Chapter 1196 1287 Filial Piety Document

The system of the Ming Dynasty was generally inherited from the Han and Tang Dynasties. Although short mourning was once advocated during the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty even ordered that after burial, the funeral service should be performed for 15 days in the major ceremony, 14 days in the minor ceremony, and 7 days in camphor ceremony, and then the funeral ceremony would be completed.

However, by the Eastern Han Dynasty, three years of mourning had become customary.

By the Tang Dynasty, three years of mourning had become a compulsory method. It is recorded in the "Tang Code: Official Rules", "Anyone who hears that his parents are mourning and does not express condolences will wander two thousand miles away.

"The mourning ceremony is not over, it is auspicious to release the obedience. If you forget to mourn and have fun, it will only last three years." Three years of apprenticeship."

However, there was a shortage of officials in the early Ming Dynasty. Although Zhu Yuanzhang continued the previous Dingyou system, the Dingyou period was still 27 months. However, in terms of the scope of mourning, he stipulated that "except for parents and grandparents who bear the burden of Dingyou, the rest of the year-long mourning system is not allowed to attend funerals."

As for the reason, Zhu Yuanzhang explained: "Grandparents, uncles, and brothers all wear periodic uniforms. If they are all ordered to attend funerals, or one person suffers five or six periods of mourning in a row, or travels thousands of miles, the number of official days will be fewer, and it will be easier to count. Absence of official duties is a waste of time."

To put it bluntly, it is because officials frequently attend funerals and have no one to handle government affairs.

This also opened a way for the subsequent "seizing of love". The ideas advocated by Zhu Yuanzhang were consistent with those of the Han and Tang Dynasties. They both placed "filial piety" before "loyalty", hoping to strengthen "loyalty" through "filial piety", and then Consolidate your dominance.

Zhu Yuanzhang paid more attention to Ding You's approval. According to the "Records of Ming Taizu", all officials who were working abroad had to wait for the court to send a verification document to their place of origin before they could return to their hometowns for funerals after hearing that their parents had died.

As a result, a problem will arise. In ancient times, communication methods were relatively backward. It would take a long time to go back and forth like this. By the time the officials arrived home, the funeral might have been over, and there was no time to send the parents off for the last time.

In response to this problem, in the eighth year of Hongwu's reign, Lu Ben, the then Beiping Inspector-General, proposed that "if an official encounters a bereavement, his family members are allowed to report to the official, move them to their posts, and have them go to the obituary, and then verify it."

In other words, after the death of an official's parents, the family directly reported the matter to the court through local officials, thus reducing the need for back-and-forth inquiries and verifications.

After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he felt it made sense and agreed to Lu Ben's proposal.

Through this move, the Ming Dynasty's Dingyou procedures were greatly simplified, eliminating the time of repeated verification between the court and the officials' place of origin.

Zhu Yuanzhang carried out drastic reforms to the political system of the Ming Dynasty, and also made further detailed adjustments to the Dingyou system.

According to the provisions of "Ming Huidian·Ding You", all Beijing officials must obtain the Xiaozihao confirmation document issued by the inner government through the Ministry of Personnel, while local officials must issue "citations" through the relevant management agencies under the local Ministry of Personnel.

It is worth noting that both "inspection documents" and "citations" have another function, which is to serve as a certificate for the imperial court to reinstate officials after Ding You is over.

Therefore, another very important yamen for official Ding You - the Ministry of Personnel - also came to the fore.

It's just that at this time, Zhang Han, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was already "recuperating" at home, and the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Wang Guangyi, temporarily took the seal of the Ministry of Personnel, so others ignored his importance.

This major event, which had already alarmed the official circles in the capital, naturally reached Zhang Han's ears.

The answer is obvious whether Zhang Han wants to become an official and return to his hometown to retire. However, he offended Zhang Juzheng, even though the two had a good relationship before.

At this time, Zhang Han was sitting in the study, with a memorial note in front of him that he had written long ago.

Originally, he planned to wait two days and then go to the palace, but now Zhang Juzheng is about to return to his hometown and Ding You, and the person who prevents him from continuing to be in the court has already left first, so it is impossible for him not to be tempted.

Once this memorial is handed out, it will be really difficult to look back.

Zhang Han was somewhat unwilling to do so. The Minister of Civil Affairs had only half a foot in the cabinet.

It was because of competing with Zhang Siwei for a cabinet seat that he and Zhang Juzheng had conflicts after Zhang Juzheng made it clear that he supported Zhang Siwei.

Think about how much he has done for Zhang Juzheng?

Before, he always followed Zhang Juzheng's lead, but he got this result.

"Master, please find out."

Just then, the butler's voice sounded outside the door.

"Come in and talk."

Zhang Han said.

The door creaked open, and the housekeeper walked in. He soon arrived in front of Zhang Han, bowing and standing in solemnity.

"Say it."

Zhang Han said.

"Wei Cifu's vote did not have a clear attitude, but asked the emperor to judge."

"What?"

