prosperous age

The system of the Ming Dynasty was generally inherited from the Han and Tang Dynasties, although short mourning was once advocated during the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wen of Han even ordered that after the burial, one should wear mourning clothes for fifteen days for major mourning, fourteen days for minor mourning, and seven days for mourning before removing the mourning clothes.

However, by the Eastern Han Dynasty, three years of mourning had become a custom.

By the Tang Dynasty, mourning for three years had become a compulsory measure. It was recorded in the Tang Code: Official System Law: "Anyone who hears of the death of a parent or husband and hides his grief shall be exiled 2,000 miles.

"The mourning period for parents is twenty-seven months, and the formal mourning period is within twenty-five months. If one stops mourning and seeks a job, he will be considered unfilial and will be sentenced to three years in prison."

However, there was a shortage of officials in the early Ming Dynasty. Although Zhu Yuanzhang continued the previous system of mourning, the period of mourning was still 27 months. However, in terms of the scope of mourning, he stipulated that "except for mourning for parents and grandparents who are responsible for the care, people who are in mourning for the rest of the year are not allowed to attend funerals."

As for the reason, Zhu Yuanzhang explained that "grandparents, uncles, and brothers all have to observe mourning for a year. If they are all ordered to rush to mourn, or one person suffers five or six periods of mourning, or travels thousands of miles, then the days in office will be short, and the number of changes will be complicated, resulting in a lack of work."

To put it bluntly, officials frequently attend funerals and observe mourning periods, leaving no one to handle government affairs.

This also opened a door for the subsequent "seizure of love". The ideas advocated by Zhu Yuanzhang were consistent with those in the Han and Tang dynasties. They all put "filial piety" before "loyalty", hoping to strengthen "loyalty" through "filial piety" and thus consolidate their ruling position.

Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to the approval of mourning. According to the "Veritable Records of Ming Taizu", all officials serving outside the capital had to wait until the court sent a document to their place of origin for verification before they could return home to attend the funeral after hearing that their parents had passed away.

This would lead to a problem. In ancient times, communication means were relatively backward. It would take a long time to go back and forth. By the time the officials got home, the funeral might have already ended, and they would not have had time to see their parents off for the last time.

In response to this issue, in the eighth year of Hongwu, Lu Ben, then assistant to the Beiping Censorate, proposed that "if an official encounters the death of a relative, his family members should be allowed to report it to the official, and a letter should be sent to the official's place of work to report the death, which can then be verified."

In other words, after an official's parents died, their family members would report directly to the court through local officials, thus reducing the number of back-and-forth questioning and verification steps.

After listening to it, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that it made sense and agreed to Lu Ben's proposal.

Through this move, the mourning procedure in the Ming Dynasty was greatly simplified, saving the time of repeated verification between the court and the officials' place of origin.

Zhu Yuanzhang carried out drastic reforms on the political system of the Ming Dynasty and made further detailed adjustments to the Dingyou system.

According to the Ming Dynasty Code of Dingyou, all officials in the capital must obtain a document with the word "filial piety" issued by the inner court through the Ministry of Personnel, while local officials must obtain a "citation" from the relevant management agency under the local Ministry of Personnel.

It is worth noting that both the "Kanhe Document" and the "Citation" have another function, which is to serve as a certificate for the court to reinstate officials after the period of mourning is over.

Therefore, another very important government office for officials in mourning - the Ministry of Personnel - also stood out.

However, at this time, the Minister of Personnel Zhang Han was "recuperating" at home, and the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang had moved to another department to temporarily take over the seal of the Ministry of Personnel, so his importance was overlooked by others.

This major event, which had already alarmed the officialdom in the capital, naturally also reached Zhang Han's ears.

The answer to whether Zhang Han wanted to retire and return to his hometown to retire is obvious, but he offended Zhang Juzheng, although the two had a good relationship before.

At this time, Zhang Han was sitting in the study, with a retirement memorial that he had already written in front of him.

Originally, he planned to submit it to the palace in two days, but now Zhang Juzheng was about to return to his hometown to observe his father's mourning, and the people who tried to stop him from continuing to serve in the court were about to leave first, so it was impossible for him not to be tempted.

Once this memorial is submitted, it will be difficult to turn back.

Zhang Han was somewhat unwilling. As the Minister of Personnel, he had one foot in the cabinet.

It was because of the competition with Zhang Siwei for a place in the cabinet that a conflict arose between him and Zhang Juzheng after Zhang Juzheng clearly expressed his support for Zhang Siwei.

Think about it, isn’t it enough what he has done for Zhang Juzheng?

Before, he always followed Zhang Juzheng's lead, but this was the result he got.

"Master, I have found out everything."

Just then, the butler's voice was heard outside the door.

"Come in and talk."

Zhang Han spoke up.

The door creaked open and the butler walked in. He soon stood in front of Zhang Han, bowed and stood solemnly.

"Go ahead."

Zhang Han spoke.

"Wei Ci Fu's proposal did not make a clear position, but asked the emperor to make a decision."

