Zhu Yihai closed the account book in his hand, put it on the red sandalwood table in front of him, and looked at Liu Zongzhou, the censor of Zuodu.
Liu Zongzhou, who was appointed as the censor of Zuodu at the beginning of his rule, has not changed his position to this day and is still one of the ministers in the Prime Minister's Office, which proves that he still has great weight in the emperor's heart.
Over the past year or so, Liu Zongzhou can be said to have rebuilt the Metropolitan Procuratorate, completed the yamen system, and recommended many upright and upright ministers as the supervisory department, which not only inspects officials, but also inspects local areas, patrols, and inspections.
Salt, river patrol, tea patrol, sea patrol and even military supervision, etc.
He was indispensable.
"The General Constitution can speak frankly about the specific disarmament and salary reduction laws." Zhu Yihai said directly, Liu Zongzhou was a good General Constitution, but Zhu Yihai also disliked many of his ideas. He was an old-school official, a contemporary great Confucian, and some people
Comments say he is full of sourness and Confucianism.
Zhu Yihai prefers to evaluate him in terms of bookishness. He is a man with political mysophobia who has extremely high requirements for personal morality. Compared with obvious pragmatic hypocrites such as Ma Shiying, Ruan Dacheng and even Qian Qianyi in the late Ming Dynasty, he seems very noble.
However, as an emperor, or an emperor in such troubled times, it is destined to not only look at moral character, but also ability. Since the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Donglin Party once gained power, but these Donglin Party members who claim to be gentlemen have been tossing and turning.
But he hasn't done anything truly practical.
They put more energy into party struggle and become even more unforgiving once they gain power.
It is said that Liu Zongzhou's ancestor was the Queen of Changsha in the Han Dynasty, but for a few generations up to Liu Zongzhou, they were only farmers in Shaoxing, and could only be said to be educated small rich farmers. Liu Zongzhou's father died early, so he grew up with his grandfather.
Passed the national examination at the age of twenty.
After being elected, he also followed the trend to visit a country squire who wanted to become an official. As a result, his mother knew that this man was a corrupt official and had a bad reputation, so she scolded him. From then on, Liu Zongzhou no longer thought about these heresies.
He concentrated on his studies, and after failing to pass the Jinshi examination the following year, he studied hard for another three years and finally got the fifth place in the top three. He returned to his hometown with joy, but in the end he only saw his mother's new grave. His mother was afraid that it would affect his examination.
, even if he is seriously ill, he will not be notified.
Standing in front of his mother's grave, he made a somewhat pedantic oath, vowing not to make friends rashly and to avoid being a homosexual even if he met someone by chance.
After mourning for his mother, he officially served as an official and was awarded the title of "Xingren". However, in the court, he was very dissatisfied with the atmosphere of the court at that time. At this time, his maternal grandfather and grandfather died successively, so he went home to Dingyou to mourn.
During this period, he used the Dashan Temple to teach the children of his clan. Although his family was still poor and sometimes could not even afford food, so he relied on lending rice to the monks of the Dashan Temple to survive. Liu Zongzhou still did not enter the court, and even if local officials came to visit, he refused to see him.
After Ding You ended, he still didn't go to Beijing to be elected. He still stayed in his hometown to teach. He was so poor that his drinking bowl was broken, but he still persisted in himself.
I stayed at home for eight years.
Later, Ye Xianggao became a cabinet minister, Sun Piyang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, Gao Ju, the governor of Zhejiang, etc. were all in high positions and devoted themselves to promoting celebrities, so he was reinstated as his original official.
Although he was introduced by Qingliu, Liu Zongzhou was not close to the Donglin Party members. Even the Zhejiang compatriots from the Kunxuan Party who came to win over him at that time did not agree.
This made Liu Zongzhou recognized as a pedantic scholar in Beijing, so he only stayed in Beijing for three years before returning to his hometown to continue teaching and writing.
It was already the first year of Tianqi's reign when he became an official again, and he was already forty-four years old. He became a Jinshi at the age of twenty-four, but he wasted twenty years.
He was appointed as the head of the Ceremony Department of the Ministry of Etiquette and was a minor official with idle duties. However, he went to Beijing on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year and took up his duties on the 16th. On the 25th, he went to court to impeach Wei Zhongxian.
If it hadn't been for the great scholar Ye Xianggao who rescued him, he would have been beaten to death by Wei Zhongxian's sixty-ten court staff.
But Liu Zongzhou was such a pedantic person, and he continued to be pedantic and continued to make some pedantic remarks.
