Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 1 The Great Emperor Hongwu _ Chapter 16 The Founding of the Kingdom
With the Northern Yuan War over for now, let's take a look at how Zhu Yuanzhang went about establishing his country.
After Zhu Yuanzhang established the country, his first task was to give it a name. This is very important, just like naming your children, and it will last for hundreds of years, so you can't be careless.
In many people’s impressions, the Mongolians are a nation on horseback with limited cultural accomplishment. However, the name of the dynasty they established is Yuan.
The meaning of "Yuan" also represents his admiration for Chinese culture.
When Zhu Yuanzhang named his dynasty Ming, there was a lot of controversy. Many people believed that this was because Zhu Yuanzhang was born in the Ming sect, so he had this name; while others believed that the Yuan Dynasty was a northern political power, according to Feng Shui.
, is water and belongs to yin, and Zhu Yuanzhang decided to make his capital south, and wanted to use the fire and light of the south to suppress the water and yin of the north.
Of course, we can only ask Zhu Yuanzhang what the situation is.
After giving his country a name, he also considered finding a glorious ancestor for himself. Although he often called himself "Huaiyou Commoner" and acted like a hero who is not afraid of low birth, the ministers all knew that
Only he can say these titles. Anyone who dares to say these words in front of him is waiting to lose his head. He originally considered recognizing Zhu Xi, the great sage of the Song Dynasty, as his ancestor, but there was an objective reason that forced him to give up.
This idea.
Because the time when Zhu Xi lived was too close to him, it was not easy to fish in troubled waters. Zhu Bailiu and others were still there, let alone deceiving others, and they could not deceive themselves. So he gave up on it.
After more than 20 years of melee, the land of China was starved to death and the fields were barren. The most important task of the founding emperor was to restore production. Zhu Yuanzhang did a very good job at this point. He paid great attention to the issues of rural areas and farmers and devoted all his enthusiasm to them.
It was placed on the peasant brothers. In the third year of Hongwu, he stipulated that anyone who reclaimed wasteland would be exempted from rent and tax for three years. In order to encourage reclamation, he made a decree that as long as you reclaim wasteland, the land is yours, even if it is the original land.
You don’t have to be afraid if the master comes to find you. I, Zhu Yuanzhang, will support you. This will greatly promote land reclamation.
In order to encourage farming, he also issued an order that all criminals, as long as they were not guilty of beheading, would be sent to farming, which was considered a good thing. It is worth mentioning that most of these so-called criminals were officials. At that time,
In Fengyang alone, more than 10,000 officials were planting rice in the fields. We will talk about the specific reasons later. At the same time, he also greatly reduced taxes in various places, except for one place.
This place is the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas that Zhang Shicheng occupied. Because the local people supported Zhang Shicheng, he was very dissatisfied with this and stipulated that the taxes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas were several times higher than other places. This rule was not abolished until later. From here we can see that Zhu Yuanzhang
He is a person who always takes revenge. Please remember this character trait.
On the contrary, he also hated people who were engaged in business. This is most likely related to the fact that he was harmed by profiteers who hoarded rice when he was a child. Almost all businessmen were discriminated against. Zhu Yuanzhang's behavior of restricting businessmen may seem ordinary, but in a big way
To a certain extent, it has changed the development direction that has been dominated by business since the Song Dynasty, and has a profound impact on China's development. We will talk about it later.
In terms of the political system, he almost copied all the institutions of the Yuan Dynasty. The central government established the Central Secretariat, the left and right ministers, and was responsible for national affairs. There were six ministries under it. Many people at the time believed that Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty government would continue to follow the official system of the Yuan Dynasty.
Go down, but what happened next was beyond their wildest dreams.
The highest honor for readers
Here, we would also like to introduce the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty, which is a characteristic of the Ming Dynasty.
The imperial examination system did not start in the Ming Dynasty, but it was carried forward in the Ming Dynasty. It is really interesting to say that although there were imperial examinations in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the number of admissions was very small, and only a few dozen people were admitted to each subject. The Ming Dynasty began to hold the imperial examination in the third year of Hongwu
, implemented the expansion of enrollment, and now there were so many people who wanted to be officials, and they all took studying as a career. These people were the foundation of the civil service power of the Ming Dynasty.
The examination at that time was divided into three levels. The first level was the college examination, and the examinees were collectively called children. Don’t think that only children took the examination. There were also children in their 70s and 80s. The examination scope was prefectures and counties. In this examination
Those who pass the exam are the "xiucai" that we are all familiar with. Don't think that it is easy to take the exam. The exam results are six grades. Only those who pass the higher grade in this exam can get the title of scholar, and those who pass the first or second grade can get the title of scholar.
Those who are eligible to take higher-level examinations are called "enrollment subjects."
Now that you have become a scholar, you have got rid of your status as a commoner, and you are now an intellectual. You have certain privileges, such as being able to exempt one person from the corvee and not kneeling when you see the county magistrate. But you are not
Officer, there is still a long way to go.
It is already so difficult to be a scholar, but in order to become an official, comrades must continue to struggle!
The examination at the next level is called the township examination. Don’t get me wrong. This so-called township examination does not refer to the examination in the township, but the unified examination at the provincial level. Please note that the township examination is not something you can take if you want. It only happens once every three years.
, usually in August, questions are set by the province, and there are quotas. People who pass the exam at this level are called Juren. This Juren is an important person, and they are qualified to be officials. The reason why they are qualified is
Because this level does not guarantee that you will become an official, it is similar to today's university graduation which does not guarantee an assignment.
