Han Kezhong left Beijing with only one entourage, a skinny donkey and two luggage.
In fact, although there were many dirty officials in the Ming Dynasty, there were also many people who were loyal, perseverant, and upright. To be precise, when many officials entered their official careers, they wanted to be saints, carry on their unique learning, and bring peace to the world, and live up to their superiors.
Your Majesty will live up to the people.
It's just that in this life, as time goes by, many people will forget their original intentions and be pulled to the other side by the world and fame and wealth.
This is the saying that wealth cannot be lustful and power cannot be subdued.
The emperor personally appointed a provincial censor to inspect the province, which caused no disturbance in the court.
To a certain extent, governing a country is the same as living a normal life. It is a steady stream of water, not so vigorous and impassioned. Governing a big country is like cooking a small delicacy. If the action is too big, it will not be beautiful.
Furthermore, it is actually not a good thing for an emperor to be too far-sighted. In the end, it is the common people who suffer for the emperor's achievements.
As long as the people can live in peace, with less taxes and corvees and more food reserves, then he will be a rare good emperor.
~~
In midsummer, cicadas chirp in the imperial garden.
Zhu Yunxi's office moved from Fengtian Hall to Lezhizhai on the edge of the Imperial Garden. It is slightly cooler here. He has always been afraid of heat and loves cold, and cannot bear the heat.
Wang Shai directed the palace servants to place an ice basin in the corner of the palace, doing so quietly for fear of making any noise and disturbing the emperor and ministers who were discussing matters.
Zhu Yunxi leaned on the armrest of the throne with one hand and held a memorial in the other hand. Then he looked at everyone, and finally fell on the veteran minister Ling Han, "Ling Aiqing, the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs is vacant. Do you recommend the governor of Henan to be elected?
"
After all, Ling Han was old, and Zhu Yunxi had been considering future candidates for the position of Minister of Civil Affairs as early as when he came to the throne. At the beginning, he chose Du Ze, the right minister, who was not good at talking but was courageous and honest.
But who would have expected that Du Ze fell ill after entering the summer. The right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, who was in charge of assessing the performance of officials all over the world, was vacant.
After listening to Zhu Yunxi asking about himself, Ling Han stood up hurriedly, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, only loyal and upright people cannot take up the errands of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but they must not be pedantic while being loyal and upright. Hou Yong, Chief Secretary of Henan Province, has been an official for many years and has excellent evaluations.
.”
"Not only is he honest and upright, he is also good at discerning right from wrong, so I recommend Hou Yong!"
However, Hou Yong was a good official. As early as the original flood, he left a very good impression on Zhu Yunxi. Historically, this man was also an admirable loyal minister and filial son.
After Zhu Di was in trouble, he asked Hou Yong to be an official. The latter refused to obey and was tied up. Later Hou Yong took advantage of others' unpreparedness and swallowed the gold and died to live up to his old master. Zhu Yunxi has always been generous to such ministers.
in use.
"That's him!" Zhu Yunxi said calmly, picked up the ink pen and wrote the exact words on the memorial, and continued, "I remember that he is from Shandong, right?"
Ling Han smiled and said, "A native of Pingdu, Shandong, he was the 22nd Jinshi in the ten years of Hongwu. He was the only one from Shandong who passed the exam that year!"
"Talents are rare!" Zhu Yunxi said, "He has been in the local area for many years, both in terms of qualifications and abilities." After saying that, he smiled at Ling Han and said, "Since he is the candidate recommended by the old minister, you will have to give more guidance and guidance in the future.
!”
"What the Emperor is saying is that at this age, I can no longer sit in the toilet. It's time for young people like them to contribute to the Ming Dynasty!" Ling Han said with a smile.
Ling Han's words may seem vulgar and casual, but they actually have a deep meaning. He is telling Zhu Yunxi that he was recommended by me, but he and I are not the same group. I am not a party-loving person. At this age, the biggest thought is
Just stand on this last duty.
At this moment, Yang Jing, the censor of Youdu, suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask, do you want Hou Yong to come to Beijing immediately, or...?"
Zhu Yunxi put down the memorial and said, "If Yang Aiqing has anything to say, just report it directly!"
