Occupy 8 Jiajing forty-two years of deep winter, in the blink of an eye. It has been more than two months since Shen Mo went to work in the Ministry of Rites, and he got along very well with his boss and colleagues.

In fact, it is difficult not to get along, because Yan Ne, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Li Chunfang, the left waiter, are both good people in the court, plus Shen Mo, the right waiter who has always been good-tempered, has these three hall officials in charge. For a time, the Ministry of Rites was harmonious, and it was called "Bodhisattva Full Hall" by Beijing officials, although it had the meaning of a dramatist, but it also became a place that middle and lower-level officials yearn for.

Of course, the Ministry of Rites can be harmonious, and it is also related to its responsibilities, which can be roughly divided into three parts, one is responsible for the use of the five rites of abandonment, Jia, military, guest, and murder, which is also the origin of the name of the Ministry of Rites; the second is to manage national school affairs and imperial examinations; The third is to be responsible for the affairs of the vassal and foreign countries. It's all the most important thing, so I can keep my mind calm.

If it is replaced by the Ministry of Works, which is responsible for the national project, or the Ministry of Households, which is responsible for the revenue and expenditure of money and grain, or the Ministry of War, which is responsible for the national criminal name; the Ministry of Officials responsible for the appointment and dismissal of officials; The Ministry of War, which is in charge of all the ** affairs, or the Metropolitan Procuratorate that specifically sued for impeachment, "If you want to be calm, it's impossible."

In the three major affairs of the Ministry of Rites, Yan Ne is in charge of the overall situation and focuses on "etiquette and etiquette, which is also the top priority of the work of the Ministry of Rites.

"The Book of Rites" cloud: "The great handle of the ruler of the courtesy," so the ruler of the government and the king is also "the teacher serves the cloud:" Etiquette is the body of the government,; Confucius said: "Serve the country with courtesy"; Yan Ying said: "Etiquette can be for the country for a long time.; "Zuo Chuan" quoted the gentleman as saying: "The country of rites and regulations is determined by the society.; Uncle Qi Yun: "The etiquette guards its country, implements its decrees, and does not lose its people; Xun Ziyun: "The fate of the country is in the ceremony."

It can be said that the idea of ruling the world with etiquette. It has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and people firmly believe that "the rule of the country is related to the rise and fall of etiquette." Therefore, Xunzi said: "The etiquette is the extreme, the foundation of a strong country, the way of authority, and the total fame.

Why do you say that? Because "etiquette and righteousness are disciplined." According to the understanding of silence, it is to take etiquette as the key link, which can establish a stable social order, so that people can understand the difference between the noble and the low, the inferior and the young, and the relatives and relatives, and require people's behavior to conform to their identity and social and political status in the family.

Therefore, etiquette and etiquette are the cornerstone and code of conduct of this Confucian society. As the highest department to manage and practice the etiquette system of a country, its importance is self-evident. It is precisely because the Ministry of Rites is proficient in the etiquette of a country and has rich experience in etiquette that it will become a prerequisite for entering the cabinet.

Therefore, under the situation of Sister Yuan's death and the cabinet being alone, Yan Ne will almost definitely become a scholar, so Yuan Butang is public and private, and he doesn't care much about the daily affairs of the ministry.

As for the second-in-command Li Chunfang, he is responsible for the exchanges between Fanbang and foreign countries, and this errand can be regarded as a part of the ceremony, and it is reluctantly called a "foreign ceremony". However, the Ming Dynasty has always only focused on itself, so its importance is related to "internal etiquette." Far from being comparable, it can even be said that it is not valued. But because of Sister Yuan's death, Li Chunfang became a well-written green word. The emperor can't do without him for a while, so he can only symbolically receive this errand, but if there is really a foreign matter. I still have to ask Shen Mo for help.

The rest, it's all silent errands, or rather. Almost all the affairs of the Ministry of Rites were pressed on his shoulders at once. In addition to managing national school institutions including Guozijian, Shuchangguan, and state and county schools at all levels, and imperial examinations at all levels, he also has a bachelor's degree in Hanlin, and Shen Mo wanted to resign from this position, but Yan Ne didn't accept it, and Li Chunfang didn't accept it, so he made him more capable people.

