The emperor regulates Yang Dao, and then governs Yin virtue; the emperor regulates external affairs, and then governs internal duties. Teaching obedience becomes customary, external and internal harmony is harmonious, and the country is governed. This is called Shengde.
Although the empress of the inner dynasty and the ministers of the outer dynasty are both colleagues, they are fundamentally different.
Emperor Sejong was strangled by a palace maid. It was widely believed in the palace that this was the karmic retribution of Emperor Sejong who first forced Empress Xiaojie to death and then deposed Empress Zhang.
Emperor Mu Zong lingered over the beautiful concubine and died young due to physical weakness. Both the government and the public could only sigh with emotion. If it were not for the fact that the palace was in the cold and women were not virtuous, Mu Zong might have had a few more years to live.
Whether the emperor's marriage life is harmonious or not is often related to the court organization's evaluation of the emperor's personal style and morality.
Therefore, when dealing with the queen, we always need to pay attention to methods.
Moreover, as the saying goes, when we are married as husband and wife, there is no doubt about their love. Empress Liu has always kept to herself in these years, but now she is more suitable to close the door and talk openly than to have any imperial tricks.
But after Empress Liu was questioned, she seemed quite confused: "Bring my family thousands of acres of fertile land!?"
The queen frowned, as if she was remembering.
After a moment, she finally came to her senses and raised her head to look at the emperor: "Could your Majesty be talking about the rouge land where the ladies of the Kong family married my brother?"
Zhu Yijun was startled when he heard this.
The Queen was obviously aware of this matter.
That's the name, but it was beyond his expectation.
The so-called rouge land is the compensation for marrying the land, which is also the so-called dowry. If you really want to talk about it, it is unclear whether it is considered a bribe or not.
Empress Liu was a little aggrieved by the emperor's attitude of raising troops to investigate, but she still lowered her eyebrows and explained softly: "Your Majesty, before Yan Shenggong asked a matchmaker to marry us, my father used my brother Liu Dai to hire a lady from the Kong family.
We are married because they are still young and not yet married."
"Later, the Kong family established a deed near Beijing to vacate the farmland, and asked Uncle Wu Qing to transfer it to my brother to take care of it. They said they would get married the year after tomorrow and use it as dowry..."
Empress Liu had no intention of hiding anything and told the whole story of the cause and effect.
Zhu Yijun's eyes signaled the queen to continue speaking, while he tapped his fingers on the table and chewed silently.
Since the beginning of this dynasty, the Confucius family's status has become more and more prominent, and there is an endless stream of noble officials marrying it.
The second daughter of Yin Wangxian of Shuntian Prefecture, the second daughter of the first assistant Li Xian, the granddaughter of the first assistant Yan Song, as well as the sons of Xuancheng Bo, Anping Hou and other relatives... successively entered into marriages with the Kong family.
Marriages between prominent families are often an excellent opportunity for fair and honest exchanges of interests. In the final analysis, they are just for a decent reason.
Zhu Yijun sighed and pulled Queen Liu to sit on the chair opposite.
His palms were intertwined with those of Queen Liu, and he rubbed the back of the queen's hands and said warmly: "Queen, if you say that just a concubine in the Kong family can have a dowry of 20,000 acres, you would be deceiving yourself too much."
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the imperial court has granted the Confucius family many acres of land. In the first year of Hongwu, they were allowed to cultivate two hundred thousand acres.
But these are sacrificial fields, the ownership is still public, and taxes are left to the Kong family for the temple's sacrifices and other expenses.
Now since it is said to be a dowry, it can only be the private land of the Kong family.
The imperial court naturally didn't know how much private land the Confucius had. After all, the Confucius had their own accounts, but they would not tell outsiders - "Every land offered for sacrifice is given as a gift from the gods and is recorded in books; the government governs autonomous private property."
, there are many of them, but they are not included in the books.”
