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A civil uprising occurred in Nanjing City. This matter was naturally extremely urgent and vital. It must be suppressed in time without any delay, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.
But does the urgency and importance of this matter exceed that of the ancestor worship ceremony at Xiaoling?
Or should we say that because of the civil unrest in Nanjing, the process of the ancestor worship ceremony should be affected and interrupted?
Regarding this issue, it is a matter of benevolence and wisdom.
Regardless of whether it is ancient or modern, at home and abroad, the first reaction of many officials when encountering trouble is always to hide the news with a sense of luck, suppress the situation as much as possible, whitewash the situation, and not shed tears until the coffin is seen!
This reaction may seem short-sighted and extremely stupid, but in fact it has a very clear logical train of thought and a very clear consideration of interests.
Take this Nanjing civil uprising as an example. For those officials who stayed in the Six Ministries in Nanjing, if they directly report the situation without any cover-up, they will inevitably take the blame, bear all kinds of culpability, and their official careers will inevitably be ruined. .
On the other hand, if you suppress the news for the time being and try to settle the chaos on your own before the news leaks out, if you are lucky enough to succeed, you will have the courage to take responsibility and have meritorious deeds. You may still have the opportunity to get promoted and make a fortune, even if you are unable to recover in the end. If you encounter a disastrous defeat, your guilt and punishment will not be much heavier, but the court will encounter more troubles.
In short, under such circumstances, reporting the situation quickly would only be beneficial to the overall situation of the court, but suppressing the news for the time being and trying to whitewash the situation would give you the opportunity to benefit yourself.
Between their own interests and the overall situation of the court, not everyone is willing to sacrifice the former and choose the latter.
What's more, the ancients said that "the most important things in a country are sacrifice and war", which means that there are only two most important things in a country, namely sacrifice and war.
The ancestor worship ceremony currently being held in Xiaoling Mausoleum is undoubtedly one of the most important sacrifice activities in the Ming Dynasty in recent years.
Therefore, if the civil unrest in Nanjing is reported to Xiaoling immediately, the ongoing ancestor worship ceremony will inevitably be affected. In this case, if it is later discovered that the civil unrest in Nanjing is not serious and can be easily quelled, we will decide Officials who report the matter may face additional culpability.
It was precisely because of this idea that the officials who stayed in Nanjing Liubu Yamen were particularly slow to respond to all the chaos in Nanjing on this day.
When the tribute students of Yingtian Academy clashed and fought with each other, they just sent someone to order Yingtian Academy to handle it on its own; when the entire south bank of the Qinhuai River was in chaos, they were still confirming the news repeatedly; when the students When they were blocking the outside of the Nanjing Rites Yamen to protest and petition, they only focused on quarreling and discussing; when the people began to attack the Nanjing Rites Yamen, they still wanted to quell the chaos as soon as possible before the ancestor worship ceremony ended...
When the scale of the civil unrest became larger and larger, under the secret instigation of certain forces, many people not only began to attack the Nanjing Rites Yamen, but also other Nanjing Yamen were affected and impacted, and the entire city of Nanjing quickly After the chaos broke out, those officials who stayed in Nanjing Liubu Yamen finally realized the seriousness of the matter, finally put out their luck, and reluctantly reported the civil unrest to Xiaoling.
Coupled with the many checkpoints and repeated screenings near Xiaoling, it was already approaching noon when the relevant news reached the ears of Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian and others.
For the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, both the civil unrest in Nanjing on this day and the slow response of Nanjing officials were all things that had been expected.
This situation is also Zhu Hejian's opportunity to perform. Although danger and opportunity coexist, it is undoubtedly his best performance stage.
Therefore, Zhu Hejian's performance began soon!
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At this time, although the ancestor worship ceremony in Xiaoling Mausoleum has come to an end, it will take at least another half an hour to truly end.
When the news of civil unrest in Nanjing reached Xiaoling, all the officials in Xiaoling were in disarray and at a loss.
But in comparison, Zhu Hejian's performance can be regarded as that of a general and a king. Not only did he remain calm in the face of danger and unfazed by changes, he still calmly presided over the ancestor worship ceremony, managing to appease the emotions of the officials and let everyone The ancestor worship ceremony went on smoothly, and he acted decisively and decisively. He changed the content of his sacrifice on the spot and greatly compressed the remaining procedures of the ancestor worship ceremony. In the end, it only took half a stick of incense to complete all the ancestor worship rituals. .
