The Prosperous Era of Longwan

On birthdays, I would like to express my gratitude to my assistant ministers and old lecturers.

Chen Yiqin's words immediately made Wei Guangde feel hot.

If he could take this opportunity to advance to another level in his current official position, wouldn't he be a minister?

Tsk tsk

Just after Wei Guangde was filled with joy for a moment, he suddenly calmed down.

The current Minister of Rites is Gao Yi, who has recently been organizing their joint request to appoint the crown prince. He is also in charge of the celebration ceremony for His Majesty's birthday. Could it be that he has had a premonition?

But, no matter how you think about it, something feels wrong.

Chen Yiqin was a little surprised to see Wei Guangde calm down.

He didn't expect that Wei Guangde would calm down so quickly when he had the opportunity to touch the minister's position at such a young age.

"Your Majesty plans to promote me and Zhengfu to the rank of minister without being in charge?"

Wei Guangde asked.

"Whether it is Gao Shangshu or Yang Shangshu, the court has no reason to remove them."

Chen Yiqin's words were actually equivalent to acknowledging Wei Guangde's guess, but then he saw him smiling and saying: "Although he is not a minister and cannot be regarded as a real minister, he can push open the door to the pavilion. Shouldn't you? Buy me a drink?"

Wei Guangde nodded, it was indeed true.

The imperial court did not give the official position of Shangshu casually, except for the Zhengde and Jiajing emperors who were more casual.

A carpenter can be awarded the title of Minister of the Ministry of Industry because he builds a palace well.

A medical officer can be awarded the title of Minister of Rites because he saved the emperor's life.

Although the code stipulates that the six departments are composed of one minister and two ministers, the actual situation is not the case at all. The number of ministers and ministers has long been overnumbered. In order to improve their rank, all ministers in the cabinet have the title of minister.

"Am I the Minister of Ceremony?"

Wei Guangde asked.

In his opinion, since Chen Yiqin knew about this, Emperor Longqing must have discussed it with him.

"Ministry of Staff."

Unexpectedly, when Chen Yiqin opened his mouth, he said the name of another yamen, "Zhengfu is the Minister of the Ministry of Etiquette."

Wei Guangde blinked, then nodded as if understanding.

But in fact, he did not understand Emperor Longqing's idea of ​​​​not being promoted to minister in his yamen, but to another yamen.

"If you were the Minister of Rites, it would be awkward to meet Gao Yi. The same goes for Zhengfu."

Chen Yiqin was the first to explain, "But the original position remains unchanged."

Wei Guangde actually understood this, which was to do the work of a minister and enjoy the treatment of a minister.

However, thinking that he would soon become a heavenly official, the smile that had disappeared reappeared on his face.

"Haha, by the way, why did you invite me here?"

Chen Yiqin asked again.

After being asked by him, Wei Guangde remembered the purpose of looking for him and hurriedly told Chen Yiqin the news he heard yesterday.

"Is this happening?"

Apparently, Chen Yiqin didn't know that Li Fang was sent home to live idle by Emperor Longqing.

In the past, their news was conveyed from the palace by Li Fang. Now that Li Fang committed a crime, the source of news was naturally cut off.

And Wei Guangde is not only on Li Fang's side, he also has Chen Ju's side.

"Chen Ju came to me last night and said that I feel that your Majesty has changed a lot since he ascended the throne."

Wei Guangde said.

"His Royal Highness has become His Majesty. He has changed a lot. Li Fang still used the same method as Yu Zhuan to persuade him."

Chen Yiqin put down his chopsticks and lowered his head in deep thought.

"I have tried to persuade him before, but you also know Li Fang's temperament. He only said, 'Just be honest.' What else can you ask me to say."

Wei Guangde sighed and said.

"Too straight."

For Li Fang, people from Yu Zhuan's family actually admired him very much. Even Gao Gong, such an arrogant person, treated Li Fang as an equal.