However, according to the historical data recorded in the series of books distributed in Zhu Yijun's previous life, at this time, the private land of the Kong family is probably around 400,000 acres.
Twenty thousand acres is not a small amount by any means. The government has collected half of the private property, which is land on the edge of Beijing, and given it to the concubine as a dowry. Everyone will know that it is wrong.
Zhu Yijun paused, raised his right hand to caress the queen's face: "In the boudoir, the queen told me the truth, how much of it was given to the queen's family, and how much of it was openly used to occupy the yellow book, secretly for the Kong family
Hosted?"
For a saintly family, private land naturally has a tax-free limit.
The state followed the Jin Dynasty and the old system of the Yuan Dynasty. When the Kong family purchased property, it was exempted from the tax exemption of two-thirds of the tax-free grain.
However, as the Confucius family became increasingly frantic in seeking farmland and property, the Chief Secretary of Shandong was the first to be unable to bear it. Starting from the Jiajing period, successive Chief Envoys and Governors always had to do practical things, and in the past few decades, they had occasionally been appointed to the throne.
I hope the court can make some changes.
However, both Shizong and Mu Zong were unwilling to do such a thankless task and chose to believe in the wisdom of future generations.
When it came to the Wanli Dynasty, Zhu Yijun naturally did his part and revealed in advance what the eunuchs had done during the Tianqi period without saying a word.
In the past two years, the rule of two-thirds of tax-free grain has been changed to a new rule of 9% less silver per acre than that of the private sector. Even the private property of the Confucian family in places outside Shandong has been integrated with the private sector without being subject to miscellaneous labor.
Pay food.
Obviously, the Kong family, who felt the pressure, responded quickly, choosing to spit out some of their benefits and colluding with relatives, Xianxun, and courtiers in order to successfully get through this turmoil in the field.
When it comes to farming, there are always eight immortals crossing the sea, each showing his magical powers.
Empress Liu held the emperor's hand touching his cheek and hesitated several times.
After a long while, she buried her eyes in the emperor's palm and said dullly: "My father never told me clearly, but I guess that my father received about six thousand acres."
"Does Your Majesty want to punish Uncle Yongnian?"
Yongnianbo was the queen's father Liu Yingjie - who happened to have the same name as Liu Yingjie, the late governor of Jiliao.
Seeing the queen's appearance, Zhu Yijun fell into a brief daze for no reason.
Empress Liu is only nineteen years old and has an honest and dutiful character, so she naturally has no idea how high her political position can be.
Although my heart was towards the emperor, I also didn't think there was anything wrong with buying property for my family - after all, dowry was always a justified title.
Even the queen was not the only one. Although the relatives around Zhu Yijun were not wrong, they all had their own shortcomings.
Empress Dowager Li always cared about her son, but she always took out money from the inner treasury, either as rewards for the family or for Buddhist monks to have a golden body. The eldest princess was determined to hang out with the emperor, but she still did not stop her from using the name of the emperor's aunt.
, running casinos, Yangzhou Shouma and other gray products; further away, the same goes for ministers of civil and military affairs, such as Yin Zhengmao and Li Chengliang, they are all famous for their loyalty in their duties, but they are also greedy for style.
Even in his previous life, he was still close to his elders and talked about it after drinking, "Corruption is definitely not okay. Accepting bribes and not doing things is not only okay, but it also shows wisdom."
The people around him and the things in front of him were like the Yangtze and Yellow rivers mingling together, making him confused.
"His Majesty……"
With a soft call, Zhu Yijun came back to his senses.
Queen Liu seemed a little uneasy because the emperor had been silent for a long time.
Suddenly, Zhu Yijun stretched out his hand to hold the queen's face, brought it close to her, and touched his forehead to his forehead: "This is not a matter of whether I want to punish Uncle Yongnian, but of you, queen."
"You and I got married under the witness of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. We have been together for more than four years, and it has not stopped since we entered the palace."
