With the establishment of the Prime Minister and the Minister of State and the decentralization of some political affairs by the emperor, along with this round of county and township titles and titles, and the awards of rural sages, smart people know that the implementation of the new law is actually no longer a problem.
Whether the new law is effective or not is another matter. Anyway, it is what His Majesty requested. But the surviving officials have greater expectations than before.
Now the emperor has first decided on one thing that he is likely to do in the next ten years at the national policy meeting and the military affairs meeting: regaining Cochin. Accompanying this is the attitude of the person who can be crowned the King of Cochin in the future.
It was kept secret, and among the civil servants and generals who knew about it, who would have the ambition to start planning for their own "throne" with all their heart?
Now, Fei Hongzheng, the first Prime Minister and Minister of State, asked the steward: "How are my articles in Ming Pao discussed among the people in the market?"
Today is the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, and there is no court meeting.
It was just dawn and Fei Hong was having breakfast.
Fei Hong, who once served as a cabinet minister, felt overwhelmed by the effort required every day after becoming this official.
Daily meals need to be carefully prepared. Even breakfast in the early morning is a health soup carefully prepared by Lao Ya using the finest ginseng, cordyceps and other medicinal materials found by the housekeeper. This soup clears away heat and calms Qi, clears away heat and eliminates internal heat, strengthens the spleen and stimulates the appetite, and also improves vitality and energy.
Now Fei Hong is only concerned about the reaction of the government and the opposition to his speech in Ming Pao, which was published yesterday.
The housekeeper was naturally paying attention yesterday, especially the news that came back at night.
"General Manager, all the scholars praised him, saying that the General Manager is a prime minister through the ages."
Fei Hong frowned and glanced at him, but continued to eat duck meat and soup.
The housekeeper smiled sarcastically, and then said: "I am quite concerned about the chief minister's statement that starting from this year, there will also be a list of main and deputy candidates for the general examination, and all provinces will set up provincial examinations. The examination syllabus will not be changed, but the examination system will be changed first."
The first major event after the prime minister came to power was to accept the emperor's favor and implement the policy of large-scale opening of subjects to recruit scholars. Of course the scholars were happy.
There are twenty-four people in the first class, corresponding to the number of twenty-four advisers. This year, there are five hundred on the main list and one thousand on the deputy list.
Seeing that the chances of obtaining a distinguished family background have greatly increased, but I don't know how the examination system will be changed.
Fei Hong just nodded: "Continue talking."
The specific examination system will be analyzed in a special article published by the Ministry of Rites in the next issue of "Ming Pao".
It is true that the syllabus has not been changed yet. Except for Wang Shouren's set of books, there are not many other works on the new study. It is impossible to decide what content in the new study must be tested now.
However, in the evaluation of the test paper, many questions that already exist will be given more clear grades, instead of the previous rough ranking of upper, middle and lower.
The marking officer is getting tired: in the past, each person only read a few copies, but now he has to read each copy and give his own score. Finally, someone will calculate the average score given by the marking officers for the same person on the same question.
The final ranking is determined based on the total score.
Fei Hong knew that as a result, the status of "Master" would become increasingly diluted.
If there is a master, it will only be the emperor. Because the questions in the imperial examination are given by the emperor, and the answers are scored. The scores given by the ministers have to be averaged anyway. Is everyone a master? On the contrary, the emperor had to give his own score separately among the forty-nine examination papers submitted. There are twenty-four people in the first class, and even the final ranking of these forty-nine people actually depends on the emperor.
The power can be delegated, but the name cannot be delegated.
This was also a precaution against those who would become attached to important ministers of the imperial court, especially the Prime Minister and the Minister of State. No one could object - anyway, in the previous imperial examinations, the emperor could actually make the final decision on who to enter the first class.
With these thoughts in his mind, Fei Hong only listened to the steward continue: "There is another topic that the scholars have discussed more. After the government reorganization this year, the number of provincial officials has been around 10,000, and many people have discussed whether this is There will be redundant officials and excessive expenses, which will increase the burden on the people."
