Jingming

Chapter 310

Who is Liu Jian? One of the compilations of "Records of Yingzong", the teacher of Emperor Xiaozong, joined the cabinet as the right servant of the Ministry of Rites since Xiaozong succeeded to the throne, and served in the cabinet throughout the Hongzhi period.

After defeating Liu Jin and other Eight Tigers in the first year of Zhengde and becoming an official, he even returned to his post after Liu Jin was executed.

It has been 22 years now and he is still alive.

In 94 this year, Xuande, Zhengtong, Jingtai, Tianshun, Chenghua, Hongzhi, Zhengde, Jiajing... the elders of the Eight Dynasties, the chief assistant of the cabinet, Tuogu important ministers, Gaoshou Renrui, Liu Jian has the same prestige among the veteran officials who are still alive today, even stronger than Xie Qian.

Especially after serving as the chief assistant of the cabinet during the Hongzhi period, he presided over the reforms during the Hongzhi period.

At that time, there were three main measures.

Simplify the organization and eliminate redundant officials: Now the new law greatly increases the number of officials and improves the treatment of officials.

Restraining monks and Taoists to stop building temples: Zhu Houcong stays with Taoist priests every day, and there are "real people" in the Qin'an Hall of the Forbidden Palace. How many people outside know what the emperor is doing so close to Taoist priests?
Opening the Sutra Banquet and Restoring the Three Dynasties in a Day: Now Zhu Houcong is "good as a teacher", a master of new studies, Jing Yan?Open as usual, but I'm afraid sometimes it's the other way around.As for three dynasties a day... sorry, twice a month.

In the Hongzhi Dynasty, Liu Jian proposed and implemented many major policies such as the selection or dismissal of ministers of civil and military affairs, scientific tax collection, tax supervision and horse administration, etc., otherwise why did the saying "Li Gongmou and Liu Gongjue" come from?

It has long been no secret that what Zhu Houcong said about the "Hongzhi Zhongxing" created by Liu Jian throughout the Hongzhi dynasty.

The irony is that at the beginning of Zhu Houcong's succession to the throne, as usual, he sent pedestrians from the pedestrian department to condolences to the veterans.

Yang Tinghe was in charge of these small matters at the time.The words of condolences are to compare Liu Jian to Sima Guang and Wen Yanbo, the famous officials of the Northern Song Dynasty.

What are the roles of these two people in the Xining reform?
Today, Yang Tinghe has become the leader of the Xinfa Party, and Liu Jian's legacy was presented to the capital at the end of August.

Eloquent words.

Liu Jian passed away at the age of 94.

"... Shuo Ri quit the court."

Zhu Houcong gave orders first, and then asked Zhang Zuo: "Although Mr. Liu is old, he has always been in good health. What's the situation this time? What did the Henan Mansion say?"

Unhealthy, can live to 94?
Liu Jian passed away quite suddenly, and he had never heard of any illness before.

Huang Jin was a little apprehensive: "There is no other report."

After finishing speaking, he looked at Fei Hong and the others expectantly: Although Liu Jian's prestige is high, after all, he only has a son of a fifth-rank doctor still in office.The factory guard is in Luoyang County, Henan Province, and he doesn't always pay attention to what is going on in the home of an elderly man in his 90s.But since he passed away suddenly, the Henan government still wants to inquire about the situation, will there be a report?
In the year when Fei Hongzhong became a Jinshi, Emperor Xianzong died, Xiaozong succeeded to the throne, and Liu Jian entered the cabinet.

At that time, Liu Jian was the elder of the pavilion, and Fei Hong was only a new scholar.

Today, Fei Hong is the Prime Minister and Minister of State, and the emperor's questioning is to explore the purpose of Liu Jian's last ten thousand words.

"Henan reported that Liu Gong contracted a disease under the scorching heat. He is too old, and the disease comes like a mountain."

After Fei Hong finished speaking, he made a salute: "Your Majesty, Mr. Liu's political views cannot be compatible with the current new law. When you are seriously ill, you worry about the king and the country. To put up these ten thousand words is an act of loyalty for a minister. Now, it is better to discuss posthumous titles first, and send officials to offer sacrifices and funerals."

Zhu Houcong pondered for a while, then nodded: "Then the Palace of State Affairs and the Ministry of Rites should come up with a charter as soon as possible."

Because there was an intriguing and even sensitive obituary, Fei Hong and the others had to determine the emperor's attitude first.

