Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 299 The System of Female Officials in the Ming Dynasty
"I can guess what you are thinking."

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Zhanyu, smiled slightly, and said something innocuous first.

Then, he turned around and continued walking towards the depths of the Royal Garden, speaking slowly as he walked.

"Since I, the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, have 36 concubines, then the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, as the supreme emperor, should have [-] concubines in the harem."

All Zhu Zhanyu thinks about is how many concubines he can have after becoming emperor. Anyone who is a man can guess it.

In fact, Zhu Gaoxu prepared three plans for the number of concubines for the Ming prince, and "36 concubines" was the third plan.

The reason why he deliberately talked about the Tang Dynasty first was to test Zhu Zhanyu's attitude.

In fact, Zhu Gaoxu designed three plans for the number of emperor's concubines based on the number of concubines in the East Palace.

If Zhu Zhanyu chooses "58 concubines", then as Emperor Qianxi of the Ming Dynasty, he will reset the levels of the Ming emperor's harem according to the Tang system, that is, the first concubine, the fourth concubine, the ninth concubine, the 27th concubine, and the 81st concubine, that is to say There are 120 concubines.

If Zhu Zhanyu chooses "twenty concubines", then Zhu Gaoxu will have "49 concubines" in the harem.

In the same way, if Zhu Zhanyu gave up the Tang system and had objections to the "twenty concubines" and finally chose "36 concubines", then Zhu Gaoxu would have "eighty concubines" in the harem.

"Father is wise."

Zhu Zhanyu said obediently.

Afterwards, the father and son took a walk around the Royal Garden.

During this period, Zhu Gaoxu specifically explained some things that Zhu Zhanyu should focus on next.

For example, Han Guan, the commander of the Guangxi capital, commanded troops to sweep away the remnants of the White Lotus Sect, Yu Qian supervised the wired telegrams from Ningxia and Liaoyang to the capital, and the implementation of the plan to cut the sounds of the Chinese alphabet.

After half an hour.

By the time Zhu Gaoxu returned to the dining room of Qianqing Palace, the sun had set and bright lanterns were hung everywhere in the palace.

"Does the Queen know what the Ming Dynasty's system of female officials is?"

After Zhu Gaoxu finished his dinner, he went to the tea hall next to the dining room and sat down, asking casually as if chatting about his family.

"Of course I know."

Li Yao came to the tea hall and took a seat, and said without thinking: "Our official system in the Ming Dynasty mainly consists of five official systems: civil servants, military attachés, eunuchs, female officials, and noble officials (clan clan). Among them, the system of female officials is these five It is the simplest of the official systems and the one with the least power.”

Zhu Gaoxu picked up the small white porcelain teacup that looked like mutton-fat jade, took a sip of hot tea, and said with a smile: "I just like to listen to you talk, and talk carefully."

"Your Majesty, there are three main categories of female officials in the Ming Dynasty. One is the wife with internal destiny, the other is the wife with external destiny, and the third is the palace female official."

Li Yao personally refilled a cup of hot tea for Zhu Gaoxu, and like a teacher, he said in a clear and eloquent tone: "The king has an internal wife, so he assists the queen and guides the six palaces to become an internal teacher. The internal wife, They are also the concubines in the emperor’s harem!”

"I remember that during the Hongwu and Yongle years, concubines were placed under the concubines and concubines, and they were given names such as Jieyu, Zhaoyi, Guiren, and Zhaorong."

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "Once any concubine obtains a title such as Zhaorong, she can receive a canonization document. However, there is no canonization ceremony for the concubines placed under the empress and concubine, and there are no specific grade regulations. .”

Hearing this, Li Yao thought of the Xianfei Quan family, Shunfei Ren family, Zhaoyi Li family, and Jieyu Lu family who were promoted from Korean tribute girls during the Yongle period.

These Korean tribute girls all received canonization certificates from Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, but except for the concubines Xian and Concubine Shun, who had a canonization ceremony when they were promoted to concubines, the others did not enjoy the canonization ceremony.

"Your Majesty is right. Corresponding to the internal women, there is a clear-level system of foreign women. However, the foreign women are not official positions, but just a title."

Li Yao continued: "According to Taizu's system, those who are promoted from the fifth rank or above are given imperial edicts, and those who are below the sixth rank receive imperial orders. There are women who receive officials, titles, and titles, and they are conferred by their husbands and sub-offices. . That is, a wife follows the rank of her husband, or a mother follows the rank of her son. In ancient times, there was a saying of 'Mrs. Gaoming'." In the Song Dynasty, officials were promoted and changed, and imperial courts, regardless of rank, used imperial orders.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang put restrictions on the imperial edicts. The promotion of officials of the sixth to ninth grades was "chi", while the promotion of officials of the first to fifth grades was "gao".

