On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, heavy snow began to fall.
Wang Yuan came to visit with his matchmaker, followed by Zhou Chong and Yuan Da, each holding a wild goose in their hands.
Huang Ke and Mrs. Nie received them warmly. Huang Qiao and Huang? brothers were also nearby, but Huang E himself stayed in the boudoir and was not allowed to come out.
"I've come here to ask for your wife's two daughters, so please don't hesitate to do so." Wang Yuan bowed his hands and said.
Zhou Chong and Yuan Da stepped forward and handed over the wild geese in their hands.
The Huang family could not accept the wild goose directly, but handed it over to the matchmaker. The matchmaker held the wild goose and said, "I have been entrusted by Bachelor Wang to ask your daughter's birth date. May I ask if your daughter is willing to marry as a Wang family?"
"Go and ask." Huang Ke smiled.
The maid next to Mrs. Nie immediately went to Huang'e's boudoir to contact Huang'e's maid Xia Chan.
Xia Chan pretended to go in, came out after a while, and said to Mrs. Nie's maid: "Miss, I am willing to marry!"
The maid immediately returned to the living room and said to Huang Ke and Mrs. Nie: "Miss, I agreed."
Huang Ke said happily: "Accept the gift!"
The Huang family's male servant went over to collect the wild goose. At the same time, Mrs. Nie's maid gave Huang E's birth date and birth date to the matchmaker, who in turn gave it to Wang Yuan for divination.
For officials, there are strict procedures for getting married. Wang Yuan was especially aware of this because the book he governed was the "Book of Rites".
Readers who are proficient in the "Book of Rites" must also study other books on etiquette, and at least browse them casually a few times. One of them is called "The Book of Rites", also known as "The Book of Rites" and "The Rites of Scholars", and there is a special article "Hunyi"
》Tell relevant content.
The first step is "acceptance", which is equivalent to asking for marriage and requires the consent of the woman's parents. This step is handled by the matchmaker alone, and Wang Yuan does not need to participate.
If the girl's parents approve, the second step can be taken, which is today's process: asking for the name.
The man must be present in person and bring the goose to propose to the woman. After the woman agrees, the woman's parents accept the gift and tell the man her daughter's birth date. The birth date comes with the woman's maiden name, so this process is called "name asking."
Next is "Naji". The man comes back and tells the girl's parents that I have asked someone to do a divination and it turns out that my birthday and my daughter's birth date coincide with each other. So he sends the wild goose again. If the girl accepts it, it is equivalent to a marriage.
The subsequent "recruitment" link is commonly known as lower betrothal. The man needs to choose a good day and go there with the betrothal gift.
Once the engagement is made, the engagement is completed and they are considered an unmarried couple. It is against morality for either party to go back on the engagement.
The so-called annulment of an engagement, that is, someone who has already accepted the betrothal gift but regrets it before getting married is considered a minor stab in the spine, and the man can even go and report it to the official.
At this moment, Wang Yuan got Huang E's birth date, clasped his fists at Huang Ke and Mrs. Nie and said, "I'll take my leave first. When I get home, I'll ask Mr. Yin and Yang to ask for divination immediately."
"Good nephew, go slowly!" Huang Ke smiled and sent Wang Yuan out.
Wang Yuan had a student who was a Yin-Yang household. His parents and ancestors were all officials in the Qintian Prison. It was naturally auspicious to send the birthday horoscope. This was just a ritual. The incompatibility of the horoscopes was purely because the man regretted it.
Before the official appointment, Huang E was kept at home and was not allowed to go out to meet Wang Yuan.
Seeing that the New Year was coming soon, Yang Tinghe got the news and drank a few more drinks happily. Huang Ke was his confidant, and Wang Yuan was Huang Ke's son-in-law. From now on, they were naturally a family, and the emperor's most favored civil servant also became "
Yang Dang".
Zhu Houzhao usually didn't care about anything, but this time he responded very quickly and immediately summoned Wang Yuan to the Leopard Room.
"Erlang, you want to propose marriage, why don't you come to me to propose marriage?" Zhu Houzhao did not say it directly.
Wang Yuan said: "I dare not bother Your Majesty with such a trivial matter."
Zhu Houzhao pointed to the key point and asked: "Are you also opposed to transferring Bianzhen to Beijing?"
Wang Yuan replied: "I have no objection, I just think this move is useless."
"It's useless to train a strong army?" Zhu Houzhao was a little unhappy.
Wang Yuan went around and said: "In the Tang Dynasty, someone was sick and asked a doctor for consultation. The doctor said that your five internal organs were diseased and your meridians were disordered, and you needed to be recuperated. But the man said, I just have a headache, please cure it.
