is very clear and intuitive. If the six subjects are more focused on administrative supervision, then the supervisory censor is more like a "discipline inspection and supervision". Its main responsibility is to "detect official evil in hundreds of departments inside and outside". Specially monitors violations of laws, disciplines and violations by officials at all levels and in various affairs.
From the cabinet bachelor and the six ministers, to the county magistrates, county magistrates and other inspection officials at all levels; from the formulation of national policies, decision-making on military and state affairs, to the small imperial examinations, school education, tax collection, salt administration and horse administration Various details such as farming, warehousing, customs and sentiments are all under the supervision of the thirteen censors.
The impeachment of officials can be done behind closed doors or in person, and can reveal facts or "hear things". Sometimes the North and the South even responded and jointly impeached the government and the Dao, which was even more powerful - for example, the "Manchu Dynasty Reversal" launched by Xu Jie. Although Gao Gong had Emperor Longqing's 360-degree protection at that time, he was still I had to give more than 20 excuses and insisted on going because I was seriously ill. This is the power of momentum.
In short, the six departments tend to inspect the administrative process, while the Metropolitan Procuratorate prefers to inspect the main actors, and they belong to different agencies. We cannot insist that they are "one and the same" just because they are all officials.
Gao Pragmatic is the main writer of the current edition of the "Da Ming Huidian". He is fully aware of the conceptual fallacies in Shen Yiguan's words. If he has to argue with Shen Yiguan, Shen Yiguan will have to admit his own mistakes.
However, when the other cabinet elders, including Zhao Zhigao, were waiting for Gao Jingjing's objections, Gao Jingjing did not object. Not only did he not object, he nodded his head in agreement and said: "Kedao jointly participated in the supervision of this case. The Dongchang side should be more cautious, and it is foolish to think it is a good thing."
As soon as he expressed his position, the matter had to be settled.
So the question is, why did Gao Pragmatic agree to Shen Yiguan's proposal? Couldn't he see that Shen Yiguan simply made such a move to add sand to the idea because he couldn't refuse the proposal?
Zhao Zhigao frowned at first, until Xiao Daheng's proposal was sent to the cabinet, and Gao Pragmatic dispelled his doubts with one word.
Gao pragmatically said: "Since the General Constitution is personally supervising the process, the Yuyi Cabinet can issue a written document and order the two section chiefs to act on the General Constitution's orders as a way to assist."
So that’s it, you want to use Xiao Daheng to keep an eye on Qian Menggao!
Zhao Zhigao suddenly realized and glanced at Shen Yiguan, whose face was so gloomy that he could shed tears.
——
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(End of chapter)
