Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 72 Zhang Cong asked three questions, Zhu Houcong praised (please read)
The first day of July in the sixteenth year of the Zhengde reign.

The cabinet issued an edict in accordance with the emperor's order, and the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Jing retired due to illness. The Right Censor-in-Chief Jin Xianmin was transferred to be the Left Censor-in-Chief in charge of the court affairs. Zhang Cong was promoted to the position of imperial tutor for his merits in clearing the fields, and He Mengchun was reinstated as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Then, the cabinet issued an imperial decree to establish a performance evaluation system.

The cabinet is divided into six subjects, and the six subjects are divided into six ministries.

The Censorate was evaluated by the Chief Censor-in-Chief, and the Emperor himself then evaluated the Censor of Chengdu.

This was a measure of administrative reform that Zhu Houcong implemented after consultation with the cabinet in order to facilitate the court's subsequent improvement of its financial situation.

Since the new financial system still requires more than 20,000 civil servants across the country to implement it, the reform and rectification of the civil service system is naturally the first thing to do.

This performance evaluation system undoubtedly increased the power of the cabinet, allowing it to indirectly control the six ministries through the six departments, making it easier for the cabinet to serve as the center of reform and lead the reform.

Yang Tinghe was filled with envy and could not help but sigh: "Liang Shunde is so lucky! I only hope that after he pays off his debts in the future, he can take this opportunity to restore the good governance of the temple! He can take this opportunity to lead the court officials to decide on the grand ceremony as soon as possible."

Liang Chu actually invited the Minister of Rites Mao Cheng to the cabinet and said, "It is better to discuss the grand ceremony in the court."

Mao Cheng nodded: "The court's discussion is naturally more appropriate than the ministry's discussion."

Therefore, Mao Cheng submitted another memorial, requesting the court to discuss the grand ceremony.

Zhu Houcong also knew that this major event, which had attracted much attention from both inside and outside the court, must be determined as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to do the next thing.

Moreover, he also needed to use this incident to identify which officials in the court were stubborn and conservative and which ones could be won over.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong approved Liang Chu's proposal and decided to gather the cabinet ministers, officials from various ministries and departments, as well as the censors and Hanlin officials on July 5 to discuss the grand ceremony.

And on the fifth day of July.

The ministers who participated in the court discussion all arrived at the front hall of Wenhua Hall early.

Since this was a discussion of rituals, the Minister of Rites Mao Cheng spoke first:
"Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty appointed Prince Dingtao as the Crown Prince, and appointed Sun Jing of King Xiao of Chu as Prince Dingtao, and worshipped Prince Gong. Prince Gong was the Crown Prince's biological father...Now that Your Majesty has inherited the throne, it is appropriate to follow the example of Prince Dingtao and let Prince Chongren Houxuan, the second son of Prince Yi, be the ruler of the country."

"Also, when Emperor Yingzong of Song Dynasty appointed the son of Prince Pu Anyi as the successor of Emperor Renzong, Sima Guang said, 'Prince Pu should be honored with a high position and great title, and be called the emperor's uncle instead of his name'... Cheng Yi said, 'The descendants call the descendants their parents, and call the descendants their uncles and parents. This is a great confusion for the living. However, the meaning of the descendants is the most noble and great, so they should be given a different title, such as 'Imperial uncle, great king of a certain country'. Then the orthodoxy will be clear, and the descendants will also be extremely respected."

"Now, Prince Xingxian is the younger brother of Emperor Xiaozong, and the biological father of Your Majesty, and is equal to Prince Pu'an Yi. Your Majesty should call Emperor Xiaozong 'Imperial Father', change Prince Xingxian to 'Imperial Uncle', and Princess Xingxian to 'Imperial Aunt Princess Xingxian'. Whenever you report Prince Xingxian and write to Princess Xingxian, you should call yourself 'Nephew Emperor So-and-so'. This will be a legitimate and private relationship, with both grace and courtesy, and can be a law for all generations!"

Zhu Houcong also came to the back hall of Wenhua Hall at this time, sat on the throne, holding the wooden hammer, and heard Mao Cheng's remarks.

In this regard.

Zhu Houcong sneered.

But he did not rush to express his opinion because he knew he needed to see how other ministers reacted.

"Very good!"

"The Spring and Autumn Annals says: 'The descendant is called the son'. According to the system of this dynasty, the emperor only calls the ancestors and vassals uncles by their surnames, and calls himself the emperor without using his given name. Now, King Xingxian is called 'the great king of the emperor', and he also calls himself by his given name. This is a sign of respect."

“It’s a fair argument!”

Hanlin scholar Feng Xi also stepped out and spoke at this time.

Zhu Houcong remained silent.

"That's right."

At this time, Yang Shen, an external editor, also said, "Your Majesty has been nurtured by the whole world, and you have pleased him and not violated his will. How can the nurturing of a family or a country be the same as Japanese? This is what Confucius called 'serving him with propriety'. Other ideas of honoring him and calling him a relative are not proper. Now it is appropriate to call him the 'uncle', to make it clear that there is no second master in the great throne. However, adding the word 'emperor' above 'uncle' means that he is extremely respectful to your Majesty's uncles and uncles, which can be said to be the best of both worlds."

"My father holds the same view!"

When Yang Shen said this, he looked around at the court officials.

Many ministers nodded.

For a moment, some people wanted to open their mouths to refute, but they did not dare to say anything at this moment.

At this time, Zhang Cong took the initiative to stand up.

"What is right and what is wrong? In my opinion, what you hold is a different view!"

then.

Zhang Cong said something.

Yang Shen's face suddenly darkened.

Mao Cheng and other members of the ritual protection faction could not help but suddenly change their color.

Jiang Ruobi just shook his head helplessly at this time.

