"Su Guansheng, a scholar of Wenhuadian University, wept with blood and submitted the memorial; for the descendants of Fengguo Lieutenant, he will no longer take the title:
I heard that the ancient king was simple in everything, self-denying and loving the people, and set him as an example. Instead of benefiting from him, his relatives and children were burdened by it. Yao lived in a thatched hut and ate poor food.
Gu', Confucius said: 'How great! Yao is the king. It's so majestic, only the sky is great, it's for Yao to rule it'; Shun plowed Mount Li, Yulei Ze, and Tao Riverside, made various utensils in Shouqiu, and arrived in Fuxia.
Yu was ordered to control the floods for thirteen years, but he passed through the house three times without entering. He had only the same clothes and poor food, and his legs were bald and he was lame.
Therefore, people in ancient times did not want to be kings, but wanted to serve the people. The clans in ancient times were diligent in government, loved the people, were frugal and self-denial, and the people were happy with them.
Since the Jiashen period, His Majesty could not bear the decline of China and raised troops in Guangxi, fighting hundreds of arduous battles before we are here today. However, it is difficult to achieve the goal of rectifying chaos; it is even more difficult to defend the established foundation. The former residence is prepared for danger, so it is decided to
Karma has a beginning and an end, so we respect its foundation.
Although powerful enemies have been eliminated today, the border areas are peaceful. However, after the war, people's livelihood has declined, household registrations have been reduced, there are still few fields opened, the national treasury is empty, and daily necessities are insufficient. Today's people are quite like saplings.
It will nourish; if there is conscription for a while, it will wither away. If the withering is too great, the people will not be able to make a living; if the people are not able to make a living, then resentment will boil and the heart of rebellion will arise! The Confucius said: 'The king is like a boat; the common people are like a boat.
"Water. Water carries the boat, water overturns the boat." This is why the ancient wise kings were strict in self-discipline and lenient in treating the people.
Your Majesty Fu Wei looks at the events of the past and present, and looks for opportunities for safety and security. He places the highest priority on the country and crops, and the lowest consideration is on billions of trillions. He clearly understands the laws and regulations, is careful about rewards and punishments, recruits talented people, and retires those who are unworthy, saves the entertainment of tourists, and reduces the expenses of work and labor.
, Promote the way of loving the people and abolish the government that harms the people.
Today’s policies that harm the people are primarily due to the excessive use of titles in the clan.
The nobles of my Ming Dynasty clan range from the prince to the lieutenant of Fengguo, with six grades and eight grades. There are so many people that the public funds cannot be used. I have planned it for your majesty: the prince's annual salary is 10,000 shi; the county prince is 2,000 shi; the general of the country is 1,000 shi;
800 shi for the general of the auxiliary state; 600 shi for the general of the fengguo; 400 shi for the lieutenant of the Zhenguo; 300 shi for the lieutenant of the auxiliary state; 200 shi for the lieutenant of the fengguo.
At the time of Taizu, the clan was still small and could still provide support; by the time of Emperor Chongzhen, the clan number was no more than hundreds of thousands, and the national treasury could not be used. If the state was insufficient, internal and external troubles would arise. The incident of Jiashen is not far away, but Your Majesty has learned from it.<
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I dare to offend Your Majesty's kindness and risk my life to make a suggestion: From now on, the descendants of Lieutenant Fengguo will no longer take the title in the clan. If this is done, the number of clan members will be reduced and the country will be able to make up for the shortage. If the treasury is full, the Ming Dynasty will last.
If your majesty follows your ministers' policy, the beauty of the Tao will be as beautiful as that of the three emperors and five emperors, and will last for hundreds of millions of years. Even if you make mulberries become monsters and dragons and snakes do evil, you should still turn misfortunes into blessings and disasters into auspiciousness.
I am a fool, and I speak arrogant words, and I am willing to give up my axe. A little foolishness, but your majesty thinks about it. The clan and the society are very lucky, and the world is very lucky. For this reason, I would like to report it to you."
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"Mr. Su, Mr. Su, what you are doing is so bold! What a spirit!"
After reading this memorial written by Su Guansheng, Zhu Hengjia exclaimed his boldness and admired his courage. He was worthy of being the "Three Don't Want Master" who "doesn't want an official position, doesn't want money, and doesn't want his life"!
This memorial by Su Guansheng points directly to a chronic problem of the Ming Dynasty: the number of clan members is increasing, which leads to huge expenditures and the national treasury is overwhelmed.
