Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Jiang Xinghuo's report on behalf of the President's Reform Affairs Office not only deeply touched the senior officials of the Ming Empire, but also announced from a factual level that this huge empire had undergone a one-year reform so far. The reform has taken on a new look.

Obviously, the next stage of reform means entering deep water in all aspects.

Needless to say about agriculture, there are now relatively few people and plenty of land, and the Little Ice Age has not yet been fatal. In the next few decades, the production of the agricultural sector in the Ming Dynasty will be able to meet the needs of the reform. If there is not enough food to support part of the population to enter industry , commerce and other sectors, the industrial revolution is unlikely to succeed.

In other words, in the late Ming Dynasty, you couldn't change even if you wanted to. If the basic conditions were not good, it would be useless for anyone to try. However, in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, problems such as excessive population pressure and the rigidity of the bureaucratic system appeared, and the difficulty of reform was even higher.

Therefore, from the perspective of agriculture and population, the early Ming Dynasty was actually the easiest time to reform.

What about industry?

Industrially, handicraft workshops represented by the cotton textile industry were initially established, and key technological breakthroughs were achieved in the coal and iron sectors, which are the most critical sectors in heavy industry.

But objectively speaking, these are far from enough for the complete development of the industrial revolution.

At present, these sporadic fires are not enough to ignite the technological changes of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, key technologies such as steam engines, machine tools, and parts have not yet been completed, and mass production is still far away.

Therefore, although the road to the industrial revolution has made a good start, it still has a long way to go.

There are even more major things that have not been accomplished in the economic system, or the tests that it will have to withstand in the future.

Apart from anything else, it is a very, very challenging task to restore the currency value and credibility of the treasure banknotes before the cross-sea expedition.

In addition, the establishment of a commercial transportation network consisting of "point-to-point trade routes" for domestic trade in core areas, as well as the warehouse and post office systems envisaged in the future, will require a large investment of manpower, material resources and energy.

Of course, the most difficult thing and the most significant thing is to send tax soldiers and guards to the countryside.

"The road is long and long, and we will search high and low."

Jiang Xinghuo ended the entire work report by slightly changing a sentence from Qu Yuan's "Li Sao".

Applause is not popular in this era, and there was no sustained applause in the room, but the complicated looks of everyone were the best footnote to Jiang Xinghuo's work in the past year of reform.

No one is in awe of a person who can truly make every word he says come true.

No matter how ridiculous these words were in the eyes of everyone, when these boasted "cows" have become reality before their eyes, who can ignore them?

After Jiang Xinghuo, who was temporarily in power, finished his work report, he took out another document and read out the most important content.

——The result of passing the legal examination in the first year of Yongle.

Among the people present, no one except Jian Yi, the Minister of Civil Affairs, knew about this result.

Everyone stared nervously at Jiang Xinghuo who was reading.

"Those who have passed the examination with excellent or excellent results should be promoted as follows."

"."

Not many people care about the promotion of junior officials. According to the examination method, in fact, based on the usual results, everyone can guess one or two.

After all, it may be difficult to tell who does it, but who does it particularly well? We are not blind, and the ones who stand out can be seen at a glance.

When they reached the level of Shaoqing from each temple, everyone's attention began to focus.

"The promotion to the king is really the young minister of Honglu Temple."

This appointment is somewhat surprising, but if you think about Wang Zhen's background carefully, it is not so surprising.

The former Shaoqing of Honglu Temple was Xun Zhan. After the incident where Chen Zuyi’s pirate gang disguised themselves as a mission from the Champa State and committed a murder case, Xun Zhan was first demoted to the Imperial Academy as a clerk, and then was exiled to Yunnan and Guizhou. , and this position has been vacant for more than half a year, but there are many people eyeing this position, and finally it was taken by Chen Zhen.

However, Chen Zhen’s performance in the examination was outstanding and he was definitely going to be promoted, so he was left vacant again.

Now, after fierce competition, this position has been determined through the public and convincing process of examination.

Wang Zhen was the official cook of the former Yan Palace, in other words, Zhu Di's chief cook.

