Chapter 30: At the beginning of his reign, the crowd shouted

Representatives of the military and civilians, as well as civil and military officials, were kneeling outside the Meridian Gate when they suddenly heard the sound of a drum, which was the time drum arranged by the Imperial Observatory.

As the drums sounded, the eastern sun rose and shone on the Meridian Gate.

Everyone raised their heads and looked towards the city wall.

I saw the Tongzan, Zanli, Suwei officials, guards and other attendant officers coming out one after another and clearing the way to welcome them on the gate tower.

The cloud cover and cloud disk follow closely behind.

A figure dressed in a royal robe slowly appeared surrounded by a crowd of people.

"There is an imperial decree!" someone shouted.

The military and civilian officials immediately bowed their heads and said, "We respectfully listen to the imperial edict!"

Zhu Yijun looked at the dark mass of people kneeling down below the city wall, which stretched as far as the eye could see. His chest could not help but rise and fall.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and finally felt relieved.

Then he said to the people below, emphasizing each word, in a loud voice: "Our country has a great vision and will be passed down for generations; our ancestors have been united in their purpose for more than two hundred years."

At the same time, the eunuchs on duty on the left and right repeated it, and it reached the ears of those below. Every few steps, another eunuch below repeated it and shouted it backwards.

Overlapping, like waves of sound.

"My late father, the Emperor, was wise and exemplary, and worked hard to govern the country... Ju Longyu, the guest of honor, has entrusted me with his orders and entrusted me with a sacred weapon."

"I followed the will and the public opinion and reported to the heaven and earth, the ancestral temple and the state on the tenth day of the sixth month."

Zhu Yijun paused, closed his eyes, and said with full energy: "I will take the throne as emperor."

At this moment, the Zhonghe Shao music arranged by the Jiaofangsi was played, with bells and drums ringing together.

The guards on duty on both sides vibrated their armor, making rustling sounds.

The military, civilians and officials below, no matter what they were thinking, all bowed their hands to their foreheads and bowed once, twice, three times, and four times.

They all shouted, "Long live!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

The shouts of "Long live the emperor" from hundreds of thousands of people reached the sky.

The calls, shouts, music, the sound of armor flapping, the sound of bells and drums, and the surging waves, like a resonance between heaven and earth, resounded throughout the Forbidden City!

……

The sound gradually died down.

"Next year shall be the first year of the Wanli reign, and a new beginning shall be made for the people..."

The sound of reading the imperial edict continued, and the military and civilian representatives were still kneeling and listening to the order.

All the officials had already stood up and entered through the Meridian Gate one after another.

Zhu Yijun also turned around and went down the city wall.

Later he would have to visit the Zhongji Hall to receive congratulations from all officials, but at this moment, his enthronement ceremony had already been completed.

The core of the ceremony is to make a declaration. When everyone cheers "Long live the emperor", the ceremony has ended ahead of schedule.

From now on, he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty respected by millions of people.

But... this is far from the end, or rather, this is just the beginning of his journey of thousands of miles.

He wasn't the only one waiting for this moment.

Gao Gong was also waiting. He was waiting for a ten-year-old child to sit on the throne so that he could pretend to be the emperor and abolish the Imperial Household Department, making the emperor a nodding machine.

Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng were also waiting. They needed Li to ascend the throne and serve as empress dowager to govern the country so that they could expel Gao Gong and take sole power.

The fight between Zhu Yijun, Feng Bao, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng will officially begin at this moment.

……

Different from ordinary court sessions, ascending the throne and attending court is a ceremony in which all officials pay homage.

The number of people was dozens of times greater than that of the court, and the Wenhua Hall was completely unable to function.

In order to demonstrate the majesty of the imperial family, Taizu stipulated that the enthronement ceremony should be held in the Fengtian Hall located on the central axis of the Forbidden City.

But now, the Ministry of Rites asked the two palaces to move to the Zhongji Hall.

The attendants of Shang Baoqing had already set up the throne in the hall, and Zhu Yijun sat on it leisurely.

