Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2346: Visiting Nanjing (Thirteen) Before the "Outing"

In Chunhe Palace, Gao Youshi received Zhu Yijun's red-ink comments. His eyes swept over the comments and the corners of his mouth unconsciously pursed slightly.

"Hold the emperor's sword." Gao Youshi said softly, then sighed. He naturally understood Zhu Yijun's intention.

The original garrison in Nanjing was not small in name, but everyone in the world knew that the strongest force in Nanjing at this moment was undoubtedly the imperial guards that escorted the emperor from the capital to the south. With this imperial guard, any local military force in Nanjing was not enough.

  Therefore, no one would dare to disobey any decree of the emperor. In this case, what use would it be for Gao Youshi to be given the Emperor's Sword? Could there be any foolish person who would openly defy the Prime Minister who was ordered to investigate under such circumstances?

"Nowadays, the emperor is becoming more and more difficult to serve." Gao Youshi sighed in his heart. He knew that Zhu Yijun was forcing him and also making his attitude clear to him: Don't think of hiding behind. I gave you the title of Duke Jingguo, not to let you live among the people in the court.

The emperor's meaning was not difficult to understand. He wanted to set an example for Gao Youshi and other ministers, letting them know that as long as they all worked for the emperor as wholeheartedly as Gao Youshi did, the emperor would be willing to give them even a prestigious title like Duke.

  Even if you are not confident in your own abilities and are afraid that you cannot match Gao Youshi's achievements in civil and military affairs, it doesn't matter. Let's think about it. If a Duke doesn't dare to hope for it, what about a Marquis? If that doesn't work, a Earl is not bad either!

"I want to be low-key, the lower the better, but the emperor wants me to be high-key, the higher the better." He stood up, walked to the window, looked at the scenery outside the window, but his heart was constantly calculating the gains and losses.

"If it's useful, use it to death. The emperor is getting better and better at doing business now... He paid the money in advance, knowing that I can't refuse it for both emotional and logical reasons." Gao Youshi curled his lips and snorted: "Well, since it can't hurt me, I'll bear the bad reputation of this powerful official."

"However, before that, there is still a one-day truce." Gao Youshi's eyes became relaxed.

The three-day period of Qingming Festival has arrived. According to the plan, Zhu Yijun will go to Xiaoling Mausoleum tomorrow to pay homage. This is the highlight of his southern tour and an important moment to demonstrate the majesty of the imperial power. As the chief minister of the cabinet, Gao Youshi must accompany the emperor to ensure the smooth progress of the ceremony.

However, Gao Youshi was not worried about this matter. The ritual instructions given by the Ministry of Rites were very detailed, and the security strategy had been decided long ago to ensure that nothing could go wrong.

As for other aspects, such as whether some officials from the Xin School would take the opportunity to do something to disgust people, Gao Youshi did not take it to heart - as long as the people from the Xin School were not stupid enough, they would not disobey him on this major issue that the emperor cared about most. Otherwise, Gao Youshi could not think of any other evaluation except political suicide.

Paying respect to the Xiaoling Mausoleum was actually of no importance to Gao Youshi, as it was just a formality according to the rituals. However, for Zhu Yijun, it was a top political priority.

Although the Xiaoling Mausoleum has a high status, not many Ming emperors have come to pay homage to it in person. The first person to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum should have been Zhu Yunwen, but in fact it was Zhu Di.

Empress Ma died early, and as soon as she passed away, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately named the mausoleum prepared for the couple's burial, Xiaoling, and let Empress Ma live in it. Ten years later, Crown Prince Zhu Biao also passed away. Zhu Yuanzhang was heartbroken and gave him the posthumous title of "Yiwen" and buried him to the east of Xiaoling as a burial companion.

On the tenth day of the fifth month of the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang passed away, leaving a will to let his grandson Zhu Yunwen succeed him. Zhu Yunwen did something outrageous at this time, he actually embalmed his grandfather on the same day and buried him seven days later, which caused a lot of discussion among people all over the world. As a result, Zhu Di, the oldest and most powerful prince of the royal family, was very angry, and openly wrote a letter to the court, asking a series of questions.

