In Monan and Yanqing Prefectures in northern Shaanxi, it snowed heavily on the night of the fourth day of the first lunar month.
The two prefectures of Xi'an and Fengxiang in Guanzhong were followed by snowflakes that were better than nothing.
Later, Lanzhou and Gansu in the west of Hexi also had light snowfall. Xining was the only one that almost didn't care. The little official who sent the message had just got on the track carriage and the snow had stopped before he reached the post station in Hehuang Wu Town.
I had no choice but to go back and rewrite an official document that had stopped due to snow, and then sent it to the inn.
In Xi'an, Liu Chengzong's mood also became better due to the good news of snow in various places.
Wrapped in a fur robe, he climbed up to the bell tower, burned hot milk tea, and watched the beautiful scenery of the city covered in silver while warming his hands.
At this age, it is truly a rare sight.
But he didn't come to the Drum Tower specifically. In fact, the snow brought great joy to the generals in the Marshal's Mansion.
People called the light snow that was not even thick enough for a knuckle the next night a great auspiciousness, and far-fetchedly connected it with Liu Chengzong's invasion of Guanzhong.
There are even many people who sigh happily: the terrible drought in Shaanxi is finally over.
It's a pity that this kind of good wish is undoubtedly an absurd delusion for Liu Chengzong.
However, he didn't want to disturb other people's enjoyment, so he ran to the bell tower with his attendants to enjoy some peace and quiet.
Among the attendants was Xue Xing, a native of Hancheng.
This man is a member of the clan of Xue Guoguan, the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty. He is a scholar who has read many classics. He is familiar with riding and shooting, and his calligraphy is also beautiful.
But because of his origin and appearance, he was despised by the generals in the Marshal's Mansion. Since he defected to the Marshal's Mansion, he has been called a squinty-eyed monster.
However, Liu Chengzong felt that Xue Xing was not necessarily a court official.
Because of his appearance, he basically had no chance of gaining fame or official position in the imperial court.
Whether you are taking exams or becoming an official, you all have appearance and physical requirements. No matter how good-looking you are, you must at least have good facial features and sound limbs.
Xue Xing was born with slanted eyes and no fame.
When Liu Chengzong asked about his fame, Xue Xing's face was calm and he only felt a little regretful when he told it as a joke.
But when Liu Shizi heard it, he could feel the resentment towards God.
The Xue family in Hancheng is a prominent local family. Xue Xing and Xue Guoguan are from the same branch, and they live outside Beiguan, Hancheng.
When saying this, in order to facilitate Liu Chengzong's understanding, Xue Xing raised his hand and drew a map of Hancheng.
There are mountains to the west and south, and higher plateaus to the north. The terrain is like a small basin.
In the middle of the basin is the Juishui River that flows from Tumenkou in the northwest to the southeast. From the north bank of the river to the foot of the northeast plateau is Hancheng.
There is only one road from Hancheng to the Northeast Plateau, just outside Beiguan, so this is a very prosperous place in the area.
Because the northern part of the county is full of government offices, while the southern part is scattered with residential buildings next to the river and is not as vast as the vast fertile fields in the north. Therefore, many officials and landowners have settled outside Beiguan.
The Xue family's house is a family property with three rooms and four entrances passed down from ancestors.
As soon as he described it, Liu Chengzong got the idea, nodded and praised: "The house is not big, so you are still an innocent family."
Liu Chengzong has a set of mathematical theorems accumulated from experience in his mind, which can see the relationship between the size of the house and the owner's property at a glance.
There was no other way, so he led his troops to sweep across the northwest, destroying the city and plundering the territory, and developed a great insight that was unmatched by others.
Even the most outstanding architects of this era do not have Liu Shishi's tricky vision.
After all, the architect only built a few houses, how can we, Liu Er, demolish so many?
There are two important concepts in the area of a house, one is the space, and the other is the access.
Ancient buildings are supported by beams and columns.
Jian is the space between the four columns; frame is the frame composed of beams and purlins above the four columns.
For official houses with brackets, the width can be calculated based on the opening of the brackets, while for private houses without brackets, the width can be determined based on the number of beams.
Generally speaking, the width of one room is about ten to thirteen feet, and the width of three rooms with six columns is ten to thirteen meters.
Therefore, the imperial court stipulates the ritual system, the vassal king calls the mansion, and the officials call the house, which can be built from three rooms and seven racks to five rooms and nine racks.
The common people's home should not exceed three rooms or five shelves.
In this way, the size of the house was basically fixed. This was the basis for the three-bay houses in later generations, and it was also because Ming Taizu was more tolerant to the people.