Shen Mo can see that these two are extremely lazy Hanlin officials, and they believe in the way of Huang Lao, who does nothing, as for himself, although he has not done anything serious in the past few years, he has earned the title of "Cadre" in the early years, and he has been very brilliant in the southern tour, and this time it fell into their hands. That's not a small long worker who has entered the landlord's house, who does not need you to go?

If that's all there is to it, after being silent and idle for all these years, I would have long since loosened my bones, not to mention that there are so many divisions, departments, and bureaus below, and some of them are Lang Zhong, the director, and the outside Lang to listen to his dispatch. Why do you have to do everything? It just so happens that his strength is to deploy and command, no matter how tedious the errands, he can record the cocoons layer by layer and distribute them in a clear manner, even if there are more things, he will not delay going home for dinner. ", one by one

But this does not mean that Shen Mo is not annoyed in his heart, on the contrary, he has been more annoyed and angry recently. extremely depressed", but never hung on his face. And the source of his troubles came from a Yamen sect that was once extremely noble, but now relegated to the worship of the Ministry of Rites.

Zongrenfu is in charge of the royal family and the yamen of the curtain repair jade butterfly, in charge of the affairs of the royal clan, Hongwu three years, along the Yuan system to set up the main courtyard of the Zongren, 22 years changed its name to the Zongren Mansion. Set up a sect order, left and right. Left and right sectarians. And it is a product, filled by the prince

Bai mentioned that the later true ancestor Zhu Jie could only be ranked third in the right sect, so he knew how prominent his original status was.

But don't worship it, it's just a legend. After the Battle of Jingyan, the right sect of that year became the emperor, while the original emperor Zhu Yunfu was missing, and the intimate relationship between the imperial family no longer existed, replaced by surveillance, suppression, and suppression. Therefore, at this time, the Zongren Mansion, an institution with a high status that can command the imperial family and even dictate to the emperor, has naturally become a thorn in the emperor's side and a thorn in the flesh, and it must be greatly weakened.

Starting from Zhu Lin, the emperors of successive dynasties first canceled the regulations on the prince's affairs of the sect, and replaced them with the affairs of the ancestors of the old relatives; Later, the Zongren Mansion was directly placed under the management of the Ministry of Rites, completely eliminating the bait of this transcendent force.

Now the emperor was relieved, but the officials of the Ministry of Rites were worried, "What is the Zongren Mansion in charge of?" O clan! These people have little power, though. But each of them regards themselves as nobles. Because after more than 100 years of reproduction under excellent conditions, the number of clans has been thousands of times that of the founding of the country, but the country still has to be supported, and the pressure on the finances is great. Even more than military spending. Whoever becomes the emperor wants to be in this matter, the ancestors of Zhu Yuanzhang, even if it is their own ancestors, this shit policy is really too shit, and what is even worse is that no matter how shit it is, it is also an ancestral system, and there is no way to change it.

Therefore, the emperors and their ministers have been committed to reducing the expenditure in this area, although they cannot cut the feudal domain in a big way, but they can be piecemeal and accumulate a lot. For example. As long as the prince and the prince of the county have no children, they will be removed from the feudal domain as soon as they die, and if they commit a crime, they will be directly demoted to the common people and removed the feudal domain, and even those who can inherit the king normally will be delayed for several years without reason, because the formalities are not completed, there is no need to pay the money" As for the generals and lieutenants of Fengguo, Zhenguo, and auxiliary countries who do not have fiefdoms, they are even more insecure.

To be honest, now the Zongren Mansion is a gas bucket for the clans to vent their anger, and every day there people slap the table and scold their mothers, and if they don't agree with each other, they will add their fists and feet, and even want to die or live. But you can't beat or scold, you can only laugh and pay for it. Coaxing these masters, the degree of trouble can be called the best in the world.

Such a department that hinders harmony naturally can't be placed in the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, so the Zongren Mansion is not in Dongjiang Rice Lane, but is assigned to the alley of South Daji Lane in Caishikou, south of Xuanwumen, which can be described as out of sight and out of mind.

