[Comprehensive History] Clothes are all over the world

When the brush stained with vermilion touches the last plum petal on the drawing paper, the "Nine Nine Cold Dispelling Picture" is completed, which also means the coming of a good spring.

In this era, summer and winter are both life and death hurdles. These two seasons are periods of high incidence of natural and man-made disasters, especially in winter. Compared with the vigorous disasters and catastrophes in summer, the death of winter is more silent, regardless of north and south, Every winter, someone finds out that their neighbor has been killed in a quiet winter day after spring begins.

The calendar and solar terms used in the Ming Dynasty are "Da Tong Li". The calendar rebuilt in the 17th year of Hongwu is based on the Zijin Mountain Astronomical Observation Point established in Yingtianfu, the capital of Daming. Therefore, the calendar of the whole country uses the southern time.

Therefore, when the first spring thunder blew up in Yingtianfu located in the Jiangnan area, most of the frontier fortress was still covered in snow.

But on this day, whether it is the southerners who have changed their winter clothes or the northerners who are still facing the wind and snow, they all raise their wine glasses to the sky together to celebrate the arrival of the good spring.

Next, as more and more residents walked out of the house and walked into the sunlight, the government servants came to count the number of people as usual, and they were surprised to find that except for a few extreme cases, the people around them did not lose their staff!

When they realized this, everyone's first reaction was disbelief. They were used to receiving obituaries from their relatives and friends after a winter, but this year... no matter whether it was the post station or the trafficker. Bring the ominous book wrapped in plain silk.

"This, this must depend on the kindness of the Holy One!" Some simple people had tears streaming down their cheeks thinking about this, and kowtowed on the spot, facing the direction of Ying Tianfu.

Although in the eyes of the nobles above, these uneducated ordinary people are mostly dull nouns, but these people living in the middle and lower classes of society can feel the changes in society the most.

And in this winter, they had a solid, warm and comfortable winter.

With clothes to wear, enough food to eat, and fuel to keep warm, as long as you don’t encounter such bad luck as the house being crushed by snow, in the words of the older generation, you really haven’t had such a peaceful life since you opened your eyes. winter.

The people in the middle and lower classes of society are the most vulnerable in this society. Good policies may not protect them, but bad policies must be the first to suffer. In other words, it is necessary to make ordinary people feel that their lives If it is really getting better, it also means that the perfection of these policies has reached more than [-]%.

It is not easy to achieve this point. This stable winter was obtained with almost all the efforts of the Ming Dynasty from first-rank officials to no-rank officials.

Even the courtiers in the court complained about this point. They thought that His Highness the Crown Prince had put too much attention on this aspect. Frankly speaking, the current winter was much better than before.

After the dikes and dams have been reinforced with the material called "asphalt", although there are still minor disasters in Daming this summer, there is no major dike breach in previous years.

For the people, it is fortunate that such a catastrophe did not happen. The food tax in Ming Dynasty is not high now. If there is no accident, most people can live a prosperous year. As far as the court is concerned, they have done their best.

Instead of focusing on this aspect, why not take a look at Can Yuan, who is about to move after watching the vassal kings sailing to the frontier one after another with few people guarding them?Under the discussion, should we limit the number of vassal kings going to sea, or the number of people going to sea, and then study the possible harm and potential threats that may exist in the long run?

If His Royal Highness doesn't like to hear this, then it's okay for everyone to discuss how to treat those overseas foreigners who came to Ming Dynasty with the ship.

In the second central heart of Ming Dynasty, which is the Wenhua Hall of Chunhe Palace where the East Palace is located, the courtiers who came to report expressed the above advice in more subtle words.

Mu Bai just laughed at that time, the young man with already opened facial features has a handsome face, the gentle and clear eyes inherited from his father and the sharp raised eyebrows from his mother perfectly blended together on his face, it seems that when a young man smiles, he looks very special clear.

In the eyes of most courtiers, their Highness the Crown Prince is undoubtedly a very qualified prince.

