I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 53: Little Wanli is eager to show off! Spanking is like slapping the face

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month.

The winter in the capital is cold and dry, and the biting north wind is like a blunt knife scraping on people's faces.

The rich and powerful love the long winter nights because there are abundant night entertainment activities.

The poor hate the cold winter nights because they are burdened by the high prices of firewood and charcoal.

The so-called "warm bed" in the homes of ordinary people was a luxury for the lower-class people in the Ming Dynasty.

There are many people digging up tree roots, peeling bark, and pulling hay to keep warm.

After every heavy snowfall, there were almost frozen corpses in the suburbs of the capital.

recently.

Because Gu Yue'er was pregnant, Shen Nian went home almost immediately after leaving office.

Braziers, hand warmers, foot warmers, hot water bottles and other heating utensils are all prepared very carefully.

The Xixinsi, which was responsible for distributing firewood and charcoal, had already distributed charcoal to various government offices early on.

The review findings of the Review Office.

This winter's charcoal is particularly durable, producing less smoke and not popping.

Shen Nian originally thought that this batch of charcoal was of good quality.

However, when I went to the Honglu Temple and the Imperial Observatory on official business, I found that the charcoal in the public housing where the sixth and seventh rank officials lived was very smoky and difficult to burn, and was exactly the same as the charcoal used in the Review Office last year.

Shen Nian understood instantly that this must be Feng Bao's arrangement.

The expenses of the imperial family and government offices in the capital were very high.

The imperial court has always adhered to the principle of "save where possible, spend where possible, and spend more money on a few nobles."

The consumption of refined charcoal is low.

The charcoal in the Review Hall became easier to burn because of Shen Nian.

This kind of differential treatment is diffused in the various daily trivialities in the government offices in the capital.

……

On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the regular court session began again.

It was almost four o'clock in the morning.

Shen Nian sat up from the bed, then walked to the frosted wooden window and took a closer look, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Alas! The clouds were thick last night. I thought it would snow, but it didn't!"

If it snows, there will be no court session today, and Shen Nian can sleep for at least one more hour.

aside.

Gu Yue'er slowly sat up from her bed and said softly, "It's still early. Sleep a little longer. I'll ask Xiao Tao to make you a bowl of hot soup!"

Shen Nian returned to the bed.

He gently placed his hands on Gu Yue'er's shoulders and let her lie down.

"You take a rest, I'll tell Xiao Tao to do it."

"I'm fine, I can..."

Shen Nian pressed his finger on Gu Yue'er's mouth and said, "Go to sleep!"

Two cute dimples appeared on Gu Yue'er's face, and then she closed her eyes. Shen Nian tucked the quilt for her and walked out of the bedroom.

And this moment.

The Qianqing Palace, the bedroom of the young Wanli Emperor.

A young eunuch called out to the young Wanli through the curtains: "Your Majesty, it's time to get up and attend court! Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

Little Wanli slowly opened his eyes and said, "It's not snowing outside?"

"No, not a single one has fallen." replied the young eunuch.

Little Wanli frowned and said, "Change my clothes!"

According to common practice, as long as the ground is white with snow, court can be excused.

At this moment, the young Wanli was very sleepy. He had been hoping for snow before going to bed last night so that he could skip court, but he didn't expect it to snow.

In this kind of weather, at this time, getting up and going to the morning is a complete torture.

Little Wanli hesitated for a moment, but still put on his clothes, had breakfast, and ran towards the Huangji Palace.

……

It was almost five o'clock in the morning and the sky was still dark, but the lights inside and outside the Huangji Palace were brightly lit.

All the ministers gathered in the hall.

Although there are charcoal basins all around, it is still a bit cold because the place is too large and air needs to circulate to blow away the charcoal smell.

As the daily record officer, Shen Nian stood on the southeast side of the throne, only one meter away from the nearest brazier, which was relatively comfortable.

If the officials standing behind did not wear more cotton clothes, they would definitely shiver with cold.

Some officials even stuffed several hot water bottles into their arms.

Lean slightly, inside the greenhouse.

Just as young Wanli was about to walk towards the front court, Feng Bao whispered a few words to him. He was stunned at first, then he smiled brightly.

Soon, the court meeting began.

Empress Dowager Li was behind the curtain, and Feng Bao was serving on the lower left side.

The chief officials and managers of each government office began to report on their affairs.

After the last New Moon and Full Moon Court Meetings and the dispute over the thirteen court meetings every ten days, it is clear that the regular court meetings are not just for show.

Although Zhang Juzheng was still the leader.

However, government affairs were handled more openly, and many officials gained a better understanding of state affairs.

Compared with the Taizu period.

The nine days of January nowadays are considered a blessing for officials.

……

After about half an hour, the meeting was concluded.

Just when Shen Nian thought the court was about to leave, little Wanli suddenly stood up and looked around.

"Why do I feel that there are fewer officials in the regular court today? Where is the ceremonial officer on duty at the Honglu Temple? Check the number of people immediately."

"Yes!"

An official walked out quickly and began to check people with the Jinyiwei.

