Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 230: Enlighten the people and shake the imperial power!

"The epitaph of the Chen family in Nanchong. The name of the gentleman is Yiqin, and his courtesy name is Yifu. He was from Nanchong, Shunqing Prefecture, Sichuan. His family has been officials for generations."

"When you are alive, you should always be proud of your clear and bright sky and clear water, and end your life in glory."

"A man, on the throne and on the steps, should be extremely filial and serve his own body, only seeking the emperor, and making his name known to the world."

"I was moved by this, so I decided to write this inscription: Do you have any regrets? No, you have no regrets!"

Li Chunfang stood in front of the central desk, reading the "eulogy" written by Zhang Juzheng for Chen Yiqin. The more he read, the weirder his expression became.

Gao Gong who was grinding ink, Hu Zongxian who was looking at each other in bewilderment, and Lu Fang, although as grand secretaries of the dynasty, were often criticized for their shallow knowledge, Lu Fang was also a leader in the inner court's library. He might not understand "eulogies", but he certainly understood "epitaphs".

This is clearly the epitaph written for Chen Yiqin.

Zhang Juzheng picked up his pen, looked at Chen Yiqin, and said with a smile, "Yifu, how is it?"

Faced with Chen Yiqin's "extortion" over the imperial seal, Zhang Juzheng also wanted to fight back.

You asked me to write a eulogy, so I'll write you an epitaph first.

However, anyone could see that Zhang Juzheng was joking. The twelve letters to Chen Yiqin and his three sons, the eight elders of the Chen family, and the praises for the entire Chen family were not meant to be like this.

This one doesn’t count.

Chen Yiqin took the epitaph from the case, read it carefully, and nodded continuously, saying, "Eighty-four characters, brilliantly written, will last for a hundred years. Each character is worth a thousand taels of gold. This is eighty-four thousand taels of gold. This is how I will write my epitaph after I die."

The people in the hall were immediately amused and confused by Chen Yiqin's "greed for money" appearance.

Li Chunfang looked at his old friend and said speechlessly, "As a cabinet minister, a pillar of the country, without a posthumous title, without any contribution to the country and the people, what kind of epitaph is this?"

The higher the position.

The more stringent the requirements are for everything before and after death. Given Chen Yiqin's status and contributions to the people of the Ming Dynasty, he should at least have a large monument erected after his death to record his life.

Eighty-four words?

Even 840 words can’t finish it!
"I don't like epitaphs like that, so this is good enough."

Chen Yiqin shook his head and insisted, "The eight elders of my clan also want to write a eulogy accordingly. I'll trouble you, Yuan Fu."

During his decades of service as an official, Zhang Juzheng wrote many eulogies, especially before he became the prime minister. According to Chen Yiqin, he wrote eulogies for Yan Song, Xu Jie, Nie Bao and several others.

But this is definitely the first epitaph written by Zhang Juzheng, and its value is self-evident.

In addition, Chen Yiqin really likes the words in this epitaph: "Do you have any regrets? You have no regrets!"

To die without regrets is a unique hymn to him, as a cabinet minister.

The two sons and the family do not need epitaphs for the time being, and I believe Zhang Juzheng will not violate taboos.

However, the eight elderly elders of the Chen family who followed him to Beijing were more eager to have their epitaphs written for the prime minister than to have them eulogize him.

"Yi Fu, don't joke like this." Zhang Juzheng put down his wolf-hair brush and said.

Who writes an epitaph while still alive?

Besides, they had served in the same dynasty and worked in the same cabinet for many years. If Chen Yiqin really passed away, Zhang Juzheng would definitely be willing to write Chen Yiqin's epitaph and give him such a high evaluation. How could it be so "sloppy"?
"real."

Chen Yiqin carefully folded the epitaph and put it in his sleeve, saying affirmatively: "Yu Bei and Yu Jie are young and cannot bear the praise of the Prime Minister. I was joking before. Although the Chen family has been around for dozens of generations, it is still young and there is no need to praise it too much.

Those twelve letters of praise are just empty words. Yuanfu will write this "praise" for me, and then write "praise" for the eight elders in my clan. The matter of the jade seal will be handled by my Chen family."

this moment.

Only then did the people in the Government Affairs Hall realize that Chen Yiqin was not joking.

Zhang Juzheng stopped laughing, stood up and bowed, saying: "Juzheng is ashamed..."

Even if there is no issue of passing on the imperial seal.

What Chen Yiqin did for the Ming Dynasty also deserves higher praise. Although the Chen family had selfish motives, a gentleman is judged by deeds rather than by the heart, let alone a gentleman's family.

Zhang Juzheng always felt proud of being the chief minister of the cabinet in the 40th year of Jiajing's reign and leading the Ming Dynasty to an infinitely bright future. He was second only to the emperor and above everyone else.

He felt that he could comment on anyone and any family at will, and could arrange the people and things around him however he wanted.

However, Zhang Juzheng suddenly felt very ashamed when facing the Chen family who were often assassinated but could talk calmly about their own life and death, and worked for the people of the Ming Dynasty regardless of honor or disgrace or the fate of their family.