What is the question? It's probably like this: My father passed away at 11:00 on the 10th day of the fifth lunar month, and he was buried at 11:00. How could it be so fast? The Book of Rites says that he should be buried three days later, because sometimes people will pretend to be dead, and we have to wait three days to see if they can be resurrected. Now my father was buried in less than a day. Is this in accordance with etiquette? Is it in accordance with human nature?

  From the emperor to the common people, how could a father die without telling his son? How could a son not go to the funeral when his father died? Why did the emperor only issue an edict to let the princes and the people of the world know a month after my father passed away? In this way, I, his own son, am the same as the common people. Is this in accordance with etiquette?

Moreover, the Book of Rites also states that the emperor is different from ordinary people and must be buried after seven months. Now, you have buried your father seven days after his death. Why is it so fast? I don't understand. What rules and regulations did the emperor base this rite on?

Not to mention, Zhu Di's questions were not unreasonable. According to the etiquette of the time, each of his questions was well-founded and in line with human ethics.

It seems that Zhu Yunwen, who was busy being the emperor, had neither the time nor the courage to go to the Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay a visit to his grandparents. After all, this kid must be obsessed with the word "reducing the power of the vassal states" at the moment.

Everyone knows about the Jingnan Campaign, so I won't go into details. Anyway, after three years of fighting, on June 13 of the fourth year of Jianwen, the Yan army broke through the Jinchuan Gate in Nanjing. Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to burn himself to death in the Fengtian Hall of the Imperial Palace.

At this moment, the princes, nobles, and civil and military officials in Nanjing City kept urging Zhu Di to become emperor. After Zhu Di declined three times, he proudly planned to enter the palace and ascend the throne.

At this time, Yang Rong, the editor of the Imperial Academy, quickly stopped Zhu Di and greeted him in front of his horse, saying, "Your Highness, are you going to pay homage to the mausoleum first, or to ascend the throne first?" This was obviously not a question, but a suggestion. Zhu Di broke out in a cold sweat when he heard it, knowing that he had almost done something stupid. After taking a deep breath, he immediately drove to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

However, Zhu Di's identity at this time was not that of an emperor, nor even a prince, because the court had long ago "stripped him of his Yan nationality" - at this time he should be accurately called "Yan commoner".

So, after becoming the emperor, did Zhu Di go to the Xiaoling Mausoleum? Hey, he really went there. Oh, or rather, he went there again.

The tenth day of the fifth month of the first year of Yongle was the anniversary of the death of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. For Zhu Di, he abolished the Jianwen era name as soon as he ascended the throne, just to show that his throne came from Emperor Taizu. Now that he has been on the throne for less than a year, it is a good opportunity to show off on his father's death anniversary.

That morning, Zhu Di led the princes in the capital to the Fengxian Hall in the palace for a sacrificial ceremony. Because of the Jingnan Campaign, there were still many princes in the capital at the beginning of the Yongle period, such as the King of Han, the King of Shen, the King of An, the King of Tang, the King of Ying, the King of Yi, the King of Lu, etc. After finishing the ceremony in the palace, Zhu Di led the civil and military officials to the Xiaoling Mausoleum for a lively sacrifice.

A year later, on the tenth day of the fifth month of the second year of Yongle, Zhu Di went to Xiaoling again to offer sacrifices. Unlike the large group of people he brought last time, this time Zhu Di did not even use the emperor's carriage, but sent a few cavalrymen to lead the way.

On the day of Jiyou, the Jinyiwei reported: "Tomorrow the emperor will go to Xiaoling Mausoleum, please prepare a royal carriage." Zhu Di responded: "No need for a royal carriage, just a few knights leading the way." Then he looked at the courtiers and said: "Tomorrow is the day when the late emperor passed away. It is a time when I am grateful and commemorating him. Why do I need a royal carriage? If it is not for clearing the road, the knights leading the way can be omitted."

Look at him! Compared with his fourth uncle, Zhu Yunwen is really a world away.

