Chapter 549 Wonders: Zhengya Bell and Drum Tower
Wang Qian grew up and had a career that he was good at. He knew what he could and could not do. Although he had the reputation of being a playboy, he had never done anything beyond the ordinary. Regarding line matters, for example, Wang Qian never took human life lightly, nor did he harbor cunning, condone lawlessness, or ask for bribes from the prince. All of this made Wang Chonggu feel very at ease.
As for this book "Analysis of Negotiable Tickets", Wang Chonggu really read it carefully from beginning to end. Wang Qian's investment in the entire trading house was very carefully observed and summarized. It is extremely accurate, and Wang Qian practices it personally. Regarding the "four secrets" involved, Wang Qian combines knowledge and action, and has accomplished them all.
If a person can integrate knowledge and action, he can basically settle himself.
Wang Chonggu had nothing to worry about anymore and began to actively prepare for the construction of the Glazed Pagoda.
Empress Dowager Li still firmly disagreed with the value measurement method. She didn’t care about the value measurement. She knew that she really agreed. Her name must be on the pillar of shame in history. It is not a big construction project. What a good word, especially when describing a specific person.
Finally, the Beiya Glazed Tower was named Zhengya Bell and Drum Tower.
The entire architectural style of the Glazed Pagoda has not changed. It is still based on the Glazed Pagoda of Nanya Dabaoen Temple, but simple modifications have been made. A huge dial is hung on the top with twelve numbers on it. hours, and each hour is divided into two hours, each hour is divided into sixty minutes, and each minute is divided into sixty seconds.
The cycle continues.
One hour is equal to two hours, which is the division of Su Song, an astronomer in the Song Dynasty. Every hour on the hour, the watchman on the Bell and Drum Tower will ring the clock hanging on the Drum Tower to tell everyone Man, it’s the hour.
The entire dial was designed by the Royal Academy of Ming Dynasty. On the basis of the hour hand, minute hands and second hands were added, with sixty as the base.
The reason why we chose the sexagesimal system instead of the traditional hexadecimal system of days, quarters, minutes, and seconds in astronomical literature is because it is inconvenient to calculate. 60 is the least common multiple of 123456, which can be easily calculated. One hour One third is twenty minutes, and the sundial is round, which also involves equal divisions of the circle.
Actually, these are all rules of arithmetic, and arithmetic is a precise definition.
The reason why sexagesimal is used is mainly culture.
The Central Plains has had ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches since ancient times, and the heavenly stems and earthly branches are combined in cycles, from Jiazi to Guihai, a total of sixty.
The year, month, day and hour of the Ming Dynasty are all based on a cycle of sixty. For example, the imperial examination in the eleventh year of Wanli is: Guiwei Kedian Examination List, for example, it is on Ji Chou Day in February , confirmed Yu Youding as the examiner.
The months and days of the Ming Dynasty are based on a cycle of sixty, so are the hours of the Ming Dynasty also a cycle of sixty-one?
Time is also a cycle of sixty. The hour of time is actually sixty hours as one hour. Sixty hours are exactly five twelve hours, which is exactly five days, so it is also called five days and one hour. .
Year, month, day and hour are all sixty-one cycles, so the time units minutes and seconds below hour are all based on sixty as one cycle, which is reasonable.
The design of the large clock in the Zhengya Bell and Drum Tower is not a problem for the Royal Academy of Sciences, because it is a unit of time, with a cycle of sixty times. Isn't that a matter of course?
The sketch was approved by the court on the seventh day of March, and then the detailed design began. At the same time, the location was determined, just outside Donghua Gate.
It turns out that outside the Donghua Gate is the Ten Prince's Mansion, which is the residence of the princes who still stayed in the capital before the Ming Dynasty became a vassal. However, because the Ming Dynasty was not happy, there was even a matter of extinguishing the heir to join the Dazong. The Ten Princes' Mansion has been in disrepair for a long time.
