On February 15 of the first year of Chongzhen, the imperial palace will be held. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info As the weather warms up, Emperor Chongzhen's mood that has suppressed a winter is finally a lot easier, the palace, whether it is a queen and two concubines, or eunuchs and palace maids, can clearly feel that the emperor has changed, the smile on his face has increased, and he will no longer fall into contemplation from time to time, and a person will sit for a few hours.

With the increasing fit with the first queen and the second concubine, Emperor Chongzhen also increasingly felt the necessity of exercising, and often took Gong Yonggu, Liu Wenbing, and Gao Wencai of Gong Weisi and others to walk or jog along the walls of the palace city one after another.

The emperor said that this was a good way to maintain health and fitness, although Gong Yonggu and others did not approve of it in their hearts, but they still said that the emperor was sage. Every time he ran, it was half an hour, and it was not until he sweated profusely that the emperor was willing to return to the Qianqing Palace.

Queen Zhou and others persuaded them several times, but when they saw that it didn't work, they stopped persuading. After all, after every exercise, the emperor's amount of food will increase greatly, and his complexion is indeed getting better day by day, especially in bed, and the time he can hold on is getting longer and longer.

Of course, during this time, the emperor worked the body of the first queen and the second concubine, but unfortunately no matter how hard he tried, the stomachs of the Zhou family, the Tian family, and the Yuan family just didn't move at all. The three women were also getting a little anxious. However, the emperor did not believe the prescription given by the Tai Hospital, and only urged the first and second concubines to run and exercise with him. The three women just couldn't shirk it, saying that they would wait for the weather to be good and then follow the emperor to work out.

Sitting on the dragon chair in the Imperial Palace, Emperor Chongzhen was thinking about these things while waiting for the ministers to pay their respects. Cao Huachun finished saying "If there is something to do, play early, and retreat from the court if there is nothing", he saw a person flashing out behind the Wenchen train, and the person stepped forward and knelt down to salute like a ritual, and then said: "The ministers and officials have given Liu Mao this book to play Your Majesty." ”

Liu Mao, where does this person seem to have heard of it, Emperor Chongzhen thought about it and said, "Liu Qing is flat, and he will play." ”

Seeing that the emperor spoke, Liu Mao got up and said: "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, he has often reduced the amount of money in the palace several times because of the emptiness of the treasury. As the old saying goes, the king is worried and humiliated. Therefore, the minister often thinks about the strategy of enriching the state in private. Recently, the minister has a foolish and wants to dedicate it to His Majesty. The minister thought that enriching the state was nothing more than opening up sources and reducing expenditure. His Majesty donated more than 100,000 hectares of Huangzhuang to recruit people to reclaim land in various parts of Beizhili, which can be described as open source, and reduce the use of the palace, which is called throttling. For example, those who can open up the source today are nothing more than reclamation, and Your Majesty has done it. However, the act of throttling cannot be undertaken by His Majesty alone. In the process of giving things to officials, he knows the harm of redundant officials and redundant personnel in the world. And now the harm of redundant officials and redundant personnel, which can be eliminated without harming, is only a post station. ”

Listening to Liu Mao say this, now this Emperor Chongzhen from later generations suddenly remembered who this person was.

According to historical records, it was this person who, in the second year of Chongzhen, asked Emperor Chongzhen to abolish most of the post stations under the Great Tomorrow, which led to the transmission of official documents between the Ming court and various places almost interrupted, so that the Beijing court gradually lost control of the local state capital, and many remote state capitals had to take out their own silver to hire people to present the official documents to the imperial court.

Moreover, it is said that it was because of the abolition of the post station system that Li Hongji, a young man who worked as a post guard at Yinchuan Post on the outskirts of Mizhi, was laid off and unemployed, and finally had no way to make a living, so he had to go to his uncle. The uncle of the postman Li Hongji is the famous Gao Yingxiang, and this postman Li Hongji is the king Li Zicheng who later overthrew the Ming Dynasty and forced Emperor Chongzhen to hang himself.

As soon as he thought of this, Emperor Chongzhen already knew what might happen next, but no matter what, he would not abolish the post station, even if there was no such thing as Li Hongji becoming Li Zicheng, he would not abolish the post station.

The harm of dismantling the post station is strategic. Because the post station, as the only relatively sound official channel to communicate with the world and transmit information at that time, once abolished, the central and local governments would lose an important link between each other.

Historically, after the post station system was abolished, the imperial court's decrees could not be transmitted to the local government normally, and the local official documents could not be reported to the imperial court on time or safely. In the operation of the entire Ming court, there was a problem of poor communication between the upper and lower levels.

Later, Emperor Chongzhen realized that it was a mistake to abolish the post station, and gradually restored the post station system in some strategic places, but it was too late, and the central court gradually lost control of the state capital of the world because of the disappearance of the post station system.

When Emperor Chongzhen came back to his senses from his thoughts, Liu Mao was still talking, only to hear him say: "The minister has roughly calculated, if the post station is cut, the imperial court can save more than 600,000 taels of silver every year." In addition, there is no calculation of saving grain and grass. Therefore, the minister asked His Majesty to issue an order to abolish the Tianxia Post Station, and in the future, the officials of the north and the south and the transmission of official documents from the east and west will all pay for themselves. After Liu Mao said this, he bowed and saluted, and then waited for the emperor to make it clear.

