During the Song and Ming dynasties, the form and connotation of the Mount Tai ceremony were different from those in the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties.
During the Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties, it was the "Mount Tai Zen". After the emperor came to power, he would go to the head of the Five Mountains and tell God that you are still in charge of the sky, but I will be the master of the land of China from now on.
After Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, there was no longer a Zen ceremony in Taishan. The imperial envoys came to Dongyue to pray for good weather on behalf of the emperor.
In the three hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, most of the people who went to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices were officials from the Ministry of Rites, led by the royal prince. This was the first time.
Therefore, in the late spring of the first year of Taichang, when the emperor's eldest son Zhu Youxiao and his party landed from the canal pier, the governor of Shandong and the king of Lu Zhu Shouhong led their troops to welcome them.
Zhu Youxiao was a little nervous at first.
Noble blood does not mean gifted with broad knowledge. He is sixteen or seventeen years old and has been isolated in the Forbidden City since he was a child. The world he has seen and the knowledge he has accumulated may not be as good as a ten-year-old child from a wealthy family in a prosperous city in the empire.
The maiden voyage out of the deep palace will have to deal with such a big battle.
However, Zhu Youxiao soon discovered that Master Zheng's behavior after meeting with Lu King Zhu Shouxun and Zhenguo General Zhu Yipai was much more relaxed and natural than the greetings and interactions between the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the governor of Shandong.
Master Zheng was not bragging. Her relationship with the King of Lu was indeed quite deep.
Zhu Youxiao's embarrassment was reduced a lot, and he also became close to the Lufan clan, who had the same blood but had never met before.
According to the itinerary planned by the Ministry of Rites, Zhu Youxiao could stay in Lu Mansion for about ten days, then pass through Qufu and go north to Mount Tai.
The next day after staying at Prince Lu's Mansion, Zhu Youxiao became even more happy - Master Zheng introduced him to a very interesting person, Song Yingxing.
When Song Yingxing came to Prince Lu's Mansion last summer and autumn, Zheng Haizhu mentioned a few words about steam power from a modern perspective, but the actual implementation of the technology depended on this wise Ming Dynasty scientist.
After Song Yingxing caught the flash of inspiration, he quickly combined the boiler with the lever like the British craftsman Newcomen who was almost at the same time, and created a rather primitive but capable steam engine that could produce effective power. From the Yanzhou coal mine controlled by the Lu Palace , the first bucket of groundwater was pumped out.
When Zhu Youxiao appeared in front of Song Yingxing, the latter was working hard to improve Watt's steam engine, thinking about what tricks to add to solve the problem of recycling hot steam and save fuel.
Carpentry was an area in which the young prince was rarely confident, but at this moment he understood why Master Zheng kept mentioning Mr. Song to him on the ship.
In addition to tenons, there are gears, in addition to woodcraft, there is copper and iron, and in addition to stillness, there is movement, and it is not driven by human power, but the poles and wheels move by themselves.
"Cao Banban, in the next few days, do you want to meet with this official in Shandong?"
"Gone," Cao Huachun said with understanding and comfort, "Brother was just playing with Mr. Song. Our next trip is to the Confucius Mansion in Qufu. It's the end of the month."
Zhu Youxiao was overjoyed, and then murmured to himself that it would be better if he didn't have to go to the Confucius Mansion. He could watch Mr. Song do tricks for a few more days, and he could make the scooter move by burning the stove.
…
Like a child who went on vacation with his parents in later generations, Zhu Youxiao was entrusted to Song Yingxing. In addition to Cao Huachun, he was accompanied by Lu Xiangsheng.
At the same time, Zheng Haizhu was sitting in another small hall in King Lu's deep residence, discussing important matters with King Zhu Shouhong and "His Royal Highness" Zhu Yipai.
As expected by Zheng Haizhu, when King Lu heard the emperor's oral instructions brought by her, his peaceful and easy-going face suddenly became somewhat solemn.
Donglin, Zhao Nanxing and the others were all in a small position, and they arrogantly believed that Zheng Haizhu was going to take advantage of his trip to Shandong to contact Qi Shijiao, the leader of the Qi Party who was idle at home, and join the party struggle.