Chen Yiqin waved his hands and said, "Prince Fu, you don't have to be like this. I am a fame-seeker, and so is the Chen family. I am a layman, and my family is a layman. Yuan Fu, Ci Xiang, Ru Zhen, Zi Shi, and Eunuch Lu, just regard me as a layman.

I am not noble, and the Chen family is even less noble."

These words.

Full of fame and fortune.

But it is full of sincerity.

Not only did Zhang Juzheng feel more ashamed, but Gao Gong and others also felt a little ashamed.

Today's cabinet is not like the cabinet of the past.

In terms of the order of interests, it is no longer the order of personal interests, family interests, civil service group interests, the emperor's interests, and the court's interests. The interests of the people are not important.

Rather, it is the order of personal interests, family interests, the emperor's interests, the interests of the civil service group, the interests of the court, and the interests of the people.

The interests of the people have been improved in the minds of the ministers, but the improvement is very limited.

Chen Yiqin and the Chen family always claim that they do things for fame and profit.

On the other hand, they are the ones who keep saying that they work for the “common people” and do not care about fame or fortune.

It is clear at a glance who is truly noble and who is truly vulgar.

Gao Gong continued grinding.

Zhang Juzheng picked up the wolf-hair brush again, looked at Chen Yiqin solemnly, and asked, "May I ask what is the name of the noble elder?"

"Chen Ping, courtesy name Anmin."

"What kind of fame?"

"Juren."

"Have you written any books? Or taught others?"

"There is no book to be published. The family has a school. There are no taboos. No matter your family background, anyone who is eager to learn can go to school and seek instruction. The elder of the family, Ping, is the teacher who teaches the Four Books."

Zhang Juzheng asked as he wrote, and Li Chunfang read, "The epitaph of Chen from Nanchong, your name is Ping, your courtesy name is Anmin.

A native of Shunqing, Sichuan, the family has been in the education field for ten generations, and has become a successful candidate in the imperial examination. They have no intention of pursuing a career in government, but only wish to cultivate their students and cultivate their talents. I wish you will be with me forever..."

Zhang Juzheng wrote eight epitaphs in a row, and gained a deeper understanding of the Chen family. Although the Chen family did not have many students and former officials throughout the court, they had many students all over the world.

Almost all the successful people near Shunqing Prefecture in Sichuan Province had studied at Chen Family Academy and sought answers from the elders of the Chen Family.

The Chen family was not rich, but they used their knowledge to help the world.

The book is finished.

Chen Yiqin ordered someone to take the imperial seal and the epitaph to the post station and hand them over to the clan elders, and told them to make sure the seal was aged before the first day of the first lunar month.

This is the cabinet of the 40th year of Jiajing, and it will present a gift to His Majesty on the first day of the 41st year of Jiajing.

There is no room for error.

After finishing the business, Zhang Juzheng asked everyone to sit down again and personally added some sandalwood to the stove and the fire pot to make the fire burn more vigorously. Chen Yiqin had not returned to the cabinet for a long time. Although the table was clean, he subconsciously placed a few things in different places, which was different from his usual habit.

Gao Gong looked at him and asked curiously, "Yi Fu."

"Next Prime Minister, please speak."

"After your marriage, do you have any understanding of the sufferings of the people?"

"It really does."

"What is it?"

Chen Yiqin stopped what he was doing and said slowly, "The people are still ignorant."

Gyeonggi.

It can be said to be under the feet of the emperor.

But when Chen Yiqin traveled all over the four prefectures, he found that most of the people he met could not even write their own names. He often saw that children of school age were not studying in school, but chasing and playing in the fields and by streams.

Chen Yiqin, who came from a top aristocratic family, had to spend a lot of time explaining to the people the significance of land measurement, land equalization, and national policies.

Even today, the people of the Ming Dynasty do not understand the national policy and then implement it, but are willing to obey it after knowing its benefits.

If the water in the court is clear on the surface, it is black in the deep.

The water among the people is turbid on the surface, but clear in the deep.

But it is that superficial chaos that conceals the brilliance of wisdom of countless people throughout history.

"Isn't what Yifu said trying to follow the path of the ancient aristocratic families?" Li Chunfang joked.

A Chinese family.

It can be traced back to the "Tushan Meeting" in the Xia Dynasty.

After Yu established his capital in Yangdi, he summoned the tribal leaders of Xia and Yi to Tushan to discuss the Mandate of Heaven.

Under the "fist" and "favor" of Yu the Great, the leaders of many states and tribes of the Xia and Yi tribes chose to surrender.

Xia Yu disarmed all states and tribes and, in accordance with the agreement, transformed most of the original tribal leaders into hereditary aristocrats.

And these hereditary nobles were the predecessors of the aristocratic families.

In the ritual of suburban sacrifice, Xia Yu endowed the aristocratic families with the supreme status and enjoyed the worship of all the people.