He no longer paid attention to the ceremony of ascending the throne, but just waited quietly for the officials to present their congratulatory messages.

After a round of whip blasts, drums and music, all the officials filed in.

The four nobles who were ordered to offer sacrifices were the first to come out: "We, your servants, have been honored to have fulfilled our mission and have reported this to the Heaven, Earth and the Ancestral Temple."

"When the heaven and earth and the ancestral temple heard that Your Majesty had ascended the throne, auspicious signs would be showered upon them, and they must be extremely happy."

"I, your servants, would like to present a congratulatory message to Your Majesty."

After saying this, Zhu Xizhong glanced at the emperor on the throne secretly, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

Zhu Yijun's vision was blocked by the crown tassels, and he just nodded: "I know you are sincere."

He then looked at Feng Bao and said, "Mr. Feng, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, presents me with a congratulatory letter."

Feng Bao bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Then he walked down the imperial steps and took the congratulatory messages from the four nobles.

Four nobles are listed.

Another cabinet minister stepped out and said, "We congratulate Your Majesty on your ascension to the throne and have presented you with tributes."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

Afterwards, all officials, from the cabinet ministers, the six ministries and nine officials, to the seventh rank officials, presented their congratulatory messages in turn.

Everything is in order.

until……

"His Majesty has ordered the Imperial Household Department to accept the congratulatory letter. Who are you?" Zhang Qi, the Imperial Censor of Guangxi, frowned and looked at Feng Bao.

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

Zhu Xizhong seemed to be unwell and closed his eyes tightly.

Gao Gong looked straight ahead, as if he hadn't heard anything at all.

Zhang Juzheng opened his lips slightly, showing just the right amount of surprise.

Gao Yi held the hu tablet in both hands, looking as if he had expected it.

Only the officials who were unaware of the situation looked around and exchanged glances with their colleagues, their eyes filled with helplessness and panic.

Faced with this harassment, Feng Bao was able to maintain his energy and his eyelids did not even twitch.

He just bowed towards the imperial desk and said slowly: "I am the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department."

Zhang Qi waved his sleeves, raised his hand and pointed at Feng Bao, looked around, and asked the officials: "Is this the seal of the Imperial Household Department? "

All the officials are smart people, they know that something bad is going to happen.

Regardless of whether you recognize him or not, even if you have doubts in your heart, should you roar at Zhongji Palace at this time?
Officials of all ranks, when they met Zhang Qi's gaze, turned their heads away, unwilling to be drawn into this vortex.

The ceremonial officer at the bottom of the imperial steps also immediately spoke out to stop him: "Zhang Qi! The emperor is on the throne, please pay attention to your manners!"

Zhang Qi bowed and confessed his guilt to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I just returned from Guangxi after inspecting the case. I was unaware of the late emperor's will to replace the seal of the Imperial Household Department. I am guilty!"

Since Feng Bao is the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, it must be the late emperor's last will, right?

Retreat to advance! Although Zhang Qi's words were an admission of guilt, he actually exposed the fact that Feng Bao's appointment as the head of the Imperial Household Department was not in accordance with the procedures.

Feng Bao had no idea what was going on. Even though he was prepared, he couldn't help but look at Gao Gong with hatred.

Zhu Yijun also knew what was going on and was just a vanguard.

Seeing this, he simply played dumb: "Please stand up, Mr. Zhang. Ignorance is not a crime."

"You don't know, Feng Dayong was appointed by my mother, not by the will of the late emperor."

Of course Zhang Qi asked the question even though he knew the answer. Not only did he know the answer, he was also waiting for this to happen.

He saw Ge Shouli nodding secretly, and he felt relieved. He continued to pester, "Oh... So it was the imperial decree issued by Empress Dowager Chen at that time. That's really unbecoming of me."

Theoretically speaking, the position of the Imperial Household Department's seal holder can only be appointed by the emperor.

But after the emperor passed away, the empress should naturally serve as regent. It is reasonable to do so as a temporary measure.

Although... Zhang Qi knew clearly that it was not an imperial decree from Empress Dowager Chen.

