Jingming

Chapter 277
The emperor often painted big cakes, Yang Ting and the others knew it.

From the beginning, it was a big cake for enjoying the Taimiao, and later it became the big cake for the new generation of sages, and now there is a big cake for the duke and even the king.

They have seen the new duke of the state.

But this king title, I'm afraid it will be the same as before, it will be given after death.

How much credit does that have to do?
Yang Tinghe doesn't know, but he feels that he will never have that day: the achievements of new studies and new methods cannot be realized in his hands.

And his physical condition did not allow it.

"The minister is sincerely resigning this time."

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the monarch and his ministers faced each other, Yang Tinghe sat on a chair with a calm expression.

"The power of thunder comes first, and the grace of Deze comes later. After the imperial court sets the regulations, all the ministers of the ministries will rely on your majesty to promote them. This is the right way." Yang Tinghe looked at the man he had chosen with complicated eyes. The emperor said, "When the subject retreats, your majesty's virtue will turn into spring water, and the whole court will come alive."

Zhu Houcong was not surprised by his resignation. Over the past three years, he has "accidentally" become the leader of the new law party, and he chose this time to retire bravely, which is just the right time.

If the new law is effective in the future, Yang Tinghe's contribution will be indispensable.

In the future, if something goes wrong with the new law, it will also be a new problem after it is implemented nationwide.

The most important thing is that despite the cruelty, after the cleansing in the name of treason, there are not only a large number of honorable officials and generals who were rewarded for their meritorious service, a new Beijing battalion, but also many interests such as Emperor Mingji. Coupled with the middle and low-level clan who were given freedom and opportunities by the emperor, his throne has been completely stabilized.

At least until the new law proves to be unfeasible and Ming re-brews a bigger internal crisis.

This kind of moment is the moment when the emperor wants to promote newcomers.

The new system of Daming titles, favor titles, and merit titles is a signal that the emperor wants to promote talents and promote newcomers.

The voluntary retirement of the chief assistant of the cabinet is a measure to dispel the impending restructuring of the government office by the central director of the imperial court, and it is also a measure to let more people see opportunities for promotion.

"The Taibao is loyal to the country, and I really appreciate it." Zhu Houcong expressed his attitude first, and then sighed, "But now I really can't do without Yang Qing."

"I'm just showing off my position to let the virtuous. I have a better place to go. I can rest and recuperate my energy, and I can work hard for Your Majesty for a few more years."

Zhu Houcong was a little curious: "How does Yang Qing think about it?"

Yang Tinghe said solemnly: "Nanjing."

Zhu Houcong was silent, waiting for his analysis.

"Nanzhili has never had a governor, but now it seems that His Majesty has the intention to reform the system of water transport, and the system of the northern and southern capitals will also be reformed sooner or later." Yang Tinghe looked into his eyes calmly, "What your Majesty wants is the provinces. All the prefectures follow the orders of Beijing, and in the future, the four prefectures of Nanzhili will not be able to do anything wrong. It’s just that Nanjing’s officials and officials are closely related, and the officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are closely related.

"An old man from the town."

"The second is to promote new learning."

"Three ways to find talents."

Yang Tinghe looked at Zhu Houcong after finishing speaking: "Your Majesty will not have many constraints in order to cure the flood in the Yellow River and Huaihe River in the future. Let the minister do his last part for His Majesty in the local area, and come up with a plan for the big problem of Nanzhili."

Nanzhili is too big.It's not just about geography, weight, or historical origin and interest relationship.

Zhang Zilin, Jiang Mian... the level of the people sent to suppress the field is getting higher and higher, but that is only a temporary solution.

After staying in the center for so long, Yang Tinghe knew the emperor's thoughts too well.

Jiangnan can still be the big head of taxation, but it cannot maintain its current size in terms of politics, ideas, and influence.

The best way is to dismantle it.

But how?too difficult.

Yang Tinghe said that he retired to the second line and lived for many years, but Zhu Houcong looked at him deeply at this time, knowing that Yang Tinghe also had the idea of ​​making immortal contributions.

