Chapter 277 Post-war Trouble (4) Discussing merits and demerits
Let’s go back to the time when the news of the great victory in World War II was sent back to the capital. At that time, good news of the military situation was sent back to the capital in a hurry. Since such good news of a great victory would be shouted along the way, the people in the capital actually knew about it earlier than the palace.
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When the news was learned by various ministries, the cabinet, and the Director of Ceremonies, newspapers such as Beijing Times and Shixue Dynasty had already begun to prepare articles, and the people were singing and laughing, and many people spontaneously began to celebrate.
Different from the folk celebrations, officials are much more "reserved" about this. Many people just talk about the situation, saying a few words about the destruction of the old enemy and the great victory of the Ming Dynasty. However, most of them have a lot of gloominess between their eyebrows.
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As Liu Xin expected, not only did the Xin School officials almost feel like mourning after learning the details of the victory, but even many neutral school Old Neo-Confucian officials also looked gloomy. It was not as if they were rejoicing in the country's rejuvenation, but as if there was no one left after the storm had fallen.
Generally salvageable.
The trees that are beautiful in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Twenty years ago, they made a small plan to surrender Tumut. A year or two ago, they defeated Ordos with lightning speed. Now they have destroyed the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty in one battle and forced the Chahar tribe to an end.
He fought for his life and fled to the Western Regions.
Therefore, Gao Pragmatic's military exploits have gone too far, and considering that he has been established before the year is over, in the long run, who else in the court will be able to check and balance him?
The reaction in the palace further aggravated the concerns of all parties - the emperor soon issued an edict: Tomorrow, the officials and the people of the capital will celebrate together!
Although there is no news about how the emperor plans to reward Gao Xiangpang, but since he wants to celebrate and even has to quit the court for it, it obviously means that the emperor thinks this is a great achievement! As for the reward has not been mentioned yet, then that's it.
Isn’t it easy to explain? He’s a high-level manager but he’s still a Tumote!
Besides, although Tumen and the others ran away, it is still unclear where they are now, and it is also unclear whether Gao Jinglue intends to continue the pursuit. Of course, at this time, we cannot rush to award rewards first.
However, for non-practical school officials, this is rare good news. It means that there is still a certain window period, and they can find ways to make good use of it to avoid the situation becoming completely irreversible in the future.
Maybe it was because the news came too suddenly. The enemy had been nowhere to be found some time ago, but suddenly the situation changed drastically. There was a double kill all of a sudden, so that the reaction of the officials in the capital was a bit chaotic.
Officials from all walks of life who had no time to discuss in detail came to the meeting one after another on the second day. This "group discussion" was really all kinds of things, and the focus of the discussion was also different.
Some officials directly denied Gao Pragmatic's military exploits and believed that there was a lot of water in them, especially this time: "A 600,000-strong army went out to the fortress and cost millions. However, only more than 100,000 people fought against the Tatars, and they failed to annihilate them all."
Tartar slaves can be said to be greedy for merit and incompetent!"
Some officials are more biased. For example, some people said that Gao Pragmatic's battle was very expensive, saying, "The country has accumulated 20 years of accumulation and exhausted it in one day. If something happens to the world, how can the court respond?"
Some people said: "At this time, everything in the south is in chaos, Bozhou is not at peace and the Cao rebellion is happening again. The imperial court is using troops in many places, like fighting with two fists against four hands. But if one or two things go wrong, the whole thing may be destroyed. Now the Tatar slaves have
Escape, how can I eat the wind and drink the dew while pursuing the poor bandits? I heard that the barbarians in Bozhou are united in a vertical and horizontal alliance, but there are Han rebels who are offering advice. This is really a serious trouble for the court. It is better to suspend the troops in the north and pacify the south bandits first. I wish it.
Quickly summon the ministers back to Beijing to hand over..."
Another person was extremely upright and bluntly stated that the authority of Gao Pragmatism was too great: "The ministers of Gao Pragmatism were highly pragmatic, and they were favored by the Holy Family for their companionship in reading.
In one place, he cut off the flower speculation and other industries. With his wisdom, he became the capital and became richest in the world. With his ability, he made bonds and helped to establish Burma... All these achievements are truly glorious.