Yang Jing bowed his head and said, "I and Hou Yong were Jinshi in the same year. They worked in the Ministry of Civil Affairs in their early years. They are close friends and we often exchange letters." After saying that, he paused and said, "Last month Hou Yong returned the letter to me.
I sent a letter saying that I haven’t seen my mother in seven years!”
Speaking of this, Yang Jing looked at Zhu Yunxi's face and continued, "Hou Yong's letter to the minister said that when he was in office, he received a letter from his nephew, saying that his mother almost died of illness during the Spring Festival and was seriously ill.
Reciting Hou Yong's name!"
"Hou Yong has not been home for seven years since he was sent to serve as a censor in the local affairs department, and then promoted to the position of chief minister. The handwriting on the letter to the minister is full of tears at the end!"
Scholars, real scholars, put country before family, and loyalty and filial piety cannot be both.
Moreover, there were many rules for being an official in the Ming Dynasty. Even if he reached Hou Yong's position, if he wanted to support his mother by his side, he would have to write a letter to the emperor.
Zhu Yunxi sighed slightly, "The biggest regret in life is that my son is away from home. He has not been home for seven years, which is so painful for him!" He said, paused, "This matter is also my negligence, and I didn't know about it at all!"
Speaking of this, Zhu Yunxi pondered for a moment, "He has not been home for seven years, so he should be given a month's leave to go home and visit relatives. But firstly, the officials cannot be left alone for a day, and secondly, even if he is given one month, he will go home."
I’m afraid there won’t be much time left on the road!”
Then, he sighed slightly and said, "Pass an edict to grant Hou Yong a mansion in Beijing, allowing him to take his mother to his side and support him, so as to fulfill his filial piety!"
"Your Majesty is so kind, and all the ministers in the world are lucky!" All the ministers in the palace stood up and saluted.
"What kind of kindness is this!" Zhu Yunxi waved his hand for them to sit down and said with a smile, "You ministers, the pillars of the country, are in my arms. You have worked hard for the Ming Dynasty, how can I bear to see you missing your family?"
"Some of you are old ministers who watched me transform from a prince to an emperor, some are newcomers who were promoted after I ascended the throne, and there are also chief ministers, officials and censors from all over the world. To me, you are not just ministers!"
"I have true feelings for you, understand your difficulties, and understand your difficulties. I hope you will do good deeds and do practical things. As long as you can do your duty as an official, I will do my duty as a gentleman!"
"The great gift between the monarch and his ministers cannot be abolished, but I still feel that there should be some human touch between us monarchs and ministers! I think that my intelligence is not as good as that of Emperor Qin and Han Wu, and my achievements are not as good as those of Tang Taizong and the Supreme Emperor."
"But I am sincere and calm in my heart, and I am at peace with all of you."
"As long as you ministers live up to the people, I will never let you down!"
"Your Majesty!" With such expressive words, all the ministers and ministers could not sit still. They stood up and saluted and swallowed loudly.
Throughout the ages, has any emperor ever said such a thing to his ministers?
In the ears of these ministers who had the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Permanent Constitutions integrated into their bones, based on these words, the emperor immediately ordered them to die, and they were all willing to do so.
"Look, they are kneeling again!" Zhu Yunxi smiled, "Wang Shai, help me lift them up!"
"Your Majesty, I have one more thing to report!" Yang Jing, the censor of Youdu, said again.
"Come on!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
"Your Majesty's grace, Xu Houyong's mother came to Beijing, but..." Yang Jing said, smiling bitterly, "Houyong's family is poor, and all his salary over the years, except for expenses, is sent home to support his hometown.
Poor students.”
"From Pingdu to the capital, I'm afraid...I'm afraid that the expenses for the waiting mother are not enough! Moreover, the old man is old, so he has to drive slowly along the road, and he has to take the accompanying people with him..."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunxi suddenly recalled the scene of the disaster relief in Yuan that day. Hou Yong was wearing a patched official robe, soaking in muddy water. A pair of official boots were worn to pieces, but he was reluctant to throw them away and hung them to dry on the windowsill.
An honest official is so pure that people only have respect for him.
"I am an emperor who is rich all over the world, but my ministers can't even pay for their mother..."