Moreover, Wang Zhen was not an ordinary worker. He went to the battlefield with Zhu Di carrying a marching pot on his back. After the success of the Jingnan War, the former King of Yan suddenly became the emperor, and Wang Zhen also entered Honglu Temple.

However, at the beginning, his level was still quite low, so although Zhu Di had the intention to give him the position of Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, he could not go too far, so he delayed it for more than half a year and promoted him for another half. Level, this is barely justified.

"Li Wei, the vice-president of the Xingren Division, was promoted to the position of Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple, and Gao Zhi, the official of Tingzhou Prefecture, was promoted to the position of Prime Minister of Guanglu Temple."

Upon hearing this appointment, even though these officials were all high-ranking officials, they inevitably started whispering.

There is no other reason. Li Wei's promotion in this group is even more outrageous than that of the previous chef manager.

If the promotion of head chef was a favor, and he really worked hard and worked hard, Li Wei could really reach the top in one step.

What I want to explain here is what exactly is the Pingren Division.

The Xingren Division was established in the 13th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. The chief officer was Xingren (the ninth rank), and his deputies were the left and right Xingren (from the ninth rank). Later, it was changed to Xingren and was called Sizheng. The left and right pedestrians were the left and right vice-deputies. There are 345 pedestrians. The entire organization was upgraded after the 27th year of Hongwu. They are all filled by Jinshi, who are mainly responsible for the work of conveying decrees.

And this job of delivering the decree is different from what the eunuchs are responsible for. It is delivering the decree nationwide and even around the world.

When the emperor issued an order, issuing edicts, canonizing clan members, approving all directions, recruiting talented people, as well as rewards, condolences, relief, military affairs, sacrifices, etc., all the pedestrians had to go out and run errands with the imperial edict.

After Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen came to the throne, he implemented the New Deal and abolished the Xingrensi. Zhu Di came to power and restored the state of the mid-to-late Hongwu period.

But despite this, the promoted deputy secretary of the pedestrian division is still only from the seventh rank, which is also an out-and-out sesame official.

Although the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple is from the fifth rank, it is an official position with real power, and usually according to the rules of the temple, he can be specially given to wear scarlet robes.

This is equivalent to jumping four levels in a row, which can be said to be very exaggerated.

As for this person, he was one of the best among the best in the imperial examination, and was used by Jiang Xinghuo to "buy bones with a thousand pieces of gold."

As for Gao Zhi, the official of Tingzhou Prefecture, the Prime Minister of Honglu Temple is from the sixth rank, and the official is the assistant official of each prefecture and is responsible for the punishment. Except for Shuntian Prefecture and Yingtian Prefecture, the official recommendation is from the sixth rank. In other prefectures, the official All the promoted officials are of the seventh rank, which is a normal promotion in terms of grade. Of course, being transferred directly from a place like Sitingzhou Prefecture of Fujian Governor to the central government is actually considered a special promotion. Otherwise, there are so many prefectures across the country. How many people have the opportunity to be transferred to the capital?

However, some well-informed people have heard rumors that Gao Zhi has a deep understanding of Xunzi's teachings, and his transfer to the capital will be of great use.

After reading Shaoqing and Sicheng, it was the turn of "Xiao Jiuqing".

The so-called "Xiaojiuqing" is naturally relative to the "Dajiuqing" who are the chief officials of the six departments. Generally speaking, there are no particularly strict regulations in the Hongwu Dynasty. Some people think it should be Taichang Temple, Jingzhao Yin, Guang Lu Temple, Taipu Temple, Zhanshi Mansion, Imperial Academy, Hanlin Academy, plus Left and Right Chunfang; but some people think that Zhanshi Mansion and Left and Right Chunfang are official offices of the East Palace and should not be included, but Shang should be added. Baosi, Honglu Temple, and Qintianjian, but some people think that the current Honglu Temple is too low, far behind the Han Dynasty Dahonglu Temple, and is at the bottom of the temples, and Qintian Temple is not as good as the Han Dynasty Taishi Ling is also very far away and cannot be calculated like this.

Although everyone has their own opinions, there has never been an official definition, so much so that Lao Zhu once made a joke during a meeting.

