Whether it is checking the limits of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry, or calling for payment of arrears, or asking the princes, including the prince, to study "The Complete Book of Agricultural Affairs" and "Tiangong Kaiwu", these are all attributed to the craftsmen. , what is the emperor doing?
These events are all very topical. Restaurants and teahouses, after dinner, have become the most interesting topics for the people in the capital.
While they were discussing, suddenly another decree came down from the emperor.
"Have you heard? The Emperor has decreed that those civil servants and generals who have made great achievements this year, as long as their children are of the right age, can choose whether they want to accompany the prince to study!"
"What, there is such a thing? Isn't it a dream to be able to study with the prince? It's your own choice, so I will definitely go!"
"I heard that I am accompanying the prince to read "The Complete Book of Agricultural Affairs" and "Tiangong Kaiwu". Moreover, I heard that there are some experiments to be conducted. I just want them to actually do it according to what is written in the book."
"Ah, is it true? It's a bit unimaginable! After the prince and those heroes, they do carpentry work together? Do blacksmith work? This...is this correct?"
"That's why I said you can choose whether to go crazy with the prince or not!"
"I'm...definitely going to accompany the prince, and it doesn't matter if the prince is crazy, even if I have to go up mountains of swords and down seas of fire, I will still go!"
"..."
Obviously, the appeal of the royal family is still unparalleled. Even if they do some work that is considered lowly by scholar-bureaucrats, they still make them envious.
"The three major governors are the most trusted by the emperor, and they also contributed a lot when the rebels were raging. They have no problem. The generals of the three major battalions also have this qualification. But I heard that even the governor of the five provinces, Mr. Chen, also Mr. Zheng, the governor of the three sides, can also send his son there, which is a bit lucky!"
"No, everyone deserves credit for their position. After all, it was the emperor's personal command, right?"
"Actually, let's forget about these governors. Did you know that the son of a barbarian from Fujian was also appointed by the emperor to accompany the prince to study? This is really bad luck!"
"I've heard about this too. It's said that some of the princes in the court have objections and have already complained that it's unfair. They say that their own children are definitely suitable to accompany the prince to study. Even the sons of the chief soldiers are qualified. Then their sons I also want to accompany you to study!”
"Is there such a thing? But it's no wonder. After all, the prince is here, and those who accompany the prince to study are all the prince's team! It seems understandable that he would risk his life and be shameless for the sake of his child's future!"
"..."
Indeed, it was rumored that the six ministers and nine ministers in the court, the cabinet and the palace nobles were all jealous when they heard that the emperor had recruited a large number of children of civil servants and military officers to accompany the prince, or in their eyes, it could simply be said that they accompanied the prince to study. , no matter what you teach, as long as you can study with the prince, go to the emperor to plead for your children.
Emperor Chongzhen was actually happy to see this situation. He just wanted to use this excuse to accompany the prince to study, so that the next generation of the official family would consciously come to receive the influence of science and technology. Using this method, there will not be much less resistance than forcing everyone to learn scientific and technical knowledge. No, I’m begging to come and learn.
Although Emperor Chongzhen was very happy, he still made some decisions. In the end, it seemed that they couldn't stand the noise of those ministers, so they all agreed.
Good guy, after the last count, there were actually two hundred people studying with the prince!
This result made everyone who knew about it, including the civil and military officials inside and outside the palace, all stunned.
With so many people studying with the prince, how much weight do they have?
However, no matter what, there is always a chance, right?
Therefore, each family teaches their children to perform well in order to stand out and have a good relationship with the prince. Only in this way, the prince will benefit a lot when he ascends the throne as emperor in the future.
However, what they did not expect was that Emperor Chongzhen organized these two hundred people into ten classes, with about twenty people in each class. Although they were also taught by Zhang Zilong and Song Yingxing, they were not in the same class as the prince. It's just that when there are practical classes, it's possible to get together.
As a result, everyone wanted to attract the prince's attention. They all rushed to answer the questions asked by Zhang Zilong and Song Yingxing, just to attract the prince's attention by performing well during the rare time when they were in class with the prince.