Zhang Han cried out when he heard the butler's words.

"Master, Wei Cifu"

Just when the housekeeper thought that the master didn't hear clearly and was about to say it again, Zhang Han waved his hand and interrupted.

Although he was surprised, he instantly understood the reason why Wei Guangde voted like this.

No matter how he proposed this kind of thing, it was actually not safe.

On the contrary, giving the right of choice to the palace can show that as the second minister, he does not covet the throne of the chief minister, and make people feel that he is not greedy for the rights of the chief minister.

"Any other news?"

Zhang Han then asked again.

"In addition to the buzz outside because of Li Youzi and Li Shilang's memorial, there are also rumors that Zhang Shoufu should stay in office, which is actually the intention of the palace.

It is said that the emperor said in Ciqing Palace that the imperial court needed Mr. Zhang, so the empresses of the two palaces asked Feng Bao to come out and take charge of this matter."

"Shit."

Before the housekeeper could tell the news he had heard, including the reaction of the ministers, he was interrupted by Zhang Han again.

At this time, in Zhang Han's mind, this must be Feng Bao's bastard who strangled the imperial edict and used the palace to intimidate the officials.

"The cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty has been in existence for a hundred years, and it has long been a complete system. Without one person, it cannot run smoothly.

In the past two days, Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei have managed all the affairs of the cabinet in an orderly manner."

Zhang Han said dissatisfiedly.

In this regard, the housekeeper naturally did not dare to respond, but just lowered his head and stood with his hands hanging down.

"Your Majesty is young, how can you understand these? Even if Your Majesty really said so, it must be Feng Bao's bastard who deceived behind the scenes."

At this moment, Zhang Han seemed to be satisfied with the reason he found.

"Yes, it must be so."

Zhang Han muttered to himself.

Thinking of the relationship between Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao must be worried that Zhang Juzheng would lose his influence on the previous dynasty because of mourning, so he deliberately wanted to seize Zhang Juzheng's love in the palace.

Originally, this matter had nothing to do with him.

But Zhang Juzheng and he now have a very bad relationship, and even threatened him to retire and leave the court.

It seems that this breath has a chance to vent.

Zhang Han finally made up his mind after looking at the memorial in front of him.

The worst case is to leave, but before leaving, he hopes to see Zhang Juzheng leave Beijing in embarrassment.

"Hehe, don't you want to stay in Beijing to observe the mourning? I'll send you away first."

Zhang Han made up his mind, then put away the retirement memorial, spread the rice paper again and started writing.

Didn't Li Youzi petition the emperor to "seize the love"?

He would openly oppose "seizing the love" and send Zhang Juzheng back to his hometown to mourn.

All things are difficult at the beginning. Zhang Han knew that if Li Youzi hadn't hoped to use this memorial to make Zhang Juzheng successfully stay in Beijing and bring him great benefits, he would never dare to be the first person.

The same is true for opposing Zhang Juzheng's staying in Beijing to observe the mourning. The first person to submit a memorial to oppose must also have great perseverance, otherwise he would not take this step.

Zhang Han's current situation naturally has nothing to hesitate about, just do it.

Either he, Zhang Han, sends Zhang Juzheng away, or Zhang Juzheng sends him away.

Asking the housekeeper to grind ink, Zhang Han began to plan this memorial. The first person to oppose "seizing love" was Zhang Han.

I think those who claim to be clean will inevitably follow him and fire.

It seems that under Zhang Juzheng's governance, the Ming court is calm and well-organized, but in fact, the court has long been divided into two factions because of the new policy.

The game between the two political groups, Zhang Juzheng as the prime minister of the Ming court, his power and influence in the court is very large.

One of the political groups is naturally those who are attached to him, and the other is because of his reform measures and strong style caused dissatisfaction and opposition from some officials, and gradually gathered together.

These officials will inevitably use Zhang Juzheng's "seizing love" incident as an opportunity to attack him, trying to weaken his power and status.

Zhang Juzheng also had a fatal flaw, which was that he had made too many enemies and didn't know that he was already in danger.

Whether it was the performance evaluation system or the land survey, it was actually an offensive matter. It can almost be said that except for those who had requests from him, all the officials of the Ming Dynasty were actually standing on the opposite side of him.

A person who broke the rules, a person who harmed the interests of the vested interest groups, an unprecedented dictator, made those officials feel uneasy, and their desire to get rid of him as soon as possible increased day by day.

Finally, they encountered such a rare opportunity of "seizing love", and the fuse was naturally lit.

Tonight, many Beijing officials were destined to stay up all night, thinking about the subsequent development of this matter, thinking about what they should do to get the most benefits.

The next morning, the news that the censor Zeng Shichu and the attendant Chen Sanmo submitted a memorial in favor of Li Youzi and asked the emperor to "seize love" spread throughout the government offices in Beijing.

Adding fuel to the fire again, the heat of the "seizing love" incident reached a climax at this time.

In fact, just last night, the two Empress Dowagers and the young emperor saw Li Youzi's memorial in Ciqing Palace.

