fantasy novels Chapter 872: The End Of The Hongwu Dynasty And The Beginning Of A New Era [Please Subscribe, Please
Chapter 872: The End Of The Hongwu Dynasty And The Beginning Of A New Era [Please Subscribe, Please
Shortly after the formulation of the "Ming Dynasty's Third Five-Year Medium and Long-term Development Plan" was completed, it was March 18th, the first year of Shengping (1390).
Kong Degong, Minister of Rites, and Song Lian, died suddenly in office.
The news reached the emperor Zhu Biao as soon as possible, and Zhu Biao was deeply saddened when he heard it.
Because Song Lian can be said to be Zhu Biao's true and justifiable teacher, Song Lian has been responsible for Zhu Biao's teaching since Zhu Biao was the crown prince of King Wu. It is not an exaggeration to say that Song Lian was the grand master of the former crown prince Zhu Biao.
Therefore, Zhu Biao has always respected the teacher Song Lian very much.
Like the previous great court meeting in the first year of Shengping, Zhu Biao took pity on Song Lian's old age and specially gave Song Lian a seat so that Song Lian could sit and participate in the great court meeting.
Of course, Song Lian was not the only one to have this honor at that time. Veteran officials such as Ru Taisu, the Minister of Household Affairs, Xu Da, Duke of Wei, and Li Wenzhong, Duke of Cao, also received seats from Zhu Biao.
However, this is enough to show Zhu Biao's respect for Song Lian.
So Zhu Biao was really sad when he heard the news of Song Lian's sudden death.
Not to mention Zhu Biao, even Zhu Yuanzhang, who had abdicated and became Emperor Taishang, was sad for a while after hearing the news of Song Lian's sudden death.
After all, Song Lian can be regarded as one of the earliest veterans who followed him. Among the founding civil servants, apart from Li Shanchang, who now has three feet of grass on his grave, Song Lian deserves the most credit.
Moreover, Song Lian is not like Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang who are greedy for power, corrupt and bribery, and are honest and loyal.
If he hadn't kept Song Lian in his post, I'm afraid Song Lian would have become an official more than ten years ago and enjoyed the happiness of a family full of children and grandchildren.
In addition, Song Lian in this world was not assigned by Zhu Yuanzhang to the rebellion cases of Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang, so Song Lian was not dragged down by his descendants and was in danger of death.
Moreover, Song Lian worked diligently for the Ming Dynasty for decades, and in the end he even died of exhaustion in office.
It can be said that Song Lian in this world has truly achieved the ultimate level of a civil servant.
Thinking about the achievements that Song Lian had made in his life, even Zhu Yuanzhang, who never regarded his ministers as human beings but just as cattle and horses to exploit, couldn't help but feel a rare trace of guilt in his heart at this moment.
So after thinking for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang finally sent Zhu Biao a Taishang Emperor's decree, asking Zhu Biao to bury Song Lian generously, treat Song Lian's family members and children favorably, and also ordered Song Lian to accompany him to worship at the Ancestral Temple!
Since ancient times, emperors have been worshiped by meritorious officials.
Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally no exception. While he was still alive, he had already decided on the heroes who would accompany him in the Ancestral Temple in the future.
For example, the deceased heroes include: Chang Yuchun, Yu Tonghai, Zhang Desheng, Sang Shijie, Geng Zaicheng, Hu Dahai, Zhao Desheng and other generals.
They are still alive, but it has also been determined that the heroes who will be worshiped with them after their death include: Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, Tang He, Mu Ying and others.
However, whether they are still alive or dead, they are all military generals who have made great military achievements in the country, and there is not a single civil servant.
Now Song Lian is the first person to accompany the Ancestral Temple as a civil servant. This honor can be said to be the greatest recognition of Song Lian's achievements in his life.
And Zhu Biao, who had no intention of burying Song Lian lightly, even mentioned Song Lian's posthumous honors after receiving his father's order.
First of all, regarding the posthumous title, various civil and military officials also had their own opinions on what Song Lian's posthumous title should be, and they couldn't agree with each other.
Because the posthumous name represents the final conclusion of a person's past life merits and demerits, many people are still worried about what their posthumous name will be before they die.
For example, in the original history, Li Dongyang of the Ming Dynasty was critically ill. His good friend Yang Yiqing came to visit him. Seeing that he was still worried about his posthumous name before his death, he said: "Your Majesty said, I will give you a posthumous name." 'Wen Zheng'.
As soon as he heard that he would be given the posthumous title "Wen Zheng" after his death, Li Dongyang, who was almost dying, immediately struggled to get up and kowtow to the emperor to thank him.
One can imagine how important posthumous titles in this era were to civil servants.
Civil servants generally have posthumous titles with the character "文" as the first character, and the accompanying characters include Zheng, Zhen, Cheng, Zhong, Duan, Lian, Jian, Yi, Su, Yi, Xian, etc.