But before Emperor Chongzhen could speak, another person stood up among the ministers. I only heard him say aloud: "Your Majesty, Xu Guorong opposes the abolition of the post station in the military department. The minister thought that what Liu Mao said was actually a theory of misinformation about the country. The ancestors set up post stations in order to communicate up and down, connect the north and south, transmit military information, and transfer official documents, which was not set up for profit. Once it is cut, although it can save hundreds of thousands of silver every year, the communication between the upper and lower levels of the court is not smooth, the transmission of military information is blocked, and the disadvantages that breed far exceed the value of hundreds of thousands of silver coins. Nowadays, the post station may have the disadvantages of being extravagant, but it must not be abandoned because of this. Your Majesty, please think twice. After Xu Guorong said this, he knelt on the ground and bowed his head.

At this time, in the Wenchen train, another person walked out, knelt on the ground and saluted, and then said loudly: "Your Majesty Jiang Sirui, the imperial history of the Imperial Inspectorate." ”

Then without waiting for the emperor's reaction, Jiang Sirui said directly: "What Liu Mao said is really ridiculous. The ancestors set up a post station, and those who were concerned were deep, and those who planned were far away. Set up post deliveries all over the place, with its envelopment of the strong people in the grass, so that they can shoulder the burden, consume their energy, sell their years, and make them dare not do wrong. If the post station is abolished, hundreds of thousands of post soldiers in the world will be unemployed and unable to make a living, how will the court be safe? If he becomes a bandit, how can the court calm it? An Zhipingzhi, how much silver is consumed, how much more than 600,000 taels per year?! The minister thought that although the post station had drawbacks, it must not be abolished. I ask Your Majesty to severely punish Liu Mao for his crime of slandering the country. ”

After listening to the remarks of Xu Guorong and Jiang Sirui, Emperor Chongzhen felt quite relieved, it seems that there are still people in the court who understand. It's just that I don't know why the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen in history insisted on abolishing the post station, maybe he was really anxious by the emptiness of the treasury.

As the saying goes, a penny is hard to beat a hero. In the case of the imminent collapse of the imperial court's finances, Emperor Chongzhen at that time adopted the method of drinking water to quench his thirst, although he saved expenses for a while, but also drove another nail into his coffin board.

Having said that, now Emperor Chongzhen, who has more than 100 years of historical knowledge in later Shi'an, feels that it is almost over, so he looks at the position of cabinet minister.

Li Guohao, the first assistant of the cabinet, immediately took a small step forward, bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that although the post station is small, it has a great effect. Despite all the disadvantages, they should not be abolished. What Jiang Sirui said must not be ignored. ”

Emperor Chongzhen looked at Sun Chengzong again. Sun Chengzong bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what Liu Mao said is really a disaster for the country. It is by no means feasible to abolish the station. Your Majesty, please be aware of it. ”

After Sun Chengzong finished speaking, Xu Guangqi and Li Banghua also expressed their positions one after another, the meaning is similar, that is, the post station system can be reformed, but it cannot be abruptly abolished.

After several ministers expressed their positions one after another, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Xu Guorong and Jiang Sirui, who were still kneeling, and said: "Xu Guorong and Jiang Sirui, the two Aiqing are flat." ”

Waiting for the two to be listed, Emperor Chongzhen continued: "Since I ascended the throne, everything I have been thinking about is to make the Ming Dynasty prosperous, although the imperial treasury is empty, but I have never thought of starting to increase taxes, reduce military spending, or abolish post stations. I have once again made it clear today that in the future, those who dare to say that they will increase the land endowment, reduce military spending, or abolish the post stations will be guilty of bullying the king with fallacies and bringing disaster to the country and disrupting the government. ”

As soon as the emperor's voice fell, there was a commotion in the hall, and then under the leadership of the cabinet ministers, both civil and military classes knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "Your Majesty Shengming, long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live." Including when the ministers kneel and worship on weekdays, the brocade guards and inner court personnel who are still standing on the side also kneel at this time.

And Liu Mao knelt in the hall, trembling all over, not knowing what to do.

When the hall was quiet, looking at the ministers who were kneeling down, Emperor Chongzhen said: "I heard that the officials of the world are not inferior to the post ministers, and the affairs are more difficult than the post affairs. The post station is so important, but the post is humble and lowly, and it is not a blessing for the country in the long run. Today, since we are talking about post administration, the ministers are all saying that it is important, and I see that the post station not only cannot be abolished, but also must improve its status and increase its income. From now on, all post officials in the world will enter the stream, but all post officials will be awarded official positions above the ninth grade. The state and county members of the world, officials, and meritorious soldiers can all be appointed. The Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of War will implement it as soon as possible. In addition, the Inspectorate will also send several imperial histories to inspect and review the defects of the post delivery, and report the report. ”

Sun Chengzong and Cheng Ji both said: "Your Majesty Shengming."

Emperor Chongzhen continued: "As for Liu Mao, as a bureaucrat, his knowledge is not as good as this, so let's go home and study for a few more years." ”

Liu Mao, who originally thought that he might be severely punished, heard the emperor say this, and immediately bowed his head as if he had been amnesty, and said with tears in his eyes: "The criminal minister can't see this, and he is in danger of causing a catastrophe, so thank Your Majesty for your forgiveness." ”