Such a tiresome errand, Yan Ne and Li Chunfang are two "immortal chiefs." Naturally, I won't care. Bullying Silence is just coming. Without saying a word, it was handed over to his shoulder.

The official level crushed people to death, and he was a newcomer, so Shen Mo could only take this hot potato with a wry smile, and he could barely cope with it.

However, on the whole, when the Manchu Dynasty was full of rumors and officials were in danger, these three benevolent chiefs supported a warm haven for the officials of the Ministry of Rites, so that they were able to escape the purge of Xu Ge Lao regardless of their original faction, and it was indeed a paradise that everyone envied.

But there is a way that he often stands by the river, how can he not get his shoes wet, and when he arrives in Layue, Shen Mo is still dragged into the cusp, "The culprit is his friend of the same year, Lin Run, who reported King Yi."

Because everything is sitting in the open, Jiajing can't embezzle his credit, plus he is the same year as Shen Mo. Naturally, he is also a student of Xu Gelao, so in the promotion after the Great Purge, Lin Run, who is known as the right capital of Nanjing, was actually promoted by the court as the left deputy capital of the Imperial History of the Metropolitan Inspection Academy, and became the third-in-command of the official system" By the way, the Ministry Yinglong is the right deputy capital of the imperial history, and he is still under him.

was able to advance to a high position, and Lin Run's morale was greatly boosted. Soon after entering Beijing, there was a "Yizong Fan Lu Mi Shu", which was revealed to the world, just like a boulder thrown into the water, causing an uproar!

The gist of the message is: "Today's business." Those who are extremely disadvantageous and greatly worrying are as good as the clans! Because today's clan is multiplying, the years are not continuous, and the rice of the clan is hundreds of times more than in the past. Such as Kaifeng, Henan, the only Zhou palace in Hongwu. At the beginning of Jiajing, the king of the county has increased by thirty-nine, and the generals have increased to more than five hundred. It has been more than 40 years since the beginning of Jiajing, and it is not difficult to infer the increase. It is to shoot directly at the clan vassal king, pointing directly at the world's number one evil!

How serious is this ill? "Counting the wealth of the world, the grain for the Jingshi is 4 million stones every year, and the rice in the palace is as much as 8.53 million stones, which is more than double the grain for the Jingshi. For example, the remaining rice in Shanxi is 1.52 million stones, and the rice in Lu is 3.12 million stones; Henan has 843,000 stones, and 1,920,000 stones. In this way, it is discussed in two ways. Even if the field is fully conscripted, it will not be enough to supply the cattle of Wangfu Lumi. Moreover, the officials and military salaries are all out of it. Therefore, the formation of the county king and above can still enjoy generously, and the general below can not survive on his own, hungry, cold and humiliated. Imperatively. It is difficult to provide for the troubled hands, and the clan is struggling not to give. So there was a lot of discussion, and there was no consensus...... That is to say, most of the country's entire revenue must be supplied to the royal government, and the traditional majority of the state's expenditures, such as the royal service, the official and the military salary, can only be expedient in the remaining half

But how to fix it? Lin Run said, "The minister thought it was appropriate to order the minister and Kedao to gather in the imperial court, and then issue a discussion on the kings, showing that the power was extremely poor and had to be understood." The full amount of the household department is based on ten years, about the number of soldiers, Shu exemption, and the cost of retention, the geometry of the palace's additional seal, and the geometry of Lu rice and various expenses. Ling Zong Fan Xiaoran, knowledge of the limited amount, and the cost of infinite, a total of the aftermath of the strategy, and then through the collection of public opinions, please the emperor to decide, thought that it is not easy to rule.

He didn't have a good solution, so he suggested that everyone get together and have a meeting to solve it."

Jiajing may have been put on the side by the clan and almost lost his life, and he also wanted to deal with these insects, so he sent Lin Run's recital to the middle. Ordered a hundred officials to discuss and see who had a good idea. And that room. The vassal kings of the clan were not the masters who were to be slaughtered by others, and they sent people to Beijing one after another to resolutely resist this unforgivable "perverse behavior"

As a link between the imperial court and the clan, the Zongren Mansion has naturally become the focus of attention and is in a very delicate situation.

