Chapter 253 252 Plowing the Courtyard and Sweeping the Holes
Wei Guangde wanted to gain fame, but he didn't want to go into battle bare-handed. It just so happened that the former allies of the Hui Wang seemed to have a grudge against him, so he could use Liang Gaofu's special status to whisper in the emperor's ear.
After his influence gradually penetrated into the heart of Emperor Jiajing, he would expose the bad deeds of the Hui Wang, which would be the final blow.
As long as Emperor Jiajing sent people to investigate thoroughly, it would mean that there was no room for redemption, and those officials who had been oppressed by the Hui Wang would not miss this opportunity.
Wei Guangde had heard from Geng An that the Hui Wang was really lawless in Junzhou, and the officials were afraid of him. What they relied on was that the two generations of the Hui Wang were valued by Emperor Jiajing.
As for why Wei Guangde sent Geng An to hand the knife to Liang Gaofu, it was because Liang Gaofu had left Henan for many years. He only knew that the Hui Wang was lawless in the local area, but he couldn't tell in detail how bad he was, so Chen Ju said that Liang Gaofu was always talking nonsense.
After drinking with Chen Ju last time, Wei Guangde also realized that he had to go out more often in the future, not only to visit those officials in the court, but also to contact his peers more often, and not to stop contacting them just because they were still observing the government.
So on the second day, Wei Guangde took gifts and went to visit Yan's mansion. In the next few days, he kept visiting fellow Jiangxi people and officials he was familiar with. At the same time, he contacted Lao Kan and Zhang Ke, summoned his peers, and made an appointment to go out of the city together on holidays.
During this period, Wei Guangde not only sent out the gifts he had received before in batches, but also spent hundreds of taels of silver to buy gifts.
You can't visit senior officials empty-handed.
After Geng An left the city to meet Liang Gaofu two days later, he didn't come back for a few days. I think he should have stayed in Tongmiao Temple.
Wei Guangde is now waiting for news, and then waiting for the day when Liang Gaofu will make medicine, and then inquire about the situation in the palace through Chen Ju. Once the time is right, he can submit a memorial to impeach Prince Hui and fire his second shot in the Ming Dynasty court.
Indeed, this is the second time Wei Guangde has impeached an official. The first one was Liu Dazhang, the general of Xuanfu. Now he has been dismissed and returned to his hometown, becoming an ordinary citizen.
However, when the memorial was sent to the palace, Wei Guangde was still in Xuanfu, so he didn't feel anything. It was Zhang Ke who told about it later.
He was really shocked to learn from the military department that Wei Guangde impeached Liu Dazhang, the general of Xuanfu, for being afraid of the enemy and cowardly.
You know, this was during the war, and he was still trapped in it, and he had a dispute with the local military leader.
In peacetime, it is natural that civil officials are powerful and can crush military generals at will, but it is different in this wartime. As long as it is not intolerable, the court will temporarily suppress it.
In fact, when Wei Guangde submitted the impeachment memorial, it was immediately detained by the Imperial Household Department, and was not approved until the war report was delivered to the cabinet and the Ministry of War.
The discussion about the court's desire to increase silk production that he heard in the officialdom disappeared inexplicably.
According to the news that Wei Guangde had inquired, the court finally gave up the practice of promoting this matter by the court, and instead used private guidance.
A few days passed in leisure and busyness. After summarizing the records of Ganoderma lucidum in ancient books collected and sorted out by the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy, Wu Shan finally submitted it to Emperor Jiajing in the form of a memorial.
"The grass ganoderma has different colors, red, black, green, white, yellow, and purple, and its taste is also different. However, it is said that eating it for a long time can make the body light. Wang Chong's "Lun Heng" says that ganoderma grows in the earth, and the earth's air is harmonious, so ganoderma grows auspicious, and the fate record says that if the king is virtuous and benevolent, then ganoderma will grow patterns. Xuan said that the brilliant ganoderma grows three times a year, and the old ritual of the Han Dynasty said that ganoderma has nine stems, golden green leaves and red fruits that shine at night.