Gao Gong actually didn't have a good attitude toward eunuchs. Even Feng Bao, who had once been the eunuch of the Bureau of Ceremony, did not have any other words to express when he was in Yuzhuan.

"Who will succeed Li Fang in the palace now?"

Chen Yiqin asked the key point. Li Fang was an old friend for many years, so it was impossible not to help. Moreover, with him by the emperor's side, they felt at ease, knowing that he would watch over the emperor and prevent him from making mistakes, at least not big ones.

"Li Fang is just living idle and has not been dismissed from office."

Wei Guangde said.

"Then there is hope."

Chen Yiqin immediately made a judgment, "I will ask to see Your Majesty this afternoon to test the situation."

"Well, be careful with your words in front of His Majesty. After all, we are no longer hiding."

Wei Guangde just reminded.

This matter cannot be postponed. There are a lot of things going on in the palace every day, and it is impossible to keep the position of admiral vacant forever.

If it's too late, I'm afraid other eunuchs in the palace will intervene and divide Li Fang's errands.

What they didn't know was that Chen Hong, Teng Xiang, Feng Bao, Zhang Jing and others in the palace had actually reached an agreement privately in the morning, and now they were all singing in harmony in front of Emperor Longqing to divide the land on a temporary basis. Li Fang's rights.

Regarding the news and reaction speed involving the palace, the foreign ministers are always unable to match the internal ministers. Moreover, most of the so-called great eunuchs were taught by Hanlin officials in the inner study hall, and the knowledge of many of them is no worse than that of the Jinshi. , even better.

This is also the reason why emperors often chose eunuchs to suppress the court in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

Of course, Wei Zhongxian and a few other eunuchs were exceptions.

At the end of the banquet, when the banquet was about to end, Wei Guangde suddenly asked about the appointment of the crown prince and how the cabinet voted for it.

"We discussed this matter this morning, and we must be supportive. Gao Zixiang seized the opportunity very well."

Wei Guangde nodded. It seemed that the cabinet was well aware of the fact that Queen Chen was not favored in the palace.

When he reached the door of the elegant room, Chen Yiqin suddenly stopped again and blocked the door.

When Wei Guangde was surprised, he heard Chen Yiqin say: "Actually, after knowing about Li Fang, what I am most worried about is that His Majesty intends to destroy the queen."

Wei Guangde couldn't help but open his mouth. He hadn't thought about this yet because his memory was not very impressed by Emperor Longqing, but he didn't know whether the emperor had done this.

However, Queen Chen's situation today is actually similar to that of Li Fang. Because her advice made the emperor unhappy, she was forced to move out of Kunning Palace and move to another palace.

If it hadn't been for Li Fang, Chen Yiqin would never have thought of it. But since the eunuch who had followed the emperor for many years was punished at his request, the fate of Empress Chen had become unpredictable.

But the queen is always the mother of the country. Whether Emperor Longqing likes it or not, she is the successor chosen by the late emperor. As long as there is no big mistake, she should not be deposed, otherwise it will easily lead to chaos in the harem.

What's more, no one in Yu Zhuan's circle could say anything bad about Queen Chen's style.

The foreign ministers really had no control over how many concubines Emperor Longqing wanted to have, but it was just a matter of the queen, and the foreign ministers really had a say.

"Brother Yifu, you can rest assured at this time. Even if you try to quit the official position, your Majesty will never be allowed to do this."

Wei Guangde said.

Chen Yiqin nodded first, then shook his head, sighed and then pushed out the door.

Wei Guangde also shook his head and followed him out of the private room and back to the Rites Department Yamen.

Not long after returning to the Ministry of Rites, Wei Guangde took a large group of officials to the Shuntian Prefecture Gongyuan for inspection. Although he had not decided to take the exam, Wei Guangde knew that he had a high probability of being selected, so he was particularly concerned about this matter and took care of it himself.

You know, he couldn't leave Gongyuan for half a month after the exam started, and he had to live in it from the date of the decree until the results were announced.