Now that the emperor was not overly concerned, Fei Hong and the others breathed a sigh of relief, took their leave and left.

After all, he was once an extremely human minister. Even if he has different political opinions, don't send any bad signals at this time.

Death is the greatest thing.

Zhu Houcong knew this was important.Whatever Liu Jian says will not affect the overall trend of the new law.

But this legacy, according to Liu Jian himself, he can no longer write, he can only dictate intermittently, and have someone write it for him.

Such things, sooner or later, the content will spread.Zhu Houcong and Fei Hong were cautious, naturally because of Liu Jian's influence in the ruling and opposition parties.

After Fei Hong and the others left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Zhu Houcong looked at the left watch again.

And Huang Jin was still on the sidelines, and asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you want your servants to check?"

"I didn't pay attention beforehand, but now I don't need it." Zhu Houcong didn't raise his head, "There's no need to send more people to pay attention to other important officials who have become officials just because they didn't pay attention this time, so as to make people talk about it."

"...The servant knows."

Huang Jin confirmed that the emperor had no intention of blaming him, so he was really relieved.

Seeing the emperor frowning and reading the obituary carefully, Huang Jin left quietly to arrange drinks and snacks.

In August, the weather is still very hot.

Huang Jin looked up at the sky and sighed softly.

Even if the prestige is very high and people are about to die, with Liu Jian's wisdom, don't he understand that the general situation of the world today cannot be changed because of his legacy?Why bother with this mess?
……

Since the news of Liu Jian's death had spread from Luoyang to Beijing, it also spread to Nanjing shortly thereafter.

It is said that Liu Dong vomited blood and passed out after hearing the news. After waking up and crying, he naturally asked for leave immediately to go home to the funeral and Ding You.

After being relieved, Xia Congshou only asked: "Now that there is a decree of kindness, does Mr. Liu want to keep the rules, or do you want me to submit a letter to the Ministry of Officials to ask for love?"

"How can you be unfilial?" Liu Dong's face was pale. "The lower officials have to keep the rules, not to mention that after the Beijing inspection, there is a great possibility of being transferred to another post. The household department has a lot of work, and Sinon should fill in the vacancy as soon as possible."

"...Liu Langzhong's condolences."

Liu Dong left the household department yamen in a trance, with shame in his eyes and grief and anger in the sedan chair returning home.

Liu Jian fell ill first and then died.

Why did he get sick? Liu Dong first received Liu Jian's letter from home.

He was so angry with Liu Dong that he fell down, and even appeared to be paralyzed by wind.

But how could he go west again in just a few days?
He vaguely knew that there might be something else going on, but what Liu Jian reprimanded him in the letter lingered in Liu Dong's mind at the moment.

[Five years after the new law, why did father ever say a word?You are low in position and talent, how dare you make false comments on national policy?The year has passed, and the broken body is blocking the car. Do you want to cut off the Liu family?For the current plan, the only way is to retire from an official position and raise children and grandchildren! 】

To sum it up in one sentence: Why are you cheating?

Liu Dong didn't know that his father had left a ten-thousand-word testament, in which he also expressed his own opinions and said a lot of things that His Majesty and the princes of the court don't like to hear.

Even if he knew, he couldn't understand his father's intention for a while.

The letter from the family was very short and came in a hurry. It seemed that my father didn't have time to analyze him too much, and he just wanted him to resign as soon as possible.

Liu Dong is still hesitating, his father is gone.

At this moment, Zhan Rong and others in the Nanjing Ministry of Finance have come to report.

For the past half month, they were just familiarizing themselves with the affairs of the ministry and handing over to the colleagues who were in charge of the yellow book library in the household department.

After Xia Congshou hosted the "Yellow Book Supervision Commissioners", they set off for various prefectures on August 23.

Now that Liu Dong was going to the funeral, Zhan Rong looked at the head of the Nanjing household department who was in charge of the yellow book.

"Master Luo, Mr. Liu has returned to his hometown. Now you can make the decision and leave it to me for the official documents of the Yellow Book Library over the years, right?"

"...Why do I have such power? Langzhong Liu first heard that Mr. Xixian fell ill and asked for leave for several days, and now he has returned to his hometown Ding You. For this matter, it is better to wait for someone selected by the Ministry of Officials to take up his post. Or, Master Zhan, go ask Sinon?"