The inner biography of Huangdi says: The Queen Mother sent immortals to sing the song of eternal life, and gave the emperor the book of stone box and jade book, and met in Langfeng Yaochi and gave the twelve volumes of Shenzhitu . However, it is rare in the world and rarely seen by people. Therefore, it is considered auspicious in all dynasties. And the method of taking it has not been passed down. I hope that the emperor will understand the Tao and follow the mysterious blessings, and the auspiciousness will come to you. The herb will grow in time and there will be people from far and near offering it. I dare not predict the place where it is produced. "
Wu Shan and others summarized the six main classifications of Ganoderma lucidum, namely red Ganoderma lucidum, green Ganoderma lucidum, yellow Ganoderma lucidum, purple Ganoderma lucidum, white Ganoderma lucidum and black Ganoderma lucidum, and also said that all dynasties regarded Ganoderma lucidum as auspicious.
There are many myths and legends. Long-term use can make the body lighter. The Queen Mother also gave the Jade Emperor twelve volumes of Shenzhitu.
However, the most important thing is that the method of taking Ganoderma lucidum has not been recorded and passed down to the present.
As for your majesty's desire to find Ganoderma lucidum, Ganoderma lucidum mostly grows in places where people rarely go, so it is difficult to find.
In fact, the content of the memorial is still very objective, but there are also suggestions that Emperor Jiajing should not take Ganoderma lucidum, because the way to eat this thing has not been passed down, and it can be regarded as auspicious.
Less than half a day after the memorial was sent to the palace, it was sent to the cabinet duty room after being approved by the Silijian.
The emperor ordered officials to collect Lingzhi from Xuanyue, Longhu, Heming, Sanmao, Qiyun and the Five Mountains.
As the news spread, not only the officialdom but also the people were excited.
The emperor wanted to find and buy Lingzhi, which was a big business. Once found, he would definitely receive a generous reward.
The palace sent special envoys to collect Lingzhi from Yuanyue, Longhu, Heming, Sanmao, Qiyun and the Five Mountains. At the same time, local officials also searched for Lingzhi among the people.
When the emperor liked something, his ministers were immediately busy and the whole country was mobilized to find Lingzhi.
These had nothing to do with Wei Guangde now.
He knew Lingzhi and had seen pictures of it in his previous life, but he had no chance to see it in this life.
Wei Guangde regretted not preparing these legendary items earlier. Although he did not have any Ganoderma lucidum to present to Emperor Jiajing, he thought of another thing that was praised by later generations as miraculous - thousand-year-old ginseng.
Officials and civilians were looking for Ganoderma lucidum. Wei Guangde took a different approach and sent Zhang Ji to search for top-quality ginseng collections in major pharmacies in Beijing.
But what surprised Wei Guangde was that at this time, there seemed to be no shortage of ginseng in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
Well, according to the news Zhang Ji found out, there were many ginsengs for sale in major pharmacies.
After asking about the source, I learned that most ginsengs were produced in Liaodong. At this time, not only did the Han people go to Changbai Mountain and Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains in the north to collect wild ginsengs, but even the Jurchens outside the Great Wall were frantically collecting them to trade with the Ming Dynasty during the trade, in exchange for the ironware, oxen, farm tools, cloth, food and other necessities of production and life they needed.
However, there were not many Han people who dared to collect ginseng. The Jurchens were fierce and lived outside the rule of the Ming Dynasty. They lived in a slave society and formed three classes: nobles, civilians and slaves.
With the development of society, the greed of slave owners became greater and greater. The Jurchens fought among themselves and plundered Han people as slaves. They would not be merciful to those Han people who ran out of the Han territory alone.