House etiquette was not unique to the Ming Dynasty.
Earlier in the Song Dynasty, common people were only allowed to use five beams to build a room with two buildings.
Xia does not mean a big house, it means a small house or a wing.
Guangsha is the big house.
Therefore, houses in the Song Dynasty rarely had three bays, and all had one room with two wings.
In the earlier Tang Dynasty, regulations were also smaller. Common people were not allowed to live in more than three rooms and four rooms, and three rooms and five rooms was the treatment of a sixth-grade official.
But regulations are regulations. They only say what people cannot do, but do not stipulate what people can only do.
So there are loopholes in the regulations that can be exploited.
The court did not regulate how many houses a family should have.
So a few were admitted to the hospital.
Entering means going deep. Enter through the three-bay door, and after passing the patio, another three-bay door bottoms out. This is called entering the courtyard.
The second three-bay leads to another patio, and the third three-bay leads to the bottom, which is called the second courtyard.
The same goes for three-in, four-in, and five-in.
These houses are surrounded by walls and become courtyards.
This is also part of the "Zhu Daquan". The characteristic of Ming Dynasty architecture is the wall.
It can be as small as a private courtyard, as medium as a village or fort, or as large as a brick wall of a city, the world is surrounded by it.
Therefore, the three rooms and four entrances of Xue's house are roughly twelve rooms in the mansion, six wing rooms, and a courtyard of over a thousand square meters.
It's not big, so it can't be called a mansion. At most, it's a decent house.
The ancestors of the Xue family were officials. When building a house like this, it would look like an upright official. It is completely built according to the pattern of a private house, and it is still a small landowner.
A house with three rooms and four entrances can also be built as large as possible.
Because on the basis of "jian" and "jin", there is also a concept called "luo", which is the "luo" of a courtyard.
That is, adding a central axis horizontally to the left and right of several rooms and entrances, forming a parallel pattern of two or three courtyards, connected by corridors in the middle.
Liu Chengzong concluded that Xue Guoguan was definitely not a bad person.
Because Xue Xing said that when Xue Guoguan went home for the New Year, his clan members suggested that he expand his house. Some family members had even negotiated with several neighbors to buy other people's yards and expand them.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! He has just been promoted to Minister of Rites. According to the etiquette, he can use a house with five rooms and seven bays, and can also build a seven-room wide hall.
However, Xue Guoguan firstly did not allow it and secondly refused to pay. Instead, he left one hundred taels of silver for Zuo Maodi who returned to Hancheng together.
Because he wrote a memorial to the emperor, requesting that the national treasury should not be used and the people's wealth should not be wasted. He should return to his hometown to mobilize the gentry and cover the earthen walls of Hancheng with bricks to prepare for any eventuality.
He didn't even expand his own house, but instead summoned the gentry to cover the city walls with bricks to protect the villagers. How could he be worse?
Even Liu Shizi felt that Xue Guoguan was a bit mean to his family. It didn't cost much to build a house. Once the house was built, his children and grandchildren could live there even without fame.
But it was his suggestion to cover Hancheng's earthen walls with bricks that made Liu Shizi very unhappy - Grandson, who the hell are you guarding against?
Xue Xing grew up in that ancestral home with three rooms and four entrances. The family was not very wealthy, but they always supported him in his studies, and he studied hard for twelve years since he was a child.
A few years ago, I finally managed to sit in the examination booth. Because I was born with a squint, the examiner felt that he was glaring at me sideways when he was patrolling, so he kicked him out.
Liu Chengzong was happy to hear this and comforted Xue Xing: "It's okay. My brother and I have both been kicked out of the examination room."
But despite what he said, Liu Shishi also felt that Mr. Xue Xing was glaring at him sideways.
There's no way, people's eyes just look like that.
He promised in his heart that he would be kicked out that year.
Then the examiner saved you, it's fine if you don't have real ability.
If you have real ability and you really make it to the palace examination, Lord Chongzhen, with his attitude of using talents in an eclectic way, may really not care about your appearance and give you a good background.
The problem is that if he really becomes a Jinshi, Xue Xing will probably be in jail even if he is not dead.
Let’s just say, with this broken situation, Chongzhen’s energy can be deceived three times a day. If you can’t help but look at me sideways and look down on me, can Chongzhen not do it for you?
Liu Chengzong couldn't say whether Xue Xing was a spy sent to him by Xue Guoguan.
But anyway, Xue Xing must be the spy he sent to Xue Guoguan.