And after the establishment of the Ten King's City, the Ten Prince's Mansion had no meaning, and became the site of the Zhengya Bell and Drum Tower.
Originally, the Bell and Drum Tower, which is more than thirty-three feet high, can see through the entire palace at a glance. This is very disadvantageous to the emperor and should not be chosen here anyway. However, because the emperor does not live in the palace, this site selection It's very suitable.
The imperial palace is a palace because the emperor lives in it. The current Huangji Hall and Wenhua Hall can at best be regarded as the offices of the Ming Emperor.
The Ministry of Rites chose an auspicious day and began to break ground.
The emperor's life was always boring and fulfilling. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty was very busy every day, and everyone in the capital was accustomed to His Majesty's diligence and activity. Until the third day of April, when the imperial meeting was supposed to be held One day, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty suddenly issued an order to stop the imperial meeting and postpone it.
The reason is very simple. The Ming Emperor, who had been in power for more than ten years, was ill and had a high fever.
It has already entered the early summer of April. This season has already begun to get hot. As always, His Majesty the Emperor went to the Beijing camp to parade the military horses. On the way back to the city, strong cold air from the northwest suddenly arrived, and the weather suddenly It became cold.
For more than ten years, His Majesty, the diligent Emperor, finally fell ill. His illness lasted just... one day.
When the chief medical officer of Jieguyuan hurriedly entered the palace, His Majesty's fever had subsided and all the symptoms of wind and cold had subsided. If the chief medical officers came later, His Majesty would be fine.
Thanks to his long-term martial arts practice, His Majesty, who is in strong health, recovered his health in just one day.
In order not to worry the courtiers, Zhu Yijun held a court meeting on the fifth day of April. When the courtiers saw the Ming Emperor appear again on the throne of Huangji Hall, all doubts disappeared.
"A strong body is so important to the Ming Emperor." Zhu Yijun looked at the piles of memorials on the table, sighed and said: "I just feel the cold occasionally, so many greetings and memorials, I can’t wait to fill up my imperial study!”
These memorials are full of loyalty, and there are all kinds of disgusting words. Zhu Yijun has to look through these memorials.
Zhu Yijun promised Zhang Juzheng that all approval should be given, and he would naturally do it.
Zhu Yijun picked up a seal on the table. There were three words on it, [I am in good health], which means that I am in good health. Zhu Yijun specially carved a seal to express his greetings. When faced with a stamp, the mill donkey must also learn to think of ways to save effort.
"Wang Qian's four secrets of making a fortune, how are sales?" Zhu Yijun stamped his stamp and asked with a smile.
"That's really popular in the capital! It's even started to be shipped in bulk to various places. I have to say that this name is really good!" Feng Bao praised His Majesty's idea. It's really It's great!
“Should we change the name of the theory of contradiction?” Feng Bao reasoned and thought about whether this method could be used to promote the theory of contradiction.
"Nonsense." Zhu Yijun sneered and said: "Why don't you go to Goulanwashe to talk politics to those fairies? Isn't that playing the piano to a cow?"
A collection of publications such as The Theory of Contradiction in Serious Political Science, completely It is not suitable to spread like this, because it is very serious in itself, and turning politics into entertainment is a very dangerous behavior in itself, and it may be bad.
Political activities are a process of group decision-making; entertainment attracts attention and makes people feel pleasure and happiness.
The negative consequence of completely turning politics into entertainment is that in the process of decision-making by political groups, in order to attract attention and be completely oriented towards attention and topicality, they constantly make various promises that are impossible to fulfill. , absurd arguments, baseless conspiracy theories, extremely short-sighted or wishful thinking, and are often filled with baseless lies and deception.
Political entertainment will lack facts, only lies.
Because all entertainment content revolves around attention and topicality, once political activities develop to this trend, all group decisions will be made contrary to the facts.
A similar phenomenon existed in the Ming Dynasty, which was manifested in the fact that the officials of the Ming Dynasty impeached for the sake of impeachment.
