The more important Zhu Houzhao is when something big happens, the less he panics. In a sense, it feels like his whole body has been shot through. It is impossible to stop this thing anymore, so he just thinks about what he should do next.
"Go to Qianqing Palace first." Zhu Houzhao ordered.
During the recent period, he has made the decisions for many things inside and outside the palace. The emperor is lying down to rest. But when it comes to such a big event, as long as the emperor is still breathing, he has to show his face, otherwise it will not be justified from the perspective of filial piety, so no matter No matter what, I still want to go there.
In the Forbidden City, white cloths were hung everywhere, and Zhu Houzhao was also wearing a white mourning robe made of raw linen. When they arrived at the gate of Qianqing Palace, they happened to see the palace maids and eunuchs gluing white cloths to the wall.
The prince went to the palace without saying a word, but before he reached the inner room, he heard Emperor Hongzhi shouting loudly: Change clothes!
Zhu Houzhao pushed the door open and went in. Sure enough, he saw a weak emperor who was leaning on the edge of the bed. He didn't care about any salutes and went up to support him, "Father!"
Emperor Hongzhi saw that his son was all covered with mourning clothes, and it was so real when he grabbed it in his hands, so he could no longer hold back the grief in his heart and howled out.
…
…
After dawn,
Courtiers also received news one after another. For example, when the Empress Dowager Zhou died, it was not just a matter of crying. Officials in the capital, local officials, and wives of both domestic and foreign ministers also had to wear mourning clothes. Officials and civilians were not allowed to marry... etc. There were many rules.
But how do people know when someone will die in the Forbidden City? So this must be spread throughout the world.
In addition, the posthumous title, funeral ceremony, etc. must also be determined.
Zhu Houzhao accompanied the emperor and the empress to worship in the mourning hall. After crying for a while, he could not close his eyes. The emperor was weak, and he fainted again under such great grief.
At this time, the courtiers also entered the palace, and the three ministers of the cabinet were all persuading: "Your Highness, at this moment, the Emperor is not hesitant, and it is even more necessary for Your Highness to step forward to stabilize people's hearts. Please forgive me for a moment. I am still waiting for you." There are many things for Your Highness to decide."
In this way, Zhu Houzhao's body seemed to not belong to him. He was taken from one place to another by this group of people, and now he was going to Fengtian Hall.
As soon as he arrived at the place, Liu Jian began to talk non-stop, "Your Highness, there are a few things to do right now. The first is to announce the edict of mourning to the world, mourn both internally and externally, in memory of the late Empress Dowager. I think I am worthy of this responsibility; secondly, I must follow the ancestral tradition to give the former Empress Dowager a good title and enshrine it in Anyu Mausoleum; thirdly, after the funeral, I must enshrine the former Empress Dowager in the Fengci Hall."
Zhu Houzhao heard clearly that this group of literati were actually the most indifferent and focused on etiquette.
There is no problem with the first and second. It is normal to announce the news and formulate the posthumous title. The key lies in the Fengci Hall at the third point. This Fengci Hall was specially built by Emperor Hongzhi for his biological mother Ji. Because she was not the original queen of Emperor Xianzong, she could not enter the Fengxian Hall and Ancestral Temple.
Now that the Empress Dowager Zhou has passed away, no matter how majestic you were during your lifetime, Chenghua and Hongzhi have been at the top for forty years together. Who can be proud of their life for forty years? But what does it mean that a person remains the same after death?
——You are not the original queen of the orthodox emperor, so you cannot enter the Fengxian Palace, nor can you enjoy the Ancestral Temple.
The key point is that Emperor Hongzhi was still in great grief at this time.
Having said that, Emperor Hongzhi missed his biological mother very much. He was a man who lacked love, so how could he not miss his mother, whom everyone praised for her demureness? But even so, we can only build another Fengci Hall.
Fengci Hall is just west of Fengxian Hall.
So close, yet so far.
It was not appropriate for Zhu Houzhao to argue about this thing at this time. It was already a mess. If they argued again, Emperor Hongzhi would probably be annoyed to death. Besides, this was not a very core point.
But it’s also wrong to just nod like that without saying a word. Fengci and Fengxian...you just opened your mouth and let it pass without mentioning anything? Think I'm fooling you.
Zhu Houzhao remained calm and made arrangements first: "The Ministry of Etiquette will preside over the funeral ceremony. If the father's physical condition improves slightly, it is important for the father to oversee such a big event. The posthumous title will not trouble you, Liu Bu All the chief officials of the Nine Qing Dynasties are here, so we should hurry up and draft it, so that Wang Shangshu can write the edict."
When everyone heard what the prince meant, their hearts suddenly trembled, because the prince did not accept everything Liu Ge said. What does it mean? Are you dissatisfied?
Liu Jian was also an exquisite and transparent person. When he saw this, he could only stay silent and wait in line.
"How do you decide on a posthumous title?" the prince urged.
Seeing that he was a little embarrassed, Li Dongyang hurriedly walked out with his head lowered and said: "Xie Shi Zhao Xiang is called filial piety, Gang De Ke is called solemnity, innocence and integrity are called chastity... Therefore, I thought that the posthumous title of the former Empress Dowager could be decided. For the sake of Xiaosu, Zhenshun, Kangyi and Guanglie, he assists the Holy Queen Tiancheng."
】
After all, Li Dongyang is a bachelor, a talented man who became famous at a young age. Once he makes a move, there is basically no need to change.
Set these.
Zhu Houzhao then started to ask: "Mr. Liu Ge just said that the former Empress Dowager will be enshrined in the Hall of Mercy. Mr. Liu Ge, what does compassion mean?"