For example, Song Lian was posthumously named "Wenxian" by Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty in the original history, so later generations also called him "Song Wenxian".
Among the many posthumous titles for civil servants, the best one is "Wenzhen"
For example, the posthumous titles of Wei Zheng and Song Jing, the famous officials of the Tang Dynasty, were "Wen Zhen".
In the Song Dynasty, because Song Renzong's name was Zhao Zhen, "Wenzhen" was changed to "Wenzheng" to avoid taboos.
When it was decided that Xia Song would be given the posthumous title of Wenzheng, Sima Guang proposed for the first time: "The posthumous title of Wenzheng is extremely beautiful, so it should be added to it."
Sima Guang believed that literature was a moral and knowledgeable person, and it was Jing who shared his position, which was the ultimate morality of a literary man.
Therefore, since the Song Dynasty, the top posthumous title for civil servants has been "Wenzheng". This habit continued until the Qing Dynasty.
In the Tang Dynasty, those who received the posthumous title of "Wenzheng (Wenzhen)" were: Wei Zheng, Song Jing, etc.
In the Song Dynasty, those who received the posthumous title of "Wenzheng" were: Fan Zhongyan, Sima Guang, etc.
In the Ming Dynasty, those who received the posthumous title Wenzheng were: Zhang Juzheng, Li Dongyang, etc.
In the Qing Dynasty, there were only eight people with the posthumous title "Wenzheng", the most famous of whom was Zeng Guofan.
In addition to "Wenzheng", the posthumous title "Wenzhong" is also the best posthumous title among traditional posthumous titles.
In the Qing Dynasty, "Wenzhong" was second only to "Wenzheng". For example, Li Hongzhang and Ronglu were given the posthumous title "Wenzhong"
In addition, "Wenxiang" is also a good posthumous title, usually given to ministers who opened up new territories, such as Zuo Zongtang.
Zhang Zhidong, an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty, believed that he was the best among his colleagues. When he learned that Zeng Guofan was posthumously given the posthumous title of "Wenzheng", he felt dissatisfied and angrily said: "Zeng Guofan can also be given the posthumous title of "Wenzheng".
So what should I do?"
However, he never imagined that after his death, he would only receive the posthumous title "Wenxiang", which was not only far inferior to Zeng Guofan's "Wenzheng", but also even lower than Li Hongzhang's "Wenzhong".
Military generals generally use "武" as the first character in their posthumous titles, and the accompanying characters include Ning, Yi, Min, Hui, Xiang, Shun, Su, Jing, etc.
Among them, the single-character posthumous title "武" is the highest, followed by the two-character posthumous titles starting with Wu.
In the Song Dynasty, the highest posthumous title for military attaches was "Wu Zhong", followed by "Wu Yong".
In the Ming Dynasty, the posthumous titles of generals changed. When combined with the word "武" to form the word "shou", the characters used were Ning, Yi, Min, Hui, Xiang, Shun, Su, and Jing.
For example, after the death of Xu Da in original history, Zhu Yuanzhang posthumously named him King of Zhongshan and gave him the posthumous title "Wuning". He was the military commander with the highest posthumous title in the Ming Dynasty.
In addition to "文" and "武" that can be used as the first character of a posthumous title, there is also the word "loyalty" that is common to civil servants and military generals, and can also be used as the first character of a posthumous title.
The characters that match the posthumous title of "loyalty" include: Wen, Wu, Ding, Lie, Jian, Su, Yi, Jing, etc.
Among them, the highest-level posthumous title is "Zhongwu". Generally, only those who have a certain country and a peaceful country can have this posthumous title.
Those who have received the posthumous title of "Zhongwu" include: Zhuge Liang, Wang Meng, Yuchi Gong, Guo Ziyi, Han Shizhong, Yue Fei (posthumously recognized by Lizong of the Song Dynasty), Chang Yuchun, etc.
Some civil and military officials said that Song Lian's posthumous title should be "Wenzheng".
Because Song Lian, as the Minister of Rites, also represents the "Kong De Gong" who inherited the thoughts of Saint Confucius. He is well-educated in morals, and he shares his position. He is also an example of the morality of all literati in the world.
It can be said that it perfectly fits the posthumous title of "Wenzheng", so what is the posthumous title if it is not "Wenzheng"?!!
However, some officials also said that Song Lian's posthumous title should be "Wenzhong".
After all, "Wen Zheng's posthumous title is so beautiful that nothing can be added to it." This sentence was said by Sima Guang [which does not mean that others agree with it.
Moreover, Song Lian was loyal to his country throughout his life, and even died in office because of the Ming Dynasty!
If this is not "loyalty", then what else is "loyalty"?!!
Therefore, in the eyes of some officials, "Wenzhong", the best posthumous title among traditional posthumous titles, is more suitable for Song Lian.
Some officials even believed that Song Lian's posthumous title should be "Wen Xiang".
Because Song Lian assisted Taishang Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang in the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty to fight for hegemony, expand territory, and unify the world [so the mystery of "Wenxiang" is also suitable.
