Three hundred and twentieth chapters Jinshi disaster
After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he handed Zhong Jinwei's memorial to Wang Chengen, and then he sat on the throne and thought about other things in the memorial.
Wang Chengen hurriedly browsed the memorial, and was really shocked when he saw that there was wealth worth 10 million grains of silver hidden somewhere in the palace.
When he congratulated Emperor Chongzhen before, he mostly followed Emperor Chongzhen's wishes. He didn't expect it to be as much as 10 million, which was the fiscal revenue of the Ming Central Committee for two years.
Wang Chengen excitedly congratulated Emperor Chongzhen again: "Your Majesty, ten million taels, this servant is so happy for Your Majesty that I don't know what to say!"
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen with a smile on his face, shook his hand calmly and said: "The big companion is too impatient. If you continue to look down, the big head is still behind."
Wang Chengen's smile instantly condensed on his face, and his expression remained motionless for a while. Is ten million taels still a small amount? That's how much money Zhongxing Hou found.
Doubts arose in Wang Chengen's heart, and he immediately read the memorial again and read it all in one sitting.
The wealth of the eight Shanxi merchants began to accumulate in the early years of Wanli. After so many years, they were engaged in smuggling business, collaboration with the enemy and the beheading business. As the saying goes, the higher the risk, the higher the return. The wealth they accumulated
You can imagine how many there will be.
There was a saying during the Manchu and Qing Dynasties that if you overthrow the He gentry, you will make Jiaqing rich. Now it can be said that you have copied the eight major Shanxi merchants and made Chongzhen rich.[
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen's face and wondered if he would be frightened. Unexpectedly, after Wang Chengen read it, he stayed for a while and suddenly cried "Wow".
Emperor Chongzhen was surprised. Isn't this a good thing? He was so frightened that he cried. He couldn't be a relative of one of the eight major Shanxi merchants, right?
When he thought of this, he suddenly became a little unhappy and asked Wang Chengen: "Daban, why are you crying?"
Wang Chengen's knees softened and he knelt down directly and said: "Your Majesty, this slave is crying with joy! I saw that Your Majesty was forced by those civil servants to spend all the gold and silver in the palace on the outer court, and even melted the gold in the palace.
Silver utensils, your majesty wears patched clothes, which has never been seen in the past dynasties! Now that your majesty is rich, I kindly ask your majesty to take good care of your body."
After Wang Chengen finished speaking, he lowered his head and wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
Emperor Chongzhen was filled with emotion after hearing this. However, he quickly came to his senses and said kindly to Wang Chengen: "Come on, please, this is a happy thing, so don't cry."
After Wang Chengen got up, Emperor Chongzhen said again: "I have money now, but there are still many places for Ming Dynasty to use money. Master Zhong told me to build a special zone to revitalize the Ming Dynasty's economy. There are also disaster relief and wars in various places.
Expenses, etc., are all areas where money is flowing like water. I have been suffering from no money in the past few years, so I have to use the money sparingly. It doesn't matter if I am miserable, the important thing is that I can have the face to see my ancestors in the future
, I have not lost my ancestral country, I want to revive the Ming Dynasty!"
When Wang Chengen heard this, he knew that Emperor Chongzhen was referring to what Marquis Zhongxing had said about the loss of the Ming Dynasty in the hands of the emperor.
He did not dare to mention this matter, but he knelt down again and said to Emperor Chongzhen with a moved face: "The Ming Dynasty has your Majesty, it is really a blessing for the people of the Ming Dynasty. I will thank you for the Ming Dynasty people."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen who was kneeling on the ground again, and suddenly thought of Zhong Jinwei. There was a trace of deep thought on his face, and he said to Wang Chengen: "Don't say flattery. I let Daban be in charge of the East Factory, which is my trust in Daban. Memorial."
These things in the incident should have been detected by your Dongchang and Jinyiwei. I don’t know if you could have helped me discover these things if Master Zhong hadn’t come.”
Wang Chengen's body suddenly stiffened, and he couldn't flatter me properly. He immediately leaned down and apologized: "I didn't do my job well, your majesty, please punish me."
