Feeling the resentful gaze of King Min, Hu Hui had no expression on her face, but she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
He knew the content of the memorial. When he first saw it, his eyelids jumped and he felt frightened.
It is true that this memorial was not written by him, or rather, it was written by him.
Just as King Min had guessed, Hu Hui was summoned to the palace from the time the Qin Tianjian made the prediction, or to be more precise, the emperor felt that there would be a catastrophic disaster in the next few years.
At first, he was also wondering how much this kind of thing could have anything to do with him being the Minister of Rites, but it turned out that it had a lot to do with it!
This time the emperor has his mind set on the clan!
In fact, during this period of time, the lower yamen has been preparing various specific matters for disaster relief, and the six departments have also been idle.
Chen Yi of the Ministry of Revenue still has two skills. After receiving the emperor's order, he took a clear inventory of the current situation of the national treasury and the surrounding grain stocks in just a few days. He also made a basic inventory of the financial situation of various places. .
But the result is not ideal!
The foundation of the national treasury is still too weak. Originally, after the construction work, the court should rest and recuperate. However, one major event after another, although they have tried their best to control the expenditure, and many of them were advanced by the emperor, but , still tight.
If we want to deal with years of famine, then it is not impossible to think of a way. But if there are years of disaster one after another, I am afraid there will be difficulties.
In the final analysis, it still depends on how serious the so-called "disaster" is.
After that, Hu Shangshu discovered that something was wrong with the emperor. Every time he looked at him, he looked thoughtful.
Later, one day, the emperor summoned him to the palace and said to him:
"Uncle Grand Zong, I have a memorial here. Uncle Zong, take a look..."
Then, Hu Hui saw a copy of the secret submitted by 'himself'!
This ****, even today, when the old minister thinks about it, he still looks depressed.
He has been an official for fifty years and has served five emperors, but he still saw them all once. He himself did not know the memorial he submitted...
But depression is nothing but depression. After Hu Xi read it, he knew that he would take the blame!
It would be fine if it were an ordinary pot, but this pot in front of me is really a big pot...
So of course, Mr. Hu has to give someone a backing up.
Isn't Prince Min in this capital a perfect match?
Mr. Hu showed a sincere smile to the fat prince in front of him, hoping to make him feel that they were standing on a united front.
However, when this sincere smile fell into Zhu Huixuan's eyes, he felt that it had some evil intentions.
Not long after, after reading this memorial, Zhu Huixuan could not help but frown tightly and said.
"Your Majesty, the vassal vassal is the vassal state of Sheji. If the Ministry of Rites rashly changes the vassal's administration, it may cause material opposition from the clan. Please think again."
"Oh? Uncle, do you think this measure is inappropriate?"
Hearing this, the emperor raised his eyebrows and asked.
Zhu Huixun pondered for a moment, glanced at Hu Hui, and finally spoke.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the memorial's emphasis on religious studies, the establishment of subject selection, the system of worship sweeps, and the dismissal of redundant positions are not difficult. However, some of these measures may violate the ancestral teachings of the emperor and Ming Dynasty and will be difficult to pass the court."
"In addition, measures such as strict security, establishment of worry system, careful marriage, severe punishment and other measures may be difficult for the clans to accept, especially the matter of determining the clan's salary is extremely difficult."
"I believe that this matter still needs to be considered."
Zhu Huixuan said it euphemistically, but in fact, he basically rejected the memorial in its entirety.
Although it is said that this memorial was "composed" by Hu Hui, the person who knows its contents best is Zhu Qiyu.
In fact, all the contents of this memorial were carefully thought out by him.
The issue of vassals is one of the chronic diseases of the Ming Dynasty!
It can be said that the clan's huge burden was responsible for the eventual collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Qiyu had a clear understanding of this point long ago.
Therefore, the reform of vassals must be carried out sooner or later.
However, originally, Zhu Qiyu did not plan to start the sect's reform at this time. He only set up a sect school at the beginning of his accession to the throne to allow children from various provinces to come to study, so as to pave the way for future reforms.
But even so, he was still under heavy pressure.
If Zhu Qiyu hadn't called all the kings to the capital in advance, it might not be so easy to pass.
But now, this memorial on vassal reform is much more radical than Zongxue. It is no wonder that Zhu Huixun would say such a thing.
The content of this memorial can be roughly divided into nine articles, which are called emphasizing ancestral studies, establishing subject selection, system of worship and sweeps, dismissal of redundant posts, strict security, establishment of worry system, caution in marriage, severe punishment, and determination of ancestral salary.
