In the afternoon of New Year's Eve, Beijing is already in a New Year atmosphere.
Firecrackers sound from time to time, and every family is looking forward to a better next year.
The day before the first year of Jiajing's reign, Yang Tinghe once again read the letter from Yang Shen's family brought by his trustee from Guangdong.
After thinking about it, I decided to reply to him after returning from the palace today.
"Go and ask Madam if she's ready."
Yang Tinghe came out of the study, and the second son, three sons and four sons were all busy writing Spring Festival couplets together.
Lao Yang is naturally a complete winner in life, with four sons and two daughters.
Yang Shen is the number one scholar, the second and fourth sons have all been elected to the imperial examination, and the third son has also been awarded the title of "Yinzhong Shushe". Two daughters, the eldest daughter married a Jinshi, and the second daughter married a Juren who could take the exam again.
Yang Tinghe looked at the current stability of the Man family and felt a little afraid.
His thoughts naturally returned to the emperor. He felt that the emperor's temperament was very complicated: he was decisive and eager, but he was also very calm and tolerant of things.
Including Yang Tinghe's previous offenses on many things.
Think about it on the other hand, knowing that Zhang Heling had participated in setting fire to the Rijing Gate, but Your Majesty could endure it and not deal with it arbitrarily. What does Yang Tinghe's matter mean to him?
But in the end, I didn't expect that the emperor, who was so sharp during the ceremony, actually wanted to keep him, Yang Tinghe, so that he could continue to celebrate the New Year in the capital, and even invited him and his wife to a royal banquet on New Year's Eve.
At about three o'clock in the morning, all the national policy ministers arrived outside Chengtian Gate, including Guo Xun.
Their wives took another warm sedan and entered the palace through another door.
No matter how tit-for-tat they were in the past, now in the New Year, everyone is smiling and greeting each other.
"Master Marquis is taking the lead this time. Are your injuries healed?" Yan Song asked with a smile when meeting Guo Xun on this occasion.
"...a few flesh wounds, nothing serious." Guo Xun always felt that there was something else in Yan Song's smile, but he couldn't understand it.
"Wei Zhong." Yang Tinghe asked Yan Song cordially, "Congratulatory lists from officials from all over the country and in Beijing have been presented to the palace. Your Majesty must have seen them in the past few days, right?"
"His Majesty said that he would take a break from the imperial court, and he would also take a holiday. They are full of beautiful words, whether you read them or not. Bo'an, Chongxiang, and I have not been summoned to the palace in the past few days."
"...It's rare." Yang Tinghe sighed with emotion, and then said leisurely, "Your Majesty is deeply saddened by the passing of Duke Zhongde. From now on, without Duke Zhongde... Anyway, your Majesty is merciful and always hopes that we can speak out boldly. After the change of Yuan Dynasty, , let’s all be loyal to the emperor and do everything we can.”
Everyone including Jiang Mian, Fei Hong, and Wang Qiong glanced at him.
After all, everyone was a little worried about what the royal banquet was about today.
After chatting for a while, Huang Jin came out and invited them into the palace.
There are eighteen ministers of national policy. Yuan Zonggao has passed away and Yang Yiqing is in the northwest.
However, Wang Shouren temporarily participated in the national policy meeting on behalf of Yang Yiqing, and Guo Xun made an exception, and eighteen people entered the palace.
On the way to Qianqing Palace, they all asked Zhang Zilin about the situation in the southeast.
"After running seven big families and having solid evidence for hiding the traitors, who can say anything?" Zhang Zilin replied calmly, "There are three more families who, knowing full well that their servants were secretly working with the pirates, actually acted to lure the pirates into plundering them. An act committed by an enemy is unforgivable. When the Jinyi Guards find out the truth about the case of the traitor killing an official, and the report is sent to the southeast, things like this will not be dealt with so easily in the future."
He looked at Guo Xun again, and said with a rare smile: "Before I returned to Beijing, I also said that Wu Dinghou and Funing Hou were on standby at any time. Wei Guogong repeatedly asked me to advise Wuding Hou to guard Nanjing."
"... Duke Wei Guo is really..." At least Guo Xun did not say that Xu Pengju was afraid of trouble in front of so many important ministers.
Who wants to go to Nanjing for retirement? Cui Yuandu said that Jingying has a great future!
"Speaking of which, Xia Geishi has been extremely diligent and capable this year, which allowed the Beijing camp to reorganize and straighten out the regulations for a while." Guo Xun then said to Cui Yuan, Wang Shouren, and Jiang Mian, "He should be given credit."