From the formation of the huge interest circle in Nanzhili, even if the Manchu Qing came to rule, with swords and soldiers first, and the use of words to build prisons, it still took hundreds of years to finally bring the ancestors of Nanzhili who had existed for hundreds of years It was changed to Jiangnan Province, and then disassembled into the actual three provinces of Anhui, Jiangning, and Jiangsu.

In fact, the current configuration of Nanzhili also has such considerations.

A Southern Zhili, in the annals of history, the Governor of Yingtian and the Governor of Fengyang were set up to inspect several prefectures, but they never formed a custom.

Now that the new law is going to be implemented nationwide, is it true that the southern Zhili and northern Zhili prefectures still retain the state of direct management by the six ministries?
Yang Tinghe knew that what Zhu Houcong wanted was efficiency, but this form was not conducive to improving the efficiency of the implementation of new laws and decrees.

Zhu Houcong stood up, walked over to support him, and took his hand: "The humerus of Ge Laozheng!"

Yang Tinghe stepped back with a smile and bowed: "Jiang Jingzhi's stationing in Yangzhou probably has such an intention. I'm stationed in Nanjing, so let's echo him. It's just what kind of pattern the South Zhili will take as the direction. The minister will participate in the national policy this year. Before the meeting and next year's decision on the new French policy, Your Majesty must let the ministers and Jiang Jingzhi have a charter in their hearts."

Finally paused, and then said: "Since the minister is retiring, Your Majesty should use Fei Zichong as the first assistant. One is to appease the old party officials and gentry, and the second is that the new law needs to be implemented slowly when it is pushed to the whole country. There is no longer a difference between the new party and the old party in the world, four are Zhang Maogong and Yan Weizhong, who are still under-qualified, and five are rewarding Jiang Jingzhi for his contribution to 'effectiveness'."

Zhu Houcong looked at him with emotion.

Fei Hong is indeed a good candidate. One advantage that Yang Tinghe didn't mention is that Fei Hong and Wang Qiong are not in the same group, and the people left behind by Yang Tinghe are not in the same group. This is still enough for Zhu Houcong. checks and balances and the distribution of interests.

It is true that Zhang Fujing and Yan Song did not have enough history, and their time to go to the place is not too long - they will have to serve one or two terms or go to the position of Jiuqing for a while, right?

After the three and four years of Jiajing ended in the fear of rebellion and rebellion, the emperor also needed to bridge the contradictions between the old and the new, so that Daming stopped internal friction.

Yang Tinghe asked for his resignation this time with sincerity, and he didn't immediately put down the pick, but had a good discussion with the emperor first.

At this time, the provincial governors and Zuo Buzheng envoys were all on their way to Beijing.

During the recent court meeting, all the officials of the court heard the non-stop clanging and clanging of the Huagai Hall in the north, presumably something is being rebuilt there.

They are already familiar with the current imperial system, and know that because of last year's rebellion and counselors leaving Beijing, the originally scheduled three-year special national policy meeting was postponed for one year.

But now, the provincial governors and Zuo Buzheng envoys came to Beijing, apparently to participate in this special national policy meeting.

A group of Hanlin scholars disappeared recently, and they basically stayed in the waiting room in the palace.

The Grand Scholars of the Cabinet knew that they were preparing for this expanded national policy meeting with the Supervisor of Rites.

Yang Tinghe knew more clearly what kind of special power and honor he was giving up when he was about to resign.

So he knew that when this head was opened again, it would be impossible for the restructuring of the court center to return to the present.

After all, there will be one and only one supreme honor among civil servants.

No one dared to bring up the matter of Zaifu again in Ming Dynasty, except the emperor himself.

……

After Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the position of prime minister, in order to prevent the struggle between the power of the prime minister and the power of the monarch, he set the ancestral precepts.

Then his descendants couldn't be as workaholic as he was, and after generations of evolution, the cabinet scholars finally became the de facto prime ministers in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

This thing is unavoidable.