So how can a person become an official? It's very simple. If the official dies, you will have a chance.
So if you go to the memorial service of an official in the Ming Dynasty and see some people poking their heads at the door with happy faces, if they don't have a grudge against this family, then they are usually Juren.
Now everyone knows why Comrade Fan Jin went crazy after passing the imperial examination. You might also go crazy if it were you.
The person who gets the first place in this exam is called Jieyuan. This is the first element among the three elements.
Well, you have passed the examination and finally left the provincial capital. Now you are heading to the capital. In order to become an official, move forward!
Now that you have been elected, please pack your bags and prepare pens, inks, paper and inkstones. Next February you will face the real test of life - the examination.
Only those who have obtained the qualifications to take the exam can participate in this exam. That is to say, your opponents will be elites from other provinces. The court will select 300 people among you (may be subject to change), but be aware that these 300 people are not
The Jinshi we often call are just "Gongsheng". If you want to be a Jinshi, you have to pass another level.
The first person in the examination is named Huiyuan, which is the second element among the three elements.
Before talking about the next level, we need to introduce the examination room of the imperial examination. The examination room at that time was not the brightly lit classroom today. There were a lot of parents holding watermelons outside waiting for you. The examination room of the Ming Dynasty examination was called Gongyuan. In fact, it was named after it.
From a structural perspective, it can be called a prison cell.
There are tens of thousands of rooms in the Gongyuan (you can estimate the admission rate), all of which are single rooms. Some people may think that single rooms are very good. Don't be busy. Let me introduce what kind of single room it is. This kind of single room is called a numbered room, which is five years long.
The ruler is four feet wide and eight feet high.
Everyone can feel that this is almost like a cage. Candidates must be searched before entering. They can only bring books and lamps in. Each person is given three candles. After entering, the door is immediately closed and locked.
I answered questions there and rested there at night, but because the room was too small, the candidates could only curl up and sleep, which was really uncomfortable.
However, in such a difficult environment, under that solitary lamp, in unbearable loneliness, full of the ideal of serving the country (or getting promoted), and using strong perseverance to write a wonderful article, it is not easy.
The last test faced by the elites who passed the examination is the imperial examination. In this examination, they will face the ruler of the empire. The examination method is that the emperor asks questions and the candidates answer, and the content is mainly policy questions. These poor candidates
They didn't dare and couldn't raise their heads. They could only answer the questions tremblingly, then quit and await their fate.
The emperor and ministers will divide the grades according to the performance of the candidates. There are three grades: there are only three people in the first grade, called Jinshi and the third grade, which are the number one scholar, the second grade, and the third flower. This is well known to all of us; there are several people in the second grade, called Jinshi.
Origin: A number of people from the top three classes are called Citong Jinshi.
The number one scholar is the third of the three.
If you are still on the list when you get here, congratulations, you will be assigned an official position. But don’t expect too much. The official positions assigned at this time are not high. After so many hardships, you will probably get only an eight-year-old official position.
He is just a county magistrate, far from being a county magistrate, but in any case, he has finally become an official.
The imperial examination is not only a way to obtain official positions, but also a way for scholars to pursue honors. For them, the number one scholar is their goal. Although there is no first place in literature, number one is what everyone wants. The number one scholar is also a human being, so why
Not me?!
This is also true, but although the number one scholar is very rare, there is only one every three years, and the output is very low, but it still exists after all. Therefore, the highest honor in the hearts of scholars is not the number one scholar, but another title. This is what every scholar hopes for.
As you think about it, the person who wins this title will become a legendary figure, admired by thousands of people!
This title is winning three yuan in a row. Specifically speaking, it means holding the three titles of Jieyuan, Huiyuan, and Number One Scholar in one. This is a truly difficult move. You must ensure that you are ranked first in the province, and then ranked first in the country in the joint examination.
, he also ranked first in the emperor's mind in the final palace examination. This requires that candidates are not just good at learning, they must also react quickly and be handsome before they can win this title. Therefore, to get this title, you must have certain qualifications.
As luck would have it, not only was smoke rising from the ancestral graves, it was literally spitting out fire.
There was only one such person in the 276-year history of the Ming Dynasty. This person was Shang Ren during the Zhengtong period, and he was very powerful. He has a certain status in history, and we will mention him later.
Since the beginning of the imperial examination in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, only fourteen people have received this honor, namely two people from the Tang Dynasty, six people from the Song Dynasty, one person from the Jin Dynasty, one person from the Yuan Dynasty, two people from the Ming Dynasty, and two people from the Qing Dynasty. These people are really worthy of our admiration.
It should be noted that many materials record that there was only one person in the Ming Dynasty who won three yuan in a row. This is wrong. During the Hongwu period, Huang Guan, a native of Anhui, won three yuan in a row. During the Yongle crisis, Huang Guan was tabooed by Yongle and his name was removed from the imperial examination.
Cross it out and change the first name to Han Kezhong, so in most historical records, there is no Huang Guan's name in Sanyuan. Here, the name of this loyal minister and reading genius is rectified.
order of office
The purpose of participating in the imperial examination is to become an official. As more and more common people become officials, the influence of secular famous families slowly fades away. The imperial examination scholars form the so-called imperial examination force, which is later the civil servant group. This group
It had a huge impact on the politics of the Ming Dynasty. They formed an organizational structure similar to the underworld. They could threaten the emperor at the top and rule the people at the bottom. It was very scary. Here, let's first take a look at the operating order within their organization.
