Chapter 489 488 Proofreading

Fujian and Guangdong were in a mess because of the Japanese invasion, but the letters sent by the Ministry of Rites and Imperial Clan Court to the princes' palaces in various places began to receive responses.

Although most of the princes in various places were very greedy, after the emperor in the capital spoke, they would more or less obediently send gold, silver and treasures, but it depended on the distance and closeness of the relatives.

In fact, during the Jiajing Dynasty, the court's finances had always been very tight. In the 20th year of Jiajing, the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the capital was burned down by heavenly fire. When it was ready to be rebuilt, facing the financial difficulties of the court, the ministers decided to donate their salaries.

However, Emperor Jiajing felt that it was really embarrassing to ask the ministers to donate money to repair the Imperial Ancestral Temple, so he only accepted donations from the old Zhu family, that is, to let the princes of the princes' palaces in various places donate. After all, it was a place to worship ancestors, and it was really not good to let outsiders pay.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple is also called the "ancestral temple" of the emperor and the "great temple" of the country. It was the place where the ancient emperors worshiped their distant and recent ancestors. Sometimes it was also a place for the country to worship and pray when facing major decisions.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple contains the tablets of the emperors of the dynasty. From the founding of the country to the succession of the current emperor, it can be regarded as the "historical record" of a dynasty.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple was called "Shishi" in the Xia Dynasty, "Chongwu" in the Shang Dynasty, "Mingtang" in the Zhou Dynasty, and "Taimiao" since the Qin and Han Dynasties.

Therefore, the decision of Emperor Jiajing at that time was taken for granted by all civil and military officials and royal relatives, so the intention to donate was still very strong at that time.

However, this donation is for the re-recording of the "Yongle Encyclopedia", which depends on the situation.

Although Emperor Jiajing lived in Xiyuan, he had sent people to guard the feedback received from various places by the Zongrenfu, and sent it to Xiyuan as soon as it was received.

"Humph."

Looking at the first batch of documents submitted by the royal family to the Ministry of Rites in his hand, Emperor Jiajing just snorted lightly.

Basically, the princes and dukes from all over the country seem to have a unified caliber, that is, the princes donate about 100 taels of gold and 2,000 to 3,000 taels of silver, and the dukes donate 1,000 taels of silver.

"The donations are quite uniform, as if they were connected long ago."

After a light hum, Emperor Jiajing said faintly.

"Your Majesty, judging from the time it takes to return the official document after writing, it should be too late."

Huang Jin on the side hurriedly replied, he knew that the emperor was a little unhappy and felt that the donations were too little.

After all, Emperor Jiajing Zhu Houcong inherited the title of King Xing, and he knew how much wealth the King Xing's Mansion had at the time, and that was only passed down for one generation.

Zhu Youlu was the fourth son of Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Dynasty, the half-brother of Emperor Xiaozong Zhu Youtang of the Ming Dynasty, and the uncle of Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao of the Ming Dynasty. He was named King Xing on July 11, the 23rd year of Chenghua, and was enfeoffed in Anlu Prefecture, Huguang in September of the 7th year of Hongzhi. He died in the 14th year of Zhengde, and Emperor Zhengde first gave him the posthumous title of "Xian", that is, "King Xingxian".

After Emperor Shizong Zhu Houcong ascended the throne, he was honored as "Xingxian Emperor" and posthumously named: Emperor Zhitian Shoudao Hongdeyuan Renkuanmu Chunsheng Gongjianjing Wenxian, with the temple name Ruizong.

Huang Jin spoke well of those princes at this time, of course, not because he received their benefits, but simply because he didn't want Emperor Jiajing to be angry and affect his health.

Others don't know that as someone close to Emperor Jiajing, he has a general understanding of the emperor's physical condition.

He can feel that since the last fainting, Emperor Jiajing's physical condition has begun to decline, and it is no longer the same as before. Even the favored Concubine Shang in the past two years has not been summoned to the palace to sleep for a long time.

Seeing that Emperor Jiajing did not answer, Huang Jin hurriedly pointed to the back and said, "Your Majesty, look at the reply from Shu Wang Xuanqi, offering 200 taels of gold and 5,000 taels of silver for the assistant workers, and Mu Chaobi, the Duke of Qian, who guarded Yunnan, and others, offering 400 taels of gold and 10,000 taels of silver for the mines, and more."

"Okay, okay, I saw it."

Emperor Jiajing said unhappily at this time, "Xuanqi inherited the title of Shu Wang last year, right?"

"Your Majesty has a good memory, it was indeed last year."

Huang Jin knew that Emperor Jiajing understood why Shu Wang offered so much, because during the inheritance process last year, Emperor Jiajing was very happy to order him to inherit the title, and even his mother was named the Queen Mother.

As for why, it was naturally because Shu Wang Xuanqi inherited the title as the eldest son of a concubine, not the legitimate son.

