Chapter 29: The Sun Rises and the Moon Stays in the Middle

The tenth day of June.

Today is a grand day. The Ming Dynasty will welcome a new emperor, Zhu Yijun, who will be crowned and ascend the throne today.

The sun had not yet risen, but the entire Forbidden City seemed to come alive and was filled with vitality.

Countless palace maids, soldiers, and ceremonial guards walked through the imperial city.

Sacrificial incense and burning candles were placed in advance in the sacrificial halls.

At this time, Zhu Yijun was wearing ceremonial clothes and kneeling before the spirit tablet of the late emperor.

"My father, the late Emperor, has left me here to take care of the sacred artifact."

"The civil and military officials, as well as the military and civilian elders, all spoke in unison to persuade him to take the throne, but he refused again and again."

"I obey the will and follow public opinion, and today I ascend the throne as emperor."

After saying this, he bowed once, then twice, three times, and even four times.

After four bows.

Zhu Yijun threw the edict in his hand into the fire, and a thick cloud of green smoke lingered above the spirit tablet of the late emperor.

Then, he turned to the two palaces and said, "My mother, Queen Mother Chen, is here, and my mother, Queen Mother Li, is here. I, your son, will take the throne as the emperor today."

After saying this, he bowed four times again.

Empress Dowager Li's eyes were filled with tears and she was speechless.

Empress Dowager Chen gently helped him up and said, "The ancestral temple and the country are now entrusted to the emperor."

Zhu Yijun held his hand and said solemnly: "I will remember this."

Then, in this hall, the female official came forward, helped him take off his veil and put on his crown.

The twelve chapters of Black Robe and Yellow Skirt were applied to Zhu Yijun for the first time.

The outer garment is woven with the sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons and Chinese insects.

The inner skirt is embroidered with Zong Yi, Zao, Huo, Fen Mi, Fu and Fu.

Empress Dowager Chen crowned him personally.

It was round in front and square in the back, black on the outside and purple on the inside, and its twelve tassels covered Zhu Yijun's face.

Empress Dowager Li tied a jade belt around his neck and said, "After the emperor has finished offering sacrifices to the Fengxian, Hongxiao, and Shenxiao Palaces, he should quickly go to the Meridian Gate. The military, civilians, and officials are still waiting outside the Meridian Gate."

After saying this, he seemed unable to control his emotions and stepped back, covering his face.

Zhu Yijun nodded.

He glanced at Empress Dowager Chen and Empress Dowager Li, then turned and left the hall.

The eunuchs and attendants who were accompanying him followed him out.

Only the two palaces and their respective eunuchs remained in the palace.

Feng Bao was supporting Empress Dowager Li and reciting Buddhist scriptures with her.

Queen Mother Chen on the side suddenly said, "Finally, I got what I wanted. It is time to repay my wish to the Buddha."

After saying this, Empress Dowager Chen took the three incense sticks from Chen Suan and bowed to the spirit tablet of the late emperor.

After hearing this, Empress Dowager Li opened her eyes and looked at Empress Dowager Chen.

When Chen Hong was the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, perhaps this elder sister wanted to win his favor and made things difficult for her many times.

There was some rift between the two of them, which was why she acted coquettishly in front of her son yesterday.

Now his words sounded sharp, and Empress Dowager Li felt even more uncomfortable.

But today her own son has ascended the throne, and she cannot take it seriously with Empress Dowager Chen, otherwise it would cause some unpleasantness and bring shame to her son.

Thinking of this, she suppressed her emotions - after all, it was a thing of the past, and now that she had won completely, she should show the demeanor of a winner.

Besides, her elder sister was infertile, so she felt a little unbalanced when she saw this scene. Empress Dowager Li could really understand that.

So, Empress Dowager Li smiled slightly.

He said generously, "Don't worry, sister. Jun'er is a filial child. You and I can always rely on him in the future."

