The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The capital of the Ming Dynasty, the Forbidden City, has passed.

Usually, officials begin to enter the palace around five o'clock in the morning, but today is an exception. Officials of all fifth grades and above in the capital have gathered here to begin entering the palace.

Civil servants enter through the Zuoye Gate, and military officers enter through the Youye Gate. They are first arranged in order according to their grades in the south of the Jinshui Bridge. After the whip is sounded, they cross the bridge in turn until they reach Danqi outside the Huangji Hall.

The civil servants were on the left side and the military officers were on the right side. The two sides faced each other on the imperial road and established marquises. During this period, only the censor in charge of inspections walked around to supervise.

In the square below, because King Yu had not summoned the fifth-rank officials from the capital, only more than 200 dignitaries in the capital and important ministers in the court were present to witness the enthronement ceremony of King Yu today.

Although the scene is a little more deserted than that of previous emperors, the imperial meeting will be held tomorrow, and the new emperor will hold the "Chang Dynasty Royal Gate Ceremony" at Huangji Gate. It will be the emperor's first meeting with officials in Beijing.

Like everyone else around him, Wei Guangde wore brand new court clothes and mingled with the crowd.

His official position is neither high nor low, neither in the front nor in the back.

At this time, the officials of Honglu Temple, who had been idle for many years, began to get busy. They passed the decree in Zhongji Hall and all officials were exempted from congratulations, and the deacons sang a thank-you ceremony.

At the beginning of noon, amid the sound of ritual music, the deacons invited the emperor to ascend to the palace. At this time, Zhu Zaijing, who had changed into a gongmian robe in the Zhongji Hall, came out of the middle gate and sat on the throne of the Emperor's Palace.

This was the emperor's enthronement ceremony. From the moment King Yu sat on the throne, he became the twelfth emperor of the Ming Empire.

"Pah, pah. pah."

The imperial guards blew their whips and the officials of Honglu Temple sang praises. All the officials bowed five times and kowtowed three times to the emperor on the throne.

During the whole process, except for following the officials of Honglu Temple to shout salutes, everyone remained silent, showing a solemn and solemn atmosphere.

Throughout the whole process, Wei Guangde stood outside the Huangji Palace and could only see King Yu on the throne inside the palace.

He knew that from this moment on, the prince who chatted with him casually in Prince Yu's Mansion would never go back.

The ceremony ended here, and the civil servants were led by Xu Jie, the chief assistant, while the nobles and military officers were led by Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Chengguo, and went out to Chengtian Gate.

Here, King Yu obtained some small benefits for him, as he no longer had to follow the officials to wait under the Chengtian Gate.

As Hou Honglu, the minister of the temple, entered the palace to ask the emperor to issue the edict, Wei Guangde, who was a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, was already standing in the Huangji Hall holding the edict from the side door.

This is the first time Wei Guangde has come here since he has been an official for so many years.

King Yu, this should be Emperor Zhu Zaijing of the Ming Dynasty. He looked at the people around him, then at the officials waiting below, and then said: "Issue an edict."

Wei Guangde walked out and handed the edict in his hand to Chen Yiqin, the Minister of Rites, and placed it on the cloud plate on the case in the middle of the palace.

After the officials of Honglu Temple, Chen Yiqin and Wei Guangde saluted the emperor on the throne again, Chen Yiqin placed the imperial edict in Yun Yu and welcomed him all the way to Chengtian Gate, followed by Wei Guangde and others.

Wei Guangde was actually very familiar with the edict in Chen Yiqin's hand. He had read it before. After all, it was drafted by the Hanlin Academy.

"Edict of Amnesty to the World".

The emperor has just ascended the throne, which means that a new era is coming. In order to announce this to the world, the new emperor often offers amnesty to the world, and at the same time to promote his benevolence to the people. This is also the so-called "the new emperor ascends the throne, and the world is amnesty". origin.

According to historical records, there was no general amnesty for the emperor before the Qin Dynasty.

