GBP Chapter 177: Let's give the officials of the Ming Dynasty a boost!
Chapter 177: Let's give the officials of the Ming Dynasty a boost!
Chen Zhong replied without hesitation, "Master Li."
Li Shaoshi refers to Li Shanchang. When Emperor Zhu Chongba ascended the throne, Li Shanchang served as the Grand Master of Ceremonies for posthumously honoring ancestors and establishing empresses and crown princes. After Zhu Biao was established as crown prince, Li Shanchang was appointed as the Crown Prince's Junior Master of Ceremonies, and was granted the titles of Silver-Green Grand Master of the Palace and Pillar of the State. He also led the officials of rites to formulate the rites for suburban altars and ancestral temples. Even the current six-ministerial system of the Ming Dynasty was first determined by Li Shanchang. Afterwards, he discussed the mourning clothes for officials and commoners and the rites for paying homage to the Crown Prince.
Appointing Li Shanchang as the marriage envoy would bring honor to Yang Shaofeng and Emperor Zhu Chongba.
However, Liu Yang, the secretary of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, shook his head slightly. "Husband Chen, things have come to this point. The three of us are practically in the same boat. It's better to lay some things out on the table—do you think Junior Tutor Li would be willing to serve as Magistrate Yang's marriage envoy?"
"And then there's Liu Qingtian, Hu Zizhong, and Kong Kejian. Any one of these men would be qualified, but which one would be willing to serve as the marriage envoy for Magistrate Yang?"
"The remaining officials are Minister Xu, Minister Chang, and Commander Tang. Their positions are suitable, and they would surely be willing. However, they are currently fighting against the Tartars. What merit do I have to ask them to return and serve as marriage envoys for Magistrate Yang?"
"If we wait until they return in triumph, we can wait, but how can we explain it to our superiors?"
Looking at Liu Yang, the official in charge of the Imperial Clan Court, who was sighing and lamenting, Chen Zhongxin thought to himself, "Who the hell is in this with you? If it weren't for you bunch of idiots messing things up, I would be busy dealing with Magistrate Yang right now, and I would even get a reward after returning to the capital. Now you've screwed me over by a bunch of idiots, and you still want me to help you come up with a solution? Bah!"
However, just as Chen Zhong was about to say, "We really can't think of anyone suitable," the names Liu Yang had just mentioned suddenly flashed through his mind.
Liu Qingtian refers to Liu Bowen, Hu Zizhong refers to Hu Weiyong, and Kong Kejian is the biological father of Kong Xixue, who was originally to be conferred the title of Duke Yansheng. These people are indeed suitable in terms of identity, but they have all been tormented by Emperor Zhu because of Yang Shaofeng, and none of them would willingly serve as the marriage envoy for Magistrate Yang.
After witnessing Magistrate Yang's ability to beat up the Ministry of Rites official and then flip the table to shirk responsibility, Chen Zhong no longer dared to let Liu Qingtian and others act as his marriage envoys for Magistrate Yang. In case these people were unhappy and wanted to make trouble for Magistrate Yang, and Magistrate Yang flipped the table again, he could not bear the consequences!
However, the mention of Kong Kejian by Liu Yang reminded Chen Zhong of someone else.
Kong Kezhong.
Kong Kezhong has a son named Kong Xilu, who is currently in Beijing leading a team to compile the "Hongwu Encyclopedia".
Although the Southern Branch had already ceded the title to the Northern Branch in the nineteenth year of Zhiyuan, Kong Kezhong and his son Kong Xilu were still direct descendants of Confucius. Kong Xilu was currently competing with Kong Xixue for the title of Duke Yansheng. If Kong Xilu were to act as the marriage envoy, he would owe our family a favor, and wouldn't Magistrate Yang also owe our family a favor?
No, besides Kong Xilu, there is actually someone more suitable. Moreover, as long as that person makes the suggestion, it will become perfectly reasonable for Emperor Zhu to rush to marry off his two adopted daughters. People will only praise Zhu Chongba for not forgetting old friendships, and no one will say that Emperor Zhu is trying to win people's hearts by marrying off his adopted daughters.
After pondering for a moment, Chen Zhong said directly to Liu Yang, "Liu, we actually have two candidates here."