"Get up, I'm just talking. I must do things seriously in the future." Emperor Chongzhen had no intention of pursuing the responsibility. He just thought of this and reminded Wang Cheng'en.
"Slave, you must do your job well." Wang Chengen expressed his stance again before standing up.
"Go and pick up the belongings and report to me after counting them."
After Wang Chengen bowed and left the palace, Emperor Chongzhen asked his chamberlain to bring over Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the cabinet.[
Everyone was very busy during this time. Emperor Chongzhen saw that Wen Tiren's face was a little tired, but he was in good spirits. He was worried that Wen Tiren was already old and it would be bad if he was exhausted. Therefore, when Wen Tiren came, he asked his chamberlain to help Wen Tiren.
I moved a stool and sat down to discuss things.
"Mr. Cabinet, I have decided to start the battle of revenge tomorrow. The follow-up matters will also be carried out. How is the preparation of the cabinet?"
When Wen Tiren heard this, he looked at Emperor Chongzhen and asked, "Your Majesty, has there been news from Marquis Zhongxing?"
"Yes, I almost forgot. Mr. Ge, please read Master Zhong's memorial first." After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he ordered his chamberlain to transfer the memorial that Wang Cheng'en put back on the imperial table to Wen Tiren.
After quickly browsing, Wen Tiren, like Wang Chengen, stood up and congratulated Emperor Chongzhen on his wealth with a smile, and then got down to business: "Your Majesty, everything that was explained in advance has been completed, but there has been no promotion of the former Changli County Magistrate Zuo Yingxuan.
Conclusion.”
Emperor Chongzhen was surprised when he heard that a major event such as sending troops to the grassland was approved by the cabinet despite much controversy, but how could the promotion of Zuo Yingxuan encounter difficulties.
He asked curiously: "Why has there been no conclusion on this trivial matter?"
Wen Tiren frowned slightly and explained to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Zuo Yingxuan has been promoted from an acting magistrate to a fifth-rank Jizhou Bingbei Dao Shandong Province for his persistence in guarding Changli. Rewards will be given based on merit.
That’s enough. What’s more?”
When Wen Tiren said this, he hesitated for a moment and did not finish speaking in one breath.
Emperor Chongzhen thought it was enough to promote Zuo Yingxuan before, but later after comparing with other counties, especially Yongping, he felt that he should be promoted again.
Because Yongping's surrender led to the massacre of the city, everything had to be rebuilt from the ruins, and the amount of manpower, material resources, etc. was unbearable.
Zuo Yingxuan temporarily took over the post of county magistrate. It only lasted three days, but he was able to hold on to the small county town. His talent is needless to say. If he were allowed to take charge of a wider area, maybe the losses in the capital would not have happened.
So tragic.
Seeing Wen Tiren's hesitant look, Emperor Chongzhen comforted him and said, "If Mr. Ge has anything to say, just say it directly."
Wen Tiren stood up and replied to Emperor Chongzhen: "The cabinet believes that Zuo Yingxuan is just an official after all, and such a leapfrog promotion is too great a favor to him. If we still want to promote people now, where will the people who have the Jinshi background be?"
"Whose idea is this, you or someone else in the cabinet?" Emperor Chongzhen's face darkened.
Wen Tiren was silent for a while before replying: "It is the intention of all members of the cabinet."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen fell silent, and the palace suddenly fell silent.
In the Ming Dynasty, those who passed the provincial examination and passed the examination had obtained the qualifications for official appointment. However, generally speaking, the candidates in the Ming Dynasty could only serve as lower-status local officials or local academic officials. As the number of Jinshi increased, by the end of the Ming Dynasty,
The career of those who are promoted to officials is even more difficult.
It is common for officials who were born in Juren to be discriminated against by those who were born in Jinshi. It is also common for officials in the Ming Dynasty to be treated differently. It is precisely because of this that scholars in the Ming Dynasty worked hard to take the exams. Some of them were still taking the exams, and they would not give up until they got the Jinshi.
All current cabinet members are Jinshi scholars, including Wen Tiren.