In addition, when Zhu Xuanqi managed the Shu Wang Mansion as the prince, from the 39th year of Jiajing to the 40th year of Jiajing, he constantly offered gold, silver, Sichuan fans, silk clothes and other items to the emperor, which won the favor of Emperor Jiajing.

As for why he was so attentive, it was not necessarily because Prince Zhu Xuanqi of Shu was really close to him, but because of his mother.

Zhu Xuanqi's father, Prince Zhu Chenghui of Shu, died in the 37th year of Jiajing, but at that time, as the eldest son of a concubine, he was less than ten years old. According to the Ming system, he had to be ten years old to inherit the title, so it was delayed until the 40th year of Jiajing.

Obviously, he was worried about changes during this period, so Zhu Xuanqi was so attentive and kept offering money and goods to gain the favor of Emperor Jiajing.

What kind of schemes could such a young child have? Naturally, it was the guidance of the people around him.

Although he knew it, Emperor Jiajing's mood was much better after Huang Jin's words.

"What news is there from the cabinet?"

Although Emperor Jiajing's question was incoherent, Huang Jin knew that he was asking about the chief school officer.

After the Ministry of Rites sent a letter to the various royal palaces, the cabinet has begun to discuss who will serve as the chief editor of the re-recording of the Grand Canon. Officials from the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Rites are naturally the most active, and many of the Hanlin Academy's self-proclaimed regular script masters also hope to participate.

Officials who participate in transcribing can get a fee in addition to their salaries, which is a good choice for clean officials with lower incomes. They can also take this opportunity to see the recently popular "Yongle Grand Canon", which is a great blessing, not to mention the opportunity to take exams and get promoted.

"In addition to Qu Jingchun, who was appointed by the emperor, Gao Gong, Li Chunfang, Yan Na and others also want to take up the post. I heard that the eunuch who came back said that Mr. Xu Ge also intends to let Zhang Juzheng, a lecturer in Prince Yu's palace, come to the palace for proofreading."

Huang Jin replied.

"Prince Yu's Mansion is also interested?"

Emperor Jiajing just asked lightly.

Hearing this, Huang Jin's heart skipped a beat, knowing that he had talked too much, and he really shouldn't say that he was an official in Prince Yu's palace.

"There has been no discussion in the palace about the report. There should be no such intentions. It is just the thoughts of Mr. Xu Ge and Mr. Gao. After all, Zhang Juzheng is Mr. Xu Ge's proud disciple."

Huang Jin replied.

"Has Chen Yiqin come back?"

Emperor Jiajing suddenly spoke and asked about the officials in Prince Yu's palace.

"No, Chen Yiqin is still in Dingyou."

Huang Jin replied hurriedly.

"The Yin people were upright by nature, more courageous and less resourceful."

He shook his head as he spoke, obviously not optimistic about this person. As for the others, there is definitely no hope for the position of chief school officer.

However, with this evaluation, Emperor Jiajing certainly did not think that Prince Yu's Palace was also involved, but he soon thought of several other people in the Palace.

"Are there any candidates for school recruitment and branch office officers? Who are the candidates?"

Emperor Jiajing asked again calmly.

"They are mainly people from the Hanlin Academy. The preliminary candidates include Ding Shimei, Xu Shixing, Lu Min, Wang Xilie, Zhang Siwei and others. Others are still under discussion. I think the list will be sent soon."

Huang Jin thought for a while before answering, and then he seemed to think of something and said again: "In addition, the cabinet seems to be still in contact with the Confucian scholar Cheng Daonan and others, and wants to find more people who are good at regular script to participate in copying. It is planned to recruit a total of three hundred people." people."

"Did Wei Guangde and Tang Ruji have any connections?"

Suddenly, Emperor Jiajing interrupted again and asked.

"No. After Wei Guangde and Tang Ruji left Prince Yu's Mansion, they just went home to read and didn't run around much."

Huang Jin replied.

However, his answer made Emperor Jiajing look over with dissatisfaction and said: "I believe you when you say that Tang Ruji went home to read. Wei Guangde is not like this. He often drinks with his colleagues in the same year and the Hanlin Academy. He was just having fun, and actually went to Jiaoshifang with the censor of the Imperial Palace. You tell me that now he leaves the office and goes home to read? "

Huang Jin blushed. These were from the former factory guard, but they couldn't be fake. After thinking for a while, he said: "Your Majesty, Wei Guangde hasn't gone out to have fun and have fun lately. Whenever he goes to San Yamen, he goes directly home.

By the way, it seems that his wife is pregnant, and now he is the last one to enter Prince Yu's Mansion every day. "

I don’t know if the last sentence is considered a snitch against Wei Guangde, but based on his understanding of Emperor Jiajing, it shouldn’t be a big deal.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was in power, there were more than ten government-run brothels less than 20 miles away from the banks of the Qinhuai River. This also made both sides of the Qinhuai River the busiest place in Nanjing at night, where the richest people gathered.

The income from these government-run brothels goes to the state treasury, and the women in them are all guilty. Unless they are redeemed at a high price, they will never get ahead.