Since mother and son are connected by heart and blood is close to each other, Empress Dowager Li could still accept sharing a little grace with this patriarchal mother who has lived in another palace all year round.

However, after hearing this, Empress Dowager Chen turned to look at Empress Dowager Li, with an inexplicably complicated look in her eyes - it is true that fools have good fortune.

But I heard Empress Dowager Li still comforting me: "Jun'er told me a few days ago that after he ascends the throne, you don't have to live in another palace anymore."

"After the court discussion in two days, we will let the Ministry of Rites discuss it. I will live in Cining Palace, and my sister will move to Ciqing Palace."

Although Ciqing Palace is the Eastern Palace, the new emperor is unmarried and childless, so there is no rush to leave it to the crown prince.

It was a suitable place to house Empress Dowager Chen. It was close to Wenhua Hall, and it was also convenient for the emperor to pay his respects there after his daily lectures and court meetings.

Empress Dowager Chen appreciated the favor and bowed to express her gratitude.

He sighed quietly again: "My sister is so lucky."

If it weren't for her sister's stupid condition, her current mood would probably be even worse.

Empress Dowager Li couldn't help but smile with relief. Her son was indeed a great blessing for her.

"Okay, sister, you should go back to the palace to rest. There will inevitably be a lot of people and noise outside today, so as not to disturb you."

Her elder sister was already weak and had lived in another palace all year round, which was cold, damp and had a very poor health. She would fall ill if she wasn't careful.

Empress Dowager Chen nodded slightly, bowed, and then led Chen Suan back to the other palace.

After Empress Dowager Chen left, Empress Dowager Li looked at Feng Bao and said helplessly, "I don't know where the resentment of my sister comes from?"

She is clearly from a family of scholars, so how come her temperament is not as good as that of a peasant girl?

Feng Bao's eyes flickered, and he consoled her: "This is a happy day, and it's normal for Empress Dowager Chen to be emotional and sentimental."

Empress Dowager Li nodded slowly and immediately put it out of her mind.

As master and servant for many years, she has always believed in Feng Bao's words.

Then he talked about another matter: "Do you think Gao Gong is really going to make things difficult for us these days?"

Feng Bao said quickly, "Yesterday Gao Gong announced in the cabinet that he would remove me from my position as the seal holder, so that the Empress's decrees could not leave the Forbidden City, to prevent the harem from interfering in government affairs and roosting at dawn."

Empress Dowager Li snorted coldly, obviously angry.

Feng Bao saw it and felt relieved.

Gao Gong naturally never said this, but as long as Empress Dowager Li believed what Gao Gong said, that was enough.

He has always been deceiving his superiors and subordinates in this way.

When he first entered Prince Yu's mansion, the eunuchs serving Prince Yu were full, so he bribed his godfather heavily and chose to serve as a slave in front of Li.

He just took a fancy to Li because she was easily deceived and had no ulterior motives, making it easy for him to deceive her.

Now that Li has become the empress dowager, Feng Bao can do whatever he wants in the inner court as long as he maintains this influence.

If this isn't what you want, then what else is?

Not to mention that Zhang Juzheng in the outer court was his ally.

With the support of the Empress Dowager, an alliance with the cabinet, and control of the Imperial Household Department, it is a huge undertaking, not to mention that the emperor is still a minor.

Even if he came of age, he would have to wait until one of Zhang Juzheng or Feng Bao died before he would have the chance to rule the country!

As for the emperor's reckoning in the future? Oh, eunuchs who have been crowned with feathers, why don't they take advantage of their last ten years to enjoy themselves and live happily? Do they want to learn from the civil officials and seek a good reputation in history?
Being an eunuch is good. After death, everything is over. There is no intact body and no descendants. He does not care about his reputation. What can be settled? At least he has lived a happy life.

