When Zhu Qizhen returns to Beijing, what etiquette should the court use to welcome him?
This is what the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty are most concerned about.
People are so mean.
If you really ask these ministers to practice the code of conduct of "the king is worried about the humiliation of his ministers, and the king is humiliated and his ministers will die", then it is just a daydream. No one is willing to die for Zhu Qizhen.
Not to mention that these ministers would die for the emperor, even if they were asked to bathe and fast at home, not eat meat, not play with women, eat quietly, fast, chant Buddha's name, and pray for the emperor, they would absolutely refuse.
However, as soon as they saw the "gentle and benevolent" Emperor Jingtai, the ministers immediately remembered the teachings of Master Zhu Xi. They had all kinds of theories about nature and human desires at their fingertips, and they all wanted to drown the emperor in their saliva.
As for Zhu Qiyu, his face was full of spring breeze and he was smiling. He was immersed in the joy of the pregnancy of his four beloved concubines, and did not pay any attention to the questioning of the courtiers.
As an emperor, he occupies a righteous position. As long as he is not impatient, there are at least 121 good ways to deal with ministers.
In history, Jingtai was too impatient. What he did when he was replaced as a prince at such a young age was that he only gave up the moral high ground to the ministers.
Zhu Qiyu counted on his fingers repeatedly. If he was lucky, his eldest son would be born during the examination period in February next year.
During the palace examination, many more princes and princesses will be born. When the time comes, these ministers will be angry to death.
Anyway, you do your thing, and I do mine. I will do it step by step, and I will not follow their rhythm.
Seeing that the emperor was smiling and saying nothing, Zhang Lun repeated his question.
Zhu Qiyu then replied: "This matter should be the responsibility of your Etiquette Department. Just follow the rules, check what precedents there are, formulate the procedures, and then report it to me."
Zhu Qiyu kicked the ball back again, and he kept true to his words. He acted strictly in accordance with his previous sins and self-instructions, and only called me the widow, not me.
Zhang Lun was choked and his face turned red. The emperor asked the Ministry of Rites to formulate etiquette procedures for welcoming the emperor. It was reasonable and irreproachable.
But the emperor asked the Ministry of Rites to refer to precedents, which was obviously disrespectful. Is there any precedent for this?
Not only the Ming Dynasty, but even going back to the past, is there any precedent for a captured emperor to return to the capital in all dynasties?
The only one who is somewhat similar is Tang Xuanzong, but although Tang Xuanzong was mediocre in his later years, he was not captured after all.
This issue was blocked, and the next thing to discuss was where the Emperor should live after returning to Beijing.
Considering that the orthodox emperors of the old Zhu family felt uncomfortable without staying in the Forbidden City for a day, Zhu Qiyu showed extremely magnanimity and humility here:
"After the Supreme Emperor returns to Beijing, he will definitely live in the imperial city. Originally, I had been keeping the Qianqing Palace for the Supreme Emperor, but unfortunately, it was burned down in a fire.
It seems inappropriate to live in Kunning Palace. After all, when I open the window, I see the ruins of Qianqing Palace and Jiaotai Palace, which really affects my mood.
I can't make the decision for the Supreme Emperor. You'd better ask the Holy Emperor and the Queen Mother to make a decision. "
Yu Shiyue, the Minister of Rites, heard this and immediately corrected him: "Your Majesty, the title of Shangsheng Queen Mother has been cancelled. Now there is only the Queen Mother."
Zhu Qiyu put on a humble and teachable expression and nodded in agreement.
In fact, Zhu Qiyu deliberately made a mistake. Firstly, he wanted Yu Shiyue, the Minister of Rites, to express his stance, and secondly, he wanted to persuade the ministers present.
Although he, the emperor, succeeded to the throne under the decree of the Queen Mother, in theory, the legitimacy of the throne came from the Queen Mother.
However, according to Zhu Qiyu's plan, he wanted to learn from Ming Taizong Zhu Di.