.
As we said before, you can be a candidate for an official once you are admitted as a Jinshi, but it is much more difficult to become an official. They have to take three joint examinations. If they are really worthless and still can't pass the exam, they can register with the Ministry of Personnel.
After a few years (ranging from one to dozens), when more officials die and there are vacancies, these candidates will be picked out and some of them will be selected to become officials. This is called "big pick". Such a big pick
What is the standard? You may not believe it, but it depends on your appearance. The selection method is similar to the current police station identification method. People are identified as suspects, dozens of people form a team, and they stand in front of the ministers and let them be selected.
At this time, the ugly ones are really in trouble. They must not have your share. Go home early.
The selected candidates can become officials. Although these candidates have not been admitted to the Jinshi examination, they are considered to have passed the examination, so they are called from the first list, while the Jinshi is called from the second list. After all, everyone has passed the examination, so the Jinshi
They also regard Juren as their own kind, which is the so-called Qingliu.
The order distinction within these Qingliu is very interesting and needs to be explained in detail. Once you understand these rules, you will be able to better understand many historical events that occurred in the civil official group in the mid-Ming Dynasty.
We listed five officials to illustrate this problem and named them A, B, C, D, and E respectively. The positions of these five people are as follows. A is the Minister of the Ministry of War (third rank), and B is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites (the fifth rank).
), C is a member of the Ministry of Justice, Foreign Minister (from the fifth rank), Ding is a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy (from the fifth rank), and Wu is a counselor of the Chief Secretary (from the fourth rank).
Of these five people, A, B, C, and D were all Jinshi, and E was a juren. They met in the lobby of the Ministry of War. After distinguishing their official positions, they sat down in order and everyone started talking. Since they were not talking about official matters, they naturally started talking about their birthplaces.
Speaking of which, E will definitely exit first at this time. Why?
Because he is smart enough! Although his official position ranks second among the five people, people are talking about Jinshi. You have never even participated in the imperial examination, so why are you joining in the fun? This is similar to asking about his academic qualifications now. He is
Peking University, I’m from Tsinghua University, and you can’t be said to have graduated from Clayton University. Going up at this time is tantamount to asking for trouble. Moreover, these people with Jinshi background like to talk about the things that happened when they were admitted. When they start talking, they just think about those days.
How did I cope with the palace examination, etc., just like the famous saying in "Fortress Besieged", "Brother, when I was in England", I would throw it out from time to time. In fact, it is very likely that he answered the wrong question and climbed out in a panic. Who
You know. This is the first step in meeting, showing your identity.
The following is the second step. Since everyone is a Jinshi, it is easy to talk about the next question, when did he become a Jinshi. After talking about it, A was in the 16th year of Hongwu, B was in the 19th year, and Ding was in the 19th year of Hongwu.
He is twenty-two years old, and C is the oldest, having been in Hongwu for three years. This is similar to asking someone when you meet today: Which class did you graduate from? Oh, you are a senior brother. I am disrespectful. It was not just a few words at that time.
Those who can solve the problem, at this time, the three of them will salute to C. This is the rule. No matter how much older you are than the other person, you must salute when you meet someone who passed the exam earlier than you. This is the second step.
Qualifications.
The third step is to compare the rankings. Even if they are all Jinshi, there is still a question of superior ranking. A said: I am a third-class Jinshi and was born in the same Jinshi; B smiled: I was born as a second-class Jinshi; C also laughed: I am a second-class Jinshi.
Fifteen.
If Ding said at this time: I am a Shujishi.
Those few people immediately stopped laughing and stood up obediently to salute. This was because Shujishi had a very powerful background.
Among all the Jinshi, only the top three can directly enter the Hanlin Academy. Only the elites from the second and third grade can take the exam to become Shujishi. Their duty is to explain classics and history books to the emperor and help the emperor draft edicts.
The emperor's secretary had great power. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it was a custom that those who were not common people could not be bachelors.
With these three sets laid out, everyone has an idea. Please pay more attention to them in the future and help your brothers when you have time. The imperial examination forces will be arranged in order and form a powerful force.
Being admitted to the Jinshi was very tempting to people at that time, and getting a good rank in the exam was also an extra attraction. Chinese people pay attention to returning home in fine clothes, that is, wearing official uniforms and returning home to show their poor friends and neighbor's aunts and brothers.
, at this time, the greater the ostentation, the greater the face.
You have seen on TV that when officials in ancient times traveled with a large number of people, there were people playing gongs in front and people holding signs to clear the way. I wonder if you have noticed that those holding signs have all their knowledge on the signs!
If you are the number one scholar, you will be prestigious. You can write big characters such as "No. 1 Scholar and No. 1" and "Ordered to be the Imperial Academy" on your sign. You will be ostentatious in the market and attract countless people to sigh and grab their children's heads and shake them hard. In the future, you will definitely
Learn from him!
How do you write the brand names of the second-class and third-class companies? Their brands will list the words "from the same Jinshi" and "from the second list", which are also admired by many people.
The sign of Jinshi is easy to write. After all, people have seen the world, so what should I do if I am a candidate? I cannot write that I am a Jinshi, nor can I be listed in the second list. Don’t worry, people have come up with the method. When I am going out, because there is not much to write,
They gave full play to their creativity.
