Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The atmosphere at the court meeting was tense.

The Ming Dynasty restored the Tang system, and officials of fifth rank and above could sit down when attending court. But at this moment, many chairs were empty and unoccupied, which would have been an eyesore in the hall.

The king and his ministers looked at each other and remained silent for a long time.

According to the established procedure of the court meeting, the emperor should speak at this time, but Ju Ming sat there without saying a word.

Since the eunuchs have been suppressed and denied power, the accompanying eunuchs are not allowed to go to the hall. Now they are standing outside the side exit of the hall.

The official on duty who was presiding over the court meeting was extremely anxious as he stood there, but he did not dare to say or do anything.

Suddenly, Ju Ming started to call his name: "Meng Zhao."

"I'm here." Meng Zhao stood up and went out.

Ju Ming said: "Your brother-in-law opened a calligraphy and painting shop in the capital. Do you know?"

Meng Zhao replied: "I know it."

Ju Ming asked again: "How much do you know?"

Meng Zhao felt a little confused, and suddenly felt a little scared. In his haste, he wisely said: "I have not agreed to anyone's request!"

Ju Ming sneered: "If you really had your hands on some things, you wouldn't be standing here today. You would have gone to Dali Temple to drink tea long ago. You should retire early. Your official title will remain unchanged, and you will receive half your salary every month."

"Your Majesty, please make it clear where I made a mistake." Meng Zhao was very unconvinced.

Ju Ming said angrily: "I will save your face, so don't be shameless. If you still have any doubts, go home and ask your wife!"

Meng Zhao wanted to open his mouth several times, but hesitated and finally took off his official hat.

Ju Ming said: "Hold your hat. It's just early retirement, not direct dismissal from office."

Meng Zhao put on his hat again, bowed, and bowed down.

A cabinet minister retired early, and countless officials at the court were shocked.

Min Zishun was trembling even more, because his matter was much bigger than Meng Zhao's. Not to mention early retirement, even dismissal from office is a light sentence, and in serious cases, you may lose your head.

Sure enough, the emperor continued to call his name: "Min Zishun!"

"I'm here." Min Zishun stood up and went out.

Ju Ming said: "Go to Dali Temple by yourself so that you can explain your guilt and maybe save your life."

"According to the decree..."

Min Zi resigned with great difficulty as his throat went dry. Two guards were waiting for him outside the palace.

Perhaps he could save his life, which meant that he would at least have to be exiled!

There was silence in the main hall.

If we only look at the number of central officials investigated and dealt with, this case is much larger than any previous one.

So far, one cabinet minister has been forced to retire, a minister has been demoted to prefect, and a general envoy, a minister, two left ministers, and three right ministers continue to be investigated.

Zhu Ming shouted again: "Li Hanzhang, Qian Chen!"

"I'm here." Both of them came out.

Ju Ming said: "You two, cut off the third division and increase the rank, and demote them all to young masters. Go back and control your gang members! Of course, there are some people who don't need to be controlled by you, and the Third Law Division will help deal with them."

"According to the order."

Li Hanzhang and Qian Chen returned to their seats. Their vests were soaked with sweat. They didn't even dare to deny that they had gang members.

Zhu Ming glanced at the ministers: "Wei Yingshi!"

Wei Ying came out and said: "I am here."

Ju Ming said: "I will cut off my official position and pay a fine of three months. From now on, I will work honestly in the Ministry of War, and don't get involved in the messy old friends. Mi Fu's son-in-law is one, Wang Yucheng's grandson is another, Qian Weiyan's great-nephew is another , Where did your family come from with so many old friends? Do you want the imperial court to give you all the old friends of the Wei family? Why did Qian Weiyan find you instead of interceding with Qian Chen, who is from the same clan? "

"I'm guilty!" Wei Yingshi had sweat breaking out on his forehead.

His crime was not serious, because all the old friends he promoted had official status.

Wei Yingshi did not accept any heavy gifts, but relied on his influence to ask the officials to make good arrangements for those old friends who asked for help without breaking the rules.

From beginning to end, he only helped three family friends run for office, and he even ignored his own brother.

But of the three family friends he helped, two were involved in the case this time!

Ju Ming continued: "Ling Guxu."

"I'm here."

"Meng Zhao has retired, and you will take over as cabinet minister."

"I will devote my whole life to sharing the country's worries!" Ling Guxu shouted loudly.

Zhu Ming shouted again: "He Su."

"I'm here."

"You will be transferred to the Tongzhengyuan Envoy."

"According to the order."

Ju Ming is still appointing officials personally:

"In the State of Huan, he was transferred to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs."

"Pan Lianggui, transferred to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. You will stay in the Ministry of Punishment to continue the trial of the case. The affairs of the Ministry of Household Affairs will be temporarily handled by Zuo Shilang."

"Li Gang, transferred to the Ministry of Criminal Affairs to participate in the trial of cases."

"Zhao Fengji was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Industry."

"Zhang Jun, promoted to left minister of the Ministry of Industry."

"Li Guang was promoted to the position of Minister Zuo of the Ministry of Civil Affairs."

"..."

A large number of officials were transferred or promoted. Even Liu Shiren, the first magistrate of the Ming Dynasty and who had been implicated in demotion earlier, was transferred back from Guangxi to serve as the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Xu Ying, the son of former Shangshu Xu Fuyan, who was also implicated, was also transferred back to Luoyang Prefecture this time.

