Volume 4 Chapter 47 Roster
Yue Fei did not wait for the Mid-Autumn Festival at Yuetai, but turned back directly, and he turned back early, because he had a more important task. Zhao Jiu needed him and his disciplined troops to ensure that Jingdong would not lose order during the autumn harvest after the war. He also needed a proper person to provide absolute military support when Wanqi Xie cleaned up the unowned land in the same way he did in Guanzhong.
In particular, Zhang Jun, who had a bad reputation, actually controlled the area east of Qingzhou after Li Qi led a small number of his trusted aides to break through.
In fact, this grand sacrifice is held after the Mid-Autumn Festival, not only because it is more grand and requires longer preparation time, but also because it is specifically marked by the autumn harvest.
After all, for an agricultural society, before and after the autumn harvest, not to mention the farming issues and the degree of busyness, even people's mental outlook is somewhat different.
Taking advantage of the blank period caused by the autumn harvest to hold large-scale spiritual and cultural activities is a good way to carry forward the past and open up the future.
But to be honest, although the ceremony was lively since the news was leaked, Zhao Jiu was not in any mood, because the things and words that essentially carried on the past seemed to have been done and said in Yaoshan and Shaoxing long ago. This time it was just an activity of strengthening and promoting, and he just wanted to be a tool.
Even some powerful words and declarations seemed to have lost their meaning... Times have changed. The official newspapers, which have mastered the technology of zoned printing and have a growing circulation, now have a better declaration effect. Ten thousand words he said on the spot would not be as useful as a formal official document with his signature.
As for selecting Buddhist and Taoist temples, Zhao Jiu was completely impartial. Except for Mingdao Palace, he did not give special treatment to Shaolin Temple, Lingjiu Temple, Wuyue Temple, Xiangguo Temple, Dongxiao Palace and other Buddhist and Taoist temples that had made contributions to the country. He just promoted those who "contributed more" and kicked out those who "did not contribute enough".
Of course, these companies don’t seem to be short of money.
And Emperor Zhao did not become as boring as an emotionless machine. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, he was still quite shocked by some things and some people... because some people and things were indeed beyond his imagination.
"The 47th direct descendant of Confucius, Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou; the 46th direct descendant Kong Ruogu..." Inside the nameless stone pavilion, Zhao Jiu looked at these two names several times, put down the list, and then stood like a wooden duck, not moving for a long time.
At this time, there were several large books with similar lists on the stone table in front of him, and opposite him were a prime minister, four ministers, a chief censor and two chancellors... the two new chancellors, Minister of Rites Zhai Ruwen and Minister of Personnel Chen Gongfu. This matter happened to be within their scope of authority and responsibility, it could only be said to be a coincidence.
As for outside the stone pavilion, several Yutang scholars, Zhongshu Sheren, Jiujiu Lang, the chief escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Lan Gui, the direct commander of the Imperial Guard Yang Yi Zhong, Liu Yan and many others, were also divided into two groups and stood in front and behind.
To be honest, we are just missing four Shangshu, otherwise we could go directly to Wende Hall.
"Your Majesty." Liu Ji, the deputy prime minister of the capital province, who was sitting opposite, was in charge of the matter. He waited for a long time and saw that the emperor was indeed stunned before he spoke seriously. "Is there anything wrong with the list?"
Emperor Zhao took a deep breath, which was considered a movement, but he still said nothing.
To be fair, Zhao Jiu never thought that the genuine Duke of Yansheng would appear in this list, because this list is the second list of living "loyal officials who keep their integrity", that is, the list of nobles who maintained their dignity during the Jingkang Incident! This was specially compiled by the capital province and the Ministry of Rites according to his official idea.
According to the ridiculous historical common sense of his previous life, shouldn't the Yansheng family have always been spineless traitors? Shouldn't they immediately lick the boots every time there is a change of dynasty? The Jin people attacked Jingdong in the first year of Jianyan, actually controlled the Shandong Peninsula in the spring of the second year of Jianyan, and established the pseudo-Qi in the third year of Jianyan. The northernmost part of Yanzhou, where Qufu is located, was occupied by the enemy for a long time. There is no reason for the Yansheng Duke not to surrender to the Jin people and follow the pseudo-Qi, right?
Moreover, why does he seem to remember very clearly that when Liu Yu founded the country, he went to Qufu to offer sacrifices to Confucius and then issued a manifesto? For this, Zhao Jiu also took the blame for the sins committed by this body (Chen Dong and the Hebei escape)?
