Zhao Changge saw that the atmosphere between Zhu Youtang, Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Houcong was a little awkward. He coughed slightly and immediately diverted everyone's attention and said: "On July 12th, the third year of Jiajing, Zhu Houcong ordered the Ministry of Rites to register his parents on the 14th. The ministers were in an uproar when they offered sacrifices to the heaven and earth, the ancestral temple, and the country. Just at the end of the morning dynasty, He Mengchun, the left minister of the Ministry of official affairs, advocated for everyone, saying that when Xianzong was in power, hundreds of officials cried and begged in front of Wenhua Gate, vying for Ciyi. Regarding the burial etiquette of the Empress Dowager, that is, Empress Xiaozhuang Qian, Xianzong listened to the opinions of the officials. This is an old thing of this dynasty. The implication is that Zhu Houcong should also listen to the opinions of officials like Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty."
When Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di heard these words, which were relatively strong and domineering emperors, they felt that this person's words were a bit excessive. The emperor's orders should be above all else, but these officials thought that it was right for the emperor to listen to them. If this happened in The Hongwu Dynasty was afraid that all these people would have been beheaded long ago and would never see the sun tomorrow.
But the Jiajing Dynasty was not the Hongwu Dynasty after all, and Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houcong was not as domineering as Zhu Yuanzhang.
"After He Mengchun finished speaking, Yang Shen, the son of Yang Tinghe and the number one scholar, also said that the country has supported scholars for 150 years and died adhering to integrity and righteousness. Today."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang sneered again and couldn't help but sarcastically said: "These scholars talk about the righteousness of their family and country every day. We have seen many such people, but when they really need to risk their lives, these people Escape faster than anyone else."
Zhao Changge smiled and did not express any opinions on Zhu Yuanzhang's words. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that few of the courtiers in the court were good people. But Zhao Changge knew that the integrity of many civil servants has been passed down through the ages, and not every official is a bad person. However, Zhao Changge did not want to change Zhu Yuanzhang's mind. He could only continue: "He Mengchun, Jin Xianmin, Xu Wenhua and others called on the ministers, Then more than two hundred ministers knelt at Zuoshunmen and begged Zhu Houcong to change his will."
It was another matter of ministers collectively forcing the emperor. Such things seemed to be very common in the Ming Dynasty. These scholar-bureaucrats were very good at using this method to demonstrate their influence, and then forced the imperial power to give in to them.
"Zhu Houcong was very impatient when he heard the loud crying outside the door of Wenhua Palace. He ordered the eunuch to tell the ministers to leave quickly, but none of these ministers listened to Zhu Houcong's dissuasion. They still knelt on the ground and refused until noon. Get up. Trying to force Zhu Houcong to change his mind."
"Zhu Houcong has not been an obedient person since he came to the throne. With the repeated suppression of civil servants over the years, Zhu Houcong no longer needs to be as careful as walking on thin ice in the court. Naturally, he will not give his ministers a good look because of this pressure. When he sees These people didn't know what was wrong, so they directly ordered the Jin Yiwei to arrest the eight leaders and send them all to prison."
"Originally, Zhu Houcong thought that this method of killing chickens and warning monkeys could make others understand his determination and retreat in the face of difficulties. However, he did not expect that doing so would actually stimulate the ministers. These people became even more radical and rushed directly to Zuoshun Gate to knock on the door. Crying loudly, Zhu Houcong once again ordered that a total of 134 officials of the fifth rank and below be imprisoned and tortured, and 86 officials of the fourth rank and above were suspended pending punishment. On July 16, Zhu Houcong gave his mother the honorary title Empress Dowager Zhang Shengciren."
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but glance at Zhu Houcong at this time. It was hard to believe that his cousin, whom he looked down upon, was so domineering in this regard and went his own way regardless of the objections of the officials. This was very similar to Zhu Houzhao, but he seemed to be more decisive than Zhu Houzhao.
"On July 20th, Jinyiwei asked for instructions on how to deal with the arrested ministers. Zhu Houcong directly ordered all those above the fourth rank to stop paying salaries, and all those below the fifth rank to be punished in court. The ministers who died because of the court battle in this incident There were sixteen. After the Zuoshunmen court battle, officials who opposed the ceremony began to shut up, and the three-year ceremony ended with Zhu Houcong's victory."
Zhu Yuanzhang originally didn't like Zhu Houcong very much, but now he was somewhat satisfied.
"Yes, you must not give in blindly when dealing with ministers. Your concession will only make these people think that the imperial power is declining, and they must use thunderous means to shock everyone. Zhu Youtang, in this aspect, you are far inferior to Zhu Houcong."
Zhu Youtang, who was named by Taizu, was so embarrassed that he did not dare to raise his head, but he still hesitantly explained for himself: "Taizu, I have realized my mistake. These people are just being mean. I will treat them well." , they will only push to the limit, as long as they hurt them or cut their necks with a knife, they will know what it is to be a courtier."
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and glanced at Zhu Youtang. This good gentleman finally understood.
"Yes, Zhu Houcong, your methods are very similar to mine, but compared to us, you are still a little too merciful. If I take action, none of the more than two hundred officials will survive. Only in this way can the world know the tyranny of the imperial power. "
Zhu Houcong laughed sarcastically and cupped his hands towards Zhu Yuanzhang: "Compared to Taizu, I am naturally far inferior. In my heart, Taizu is the target that I need to learn from."
"Hahaha, yes, you are not bad." At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang briefly forgot that Zhu Houcong had not been in court for more than 20 years. He was praised a few times by Zhu Houcong and now he is very pleasing to his eyes.
Zhu Di still didn't understand where this Chengzu came from. "National Master, I still don't know why my Taizong was changed to Chengzu."
"Don't worry, I will go on. After winning the Great Etiquette Battle, Zhu Houcong stabilized his throne and at the same time rectified his father's name. As a filial son, Zhu Houcong began to think about placing his father's tablet in the Ancestral Temple. In Before the great ceremonial event had come to an end, Gui E, the head of the Nanjing Criminal Department, wrote a letter requesting that a separate temple be built for Emperor Xingxian in the capital. Later, Wailang Fangxian, a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, also wrote a letter requesting that a separate temple be built for Emperor Xingxian. However, this was soon blocked. There were objections from other ministers. However, Zhu Houcong still insisted on building a west empty room and named it Guande Hall. He honored Emperor Xingxian as Emperor Kao Gongmuxian and enshrined Emperor Xian in it."
"Logically speaking, Zhu Houcong has nothing to be dissatisfied with at this point. After all, his father's treatment has exceeded the standard by a lot. But Zhu Houcong doesn't know whether he is too filial or deliberately causing trouble. He is not satisfied with his father's current treatment. Still feeling dissatisfied, in the fourth year of the Jiajing reign, He Yuan, who had just been promoted to the position of Prime Minister of Guanglu Temple, wrote a letter requesting the establishment of a world temple to worship Emperor Kao in the Ancestral Temple."
"This means that in order to dedicate the emperor's throne to the emperor, he can be directly ranked under the ancestors and will live forever. Zhu Houcong was naturally very happy about this opinion and immediately started organizing the court meeting."