That's it. The doctor gave me acupuncture and the headache relieved itself. After a while, the man said to the doctor, my feet hurt very much, please treat my feet. The doctor also said, you have a disease in the five internal organs, and you must treat the root cause. Then
The man didn't listen and just treated his feet. After taking the medicine, he ran around as usual. After another three years, he suffered from pain all over his body and the medicine and stone could not save him, so he died."
"Are you saying that if I have a headache, I should treat my head, if my foot hurts, I should treat my feet, and if I keep my illness under wraps, I should not treat it?" Zhu Houzhao became angry.
Wang Yuan looked calm, cupped his hands and said, "I'm just telling a story."
Zhu Houzhao looked at the eunuch next to him, and the eunuch also looked at Zhu Houzhao, trembling and afraid to say anything.
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, there was a special official who recorded daily life notes, but this was gradually abandoned. The emperor's daily notes were recorded by his confidant eunuchs.
Zhu Houzhao said to the eunuch: "You write, I am not afraid!"
Only then did the eunuch tremble and write down, for fear that the emperor would regret it. Hundreds of years later, this thing would be the Ming Dynasty version of "Bian Que meets Cai Huangong".
Wang Yuan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you are wise!"
"Nonsense!"
Zhu Houzhao slapped the table and said angrily: "If I were a saint, how could you marry Huang Ke's daughter? You are specifically going against me!"
Wang Yuan was neither humble nor arrogant, and explained: "Your Majesty, I am in love with the Huang family's two daughters, and they have nothing to do with the government. After Mr. Li Ge became an official, he had great trust in me, both emotionally and rationally, and in public and private matters. I would not dare to do so in this life."
It goes against Mr. Li Ge’s entrustment.”
"What did he ask you to do?" Zhu Houzhao asked.
Wang Yuan had already prepared and handed over the reform plan: "Lao Li Ge told his ministers that the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil and could not be done without reform. He did not have the ability to reform, and Lao Yang Ge did not have the determination to reform. The reform was at this time
There is no way to talk about it. Mr. Li Ge warned me to wait for twenty years!"
Zhu Houzhao took the reform plan, glanced at it and said nothing.
He had seen this thing before, and it was handed over to Zhu Houzhao by the late emperor himself before his death.
Zhu Houzhao had a deep relationship with his father, because his father was kind and kind, rarely said harsh words to him, and was almost obedient. He remembered that when he was the prince, he had been ill for a long time in the winter for two years, and his father, who had always been diligent, even
There was no dinner party, and I stayed by the bedside every day to personally watch him drink medicine.
This reform plan was considered the only legacy left by his father, but he had long since forgotten it.
Zhu Houzhao was so ashamed and guilty that he did not dare to raise his head and look at Wang Yuan.
The atmosphere was calm and awkward. Wang Yuan could only say: "If your Majesty has no instructions, I will leave first."
Suddenly, Zhu Houzhao asked: "Of the many reform items, which aspect do you want to start from?"
Wang Yuan said: "Clear the fields and change taxes."
"It's not easy to do," Zhu Houzhao said with a clear conscience, "There are good people among civil servants, but there are too few of them, and most of them are mediocre and hypocritical people. The imperial court asked various places to clear land, but they were not allowed to rely on officials to carry out the work.
What's coming out?"
Wang Yuan said with a smile: "If anyone dares to violate the law, we will deal with him if he is found out. Those who are dismissed will be dismissed, those who will be demoted will be demoted, and those who will be imprisoned. There will be another "Records of Corrupt Officials of the Zhengde Dynasty" and "Records of mediocre officials of the Zhengde Dynasty".
Enter them all in!”
"Hahaha," Zhu Houzhao was amused and praised, "This is a good method. We should record them and spread them to the world."
Wang Yuan added: "I have money in my hands and don't panic. Before formally reforming taxes, I hope that your majesty can open the sea and enrich the national treasury through sea trade tax revenue. In this way, even if there are troubles during the tax reform, the court will not worry
No money to spend!”
Zhu Houzhao asked doubtfully: "You have said several times that sea trade can really make a lot of money?"
"There are too many to count," Wang Yuan said.
Zhu Houzhao thought about it again and again and asked: "How are you going to open the sea?"
Wang Yuan replied: "The matter of opening the sea is complicated and must be tested first. I suggest that the port of Guangdong be opened first to see its pros and cons. The pros will be followed, and the cons will be corrected. When it matures, it can be slowly implemented in other areas.
