Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Jiangxi, Nanchang.

Wei Liangchen quickly came to Jiangxi with only a few servants and flag officials, and invited Li Bing to see him the night he arrived.

Li Bing, who sent two secret letters to escalate the matter, is already in his forties.

His hometown was in Rencheng, Shandong Province. He was first invaded by Song Jiang and then plundered by Li Cheng. When the clan members fled, they went their separate ways, leaving very little of the family's wealth. The land was also distributed to the refugees in the first year of Hongwu.

Li Bing served as an official in the small court in the southeast. By the time he returned to the Ming Dynasty, it was already too late to get his land back.

In other words, although Li Bing comes from a wealthy family in Shandong, he is now barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes. So what if I offend a wealthy family in Jiangxi? I'm already like this, come and bite me!

"How is the situation?" Wei Liangchen went straight to the topic.

Li Bing introduced the situation: "When the entire Jiangxi province cleared land, it was relatively thorough, and I'm afraid less than five counties were able to do so. The remaining prefectures and counties had more or less problems. After the Sanfa Division came to investigate the case, I took the opportunity to review the various places. But the resistance was huge. Although the county officials were frightened and carried out strict inspections, it was difficult for the officials to carry out the implementation. "

"The emperor is so angry, how dare those big families make trouble?" Wei Liangchen said in surprise.

Li Bing said: "It's a mess. There were disputes every day when I was in charge of my land. Tian Gen (Tian Bone) and Tian Mian (Tian Skin) changed hands countless times, and most of them couldn't produce the sales contract. When the officials went to the countryside, they had to go to Zhang Tian. When working in the fields, there would be fights over the fields, and even a peasant woman would commit suicide on the spot.”

Wei Liangchen sneered: "Maybe it's just a coincidence that this happens in one township and one village. It's the same in the whole province. It's not just the big family who are doing something weird!"

Li Bing said: "Also, too many Jiangxi officials have been involved in the case and have been under review by the Three Laws Division in the past two months. The new officials have just arrived and have no confidants available, and they are easily fooled."

Wei Liangchen said: "Start with the families confessed by the criminals. Once the charges are proven, we will immediately arrest the people, confiscate their homes, break up the clans, and relocate them. Regardless of whether anyone in their family is an official, we will arrest them all and break up the clans. Arrest one in each county. If the rich clan can shock the whole county, what happens next will be easy to say!”

"I thought so too, so I secretly asked His Majesty to dismantle the clan," Li Bing said.

Wei Liangchen pointed to the two flag officers behind him, who held a command flag and a gold medal: "I have this in my hand, which can mobilize the Jiangxi army."

The two flag officers are both served by palace guards.

One person holds the flag and the other person holds the card, following the governor at all times, representing the emperor's personal presence.

The King's Order Flag was a thing that only existed in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and appeared more frequently than the Shang Fang Sword - the Ming Dynasty was more cautious and would not give it out easily. In the Qing Dynasty, the number gradually spread, and eventually every governor had one, and the gold medals were reduced to wooden plaques painted with gold paint.

For example, Wang Yangming was sent to Jiangxi to suppress bandits, but found that he could not command the local army. So Shangshu invited the king to order the flag, and suddenly no one dared to disobey the order, and they could mobilize the troops as they were told.

Li Bing had never seen it before: "What is this?"

Wei Liangchen said: "The king's order flag is specially set up for major cases in Jiangxi. It is equivalent to the troop deployment document and military talisman."

"You actually have such great power." Li Bing was extremely shocked. This was impossible in the Song Dynasty.

For ordinary troop deployment, only the military symbols are useless, and there must be troop troop deployment documents stamped by the Ministry of War.

How many troops will be transferred and what they will be used for are clearly written in the document and cannot exceed the scope of the troop transfer document.

The king's command flag is not only a collection of troop deployment documents and military symbols, but also has extremely high authority to freely mobilize troops.

As long as Wei Liangchen is in office as governor, he can quickly deploy troops to do whatever he wants as long as it is within the scope of Jiangxi Province.

This thing is generally not given. As long as it is given, it is a big deal, indicating that a certain place is so chaotic that it is difficult to manage.

