My father is Jiajing

Chapter 535 The Taste of Power

Emperor Jiajing's decree was very confusing, especially to Zhu Zaigui himself.

What does it mean to add one more level to the chariot and ceremonial procession?
You must know that Zhu Zaigui is now a prince, and his usual carriage and ceremonial procession are almost the same as those of the real crown prince.

Now we have to add another level. Does it mean that we have to accompany the emperor's carriage and ceremonial guards?
This is obviously not possible!

And there are ten chapters of clothing, and a jade belt. What is this?
As we all know, there is no such thing as "Ten Chapters" in the Ming Dynasty's etiquette and legal system.

Generally there are four levels: "Twelve Chapters", "Nine Chapters", "Seven Chapters" and "Five Chapters".

These four ranks correspond to the emperor, the crown prince, the prince, and the duke.

Although the "Nine Chapters" crown can also be worn when a prince gets married or helps to worship the heaven, earth and the country.

But this is also based on special conditions. After all, not every generation of emperors can live to see their sons grow up and worship heaven, earth and the country together with them.

Therefore, the prince's dress of nine chapters would only happen on the day of his wedding. Apart from that, the highest level of formal dress for the prince was only "seven chapters".

Now Emperor Jiajing wanted to bestow upon Zhu Zaigui the title of Ten-Chapter Garment, which was obviously intended to raise Zhu Zaigui's status and identity to a higher level, making him a prince who was not a prince.

At the same time, it was also to give Zhu Zaigui greater symbolic power so that he could exercise his power as regent more smoothly and without hindrance.

However, such an operation was unheard of both for Zhu Zaigui and for the officials in the court.

So for a while, not only Zhu Zaigui was confused, but all the officials in the capital were also confused.

They all knew that this seemed to be against the rules and etiquette, but no one dared to really stand up and accuse this matter of being against the rules.

After all, Zhu Zaigui's identity is there. He is the eldest son of Emperor Jiajing's current living heirs.

There is natural legal support, even though he has not been given the title of crown prince until now.

But both the court officials and the people of the world recognized the fact that Zhu Zaigui was the successor to the Ming Dynasty.

This consensus between the upper and lower levels is also one of the important reasons why Zhu Zaigui's position is stable.

So naturally, no one would come out and say that there was something unreasonable in Emperor Jiajing's decree.

At Yan Song's residence.

Ever since Yan Shifan was arrested, Yan Song's residence has lost its former bustle, and no one is trying to find a way to get into Yan Song's residence anymore.

So Yan Song can be said to have some free time now.

Yan Song's housekeeper Yan Kuan saw his master still tirelessly sorting out the books that had just been dried in the sun some time ago, and he also lent a hand.

Yan Kuan said: "Master, are we really going to ignore you?"

The "master" Yan Kuan was referring to was Yan Shifan, who was now imprisoned in the Jinyiwei prison awaiting trial.

When Yan Song heard Yan Kuan's voice, he paused and looked at Yan Kuan with his cloudy old eyes.

Yan Song said, "Leave him alone. If you continue to care about him, the Yan family will be gone."

Yan Kuan listened to Yan Song's words in disbelief, he still couldn't understand it.

You have to know that Yan Song only had one son, Yan Shifan. If anything happened to this son, there would be no one to take care of him in his old age.

Yan Kuan said: "But...but he is the boss."

Yan Song naturally knew what Yan Kuan meant, but if he really got carried away at this moment and failed to distinguish the important points, and continued to protect Yan Shifan, he might even lose the last bit of friendship between the monarch and his subject.

So the best choice now is to turn a deaf ear and let the court handle everything.

Yan Song said, "Forget about him. The ancients said that children and grandchildren have their own blessings. He should also wish for his own happiness. I have protected him for so many years and never let him experience a real storm. Now that the storm has come, it is also a test to see if he has really grown up and is really sensible."

Yan Kuan sighed and continued to help Yan Song organize his collection of books.

After Yan Song had been tidying up for a while, he felt a little tired, so he simply stopped and sat on a chair beside him.

Yan Song continued to ask: "How are the other luggage packed?"

Yan Kuan replied: "The rest of the luggage that needs to be packed has been packed, and the luggage that needs to be packed has been packed."