When he returned from Hancheng this time, Xue Xing transported several boxes of books, which were all rumors and gossip he had copied at home during the New Year, as well as some matters that Xue Guoguan had given his family members, as well as official documents such as the newspaper he had brought home.
One of them was that Master Chongzhen once again asked a supervisor from Henan to scold him for breaking the defense.
This supervisor's name is Tang Kaiyuan, a young man who has returned to society and is an expert at scolding.
Fushe is a youth literary association in the southeast. It has merged more than a dozen societies in Jiangnan. It has a large number of people and is dominated by young people.
This association is a passionate youth group formed in this era with a high literacy rate, a large number of educated young people, and a relatively relaxed living atmosphere in the Southeast. This is a special background environment.
A group of well-educated scholars spend their days listening to music, writing poems, and reading newspapers. They know a lot at a young age, have a strong sense of superiority, and have nothing serious to do.
In order to show off the clever brains on the neck, we get together to discuss politics when there is nothing wrong.
Tang Kaiyuan is considered the eldest brother among them, because he became an official early and went to Henan to work as a promotion official at the age of 18. His status in Fushe is very high. He not only participates in political affairs, but also participates in political discussions.
It made all the children in the community cry.
Now Tang Kaiyuan is a hot-blooded middle-aged man with very good literary talent and can really criticize the right things.
This man served as an official in Henan in the second year of Chongzhen. After Jisi changed the martial law in the capital, he wrote to Chongzhen, advising him not to disturb the country's laws with heavy punishments and severe punishments. He was imprisoned in Jinyi, and those who were not treason and rebellion should not be released.
Chongzhen ignored him.
This time, it was because Chongzhen sent people to arrest Chen Biqian, the governor of Henan, on charges of dereliction of duty.
Tang Kaiyuan then wrote another memorial, saying that the emperor treated his ministers harshly and treated his ministers favorably. It was a crime for a civil governor to dare to take office, and it was also a crime to dare not to take office. If he did not take office, the crime would be lighter. After that, no one would be appointed governor.
Chongzhen looked a little worried. He said that Fu Chen would not take office, but he didn't mean it. You should think about it carefully.
Tang Kaiyuan turned his head and took another step.
He named all the governors of Shaanxi and Shanxi since Chongzhen ascended the throne, and asked Chongzhen whether any of these governors are still alive, have not been in prison, and have not been stripped of their official positions or demoted.
The imperial court has its own laws and regulations. Those who discuss punishments are the officials, those who discuss crimes are the judicial department, and those who review and correct cases are local ministers.
Why is it that after the emperor issued an edict and the officials immediately obeyed the decree and demoted and dismissed him, no one insisted on complaining that this was not the right way to handle it?
As soon as they arrived at the three major law divisions, they were immediately dispatched to guard the border according to the imperial edict, but no one wrote a letter saying that such a crime should not be used?
As for the verification, the minister responsible for the inspection only told what happened. Why did no one come to discuss the crime within the crime, the merit within the crime, and help the minister ask the court for forgiveness?
Because of you, Your Majesty, many ministers do not distinguish between right and wrong, because they know that Your Majesty is bent on inflicting serious harm on others, and you will not listen even if you tell them, and will instead put them in jail.
The imperial prison was full of top talents from the Ming Dynasty.
That's why the imperial court failed one after another, punishing this and punishing that every day. These things were of no help to suppressing the bandits and calming the people.
What is missing now is fair rewards and punishments!
This memorial was sent up, and Chongzhen immediately broke through the defense.
If Chongzhen was scolded for being extravagant and wasteful, no matter how harsh the scolding was, the emperor would just smile and let it go.
After all, I don’t have any problems, just say whatever you want.
But what did Tang Kaiyuan say? He said that I used punishments indiscriminately and that rewards and punishments were unfair!
Can Chongzhen endure this? He really has this problem.
Those who celebrate the Chinese New Year dare to accuse me.
Chongzhen was furious and issued an edict to remove his status, dismissal from office, and escort the capital.
Tang Kaiyuan's ability to scold has something to do with his family background. He is from Linchuan, and his father is Tang Xianzu.
In this Chongzhen official letter, the name Zhu Wanling was mentioned.
He was a Jinshi in the 44th year of Wanli and the former prefect of Baoding.
When the peasant army was crossing Mianchi, they served as military personnel. Because the army was short of food and a war was about to begin, they were so anxious that they had no food or sleep, and got gangrene on their backs. As a result, they were deprived of their membership and sent home by Chongzhen.
This man is nearly fifty years old and is currently in Fucheng, Xi'an.