Jiang Mian took charge of the matter. After Yang Yiqing went to Northwest China, Wang Shouren took charge of it.
In the current Beijing Camp, the cleanup of more than 120,000 counterfeiters involves a huge workload. After the change to recruiting troops, except for the Shenji Battalion where Guo Xun was stationed, although the full strength of 50,000 has not been reached in the past few months, three new battalions have appeared, with a total strength of more than 46,000. people.
Jiang Mian knew that he was talking about the opportunity next year after the vacancy of the Minister of Rites, so he nodded and said: "Of course."
Since the emperor once took Xia Yan as his first example, now that things are settled, he deserves to be promoted.
They still chatted about state affairs before arriving at the Qianqing Palace, because they both felt that the emperor would also talk about it at today's royal banquet.
But I didn't expect that it would just be chatting about family matters.
So Sun Jiao was very strange: "...I have a good family. The eldest son Yuan is serving as an official in Sichuan, and the second son Jing is stupid and is still preparing for the provincial examination. The only people who came to Beijing together were the second son and the youngest daughter Ming..."
Zhu Houcong was laughing, which made Sun Jiao feel even more nervous.
How could the emperor not know the situation at the home of an important minister?
What are you talking about?
No one else knew what happened back then. Guo Xun just said: "I have many uncles and brothers in my family, but I only have the second son, who is still young. When I saw that I came back from suppressing bandits, I still thought that I smelled bad."
After saying that, he looked at Zhu Houcong eagerly, with a look on his face expecting to be praised.
Zhu Houcong was a little convinced: You are in your forties, can you stop pretending to be naive?
Although Guo Xun is not particularly smart, he is not an ordinary person among Xun Qi. The first generation of Wuding Marquis Guo Ying was very talented. By the time it was passed down to Guo Xun, the sixth generation grandson, the Guo family was already quite large, but they only had one title.
Guo Xun's father ascended the throne, and the disputes within the family even reached the emperor. When Guo Xun ascended the throne, his situation was considered big, and his meritorious service was commended by Zhu Houzhao. Yinzi's place was given to his brother to ease the conflicts within the family - although it was also because Guo Xun did not have a son at that time.
There are also reasons why he makes money in Guangdong and Guangxi. Although he is rich and powerful, he still knows how to spend money to publish books to help the Guo family earn some reputation.
"It's good that the generals are a little sweaty." Zhu Houcong smiled, "Although the suppression of bandits this time was ugly, I remember the hard work and have not forgotten it. But today, instead of talking about state affairs, let's celebrate the New Year with peace of mind."
Guo Xun continued to maintain his innocent and loyal look, showing a happy expression.
After chatting for a while and asking about their current family situation, Zhu Houcong said to Wang Shouren: "You said that your father is not in good health. How about he be brought to the capital for recuperation after the spring is warm?"
"I'm afraid the soil and water will make it hard to accept." Wang Shouren looked at the emperor and bent down, "I thank your majesty for your concern."
Zhu Houcong sighed: "Master Yuan passed away, and all the ministers have also worked hard this year. They have all worked hard."
Yang Tinghe said: "The three-year national policy has been set. It is just to vigorously establish social studies and health schools, coupled with the investigation of floods and water conservancy conditions, the training of food and salary matters in the border towns of Jingying, and the new laws in Guangdong. The ministers and others are relieved, and they will not be like this. Like this year.”
"Let's talk about state affairs." Zhu Houcong laughed, "The first three things all cost money, and they have been done before. As long as the money can be spent well, it is naturally not as good as the last one."
Zhu Houcong did not do as much as they originally thought he would do in the next three years.
Build more enlightenment schools, the court lists some expenditures, and the local government calls on officials and gentry to donate. This has been done in the past, but now there is a clearer plan. There is a target requirement for the number of social studies to be run by each province and locality within three years, and it will also be included in the performance evaluation of local officials.
The situation of floods and water conservancy does not require large-scale construction immediately, but it takes three years to get to the bottom of it. This is related to people's livelihood, as well as future food production and land tax. It is an act of laying the foundation.
As for Jingying and border towns, the key point is what the emperor said: No matter how difficult it is, it will not be difficult for border towns. For the preparation and transfer of food and wages, the imperial court simply wanted to establish a more complete mechanism to ensure this.
As the emperor said, these three things are all matters of money.
