When the emperor visited the west, the prince stayed behind to supervise the country, so he took charge in this palace as regent.
When Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, most of the buildings in the Wenhua Palace were destroyed. Later, when the Jin Dynasty entered Beijing, they were restored to imitate the destroyed Wuying Palace.
In winter, the weather was fine, and the warm afternoon sun shone down from the clear blue sky. The prince was basking in the sun on the porch in front of the palace, holding a scroll of scripture in his hand.
It's just that the prince's mind didn't seem to be on the scriptures. He seemed to be thinking about something while sitting there.
Different from the bustling and noisy outer city of Beijing, the Forbidden City, which is deep inside the palace, is particularly solemn and quiet, especially the Wenhua Hall where the prince regent was. After the emperor left Beijing for half a year, the prince took charge of the country as regent. This became the hall of the Ming Dynasty.
political center.
The remaining cabinet members and members of the Prime Minister's Office also come here every day to report their affairs.
The crown prince, who had been married for only half a year, had also begun to grow a beard and looked much more mature and steady. Countless memorials were submitted every day, mostly reporting good news such as a good harvest here and stability there.
A few years ago, the situation in this country was still very precarious. Foreign tribes invaded, bandits were everywhere, mourning was everywhere, people died of starvation, famine, and wars made everyone fearful and precarious. Even countless gentry and powerful people thought that the Ming Dynasty was exhausted and Zhu Ming was over.
.
Who would have thought that a king of Shufan and Lu who went into exile in the south would emerge from nowhere, turn the tide, help the building to collapse, and revive the Ming Dynasty.
In just a few years, the city of Beijing changed its owners several times. Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in Meishan, Li Zicheng became emperor for a few days, Dorgon became regent here, and the young Tatar emperor Shunzhi was ushered in from Shenyang, Liaodong, but these people
After all, it was blown away by the rain and wind.
Now that the Central Plains has been restored, the Ming Dynasty has even subdued the Mongols, Jurchens, and even Westerners to pay tribute and trade.
Prices in the capital are relatively stable, with new rice still only costing one silver dollar and one stone. This is because the imperial court deliberately raised the minimum purchase price of grain to ensure the income of the people who farm the land. Beijing's grain is transported by sea, and large granaries are built in Tianjin, Tongzhou and Beijing.
A lot of rice, wheat, and beans have been stored. The imperial court has relaxed the policy of limited grain supply with vouchers. Now there are 70% government-run grain stores and 30% private grain stores. There are no restrictions on grain purchases.
Other daily necessities are also abundant, including vegetables, meat, oil, vinegar, etc., and Beijing has become so rich and noble.
Entering winter.
Even if the canal freezes and the Bohai Sea freezes, it will not affect the officials and people of Beijing at all. Materials are abundant and the borders are stable, so there is nothing to worry about.
Everyone is busy buying cabbage and radishes for storage, and some are also busy hauling coal to the Xishan Mountains. They are all busy preparing for the winter.
When they meet each other, in addition to asking if they have eaten, they will also chat about current events in the newspapers, such as the emperor is in Guihua City, how obedient the Ordos Khan is, washing horses for the emperor every day, hunting yellow sheep and deer for the emperor, and even pinching
One or two rumors, the emperor met a Mongolian beauty in Ordos or something.
Some people also say that Zhu Chenggong, whose surname is the country, recently sent troops from Jeju Port to Hirado and is teaching the Japanese princes a lesson. He said that the Matsura clan of the Hirado clan in Japan is rebelling and wants to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo. Many princes are responding.
During the Japanese civil war, they attacked the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, burned down the merchant houses of the Ming Dynasty, and detained the merchants of the Ming Dynasty. Mr. Guo Xing immediately led a fleet to protect the overseas Chinese.
Some people say that Mr. Guo actually went to Shijian Yinshan. It is said that this silver mountain can produce one million taels of silver per year. Others say that Mr. Guo went to Bezi Copper Mine. It is said that Tongshan can produce one million taels of silver every year.
Millions of kilograms of copper are produced, accounting for one-third of Japan's annual copper production.
Some people also talked about Heilongjiang, slave work, Jilin, Yaksa, how to beat up old men, and how many precious furs the Pioneer Fleet, Pioneer Fleet, and Blackwater Fleet had obtained in the Northeast.
Some people also talked about the Royal Nanhai Fleet establishing new trading stations in Annan, Champa and other places. They also said that the Mo family and the Zheng family in Annan were fighting, and the Guangxi imperial camp had sent an associate to Gaoping.
When talking about this, although many of the people in the imperial city are newly arrived, they still have a sense of superiority as the people in the imperial capital.
