For any country, the head of state is a crucial representative. Even in some countries where the prime minister holds great power and the president is a flower vase, the latter's courtesy and regulations are unique.
In a monarchy, this is even more important. The emperor and king are undoubtedly the symbols of a country.
Because the confidentiality work is in place, the outside world still does not know that the Ming Emperor suffered a stroke and passed through the gate of hell not long ago, leaving serious sequelae.
People originally thought that the two recent news announcements were all major changes, but...
The Ming Dynasty court continued its usual unexpected practice and suddenly publicly announced something even more shocking to the outside world in the early morning of August 25th - the currently reigning emperor would be enthroning the newly appointed crown princess on the first day of the next month. , the ceremony will be held on the same day.
Because two major changes had occurred in the past few days, people were a little numb, so that the major newspapers published editorials about it. The "Empire Chronicle", which was the fastest, did not publish an extra note until the evening of the same day.
In this era without the Internet, it is not easy to watch movies and watch movies. If you want to see comments from different perspectives and positions, you have to buy several newspapers, but unlike later generations, you can just move your fingers.
Zhou Changfeng bought two newspapers when he went home that night, and Lin Xi bought a few more when he went to buy fruits and vegetables the next morning. Only then did he gather the extras of several mainstream newspapers in Ming Dynasty.
"...Yu Guan has a saying of 'female chicken Si Chen'. This statement is wrong. The king of a country is mainly responsible for deciding the affairs of the country. It is unfair to judge it based on gender...Do not deviate from the general trend of the world, do not go against the constitution With the foundation of law, everything can be done..." This is the editorial of "Jiangnan Minbao".
"...Although it is unclear why His Majesty abdicated the throne and surrendered to Dabao, it is definitely not a good idea for a successor emperor to take power in a chaotic world. The government will not be suddenly handed over in the future, and political training is inevitable..." This is "Beizhi" Editorial of Li Min Bao.
Although the imperial court has begun to control speech, it is still difficult to curb the Ming Dynasty's long-standing openness in a short period of time.
The literati holding pens elaborated their opinions in manuscripts, and a snowflake-like manuscript was submitted to newspapers. Some of the articles were very explicit in their wording, and were suspected of sensationalism.
For example, directly questioning such measures is nonsense, treating the people of the country as child's play, and disregarding the fate of the country.
However, apart from a few bold statements, most of the editorials published by newspapers still provide serious analysis of the situation.
People mainly discussed why there was such a bizarre situation. First, the crown prince died suddenly of illness, then the new crown prince was announced, and then he abdicated.
In particular, the death of the crown prince was extremely unusual, and various conspiracy theories followed.
Because Zhu Lizhen always traveled around the country at various times, giving guidance here and inspecting there, and appeared a lot, everyone agreed that he was energetic and in good health. It is difficult for such a person to suddenly pass away due to illness without making people wonder if there was something hidden.
As a result, private "masters" comprehensively analyzed the recent government affairs and the fact that the incident occurred after the crown prince returned from his inspection tour of Japan, and various inferences emerged one after another.
But after all, people have passed away, and their eyes cannot always be on the deceased. Therefore, most people's attention is still focused on why the emperor abdicated. And in whose hands will the power fall?
Some said it was because the emperor was in poor health and needed to be nursed back to health; some said it was because the emperor respected his father, Emperor Zhezong, and was unwilling to reign longer than the latter; some said it was because the emperor and his courtiers had irreconcilable differences. He had to take the initiative to abdicate.
In short, all kinds of remarks were serious, presentable, and exciting. At least Zhou Changfeng was very happy eating melons and watching the show.
Even though people in the Ming Dynasty had different opinions because of such a strange situation, foreigners were even more confused.
For a long time, the Ming Dynasty has been extremely mysterious in the eyes of the Western powers. For hundreds of years, its dealings have always been false and true, and true and false. In recent decades, although the nature of the court has been roughly understood, it is still inevitably exposed. Confused by past stereotypes.
So... what is Akito trying to do? Is the crash of the Crown Prince's plane into the sea mentioned in the intelligence a natural disaster or a man-made disaster?
For example, the confused Americans were eager to find out the real situation. They even tried to exchange information with London to see if the British were secretly behind the scenes.
The British were very unhappy to be so suspicious - Hello! Although our British Empire has done many immoral things, it is impossible to plot the assassination of the Chinese Crown Prince.
On Daming's side, the accident investigation is still in progress.
The right minister of the Ministry of Punishment was ordered to take charge personally and take charge of the investigation. The Foreign Enforcement Factory and the Intelligence Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office also cooperated again to form a special investigation team, vowing to find out the cause and effect.
Without exception, all the crew members of the special plane were detained and sent to the foreign investigation factory for screening and examination one by one; the same was true for the ground staff who maintained the special plane that day.
