I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 57: Daily Lecture King, Shen Yiguan and Wang Jiaping

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, near noon.

Xu Zhenming, the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Revenue, Li Zhen, the Imperial Censor of Guangdong, Qiao Yan, the Imperial Censor of Shaanxi, and Zhao Yongxian, the Imperial Academy Reviewer, walked out of the imperial prison unharmed.

Zhang Juzheng ordered someone to give them eight words: If you are impartial, everything can be discussed.

This made the four of them a little confused.

This made many officials in the capital who were secretly observing this matter a little confused.

According to Zhang Juzheng's past style of doing things, even if these four people were not demoted, they would definitely be sent out.

This made the officials see Zhang Juzheng's bottom line: you can speak, but you can't speak nonsense.

Shen Nian was very happy when he knew it.

He thought that even if the punishment was light, he would be sent to serve as an official in a remote area, but he did not expect that there would be no punishment at all.

this means--

Zhang Juzheng was willing to listen to advice and compromise on the right things. He wanted to prosper the Ming Dynasty with a group of like-minded colleagues.

The matter ended with "Fu Yingzhen being exiled to Dinghaiwei for life."

Fu Yingzhen's biggest crime was slandering the emperor, and no one could save him from this.

……

The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.

All officials presented congratulatory messages to celebrate the end of the year and held a grand sacrifice.

The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month is New Year’s Eve.

Young Wanli went to the Taimiao, performed the Daji Ceremony, and offered sacrifices to his ancestors.

After New Year's Eve.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty will usher in the happiest annual holiday of the year.

From the first day to the fifth day of the first lunar month, officials can have a five-day break.

Then he went to the yamen five days later.

From the 11th to the 20th day of the first lunar month, there is a Lantern Festival holiday, which lasts for ten consecutive days.

For the Ming Dynasty officials, who only had 18 statutory holidays per year, this was a blessing after a long drought.

In order to make up a twenty-day holiday or even a month's leave, some officials took leave to visit relatives, worship ancestors, or get married.

This is the best time to approve.

However, officials in the capital still had to attend the Ming Dynasty’s most grand New Year’s Day court assembly and New Year’s Day lunch on New Year’s Day.

Their vacation doesn't start until the afternoon of New Year's Day.

……

The first day of the first lunar month, the fourth year of the Wanli reign.

The sky is slightly bright.

Inside and outside the Forbidden City, lights were on, and the Jinyiwei were lined up like a forest.

Officials from the Honglu Temple held ivory plaques and led the six ministries and nine officials, provincial governors, and envoys from various countries into the Huangji Hall.

Zhang Juzheng, wearing a crimson dragon robe, stood at the head of the civil officials, with other officials arranged according to their positions.

Shen Nian, who was standing near the door, forced himself to stay awake and twisted his thighs from time to time to ensure that his upper eyelid would not touch his lower eyelid.

He went to bed at midnight last night while on guard duty, but today he got up at three in the morning.

The officials around him were mostly in average mental states. They were much more tired than in the past when they went to the government office, but they still had to cheer up.

Lean slightly.

Little Wanli, wearing a black imperial robe, walked to the front of the throne. His tender little face flushed slightly, and he was obviously a little nervous.

It was really difficult for him to wear imperial clothes, act like an adult, and display the majesty of an emperor since he was young!
The eunuch Feng Bao from the Imperial Household Department stood on one side, looking down at the ministers like a hawk.

First, the four barbarians came to pay homage to the emperor.

The Mongolian Tatar envoys presented a fine horse and shouted: We wish to end the war with the Ming Dynasty forever!

The Korean envoy, wearing a blue satin round-collar robe, presented ginseng cloth and said that the relationship between him and the Ming Dynasty was like a son serving his father!
There were also envoys from small countries such as Ryukyu, Siam, Annan, Java, Malacca, etc., who all sent their blessings to the Ming Dynasty.

The young Wanli conferred rewards one by one according to the pre-prepared speeches of the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple.

Zhang Juzheng, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, strode out and began to report on the achievements made by the Ming Dynasty throughout the previous year.

For example: the efficiency of conveying government orders was significantly improved after the implementation of the performance evaluation system; how much expenses the post station regulations saved for the court; the victory reports of border generals such as Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang, etc.