For example, if he was selected in the Jiangxi Provincial Examination in the year of Ding Yin, he would write "Ding Yin Juren"; think about it again, I am the chief secretary (nineth grade) of the county government, and the low official position is a bit low, but it is still an official, so
The second sign should say "Recorder of a certain county"; in addition, you can also write down the year and month you were commended and what your political achievements were. Anyway, as long as you can deceive the people.
It is this kind of temptation that makes countless people move towards official positions. But as mentioned before, being an official is not that easy. Zhu Yuanzhang and his descendants have already set up the most difficult hurdle for them. This hurdle
Not only did it change the long-standing imperial examination system and plunge countless people into extreme pain, but to some extent, it also affected China's destiny for hundreds of years to come.
This level is eight-legged.
stereotypes
This is a phenomenon worth mentioning. Eight-legged writing can be said to be an invention of the Ming Dynasty. This set of gadgets was developed and perfected from Zhu Yuanzhang to the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and it has influenced intellectuals for nearly five hundred years. It cannot be ignored.
The exam subjects for the students are divided into three sessions: the first session tests the meaning of classics, which is the Four Books and Five Classics; the second session tests practical stylistic writing; the third session focuses on current affairs policy theory, which means giving you something to analyze, which is quite a bit of practical writing.
meaning. The most important of them is the meaning of the scriptures, which is the key to selecting scholars.
At that time, candidates did not have to review a lot of content before the exam like students today. For them, all they had to do was memorize the Four Books and Five Classics. The questions could only be asked here, and there could not be other questions. The scope was quite small, and it was difficult to memorize it.
It is easy, and there is a prescribed number of words when writing an article, which generally does not exceed five hundred words, unlike some current proposition essays that often require more than a thousand words. From this point of view, the exam seemed to be easier back then, but this is not the case.
The key lies in the format and personal expression. The eight-part essay is divided into several parts: breaking the topic, carrying the topic, starting the topic, entering the topic, starting the part, the middle part, the back part, and the ending part. The essence part is the starting part, the middle part, the back part,
You cannot write these four parts casually. You must use parallelism and parallelism. There are eight parts in total, so it is called eight-part essay.
This way of writing is very old-fashioned. You can’t write even one more word if you want. It’s really harmful. Many people make up random words while writing, just to make up the number of words and achieve the effect of duality. On the surface, the words are very neat and detailed.
Read the content, it’s full of nonsense.
The pain is not only for the examinees, but also for the teachers who set the questions. There are only so many words in the Four Books and Five Classics. All exams at all levels set questions from them, and the questions that have been set can generally not be used again. So the teachers come up with all kinds of tricks to replace the Four Books with
The upper and lower sentences of the Five Classics are separated and used separately to formulate questions, such as cutting off the head and tail of a sentence and using only the middle words to test people. This kind of sentence does not make sense. Even the teacher does not know what the meaning of the words and sentences is.
, not to mention students?
The result is a confused test. The person who asked the question doesn't know what it means, and the person who takes the test doesn't know what it means. What kind of talent will be tested in this way?
In the final analysis, stereotyped writing is just a form. Even if it is old-fashioned, it should not have much negative impact. Don't worry, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty still have a trump card, and this trick is the most powerful.
The Ming Dynasty stipulated that all articles should not have their own ideas and must imitate the ancients, that is, articles should be written according to the thoughts of the saints. Who is this saint? Zhu Xi.
Zhu Xi once wrote annotations for the Four Books, which were his own understandings. However, these understandings were taken seriously by the rulers, who required all students to answer questions according to Zhu Shengren's thinking at that time.
What a pity! Zhu Shengren might have thought of a sentence while going to the toilet and written it down, and then thought of another sentence while eating. When he wrote it down, it would have been inaccurate in the first place, but hundreds of years later, he actually wants everyone to follow his way of thinking.
Thinking is indeed a kind of torture.
This is a real hardship for the students of the Ming Dynasty. Who knows what kind of thinking this guy had back then. You can only guess and grasp it slowly. As the saying goes, if you don’t understand, ask someone. If you understand, ask someone.
It is not just a joke for these students to ask God if no one really understands.
Countless candidates dreamed about it at midnight, and what lingered in their minds was Zhu Xi's unattractive appearance and burly figure. Over time, some people who woke up began to greet Zhu Xi's parents and ancestors, as if this was the only way to express their bad temper.
The problem is that after scolding, you still have to take the exam. If you don’t take the exam, you won’t be able to do anything. This is a practical problem.
With fixed thinking and fixed patterns, the students of the Ming Dynasty began to complete their articles. What we have to marvel at is that under such a difficult environment, the candidates still wrote many beautiful articles. I have seen it below
The two eight-legged number one essays are beautiful in diction and profound in conception. Thinking that they wrote these articles under so many restrictions, the younger generations are really impressed.
There are many drawbacks to the Eight-Part Part Examination, and many of the selected talents are nerds. The famous Ming Dynasty scholar Song Lian once described some of the talents selected by the Eight-Part Part Examination, "When talking to them, they stare at each other, and their tongues are too strong to speak."
, looking like an idiot.
But the eight-part essay still has certain uses. For example, Wu Jingzi once wrote in his "The Scholars": "If the eight-part essay is well done, you can do whatever you want, poetry if you want, poetry if you want poems, and poetry if you want.
