Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 128: Famous Official
Zhu Yunhuan had no objection at all to his sister-in-law's plan to ask the wives of noble families to help embroider her wedding dress, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

He doesn't care much about these things because he has other things to do.

The Minister of Revenue Yu Xin came to the Wenhua Palace. This person can be said to be promoted like a rocket.

Six years ago, he was a commoner who was conscripted and appointed as the director of the Ministry of Revenue. It took him three years to become the third in command of the Ministry of Revenue, the Right Vice Minister. Last year, he was promoted to the Minister of State, becoming a second-rank civil servant.

"Your Highness, I have been ordered to consider reducing the rice allowance for the royal family according to the ancient system." Yu Xin handed over the memorial and said, "Please review it, Your Highness."

Last year, when Zhu Yunwen was enfeoffed, he asked for a reduction in his salary, and then the righteous Prince of Jin, Zhu Gang, asked for a reduction in his rice salary. So many things were settled, and the rice salary of the royal family and princes was decreasing.

Zhu Yunhuan was basically satisfied. The current treatment of royal family members was still slightly higher than that in the Tang and Song dynasties, but it was not unacceptable.

For example, the lowest rank among the royal family, the Lieutenant of Fengguo, only earned 200 dan of rice, which was 100 dan more than in the Tang Dynasty.

The only thing Zhu Yunhuan was dissatisfied with was that the rank of the lieutenant of Fengguo was not reduced. This was the so-called sixth-generation grandson and below. Old Zhu still felt that his bloodline should always enjoy the blessings of the Ming Dynasty.

This is not acceptable. Zhu Yunhuan must change it. Not only will the sixth-generation grandson and below be granted the title of Lieutenant of Fengguo, but also some of the rules that the royal family cannot be officials or merchants must be changed. Otherwise, in the middle and late stages, these royal family members will not be able to make a living and can only rely on the insufficient salary rice allocated by the court, and they will not be able to survive.

Zhu Yunhuan nodded with satisfaction and said, "It is well organized, follows your majesty's will, and conforms to the rules of the Tang and Song dynasties. This is very good."

Yu Xin immediately said, "This is the credit of Xia Yuanji, the head of the Ministry of Revenue. I dare not take credit for it."

Zhu Yunxun was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked, "Who?"

Yu Xin said again, "The head of the Ministry of Revenue, Xia Yuanji."

"Call him." Zhu Yunxun said decisively without any hesitation, "I think this person has some talent and ability."

Hearing what Zhu Yunhuan said, Yu Xin became even more enthusiastic. "Your Highness, Xia Yuanji's ancestral home is Dexing, Jiangxi, and he is from Xiangyin, Hunan. He lost his father at an early age and was diligent and studious. His mother vowed to be chaste and provided food and clothing for him. At the age of sixteen, he taught in a private school in the countryside and received tuition to support his family. At the age of twenty-three, he was admitted to the county school and became a student in the county. In the twenty-third year of Hongwu, he passed the imperial examination. In the twenty-fourth year, he entered the Imperial College and was immediately selected to write imperial edicts in the palace."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Yu Xin and said, "You are very good! You are in charge of the Ministry of Revenue without any mistakes, you are generous and righteous, and you are able to recommend talents. It can be seen that your parents have a strict family tradition, so the Ministry of Rites posthumously awarded your parents."

Yu Xin, who was nearly fifty years old, immediately knelt down and kowtowed excitedly, "I kowtow to thank Your Highness for your great grace!"

For people of this era, being able to benefit their descendants is a great pride. However, if one can be rewarded posthumously by those in power, it is even more glorious.

In the Ming Dynasty, most of the three generations of ancestors of those meritorious officials were posthumously honored, but civil officials basically did not receive such treatment.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "I will posthumously confer the title of Zhongfeng Dafu on your father and the title of Gaoming Furen on your mother. I will order the Ministry of Rites to repair the tombs and erect a monument and a memorial archway."

Yu Xin was so grateful that he kept kowtowing. He thought he was just doing his duty as a minister and recommending talented people. He really didn't expect to get such a big reward.

As for the posthumous award, he had no doubts at all, even though it was the will of the Crown Prince. But after sending it to the Ministry of Rites, Ren Hengtai would definitely arrange people to handle these matters without stopping.

Ren Hengtai was frightened by what happened in the imperial examination a few days ago, so how could he dare to go against the Crown Prince now?

As for His Majesty, there is no need to worry. As long as he does not confer a title, His Majesty will definitely not stop it. With His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's current power and favor, he is not inferior to the late Crown Prince at all.

Xia Yuanji, who was nearly thirty years old, came in a hurry. He was only a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, and generally speaking, he would not be in the eyes of the Crown Prince. But this time, the opportunity came and he was summoned.

Xia Yuanji was a famous official who left a great reputation in history. He was a financial manager and water conservancy expert. As a veteran of three dynasties, he was always highly valued and was awarded the title of Grand Master and the posthumous title of Zhongjing.

Zhu Yunhuan would naturally not miss this good candidate for a capable official to govern the country.

Looking at Xia Yuanji, Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "The Minister of Revenue thinks you are talented and capable. Remove your post in the Ministry of Revenue and enter the Zhanshi Mansion and Wenhua Palace as a Grand Secretary."

The Zhanshifu was mainly responsible for the internal affairs of the prince or the emperor, and could be said to be a senior secretary.

Although there is no historical cabinet prototype yet, some university scholar positions have already appeared.