Tan Lun coughed at the altar of the sun and wanted to impeach the Minister of War. The whole process was full of lies and deception. If Tan Lun hadn't pointed it out directly, the list of Wang Chonggu's promotion of generals in the capital would have been It is the key to the struggle. Can the little emperor sitting on the stage really understand the twists and turns?
"This memorial of the Ministry of Personnel is not a greeting." Zhu Yijun raised his hand to stamp it, only to see that it was not a memorial to greet him, but a memorial from Liang Menglong, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The content of the discussion was about passing the examination. shortcomings of the law.
"Isn't Liang Menglong a student of Zhang Juzheng? Liang Menglong actually accused Zhang Juzheng's examination method of being flawed! Is this an attempt to rebel against Tiangang?" Zhu Yijun was extremely surprised. This Liang Menglong's courage is really not ordinary!
Feng Bao thought for a while and said, "Is it possible that it was given by Sir?"
He had the same idea when he saw the memorial, but when it was brought to the imperial court from the Chief of Ceremonies, Feng Bao was convinced that, Zhang Juzheng knew about this memorial, and it was even possible that this memorial was completed under Zhang Juzheng's guidance.
“Tsk, tsk, what you said is meaningful.” Zhu Yijun discovered the memorial written by Liang Menglong, which pointed directly at the core issue of the Kao Cheng Law, that is, the officialdom ecology under the high pressure of the Kao Cheng Law.
This is Zhang Dang’s self-correction. No system is perfect. Zhang Juzheng told the emperor very early on. The high pressure of the imperial examination brought many benefits to the Ming Dynasty officialdom. Likewise, There are also many disadvantages.
The examination method destroyed the original teacher system of the Ming Dynasty and brought a relatively fair competition platform to the officials of the Ming Dynasty, instead of having to work as a horse for the teacher in exchange for possible promotions. Chance.
The imperial examination law was a method for abolishing the status of humble slaves for all officials in the Ming Dynasty. This greatly stimulated the vitality of the officialdom. At the same time, cruel competition began.
Under the high pressure, the yamen at all levels in the Ming Dynasty formed different small groups. The struggle between these small groups was particularly cruel. It was a real life-and-death battle. The capable ones were promoted and the mediocre ones were demoted to the officialdom. basic rules.
If it is just a struggle, that’s it. Wherever there are people, there will be rivers and lakes. Struggles and contradictions are everywhere.
But now the members of these small groups have begun to share power. This is a phenomenon that Zhang Juzheng did not expect at all, and it soon became common.
There is a lot of pressure to pass the exam. Once you fail to complete something within the time limit, you will be criticized immediately. If you accumulate three grades, you may face jail. And if you want to be promoted, you must at least have a rating or even a rating.
They are all Jinshi who were rolled out of thousands of troops. Who is not the best among individuals?
Vol.
In order to defeat their opponents, small groups began to make conveniences for each other, that is, you give me convenience, and I give you convenience. In this way, everyone is convenient and can quickly complete the imperial examination. The efficiency of work has been greatly improved, but of course it has also brought about huge administrative problems of unclear powers and responsibilities.
Every case is a false case, involving a large number of people.
In other words, under the high pressure of the Ming Dynasty's imperial examination, the blocks are quickly and closely united. This is actually not good news for the court, so If this continues, the place will essentially become a small imperial court, or even go one step further and become a vassal town.
Because Liang Menglong observed that these small groups began to facilitate each other, and were no longer limited to the interior of the small group. They were often composed of the prefect, chief envoy, political officer, and inspector as a core Rights are shared among small groups.
In this way, it seems that administrative efficiency has been greatly improved, but there is already a tendency for local governments to join forces, and the governors in various places may even be sidelined, or simply coerced, in order to pass the examination and get a higher rating. and the place becomes a whole.
The administrative power of the Ming Dynasty will be lost quickly under the unity of the "blocks", just like the prosperity of Kaiyuan to Tianbao The rapid changes in troubled times are a situation Zhang Juzheng absolutely does not want to see.