The practice of amnesty began in the Han Dynasty, and became even more extreme in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The frequency of amnesties was quite high. On average, the emperor would issue an amnesty once every year and a half.

Therefore, the maximum prison sentence in the Tang Dynasty was only 3 years, which makes sense.

On average, there will be an amnesty once every eighteen months. Sentencing criminals to three years in prison is actually meaningless. Therefore, prisoners in the Tang and Song Dynasties rarely served the full two years in prison.

This is reflected in the novel "Water Margin" with the historical background of the Song Dynasty.

At that time, Song Jiang killed Yan Poxi in anger and committed a murder. As a result, his father Song Taigong said to him: "Son, go to Jiangzhou to serve as an army. Don't become a robber! Wait for a year and a half, and the emperor will grant amnesty. There is another hero in the world!"

Therefore, when Liangshan heroes basically committed a murder, they would hide to avoid the limelight, and then wait for the amnesty to come.

Following Chen Yiqin, he stood on the Chengtian Gate and looked at the court officials kneeling on the ground below. Wei Guangde still felt a little proud at this time.

He stood quietly next to Chen Yiqin and saw him holding up the edict, unfolding it, and reading it out.

"Only my ancestors, the saints and saints, have achieved great achievements in governance and transcended the eternity. I, the emperor of Daxing, have built peace at home and resist foreigners with the virtues of scriptures, martial arts and foreign affairs. They have glorified the past dynasties and protected future generations. I am fortunate to be honored as a distinguished guest forever." , The special words of Ji Pingji are of great importance to the gods. I feel guilty and cannot bear to hear them. However, the civil and military ministers and the senior soldiers and civilians jointly urged us to advance. As for the repeated words of refusal, we obeyed the imperial edict on the 26th of this month. Only tell the world, the ancestral temple, and the country, that is, the emperor's position.

Let next year be the first year of Longqing, and look forward to the final announcement. From April of the 16th year of Zhengde to December of the 45th year of Jiajing, I made suggestions that offended all ministers, and obeyed the imperial edict. Those who survived were summoned, and those who died were recorded. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ceremony and Military Affairs will conduct a quick investigation."

When King Yu ascended the throne and became Emperor Longqing, what he had to do had already been discussed with Gao Gong and others.

On the second day, Emperor Longqing successively issued decrees, releasing Hai Rui, the head of the Household Department, and ordered Qintian to supervise the creation of the Datong Calendar of the first year of Longqing, which would be used throughout the world and be cast to the general envoy Si Longqing.

On the Zhengdan Festival next year, I will send Yutian Bo Jiang Rong, Pengcheng Bo Zhang Xiong, Cheng'an Bo Guo Yingqian, Qingping Bo Wu Jiayan to offer sacrifices to Changling, Xianling, Jingling, Yuling, Maoling, Tailing, Kangling, Yongling, and Jinyiwei respectively. The commander of the capital, Tongzhi Wangji, paid homage to Emperor Jing's mausoleum, the commander of Jinyiwei, commander of Tongzhi Wen Chengwu, paid homage to Queen Xiaojie, the second prince Aichong, and the second prince Zhuang Jing, and the middle official paid homage to Queen Gongrang Zhang and the crown prince of the deposed Empress Wu and Rongshu Kangfei Li. The cemeteries of King Lantian.

Later, the Minister of Rites, Gao Yi, reported to Daxing that the emperor's funeral attire had been completed. However, the emperor, mindful of the importance of the ancestral temple and the country, wanted to spare his grief, and went out to the imperial xuanzhi gate to listen to political reports. He ordered the imperial gate to inspect the affairs on the second day of the first month of the first year. Come and smell it.

In the time that followed, the court was still focused on organizing the funeral of Emperor Jiajing and the things that needed to be done for the new emperor's enthronement. The Ministry of Rites was pushing forward one by one, but they were not worried about any mistakes.

By this time, the former grass-roots team of Prince Yu's Mansion was actually no longer useful.

In the past, it was Wei Guangde and others who reminded King Yu of what he should and should not do, but now it has become the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites.