Emperor Chongzhen secretly observed for a few days and found that the effect of this kind of learning was very good, and he couldn't help but be very satisfied.
However, there was one situation that was a bit beyond his expectation. That was the Zhang Zilong and Song Yingxing families. Senior civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty, as long as they had children studying with the prince, they all found opportunities to visit their families.
To describe it as a crowded place is not an exaggeration at all. It is much busier than the entrance to the mansion of the Chief Minister of the Cabinet or the Six Ministers.
After listening to Wang Chengen's report, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but smile and shake his head, asking: "What do they usually do when they come to your door?"
"The people under the slave sect understand that some of them teach their children at home on weekdays. When they encounter problems, they have to come to ask for advice, so that they can go back to teach their own children. In this way, their children can learn very well while the two adults are teaching. easy!"
Wang Chengen had a smile on his face. When he said this, he found that the emperor showed a happy smile, so he felt confident and continued: "There are also people who come to the door to praise their children's intelligence openly or secretly, and signal to the two adults that they can Ask them more questions, test their children more, and I guarantee you won’t disappoint these two adults!”
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but smile again. This enthusiasm for learning was somewhat catching up with later generations. The performance of a child in school is directly proportional to the efforts of the parents. It is also difficult for these civil servants and military generals. They will have to worry about this matter after the government is dismissed. It is estimated that if it were changed before, this kind of thing would rarely happen!
Studying with the prince is a good bait!
Emperor Chongzhen smiled from time to time while listening to Wang Chengen's report. He was very happy to see these phenomena.
At this moment, the good news from Shanhaiguan arrived.
Although there was a great victory in the Battle of Tianjin as the foundation, at this time, there were still too few great victories against the Liaodong Jianlu, so they were still somewhat rare. This good news spread quickly in the capital, and it immediately attracted a lot of discussion.
"Have you heard that there are even the heads of Baturu of Jianlu, about two hundred of them, and Guan Ning's army has also begun to win the battle!"
"It's not easy! In the past, it was so difficult to have a head. It was always said that Jianlu would fight to the death to steal the body, so there was no head. This time, there are more than two hundred heads, which is amazing!"
"Actually, have you noticed that everything has changed since the emperor came to Taizu in his dream? It was rare to win a battle in the past, but now, even Guan Ning's army has beheaded more than two hundred people."
"That's right, on the Guan Ning Army side, wasn't it just that the emperor sent Governor Sun over? In just a short time, wasn't it a victory?"
"If you think about it this way, maybe we can really see the end of Liaodong Jianlu in our lifetime?"
"That's for sure, even if the emperor is still young! If this continues, sooner or later, Ming Dynasty will definitely return to Liaodong!"
"..."
The people in the capital became optimistic and at the same time sincerely admired their emperor. Because they felt the changes, the hope and the pride that the emperor's wisdom had brought to them.
As a result, here in the capital, some people used to scold the emperor for being incompetent after drinking too much, and the people were having a hard time making a living. It may even attract the support of others, because many people can relate to the collapse of current events.
But starting from the end of last year, when it was rumored that Taizu fell into a dream, everything slowly changed. The emperor is becoming more and more wise, and good news comes one after another. As a result, many people in restaurants, teahouses, and streets have changed their minds. Not only are there fewer people scolding the emperor, but more and more people are even defending the emperor.
After all, the emperor's policies cannot benefit everyone. Let’s not talk too far, let’s just say that recently, the emperor sent people to check the quota of officials’ exemptions and exemptions, and to collect arrears of taxes. This matter must have hurt the interests of many people. Will they not complain? Absolutely!
However, at this time, if anyone dares to complain publicly, there are few who dare to publicly complain about the quota of exemptions and exemptions for officials, and they are mainly focused on collecting back taxes. Some people say that there is a person in a certain place who is really poor and owes taxes because he cannot afford to pay. However, the emperor sends people to collect the arrears. That is forcing the person to death. This is harmful to the heaven and earth. God is watching. Still alive!