Basically it involves all aspects.
To sum up, it is actually quite simple. The previous points are all good things for the clan. Needless to say, emphasizing religious studies and establishing subject selection are to strengthen the status of religious studies and at the same time open up the path for lower-level clan members to enter officialdom.
These two items were mentioned before when the Zongxue was established. Of course, up to now, they have not been completely implemented.
But the last two are a bit more difficult.
The removal of superfluous posts and the removal of superfluous posts are two complementary measures. The so-called removal of redundant posts does not remove the official position in the palace, but the distant clan. This removal is of course not an expulsion from the genealogy, but a harmonious relationship.
The system of worship and sweeping was combined, so that the eldest son was responsible for paying homage and sweeping the tomb, inheriting the main lineage, while the rest of the clan only retained their names, removed their ancestry and privileges, and made them no different from common people.
Theoretically speaking, these two measures, combined with the emphasis on religious studies and the establishment of subject selection, can be regarded as a way out for low-level clans, but...
"If that's the case, let's talk about it one by one."
"The shortcomings of the vassalage have now begun to appear. The clan's annual salary is too heavy, and the place is difficult to sustain. If things go on like this, it will definitely become a major disadvantage. Therefore, the reform of the vassalage is imperative!"
Faced with Zhu Huixuan's worries, Zhu Qiyu simply blocked his escape route.
Since you want to change, you can't hesitate.
The reason why Zhu Qiyu did not come forward in person was because if he came forward himself, there would be no buffer between him and the clan, and it would easily intensify conflicts.
However, this does not mean that his reform spirit is not firm.
There was no one else here, so there was no need for him to be secretive.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Huixuan's fat face wrinkled into a bun. He did not expect that the emperor would be so determined.
What should I do?
However, Zhu Qiyu did not care about him and continued.
"Emphasis on ancestral studies, setting up subject selection, system of worship, and elimination of redundant positions are to find a way out for the middle and low-level clans. Now, although my clan in the Ming Dynasty is not too many, as time goes by, the descendants of the clan are multiplying.
, there will definitely be more and more.”
"The imperial court's tax revenue is limited. In the long run, it will not only burden the imperial court, but also the clans will gradually lose their money. Therefore, this article is not only for the sake of the court, but also for the clans themselves."
this……
The current imperial clan of the Ming Dynasty only has about seven or eight thousand registered members. Although this number is large, the burden is not particularly large based on the supply provided by the imperial court.
Although some lower-level clans are not living well, they are not unsustainable.
Of course, what the emperor said does make sense. As the number of descendants increases in the future, it will definitely be difficult to receive Lumi.
But after all, isn’t this still a long way off?
I'm afraid it will be much more difficult to deal with the problem at this time than to solve it when the problem actually arises.
and……
"Your Majesty, I must be frank, if you remove the distant branch of the clan, Lumi, it will definitely make life difficult for all the clans. Although the clan's disciples are admitted to the clan, not everyone has the opportunity to enter the clan, and the examination of the clan is strict.
, even if you can successfully graduate, it will be difficult to successfully enter the imperial court."
"Therefore, this move can easily turn into a piece of paper in the end and only cause suffering to the lower-level clan members."
By now, Zhu Huixun had finally figured it out.
The emperor called him here because he wanted to take action against Zongfan.
In this case, what should be said must be said.
He would not be stupid enough to fight against the emperor, but if the stupid emperor would do whatever he said, then he would not live long.
Zhu Huixuan himself was the vassal king, so of course he knew where the clan's shortcomings were and what its situation was.
Therefore, he could naturally see that the most important aspect of emphasizing religious studies, setting up subject selection, systemizing worship, and removing redundant posts actually fell on the final removal of redundant posts.
Abolition of the Lumi privileges of distant clan clans can greatly reduce the pressure on the court.
This is the emperor's purpose.
However, if you really want to achieve this goal, the conditions given by the emperor are obviously not enough, let alone...
"Besides, Your Majesty's decision to forgive the offense and dismissal from redundant posts is against the ancestral precepts of the Emperor Ming Dynasty."
The princes and grandsons of Fanjun are awarded official positions, their sons are awarded the general of Zhenguo, their grandsons are awarded the general of Fengguo, their great-grandsons are awarded the general of Fengguo, their great-great-grandsons are awarded the lieutenant of Zhenguo, their fifth-generation grandsons are awarded the lieutenant of Fuxingguo, and their sixth-generation grandchildren and below are awarded the title of Fengguo.