"The first one is Kong Xilu, who is currently leading a team to compile the Hongwu Encyclopedia."
"Kong Xixue may deeply resent Magistrate Yang because of the Hongwu Dictionary, but Kong Xilu will definitely be grateful to Magistrate Yang because of the Hongwu Encyclopedia. I'm sure you, Liu Jingli, can figure out the ins and outs of this without me having to explain it."
"However, this person is a good choice, but not the best choice."
Liu Yang's eyes lit up, and he asked, "What about the second person? Is he the best choice?"
Chen Zhong nodded and said, "The second person is Liu Jizu, who once offered a piece of land to the Emperor when he was in hiding. He is not in the court and has no official position, but he has done the Emperor a favor. If Liu Jingli can persuade him to come forward to discuss the marriage, he will be three points better than Kong Xilu."
Liu Yang replied without hesitation, "Then it's Liu Jizu! However, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to persuade Liu Jizu on my own; I'll need Elder Chen's help."
Chen Zhong nodded again and replied, "As Liu Jingli just said, the three of us are in the same boat now, so we should naturally help each other out."
……
Yang Shaofeng lay down on the recliner in the backyard of the county government office once again, with only two words on his mind.
comfortable.
With Empress Ma back in the capital, he no longer had to endure the pressure from his mother-in-law and had to be careful in everything he did.
Chen Zhong, that dead eunuch, and the officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs were all gone. I no longer had to be woken up early every morning to learn etiquette, and I no longer had to be tormented by others.
Just thinking about the pain of learning etiquette brought a hint of mockery to Yang Shaofeng's face.
It was obvious that Xu Zhendong, the official in charge of the Ministry of Rites, had been instructed by someone to come and make things difficult for him. It was probably either someone like Li Shanchang or an unlucky fellow like Kong Xixue.
It's a pity, a real pity. Xu Zhendong's brain is clearly not up to par. His methods of tormenting people are too crude, and he doesn't know how to watch his mouth when he speaks. He finally seized the opportunity to turn the tables and successfully kill Xu Zhendong. Now he can finally enjoy the life of a lazy bum again.
After basking in the sun for a while, Yang Shaofeng went back into the study.
It's time to give the officials of the Ming Dynasty a serious boost.
Since these people still have the mood to come and cause trouble for me, it means they are not busy enough. If they are not busy enough, they will be letting down the salary given to them by my father-in-law, and even more so, they will be letting down the people who support them.
As Meng Chang himself wrote in his "Promulgation of Admonitions" during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, "Your salary and emoluments are the people's blood and sweat; the common people are easy to oppress, but Heaven is hard to deceive."
The officials of the Ming Dynasty, who were paid by the people, still had the leisure to come to Ningyang County to cause trouble for their superiors. This is a typical case of the lower classes mistreating the common people and the upper classes deceiving the will of Heaven. If they are not taught a lesson, I'm afraid these officials will never learn their lesson!
Then, Magistrate Yang spread out the paper specifically for submitting memorials, picked up his pen, and wrote: "Magistrate Yang of Ningyang County, directly under the Central Secretariat, respectfully submits this memorial requesting the establishment of a five-year plan. I have heard that Heaven created the people and established a ruler to govern and govern them. Ancient emperors understood this well, hence the position was called the Heavenly Position, the office the Heavenly Office, the emolument the Heavenly Emolument, and the people the Heavenly People. The people inherently have the desire for food and water, but they cannot govern themselves and must rely on the ruler to provide for them. A ruler can manage all the affairs of the world with one mind, but cannot personally handle all the duties of the world. The ancient emperors who were diligent in serving the people did not do so by personally attending to every matter, but rather by assigning responsibilities to their ministers... A plan for a hundred years should be established... with a five-year period... I humbly submit this memorial for your consideration..."
The gist of it is that since Heaven has made you, Zhu, emperor, you have to do a good job and live up to the people's expectations. However, you can't do all the work by yourself; you have to get your ministers to do the work. The best way to get your ministers to work is to let them develop a long-term plan, such as a 100-year plan, with each five-year period as a work phase. If they complete it, they will be rewarded; if they don't, they will be held accountable. That's all I have to say. Whether or not to put extra pressure on your servants is entirely up to you, Zhu.