1315, the inside story of Liu Hongxuns private reform of the imperial edict
Liu Hongxun said with a wry smile: "Since the beginning of the party struggle, no one has ever done it like him. He relied on the trade with Liaodong and the huge benefits brought by the terrifying amount of Liao salary. He colluded to win over the eunuchs, Donglin
Many people from the Jin Party, clan, nobles, relatives, and Liaodong generals actually formed an organization that transcended parties and was bound by huge economic interests. It had an independent military force and a large number of supervisory, administrative, and judicial officials. From the center of the imperial court
He went to the local grassroots level and formed a terrifying Liaoning interest group."
"This group has huge cash flow. One is to use the huge annual military expenditures of the Guan Ning Army to kidnap the imperial court. Donglin has obtained Liao's salary, which will eventually be reimbursed by them. Otherwise, the Liao's salary will lose the rationality and legitimacy of its existence.
Even though the people in Donglin knew that he was colluding with other forces, they didn't dare to fall out with him. After all, with such huge interests, let alone him being two-faced, even if he let them eat shit, they would admit it."
"Since the Jin Party and the eight major merchant groups were destroyed by Dingyuan Bo, Donglin took the opportunity to establish the Rehe Province in the eastern part of Monan Mongolia. This was to block their trade channels with the Jiannu. Now Jin
The only hope of the party and the eight major business groups is him, so they dare not offend him."
"Xun Gui, Concubine Zheng, and King Fu's forces still have Mao Wenlong after all, and they are relatively least dependent on him. In other words, the only force in the north that he has not yet taken control of is the gang of lords in the capital. If he controls the capital,
Once the forces are secured, he can form a cabinet."
Yang Fan was silent, he didn't expect Yuandu Du to be so generous.
This shows how important it is to have a powerful army of your own in this apocalyptic world. Without Guan Ningjun, he is nothing. But now, even though he knows that this guy is nobody and is very ambitious, he still wants to win over him by pinching his nose.
.
No one can have too much power. When people go to high places, when they are officials, they naturally have to be at the top of the mountain, and they can see all the mountains and small mountains at a glance. Moving towards the highest power is the inevitable direction for anyone who is an official.
This has nothing to do with character. When the power is achieved, the thoughts will naturally be reached.
At the beginning, wasn't Cao Mengde's biggest ideal to be a general who conquered the West? In the end, he wanted to be King Wen of Zhou. This was the result of the expansion of power, and people's ambitions are consistent with their strength.
"The nobles and the King of Fu faction are relatively aloof and calm towards the Liao Rating Group. They are worried that Yuan Chonghuan's ambition will expand in the future and some unspeakable things will happen. So they began to make plans to increase their power in the capital. Hui'anbo Zhang Qingzhen
After the governorship of the capital camp, the British government was worried that Yuan Chonghuan's ambition would expand in the future and no one would be able to control it. So he discussed with me and added a clause in Hui'anbo Zhang Qingzhen's imperial edict to govern the capital camp and also manage the capture camp."
Hui'anbo Zhang Qingzhen was Yang Fan's former admiral in charge of military affairs in the capital. He also knew Yang Fan. They were both members of the noble lineage and his own people. The permanent armed forces in the capital were mainly the Military and Horse Division and the Patrol Battalion. The Military and Horse Division was also in charge of
In charge of public security, the patrol battalion is equivalent to the armed police in later generations, with more than 13,000 people and 5,000 cavalry. It is powerful.
If something happens in the capital, the patrol camp is very important, because without the joint order of the imperial edict and the Ministry of War, the capital camp cannot enter the capital.
This operation will alert the least people, and basically it will not be publicized.
However, Hui'anbo Zhang Qingzhen's imperial edict from the governor's capital camp contains this clause: if necessary, it can be used as soon as possible. At that time, it will be legal to mobilize the patrol battalion in the city. This is the back-up plan laid by the honorable nobles.
Normally, when there is nothing going on, this matter will not be publicized at all. The patrol camp may not know about it. The imperial edict is always made in two or even three copies. The palace has a background record. But in an emergency situation
, there is no chance for outsiders to go to the palace to verify, basically this imperial edict is enough.
At this time, Yang Fan finally understood the ins and outs of this matter. To do this, we need the cooperation between the palace and the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, as well as the cabinet. Concubine Zheng's people are in charge of the palace, and Xungui is in charge of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. There are people in the cabinet.
Only Chief Assistant Liu Hongxun was able to handle this matter.
However, this also shows that Chongzhen and Concubine Zheng have been fighting for so long, and there are actually people from Concubine Zheng in the ceremonial department. Otherwise, how did the extra words in the imperial edict come about? After the imperial edict was written, it came out of the bureau
Supervisor of Ceremonies, if you want to add writing on it, it is impossible.