Later, during the turmoil of Tianqi and Chongzhen, he was awarded the title of General Affairs Secretary Youtongzheng. As a result, he not only resigned but also impeached Wei Zhongxian, and finally ended up being dismissed from office to serve the people.
When he became an official for the fourth time in the first year of Chongzhen and was awarded the title of Shuntian Prefecture. When he met the emperor, he had not yet performed his duties. This nerd wrote to the emperor and directly advised him not to be eager for quick success and instant benefits, but to govern the country with the benevolence and righteousness of Yao and Shun. He even directly criticized him.
Some of the emperor's actions.
Fortunately, although Chongzhen was young at the time, he still respected the world-famous Confucian Liu Zongzhou.
Liu Zongzhou was appointed governor of Shuntian, but at this time the situation was in turmoil. Although he was a corrupt scholar who worried about the country and the people, it was of no avail.
Later, this nerd still offended the two treacherous ministers Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru. They could not tolerate such accusations of corrupt Confucianism and kept saying in front of the emperor that Liu Zongzhou was arrogant and just a nerd.
The emperor gradually became impatient with Liu Zhouzong's rhetoric, and Liu Zongzhou could not continue his job as the governor of Shuntian, so he had to write his resignation every day. After Chongzhen was approved for three years, he continued to return to his hometown to give lectures.
Because he wrote a memorial to the emperor on his way home, criticizing the government, he was ordered to be dismissed from his post as a civilian.
This time, he stayed at home for more than five years. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, the emperor remembered that there was Liu Daru and specially appointed him as Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
He resigned many times, but in the end he had no choice but to enter Beijing the next year. After arriving in Beijing, he was awarded the title of Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
As soon as he took office, he went to the ministers, saying that the people were few but the thieves were many, and the more officials were added, the more bad things would happen. If one of the officials was postponed, the number of thieves would be reduced, so that one person would not be dispatched, and one person would be harassed.
As a result, not long after, the emperor summoned the minister Zhongzuomen to inquire about the government. Liu Zongzhou accused the emperor of sending Jinyi General Yanguan to prison, which harmed the national system. As a result, he angered Chongzhen again and ordered him to be dismissed from his post. He also asked the Ministry of Punishment to prepare a crime. Finally,
After the persuasion of other ministers, I crossed out the four words "Penalty of the Ministry of Punishment". This time I only served as the censor of Zuodu for two months, and then I was dismissed and returned home.
The road home was not peaceful, and we kept walking and stopping. When we got home, it was already June of the 16th year of Chongzhen. In the third year of the following year, Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, and Chongzhen hanged himself. In May, Liu Zongzhou learned the news and immediately asked the governor of Zhejiang to send troops to the Northern Expedition.
He also wrote letters to Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Zuo Liangyu and others, asking to join forces to fight against the thieves, and even recruited volunteers.
Later, King Fu succeeded to the throne in Nanjing and ordered him to serve as a reinstatement official. On the way, he even went to the four ministers and even gave himself a new title on the grounds of the country's loss. He wrote memorials and other articles signed only by this name.
Before he arrived in Nanjing, he had already written several memorials to impeach Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing and others, and later impeached Ma Shiying for forming a clique for personal gain. At Jingkou, he happened to encounter a conflict between the soldiers of the Zhejiang governor and Jiang Fangming's army. When the news reached Nanjing, he became Liu Da's nerd
Zheng joined forces with the governor of Zhejiang to force the Qing emperor to eliminate traitors and frightened Ma Shiying and others.
Gao Jie and Liu Kongzhao even sent assassins to assassinate Liu Zongzhou on the way. As a result, the assassins sneaked into Liu Zongzhou's residence in the middle of the night. Instead, Liu Zong's family was shocked by his righteous words. They were deeply impressed and escorted him to Beijing before leaving in shame.
Although Liu Dapao entered Nanjing, Ma Shiying and others regarded him as a thorn in his side and spread rumors every day to smear him. Finally, Liu Zongzhou, Gao Hongtu and Jiang Yueguang were forced to resign and leave.
Liu Zongzhou, who returned to his hometown of Shaoxing, soon heard that Hongguang had abandoned Nanjing and fled and was captured, and that King Lu's army in Hangzhou surrendered after five days. However, this rotten scholar still contacted his disciples and old friends everywhere, recruited volunteers and local soldiers, and planned to resist the Qing Dynasty to the end.
Later, he heard that all Ningshao officials had surrendered. Feeling desperate, he started a hunger strike and wanted to die for his country.
