Chapter 126 Expansion
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Facts have proved that although the memory has become blurred over the years, the Zhu family's skills in killing people have not been lost, and they are still the unforgettable style of Emperor Gaozu. In general, since Zhao Juqing took over the imperial prison, more than twenty Beijing officials above the fourth rank have been sent away in just one month, including suicides and deaths from illness. The efficiency is no less than that of the Hongwu period, and the deterrent effect is even greater - compared with the public executions of the official punishments, such covert methods that are almost damp and vulgar can indeed arouse more fear; perhaps the so-called Deng-style terror is nothing more than this.
Of course, at a time like this when the emperor was returning to the throne after a great victory, making the political atmosphere too rigid would not be in line with the emperor's expectation of universal celebration. Therefore, before the blood in the imperial prison had dried, Fei Xuan Zhenjun opened the door to convenience and used the ultimate move of the imperial power in the feudal era against the bureaucratic system:
Expand enrollment.
On November 10, the emperor issued an edict, elaborating in detail to all his subjects the various clauses of the Sino-Japanese "Nanjing Treaty"; and specifically pointed out that according to the provisions of the terms, China has an obligation to help Japan build a "clean and honest customs agency" and send officials to provide personal guidance; although the former Minister of Works Yan Donglou has been appointed to coordinate matters related to Japan, customs affairs are too complicated to be handled by one person, so he plans to hold another special examination next year to select talents who are familiar with maritime trade and foreign affairs, and send them to Japan to take on this important task.
At the end of the imperial edict, the standards for this overseas mission to Japan were specifically stated: because it was a journey across the ocean to demonstrate the country's prestige, so the standards were carefully respected; there were a total of 800 envoys stationed in Japan, and as long as they qualified in the special examination, they would start as sixth-rank officials; the salaries for overseas missions were additionally increased, and in addition to the sixth-rank salary, there were also subsidies of 150 taels per person per year, and 30 taels of winter and summer rewards; all kinds of generous treatment were almost comparable to those of important officials in the capital, and it was truly a generosity that had not been seen in the country for two hundred years.
Of course, the reason why he was so generous was purely because the Treaty of Nanjing had prepared for a rainy day and had long stipulated that the expenses of the Chinese ministers stationed there would be borne by the Japanese. Master Feixuan was just being carefree and generous to others. But no matter what, once this imperial edict was made public, it still caused a huge uproar:
Eight hundred people! Sixth rank official! An income of around two hundred taels a year!
——Dad, why didn’t you tell me earlier? !
The so-called ten years of hard study is like a front line for thousands of troops. The national imperial examination is held every three years, and there are only about one or two hundred Jinshi candidates every year. Among these one or two hundred people, except for the top dozen who can hold positions in the government and call the shots, the remaining ninety-nine percent are just struggling in the officialdom, relying on the capital of being a Jinshi candidate to barely get a sixth or seventh rank position as a county magistrate or a prefect, and join the gentry class. Such a boring life is already the bright prospect that tens of millions of scholars dream of, but cannot obtain even after years of studying hard.
But now, the emperor actually offered 800 sixth-grade places in one go to the whole world - what does this mean? This meant that the path leading to heaven had suddenly widened more than ten times. The scholars and juren, who had been depressed and unable to go out in the past and almost died in the examination halls, now finally had the opportunity to enjoy the grace of the court!
True Lord, you are so virtuous!
The capital city is a place of great wealth and culture, so no news can be concealed for long. Ministers died one after another in the imperial prison, and although the public opinion outside did not dare to criticize openly, they could not help but feel sympathetic, and not without fear and resentment. But now that the imperial edict has come out, after reading the emperor's will, the scholars really changed their minds in an instant, and immediately realized from the details the earnest intentions of the current Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor!
——They just say, why is it that in the vast land of China, no one can appreciate the talents of these great opposition figures? Now it seems that it was the treacherous officials in power who deceived the emperor and controlled the imperial examination system, thus blocking the court's recruitment channels! Now that the emperor is working hard and has defeated the stubborn villains who have blocked their official careers, these great sages can now show their talents and be appreciated by the emperor.