However, he is the richest man in the world but keeps private soldiers, he conquers the south and fights in the north and he is a powerful general, he succeeds in his career and praises the leader of the party, he connects with the inside and outside to consolidate the holy family... If it is not controlled, I fear that the people of the world will only know that they are high-minded and pragmatic, but they will not know that they are high-minded and pragmatic.
The Holy Emperor!"
Of course, there are also moderate ones, saying: "Since the third generation, sages have promoted officials with virtue and rewarded them with merit, so there has been a practice of getting officials for virtue and rewards for merit. Today, the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty's economics and the Ministry of Household Affairs are pragmatic and pragmatic.
Accumulating wealth, making brilliant achievements in war, bringing great virtue to all the provinces, and benefiting the whole world, is there any reason not to reward merit with a title?
The Meng Yuan Dynasty was an old enemy of our dynasty. Now that it is overthrown, it can comfort the two ancestors and stabilize the hearts of the people. The ministers are highly pragmatic and dedicated to their merits. Your Majesty will not be stingy with the rewards of the country! I will not speculate on absurdities, but think about what is right.
Repay it with the public service of the country..."
This one was just as Liu Xin had worried before. It seemed to be praising Gao Pragmatism, but in fact it hid a murderous intention. In order to reward Gao Pragmatism, Gao Pragmatism was knighted, but his official career was ruined.
Of course, in addition to these memorials, which were either overtly or covertly intended to attack Gao Pragmatism, there were also officials from the Pragmatic School who discussed the matter, but... well, it was also a bit confusing.
The discussions among officials from the Pragmatic School are generally based on the principle of being pragmatic and pragmatic, but they are generally divided into two groups according to the degree of praise.
One of the factions is a fierce boaster, praising Gao Pragmatic from his birth to his achievements, and then saying that Gao Pragmatic has both political integrity and talent, and it is simply unreasonable not to join the cabinet. In short, the purpose of this group is to promote Gao Pragmatic to join the cabinet. Among them
Some people even said that now the emperor should summon the nine ministers and ministers for court promotion.
The other group boasted modestly about Gao Pragmatic's background. They did not mention these past events as the emperor's companion. Instead, they emphasized Gao Pragmatic's achievements after becoming an official.
Their purpose is actually to push Gao Jingshi to join the cabinet. However, these people may have a more profound view, or they may have heard some rumors last night, so they specifically pointed out that as a civil servant, Gao Jingshi's contribution to civil affairs is actually more than
Martial arts, so there should be some emphasis on pragmatic rewards for high-level talents, and we should not give him military ministers and knighthoods just because he seems to have more outstanding military achievements.
In a word, within the category of "civilian", His Majesty the Emperor can reward Gao Jingjing however you want, but you must not use the method of ennobling military ministers. There are even more people who think that Gao Jingjing should be knighted.
, it must also be done according to Li Shanchang’s model.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! As for what it means to "do it according to Li Shanchang's model", it naturally means to knight Gao Pragmatically according to the method of Li Shanchang's civil servants: Li Shanchang was the founding father of Korea (
It was Duke Xuan at first). Well, as for why the Duke of Korea was later removed from his title, that is another matter. In short, it was all blamed on the Hu Weiyong case.
To be honest, this proposal was an "initiative" because when Zhu Yuanzhang conferred the title of Li Shanchang, he did not say that in the future only military merit could be conferred a title.
The title system in China appeared very early. Since the Zhou Dynasty, there have been five levels of titles: duke, marquis, uncle, son, and male. The Han Dynasty changed the five levels of titles into king and marquis. Those who can get this honor
They were all the emperor's relatives, relatives and meritorious ministers. Later, those who held the position of prime minister were granted the title of marquis. Since the Han Dynasty, especially during the period of the Five Hus in China, the title of nobility has become extremely chaotic. Basically, within the court
Anyone who holds office can obtain the fifth-class title.
In the Ming Dynasty, the form changed. When Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the world, the titles given to heroes and dead soldiers were all fifth-class titles. However, after he established the world, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the titles were too excessive and it seemed that he could not show his achievements.
When the nobles came, they changed the fifth-class title to the third-class title, that is, only duke, marquis, and uncle. It was also stipulated that civil servants could not be named duke, but could only be named earl at most, and the prerequisite was that they had achieved military merit.