The main pilot and co-pilot were actually ruled out as suspects from the beginning, because they had been trying their best to save the plane after noticing something strange, and almost succeeded.
If they had not successfully brought the plane out of a stall and spin, the entire plane would have crashed into the sea at a speed of several hundred kilometers per hour.
Colliding with water at such a high relative speed is like hitting a hard concrete wall. The airplane will turn into powder and the human body will turn into minced meat.
And because both pilots were initially confused by the speed displayed by the instruments, the cause of the mechanical failure became a breakthrough.
Therefore, mechanics responsible for inspection and maintenance are subject to strict scrutiny, and companies that manufacture pitot tubes and instruments are also forced to undergo mandatory inspections.
Although the complexity of aviation accidents at this time was far less than that of later generations, after all, aircraft were still relatively "primitive", but correspondingly, the investigation technology was not that advanced, and the investigation of the accident would undoubtedly take a long time.
For more than ten days in mid-to-late August, as the transfer of power gradually began, everyone inside and outside the palace was extremely busy.
First of all, Zhu Lingjing, who had left the palace and opened a mansion for eleven years, came back again, and a living room had to be prepared for her.
The Chunhe Palace in the east, where the prince lived, remained unchanged, and the princess and her children continued to live in the Chunhe Palace. Zhu Lingjing, who moved back to the palace again, went to the Rouyi Palace in the west to live temporarily. She couldn't stay there for a few days anyway.
Several departments under the Shangyi Bureau and Shangfu Bureau are concentrating on preparations in accordance with the regulations finalized by the Ministry of Rites, setting up thrones for the emperor in Huagai Hall and Fengtian Hall; Qintian Supervisor is responsible for timing and setting up time drums.
Obviously, this ceremony is of great significance to the Ming Dynasty, will attract much attention from the world, and is destined to leave a profound mark in history.
Thanks to the completeness of the political system and the stability of the situation, there has never been abdication in the Ming Dynasty to this day, but there are many in the Tang and Song dynasties, such as Tang Ruizong, Tang Shunzong, Song Gaozong, Song Xiaozong, etc.
This abdication ceremony is the first of its kind in hundreds of years, and it also coincides with this turbulent time. Both the emperor and the ministers believe that it should be as grand as possible.
Abdication in the past dynasties almost always occurred when the government was in chaos and the situation was turbulent. Most of them were relatively hasty, but it is different now. The emperor wanted to be more formal and rigorous, so that he could use the ancient rituals to show the accumulation and inheritance of Chinese history.
At the same time, the grand ceremony is also very helpful in boosting the morale of the people.
A grand military parade will be held to demonstrate national and military might, deter enemy countries, and unite subordinate countries. The two complement each other, which is very necessary now.
To this end, the Nanyang Fleet and the Eastern Fleet almost "came out in full force" and then gathered in Hangzhou Bay; more than a dozen detachments of the Air Force also transferred from bases across the country, and many airports in Hangzhou and Shanghai were full of parking.
On August 29, the night before the abdication and enthronement ceremony, many people were destined to stay up all night.
The crescent moon, as thin as a sickle, hangs high in the night sky. The deep black screen is dotted with light spots of varying light and dark. The weak late summer night wind blows by, making people feel extremely cool and comfortable.
The emperor and his concubine arrived at the outermost gate of Chengtian Gate. The former suffered from physical incoordination and difficulty moving due to sequelae, so he managed to walk this far with the help of his attendants.
"...Missing the earth-shaking changes in industry caused the country to be almost in danger. Fortunately, it was generally safe in the end. However, to avoid this being just a flash in the pan and a flash in the pan, we must seize the opportunity and keep a low profile for decades. Nothing is faster and more effective than war. ” Zhu Shiyan spoke very slowly, and his articulation was not as clear as before, and it was quite difficult.
Zhu Lingjing nodded slightly and looked at the sea of lights in the direction of the city. "Throughout history, it is normal for civilizations to be suddenly overtaken by (other civilizations). Whether you can react quickly... catching up and stabilizing is the key." .”
The two were silent for a long time.
"If there is an all-out war in the future, our country and North Korea will actually be in an invincible position. It is hard to say whether we can win more and whether the cost is worth it."
"Father, I will take good care of it, and you will be the one to make the decision."
"I am getting old, and I have lost my courage and courage. If you really want me to make the decision, I am afraid that I will have to stop and wait and see if I take over the Nanyang Territory."
"Well... I still feel that such a huge country has fallen on me, and I am a little uneasy. I am afraid of screwing it up... A national war is really no small matter." Looking at Zhu Lingjing who was quite hesitant, he sighed lightly.