Li Bing took out another unopened letter: "This is from the Duke of Gan. He asked me to deliver it to you."

Wei Liangchen quickly opened the letter and read it. After reading it, he was overjoyed: "The Zhang family promised to cooperate with the demolition clan to relocate, and the Duke of Gan will also help persuade other big clans in the same town."

"My qualifications are too low. I can't persuade the Chen family of Yimen, and I can't get land from the government," Li Bing said. "Maybe if the governor is gone, they will give me some face."

Wei Liangchen said: "The king's order of flags is like the emperor coming in person. If they don't give your majesty face, they will also give the army some face!"

The Yimen Chen family had already been demolished once by Wen Yanbo and Bao Zheng in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty.

At that time, they occupied numerous areas in Jiangzhou (Jiujiang), and even owned land across the border in other roads.

Not to mention the more than 70 states and counties that were dismantled, let’s talk about what happened before it was dismantled. In the fourth year of Qingli alone, 403 people from the Chen family in Yimen, who lived in Jiangzhou, took the imperial examination at one time!

Li Bing reminded: "The Chen family in Yimen has been relocating for hundreds of years, and the people who stayed in Jiangzhou have grown and prospered. Their farms and gardens have been restored to more than 200 places. Each farm is similar to a village, and the head of the village is owned by the Chen family. Appointed by the clan leader. If the local government wants to collect taxes, they must visit in person, otherwise they will not be able to collect the grain taxes. "

"Most of the shops in the prefecture and county markets are owned by the Chen family. There is also the Shou'an Hall, which specializes in supporting orphans and the elderly. There are also places to care for orphans and the disabled. In these charity places, people who are not surnamed Chen can live in them."

"The ancestral hall has a punishment hall. If a clan member commits a crime and is beaten to death, not only will no trouble occur, but the villagers will praise the strict family law."

"All the children of the clan, whether rich or poor, can study for free. They also opened a medical hall where clan members can go to get treatment. There is also a theater where you can watch plays every month. There is also a library, which was formerly called the Royal Library. , which contains the imperial pens of the former Song emperors."

"Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, witchcraft rooms. Regardless of whether they believe in Buddhism or Taoism, the clan members can enter and exit freely. Sacrifices are also managed by the family, and there is no need to bother the government."

Wei Liangchen was dumbfounded after hearing this: "It is indeed...Yimen Chen!"

How can local officials manage such a large family?

No wonder the Northern Song Dynasty, which treated gentry well, could be so cruel as to forcibly dismantle the Yimen Chen clan and relocate them.

If it is allowed to develop, it will become a country within a country.

Most of the local land is occupied by the Chen clan, not to mention the clan members, and the tenants are also controlled by them.

This kind of control is all-round, from eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, to birth, aging, illness and death, to studying and treating illnesses, and even religious beliefs, all are handled by the Chen clan elders.

……

A few days later.

Wei Liangchen used the king's flag to draw out the provincial, prefectural and county-level officials in Nanchang City, and took a thousand garrison troops and five hundred grain transport troops to De'an County by boat.

The land controlled by Yimen Chen family has spread to all counties in Jiujiang Prefecture, but the family headquarters is still in De'an.

As soon as the fleet turned into the river at Pengli Lake (Poyang Lake), Yimen Chen family had received the news, and the clan leader Chen Zongxian urgently convened a clan elders meeting.

"A big tree attracts the wind," Chen Zongxian sighed, "The governor is almost at the border of De'an County, it seems that my Yimen Chen family will be split again."

An elder said angrily: "If we move to other places, we can accept it. But this time we are going to Hunan, where there are some virgin lands and few tenants. How can this be called moving the clan? It is clearly exiling the whole clan!"