A whip makes a mark, a slap makes a blood." It can be seen that the eight-part essay is the basis of many stylistic writings. More importantly, under such restrictions, many outstanding talents can stand out, such as Xu Jie, Gao Gong,
Zhang Juzheng, who doesn’t get high scores in eight-part essay? These people are the masters among masters.
Generally speaking, this system still does more harm than good. It restricts people's thinking and is harmful. Its influence is far-reaching. Until modern times, people were still proud of having passed the Eight-Part-Article Examination. For example, Chen Duxiu and Jiang Menglin, the president of Peking University at the time, were both
Chen Duxiu, a scholar in the former Qing Dynasty, once asked Jiang Menglin what kind of scholar he was tested for. Jiang Menglin replied that he was a scholar of policy theory. Chen Duxiu was very proud and laughed, saying that he was a scholar of eight-part essay, which was more valuable than a scholar of policy theory. Jiang Menglin quickly bowed. The power of eight-part essay can be seen.
A spot.
The struggle of the imperial court
After Zhu Yuanzhang solved Bei Yuan, he formulated a series of policies aimed at restoring production and life, which achieved good results. However, the struggle will not stop after all. After killing the foreign enemies, he will start to engage in internal troubles. Specifically,
Factional struggle.
The so-called factions are actually fellows' associations, and everyone speaks the same dialect. The largest fellows' association under Zhu Yuanzhang is the Huaixi Group. The president was originally supposed to be Zhu Yuanzhang, but considering that he also served as the emperor, Li Shanchang was acting as the deputy at that time
.This group has a large number of people. The main members include Li Shanchang, Guo Xing, Guo Ying, Tang He, Zhou Dexing, and others such as the deceased Chang Yuchun. They are basically the team that Comrade Zhu Yuanzhang started. If we met at that time, if we could say that Huai
Western language is glorious.
Someone once asked me, who is Li Shanchang and why is he the number one hero? Indeed, he seems to rarely come forward to do big things. This is determined by the characteristics of his work. This person is mainly responsible for logistics and government affairs. If compared with Liu Ji
If you are Zhang Liang, then Li Shanchang is Xiao He. He has been following Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world, working hard in front of and behind the horse, logistics work is not easy to do, and hard work is not rewarding. Zhu Yuanzhang is a sensible person, so after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he regarded Li Shanchang as the first meritorious official.
Appoint him as prime minister.
The characteristic of Li Shanchang is that he looks generous but is narrow-minded. Anyone who dares to have trouble with him must deal with him.
As the saying goes, evil people will be punished by evil people. Those who dare to monopolize power will also dare to decentralize power. The Huaixi Group soon encountered its opponent, that is, the Zhedong Group. The leader of this group is Liu Ji.
The two groups started fighting under Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes. Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be very interested, and he was ready to watch a good show.
The protagonists of this scene are Li Shanchang and Liu Ji, but the protagonists alone are not enough. Next we will introduce the supporting roles and supporting actors. These are the indispensable components of this scene.
Officials whose job is to find trouble
Their names are Yan Guan. We will introduce these people below.
What kind of official is a yangguan? As the name suggests, it is an official who speaks. In the late Ming Dynasty, some people also called these people scolding officials. In fact, they were the product of the supervisory system of the Ming Dynasty.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang modeled the system of the Yuan Dynasty and established the Yushitai. In the fifteenth year of Hongwu (1382), Zhu Yuanzhang changed its name to the Duchayuan. The chief of the Duchayuan is the censor of the left and right capitals. This official name is widely used on TV.
It can often be heard on the Internet that the main backbone of the Ducha Yuan is the Ducha Yushi. There are thirteen Ducha Yushi, divided into thirteen provinces at that time, with a total of 110 people. These people have great power.
, they are in charge of everything. Since they usually don’t have any specific matters to deal with, they hang around all day long, either going to the Ministry of War to check for vacancies, or to the Ministry of Punishment to check for unjust, false and wrong cases. The officials who handle the affairs are afraid when they see them.
You may ask, these people have so much power, what if they bend the law for personal gain? Regarding this question, you should greatly admire Zhu Yuanzhang, he thought of some excellent ways to regulate the behavior of the censor.
First of all, when selecting the censor, he specifically looked for those nerdy Taoist Mr. Dao Xue, who was determined to do this job, because this job offended people and made no money, and Mr. Tao Xue was the most suitable candidate. Secondly, he used the small system
The big method is that these censors are all seventh-rank officials, which can be said to be sesame officials. They are given the power to supervise the chief officials, so that they dare not be too arrogant. There is an official named Eight Prefecture Inspectors (appeared in Stephen Chow movies),
At first glance, it sounds like the inspector of the Eight Prefectures must have a very big official. In fact, he is just a sesame official. He is often temporarily appointed by the imperial court to supervise the censor. He is equivalent to the so-called special commissioner in the past. The official is very small but has great power. But
Even so, Zhu Yuanzhang was still worried, so he established another team to supervise the Metropolitan Procuratorate. This was the Six Sections.
Corresponding to the six ministries of the Central Committee, Zhu Yuanzhang established six departments. Each department was assigned to one person in the matter, with an official rank of seven grades, and the left and right officials were assigned to an official of seven grades in the matter. The power of these people was shocking.
If they thought there was something wrong with the edict issued in the name of the emperor, they could actually return the edict! And the matters assigned by the emperor to the various yamen gates were inspected and supervised every five days. If there was any delay or action,
For those who are slow, they will report to the emperor; when each ministry completes its tasks, it must obediently go to the Sixth Section to write off its accounts. In addition, during the year-end assessment of officials, these matters must also be reviewed.