"Why do I remember that Duke Yansheng regarded the pseudo-Qi as the orthodox?" Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and asked seriously. "He also issued a manifesto to scold me."
Liu Ji and the new Minister of Rites Zhai Ruwen looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Liu Ji gave a serious answer: "Your Majesty, the one in Jinan is a fake Duke Yansheng. The real Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou has never committed any dishonesty. On the contrary, during the Jin invasion in the winter of the first year of Jianyan and the beginning of the second year of Jianyan, he took the initiative to take the 'wooden statues of Confucius and his wife Qi Guan', 'the picture of Confucius wearing a sword (by Wu Daozi)' and 'the red seal of the temple of the most holy king Wenxuan' and other family heirlooms, led most of his close relatives to the south, and then stayed in Yangzhou waiting for dispatch."
Zhao Jiu was stunned again. "The grace of a gentleman is cut off after five generations. Even if they are descendants of Confucius, it has been 47 generations. They have been pampered for generations and were born into wealth and glory. How can they be so righteous?"
This time it was Liu Ji's turn to be stunned. In fact, not only Liu Ji, but also the other ministers and two secretaries were stunned... because this was too absurd. According to this statement, your family has been around for seven or eight generations. Even if your father and brother are "insignificant", why can you talk about justice?
Of course, the only exception is Lu Haowen, the prime minister of Lu Gong. He never had the intention of "shock" from the beginning to the end... He has been shocked for four or five years, and the shock department should have gone bankrupt.
"Your Majesty, the fact is that Duke Yansheng really did carry three treasures that looked like Confucius' tablets and went south. Everyone in the world knows this." As expected, it was Li Guang, the Chief Censor, who couldn't hold back his temper. "Moreover, he was such a special person. He took three holy objects with the Empress Dowager and went south. If he didn't leave them to the Jin people, it would be equivalent to keeping his loyalty and fulfilling his duties. And everyone in the world knows this... Why should Your Majesty pretend to be deaf and dumb?"
Zhao Jiu reacted and felt embarrassed for a moment.
"Your Majesty," Zhai Ruwen came out to smooth things over after seeing this. "Actually, there are some other versions of this matter..."
"oh?"
"Your Majesty, besides Duke Yansheng himself, there is also a 46th generation grandson of Confucius on the list, who is none other than the uncle of Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou, Kong Ruogu... Rumor has it that Kong Ruogu was the one who pushed Duke Yansheng to abandon his family temple in Qufu and follow you and the Queen Mother south. But no matter what, it is certain that Duke Yansheng remained faithful to his husband."
Zhao Jiu was completely speechless... At this point, he didn't understand that he might have really encountered a weirdo from the Kong family. Or maybe it was the other way around, maybe it was because those who were willing to keep their chastity went south this time that the people left behind in another time and space would develop a family tradition of going with the flow, and then the old lady Jiujin, each generation is worse than the previous one.
In fact, with Zhai Ruwen's detailed introduction, Zhao Jiu learned some more specific information:
For example, uncle and nephew Kong Duanyou and Kong Ruogu went south, while the one who stayed in Qufu to guard the ancestral temple was his younger brother Kong Duancao, who was taken to Jinan by Liu Yu for control.
Later, after Qufu was recovered, Kong Duancao was detained in Jinan by Liu Yu. Kong Duanyou immediately sent his cousin Kong Ruogu back to take charge of the situation. Then, after Yue Fei defeated Li Cheng, he personally led his family back north with the three sacred objects.
When he arrived in Qufu to meet up with his uncle, he learned that his brother and Liu Yu had been abducted to Hebei by E'lubu. This contemporary Duke Yansheng quickly wrote a letter to the capital to plead guilty for his brother, pointing out that his brother was abducted after he stayed behind in the ancestral temple, and hoped to be pardoned.
It does not matter whether this series of measures was led by Kong Duanyou or his uncle Kong Ruogu, because anyone who faces the Kong family's performance from the time when the Jingkang Kingdom changed to the present time has to admit that they have done things cleanly and beautifully, and their integrity, filial piety and family affection are beyond reproach.
The way this matter was handled was enough to shame a certain official who was sitting in the pavilion listening to the story.
In fact, even Zhao Jiu, who had been looking at the Yanshenggong family through tinted glasses for nearly a thousand years, had to personally approve the list with commendation recommendations for Kong Duanyou and Kong Ruogu after sighing for a long time, and then pardoned Kong Duancao remotely.
What can I say?
Can he still go out and complain, saying that he happened to meet a Yansheng Duke who didn't let down his guard? Do you despise the Kong family for being righteous to the Zhao family?
