Emperor Guangde issued an edict to expel Pu Gang, the commander of the Eighth Army Corps, which shocked both the government and the public.
Although Liu Kan had dismissed some of the Supreme Emperor's old ministers before, the civil and military officials had long been mentally prepared for this kind of move. However, it would be too sensational to dismiss the chief officer of a corps and exile him to Sakhalin like this.
In early August, a large number of Daqi officials living in Nanjing submitted letters one after another.
These former ministers of the Supreme Emperor, either claiming to be ill or unable to adapt to the "leopard changes" of the new dynasty, unanimously submitted their resignations to Emperor Guangde.
Emperor Guangde approved all resignations.
There was not even a ceremonial attempt to retain him.
Only Lu Xiangsheng, Ge Yewen and a few others are still struggling to support. These veterans of the former dynasty hope to use their own efforts to prevent the implementation of Emperor Guangde's "New Deal".
On August 15, the sixth year of Guangde, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Emperor Liu Kan of Guangde hosted a banquet with his confidants at the Wenhua Hall.
During the dinner, the emperor received an urgent memorandum from Chen Zizhuang, the governor of Fujian. Liu Kan had to temporarily leave the table to read it. He thought it was Guangdong bandits invading Fujian Province, but he never expected that it was this shrewd and capable minister from the late emperor's era who imitated his colleagues. Resigning to myself:
"I am old and sick, and this is the third month of my life. My vitality has become increasingly weak, and I rely on others to help me when I lie down or stand up."
He begged the court to "give him his bones as soon as possible and return him to his hometown alive."
After Emperor Guangde finished reading the memorial, he threw the memorial on the ground and became furious:
"Chen Qiutao is in his forties and in his prime, yet he is old and sick! He wants to imitate Sun Chuanting!"
In order to oppose the new policies of the Supreme Emperor, Sun Chuanting also used tinnitus and deafness as an excuse to beg to return home.
Fortunately, Sun Chuanting's son Sun Shirui was far away from the emperor at this time and did not hear the emperor speak ill of his father.
Li Juying, the general manager of the department, picked up the memorial sent from Fuzhou and asked tentatively:
"Your Majesty, Chen Zizhuang, taking advantage of the fact that he is far away from Fuzhou and the emperor is far away, dares to openly deceive the court and deceive Your Majesty about being old and sick. From the looks of this slave, this guy is obviously dissatisfied with the new policy, relying on his old age and trying to sell his old age. You are causing trouble! You must be severely punished!"
Liu Kan stared at the eunuch for a while:
"I think you are the only one who wants to cause trouble! At present, there are many people in the government and the public who oppose the New Deal. You can't harm me!"
Li Juying quickly knelt down, opened her bow left and right, and slapped herself.
"Long live Lord, please calm down! How could I have such thoughts? I am just a dog of Lord Long live. I will bite whoever Lord Long live tells me to bite! If Lord Long live tells me to die, I will die."
Li Juying slapped herself, and her cheeks soon swelled into buns.
Liu Kan stopped in a low voice and signaled Eunuch Li not to slap him.
"alright,"
Li Juying couldn't stop.
"alright!"
Liu Kan waved his hand to Li Juying to get up.
Seeing that Emperor Guangde was angry, Eunuch Li stood up uneasily.
"I know you are loyal, but the situation is critical now. Many people outside are dissatisfied with me, and many people are using the Emperor's chicken feathers as arrows. You must be careful in what you do. Don't forget what happened to Dongfang Zhu in the past. With his tail raised to the sky, he will die sooner or later. .”
Li Juying repeatedly said yes.
"Father's funeral must be held, and it cannot be postponed any longer. It is tentatively scheduled for December this year. Take my edict and go to the north as soon as possible to inform the old ministers and ask them to make preparations and come earlier. Nanjing, I miss them."
Li Juying bowed and prepared to leave.
"Not now, the banquet has just started. You entertain these close ministers and set off tomorrow."
Li Juying was overjoyed and said quickly: "My slave, go now, go now."
Kang Jingxiu, Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, Kang Guangxu, Minister of Rites, Mao Chengdou, Minister of War, Mao Yan, commander of the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, Shen Mo, the governor of Huguang, Wang Jin, chief officer of the First Corps, Yuan Shu, Minister of Household Affairs, and Qi Ming, Sun Shirui and other ministers, Gather together to attend the family banquet of Emperor Guangde.