Seeing Zhu Hejian's performance, all the officials in Xiaoling were amazed and felt inferior.
After the ancestor worship ceremony was finally over, Zhu Hejian immediately led the officials to leave Xiaoling Baocheng.
(Note: The so-called 'Treasure City' refers to the mausoleums and palaces of ancient Chinese emperors.)
When Zhu Hejian left Xiaoling Baocheng, his expression immediately became serious and cold, and he finally showed anger, but he still did not show it immediately, obviously because he was worried about disturbing the tranquility of Baocheng.
After everyone had left the area within one mile of Baocheng, Zhu Hejian finally stopped, turned to the Nanjing officials and asked angrily: "What on earth is going on? Why did civil unrest suddenly break out in Nanjing? Haha? ! This civil unrest actually happened when the imperial court was holding an ancestor worship ceremony. It’s really a shame!"
Seeing Zhu Hejian finally burst into anger, all the officials in Nanjing became more and more frightened and apologized one after another. They immediately knelt together and did not dare to raise their heads to look at Zhu Hejian.
Zhu Hejian completely ignored the performance of the officials in Nanjing, and just asked coldly: "When things have developed to this point, it is too late for you to apologize, and it is not the time for accountability. I only want to know three things! First, Where did this civil unrest start? Secondly, to what extent has this civil unrest developed? Thirdly, how do you plan to quell this civil unrest?"
After hearing Zhu Hejian's three consecutive inquiries, no one in Nanjing dared to answer, but they all turned their heads and focused their attention on He Rong, the prefect of Yingtian.
This He Rong was also the person responsible for coming to Xiaoling to report the news of the civil unrest to everyone.
Regarding the three questions raised by Zhu Hejian, He Rong naturally did not dare to answer the first one, which was the cause of the civil unrest in Nanjing, otherwise he would offend the ministers and ministers of the Six Ministries of Nanjing. He also did not dare to answer the last question, otherwise If his proposal fails to bear fruit, he will inevitably bear more responsibility.
In the end, He Rong had no choice but to avoid the important and take the easy. He bit the bullet and only answered Zhu Hejian's second question, saying in a trembling voice: "Returning to Your Highness, the scale of the civil unrest in Nanjing is already extremely large. After the official came to Xiaoling to report it, At this time, the number of Nanjing rioters who participated in this riot has reached nearly 10,000. Led by the Nanjing Liubu Yamen, many government offices in Nanjing have been attacked by the rioters, especially the Nanjing Rites Yamen, which has now been smashed by the rioters... If the imperial court cannot make up its mind to send troops to suppress it, the scale of this civil unrest will probably become even more uncontrollable!"
Zhu Hejian's expression was a bit shocked, as if he had underestimated the seriousness of the matter, and immediately asked: "Is it so serious? Why did you wait until now to report it?"
He Rong hurriedly explained: "His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince Mingjian, as the saying goes, 'The most important thing for the country is to worship the soldiers', and the ancestor worship ceremony at Xiaoling Mausoleum is one of the most important sacrificial activities of the imperial court in recent years, so Xiaguan and others cannot When absolutely necessary, I would naturally not dare to disturb..."
Before He Rong could finish speaking, Zhu Hejian interrupted angrily: "What a fart! What a pedantic opinion! 'The most important thing for the country is to sacrifice and serve the army.' This sentence is certainly true, but have you seriously thought about the meaning in this sentence?" What does the word 'sacrifice' mean? This prince is here to tell you that this word represents the will of the people! It represents the prestige of the court! It represents orthodoxy! The people of Nanjing actually chose this day for us to worship our ancestors to launch a riot, which is enough to prove that Nanjing The officialdom has lost the support of the people, the prestige of the imperial court has been wiped out, and the orthodoxy and moral principles are gone! Under such circumstances, how can we talk about 'the important matters of the country are only sacrifice and military affairs'? I think you just want to deceive the subordinates and conceal the superiors!"
