Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The idea that three generations of ancestors should live in white is unreasonable in the eyes of many officials.

Because their nephew obviously does not meet this requirement. So they raised objections to the terms proposed by the emperor.

Li Biao, the Right Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Minister of Taichang Temple, said:

"In the former Song Dynasty, special promotions were given to those who had not been admitted for many years."

"Your Majesty gives grace to people over forty years old, and I have no objections."

"But how much merit do three generations of white-bodied ancestors have to receive the same favor?"

As soon as this statement came out, the ministers in the court agreed one after another. They believed that the emperor's rule was unreasonable.

Some people even suggested that it would be more appropriate to give ancestors the qualifications for being an official and meritorious service.

Zhu Youjian slowly frowned as he listened to their remarks. After they all expressed their opinions, their voices were cold and authentic:

"You guys said so, have you forgotten the Nanbei Bang case?"

"Don't you all know the reason why Taizu asked for guilt back then, and why the examination was divided into three volumes: North, South, and Middle?"

These words made many confident courtiers suddenly startled. I thought of the major case that affected the whole country in the last years of Hongwu.

In the eyes of many people, whether the so-called "Liu Sanwu Fraud Case" is fraud or not is a matter of debate -

The level of northern scholars at that time was indeed inferior to that of southerners. It is very possible for them to be all southerners.

So in their hearts, these people were complaining for Liu Sanwu. It even felt that Emperor Taizu knew it well, so the border guarding punishment imposed on Liu Sanwu was not carried out at all.

After Emperor Jianwen ascended to the throne, he reinstated Liu Sanwu and asked him to take charge of book compilation.

Therefore, the matter of the North and South Lists was basically to appease the northern scholars.

Today, the emperor compares the North and South Bang case with the clause that three generations of ancestors have white bodies. Many people immediately realized that this incident was unusual:

"The Nanbei Bang case was to appease the northern scholars. 』

"Your Majesty gave the three generations of white-skinned ancestors the qualifications to be elected as civil servants in order to appease them?" 』

After the emperor pointed out this intention, many ministers immediately thought of it. Wen Tiren had long been determined to rely on the emperor, and he immediately said:

"Your Majesty's plan is perfect!"

"Ji Zi who comes from a poor background really needs preferential treatment."

"The conditions for them to study are even worse. They can even borrow books and transcripts from the library. Only those who can pass the national examination will be far better than ordinary people."

"These people are capable enough to serve as officials. Your Majesty has created an Enke, so they can be appointed."

Linking the three generations of white-blooded people to the poor people has made many officials from poor backgrounds feel sad and think of their own hard work in taking the exam.

The emperor could feel their pain and set up Enke to treat them well. You should support it instead of opposing it in court.

Therefore, after Wen Tiren, the Minister of Rites, spoke, many officials began to support the emperor——

They should support such a good emperor who cares about the scholars!
Yang Jingchen, the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, heard that Wen Tiren started to reverse the situation in the court just by relying on these words. A sense of urgency arose in my heart, knowing that I also had to speak.

In his heart, Zhang Fujing, who has long regarded himself as the current emperor, even proposed the idea of ​​everyone taking sides a year ago, which was praised by the emperor.

Only after the New Year, as Wen Tiren, Qian Qianyi, Liu Zongzhou, Xu Guangqi and others came to Beijing one after another, he found that his status was declining.

The emperor had not discussed matters with him privately for a long time, and his strategy was not to use the rectification of the sacrificial code to correct everyone's side as he said. Instead, he used more advanced rituals and music to attract the attention of all courtiers.

Now, Liu Zongzhou and Qian Qianyi are obviously becoming the emperor's new plotters. The emperor wanted to use the two of them to recreate ritual music for the Ming Dynasty.

As the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, after finishing the official selection in February, he suddenly found that although he had done a lot of things, his status was declining. The importance to the emperor is no longer as important as before——

Wen Tiren, the Minister of Rites who was good at catering to the emperor, seemed to be more trusted than him now.

So after Yang Jingchen thought about it, he also said:

"The purpose of the imperial examination is to suppress the hereditary officialdom of powerful families."

"Your Majesty is gracious to our ancestor Bai Shen. This is the right thing to do."

The official department where the representative is located also agrees with this matter.

The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, which have the greatest say in this matter, have all expressed their opinions. The opinions of other departments are naturally insignificant.

Not to mention Su Maoxiang, the Minister of Punishment, and Xue Fengxiang, the Minister of Industry, were all loyal to the emperor. They also flattered and agreed with this matter.

Zhu Youjian looked at their performance and felt very pleased. Knowing that his control over the court has reached a level, many things can proceed smoothly.