Xingrensi went to convey the order, and there was an order of "all the nine ministers, big and small", but for a while he didn't know who it was. As a last resort, he called everyone here, and Lao Zhu was furious.

But getting angry is getting angry. Lao Zhu is still reasonable in this kind of matter. After listening to the feedback, he realized that there is indeed no clear definition, so he personally issued an order and settled on the so-called "Xiao Jiu Qing". Lao Zhu's definition was Taichang The chief officials of the nine departments of the Temple, Zhanshifu, Jingzhaoyin, Guanglu Temple, Taipu Temple, Honglu Temple, Imperial Academy, Hanlin Academy, and Shangbaosi were all designated as Xiao Jiuqing.

"Promote Huang Ziwei to Minister of Guanglu Temple."

Huang Ziwei, the former magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture, was the person Jiang Xinghuo used, and he made great contributions in quelling chaos and controlling floods in the south of the Yangtze River. Now he has been promoted from the fourth-grade prefect to the third-grade Guanglu Temple Minister. It is reasonable and reasonable. No one can say anything.

And as the list was gradually announced, the last person to be promoted in "Xiao Jiuqing" could be regarded as a stone falling to the ground.

It was none other than Bachelor Xie.

"Promoted Jie Jin to Minister of Honglu Temple."

The Minister of Honglu Temple is a fourth-rank official. Although he cannot compare with the third-rank Dali Temple Minister, Taichang Temple Minister, and the third-rank Guanglu Temple Minister and Taipu Temple Minister, who are also temple ministers, in any case, Jie Jin was stabbed twice, but now he finally got what he wanted and put on the scarlet robe.

And the gold content of this scarlet robe is very high.

Xun Zhan, the former young minister of Honglu Temple, could also wear a scarlet robe, but that scarlet robe was specially given because the young minister of Honglu Temple was responsible for receiving foreign envoys. The custom was to wear a scarlet robe, which represented the dignity of the Ming Dynasty and was different from the serious ones. Fei Pao is different.

In this way, the personnel appointments in each temple were concluded, and next came the personnel appointments in the six central departments that everyone was most concerned about.

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the list in his hand and continued reading without much hesitation.

"Promoted Lu Xiang to the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment."

Lu Xiang, former chief envoy to Peking and right counselor, has done a good job under Guo Zi, the secretary of the Beijing Ministry of Finance this year. As a direct descendant of Zhu Gaochi, it is not surprising that he is now transferred to the Nanjing center.

But in this way, Zhu Gaochi's power became stronger, which really made many people guess.

It’s different from Jingcha.

The capital inspection was carried out by the cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel, and the President's Office of Reform Affairs.

As for the legal examination, the officials are responsible for it and the emperor has the final say.

In other words, this list must have been approved by Zhu Di before being handed over to Jiang Xinghuo for reading.

So what does it mean that the emperor asked the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi to shut himself up and think about his mistakes, but on the other hand he acquiesced to the increase in his power?

Not to mention that the list cannot be changed, let alone that the emperor will forget about it.

Obviously, this is intentional.

After thinking about this, they all focused on the paper in Jiang Xinghuo's hand.

There are currently two missing ministers in the Six Ministries, both of whom are right ministers. One is the vacancy left by Li Qing, the former right minister of the Ministry of Justice after Ma Jing's fall, and is now filled by Lu Xiang. The other is the former right minister of the Ministry of Rites after the fall of Wang Jing. The vacancy left by the minister Song Li has also been vacant, and it depends on who can fill it.

And who the replacement person is also means the direction of the wind in a certain temple.

Jiang Xinghuo didn't have the habit of being secretive, so he announced it quickly.

"Promoted Mo Lin to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites."

Mo Lin, courtesy name Shizhen, was born in Gaoling, Shaanxi Province. In the 25th year of Hongwu, he was promoted as a royal censor. He advocated strictness and strictness. He was promoted by Lao Zhu in his later years to be the Deputy Inspector of Peking. During the Jingnan Campaign, he was responsible for defending the city and inspecting the city. , responsible for the punishment of Beiping Prefecture. When Beiping City was surrounded by Li Jinglong's hundreds of thousands of troops, there was a serious shortage of food. In order to prevent his family from starving to death, a grain chief stole two buckets of rice. After being convicted, it stands to reason that he should not be punished by chopping off his toes. ), Mo Lin insisted on the execution of mutilation in order to put an end to this trend from the root. Zhu Di rushed to Daning thousands of miles away and took the Daning army and the three Duoyan guards back. After returning, the siege of Peiping was lifted. After hearing this, Mo Lin Very appreciated.