He looked into Queen Liu's eyes and said word by word: "Queen, please don't sleep with me."
The emperor's sudden words made Empress Liu suddenly look a little flustered.
She opened her mouth to argue.
"Listen to me." Zhu Yijun interrupted her.
"Yes, the exchange of betrothal gifts and dowries is a gift of human relations. Uncle Yongnian has neither preyed on the people nor interfered with the national constitution. It is human nature to hope that I will be confused once in a while. In addition, now that Wu Jieyu is pregnant, I will treat her immediately.
The crime of Uncle Yongnian will inevitably make the queen panic."
"But it's common sense that the queen shouldn't really think like this."
Empress Liu didn't know what the emperor was thinking, and her expression became more and more flustered, with tears flashing in her eyes.
Zhu Yijun stretched out his thumb and wiped the corner of the queen's eyes.
"The queen should know what I am doing."
"I have been restless for the sake of the country, and have worked hard to support this old ox and broken cart, and it is difficult to move forward."
"If you say that the person in the world who should be the most responsible for distinguishing yin and yang from me, who else should be apart from you, a queen? Who should be the most following my steps, besides my first wife? The one who should understand my thoughts the most, besides the queen
Who else could it be?”
"Husband and wife are one body, and you and I should naturally be of the same mind."
"You are the queen now, and you will be the queen mother in the future. If you are not willing to follow my path and spend all your time in private affairs, what will my prince do? What will happen after my death?"
"Coming back to the present, the affairs of the queen's family should be taken care of by you and me."
"But I can't afford to wait. Everything must have a beginning. The journey to the fields has just begun this year. If I am rarely confused now, I am afraid I will really become an old fool like the emperor."
"Queen, you are responsible for taking care of Uncle Yongnian's affairs for me, do you think it is yes or no?"
After being interrupted, Queen Liu had no choice but to listen silently, her face changing from frightened to thoughtful, to pursed lips and lowered her head.
The emperor has always been so insightful into the world. Just as I said just now, when Jieyu is pregnant, the emperor will immediately question the queen's father. Who wouldn't think too much about this matter?
But the emperor's words were so heartfelt and sincere.
With the words "Future Queen Mother", any hesitations he may have immediately disappeared.
Especially when the emperor said the words "husband and wife are one, like-minded and united"...
Empress Liu looked at the emperor crazily.
I accidentally broke into Tianjia and heard too much about Shizong's ruthlessness and Mu Zong's indiscretion. It's really unbelievable that he looks like this now, even if it's been several years.
Every time like this, it's like falling into a dream.
When the emperor finished what he said, Empress Liu's expression was extremely complicated, with some regret and pity, and she seemed to be still thinking because she had realized something.
Half a while passed.
Under the emperor's earnest eyes, the queen nodded solemnly.
After a while, she realized what she should say, and she quickly expressed her position to the emperor: "I will summon Uncle Yongnian to the palace tomorrow and ask him to surrender to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and explain clearly the account of this land.
"
Zhu Yijun finally felt relieved after hearing this.
He pinched the queen's face and said comfortingly: "That's right. I can rest assured that you will do the work."
Zhu Yijun stood up and took Queen Liu's cheek into his arms.
Speaking of which, naturally the two of them would not have any bad feelings.
Zhu Yijun had a lot of personal talk with the queen again.
It wasn't until his mood stabilized that he took the queen's hand and sat down together on the edge of the bed.
Empress Liu took advantage of the situation and fell into the emperor's arms: "Your majesty has a long life and is much more blessed than my concubines. Don't talk about what happened after your death in the future."
Zhu Yijun couldn't help but smile when he heard this.
In terms of longevity, he could not compare to the Liu family who lived into the Chongzhen Dynasty, let alone worrying about national affairs and shortening his life.
But he did not dwell on this issue, and allowed the queen to undress him, saying casually: "Not only did the Kong family find Uncle Yongnian, but the Wu Jieyu family, for example, seemed not to be spared either."
