My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 5 What is the ancestral law?
Hearing Gao Gong's order, the official from the Ministry of Public Administration was so frightened that his whole body trembled. He said quickly:

"Lord Gao, it's against the rules to send it into the palace without Lord Xu's approval!"

Gao Gong raised his eyebrows and said:

"What? Lord Xu is a Lord, but I am not? Did His Majesty deprive me of my position as the drafter of the Gaogong draft?!"

Hearing what Gao Gong said, the minor official from the Ministry of Public Administration almost knelt down.

When the ministers of state fight with each other, the ones who suffer are these petty officials. After Gao Gong said this, the petty officials dared not say anything more. They could only hold Su Ze's memorial in their hands, leave Wenyuan Pavilion and send it to Qianqing Palace.

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng could no longer sit still. He was really curious about what kind of article could move such an important official like Gao Gong so much that he would bypass Xu Jie, the chief minister of the cabinet, and draft it in public before sending it to the emperor.

Zhang Juzheng called over a minor official from the Ministry of Public Administration and asked in a low voice, "Whose memorial is Lord Gao looking at?"

The characteristic of the Ming Dynasty Cabinet is that it is as leaky as a sieve. Zhang Juzheng studied under Xu Jie, so he was naturally well versed in the ways of power and often tried to win over these grassroots officials.

The junior official from the Ministry of Public Administration immediately said:
"Lord Zhang, it is said that this is a memorial from Su Ze, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy."

"Suze?"

Zhang Juzheng secretly remembered the name and prepared to pay attention to this young scholar. He took out some change from his sleeve and sent the minor official from the Ministry of Public Administration away.

What exactly was written in Su Ze’s notebook?
Emperor Longqing saw Su Ze's memorial opened and asked the official from the Ministry of Public Administration:

"Why not send them together?"

"Your Majesty, this memorial was sent to the Qianqing Palace by Lord Gao."

Emperor Longqing frowned. Was it Gao Gong who specially sent it?
Having served as the crown prince for seventeen years under the Emperor Jiajing, and having successively experienced the abuse of power by Yan Song and his son, and the fight for the throne by Prince Jing, Emperor Longqing, who finally inherited the throne, is now thirty-two years old and very mature politically.

When he first ascended the throne, he was forced by Xu Jie and other regent ministers to drive away his teacher Gao Gong.

It was not until this year that Emperor Longqing finally realized what kind of people these "clean officials" who kept talking about "the laws of their ancestors" and "the last will of the previous emperor" were.

Therefore, Emperor Longqing invited Gao Gong back despite tremendous pressure, and not only let him join the cabinet, but also let him serve as the Minister of Personnel.

The appointment was inherently unusual.

The Minister of Personnel is the head of the Six Ministries, in charge of the power of promotion and assessment of officials. The outer court calls him "the Great Prime Minister of Heaven."

The powerful prime ministers of the Jiajing Dynasty, whether Xia Yan or Yan Song, were both prime ministers of the cabinet and ministers of the Ministry of Personnel.

Gao Gong was not even the second-in-command of the cabinet, but he concurrently served as the Minister of Personnel. It was obvious that Emperor Longqing intended to take sides.

It's a pity that the old guy Xu Jie is a coward. Facing Gao Gong's pressure, he can still pretend to be forbearing. In addition, his students and former officials are all over the court, and they insist on staying in the position of Prime Minister, so Emperor Longqing can do nothing about him.

When it comes to specific government affairs, such as attending morning court, Emperor Longqing also had many complaints.

He was already in poor health and was already exhausted from handling government affairs. No important matters were discussed at the morning court, but he had to get up early every few days.

The problem is that when he first ascended the throne, he was flattered by the upright officials such as Xu Jie, who said that he should emulate the policies of Taizu and be diligent in state affairs, which has led to his current embarrassment.

Emperor Longqing finally came to his senses. Xu Jie's approach was "the highest good is like water". He seemed to be non-competitive in everything, but he always used the laws of his ancestors to suppress others.

He used this trick to deal with Yan Song back then, and now he is using it on me.