This question is simple. We used to say "family kindness, family kindness", and kindness means mother. This is why there is this Fengci Hall.
"Kindness is what a mother means."
Zhu Houzhao said: "Since it is my mother's wish, is it inappropriate to enshrine the former Empress Dowager in the Ci Hall?"
"Your Majesty. "Zuo Zhuan" has a saying. Love from above is called kindness. Although kindness means mother, it is also in line with the loving heart of the former Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager towards His Majesty and His Highness. Therefore, I thought that I could worship him. Mercy Hall.”
This explanation is a bit unreasonable. According to this explanation, there are many compassionate people, and they are all stuffed into Fengci Hall?
Zhu Houzhao smiled softly and said, "In order to prevent future generations from wondering why my father enshrined my grandmother in the Ci Hall, I will write down this explanation of Mr. Liu Ge."
Liu Jian's face darkened, why should I be responsible for this?
Finally, the prince said: "I know the whole story of Fengci Hall and Fengxian Hall. I just have some doubts, so I asked Mr. Liu Ge to explain."
That's what he said, but people who heard him didn't think so.
Doesn't that mean: Don't try to fool me easily. My prince knows many things.
On the nineteenth day of the first month of the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, a generation of noble concubines who had gone through so many eras as Zhengtong, Jingtai, Tianshun, Chenghua, and Hongzhi finally passed away.
Throughout the life of the Empress Dowager Zhou, she has nothing to do with words such as deep understanding of righteousness and motherly respect for the world. As a concubine of the orthodox emperor, she has always had ideas about the position of the queen. To put it bluntly, she is a bit like that. Kind of a vicious female number two,
And she really wanted to be buried with the emperor, but according to the rules, only the direct empress could be buried with the emperor. At that time, Mrs. Zhou was very aggressive because mother valued her son. The constant fighting really made her change this ancestral system.
Starting from her, the direct empress of the Ming Dynasty and the biological mother of the subsequent emperor could be buried with the emperor. Therefore, the final destination of Queen Xiaosu Zhou was Yuling.
This kind of funeral is nationwide, from officials to people, from people to the army, it can be said that the whole country is in uniform. Zhu Houzhao on the side is not worried, he is worried that there are people in the border areas who are ready to take action.
Logically speaking, it would be best to summon all these people to the capital for an interview, but at this moment the actual conditions obviously no longer allow it, so we have to settle for the next best thing. So after arranging the funeral, the East Palace also had a decree to summon Mao Yuwen Enter the palace.
The prince was walking around in front of a huge map with his back on his back. Kneeling behind him was the same Mao Yuwen who was covered in plain clothes. "...Every time there is any special trouble in this palace, I am always the first one." I think of you. Others have told me that this person is talented and that person is talented, and they recommend me over and over again. Over the past few years, the one I have used most conveniently is you, the cell leader."
"Your Highness has given you too much praise. I just understood His Highness's intentions and acted in accordance with them."
Zhu Houzhao turned around, smiled and asked: "That's right, but it's also wrong. There are so many smart people in the world, don't they understand what I mean?"
Mao Yuwen lowered his head, "They have all kinds of small thoughts, and they are not as pure as I. My biggest concern is to complete the mission assigned by His Highness."
"You have done well in Zhejiang. It should be said that you have not done anything bad. Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"I don't dare."
"If you don't dare, it's not because you don't want to. Now that you've thought about it, just say it."
Mao Yuwen thought about it and said, "I would like to ask His Highness for some money to support the envoy."
"The official doesn't want it, he's looking for money." Zhu Houzhao laughed and scolded him, then called Liu Jin over, "Go and get the eight thousand taels."
"I thank you, Your Highness."
Mao Yuwen felt a little happy. He himself has killed many corrupt officials, and he also knows where the prince's bottom line is, but to be honest, when an official becomes a big official and the ostentation is big, sometimes he can't do it without money. He wants money, on the one hand, it is to satisfy his own worries. On the other hand, he also wanted to let the prince know about his little quirks.
"I have called you here this time to ask you to go to Datong and Guyuan respectively. The Empress Dowager passed away, and soon the soldiers and civilians in the border areas will also wear plain clothes. In addition, the emperor has been ill for a long time, so he will let him go if he has no choice but to do so. The Tatars had evil thoughts and spread some rumors to confuse people's minds. Moreover, there were reports from the border army many years ago, inferring that the Tatars would invade the border in the 18th year of Hongzhi, but they were not strong enough to go anywhere, so naturally they wanted to find someone. It’s a time when the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers are unable to pay attention to the north. Originally, it would be enough to find someone to deliver the letter, but this time I hope that the border troops can work together to counterattack. This is not a trivial matter. Unless the close associates of the East Palace go there, they will not dare to make that determination. of."
After hearing this, Mao Yuwen was both encouraged and trembling, "I respectfully obey His Highness's orders!"
Zhu Houzhao picked up the teacup, paced and thought carefully. When he was at the door of the palace, he thought of another sentence. As soon as he spoke Mao Yuwen, he turned around and knelt towards him.
"You are the best at figuring out what I mean. There is no need to say anything unnecessary. In short, you must pay attention. At this time of great change, if the enemy intends to push it, it will disrupt the morale of our army. So when you go, you must also tell them, no matter How has the capital changed? In the Ming Dynasty, I still have this prince here!"
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Half Life is back, and I will update a chapter today. I had the fever repeatedly for three days and it was really uncomfortable. I still sweated and felt dizzy when I sat down today. I wrote this chapter for more than four hours without stalling. I feel like I can’t do it too harshly and I need to rest at night. If it happens again, I will feel like dying.
ps: I wish you all the best of luck.