Zhan Rong looked at him, then saluted: "You have been taught."

Such a coincidence.

The newly established Department of Land Clean-up and Officials had to hand over the affairs and files related to the yellow book library from the Nanjing household department, and it encountered so many twists and turns.

How long will it take until Liu Dong's successor arrives?
Master Luo pushes things three times and four times. Is there Xia Congshou and Tong Rui's approval?
Zhan Rong came to Xia Congshou's official hall, and sat outside waiting to be interviewed after the transmission.

After sitting down and drinking a cup of tea, Xia Congshou's book office came out to greet him with a smile and invited him in.

Zhan Rong saluted, and Xia Congshou warmly asked him to do it well. Zhan Rongcai said: "My lord, Si Nong, I'm going to be the head of the Land Cleaning Department, in charge of the Yellow Book Treasury, and I dare not slack off at all. But now Langzhong Liu returns to his hometown Ding You, and Director Luo said that many official documents and old documents still need to be signed and handed over by the doctor. It may take several months until the new Lang Zhongquan is elected. I am afraid that I will miss the important task of rebuilding the yellow book, so I came here to ask Sinon for instructions."

"No rush, no rush." ​​Xia Congshou sighed, "Who would have expected Mr. Xixian to go away suddenly? Renfu, this yellow book library has accumulated a mountain of official documents and old files over the years, and it involves a lot. Not to mention that Luo Zhongyu is afraid of taking responsibility, I am also afraid of the fallacy of the handover. Everything has regulations, and procedures are indispensable. When the capital is inspected, it is still important to do it properly. Ren. If you hurry up, you can arrive in ten months!"

After hearing the meaning of his words, Zhan Rong was silent for a while and could only salute first: "I understand."

Xia Congshou said that he would not intervene and skip the due process to directly arrange the handover, but follow the process, first choose new officials, and he will be in charge after they take office.

But when the new official arrives and the situation is unclear, do you dare to sign the name casually and make this matter clear?

Zhan Rong only felt that Xia Congshou was clearly pushing back, but he couldn't help it.Xia Congshou is the Minister of the Household Department, and he is just following the rules.

After watching Zhan Rong leave silently, Xia Congshou put away his smile.

Naturally, the Nanjing Ministry of Finance has to make some gestures to numb the vigilance of many outsiders.

At least the hundreds of yellow book officials who shocked Nanjing and Jiangnan before came to Nanjing, but now they seem to be in a quagmire.The news that things are progressing very slowly will naturally be spread by someone in the yamen of the Nanjing Household Department, which Yang Tinghe said is "not much better than a sieve".

Next, we just need to see who will try to win over and corrupt people like Zhan Rong through which people in the Nanjing household department.

Among the newly sent Jinshi, how many have gone through these tests?
Xia Congshou also needs to take a look, and then he can be sure who he can cooperate with based on the information he got from Yang Tinghe to push things forward in the expected direction.

……

On September [-], "Ming Pao" published the news of Liu Jian's death.

But it was Liu Jian's posthumous title that aroused people's discussion.

Of the three people who were equally famous in the past, Li Dongyang died the earliest, and his posthumous title was Wen Zheng—the posthumous title that all civil servants dream of.

However, the Ministry of Rites discussed that the posthumous title given to Liu Jian by the emperor was Wenduan.

Observing propriety and upholding righteousness is called Duan; cultivating holiness and cultivating style is called Duan; being strict and respectful to one’s servants is called Duan; respecting oneself and being tolerant is called Duan; keeping one’s heart chaste and tranquil is called Duan; observing etiquette and respecting one’s self is called Duan.

This word is not bad.

But posthumous titles that are better than Wen Duan, if you exclude the best single posthumous "Wen" that is no longer given now, and "Wen Zheng" that Li Dongyang got, then there are posthumous titles such as Wen Cheng and Wen Zhong.

If His Majesty didn't give it to Anmin Lizheng, he didn't agree that Liu Jian's career achievements in his life can be called Anmin Lizheng.

Neither did Wen Zhong.

Reminiscent of the meaning of the word Duan, this posthumous title can only be said to be very polite, with a lot of distance.

The conspirator Li Dongyang was posthumously named Wenzheng; the one who made the decision was Liu Jian, posthumously named Wenduan.