To govern such a large empire, the emperor and his officials must have a good division of labor.

Zhu Houcong brought up this matter again, not only to respect his courtiers, but also to focus on three more important areas: ideological work, military work, and scientific and technological work.

As for government affairs in this era, courtiers in this era are more professional than him.

This time, Zhu Houcong let go of some power, and only held on to three things more firmly: force, personnel, and financial resources.

Although some of the sixteen "state-owned enterprises" still have the "shares" of the original ministries, they already have a dedicated department in charge.This department, which will be established independently, will naturally be managed by the emperor's cronies.

The Hall of Martial Heroes, which is being transformed, will also prepare for a new highest military decision-making and staff organization to help Zhu Houcong better grasp the military power of Ming Dynasty.

And all high-ranking officials above the third rank need the emperor's personal approval and appointment.

Of course, senior officials also come up step by step from the bottom, requiring various people to recommend them along the way.

The prime minister of Ming Dynasty, the minister of state, will still not have comparable power in the future as the chief minister of the cabinet today.

But Zhu Houcong did not hesitate to use a more reasonable system to try to stimulate the vitality and potential of Daming. Daming had a professional civil service system that had existed for many years.

If Zhu Houcong did a good job in ideological work and scientific and technological work, Ming Dynasty would usher in a new era of productivity and system.

The process will be very long, and Zhu Houcong is exercising.

Huangming University invited the so-called "Five Sacred Mountains" masters, and Zhu Houcong had some methods and boxing techniques that were more suitable for him to strengthen his body.

When Lin Xiyuan, the editor-in-chief of Ming Pao, was quietly waiting for the emperor to finish his morning exercise in the waiting room of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he was always thinking about the memorial that he had copied to himself.

It was a memorandum about the Ministry of War's request for Hu Guangping's opinions on rebellion, and Lin Xiyuan was very surprised by the single line of words that the emperor approved in it.

Why is Yu Dayou mentioned alone?
Lin Xiyuan, styled Maozhen, was a native of Quanzhou, Fujian.

To be more precise, before he became a Jinshi, he also studied in Zize Academy.

He knew Wang Shenzhong and Yu Dayou, and they were good friends, and he was one of the ten sons of Qingyuan Cave, which Quanzhou locals jokingly called.

Lin Xiyuan was also very sad about the death of his old friend's father, but he was also happy that Yu Dayou was noticed by the emperor.

The question now is: What kind of signal did the emperor want to send to the government and the opposition when he mentioned Yu Dayou alone?
Because of that reply, the Ministry of War has actually returned a new opinion: Yu Yuanzan has made meritorious service, and he was posthumously awarded Zhengqianhu and added hereditary military posts as deputy Qianhu.

Although the new system has not yet dealt with the handling of hereditary military positions, and there is a high probability that they will be downgraded in the future to prevent the bottom soldiers from being unable to stand out, but Yu Dayou will start as a deputy thousand, which is a big step forward from the rank of a hundred. step.

"Lin Xingxing, Your Majesty has finished taking a bath."

Hearing the call from the eunuch of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Lin Xiyuan quickly stood up and straightened his clothes.

The eunuchs here still used to call him Walking, as did the people outside.

But the emperor saw him and said: "Editor Lin, I asked you to think about how to make "Ming Pao" more people like to read. Is there any way?"

After finishing speaking, Zhu Houcong had already lowered his head to read the content of the first issue.

In the earliest period, Zhu Houcong was of course a more authoritative reviewer.One is to tell Lin Xiyuan a more suitable style of writing, and the other is to review the correctness of some ideas and information conveyed in it.

After all, this "Ming Pao" shoulders the important task of promoting simplified characters, publicizing new learning and new laws, and mastering the mouthpiece of public opinion.

Therefore, it needs to be loved by more people, especially by people other than officials and gentry.