"It's normal to be afraid of losing the country. But this is the general trend and cannot be reversed." Zhu Shiyan glanced at her and said, "Follow the trend, take advantage of the trend, and lead the trend. If you take three steps well, there will be a way for the car to reach the mountain."
"Hey, then... after the war in the future..."
"Don't think so far ahead. If the battle is not fought well, everything will be just a cloud."
Zhu Lingjing said "hmm" but remained silent as she didn't know what to say.
"What does it mean to receive from the people?" Zhu Shiyan stood on the side with his hands behind his hands and chanted slowly: "'The people want the king to show his power, and the king will show it; the people want the king to practice his trust, and the king will practice it.'" This is what the people have summarized. It’s a universal appeal, which is good.”
Looking towards the city from Chengtianmen, what you see is a dazzling picture - the outer walls of tall skyscrapers are inlaid with neon tubes, outlining their square outlines; there are countless windows on high and low houses. There are different lights in the scene; street lamps are erected on both sides of the street, and the criss-crossing streets are marked by bright lights.
The next day.
It's just that halfway through Yinshi, the capital's Yingtian Mansion recovered unusually early.
Cars passed by on the street, as well as motorcycles accompanying them to clear the way for escort. The middle and high-ranking officials in the capital all set out in the dark for the Forbidden City.
At the time of Mao, the succeeding emperor only reported to heaven and earth, the ancestral temple, and the state of the country.
All officials of the imperial court entered the imperial city through Chengtian Gate in order, and passed through Duanmen, Meridian Gate, Wulong Bridge, and Fengtian Gate in succession.
Finally, under the guidance and guidance of the officials of Honglu Temple, more than a thousand officials lined up in the broad square in front of Fengtian Temple.
It was a rare sight for the Han generals, who were tall and equal in height, all to wear armor. The sky in the east had just turned white, and their gorgeous and exquisite golden armors showed an elegant dark gold color in the weak light.
Different from these honor guards, slightly further away, heavily armed soldiers in uniforms were patrolling back and forth.
In fact, in addition to the civil and military officials in Beijing, envoys from the vassal states of Korea, Annan, Ryukyu, Japan and other countries were also present.
This is the second time Zhou Changfeng has come to the Forbidden City. The last time was during the Winter Solstice gathering and banquet. He stupidly endured the cold here for a long time early in the morning and shivered from the biting cold wind.
It's not bad this time, at least I don't have to go hungry or cold.
On the spacious hall of Fengtian Hall, there are Jiaofangsi's bands on the left and right sides. They are playing a very ancient song "The Emperor Chao".
Later, with the sound of three crisp quiet whips, the abdication ceremony officially began.
The official of Honglu Temple read the edict loudly, indicating that he was not forced to abdicate because of some extraordinary changes, but only wisely abdicated because "the holy bow was contrary to peace, and it was difficult to shoulder the heavy military and national responsibilities, for fear of harming the country."
The details of the next process are very complicated, but the main points are just a few things.
The successor emperor walked up the steps one by one, passed through Danbi and entered the Fengtian Hall; then, she knelt down on the mats that had been laid out in advance, and made a grand salute of five bows and three kowtows to the Supreme Emperor who was sitting on the throne; finally , the Supreme Emperor solemnly handed over the seal symbolizing imperial power to the subsequent emperor.
The abdication ceremony was basically over at this point, but it was followed by the enthronement ceremony of the successor emperor who had just taken over the power.
Zhou Changfeng's eyesight was good, and he could vaguely see Zhu Lingjing's face in the distance. However, on this occasion and in this identity, it was impossible for her to be happy, so her expression looked a little stiff.
Ah! This woman should be feeling happy now, right?
In fact, it is difficult to describe Zhu Lingjing's current mood in words. Although she thinks she is generally mentally prepared, she is still a little nervous when she actually faces the reality.
perturbed? Excited? Fear? Guilty? excited? concern?
Perhaps there is a little bit of each mood, as if you dipped a paintbrush into each paint and then mixed it together.
Afterwards, the emperor followed the rules and went to the Ancestral Temple to pay homage to his ancestors. After that, he came back to accept the worship of all the civil and military officials.
In fact, many officials have not performed the kowtow ceremony for many years, and it is impossible to allow more than a thousand middle and senior officials to take time out of their busy schedules to rehearse this ceremony in advance, so the final five kowtows, three kowtows, and long live the mountain can be said It was so messy that the officials who recorded the scene were dumbfounded.
Although not perfect, this unprecedented ceremony ended safely.
World-News
"This morning, after a grand ancient ceremony, the Chinese emperor abdicated and a new emperor took over.
Although the Chinese emperor stated in his edict that his abdication was due to poor health, we cannot be sure whether he would later exercise power covertly. "
[Should we call her Emperor or Empress? 】
[Did the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Purple Mountain experience any shaking? 】
(End of chapter)
