Conceptual issues are crucial
"This is a benevolent policy!" The speaker was an elderly woman, wearing a hairpin and court beads around her neck, exuding an air of nobility. She was Princess Duanmin, who had returned to the capital to pay homage to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, and to attend their wedding.
The new emperor had not yet completed his mourning for the previous emperor and had not been to Mongolia for the past two days. To maintain close ties, the various Mongol tribes had to visit the capital more frequently, especially those from places where princesses of the Mongol descent had married. The princesses who had married into the capital also tried their best to visit the capital more often.
As mentioned above, Princess Duanmin had a rather unpleasant personality, and her relationship with Emperor Kangxi was quite ordinary. If we had to compare her to someone, it would probably be the Eighth Concubine. However, Princess Duanmin was much more assertive than the Eighth Concubine—she was the legitimate daughter of the previous Prince Jian, Jidu, and was raised by the Grand Empress Dowager. She had a son, and her status was seemingly higher than her husband's, as she represented the imperial family.
Therefore, although her personality was not pleasant, she was more capable of standing firm than the Eighth Lady. Although Kangxi had an average relationship with her, he could not say anything. She did not like illegitimate children, but she could give birth herself, so no one could do anything to her.
Now that Kangxi, with whom she had a less-than-close relationship, had died, and the new emperor had no ill feelings towards her, it was natural for her to visit more often. In the 49th year of Kangxi's reign, her husband also died, leaving her with no further ties—and her son inherited the title, her fierceness level shot up another notch.
When the Grand Empress Dowager heard of her arrival, she was overjoyed and talked about it repeatedly. Yinreng turned a blind eye and approved Princess Duanmin's visit to Beijing, even providing her with a room in Changchun Garden for a short stay. Princess Duanmin began to travel back and forth between Changchun Garden and her residence in Beijing, ultimately spending more time in the garden.
Today, a group of women gathered at the Empress Dowager's place to talk, and the topic of selecting new palace maids came up. Speaking of selecting palace maids, the topic naturally turned to sending the maids home early, which is why Princess Duanmin made this comment.
As a princess, Duanmin was not well-received during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, and her personality had indeed become somewhat hardened. Now, favoring the new emperor over his father, she behaved more respectfully than she had in the past. Yinreng, needing to give face to both the Grand Empress Dowager and the Mongols, was more polite to her. These two factors combined to make Princess Duanmin's life even more comfortable, and it was hard to deny her.
When she mentioned the matter of letting the palace maids go home early in a tone of comment, the listeners were not surprised at her attitude at all.
The old lady even held her daughter's hand and asked about her life: "Did you have an easy journey? How are the children?"
Princess Duanmin still had enough affection for the Empress Dowager, and said with a smile: "It's cool on the meadow, and it's a familiar path, so it's very good. Lobsang Gunbu is meeting the emperor in front, and he is in good spirits." Lobsang Gunbu is the son of Princess Duanmin and the current Prince Dalhan of Khorchin.
The Empress Dowager said quickly, "That's good, that's good. I feel relieved now. Oh, it's been a long time since I last saw you. I miss you so much."
Princess Duanmin's eyes moistened: "My daughter misses mother too."
The Grand Empress Dowager always adhered to the principle of being consistent with the Emperor, and helped him to sell good things: "The Emperor and the Empress have arranged a residence for you in the garden. You can go and see it later. Come and stay, and we can talk."
Princess Duanmin was very surprised and thanked Shujia solemnly: "The emperor and the empress have been very kind to me."
Ning Hui twitched her lips stiffly, not saying a word. This woman, though still Yarjiang'a's aunt, was extremely dislikeful of Yarjiang'a's family.
Shujia had no negative comments about this kindhearted person. This was also because Princess Duanmin, though arrogant, did not target her. She said, "As she should. The Empress Dowager misses the princess very much."
Ning Hui's heart was intensifying. She could foresee that from today until Princess Duanmin finished her wedding banquet and left—she couldn't avoid Princess Duanmin's presence. The chances of running into her on various occasions increased significantly, especially when paying respects to the Grand Empress Dowager. As a junior, your elders would give you a hard time, but you couldn't give them a hard time in return.
