Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Zhang Gen sat at the head of the class, looking at his nose and nose, as if he was wandering in the sky.

Despite his indifferent appearance, as Prime Minister he actually thinks the most.

In Zhang Gen's view, the prince was taking the opportunity to establish his authority!

This time last year, the emperor had just ascended the throne, but the prince had military power, so the officials listened to the prince even more.

In just one year, the basic system had been established, the court was operating effectively, and the ministers had adapted to the cabinet system. As a result, everyone focused on the emperor, at least on the surface, and gradually stopped thinking about the special features of the prince.

The decree of the Yi clan to privately mint coins was also made by the prince. Now it is actually opposed by the ministers. What do you think from the prince's point of view?

The butt determines the head, and this is the case with Zhang Gen, with completely different perspectives.

Zhang Gen did not pay attention to the counterfeit silver dollar case. He was always worried about the bizarre situation of "the emperor and princes dividing military and political affairs." There is no way to divide and conquer. Major military and political affairs are all cross-influenced. The cabinet has been very careful, for fear that doing something wrong will affect the relationship between the emperor and the prince.

Worrying about this all day long and taking over everything, Zhang Gen could easily think wrongly and think that the prince was showing off his muscles.

Therefore, Zhang Gen did not dare to get involved. The battle between the emperor and the prince was already terrible enough, and adding a prime minister was simply unimaginable.

I am afraid that there are more than one or two ministers who look at the problem from this perspective, and they are even involved in civil and military disputes.

For example, Deputy Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen is speaking for the civil servants.

The prince was obviously the representative of the military officials, firmly controlling the Privy Council, the Generalissimo's Office, and even used Zhang Bor to control the Ministry of War, and also controlled the entire Tokyo army.

Civil servants have almost no say in matters related to the military.

Now that the emperor is still suppressing him, what will happen if the prince ascends the throne in the future?

There is already a Zhongshi Dao who has joined the cabinet. Will more military ministers join the cabinet by then?

The prince ransacked his house and killed people at every turn last year, and this year he even wanted to kill the three Yi tribes. He must have been influenced by the military's habits.

Zhai Ruwen's idea was actually very simple. He felt that the prince's buttocks were sitting crookedly, and as a loyal minister, he should move them back as soon as possible. Otherwise, if it continues to develop, the prince will inevitably become more "martial", relying on violence to solve problems at every turn, and may even become a tyrant if he develops a habit.

Zhang Gen and Zhai Ruwen each have their own opinions.

It's just a bit unclear on how to be a teacher. This old gentleman is good at fighting, but he doesn't play politics with too much thought.

Zhong Shidao was regarded by everyone as a military minister entering the cabinet, but he still thought that he was a civil servant. After all, he is also familiar with classics and history, and his ancestor was a direct disciple of the great Confucian scholar. He himself even served as a civil servant and governor of the state.

Since he became a cabinet minister, Zhong Shidao has always regarded himself as a civilian official. He believed that the actions of the Yi tribe were not "benevolent government", so he openly stood up to oppose this matter.

As for Liu Yao, who had just joined the cabinet, he was surrendered by the emperor. He always followed the emperor to do things, and his relationship with the prince was extremely alienated.

Liu Yao could only choose to move closer to the emperor. His statement did not take any position, it was just for the "statement" itself, and it was purely for the emperor to see.

As for Chen Dong... well, needless to say, this guy has always accepted death.

He could have stayed in the old Song Dynasty for ten years because he angrily criticized the treacherous officials every day, but he dared to remonstrate with the prince for "justice" in the new dynasty!

Zhai Ruwen sighed: "Your Highness, even if private coin making is akin to conspiracy in the future, we cannot punish the Gao family like this now. Otherwise, it will be like killing without teaching!"

Ju Ming said: "Notices about the private coin-making of the Yi tribe have been posted repeatedly in all prefectures and counties for half a year. How can we just punish them without teaching them?"

"After all, I didn't explain it clearly." Zhai Ruwen said.

Ju Ming asked: "There are sun and moon patterns on the silver coins, which represent the Ming Dynasty. What is the difference between privately making coins and privately making dragon robes?"

Zhai Ruwen was momentarily speechless.

Ju Ming took the opportunity to instill ideas into the officials: "Why do you say that private coinage is tantamount to rebellion? In the old Song Dynasty, 'redundant officials, redundant soldiers, redundant expenses' can be boiled down to two words: lack of money! That's why Wang Linchuan's Reform was launched, so This led to the struggle between the old and new parties, and that’s why Cai Jing emerged to invigorate the party and seize power. So – the old Song Dynasty is gone!”

"Wang Linchuan's reform was to make money for the court, and he made no secret of it. Many of the evil policies implemented by Cai Jing were also to collect money for the faint king Zhao Ji."

"I'm afraid even a three-year-old child knows how important money is."

