A few days passed like this, and it was the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.
In the early morning court, after all the ministers saluted, Chongzhen had just finished saying that he had a copy of the memorial but had no copy and retired from the court, when the Minister of Civil Affairs left the office.
"Your Majesty, I have a script to start with!"
"allow!"
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel said magnificently: "Your Majesty, we have been closed for the past few years. According to the "Da Ming Collection. Rites", officials have a holiday on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and the seal will be opened on the 20th of the first lunar month. Everything has been decided. Please give me your Majesty's instructions!"
All the ministers looked shocked. After working hard for a year, it was finally time to have a holiday. How could they not be happy?
"Fang Aiqing, how many holidays do Ming officials have in a year now?"
Fang Guiwei was stunned for a moment and immediately said: "Spring Festival, Winter Solstice and the Emperor's Birthday, plus the Zhengdan, Shangyuan and Zhongyuan festivals, there are about fifty days of holidays every year."
Listening to Fang Guiwei's words, Chongzhen sighed secretly. During this holiday, capitalists will shed tears just listening to it.
You must know that officials at this time, especially Beijing officials, have to get up at two or three in the morning to prepare for the morning court, and it does not end until about six in the evening. The work intensity is extremely high.
"Dear dear friends, the first year of Chongzhen will be in a few days. I have some ideas. I originally wanted to discuss them at the first court meeting of the first year of Chongzhen.
But if you think about it and it’s not appropriate, then I might as well talk about it at the last court meeting of the year and let you guys have a listen to see if it’s feasible. "
The ministers were slightly stunned after hearing this. Too many things had happened since the emperor ascended the throne.
If it weren't for the ability shown by the new emperor in handling various matters, they would all subconsciously think that the emperor has been on the throne for a long time.
At the same time, I had a bad feeling in my heart. Since it was difficult to predict the first court meeting next year, it must be a bad thing.
All the ministers shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, please give me instructions!"
"The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites must remember clearly what I will say next."
"First, the court meeting time. From now on, the court meeting will start from Chenchu time. There will be no need for court meetings every day. Instead, the court meeting will be held on a single day."
Article 1 All the ministers were a little confused. After all, although Emperor Tianqi did not go to court every day, he did so often.
They were all used to the new emperor going to court early every day after he ascended the throne, but now they were suddenly asked to go to court early every day, which made them a little confused.
Some of the ministers had surprise on their brows, while others frowned.
"Your Majesty, I think it's inappropriate!"
Liu Zongzhou, the Minister of Rites, came out and said: "Your Majesty, you have been on the throne for more than four months. The Ming Dynasty is already full of vitality and the future is promising.
Although it is hard work in the early morning, I believe that Your Majesty should persevere and work hard to let this vitality sprout, bloom and bear fruit directly. "
"Your Majesty, I also agree with what Mr. Liu said. This is a critical moment and there is no room for relaxation. It will not be too late to change the court meeting after Jiannu is equalized."
Guo Yunhou, the Minister of Household Affairs, also stood up.
Then Zhang Tingdeng, the new censor of Zuodu in the Inspectorate, and others also stood up.
Although other ministers secretly scolded Liu Zongzhou and others, they did not dare to stand up and agree to Chongzhen's proposal at this moment.
Looking at the people who stood up to dissuade him, Chongzhen immediately thought of Niang Xipi in his heart.
He really wants to ask you if you have figured it out? I am easing your burden, why don't you appreciate it?
"Your Majesty, I have something to say!"
Just when Chongzhen was thinking about how to speak, the British Duke Zhang Weixian came out: "My lords, I don't think so."
“First, what Your Majesty has to do is to command the ministers, make decisions and plans, rather than handle specific affairs.
Think about it for yourselves, what things are reported in the morning meeting every day? Do these matters need to be handled personally by His Majesty?
If His Majesty has to handle everything, what do the Cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies do?
Second, every morning, you should get up at the Chou hour to prepare for the morning pilgrimage, then wait at the Meridian Gate, and then go to the Yamen to handle official business after the morning pilgrimage. At the Youzheng hour,
You spend eight hours a day in the government office. Do you have the energy to handle official duties? Or is it possible to pay attention to everything?