The yamen where Wei Guangde worked were all high-ranking officials, or they were busy doing errands, but he didn't really wait for his free days.

Emperor Longqing summoned Wei Guangde alone, and all the eunuchs in the palace were kicked out, leaving only him.

This meeting also allowed Wei Guangde to truly understand the current situation in the court, and also determined his main work in the early days of Longqing.

In the past two days, that is, after Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, Wei Guangde has not been summoned to the palace, so after the ceremony, he was asked about his situation at the beginning.

But soon, Emperor Longqing talked about the conflict that broke out in front of him in the palace yesterday between Chief Assistant Xu Jie and Gao Gong.

"Yesterday, Mr. Xu, the chief assistant, proposed that Zhang Juzheng, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, should be promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites because he participated in the drafting of his father's imperial edict. Master Gao refuted it face to face, saying that the imperial edict was originally participated by cabinet ministers like them. Mr. Xu Ge violated the rules by doing this."

Long Qing spoke from the throne. In the past, he heard officials quarreling in the court in Prince Yu's Mansion for the purpose of fighting for the right to speak. He thought it was interesting at the time, but now Xu Jie and Gao Gong staged such a scene in front of him, which made him very sad. It's difficult.

"Master Gao actually expressed his dissatisfaction with this matter when he returned to the palace that day. It is understandable that Mr. Xu Ge was very careful in his work."

Wei Guangde could only say below, but what he was thinking about at this time was that Zhang Juzheng was about to become the right minister of the Ministry of Rites and truly enter the court as an official.

"So what happened to this matter in the end? Is there any result?"

Wei Guangde continued.

"At that time, neither Mr. Li Ge nor Mr. Guo Ge participated, so there was no final outcome of the debate."

Emperor Longqing said calmly, and then said with some suspicion: "This happened just now. I still remember what happened when I was in the palace. Do you think Mr. Xu Ge doesn't know about it? Why is he so eager to help Zhang Juzheng enter the Ministry of Rites? ?”

Yes, Xu Jie was not unaware of the consequences of drafting the edict without authorization, to the extent that Li Chunfang refused to speak for him, but he still did it, naturally in order to completely break up Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong.

And why is there such a rush to promote Zhang Juzheng to an official position?

Do you think that after Zhang Juzheng stayed in Prince Yu's Mansion for a few years and developed some affection with the emperor, the emperor would take exception to this matter and give him a promotion?

Wei Guangde quickly calculated in his mind and was at a loss at first, but he soon thought about time.

It is still the Jiajing year. In December of the 45th year of Jiajing, it will be the Zhengdan Festival, followed by the new dynasty. In previous years, at this time, all the ministers would go to court to summarize their gains and losses in the year's work.

Under the current circumstances, does Xu Jie still dare to set a low-level evaluation for Li Chunfang, Guo Pu and other cabinet ministers and kick them out of the cabinet?

Zhang Juzheng, according to what Yin Shizhen said privately, will soon join the cabinet.

Participating in the late emperor's edict means that he is trusted by the royal family, and drafting the edict means that he has met the criteria for joining the cabinet and can work in the cabinet on errands.

Xu Jie's current situation in the cabinet is that he is eager to bring Zhang Juzheng into the cabinet as a helping hand, otherwise his power in the cabinet will gradually be taken away by Gao Gong.

"Of course Mr. Xu Ge knows that other cabinet ministers are dissatisfied with him. I think he has no choice. Mr. Gao Ge is becoming more and more forceful in his words and actions. I am afraid that he has already started fighting with Mr. Xu Ge in the cabinet.

Mr. Xu Ge wanted to let his uncle join the Ministry of Rites, probably because he wanted him to join the cabinet as soon as possible so that he could be recruited as an aid. "

"Joining the cabinet? There are already four ministers in the cabinet."

Emperor Longqing paused as he said this, a little surprised as to why he thought so.

Yes, when did the Ming Dynasty stipulate the number of cabinet ministers?

Perhaps, it was just because during the Jiajing Dynasty, the number of cabinet ministers was limited to only three people for a long time, which gave Emperor Longqing and everyone the illusion that there should only be so many cabinet ministers.