Although many people were struggling for life and death a few years ago, they are now well-dressed. Even if there are patches on their clothes, at least their faces are rosy, their eyes are bright, and their clothes are clean and tidy.
In the winter of the sixth year of Shaotian, these people seemed to have been reborn. Rogue bandits became a historical term, and the establishment of captives became a thing of the past.
Nowadays, everyone likes to talk about the mutton, sheepskin and wool from outside the country, and the white sugar, brown sugar and cotton cloth from the south. Most of the people living in the outer city of Beijing are handicraftsmen. The large number of shops and workshops have created a large number of practitioners. They work hard and earn a lot of money.
I used my wages to buy food and vegetables.
Most of the people in the inner city were relatives of the emperor, hundreds of officials from the capital, some military officers, and wealthy merchants. They had high families, bright clothes, angry horses, and hordes of servants.
Even in Guanxiang outside the city, many houses and shops were quickly built, and there were also many workshops here.
On the outskirts of the city are landlords and farmers who farm, grow vegetables, and raise pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese.
Crown Prince Hongjia often wanders around the capital incognito, and sometimes goes to the suburbs. He likes to go deep into the bottom of the city. He doesn't dislike the gadgets sold by small street vendors or small restaurants and shops. He eats and drinks tea.
I will also observe the life in the market, chat with the shopkeepers, and even take the initiative to talk to other guests from all walks of life.
For the crown prince who is only fifteen years old, he seems to be a little more mature and steady than his peers. This may be related to his six years of experience outside the customs, or it may be related to the emperor's personal teachings in the past few years.
After overseeing the regency for more than half a year, Hongjia looked at the problem differently from before.
He could feel the weight of the burden on his shoulders.
In recent days, he keenly discovered that there were two forces surrounding him, competing for power. They were both trying to influence and persuade the prince.
They all seemed so upright and selfless, and seemed to be working for the long-term interests of the Ming Dynasty and the country.
This summer, a big event happened in Henan, and it is still spreading rapidly.
The cause of the incident was that the students in Fengqiu County were on strike. Fengqiu County is on the north bank of the Yellow River, just north of Kaifeng. Kaifeng crosses the Yellow River and then passes through Chenqiao Town, which is Fengqiu County. Copper tiles were excavated by Tartar Doguan
After the Yellow River burst, Fengqiu City suffered a disaster.
After that, the Yellow River changed its course, and there were no river banks for several years. The Yellow River overflowed, and it became a state during the flood season. Countless people were displaced. Later, the imperial court regained Shandong and Henan, and finally decided not to return to its old course, but to use a new river channel to enter the sea, and allocated funds to send people to build the new river.
embankment.
Fengqiu is located to the north of the Yellow River and to the west of the new river channel. The imperial court simply included Fengqiu and Yanjin counties on the north bank of the Yellow River in Kaifeng Prefecture into Weihui Prefecture, and put Yuanwu County into Huaiqing Prefecture.
Fengqiu used to be Daming Prefecture in Hebei Province to the east, but Changyuan to the east is now included in Weihui Prefecture in Henan Province, and Dongming to the east of Xinhe Road is included in Caozhou Prefecture in Shandong Province.
Originally, Fengqiu bordered Hebei and belonged to Kaifeng Prefecture, but now it borders Shandong and belongs to Weihui Prefecture.
The Fengqiu dismissal incident was caused by the migration of nobles from the imperial court to enrich the capital.
Some former noble families and powerful locals were unable to hold fifth-level positions in the new dynasty due to reasons such as standing in the wrong team. Therefore, they were required by the court to move to Gyeonggi and settle in the capital. They even had to relocate their places of origin to the new dynasty.
Place of resettlement.
Fengqiu originally belonged to Kaifeng Prefecture and was part of the capital during the Song Dynasty. The people of Fengqiu were dissatisfied with being included in Wei Huihou, and the emperor moved the gentry to fill the capital, especially those families who did not have fifth-grade real work.
, but also to change the location, which made countless people jump.
Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.
The status of scholars has always been very high. Taizu of the Ming Dynasty once stipulated that when ordinary people see a distinguished scholar, they must show official courtesy.
Those who passed the Ming Dynasty's Tongsheng Examination have obtained the lowest status and become a privileged class. They must wear blue shirts to distinguish them from ordinary civilians.
Excellent students among the students were also given scholarships of 100000 yuan, and their families were exempted from serving as servants. Even those who had failed in their studies, were over fifty years old, and were willing to retire were also given honorary titles and honors, so as to avoid being ordinary.
Servant.
In addition to being exempted from small grains, if the crime is serious, the local magistrate must report it to the superior first, and then he can punish the crime he deserves after he is removed from the rank. If you have the rank, you cannot be punished or punished.