Fei Hong only needed to know what the people in the opposition were talking about, and there was no need to explain anything to the housekeeper.
The housekeeper said one by one: "As for the three major things that happened to the farmers, the chief proposed a strategy of setting up special officers in each prefecture and state taxation bureau to supervise the iron work and selling iron farm tools, and the reduction and refund strategies. He also proposed to allocate special funds. Governments, prefectures, and county offices subsidize the money, and there are many discussions among the market that the money may be collected by merchants, large households, and officials in collusion, both internally and externally, through counterfeiting."
Fei Hong sneered in his heart. His Majesty put this matter first in his New Year's message. I'm afraid the people below don't know that the Metropolitan Procuratorate is currently preparing an Audit and Cleaning Department to be responsible for reviewing financial plans. And these people, after being selected, will be taught by the emperor himself.
The advisers know best how appalling the emperor's talent and level in financial planning are. To be honest, in terms of this alone, the emperor's talent in this area is more terrifying than the new knowledge he has learned.
The new law will not be gentle. It will first allow more people to be officials, which is a favor; if they commit crimes, they will investigate and punish a few more, which is a threat.
Once the rules are established in the first few years, the foundation of the new law will be solid.
"Then there is the matter of clearing the Zhangtian land and rebuilding the Huangce..." The housekeeper paused and said hesitantly, "We are only talking about whether the Huangceku in Houhu, Nanjing, will be moved to Beijing..."
Fei Hong's heart trembled.
Yang Tinghe set off today.
The data in the Huangceku of Houhu, Nanjing, are the basis for calculating the grain quotas of provinces, prefectures and counties in the Ming Dynasty. Nanjing has managed this yellow record library, which has facilitated many things for more than a hundred years.
Now Yang Tinghe, Jiang Mian, Yang Tingyi, and Yan Song are the governors of southern Zhili and the important areas of Jiangxi and Zhejiang. The six yamen and relatives left behind in Nanjing have actually smelled some differences.
The people only talked about Houhuhuang Ceku, but in fact after the incident of the imperial staff used to worship Confucius, they did not dare to say outright whether the emperor had the intention to abolish the various tribes in Nanjing.
At this point, Fei Hong needed to push this matter forward more than the emperor. Otherwise, in terms of civil affairs, the Prime Minister and Minister of State will face Nanjing for a long time, which is only responsible to the emperor.
"Please arrange more manpower to pay attention to the discussion in this area." Fei Hong put down his spoon, "Yingtian Mansion has had traitors like Meng Chun. This time, His Majesty established the Baoyuan Bureau, an inconspicuous place like the Nanjing Ministry of Industry. , I’m afraid he is the first to think of something unusual.”
Due to the different positions, Fei Hong was forced to start considering more overall issues with Zhu Houcong.
The new law can only be implemented step by step, and Fei Hong has determined a fundamental thing that he needs to do during his three-year term: lay a solid foundation for the secret and unannounced money law in the new law.
If we don't solve this problem, everything we do now will collapse in the future.
After hearing Fei Hong mention the Baoyuan Bureau, the housekeeper also said: "Since a few years ago, many people have been talking about the new law to collect grain taxes and the silver-folding law in the tax tax is harmful to the people. The chief minister pointed out that the treasure banknotes are already worth only one penny. The imperial court will discuss the strategy and determine the method of handling banknotes, money, and money. Everyone in the market thinks that banknotes will be abolished and banks and money will be used, and they are quite uneasy."
"I know." Fei Hong stood up, and the maid at home quickly stepped forward to put on his official uniform and tidy up his clothes.
Many taxes such as the grain tax and salt tax in the Ming Dynasty are still collected through the collection of treasure banknotes to encourage the maintenance of the value of treasure banknotes. Faced with the pressure from the sudden increase in the number of officials and administrative expenses, Baochao will only become more and more embarrassed.
If it is not broken, it cannot be established. Now, if you want to slowly save this treasure, it will be difficult to reach the sky.
But the hasty demonetization is bound to cause an uproar.