Shujia knew Ning Hui was unhappy, but she couldn't afford to offend the Grand Empress Dowager, so she used her strengths without any pressure—she asked, "Princess, have you met Princess Rongxian's daughter?"
Princess Duanmin's main reason for coming this time was to attend the wedding of Princess Rongxian's daughter. As princesses marrying out of wedlock, and as neighbors in a broader sense, they naturally wanted to join in the fun. Princess Duanmin had actually met Princess Rongxian's daughter, Borjigit; their husbands were considered relatives. She flattered Borjigit with a flourish.
The Empress Dowager was also delighted when she heard this: "That's good."
Princess Rongxian was very proud when she heard this. She said a few humble words, thanked the emperor for his grace, and then turned to flatter the emperor: "I heard that Jiahe was produced the day before yesterday. This is a very auspicious sign and can only happen in a prosperous era." Although the emperor was not here, it was okay to flatter his wife.
Princess Duanmin said with great interest, "I've often heard of such auspicious signs, but I've never seen them myself. Have you seen them?"
Seeing how curious they were, Shujia couldn't help but twitch her lips.
The Empress Dowager was already gesturing: "It's grown this big, with two ears of corn."
Jiahe, a symbol of good fortune, was a stimulant in the agricultural era for the nation, the emperor, and the entire court. If the women of the country were so enthusiastic, one can only imagine how excited the emperor must have been.
But when Yinreng and Yaerjiang'a heard the news, they both stood up. Yinreng asked, "Where is Jiahe now?"
Of course it was in the rice fields. He asked this question only to confirm the exact location so that he could go and take a look. And now, he had already moved on. The young eunuchs hurriedly led him to see it, and halfway along they met Hongdan again, and together they rushed to the rice fields.
Here we have to talk about "taboos". The queen's name is Shujia. Under normal circumstances, these two characters cannot appear. If they appear, they must be replaced. This problem is more troublesome. If you avoid it, it means that everyone knows the queen's name, which is more troublesome. Moreover, the homophony of these two characters is too common. What should Hongdan call his fourth uncle? You don't go back to "home" after work? We have to follow the example of Emperor Taizu and do not avoid such a common character. Similarly, Hongdan's name is also quite tragic. Eggs can be changed to "jizi", but Yuandan and Zhengdan have to remain unchanged.
So Jiahe is still Jiahe, not "Xiangruihe".
Arriving at the fields, they saw the auspicious sign of "same ears of grain in different acres." Father, son, uncle, and nephew looked at each other, each seeing surprise in their own eyes. Life at the court was truly difficult these days, with years of banditry and famine. Yinreng smiled, rubbed his hands, and uttered three good words.
Then he called his friends to come and see Jiahe, organized royal family members and ministers to come and see the place, and people of all kinds also presented congratulations.
Then……
Then... this Jiahe plant was carefully dug out, air-dried, and used as a specimen!
Shujia and the Empress Dowager were lucky enough to be invited by Yinreng to visit.
When Shujia saw the "Auspicious Grain" which had already taken shape as a specimen, she suddenly felt like she was struck by lightning!
Damn it!
As a time traveler, Shujia initially had a bit of ambition. She'd considered hybrid rice, but she was forced to face reality due to objective constraints. She didn't have the financial resources, she didn't have people to follow her lead, and she couldn't find any mutant plants. When asked to describe what rice looked like, she couldn't quite articulate it.
Now Yinreng has authority, people obey him, and whatever he says goes. He even stepped on dog shit and encountered a mutant plant, but he actually ordered it to be pulled out! Damn it!
Hybrid rice is not necessarily derived from double-spike rice (Shujia has completely forgotten the steps of hybridizing rice, she only knows that it requires hybridization ==), but the practice of plucking up "auspicious" rice and using it as a specimen to commemorate the discovery can definitely stifle many scientific and technological advances.
Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn't say anything, yet she had to follow along, saying, "What a good omen, what a good omen!" Remember, in the era of feudal superstition, auspicious signs could only be sought, not artificially created. If they were created, they had to be done quietly, never spoken of, and certainly not told to the emperor! [1] At the same time, Shujia also understood a truth: this auspicious grain was like a rhinoceros horn or an elephant's tusk, so precious that it was cut off from the world. The rice fields of Wuyi Zhai were also affected by this, and were turned upside down by a group of eunuchs, who looked at almost every single one of them, just to discover another auspicious plant.
I won’t say anything more, just watch and see, it’s not so easy to change the concept.
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Unaware of the empress's apprehensive expression, the emperor and his court, having received this auspicious proclamation, were thrilled. What did this prove? It proved we had done a good job!
Faced with the overwhelming number of memorials, Yinreng's confidence increased. He had been a little impatient. He had been on the throne for almost two years, and he hadn't done anything serious yet, yet he was faced with so many difficulties. Although he had laid out many chess pieces, none of them were ready for use, which made him feel a little depressed.
Now, Yinreng's expression was smiling, and Hongdan standing beside him also had a smile on his face.
Yinreng glanced at the memorial, then ran over to the auspicious plant and gazed at it for a moment—he now kept it in his room, where he lived day and night. Hongdan glanced at it, then slid over to admire it once more.
Yinreng said to his son, "You should work diligently and make auspicious signs common."
Hongdan quickly agreed and flattered his father: "This is due to Khan Ama's rule and the peace in the world."
Clenching his fist, Yinreng ran back to work. For now, civil affairs were more important than military affairs, and that was the focus of his work. He appointed Ehai as the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Sichuan, Erlunte as the Governor-General of Huguang, and Gao Qiwei as the Admiral of Huguang.
After approving it, he did not send it to the Grand Secretary to write it into an imperial edict, but let his son read it first.
Hongdan saw that all three were middle-aged or older, discovered by Kangxi, especially the first two, who could be considered "honest officials." Fortunately for Yinreng, they were all bannermen. Among them, Erlunte was the more powerful. A member of the Kochili clan, he belonged to the Manchu Bordered Red Banner and was known for his integrity. Kangxi once compared him to Zhang Boxing, saying they were the two with the highest integrity among the governors and governors-general.
"Khan Ama employs the right people, and the two places are governed well." This is not flattery.
"How can it be cured? Tell me."
Hong Dan then analyzed the resumes of both men and said, "This is exactly the kind of person the governor should employ."
Yinreng shook his head: "I use them for at least two things."
Yinreng placed these "honest officials" in various provinces to prepare for economic reform. Once a plan was finalized, these officials would adhere to policies that benefited the nation and the people, and their integrity was considered high. This, to a certain extent, prevented the "good teachings being corrupted by crooked monks" during the implementation of the new policies. Furthermore, before a solution to socioeconomic conflicts was determined, their integrity and ability allowed them to address the problems that arose within their administration to the greatest extent possible, delaying the onset of social ills and buying time for reform.
The court continues to teach us that we should not only focus on the present when doing things. Unless a knife is on our neck, we must consider everything comprehensively and make the best use of people and things.
Hongdan accepted the teaching and remembered this carefully.
Then, Yinreng took advantage of this auspicious opportunity to reward all "honorable officials," regardless of whether they were dead or alive. Those who were dead were commended and their families were rewarded. Those who were alive were commended and rewarded, and if they were still in office, they were given an additional rank. If they were not in office, the names of their descendants were recorded for possible appointment.
Each commendation included the phrase "lightening the economy and facilitating the people's livelihood." Those who abolished exploitative taxes and miscellaneous fees were particularly commended. Among them was Shi Lin, who reformed taxes and labor service. After his death, his son, Shi Wenying, became a military governor, so he was awarded silver. Xu Chao, a retired official, and his son, Xu Qi, a newly minted Jinshi, were particularly remembered by Yinreng. Liu Yinshu, while still in office, was commended and promoted one rank.
And so on and so forth, I just want to send everyone a signal: I want to comfort the people, so don’t exploit them too much!