As for Guangdong's new law, there is no doubt that it is trying to find ways to "make money". Zhang Fujing asked for advice on how to implement this new law, and it was also discussed at the national policy meeting, but it has not yet been decided. In other words, the emperor is keeping pace with this matter first.
After all, the killing of officials in Southeast had a great impact on the emperor. Fang Muxian actually thinks this is a good time, which can only show the great resistance to the actual implementation of the new law in the future.
At present, Guangdong is just updating the Yellow Book and Fish Scale Book first, without actually touching on land annexation and other issues of interest.
"Let's not talk about these things today." Zhu Houcong said relaxedly, "Even if we want to talk about state affairs, let's just talk about one thing. Next year's wedding, when the concubine will be crowned, I intend not to choose just from ordinary good families. Yes. To suddenly enjoy wealth and honor without understanding the general situation is really not a blessing for the country."
Everyone was hesitant.
So it was Yang Tinghe who spoke first: "As His Majesty said before, how to prevent relatives from interfering with the government? This dynasty can avoid such trouble and fulfill the teachings of our ancestors."
The emperor wanted to break the ancestral precepts on this matter. Yang Tinghe and others had to endure it for more than half a year, and now they have learned not to dissuade them hastily.
"What do you think of Yi Qing?"
Others are still waiting for Yang Tinghe: Who made you the chief assistant?
"... The ancestral teachings of this dynasty are: first, ordinary families have no foundation for disorderly government. Second, they are not allowed to enter the palace for the second and third generations and become queens and concubines. The old and the new are replaced. Third, relatives are not allowed to be officials, and they are only given land and houses and generous salaries. Fourthly, the Queen has been taught by our ancestors to only deal with the affairs of concubines in the palace, that is, outside the palace gate, nothing can happen beforehand. All the emperors, princes, concubines, and concubines should be carefully selected to be their concubines, and those who enter will not be tolerated."
Yang Tinghe summarized the current situation and said doubtfully: "I can honestly say that there are real contributors. In many situations in the past, the queen has also made arrangements for the court. It is just an example if the daughter of a wealthy family or an important minister is a concubine. Even though my relatives cannot hold office at first, they already have a solid foundation and may become more powerful day by day. In my humble opinion, Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and there may be no major dangers in this dynasty. However, we have to take precautions against what will happen in the future. The ancestral teachings have been effective for hundreds of years. , or don’t change it.”
This is the tone of discussion. What do you want to do? I feel like you have the ability. But guarding against relatives is for the sake of your children and grandchildren.
Just imagine, if you choose the daughter of an important minister from a wealthy family, the heirs, disciples, and relatives of their family will still be able to form a force in the court after one or two generations. This dynasty does not allow relatives to serve as officials. This does not mean that all three tribes cannot be officials, but that they cannot be directly appointed. If your heir brothers are capable enough and pass the imperial examination and pass the imperial examination, they can still be officials.
It's just that the imperial examination is difficult, and ordinary people's family education and accumulation are not enough, and they will gradually lose their enterprising spirit when they suddenly become rich and powerful, so it is not a problem.
Zhu Houcong nodded: "It may indeed bring hidden dangers, so I have been thinking about preventive measures. Setting up a national policy meeting and an imperial study room is one of the ways."
Yang Ting and the others looked at the emperor in confusion: Did you start thinking like this so early? So you have long thought about not choosing concubines from ordinary families? What does the national policy meeting have to do with this?
"The reason for the chaos in the government caused by the foreign relatives is first of all because the emperor is young, secondly because the central government has an official position with too much power, and finally because of the emperor's use of the emperor's red pen and seal." Zhu Houcong said, "Nowadays, there are both cabinets and national policy meetings, and the emperor's red pen and seal are even more important. The study and the ceremonial supervisor rely on each other to supervise each other. How can the maternal relatives take full advantage of the throne? What needs to be guarded most is that the emperor is young and all the ministers are focused on the child, so the emperor has to rely on his maternal relatives."
The scene was a little awkward for a while, but the words were very clear.
"There were no troubles from foreign relatives in this dynasty before, but the Chief of Ceremonies has become increasingly important, and there have been several disasters caused by internal ministers." Zhu Houcong looked at them and said, "Now the Chief of Ceremonies, the Imperial Study Room, the National Policy Council, and the Cabinet are all in a four-legged relationship, and major national affairs are from The process will not be easily controlled by anyone or any yamen. Even if the emperor is young, what can his relatives do?"