Fei Hong sat down on his special treat as the prime minister - the special wife of the State Palace. He closed his eyes and began to think about the issues he would discuss with the ministers of state today: how to deal with the Ming Dynasty's taxation and the preliminary preparations for many new laws this year. Taking back all the treasures now will not hurt Ming Dynasty's vitality this year.
…
Since the publication of Ming Pao, officials in the capital have always felt that there are too many things worthy of discussion every fifteen days.
This is not because of the "Ming Pao" itself, but because the Ming Dynasty is going to implement the new law throughout the country, and His Majesty and the court have too much new content to convey.
The candidates who came to Beijing to take the exam were almost all here. It was too risky to arrive in the capital just before the February Etiquette Examination. If there are some twists and turns on the road, wouldn’t it be possible to miss something?
Although there are people like this every year, such as Huang Zuo in the past.
Now, discussing the contents of the emperor and the chief minister published in Ming Pao on the first and fifteenth day of the first lunar month respectively is just a way for the officials to release their inner pressure. They are all concerned about the regulations for this year's examination that will be announced on the first day of February.
"Why not publish it earlier? These days are spent practicing simplified Chinese characters, and I also have to concentrate on reviewing my homework."
Hearing his friends' comments, Tang Shunzhi had no choice but to keep a polite yet embarrassed smile.
Although everyone thought that the test would not be required to use simplified characters, the court's move was really damaging. It has been postponed from November last year until now without taking a stand. At least none of the candidates in this subject dared to ignore that possibility. In order to write good official documents or be favored in the examination in this subject in the future, they were all I have to take time to practice the simplified Chinese characters well.
"Finally, I've decided that I won't take the exam on practical studies." Someone wailed, "It's a shame that I studied Wang Shangshu's "Examination of Practical Studies and Dialectics" for four months, four months!"
For the sake of high school, who dares to ignore it?
New learning comes from the emperor, learn it, what if you pass the exam?
Not everyone is as talented as Tang Shunzhi. Now when they look at Tang Shunzhi, they can only have complicated eyes.
Tang Shunzhi said helplessly: "Why complain? After all, it is not a day's work. Talents are used to select scholars, and the court will not treat them differently just because they have mastered simplified characters. I said so last year, and you don't believe it."
"...That's because you already had the manuscript of "Jiajing Dictionary" a long time ago. What's the difference to you?!"
"...it has been two years since the new school came out. Those who are studying should learn from it. I never said that I will definitely take the new school exam."
"But you often discuss new learnings with us!"
Tang Shunzhi was brought in by several friends today to question him. Firstly, they blamed him for not teaching them the simplified characters since he already knew them. Secondly, they criticized him for this.
As a result, Fei Hong now says that the syllabus has not changed. Doesn't that mean that these people misjudged and wasted a lot of time because Tang Shunzhi had a wide range of contacts and had too much information?
Tang Shunzhi could only smile bitterly: "I really like to study practical studies and dialectics. Besides, sooner or later it will be official studies. There is no harm in exchanging knowledge, so why be so resentful?"
"Zhang Guowu appreciates you so much. You will definitely be ranked first in this subject, maybe in the top three. Do you have any advice on how to take the exam in this subject?"
The purpose of questioning was to gather information. Tang Shunzhi couldn't laugh or cry: "How busy is Zhang Guowu? Moreover, now that the National Examination is coming, how can I not avoid suspicion and visit and inquire again? After all, the National Examination still requires real talent and practical learning. Zhang Guowu is just because I am in prison for many years." After the exam article was circulated, I was called to ask, why did you appreciate my words so much?"
In the first year after he came to the Imperial College, Zhang Zilin, who served as the Minister of Rites during the annual examination, asked them to discuss the pros and cons of the Ming Dynasty's banknote law. Tang Shunzhi's answer sheet was a blockbuster, showing a rare insight into practical matters among the supervisors, so he was summoned by Zhang Zilin.
But that was not the only time later. Zhang Zilin was really looking forward to Tang Shunzhi, and even revealed that the emperor also admired his article quite a lot.