"what?"

Zhang Han cried out when he heard what the housekeeper said.

"Master, Wei Ci Fu"

Just when the butler thought that the master didn't hear clearly and was about to say it again, Zhang Han interrupted him by waving his hand.

Although he was surprised, he instantly understood why Wei Guangde proposed this.

No matter how he drafted this kind of thing, it was actually not safe.

On the contrary, giving the right of choice to the palace can show that as the second assistant, he has no intention of coveting the throne of the first assistant, and make people feel that he is not greedy for the power of the first assistant.

"Any other news?"

Zhang Han then asked again.

"In addition to the outside world's discussion about Li Youzi's memorial, there are also rumors that Prime Minister Zhang should stay in office. In fact, this is the intention of the palace.

It is said that the emperor said in Ciqing Palace that the court needed Mr. Zhang, so the two queens asked Feng Bao to come out and handle this matter."

"Shit."

Before the butler had the chance to tell everyone what he had heard, including the ministers' reactions to it, he was rudely interrupted by Zhang Han again.

At this moment, Zhang Han thought that this must be Feng Bao's attempt to hang the emperor and use the palace to intimidate all officials.

"The cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty has existed for hundreds of years. It has already been a complete system. Without any one of them, it cannot run smoothly.

In just these two days, Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei have managed all the affairs of the cabinet in perfect order."

Zhang Han said dissatisfiedly.

Naturally, the butler did not dare to respond to this. He just lowered his head and stood with his hands hanging down.

"Your Majesty is young, how can you understand these things? Even if Your Majesty really said so, it must be that Feng Bao who lied behind your back."

At this moment, Zhang Han seemed satisfied with the reasons he found.

"Yes, that must be it."

Zhang Han muttered to himself.

Considering the relationship between Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao must have been worried that Zhang Juzheng would be in mourning and he would lose his influence on the previous dynasty, so he deliberately tried to seize the affection of Zhang Juzheng in the palace.

Originally, this matter had nothing to do with him.

But Zhang Juzheng now had a very bad relationship with him and even threatened him to retire and leave the court.

It looks like I have a chance to vent this anger.

After taking a look at the memorial in front of him, Zhang Han finally made up his mind.

The worst that could happen was to leave, but before leaving, he hoped to see Zhang Juzheng leave Beijing in disgrace.

"Hey, don't you want to stay in Beijing to observe the mourning? I'll send you away first."

Zhang Han made up his mind, put away the letter of retirement, spread out the rice paper again and started writing.

Didn’t Li Youzi petition the emperor to “take away his love”?

He would openly oppose the "seizure of love" and send Zhang Juzheng back to his hometown to mourn. All things are difficult at the beginning, and Zhang Han knew very well that if Li Youzi had not hoped to pass this memorial and let Zhang Juzheng successfully stay in Beijing and bring him great benefits, he would never dare to be the first person.

The same goes for opposing Zhang Juzheng's staying in Beijing to observe the system. The first person to submit a petition of opposition must have had great perseverance, otherwise he would not have taken this step.

Given Zhang Han's current situation, there is naturally no need to hesitate, just do it.

Either it was Zhang Han who sent Zhang Juzheng away, or Zhang Juzheng who sent him away.

After asking the steward to grind ink, Zhang Han began to plan this memorial. He was the first person to oppose "seizing the love".

I think those who claim to be upright will certainly not be able to help themselves and follow him in firing criticism.

It seemed that under Zhang Juzheng's governance, the Ming court was calm and well-organized, but in fact, the court had already been divided into two factions because of the new policy.

In the game between the two political groups, Zhang Juzheng, as the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, had great power and influence within the court.

One of the political groups was naturally composed of those who were dependent on him, while the other was gradually brought together by the dissatisfaction and opposition of some officials caused by his reform measures and strong style.

These officials would inevitably use Zhang Juzheng's "love seizure" incident as an opportunity to attack him and try to weaken his power and status.

Zhang Juzheng also had a fatal flaw, which was that he made too many enemies and was unaware that he was already surrounded by dangers.

Whether it was the performance evaluation system or the land survey, they were actually matters that offended people. It can almost be said that except for those who had requests from him, all Ming officials were actually standing against him.

A person who breaks the rules, a person who harms the interests of vested interest groups, an unprecedented dictator, makes those officials uneasy, and their desire to get rid of him as soon as possible is growing day by day.

Finally, such a rare opportunity to "seize love" came across, and the fuse was naturally lit.

Tonight, many Beijing officials are destined to stay awake all night, thinking about the subsequent development of this matter and what they should do to obtain the greatest benefits.

The next morning, the news that Censor Zeng Shichu and Imperial Censor Chen Sanmo submitted a memorial in support of Li Youzi's memorial and requested the emperor to "seize the love" spread to all government offices in Beijing.

This added fuel to the fire again, causing the heat of the "love-stealing" incident to reach a climax at this time.

In fact, just last night, the two Empress Dowagers and the young emperor saw Li Youzi’s memorial in Ciqing Palace.