Please don’t embarrass yourself... Even a fool can see that during the Jingkang Incident, the Kong family was much more shameless than the Zhao family!
"The Kong family is so outstanding, and their family is so special, they should be commended." Zhao Jiu signed and sealed the thick list, and then the senior official Lan stepped forward to stamp the seal. Taking this opportunity, the official thought for a moment and asked the important officials in front of him again. "But I saw that the provincial government only gave the purple robe to Kong Duanyou and the red robe to Kong Ruogu... Considering the role of the Kong family as an example, isn't this reward a bit too light?"
Liu Ji, who was in charge of this matter, nodded and said seriously: "To be honest with you, we have indeed discussed this matter and there is this view. But now that all the positions in the library have been abolished and the national finances have been simplified, there is really no other way... We can't let the Duke of Yansheng go to Qingzhou, right?"
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly and was about to let the matter go.
However, Emperor Zhao's fingers brushed across another list on the stone table in front of him, and he suddenly remembered something, and then his heart moved slightly: "I remember when I just looked at the first booklet, we talked about Han Xiaozhou's reward?"
"Yes." Prime Minister Zhao Ding pointed out sharply, bypassing Liu Ji. "Han Xiaozhou was originally appointed as a Chengwulang by grace, and served as a secretary in Kaifeng Prefecture. Then he was granted the same status , and was appointed as a junior minister of the Imperial Guards. He was also appointed as the governor of Jiangzhou. He has a lot of experience. With such experience, plus his merits in being an envoy to the Northern Kingdom to seek the favor of the two emperors and the Queen Mother, and his integrity in being detained by Nianhan but never losing his integrity, he should be rewarded accordingly to convince people. However..."
"However, with this background, qualifications, integrity and merit, it is impossible to be satisfied unless he is given a position as prime minister." Zhao Jiu understood. "But how can he be prime minister? And there are some things that you didn't say, but I know in my heart that this person has a background that others can't match. He was a Yin official in Kaifeng Prefecture and was able to wear a purple robe and jump to the position of Shaoqing. Later, the diplomatic mission was also opportunistic... Besides, I have also seen this person and know that he is an honest and incompetent person. It is impossible to entrust him with important military and national responsibilities."
Zhai Ruowen could not help but cough dryly, apparently not used to Emperor Zhao's directness. However, as long as the others remained silent, he knew that Emperor Zhao was obviously hitting the nail on the head.
"So we have to think of a way to give some explanation to Han Xiaozhou, the uncle and nephew of the Kong family, but we can't give a proper place to those who are properly sent." Zhao Jiu finally said what he meant. "I just thought of it... Aren't we gradually matching the official positions with their actual status? Only the title of the Secret Council is an additional status, so why not give them an explanation like the Secret Council attendee status?"
"Your Majesty, are you saying that we should build a fake secret pavilion?" Prime Minister Zhang Jun suddenly realized and couldn't help but blurt out, "For example, we can use the empty old Shangshu Province compound outside Xuande Building to build an outer pavilion?"
"Although it is outside the palace walls, the outer pavilion sounds too bad." Zhao Jiu shook his head. "How about using the name of the public pavilion? Allow them to meet once every 20 days like the secret pavilion, and keep records and archive them and submit letters to me in the name of the public pavilion. Also, allow them to participate in the grand court meetings and listen to the noise. When the Imperial Academy discusses politics, maybe they can sit next to me..."
"But if even the grand court meeting is just a noise, then what can we say in the palace?" Zhao Ding already felt that it was feasible, but still felt a little hasty and awkward... It was too deceiving. Han Xiaozhou could have been a prime minister, and it must be tiring for Yansheng Duke to run around with two wooden statues at home, right?
What's more, there are quite a lot of people around.
"Let's put the host and the temple master who came this time in there to talk about sacrifice and blessing?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask tentatively. "Let's put some famous royal family members in there to discuss the rituals and inheritance of titles? Let's let the two fathers-in-law in there to talk about the road construction in Tokyo City? And how to divide the houses in Jingyuan? When will the Cuju League start? The great scholars can also come in to promote the original learning and discuss the Neo-Confucianism? In winter, we can also discuss how to help the poor? You can talk about anything, anyway, send it to me in the end, I will take a look when I have time, and if I don't have time, just send it again... How do you do it?"
Zhao Ding was too embarrassed to nod, but seeing him, the other ministers and the two chancellors looking at each other, it seemed as if they agreed very much.