The news reminded Wei Guangde of the Qing palace dramas he had watched in his previous life. When the superiors and subordinates met, they had to call themselves slaves. Now that he thought about it, the so-called Qing Dynasty seemed to be a semi-slave and semi-feudal empire.
When he had time, Wei Guangde went to find those merchants to inquire about the current situation of the Jurchens in Liaodong. After all, they went south and destroyed the Han people in later generations.
In the past, he was still a commoner, so he could only think about it when he had nothing to do. Now that he is an official of the Ming Dynasty, he must do it as soon as possible to eliminate the hidden dangers.
After chatting with many merchants, the current situation of the Jurchens gradually took shape in Wei Guangde's mind.
The current Jurchen people are roughly divided into three categories, two of which have already formed a climate and appeared in the form of tribes, namely the Haixi Jurchen and the Jianzhou Jurchen.
The Jianzhou Jurchen seems to be the tribe where Nurhaci belongs.
Wei Guangde still has an impression of this.
The last category is the so-called wild Jurchen, which should be the original life form of the Jurchens.
It is estimated that after contact with the Han people, some powerful families began to consciously absorb and annex some nearby Jurchen families, and gradually formed Jurchen tribes.
From this time on, the Jurchens transitioned from a clan society to a slave society.
Due to the bitter cold and difficult life in the north, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, some forces of the Jurchens began to migrate south, and finally came into contact with the newly established Ming Dynasty.
Around the Hongwu period, they settled in the Fengzhou area in the Suifenhe River Basin.
In the first year of Yongle, the chieftain of the Huligai tribe, Ahachu, surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty established Jianzhou Wei here.
In the tenth year of Yongle, the Ming Dynasty established Jianzhou Zuowei, with its seat in Fengzhou, and appointed Mengge Timur, the chief of the Jurchen Wuduolian tribe, as the commander.
In the seventh year of Zhengtong, the Ming Dynasty established Jianzhou Youwei in the Santu River area and appointed Mengge Timur's brother Fancha as the commander.
So far, the Jianzhou Three Guards have taken shape and have become a strong force in the north of the Ming Dynasty.
Another force second only to the Jianzhou Jurchens is naturally the Haixi Jurchens. Like the Jianzhou Jurchens, they have been harassed by the "wild" Jurchens and Mongolian cavalry and have been constantly migrating south.
In fact, the various tribes of the Haixi Jurchens had established contact with the Ming Dynasty in the early Ming Dynasty, and like the Jianzhou Jurchens, they changed from an initial subordinate relationship to a tributary relationship.
More than a decade ago, the Haixi Jurchens completed their migration and formed four tribes: Yehe, Huifa, Hada and Ula, known as the Haixi Four Tribes or the Hulun Four Tribes.
The Yehe tribe was named because it lived in the Yehe River northeast of Kaiyuan, and because it was close to the North Pass of Mashi established by the Ming Dynasty, the Ming people also called it the North Pass.
The Huifa tribe was named because it lived in the Huifa River.
The Hada tribe lived in the Xiaoqing River Basin, which was also called the Hada River. Because of this, and because it was close to Guangshun Pass, the Ming people also called it the South Pass.
The Ula tribe was named because it lived in the Ula River Basin, and its seat was in Ula City.
In this way, the third force besides Mongolia was formed outside the Liaodong military town, the Jurchens, and the tribal power also increased rapidly with the continuous trade with the Han people.
After understanding the basic situation, Wei Guangde went into the library of the Hanlin Academy to check the records. During the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty reduced the tribute policy. The number of tributes from the Jianzhou Jurchens was limited to 100 people, while the Haixi Jurchens were not allowed to exceed 50 people, which caused great dissatisfaction among the Jurchens.
Unable to obtain benefits through tribute, the Jurchens chose to rob themselves.
At that time, Jianzhou Jurchen leader Dong Shan gathered Jianzhou Jurchen and some Haixi Jurchen tribes, about 15,000 people, and began to invade Liaodong.
