Chapter 535 The Taste of Power
Emperor Jiajing's will was very confusing, especially for Zhu Zaijing himself.
What is an additional level of driving honors?
You must know that Zhu Zaijing is now a prince, and his usual car driving and honor guard are almost the same as those of a real crown prince.
Now we have to add another level, should we let the emperor's chariot drive the honor guard?
This is obviously impossible!
And there are also ten chapters to serve and a jade belt to match. What kind of operation is this?
As we all know, there is no such thing as "ten chapters" in the etiquette system of the Ming Dynasty.
Generally there are four levels: "Twelve Chapters", "Nine Chapters", "Seven Chapters" and "Five Chapters".
And these four levels also correspond to the four levels of emperor, prince, prince, and county king.
Although the "Nine Chapters" crown can also be worn when the prince is getting married or when he is assisting in worshiping the heaven, earth and the country.
But this is also something based on special conditions. After all, not every generation of emperors can wait until their sons grow up to worship the world with them.
Therefore, the fact that the prince wears nine chapters only happens on the day of the prince's wedding. In addition, the highest level of the prince's dress is only "seven chapters".
Now Emperor Jiajing wants to give Zhu Zaijing ten chapters of uniform. This is obviously to make Zhu Zaijing's status and status higher and make him a prince who is not a prince.
At the same time, it was also to give Zhu Zaijing greater symbolic power so that he could exercise his power to supervise the country more smoothly and unimpeded.
But such an operation was unheard of for both Zhu Zaijing and the officials of the imperial court.
So for a while, not only Zhu Zaijing was a little confused, but all the officials in the capital were also confused.
They all knew that this seemed to be against the rules and etiquette, but no one dared to really stand up and accuse it of being against the rules.
After all, Zhu Zaijing's identity is also there. He is the eldest son among the current heirs of Emperor Jiajing.
With natural legal support, even if he has not been named the prince until now.
But both the officials of the imperial court and the common people all recognized the fact that Zhu Zaijing was the heir to the Ming Dynasty.
This consensus of unity from top to bottom is also one of the important reasons for Zhu Zaijing's stable status.
So now naturally no one jumps out to say that Emperor Jiajing's decree is unreasonable.
At Yan Song's house.
Ever since Yan Shifan was arrested, Yan Song's house has lost the bustle of the past, and now no one is trying to find any way to get into Yan Song's house.
So Yan Song is really free now.
Yan Song's housekeeper, Yan Kuan, saw that his master was still tiring away the books that had just been posted some time ago, and he also helped out.
Yan Kuan said: "Master, do we really not care about him?"
The "uncle" that Yan Kuan spoke of was Yan Shifan, who was now being held in Jinyiwei Prison awaiting trial.
Yan Song paused when he heard Yan Kuan's voice and glanced at Yan Kuan with his muddy old eyes.
Yan Song said: "If you don't care about him anymore, the Yan family will be gone."
Yan Kuan listened to Yan Song's words in disbelief. He still couldn't understand it.
You must know that Yan Song is only Yan Shifan's son. If this son is really good or bad, there really will be no one to support him until his death.
Yan Kuan said: "But...but he is the uncle."
Yan Song naturally knew what Yan Kuan meant, but at this time, if his head was really hot and he couldn't understand the importance, and he still wanted to blindly protect Yan Shifan, the last bit of friendship between the emperor and his ministers might be involved.
So the best choice now is to stay indifferent and let the court decide everything.
Yan Song said: "Ignore him. The ancients said that children and grandchildren are enough to bring blessings to him. He should seek blessings for himself. I have protected him for so many years and never let him experience a real storm. Now the storm is coming. It is also a test to see if he has really grown up and is sensible.”
Yan Kuan sighed and continued to help Yan Song organize Yan Song's book collection.
After Yan Song tidied up for a while, he felt a little tired and tired, so he simply stopped and sat on a chair nearby.
Yan Song continued to ask: "How are the other luggage packed?"
Yan Kuan replied: "All other luggage that should be packed has been packed, and everything that should be packed has been packed."
After Yan Song heard this, he nodded silently and said: "That's good, that's good. When I finish organizing these books, we will go back to my hometown in Jiangxi. In the blink of an eye, decades have passed."