Lieutenant.
This is written in black and white in the ancestral precepts of Emperor Ming.
The so-called dismissal from redundant posts is almost a blatant violation of the ancestral precepts of the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, this is also the biggest difficulty in the vassal reform.
Emperor Taizong succeeded to the throne with Jing Nan under the banner of bringing order to chaos, so many of the rules set during the Hongwu period could not be changed.
The most important one is that you cannot cut down the feudal clan!
Or to be more precise, at least you can't cut down the vassal vassal for no apparent reason. You can only weaken the vassal king's power and influence in an indirect way. But if you want to go to war, it's not possible.
Otherwise, Emperor Taizong's own succession system will be shaken.
Therefore, the Ming Dynasty could not cut down the vassal. At most, it could only punish the vassal king when he made mistakes. Otherwise, it could move the fiefdom, let the vassal king "voluntarily" hand over the guard, prohibit hunting out of the city, and a series of specific measures.
Strictly speaking, those who were dismissed from redundant posts were distant clan clans, so it could not be regarded as reducing the vassal status.
but……
These words were so direct that Zhu Huixuan himself was a little frightened. After he finished speaking, he quickly found some explanation.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that I am aware of your Majesty's long-term plan for the clan. However, if this proposal comes out, it may cause misunderstandings. If someone who does not know your Majesty's true intentions uses the teachings of the emperor's ancestors to report, it may cause unrest in the clan and turmoil in the government and the public.
, Your Majesty, please think twice.”
To put it bluntly, this matter is not only unfair in terms of status, but also quite difficult in terms of practical operation.
Only in the Hongwu era did clan members become officials, but it was very rare.
With the current development, there is no place for the clan in the political structure of the Ming Dynasty. Once a clan enters, it will definitely infringe on the interests of some people.
This is actually the biggest difficulty!
Apart from anything else, it is very difficult to pass the civil service examination. Even if you try your best, the number of places you can get will be very few.
Therefore, in Zhu Huixun's view, this approach is actually very unrealistic.
However, Zhu Qiyu had obviously considered this issue in advance. He pondered for a moment and said.
"Uncle, Taizu originally established the ancestral precepts of the Emperor Ming Dynasty, so that the descendants of the Zhu family can maintain stability and protect the country. I think that as long as it does not violate this original intention, it is okay to change some details according to the times. What do you think, uncle?"
As soon as these words came out, the two people present were shocked.
Although the emperor said it tactfully, the meaning revealed in these words is actually very simple...
The ancestral system is not unchangeable!
This was the first time that Zhu Qiyu expressed this view in front of his ministers, even in private, although he only expressed a little bit of this meaning.
However, Hu Hui and Zhu Huixun were still shocked.
The two looked at each other and saw the complicated emotions in each other's eyes.
If this word spreads, it is conceivable that it will cause a big disturbance...
"Besides, if the Ministry of Rites submits a memorial, my great-uncle can also submit it..."
But immediately afterwards, Zhu Huixun had no time to be surprised.
Because the emperor's next words completely made him understand what he was here to do today.
The emperor looked at him quietly and spoke softly.
"Being an official is only one way. I received a notice a few days ago, saying that there are local generals who sell salt privately, and there are rural monarchs who join forces with local gentry to buy and sell cloth and silk. These things are all violations of the order.
, However, I also know that the clan members sometimes have troubles in life, and those who can be forgiven should naturally also be forgiven."
"It's just that if things continue like this, it's not a solution. What do you think, uncle?"
Ah this...
Zhu Huixuan's eyes widened. For this reason, if he still couldn't understand what the emperor meant, he wouldn't have to stay in the capital.
Strictly speaking, clan members are not allowed to engage in any profession, but regulations are regulations and reality is reality.
Just like many clans invade the fields privately, there are naturally many clans who do business in private. Some of the better clans do ordinary business. As for the more courageous clans, they rely on their clan status to sell salt and tea.
.
This kind of thing is just a tacit understanding. As the emperor said, the fuss is not too big, and they are all relatives. If we really have to deal with it, it will not be worth having a bunch of interceding people.
So most of the time, the court didn't care.
However, no matter what, the emperor's intention is obviously to turn this move from dark to bright. To put it bluntly, the emperor wants to...
"I dare you, Your Majesty, you want to open up a business for the four people for the clan?"