Previously, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister system that had existed for more than 2,000 years, and the emperor directly managed the six ministries. However, due to the huge workload, he had to set up palace and cabinet ministers to serve as advisors to the emperor. However, the ministers had no real power at the beginning, and it was not until the reigns of Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji that the power of the cabinet began to increase.

The title of Grand Secretary should be preceded by "Palace", which now means four palaces and two pavilions, serving as advisors to the emperor. As the name suggests, the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace is theoretically responsible for tutoring the crown prince and the crown prince's grandson in study, which is also a fifth-rank official position.

Xia Yuanji immediately knelt down and kowtowed excitedly, "I kowtow to thank Your Highness for your great grace!"

Now he is the head of the Ministry of Revenue of the sixth rank. If he continues to be appreciated by Shangshu Yuxin, Xia Yuanji will naturally have the opportunity to be promoted. But now he has directly become the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace, which means he is the real confidant of the crown prince. Even the third-rank assistant minister would envy such an official position. In particular, many people also know that the position of Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace has been vacant. It is not that everyone does not want to fight for it, but that His Majesty has no intention of fighting for it, and His Highness has not chosen anyone.

Even the top scholar among the six, isn't he still training in the government office of Yingtian Prefecture? Even so, many people still think that Xu Guan has a good opportunity and is a civil servant that His Highness has high hopes for.

Zhu Yunxun laughed and said, "Go and make the delivery. I will come over tomorrow."

Yu Xin and Xia Yuanji immediately accepted the order, expressed their gratitude and left.

Leaving Wenhua Hall, Xia Yuanji burst into tears of gratitude, "If it weren't for your recommendation, I wouldn't be where I am today!"

"I have always admired you. Everyone in the Ministry of Revenue knows this!" Yu Xin helped Xia Yuanji up and said, "There are countless officials in this office, but I admire you because you are talented, virtuous and generous. Now that you are serving His Highness, you should do your best!"

Xia Yuanji knelt down again, "I understand, and I will never forget your advice!"

Patting Xia Yuanji's hand, Yu Xin said, "Your Highness has great ambitions in his heart, and this is the opportunity for us to show what we have learned. I was originally a commoner, and Your Majesty has not abandoned me and appointed me to the court. Your Highness appreciates you, so you must be loyal and virtuous, so as not to let down the emperor's grace!"

Zhu Yunhuan naturally didn't care much about how excited and passionate the "master and disciple" pair, Yu Xin and Xia Yuanji, were.

Because he was called over by Lao Zhu.

Old Zhu got straight to the point and said, "We were thinking of finding you a few great scholars with both moral integrity and talent, but you gave them away to the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace?"

"When you meet someone who is capable and talented, you should naturally make use of him." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "Although his background is not good, I also think that a hero should not be judged by his origin."

Old Zhu nodded without commenting, and then said, "Why don't we change him to a palace minister? It's not quite right for him to be a Wenhua Palace minister before he turns 30. What do you think of giving him a Jinshen Palace minister?"

Zhu Yuanji would naturally not dismiss Xia Yuanji from his post, but he would give a chance to any official his grandson admired.

It’s just that the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace is too special. After all, he is someone close to Zhu Yunhuan.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but complain, "It would be better to add a Wuying Palace Grand Secretary. If something goes wrong, it's my grandfather's man, and it has nothing to do with me."

Old Zhu was immediately happy, this was what he was thinking. The Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace was personally selected by the Crown Prince Zhu Yunhuan, which naturally meant that many people would keep an eye on Xia Yuanji, and there couldn't be any mistakes, otherwise it would be that the Crown Prince didn't know how to judge people.

"In that case, then you can be the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace." Old Zhu laughed and said, "We want to see what kind of official you choose!"

Old Zhu then asked, "What do you think of posthumously honoring Yu Xin's parents?"

"Yu Xin is okay. Although he is a civil servant, he is capable." Zhu Yunhuan also became serious and said, "I know that both civil and military talents will be used. Yu Xin's family tradition is strict and can be a role model for the world. If we want to educate the world, we can't just think about remote places."

Old Zhu also nodded and said, "That's true. In the past few years, there was a lot of chaos. People all wore their hair loose and wore clothes with left lapels. They completely forgot about the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty."

"We have to find some role models." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "We suppressed those civil servants a few days ago, it's time to give them a sweet reward."

Zhu Yunhuan was willing to give the sweet dates which were free of charge.

It would cost the court almost nothing to posthumously honor Yu Xin's parents, but it would make countless scholars sing their praises, so it would be worth it.

Old Zhu nodded with great satisfaction. He thought that his grandson was indeed very stingy sometimes!

Zhu Yunhuan said jokingly, "Grandfather, the Wucheng Bingmasi is my man, and the Yingtianfu prefect will probably be my man in no time. I am also in charge of many matters at the Wujun Dudufu."

Old Zhu didn't care and said, "Wait until you have arranged for the six ministers. The people under your command are not enough."

"That's not what I meant." Zhu Yunxun said sarcastically, "As soon as there was a little movement in Wenhua Palace, Wuying Palace knew about it."

Old Zhu glared and said, "Why shouldn't we know? You are my blood, what should we not know? We saw you when you were born!"

Zhu Yunhuan wanted to complain more, because when he was born, Old Zhu did not go to see him, but Empress Ma did. The grandson that Old Zhu could not wait to hold was Zhu Yunhuan's eldest brother.

Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "The Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace is the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace. You can ask someone to draft the edict. You can use the people you choose. If you don't use them well, we will deal with them later!"

(End of this chapter)