After listening to Zhang Juzheng’s report, one gets the feeling that “the Ming Dynasty is a time of peace and prosperity.”

Finally, Little Wanli praised all the officials and gave his wishes for the new year.

This manuscript comes from the Hanlin Academy, and Shen Nian also participated.

Near noon, the young Wanli gave a banquet and the officials had a moment to relax.

The dancers from the Jiaofangsi began their performance, and a variety of delicious foods were served on the table.

The ministers were drinking and chatting, and many of them came to Shen Nian, the rising star, to have a drink and chat.

……

An hour later.

The heads of various government offices had already left, and just when Shen Nian was about to slip away and go home to enjoy his vacation.

Wang Jiaping, the compiler of the Hanlin Academy, and Shen Yikuan, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, came to Shen Nian with wine jugs and wine glasses.

These two men, one is 38 years old and the other is 43 years old, and their official positions are higher than Shen Nian. They are both daily lecturers who were promoted as special cases this year.

They went to Shen Nian to drink, so Shen Nian naturally couldn't hold back.

The three chatted for a while.

Shen Yiguan leaned close to Shen Nian's ear and said, "Ziheng, Zhongbo (Wang Jiaping's courtesy name) and I plan to submit a memorial tomorrow morning to cover the daily lectures for Your Majesty from January 5th to 10th. However, we are worried that we can't handle it, so we would like to invite Brother Ziheng to submit a joint memorial with us. What do you think?"

Among the officials who gave lectures on the imperial lectures, the three had the lowest official positions.

If you want to be promoted as an exception, you must be more proactive in teaching little Wanli.

They said they wanted to take Shen Nian with them, but in fact they wanted Shen Nian to take them with him.

With Shen Nian here, the success rate can at least double.

Wang Jiaping smiled and said, "Ziheng, I have made all the arrangements. We will return to the Hanlin Academy later to write the memorial. After the cabinet approves it, we will prepare lessons and write lecture notes on the second and third days of the new year. We will submit them for review on the fourth day, and we can even take a day off on the fifth day. It's a great idea. What do you think?"

After hearing this arrangement, Shen Nian just wanted to beat up the two of them while he was still tipsy.

Is that human being?
After working hard for a year, he could have taken a rest, but he took the initiative to ask to work.

There is a five-day holiday for New Year's Day, so just take one day off.

Too hard!
If the young Emperor Wanli heard that these two were planning to prepare lessons for him on New Year's Day, he would probably want to grant them a five-day trip to the imperial prison and give them some poison.

The plan in Shen Nian's mind is——

On the second day of the New Year, I took my wife to the temple fair, on the third day, I took my wife to watch a variety show, on the fourth day, I took my wife to listen to storytelling, and on the fifth day, I slept all day and enjoyed a quiet time as a couple.

Seeing that Shen Nian didn't say anything, Shen Yi Guan couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that Brother Ziheng doesn't want to and wants to rest for a few more days?"

Shen Nian hasn't spoken yet.

Wang Jiaping retorted righteously, "Brother Ziwei, you underestimate Ziheng! Ziheng has always been diligent and regards His Majesty's studies as important as state affairs. How could he be lazy? How could he choose to waste his time?"

"Besides, when Taizu was in power, officials only had three days off a year. We are much happier now and can rest on the Lantern Festival!"

"Ziheng, I said the wrong thing!" Shen Yi Guan bowed solemnly to Shen Nian with a serious look on his face.

At this moment, Shen Nian didn't know what to say.

These two people put it on a moral high ground.

If he refuted, it would mean he was lazy in politics, wasting his time, and was not the shining Shen Ziheng in their hearts.

"Okay, let's write a joint memorial now!" Shen Nian said.

Shen Nian guessed that there would be a lot of people sending visiting cards to him in the next few days, and he could use this official business to refuse them.

In addition, taking the opportunity to give lectures during the New Year's Day holiday would indeed make the cabinet very happy and receive praise from the young Wanli.

Shen Nian also wants to pursue progress.

As for his original plan, it could only be put on hold until the ten-day Lantern Festival holiday.

　Dear book friends, Happy Lantern Festival! I wish you all good health, smooth work, abundant wealth, and continuous advancement in the new year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)