“This is a big, big trouble.” Zhu Yijun said sincerely.
This memorial by Liang Menglong contains Zhang Juzheng’s personal notes. According to Zhang Juzheng, the phenomenon does exist, and the problem is very serious and needs to be solved immediately. Once such small groups in the local area facilitate each other, If it becomes an unspoken rule, it will have the same harm as the seat-teacher system, which will create centrifugal force. Over time, disobedience will become commonplace.
The two masters and disciples, Liang Menglong and Zhang Juzheng, discussed it for a long time and finally found a way for them.
This method is of course not to abolish the examination law, which is an important decree to restore the administrative power of the Ming Dynasty. It is also not to carry out high-pressure changes, such as the melons and vines, which are similar to the high-pressure situation. It will only make the local area more united and accelerate the local unity to fight against the imperial court.
The method given by Liang Menglong and Zhang Juzheng is the short-term method.
To be precise, three envoys in one place cannot stay in one place for more than six years, because once more than six years, a very stable personnel relationship will be formed, which is very convenient for forming parties for personal gain, but the term of office is too short and the power It will be completely controlled by local officials, and based on practical experience, the period of six to nine years has been determined.
At the ninth year, even if it is a big deal, you should be promoted or transferred and not allowed to serve again.
This is to avoid the formation of deep-rooted small groups with the three ministers as the core. The emperor and the courtiers, the same is true for the court, and the same is true for the localities. This method of forcibly changing heads is to force the localities to metabolize. The flow of people will limit the mutual convenience between such small groups, and the harm will be much less.
Everything in the Ming Dynasty will not be ineffective.
Zhu Yijun thought of Luo Yao, the former governor of Sichuan in the Xindu Yang case. Luo Yao was from Huguang and a direct descendant of Zhang Dang. When he arrived in Sichuan, he faced the almost monolithic Sichuan region. Luo Yao, who was not determined, chose to surrender and embezzled 360,000 taels of silver. In the end, he became infamous and was deprived of his official status and fame by the emperor.
The problems summarized by Liang Menglong exist objectively, and the methods are extremely effective. Only the three envoys can isolate the governor.
"Next chapter, the cabinet will know that this matter will be discussed tomorrow. The Chief of Ceremonies will make an extra copy of the memorial and put it in front of my case." Zhu Yijun explained additionally that he should keep this memorial in front of him to remind himself all the time. One thing is that contradictions are solved one after another. When one contradiction is resolved, new contradictions will appear. If there is no government decree that can be implemented, we can sit back and relax and enjoy the results.
The Confucian scholars are always three generations above the law, hoping that there will be an eternal law, but in fact, it does not exist.
The examination method also needs to be tinkered with in order to continue to work hard.
"I obey the decree."
Zhang Juzheng's tinkering with the Kao Cheng Law was quickly approved by the court, and the Ministry of Officials immediately began to take action to punish those who had been in office for more than ten years. Officials were being promoted or transferred. The official department was obviously well prepared for this round of rapid personnel transfers. Zhang Juzheng was not completely unaware of the disadvantages of passing the imperial examination.
Without the trouble of party supervision in the court, Zhang Juzheng had more energy to focus on official governance and system improvement.
On the seventh day of April in the eleventh year of Wanli, a carriage set off from Tongzhou Shuimayi. In the carriage was Wang Jiaping, the governor of Guangdong in the Ming Dynasty. He also brought two people with him, Wan Wenqing and Wu Weizhong, who were first appointed as The supervisory officer of Guangzhou Shipping Department has become a prefect because of his continuous promotion. This promotion has been very fast.
The biggest hobby of Wan Wenqing and Wu Weizhong is visiting brothels. The purpose of leaving the capital was to go to Guangzhou to visit brothels.
Wang Jiaping tried his best to stop the two from visiting brothels. Now they can only covet.
"The capital is really changing with each passing day. When we left, the houses outside Chaoyang Gate were still far away from Tongzhou, but now they are all connected together." Wan Wenqing looked out the window and sighed. Wan Qian said.