On the second day, Wei Guangde had not received any news from Chen Yiqin, but a bad premonition had already arisen.

But at this time, officials from the Ministry of Rites gathered in the main hall to receive the order.

The Ministry of Rites requested the appointment of a crown prince, and Emperor Longqing agreed. He ordered the Ministry of Rites to handle the matter and select a day to set up the ceremony.

In the afternoon, Chen Yiqin still didn't contact Wei Guangde. He was already desperate and knew that Li Fang couldn't do anything, otherwise Chen Yiqin wouldn't deal with it in this way.

If there was good news, Chen Yiqin would have sent someone to inform him last night.

Feng Bao

Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of this name again.

On the third day, the emperor's decree to grant favor to his ministers and old lecturers was issued.

Xu Jieyin, a bachelor, has a son who is the Sicheng of Shangbaosi. Li Chunfang is also the crown prince's grand master and a bachelor of Jianji Hall. They are given a salary of the first grade. Chen Yiqin, the young master and the crown prince's Taifu, and Zhang Juzheng, the Shaobao and the crown prince's Taibao, are each given one piece of clothing. , Wei Guangde, minister of the Ministry of Rites and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, was the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, and Yin Shidan, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, was promoted to the minister of the Ministry of rites and still took charge of the original affairs.

With Xu Jie as the leader, the officials who had received the favor were invited to resign, but the superiors issued edicts and compliments but refused to do so.

Because the appointment to the East Palace had been decided, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty came forward to congratulate him one after another. They went to the Wenhua Hall to congratulate the Crown Prince, and the seal officer arranged for the Crown Prince to sit in the palace.

But just when he was beaming with joy, Wei Guangde was called back from the Gongyuan by Gao Yi.

Entering Gao Yi's check-in room, after the two exchanged greetings, Gao Yi went straight to the topic and said: "Shandai, today I inspected the registration of the crown prince's ceremonial inscription, and found many flaws."

"Is this happening?"

Wei Guangde was suspicious that the ritual notes were copied from the previous registration ceremony, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with them.

"In the 15th year of Jiajing's reign, the East Palace had its yellow tiles renovated. At that time, the late emperor also set up a throne in the Wenhua Hall."

Gaoyi said.

As soon as he reminded him, Wei Guangde immediately woke up.

Unlike what people saw in the Forbidden City in later generations, during the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, almost the entire palace was covered with yellow tiles to show nobility, but this was not the case in the Ming Dynasty.

Only the emperor's and queen's bedrooms, as well as some palaces where the emperor had activities, such as the three main halls, can use yellow tiles, while other palaces use green tiles. This is to avoid the suspicion of overstepping.

This is where the term “green tiles and red walls” comes from.

When the Forbidden City was completed in the 18th year of Yongle's reign, the Wenhua Hall was located on the east side of the Fengtian Hall. Like the Wenhua Hall in Nanjing University, it was also used to assist the East Palace.

Wenhua Hall is located on the north side of Wenhua Gate, facing south. The front and rear halls are connected by corridors. The plane is in the shape of "I", which is basically the same structure as the current Wenhua Hall, but the roof is covered with green tiles.

According to the Five Elements Theory of the Book of Changes, the center of the royal family is earth, and earth is yellow, so yellow has become the most noble color, and royal buildings are often topped with yellow.

However, not everyone in the royal family can use yellow. For example, on the roof, if the Prince's Palace is covered with yellow tiles, it would be considered inappropriate, so the Wenhua Palace is covered with green glazed tiles.

Green belongs to the east among the five elements, which is consistent with the location of the Wenhua Palace; green also represents growth, which is consistent with the status of the crown prince.

It was stipulated in the early Ming Dynasty that when the emperor went on tour, the prince would supervise the country in the Wenhua Hall; when the emperor was seriously ill, the prince would watch the court in the Wenhua Hall.

In addition, the prince used the Wenhua Hall as his place of study and worship from the time he left the imperial court to the time he ascended the throne.