The behavioral characteristics of these people can be summarized as follows: If you want to hit me, I will scold you.
This is not a joke. They never use violence. All their efforts are on their mouths and memorials. If you offend them, it will be a disaster. These people are very good at cursing. They are all people who have read poetry and books. They are very good at cursing.
There are also sources of classics, from a certain classic and a certain article. If you have read little, you may think he is praising you. Maybe you went home and looked up a book and suddenly realized it when you saw a certain allusion. Even the eighteenth generation of your ancestors were scolded by others.
.The ability to curse people without using curse words is really impressive.
This unique skill has been passed down from generation to generation, reaching its peak in the Donglin Party. It can be said that it is full of saliva, quoting scriptures, with malicious intentions but beautiful words. To paraphrase Ge You's words: "You can't even understand when people scold you!"
After Zhu Yuanzhang recruited this group of people, he himself soon suffered.
For example, during the Hongwu period, the censor Zhou Guanzheng inspected Fengtian Gate in Nanjing. Let me explain here, Zhou Guanzheng was the censor who patrolled the city and belonged to the lowest level of supervisory censor. During his inspection, he encountered a group of eunuchs leading a group of female musicians to Fengtian Gate.
Walk away. According to the Ming Dynasty's inner palace system, female musicians are not allowed to enter. Zhou Guanzheng immediately stepped forward to stop him, and the leading eunuch ignored him and said: "I have a sacred decree!" (note this sentence)
weight of words)
Normally, most people would let him go, but Zhou Guanzheng insisted that even if there was an imperial edict, he could not violate the Ming Dynasty's inner palace system, and he resolutely refused to allow female musicians to enter. When the eunuch encountered such a person, he had to go back to the palace to report to Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang smiled bitterly and said
Orally, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped allowing female musicians to enter the palace, and specifically added, Zhou Guanzheng, you have done a good job, go back and rest. In any case, Zhu Yuanzhang has done his best and gave Zhou Guanzheng enough face. But something unexpected happened.
Zhou Guanzheng refused to leave until he died. This nerd refused to let him go, and he had to ask Zhu Yuanzhang to come out and talk to him. Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the people he chose would not be accommodating, and the entertainment would not be successful, so he put on court clothes and went out of the palace to comfort him.
Zhou Guanzheng said, you did the right thing, I have already regretted not using female musicians. After Zhou Guanzheng heard this, he went home to sleep.
The emperor's orders will not work, oral instructions will not work, and apologies will not work. The only thing that will work is principles. Because of principles, the Ming Dynasty will not decline for two hundred years.
But please note, if you are not a censor of the Thirteenth Level, nor a member of the Sixth Section, nor a Yan Guan, then don’t talk too much, and don’t watch Yan Guan show off his power in front of the emperor. You can also follow up and say a few words.
It would be weird if I didn't kill you. If Yan Guan dares to do this, it has a long tradition.
Since ancient times, there have been officials who spoke. These people did not care about specific matters. Their task was to give opinions. The feudal dynasties in the past also formed a tradition-not to kill the officials. No matter how mediocre the emperors were in history, they were very
There are few people who have the guts to kill Yan Guan. Therefore, there is often a situation in the court where Yan Guan criticizes the emperor's faults below. He does not save the emperor's face at all, but he is complacent. He has the courage to do what you can do to me.
; But the emperor can only listen from above, gnashing his teeth, thinking about changing your position tomorrow and rectifying you. It is indeed majestic.
All in all, Yan Guan is very persistent, very sincere, and of course, very powerful.
The actors are all here, let's see how this scene is performed.
Liu Ji and Li Shanchang
Let’s talk about Li Shanchang, the leader of the Huaixi Group. He was cited as the first meritorious official by Zhu Yuanzhang and was named the Duke of Korea in the third year of Hongwu. This was very remarkable because at that time, Zhu Yuanzhang only named six dukes in total, and the other five people were named Dukes of South Korea.
They are Xu Da, Chang Mao (Chang Yuchun's son), Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, and Deng Yu. Everyone already knows how powerful these five brothers are. They are all famous generals who fought hard with blood and fire; but unexpectedly
What is surprising is that Li Shanchang still ranks above these people, ranking first.
He is also the only civil servant among the dukes.
In contrast, Liu Ji also made great contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang's conquest of the world, but he was only awarded the title of Uncle Chengyi (count). What is intriguing is that his salary was also the lowest among the counts, with an annual salary of only 240 dan, while Li Shanchang
It was four thousand stones, more than ten times more than Liu Ji.
Later generations often wonder why Liu Ji only received such treatment because he strategized, won thousands of miles, and played an important role in many important decisions.
In fact, if you think about it carefully, you will find that this problem is not so difficult to explain. Zhu Yuanzhang is a person with strong rural concepts, and Li Shanchang is his fellow countryman. For many years, he has only worked behind the scenes, never stealing the limelight, and only immersed himself in the work.
Zhu Yuanzhang is very at ease with such a person. In contrast, Liu Ji is a foreigner; more importantly, Liu Ji's judgment of things is more accurate than him!
From the Battle of Longwan to the rescue of Anfeng, whatever Zhu Yuanzhang thought of, Liu Ji also thought of it; if Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think of it, Liu Ji still thought of it.