Later, whenever he went to Beijing for an inspection tour or returned to Nanjing, Zhu Di would go to Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay his respects. In terms of the number of times he went to Xiaoling Mausoleum, Zhu Di was definitely the emperor of the Ming Dynasty who went there the most. Whether he did it to show his orthodox status or was sincerely willing to pay homage to his father, in short, he was very hard-working.

In April of the second year of Yongle, Zhu Di appointed his eldest son Zhu Gaochi as the crown prince. In November of the ninth year of Yongle, he appointed his eldest grandson Zhu Zhanji as the crown prince. Before the capital was officially moved to Beijing, the crown prince and the grandson stayed in Nanjing for a long time. According to historical records, both of them went to Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay homage.

There is an interesting story here. It is said that Emperor Chengzu once asked Zhu Gaochi to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum. Zhu Gaochi was fat and heavy, and had a foot disease. He was supported by two eunuchs, but he kept falling down. Seeing this, his younger brother, Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu, said from behind, "The person in front has fallen down, and the people behind should be alert." At that time, Zhu Zhanji was already the crown prince. Hearing this, he immediately responded from behind, "There are people behind who will also be alert!" When Zhu Gaoxu looked back, his face changed.

Let's talk about the Xiaoling Mausoleum. When Zhu Di passed away, Zhu Gaochi took over. Emperor Renzong wanted to move the capital back to Nanjing, but he died suddenly before he had been emperor for a full year, so this plan was never accomplished.

Zhu Zhanji then became emperor and immediately threw aside his father's plan to return the capital to Nanjing. He only asked his younger brother, Prince Zheng Zhu Zhanjun, to go to Nanjing to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum on his behalf.

As a result, starting with Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong, followed by Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, Emperor Jingdi Zhu Qiyu, Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen, and Emperor Xiaozong Zhu Youtang, several generations of Ming emperors never went to Nanjing again, let alone pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum. However, when Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao became emperor, the situation was different!

There are two kinds of evaluations of Wuzong in later generations, both of which are quite extreme. One is that he was a genius, and the other is that he was incompetent and unjust.

The former praised him for his intelligence, fortitude, decisiveness, bravery and wisdom, and recorded that he once personally led troops to patrol the frontier of the Great Wall, and fought a great battle with the Mongolian prince Dayan Khan in Yingzhou, and finally won. This part of the view believes that he was an emperor who could tolerate ministers, did not punish ministers who advised him, maintained a harmonious relationship between the monarch and his ministers, and even had a side that liked to do small favors and could make decisions when faced with facts.

The latter criticized him for being licentious and tyrannical, and called him a ruthless and incompetent monarch, pointing out that he built the Leopard House, trusted eunuchs, spent his days in debauchery, and even laughed and said "What a nice big fireworks display" when the Qianqing Palace caught fire, showing his absurd and eccentric character.

Gao Youshi believes that the polarized evaluation of Wuzong is largely due to the powerful influence of the Ming Dynasty's civil service group.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the power of the civil official group grew stronger and stronger, completely surpassing the military generals, and even seriously eroded the imperial power. Wuzong tried to regain control of the government and reuse military generals, which undoubtedly violated the interests of the civil official group. Therefore, some people even believe that Wuzong's death was a result of a conspiracy, which led to his sudden death. Regardless of whether the truth was an accident or murder, Wuzong was a very individual person, and this is always correct.

Wuzong used the incident of suppressing the uprising of Liu Liu and Liu Qi to turn the mobilization of border troops from a special case into a common occurrence. From then on, he firmly held the control of the border troops in his own hands.

Starting from the 12th year of Zhengde, Wuzong wandered around the border fortresses in Shanxi and refused to return to the capital. In March of the 14th year of Zhengde, Wuzong sent a note to the cabinet chief Yang Tinghe, asking him to quickly write the notes on the emperor's ceremonials and prayers when he visited the ancestral tombs in Fengyang, the imperial tombs, and the Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing - this clearly showed that he wanted to tour the south.

The civil officials resisted desperately, but Wuzong ignored them and beat 107 people, including doctor Sun Feng, with sticks at the Meridian Gate. Why did the civil officials oppose so stubbornly? On the one hand, they said some great principles, but more likely they were worried that the emperor would know how some civil officials and big landlords were making money crazily in Jiangnan.