How could such a high-end thing not have anti-counterfeiting measures? Whether it is handwriting or ink, it is easy to see. Therefore, if you want to make it seamless, you can only add handwriting from the ceremonial supervisor.
Then Liu Hongxun pretended not to see it when he reviewed it and passed it through the cabinet.
When we arrived at the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, it was the territory of nobles and nobles, so it was naturally fine.
The most interesting thing about this incident is that it was actually leaked. Someone reported it to the emperor.
But something was wrong with the person who made the report. It was actually Zheng Qixin, the admiral of the patrol camp. This was drafted by the Ministry of War, transcribed by the Supervisor of Ceremonies, approved by the emperor, issued under countersignature by the cabinet, and forwarded by the Fifth Army Governor's Office to supervise the military affairs of the capital camp, and the imperial edict of the patrol camp.
It has a half-cent relationship.
Where could Zheng Qixin see this edict? How did he know that there were a few extra words in the edict? Did he see it in a dream? Moreover, Hui Anbo would not make it public and would only use it in emergencies.
The situation at that time was as follows:
It was the practice of the Ming Dynasty that the commander of the Beijing Camp (Garrison) and the Patrol Battalion (Beijing Armed Police) could not be served by the same person. Everyone knows the reason. The imperial court appointed Hui'anbo Zhang Qingzhen to command the Beijing Camp, but the imperial edict included more words for him to "administer concurrently"
"Capture the camp" is four words. In this case, both troops will be under his command.
I don’t know what happened, but Zheng Qixin, the commander of the unrelated patrol camp, discovered it. He immediately reported it to the emperor.
Chongzhen was shocked, thinking that these fools were going to stage a coup. Dare they change the edict? What was this?
This is definitely not a clerical error, but someone deliberately added these sentences. Just these four extra words can allow Zhang Qingzhen to command the patrol camp!
The angry Chongzhen ordered a strict investigation. As soon as he ascended the throne and defeated Duke Wei, someone came to apply eye drops. It was really unbearable.
The results of the investigation made people angry. The cabinet report said that Tian Jiabi, a young eunuch who was responsible for copying the edict, was bribed. Later, he changed the edict. Such a serious and vile matter was actually passed on to a young eunuch who was the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
Secretary! I don’t even believe it.
Li Juesi, the imperial censor's spokesman, probably received instructions from Chongzhen and pointed out the problem in public: "The appointment edict was drafted by the Ministry of War. After it was completed, it was submitted to the cabinet for review. The cabinet ministers reviewed and revised it and handed it over to the secretaries for copying. After writing, the cabinet ministers
We will check it again before sending it to the emperor for sealing. The little secretary cannot cover everything with one hand, and all ministers involved in this procedure must be strictly investigated and held accountable."
Chongzhen questioned the ministers in the cabinet, but they all said that they did not know and had nothing to do with him.
When I asked the Ministry of War, the Minister of War also said he didn't know. Only fools would get involved in this kind of thing. Naturally, no one would admit it.
Chongzhen was furious. He knew that all these people had problems, but everyone made this into a Rashomon. They made up their own stories and refused to admit it. There was nothing he could do.
Finally, Zhang Qingzhen, who had benefited from the fake edict, was asked. Zhang Qingzhen actually said in front of the emperor: "The edict is under the jurisdiction of the cabinet. How can I know what's going on, young general? Besides, even if I command the patrol army, I can make more money."
How much money, why should I pay a bribe?"
Zhang Qingzhen started to talk nonsense and act rogue.
Chongzhen was so angry that he was trembling all over. He actually said that the patrol camp admiral was a matter of making money, and only benefited from plundering the people. This statement really made the emperor angry to death. Chongzhen angrily accused him of being arrogant.
Finally, someone reported Liu Hongxun's instructions from the cabinet, and the young eunuch also confessed that it was Liu Hongxun's instigation. Chongzhen dismissed Liu Hongxun and sent him into exile. Zhang Qingzhen suspended his salary for three years, and the young eunuch was killed with a cane. The matter was hurriedly closed.
Liu Hongxun was an insider and allowed the imperial edict to pass. However, he was not the mastermind and the person who revised the edict. He was pushed out to take the blame. This case was absurd and the handling was absurd.
Yang Fan actually had a good impression of Liu Hongxun.
When Chongzhen ascended the throne, he eliminated Wei Zhongxian's eunuchs and re-instituted the persecuted loyal ministers. The cabinet was selected by lottery. Liu Hongxun was lucky enough to be one of the six people to enter the cabinet. He was awarded the title of Minister of Rites and a bachelor of Dongge, and participated in cabinet maintenance.