On the surface, it seems that Zhu Yuanzhang is harsh and reluctant to reward titles. After all, a civil servant generally does not have the opportunity to achieve military exploits. On the one hand, this policy is indeed Zhu Yuanzhang's preference for military generals, because as long as military generals have
Even if the title is not as high as that of a civil official, the respect and status received in the court is much higher than that of a civil official, which also restrains the power of civil officials to a certain extent.
It is a pity that this system did not persist in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the general soldier belonged to the first rank of martial arts. However, in the late Ming Dynasty, there was an overly derogatory saying like "there is no county magistrate under the general soldier's account, but the county magistrate is accompanied by the general soldier".
situation. In order to encourage civil servants to perform meritorious service and be awarded titles, in the official schools of the Ming Dynasty, it was customary to offer military preparation courses. On the one hand, students learned the words of saints and the way of governing the country, and on the other hand, they also learned the art of war and horse archery.
——Of course, the system is a system. Whether you learn it or not is another matter. This system was first created by Zhu Yuanzhang, so most of the civil servants in the early Ming Dynasty were both civil and military.
However, the founding emperor was not a god. In fact, during the 277 years of the original Ming Dynasty, there were only nine civil servants who were granted titles, only one was granted the title of duke, and the remaining eight were all counts.
The only Duke of Korea was Li Shanchang. Li Shanchang was Zhu Yuanzhang's Xiao He. He followed him in the early days of Zhu Yuanzhang's rebellion. Although he did not read much, he was full of strategies and made great contributions to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang made him
Consider him your own Xiao He.
Not long after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Li Shanchang was granted the title of Duke of Korea, with a salary of four thousand dan, an iron certificate for hereditary succession, and was spared two deaths for himself and one for his son. But even so, Li Shanchang was not spared one death in the end.
Because he was implicated in the Hu Weiyong case, more than 70 members of his family were killed. Compared to others, Zhu Yuanzhang was "interested enough" in him and gave Li Shanchang the whole body. He also exempted Li Shanchang's eldest son because Li Shanchang's son was a prince-in-law.
One death.
Then among the eight earls, the one who ranked first was Chengyibo Liu Ji, also known as Liu Bowen.
Whether it is myth or reality, Liu Bowen's ability is indeed comparable to Zhang Liang of the Han Dynasty. Although Liu Bowen looked down on Zhu Yuanzhang before, since he took refuge with Zhu Yuanzhang, he came up with all kinds of tricks and established an immortal foundation for Zhu Yuanzhang's founding of the Ming Dynasty.
Meritorious deeds. In November of the third year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang made a great achievement, and Liu Ji was named Chengyibo, with a salary of 240 shi. Even if Liu Bowen didn't care about it, his salary was really pitiful. However, there is also a saying that it was Zhu Yuanzhang who wanted to protect Liu Ji.
Ji, I am afraid that if the reward is too generous, it will arouse the jealousy of others. It depends on how you understand it.
Then there is Wang Guangyang, the loyal and diligent uncle. Wang Guangyang's position was higher than that of Liu Ji in the early Ming Dynasty. Because Liu Ji said that he could not be the prime minister, Wang Guangyang was named the right prime minister. This man is cautious all his life and does not ask for anything.
He had no achievements but no faults. In the third year of Hongwu, he was named Zhongqinbo, with an annual salary of 360 shi.
Next is Loyal Bo Ru Chang. Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di spoke highly of Ru Chang, but their actions did not dare to be praised. The reason is that as a civil servant, the reason why he was made an earl was not because of his standing.
How many military achievements are there, but to persuade people to advance.
After Zhu Di invaded Nanjing, Ru Chang first persuaded Zhu Di to ascend the throne. As a veteran minister, when faced with usurping the throne, she did not rise up to resist the enemy, but when negotiating with Zhu Di as a negotiator, she did not dare to say anything. But when Zhu Di entered
He came to Nanjing, but he was the first to jump out and persuade him to enter.
Zhu Di was of course overjoyed. Wouldn't it be better for an enemy minister to persuade him to proclaim himself emperor than for his own minister to persuade him to proclaim himself emperor? So Ru Chang was granted the title of Loyalty Bo for his persuasion, and was given a thousand shi per year. Moreover, Zhu Di also expressed his great loyalty to her.
