When the news came out that the East Palace was going to establish a Young Mansion, the officialdom of the capital was undoubtedly shaken again. Shaofu was established in both the Qin and Han dynasties and the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Institutions like this, no matter how useful they were at the beginning, would inevitably suffer from bloated personnel, corruption, and amassing money for the enjoyment of the powerful as the dynasty collapsed.
But in the final analysis, the system of the feudal dynasty is like this. The financial power is in the central government, and the central government will mess up. If the financial power is placed in the local places, the local governments will mess up. Who has the ability to invent a system that can guarantee that it will not deteriorate from generation to generation?
Even if there were, the Ming Dynasty during the Hongzhi period did not have the social and political basis for its implementation.
We can only seek truth from facts and make changes to the system based on actual needs. The biggest practical situation in the Ming Dynasty was that the central government's financial resources were relatively weak, and Zhu Houzhao had no choice but to do so.
This involves the financial and taxation system under the technical conditions of ancient times, that is, whether all the money and food in the world should be received from the central government and then applied for and used by local governments, or whether enough money should be reserved for local governments first and the remaining portion should be released to the central government.
In terms of power collection, of course the first option is better, but matters related to finance and taxation are very complicated. Don’t take it for granted that it will be no problem if all taxes are collected to the central government. In fact, if you control the local spending, he will start over again and charge randomly. If you encounter two or three emperors who don't care, the world will basically be in chaos.
The finance and taxation of the Ming government is considered the latter, that is, the local government keeps it for itself first. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's treasury was always out of money, because everything that should be paid had been paid, and the remaining money was still enough in the middle and early Ming Dynasty. Even the expenses of the border army depended on farming. It was not until the reform of the Salt Law in the middle of the Hongzhi period that the central government suddenly had one more item to pay military salaries to the border troops... This number kept getting bigger, and by the end of the Ming Dynasty, Liao salaries were created. Of course, this is a story later.
So why do I always feel that the Ming Dynasty seems to be particularly poor, even in the early stages of a dynasty like Yongle? This is one of the reasons. Of course, there have been few rich times in thousands of years, and people also starved to death during the Zhenguan period.
It is naturally not easy for anyone who wants to get more from the already poor general plate, so on this night, there are many people who are eager to get ready, including the censor of the Supervisory Council, the ministers of various subjects, and the heads and doctors of various ministries. But when I got up and went to court the next day, a eunuch suddenly said something from the palace:
Your Majesty is ill, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in charge of the government today.
Outside the Meridian Gate, the ministers in the cold winter wind didn't know what was going on. The main reason was that since the autumn and winter seasons, the emperor's health had improved slightly. Didn't he also have the idea of choosing a concubine for the prince? So it was a bit surprising to suddenly not go to court.
Although the East Palace has been deeply involved in government affairs, Emperor Hongzhi was quite diligent in important events such as the morning court and was rarely absent. Ever since, what happened today was the first time...
Above the main hall, it was grand and solemn. The dragon chair in the center was empty, except for a young man sitting on an embroidered stool beside it. The young man wears a nine-piece crown, a jade belt around his waist, and a black hat on his head. Although he is young, he has been running the country for several years. As time goes by, his confidence and power are increasingly displayed.
Even if there is no emperor, there will be some influence, but with the prince, no one dares to stop the morning ceremony. ….
After the courtiers paid homage, Zhu Houzhao changed his posture from sitting upright, stood up and looked down at the ministers.
The eunuch still shouted: If there is something to do, start to report, if there is nothing to do, leave the court!
"Before the performance begins, Gu has something to say." The prince suddenly spoke, and everyone's ears perked up. "Last night... my father was slightly ill and slightly unwell. Therefore, there was an oral order that Gu came to the court to listen to the government. Therefore... dear ministers of the cabinet and the six ministries and nine departments should not have any doubts in their minds, everything will be business as usual today. Let... the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Husbandry explain yesterday's proposals for the selection of officials and the establishment of the Young Mansion respectively."
This is nothing. There are affairs in the country and what needs to be said. Wang Hao and Han Wen both obeyed the order and briefly described the list of officials to fill the vacancies in Zhejiang and the establishment of the Shaofu, and then submitted a memorial.