Therefore, he quickly decided on this matter in the name of the minister's approval, and asked Liu Zongzhou, the censor of Qiandu:
"Mr. Liu is responsible for remaking rituals and music, which naturally includes family affairs."

"Who do you think the three generations of our ancestors are, sir?"

Liu Zongzhou agreed with the preferential treatment of poor scholars. After all, he was an example of poverty-stricken people, so how could he oppose such a thing.

After hearing the emperor's inquiry, he said after careful consideration:

"I think they are the three members of the same clan, including great-grandfather, grandfather, grandfather's brother, father, and father's brother."

"Even if the other relatives are not white, it will not affect Enke's qualifications."

This statement obviously includes some uncles besides father and grandfather.

But it seems normal to the people of Ming Dynasty, because in their concept, these people are a family.

The three generations of white bodies mentioned by the emperor obviously include them.

Zhu Youjian thought for a moment and felt that a family with these relatives serving as officials was obviously a big family. Restricting them is in line with my own purpose, so I agree:
"What you said is absolutely correct. We use the three ancestors' relatives as the definition of the three generations of ancestors."

“As long as these people do not gain fame or hold official positions, they are allowed to participate in Enko.”

"The rest of the candidates will only be eligible for enke after they are forty years old."

After some discussions with the officials, Enke's participants were finally decided.

But at this time, Li Biao raised another question and said:

"In the former Song Dynasty, there were even more special memorials for Jinshi scholars than official ones, which led to the disaster of redundant officials."

"I think Enke should also control the number of people and not hire them all."

This statement made sense, and many officials agreed. After all, their nephews cannot participate in Enke, so of course the number of people must be limited. To prevent too many Jinshi from Enke's background, they could seize other people's official positions.

Therefore, they all requested that Enke Jinshi can only be awarded the fourth or fifth grade, and the number should not be more, not more than Mingfa and Mingshu.

Zhu Youjian did not completely deny these demands. Because Ming Dynasty treated Jinshi too well, he did not want too many people to get the title of Jinshi.

But it is another big thing to allow the poor to raise their sons to serve as officials and ease social conflicts. So after thinking about it, he suggested:

"How about resetting the Ming Jing Ke and Ming Shu Ke?"

"The number of Jinshi in these two subjects will be equal to that of Mingfa and Mingshu." "Similarly, the top ten admitted will be classified as the top four, and the rest will be classified as the fifth."

"This year, the Mingfa and Mingshu departments will recruit 100 people, and the Mingjing and Mingshu departments will also be appointed to 100 people."

"The rest will be recruited on a merit-based basis, with Mingjing and Mingshu backgrounds, and the total number will not be higher than Jinshi."

"What do you think?"

He had considered the establishment of these two subjects when he established the Mingfa Department and the Mingshuang Department, but at that time he felt that the necessity was not great, and there was no need for talents who were good at Confucian classics and calligraphy.

Therefore, he did not set up these two subjects at that time, but only set up the Mingfa and Mingshu subjects.

Nowadays, it seems that in order to benefit the old or poor scholars, it is necessary to establish these two subjects. Their exam content is very simple and many people can pass it. And it can achieve the purpose of screening and select suitable talents.

The ministers listened to the emperor's thoughts and whispered among themselves.

In fact, after the establishment of Mingfa and Mingshu departments, many people mentioned Mingjing, Mingshu and other subjects.

Especially the Ming Jing Ke at the front was once known as the Jin Shi Ke and was the basic subject of the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty.

The emperor only set up the Mingfa Department and the Mingshu Department, which seemed to be suspected of not paying attention to the meaning of the classics, which made some scholars feel dissatisfied.

Now, when they heard that the emperor wanted to set up the Ming Jing Ke and Ming Shu Ke as enke, specifically to allow old or poor scholars to take the exam, they suddenly felt that the emperor still paid attention to the meaning of the classics. Treat Ming Jing Ke and Ming Shu Ke, Ming Fa Ke and Ming Shu Ke equally.

However, some people frowned and were not satisfied with the emperor's statement that in addition to the two subjects of Jinshi, people with Mingjing background or Mingshu background should be given, and even the number of people should reach the level of Jinshi.

Wang Yongguang, the censor of Zuodu, asked:

"Mingjing or Mingshu's origin, is he a Jinshi or not a Jinshi?"

This question is on point, because after the implementation of the grinding and survey method, the difference between Jinshi and non-Jinshi has become very large.

Whether you have Jinshi status or not is a very critical matter.

Zhu Youjian established these two backgrounds with the intention of limiting the number of Jinshi. Hearing this, he immediately replied:

"The meaning of giving a birthplace is that they can use this birthplace to serve as officials."

"But in official circles, they are still treated as non-Jinshi, and the grinding period is six years."