During the period of "leaving the palace" to study, the prince studied and had lunch in the Wenhua Palace, and returned to the palace to sleep in the evening.

Around the age of fourteen, the prince held a "crown ceremony" in the Wenhua Hall to mark his adulthood.

On important days such as the crown prince's inauguration and the prince's birthday, the prince also receives congratulations from officials in the Wenhua Hall.

It can be said that what later generations called the "East Palace" was actually the Wenhua Palace, not the residence of the prince.

In the 15th year of Jiajing's reign, the Huangwa tiles were changed, and the throne was set up because Emperor Zhu Houcong of Jiajing was originally a vassal king in a corner of Hubei Province. It happened that his cousin Emperor Zhengde died without a son, and his biological brother died in infancy, so he was summoned to the capital to become emperor. .

The process of ascending the throne went through many twists and turns. After Zhu Houcong entered the Forbidden City, a fire broke out in the Qianqing Palace where the emperor originally lived in the previous dynasty. The restoration had not yet been completed, so he could only temporarily live in the Wenhua Palace.

For Emperor Jiajing, Wenhua Palace seemed to have served as his "Qianlong Residence" in Beijing to a certain extent. In the later "Daliyi Controversy", he tried to posthumously title his biological father and honor him as Huang Kao to prove the rationality of his succession. Is this an important reason why Wenhua Hall was later restored to yellow tiles?

In any case, starting from the 15th year of Jiajing reign, Wenhua Palace was no longer the prince's palace. It was restored with yellow tiles and became the emperor's private palace.

The ceremonial notes for the registration of the crown prince are centered on the Wenhua Palace, but the current situation of the Wenhua Palace is no longer suitable for the registration of the crown prince, so Gao Yi felt that it was very difficult and summoned Wei Guangde to discuss the matter.

As for changing the yellow tiles on the Wenhua Palace to green tiles and removing the original throne of Emperor Jiajing, neither Gao Yi nor Wei Guangde dared to make such a proposal.

Speaking of which, the Li Ke and the people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate still don't know how they will be impeached.

If the enrolment ceremony cannot be held in the Wenhua Hall, then where should it be held?

Changing the place seemed to violate the regulations. The prince sat in the Wenhua Hall, which was stipulated by the regulations.

Wenhua Hall, Wenhua Hall.

Wei Guangde lowered his head and thought about the structure of Wenhua Hall, then suddenly raised his head and said: "Gao Shangshu, I remember that Wenhua Hall has a main hall and an apse, as well as an east corridor and a west side hall.

Since the main hall has a throne and is not suitable for use as a hall for enthroning treasures, can it be replaced with the back hall or the east corridor and west side hall? "

"The back hall cannot be used. It was the late emperor's palace for a period of time after he entered the capital. I think it is better to use the side hall."

Gao Yi made his decision after thinking about it, "I'll play it right away and we'll sign it together."

"good."

Wei Guangde nodded immediately and said.

After coming out of GROHE's check-in room, Wei Guangde went straight back to his own check-in room. He planned to wait until the office was over and go directly to Chen Yiqin's house to ask what was going on.

Chen Ju hadn't been to his home in the past two days, so he didn't know if anything had changed in the palace.

But just as he was about to leave the Yamen, an imperial edict suddenly appeared in the Ministry of Rites.

"The Bingxu Conference examines the tributes from all over the world, and the examiners are Li Chunfang, the Shaofu who is also the Crown Prince's Grand Master, Li Bu Shangshu, Jianji Palace Scholar, and Wei Guangde, the Li Bu Shangshu and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy."

After receiving the order, Wei Guangde was "escorted" by the eunuch who sent the order all the way to the Gongyuan of Shuntian Prefecture.

When Wei Guangde walked into the gate of Gongyuan, the wooden door slowly closed behind him. Looking at Li Chunfang, the second minister of the cabinet in front of him, Wei Guangde hurriedly stepped forward to salute. (End of chapter)