Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1551 Shenfu Secret Discussion
Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue sat separately as guests and hosts in the study room in the front hall of Shen University's scholar's mansion.

It's not that they just met each other. A group of important figures of the Heart School who were in Beijing, as well as their disciples and two elders held a "tea tasting party" in the flower hall.

Of course, the tea-tasting party is not really for tea-tasting, but no matter what the meeting is, there is a common principle: a meeting with many people is not important, and an important meeting is not crowded.

So now, the location of the "meeting" has been changed from the flower hall to the study room, and the number of participants has been greatly reduced to only two people, which is almost regarded as a secretary meeting.However, the two of them didn't get to the point right away, instead they chatted a few gossips, wondering what charades they were playing.

It wasn't until the half stick of incense was burnt out that Wang Xijue frowned slightly, and said with a little displeasure, "How slow is the supervisor Zhang?"

"Today is different from the past." Shen Shixing waved his hand and said: "After the division of the Beijing camp, the power of the Imperial Horse Supervisor declined greatly. At that time, he was in charge of the Imperial Horse Supervisor. This is not the case today, Huang Mengyu was raised by Huang Mengyu, and Chen Ju held the seal, but he got Dongchang... Dongchang is the key point, and the admirals of Dongchang have always been the easiest to gain power."

Wang Xijue murmured: "In terms of this matter, Chen Ju is worthy of the name and is considered to be a rule, but now it is this Zhang Factory Supervisor..."

Shen Shixing smiled slightly: "It doesn't matter, if he wants to gain power, let him do it first. His biggest opponent to gain power is not me, but Gao Rixin."

Wang Xijue snorted softly, curled his lips and said, "But I don't know what Gao Rixin is thinking now?"

While talking, the housekeeper suddenly came to report that the nobles in the palace had arrived.Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue looked at each other and said, "Please."

Then the two stood up at the same time in a very tacit understanding. Seeing the other party doing the same, they couldn't help but looked at each other and smiled, but there was obviously something mysterious in the smiles.

Soon Zhang Cheng came, but he didn't change into casual clothes at the moment, but was wearing a red silk python suit, and his whole body looked radiant.Seeing that Shen Yuanfu and Wang Ge had already stood up to greet him, he couldn't help being proud, he cupped his hands and smiled and said, "Er Gong Lao has been waiting for a long time, it's our family's fault. But this time it's not our fault, it's because we are about to leave the palace." I was suddenly summoned by the emperor before...hehe."

Shen Shixing's heart moved, he bowed his hands slightly to return the salute, and asked seemingly inadvertently: "The factory governor is His Majesty's confidant, and such a moment cannot be separated for a moment. What did the factory supervisor say?"

"It's not really a big deal." Zhang Cheng said with a smile, "The emperor asked our family over there, and asked without thinking: Do you know Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty?"

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue had a heartbeat at the same time, looked at each other, and asked in unison, "What did the factory supervisor say?"

Zhang Cheng laughed and said: "Our family was also educated by Jinshi (referring to Neishutang), how can we not know Emperor Guangwu? Naturally, we know."

Shen Shixing nodded and said with a smile: "Then what did the emperor say next?"

Zhang Cheng's face was not as natural as before this time, he coughed lightly, and said: "The emperor asked: Do you know why Emperor Guangwu didn't kill the meritorious officials, but killed the three prime ministers?"

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue shuddered, and looked at each other again, and then Wang Xijue took the initiative to ask, "How does the factory supervisor answer?"

Zhang Cheng smiled wryly and said: "To be honest, our family really doesn't know about the emperor's question, so we had to put up a cover, saying, 'servants are just slaves, how can you know the emperor's mind, but the emperor's question is really difficult. Slave.'"

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue cursed inwardly at the same time: What a skater loach!
But the secret curses are the secret curses, and the two of them have to admit that Zhang Cheng's answer is very clever, but in this way, they can only judge for themselves the reason why the emperor suddenly asked this question.

Shen Shixing smiled and invited Zhang Cheng to sit down, then pretended to be talking to himself, and said, "The emperor suddenly asked such a question, what is the purpose?"