This year’s family feast was extremely sumptuous:
Steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chicken, roasted goose, braised pig, braised duck, soy sauce chicken, bacon, pine flower belly,
Dried meat, sausages, assorted sourdough dishes, smoked chicken with white tripe, steamed Babao pig, duck stuffed with glutinous rice, canned pheasant, canned quail, and braised assorted items.
Braised goose, pheasant, rabbit breast, cabbage python, whitebait, steamed hash ham, braised shredded duck, braised duck loin, braised duck strips, mixed shredded duck...
There are one hundred and eight dishes in total.
Because the imperial chefs who cooked the dishes included Han, Manchus, Mongolians, and Koreans, this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was historically called the "Full Banquet of the Manchu, Han, and Mongolian Dynasties."
When all the dishes were served, all the officials were shocked.
Although the daily diet and daily life of these newly wealthy people in the Guangde Dynasty were not very simple, the lavishness of the emperor's family banquets far exceeded their imagination.
"My dear friends, today there is no distinction between monarch and minister, no etiquette of honor and inferiority, just indulge in feasting and get drunk before resting!"
After Emperor Guangde finished speaking, he began to pick up the vegetables. However, the ministers were still a little embarrassed. The chopsticks they held were like fire sticks, and they let go as soon as they touched them.
Emperor Guangde winked at Li Juying, and Eunuch Li laughed loudly and said:
"Dear ministers and governors, do you think that your majesty did not entertain you well? Is it because the hard food is not enough or it is not to your liking? Please forgive me for being such an abrupt eunuch."
"Come on, come on, today I will show you three pigs per mouth."
As he spoke, he picked up a plate of roasted suckling pig in front of him and stuffed it into his mouth without any explanation.
Everyone was amused by Eunuch Li and laughed.
The ministers exchanged glasses for each other. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Emperor Guangde raised his wine glass and said to the crowd:
"Dear ladies,"
The ministers all put down their chopsticks when they knew that the emperor had something to say.
"The reform has not yet been successful, dear friends, we still need to work hard! I have dealt with the thorn in Pu Gang's side, but there are still many people who oppose the New Deal in the north and south of the Qi Dynasty. You should not forget your original intention and forge ahead. You must not There is a trace of slackness!"
Kang Jingxiu was about to speak, and Emperor Guangde waved his hand, telling the minister to be patient until he finished speaking.
"The New Deal is not just a personnel adjustment in Daqi, nor is it as simple as abolishing a few legions and cleaning up a few thorny leaders, but more importantly, it is a change in the ownership of Daqi's land, factories and mines. Next, dear ministers, I want to ask for government affairs The focus of the Qi Dynasty will shift from foreign war to the restoration of people's livelihood. The "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System" will be abolished and some people will be allowed to get rich first through legal means, get rich first and help later, and ultimately achieve common prosperity. Poverty is not the norm in Daqi. , let alone make everyone poor. Therefore, we must take the initiative to close down those factories, mines, and forts that cannot make ends meet, and transfer them to powerful people at a reasonable price.”
Emperor Guangde's so-called New Deal (economic field) was, to put it bluntly, reselling state-owned assets at a low price. Although this was not Liu Kan's original intention, it was foreseeable that things would develop in the worst direction.
It is not just a few mines and forts that cannot make ends meet.
Daqi, under the control of Emperor Guangde, was on the verge of economic collapse.
Selling factories and mines and mortgaging the forts will not matter whether it can extend the life of the empire. Doing so will definitely make the civil affairs officials and fort officials who deal with it become the rich people of the people and accumulate the first pot of gold...
Kang Jingxiu vowed: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. The New Deal will not be implemented for a day, and I will not be able to sleep peacefully for a day. I will go through fire and water for your Majesty, no matter what!"
The ministers shouted one after another: "I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
~~~~
On the eighth day of November in the sixth year of Guangde, the Daxing Emperor Liu Zhaosun finally went to the funeral.
The filial son Liu Kan has been busy fighting with the officials and eliminating those forces that obstructed the New Deal. Therefore, the construction of the Emperor's mausoleum has not been put on the agenda.