Coastal Provinces.”
Zhu Houzhao said: "How about letting the guarding eunuch and the governor of Guangdong handle this matter?"
"I am worried that they are colluding with the local gentry and want to handle the sea opening affairs personally!" Wang Yuan said.
"You are an official of the Hanlin Academy, and I have another important use for you!" Zhu Houzhao reminded.
Wang Yuan said with a smile: "With Yang Ge Lao Li Chao, what can I do in the Hanlin Academy? Most of the cabinet and the chief officials of the six ministries are his people."
This is a taboo thing to say, and it is tantamount to questioning the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty.
But Zhu Houzhao liked to hear it, but he was afraid that Wang Yuan and Yang Tinghe would get involved. The emperor did not want to see the civil servants unite.
Zhu Houzhao asked: "What position should you take to handle the opening of the sea?"
Wang Yuan said: "When the three-year period expires and the next Jinshi Gold List is named, Your Majesty can promote the minister to be the Minister of Rites. As the Minister, he will also serve as the governor of Guangdong, specializing in the affairs of opening up the sea."
The governor-general and the governor have no rank. The second-rank imperial censor can serve concurrently, the seventh-rank supervisory censor can also serve concurrently, and the minister, minister, and nine ministers can also serve concurrently.
Zhu Houzhao was silent, seeming to be thinking about gains and losses.
Wang Yuan added: "If I go to Guangdong to open up the sea, I will definitely bring back countless taxes and money, and your Majesty will have much more money to marshal the army in Beijing."
These words touched Zhu Houzhao's heart, and he immediately promised: "Then it's settled. In one year and three months, after the imperial examination is over, I will let you patrol Guangdong and open up the sea!"
Wang Yuan did not thank him or flatter him, but said: "It's a deal, your majesty can't go back on it."
Zhu Houzhao just accepted this trick and laughed and said: "You are not joking, I am not a cheating person."
Wang Yuan also said: "In the 18th year of Hongzhi's reign, Yan Song was a Jinshi. He was promoted to editor and editor of the Hanlin Academy as a commoner. This man was extremely affectionate and filial, honest and selfless, and his mother Ding returned home worried. But the Hanlin Academy was controlled by others.
He can't even get a job copying official documents in the Hanlin Academy, so please give him a job as a minor official in the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
This was Wang Yuan's first time asking for an official, and Zhu Houzhao had to give him face.
Zhu Houzhao said: "How can the editor of the Hanlin Academy be so noble and noble as to serve in the Ministry of Civil Affairs? Since he was a Jinshi in the 18th year of Hongzhi, he was promoted to a bachelor's degree scholar, and then he was given the post of Zhan Shifu."
This is the noble route, and there is a high chance that you can enter the cabinet, or at least become a minister or minister.
Wang Yuan gave Yan Song the line of serving as a minister. He said: "Yan Song, like a minister, is restless. He wants to do something instead of waiting for promotion."
Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied with this and said with a smile: "I hate hypocritical and mediocre officials. It seems that this person has the same aspirations as Erlang. Where is he from?"
"Jiangxi people." Wang Yuan replied.
Zhu Houzhao rolled his eyes and said: "Since he is from Jiangxi, it is difficult to take care of Jiangxi affairs. Let him be a member of the Shandong Qing Dynasty official department, and in the future he will be promoted to a doctor based on his merit!"
What the hell?
We agreed to go to the Ministry of Personnel, why did we go to the Thirteenth Division instead!
Wang Yuan looked at Zhu Houzhao, and Zhu Houzhao looked back at Wang Yuan with a smile.
The Shandong Qing Officials Department, one of the Thirteen Departments of the Ming Dynasty, is in charge of Shandong's money and grain affairs.
Including Shandong's Chief Secretary, Dusi, and Guard Office, whether they wanted money or food, they had to go through the hands of the Shandong Qing Officials Division.
In addition, the Shandong Qing Officials Division was also in charge of the Liaodong Dusi, responsible for the salt tax yamen of Jingwei, Cangchang, and Beizhili. It was also in charge of Jinyiwei, Jinyiweicang, and various health offices in Daning, and was in charge of the entire Ming Dynasty.
All Salt Transportation Departments! (Only for money and grain matters.)
Yan Song suddenly became the God of Wealth in the field of salt taxation and salt transportation in the Ming Dynasty, and he was also the second-in-command. Zhu Houzhao planned to promote him to the first-in-command in the future.
This is a lucrative position that tests Yan Song's character very much.
(There is one chapter left and will be added tomorrow.)