If you were the emperor, would you allow such a person to be around? Moreover, these decisions are not policies to calm the people, but tactics, which are very useful for conspiracy coups. In addition, Liu Jihou has a deep foundation in black studies. Zhu Yuanzhang often
It reminds me of the fact that he advised me not to save Han Lin'er. Who knows if he will do this to me in the future.
It’s good enough not to kill him, but do you still want a reward?
Liu Ji was smart all his life, but he also neglected this point.
This also determines that it is difficult for him to become the winner in this fight.
In the first year of Hongwu, the two sides faced each other for the first time.
The supervisory agency at that time was the Yushitai established after the Yuan Dynasty institution. Liu Ji's official position was Yushi Zhongcheng, which means that he was the leader of the Yanguan. We have introduced the power of the Yanguan before, and Liu Ji's advantage at this time was
aside.
The trigger of the conflict was a man named Li Bin. This man was Li Shanchang's confidant. He was arrested by Liu Ji for breaking the law. After finding out the crime, Liu Ji decided to kill him. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang happened to be out, and Li Shanchang hurriedly
He went to Liu Ji to intercede, but Liu Ji refused to accept his offer. Not only did he not buy his account, he also reported the matter to Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and ordered Li Bin to be executed immediately. Unfortunately, this reply happened to
It fell into the hands of Li Shanchang. Although he did not dare to hide it, he was furious. He knew that asking Liu Ji directly for mercy would not work. In order to save his confidant's life, he thought of an excuse. He believed that as long as he told this excuse,
Liu Ji would not refuse his request for mercy.
He found Liu Ji and said to him: "It has not rained in the capital for a long time. Sir, he is familiar with astronomy. He should not kill people rashly at this time."
Li Shanchang is a cunning man. He knew that Liu Ji was well versed in astronomy and used this as an excuse. If Liu Ji insisted on killing Li Bin, he could blame Liu Ji for the lack of rain. There was no weather forecast at that time. Who knows what?
When will it rain?
However, Liu Ji's answer was: "Kill Li Bin and it will rain!"
Li Bin was killed in this way.
Li Shanchang was angered, and he began to prepare his first counterattack.
Liu Ji dared to say such things. It should be said that he had a certain degree of confidence. He did understand astronomy and meteorology, but the problem was that even today's weather forecast was sometimes inaccurate.
Liu Ji was unlucky this time. It didn't rain for a long time. When Zhu Yuanzhang came back, Li Shanchang's accumulated energy burst out. He incited many people to attack Liu Ji. Zhu Yuanzhang was a sensible man and did not make things difficult for Liu Ji.
But Liu Ji knew that he could no longer stay here, so in August of that year, he took leave and returned to his hometown.
Before leaving, Zhu Yuanzhang was hot-headed and wanted to build the capital in Fengyang, and at the same time he was actively preparing for an expedition to the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Liu Ji gave Zhu Yuanzhang his final advice. It was absolutely impossible to build the capital in Fengyang, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty was still
With great strength, it would be inappropriate to send troops easily. Later facts proved that he was right again.
It should be said that Zhu Yuanzhang understood Liu Ji very well at that time. He said to Liu Ji's son that now all the civil and military officials in the dynasty are forming cliques. Only Liu Ji does not get along with them. I am a sensible person and will not treat him badly.
.
Zhu Yuanzhang was really deceived by Liu Ji this time. Liu Ji was not a good man and a believer. Before leaving, he had already laid out his own chess piece: Yang Xian.
Yang Xian was Liu Ji's best friend. He received Liu Ji's instructions and took over as Yu Shi Zhongcheng to prepare for the counterattack against the Huaixi Group.
This Yang Xian was not simple either. He kept a low profile, supported Gao Jianxian and others, and used the power of public officials to constantly collect evidence against Li Shanchang. He also made a small report in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, saying that Li Shanchang had no talent or virtue and could not be entrusted with important tasks.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not a fool. He knew the purpose of Yang Xian's words and was not moved by them at first. But as time went by, he gradually came to have opinions about Li Shanchang and criticized Li Shanchang. In November, he recalled
Liu Ji was appointed and entrusted with important responsibilities. The Huaixi Group was completely suppressed.
The Zhejiang East Group was about to become the winner. Li Shanchang was very worried. He knew that he had become a target. He must learn from Liu Ji and find a spokesperson, but this person should not be too prestigious and easy to control. So he took a fancy to
Hu Weiyong, but what he didn't expect was that this choice would eventually put him on a road of no return.
Hu Weiyong was a fellow countryman of Li Shanchang. He had followed Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time, but he had always been unhappy and always worked as a minor official such as county magistrate. However, he was a very capable man. After getting Li Shanchang's approval, he became Huai
The new leader of the West Group. This struggle will eventually end in his hands.
Just when the Zhedong Group was most proud, things changed again. Because Liu Ji was too direct in his words and had no communication skills in today's terms, many people began to speak ill of him in front of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang was very concerned about this.
The resourceful man also became suspicious, which led to the subsequent conversation that decided Liu Ji's fate.
test in conversation
On this day, Zhu Yuanzhang talked to Liu Ji alone. It was relatively harmonious at first. The two sides started the conversation by talking about family matters. Just as the atmosphere became more harmonious, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly changed his face and asked Liu Ji in a serious tone, if Li Shanchang was replaced.
, who can be the prime minister.