Zhang Cheng frowned and said: "Our family is also imagining the two ministers asking for advice." The "Xianggong" here is the honorific title of the prime minister, because Shen Shixing is the chief assistant, so it is generally not good to just say "Ge Lao", while Wang Xijue is only the last assistant Therefore, if it is obvious that the "two elders" are unfair to Shen Shixing, and the "two chief assistants" are naturally even more impossible, then we have to say "two gentlemen".

Wang Xijue said: "Does the factory supervisor know what the emperor said about Emperor Guangwu's killing of the three chancellors?"

In fact, Zhang Cheng didn't take his studies very seriously. Wang Xijue's question was intended to expose people's scars, but he couldn't show it right now, so he could only say in a low voice, "Our family can't remember clearly at the moment."

Wang Xijue knew this early on, so he smiled slightly and said: "In the first month of the 15th year of Jianwu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu dismissed Da Situ Han Xin. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the prime minister was renamed Da Situ, but although Han Xin was a civil servant, he actually had He was granted the title of Marquis of Fuyang after his military exploits. However, on his way back home after being dismissed, he received an imperial edict and was forced to commit suicide together with his son.

As for why he was bestowed with death, it is said that it was because during a court meeting, Emperor Guangwu read the letters of Kui Xiao and Gongsun Shu, and Han Xin suddenly said: "All kings who subjugate a country have talents, and Jie and Zhou also have talents." Xiu was furious, 'thought to be excited'.Later, Han Xin' proved that the old general was hungry and fierce, pointing to the sky and the earth, and his words were very sharp', and was finally dismissed by Emperor Guangwu.However, even so, Emperor Guangwu still felt that he couldn't let go, so he sent someone to catch up with him and put him to death. "

Zhang Cheng frowned and said, "Then why did the emperor mention this matter?"

Wang Xijue didn't answer, but instead said: "The factory supervisor may wish to hear the cause of death of the latter two first."

"All right, all right, Mr. Wang Ge, please tell me."

Wang Xijue was not polite, and continued: "After Han Xin died, the great Confucian Ouyang She was named the Great Situ. Ouyang She was the master of Confucianism at that time. The "Shangshu" was passed down from generation to generation, and his disciples and grandchildren spread all over the world. But the good times did not last long. Ouyang She The problem was soon found out, "Sitting in Runan to punish more than a thousand crimes and found that he was sent to prison." It turned out that Ouyang She was in the post of Runan prefect, and the land was not real, and he also collected more than [-] million dirty money.

When Ouyang She was imprisoned, it was too lively in front of the palace gate. Thousands of people gathered every day to ask the emperor to release Teacher Ouyang.Some of them even volunteered to die for Teacher Ouyang. These students begged in front of the palace every day, but in the end Emperor Guangwu still did not show mercy, and Ouyang She still died in prison.At the same time, Yin Zhang and more than a dozen guards from various counties in Henan were all sitting on the land without real estate, and they were also imprisoned and died. "

Zhang Cheng frowned, and glanced at Shen Shixing. Seeing Shen Shixing's expression was flat, knowing that what Wang Xijue said was true, he couldn't help moving his butt unnaturally, and said, "Then, what about the third one?"

"After Ouyang She's death, Dai She, the Marquis of Guannei, was named the Great Situ. Dai She was better than his two predecessors, because he had been prime minister for nearly three years, while the first two, Han Xin, had been in office for less than two years. It’s only been ten months for Ouyang She. However, after three years, Dai She was finally unavoidable. According to the historical records, "Da Situ Dai She was imprisoned for stealing money by the people he recommended." , so that in the end he also died in prison.”

Zhang Cheng said in astonishment: "This guy... oh, this great Situ must have died too aggrieved, right? Of course he is somewhat responsible for the people he recommended stealing things, but no matter what, a dignified prime minister, This shitty thing is going to kill you, isn't it too unbelievable?"

Shen Shixing opened his mouth at this moment, and said: "The emperor didn't just ask this half of the sentence, but also the other half!"

Wang Xijue said with a smile: "Emperor Guangwu didn't kill the heroes because he was only 40 years old when he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. It was the prime of life and the peak of spring and autumn, so he didn't have to worry about the old officials getting old. In addition, his prince Liu Zhuang was both intelligent and talented. He is old, so there is no need to worry about the heir's inability to control the government in the future."

When he said this, he suddenly stopped, and did not continue.Of course Shen Shixing knew the reason why he kept silent, and even Zhang Cheng realized it after being taken aback for a moment.