This was also Zhu Yuanzhang's punishment for officials who committed crimes. His original intention was to make them restrain themselves, but he greatly underestimated the greed of officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang came from a poor background, so he always exerted high pressure on officials' work style and discipline. It was stipulated that government-run brothels were only open to the public, and no court officials were allowed to enter.

Since the development of the Jianwen, Yongle, and Hongxi dynasties, the problem of prostitution by official groups in the Ming Dynasty has almost reached the point of giving the emperor a headache. The official brothels run by Jiaofangsi are doing a booming business, and many private brothels are also taking advantage of the loose policies and the lack of laws. Loopholes that blame the public are popping up in large numbers.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong and Zhu Zhanji of the Ming Dynasty, the prostitution industry in the Ming Dynasty spread all over the country, and was particularly prosperous in Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Even in remote and poor states and counties, brothels could be seen everywhere.

During the Xuande period, the Ming Dynasty was in its prime, with no political turmoil internally and no strong enemies raging externally. Therefore, most of the officials' energy had nowhere to display, so they all spent it on romance. It was also at this time that something happened. A very excessive thing.

The three censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Yan Ai, Fang Ding, and He Gui, did not attend the morning court the next day because they were having too much fun in the brothel and got carried away.

The censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate are responsible for supervising all officials. Even their style is so bad. You can imagine how unbridled the other officials are about prostitution.

Ming Xuanzong was also furious because of this. This incident undoubtedly sounded the alarm for him. After careful consideration, he decided to eliminate this hidden danger.

It was also because of this that the first "anti-pornography operation" was launched directly by the emperor in Chinese history.

The purpose of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty was very clear, which was to clean up the court and clean up the promiscuity in the officialdom. At the same time, he also formulated a law. In addition to the sixty rods for officials who engaged in prostitution, they also added the clause of dismissal and never hiring.

Among the people, he also told the literati all over the world that if they engaged in prostitution, they would be stripped of their academic titles and prohibited from participating in the imperial examinations.

Ming Xuanzong's anti-pornography efforts were the largest in the entire Ming Dynasty history, and even the largest in the entire feudal history.

Of course, the effect was indeed very good. Soon thereafter, almost all the brothels across the country were wiped out. The scenery on both sides of the Qinhuai River was no longer beautiful, and the official atmosphere took on a new look.

Of course, behind the surface, it actually just makes this industry more hidden and harder to detect, but the social atmosphere has indeed improved as a result.

However, after the death of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, officials' lust for wine and sex, which had been suppressed for many years, and the folk customs of romance, which had been suppressed for many years, began to revive and even intensify.

Wei Guangde, who was under surveillance by factory guards, and his colleagues had been recorded as having prostitutes before, but Emperor Jiajing did not impose any punishment for it. There were too many to list.

In a word, the law does not punish the public, so the emperor, who is the most powerful person in the world, cannot investigate and deal with it. Even the censors are involved, and the factory guards under him will not be very clean.

When both the censor and factory guards are involved, it becomes difficult to investigate and handle the matter.

Fortunately, at least Wei Guangde is a prostitute and has not visited prostitutes or slept in brothels.

"Oh, is that so?"

Emperor Jiajing just chuckled and shook his head, then changed the topic and said: "I remember it was said in the general catalog of the grand ceremony that Emperor Wen ordered the Confucian ministers to collect the books in the secret pavilion into rhymes for inspection, and there were more than 3,000 editors. .”

Huang Jin naturally knew that his prince was competing with his ancestors, but it seemed that things had changed in Prince Yu's Mansion.

But repairing books and re-recording are two different things. Repairing books is more of a choice. You need to search the vast sea of ​​books for good works worth preserving and recording. Re-recording means just copying them once, so naturally they cannot be confused.

"Your Majesty."

Huang Jin just opened his mouth when Emperor Jiajing waved his hand and interrupted: "No need to say more, just do as they say. It doesn't matter if there are more people or less people, but your eyesight is not bad, so be more attentive to those who copied them." The assessment of people is the key point.”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

With the emperor saying this, Huang Jin could only accept the order immediately.

After speaking, Emperor Jiajing was deep in thought. Naturally, he had heard about the officials of Prince Yu's Palace, but at this stage, he had no intention of letting people from Prince Yu's Palace take over. He knew his own physical condition and would not be so quick.

In order to be more comfortable in his last days, he chose to promote those who flattered him, because these people were the most obedient.

Because this time it is about copying rather than revising, people like the president, chief editor, and chief reader are naturally not needed. All that is left is to assign the copying work and the most important proofreading.

Except for Qu Jingchun, since Gao Gong wants it, let him join in. Anyway, it is impossible to give him a chance to be promoted in the short term.

As for Zhang Juzheng, if Xu Jie thought about it, he would fulfill his wish and let Zhang Juzheng serve as the school administrator. The only thing is that other people in Prince Yu's palace should be involved. After all, in Emperor Jiajing's plan, there is no place for them for the time being.