Plainclothes factory guards did not need to deal with such similar claims, but ordinary people spontaneously began to refute them. And if it is done in a public place, it will often attract a group of people to denounce you from various angles, such as how poor you are, and what is it like to be poor? Some people also say that the emperor sent people to collect back taxes, but they were all people with more than 100 acres of land. Such people are still poor. Are they liars?
Under the fierce public sentiment, even if these complainers are really reasonable, they will often be sprayed by passers-by and run away!
There is no way, not many people have Zhuge Liang's ability to talk to other scholars. A lot of spit is sprayed, mixed with a loud voice, and the boss's fist. No one can withstand it.
Time has arrived in December, and in just a few days, the twelfth year of Chongzhen will pass. Just when the people in the capital thought that the year had passed like this, Emperor Chongzhen started to cause trouble again.
An imperial edict was issued to the world, which was related to the reform of the vassal system.
Starting from the generation of Emperor Chongzhen, the imperial title was no longer hereditary, but was inherited through generational demotion. This means that in addition to the prince, all other princes and Emperor Chongzhen will be granted the title of vassal princes. However, Emperor Chongzhen's grandson, even the prince, the eldest son, can only be a county prince.
If the emperor treats his own sons like this, then there is no reason why the other vassal kings can continue to inherit and must follow the new system.
Of course, there are also good things in the new vassal system reform. For example, starting from the rank of lieutenant, that is, the three levels of lieutenant of Zhenguo, lieutenant of auxiliary state, and lieutenant of Fengguo, in addition to receiving a salary, they enjoy the same rights as their nationality: they can engage in business, and they can also take scientific examinations. There will be no restrictions.
As for royal relatives at the levels of vassal kings, county princes, generals of the state, generals of the auxiliary state, and generals of the state, they are still prohibited from engaging in business and imperial examinations. However, they can engage in other aspects of academic research. For example, the first generation of Zhou kings, once The organization has compiled medical books such as "Compendium of Materia Medica for Famine Relief", "Remaining Records of Preserving Life", "Pocket Prescriptions" and "Puji Prescriptions". The court encourages things like this. If you have to travel for this purpose, the local officials will not be embarrassed.
In this way, these royal relatives no longer have to be imprisoned in the fiefdom to eat and wait to die like before. As long as they want to go out and have a look, they must at least choose a direction to study.
The biggest resistance to the reform of the vassal system actually came from the emperor himself who held the greatest power. No matter what, if his son wants to do this, there will be emotional problems after all. Even many emperors felt that this world belonged to their own family. If their sons could not enjoy this world, then would this world still belong to them?
Therefore, this vassal system will definitely not end well for any dynasty or emperor if any minister dares to raise it.
However, the current Emperor Chongzhen comes from a later generation, and his thoughts are not comparable to those of all emperors hundreds of years ago. His consciousness is obviously much higher. In addition, these princes and princesses seem to be separated from him by a layer of distance. For him, they still lack a layer of close-to-bone affection. Therefore, this vassal system was thought up by the emperor himself.
His reasons for warning the harem were also very good. The current situation of the sects and vassals, you can know how serious the situation is just by throwing a stack of memorials at it, and then he was so righteous. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, he had to kill his relatives with righteousness. Of course, this is not considered To eliminate relatives for the sake of justice, we must make such a change.
Emperor Chongzhen's authority has become very high after this year. And his princes are still very young. Even the prince is only ten years old and has no thoughts of his own. Therefore, basically not many people in the harem dare to oppose his decision. Empress Zhou, who held the final weight, had no objection because she had a son who was a prince.
As soon as this decree came out, the world was shocked.
Of course, after all, this matter is only related to the royal family. Most people have the mentality of eating melon seeds and watching the show. Their evaluation is based on their own butts, which they absolutely support.
However, some people who are not members of the royal family are more worried, namely those hereditary nobles. They were thinking that even the emperor's son was no longer hereditary, so what would happen to their hereditary title? Will the emperor one day abolish their hereditary status?
Therefore, they expected that the feudal kings would object. As long as those feudal kings stood in front, they would be safe and sound.
Chongzhen eavesdropping system
Chongzhen eavesdropping system