Seeing a group of civil and military officials arguing back and forth among the three posthumous titles of "Wenzheng", "Wenzhong" and "Wenxiang", Emperor Zhu Biao finally decided directly and decided on the posthumous title of "Wenzheng" for Song Lian.
After Song Lian's posthumous title was decided, on the day of Song Lian's funeral, Zhu Biao, as the emperor, went to the Song family in person to express his condolences!
It can be said that it gave Song Lian all the honor and sorrow after his death!
Moreover, Song Lian's family members and children also received generous rewards from Emperor Zhu Biao.
For example, if you have hundreds of thousands of dollars in wealth and have children and grandchildren under the age of twenty, both men and women can choose any one of the colleges such as Wanmin Agricultural College, Wanmin Medical College, and Wanmin Academy of Sciences to take the medical examination for admission.
There were also heirs of the Song family who were serving as officials, and Zhu Biao also promoted them appropriately.
Seeing the honor Zhu Biao gave Song Lian after his death and the generous treatment he gave to the children of the Song family, all the civil and military officials and noble marquises became more devoted to Zhu Biao and worked harder.
After all, in contrast to Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Bapi, Zhu Biao, the new emperor, is really generous and generous, he is rich and generous, and his honors and honors after his death are really brought to the extreme!
What else is there to say?!!
I must work hard for Emperor Zhu Biao and strive to win such kind treatment from Yuan Ronghe after his death!!!
Maybe the civil and military officials and noble marquises of the Ming Dynasty were really squeezed too hard by Zhu Yuanzhang, and they were also too cruel.
Whatever Zhu Biao does now, they will unconsciously compare Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang.
Then through comparison, we came to the conclusion that it would be better to work under Zhu Biao.
As a result, these civil and military officials and noble marquis worked even harder.
After Song Lian's funeral, in May of the first year of Shengping (1390), Ru Taisu, the central minister, also suddenly went to Fengshu to ask for an official position.
Upon receiving Ru Taisu's official memorial, Zhu Biao's first reaction was to disagree.
But when he saw Ru Taisu exposing his nearly fallen teeth towards Zhu Biao, Zhu Biao was silent for a while, and then he sighed longly and reluctantly agreed.
In the original history, Ru Taisu died in the 22nd year of Hongwu (1389).
In other words, Ru Taisu should have died last year.
However, it may be due to the emergence of Wanmin Medical College that the level of medicine and health care in Ming Dynasty has been improved to a certain extent.
In addition, Ru Taisu had always wanted to completely abolish compulsory corvee in the world while he was the Minister of Household Affairs, and replace all forced labor with work.
So I just kept holding my breath and lived until this year.
And at this year's meeting to discuss the "Ming Dynasty's Third Five-Year Medium and Long-term Development Plan", he finally completed the complete abolition of compulsory corvee in the world and replaced it with the benevolent policy of replacing labor with work.
It can be said that at this point, Ru Taisu himself has no regrets.
To put it bluntly, even if Ru Taisu is asked to die now, Ru Taisu will
Passed away with a smile.
Therefore, even if there was no such thing as Song Lian's sudden death, Ru Taisu himself planned to find an opportunity to ask Zhu Biao to become an official within one or two years.
But when she saw Song Lian suddenly passing away in office, Ru Taisu couldn't help but want to retire as soon as possible.
After all, he is now suffering from dizziness and tinnitus. If he continues to stay in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, it will only affect the promotion of other young civil servants. It is better to go back as soon as possible to take care of his life and tease him.
Great-granddaughter.
Therefore, after Song Lian, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, suddenly passed away and took office, Ru Taisu, the minister of the Ministry of Hubu, finally became an official because of Zhu Biao's various efforts to persuade him to stay.
Only two months later, Ru Taisu also passed away in his family home. When he was discovered by his family members, Ru Taisu still had a faint smile on his lips, which could be said to be a sign of joy.
After Taishang Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang heard the news, he also sighed deeply, and then also sent a decree to Zhu Biao, asking Zhu Biao to bury him generously and treat Ru Taisu kindly.
Zhu Biao also improved Ru Taisu's posthumous treatment, and personally chose the posthumous title "Wenzhong" for Ru Taisu!
And with the passing of Song Lian and Ru Taisu, it was as if some switch was turned on. The veterans of Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu Dynasty all proposed to Zhu Biao one after another that they should become officials.
Although Zhu Biao tried every means to persuade him to stay, he looked at the veterans of the Hongwu Dynasty who had followed his father.
All of them were either losing their teeth or needed help from others to walk from time to time. Zhu Biao really couldn't do anything to force them to stay.
And as most of the veterans of the Hongwu Dynasty retired one after another, the Hongwu Dynasty that truly belonged to Zhu Yuanzhang gradually came to an end.
What replaced it was a brand new one that belonged to Zhu Biao’s own Shengping Dynasty!.