Shen Nian looked down and was certain that there was a shortage of people, more than a hundred of them.

Ming Dynasty officials were divided into two extremes: diligent or lazy. Some were diligent, while others were lazy. Some officials knew that missing a court session would result in a one-month salary fine, so they acted with impunity.

He didn't take the last punishment order from the young Wanli to heart at all.

Not long after.

The ceremonial officer on duty from the Honglu Temple walked to the center of the hall with a book in his hand.

"Your Majesty, a total of 232 people were absent from court today. Of these, 232 requested leave from the Honglu Temple this morning due to personal matters or illness."

Little Wanli frowned.

"Do you still remember what I said at the court meeting on May 16th of this year?"

The ceremonial officer immediately said, "From now on, anyone who is late for court will be fined one month's salary. Anyone who is late or asks for leave more than twice a month will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane."

Today is the sixth day of the first lunar month, and few people ask for leave at the beginning of the month.

The first leave request is nothing more than a one-month salary deduction, which is a drop in the bucket for some officials.

Little Wanli's face darkened.

"Am I so easily fooled? In one day, over two hundred people were absent from court due to business or illness. Are their official duties more important than attending court? Are they something truly important? Are they so ill that they can't even stand up? If that's the case, shouldn't I let them retire and return home?"

Little Wanli's tone was very stern.

This surprised all the officials. This was the first time that the young Wanli lost his temper during a regular court session.

Behind the curtain, Empress Dowager Li smiled triumphantly, muttering to herself, "My son has finally grown up and looks like an emperor!"

Little Wanli thought for a moment and said, "Order the Imperial Guards to bring officials from the Ministry of Personnel to check those who have applied for personal leave, and order the Imperial Guards to bring doctors from the Imperial Hospital to check those who have applied for sick leave. If the personal leave or sick leave does not warrant attending court, they will be treated as lazy and punished with twenty strokes of the cane!"

Upon hearing this, the officials below all breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, you came!

Then, the young Wanli added: "After the number of people is determined, on the ninth day of the lunar month, after the regular court session, the caning will be carried out outside the Meridian Gate. All officials and civilians can watch the execution!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials raised their heads.

Zhang Juzheng, who had always maintained a calm expression, frowned slightly and glanced at Feng Bao beside him.

Zhang Juzheng saw at a glance that the young Wanli's outburst today was a sign of his desire to gradually seize power and prepare for his own rule in the future. However, Zhang Juzheng did not care.

He knew that the young Wanli had had this idea since the beginning of this year.

He was even relieved.

It is normal for an emperor to want to rule the country personally. It would be bad if he wanted to practice Taoism or indulge in other strange skills and tricks!

At the moment, he was not afraid of the young Wanli seizing power, because the Ming Dynasty could not function without him.

But when Zhang Juzheng heard that the young Wanli said he wanted to be caned outside the Meridian Gate and that all officials and people would watch the execution, he immediately became dissatisfied.

Such punishment is a bit too much!

Officials who fail to attend court sessions should indeed be punished.

If it is just a one-month salary deduction and twenty strokes of the cane, it is feasible.

But beating outside the Meridian Gate with officials and people watching is a completely different kind of punishment.

Twenty strokes of the cane without anyone watching are certainly light strokes.

It seems that the person is hitting the buttocks, but in fact he is hitting the face, so the skin on the buttocks is unlikely to be broken.

But if it happens outside the Meridian Gate, all officials and common people will watch the execution.

Then we can't just give a light punishment with a stick. Without drawing blood, the people will ridicule the imperial laws and treat them as a joke.

in this way.

Your butt will hurt, and your face will hurt even more because you will be embarrassed in front of the people.

Other officials also had the same idea that such punishment was a bit too severe.

But facing the angry little emperor, no one dared to stand up.

The reason why Zhang Juzheng looked at Feng Bao was that he felt that this way of "demonstrating imperial power and ceremony at the court meeting" must have come from Feng Bao's instigation.

Zhang Juzheng did not stand up immediately.

He is waiting.

Waiting for the little emperor to say: Prime Minister, what do you think?
At this time, the second assistant Lu Diaoyang couldn't help but stand up.

"Your Majesty, I believe that officials who miss court are certainly wrong, but it is unacceptable to force all officials and civilians to witness the execution. This will greatly undermine the prestige of the officials, and even...even some of the elderly may be...beaten to death!"

"Beat him to death!"

The young Wanli almost blurted out, then quickly corrected himself, "What I mean is, if we don't punish them severely, some officials will always find various excuses to break the rules and leave the court!"

When Shen Nian heard the words "beat him to death", he looked at the little Wanli again and felt that he was a little scary.

These are not the words of a benevolent ruler.

If he lost the throne today, wouldn't he be among those who would be "beaten to death"?

He also glanced at Feng Bao, thinking that it was the latter who had corrupted the young Wanli. How could a king govern the country according to the ways of the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

There is nothing wrong with a king using laws to restrain and punish officials, but if he treats the orders of officials as worthless, he is a foolish king.

Suddenly, the entire hall became quiet.