As an official who stayed behind, after the Yan army won the battle of Jingnan, Mo Lin did not go south. Instead, like Lu Xiang, he continued to serve under Guo Zi. This year, Mo Lin's own son was killed because of his fairness and integrity. After Mo Lin found out about accepting the bribe, he directly dragged him into the well. Although no one was killed, everyone already knew the fact that this man was a ruthless person.

The most popular guess was that Mo Lin would take over Li Qing's position as the right minister of the Ministry of Justice. After all, he was a professional counterpart. However, unexpectedly, it was Lu Xiang who took over the position of right minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Mo Lin was thrust into the Ministry of Etiquette.

You know, the Ministry of Rites has directly become the headquarters of the reform faction since Wang Jing was taken away.

What exactly the emperor meant by this move is worth pondering.

In fact, if you calculate it this way, among the six ministries including Mo Lin from the Ministry of Rites, Xu Siwen from the Ministry of Personnel, Sun Yu from the Ministry of Husbandry, Lu Xiang from the Ministry of Punishment, Chen Shou from the Ministry of Work, and Qiao Wen from the Ministry of War, at the level of minister, Zhu Gaochi, who was born in the Beiping clan, already occupies a full share of the ranks. Half of the positions, and all six parts are available, not one is left behind.

If Zhu Gaochi is a minister and a powerful official, then this is already a very dangerous signal, because "killing with praise" is usually the penultimate step for the emperor to kill powerful officials.

But if Zhu Gaochi is the most powerful competitor for the prince, then the logic is reversed.

Zhu Yuanzhang has a secret, that is, if Zhu Biao wants to rebel, Lao Zhu will personally help him wear the yellow robe.

For Ming Dynasty, this is actually no joke. It can be seen from Zhu Biao and Zhu Yunwen, as well as Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life history line, that they attach great importance to successors. Once they are determined, they will We have to start paving the way very early.

Therefore, many ministers regarded this appointment at the end of the first year of Yongle as a signal that Zhu Gaochi was valued and cultivated by the emperor.

Of course, some people feel that the use of officials from the Peking Department is actually the emperor using "one of his own people" and cannot be directly regarded as an affirmation of Zhu Gaochi.

But no matter what they were thinking at this time, in short, Zhu Gaochi's power was at its peak, while the old ministers of Hongwu and Jianwen, the so-called conservatives, began to see their power gradually infiltrated and disintegrated, and began to lose the helplessness they had a year ago in the upper echelons of the temple. The unshakable dominance is an indisputable fact.

More than a year ago, when the Yan army had just crossed the river, although the entire court was filled with surrendered ministers, the group of Hongwu and Jianwen actually held the absolute leadership.

Unfortunately, time has passed and the situation in the court has changed without realizing it.

With the rise of the reform faction, the line of eldest princes gradually became more powerful, and the emperor held key positions. The power space of the old ministers of Hongwu and Jianwen was squeezed into an increasingly narrow space.

The promotion results of the central examination system have all come out. The examination system only deals with promotions. If the examination results are not good, in theory, there is a so-called "buffer period" according to the regulations of the examination method. At most, they will be transferred to other positions in parallel. on, so no one will be demoted directly.

As for demotion and dismissal, that is a matter for the Beijing Police.

But even so, everyone still listened and analyzed attentively.

I've finished reading the central committee's list of promotion candidates, and there's still room for them.

Petty officials still failed to arouse public interest, except for more important places, such as the former magistrate of Shanghai County and the current magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture, Zhang Shouyue, was directly promoted to the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture.

But when it comes to the middle and senior levels of the local prosecutor's office and the chief envoy's office, everyone is very interested.

"Promoted to Zhang Ben, he was the Chief Envoy of Huanghuai and Si Zuo participated in politics."