Liu Hongxun soon showed his shrewd and capable ability to govern the country. Soon he became the chief assistant of the cabinet, was awarded the title of Taibao, and was promoted to bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. He was in charge of the country's military and political affairs.
Liu Hongxun was the only reformist in the entire Chongzhen Dynasty. He was the only one who really wanted to revive the Ming Dynasty through reforms. Unfortunately, his chief minister did not last long.
He vigorously reorganized the imperial bureaucracy, deposed and punished Wei Zhongxian's remnants, recommended to the imperial court a group of new people with both ability and political integrity and experience in governing the country, and firmly supported Yuan Chonghuan in his fight against the Qing Dynasty.
Although Liu Hongxun was talented in governing the country, he was not good at political strategy. Less than a year after taking office, he was attacked and framed by Yuan Hongxun, a remnant of the Wei Party, and others. In addition, Liu Hongxun blindly promoted the New Deal, regardless of the new emperor's establishment of authority.
He tried hard to admonish the imperial court to be courteous and caring for the people, but he was too upright, and even contained disrespectful words in his words. This caused Emperor Chongzhen's displeasure and suspicion. Coupled with this edict incident, Chongzhen issued an order to dismiss Liu Hongxun and investigate.
This was the first person who was dealt with after being used by Chongzhen. Chongzhen used his courage and integrity to deal with the eunuchs. After liquidating the eunuchs, he would be useless. Because Chongzhen did not want to sincerely reform. Giving him hope was to use him.
Dare to bite the eunuchs to clear out Duke Wei's old troops.
Originally the emperor wanted to kill him, but Liu Hongxun survived the remonstrance of the righteous officials in the court and was banished to Daizhou in the first year of Chongzhen. At that time, Yang Fan also saw clearly what Chongzhen was like. This was not a man who could
A wise king who accepts advice with an open mind.
His tolerance was too small to accommodate his ministers who truly thought about the world. Song Renzong was pulled by his sleeves by his ministers and spit on his face. He did not punish the ministers. However, Chongzhen could not do it. As long as the ministers
He won't tolerate anyone who doesn't do things exactly according to his wishes.
He could not tolerate Liu Hongxun for a long time. The Liu Hongxun cabinet was the first cabinet after the collapse of the cabinet controlled by Wei Zhongxian. This cabinet was the only cabinet in the entire Chongzhen Dynasty that was determined to solve practical problems. However, the cooperation between the two sides was very poor.
Reform means resistance and offending vested interest groups. Chongzhen's throne has not yet been firmly established, so he naturally does not want Liu Hongxun to make drastic changes now. So he finally chose to let Donglin reorganize the cabinet.
Regarding the incident of changing the imperial edict, the cabinet did let some water go, but this matter was not done by Liu Hongxun. It was just that the emperor slammed the shit basin on Liu Hongxun's head. This incident was just a trigger for him to punish Liu Hongxun.
Liu Hongxun said: "Originally, this matter has been settled, and I will retire in Daizhou (today's Dai County, Xinzhou City, located in the northeast of Shanxi Province). I didn't expect that His Majesty would be so short-tempered and still hate me for what happened back then. I
It seems that he wants to send me to Uzang as the resident minister. My old bones really can’t stand the torment of the snowy mountains and grasslands. I also ask Uncle Dingyuan to lend a helping hand."
Liu Hongxun came to Yang Fan today just for this matter.
He was assigned to Suiyuan and Zhang Wudian, and Yang Fan formed a team, and he could tell. Chongzhen wanted him to accompany the master to the snow area. No one is a fool. Is there any fool who can be the first assistant?
Yang Fan thought for a while and said: "I have other considerations about the snow area. You are not a qualified candidate for the Zhongtang. If His Majesty allows you to go, I will write a letter."
Liu Hongxun didn't say anything, and silently raised his hand to Yang Fan. It was considered as a thank you to Uncle Dingyuan for his help.
Liu Hongxun sighed and said: "His majesty puts Yuan Chonghuan in such high regard, sooner or later something bad will happen. Even though he boasted, he later realized it. But the more he boasted, the day will come when sooner or later he will be blown away. Now he has gathered so many
A big force may take desperate measures if he cannot fulfill his promise."
Yang Fan said: "If you are not in your position or planning for politics, why should Zhongtang worry about it? Whoever takes the shit will clean it up himself. Although Guihua City is not big, it is also located in the south of the Yangtze River. It has sufficient supplies and has nothing to do. Spring
There are hundreds of flowers in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, and snow in winter. Don’t worry about other things, it’s a good time in the world.”
Liu Hongxun smiled and said: "Then I can rest assured and retire in Guihua City from now on. Hahaha."