Empress Dowager Li did not speak this time, but Empress Dowager Chen asked the young Emperor Zhu Yijun what he thought.

Although he was a minor, the little emperor was already fifteen years old. In fact, at this age, ordinary people can marry and have children, which is considered grown up.

During these two days, Feng Bao naturally said many good things about Zhang Juzheng in Zhu Yijun's ears, especially that the court had been constrained by financial issues since the Jiajing period, and he also said that Zhang Juzheng had worked tirelessly and finally alleviated the court's finances.

In short, it was to make the young emperor believe that what Zhang Juzheng was doing would be beneficial for him to take over power in the future and get a prosperous empire.

So this time, the little emperor expressed the same attitude as last time.

"In that case, the emperor should approve the memorial and not allow him to mourn, but let him stay in Beijing to observe the mourning period."

This time, Empress Dowager Chen accepted the appeals of all officials and made up her mind to "seize the love".

At this time, Zhang Han was still thinking about his memorial at home. Seizing a love affair was not a trivial matter, and it was impossible for a decree to decide Zhang Juzheng's future.

Just like the retirement petition, unless there are special circumstances, the petition will be submitted three times.

Naturally, Zhang Han wanted to let the incident ferment to its full potential, and then he would submit a memorial opposing the seizure of the love, which would blow him upside down.

In the study, Zhang Han was still working on a memorial when the butler outside the door asked to see him.

"what's up?"

After letting the person in, Zhang Han asked casually.

"Master, news came from the Ministry of Public Security today that Zeng Shichu and Chen Sanmo also submitted a petition requesting the revocation of their love."

Hearing the butler's words, Zhang Han just nodded slightly.

Originally, he should have asked the housekeeper to submit his retirement letter today, but he had changed his mind and wanted to wait for Zhang Juzheng to leave first.

"It seems that Ma Ziqiang is unwilling to take the lead, or even agree with it."

Zhang Han said this casually, but in fact, Zhang Han felt bitter in his heart.

In theory, he, as the Minister of Personnel, should have a say in this matter, but no one in the palace or outside the palace came to him.

"Anything else?"

Seeing that the butler was still there, Zhang Han immediately asked.

"Rumor has spread in the palace that the emperor has written a decree to take away Zhang Juzheng's love, not allowing him to go home to observe mourning."

The butler said cautiously.

"Snapped."

Zhang Han slammed his palm heavily on the desk and cursed, "Fake minister."

Enduring the pain in his palm, Zhang Han stood up and walked around the room twice, then sat down again calmly.

He had already made up his mind that when the three invitations and three refusal drama was almost over, he would submit a memorial to launch the attack.

At worst, I can just return to my hometown to retire.

However, as soon as he submitted the memorial, even if Zhang Juzheng secured the position of Prime Minister, he would still be humiliated by him.

Moreover, he believed that there were many people who could see through all this.

There are few simple officials.

"Go down and keep an eye on Wei Ci Fu to see what he does."

"Yes, sir."

The butler took the order and left the study, and Zhang Han continued to work on his memorial.

In the following days, officials of Zhang Juzheng's faction and Feng Bao's people continued to submit petitions requesting to "revoke their power". After Zhang Juzheng returned the petition immediately, he immediately wrote a second petition requesting resignation and sent it to the palace again.

The next day, the young emperor Zhu Yijun saw the memorial sent by Zhang Juzheng again, and without thinking, he said to Feng Bao: "Mr. Zhang is my support, how can he leave me for a day?

It is natural to observe mourning for one’s father, but the emperor and father are more important.

Allow him to continue to work in the cabinet and serve as a lecturer after the 79th day of mourning. When the mourning period is over, you will immediately go to the Ministry of Personnel to convey my order. "

The news soon spread again, and Wang Guoguang wanted to write a letter immediately, but he encountered fierce opposition from the Ministry of Personnel.

Although Zhang Han had lost power, many of Zhang Han's people were still in the Ministry of Personnel, and Wang Guoguang had not had time to replace them.

Therefore, when Wang Guoguang asked someone to draft the official document, he found out that Zhang Juzheng's filial piety certificate had already been prepared by someone unknown and was even filed in the document archives of the Ministry of Personnel.

With this, naturally some officials from the Ministry of Personnel spoke out in opposition.

At this time, Wang Guoguang could see that these opposing officials were all Zhang Han's men.

Unfortunately, although he held the seal of the Ministry of Personnel, he still held the official title of Minister of Revenue and was only temporarily in charge of the Ministry of Personnel.

"Zhang Han is going to cut himself off from the position of Prime Minister."

Wang Guoguang and Zhang Han actually have a good relationship, but Zhang Han's behavior this time really made Wang Guoguang dissatisfied.

Immediately, Wang Guoguang asked someone to pass the message to Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, asking them to take action to deal with this person.

However, the news that the Ministry of Personnel refused to take away the love and insisted on issuing the "filial piety document" once again shocked the capital. (End of this chapter)