The position of Si Zuo Shen Zheng, the chief envoy to Huanghuai, was originally Wang Yuanshan's position. Because Wang Yuanshan was involved in the first assassination of the imperial envoy, he was stripped of his official position and imprisoned.

Zhang Ben was Wang Shijie's former magistrate of Yangzhou Prefecture (fourth rank). He had been promoted to Huanghuai Chief Envoy, Si Youshenzheng (third rank). After Wang Yuanshan stepped down, he would definitely take over as Zuoshanzheng. This was a certainty. things.

"Promoted to Huanghuai as Chief Envoy of Huanghuai and Siyou to participate in politics."

This news can only make people stunned. Sure enough, he is a close minister of the emperor. After he came out, he was promoted very quickly. In the blink of an eye, he became the third-in-command of the local chief envoy.

After Huang Huai came out of the cabinet, he was transferred to the Chief Envoy of Huang Huai, who had the same name as him, and was allowed to consult. Now he has been promoted to one rank, surpassing Xie Jin, who has been through life and death, and has become the highest-ranking person in the cabinet.

The people who are now transferred from the cabinet, in order of official positions, are Huanghuai Chief Envoy Si You Shenzheng Huanghuai (from the third rank), Honglu Temple Minister Xie Jin (from the fourth rank), and Imperial College Jijiu Hu Yan (from the fourth rank) Jin Youzi (the fifth rank), the Shaoqing of Shenfa Temple.

However, although Shenfa Temple is a newly built temple, in terms of administrative structure, it is a normal temple. The vacant Shenfa Temple Minister is at the same level as the Guanglu Temple Minister and Taipu Temple Minister, and they are all from the third rank; while the top level The temples are of the highest rank, such as the Minister of Dali Temple and the Minister of Taichang Temple.

Nowadays, Shenfa Temple is doing a good job in various tasks, and the revision of laws and legislation are in progress. Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, it is very likely that Jin Youzi will come from behind next year. After becoming a full-time official, he will go directly to the third rank, tying Huang Huai, and Xie Jin will definitely not be able to move in a short time.

"Promoted Fang Ji to be the Chief Envoy of Sichuan and Si You participated in politics."

"Promoted Xin Yanbo to the post of Inspector General of Zhejiang Province."

Xin Yanbo was a former Chief Secretary of Zhejiang who participated in politics. He helped with the quelling of chaos and flood control in the south of the Yangtze River. He did a good job in implementing the New Deal this year and was relatively close to the reformists, so he was promoted by Jiang Xinghuo.

There are many people like Xin Yanbo in Jiangnan, such as Wang Shijie, the prefect of Yangzhou Prefecture, Zhang Yulin, the prefect of Changzhou Prefecture, and Zhang Shouyue, the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture.

Although Zhu Gaochi seemed to be the biggest beneficiary of the examination in the first year of Yongle, Jiang Xinghuo and his reform faction also made considerable progress and obtained many positions.

In the center, the two "Xiaojiu Qing"-level temple officials, Guanglu Temple Qing and Honglu Temple Qing, were captured. In short, Jiang Xinghuo and his reform faction, although their power in the center is not Very strong, but there has been significant growth.

At the local level, especially in the Jiangnan region, where the economy is the most developed, the reformists in various governments are very powerful, and even show an overwhelming advantage. This is the benefit of using the opportunity to cleanse the opposition forces, as the military front has done before.

All that remains is the announcement of the promotions of some temporarily vacant officials.

"Promoted Chen Zhen (former Shaoqing of Honglu Temple) to Henan Chief Envoy Si You to participate in politics."

"Promoted Yiying (former doctor of the Ministry of Industry) to the post of Chief Minister of Henan Province and Zuo Councilor."

"Promoted Liu Congzheng (former Zhejiang Province Supervisor and Censor) to Henan Chief Envoy and Siyou Councilor."

"."

Jiang Xinghuo's first day in office was spent with the reading of the work report and the results of the examination.

The shock that these two documents brought to the entire center was far from ending with his announcement.

After everyone dispersed with their own thoughts, Hu Guang knew that he was not trusted, so he consciously slipped away. Sanyang looked at the extremely crowded and empty cabinet just now, and his thoughts were very complicated.