It is difficult for the ministers in the palace to say anything about official matters in Zhejiang. If the prince and the cabinet agree, they cannot say anything that violates the court system or moral etiquette.
It was this Young Mansion. As soon as this proposal was mentioned, whispers quickly began in the palace.
Zhu Houzhao was not very satisfied with this attitude, "Dear ministers, you are all important officials of the imperial court, and I am alone with you.
Let’s go to court in the morning. If you have anything to say, feel free to say it! Don't look around down there, think of it as your own backyard! "
As soon as these words came out, things immediately became quiet. In the past, there were many scenes where the ministers were quarreling. Don't think that all of them were gentle, courteous and thrifty. The spit would start to spray. The emperor would have a headache if he sat on it and watched people quarreling every day.
People like Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others who have had a lot of contact with the prince understand this. There is definitely a difference between the prince's coming to court and the emperor's coming to court, but don't regret it after being hit with a stick.
It was quiet for a while, and then a lower-ranking official in blue official uniform in the back row shouted in a loud voice, and then came out and knelt down, "Your Highness! The Minister of War has something to report to Zhou Chang!"
Zhu Houzhao glanced at him and had no impression. However, a person like him who came from later generations and whose face was as thick as the Great Wall under the ravages of life would not be unnatural in public, nor would he feel guilty because others attacked him. There are fluctuations.
"explain."
"I have heard yesterday that His Highness discussed with other ministers the establishment of a new institution in the Ministry of Household Affairs. As for this major renewal matter, His Highness first discussed it with only a few courtiers, and then decided on the matter when His Majesty was ill and could not come to court. , I think it is inappropriate, so I suggest that we postpone it for a few days and wait for His Majesty to recover from his illness before making a decision."
This has to be dragged down, and I don’t know when it will be completed.
However, Zhou Chang is considered very courageous, and not many people dare to make such remonstrances nowadays.
"That's wrong!" A head of the household department came out with a long beard. "Your Majesty has made it clear that our Ming Dynasty has only one sun, not two suns, let alone a big sun and a small sun! Your Highness, I believe that Zhou Chang knew the imperial edict but violated the imperial edict during the military affairs incident, and deliberately sow discord between the Holy Emperor and His Highness. His intentions are unspeakably sinister and he should be dismissed from his post and imprisoned!"
The discord the prince has shown with some civil servants over the years has actually made many low-level officials want to take this shortcut, which is to encourage Zhu Houzhao to do more ruthless and cruel things, to help the prince find excuses and attack him. They gain their own ascendancy. Zhu Houzhao would distinguish situations like this, otherwise, it would easily lead to the vicious party struggle like during the Jiajing period.
It is not impossible to fight, and there is no court that cannot be fought for, but you cannot fight for political speculation. That will ignore the content and turn it into a battle of attitude and form. Although it is beneficial for the emperor to control the court, it is not good for the country.
Zhu Houzhao sat down and his eyes fell on Sima, the Minister of the Ministry of War. He looked like an old god and seemed to have nothing wrong with him.
"Yesterday, when I was discussing Zhejiang affairs with the court officials, I did not expect that my father would hesitate, nor did I deliberately choose to make decisions in court when my father was not around. It was also late at night yesterday, and I suddenly heard that my father was coughing. The imperial doctor said it was caused by anger attacking the heart and poor qi and blood. Do any of you know why my father is so angry?"
The prince said these words slowly, as if he wanted to settle accounts, so everyone in the hall began to hold their breath and concentrate, saying that the prince's face was serious today and not as relaxed as usual. It turned out to be for a reason.
Liu Daxia, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, looked stunned and seemed to have some self-consciousness. Since the emperor was not here, he knew that he would not get any benefits today. From his original intention, of course he did not want the emperor to have such a sudden illness, but the fact was that there was nothing he could do about it.
"My lord, Liu Daxia, take the blame!"
Wow.
The prince's words meant something, and Liu Daxia came out to say this again. Everyone knew the cause and effect.
The reason why the emperor was not hesitant and temporarily exempted from visiting the court was the root of all this.
96.
royal hired cat
