novelhk Page 2506
Page 2506
Chapter 3320 Marquis of Ten Thousand Households
However, not only were the titles of nobility reduced, but the actual fiefdoms were also reduced rapidly.
Perhaps two or three generations later, the descendants of the nobles will still be marquises or earls, but apart from the fixed salary based on their rank, they will no longer have any other benefits.
It sounds nice, but if you want to receive a real title, you have to perform meritorious service for the court!
After the imperial council meeting concluded and the senior officials departed one after another, everyone's spirits were greatly lifted.
The national system and laws need to be improved gradually, and this major case has facilitated a round of improvements.
Overall, the annual expenditure on official salaries in the Ming Dynasty was actually much lower than that in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Moreover, canceling various benefits and converting them into cash and grain can also eliminate many irregularities and reduce the number of officials accordingly.
Allowing officials to purchase those welfare supplies themselves can also make the market more standardized.
Furthermore, with the path to official appointments through hereditary privilege blocked, even if redundant officials did emerge in the Ming Dynasty in the future, it would certainly not be as severe as in the Song Dynasty.
Next, the "Great Ming Code" needs to be revised. This thing will probably not be finalized until Zhao Yuan dies, and then successive emperors will add some supplementary clauses.
However, investigating one-tenth of the total number of officials nationwide is almost the limit; any further investigation would surely lead to chaos.
Zhao Yuan also felt very tired.
"Xu Fuyan's two sons are truly innocent. Let's find an opportunity to reinstate them in the future."
Wen Huanzhang nodded and said, "I have made a record of the officials who were innocently implicated, and a few of them are reinstated every year."
"But we can't make a big fuss about it, lest it affect the effectiveness of the fight against corruption."
Zhao Yuan asked, "Li Bangyan has fallen from power, who will replace him as a cabinet minister?"
“The Minister of Works, Zhao Quan,” Wen Huanzhang said, “has done a good job with water conservancy. This time, many officials in the Ministry of Works were investigated, but Zhao Quan was not found to have embezzled any money.”
"Such an honest and capable minister should be commended and promoted."
Zhao Yuan then asked, "Who will succeed me as Minister of Works?"
Wen Huanzhang smiled and said, "Qin Hui is quite good. He is extremely capable and would definitely be able to handle this position."
"Besides, the Ministry of Works is a lucrative place. It's just a matter of when he'll reach out. I don't believe he can resist!"
Zhao Yuan said, "Then let Meng Zhao be transferred to the position of Minister of Justice, and give him a higher official rank as compensation."
"Hu Anguo was promoted to Minister of Rites, and Zhao Ding, Li Gang, Linghu Xu and others were recalled to the Six Ministries as Vice Ministers."
The emperor and his ministers discussed various follow-up matters, and the investigation and punishment of corrupt officials continued.
Soon, the salary adjustment plan was promulgated in the form of an imperial edict, which stabilized the morale of officials to some extent.
The senior generals were particularly pleased with the adjustments to the nobility system.
Everyone wanted a fiefdom with a real title of "ten thousand households." The monthly value of 300 strings of cash from the fiefdom was nothing to them; what they wanted was the honorary title of "ten thousand households."
During the Northern Song Dynasty, a fief of 10,000 households was considered the rank of a prince, while a real fief was one-tenth the size of the fief.
If one continues to make meritorious contributions, the amount of food granted to a household will generally stop increasing once it reaches three thousand households, and those who reach five thousand households will be extremely rare.
Li Bao, Zhang Guangdao, and others were very likely granted fiefdoms of ten thousand households, which would have meant they outranked all the nobles of the Northern Song Dynasty!
...
For some, each day felt like an eternity, but they finally looked forward to New Year's Day.
Countless officials gathered for drinks to celebrate their survival, and some even shed tears as they drank.
Officials who were beheaded, exiled, or imprisoned accounted for 12% of the total number of officials nationwide.
In addition to the convicted gentry and merchants, as well as the families of officials and civilians implicated, a total of more than 30,000 people were exiled.
Even Tsushima and Sado Islands each sent hundreds of people there.
All exiled civil and military officials were placed under the Zhenyuanbao model. The KPI population base was determined based on the severity of the local environment, and calculations were performed based on this base.