Without waiting for He Rong to defend himself, Zhu Hejian asked angrily again: "I think you dare not answer the reason why the people of Nanjing participated in this riot. Is it because you are afraid of offending others? But even if you don't say it, I can definitely guess. Come out with the truth! If Nanjing officials had not acted perversely and lost the support of the people, how could the people of Nanjing attack the government offices? You just said that when the people attacked the government offices, the situation in the six departments of Nanjing was the most serious... Obviously, the people were the target of the attack. It mainly points to the Nanjing Sixth Department, and the Nanjing Sixth Department is the cause of this civil unrest!"
After hearing Zhu Hejian's words, the expressions of all the ministers and ministers in the Sixth Department of Nanjing changed drastically.
But Zhu Hejian still didn't wait for them to explain, and made the final decision resolutely, saying in a loud voice: "When Zhao Gechen, the center of the imperial court, inspected the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, he discovered that some civil and military officials on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu were trying to appease. Then he immediately removed the relevant officials from their positions and took the initiative to take over the military and political affairs of Shaanxi-Gansu. Finally, they achieved the great victory of Shaanxi-Gansu and the great achievements of regaining the Hetao!
Now, since the riots among the people in Nanjing were caused by the Six Ministries of Nanjing, I believe that the Six Ministries of Nanjing are no longer suitable to be responsible for presiding over the situation in Nanjing... Therefore, I decided to obey the authority urgently, follow the example, and personally preside over the situation. Do you have any objections to the situation in Nanjing? "
Zhu Hejian knew very well that the Nanjing Civil War was a coexistence of danger and opportunity for him. It was not only a trap set by Zhou Shangjing for him, but also an opportunity for him.
Therefore, Zhu Hejian must do the following three things next.
The first is to smoothly stabilize the situation in Nanjing, realize the imperial court's plan to take over power, deal with various problems prepared for him by Zhou Shangjing, and take the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities and further enhance his reputation in the hearts of Emperor Deqing, the court officials, and the people;
The second is to show his resoluteness and courage to take responsibility, and take the opportunity to reverse the "obedient" image that Zhou Shangjing deliberately created for him, and let the world know that he also has a tough side, not only to strive for reputation, but also to win prestige!
The third is to seize the benefits and power from the Nanjing officialdom to the greatest extent and prevent the "Zhou Party" and "Zhao Party" forces from picking peaches! With these interests and power, he can further expand his influence, use it as a bargaining chip to deepen ties with his supporters, and even completely tie the prince and grand master Wang Baoren to his ship.
In fact, with Zhu Hejian's current reputation and status in Nanjing, even if he does not take the initiative to express his position, he will soon stand up and take charge of the overall situation under the "popular expectation".
However, in order to take advantage of the opportunity to show his toughness and responsibility, Zhu Hejian did not intend to wait for the "popular expectation" and "people's aspiration" situation to emerge before taking the initiative to say that he would stand up and preside over the situation.
After hearing Zhu Hejian's statement, Nanjing officials did not dare to respond and did not immediately express their support.
If Zhu Hejian had not taken the initiative to express his intention to stand up and take charge of the situation, considering Zhu Hejian's status and reputation at this time, they would inevitably express their hope that Zhu Hejian would come forward to lead them. In this way, they could not only evade some of the responsibilities but also gain support. With their support, Zhu Hejian would not embarrass them too much even if he knew their guilt afterwards.
However, at this time, Zhu Hejian took the initiative to say that he would stand up and take charge of the overall situation. The situation was naturally completely different. They lost the opportunity to support and support. When Zhu Hejian was held accountable afterwards, he would not have to worry about the old relationship, and he might be severely held accountable for their crimes. .
The difference between these two situations is that everyone in the officialdom is well-connected.
So, after hearing Zhu Hejian's inquiry, the scene fell into awkward silence again.
But Zhu Hejian was determined, and the silence of these officials could not stop him.
Therefore, after Zhu Hejian saw that everyone was silent, he asked again: "You are all silent, do you mean that no one objects? In this case, until the central court has other arrangements, this prince will be fully responsible for all matters in Nanjing!"
In this case, the prince immediately announced three orders that no one can violate, otherwise they will be punished as disobedient! "
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