Xia Yu also included himself and his family in the list of aristocratic families. The world was passed on to Shun, and in the future it will definitely be passed on to wise men. It will never be privately owned by one family or one surname, in order to fulfill the meaning of the saints' inheritance:

"Among all the ministers, only Gao Yao is wise and experienced, and has made great contributions. I now respectfully recommend him to the Heaven, and pray that the Heaven will grant permission and stop the war. I look forward to it with all my heart."

The Chinese have always been a group that values ​​the balance of power and responsibility. Under infinite glory and offerings, the obligations of the aristocratic families are also regulated.

That is, to enlighten the people and revitalize China.

The aristocratic families have the obligation to serve as the "light" of this chaotic world and illuminate wisdom for all Chinese people.

Teaching etiquette and imparting knowledge is one of the important obligations.

However, people are selfish, and no matter how good the regulations are, they will soon change after the death of the person who made them, that is, Dayu.

The aristocratic families only taught the people etiquette instead of knowledge in order to maintain their supreme status.

"When the granaries are full, one knows etiquette; when one has enough food and clothing, one knows honor and disgrace."

Only knowledge can fill one's granary and provide one with adequate food and clothing.

In ancient times, the spiritual pursuit of etiquette was useless except for starving people to death.

Thus, a saying spread among the upper class families: "Etiquette is not offered to common people."

Yes, the aristocratic families don’t even want to pretend anymore, and they are not even willing to teach etiquette to the lower class people.

Dynasties began to change in China, and rites and music began to collapse seriously. However, the aristocratic families, relying on the agreement made by Yu the Great, continued to enjoy the offerings and courtesy of the people.

In order to pursue greater power, the aristocratic families even came up with the trick of "Tian replacing Qi".

Fortunately, the rise of the Qin royal family not only prevented the aristocratic families from completely splitting China, but instead achieved unprecedented unification.

However, the Legalist thought that was highly valued by the Qin royal family, to be more precise, was the book of Shang Yang, which said, "The people can be made to follow it, but they cannot be made to understand it," and "The Five Techniques for Governing the People." These thoughts greatly elevated the status of the royal family, but once again put the people's wisdom aside.

In order to rule, successive dynasties have been extremely secretive about the concept of people's wisdom. The poor people were kept in confusion and were forced by the aristocratic families and powerful clans to overthrow dynasties.

The aristocratic families are all gone, and the people are still ignorant. In thousands of years, there has been only one true commoner emperor, Emperor Taizu Gao.

Emperor Taizu Gao made a lot of efforts to enlighten the people, one of which was free education.

The central official school was established: the Imperial College.

Establish clan schools: mainly recruit the sons of the crown prince, eldest son, generals, lieutenants and other noble children;

Local official schools: three levels: prefectural schools, state schools, county schools, and community schools.

Studying in these institutions does not require tuition fees, and provides food and accommodation, exemption from corvée labor, and food distribution.

There are a series of systems such as uniform clothing, fixed class times, asking for permission before leaving school, registering when entering and leaving the school, holidays, etc.

This was the treatment enjoyed by scholars during the Hongwu period.

The process of admission to higher education is also from community school to county school, from county school to state school, from state school to prefectural school, and from prefectural school to Imperial College.

During the entire Hongwu period, only six imperial examinations were held.

The vast majority of students are promoted step by step.

In addition, to graduate from the Imperial College, one must complete enough credits. Only after accumulating enough credits can one graduate and be appointed to an official position after graduation.

The most important thing is that while studying in the Imperial College, students have to observe politics, which means going to the six ministries to watch officials work. After the observation, they must have an observation document issued by the observation department.

However, this system for selecting officials and talents collapsed with the death of Emperor Taizu Gao.

After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he abolished most of the relevant regulations, and the one that had the greatest impact on enlightening the people was the abolition of community schools.

Emperor Jianwen returned the power of educating the people from the court to the wealthy families, the powerful and the local tyrants.

The children from poor families could no longer afford to go to school, and the fog, which had been somewhat cleared, became thicker again.

The imperial examination once again became a means for the wealthy and scholarly families to control knowledge.

That insignificant path to ascension is only enough to fool the world.

Restoring community schools, opening them to all children of school age in the Ming Dynasty, and allowing them to advance step by step through the grades, is the true path to "enlighten the people and revitalize China."

Li Chunfang asked with a smile, and Chen Yiqun nodded seriously. The Chen family did have higher aspirations and wanted to go back to the path of the ancient aristocratic family.

See this.

Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang and Lu Fang all changed color.

It has never been an easy task to control the people. It is already difficult for them as cabinet ministers because the people are not enlightened. If the people were enlightened and had their own will and ideas, the cabinet would probably be overwhelmed by the myriad of government affairs.

Will His Majesty’s rule still be so stable?
The four cabinet ministers Zhang, Gao, Hu, and Li, as well as the eunuch Lu Fang, who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department, stood up at the same time and stared at Chen Yiqin, with the solemnity and vigilance in their eyes undisguised...

(End of this chapter)