Ju Ming said to the ministers: "The remaining candidates for official positions will be discussed by the cabinet and the staff, and a list will be handed over as soon as possible. Disband the dynasty!"

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

Everyone bowed in unison, and the oppressive air in the hall finally dissipated.

The ministers left one after another, no one said anything to each other, and they all went back to do their own things.

…

The official residence of the cabinet minister.

Yu Shanwei looked at her husband in surprise: "Why are you back so early?"

Meng Zhao was too lazy to ask his wife what she had done. He just said, "Pack up your belongings and prepare to move out. This mansion must be vacated for the new cabinet minister."

Yu Shanwei felt as if he was struck by lightning when he heard this, and asked cautiously: "Are you dismissed from office or temporarily demoted?"

"The official title will remain unchanged. If you retire early, you can still receive half of your salary for the rest of your life," Meng Zhao said. "Your Majesty thinks of the old friendship, so he has given us dignity."

Yu Shanwei sat down silently, with an expression of regret and regret.

After a long time, she said: "Don't you ask why?"

Meng Zhao said: "With my ability, being a prefect is the limit. I was promoted to cabinet minister in a daze, all because of your help in planning behind the scenes. What's the use of asking more now? I'm lucky to be able to stay in office and retire."

"I'm sorry." Yu Shanwei said.

Meng Zhao waved his hands and said: "Pack your things and move out of the minister's official residence as soon as possible. Luoyang's house was also sold by Guan Ya, and we moved to Wangchuan Valley to serve the Emperor. The happiest time in my life was when I used to teach in Daming Township Don’t think about anything, don’t worry about anything, just teach the children in the village for the rest of our lives.”

Yu Shan smiled bitterly: "Okay, let's go teach."

Yu Shanwei was actually a little reluctant to part with her, because she was so famous in the capital, and countless ladies and wealthy women centered on her, forming a popular circle in Luoyang, Kaifeng.

They led the ladies' fashion in dressing, leisure and entertainment, often invited celebrities to hold literary gatherings, and occasionally held scientific symposiums. Poetry, painting, music, science...all kinds of writers, artists, and scientists are all their guests.

And she, Yu Shanwei, is the queen of fashion, literature, art, and science in the capital!

She probably knew where she had offended the emperor.

First, the small circle she leads has become a communication platform for married women. In this case, there were many wives of criminals who used her circle to form gangs. Including Qin Hui’s wife Wang!

Second, her brother opened a calligraphy and painting shop in Luoyang, helping members of the circle sell various artworks on consignment. Many calligraphy and painting works are sold at prices much higher than the market price, but many people come to buy them. This is actually a disguised form of bribery.

Works by husband and wife Meng Zhao and Yu Shanwei are also sold at high prices in this store.

Yu Shanwei was a little worried at first, but gradually he felt it was ordinary and even thought his work was worth the price.

When people have been exposed to unreasonable things for a long time and become accustomed to them, people will think that they are reasonable!

There are four types of corruption in ancient times: elegance, business, robbery, and hegemony.

【elegant--

That is to say, officials' literary and artistic works are sold at high prices, including charging extremely high retouching fees to write inscriptions or articles for others.

Or art may be sold to officials, and the briber buys it at a high price, while the bribe taker buys it at a low price. 】

【business--

At a higher level, you can use your position to let your cronies do related business.

For a low-level one, open a pawn shop or casino. The briber took a new robe worth a thousand guan to the pawn shop and pawned it off as a tattered cotton-padded jacket. Or go to the casino opened by officials and lose a lot of money. 】

【Steal——

This is corruption in the usual sense, withholding money and food, withholding military pay, expropriating taxes, etc. 】

【Ba——

That is, they used their power to bully men, dominate women, plunder, and seize the various properties of wealthy businessmen, gentry, and ordinary people. 】

Yu Shanwei belongs to the word "elegant", and she really thinks it is an elegant thing.

The price of Zhao Kai's paintings has soared, which is also due to Yu Shanwei's hype.

She has more than 30 pieces of Zhao Kai's paintings in her hands, all of which were purchased at relatively low prices in the early days. She takes them out for everyone to appreciate at every cultural gathering, and the prices of the paintings continue to rise over time.

Fortunately, the ladies consigned the artworks, and Yu Shanwei only charged a small fixed consignment fee and did not make crazy profits based on the selling price.

Otherwise, Meng Zhao would not be as simple as retiring early!

For Yu Shanwei, making money is just incidental, and she enjoys the scenery of stars and moon.

Yu Shanwei directed his servants to pack their belongings, and then took a car to his brother's calligraphy and painting shop.

She said to her brother: "All calligraphy and paintings on consignment must be returned to their original owners. Including the calligraphy and paintings of mine and your brother-in-law's, make a list, write down the name and price, and I will personally go to the palace and submit it to Your Majesty."

Yu Shanwei is very nostalgic for this place. To put it another way hundreds of years later: It is the first salon in Beijing!

The clothes that are popular here will soon become popular in Luoyang and even gradually spread to the whole country.

The prices of artworks that are highly sought after here are rapidly rising.

Poems that become famous here can become household names overnight.

Even the scientists came here with their research results to announce them. Although most of the ladies could not understand it, the Emperor and the Emperor liked it, so they also warmly received the scientist and introduced him to their husbands.

Countless down-and-out scholars who want to become famous have tried their best to get an invitation just to show up at an event held by Yu Shanwei.

All this will cease to exist!

At this moment, Meng Zhao was hiding in the study, drunk and fell asleep with tears in his eyes.