After hearing this, Yan Song nodded silently and said, "That's good, that's good. When I have sorted out these books, we will return to our hometown in Jiangxi. In the blink of an eye, several decades have passed."

"That poem by He Zhizhang is well written. I left home when I was young and returned when I was old. My accent has not changed but my hair has turned gray. Children do not recognize me when they meet me. They ask me where I am from with a smile. I wonder how many people in my hometown still remember my appearance."

"I guess there shouldn't be many people left, right? I'm already eighty-two years old this year. Even in the past and present, there aren't many people who can live to this age. I can be considered to have enjoyed all the blessings of fortune, wealth and longevity from God in my life."

After listening to Yan Song's words, Yan Kuan also agreed with his master's words.

Because he was also the third generation of slaves in the Yan family. When he served as Yan Song's housekeeper, Yan Song was already sixty years old, while he was only in his forties at that time.

Now, more than 20 years have passed and he is over 60 years old.

Although this age is not young, it is nothing compared to Yan Song's longevity of over 80 years.

So when he heard Yan Song sighing that he had received all the blessings from God, including "happiness, wealth and longevity", Yan Kuan had no other opinion except to agree in his heart.

Yan Kuan sorted out Yan Song's collection of books for a while, but he couldn't help but ask the questions that had been in his mind for several days.

"Master, do you think that the sentence will be very severe?"

Yan Song suddenly raised his head, and there was a bottomless pool hidden in his turbid eyes.

During this period, Yan Song has been thinking about this question. He also wondered if Yan Shifan could survive and land safely.

But based on his understanding of the character of his son Yan Shifan, as well as Yan Shifan's past arrogant behavior, and Yan Shifan's greed and ruthlessness that would not shed tears until he saw the coffin, Yan Song was actually unsure.

He also didn't know whether Yan Shifan had committed any other fatal crimes besides those that the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice had caught him with.

If so, even if the Jade Emperor came down to earth, he probably wouldn’t be able to save his life.

Therefore, Yan Song also sighed and said, "Let him be. Now I can only do my best and leave the rest to fate. I only hope that Your Majesty and the prince can spare Yan Shifan's life for the sake of my diligent work for the Zhu family over the past few decades." After hearing Yan Song's sigh, Yan Kuan stopped talking.

Because he also understood that there was no point in saying anything else.

If things go wrong, every word you say from now on might just rub salt into the old man's heart.

So you'd better help Yan Song pack up these books and prepare for moving.

A few days later, in Prince Yu’s mansion.

Zhu Zaigui finally got a ten-day holiday today and did not go to work at Wenhua Hall.

But even if Zhu Zaigui did not go to work in the Wenhua Palace, the regent affairs that required him to handle were still with him.

Zhu Zaigui stretched lazily and placed the Yongle Encyclopedia, which he had just read two pages of, on the stone table in the yard.

Zhu Zaigui looked at Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Hai Rui and others who were waiting for the time and couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Gentlemen, I finally got a day off. Can't you let me relax for a day?"

Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Hai Rui and others also looked at each other awkwardly. They had been with Zhu Zaigui for so many years and naturally knew Zhu Zaigui's personality.

Zhu Zaigui was not lazy, but he had principles.

Therefore, the few people did not advise Zhu Zaigui to "work hard" just because he was resting in the palace.

Gao Gong said, "Your Highness, we are not here for state affairs, but to see Your Highness."

Zhu Zaigui looked at Gao Gong and the others and said, "Okay, now that we've all met, you can go about your business."

Zhu Zaigui's words made Gao Gong and others feel confused again.

It felt like Zhu Zaigui's words were no longer in accordance with the rules. They just said that to be polite, how could they just look at him and leave?

Gao Gong was embarrassed, and Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui looked at each other.

The two of them really had something to talk about.

Zhang Juzheng said: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, but I still have something to say."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "That's right. Can you tell me what it is first?"

Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui looked at each other again and then said, "Brother Gangfeng and I have been thinking over and over again about the prince's speech in Wenhua Hall that day. We are worried."

Zhu Zaigui looked at Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui, who were hesitant to speak, and asked, "What are you worried about?"

Hai Rui took a deep breath and said to Zhu Zaigui, "I am worried that the new road you are talking about will follow the same path as Emperor Yang of Sui. The cost and manpower and material resources required to build this road are incalculable."