Liu Ji was very alert and immediately said that it is up to His Majesty to decide.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face looked better now, and he then asked: "What do you think of Yang Xian?"
This was another trap. Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Yang Xian was Liu Ji's man, so he first brought this person up to test Liu Ji.
Only now did Liu Ji realize that this was an extremely dangerous conversation. If he was not careful, he would be killed! He immediately replied: "Yang Xian has the talent of the prime minister, but he does not have the magnanimity of the prime minister. It is impossible."
But the test was far from over. Zhu Yuanzhang then asked: "How is Wang Guangyang?"
This is the second trap. Wang Guangyang is not a member of the Huaixi Group. Zhu Yuanzhang suspected that he was colluding with Liu Ji, so he was raised second.
Liu Ji saw the trick and replied: "This person is very shallow and cannot do it."
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Liu Ji with admiration. He was a shrewd man.
He named the third candidate: "How about Hu Weiyong?"
Liu Ji breathed a sigh of relief and made the most accurate judgment in his life: "Hu Weiyong is a calf now, but in the future he will definitely get rid of the shackles of the ox plow!"
After saying this, Liu Ji breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that the test had passed, but he was wrong. The next question was fatal.
Zhu Yuanzhang finally showed his killer move, and he said in a meaningful tone: "It seems that only your husband can take on my position."
Generally, people's minds will relax after being extremely nervous, and Liu Ji was no exception. He finally made a mistake, and this time it was fatal.
He did not think carefully and answered Zhu Yuanzhang:
"It's not that I don't know what I can do, but I hate evil very much. Your Majesty, you'd better choose slowly."
This sentence is very inappropriate. He thinks that he is the prime minister and does not say it. He also says that he hates evil as much as he hates it. As Liu Ji said, who is evil?
Liu Ji's dizziness hadn't passed yet, so he added another sentence:
"In my opinion, none of the current people are suitable." (Chen Cheng doesn't see any of the current people.)
Zhu Yuanzhang broke with Liu Ji.
From then on, Liu Ji no longer gained Zhu Yuanzhang's trust. Although he understood that his status was not as good as before, he still insisted on serving as an official in the court and supporting the Zhejiang East Group. But Zhu Yuanzhang was not so easy to dismiss.
In the third year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang personally wrote a letter to Liu Ji and said to him: "You are so old, you should be at home with your wife and children, why bother staying with me here."
This means, I want to fire you and leave. Liu Ji had no choice but to return to the countryside.
At this time, Yang Xian, another cadre of the East Zhejiang Group, lost Liu Ji's help and was quickly squeezed out by the Huaixi faction. His own life was in danger, and Hu Weiyong found an excuse to kill him.
In this struggle, Huaixi Group finally won a great victory.
Liu Ji understood that he had failed, and his only wish now was to take care of himself at home and spend his whole life. But in this fight, the loser has to pay the price.
Hu Weiyong became prime minister. He did not let Liu Ji go and ordered his men to sue Liu Ji.
At this time, Liu Ji no longer had an official position, so what else could be sued against him?
But the so-called "If you want to impose a crime, there is no excuse" is actually a wise saying. Liu Ji's crime is that he occupies a land with royal aura. The so-called royal aura is really something that cannot be explained. It can be said that it exists or not.
No, it just depends on what your purpose is.
So Zhu Yuanzhang once again issued an edict to punish Liu Ji. Since the official was gone, what else should he be punished for? Zhu Yuanzhang had a way, and he deducted Liu Ji's pension.
Liu Ji fell into despair, but his wisdom came into play again. Instead of waiting for death, he unexpectedly returned to the capital.
This was really a great move. He understood that the fundamental reason why Hu Weiyong dealt with him was Zhu Yuanzhang. As long as he returned to the capital and reassured him under Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, his life would be guaranteed.
But this time, he was wrong again.
In the first month of the eighth year of Hongwu (1375), Liu Ji fell ill. Zhu Yuanzhang sent Hu Weiyong (note this) to visit Liu Ji. Hu Weiyong's doctor prescribed Liu Ji a prescription. After Liu Ji took the medicine, his condition became worse and worse.
Soon after, he died.
Regarding the cause of Liu Ji's death, after the Hu Weiyong case was discovered, the doctor confessed that Hu Weiyong had instructed him to poison Liu Ji. This also became one of Hu Weiyong's charges.
But many people knew that Hu Weiyong had a grudge against Liu Ji, and Zhu Yuanzhang also knew it, but sent him to visit Liu Ji. As for an influential person like Liu Ji, Hu Weiyong would not dare to do anything casually, otherwise he would not let Liu Ji do it.
He lived freely under his nose for five years, and he probably had Zhu Yuanzhang's tacit approval.
Regardless of whether Zhu Yuanzhang instigated this matter, there is no doubt that Zhu Yuanzhang was responsible for Liu Ji's death.
Liu Ji was resourceful throughout his life and made great contributions to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty. He judged the situation accurately, thought carefully, and could predict the direction of development of things. Although he himself was not really as capable of making waves as in folklore, judging from his judgment and
Judging from his predictive ability, it is not an overstatement to say that he predicts events like a god. Like Zhuge Liang, he has been remembered as a symbol of wisdom.
In my opinion, he is indeed worthy of this honor.
Hu Weiyong won. With the help of Zhu Yuanzhang, he defeated the Zhedong Group and got rid of Liu Ji, the best strategist in the world. Now that he was in power, Li Shanchang wanted to give him some face.