In fact, after the Ministry of Rites controlled by Donglin agreed to her request, Zheng Haizhu talked with Emperor Zhu Changluo in the Qianqing Palace about how to use Shandong as a test site to try to start with land taxation and touch on the current financial contradictions of the empire.
Zheng Haizhu persuaded Zhu Changluo for several reasons.
First, the Wenxiang Cult began again in Shandong, and its leader Xu Hongru gathered thousands of poor peasants in Juye and other places.
Second, Lu Fan has always had the tradition of diligent kings. In the past, when other vassal kings stood idly by when they invaded the border areas and threatened the capital, Lu Fan would mobilize the royal soldiers to go north to protect the capital. The current King of Lu, Zhu Shouhong, has been He joined the coal mine and donated silver to the emperor's inner treasury for three consecutive years, which was like voluntarily paying mining taxes.
The third reason was now spoken out by Zheng Haizhu again.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, the imperial hospital reports that Duke Yan's medicine has been ineffective, and his death will be this year."
When Zhu Shouhong and Zhu Yipai heard this, they immediately understood the reason.
The descendants of Confucius in Qufu have been hereditary Yanshenggong since the Song Dynasty. They are like nobles of the same rank, demonstrating that emperors of all dynasties respected the Confucian art of governance.
Kong Shangxian, the Duke of Yansheng of this generation, left Qufu and lived in the capital a few years ago. Now that he is seriously ill, the court naturally wants to discuss the matter of Duke Luoyan's accession to the title.
However, by coincidence, Kong Shangxian's two sons died before him, and neither of them left any heirs.
Zheng Haizhu observed King Lu's solemn expression and said bluntly: "Your Majesty, Duke Kong Shangxian has disciples, and there are more than one. Who will come to the capital to be the heir and inherit the title of Duke Yansheng depends on the Kong family. Which of your bloodlines can help the imperial court take care of its worries?"
King Zhu Shouhong of Lu whispered "That's natural" and fell silent again.
Zhu Yipai glanced at his uncle who regarded him as the heir of the Lu clan, turned to Zheng Haizhu and said: "The Kong family and the Lu family are closely related. This matter is not trivial."
Of course Zheng Haizhu understood the implication conveyed by Zhu Yipai representative Zhu Shouhong.
Zhu Changluo wants to take back some of the private fields of the Confucian family that enjoy tax-free treatment, and let the court regain control of the tax revenue from these fields. Once this is opened, whether Lu Fan, as a clan, will soon become the second Confucius family.
Zheng Haizhu sighed and said: "Your Highness, what you said is sincere. In fact, Long live the Lord is also feeling uncomfortable. Your Majesty, Your Highness, if it weren't for the slaves in Liaodong who were no longer suffering from scabies, if it weren't for the border army's lack of pay, if it weren't for the The south of the Yangtze River is a sacred place, but the amount of land distributed is decreasing. How can the emperor's oral instructions be sent to Lu first? It has been more than half a year since the emperor came to Datong. Because the internal funds were sent to Liaodong for military pay, the palace Not even one tael of silver, which is the usual reward."
Zhu Shouhong raised his eyes and said, "Why is this so important? I feel really uncomfortable hearing this."
After saying that, there was nothing more to say.
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, when it comes to digging out the meat in his bowl, even Zhu Shouhong, who is already considered the most enlightened vassal king in the Ming Dynasty clan, will not compromise easily.
She then came up with a plan approved by Zhu Changluo: "If Lu Fan can relieve the imperial court's worries, Long Live Lord will not let Lu Fan suffer. There are two ways. One is, the coal mountains in Yanzhou are so good, and the mineral veins in the west of Beijing are so good. , it can also be explored by people from Lu. Secondly, Qi Fan has extinct heirs, but Qi and Lu are originally from the same land and water. Now the waterways in Denglai are no longer troubled by Japanese invaders. Lu Fan manages the army well and mines well. Maritime trade, I think, is quite methodical."
When Zhu Yipai heard this, his eyes lit up.
Zhu Shouhong glanced at his nephew, wiped away his stern expression, and said with a smile: "When I talk about selling the sea, you become energetic. You, your name is wrong. You should be called Zhu Yihai more than your brother."
