Chapter 19: The whole country coaxes the queen mother
Jia Zhongtang sincerely thanks Comrade "Tearless Lazy" who took the initiative to donate a thousand taels of silver before Zhongtang became successful, becoming the second leader of this work after "Little Overlord Farewell Chicken"!
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In Beijing in late autumn, it is very cold in the morning and evening, especially at dawn.
At this point, no one wants to stay in bed unable to get up.
Except for the poor (workers) who are busy making a living, and those who are officials.
The Qing dynasty stipulated that the time for officials to work in the yamen is Chenzheng (seven to nine o'clock) in winter and spring, and Maozheng (five to seven) in summer and autumn. Therefore, even if it is already very cold in late autumn, most of the officials who must work
If you have to get up at Yin hour (three to four o'clock), you have to get dressed and wash yourself.
Some Han officials who could not live in the city had to get up at two o'clock in the morning, otherwise they would miss the start of work, but they would be impeached by the censor responsible for the discipline inspection. The punishment could range from a fine to be recorded in the performance appraisal, which would affect the year-end appraisal.
, or worse, they will be dismissed from office because of this.
Therefore, it is not unreasonable for Jia Liu's father, Jia Daquan, to say that being an official, especially a capital official, is the most painful thing in the world.
Ying Lian, the Manchurian commander of Zhenghuang Banner, who is also the minister of the Ministry of Punishment and is the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, got up early. Today, he, the Manchu minister, is on duty, so it must not be too late.
It's just that Ying Lian is a sixty-six-year-old man after all. Although he was dressed quite warmly, the moment he walked out of the house, the chill that hit his face still made the old man frown, and he breathed softly to calm down.
He was helped into the sedan chair, and then headed towards the imperial city.
The Hubu Yamen is located in the imperial city, just past the Daqing Gate, next to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials. Following the Ming Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty, most of the Six Ministries and Jiuqing Yamen operated in the original location.
Today is thirteen, there is no need for a court meeting.
Even when going to court, the Qing Dynasty was different from the previous dynasties, because the emperor of the Qing Dynasty only had to go to court three times a month, that is, on the fifth day, the fifteenth day, and the twenty-fifth day of the lunar month.
At the time of Shizu's reign, Lord Shunzhi was diligent in political affairs at first, requiring all civil and military officials to go to court every day to perform duties. However, as time went by, Lord Shunzhi couldn't bear it. He felt that going to court every day was too complicated and tiring, so he decided to
On the fifth, fifteenth and twenty-fifth days, civil and military officials will go to court to report matters. On the other twenty-seven days, there is no need to go to court.
In the previous dynasty, if the emperor did not go to court for a day, he would be scolded, saying that he was not diligent, negligent, lazy, and a coward.
The Qing Dynasty directly established the system that the emperor could only attend court three times a month. Everyone inside and outside the court, including the people, praised Mingjun.
However, not going to court was a relief for the emperor, but it did not bring much benefit to the officials. Except for officials traveling in the inner court, all civil and military officials of the Manchu and Han Dynasties were required to go to the Yamen at dawn to attend their duties on time.
The Manchurian Zhenghuang Banner is located at Deshengmen, which is to the north of the Imperial City. This place is also the closest to the Imperial City. It only takes a stick of incense from Yinglian's house to Daqing Gate.
It was still very dark at this time, and there were many officials carrying sedan chairs on the way to the Yamen. There were also officials who were not high enough to ride in sedan chairs and were walking in the dark.
Approaching the imperial city where various government offices are located, you can see many low-level officials following the sedans of princes and high officials who can carry lamps for lighting. They follow each step like a centipede. There is no way. It has happened before that because there was no lighting in the dark, they accidentally entered the Yu River and drowned.
things of death.
But it was a little strange today. Before he arrived at the Qingmen Gate, Ying Lian, who was sitting in the sedan chair holding a hand warmer, felt that it was suddenly bright outside and there was a lot of people. In addition to being surprised, he lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and took a look. In front of him was
The scene immediately surprised Ying Zhongtang.
I saw that the originally dark Daqing Gate was decorated with lanterns overnight. Rows of palace lanterns from top to bottom made the Daqing Gate look magnificent.
Looking at the long road leading from Daqing Gate to Tiananmen (Ming Chengtianmen) in the palace, there are stages built every dozens of steps, and an archway is built between every two stages. The entrances of the major government offices on both sides
Several verandas have sprung up on the pure path, also decorated with lights and colors, as far as the eye can see.