The thought of this made Emperor Longqing sulk. He had been on the throne for two years, and Xu Jie, holding the "last emperor's edict," was constantly hindering him. Even with Gao Gong's help, the voices of the outer court were no match for the clean forces led by Xu Jie. When would this day end?

While thinking, he opened the question book.

Emperor Longqing did not read Gao Gong's draft first, but read the content of the memorial first.

When he saw Su Ze's words, Emperor Longqing frowned.

Emperor Longqing endured Su Ze's ugly handwriting and thought of the memorial specially sent by Gao Gong, so he read it anyway.

"Please cancel the early morning court session"?
When Emperor Longqing saw this title, his eyes lit up!
As a civil servant in his previous life, Su Ze had some skills in writing official documents.

He himself is a fan of Ming history, and he integrated the memories of his previous life. In addition, he has been practicing memorial writing in the Hanlin Academy these days, so this article is actually quite good.

Coupled with the skills modern people have developed in arguing on the Internet, this article can be called a logical genius.

Su Ze first refuted the claim that morning court attendance was an ancestral law.

Su Ze wrote on the title book:

"Taizu was a commoner who received the mandate of Heaven and gained the world. The country was newly established and had many affairs to attend to. Therefore, Taizu attended court every day and handled everything personally. This was the way of our ancestors."

"During the reign of Emperor Chengzu, the Cabinet assisted in the administration of state affairs, and most government affairs were discussed by the Cabinet. This was the law of our ancestors."

"Emperor Shizong Jiajing, although he did not hold court early, nevertheless his comments were like raindrops, and the inner and outer courts were at peace. There was no lack of government affairs. This was the way our ancestors had practiced."

"Emperor Xiaozong, when he first ascended the throne, attended court every day, stopped attending court in the middle period, and resumed attending court in the later period. What is the law of our ancestors?"

Seeing this, Emperor Longqing applauded!

Yes, Xu Jie and you Qingliu people say that the morning court session is the ancestral law, but which ancestor is the ancestral law?

Especially the last example, when Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty first ascended the throne, he was diligent in his work and attended court early every day. In the middle period, he became lazy and refused to attend court early. In the later period, he became diligent again. Which one of these can be regarded as the ancestral method?
So Su Ze wrote in the title book:
"So even the laws established by our ancestors must be considered in light of the circumstances and not blindly applied."

"The system of the Ming Dynasty has evolved. Important military and national affairs are drafted by the Cabinet and approved by Your Majesty. Miscellaneous affairs are assisted by the Six Ministries, with each official performing their duties."

"So Emperor Sejong didn't attend court, and state affairs were not delayed. Now, he attends court day and night, while his ministers sit in their offices, drowsy, and officials discuss government affairs in deep thought. What good is that?"

"Your Majesty, you have ascended the throne as a new dynasty, and you should usher in a new era. How can you follow the old ways and be trapped by the old conventions?"

"Therefore, I request that the morning court be cancelled."

it is good!
Emperor Longqing clapped his hands in surprise. After reading it, he turned to Gao Gong's draft.

Gao Gong only wrote two sentences:

"The will of heaven is not to be feared, and the ancestors are not to be followed."

Seeing this, Emperor Longqing immediately understood what Gao Gong meant.

This is what Wang Anshi said to Song Shenzong when he was carrying out the reform.

On the one hand, this shows that Gao Gong was effectively following Wang Anshi's intention to reform the country. On the other hand, he also agreed with Su Ze's point of view, which was to raise the banner of "Longqing New Deal" to fight against the banner of "ancestral law" held high by Xu Jie and other upright people!
This is a dispute over the line! This is a dispute over the orthodoxy!
Emperor Longqing stepped down from the dragon throne and paced back and forth. Was this Gao Gong's way to break the deadlock?
Was it to use the memorial of Su Ze, a scholar-official, to raise the banner of the Longqing New Deal and to fight against Xu Jie's control over the government?
The opportunity was before him. Emperor Longqing took a deep breath, walked back to the throne and picked up the red seal.

(End of this chapter)