Lord Feixuan is so great! How despicable are these treacherous ministers and traitors! Originally, they were also deceived by the villain and even spoke up for the treacherous party; now it seems that they should have done something earlier!
A clean magistrate can earn 10,000 silver coins in three years; but the magistrate is at least a fourth-rank official with a promising future, and after controlling the money and taxes, he can make countless profits. An ordinary candidate could work very hard and get into the top three, and then he could get a job as a county magistrate to make a living. If he was not in the rich coastal areas or plains, he might have to struggle for decades and could barely have a fortune of a few thousand taels of silver. What a difference!
Nowadays, the emperor can make a sixth-rank official with just a wave of his hand, and every year he will have two hundred taels of silver to put into his pocket, a legal income that is as stable as a cannon. Such a deep benevolence and generosity, how can the word "gratefulness" be used to describe it? The kindness of Lord Feixuan is still not enough, and the friendship of Lord Wanshou will be in my heart forever; to be honest, if Ouyang Jin and others had not been imprisoned in the imperial prison and isolated from outside disturbances, the excited scholars would have wanted to rise up and punish these treacherous people with ulterior motives who blocked the emperor's ears, in order to comfort the emperor and father's worries!
The loyal and courageous scholars had long realized that the people imprisoned in the imperial prison were the Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong of the new era!
Of course, in addition to showing loyalty, there is a key signal that no one will overlook. The imperial edict made it very clear that the 800 additional officials were to be recruited for the Japanese customs; in other words, only by controlling Japan and the customs can everyone enjoy the good days after the expansion. Therefore, we must hold high the banner of resisting the Japanese invaders and occupy the position of public opinion at all times. We must never tolerate the remnants of the Japanese collaborators who are trying to resist this mighty trend with their ants trying to shake the tree. The Japanese collaborators must be eliminated at all times. We must mobilize the entire nation and fight together with unity from top to bottom and cooperation between the ruler and his subjects. As the book "A Mortal's Path to Immortality" says, "It is better to pursue the enemy with the remaining courage," this is what it means. This is one of them.
As for the second point...If Japan alone can expand its organization to 800 sixth-rank officials, can the other foreign vassal states follow suit? Judging from the plots of the latest volumes of "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality", the barbarians such as Spain and Portugal in the southeast seem to be very restless!
Putting aside this little trick, as soon as the emperor's big plan was made, at least the atmosphere among the literati in the capital was immediately stabilized, and they actively cooperated, willing to help the court promote the anti-Japanese cause, and actively looked forward to the pie of the sixth-rank official. After stabilizing the literati, the cabinet issued another official document, abolishing the new taxes and forced labor levied by the coastal provinces to guard against the Japanese pirates, and allocating money and materials to the affected prefectures. On November 15, considering that the compensation from Japan was enough to enrich the national treasury, the taxes in the northern provinces were reduced and the rewards for the border troops were increased during the New Year. The officials got their share of the money, the soldiers got their share of the money, and the common people got their share of the money. With such a huge amount of revenue, everyone could get a share of the profits, which could be considered as a credit to the cabinet's coordination.
By late November, everything was ready. It was inevitable that everyone would feel soft-hearted after taking the money distributed by Zhenjun. When Prince Yu wrote a letter requesting Zun Longxing to present the emperor with rituals, no one in the court could say anything. So Zhenjun hypocritically issued an edict to decline three times, and then accepted his own son's request as a last resort, gave his father the temple name "Rui Zong", and moved his father into the Taimiao.
However, at the last moment, the emperor showed his style again and said that the regulations of the Taimiao had been determined, and he felt uneasy about disturbing all the ancestors in order to make room for his biological father. Now, after checking the archives of the Taimiao in detail, he found that there was quite ample space in the temple of Emperor Yingzong, and there had been many auspicious signs in recent days, which showed that the will of Heaven was clear. Now, in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people, he would let Yingzong and the emperor's biological father squeeze in and share the same temple!