Because of Xu Chao, he also thought about reducing the fire consumption. At this time, in addition to paying grain, people also had to pay silver. The silver the people handed in varied in quality and quantity, and the government had to uniformly cast it into silver of standard size and fineness. This process would involve losses, and the government certainly wouldn't cover the losses, so it had to collect a little more from the people, which became the fire consumption.
Simply put, the so-called fire consumption is the extra button that the clothing factory sews into your clothes when you buy them.
This made sense. Official salaries were already low (excluding embezzlement and kickbacks), so asking them to supplement them was excessive. However, there was a certain percentage for fire consumption. When you remelt silver, you'll lose a few percent of the silver you melt. There was a rough ratio. Initially, this ratio was reasonable, but then some clever officials realized that by slightly increasing the fire consumption ratio, they could pocket a significant profit.
Some officials, obsessed with making money, saw it as a significant source of income, and it eventually became a common practice in the bureaucracy! Expenses continued to rise, and the burden on the people grew heavier. It wasn't just about sewing on one extra button; it was about buttons on the entire lining of your clothes. How could anyone afford it?
When Xu Chao was the governor of Henan, he reduced the fire consumption to below one cent. Yinreng's decree used this as the standard. The imperial edict also portrayed the lives of the common people as utterly miserable, with stories of bad weather and rampant banditry. Then, with a sudden shift in tone, the subject was: "If you continue to collect taxes like this, won't you drive the people into rebellion? Anyone who causes unrest in your area through excessive exploitation will have their property raided!"
After the father and son finished their lesson, it was the Grand Secretary's turn to take charge. Li Guangdi thought to himself, this emperor is really going to do something big. "Yes! It's better to mess with the common people and the officials than to mess with the gentry."
Wang Fan highly praised the emperor for his love for the people.
Ma Qi had to admit that the officials couldn't just ignore the situation. He then brought up another unpleasant matter: "Qi Shiwu's case remains unresolved, and Zhao Shenqiao has filed a complaint again."
Mr. Zhao's work attitude has always been serious and responsible. Although he changed positions, he still insisted on finishing his original work himself. You two corrupt officials are desperate to get out of this job, so you actually framed the censors! Why not frame someone for corruption? You truly are the one who only allows the officials to set fires, but not the people to light lamps!
Yinreng's face darkened: "I know." There was no way to protect Qi Shiwu and Tuoheqi anymore. These two people were corrupt, formed cliques, and took revenge on people to death. They were not suitable for the current situation.
"Let them retire with their original rank," Yinreng thought for a moment, "Gao Xiachang will be allowed to serve as a Jieshizhong after he has paid the compensation."
Li Guangdi glanced at Ma Qi, then said to Yinreng in a serious tone, "Qi Shiwu is the Minister of War, and he is entrusted with the command of the Qi Infantry. I would like to ask the Emperor for instructions on these two vacancies."
Yinreng closed his eyes for a moment and said, "Let Geerfen temporarily lead the Ministry of War and the Infantry... Let Shi Wensheng be reinstated!"
Hongdan's ears twitched and he regained his composure.
Having the Grand Secretary draft the imperial edict and convey the emperor's wishes, Yinreng instructed Hongdan: "Queen Xian is getting married one day. You, Hongxi, Hongtong and the others should go and join in the fun."
Hong Dan smiled unconsciously: "My son obeys your order."
"Look how happy you are!" Yinreng scolded with a smile, and then sighed, "When I was older than you, I was also very happy to hear about going out of the palace to join in the fun. Go ahead, you have to send gifts, prepare them and show them to your mother. You should get married to take care of these trivial matters."
Hongdan's ears flushed. "Father, if you don't have any other instructions, I'll go pay my respects to Mother."
Yinreng couldn't help but reach out and slammed his head on Hongdan's forehead.
Hongdan looked up and retreated with a smile.
The author has something to say: [1] The Qing emperors still attached great importance to agricultural technology. Kangxi also worked hard to study and promote rice cultivation, mainly promoting cultivation to the north and researching early-maturing and multi-season rice, but it seems that auspicious rice was not included.
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