The Prosperity of Jingdi Chronicle

The memorial that the emperor showed to Wei Yan was a secret document submitted by the Department of Public Proposals.

Regarding the Minyi Division, as mentioned earlier, it has been 14 years since the emperor established it in April of the third year of Tianxi. While "accommodating the wisdom of the people", it also acts as the eyes and ears of the emperor, complementing each other with the inspectors in the dark guards. Together, they become a sharp weapon for the emperor to understand the people's sentiments and supervise the officials.

This kind of development has long since departed from Qi Yuanheng's original intention of speaking, but the emperor who made the best use of everything was self-satisfied, and the officials who didn't know why couldn't mind it. Those who knew the truth, such as Xie Meng and others, knew that if they wanted to be safe To eat and sleep steadily, you have to learn to shut up.

As for Wei Yan, he also knew about these things, but he didn't feel that there was anything wrong with the civil affairs division under the emperor's palm. , He will also use his own way to persuade the emperor.

And what the emperor has done over the years also shows that apart from matters related to him, the emperor cannot maintain the rationality of a king, and often does some appalling things. In other matters, the emperor does not do many things wrong. Therefore, he never said a word about the emperor's abuse of the civil affairs department.

Now the secret book in his hand has played an important matter that is not only related to the people's feelings but also involves hundreds of officials.

"Master Chang is a capable official." This was Wei Yan's first sentence after reading the hundreds of pages of memorial, and it was also the most sincere thought in his heart at that time.

This Mr. Chang Xi's official position is just a small Zhongcheng in a certain government under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Affairs, but he wrote a very far-sighted memorial, not only pointing out his worries, but also countless specific facts As proof, it obviously took a lot of effort to collect it.

"When I was young, the Empress Dowager often warned me that what is good at the top will flourish at the bottom. At that time, I should have said so, but I always disagreed in my heart. It is only now that I understand that what the Empress Dowager said is true. Since the development of the situation, I have It's a big mistake." Regarding this matter, Jing Li was also quite emotional, and this sinful posture was very correct.

"Your Majesty doesn't have to take all the faults on yourself. Your Majesty is not a god, how can you predict the consequences of everything." Seeing the emperor so bitterly confessing his mistakes, Wei Yan couldn't bear it, and held his hand, Consoling him, "Now that the matter has come to an end, your Majesty might as well think about how to remedy it."

What Chang Xinian said in his memorial is related to people's livelihood, if it is not handled properly, the consequences will be quite serious.

Gaozu immediately conquered the world, calmed the troubled times and stabilized the world, and then prepared for danger in times of peace. He left a legacy and ordered his descendants not to abandon bows, horses, horses and archers. Therefore, all the descendants of the royal family, down to civil and military officials, all had the hobby of hunting.

In the generation of the emperor, apart from the annual autumn hunting, there are not a few times when he visits the Xishan hunting ground to hunt.The emperor was addicted to hunting. In order to please and flatter the emperor, the officials below naturally practiced their hunting skills hard, hoping to show their face in front of the emperor.

Royal children have royal hunting grounds for practice, and civil and military officials have no place to practice, so they naturally have to find places to practice. As time goes by, there are more and more private hunting grounds that turn farming into hunting.

The emperor's footsteps in the Gyeonggi area are not very serious. In Yuanzhou Prefecture there, there are already many phenomena of enclosing fertile land.

Xie Meng's Litian back then was sorting out the taxes of the world, but the owners of these private hunting grounds did not refuse to pay taxes, but abandoned the fertile land.If this situation is allowed to go unchecked and not curbed, in the long run, officials and wealthy households will waste their fields just for fun, and poor people will be displaced without land to cultivate, and the country will be destroyed, and it will be inevitable.

After all, there will be less arable land, less food output, higher food prices, and difficult survival for the people. These are all obvious consequences.

"Since it's my fault, then let me take the lead and pay back the hunting." Jing Li pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "However, the queen mother can easily explain my idea of ​​attacking the royal hunting ground, and the ministers will definitely If we want to make a fuss, someone will definitely accuse me of ruining the family business of my ancestors."

"Your Majesty's heart can be learned from the world, and I understand it." Wei Yan understands that the emperor's method is undoubtedly the best method. It is certainly feasible to continue to strictly enforce the order, but in terms of effect, it is definitely not as good as the emperor's example. Naturally support his decision .