Now, he, Feng Bao, only needs to expel Gao Gong, and he will be able to stand at the pinnacle of power in the Ming Dynasty!
……

At the same time, outside the Meridian Gate, civil and military officials, military and civilian representatives were already eagerly waiting for the imperial edict to be announced.

It was bustling but orderly. People lined up in order, starting with the court officials at the head, lining up from the Meridian Gate all the way out to the military and civilian representatives at the end, almost to the end of the Imperial City.

Zhang Siwei knelt outside the Meridian Gate, secretly staring at the tall figure at the front of the train.

Although it is not very kind to change the ship at the last minute.

But as the chief minister of the cabinet, Gao Gong could really be sold for a good price.

That's why people say Zhang Juzheng is a child prodigy. It was a stroke of genius that he bypassed Yang Bo and came directly to him.

Yang Bo would not sell out Gao Gong for the position of cabinet minister, but Zhang Siwei would!

He was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Jiajing, and had been studying for 19 years. He was originally a scholar-official, and had the qualifications to be an official in the imperial lectures of the previous emperor.

Now he is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a dignified third-rank official, and is only one step away from becoming an assistant minister of the Cabinet.

Now that the position of cabinet is right in front of him, he would not hesitate to sell Gao Gong, let alone get a haircut in the first month of the year.

Zhang Siwei was thinking when he suddenly heard some noise inside the Meridian Gate.

When he looked up, he saw Cao Xianyu, the eunuch in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department, running out from the Meridian Gate, shouting and singing all the way, holding high four volumes of books.

"There is an order!"

"There is an order!"

"There is an imperial decree!" After all the officials bowed their heads to listen to the imperial decree, Cao Xianyu shouted, "The emperor has ascended the throne, and there is an imperial decree!"

"Order Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong to present the edict to the southern suburbs and offer sacrifices to the throne of heaven!"

Zhu Xizhong knelt down to receive the imperial edict and went to the southern suburbs.

"Tell Duke of England Zhang Rong to present the edict to the northern suburbs and offer sacrifices to the throne!"

Zhang Rong went out in compliance with the order.

"Xu Congcheng, the son-in-law of the emperor, has presented the edict to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and hereby informs the ancestral temple!"

Xu Congcheng went out in compliance with the order.

"Tell Jiang You, the Marquis of Dingxi, to present the edict to the altar of the state and report this to the state and the country!"

Jiang You went out as ordered.

Four nobles, each leading a guard of honor, came out in a mighty procession to offer sacrifices on behalf of the emperor.

Among them, Duke Chengguo was the most prominent, responsible for offering sacrifices to heaven and having countless military exploits that were envied.

Unfortunately, no one knew that Zhu Xizhong, who was heading to the southern suburbs, wanted to throw this job away like a hot potato, letting anyone take it.

These favors must be repaid!

He had not yet fully understood it, until the handwritten letter he received yesterday...

Having received the favor from the royal family, it is time to fight for your life.

The royal family, the cabinet, and the Imperial Household Department, the three most powerful parties today, are fighting openly and secretly.

Regardless of the outcome, just the aftermath alone would result in countless deaths and countless dismissals of office and titles.

I'm afraid that most of the nine ministers in these six ministries will have to be replaced in the end.

Most of the civil servants were dismissed from their posts, so of course the only unlucky ones like the eunuchs and nobles lost their lives.

Zhu Xizhong's sad face was not intentional.

In the 14th year of Zhengtong, the struggle was also fierce. The commander of the Jinyiwei was so powerful, right? He was beaten to death in the hall in front of the regent by the civil officials!
He really didn't want to get involved in this mess, so he made a small bet to win the new emperor's favor and to get some care from him in the future.

However, Jiang Keqian came to his house yesterday and handed him the emperor's handwritten letter, making it impossible for him to stay out of the matter.

The new emperor not only asked him to mobilize the Jinyiwei at all costs, but also to keep a close eye on the cabinet and the East Factory.

He also called his younger brother Zhu Xixiao into the Qianqing Palace, with guards around him.