When the play reaches this point, there will naturally be people to help out and continue the tune.

Han Ji, the Right Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, scolded: "Zhang Qi is so arrogant! Empress Dowager Chen is so good at judging people, and you dare to slander her! Feng Dayong was selected by the current Empress Dowager Li to be the Chief of the Imperial Household Department!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Zhihan, the Left Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, immediately stepped out to argue: "Han Tongzheng, please be careful with your words. We in the six departments have never seen any clear instructions from the Empress Dowager Li at that time."

These two were Gao Gong's disciples, and were known to all officials.

At this point, those officials who were unaware of the situation finally realized that the Prime Minister and the head of the Imperial Household Department were going to fight with real swords and guns!
The Censors, the Six Secretaries, and the Ministry of Public Security were all Gao Gong's men.

Now these people are singing the same tune. It would be ridiculous to say that this is not Gao Gong's instruction!
The court was Gao Gong's home turf, and the poor Imperial Household Department's seal holder could only be beaten by everyone, with no other options available to him.

The person involved, Feng Bao, watched himself being roasted on the fire in the blink of an eye. Although there was no expression on his face, the hatred in his heart was no less.

Even though he knew in advance that Gao Gong would launch an attack in the near future and was mentally prepared, he still felt extremely angry at this moment.

He has long been aware of this shortcoming.

When the previous emperor passed away, Concubine Li hated Meng Chong, so she expelled him and promoted herself.

As for the imperial edict... the seal of the Imperial Household Department is not something that a mere imperial concubine can decide on her own.

Moreover, at that time, Meng Chong was the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, and Gao Gong was the chief minister of the Cabinet. The two were allies, so it would be strange that they would obey the imperial concubine's order.

So he advised the then Imperial Concubine Li to bypass the outer court and directly appoint him as an official, thus making the matter a done deal.

The heir's biological mother holds a high position and has her own staff in the East Factory, so there is no need for her to worry about procedures and etiquette.

The way of struggle in the inner court is different from that in the outer court.

Therefore, cutting the Gordian knot was really just a temporary solution, and it was impossible to issue a clear order to the cabinet at that time.

Otherwise, at best it would be rejected by the six departments, and in serious cases, it might even affect Li - Gao Gong could really say the words "hen crowing at dawn"...

After that, thanks to the suppression of the Li family, no one investigated for a while. Even if there was, the memorial could be kept.

Moreover, with Meng Chong being killed some time ago and Li becoming the empress dowager today, Feng Bao's position has become unshakable.

However, he did not expect that Gao Gong would actually dare to order the censor to expose the matter in person at the enthronement ceremony!
Even though I know it is useless, I still want to disgust him.

He really doesn't care about the two palaces or the little emperor's face!
Feng Bao glanced outside the hall covertly, but did not see the expected movement.

But he couldn't help but fight back, so he immediately brought up Empress Dowager Li: "Everyone, you might as well think about it again. Empress Dowager Li gave an oral order at the beginning!"

Feng Bao insisted on using the word "Empress Dowager".

This is to remind these people that this is not just an offense to him alone, but he has the support of the emperor's biological mother, the empress dowager who is the regent!

Gao Gong is fine, but do you, the Secret Censors and Imperial Censors, really want to go down the same path to the end?

But Zhang Qi had no idea what promises had been made to him, and not only did he not behave himself at all, he became even more outrageous.

After hearing what Feng Bao said, Zhang Qi's eyes widened with anger. He kowtowed to the imperial desk and asked loudly, "How can the imperial concubine decide the position of the internal prime minister with her oral order?!"

He then loudly questioned all the officials around him: "Is there such a precedent in our dynasty?!"

These words were directed at Empress Dowager Li. All the officials were horrified and wanted to flee.

What kind of huge battle is going on today that people are blaming the Queen Mother as the Regent!
Seeing him barking like a dog, Feng Bao also spoke more fiercely: "Is Censor Zhang accusing Empress Dowager Li of a crime?"

If the position of the Chief Seal of the Imperial Household could be removed with just a few words, Gao Gong would have taken it long ago. Why wait until now?