Jinling did not have the aura of domination to begin with. It was a hundred miles in radius, and the few Feng Shui treasures had long been occupied by the former Ming emperor.
The funeral of Emperor Daxing could no longer be postponed. In desperation, Liu Kan secretly ordered Jiang Liu'er to secretly dig out the coffin of the former Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang from the Xiaoling Mausoleum.
Then the mausoleum where Zhu Yuanzhang was buried was completely renovated and transformed into the mausoleum of the Grand Emperor of Qi.
As the saying goes, as long as you are not embarrassed, others will be embarrassed.
Not only did the ministers show no remonstrance to Emperor Guangde's crazy behavior, many scholars in the Hanlin Academy praised the emperor for being "pure and filial", even though he was not as good as Yao and Shun.
In any case, Liu Kan's operation was shocking.
Regardless of whether it is earth-shattering or not, weeping ghosts and gods is for sure.
What is certain is that when the news spreads underground and reaches the ears of the Ming Emperor, it will definitely silence Zhu Yuanzhang and make Ming Sizong Zhu Youjian cry.
Crying about why he failed to kill Liu Zhaosun, the evil thief.
Emperor Guangde was a pure and filial person by nature. While he arranged for Jiang Liu'er to dig his grave, he comforted himself that this was just the tomb of the Supreme Emperor. It was understandable to have hastily and perfunctoryly. When he found his father's true body in the future, he would definitely build a grand tomb for him. The Imperial Mausoleum is larger than the Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum.
In other words, until now, Liu Kan has not found the body of Liu Zhaosun, but only found some of his father's previous belongings for burial.
Two days before the tomb of the Supreme Emperor was sealed, two maids who had served him for a long time, Du Juan and Hu Hue, both committed suicide by hanging from a beam in Cining Palace.
Emperor Guangde felt pity for the two daughters and ordered them to be buried together with the Supreme Emperor.
~~~~
On the eighth day of October, Emperor Guangde led all his officials to go to Longsheng Pass to see him off.
The ministers cried all the way from Kunning Palace to the imperial mausoleum, knelt down and worshiped all the way, and changed their clothes in different places.
One hundred and twenty-eight Imperial Guards carried the huge golden nan coffin containing the Emperor's armor and weapons through the capital. Almost all the people of Nanjing came to the streets to watch.
Emperor Daxing's coffin went out from Daming Gate, Emperor Guangde and officials above the fourth rank followed the coffin out of Cheng'en Gate, and officials below the fourth rank left the city through Wensheng Gate.
Along the way, sacrifices must be made along the way to the wives of the fourth rank and below, as well as the elders of the military and civilians.
The group of people cried, walked and stopped, and finally arrived at Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.
After the Yu ceremony, Emperor Guangde continued to kowtow four times, offered silk and wine, and finally read the blessing message. After reading, he continued to salute, followed by Ya Xian (the second wine sacrifice) and Zhong Xian (the third wine sacrifice). Finally, prostrate four more times.
…
Finally, the ministers gathered around Emperor Guangde and returned to the capital.
On the way back to the capital, hundreds of officials in robes greeted him outside the city, and the accompanying officials set up a Yiji (resting residence) for King Xin outside the capital.
The Divine Master (the spiritual seat of the deceased emperor) goes first, followed by the officials.
When the god arrived near the Meridian Gate, Liu Kan, who was extremely tired, greeted him personally and invited the god into the Jiyan Hall to perform the "Calming Ceremony".
With the support of Li Juying and Jiang Liuer, he reluctantly kowtowed four times, then offered wine, read a blessing, and kowtowed four more times.
After kneeling down four times, Emperor Guangde was about to stand up when his feet suddenly went weak and he fainted.
Eunuch Li was so frightened that his face turned pale. He pinched people and drank some decoction, and finally woke up Liu Kan.
Emperor Guangde looked around at the white mourning clothes, sweat dripping from his forehead, and he felt lingering fear.
"What a terrible dream!"
"I dreamed that my father came to life, climbed out of the soil, and wanted to strangle me to death..."
Li Juying was so angry that she didn't dare to say anything.
Until Emperor Guangde asked him.
"Father is buried?"
"Buried, buried," Eunuch Li replied repeatedly.
"Okay, it's buried. Come on! Help me up, I want to drink!"
Emperor Guangde wiped the non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes, with a relieved smile on his face.