"Once private coinage becomes popular, it will inevitably lead to currency chaos. Those who take risks will not make good money honestly. As a result, the market will be completely chaotic, and so will the prices!"

"..."

In fact, many things are unclear. Everyone knows that privately minting coins is a serious crime.

But if the coins produced are of good quality, most officials will not bother to pursue them. Because there has always been a money shortage in ancient China, when the economy reaches a certain level of prosperity, there will always be a problem of insufficient currency circulation.

The government and the public are eager to make more coins.

In other words, shoddy private money will be despised by everyone.

But the imperial court often made shoddy products, so how is this different from private money?

In an era when many villages were still bartering, casting private money was more like a production activity, which could essentially create social value...

The crackdown on private money in the past dynasties was actually the same as the crackdown on private salt. It was nothing more than protecting the interests of the court and the government, and had little to do with maintaining market order (with the exception of counterfeit banknotes and bad money).

Fortunately, the silver coins made by Gao Jiaqi this time did not contain enough silver. If the silver coins had enough silver content, I am afraid that the voices of the ministers against the execution of the clan would be even louder.

Ju Ming talked there for a long time, but still couldn't change his inherent concept.

Because you cannot take modern financial common sense and apply it to ancient society - that is extremely stupid and unscientific!

In the case of insufficient productivity, including low-quality coins, private money has value in itself.

Officials regard the nature of private money as private salt, and of course they do not agree that the sentence is too harsh. To put it more bluntly, there is no problem in beheading people who sell illegal salt. I have never heard of people selling illegal salt asking for the Yi tribe.

Ju Ming chatted in the court for a long time and argued with several ministers. He soon realized that he was wasting his words.

If it doesn’t make sense, then enforce it!

It's time for Zhu Guoxiang to perform on stage.

Just listen to Emperor Zhu say: "The prince and the ministers all made sense. Managing a big country is like cooking small dishes. It should be reasonable and moderate in order to last for a long time. Xu Fuyan!"

"I'm here."

Xu Fuyan, who had just taken over the Ministry of Justice, also took over the task of compiling the "Da Ming Code".

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Write the phrase 'private coinage is tantamount to conspiracy' into the Ming Dynasty Code."

"I accept the decree!"

Xu Fuyan immediately took out his bamboo pen, borrowed ink from the court secretary, and wrote on the wat board very seriously.

Zhu Guoxiang added: "Not only did the Wang and Wei families not tell the truth, but they also helped transport and distribute counterfeit silver coins. The whole family was exiled to the northwest border, and all the family property was confiscated. Children within the third generation are not allowed to take the imperial examination to serve as officials!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The ministers immediately shouted that at least these two families were not killed.

Zhu Guoxiang continued: "As for the main culprit in this case, all the men in the fifth server of Gao Shizuo's father's family were killed. Married women are exempted from guilt, and those with foreign names are exempted. Elderly people over seventy and children under twelve years old are exempted from guilt. . As for the female family members of the clan, all are exiled to the northwest border and allowed to marry with the soldiers and civilians in the border area. The entire clan’s property will be confiscated and confiscated!"

"The mother clan of Gao Shizuo and all the male descendants of Qi were destroyed."

"Gao Shizuo's wife clan, cut down the men and killed them all."

There was silence in the court, and the officials had different expressions. They all understood that Zhu Guoxiang was trying to make peace with Xini.

Cut off the decline into one server, Qi decline into two servers, the calculation is more complicated.

For example, the eldest grandson must be killed as he is included in the beheading relationship. Other grandchildren do not need to be killed except for the relationship between them.

Another example is that the uncle must be killed because he is in a bad relationship with Qi. However, the cousins ​​are not related to each other, so there is no need to kill them.

A lot less people can be killed!

But it is still very cruel. The father's clan is punished by five clothes, the mother's clan is punished by two clothes, and the wife's clan is punished by one clothes, and it does not involve foreign surnames and women. It can be regarded as a particularly lenient version of the Yi Tribe.

Zhai Ruwen still wanted to object, but in the end he did not dare to speak again.

Zhang Gen looked at the emperor, then turned to look at the prince, dumbfounded and not knowing what to say. He found that he seemed to be mistaken. The relationship between the Zhu family and his son was much more harmonious than he had imagined.

There was no rift between father and son at all. The emperor and the prince were as close as one person.

Today's good show was obviously planned by the father and son.

The prince was in charge of playing the devil's face and making a fuss about giving away all the three families of Gao, Wang and Wei to the Yi clan. In fact, they are asking for a lot of money, waiting for the officials to pay back the money.

The emperor is responsible for playing the red face, and finally comes out as the peacemaker to clean up the mess.

Zhang Gen was suddenly shocked. Today's scene seemed to have another purpose. When it comes to beating up the ministers who are randomly siding with each other, the emperor and the princelings can do it, but they must not do it blindly, because the emperor and the prince are one and the same.

Qin Hui was overjoyed. He had made the right bet. You can get the prince's attention without offending the emperor.