The issuance of imperial edicts is called "granting" to the officials themselves. To the officials' great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents, the living is called "feng" and the dead are called "gifts."

In the Ming Dynasty, imperial wives were divided into first-class wives (first rank), madams (second rank), Shuren (third rank), Gongren (fourth rank), and Yiren (fifth rank). According to official ranks, imperial wives were divided into An Human (sixth grade), Ruren (below seventh grade).

When the imperial court granted imperial orders to the wives of officials, they were usually not canonized separately, but both husband and wife were included in the same imperial decree.

If the grandmother of an official of a certain rank accepts the imperial edict and canonization, she shall be called "Mrs. of the first rank" according to the regulations. However, if the official's grandfather has passed away, then she will be called "Mrs. of the first rank".

Similar to Mrs. Gaoming and Mrs. Imperial Majesty, there are also the wives of honorable ministers, namely the state lady (duke), the marquise (marquis), the countess (count), and the countess (viscount, baron) added in the Yongle Dynasty.

In fact, most of the titles of waifu were given by the Ming Emperor to the family members of civil and military ministers. Such titles were usually obtained by the female family members based on the rank of their husbands. Only a few of the titles of waifu were obtained through their own efforts.

"As for the system of female court officials in our Ming Dynasty, it was established by Emperor Taizu in the fifth year of Hongwu."

Li Yao continued: "Emperor Taizu considered that there were too many female officials in the Tang and Song Dynasties, so he changed it to six bureaus and one department, namely, Shanggong Bureau, Shangyi Bureau, Shangfu Bureau, Shangshi Bureau, Shangbei Bureau, Shanggong Bureau Bureau, Gong Zhengsi."

"Among the six bureaus and one department, Shang Gong is in charge of the affairs of the six bureaus, and Gong Zheng is in charge of commandments and punishments, and their grades are all the sixth grade. Except for Gong Zhengsi, who supervises female discipline and is independent of the six bureaus, the other six bureaus are under each bureau There are four divisions, leading a total of 24 divisions, each with different functions."

"The Shanggong Bureau is under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, Siyan, Sibo, and Siwei. There are two Sangong of the fifth rank, two Secretary of the sixth rank, two Siyan of the sixth rank, two secretaries of the sixth rank, and Congliu. There are six people in Pinsiwei, responsible for the Dian Guan, Zhang Guan and several female historians."

"The Master of the Shang Palace guides the Central Palace, and all the documents and documents collected by the six bureaus are printed and signed. If the levy is done outside, an order will be requested for it and the ultimatum will be given to the internal officials and supervisors. The supervisor will accept the ultimatum and move it outside."

The fifth-rank palace official is the highest official position that a female official in the Ming Dynasty can achieve. She is not only responsible for guiding the affairs of the middle palace, but also responsible for managing documents, and also has the important responsibility of conveying the wishes of the queen or the queen mother.

It can be said that in addition to the emperor's concubines, the prince's wives and concubines, and the female relatives of the kings and clans, in the entire Ming Dynasty's female official system, Shang Gong stood at the top of the power of female officials.

"The Queen's virtue is no less than that of Queen Changsun!"

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he couldn't help but praise.

He deliberately interrupted to change the subject.

Li Yao is a smart person. Of course, he can see that Zhu Gaoxu had other plans when he talked to him about the female official system of the Ming Dynasty.

"The female officials in the harem have clear grades and clear responsibilities. In comparison, the grades of my concubines and concubines seem a bit confusing."

Zhu Gaoxu put his right hand on the table, gently turned the small white porcelain tea cup, and said slowly: "After I issued the concubine order, the status of the female family members of the clan has been prioritized since then. For example, the princess and the concubine are of the first rank. The princess and concubine of the county are all from the first rank, the prince and the concubine of the county prince are all from the third rank, and the beauties are all from the sixth rank."

"Even the ranking of the crown prince's wives and concubines has been re-drawn. Tentatively, the crown prince is in the first rank, the concubine is in the third rank, the talented man is in the fifth rank, the servant is in the sixth rank, and the lady is in the eighth rank."

"Your Majesty has revised the system of wives and concubines in the East Palace?"

Li Yao said in surprise.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: "I have already discussed this matter with Yu'er, but I haven't had time to tell you in detail yet."

Immediately, he introduced the "36 concubines" system of the East Palace Prince to Li Yao.

After hearing this, Li Yao suddenly said: "Your Majesty wants to take this opportunity to make a major adjustment to the current system of the status of concubines in the harem?"

(End of this chapter)