Liu Zongzhou, who had been on a hunger strike for many days, later met the envoy sent by Zhu Yihai. He was so moved by a sincere letter that he went south to join Zhu Yihai.
After going south, he was awarded the title of censor of Zuodu. Until now, he has been the real Yuan Cong and co-conspirator of the uprising.
In Zhu Yihai's court, Liu Dapao was still a sharp talker, always going to court, eloquently criticizing courtiers, and even admonishing the emperor.
If you don't like it, just say it and never hide it.
But even in this small court, with his qualifications and reputation, he still maintained his true character.
That's how pedantic it is.
But Zhu Yihai always trusted him very much because others thought he was too pedantic and too stupid.
However, Zhu Yihai has always firmly believed that Liu Zongzhou's qualifications and reputation are too simple to gain power or money. Even smart people like Ma Shiying, Fang Fengnian, Ruan Dacheng, Chen Meng, Yang Wenchong, and Kong Wenzhao can adapt to the wind and do whatever they want.
They are all very simple things.
But he just chose the most difficult road to walk.
This is not stupid.
Rather, he is a true scholar who reads the true teachings of Confucius and Mencius and the books of sages. He is truly moral!
So no matter how the situation changes, even if the situation is very good now, Zhu Yihai has never thought of replacing Liu Dapao, who always supports him.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate needs such a Liu Dapao, such a moral and loyal model!
He is the anchor of the court, and there is no shortage of such people at any time.
Even if there is a new admonishment court now, led by Hong Chengchou and Qian Qianyi who are smart, capable and daring to bite, they can't replace Liu Dapao's position.
He was the first to stand up and question and object, which was actually within Zhu Yihai's expectation.
He had even been waiting for Liu Dapao to stand up and spit out his mouth. Of course, the emperor had also prepared many rebuttals in advance.
As long as Liu Dapao can be refuted and convinced, then the emperor's words can convince everyone in the world.
People like Liu Zongzhou represent Tao, while people like Ruan Dacheng represent art. In times of trouble, art is very needed, but Tao cannot be ignored.
All that is needed is to let them stand in their proper positions. We cannot let Liu Zongzhou be the decision-making center, nor can we expect this cannon to carry out military affairs. We have to let him stand in the court with a whip and keep an eye on people.
"His Majesty!"
Liu Zong stood up on Monday, stroking his long beard, with a loud voice, and looked directly at the emperor, "I think that although the situation has improved now, half of the country has still fallen and has not recovered. It is too early to be happy at this time. What the court needs to do is to endure the humiliation and bear the burden and forge ahead.
The purpose of moving forward is to allow the people to recuperate and recuperate, rather than to try every means to plunder them.
Now the imperial court should not continue to desperately expand the army, but should reduce some troops and horses.
In addition, not only are soldiers' salaries high, but officers' treatment is even more generous. In addition, officials' salaries and palace expenses should be reduced. A governor should be given one to twenty thousand taels, and a governor of more than ten thousand.
Yes, raising honest money can really make officials honest, which is unheard of in ancient times!
A military attaché has a salary, a salary, a title, and even a ration of food for his relatives. If an admiral pays a hundred soldiers, isn't this a blatant waste of money?
Now is a special time, a time of national crisis. Officials, both civil and military, don’t think about how to serve the country and help the people, but they think about getting promoted and making a fortune, and receiving generous rewards and salaries. Is this such a thing?
The minister suggested that only the existing imperial camp and Beijing camp should be retained without expansion, and the remaining provincial camps should be abolished and converted to local regiment training on the spot, farming in spare time, and assisting in defense during war."
"Soldiers can receive full pay, but civilian and military generals must not only return to the old salary of Chongzhen, but also receive only half salary to reduce expenses."
"The amount of salary and military expenditures that have been reduced should also be deducted from the current taxes, especially 100%. Now it is 100% for department stores, 100% for passing by, and 100% for market sales, and then industrial and commercial taxes are levied. Isn't this right?
Isn't it a double taxation?
Lijin should be abolished and the industrial and commercial tax should be levied appropriately, but it should not exceed 30 tax per tax!"
Liu Dapao's core idea is not to spend money indiscriminately. It is best to tax less, so as to burden the people less. Then officials and soldiers cannot take too much money, otherwise the burden on the people will be too heavy.
The army should not be raised too much, just about the same will be enough. The soldiers are good but not too many. There is no need to keep recruiting troops and horses. It cannot be maintained.
For a soldier, two taels a month is enough, but four or five taels is too much.
There should be no such things as raising honest silver and famous food for soldiers.