The day before yesterday, I unveiled the recruitment notice posted by the Marshal's Office in Xianning County Government and asked to see Liu Chengzong, hoping to free up the armory in the city and restore Guanzhong Academy.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This is also Feng Congwu's student.
Liu Chengzong had a good talk with Zhu Wanling.
The old man refused to serve as an official, and Liu Shizi refused to occupy the armory. The two sides exchanged views sincerely.
Of course this was not the main content of the conversation, but just something that had not been settled.
At least Zhu Wanling knew Liu Chengzong's intentions, and Liu Chengzong promised that Guanzhong Academy would definitely be restored and, as the highest school in the Marshal's Mansion, it would be expanded.
But not now, because the new armory has not yet been repaired.
Moreover, the academy must operate under the management framework of academic administration. The Marshal's Office does not even have an inspector, so how can it be restored?
Liu Shishi said: "You care so much about the academy, come and serve as academic administrator for me."
Liu Chengzong was already very sincere, and I wish Wanling could be even more sincere.
He said that I was dismissed from my post in the year of Tianqi, and now I have been declassified by the emperor. I have lived as a commoner for several years, and my life is good. I am in a dilemma between being an official and not being an official.
The Ming army ransacked homes in the city to demand pay, and the general punished the rebels in accordance with the law, which stabilized the situation in Xi'an. This is good.
I can also work as an official, but not now either.
At least the Marshal's Mansion didn't enter Xi'an Fucheng for three months before I was kicked out. Then I might as well not serve as an official.
For the important task of academic administration, the generalissimo has appointed Gao Ming. Please allow me to take another look.
Liu Chengzong understood that this was nonsense.
Punishing the rebellious troops and so on are all just talk, and they are all smart people. No one knows who asked them to do those things. It is just a fig leaf for the marshal's government to make money.
The real reason is that Sun Zhensheng and Liang Xing got the official position of censor.
The minds of the scholars were relaxed.
Two businessmen with no reputation, no reputation, and no merit.
After just one visit to the Marshal's Mansion, he suddenly transformed into a censor with great power in charge of salt law and tea affairs.
This incident caused an uproar in Sanyuan, Jingyang and even the entire Xi'an Prefecture, and the evaluation of Qianjin Horse Bone was polarized.
Not only because of their backgrounds, but also because of the official positions they were awarded by the Marshal's Office.
What is a censor?
Where did the word "Royal" for the Marshal's Mansion come from?
People have mixed emotions about this matter. When more than three people gathered together, it was clear that they were all criticizing Liu Thief for his transgression!
But if two people or even one person close the door, then the Jinshi candidates and the unemployed officials will have to think about whether the Marshal's Mansion has their own use.
The official position of censor has never been of high rank and its meaning is very simple.
Shi is the historian and secretary in charge of records around the emperor, princes, officials, and governors of the pre-Qin Dynasty.
The word "imperial" is easier to understand. In ancient times, the historians around the king were called censors.
Because these people are in charge of confidential documents, they are naturally called the eyes and ears of the monarch and assume part of the responsibility of reporting.
By the Ming Dynasty, censors no longer recorded history, and were specifically responsible for making snitches. There were two main types.
One type is called the Supervisory Censor, who is stationed in various places to make reports. They are stationed in the Thirteen Roads, and there are a total of one hundred and ten of them.
The second type is names such as patrolling salt and patrolling tea, which are based on events, such as water, agriculture, customs, rivers, cities, fields, warehouses, etc.
In short, if the emperor wants to see a small report somewhere, he can send his eyes and ears there.
When selecting candidates, they usually choose Jinshi and Imperial College students who are clean and unaffected by officialdom to inspect the place, with the intention of using their scholarly spirit to stir up the turbulent and promote the pure.
His official position is no more than seventh rank, and he has no power at all.
Only those with the word "royal" on them are very destructive. A small report can leave people confused.
The awarding of these two official positions had a great impact on the people of Xi'an Prefecture.
It was at this time that many people finally took a serious look at Liu Chengzong, trying to predict whether this fierce leader of the rebels would have the possibility of seizing half of the world.
But standing in the hazy smoke of history, looking to the future is always unclear.
Liu Chengzong was very optimistic about the prospects and believed that the current state of confusion among Shaanxi scholar-officials was good news for the Marshal's Palace.
At least there won't be a situation where he leads the troops to the north and then turns around and starts a fire in the backyard.
However, before the Northern Expedition, Liu Chengzong had to take Hanzhong into his hands.
The candidate to go to Hanzhong has been decided, and it is Jiang Yingchang, the prefect of Pingliang.