He was also ordered to "cooperate at any time."

Although it was just a private message and the wording was extremely sincere and polite, the tone was firm. Zhu Xizhong had no room for refusal and could only accept it in its entirety.

Of course he knew what had happened in the past few days.

Jiang Keqian was tight-lipped, but the Jinyiwei under his command were, after all, transferred there by him as the commander.

Zhu Xizhong knew about Gao Gong's interactions with court officials, Zhang Juzheng's secret meetings with the Jin Party, and the new emperor's secret actions.

It was because he knew this that he felt the current situation was dangerous.

Zhu Xizhong only hated that he was in charge of the Jinyiwei. He read too many books, was well-informed, and knew too many stories about the imperial court.

This made him anxious and he wished he would die suddenly in office.

Otherwise, what could he do?
No matter whether they ignored the new emperor or approached the Imperial Household Department or Gao Gong, the new emperor would bear a grudge against them. In a few years, their entire family might be executed by the adult emperor.

As for standing on the emperor's side and serving as a pioneer? Then it is inevitable that the civil officials will bear a grudge against him!
Lu Bing, the former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was a playmate of Emperor Shizong and even saved his life from a fire. Zhu Xizhong still remembers clearly what the outcome was.

After Lu Bing died, Emperor Shizong specially ordered people to "protect his family". What was the result? As soon as Emperor Shizong left, the civil officials immediately turned against him.

The voices calling for the liquidation of Lu Bing were endless in the court. The most radical one was the censor Zhang Shouyue, who even requested the court to confiscate his property, mutilate his body, and arrest and interrogate his relatives.

What's even more ridiculous is that the late emperor actually didn't give in and went against his father's will by actually confiscating Lu Bing's house.

No matter which choice he makes, Zhu Xizhong sees no hope of breaking the impasse. Now that he is caught in the vortex, it seems that he can only watch the Chengguo Mansion end in decline.

Unless... the new emperor on the throne can win and at the same time care about friendship and will not abandon the enemy after his own failure.

In addition, he must be stronger than the previous emperor and be able to subdue the civil servants to avoid counterattack.

Oh yes, he has to live long enough, until all the civil servants offended by the Duke's Mansion die one by one.

As he thought about it, Zhu Xizhong couldn't help but smile.

It’s true, it was a narrow escape.

……

The Fengxian, Hongxiao and Shenxiao halls are used to enshrine emperors and empresses who are not among the Nine Temples.

For example, the spirits of his two mothers now can only be placed in these three halls after their death.

As for the sacrificial process, it was very simple and there were no extra spectators, all of whom watched from a distance outside the temple.

Zhu Yijun followed the written instructions and the sacrificial rites, burned them and informed his ancestors. After the ceremony, he bowed three times and left.

This completes the ritual of offering sacrifices to the ancestors.

As soon as Zhu Yijun came out of the Shenxiao Palace, Jiang Keqian came forward to greet him.

"Your Majesty, among the censors recommended by Mr. Gao, I have tested them and found that only two of them are suitable for use."

Zhu Yijun was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, he nodded and said, "Well, two people are enough."

This censor is naturally not used to charge into the enemy's territory.

Yesterday, when he heard that Zhang Siwei was in collusion with Zhang Juzheng, he immediately made up his mind.

He is now playing a balancing role, and he hopes that Gao Gong and Feng Bao will both suffer losses.

Since Gao Gong had suffered a crushing defeat in history, he would of course lend a hand.

The Jin party members who were about to turn against the emperor were just the right people to be entangled in order to avoid a backstab that would cause too much damage and arouse Feng Bao's vigilance.

After being impeached by the censors, Yang Bo and Zhang Siwei always confessed their crimes and requested to be dismissed.

This restraint is enough for the time being.

As for how to convince Gao Yi... there is no need to tell Gao Yi about impeaching the Jin Party.