Because of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

Speaking of it, Zhu Yuanzhang can be regarded as a very individual and characteristic figure in Chinese history.He not only has a broad mind that can accommodate all rivers and rivers, and can take the heroes of the world for his own use, he is quite like a wise king.But on the other hand, he appeared fierce and violent. After the founding of the country, he almost slaughtered all the veterans who followed him on the battlefield.

In fact, many of the ancient Chinese emperors had the experience of slaughtering heroes, but it is indeed very rare for the Ming Dynasty to be as large in scale, involving a large number of people, and lasting for a long time.

In March of the eighth year of Hongwu, it started with Zhu Yuanzhang's decree to kill Liao Yongzhong, Marquis of Deqing, and continued until his death. The first batch of founding generals of the Ming Dynasty were almost slaughtered in rounds of purges.

In people's impression, all the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty who can be named, except Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Deng Yu and others who died early, most of them have been ruined, and there are even many unofficial histories about Xu Da's death According to legend, he died violently because of Zhu Yuanzhang's gift of food, which aggravated his illness.

In short, when the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Jianwen, ascended the throne, among the first batch of founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty, there were only a few survivors including Guo Ying and Geng Bingwen.

Why did Zhu Yuanzhang do this to the heroes?For many years, there has been a saying that Zhu Yuanzhang has a small belly and full of suspicion, for fear that the heroes and generals who hold military power will rebel and usurp the imperial power.In fact, this statement is completely influenced by folk literature such as opera storytelling, which does not conform to historical facts.

In fact, at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, a drastic reform was carried out on the military management system, and the system of the five-army governor's office was established, which controlled each other and did not belong to each other. Without the right to deploy troops, the military power in the whole country is controlled by the emperor alone.

That is to say, without Zhu Yuanzhang's military talisman and imperial decree, no military general, the governor's office of the five armies, or the Ministry of War would be able to mobilize a single soldier.

Another kind of more argument is that because Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely strict with the suppression of corruption, most of the heroes had to die because they violated his taboos.

This statement seems to be quite objective, and it is not an unofficial legend.One of the things is this: in June of the 21st year of Hongwu, the 60-year-old Zhu Yuanzhang issued a collection of edicts to military generals all over the country "Wuchen Dabao".

This "Wu Chen Da Gao" is very peculiar. It is not as formal as the official documents of the imperial court at all, but the whole text is spoken and plain without any embellishment, which is very clear and easy to understand.

This is because Zhu Yuanzhang was worried that the military generals had a low level of education and could not understand the holy intentions written by the Imperial Academy, so they would not be able to play a role in publicity and warning, so he came up with an ingenious way, "I said it bluntly, big and small are all You know, the virtuous and the stupid must be spared."

So what exactly did he say?Zhu Yuanzhang listed in detail the illegal and criminal acts of 32 military generals from various places in this "Warriors' Great Edict".

Among them are senior generals such as the son of Chang Yuchun and Zheng Guogong Chang Mao, as well as low-level military officers such as Baihu and Qianhu in the local guards. The crimes include interference with local government affairs and other overall issues, as well as details such as harsh treatment and mutilation of soldiers. There are also economic issues such as embezzlement of Mexican military pay and food, as well as style issues such as seizing civilian women, all-encompassing.

It can indeed be seen from this that in the early days of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the situation of heroes and generals relying on their power to commit crimes and trample on national laws and regulations was very common and serious, almost to the point of appalling.

For example, Zhu Liangzu, the Marquis of Yongjia, accepted heavy bribes from the local gentry, rushed into the prison of Panyu County in broad daylight to release the criminals, and whipped the county magistrate; Great changes lead to war...

Various other illegal acts, such as "corruption and harming the people", "taking money from officials", "privately serving soldiers", "raping soldiers' family members", etc., have reached the point of shocking and endangering the rule. The combat effectiveness of the army has been severely reduced, the soldiers are centrifugal, and the people are full of grievances.

So Zhu Yuanzhang said in the preface of this "Wu Chen Da Gao": "I said infinite words of admonition every morning and evening", "I am so old, my mouth is dry, and I am out of breath." , also said that he was not awake"--really, because the military officials were still blinded by profit and turned a deaf ear.

So Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "I am very old, I have met a lot, I have been left behind a lot, and I have suffered a lot since I was a child. I have been a soldier in the army and suffered with the army. I know these hardships carefully."