Things have changed, people have changed, and the capital has changed so much that the two of them have been moved by the scene. When they left, although it could not be called dilapidated, it was far less prosperous than it is now.
"After I enter the capital, I am going to visit an old friend in Jieyuan. You two should not go." Wang Jiaping looked at the two disciples and said with confidence.
Wu Weizhong frowned and said: "Fan Yingqi? Teacher, you pretend to be confused every day in Guangzhou. When you get to the capital, you can also pretend to be confused once. Fan Yingqi's problem is not small. If you get involved with him, you will not treat the teacher well. Okay, he is locked up in the Jiecuyuan. If you go to see him, what does His Majesty think of you? "
"Teacher, just pretend to be confused, just this time."
Wang Jiaping sighed. He said in a tone: "Yes, that's him. I was actually hesitating on the way to Beijing. After hesitating again and again, I decided to go. It would be more trouble if I didn't go."
"It would be more trouble if I didn't go?" Wan Wenqing His brows furrowed, these words made him a little confused.
"He and I are good friends. Whether I go or not, it's still a problem. Let's choose the lesser of two evils, because if I don't go, I just don't believe in unrighteousness. Those moral defenders in the court They will criticize me verbally. I am not afraid of them, but if I don't go, it means there is something wrong with me. This is the most difficult thing." Wang Jiaping sighed, this Fan Yingqi was implicated because of his misbehavior.
Wang Jiaping looked at the confused expressions of the two disciples and sighed: "I know you don't understand. I won't explain what I'm afraid of. What am I afraid of? I'm afraid that it will implicate me. If there is something wrong in my heart, my conscience will become problematic, so I have to go.”
“If you go, you may be implicated. If you don’t go, you will definitely be implicated.”
Da Ming’s Ke. The most annoying thing about Daoyanguan is that he is heartbroken. If you don't dare to visit your old friends, you are afraid of getting angry, or you have a ghost in your heart, or there is a problem. As for what the problem is, it will be exposed if you fall down! Only at this level can the thinking of Ke Dao Yan Guan make such a leap.
Wan Wenqing thought over and over again and said: "Before you go, you should go to the party leader and let him make his decision."
"Wang Chonggu has gradually given up on the Jin Party, although most Jin people have not I noticed it, but I saw it." Wang Jiaping spread his hands. He was helpless about Wang Chonggu's change and could only watch Wang Chonggu abandon the Jin Party.
The Jin Party is about to fall apart. After Wang Chonggu’s death, if there are no people to carry the flag, the Jin Party will fall apart. Just like the original Yan Dang and Xu Dang, they will defect to others, but become a monk halfway. As a monk, which temple dares to accept you?
Because Wang Yi'e was a student of Xu Jie, he served as the Prime Minister of Shuntian for ten full years without being promoted. If His Majesty hadn't insisted on his own way, Wang Yi'e would have continued to work in Shuntian. Tianfu Cheng wasted his position.
Wan Wenqing and Wu Weizhong glanced at each other. They didn't feel anything at all, because they really didn't have much official addiction. They just wanted to find a place to get away from Wang Jiaping's control so that they could continue to be free and happy. Being an official is to give an explanation to your family and your past self. Doing things well is a matter of loyalty. When you are in your position, you must plan your affairs.
Promotion and transfer are not particularly important to them.
"You two are so worthless! The Jin Party is about to disband, and you are indifferent!" Wang Jiaping said with an angry look on his face. These two disciples are good at everything and have great abilities. Strong, but without any ambition, he is considered an outlier in the officialdom.
Wang Jiaping arrived in Beijing and stayed at Huitongguanyi, and then went to the Quanjin Guild Hall. He did not see Wang Chonggu. Wang Cifu, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, was not at Wenyuan Pavilion or the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment, but at the Xishan Coal Bureau.
Wang Jiaping did not go to the Xishan Coal Bureau, but went straight to the Jiecui Courtyard. After checking the dental plaque, Wang Jiaping walked into the Jiecui Courtyard under the leadership of Tiqi.