"I have no time to get away recently, so the queen might as well take advantage of this reason to be a bad person for me, and ask all the concubines and female officials clearly, explain clearly, establish rules, change them if possible, and encourage them if not.
"
Zhu Yijun said it casually, but in fact he had been thinking about it for a long time in the past few days.
The struggle for favor in the harem is essentially the same as the struggle for power in foreign dynasties, and it is something that cannot be avoided no matter what.
In matters such as the struggle for power, the most taboo thing is that the emperor thinks he is the middle judge.
If so, why should we distinguish between concubines, concubines, and concubines?
Zhu Yijun did not want to sell Wu Jieyu, but to prevent trouble in the harem - what he wanted was for the harem to be orderly and functioning normally even when the emperor was not in trouble.
When the queen heard this, she didn't take it seriously. She agreed immediately and couldn't help but mutter: "Wu Jieyu is pregnant with a dragon seed, and her status is unusual. It may be difficult for other concubines to accept it."
When Zhu Yijun heard this, he immediately slapped his thigh: "The queen said this, Duke Yansheng has done a great crime in alienating the Tian family! I will definitely punish them!"
It stands to reason that Jieyu's status is theoretically a marginal figure who cannot even bribe.
Now that a large amount of land has been bribed, isn't it just that the mother is worth the son? This is what the queen is afraid of.
Duke Yansheng did not comply with the Basic Law when he paid bribes, and just saying that he wanted to alienate the Tian family was not really an injustice to him.
The queen was so painful from being photographed that she gave the emperor a blank look.
Zhu Yijun didn't care and coughed lightly: "The same goes for the queen. This statement seems to be jealous. I also want to ask the queen about her crime!"
He sat on the edge of the bed with his big horse, and patted his thigh after speaking.
When the queen saw this, she couldn't help but blush and hesitate.
But without paying attention, the emperor turned him over and pressed him hard on his legs.
"Are you aware of your mistake?"
"Aren't you jealous anymore?"
Chaotic sounds began to sound.
One after another.
…
The twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month.
Today is the last day before the courtiers take their annual holiday, and it is also the last imperial meeting in the seventh year of Wanli.
Of course, not many people need to attend this annual meeting.
At this time, there were only four or five people in Huangji Hall, either sitting or standing.
Zhang Han, the Minister of Punishment, had been waiting at his seat early. In front of him was the Ming Code, which had been revised only this year.
Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Li Youzi, the governor of Henan, were talking to each other.
Wen Chun, the imperial censor of the capital, came and went and came back again, looking quite anxious.
Shen Li was originally sitting in the last seat, but as his colleagues entered the palace, he frequently stood up to pay respects, so he simply got up and walked around the palace.
"General Xian, Chief Situ, Chief Sikou, Li Butang, Shen Butang, all of you are here early."
Li Zaiting clasped his fists in greeting, followed the eunuch, and walked into the palace easily.
Wen Chun and Wen Chun were both from the northwest and belonged to the Xiang Party in Qin. They had long known each other, but they just nodded to each other and omitted the formality.
"It's early, Li Butang." Zhang Han and Wang Guoguang replied politely.
"Libutang has become a lot more solemn after not seeing him for many years."
Li Youzi clicked his tongue and looked Li Zaiting up and down.
Li Youzi, who also visited the same province, only went abroad in the fifth year of Wanli. Compared with the younger son in front of him, who went abroad to Fujian in the first year of Wanli, his own magnanimity was actually a bit lower.
I'm afraid I won't be able to cultivate this kind of calm attitude if I don't hold the power for several years and sit in the hall to speak out.
Li Zaiting shook his head and sighed, with profound meaning: "As we get older and have more troubles, the frivolity and impetuousness naturally wash away."