——This reason is of course a bit abrupt, and the logic is even more incomprehensible; however, if you were to investigate the area of Yingzong’s ancestral temple at this time, you would be ignorant.
However, simply letting his father squeeze into the big bunk bed was not enough to satisfy the emperor's wish. But at this delicate and critical moment, the indescribable dampness of the contemporary saint was revealed - he did not explicitly ask Yingzong to vacate his position, but after offering the captives, he severely reprimanded the officials, ordered the repair of the Taimiao ritual system, and asked the Ministry of Rites to take out Yingzong's tablet and carefully paint it. As for when the statue can be painted and worshipped again...it's better for people not to ask so many questions.
This set of small moves was smooth and flowing, and it was obvious that it had been planned in the emperor's mind for a long time. But the key to getting things done has never been about power, but about the comparison of power between the two sides. The positive results that were impossible to obtain with so much difficulty in the past are now within reach. There is no need to worry about any complicated political tactics - no need to be sarcastic, no need to make innuendos, no need to wear Taoist robes and play tricks in the palace. Just say what you say and everyone will follow you. It turns out that being an emperor is such a happy thing!
The more times like this happen, the more the emperor's unrestrained nature is revealed. However, Master Feixuan is still the mean young man who organized the grand ceremony. His malicious and vicious nature has not changed in the past decades. In the past, he was bound by fame and wealth, and blocked by layers of barriers. Today, he holds up a pearl and illuminates the mountains and rivers. On the young Master's original intention of not forgetting his true nature, there are only three beliefs engraved:
Indiscriminate killing! Indiscriminate reward! Excessive punishment!
Whoever dares to make me unhappy for a moment, I will make him unhappy for the rest of his life!
If you lose, you will hold a grudge; if you win, you will counterattack; once the True Lord breaks free from his restraints, how can he not be happy? Appointing Zhao Juqing to manage the imperial prison was just a slight test; after confirming that the newly added official position was enough to buy off the literati and prevent disturbances, the emperor immediately sent envoys south to Jiangsu and Zhejiang; as a result, all areas south of the Yangtze River were shocked, and officials of all ranks who were listed by Mito clan actually began to commit suicide one after another!
Since Emperor Xiaozong, the government's ruling atmosphere has become increasingly relaxed; Jiangnan has enjoyed peace for decades, so how could it have witnessed the current situation? With the butcher's knife looming, the local prominent families have not thought about resisting; but the Xingxian Emperor and Empress are still anchored outside the city of Nanjing, controlling the waterways and the vital points. The power disparity is so great that they can no longer get away with it by holding up memorial archways and crying in the Confucius Temple - to be honest, the smuggling groups formed by collusion between officials and businessmen in Jiangnan are actually quite weak in terms of military power, and mostly rely on the deterrence of the Japanese pirates to hold up the situation; now that the Japanese pirates have been wiped out, even if you cry from night to dawn and from dawn to night, can you still cry the Lord to death?
The weapon of criticism is no match for criticism with weapons. After using weapons to criticize the pro-Japanese group thoroughly, Zhenjun was satisfied and issued an edict to the cabinet to work quickly and come up with a plan to deal with the rebellious royal family before the end of this year. After the decree was issued, the cabinet, which had been peacefully governing for half a year, finally couldn't hold back any longer - No way, boss, you still want to kill me?
Important officials were killed in the capital, officials were killed in the south of the Yangtze River, and now they are going to kill members of the royal family. Three major purges were launched within a year. Isn’t this efficiency a little too fast?