"Why is it so cold?" Wang Jiaping shivered for no reason. He looked around with a frown. There was nothing strange, but it just felt a bit cold. This was obviously a psychological effect. , the Jiecu courtyard is clean and there is no dirt.
This is the first time Wang Jiaping has walked into this hell on earth.
"Coming." A calm voice suddenly sounded behind Wang Jiaping.
"Ah!" Wang Jiaping was startled. Looking at Chen Shigong behind him, his heart jumped into his throat and fell back. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said: "Scaring people will scare people to death. "Why are you walking without making any sound?"
"Governor Wang is joking, isn't there a sound when I walk?" Chen Shigong said with a smile, "Listen, isn't this the sound of footsteps?"
"Let's go."
Wang Jiaping had goosebumps all over his body. It was very strange. There was no sound of footsteps just now, but now there was them again. Wang Jiaping was very sure that he didn't hear them just now.
Is something covering his ears?
"This is..." Wang Jiaping passed by an open room and looked inside. There were various objects wrapped in rosin on display. He was a little curious.
Most people will not come to Jiejuyuan. What is inside is unknown to outsiders. It is not that Jiejuyuan closes its doors to thank guests. In fact, there are too many strange stories surrounding Jiejuyuan. There are too many stories, which cast a veil of mystery over this place, and no one wants to come.
“These are all Zhang Siwei.” Chen Shigong said looking at the specimens.
"Ah? Ah, this is Zhang Siwei." Wang Jiaping took two hurried steps. He walked very quickly without any nostalgia, as if he wanted to forget what happened just now.
But the more I want to forget, the harder it is to forget, but the memory becomes more and more profound, so profound that it can never be forgotten.
The specimens sealed in rosin piece by piece are all Zhang Siwei.
Wang Jiaping knew Zhang Siwei and had conflicts. When he actually saw those specimens with his own eyes, Wang Jiaping's heart beat faster.
Finally, Wang Jiaping saw Fan Yingqi. Fan Yingqi was much thinner than before. He used to be a little rich, but now he is skinny and skinny. His eyes are sunken and dull, and he looks Somewhat lethargic, the look in my eyes that looked like no one else in the world disappeared, and instead turned into a kind of turbidity.
"Coming?" Fan Yingqi saw Wang Jiaping and smiled, showing two yellow teeth. They were stained yellow by the tar inside after sucking opium balls.
Wang Jiaping sat on the chair, looked at Fan Yingqi who was sitting by the bed and asked: "What's the matter with you?"
"I'm different from them, they were thrown in I was thrown in for opium detoxification. The difference is that His Majesty did not prohibit me from leaving. After the detoxification was successful some time ago, His Majesty allowed me to go home." Fan Yingqi murmured to himself: "Me and I. They are different.”
Wang Jiaping really didn’t know that Fan Yingqi had succeeded and had received approval from His Majesty to go home. Fan Yingqi mainly suffered from crooked wisdom teeth and toothache. In the hospital, the chief medical officer After they removed his wisdom teeth and no longer needed analgesia, Fan Yingqi also punished himself and quit opium.
Wang Jiaping asked doubtfully: "Then why are you still here?"
"Look at my appearance of neither human nor ghost, am I very suitable for this place where there is no life or death?" Fan Yingqi shook his head and said: "If I don't go out, what else can I do? I used to be a young hero of the Jin Party. I'm full of energy, but now I'm just a corpse in the grave."
"You don't understand, I am a coward who feels more uncomfortable living than dying, but I don't have the courage to die, but here I am."< br>
“I plan to study medicine, become a doctor in a hospital, and find something to do for myself.”
People are the sum of social relationships, and Fan Yingqi plans to use his social relationships to The walls of Jiecuyuan are isolated. In this way, he does not have to face the pointing fingers, insults, sneers, and disdain from outside. Although everything is his own fault.
(End of this chapter)