They could leave their place of exile once they had reproduced or assimilated a certain number of Han Chinese.
Dexing.
Retired Prime Minister Chang Kan also sighed deeply, saying that his sons were well-educated and his family was very wealthy, so they were not investigated.
However, two of Zhang Gen's cousins were beheaded, and the rest were exiled.
The Wu and Ying families, relatives of the Zhang family in Dexing, each had a branch of their property confiscated and exiled, and one of them even lost his head.
Where there is punishment, there is also reward. Wu Dian, Zhang Gen's in-law, was discovered to be an exceptionally honest official. (Wu Dian was a student of Li Gang's maternal uncle.)
This man had applied for retirement during the Song Dynasty. As the prefectural judge of Yuezhou, he didn't even have enough money to return home. He lived as a teacher in another place until he earned enough money to return to his hometown.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Dian was recommended by Zhang Gen to become an official. As the prefect, he was not greedy for a single penny and even donated his salary to support free schools.
In a time when corrupt officials are everywhere, such an honest official is truly rare. Zhao Yuan ordered that he be rewarded with three hundred strings of cash and that his virtue be publicized throughout the country.
Then, Wu Dian took the opportunity to resign from his post, because he was older than Zhang Gen.
When visiting his children's in-laws in Daodexing, Wu Dian exclaimed, "Since ancient times, no one has ever been as ruthless in reforming officialdom as the Song Dynasty, sweeping away the filth and corruption of the former Song Dynasty!"
Chapter 3321 The Jin People Also Reformed
Zhang Gen said, "Your Majesty has acted too hastily, and local officials are now unable to handle their duties."
Wu Dian shook his head and said, "No. How could scraping the bone to treat an injury not greatly deplete one's vital energy?"
"It is better to have a short pain than a long one. We should take advantage of the newly established dynasty to eradicate corruption in the officialdom."
Rationally, Zhang Gen agreed with this statement and jokingly said, "Brother Shengyu is indeed famous throughout the world. Everyone knows that you are as honest and upright as water."
Wu Dian curled his lip: "The world is corrupt while I am pure. Although I am famous throughout the world, I am also condemned by thousands."
“The officials will scold me first,” Zhang Gen sighed. “It’s difficult for anyone to pull off such a big case.”
"That cousin and his family came begging and pleading, asking me to go to the capital to intercede on their behalf."
"His Majesty has raised his sword so high, who can persuade him otherwise?"
"Now my clansmen all resent me for being cold-blooded and heartless, and for not caring about kinship at all."
“What do they know about family, country, and the world?” Wu Dian said disdainfully.
Old friends met and spent their days sightseeing. Wu Dian stayed at Zhang's house for more than a month before leaving.
He suddenly fell ill on the way; the man, who was over seventy years old, couldn't hold on and died.
When the news reached the capital, Zhao Yuan was deeply moved. He personally bestowed upon Wu Dian a plaque inscribed "Exemplary Official," which he instructed Wu Dian's son to hang in his home. He also enrolled one of Wu Dian's grandsons in the Imperial Academy.
Xu Fuyan's eldest son, Xu Ying, was also reinstated in the spring and transferred to another province at the same rank.
As for the second son, we'll talk about him next year.
……
That spring, Yelü Dashi suddenly launched an attack, capturing Lake Zaysan and the surrounding grasslands, and occupying the grasslands north of Lake Ala.
This meant that they completely possessed the Tacheng region of Xinjiang and seized a small piece of Kazakh territory in later generations.
The Eastern Karakhanid Khanate reacted strongly and sent envoys to question them.
Then there is no more then.
Because the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate suffered a crushing defeat in its war against the Seljuks last year, it even had to submit to the Seljuk Sultan.
With heavy losses suffered by the army and a rebellion breaking out in the country, it was impossible for them to continue fighting Yelü Dashi.
Further east.
After the snow melted on the grasslands, the Jin Dynasty also sent troops.
The Jin army gave the Ongud tribe a sound beating, drove the disobedient Ongud tribe back north of the Daqing Mountains, and made the tribes in Ulanqab, Hohhot and other places submit again.