"Mr. Ge, I think you can understand my intention of promoting Zuo Yingxuan. If there is a Jinshi who has the ability to serve as a pastor, I will not promote him beyond the level. After all, this imperial examination system is a national policy." Emperor Chongzhen
Finally, he broke the silence first and changed his title to Wen Tiren back to the honorific title of "Mr. Ge".
Wen Tiren did not respond, but looked at Emperor Chongzhen silently, with a trace of embarrassment on his face.
"The land in the capital is in ruins and everything needs to be rebuilt. But the Jianqi people don't know when they will invade in large numbers. I can no longer use mediocre people to guard the land in the capital. I can't afford the loss, and the Ming Dynasty can't afford it. You understand.
Huh?" Emperor Chongzhen continued to win over Wen Tiren with all his heart. He needed the support of the chief minister of the cabinet.
Wen Tiren actually understood everything, but when he proposed to promote Zuo Yingxuan again in the cabinet, he was unanimously opposed by the cabinet ministers headed by Zhou Yanru, including Wen Tiren's own teacher, Qian Xiangkun.
Wen Tiren himself was also a member of the Jinshi family. He also experienced the hardships of taking the Jinshi examination after winning the imperial examination, so he did not persist.
"Mr. Ge, do you still remember the map of the world that Master Zhong presented to you? When the Ming Dynasty was struggling, the Westerners were encroaching everywhere and eyeing the Ming Dynasty. Time waits for no one!"
Wen Tiren thought of the contents marked everywhere on the world map and the current situation of Westerners attacking everywhere. If the Ming Dynasty still sticks to the old ways, follows the rules, and does things step by step, it will be too late. In his lifetime, he may not be able to see the Ming Dynasty become famous overseas.
Thinking of this, Wen Tiren cheered up and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Thanks to your Majesty for reminding me, I have a demonic barrier."
Compared with others, one of the advantages of Wen Tiren is that he has no cliques. He is a solitary minister. Therefore, he does not attach much importance to the network of people who were born in Jinshi.
Emperor Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wen Tiren being persuaded by him, and then asked in detail about the situation of the cabinet at that time.
Wen Tiren had changed his mind, so naturally he no longer held back, and told Emperor Chongzhen the full situation of the cabinet at that time.
Zhou Yanru's reaction was the most intense. The reason for this is actually related to him. Because Zhou Yanru was awarded the Jinshi at a young age, this was the capital that his officialdom relied on to survive and be head-higher than others. Nowadays, if anyone is elected, he can get it
Senior officials, then who cares whether they are Jinshi or not.
Historically, after Zuo Yingxuan became the governor of Jizhou Bingbei Road and Shandong Province, he was eventually instigated by Zhou Yanru, who was already the chief minister at that time, to instigate Zhili Inspector Gan Xuekuo and Shuntian Governor Fu Zonglong to impeach Zuo Yingxuan.
Although Henan Prefecture official Tang Kaiyuan appealed for his grievance, he was eventually banished to Fenzhou Prefecture.
Jinshi's resistance to the promotion of people to high officials was not just Zhou Yanru's attitude, it was an unspoken rule of Ming Dynasty officialdom.
Emperor Chongzhen repeatedly issued orders to officials at all levels to recruit talents, but the scholars had many concerns, so only a few candidates were recruited.
One example is Liu Cheng, courtesy name Bo Zong, who was born in Guichi. He was a young scholar with outstanding talents and was as famous as Wu Yingji.
His friends advised him that the country was in dire straits and the emperor asked for talents and asked him to come out. But Liu Cheng refused directly. The reason was that he just promoted people and competed with Jinshi for official positions. He would be stumbling in his work. It's better to do things without going out.
Liu Cheng was a talented scholar of his generation, with a high reputation, but he was unwilling to work with Jinshi as a scholar. The embarrassing situation of ordinary people who were not Jinshi can be imagined.
It can be seen that by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the dominant position of the Jinshi group in the entire bureaucracy was quite serious.
Wen Tiren was thinking about the situation in the cabinet and how to open up the gap among the Jinshi group in the cabinet.