"I've been sitting for a long time, my neck is a little sore, you can rub it for me." Wei Yan's gentle and considerate delivery to the door, Jing Li didn't need to feel too sorry for himself, put his arms around his waist, and motioned him to lean over and serve him well , "The Xishan hunting ground must be kept. We must not let the legacy of our ancestors become a decoration. As for the other hunting grounds, let's dispose of them."

"Just leave the Xishan hunting ground, will it cut too much at once? Or..." Wei Yan said this, suddenly thinking of the past, and closed his mouth again.

There are eight hunting grounds in the royal family, namely Shangyuan, Xishan, Lingshan, Longhan, Chuanxi, Wumeng, Anyuan, and Chongping, among which Shangyuan is the most.According to historical records, this Shangyuan hunting ground was built by a king who invaded ten thousand hectares of farmland in the previous dynasty, and was repaired and perfected by the kings. Its scale is not comparable to the other seven hunting grounds.

The autumn hunting in all dynasties of the Jing Dynasty was held in the Shangyuan hunting ground. It was because of the old incident that the emperor later changed the autumn hunting to the Xishan hunting ground. After that, he never stepped into the Shangyuan hunting ground for more than ten years. .

If Wei Yan had to choose, if he wanted to keep one, he would definitely choose Shangyuan Hunting Ground, but he suddenly realized that it was the emperor's sore spot, so he swallowed all the words before opening his mouth.

He knew that the emperor was interested in this matter, so he still wanted to bring it up, but he didn't know how to be a man.Anyway, as long as the emperor is happy, it doesn't make much difference whether to keep one or the other. The emperor can do whatever he wants.

"This, you don't understand." Jing Li sniffed the breath in Wei Yan's neck, and patiently told him the reason why he had to cut so many at once, "In court, sometimes it's like doing business, you have to learn how to spread the sky." Ask the price and pay back the money when you land. If I cut down a hunting ground, those people will make a fuss. If I cut down seven, they will also make a fuss. In this case, it is better to do it once, and I will have enough room to fight with them. bargain."

"Your Majesty..." Wei Yan didn't expect the emperor to have such thoughts, and after hearing his words, he couldn't laugh or cry.How could this important military matter be compared with a businessman's business. He had just praised the emperor in his heart, but he didn't expect that after such a short time, the emperor would start messing around again.

"Don't laugh, this is the truth, and I will tell you the truth." It is not easy to control the officials, those people in the court are all slippery, and there are more or less small calculations in their hearts It's not Wei Yan's honesty that puts him first in everything, even Jing Li has to do his best, show both kindness and power, beat and beat all day long, so that they can be used by him honestly, "I originally thought After your birthday is over, I will take you to the Xishan Palace to spend the summer, so it is not good to leave at this time, so I have to wrong you to stay with me in the palace."

Wei Yan's birthday is May 25, and Lu Zhu and Wei Minwen plan to leave in early June. Jing Li was afraid that Wei Yan would not get used to it at first, so he had already planned to take Wei Yan to the Xishan Palace as soon as Wei Minwen left. to escape the heat.As long as the two of them get tired of being together all day long, he guarantees that Wei Yan will never have time to think about anything else, but the arrival of this memorial disrupted his plan.

In order to successfully achieve the goal of returning hunting to farming, he must pretend to be a benevolent monarch who cares about the world and the people in the court. All the officials set an example, and then strictly ordered to thoroughly investigate the encroachment and occupation of fertile land by the state capitals to turn farming into hunting, so that the order can be effective and get twice the result with half the effort.

If at such a critical juncture, he proposes to go to the Xishan Palace to escape the summer heat, how can this drama with the world in mind continue to be performed?

"Why not, we can discuss this matter after we come back from the summer vacation." Jing Li felt that it was a pity that he could not go to the Xishan Palace this time, and when he rolled his eyes, he had an idea.He took the memorial from Wei Yan's hand, closed it casually, and was about to tuck it into an unknown corner.

"Your Majesty." Wei Yan hurriedly snatched back the memorial, "It's about the common people, the country, and the country, and it must not be delayed. You can go to the Xishan Palace at any time, and even if you don't go to escape the summer heat, I promise that I will obediently accompany Your Majesty in the palace."

Jing Li snorted softly, expressing doubts about Wei Yan's assurance.

