The Huangji Hall was densely packed with ministers.
Even the square outside the Huangji Palace was filled with ministers, among whom there was a separate group of foreigners wearing strange clothes. These were the envoys of the four foreign countries.
Chongzhen glanced at the group of ministers. If nothing else happened, there were a total of 528 ministers attending the banquet, because this was the number of people reported to attend the banquet by the Ministry of Rites and Taichang Temple.
It was the first time he saw so many ministers gathered together, and he was amazed by the visual impact.
"Daban, how many officials are there in the capital?"
"Your Majesty, among the cabinet, six ministries, nine ministers and other civil servants in Beijing, there are more than 400 senior and seventh-rank officials, and there are more than 200 military attachés.
If those from the ninth rank are included, the entire capital is estimated to have around 2,000 to 2,500 people. "
Chongzhen frowned after hearing this. Nanjing still has a team. Judging from this, there are more than 400 civil servants in Nanjing.
The team in Nanjing is a nursing home and a trash can for ministers. Some of them are preparing to retire. The court sent them over to make a transition.
Secondly, those who did not do well in Beijing, those who offended others but were not dismissed from their posts, were sent to Nanjing to live their lives.
But without exception, the officials in the Six Ministries of Nanjing were all ministers with administrative experience, including many famous ministers.
When the situation becomes more stable, Nanjing must be abolished and officials from the south can return to the north.
But this thought just passed by for a moment, and then his face returned to normal. This kind of situation is not the time to delve into this.
All the ministers paid homage and shouted, "Long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live my emperor." Their voices soared into the sky and echoed throughout the entire city of Beijing.
"My dear friends, no courtesy!"
Chongzhen sat on the throne and said in a deep voice.
Then the ministers began to congratulate them, saying that the weather was good, the country was peaceful and the people were safe, etc.
Of course, the congratulatory ones are all the six ministers, nine ministers and nobles, and those of low rank have no right to speak.
It took nearly half an hour for the courtiers to finish congratulating him.
Chongzhen glanced at Wang Chengen, who immediately stepped forward, and Fang Wen, who was behind him, immediately handed over an imperial edict.
Seeing the imperial edict in Wang Chengen's hand, the expressions of the officials who were smiling just now suddenly changed.
Everyone had solemn expressions and straightened their clothes. Then, under the leadership of Sun Chengzong and four others, they all knelt down.
In the Huangji Hall, except for Wang Chengen who read out the imperial edict, and Chongzhen who was sitting on the dragon chair, there was no one standing in the hall.
The ministers outside Huangji Palace watched the ministers in the palace kneel down, and everyone also knelt down.
"The emperor, who was entrusted by heaven, issued an edict: In the past, my Ming ancestor's treasured teachings have been followed since ancient times... From now on, the name of the year will be changed to Chongzhen. It will be the first year of Chongzhen. It will be updated with the people, and it will be announced at home and abroad. The envoys will hear about it and consult with all directions. You should know my wishes and admire this!"
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
…
Congratulations like a tsunami echoed through the sky.
This imperial edict is clearly the "Edict to Change the Yuan Dynasty". As the name suggests, it is the edict for the emperor to change his reign name.
The new emperor's reign names were drafted as Qiansheng, Xingfu, Xianjia, and Chongzhen, and Chongzhen was finally chosen. The reign name was adopted in the first year of the new emperor's accession to the throne.
Hearing the congratulations, Chongzhen felt a little carried away, and then he became alert again.
Although the situation has changed now, it is still far from a complete change. If you make one mistake, you may eventually end up in trouble, and everything must continue.
"My dear friends, no courtesy!"
After all the ministers stood up, Chongzhen said: "Sun Aiqing, please greet all the beloved ministers on my behalf. I will go to the back court first and come back later!"
"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"
The ministers knelt down again.
After Chongzhen left, the hall immediately started talking.
"Okay, okay, the new era name means a new beginning, and the Ming Dynasty will surely rise."
"Chongzhen is equal to revival. It turns out that His Majesty had already made great ambitions when he chose the reign name."
"Qian Sheng, Qian represents heaven, and together they are a born saint. His Majesty said that he is not worthy, which is obviously self-effacing.
Although what His Majesty has done since he ascended the throne is still far from a saint, as long as that dream comes true, he will become a saint if not a saint. "
"Yes, there is also Xingfu. Xing usually means prosperity and resurgence, but His Majesty's dream is not to revive the Ming Dynasty, but to bring the Ming Dynasty to a new level again.
If the goal in that article could be achieved, it would surpass Taizu. "
…
The ministers all shouted...slap the dragon's fart. Li Guopu's lips twitched when he heard this, but he was also full of doubts in his heart.
As the only remaining member of the four cabinets when the new emperor ascended the throne, he knew exactly what the situation was like.
How could the ministers say something so mysterious? He remembered clearly that the original emperor seemed a bit...humble, so he excluded the two reign titles of Qian Sheng and Xing Fu.
Xianjia is simply a taboo, because the right side of the word "Xian" is "ge", and the new emperor does not want to think of weapons.
In the end, he had no choice but to choose the reign name Chongzhen.
But now looking at the various actions of the new emperor, it seems that it is really because Chongzhen means revitalization.
Because Wei Zhongxian had a fierce power struggle with the Donglin Party and he had no power, he used this as an excuse that he was not worthy and did not want to use weapons.
The initial performance was all fake, and the purpose was to paralyze the officials!
After thinking about it, Li Guopu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time he was even more in awe of the emperor.
Naturally, Chongzhen, who was receiving the salutes of the queen and concubines in the back court, did not know all this.
If he knew, he would probably die laughing, these people have gone too far.
If he was asked to choose again, he would choose Qian Sheng, no matter whether he was worthy or not, as long as he sounded domineering.
Looking at the five people in the harem including Queen Zhou, Concubine Yuan Guifei, Concubine Tian Guifei, Concubine Wang Shun, and Concubine Liu, he sighed.
Normally, one should accept salutes from concubines, princes and grandsons, but now there are not even princes, let alone emperors and grandsons.
It seems that you have to work hard, and if the rain and dew are evenly distributed, you will have a few dragon sons.
"Your Majesty!"
Wang Chengen was holding a plate with several purses embroidered with the words "Safe Sui Sui" on it.
"It's Chinese New Year, everyone gets a red envelope for good luck!"
Chongzhen handed several purses to the queen and others, then picked up another and handed it to Queen Zhang aside.
"Sister-in-law, here is a certificate of fifty thousand taels of silver. You can withdraw it from the internal fund at any time. When you have spent it, you can ask me for it. It can be regarded as a New Year's gift."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhang Yan was very happy, not for money, but because Chongzhen remembered her.
Chongzhen's parents and brothers have both passed away, and Zhang Yan is his only elder. Of course, there is also his uncle Fu Wang who lives far away in Luoyang.
After chatting with the girls for a while, Chongzhen left. He was going to the Huangji Hall to entertain officials.
In the Huangji Hall, under the guidance of the ministers of Honglu Temple and Guanglu Temple, and with the concerted efforts of many eunuchs and sergeants, the entire Huangji Hall was filled with sixty-eight tables.
There are still four levels: upper table, upper middle table, middle table, and lower table. Wine and food are also served one after another.
PS: The Huangji Hall is 35.05 meters high, 63 meters from east to west, and 35 meters from north to south. It covers an area of more than 2,380 square meters. It is easy to set up tables for fifty or sixty people.
Everyone noticed something was wrong when they looked at it.