Lin Xiyuan was a little confused: "Your Majesty, after thinking about it, the court's decrees, officials' movements, and academic debates are far away from the lives of the people. If you want to publish local content that the people are happy to pass on, you can read it." There are only a few cases that come to mind. Another point is that when local news spreads to the capital, it will take a long time for the officials to publish it and send it to the local area, so it is not considered news by Your Majesty."

Zhu Houcong didn't raise his head: "Take your time. Ming Pao will develop and grow in the future, and it will gradually achieve one publication per province or even one publication per prefecture. You don't need to think about it, if someone wants to read this "Ming Pao", the local government will naturally Some people will follow suit. I gave the franchise to Ming Pao Bank first, how you manage the local branches in the future is the next step.”

The speed of information transmission is indeed slow, but this is not a fast-paced era.

This form is good, and the officials and gentry all like and are used to reading the mansion newspaper, because they have a clear need to grasp the trend of the court.

The title that Zhu Houcong gave Lin Xiyuan was actually the layout of the newspaper.

"In addition to government decrees, important events of the imperial court, and local events, there are many aspects of people's livelihood that are of concern to the people. For example, the teaching of planting and breeding experience at the Agricultural College, the proven prescriptions for disease prevention and recuperation, and the examination questions and honors of various local and rural examinations. Selected periodicals from the answer sheet, and introductions to local customs and customs are all acceptable.”

Lin Xiyuan was a little dizzy: Is this appropriate?Can this "Ming Pao" be so miscellaneous?
"Remember, this "Ming Pao" itself has to be sold extremely cheap. The cost comes from the fact that I ordered the rest of the companies to pay to publish their business and contact information. For you, it is to let this newspaper be read The more people there are, the better. For this reason, you might as well let go of your thinking, for example, if you submit a poem and essay, if the best works of talents from all over the world are selected, won't they order them locally and publicize them?"

Lin Xiyuan thought of the scene of a talented scholar from a certain place being ecstatic after their masterpiece was published in the newspaper and became famous all over the country. He also thought of the scene of scholars from all over the place posting poems and essays one after another because they had channels to let their names go directly to Tianting. I'm afraid there will be a lot of letters in the future.

Zhu Houcong continued to say while reviewing: "In order to get more people to read it, many classics and books that many people can't afford and have never heard of can also be serialized in installments. Once there are many publications, some people will throw them away after reading them. But for poor children, it may be like a treasure.”

Lin Xiyuan also thought of copying books when he was young.

"Even a series of story books is fine, let the people enjoy reading some interesting stories first." Zhu Houcong looked up at him and grinned, "Didn't a story book "Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms" be published in the first year of Jiajing? I think it can be checked and published, and it will be very popular among the people. Even if it is just to listen to the story and someone can know a few more words, that is also good."

Although Yang Shen has not yet written "Linjiang Immortal", although the plot of this version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" that appears today is quite different from the version that Zhu Houcong has read, and there are even 240 chapters in total, it has finally appeared. .

Zhu Houcong's positioning of "Ming Pao" is not so serious, or even some supplements are fine.

But since this newspaper has the support of top-level resources, the best editorial talents, and the most "professional" consultant guidance, it must succeed and achieve Zhu Houcong's goal.

Lin Xiyuan was brainstormed in this Hall of Mental Cultivation, and only then did he realize that he might have mastered a remarkable "weapon".

For the future literati to become famous, it depends on whose masterpiece he chooses to publish, right?
If future local officials want to show their merits to the emperor, it depends on the deeds of the place he chooses, right?
In the future, this newspaper will be read by so many people, so is Ming Pao Hong another "Metropolitan Procuratorate"?
Thinking of this, Lin Xiyuan shuddered and looked at the emperor.

Then the emperor put down the handwritten sample and looked up at him: "I remember you are from Quanzhou Prefecture, do you know Yu Dayou?"

Now that he already knew that Yu Dayou was the son of Yu Yuanzan, deputy of Quanzhou Wei Qianhu, Zhu Houcong had found him.

Judging by Lin Xiyuan's age, he might have known him. Zhu Houcong wanted to know what state Yu Dayou is now.