"If Your Majesty is only focused on realizing such a grand ambition, I am worried that the final result may be that he will not be able to do it, which will not only waste the country's strength, but also cause complaints from the people."

After hearing Hai Rui's concerns, Zhu Zaigui couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you worried that I might be too eager for quick success and want to complete this task in a few years or even a dozen years?"

"Don't worry, I'm not a great benefactor like Emperor Yang of Sui. He didn't charge for building a canal, but he did charge for building a road. So from this point of view, I won't be eager for quick success."

"Moreover, in my plan, these new roads will not be built by the court all the time. Have you forgotten that the new Beijing-Tianjin road that is currently under construction was built with a loan from the Urban Construction Department of the Beijing Special District?"

"If this road is successful, I will replicate this experience and allow local government offices or powerful businessmen to borrow money or invest in road construction. At that time, I only need to set up a relevant regulatory government office to be responsible for the quality inspection of these roads and the pricing of road tolls."

"This will not only ease the financial pressure on the court, but also mobilize the financial strength of the people to build a prosperous Ming Dynasty. Why not do it? So you should think carefully about what I said in Wenhua Hall."

"We need to seriously understand and explore new ideas for governing the country in the future. The ancients said that when you are poor, you must change, and when you change, you will succeed. The way of doing things that the Ming Dynasty is doing now is also learned from the ancients, and it has a history of thousands of years."

"In the past, when ancient people governed the country, they used the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, which later became the Six Ministries under the Palace, and in this dynasty, the Six Ministries under the Cabinet system has also evolved. So some things are not really immutable, and must be changed accordingly with the needs of the times."

"But we must also remember that this kind of change must not be too big a step, and must be judged based on the actual situation. For example, the road construction issue. In the original concept, road construction was the obligation and kindness of the court, local officials, and some wealthy landlords."

"But this kind of situation where we only rely on the court, the government, and the kindness of some people to get things done is obviously not sustainable. Because after a long period of development, the court and the government will accumulate many practical problems that are difficult to solve."

"And each of these problems requires money to deal with, but the money that the court and government can receive will gradually shrink over time, and it won't be as easy to collect money as it was at the beginning of the founding of the country after the first heyday."

"So, sometimes it is difficult to count on the imperial court and local governments, because the imperial court and local governments don't even have enough money to spend, so how can they have extra money to build bridges and roads?"

"There are also those landlords and gentry who are willing to build bridges and roads for their hometowns. Even if they are kind-hearted, they only build a section of road or a bridge in front of their own doorsteps. And what are the specifications and quality of the repairs? It also depends on how kind they are."

"Otherwise, even if they repaired the bridges and patched the roads, it would only be a temporary transition. As time goes by and things decay, these bridges and roads will naturally not be able to withstand the erosion of time."

"Therefore, what we need to do now is to formulate corresponding traffic rules for building roads and bridges, and then relax restrictions and use supervision to release the power that the court could not mobilize before, so as to carry out these great things that benefit the country and the people."

"As long as the relationships and rules at this level are straightened out, then things in the future can naturally follow suit. With this new way of thinking, we can find this new management model, thereby improving the administrative efficiency of the court and further strengthening the court's control over the local areas."

"Is your way good or bad?"

Zhu Zaigui asked Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Hai Rui and others a question.

At this time, the three of them also fell into deep thought.

At first glance, the decentralization of power and concessions in road construction seemed to be a loss for the imperial court, as it gave away the power and benefits that originally belonged to it to the local governments or some powerful landlords and gentry. But on second thought,

If the court really established and improved supervision and control over this matter as Zhu Zaigui said, it would undoubtedly be a way to make money and increase source of income.

Moreover, as supervision and rules are improved in the future, the court's control over local areas will be further strengthened. This is simply a win-win situation.

You must know that since Qin Shihuang reformed the county system, through so many dynasties and emperors, what they have been doing and thinking about is actually trying to strengthen the absolute power of the central court so that the power of the court can penetrate into every corner of the world.

Instead, it finally changed to a helpless portrayal of reality such as "the imperial power does not extend below the county level" or "the emperor is far away and the mountains are high".

Therefore, if there is a way to extend the court's management and supervision more deeply and more closely, no matter who is at the central government, they will definitely support it unconditionally.

After all, this is also their power structure, and who would complain about having too much power in their hands?
Isn’t this anti-human?

------

Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)