"That's right," said another elder, "regardless of the Tang and Song dynasties, my Yimen Chen family was exempted from corvée and grain loans. But in this Ming Dynasty, it is necessary to distribute the capitation according to the acreage. The capitation money has become based on the amount of land. Mu of land is collected. Isn't it that most of the labor service money in Jiujiang Prefecture is paid by my Chen family? "Another elder said: "Jiangzhou is a good place, but it has to be renamed Jiujiang Prefecture. The previous county magistrate also asked us to demolish the Criminal Hall, saying that we cannot abuse private punishment. My Chen family has a strict family tradition. What does it have to do with the government to discipline the clan members?" Another elder said: "Left Censor Chen Dong is the descendant of my Yimen Chen family who moved out. Why doesn't he speak for his family? At least advise the emperor!" You said one thing, I said another, all complaining. Chen Zongxian talked about the demolition of the clan again, but the elders were unwilling to move. They wanted to bargain with the court. The demolition of the clan was allowed, but not to Hunan. Even if they went to Hunan, they had to be close to the city and could not be allowed to reclaim wasteland. And it had to be the same as the demolition of the clan in the previous Song Dynasty. The amount of land taken away by the government in the hometown must be replaced by the same value in the new place. After a quarrel, the elders dispersed. The clan leader Chen Zongxian sat in the hall with a sad face. The government couldn't control the Yimen Chen family, and he couldn't control the elders of the clan. Many of them were his elders!

Another day later, Wei Liangchen came with troops.

Chen Zongxian took the clan elders to greet them, and they were a little worried when they saw the army.

But it was just worry. The Yimen Chen family was very famous. Would the governor really dare to use force?

"Old Chen Zongxian, I pay my respects to Governor Wei." Chen Zongxian led the bow.

Wei Liangchen smiled and returned the greeting: "I have heard of the great name of the Yimen Chen family for a long time, and I came to visit today."

Come to visit with soldiers?

The two exchanged a few words, and Wei Liangchen said: "I heard that the Chen family has an imperial book building?"

Chen Zongxian hurriedly said: "It has been changed to Wanjuan Building."

Wei Liangchen asked again: "Are there many imperial books of the former Song emperor enshrined in the building?"

Chen Zongxian said: "It is just collected, not enshrined."

The imperial edicts of the former emperors are in many families of the big families, which is not a crime.

Wei Liangchen mentioned this matter just to intimidate and gradually increase his speech momentum.

Wei Liangchen continued to ask: "The Spring and Autumn Festivals should be performed by the government. Why did the Yimen Chen family do it? Are they afraid that the government can't afford the sacrifices?"

Chen Zongxian explained: "The previous county magistrates have asked the Chen family to do it on their behalf. I think it is inappropriate. I will never do it again in the future."

"Can I take a tour here?" Wei Liangchen asked.

Chen Zongxian said: "Governor Wei is a guest. Not to mention playing, he can stay here for a year."

So, Wei Liangchen, accompanied by a group of elders, took hundreds of entourage to wander around.

After walking for a while, the clerk next to him came forward and whispered a few words to Wei Liangchen.

After hearing this, Wei Liangchen broke into a building, pointed inside and said, "Is this the Xingzhang Hall?"

Chen Zongxian said, "The former county magistrate Liang said that this was inappropriate, and my Chen family no longer uses private punishment."

"Why hasn't the plaque been changed?" Wei Liangchen pointed to the plaque with the three characters Xingzhang Hall engraved on it.

Chen Zongxian said, "Before it was too late, I immediately had someone take it down."

Wei Liangchen turned around and spread his hands, and his attendant took out a copy of the "Da Ming Law". He took the "Great Ming Code" with both hands and questioned Chen Zongxian: "Do you know what crime it is to set up a court privately?"

Chen Zongxian finally panicked: "It's just to discipline the lawless people in the clan to correct the family tradition. I don't do it anymore."

Wei Liangchen sneered: "Even the county magistrate cannot judge the crime. It must be handed over to the law officer in the government. If the law officer imposes a heavy sentence, it must be reported to the Censorate for review. If the Censorate reviews it correctly, it must be reported to the Ministry of Justice for review. You deal with it directly here, and you have more power than the Censorate. Could it be that the Ministry of Justice has set up a branch in the Chen family?"

"I dare not, I absolutely dare not!" Chen Zongxian was sweating on his back. This hat was too big.

"I heard that this torture hall has killed people," Wei Liangchen turned around and said to the soldiers behind him, "The Chen family of Yimen set up a private court, defied the court, and committed murder. This torture hall should be demolished immediately. The Chen clan leader and the elders who managed the torture hall should all be arrested and taken to Nanchang for trial by the three judicial officials!"