"He Zhizhang's poem was well written. When I was young, I left home and my boss came back. My local pronunciation has not changed and my hair on my temples has faded. When children see each other but don't know each other, they laugh and ask where the guests are from? I don't know how many people in my hometown still remember my appearance. Still there.”
"Come to think of it, there shouldn't be many people left, right? I'm already eighty-two years old this year. Even if you look at the past and present, not many people at this age can reach such a long life. I can be considered as having all the blessings, wealth and longevity in my life. A gift from God.”
When Yan Kuan listened to Yan Song's words, he also very much agreed with his master's remarks.
Because he was also the third-generation slave of the Yan family. When he served as Yan Song's housekeeper, Yan Song was already sixty years old, but he was in his forties at the time.
Now more than twenty years have passed, and he has been more than sixty years old.
Although he is not young at this age, compared with Yan Song's eighty-year-old life, it is really nothing.
So when he heard Yan Song lamenting that he had taken advantage of all the blessings from heaven, Yan Kuan had no other opinion except that he recognized it from the bottom of his heart.
Yan Kuan tidied away Yan Song's collection of books for a while, but he still couldn't help but ask out the doubts he had been holding back for several days.
"Sir, do you think he will be sentenced to a severe sentence?"
Yan Song suddenly raised his head, a deep pool with no bottom hidden in his cloudy eyes.
Yan Song has been thinking about this issue during this time. He is also wondering whether Yan Shifan can still live? Can you still land safely?
But based on his understanding of Yan Shifan's son's character, as well as Yan Shifan's arrogant behavior in the past, and Yan Shifan's greed and cruelty that would not shed tears until he saw the coffin, Yan Song actually had no bottom in his heart.
He also didn't know if Yan Shifan had any other fatal crimes besides those that were caught by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Punishment.
If there was, even if the King of Heaven descended to earth, it would probably be difficult to save his life.
Therefore, Yan Song also sighed and said: "Let him go. Now I can only do my best and obey fate. I only hope that your majesty and prince can see that I have been working diligently for their old Zhu family for decades." For my own sake, please spare Yan Shifan's life." After Yan Kuan heard Yan Song's sigh, he stopped talking.
Because he also understood that whatever he said next would be meaningless.
Maybe every word he said next would be words that rubbed salt into the old man's heart.
So I'd better help Yan Song pack up these books and prepare to move.
A few days later, in Prince Yu's palace.
Zhu Zaijing finally got a holiday this day and no longer went to work at Wenhua Hall.
But even if Zhu Zaijing did not go to work in the Wenhua Hall, the government affairs that needed him to handle were still following him.
Zhu Zaijing stretched out and placed the "Yongle Dadian", which he had read with great difficulty, on the stone table in the yard.
Zhu Zaijing looked at Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Hai Rui and others who were looking at the time, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Gentlemen, I finally had a day's rest, can't you let me have a free day?"
Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Hai Rui and others also looked at each other slightly awkwardly. They had known Zhu Zaijing for so many years, so they naturally knew Zhu Zaijing's personality.
Zhu Zaijing was not lazy, but principled.
Please...you...collect_6_9_书_吧 (六//九//书//吧)
Therefore, few people did not ask Zhu Zaijing to "do diligent work" because Zhu Zaijing was resting in the palace.
Gao Gong said: "Your Majesty, the ministers are here not because of government affairs, but because they want to meet Your Majesty."
Zhu Zaijing looked at Gao Gong and the others and said, "Okay, now that we have seen each other, you can go and do whatever you should be busy with."
Zhu Zaijing's words once again put Gao Gong and others in trouble.
It felt like Zhu Zaijing didn't follow the routine when he spoke. What they just said was just polite. How could they leave after just one glance.
Gao Gong was embarrassed, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui looked at each other.
The two of them really had something to say.
Zhang Juzheng said: "My lord, please forgive me, but I still have something to say."
Zhu Zaijing chuckled and said: "That's right. Can you tell me what it is first?"
Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui looked at each other again, and then said: "I and Brother Gangfeng have been thinking about the prince's speech in the Wenhua Hall over the past few days. I have a worry."
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Zhu Zaijing looked at Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui who were hesitant to speak, and asked: "What are you worried about?"
Hai Rui took a deep breath and said to Zhu Zaijing: "I am worried that the new road mentioned by the prince will follow the footsteps of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. The cost, manpower and material resources required to build this road are unreasonable. Calculated astronomical numbers ”
"If the prince only wants to realize such an ambitious goal, I am worried that the final result may be that he is unable to do what he wants, not only depleting the national power, but also causing widespread resentment among the people."