"Zhang Juzheng enters the cabinet"

Emperor Longqing subconsciously repeated this sentence because he was thinking of the note left by Emperor Jiajing, which also recognized Zhang Juzheng's ability.

"His Majesty."

Wei Guangde saw Long Qing in a daze and called out softly.

"Has Master Gao changed?"

Emperor Longqing on the throne suddenly asked for no reason.

Wei Guangde often talked about this with Yin Shizhen and Li Fang, and even Zhang Juzheng discussed it, but he never mentioned it in front of King Yu.

But thinking about it, now that he is in a different position, he thinks about different things.

Wei Guangde was still hesitating, but Emperor Longqing on the throne already said: "I understand."

Emperor Longqing was not a fool. In fact, his years in the palace taught him to observe words and emotions. Wei Guangde's hesitation actually gave him the answer.

"During this period, I have been discussing with the cabinet the posthumous titles of the late emperor and several queens, as well as the matter of moving the mausoleum. Gaoyi has already made preparations for the registration of the queen and princes.

When these things are taken care of, I will give you rewards for those of you who are in trouble. "

Having said this, Emperor Longqing looked at Wei Guangde and asked, "Do you want to go to the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Personnel?"

"I don't dare to take credit. It is my blessing to work in the palace and do errands. I don't dare to ask for rewards from your majesty."

Although he was very reluctant, Emperor Longqing wanted to reward him, and Wei Guangde couldn't care less at this time, so he had to kneel down and speak.

The system of the Ming Dynasty is really interesting sometimes. After meeting Emperor Longqing for so long, Wei Guangde knelt down to him in private for the first time.

In Wei Guangde's view, places like the enthronement ceremony and court meetings are exceptions, where one must kneel down. Even when playing at court meetings, one has to kneel down to perform, but in private situations there are not so many rules.

"Pingsheng, here is just like in the palace. You don't have to kneel down."

Emperor Longqing said.

Wei Guangde bowed again and then stood up.

But the moment he stood up, Wei Guangde suddenly understood Xu Jie's plan.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Xu Ge may have calculated this matter correctly, so he wanted to be the first to let his uncle become the right minister of the Ministry of Rites."

After Wei Guangde stood up, he immediately spoke.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Emperor Longqing asked in confusion.

"If you issue a separate decree to promote Zhang Juzheng, it will not be counted as your Majesty's reward for the ministers who have been buried in Zhuan."

Wei Guangde replied.

"Are you saying that moving to the Ministry of Rites is a reward for Zhang Juzheng's participation in drafting the edict, and that I will give him another reward after I confer a reward on Qian Zhuan?"

Emperor Longqing asked with a frown.

"Mr. Xu Ge must have calculated this."

Wei Guangde replied.

Wei Guangde actually didn't care whether he would offend Xu Jie, as he had Gao Gong in front of him.

What happened in the cabinet a few days ago is still vivid in his mind. Xu Jie and Gao Gong are already at odds with each other in the cabinet. Even if he offends Xu Jie, he doesn't dare to fall out with him right now, because it will make Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin and others unite to fight against him.

"In addition, if Mr. Xu Ge really wants Zhang Juzheng to join the cabinet as a minister, your Majesty may wish to arrange for Yifu to join the cabinet as well."

Wei Guangde did not consider letting himself join the cabinet at this time, but thought about confusing the cabinet first.

If Zhang Juzheng entered the cabinet as a minister because of his merits in drafting the imperial edict, then Chen Yiqin was the left minister of the Ministry of Rites and an old friend of Qianchuan, so he was even more qualified to enter the cabinet.

"But Mr. Guo Ge."

Hearing Emperor Longqing talk about Guo Pu, Wei Guangde shook his head, "They will only agree on major matters. From yesterday's dispute in front of the emperor, Mr. Guo Ge remained silent. It can be seen that he does not want to get involved in these matters."

"Go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and help me think about what positions Wang Ning, Yin Leshun and others should take in the past two days."