At the same time, Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zonggan joined forces to reform the system.
With the establishment of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, the Jin Dynasty officially began holding civil service examinations and appointed and dismissed civil officials through the Ministry of Personnel.
These powers were controlled by Wanyan Zonggan.
The Bojilie Conference thus became the political and military decision-making and deliberative body of the Jin Dynasty, and its other functions were gradually replaced by various departments.
The Bojilie Conference was controlled by Wanyan Zonghan.
The two men joined forces to become powerful ministers, while Wu Qimai became a mere figurehead.
After the establishment of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, the Jin Dynasty's internal affairs system became more formalized, and the major Bohai clans further seized power, greatly increasing their influence in the court and local areas.
Except for areas where the Jurchen people were stubborn, the military commander system was abolished within the Jin Dynasty.
Local military commanders are not allowed to concurrently serve as prefects or governors.
This reform was mainly aimed at the powerful leaders of various ethnic groups, who held both military and political power. Now, the Jin Dynasty court has separated the civil and military affairs.
Fearing that this would incite the powerful tribal leaders to rebel, Wanyan Zonghan established several more Wanhu (ten-thousand-household) offices and appointed the most powerful tribal leaders as Wanhu.
Give them greater command authority in exchange for them relinquishing local administrative power.
The series of reforms did not occur under the influence of Zhao Yuan.
The Jin dynasty in history did the same thing, gradually learning from the Liao and Song dynasties in terms of political system.
……
The Jin and Western Liao dynasties were both developing, but the Ming dynasty had just gone through a period of "growing pains" and needed to use the Lantern Festival to ease the pain.
More than one-tenth of the officials nationwide have been brought down, and this is no joke. Field troops transferred back from the front lines have not left even after the start of spring.
All military units stationed in the provinces are on high alert!
Government affairs in various provinces have not yet fully resumed.
Suleiman, the Seljuk envoy from the Western Regions, was stranded on the road by heavy snow in winter, but he managed to make it in time for the Lantern Festival in the sixth year of the Hongwu reign.
The first group of Japanese envoys, carefully selected by the Japanese, also arrived in Kaifeng around the same time.
This year's Lantern Festival was exceptionally lively.
First, the people have become wealthier; second, Zhao Yuan is intentionally promoting this.
Before it was completely dark, lights had already been lit up inside and outside Tokyo.
Suleiman stared in disbelief at the scene: "God, how wealthy is the Upper Qin Kingdom! Those lamps are worth so many gold coins!"
Although Abu was also shocked by the lantern festival, he spoke with the air of someone who had been there before: "The Shangqin Kingdom is now called Daming, and it has become even more prosperous because it is governed by learned scholars."
"There are no poor people in the Ming Dynasty. Even the lowest-level laborers can live happily every day."
On another street, there were more than twenty Japanese people wandering around like country bumpkins visiting the city.
Although they were nobles and monks, they found everything strange and wonderful.
Especially after dark, the various programs that follow are far more diverse and engaging than simply watching a waka (Japanese song) performance.
Chapter 3322 Lantern Festival
"Look, what is that?"
On the high platform, in a large bronze plate, a paper fairy taller than a person was seen spinning and walking, dragging flames behind her.
The paper fairy has "flame jets" on its feet, legs, and back, and a thin rope hangs from its shoulder.
The flames propelled the fairy forward, making all sorts of movements, as if she were flying through the air.
These are called "medicine-infused puppets," and there are also small paper figures that are launched into the air.
The Southern Song Dynasty even invented the "fire rat," which spewed flames and spun around wildly. Once, it darted to the feet of the Empress Dowager while she was watching lanterns, startling her so much that she jumped up...
"Bang bang bang bang!"
Firecrackers went off all over the city; these things are also called firecrackers.
Fireworks, among other things, developed rapidly in the last few years of Emperor Huizong's reign.
Just as the Japanese envoy to the Ming Dynasty was stunned by the drug-powered puppet, an even more astonishing performance took place nearby.
Those were several large, framed fireworks displays, each several meters high.
This involves building a tall frame to string together various fireworks and firecrackers. The different fireworks and firecrackers have fuses of varying lengths, continuously emitting flames and making sounds.