"How can the relationship between parents be changed so easily?"

Then Zhang Cong asked this question.

"I have said that Your Majesty raised the whole country, so that he could enjoy his heart and not violate his will. How can the raising of a family or a country be compared to the raising of a child? How can the relationship between parents and the relationship between the whole country and the world be compared?"

Yang Shen said in a deep voice.

Zhang Cong laughed and said, "I have three questions. Please discuss them."

After saying this, Zhang Cong bowed to everyone.

Zhu Houcong also listened carefully to Zhang Cong's three questions.

"Your Majesty, upon ascending the throne, immediately decided to honor the Holy Father to correct his title, and to welcome the Holy Mother to take care of her. This is truly a great act of filial piety!"

"The Book of Rites says: 'Rites are not sent down from heaven or earth, but are the product of human nature', so we must not ignore human nature and prevent Your Majesty from fulfilling his filial piety."

"otherwise!"

"In the future, if the people of the world and future generations think that Your Majesty is not filial enough and that you did not acknowledge your parents as soon as you ascended the throne, thus damaging the emperor's virtue, then it will be our fault!"

"Can we, as subjects, really bear this crime? Do we really dare to let our king and father be known as unfilial?!"

“This is the first question.”

When Zhang Cong asked this question, many civil servants could not help but nod their heads and said that it was indeed the case. Filial piety is the most important thing in the world, and ministers should also value loyalty and filial piety. They must not let the emperor have the reputation of being unfilial.

"Second question!"

"The Book of Rites says: 'The eldest son cannot be the successor', but the will says 'The eldest son of King Xingxian will succeed the throne', without mentioning the meaning of successor. So your Majesty's succession is actually the succession of the ancestral line, which is different from Emperor Ai of Han and Emperor Yingzong of Song who first established the throne and then raised the heir in the palace and recognized the emperor as their father."

"So, why do we regard Your Majesty as the same as Emperor Ai of Han and Emperor Yingzong of Song? Why do we not recognize the words of the will and the original meaning of the sages in the Book of Rites, but follow the words of the Song Confucian scholars Sima Guang and Cheng Yi?"

When Zhang Cong said this, Yang Shen's face darkened, but he had to take a step back, clenched his fists, and grinned a few times.

Zhu Houcong also laughed secretly when he heard this.

He knew that Zhang Cong would come out and refute these conservative and ritual-protecting people who only believed in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as the orthodox school.

This also made Zhu Houcong more certain that behind the discussion on rituals was a dispute between conservatives and reformists over ideological propositions. One side still advocated Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, while the other side began to talk about human nature and humanities and demanded a return to the original meaning of Confucianism.

Zhang Cong brushed his sleeves and said, "There is a third question!"

"If Your Majesty really wants to address the Holy Mother as the Imperial Aunt, and the Holy Mother will arrive in Beijing soon, and according to the imperial system, when the aunt sees the Emperor, she can only be a subject of the monarch, not a subject's mother. Then does the Holy Mother have to kneel before Your Majesty when she sees Him?"

"Are we really going to force your Majesty's biological mother to kneel before your Majesty and the Queen Mother?!"

"Zhang Cong!"

"You are talking nonsense!"

At this time, Zhang Chong, the Imperial Censor, stood up, pointed at Zhang Cong and shouted at him harshly.

Zhang Cong sneered and said, "Whether this is a heresy or not, you can discuss it with me."

talking.

Zhang Cong took out a paper from his sleeve and said, "It just so happens that I have already drafted a paper on the debate on etiquette, and I have written down the details of what I have just said in this paper. You can take a look at it. If you have any objections, please speak up."

"The Grand Master once said: Anyone who has dissenting opinions is a traitor and should be executed!"

"Just now, Yang Xiuzhuan has made it clear, and the Grand Tutor also believes that your Majesty's recognition of Xiaomiao as the Emperor's Father is the correct view."

Hanlin editor Wang Zhengyuan spoke with a serious face at this time.

Yang Shen couldn't help but look at Wang Zhengyuan, and then at Mao Cheng.

Mao Cheng himself was also shocked.

Wang Zhengyuan looked at the officials with angry eyes and said, "Do you really want to do evil by reading this strange theory?!"

Many court officials could not help but hesitate.

After hearing this, Zhu Houcong's face darkened, and he thought that this was the deterrent power of Yang Tinghe, and it could also be called the tyranny of the majority.

Seeing that their argument was not tenable, these ritualists relied on their large numbers to threaten to physically eliminate dissenters, which was clearly a double standard.

On the one hand, he asked the emperor to listen to the opinions of the whole world and tolerate the unpleasant words from others, while on the other hand, he himself did not tolerate different opinions.

If this isn’t double standards, then what is?
However, Zhu Houcong did not feel strange or surprised by this and just continued listening.

He believed that not all ministers would be frightened.

"Why not see it?"

"The correct opinion is decided by the emperor, not by the Grand Tutor!"

"Besides, how can anyone who expresses a different opinion be executed? Your Majesty has not yet banned the public from speaking freely, but you are the first to cut off the public from speaking freely."

"If the Grand Master really wants to be a powerful official who disrespects the emperor, I will be the first to report him!"

really.

Not long after, a minister stepped forward and began to speak.

Zhu Houcong smiled faintly: "There are still some very masculine and strong people who are not frightened by the arrogance of these people."

Recently, the number of people who read the book has dropped. Please read the book again.

In addition, the "Ming Tongjian" records that Yang Tinghe gave a grand ceremony to Mao Cheng and said: "Anyone who has dissenting opinions is a traitor and should be executed!" Therefore, the plot here mentions that Yang Tinghe said this, which is not made up by the author, but according to relevant historical materials, Yang Tinghe may have really threatened in this way in history.

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(End of this chapter)