Although his actions when he was young left a somewhat unreliable impression in people's eyes, considering that His Highness, who was still a grandson, did these things at an age that could still be forgiven for being young and vigorous, it is natural not to be surprised. Count deductions.

And in any case, this His Highness ran out to take the imperial examination, not to play. For scholars, this His Royal Highness, who has been admitted to the most sacred hall of students by his own ability, is also a kind of royal family. sexual expression.

If the imperial examination is not important, there is absolutely no need for His Royal Highness to attend it, no matter where it is, strength is an important stepping stone. In addition, Zhu Biao has hired many Confucian teachers for his son in the past few years. At that time, the performance of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was unmistakable, and he was even more modest and prudent when he came into contact with the government at a young age.

Apart from the fact that some courtiers thought that he was not strong enough and let down the blood from his ancestors, the courtiers were still very optimistic about the third generation of Ming Dynasty.

And at this moment, when the young man slowly lowered the hand supporting his chin, when he raised his eyebrows, when he restrained the smile on his lips, and looked at them coldly, all these people came to the Spring Palace to persuade them. The courtiers suddenly discovered that His Highness the crown prince's expression and momentum were exactly the same as his grandfather's.

"I am a commoner," the young man slowly stood up from his seat and walked down step by step, and every step he took was so angry that these courtiers couldn't help but retreat, "Great-grandfather died of hunger, grandma died of hunger , Uncles and aunts either died in the war or starvation, leaving only my grandfather alone, and had to enter Buddhism to survive."

The family history of the Zhu family he mentioned is well known in the world. Emperor Hongwu never beautified his own birth. The surname person attached to the website to add luster to his family background, but he directly vetoed it.

From the day when he first became the main force of the Northern Expedition and wrote the crusade, Zhu Yuanzhang had to reiterate his origin to the people of the world almost all the time, and "Yuben Huai You Commoner" was his mantra every time he confessed his heart.

He has no noble blood, no heroic ancestors, no tragic birth like the "Orphan of the Zhao family". He is the son of a farmer born in the land of China. The poor man who begs for his posterity and name to eat, is a beggar who wags his tail in the street for a way to survive, and is a big soldier with his head tied to his belt.

Zhu Yuanzhang never beautifies his past, he is even proud of every pain and humbleness in his past, because it is those pains that did not defeat him that raised the great Ming Emperor Hongwu.

This is true of Zhu Yuanzhang, and so is the Zhu family.

Whether it is Zhu Biao, the current Emperor Jianwen, or Mu Bai's uncles, they will not shy away from their family backgrounds.

Because in their hearts, Emperor Hongwu is regarded as a hero. He is a hero, but it doesn't matter if he was born in poverty.

"Grandfather was pushed by the people because of the chaos in the world, to drive out the barbarians, to get rid of the tyranny, and to make the people find a place of peace. The foundation of the Ming Dynasty is the people of the world who you said have exhausted their benevolence and righteousness. "

"Gu really wants to know, what kind of benevolence and righteousness do you mean by the so-called utmost benevolence and righteousness?"

"What is benevolence? People who care about each other's pain call it benevolence. What is righteousness? Righteousness is morality. Do you remember the morality of being an official? For money? For power? Or for the wisp of smoke on the ancestor's grave?"

Every step the young man took was extremely steady, as if he had crushed every piece of bluestone on the ground, as if he had crushed the ugliness in the hearts of these courtiers. If he dared to retreat again, he had to be separated by a distance of one zhang, but he could only bow nonchalantly, without saying a word.

Mu Bai's eyes swept over their faces one by one, and after a while he showed a sneer, "You are all Jinshi newly recruited by the Ming Dynasty, but you still remember that every time you choose an official, there is a question 'Why are you an official'? Do you know why this question always appears in the self-assessment during the assessment?"

He raised his hand, took a stack of paper with kraft paper as the cover, and then handed it forward: "Here are all the answer sheets you have written since the Jinshi Section. Please take a look at what you have written."