After Yang Ting thought about it with them, he found that this was really the case.
Power is decentralized in the central stage before the end of the process. Even if the emperor is young, he does not need to rely too much on his ministers and relatives.
A position with direct access to the central office, such as the Imperial Study Room, could almost be directly promoted by the emperor. There was no rank anyway.
And all the nine ministers can participate in the national policy meeting, and the cabinet ministers have set a quota of six people, so the emperor's will can be better implemented.
If the courtiers want to bully the emperor by "child watching", the ministers and relatives can quickly reach the center. Even if the ministers and relatives want to control the government, they cannot occupy so many positions.
Besides, in this current situation, how could so many important ministers concentrate on "looking at" the young emperor? There have always been many differences in positions among civil servants.
The emperor has a lot of room for manipulation.
"Therefore, we only need to add a few items." Zhu Houcong said, "In the imperial study room, cabinet, and national policy meetings, there must be no relatives of three clans or two or more disciples in the same category. No relatives within three generations of the same family can enter the palace as concubines. "Concubines." Zhu Houcong finally said, "Besides, every time there is a draft, local good families are panicked and disturbed a lot. It is uncomfortable to persist, but the concubines and concubines generally know the importance, and the relatives' families are educated and fear the national law. Very important."
Hearing this, Yang Tinghe had to ask: "According to your Majesty's wishes, this relative can still be in the center. If the other important officials of the center take it as a job in the future, there will still be hidden dangers."
Once relatives can participate in national policy meetings, the situation will be completely different. If there is a queen or queen mother in the palace, and she is also an important minister of national policy, if there are also internal ministers and foreign ministers, wouldn't it become a big party?
To put it bluntly, even if the emperor wants to touch his relatives, he will have to weigh the consequences and even his own life.
Zhu Houcong then said: "If a foreign relative wants to be included in the national policy meeting, he can only be a civil servant with an imperial examination background. All ministers who participate in the national policy meeting are limited to five terms and must leave office after fifteen years. Whenever the old and new dynasties change, Foreign relatives who were originally listed in the National Policy Conference will automatically resign. If the emperor is under the age of sixteen, he will not be allowed to listen to politics behind the curtain, and major issues will be discussed and decided by the National Policy Conference."
Eighteen important national policy ministers, including Guo Xun, stopped talking.
In other words, no one can stay in the National Policy Council for more than fifteen years, no matter starting from the chief of the imperial study or the ninth minister.
This means that cabinet ministers are not the most popular: if they have been in the position of Jiuqing for fourteen years, then they have to completely retire one year after entering the cabinet?
Of course, the rule that a foreign relative who was originally a minister of national policy would voluntarily leave office before the new emperor ascends the throne is naturally very binding on the foreign relative.
After the new emperor ascends the throne, whether his relatives will enter the national policy meeting depends entirely on whether the emperor thinks the courtiers are useful. If courtiers are not "easy to use" and re-appoint old relatives or new relatives, causing chaos in government, then the root cause is not the system of relatives itself, but the emperor's claim that the ministers "child-like" the emperor and bully the emperor.
This is the same as the previous reliance on internal ministers to control external ministers.
In comparison... if the foreign relatives at the national policy meeting are also civil servants themselves, it seems to be more acceptable: at least everyone has a similar "cultural level", and some things are not as brainless or twisted as eunuchs.
For a moment, they couldn't figure it out: Is this using the hidden danger of a relative's participation in the national policy meeting to limit the terms of other civil servants, or does the emperor really think that this can prevent his relatives from disrupting the government?
It is really difficult to completely convince everyone of this new regulation. However, the current national policy conference has just appeared. No one present is worried about their own "term limits", and future "disasters" have nothing to do with them.
Emperor Taizu's ancestral precepts really completely prevented the possibility of relatives from interfering with the government.
It's just that the internal ministers who replaced him really caused Yang Ting and this group of civil servants to suffer a lot.
Seeing the emperor's confident look, Yang Tinghe asked with a complex expression: "Your Majesty has thought so carefully. Could it be that among the younger generation, there are people that your Majesty wants to hire as concubines?"
It's normal for him to ask this. Otherwise, why would there be a need to make provisions for foreign relatives to be included in national policy meetings now?
Yuan Zonggao passed away. The emperor's most trusted minister now lacks a leader. Who would it be?
So His Majesty is still trying to balance this matter, right?
Am I, Yang Tinghe, not enough to reassure you now?
(End of chapter)