When they arrived in Liaodong, they robbed crazily, including people and livestock.
When the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to question them, they immediately expressed their submission, which was "obeying in public but disobeying in private".
In the third year of Chenghua of Ming Xianzong, Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen sent envoys to bring the imperial edict to Dong Shan and gave him a final warning.
Dong Shan used the same trick again, expressed his guilt, and personally went to Beijing to admit his mistakes, but asked for more rewards, which was rejected by the Ming Dynasty.
So Dong Shan was furious and threatened to go back and lead the Jurchens to attack the Ming Dynasty.
If Dong Shan really returned to the Jurchens, he would definitely become a major concern for the Ming Dynasty, just like the Liao Dynasty Tianzuo Emperor released Wanyan Aguda.
The Jurchens lived in the mountain strongholds of Baishan and Heishui. They were good at mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare. The Ming army was helpless against them and had long adopted a conservative defense policy.
Gao Gang, the head of the Ministry of Rites at the time, suggested to Emperor Chenghua that Dong Shan be detained. Emperor Chenghua followed his advice and ordered Zhao Fu, the general of Guangning, to detain Dong Shan and others.
As soon as this happened, Dong Shan suddenly drew his knife and stabbed the Ming army and tried to escape. After hearing this, the accompanying Jurchens also rushed out with knives, but were intercepted by the Ming army and arrested on the spot.
After this happened, the generals Li Fu and Li Bing believed that war was inevitable, so they submitted a memorial requesting a conquest.
In September, Emperor Chenghua ordered the Liaodong army to attack the Jianzhou Jurchens and warned the Haixi Jurchens not to interfere.
Subsequently, Li Fu and Li Bing divided their troops into five routes to advance towards the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the Korean side also sent 10,000 people to help.
On September 20, the Korean army broke through the Huligai tribe, and its chief Li Manzhu was captured.
The Ming army also entered Jianzhou, beheaded and captured thousands of people, and recaptured 1,165 looted civilians. Soon after, Emperor Chenghua ordered the execution of Dong Shan.
After the disastrous defeat of Jianzhou Jurchen, they did not stop the war, but continued to invade Liaodong.
In the 15th year of Chenghua, Emperor Chenghua once again joined forces with Korea to launch an encirclement and suppression of Jianzhou Jurchen.
In this battle, the Ming army beheaded 695 people, captured 486 people, broke through countless villages, and obtained thousands of cattle and horses, and countless armor.
You should know that the initial population of Jianzhou Jurchen during the Chenghua period was only 12,000 people, which was the smallest of the three major Jurchen groups. After this battle, it can be said that the losses were quite heavy.
"Han Shu Xiongnu Chuan Xia": "It has been plowing its courtyard, sweeping its lanes, and setting it up in counties and prefectures."
Therefore, the military strikes of the Ming Dynasty against Jianzhou Jurchens are also called "ploughing the courtyard and sweeping the caves" or "Chenghua plowing the courtyard".
After two encirclements, the Jianzhou Jurchen tribe suffered a huge disaster and had to stop the war with the Ming Dynasty.
The descendants of Dongshan and Li Manzhu chose to endure humiliation and endure hardships. They accepted the Ming Dynasty's enthronement again, traded with the Ming Dynasty, and vigorously imported cattle and farm tools to develop agricultural production in order to restore their strength.
Up to now, what Wei Guangde knew from the merchants was that it seemed that the Jianzhou Jurchens had developed again, and the population had far exceeded that of the year.
However, at this time, another more explosive news came. Zhang Juyou, a commoner in Wanping County, Beijing, picked five Ganoderma lucidum on Qianling Mountain and presented them to Emperor Jiajing.
The auspicious sign of Ganoderma lucidum was obtained, and Emperor Jiajing was naturally very happy. He rewarded "gold, silk and silver coins". From then on, the subjects who presented Ganoderma lucidum came one after another.