As luck would have it, the rebellion of Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao broke out in June of that year, and the efforts of the civil officials were wasted! On August 22, Wuzong personally led the army to the battle. In fact, when the army set out, the Ning Wang rebellion had already been dealt with by Wang Shouren. The problem was that Wuzong could not miss this good opportunity to tour the south, and he insisted on taking the army to the south.

This is actually easy to understand. When Prince Ning's rebellion first started, it was a big commotion. How many of his accomplices in Jiangnan had not been found? How could the emperor not investigate? So on December 25, Wuzong arrived in Nanjing. This was the first Ming emperor to visit Nanjing in nearly a hundred years.

On the first day of the Gengyin year, Emperor Wuzong was in Nanjing and went to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum. On this day, civil and military officials held a remote congratulatory ceremony at the Fengtian Gate, and the Empress Dowager and the Empress accepted the congratulations of the ladies in the palace.

On the first day of the first lunar month in the fifteenth year of the Zhengde reign, all officials were on holiday at home to celebrate New Year's Day [Note: it was called New Year's Day at that time]. Unexpectedly, Wuzong went to Zhongshan to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum on his own. He became the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty to visit the tomb of Taizu with a small entourage - the first one was Zhu Di, as mentioned just now.

In short, Wuzong paid homage to the founding ancestor in the manner of a descendant. He stayed in Nanjing for eight full months, and only planned to return to Beijing in the intercalary August of that year.

On the seventh day of the intercalary eighth month before returning to Beijing, Wuzong went to Xiaoling Mausoleum to bid farewell to Emperor Taizu. The next day, he held a formal ceremony to receive the captives, and then took the Ning Wang and his men and headed north along the Grand Canal. During the Double Ninth Festival in September of that year, Wuzong arrived in Huai'an.

At this time, a strange thing happened. When Wuzong was boating and fishing in Qingjiangpu, he inexplicably fell into the water. Although he did not drown at that time, he became ill from then on. He died of illness in the Leopard House in March of that year... uh, he passed away.

The suspicious point of this incident is that it happened too unexpectedly. Considering that the civil service group was really unhappy with him, it is hard not to have some conspiracy theories. But the problem is that Wuzong did not die on the spot. Whether he was at that time or after returning to Beijing, he did not say that there was anything wrong with this incident. In other words, he himself did not think that someone was trying to harm him.

In short, after Wuzong died, because he had no son, the court could only follow the method of "succession from elder brother to younger brother" and let his cousin Zhu Houcong come from Anlu, Huguang to the capital to become emperor, that is, Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty.

In February of the 18th year of Jiajing, Zhu Houcong set out from Beijing to the south again. However, the place he went to was not Nanjing, but Anlu, his birthplace, so he certainly would not go to Xiaoling Mausoleum.

In the original history, from Emperor Shizong onwards, Emperor Muzong, Emperor Shenzong, Emperor Guangzong, Emperor Xizong and Emperor Chongzhen, except for going to Wanshou Mountain to pay homage, never left Beijing, let alone going to Nanjing Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay homage.

This time, it should be due to the influence of Gao Youshi that the development of the Ming Dynasty was completely different from the original history. Zhu Yijun had been smooth sailing since he ascended the throne, and his achievements even surpassed those of Chengzu, so he had the capital to be enshrined in Mount Tai. So he simply went all the way and continued to Nanjing to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Ancestor worship itself is a trivial matter. The important thing is to personally declare to the spirit of Taizu in heaven: The hidden danger that you and your ancestors have not been able to eliminate has finally been resolved by me!

It can be said that this visit was more important than other visits by emperors to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, or even the visit by Zhu Di on the day he entered Nanjing.

But even so, Gao Youshi still showed no interest.

  This was just the last shiver after the 99 bows. Any accidents had been ensured not to happen. Gao Youshi had already regarded tomorrow's visit to the Xiaoling Mausoleum as a picnic. His mind was completely focused on what would happen tomorrow.
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