If it is a trivial matter, it can only be handed over to the school for punishment, and it cannot be treated as the same as the whole people and held accountable.
Perfectly privileged class.
In the early Ming Dynasty, only one or two men were exempted from the chores, then they were exempted from the corresponding land tax, then they were exempted completely, and then they were given various means to submit names. As long as they were admitted as a scholar, they would have jumped over the dragon gate. Although the status of a scholar is
It’s not high, but it’s no longer comparable to ordinary people.
However, the Shaotian Dynasty did not treat the scholars so favorably. When the emperor started the army, he required the gentry to pay for the food together. Later, he adopted various policies, such as banning Han people as slaves, and this year, he took the traditional official school and passed the examination to become a scholar.
He no longer attends schools in prefectures and counties, and no longer receives rice.
The imperial court built many new schools, various vocational schools, which recruited students from among the elites, and the outstanding ones would also be given Linmi scholarships. However, these schools were all full-time vocational schools, instead of just passing exams as before.
A name.
In addition, in general junior colleges, after admission, students will be required to obey assignments after graduation, etc. Although they are allowed to continue to take the examination for Jinshi after being assigned a job, it is indeed very different from before.
The Fengqiu examination boycott incident was a result of these things accumulating little by little, and finally broke out when they were about to move them to Luanping. They thought this was a trampling on the gentry. Luanping was outside the Gubeikou of the Great Wall in Beijing.
The place outside the pass is the northern part of the Great Wall, which is exile.
Although they were innocent, the emperor trampled on them again and again, and even wanted to confiscate their properties and houses, etc., and exchange them for wasteland outside the customs.
The angry Fengqiu student union members not only mobilized the candidates to go on strike during this year's provincial examination, but also rushed in and tore up the test papers of the few students who insisted on taking the exam.
The scientific examination is a qualifying examination for the provincial examination. Before each provincial examination, the examination is conducted by the provincial academic department's administrative offices. All students who want to take the provincial examination must pass this qualifying examination.
Originally, there were more than 130 scholars in Fengqiu who took the exam this year. However, only 23 scholars entered the exam hall. The other 110 or so scholars not only failed to take the exam, they also rushed into the examination room of Wei Hui Mansion and took the candidates away.
The test paper was torn.
This is simply an unprecedented scene.
Not only did they tear up the exam papers, they also openly called on the entire province not to take the exam.
Although the scientific examination was only a qualifying examination for the provincial examination, as soon as the Fengqiu incident came out, many students in other places in Henan also responded. For a while, the scientific examination in Henan could not be carried out normally.
The incident was reported to Chen Qianfu, the governor of Huanghuai and the governor of Henan. He immediately arrested the Fengqiu candidate Fengyi Fanxun and dozens of other people who were causing the trouble, and then sent people to other prefectures to arrest the troubled students as well.
Chen Qianfu arrested more than 300 scholars and imprisoned them. Henan Province's provincial examination in August failed to go ahead as scheduled. This incident shocked the world.
When the incident was reported to Beijing, Du Yinxi, the left-behind prime minister and cabinet scholar, was furious and asked Henan to investigate the matter strictly and demand severe punishment for the culprits. He proposed to the prince that the culprits be directly expelled from their honors and exiled to the border areas.
Those students who should not take the exam will have their honors removed and will never be allowed to take the exam again.
For those candidates who are blocked, they will be arranged to take the exam again.
However, Du Yinxi's tough attitude was actually opposed by many officials in the DPRK and China. Many officials believed that such a handling was inappropriate and even spoke for Fan Xun and other candidates.
For example, officials from Henan, Ding Qirui, Ding Qiguang, and Ding Kuichu, all wrote letters to express their opinions and plead for the scholars in their hometown.
Ding Qirui was a native of Guide Prefecture in Henan Province. He served as the Governor of Shaanxi Province during the Chongzhen Dynasty. He was later promoted to the Minister of War and renamed the Governor. He was the Governor of Huguang, Henan, Sichuan and the armies north and south of the Yangtze River. He was also the Governor of the military affairs of the Three Borders of Shaanxi Province. He came from a prominent family of officials and officials in Henan.
Although he held important positions in the Chongzhen Dynasty, he was incompetent. When Li Zicheng attacked Kaifeng, he led a large army but did not dare to rescue him. He led more than 100,000 troops to join forces in Zhuxian Town. As a result, he still lost the important town of Kaifeng, which caused the corruption of the Central Plains and was dismissed from his post.
Return home.