He just said that he had heard that some court officials were corrupt and abused their power, so he asked Gao Yi to recommend a few loyal and patriotic censors to conduct a thorough investigation for him.

When selecting people, they naturally went through their resumes thoroughly and even found out how old they were when they peed their pants. Only then they picked out a few people who had mastered the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues.

That's it. Finally, the Jinyiwei sent people to test the situation and after eavesdropping for a whole day, only two people were left.

As for the evidence of Zhang Siwei and Yang Bo's crimes, these two people's butts are really not clean at all.

When Zhu Xixiao showed him the strength of the Jinyiwei yesterday, his mouth was dry.

Finally, two charges of moderate severity were selected and prepared to be handed over to the censors when the time comes.

Only by maintaining such a balance can we fight against each other.

Except that he felt bad about bullying honest people.

After all, when Gao Yi later knew that he was going to impeach the Jin Party under Gao Gong, he would probably feel wronged for a while - you can't blame me, right? I have read the Four Books and Five Classics and hate corrupt officials indiscriminately. Sir, you can't teach me to protect them, right?

At this time, Jiang Keqian spoke again: "Your Majesty, Mr. Gao said that he has been overworked recently and is in poor health. After Your Majesty ascends the throne, he will rest for a few days."

Zhu Yijun was stunned: "Retreat?"

There are only three people in the cabinet, and one of them has to go to inspect the tombs. How can they take a break at this time?
After thinking about it, he realized that it was probably Gao Gong's instruction.

Isn't Gao Gong too stubborn? After all, he was Gao Yi's sponsor, and they had a very good personal relationship. When he was about to do something big, he actually let Gao Yi stay out of it?
If it weren't for Gao Gong's personality, he probably wouldn't have lost so badly in history.

But it just so happened that everyone kept their affairs a secret from Gao Yi.

As an honest man with a clean record, it is indeed inconvenient for him to get involved in too much trouble. This way, he can come out and clean up the mess after the dust settles.

As for the clear stream behind you, leave it to me to command for the time being!

Thinking about it, Zhu Yijun nodded and instructed: "Send someone to keep an eye on it and make sure I can contact Gao Ge Lao at any time."

Jiang Keqian retreated.

Zhu Yijun summoned the ceremonial officer and said, "I have finished offering sacrifices to the ancestors."

The ritual officer knew what was going on, and the first drum beat, which had been set by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, was immediately sounded.

Outside the hall, the Guards had already arranged the procession, followed by a line of armored soldiers, each with their own flag and ceremonial guard. A five-chair carriage was parked outside the hall, with two ceremonial attendants holding a table and serving on both sides.

Zhang Hong quickly helped Zhu Yijun step onto the five-chariot carriage and shouted at the top of his voice, "Make way!"

Suddenly, bells rang, drums sounded, armor and clothes fluttered, and a group of people marched forward in a mighty procession.

Hundreds of people in the front were sprinkling water, clearing the road, and unfurling flags, while ceremonial music was played on the left and right, forming a long team.

Zhang Hong then sang and shouted again: "Imperial Meridian Gate!"
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Note 1: In the later fighting parts, in order to create ups and downs in the plot, some historical facts will be succumbed to the plot. The author will mark them in the chapter, and readers are required to distinguish them on their own.

　Note 1: I will indicate the obvious historical changes one by one. For example, according to etiquette, Li is still a noble concubine and needs to wait for the cabinet to discuss the title before she can be given the title of empress dowager. However, for the development of the plot and the intensification of conflicts, the etiquette is simplified here and the title of empress dowager is directly added.

　　Note 2: The following text does not explain the blanks in history that have been processed by ourselves. For example, the resumes of Feng Bao and Zhang Hong do not exist in history before the first year of Longqing, which requires literary processing. The relationship between Empress Dowager Chen and Empress Dowager Li also fills in the blanks in history and artistic processing, which is omitted below.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)