"Is there something special about you always going to Huangming University? The exam syllabus remains the same, but it can be focused on something. I heard that you also have many contacts with the professors and professors of the School of Mathematical Sciences. Could it be that the Yi Jing is the most important thing in this subject? ?”
"...I just like arithmetic."
Everything was new in the Ming Dynasty. Guys like Tang Shunzhi, who had a wide range of hobbies and was different from other scholars, now have their every move scrutinized.
In the examination syllabus, there are five classics: "The Book of Songs", "Shangshu", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes" and "Spring and Autumn". During the rural examination, there was a saying that the leader of the five classics was mentioned. There are many connections between arithmetic and the Book of Changes, but they thought wrong again.
Amidst such worries about gains and losses, on the second day of February, a carriage slowly arrived in the capital.
Yang Shen opened half of the car curtains and looked at the city of Beijing that had been away for more than four years. Now, we are still two or three miles away from the city, but we can already see some houses and the vague shadow of the city wall outside the city.
Before leaving the capital, he was a distinguished member of the Hanlin Academy.
When he came back, he was the Duke of Nanhai County and a guest of the prince, and he was to be appointed as the Right Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
"Master, I brought it."
He didn't open the curtain specifically to see the city of Beijing and express his emotions, but because the servant who helped him make the outpost to pick up the new issue of "Ming Pao" arrived.
Yang Shen took the newspaper, lowered the curtain and prepared to read it carefully.
Over the past four years, Yang Shen's bookishness has become increasingly weak. He is very familiar with the city of Beijing. If anything is new, how much can be fresher than Guangzhou in recent years?
On the contrary, the things in this issue of the newspaper are related to him.
When I met with my father in Linqing a few days ago, I heard him say that this issue will contain content related to the examination.
When Yang Shen returned to Beijing, the first thing he had to do before taking up his new position in the household department was to serve as the examiner of the joint examination.
The emperor's compensation for Yang Tinghe and his trust and caution in the Prime Minister and Minister of State are evident from this arrangement.
After looking at the examination system announced above, in addition to the setting of main and deputy lists and quotas, the most important thing is of course the change in the marking rules.
Yang Shen thought of his experience in Guangzhou, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. This inconspicuous change will actually subtly make future scholars pay attention to arithmetic. Future officials must be able to settle accounts.
Think about it, in the future when the imperial list is published, in addition to the ranking, there will also be a string of numbers showing their scores. Can this string of numbers be ignored?
In addition, the Ministry of Rites will allocate a special day this time to support scholars in consulting the scores they received for each question on their answer sheet. After going back, they can't do the math themselves?
Of course, they don't know who scored how many points. A special person would transcribe a form, call the name, and hand the paper to the examiner, and that would be it. Then he would go back and do the calculations himself. It was said to help the examinee understand the strengths and weaknesses of his own knowledge.
They are all small details, but they have a big effect.
Yang Shen knew that His Majesty wanted to organize the small details of the work himself and do it well. In Guangzhou, there are many such small details.
There was still some time before entering the city, so Yang Shen looked back page by page.
When he turned to the first page, he was stunned for a moment.
This edition does not have various "news" divided into grids. The entire page is densely packed with text.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Chapter 1: The three heroes of the Taoyuan Banquet became sworn brothers, and the first hero of the Yellow Turban was killed for his meritorious service.
Original work: Luo Guanzhong. Note: Lin Xiyuan.
Yang Shen looked at the word "imperial approval" in astonishment. What was the emperor doing in Ming Pao?
His Majesty personally arranged to publish the story in something as important as "Ming Pao"?
This "Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was easily found and read by Yang Shen, the number one scholar and the son of the chief minister, during his leisure time in the Hanlin Academy. It was born out of Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms", but it is also interesting in its own way. As for literary talent... Yang Shen said it was just average, and it was just killing time at the time.
Now, Yang Shen began to read solemnly: Since it is the imperial edition, there must be some comments from the emperor in it, right? Just by comparing the old version, we can continuously see some of His Majesty's tendencies and ideas? Perhaps this was the emperor's intention.