Of course, there was a price paid!

Qin Hui's open back-stabbing of the master and Bole will ruin his reputation among the scholars and completely destroy the character that he has built for many years.

But Qin Hui thinks this price is worth it.

There are too many heroes who have contributed to the change of dynasties, and there are countless capable officials who have been promoted. If he doesn't do some hard work, it will be difficult for him to stand out. Even if he could make it into the cabinet, he would probably be in his seventies by then.

Both Zhong Shidao and Chen Dong were satisfied with the results.

They believed that through their persuasion, they had maintained the bottom line of Ming Dynasty's benevolent governance and forcibly pulled the prince back from the path of tyrant.

Most of the ministers who opposed the Yi people had similar ideas to these two.

Even Liu Yao was very happy. He didn't care about the result, as long as he expressed his loyalty to the emperor.

Li Bangyan looked blankly up and down the court and found that he had caught nothing. He was too cautious and chose not to express his position. He did not please the emperor or the prince, and he did not earn reputation through admonishment.

Big loss!

After retreating from the court, Qin Hui took the initiative to approach Zhai Ruwen: "Sir..."

"Your Excellency, take care of yourself!"

Before Qin Hui finished speaking, Zhai Ruwen walked away, and the relationship between master and apprentice was completely broken.

Zhang Gen left the Daqing Palace happily. The stone in his heart had fallen to the ground. As long as the relationship between the emperor and the prince was harmonious, he felt that everything could be ignored.

Zhai Ruwen asked in confusion: "Don't you think the sentence is still too harsh, Prime Minister?"

Zhang Gen said: "The father's family has five services, the mother's family has two services, and the wife's family has one service. Not to mention foreign surnames and women, a lot of people have been killed. Next, when compiling the "Da Ming Code", we can add a sentence, reporting meritorious services. Even if he is of the same clan, his whole family will be blameless."

"No matter how many times you serve, they are the Yi tribe after all," Zhai Ruwen said. "Throughout the dynasties, only tyrants have conquered the Yi tribe."

Zhang Gen muttered: "Having the sharp sword of the Yi tribe hanging can also make some greedy people restrain themselves. In truth, it is not a bad thing."

Zhai Ruwen said: "I'm afraid that the prince has been leading troops all year round and has become too accustomed to being a warrior. For things like killing the clan, it will be easy to kill them. I don't know how many innocent people will die by then."

Ju Ming was not afraid of frightening the candidates, so he started killing clan members the day before the imperial examination.

One by one, the heads were beheaded and hung on the tower for public display.

There was a sergeant standing at the foot of the city, shouting loudly every two quarters of an hour, pointing at the heads and saying: "Creating coins privately is tantamount to treason, and is intended to kill the three tribes. When you go back, you must warn your family and neighbors. These heads, It only lasts for half a month and will be taken to other prefectures and counties. The prince said that he wants to spread the news throughout the country, so that people all over the world know that the business of privately minting coins is not allowed!"

Some people entering and leaving the city gate did not pay attention to the tops of their heads.

After hearing what the sergeant said, he quickly raised his head and looked up, and was so frightened that he lost his mind.

Damn, it’s all densely packed with heads!

The sergeant smiled and said: "Don't be afraid, we are not done yet, there are too many heads."

This time, the extra merciful version of the Yi clan also brought an unexpected harvest.

The large families in Gyeonggi who had been dignitaries in the old Song Dynasty were frightened by the prince, and they took the initiative to separate their families and move.

They quickly sold off their fixed assets at low prices and allowed some tribesmen to move to Shaanxi and Shandong. These two provinces have become stable, are far away from Kaifeng, and the land prices are cheap after the war, making them very suitable for outsiders to settle down.

There are even people who go to Jingxiang to reclaim swamp land, because the swamp land there is free of charge and taxes can be reduced or exempted in the first few years of reclamation.

"This kind of thing only needs to happen once," Zhu Guoxiang said. "In the last two court meetings, the officials looked at you with wrong eyes. The fear is far greater than the respect."

Ju Ming rolled his eyes: "You think I like to kill people? In one year, the territory has expanded several times, and countless officials from the old dynasty have been appointed. There are corrupt people everywhere, and the Supervisory Office can't find them at all. Now They even dare to make silver coins privately. How can they suppress them without the help of the Yi clan? They were spoiled by the old Song Dynasty and did not take corruption seriously. Instead, they felt that being an official was the right thing to do. They simply took corruption and perversion of the law as a matter of course. !”

"Take your time." Zhu Guoxiang was also quite emotional.

Ju Ming said: "I was really pushed into a hurry, so I asked Qin Hui to join the Inspectorate. This guy's reputation as a scholar has been ruined. If you give him a little hint and benefit, he can kill corrupt officials until they are bloody."

"It's a solution, but it's best not to use this knife. Cleaning up the officialdom will not happen overnight." Zhu Guoxiang warned.