Li Youzi secretly laughed in his heart, it sounded like this on the surface, but when he entered Beijing the day before yesterday, he went to Gaoyi's house to move bricks and tiles, and even received several bullets from the imperial censor for this, which is not necessarily a clean slate.
Gone is the impetuousness.
At this time, Shen Li suddenly interjected: "How is Li Butang's mission in Fujian?"
Li Zaiting turned his head and looked at Shen Li: "There are still many obstacles. This time I returned to Beijing to report on my work, just to seek help from my colleagues in the DPRK."
After saying that, he pulled out the seat and Shi Shiran sat down.
The affairs of the Shipping Department are really difficult to describe in a single word.
When the Municipal Shipping Department was rebuilt, the opposition in the court never stopped.
That's all.
Or it can be said that foreign vassals must pay no tribute, and there is no market or ships. The establishment of a market and ships is not enough to cover the government's public expenses, and it is in vain and hurts the people.
Or it could be that the shipping department was just clever in conquering Hengsuo, ignoring the complaints of the common people and insulting the national system.
Or maybe it's because pirates are rampant. Lin Daoqian, Lin Feng and other big bandits are blocking the sea route. Don't be hasty and ruin the lives of the merchants coming and going.
It was also thanks to the support of someone at the center that the money was not wasted midway.
But even so, local rejection never stopped.
The officials in the yamen borrowed money one after another, but all the words were wrong; the cunning and wealthy people used their names to serve the officials, forged quotations, and evaded smuggling; the local big family colluded with the inducements, bought forbidden goods, borrowed money from the invaders, and stole grain for the sake of the village leaders. Used by thieves.
Li Zaiting joined politics from the Chief Secretary of Fujian to the governor of Fujian. It took him seven years and relied on his arbitrary actions in Fujian to finally determine the winner.
The phrase "many passes" actually contains too many difficulties and obstacles, and is not enough for outsiders to understand.
Shen Li nodded thoughtfully and stopped asking.
After Li Zaiting sat down, he took the initiative to talk to Shen Li and raised the topic: "After all, the hard work I have accumulated over the years is just a last resort. It is Shen Butang's errand. What are you going to do?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the hall looked strange.
Uncle Yongnian's affairs were all brought to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so naturally they couldn't hide them from the people in the palace.
Shen Li patrolled the herds on behalf of Tian and took care of farm affairs, but before he left the capital, a huge relationship hit him on the head.
Whether they are from a saintly family or a relative, they are not soft persimmons.
Shen Li opened his mouth to answer, but heard noise coming from outside the palace.
Everyone turned around and saw Shen Shixing from the Cabinet, Wang Xijue from the Ministry of Personnel, Wang Zongyi from the Ministry of Rites, Yin Zhengmao from the Ministry of War, Zhu Heng from the Ministry of Works and others, coming together.
Apparently, he came here after the Wenhua Palace discussed it.
"You all came early."
Everyone in the hall stood up to pay their respects.
"Mr. Shen Ge, everyone in charge."
Shen Shixing was smiling with a smile on his face, and he did not mean to make excuses at all: "The court meeting just now was discussing all the Spring and Autumn affairs. It's so late. Don't blame me. Don't blame me."
The politeness didn't last long.
Since the Chang Dynasty has dispersed, the emperor will naturally gain access to the palace soon.
As expected.
As the official department was transferred to Chen Sanmo, Nanjing Minister of Rites Pan Sheng and others moved in from the side hall.
A clean whip suddenly sounded.
Everyone was excited, knowing that the emperor was coming, and stood up one after another, waiting respectfully.
After only two blasts of the three whips, the emperor's figure appeared in the palace - the emperor was becoming more and more unruly.
"His Majesty."
"His Majesty."
Zhu Yijun appeared calmly in his freshly changed regular clothes.
"Sit down. Let's start when everyone is here."
Zhu Yijun sat on the main seat, stretched out his hand and motioned for everyone to sit down.