Don’t you know how much time you spend every day drinking tea, reading, paying respects, etc. in the yamen?
Third, your Majesty's absence from the morning court does not mean that he does not handle court affairs. Ask the cabinet and the six ministries, are they often summoned by your Majesty to Dongnuang Pavilion to discuss matters?
Let me ask the Supervisor of Ceremonies, how many memorials does your Majesty approve every day? "
The ministers were thoughtful after listening, and some ministers breathed a sigh of relief and agreed with Zhang Weixian's words.
Morning pilgrimage is really hard. It’s so hot in summer that I can’t sleep. I have to get up before I’ve slept for a while to prepare for morning pilgrimage.
I went to bed quite early in the winter, but we gathered outside the Meridian Gate at five or six in the morning, with the north wind blowing, which made it even more uncomfortable.
Looking at the ministers who nodded secretly, Chongzhen was very satisfied with Zhang Weixian's reaction.
He wanted to be lazy, but he must not relax until he had trampled the Jiannu to the ground, otherwise he might die one day.
"The British Lord is right. I am not lazy. To put it bluntly, I can go to court every day and go to bed after going to court.
I sympathize with the fact that you get up early every day and have to deal with official duties throughout the day, so I changed the system. If you have a good rest, you can deal with official duties better during the day. "
"This matter has been decided. It will be implemented from the first court meeting in the first year of Chongzhen. The Ministry of Rites and the Supervisory Office will be ready."
After hearing that the emperor mentioned the four words "the first year of Chongzhen", everyone knew that if they objected, they would offend the emperor.
All the ministers shouted in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration."
"Now that we're all here, let's restart the ten-day break and rest on the 10th, 20th, and 30th days of each month."
The ministers were astonished again. It was the familiar yet unfamiliar word Xun Xiu that amazed them.
The ten-day holiday system was only implemented during the Xuanzong period, and it was only available in the first month of each year. This kind of treatment was not available in the other eleven months.
Restarting the ten-day holiday system now is definitely a good break for them.
But everyone is a little worried. Since the ten-day holiday is restarted, will the public holidays for other holidays be shortened?
Sure enough, as soon as the idea came to their minds, they heard the emperor's words the next moment.
"In addition, starting from the first year of Chongzhen, the holidays for Qingming, Zhongyuan, Mid-Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice, the Emperor's Birthday, and Zhengdan will be readjusted."
"Sun Chengzong, you preside over the court meeting and agree on the rest time for each holiday, giving you two quarters of an hour."
"I obey the decree!"
After Sun Chengzong left the class and saluted Chongzhen, he looked at the ministers: "Everyone, please tell me your opinions!"
"I think that since the ten-day break has been restarted, the time for the six periods can be compressed a little.
Especially for the Zhengdan Festival, there can be a seven-day holiday starting from the first day of the twelfth lunar month, and then a seven-day holiday for the Lantern Festival, two days for each of the six festivals, and twenty-six days. "
"It's inappropriate. After seven days off, we work seven days. The officials took another break before they were in the right state."
"I agree, and you changed the Zhengdan. There are only two days between Shangyuan and Qingming. What should I do about ancestor worship?"
"What a joke, how many of your ancestral graves are around Beijing? If I don't give you ten days around Beijing, you won't be able to get there. Two days of burial around Beijing are not enough?"
"I think it would be better to only take one day off during the Sixth Festival, and combine the holidays of Zhengdan and Lantern Festival with twenty days off, from the first to the twentieth day, so that we can have time to visit relatives and friends."
"No, it will take seven or eight days to get back to work after a month's rest. This will greatly affect the court's far-reaching efficiency."
…
It is a matter that involves their own interests, and all ministers are expressing their own opinions.
But I was worried that the emperor would be unhappy, so I kept it hidden.
Chongzhen listened to the debate among the ministers and secretly lamented that the ministers were too "dedicated" and didn't even want extra vacations.
Two quarters of an hour later, under the auspices of Sun Chengzong, the results came out. Chongzhen chuckled after hearing this.
"My dear friends, you are too petty."
PS: After these few chapters, it’s time to start filling in some of the holes dug earlier and start making things happen, haha!