The legitimacy of my succession comes from my status as the eldest son of Queen Hu, and I have nothing to do with this concubine, Mrs. Sun. Moreover, Sun's position as empress dowager will be abolished sooner or later.
As for the recognition of later generations, it is entirely determined by Wenzhi and martial arts. It has nothing to do with Xuanzong, has nothing to do with Renzong, and has nothing to do with orthodoxy.
The thing that Zhu Qiyu hates the most is being related to Xuanzong and Renzong. So you have to work hard to build a career and eventually become a line of your own.
There is nothing to say between the monarch and his ministers. Seeing that Zhang Lun's mission was unfavorable, other ministers kept silent and stopped making any further announcements.
It was like a silent protest.
Zhu Qiyu glanced at Wang Wen.
It's so easy to convene a great meeting, but it's impossible for it to end in such an anticlimactic manner. If you want the Gongyuan to catch fire, you have to fan it hard.
After Wang Wen received the instructions, he went out to report: "Your Majesty, Xu Youzhen, the right censor of the Imperial Palace, has written a letter to welcome the emperor, and proposed that the emperor should issue an edict of guilt, formally abdicate, and cancel the "Tai Shang". The title of 'Emperor' was reduced to 'Emperor Gongrang'."
After saying that, Wang Wen handed over Xu Youzhen's memorial.
Zhu Qiyu took it and looked at it carefully, nodding with satisfaction in his heart, but without any expression on his face, he raised his head and asked: "What does the cabinet mean?"
For Zhu Qiyu, Zhu Qizhen must be demoted to the emperor Gongrang. As for Xu Youzhen being the one to write this memorial, it had already been discussed.
Although Zhu Qiyu cherished Xu Youzhen's talent very much, he could not allow Xu Youzhen to be free and jump at any time.
Xu Youzhen must accept this petition. Otherwise, he would be a Zuo Shilang at most.
Chen Xun, Wang Wen, Jiang Yuan, He Wenyuan and others stood up one after another and expressed their support for Xu Youzhen's proposal.
Zhu Qiyu nodded and looked at Yu Shiyue: "What do Yu Aiqing think?"
What else could Yu Shiyue say, he could only follow the crowd and follow the emperor's path to the end.
Zhu Qiyu was not stingy and directly promoted Yu Shiyue to Dongge Bachelor.
So far, all six ministers in Beijing have been included in the cabinet.
Zhu Qiyu and his close ministers were happy, but the others were unwilling.
Everyone present was a Jinshi, and no one was stupid. The Taishang Emperor, the Gongrang Emperor, and the Emperor were ranked among the three according to rituals. Obviously, the Taishang Emperor was the most noble, followed by the Emperor, and the Gongrang Emperor had the lowest relative status.
If the younger brother Zhu Qiyu is to be placed above the older brother Zhu Qizhen, will the ministers be willing to do so?
Just when everyone was looking at each other and hesitating about how to make the emperor stop his delusion, Zhu Qiyu waved his hand directly, ordered everyone to disperse, and then left without looking back.
In the palace of Prince Xinqi, there is also a city that is two miles wide from east to west and three miles long from north to south, which completely surrounds Yuquan Mountain.
This is a city within a city.
The area enclosed by the outer city is called Prince Qi's Mansion; the area enclosed by the inner city is called Lingyu Palace.
Lingyu Palace was only the residence of the emperor and his fifteen beloved concubines.
Zhu Qiyu left the ministers behind and returned directly to his Lingyu Palace.
The ministers had no choice but to leave the court and go home.
The Gongyuan, used for rural examinations and joint examinations, is located in Mingshifang in Dongcheng, next to Mingshifang Grassland.
The emperor's new Qi palace has inner and outer walls made of blue bricks, which cannot be lit; the buildings inside the palace are all made of white marble, which cannot be lit.
But Gongyuan is different. The building itself is a wooden structure and is adjacent to the grassland.
According to the ministers' thinking, it doesn't matter if I can't light the Qi Prince's Mansion. Could it be that I can't even light the Gongyuan?
(End of chapter)