He also praised him: "The majesty of the mountain, the aura of the abyss, the taste of things, and the reputation of the world are outstanding." Not only that, Zhu Di also wrote a poem to praise him: "There are many loyal and good men in ancient and modern times, but few are like public officials." It's simply
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Then came Prince Jingyuan Wang Ji. Wang Ji was a civil servant trained under Zhu Yuanzhang's education system that cultivated both civil and military skills. He was also the first civil servant in the Ming Dynasty to be awarded a title based on military merit in the true sense.
During the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Ji conquered Lichuan and Xuanwei envoy chieftain Si Renfa. The chieftain of Vimalakia, Wei Langluo, had military exploits in the battle and was named Jingyuan Bo. His annual salary was 1,200 shi, which was later increased.
The annual salary is three hundred stones.
It should be said that Wang Ji was very capable, but he was very concerned about his fortune and wealth. The initial earl he made was not hereditary. As a result, after his repeated requests, the court felt that he was an old minister and should give him face.
Gave him hereditary qualifications.
Later, when Ming Yingzong was restored, he also participated a little bit, but when the rewards were given, he was not there. This old gentleman once again wrote a letter asking for rewards. What was the reason?
It turns out that during the restoration of Yingzong, his son Wang Xiang did participate. However, he was hit by some soldiers in the chaos and was almost trampled to death. He had no glorious deeds, so when the reward was given, no one remembered it.
With such a person also participating, there was no declaration. Wang Ji was not happy and wrote a letter to show his merit. Yingzong probably did not expect that this man was so shameless and only wanted benefits, so he pinched his nose and sealed Wang Xiang as the commander.
thing.
Then there is Xingji Bo Yang Shan. Yang Shan's title of earl actually has nothing to do with military merit. He is a hero of Yingzong's "Seize the Gate Rebellion". He was named Xingji Bo in the first month of the first year of Tianshun, and his annual salary was one thousand and two thousand.
A hundred stones, and gave him hereditary qualifications.
Similar to him is the martial arts uncle Xu Youzhen. Xu Youzhen, like Yang Shan, was also a hero of the Yingzong's "Change of Seizing the Gate" and was awarded the title of martial arts uncle in March of the first year of Tianshun.
After that, we arrived at Weining Bo and Wang Yue. While Wang Ji made military exploits by conquering the chieftains in the south, Wang Yue made military exploits by conquering the Tatars in the north. As mentioned before, the Ming Dynasty used troops in the north and south because they were very different in strength and weakness.
, so the South often beheaded tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, but what about the North? Beheading a few hundred people would be a great victory.
Because Wang Yue led his army to behead 350 people in the war, he was named Wei Ningbo and received a salary of 1,200 dan. Later, he beheaded 120 people in the war, which increased his salary to 400 dan.
Later, he made a small contribution and increased his annual salary by fifty dan.
But Wang Yue was not satisfied. He expected to be granted the title of marquis. However, the system of the Ming Dynasty was there, and it was impossible for civil servants to be granted the title of prince. So it was a good idea. Wang Yue could no longer become a civil servant, so he invited himself.
It was quite rare to hold a military position at that time. Because he had reached the middle of the Ming Dynasty at that time, the status of military generals was far inferior to that in the early days. However, Wang Yue could not control so much in order to become a prince, so he admired "General Ping Hu"
"Yin served as the chief military officer, but fate was not as good as fate. In the end, he was not granted the title of marquis by his own government.
The last one is Prince Xinjian Shouren. I have mentioned this twice before, so there is no need to say it again.
In short, there were only nine civil servants in the Ming Dynasty who were granted titles. Only Li Shanchang was granted titles based on his ability to govern civilly. Although Liu Bowen was a civil servant, he offered military strategies. The other three were credited with persuading or participating in the restoration. The rest were granted titles based on martial arts.
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In other words, the Practical School also saw the possibility of Gao Pragmatic being knighted for martial arts, so they thought of using Li Shanchang's method to try to get Gao Pragmatic to be knighted for martial arts - Li Shanchang became the Prime Minister of Zuo after being knighted as the Duke of Korea.
Yes, then if Gao Pragmatic can take care of things in order, it will not affect his ability to continue to assist the government.
Although the idea is good, can it be realized?
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