This is of course true. He was born in a poor peasantry, and he struggled step by step from an ordinary Red Turban soldier at the bottom to become an emperor. He naturally empathized with the bitter life of the soldiers and civilians at the bottom.Therefore, he repeatedly exhorted the heroes and generals to be sympathetic to the people, love the soldiers, and abide by the rules and disciplines.The earnest attitude almost made people cry.It's a pity that his painstaking efforts failed to awaken these obstinate heroes and generals.

As a result, many scholars in later generations believed that Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to reveal his fierce appearance and start killing.

However, this is probably not true, at least not the core reason why he killed the heroes.

When Zhu Yuanzhang bestowed the death of the founding hero Li Shanchang, the prince Zhu Biao, who was always known for his benevolence and won the hearts of the ruling and opposition parties, once remonstrated to Zhu Yuanzhang: "The emperor's father killed too many people too much, and I am afraid it will hurt his kindness."

To put it bluntly, in the Ming Dynasty at that time, apart from Zhu Biao, absolutely no other person dared to talk to Zhu Yuanzhang like this.

But Zhu Yuanzhang liked his eldest son very much and had the deepest high hopes, so he didn't blame Zhu Biao.But on the second day, Zhu Yuanzhang called Zhu Biao to him, threw a thorny thorn stick on the ground, and asked Zhu Biao to pick it up.

The crown prince is not a fool, of course he looked distressed, thinking hard about his father's intentions.

At this moment Zhu Yuanzhang spoke up and said: "I let you take the thorny stick, but there are thorns on the thorny stick, you are afraid of hurting your hands. But if you remove the thorny thorns, you don't have to worry about it. If I say that, don't you still Do you understand my painstaking efforts? I am killing the heroes now to eliminate hidden dangers for you."

Who knew that Zhu Yuanzhang's standby time was too long, and Zhu Biao died of illness before him.Zhu Yuanzhang, who has always insisted on rules and regulations, immediately made Zhu Yunqi, the son of Zhu Biao, the grandson of the emperor.But the young Zhu Yunqi had never practiced government affairs, unlike the prince who had already had rich experience in governing the country, and had a very deep relationship with civil and military officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang feared that his grandson would be too young, with insufficient prestige and experience to control the world. If something happened, the Ming Dynasty might fall into the hands of others.So he went on a killing spree again, eradicating all potential forces that might endanger the Zhu family dynasty.

It's about Taizu, how can you say it easily?So Wang Xijue kept his mouth shut, so Shen Shixing seemed to have never heard of it. After Zhang Cheng figured it out, he immediately coughed lightly and changed the topic to the "topic".

Zhang Cheng said: "The Emperor's Spring and Autumn Period is at its peak, I'm afraid this sentence is just mentioned casually, or it just happens to be connected with the first half of the sentence, and there is no other intention?"

Wang Xijue glanced at him, and said indifferently: "Da Ming today, is there a prince?"

Zhang Cheng was startled suddenly, took a look at Wang Xijue, swallowed his mouth, and asked, "What did Wang Ge think?"

"I am a subject, how dare I guess your superior's thoughts." Although Wang Xijue said so, he took a sip from his teacup and said, "By the way, the third son of the emperor is not yet four years old, right?"

Shen Shixing pondered and said, "I'm fifty-six this year, so I think I won't be able to assist the future Crown Prince."

Wang Xijue smiled, and said, "I'm ashamed to say, I'm one year older than Yuanfu."

Zhang Cheng didn't realize it for a moment, he wondered, "What kind of charade are you two doing?"

Shen Shixing smiled and said: "From the perspective of age, if you say that the most important minister in the court today, who may assist the prince in the future, I am afraid that Gao Rixin is the only one."

Zhang Cheng finally understood, and suddenly said: "Oh, our family knows! In the future, if the Chujun is young, only Gao Rixin will be able to take care of his life, so... if anyone can endanger the Chujun, then only Gao Rixin It's a new day!"

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue looked at each other, but said in a deep thought: "However, the emperor mentioned 'killing the three prime ministers', but this question is a bit... vague."
-
Thank you book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Apodes", "Cao Mianzi", "Yue Xiaoyao", "Chi Yu Jing Fengchen" for their monthly support, thank you!
(End of this chapter)