After Zhu Zaijing heard Hai Rui's worries, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Are you worried that you are too eager for quick success and want to complete this matter in a few years or more than ten years?"
"Don't worry, Gu is not a benevolent person of Emperor Sui Yang. He doesn't charge money to build a canal, but he does charge money to build roads. So from this point of view, Gu will not be eager for quick success."
"And in Gu's plan, these new roads will not be built with money from the imperial court. Have you forgotten that the new Beijing-Tianjin Road currently under construction was built with a loan from the Urban Construction Department of the Capital Special Administrative Region?"
"If this road is successful, Gu will also copy this experience and will allow local yamen or powerful giants to take loans or fund road construction themselves. At that time, Gu will only need to establish a relevant regulatory yamen to be responsible for the quality of these roads. Just the acceptance, as well as the road toll pricing matters.”
"In this way, it will not only alleviate the financial pressure on the court, but also mobilize the financial power of the people to build a prosperous Ming Dynasty. Why not? So you should think deeply about what I said in the Wenhua Palace. .”
"Carefully understand and develop new ideas for governing the country in the future. The ancients said that poverty leads to change, and change leads to prosperity. The current way of doing things in the Ming Dynasty was also learned from the ancients and has a history of thousands of years."
"When the ancients governed the world, they used the three ministers and nine ministers, which later became the six ministers. In this dynasty, the six cabinet system also evolved. So some things are not really static and must change with the times. Corresponding changes are needed.”
"But we must also remember that this kind of change must not be too big, and must be judged based on the actual situation. Take this matter of road construction. In the original concept, road construction is a matter of the court and local officials and Some wealthy landowners and laymen have their due obligations and kindness.”
"But this kind of relying only on the court, the government, and the kindness of some people is obviously not sustainable for a long time. Because after the long-term development of the court and the government, they will accumulate many practical problems that are difficult to solve. ”
"And all these problems require money to deal with, but the money that the court and the government can receive will gradually shrink over time, and it is not as easy to collect money as it was in the first prosperous era after the founding of the People's Republic of China."< br>
"Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to count on the court and government, because the court and local government do not have enough money to spend, so how can they have any money left to build bridges and pave roads?"
"There are also those landowners and gentry who are willing to build bridges and roads for their hometowns. Even if they are philanthropic, they only build a section of road or a bridge in front of their door. And what is the specification and quality of the repair? It also depends on them. How specific is the kindness? ”
"Otherwise, even if they build bridges and roads, it will only be a temporary transition. With the passage of time and the decay of things, these bridges and roads will naturally not be able to withstand the erosion of time."
"Therefore, what we have to do now is to formulate corresponding rules for building roads and bridges, then relax restrictions, and then use supervision to release the power that the court could not mobilize to handle these benefits. A great thing that benefits the country and the people.”
"As long as the relationships and rules at this level are straightened out, then things in the future can naturally follow the same pattern and use this new way of thinking to find this new management model, thereby improving the administrative efficiency of the court. And further strengthen the court's control over local areas."
"Is your approach good or bad?"
Zhu Zaijing asked Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Hai Rui and the others.
At this time, the three of them also fell into deep thought.
At first glance, the matter of road construction and delegating power and benefits seemed to be that the court suffered a loss and gave up its own power and benefits to the local area or some powerful landowners and gentry, but then I thought about it.
If the imperial court's supervision and control over this matter is truly established and improved as Zhu Zaijing said, there will undoubtedly be a way to make money.
And in the future, with the improvement of supervision and rules, the court's control over local areas will be further strengthened. This is simply a win.
You must know that since Qin Shihuang reorganized counties and counties, there have been so many courts and emperors. When they have been doing and thinking, they are actually thinking of ways to strengthen the absolute power of the central court so that the power of the court can penetrate into all parts of the world. place.
Instead of changing to a helpless realistic portrayal of "the imperial power does not reach the county" or "the mountain is high and the emperor is far away" at the end.
Therefore, if there is a way to make the management and supervision of the imperial court deeper and deeper, no matter who is in the central government, they will definitely support it unconditionally.
After all, this is also the composition of their power, and who would dislike having too much power in their hands?
Isn't this anti-human?
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(End of chapter)