What is the attribute of this SSR card now?
Lin Xiyuan suddenly felt that the emperor might not have any more intentions, but was simply interested in Yu Dayou.

So what is there in Yu Dayou that the emperor is interested in?

"...Chen and Yu Zhifu have been classmates for many years, and they studied together at Zize Academy in Quanzhou Prefecture. Zhifu was born as a student, and originally intended to pursue a career, but after meeting a famous swordsman and a military hermit, he had other intentions. Last year I have never passed the provincial examination. With His Majesty's grace now, if I take over the military post, I will definitely be an all-rounder in civil and military affairs in the future."

It is of course a great thing to make the emperor interested.You don't need to find out the reasons and opportunities by yourself, since the emperor asked about it himself, Lin Xiyuan immediately praised it.

"A military hermit?" Zhu Houcong asked unexpectedly.

Yu Dayou learning martial arts is not the focus of Zhu Houcong's interest, but what makes him a commanding general is naturally not the force of one against ten, but the ability to command troops in battle.

Zhu Houcong is more interested in those who can teach him.

"This man's surname is Zhao, and his name is Benxue. He is a descendant of the Zhao Song clan and has been living in seclusion in Quanzhou. Mr. Zhao is called a master in the "Book of Changes", and he uses it to deduce the art of war, which is confirmed by "Sun Tzu's Art of War". Chen Jin It is the "Book of Changes" that can be learned and ruled. Mr. Zhao can actually be called one of the ministers and mentors, but he has never won the leader of the "Book of Changes". ", never rumored. I heard from my old friend Wang Shenzhong, the son of the new imperial examination in Fujian, that Yu Dayou has already joined Mr. Zhao's school and is a disciple."

Seizing the opportunity, he mentioned Wang Shenzhong's name again, this is the person who is rushing to the capital to participate in the examination of the Ministry of Rites next year.

It's better to mention the name in front of the emperor first!
Lin Xiyuan discovered another advantage of being the editor-in-chief of Ming Pao Holdings—you can still often have private conversations with the emperor. Who can underestimate his role?
After hearing this, Zhu Houcong nodded with satisfaction: Although it must not have evolved yet, the basic attributes already exist, and it is just waiting for the upgrade.

"Since that's the case, I will send someone to visit him once or twice. If he is really talented, I will invite this Zhao Benxue to go to Beijing to work at Huangming University."

Lin Xiyuan's expression was a little strange: "Mr. Zhao...I'm afraid he doesn't want to."

Zhu Houcong is not surprised either, he said, a hermit.

What's more, the descendants of the Zhao and Song royal families worked hard for the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty?
After taking a deep look at Lin Xiyuan, Zhu Houcong said: "Taizu expelled Meng Yuan to restore Shenzhou, I wiped out the Pu family, and I have the ambition to restore Yan Yun. Since your benefactor is obsessed with the art of war, why don't you join us in this grand event? Now, even for your classmates and old friends, for his disciples, you can do your part whether he is willing or not. I will send someone to investigate first, but I believe that what you said in front of me is true. "

When Lin Xiyuan heard the words "classmates and old friends", he lowered his head after being shocked: "I understand, I will try my best to persuade you."

Zhu Houcong closed the sample draft of the inaugural issue: "After this newspaper is published in various provinces, the government and the public will understand that I am only a man of merit. People with great ambitions should go to the prosperous world generously. You are also by my side for a while. After a while, you made up your mind. Are you determined to give up the possibility of becoming a companion in the imperial study?"

He put the sample manuscript aside with a smile: "That's it for this issue. You did a good job and you chose a good job. Maozhen, I can tell you clearly that now you have left a mark in history. It's a big deal."

This is what Zhu Houcong can confirm. How many people knew that there was a Jinshi named Lin Xiyuan in the Jiajing Dynasty?
However, hundreds of years later he will definitely have this label: the first editor-in-chief of the first official newspaper.

(End of this chapter)