Yang Shiqi looked gloomy and said, "Two of you, what do you think of today's problem?"

He is the most astute among the three, and his perception of the wind direction in the temple is more acute than others.

"Which aspect?"

"Of course it's a matter of passing the test."

Other things, whether agriculture, industry or economy, are actually important to Sanyang, but they are not that important.

San Yang put all his political future on the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi.

For them, the biggest issue affecting the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi has never been the specific administrative direction or policy decisions, but their own power.

Yang Shiqi knew that the results of the examination looked very wonderful. All the direct officials of Zhu Gaochi in the six departments had occupied positions, but it was hard to say that this was a pit, a pit to bury himself!

"If you ask me, this is a poisonous plot!"

Yang Rong said: "Once it is implemented, it will be roasted on the fire."

Yang Pu said dullly: "Zheng Bo Duan Yu Yan."

The so-called "Zheng Beke and Duan Yuyan" is actually an article written by Zuo Qiuming, a historian in the Spring and Autumn Period. The article mainly tells the political struggle between Zheng Zhuanggong and his brother Gongshu Duan in the first year of Lu Yin to seize the throne of the country. Duke Zhuang of Zheng designed and deliberately indulged his younger brother Gong Shu Duan and his mother Wu Jiang. Then when public sentiment aroused, Duke Zhuang used this to attack Gong Shu Duan.

This is also a famous hard-to-get temple trick in history.

As for the claim that Duke Zhuang complained about his mother's favoritism and moved her to Yingdi, but later regretted it and dug a tunnel to the underworld on the advice of Uncle Yingkao, that's just a show.

But now Yang Pu summed it up with "Zheng Beke and Duan Yu Yan", which in the eyes of the three cabinet members couldn't be more subtle.

Yang Rongdao: "This kind of thing is possible, but I think that if someone criticizes it, His Majesty will not accept it."

Yang Shiqi frowned and said, "Who can say for sure about this kind of thing?"

Yang Rong wanted to say something else, but Yang Shiqi snorted coldly and said, "Don't be too optimistic. This position of minister is a position that many people dream of. Now the eldest prince seems to be powerful, but in fact it has also aroused the jealousy of many people. Don't forget, if you don't count the military officials, the second prince's power in the temple is very weak. Once the appointment of the crown prince is really established, there will be problems in the development of the north and south Zhili. We have exposed our flaws and been The crowd is attacking, how can these jealous and jealous people just give up?"

"good."

At this time, Yang Pu stroked his short beard and said: "The existence of some people is like a poisonous snake, always hiding in the dark. As long as there is enough profit, they may bite us to death at any time!"

"Be careful!" Yang Rong scolded angrily.

Nowadays, Sanyang is still a so-called "infant body" and has not fully matured politically. To put it bluntly, he is a young man. His perspective on many things and the way he handles them are definitely different from his mature state when he was sixty or seventy years old. of.

Yang Shiqi snorted and said nothing, obviously acquiescing to his remarks.

The embarrassing atmosphere in the room lasted for a long time, and Yang Rong said: "It's not that there is no good way. We can disclose certain information to some people and let them make their own choices. In this way, even if they want to make progress, they have to support it. The eldest prince."

"You mean Jingcha?"

Yang Pu said: "That's inappropriate. How long has it been since the incident with the monk last time? If anyone thinks that we are making a fool of ourselves, they will hate the eldest prince even more."

Yang Shiqi chuckled and said, "No, not really."

Yang Pu said: "So, do you have any good strategy?"

Yang Shiqi was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, "I did think of a way."

Yang Pu asked: "Oh? What can I do?"

Yang Shiqi said a few words in a low voice to the two of them.

"How to incite?"

At this time, Yang Rong said: "People in the world are not fools."

"We might as well keep things simple."

Yang Shiqi said a few more words. When Yang Pu heard these words, he began to ponder and nodded in admiration.

Yang Pu said: "This is a great idea, but I don't know what to call it? To take the fire under the cauldron? Or to drive the tiger to devour the wolf?"

Yang Shiqi laughed twice and said: "The left and right are just setting a benchmark."