Elder Yan and Elder Xu of the cabinet were well-informed. In fact, they had fully anticipated the madness and disorder of the True Lord after the expansion of imperial power. However, even so, the current situation has far exceeded their expectations and even aroused unknown fear. They always compared the current emperor to Emperor Xiaowu. However, Emperor Wu had been in power for decades after all, and in his old age he was eager to seek immortality and became mentally disturbed, so he brazenly broke through his psychological bottom line and raised his butcher knife to kill crazily. However, the behavior of the current emperor... didn't you need to do some psychological preparation when you started killing? From a crazy Taoist priest to a murderous demon, the change in personality must be so quick!
When Yang Tinghe picked the fifteen-year-old Prince Xingxian to be the emperor, he valued the fact that he was humble, polite, prudent and self-restrained, and had the dignity of an ancient man. However, he did not expect that beneath the humble and polite appearance there was actually a weird second form, and he was beaten to a pulp by this little Deng when he activated the second form. Now, Lord Yan and Lord Xu were also mistaken for a moment, they just thought that they had been with the True Lord for a long time and had already adapted to the weird form of Old Deng; unexpectedly, after breaking through the second form, Old Deng also had a madman form who killed people like killing chickens - what the hell is this!
After realizing that the situation was not right, Lord Yan and Lord Xu became quite nervous. They also didn't expect that Zhenjun could avoid decades of detours and reach the level of killing people like Emperor Wu in his later years in just a few months. The speed is so fast, it's scary.
Of course, as a non-stick pan that has successfully taken sides, the two ministers will not be in any trouble for the time being. But matters in the court always involve everyone suffering. When Emperor Gaozu killed Hu Weiyong, the Huaixi nobles jumped up and down with indescribable joy. However, when the snipe and the clam quarrel, only the fisherman benefits. So after thinking it over, they found the prince of Duke Mu and quietly interceded. They planned to petition jointly by the three of them, tactfully asking Zhenjun to restrain his magical powers, or at least slow down the speed of killing people.
But unexpectedly, the Prince of Mu, who had always been known as a madman, suddenly became weak for unknown reasons. He also tactfully said that it was not impossible to write a petition, but it would be difficult to get to the root of the problem; after all, given his status, it was not easy for him to intercede for officials who colluded with the Japanese.
The elder could only say: "This is not for outsiders, but for the sake of future worldly affairs..."
"No matter how the world changes, it will never be considered noble to have ties with the Japanese." The prince said, "Besides, the Lord will never fall to the point of colluding with the Japanese, right?"
Since they had no idea what was going on, the two bosses had no choice but to say goodbye in a hurry. But before leaving, he still left a harsh remark that was half threatening and half a reminder:
"Your Highness, you still need to take care of yourself. We are old, and we can't really control too much, but Your Highness still has a long way to go, and I'm afraid you still need to think carefully about the future of the court!"
The prince looked calm and polite as he saw me off. He only said one sentence when he said goodbye:
"Don't worry, sir. I have my own plans."
As for what the calculations are, that is not something the ministers can guess.
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The whereabouts of important cabinet officials' private communications were originally a strictly protected secret, but after the True Lord's authority expanded, he ruthlessly reorganized the Jinyiwei, spread his spies everywhere and woven a dense net, and finally got his hands and feet into unprecedented places. In the morning, Lord Xu and Lord Yan visited the suburban villa of the Duke's Mansion. In the afternoon, detailed information was delivered to the Lord Zhen, and they naturally received a sneer:
"These two old men are still restless!"
According to common sense, there is nothing wrong with cabinet ministers meeting with their cronies in private. The white gloves who work for the emperor always have their own thoughts. But now that his power has grown and he can do whatever he wants, the True Lord certainly won't be bound by common sense. Any attempt to preserve oneself without telling the emperor would arouse his instinctive disgust. The only thing that could satisfy him was a good boy who was consistent in his words and deeds, loyal and honest, and never spoke out of dissent.
So, the emperor flipped through the memorial that the good boy had submitted a few days ago and approved it.
...Of course, the "expansion of workers, peasants and soldiers" in the memorial was really absurd, and building factories in critical areas seemed to violate ancestral rules; but who would care so much?
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