Looking at the square outside Daqing Gate, there are also countless palace lanterns hanging in the air. Many pine trees appeared out of thin air on the originally empty square. Each tree was decorated with silk ribbons and matched with four-color palace lanterns. It’s amazing to see.
It makes people stunned and at the same time suddenly enlightened.
At this moment, the inside and outside of the imperial city really looked like a fairyland on earth.
Officials, big and small, were so attracted by the sight that they forgot to go to work for a while.
Ying Lian also walked out of the sedan. He looked at the ground and found that there was no dirt on the ground. Apparently someone had specially cleaned it overnight. He couldn't help but think that the Ministry of Internal Affairs was very efficient in running errands, but he didn't know how much those guys had taken advantage of.
.
"Master, look at that, look at that!"
"..."
Yinglian's entourage and bearers looked around like country people entering the city, very excited, and all of them were dazzled by the beautiful scenery in front of them.
But at this moment, their master seemed oblivious to the magnificent scene in front of him. Instead, his face was as dark as water and his brows were lightly furrowed.
Not far away, someone saw Ying Lian, whose face was as dark as water. After thinking for a while, he slowly came over and said softly: "Brother Ji Liu, Hubu is in trouble now."
"Ji Liu" is the character for Ying Lian.
The visitor is Liu Tongxun, the president of Sikuquanshu, the chief master of the upper study, a bachelor of Dongge University, and the minister of military aircraft.
"More than just trouble, I think it's not enough to rob the household department."
Another person came over, but it was Qinggui, the son of the former academician Yin Jishan and the current military aircraft Zhang Jing.
"The Queen Mother spent 9.6 million taels of silver on her 60th birthday, and more than 13 million taels of silver on her 70th birthday. This time the scale of her 80th birthday is much larger than the previous two. I don't think it will cost half a tael.
It’s the treasury.”
Looking at the imperial city decorated with lights and colors like a fairyland inside and outside, Qinggui couldn't help but shake his head.
In the Qing Dynasty, the national treasury now has an annual income of more than 30 million taels. If the emperor spends half of the treasury income on a birthday celebration for the Queen Mother, no one will be shocked!
Liu Tongxun gave a bitter smile and said to Yinglian: "Brother Ji Liu, you are now also serving as the household department. I think you know the situation of the household department better than I, a military aircraft. I think you still have to make some concessions, otherwise you will lose too much."
Where can I make up for it?"
After saying this, he sighed again and said: "The previous army sent troops to the western frontier and pacified Zhun. It took five years to return to the two tribes, and more than 30 million taels of money were used. The last time we used troops in Jinchuan, the land was only a thousand miles away, which was not as good as Zhun. We returned to the two tribes ten times.
One or two, we spent up to 40 million yuan, but we got twice the result with half the effort. Now Xiaojinchuan is rebelling again, and three armies have gathered together. I am afraid that the money and food expenses will not be less than 30 million. In the 31st year, we sent troops to Burma, and to the 34th year, we also spent thousands of silver.
More than 10,000 taels... Now we have to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday again, how can the national treasury supply it? If we can't dissuade her, the country's financial resources will be exhausted, and the people will surely complain. If this continues, how can we get it?"
"Isn't it true? On my previous inspection tour, there was a department that was dedicated to flattery, and the cost was measured in tens of millions. The vitality of the southeast was greatly depleted, and the impact was that the officials and people's customs were ruined one by one. As ministers, how can we seek benefits and avoid them?
If you do harm, don’t give advice.”
Although Qinggui was young, he was a rare pragmatic and honest person among Manchu officials, and he was also known for his courage in speaking out and admonishing.
"Liu Zhongtang, don't worry. Since I am responsible for the household affairs, I should give top priority to state affairs." Yinglian expressed his attitude.
"So, very good."
Liu Tongxun didn't say much and went to board his sedan chair to check into the military aircraft. Qinggui stayed behind and talked to Yinglian for a few more words before leaving.
Seeing Qinggui walking away, Ying Lian was about to get on the sedan when a voice came to his ears: "The emperor is a man of great filial piety, and the court is not allowed to give advice on the Queen Mother's birthday. If the national treasury is really difficult to meet, we might as well ask for a large donation." "
The so-called "big donation" is a temporary example of the "donation" method of the Ministry of official affairs - when encountering specific major events, some high-grade official titles are put up for sale.
Most of the official titles regularly sold by the Ministry of Personnel are below the fourth rank, so they are called small donations;
The lowest level of official titles sold by a large donation are at the fourth level, and most of them are for real jobs, so they will only be put up for sale in special circumstances.