If in Beijing, Wei Yan had the same set of things at hand, how could he be with him all the time?How dare Wei Yan use this kind of coaxing words to coax him, do you think he is as stupid as Wei Yan?

Wei Yan saw that the emperor was unable to achieve his goal, and his face was full of unwillingness. He could only try to please him, rubbing his shoulders and knocking his back didn't count. smile.

On the second day, Jing Li issued two imperial edicts at the court meeting.The first imperial decree is to transfer Chang Xinian to the school of Zhongshu; the second imperial decree is because the phenomenon of land invasion and hunting is becoming more and more serious. Except for the Xishan hunting ground, the seven royal hunting grounds are still cultivated by the people.

Of course Chang Xinian was an exceptional promotion. Although everyone didn't know that this little official of the People's Council had caught the emperor's eyes and wanted to transfer him to his side. At that time, there was even a precedent of moving three times a day, and everyone was used to it. Except for a few words from the officials of the Ministry of Officials as usual, it did not cause much repercussions.

As for the second imperial decree, it was very successful in making the court meeting immediately lively like a gathering of merchants. If Wei Yan was in front of him, he might have to believe what the emperor said last night. Sometimes handling political affairs is like doing business. , You come and go, bargain, and try your best to maximize your own interests.

Jing Li played the image of a benevolent monarch who is dedicated to the people, and he is handy without any flaws. However, his opponents are not too far behind. While the emperor was worried about the people, he also had to think about the face of the royal family. Even if he wanted to return the farming to the people, he couldn't leave the royal family with only one hunting ground.

These words, at first glance, all sounded like loyal ministers' words. As for whether there is any small talk in mind, such as if there is only one hunting ground left in the royal family, if their family exceeds this number, will they be suspected of committing crimes? No one else knows. up.

After several rounds of bargaining and pleas from the ministers, Jingli finally left four hunting grounds: Xishan, Lingshan, Anyuan, and Chongping.

The Shangyuan hunting ground, known as the largest hunting ground in the country, was taken from the people back then, and now it is returned to the people. Perhaps, everything in the dark has long been determined.

The ownership of the royal hunting ground came to an end, and it was Jing Li's turn to embarrass the officials.Chang Xinian's secret book listed in great detail the private hunting grounds in middle school, and Jing Li asked them one by one according to the scriptures.

The emperor has set an example for all the people in the world. Unless the officials are tired of their jobs, they must follow the example of the emperor with the people in mind for the country and the people. Even if their hearts are bleeding, they must speak beautifully .

In view of this, Jing Li's "Returning Farming to the People" sang very smoothly, and it was so smooth that it effectively resolved Wei Yan's boring and lonely time when he was not with him in the palace because Wei Yan returned to his home to celebrate his birthday.

In this way, about ten days later, one day, the queen mother suddenly sent someone to invite the emperor to come over.

The number of times Jing Li went to the Empress Dowager's Palace to pay her respects is not considered diligent, but it can't be said to be sparse. Except for New Years and holidays, she would go to the Palace of Compassion and Ning on three or four days on weekdays to care about the Empress Dowager's health and accompany her to say hello Gossip.

It was only a day before he went to the Palace of Compassion and Peace, when the Empress Dowager suddenly sent someone to invite him, Jing Li felt something was wrong in an instant, wondering if someone had babbled something in front of the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager then will suddenly want to see him.

To be honest, he didn't do anything to feel guilty during these days, but he was a little cruel when persecuting his courtiers.

What Jingli did, in essence, can be beautified as a courtier who has the heart of the world to share the worries of the king and voluntarily donates property, or it can be vilified as a monarch who is vicious, soft and hard, and forces his courtiers to donate property. You can talk about the matter right or wrong, depending on what the talkative person said in front of the Queen Mother.

Now that he thought of this, Jing Li organized a bunch of words, if the queen mother asked about this, he was going to go around and make the queen dizzy.

It's a pity that all the words he thought of with great pains were wasted.His mother didn't ask him about that at all, but brought up an irrelevant matter.

"Accompaniment? Didn't the princes already have an accompaniment?" After hearing what the queen mother said, Jing Li asked strangely. He didn't understand that his mother suddenly thought of adding a few accompaniments to the princes at this time. What is the intention?

By convention, the princes generally choose to accompany them when they are enlightened.He remembered that the princes should all be enlightened, why did the Queen Mother think of this again?

Jing Li was a little confused about this.