Shen Shixing glanced over and hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty, there is still no Wangge elder."
Zhu Yijun waved his hand: "The Fifth Army Governor's Mansion is a mess. Not to mention today, he will not be able to get away from it in the next New Year."
This is the truth, not that the emperor wants to marginalize the king and worship the ancients.
After hearing this, Shen Shixing sat down in relief.
Zhu Yijun's eyes circled around the dozen or so people in front of him. These were all important officials.
"Before discussing the matter, I have something to say in advance."
Everyone sat upright and looked at the emperor intently.
Zhu Yijun carefully considered his words and got straight to the point: "This year will be the eighth year since the New Deal was implemented. Over the past eight years, the court has only acted but not talked about it. Every time there is a new deal, the people are confused and confused and don't know why."
"That's the case right now with Toda Kiyoshi."
"Although the imperial court is targeting traitors, it will inevitably disturb the common people. The common people do not know why, and are afraid that the imperial court is trying to increase taxes. They are horrified and horrified."
"It's really not appropriate to just do it without saying anything. You just pushed some people to the opposite side and made a knife for them."
"Not to mention the wealthy people and cunning officials who are sowing discord among them and only disrespecting the imperial order."
"Now that the New Deal has entered a deep pool, I have thought about it... It's time for us to raise our banner!"
Needless to say, not to mention those who were watching, the several second-grade hall officials who were seriously discussing the matter looked at each other in confusion.
Raising the flag, people who don’t know this may think that the Huangji Hall is the Juyi Hall, and these people are preparing to raise the flag to rebel.
"Your Majesty is saying that we should also shout out the slogans of the New Deal just like Emperor Gao did when he conquered the world, and let the world know about it?"
Everyone turned around, but it was Li Zaiting who spoke first.
Wang Zongyi frowned, this metaphor was too outrageous.
Shen Shixing glanced at Li Zaiting. He had served the emperor for many years and had the best grasp of the emperor's situation. Unexpectedly, he was robbed of the conversation.
Zhu Yijun glanced at Li Zaiting appreciatively.
He said with relief in his tone: "That's right, just like shouting slogans during a rebellion, the people will know what the New Deal is doing, what the New Deal is planning to do, and what the New Deal is for."
"Speaking to reasonable people can save you a lot of trouble."
The ministers understood, but found it more and more strange.
It is really not acceptable to use this method in peacetime.
"At the same time, there is an old case that needs to be dug up and retried."
Li Youzi, Shen Li and others were listed in the court for the first time. They couldn't figure out the context and subconsciously looked at Zhang Han.
Zhang Han, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, raised his head, surprised and confused, wondering if the Ministry of Punishment had made another mistake on his errand.
On the contrary, Shen Shixing curled his lips, knowing that the emperor was going to make trouble again, and he was full of slander in his heart.
Seeing that his colleagues were puzzled, Shen Shixing thoughtfully asked on his behalf: "Your Majesty, please make it clear."
Zhu Yijun didn't show off, and glanced at these important officials, recalling: "Wang Anshi, who was responsible for the new law in the former Song Dynasty, said that destiny was not enough to be feared, ancestors were not enough to follow the law, and people's words were not enough to show sympathy."
"As a result, he was deprived of his title, destroyed the statues in the Confucius Temple, and was kicked out of the Dacheng Hall. He was even deposed in the temple court and declared a sinner for all generations. The people have cursed him for hundreds of years."
"Wang Anshi and Xining's reforms, together with the new laws, are already notorious among scholars."
Having said this, Zhu Yijun held back a sigh.
It is not without reason that the folk use "Jingbozhu" as a slang word for swearing, which has been passed down for thousands of years.
Zhu Yijun shook his head to get rid of his thoughts, then straightened his face and said seriously: "Not to mention right or wrong, if you want to raise the banner of the New Deal, the case of Xining Reform and Wang Anshi has to be overturned."
Chapter completed!