Because of his appointment, he is closely tied to Empress Dowager Li!

Once a big hat is put on, it depends on how a mere censor dares to accept it.

Unfortunately, while Zhang Qi was charging into battle, he had a lot of people following him.

At this time, someone naturally came out to control the situation.

Gao Gong said indifferently: "The two of you should be careful with your words and don't easily involve your own problems with him."

Zhang Qi knows when to stop and knows how to strike the right balance.

He ignored Feng Bao and continued to speak to Zhu Yijun: "When the emperor first ascended the throne, there were countless people watching him! How can you let others have your name and position?"

"Since the congratulatory letter has been received by the Imperial Household Department, I dare not give it to anyone else!"

From his words, it was clear that Feng Bao was coveting the imperial throne and was committing the heinous crime of usurping the imperial power.

As the Left Censor-in-Chief, Ge Shouli could not allow the coronation ceremony to be ruined by the censors.

He stepped out and shouted, "Zhang Qi! Do you really want to disrupt His Majesty's reign? If you don't present the congratulatory message, leave immediately!"

After that, he continued, "Your Majesty, even if Zhang Qi is right, I am just a humble minister who has usurped the power of the sacred artifact, which is not as serious as your Majesty's court today. Please let me deal with it later."

With just a few words, these censors accused Feng Bao of usurping the power of the Imperial Household Department and usurping the power of the sacred artifacts.

Feng Bao was not given any chance to interrupt at all.

Zhu Yijun just found it ridiculous. These people really did not take the emperor seriously. Even his coronation ceremony could be used as a battlefield.

It is no wonder that Emperor Xiaozong was praised to the sky by these civil officials and was called the most benevolent monarch in three generations - this was the state of the civil officials when Emperor Xiaozong held court.

According to the Ming Annals of Joseon, when King Hyojong was in court, the court officials were holding their own small meetings and arguing endlessly, so King Hyojong could only sit on the dragon throne like a wooden man.

Is this the kind of emperor this group of people want?

Fortunately, Zhu Yijun had other plans at the moment, otherwise, seeing these people being so disrespectful to the emperor, he might have turned against them in public.

Thinking of this, he took the opportunity to back off and said, "Mr. Ge is right. Mr. Zhang, let's discuss this later. Don't dwell on it here."

The current disturbance in the court is at most the first step to put the matter on the table, and it cannot shake Feng Bao's position.

Gao Gong must have a backup plan, and there will certainly be more storms in the future.

Today's prologue should be stopped at the right time.

Zhang Qi, as a vanguard, had already completed his mission. Upon hearing this, he immediately bowed down respectfully and said, "I am worried that the inner ministers will usurp the power of the sacred artifact and deceive the eyes and ears. I am extremely anxious for the moment."

"I have inadvertently disturbed Your Majesty's presence on the throne. After I leave, I will report my crime to the emperor and wait for Your Majesty to decide my fate."

"As for Feng Bao's matter, I will also submit another memorial."

After saying this, he handed the congratulatory letter to Feng Bao.

But when the two of them missed each other, Zhang Qi sneered quietly.

Feng Bao took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and wiped the spit.

He had a blank expression on his face, as if he was waiting for something.

Zhang Qi felt pleased to see Feng Bao swallowing his anger. He was about to return to the train but had not yet taken a step when a eunuch suddenly came in from the side hall.

"The Empress Dowager's decree!"

　Note 1: In June of the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Longqing, Zhang Qi, the Imperial Censor of Guangxi, said: When the Emperor first ascended the throne, there were so many people watching his every move! How can the name and position be entrusted to others? Meng Chong, who was in charge of the seal affairs of the Imperial Household Department, had never heard of the decree to dismiss someone and appoint someone else. Once the decree was passed on, it came from Ma Baochen and others, and they looked at each other in shock, not knowing what to do. ——"The Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty" Note 2: Under normal circumstances, Empress Dowager Li would not issue an order directly, but would issue an order in the name of the two palaces and the emperor. Here, the plot is simplified and modified.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)