The root of this comes from the clan entitlement system formulated by Emperor Taizu Gao. He set the basic principle: "The world is so big that it is necessary to build a vassal screen to protect the country at the top and to provide safety and security for the people below. Now that all the disciples have grown up, it is appropriate for each one to have a nobility."
I enfeoff and divide the towns into kingdoms. I am not a private person, but follow the system of the ancient kings for the sake of long-term peace and stability."
Not only are there basic principles, but specific inheritance methods are also formulated: the eldest son of the emperor is the prince, and the emperor's sons are established as princes (vassal kings) at the age of ten;
As a county king?? The general principle is that the eldest son inherits the title of his ancestor without downgrading, and the other sons are demoted one level to ascend to the title.
If we really want to do this, even though the clan has a large number of people, it will not reach the hundreds of thousands. After all, at the lowest level of Fengguo Lieutenant, except for one eldest son who will inherit the title, the other sons will not inherit the title if they move down one level to inherit.
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But Taizu had a bad habit: protecting his shortcomings, he was very kind to his descendants, for fear that they would starve. He stipulated that after Lieutenant Fengguo, he would no longer surrender. The descendants of Lieutenant Fengguo were all named Lieutenant Fengguo. As long as we, Lao Zhu, are Lieutenant Fengguo
Members of the family enjoy at least the title of lieutenant in Fengguo and two hundred shilumime per year, which is always different from the common people.
In this way, by the Longqing and Wanli years, the number of clan members recorded in the jade certificate, excluding the princess, county lord, county, township monarch and other female relatives, nor the "unnamed concubine clan", had reached
Forty thousand people; by the Chongzhen Dynasty, there were even hundreds of thousands. They financially overwhelmed the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Hengjia read the memorial carefully and found that Su Guansheng's suggestion actually deprived the descendants of the lowest Fengguo Lieutenant from their inheritance rights, leaving them to enjoy Lumi themselves and their descendants without income.
Doing this in a few years can indeed reduce the clan population. But it is also easy to offend people! What if those clan relatives, such as King Tang, King Lu, etc., say that they treat the clan harshly?
Zhu Hengjia left this memorial undisclosed and summoned the great scholar Zheng Feng to discuss it, "Zheng Qing, how do you think we should handle this matter?"
Zheng Feng smiled and said, "Since your Majesty agrees with Mr. Su Ge's opinion, why do you ask me?"
"Oh, how do you know that I have agreed with Mr. Su Ge?"
"If His Majesty did not agree, he would have scolded Mr. Su Ge and dismissed it long ago. Why bother to stay in the middle without sending it and summon the ministers to discuss it?"
"Haha, Zheng Qing can give me some advice on how to accomplish this without causing too much opposition and without giving me a bad reputation for treating the clan poorly?" Zhu Hengjia asked sarcastically.
"This matter is actually not difficult to handle. The most influential people in the clan are close vassals such as King Tang and King Lu. This time Su Ge Lao proposed to cut down the clan, but only canceled the inheritance rights of the descendants of the lowest level Fengguo Lieutenant, and
If their interests are not touched, they should not object fiercely; if you issue an order to cancel the restrictions on the clan and allow them to take the imperial examination, do business, and learn a skill to make a living, the voice of opposition will be reduced." Zheng Feng smiled.<
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"Yeah," Zhu Hengjia hummed, seeming to be thinking about something.
"Your Majesty can first speak to the academicians and then send this memorial to the imperial court for discussion. You don't say anything and let the ministers speak. You have to make the clan members feel that this is all the ministers' intention, and there is nothing you can do about it.
Only then did I agree."
"Okay, this is a good idea!"
Zhu Hengjia always did things simply and did what he said. He immediately summoned Guan Shouzhen, Gu Yi, and Yu Chaofeng, other important ministers, to express his attitude. The next day, Su Guansheng's memorial was sent to the court for discussion.
The emperor has already expressed his stance. Who dares to stroke the emperor's beard without opening his eyes?
The result of the court meeting was one-sided: in favor.
The imperial edict was quickly issued, canceling the right of the descendants of Lieutenant Fengguo to ascend the throne, and at the same time lifting restrictions on the clan, allowing them to make a living on their own.
On the night when the imperial edict was issued, someone smashed the door of Su Guansheng's house with stinky chicken eggs. But this "Three Don't Want Master" was not afraid at all, and said to the left and right: "As long as the Ming Dynasty lasts for a long time, a few chicken eggs are nothing."