Then he was struck by lightning.
"Linjiang Fairy".
the river is long and tempestuous, it was like a hero. Right and wrong, success or failure turn around in vain. Aoyama is still there, How Many Suns.
The white-haired fisherman and woodcutter on the Nagisa River is used to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze. Happy reunion over a pot of wine. Many things in ancient and modern times are all talked about with laughter.
[The great age is approaching, and I have reviewed the Story of the Three Kingdoms. I think this book can be read carefully by both officials, gentry, and young men. It can distinguish between loyalty and evil, think about choices, observe the art of Taoism, know the pros and cons, and understand the gains and losses. I have specially ordered Mingbao to make an editorial note. Publish it so that it can be circulated throughout the world. Make a poem for the enjoyment of your subjects. 】
Yang Shen was stunned, his eyes fixed on the song "Linjiang Immortal".
The No. 1 scholar savored every word and felt the hairs all over his body stand up.
I haven’t seen you for several years, but your majesty still has such literary talents?
Why didn't you show it at all back then?
This is only one aspect. Yang Shen who returned from Guangdong is no longer the same Yang Shen who had obvious shortcomings in worldly sophistication and officialdom wisdom. He soon realized that after this issue of "Ming Pao" spread all over the world, how would the world view the emperor who had learned new knowledge and had great ambitions? He is so talented!
A masterpiece that can be passed down for centuries!
Even Yang Shen, the emperor in his mind now has a different kind of brilliance, it seems that he can only look up to him.
Just...how do you feel...do you feel like you have felt this way before? It seems like it was when we drank from the golden cup together at the national policy meeting...
"Master! Master! Eunuch Huang Jin personally welcomed us!"
Yang Shen was shocked when he heard this: "What?"
Huang Jinzhen was ordered to wait outside the city gate. Yang Shen quickly got off the carriage and went over. He was flattered and said: "Your Majesty is so kind to me, I can't bear it!"
Of course this was what Zhu Houcong meant, and Yang Shen knew how to speak.
Huang Jin's expression was also a little strange.
Indeed, Fei Hong and others had never received such treatment when they returned to Beijing, and he did not know why His Majesty asked him to come and greet them in person.
But this scene was still seen by many people, and everyone was just thinking: The emperor used this special way to express his love for Yang Tinghe, who elected him and supported him to implement the new law, so that the people of Southern Zhili Weighing the weight of Yang Ting and Governor Nanjing also let Fei Hong know that he would listen to the emperor's wishes and work hard, and he would be good in the future.
Only Zhu Houcong himself knows why, and let others interpret the rest.
In the Hall of Yangxin, after Yang Shen had performed a prostration, Zhu Houcong asked: "How about "Linjiang Immortal"?"
Yang Shen was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Your Majesty is so talented that I can't even compare to you..."
Zhu Houcong suppressed Yang's current eccentricities, and only published the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as an important means for him to promote simplified Chinese characters and subtly export some ideas and influence. And since I have to do this, it always feels wrong if the poem is missing.
Besides... Yang Shen today, I'm afraid he won't be in that state of mind anymore. What if he doesn't write this song "Linjiang Immortal" in the future? Reports from Guangdong show that Yang Shen has become more and more a workaholic who is proficient in practical matters.
"Much praise, much praise, eat, eat, eat."
Zhu Houcong was greeted with a table of wine and food. In the State Hall, Fei Hong and several state ministers looked at each other speechlessly.
When Yang Tinghe resigned from his majesty, his majesty held a separate banquet to send him off.
When Yang Shen returned to Beijing, His Majesty ordered Huang Jin to go out to welcome him and hold a banquet to wash away the dust.
But everyone knew that the emperor had the intention of "rewarding" Yang Shen for his recklessness and forcing Yang Tinghe to become the leader of the new party.
In addition, it is also for everyone to see: if you follow His Majesty, you will have many holy relatives.
What does it mean to be harmonious between the king and his ministers?
(End of chapter)