After all, when they were making these lists this time, they discovered that there were too many similar people.
In fact, even the several eunuchs standing outside seemed to agree with it... Who would want these people to compete with them for positions? Just like what the emperor said, these official positions are increasingly concerned with the matching of names with reality. They all have real power, and everyone feels that they can get promoted without doing anything. Why should these people come directly over their heads?
"I am willing to resign from the position of the head of the secret cabinet and become the new head of the public cabinet." Lu Haowen, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up. "It's just right for me to concentrate on my original studies..."
"Mr. Lu can be the chief of the public chamber, but he must continue to be the chief of the secret chamber." Zhao Jiu waved his hand quickly. "Some things still need Mr. Lu to make the final decision for me."
Lu Haowen nodded, and then sat there in silence, not knowing whether he was thinking of a new theorem. The remaining few people discussed it briefly, probably wanting the court newspaper to promote the value of this public pavilion... and then the matter seemed to be roughly settled.
Those of you who came today have received a new task, which is to draw up a list of officials.
However, before that, there seems to be one more thing.
"Are these all?" Zhao Jiu touched another list, unable to believe it for a moment.
"Your Majesty." Zhao Ding and the others had no choice but to stand up and bow to each other. Even Lu Haowen stood up as well. "Your servants are really helpless... The Jin army only stopped at Huaihe River, Nanyang, and Guanzhong, while Hebei and Hedong were still occupied by the enemy, and Jingdong was newly recovered. Therefore, in fact, only Guanzhong, Zhongyuan, and Huaishang can be used for effective statistics. And even these three places have experienced many times of banditry, rebels, Jin troops, and government troops. How can we explain it clearly?"
"What about those entire towns in the west of Beijing that were massacred in the winter of the second year of Jianyan?" Zhao Jiu was still puzzled.
"So that the government can know, since the whole place was massacred, how can there be any information left?" Zhao Ding was increasingly helpless. "Besides, the household register had already been re-determined after the land division, military settlement, and land grant. We can only record the list of towns and cities, and have also written them down in the register... As for other places, we have collected information about the men and women who fought against the Jin heroes in the name of the capital, but we can only get information about who organized the rebel army and who died in battle in a certain year or time, but they are all well-known local families."
Zhao Jiu looked at the several thick volumes of names of meritorious officials who remained loyal to their principles that he had just read… One volume was for bureaucrats who had sacrificed their lives and made meritorious contributions, such as Li Ruoshui and Zhang Shuye; one volume was for generals who had sacrificed their lives and made meritorious contributions, such as Zhong Shidao and Wang Bing; one volume was for bureaucrats who are still loyal to their principles, such as many veteran bureaucrats in the court including Han Xiaozhou; and another volume was for noble and famous scholars who are still loyal to their principles, such as the uncles and nephews of Duke Yansheng… He touched the thin volume of the list of men and women from the righteous and heroic households in his hand again, and thought of the densely packed archways in the temple on the mountain behind the Battle of Yaoshan.
Even though he claimed that he had seen a lot of things in the past four or five years, he still felt ironic and sad at this moment.
Emperor Zhao stroked the thin list for a long time without saying a word. Several prime ministers, the Chief Censor, the two chancellors, and the people outside the pavilion were all a little embarrassed... They were the real elites of the empire.
We all understand what it means to lose a country and a empire, and the suffering of the people. How can we not know the embarrassment and sadness involved?
But the reality is so clear and straightforward, so straightforward that even a few sighs of emotion seem hypocritical... What can you do?
After a long pause, Zhao Jiu finally opened the list. Several ministers sat down at his signal. But at this moment, Zhao Guanjia, who was staring at the first page of the list of towns and cities in western Beijing that were massacred, suddenly became thoughtful. He turned his head and said to Yang Yizhong, who was standing outside the pavilion: "Zhengfu!"
"I'm here." Yang Yizhong was inexplicably flustered.
"Are there any prostitutes in the city?" Zhao Jiu asked seriously.
The whole pavilion was in turmoil for a while, and even Yang Yizhong was dumbfounded. Everyone knew that the two imperial concubines were pregnant, but how could they tolerate such absurd words from the emperor? But for some reason, after a while, including Li Guang who was extremely angry, everyone became strangely quiet.
Just like an infection, one person suddenly wakes up, and then these imperial elites quickly wake up and understand.
The autumn wind was rustling, the sun was setting, and in the evening, the entire nameless stone pavilion was silent, with only the faint sound of the autumn wind coming from the mulberry forest in the distance.