In the past few days, Shen Mo has received more than a dozen waves of royal clan relatives one after another, "Without the emperor's order, the vassal king is not allowed to leave the fiefdom, but this does not prevent them from sending their children to the capital to run and contact." These princes generally have a bad temper, and they can't see the main master, so they have to take out their anger on the officials of the Zongren Mansion, and beat and humiliate them unscrupulously, lest things not make a big fuss.

There was no way, Shen Mo had to go out in person. To appease these uncles, please eat and listen to the play. This did not burn the yamen.

"Uncle Shaozong. It can't go on like this" followed Shen Mo to the Ministry of Rites, Wang Qiming, who had been promoted to a foreign officer, said with a sad face: "Those gentlemen are too good at spending money, it's only been a few days, and their hospitality expenses have already bottomed out." ”

"Don't worry about money," Shen Mo held a hearth in his hand, his eyes fixed on an account book. said casually: "Stabilizing these masters first is the first." ”

"What, you always have to pay for it yourself?" Wang Qiming knows that this family is too rich.

"Thinking about beauty, my family is no longer in business. Sitting on the mountains and eating the empty land, how can there be surplus food to send them. Shen Mo lowered his eyelids and said, "From the Lumi that they should send at the end of the year." ”

"Ah, won't you fall out then?" Wang Qiming made a fuss and said: "You call it a drink to quench your thirst." ”

"Less nonsense." Silence put the small stove aside. Turning the page, he said: "The boat will naturally go straight to the bridge." We'll talk about that when the time comes. ”

"Come on, you're always in the driver's hands anyway." Wang Qiming should come down, and changed the topic again: "My lord, the people below have been begging me for the past few days. Let me talk to you,"

"What's the matter?" Shen silently picked up the pen and copied something from the ledger, but still didn't look up.

"That's right. This winter is extremely cold, and before the wax moon, there are several snowfalls. The price of this firewood is rolling upwards. Wang Qiming whispered: "Brothers, I want to ask. Can you send more firewood tickets, even if you pay less? "Firewood tickets are a kind of welfare for officials, that is, they receive a certain amount of firewood with the tickets. And it is a very high-quality official firewood.

"The account is good," said silently: "What is worth what you want"

"Hehe," Wang Qiming said with a smile on his face, "You can't watch the brothers get cold." ”

"yes, got it." Shen Mo finally looked up at him and said, "But I can't be the master of this matter, I have to have the final say, and when I have the opportunity, I will talk to him and see if I can do it." ”

"Don't push it" Wang Qiming relied on being his old courtier, and said softly: "You don't discuss with the ministry about the Lu rice of those clans, how to send us some firewood tickets, we still need to discuss." ”

"Okay, you're Wang Qiming, you're pretending to be confused, right?" Shen Mo stopped looking at him again, and continued to write: "Hurry up and get out, don't be an eyesore here." "The former is the back of the black pot, the latter is the city's grace, can the nature be the same?

Wang Qiming sighed helplessly, and said in his heart, adults are getting harder and harder to talk now, which is like the original, just ask for it. I had to retreat with a cowardly gift, and I hid from everyone for several days after I went back, lest they ask about the firewood ticket.

Who knew that it had only been two days. The colleagues of the Ministry of Rites came to him one after another, but they did not ask for the guilt, but thanked him vigorously, Wang Qiming asked, it turned out that the Lord of the Ministry came over in the morning and sent 5,000 catties of firewood tickets, "The Ministry of Rites is already small. It's enough for the winter. Yuan Butang also told them that the 5,000 catties of firewood tickets were bought by Shen Shilang at a parity price in the Inner Court.

Wang Qiming is so strange, he said in his heart, "My lord, why bother, I don't dare to see people these days."

He was pondering when someone called him: "Old Wang, Uncle Shaozong called you." He hurriedly went over to the silent signing room, and said respectfully: "Uncle Shaozong, you are looking for it." ”

"Hmm" Shen nodded silently, "Help me send a few invitations, I'm going to have a treat tonight." ”

"Yes"

There is one more chapter today" (to be continued)