The courtiers gasped in their hearts, knowing that the situation was not good. Although every courtier now has a file in the household department, it is only a moment between their remonstrance and the prince's seizure. It is impossible for the prince to send someone to the Ministry of Households to get his files.

But now that things are here, the crown prince has already made preparations, did he premeditate or make use of the problem?Either way, it's a harbinger of bad things.

The hearts of the courtiers were beating like drums, but they didn't show it on the surface. They respectfully took over their own rosters handed over by the internal officials, and unfolded them one by one under the cold eyes of the prince.

The roster of this kind of officials has been registered since they entered the officialdom. Although they are closely related to themselves, the cabinets are hidden in the household department. No one has ever seen what the list of officials looks like.

But being able to satisfy curiosity in today's scene really makes people unhappy. The courtiers lamented inwardly, and then opened their roster with shaking hands.

The first page is the place of origin and family background. These are the contents that were filled in when the exam was taken. It has been too long and many people in the hall have already forgotten those memories. Now when they open it, they can't help but feel a little dazed.

Many of these people have a large blank on this page, or only a few words. It is their birth. It was true that there was not much to hear at that time, but thinking about their current wealth... the corners of their mouths couldn't help but slightly Rising, with a little unspeakable pride, they opened the second page.

The second page is the topic of their scientific examination.

In order to avoid cheating in the daimyo's scientific examinations, all the answer sheets were copied with blurred names, and what they held in their hands was the original copy written by themselves.

Candidates in the early Ming Dynasty had mixed talents, and the handwriting on these answer sheets even they can't see it now. Obviously, in such a tense atmosphere, everyone sighed a little "I was so young in the past". With urgent eyes, they turned another page, and the third page was the question they faced when choosing an official.

This question was suggested by Mu Bai after returning home, so there are some people here who don’t have this question, but they are no strangers to this question. Every few years, Daming will send people to conduct performance appraisals for officials, including self-examination and others. He checked, and this question in the self-examination is a compulsory question, so everyone who sits in this position more or less has his own answer to this question. The more successful the official career, the better the answer to this question many.

When they saw their youthful handwriting, the courtiers were silent.

They were a little dazed looking at the words on the paper, which showed high spirits, fearlessness, and boldness in striding forward.

It was the trace left when they were most satisfied, when they got the most important affirmation in their life, when they bid farewell to the past, and greeted a new future with confidence, when they... full of heart and eyes What they write is to apply the theories of sages who have studied hard for many years. They are full of pride and criticize Fang Qiu, thinking that they can change the vast world and achieve their ideals by relying on themselves.

And when they turn over page after page, each page indicates that they have taken another step forward, and it is also their climbing footsteps. The handwriting on each page is getting better, from simple to smooth, they The ink used is also getting better. From the earliest dry oily ink to the later rosin ink, the writing tools have improved rapidly. Compared with the past, today's writing can be described as weeds and flowers.

Yes, all of this proves that they have moved from a poor student to a higher position. They have more money and a higher status. They can buy good inkstones, visit famous teachers or purchase famous calligraphy. , I also went from drawing and writing with a branch to a position where a handwriting is worth a thousand gold.

But when did their ideals change from a long string to a short line?

When did their wishes start to become so stinky, so philistine, and so vulgar?

When did they start to become what they hate the most?

It became the most despised look when they were still studying?

One drop, two drops, tears filled their eyes, and then fell, hitting his handwriting exuding the smell of rancid ink. At this moment, everyone in the hall felt as if they had been stripped of all their clothes, and they were crying in broad daylight. It's ashamed to run naked under the majesty.

"My lords, the best teacher will always be myself." Xu Shi couldn't bear the embarrassment and shame of these court officials, and His Royal Highness's cold voice softened a little at this moment, but the words he said were like knives. touched the hearts of these people: "How long has it been since you all looked at yourself?"

"I have heard that the extreme of benevolence is the benefit and harm of all human beings. If people are suffering, they will be shaken by electricity or burned by fire. Gentlemen, your benevolence and righteousness are nothing more than this."

All the ministers were shocked, and they couldn't help but hide their faces in shame, and dared not speak.