Empress Dowager Li did not speak this time, but Empress Dowager Chen asked the young emperor Zhu Yijun what he thought.

Although he was underage, the young emperor was already fifteen years old. In fact, at this age, people in the folk can marry and have children, which is considered grown up.

In the past two days, Feng Bao naturally said a lot of good things about Zhang Juzheng in Zhu Yijun's ears, especially since the Jiajing Dynasty, because the court was constrained by financial matters, and said that Zhang Juzheng worked hard and finally eased the court's finances.

In short, it is to make the young emperor believe that what Zhang Juzheng is doing is conducive to his taking over power in the future, and what he gets is a rich country.

So this time, the young emperor himself expressed the same attitude as last time.

"In this case, the emperor should approve the memorial, not allow Dingyou, and let him stay in Beijing to observe the mourning."

This time, Empress Dowager Chen accepted the appeal of all officials and made up her mind to "seize the love."

At this time, Zhang Han was still thinking about his memorial at home. The revocation of love was not a trivial matter, and it was impossible for a decree to determine Zhang Juzheng's future.

Just like the memorial to retire, unless there were special cases, he would request and resign three times.

Zhang Han naturally wanted to let the incident ferment as much as possible, and then he would throw out a memorial against the revocation of love, which would blow him upside down.

In the study, Zhang Han was still carving the memorial, and the housekeeper outside the door asked to see him.

"What's the matter?"

After letting someone in, Zhang Han asked casually.

"Master, there was news from the Tongzhengshisi today that Zeng Shichu and Chen Sanmo also submitted a memorial requesting the revocation of love."

Hearing the housekeeper's words, Zhang Han just nodded slightly.

Originally, he should have asked the housekeeper to submit his retirement memorial today, but he had changed his mind and wanted to wait for Zhang Juzheng to leave first.

"It seems that Ma Ziqiang is unwilling to take the lead, and even unwilling to agree."

Zhang Han said, but it seemed casual, but in fact Zhang Han was also bitter.

In theory, he, the Minister of Personnel who was still in office, also had a say in this matter, but no one in the palace or outside the palace came to him.

"Anything else?"

Seeing that the housekeeper was still there, Zhang Han asked immediately.

"There is a rumor in the palace that the emperor has written a red seal to take away the love, and not allow Zhang Juzheng to go home to observe the mourning."

The housekeeper said carefully.

"Pah."

Zhang Han slapped his palm heavily on the desk, cursing: "Fake minister."

Holding the pain from his palm, Zhang Han got up and walked around the room twice, and then sat down again.

He had made up his mind to wait until the three requests and three resignations were almost done, and then he would make a memorial to make trouble.

At worst, he would just go back to his hometown to retire.

However, as long as he submitted his memorial, even if Zhang Juzheng was firmly in the position of Prime Minister, he would still be humiliated by him.

Moreover, he believed that there were many people who could see through all this.

Few officials were simple.

"Go down and keep an eye on Wei Cifu to see what he does."

"Yes, sir."

The housekeeper took the order and left the study, and Zhang Han continued to polish his memorial.

In the following days, officials of Zhang Juzheng's group and Feng Bao's people continued to submit memorials requesting "seizure of love", and Zhang Juzheng immediately wrote a second resignation memorial after the memorial was returned immediately and sent someone to deliver it to the palace again.

The next day, the young emperor Zhu Yijun saw the memorial sent by Zhang Juzheng again, and said to Feng Bao without thinking: "Mr. Zhang is my reliance, how can he leave me for a day.

It is natural to observe mourning for one's father, but the emperor and father are more important.

Allow him to work in the cabinet as usual after the 77th day, and when the mourning period is over, you will go to the Ministry of Personnel to convey my will immediately."

The news spread again quickly, and Wang Guoguang wanted to write a letter as soon as possible, but he encountered fierce opposition in the Ministry of Personnel.

Although Zhang Han lost power, many of Zhang Han's people were still in the Ministry of Personnel, and Wang Guoguang had not had time to replace them.

So, when Wang Guoguang asked someone to draft the official document, he found out that Zhang Juzheng's filial piety certificate had been prepared by someone unknown, and even filed in the document archives of the Ministry of Personnel.

With this, naturally there were officials in the Ministry of Personnel who objected.

At this time, Wang Guoguang could not see that these opposing officials were all Zhang Han's people.

Unfortunately, although he holds the seal of the Ministry of Personnel, he still holds the official title of Minister of Revenue, and is only temporarily in charge of the Ministry of Personnel.

"Zhang Han is going to cut himself off from the Prime Minister."

Wang Guoguang and Zhang Han actually have a good relationship, but Zhang Han's behavior this time really makes Wang Guoguang dissatisfied.

Immediately, Wang Guoguang asked someone to pass the news to Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, asking them to take action to deal with this person.

However, the news that the Ministry of Personnel refused to take away the relationship and insisted on issuing the "filial document" once again shocked the capital. (End of this chapter)