Later, the governor-general of Henan Huguang, who was one year older than him, became his uncle, Ding Kuichu, Ma Shiying, and others supported Prince Fu Nanjing and proclaimed himself emperor. Ding Qirui also joined Ma Shiying and others and was awarded the title of governor of Henan.
Because he captured and beheaded the officials of Guide Mansion appointed by Li Zicheng, he returned them to the Ministry of War and was granted the title of Prince Taibao. As a result, when the Qing army arrived, he immediately surrendered with his troops.
When he saw that Zhu Yihai's Northern Expedition was gaining momentum, he conspired with his brother Ding Qiguang to form a regiment, which could be said to be a fool's errand to the extreme. His uncle Ding Kuichu became the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi during the Hongguang period, but in the end he stopped doing business and only focused on making money.
He made more than 800,000 taels in just over a year, but was dismissed by Zhu Yihai. Because of his support, he was still given dignity and only confiscated the stolen silver, but retained his rank and became an official.
Ding Qiguang was awarded the title of admiral and led a town regiment to train the army.
The uncle and nephew of the Ding family jumped out to speak in such a hurry because Ding Qirui's cousin Ding Qixiang also organized a boycott in Shangqiu. Ding Qixiang once worshiped the son of Fushe, Hou Fangyu, and was also a member of Fushe. He also formed a society in Henan and recruited There are more than 200 members, all of whom are descendants of noble families.
Ding Qixiang prided himself on being a romantic, and wanted to do something grand and grand, just like his teacher Hou Chaozong and other four young masters, to show his pride as a scholar, and even wanted the court to withdraw its intention to move nobles to fill the capital.
"Your Highness,"
Liu Chao, the eunuch of the palace, invited Shen Wenzhong, the political envoy, to come over.
When the prince saw Shen Wenzhong, he stood up and greeted him, "I don't know whether your Majesty is still in Guihua City, Ningxia, or has already arrived in Lanzhou."
"Your Majesty is in Ningxia." Shen Wenzhong replied.
"Sit down, Qing Shen," the prince said, "The recent dismissal from office in Henan has caused a lot of talk in the court. Shen Qing was also a member of the imperial family and has followed the emperor for a long time. What does Shen Qing think of this matter?"
Shen Wenzhong had no reservations about the prince, and said bluntly, "I think these disturbing voices today are actually just some people who are still nostalgic for the various privileges of the gentry in the past. They still want to be exempted from taxes and servitude, and even want to be exempted from industrial and commercial taxes. I still want to continue to send names and contributions, and even want to continue to take over lawsuits and arbitrarily judge folk songs.
It's ridiculous that they dare to dismiss officials and cause trouble, hoping to blackmail the court.
Such a bad act, but many people stood up to support them, including Henan's Tixue Councilor, Fengqiu County Magistrate, Wei Hui County Magistrate, and even the Chief Secretary's Political Councilor, a Deputy Envoy to the Inspectorate, and even Ding Qirui's uncle and nephew in the court. , and Admiral Ding Qiguang, a senior military commander, actually interfered in this matter,
Hou Xun, Hou Fangyu and his son also openly accused the imperial court of wrong policies, and Zheng Sanjun and other senior figures from the previous dynasty also came out to oppose it, which was very popular."
Zhu Hongjia was obedient and knew from these names that Shen Wenzhong was reminding him of the Donglin Party and Fushe.
Hou Fangyu was the fourth son of Fushe, while Hou Xun had served as the Minister of Household Affairs, a member of the Donglin Party, and the Minister of War. He was the governor of various provinces and surrounded and suppressed Li Zicheng. He succeeded Ding Qirui in encircling and suppressing Li Zicheng, but the result was also a defeat.
Ding Qirui's uncle and nephew also called themselves Donglin before they looked at Hongguang Shi and fell in love with Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng.
Not to mention Zheng Sanjun, the Donglin boss who served as a bachelor.
Nowadays, there are many officials who sympathize with the Henan students who are on strike, and petitions for mercy are being presented like a snowflake. Many people have begun to think that the court is too harsh on scholars, and they demand that the court listen to the voices of scholars and obey public opinion.
Although Zhu Hongjia was young, among the ministers left behind in the court were Du Yinxi, Xiong Rulin, Zhang Mingzhen, Ruan Dacheng, Ma Shiying, Liu Zongzhou, Wan Yuanji and other ministers, but they were not all there for personal gain.
Even Liu Zongzhou never admitted that he was a member of Donglin.
Shen Wenzhong was a scholar before, but later he voluntarily gave up his raw material and went into business. However, the business failed and his wife ran away, and he became a beggar. He didn't have a good impression of Donglin and Fushe, and he didn't think much of himself. Become a scholar.