Before Zhu Yunxi could finish speaking, the ministers hurriedly said, "I dare not accept the emperor's words!"
"Pass the message!" Zhu Yunxi thought about it and said, "Let the Chief Secretary of Shandong... No, Wang Shao sent the message to Guanglu Temple, allocated three hundred silver dollars from my inner treasury, and sent it to Shandong Pingping along with the imperial edict.
Du, Hou Yong's family, as a means of payment!"
"In addition, inform the Shandong Chief Secretary about the government offices and postal stations along the way. The carriages and horses used by Mrs. Hou must be exquisite and comfortable. Let Pingdu Mansion choose five officials and two men to accompany them."
"Mr. Hou, all the food, clothing, housing and transportation along the way will be in accordance with the rules of the third-rank official, so don't be negligent!"
"I obey the decree!" all the ministers said in unison.
The honor given by the emperor to his ministers made them all feel proud and empathetic.
The veteran Ling Han sighed and said, "Including the previous Dynasty, I have served kings for several generations. Only when I get to the emperor do I know what a virtuous and kind king is!"
Zhu Yunxi smiled and said, "Old Minister, what you said is biased, aren't you? If you spread the word, be careful... Hahaha!"
After Ling Han finished speaking, he realized that he had made a mistake. These words did not scold the Supreme Emperor, so he quickly concealed his smile.
Then he continued, "Hou Yong is a man of good fortune. The late prince also loved him so much back then!"
When he said this, Zhu Yunxi remembered the old events of that year.
Hou Yong came from a poor family and was elected to the Imperial Academy as a Jinshi. However, he refused after being awarded the official position because his father was sent to Fujian for committing a crime. He wanted to use his official position in exchange for his father's pardon.
After Prince Zhu Biao heard about it, he ordered people to rush to Fujian overnight and send Hou Yong's father back to his hometown, which became a good talk for a while.
"If you don't love such a minister deeply, wouldn't you be a coward?" Zhu Yunxi smiled.
He immediately picked up his pen and wrote on a blank piece of paper.
"My heart aches when I hear that you haven't seen your loving mother for seven years. Your family and country are all over the world, and you sacrificed your family for the sake of the country. You lost your filial piety and the loyalty of your ministers, and you hid your family affection for the king."
"I am filled with emotion when I hear this. This is because you are both loyal and filial. After receiving the order, hurry to Beijing. Don't worry about family matters anymore. I will make my own arrangements."
After washing, he dried the ink and handed it to Ling Han, "Follow the imperial edict and send it to Hou Yong!"
"I obey!" Ling Han took it solemnly with a solemn expression.
Zhu Yunxi sighed again and said with a smile, "Like the emperor's grandfather, I only love honest officials. But the officials are so poor that they can't even support their mother, and I feel bad after hearing this. The salary is meager, only enough to support the family, and what I fear most in life is
The only word is poverty."
"How to make officials honest without being miserable is a real dilemma!"
Hearing this, all the officials bowed their heads and remained silent.
Only the old minister Ling Han smiled heartily, "Your Majesty, why don't you give me some extra salary?" He continued laughing and said, "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I have been an official in the Ming Dynasty for thirty years.
My hometown has been subsidizing me, but after careful calculation, I have still lost money over the years!"
"You have a beautiful idea!" Zhu Yunxi laughed.
"Old Minister Ling's words are wrong. You have been in trouble for thirty years in the Ming Dynasty, but in the previous Dynasty in the Yuan Dynasty, there were always fat positions!" The minister, who was on good terms with Ling Han, said with a smile.
Ling Han's old face turned red, "Those were all given by others, forced upon me!" As he said that, he laughed and cursed, "Why did you bring the matter of the previous dynasty to our Ming Dynasty?"
Both Zhu Yunxi and his ministers burst into laughter.
Whether an official is honest or not depends on his or her personal integrity on the one hand, and on the other hand it depends on the monarch.
If the monarch is fatuous, officials will be greedy if they are not greedy.
~~
I, a shameless, most shameless person, am in debt again.
I'm stuck. I've been sitting here for an hour trying to figure out a word.
You can hit me, but be gentle, otherwise it will hurt too much.
This chapter has been completed!