"However, they are also qualified to hold the positions that Jinshi of Mingjingke and Mingshuke can hold after reaching the rank."

"These people are treated more favorably in the officialdom than those who come from a tribute background."

The specific preferential treatment was not mentioned, and Zhu Youjian didn't think about it yet. These will be implemented and gradually improved in the future.

Even in his mind, he planned to reduce the number of officials with Gongsheng background. After all, most of these people could serve as officials as Juren or Gongsheng, and most of them had connections. It is better to choose to participate in Enke's election and select more people with white bodies from three generations of ancestors as officials.

At this time, Yang Jingchen thought of something and added to the emperor's statement:

"I think that those who come from Ming Jing or Ming Shu can be considered as candidates for examination."

"In the past, the imperial court appointed teaching positions to those who were twenty-five years or older from the deputy list of the joint examination. Those who came from Ming Jing or Ming Shu could also be awarded teaching positions."

This statement made Zhu Youjian's eyes light up and he said:

"This is a good suggestion. I will try the moves on the secondary list, which are not far different from those on the main list."

"In order to allow them to serve the imperial court as soon as possible, I think those who are on the deputy list can also participate in Enke."

"They have worked hard to get on the list, so they should receive some preferential treatment."

This statement made all the ministers shout sagely and praise the emperor endlessly.

Because in this way, their children will finally be able to participate in Enke, as long as they get on the deputy list of the examination. Although it is still difficult, it finally gives me an opportunity.

But there are more opportunities than they can afford to squander. Because of the current situation, Yang Jingchen said:

"Seven out of ten candidates who were selected for the secondary examination are willing to go to Taipei University, and only three out of ten are willing to work as teachers."

"I think that those who have received Ming Jing or Ming Shu's background should be required to take office."

“Otherwise, don’t take the exam, don’t take the Enko.”

Zhu Youjian agreed very much with his statement. Because he doesn't want to be admitted to certain exams but not become an official, taking up other people's opportunities. So he immediately said:
"Since Enke is Enke, it is my grace."

"If you don't want to be favored, then don't participate."

"Those who are Jinshi in Ming Jing Ke and Ming Shu Ke, as well as those who have obtained family background, must be appointed as officials in accordance with the regulations of the imperial court, otherwise they will be severely punished."

"This must be clearly stated, so that those who participate in the Enco should think about it. If they are not ready to become officials, they should not participate in the Enco."

“After being hired by Enke, there was no chance of going back on my word.”

This provision makes some officials who plan to encourage their nephews who are over forty or listed on the deputy list to participate in Enko secretly sweat.

If you take the Ming Jing Ke and Ming Shu Ke exams and become a Jinshi, it is easy to say that you will still have the status of a Jinshi and may reach a high position.

But if you only get Ming Jing or Ming Shu background and become an official, you are likely to waste your life in a low-level official position. After all, the six-year grinding and surveying period is half as long as the four-year period.

This was obviously not a good choice for their nephew.

Therefore, some people have given up the idea of ​​letting their nephews participate in Enko, believing that the Emperor's Enko is indeed, as mentioned before, mainly for poor scholars——

Regardless of their previous family background, as long as they can become officials, their status will skyrocket.

The emperor established the Enko to grace these people.

It can be said that Zhu Youjian deliberately introduced this rule so that those powerful scholars would not dare to participate easily.

However, in order to prevent Enke from being too attractive and making some poor scholars not want to participate, Zhu Youjian said:
"Officials born in Ming Jing or Ming Shu should have an initial grade of Zhengjiu."

"As long as they are willing to serve as officials, no matter what position they take, they will initially be awarded the rank of ninth-grade casual official."

"In order to show the importance of learning, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel will discuss it to see what grades should be assigned to various teaching positions."

"Teaching positions in Fuzhou and counties will all have grades in the future, and they will serve as imperial officials."

The current situation in the Ming Dynasty is that professors are established in the government, Xuezheng is established in the state, and teaching edicts are established in the county. Only the professors in the government are from the ninth grade level.

In Zhu Youjian's opinion, this is really too low. Many well-placed scholars looked down upon them.

In order to improve the status of these people and effectively grasp the local education industry, Zhu Youjian decided to upgrade their grades and make them officials.

Not only do the grades of government professors need to be improved, but state academic officials and county magistrates also need to become high-ranking officials.

This increase in officials has made many officials frown. Because the increase of high-ranking officials will have an impact on the existing official order.

Currently, there are only three magistrates in the Ming Dynasty: the magistrate of the seventh rank, the county magistrate of the eighth rank, and the chief registrar of the ninth rank. The Dianshi ranked below can be called the "Fourth Master".

Nowadays, the emperor intends to upgrade all teaching positions to rank officials, which makes many people think about whether it is good or bad. (End of chapter)