It is true that Li Dongyang passed away during the reign of Emperor Zhengde, and he and Zhu Houzhao had more friendship as a monarch and minister, but Liu Jian's posthumous name, which is generally conclusive, still aroused many people's discussions.

"I got [-] yuan for both the principal and the vice-list in the examination, so why bother with a Wenzheng?"

"How can these two things be generalized?"

"...I heard that Mr. Liu also put on Wan Yan's legacy table and offered his loyalty and advice. Wen Zhong can always do it, right?"

"Perhaps it was caused by the left watch."

"Shh-"

The capital is the most well-informed and the clearest direction of the wind.

In the current situation, officials and gentlemen in the capital and even ordinary people have reached a consensus: unless there is another big disturbance, the new law will be unstoppable.

Many people know how much Liu Jian admires the ancestral system.

However, it has been five years since the new law was put into practice, and Liu Jian, who has never expressed any opinions, made a death note before his death. This move can only arouse the embarrassment of many people.

"Knowing what can't be done, Mr. Wen Duan is really abiding by etiquette. His heart is full of words, and he doesn't know what he said. Will His Majesty, the chief minister, and the counselors choose to accept the words. Now that Qingzhang Tiantu is rebuilding the yellow book, I heard that the complaints on the desks of various prefectures and counties are piled up.

Those who have time to comment on these matters are generally gentry and scholars.

Most of their families have more fields than ordinary farmers.

Now Liu Jian can think of "just words" with his toes, what else needs ten thousand words to explain?That is naturally the new law and national policy of today.

"It's a pity, Mr. Wen Duan! Li Mou and Liu Duan are all immortals, and Xie You is talking about the world."

"Brother's good words!"

"Mummy, Mummy."

The news of Liu Jian's death and his posthumous title are the talk of gossip in the capital.Some of them may talk about the new law, but most of them are just sighs, it's great to think about "what if".

In this process, Liu Jian's reputation is deepening.

In the torrent of the new law, the gentry "forbeared" to spit out their benefits, and their emotional packaging for the new law became sympathy and nostalgia for Liu Jian.

In a few days, Zhu Houcong heard several poems about remembering and recalling Liu Jian.

He has already figured it out, so the posthumous title is Wenduan, not Wenzhong as suggested by Fei Hong and the others.

There is no such thing as a veteran of the Eight Dynasties, who still worries about the monarch and the country for a while, and who has never blocked the new law for several years is loyalty. Liu Jian's move is nothing more than that.

The news from Nanjing had already spread. During the Beijing inspection period, his son Liu Dong skipped work and went to Zhejiang to visit Xie Qian.

Now that Zhu Houcong's determination is so strong, Yang Tinghe and Fei Hong are all eagerly looking at the power that Taimiao and Zhu Houcong let go. Those conservative officials and gentry with high stakes in the world can only suppress their emotions first.

But in 30 years in Hedong and 30 years in Hexi, who can predict what will happen in the future?

Liu Dong is not a master, Liu Jian's legacy is to use his life to change the reputation of the Liu family and protect his descendants.

The reason why stylization is a compliment is because according to the traditional Neo-Confucianism it is.

But nowadays, praxis and dialectics emphasize that everything is changing all the time, so can this sacred practice be called good?

Many people will figure out the meaning of it.

So what?No one can say anything about Zhu Houcong. After all, he gave Liu Jian a posthumous title for Liu Jian, who had never been an official under him. The posthumous title of Wen Duan is also a rare and beautiful posthumous title.

"Those yellow book inspectors, already set off from Nanjing on August 23?"

Hearing the emperor's question, Huang Jin replied respectfully: "This is the news from Nanjing."

Zhu Houcong nodded: "When they arrive in various places, they will start to harvest the autumn grain one after another. Don't worry, this year we will still collect grain according to the old rules, but tell us to keep all the accounts for this year."

After Huang Jin received his order, Zhu Houcong asked again, "How is the preparation of the palace at the Fifth Army Battalion?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, according to the order, it is only a slight modification of the platform, which has already been prepared."

Zhu Houcong nodded, and his attention on this matter was much more obvious: "Who are the most popular martial arts champions now?"

Huang Jin couldn't help admiring: "I won't talk about Lu Bing, I really admire you, Your Majesty, that Yu Dayou from Fujian that you casually mentioned last year is also an immortal general with extraordinary martial arts skills?"

Zhu Houcong was looking forward to it.

Ashamed, ashamed, just hang up.

(End of this chapter)