All the officials looked up, still surprised by the young Wanli's words "Beat him to death if you want."

this moment.

All officials saw that the young Wanli was eager to demonstrate the supremacy of imperial power by taking advantage of the officials' absence from court today. He did this in order to take power and rule the country as soon as possible.

But it was too much!

Today's words chilled the hearts of countless officials.

Some people looked at Zhang Juzheng, as only Zhang Juzheng could solve this situation.

"Cough cough..."

Empress Dowager Li noticed something strange in the officials' expressions and realized that the young Wanli had said something wrong, so she coughed quickly.

Little Wanli also realized that his previous words were a bit rash.

When he heard Empress Dowager Li cough, he immediately looked at Zhang Juzheng reflexively and asked, "Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Shen Nian also looked at Zhang Juzheng and thought: This is a difficult problem.

now.

If Zhang Juzheng completely overturned the young Wanli's intention, he would be slapping the young Wanli in the face in front of all the officials in the court.

Zhang Juzheng strode out.

"I believe that your majesty's punishment is correct. Those who feign illness and absenteeism should indeed be severely punished!"

"However, it is cold today, and some elderly officials are indeed too weak to attend court. I earnestly request Your Majesty to allow officials who have been in office for more than 30 years to be punished at the Northern Pacification Office, free from the spectators of the officials and the people, to demonstrate Your Majesty's great grace!"

Having been in the officialdom for thirty years, almost all of them are veteran officials over fifty-five years old.

If you are tortured in public and it is cold, you can easily die. Some people are very concerned about their reputation and can easily die of anger even if they are not beaten to death.

By saying this, Zhang Juzheng had already made a huge concession.

A faint smile suddenly appeared on the face of the young Wanli. He was nervous just now, fearing that Zhang Juzheng would completely overturn his orders.

At this moment, he felt that Zhang Juzheng was still somewhat afraid of him as the emperor.

"Just follow the Prime Minister's wishes." said the young Wanli.

Then he retired from court.

Zhang Juzheng, Lu Diaoyang and Zhang Siwei all had gloomy faces, and the officials also frowned and returned to their offices.

……

The next day in the afternoon.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard compiled a list of officials who pretended to be sick or absent from court.

Seventy-five in total.

Among them, there are twenty-three who have been in officialdom for more than thirty years.

This means that fifty-two officials will be caned twenty times outside the Meridian Gate in front of a crowd of officials and civilians.

It is impossible to beat him to death.

But I guess I'll have to spend this New Year lying in bed.

After seeing this list, Shen Nian absolutely couldn't believe that there were so few people.

Maybe Feng Bao took the money.

It is possible that Zhang Juzheng had made arrangements in private.

It is also possible that Empress Dowager Li and the young Emperor Wanli felt that doing so was indeed too much, so they dismissed some important officials who had lost their throne.

Knowing that they would be caned, the officials submitted memorials admitting their mistakes and requesting lighter punishments. However, how could the decisions made by the court be easily changed?

They will definitely suffer a lot and lose face.

……

That evening, Shen Nian received a notice from Hanlin scholar Ma Ziqiang.

Zhang Juzheng demanded that after the caning outside the Wumen Gate on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, all officials who lectured on the imperial lectures should gather in the cabinet to discuss matters and must not be late.

obviously.

The rash behavior of the young Wanli Changchao made Zhang Juzheng realize that there was a big problem in the young Wanli's education.

He is angry!

Zhang Juzheng did not dare to insult the young Wanli or make him kneel before his ancestors.

However, it would be easy to join forces with a group of daily lecturers to add some benevolent monarch education courses for the young Wanli.

……

At this moment, the cabinet is on duty.

The three cabinet ministers, Zhang Juzheng, Lu Diaoyang and Zhang Siwei, all looked at Feng Bao as if they wanted to eat him.

"Three elders, His Majesty is grumpy when he wakes up this morning. Seeing so many officials absent from court and yet they refuse to change despite repeated warnings, he got angry. This... this is definitely not what I taught you!"

"If Your Majesty were to rule the country right now, wouldn't the Ming Dynasty be in chaos? Perhaps the Empress Dowager said Your Majesty was too weak and indecisive, so Your Majesty..."

Feng Bao immediately shifted the blame to Empress Dowager Li, and Zhang Juzheng and the other two obviously did not dare to question Empress Dowager Li.

"Eunuch Feng, I still say the same thing. You are the master of the Forbidden City. You can discuss all the political affairs of the court. However, your Majesty's education is entirely under the jurisdiction of the daily lecturer of the Imperial Lecture Hall. No one else has the right to mislead or mislead you!"

Hearing this, Feng Bao became a little angry.

"Lord Zhang, I have served His Majesty diligently for many years. Would I harm His Majesty? If you feel that I have maliciously instigated His Majesty, you may request permission to kill me!"

After saying that, Feng Bao waved his sleeves and left.

The reason why Feng Bao dared to be so arrogant was because Empress Dowager Li supported him behind the scenes, and Zhang Juzheng would never break up with him for the sake of the new policy.

(End of this chapter)