Daming 1805

Chapter 4 The Old Emperor

Zhu Jianyan stood in the corner of the conference room of Wenhua Hall, looked around at the people who came in, and introduced to Zhu Jingyuan next to him in a low voice.

It mainly explains the identities and origins of these people and the interest groups they may represent.

Because it was an emergency meeting, the people who received the notice did not dare to delay, and they all arrived in a short while.

The clan, the cabinet, the military aircraft, the foreign dynasty, and the imperial merchants, there are five important components of the empire, and more than 20 people came here in total.

Everyone waited for a while, and the old emperor Zhu Zhongliang, who had white hair and beard, walked out of the apse slowly with the support of his two entourages.

"See Your Majesty, is Your Majesty alright?"

The waiting princes and ministers did not look at the situation of the emperor, and collectively instinctively bowed their hands and said hello.

The highest etiquette in the early Ming Dynasty was "five bows and three kowtows". "Worship" is not just kneeling and kowtow, but the whole process has rhythm and requirements.

The Qing Dynasty simplified the movements, using a simple multiple combination of kneeling and kowtow, coupled with the bang-bang rhythm of ringing the head, instead of the complicated ceremonial rituals of the Ming Dynasty.

Although three kneeling and nine kowtows have a total of nine heads, it is actually not as complicated as the eight heads of five kowtows and three kowtows. It is also simpler to learn and can show sincerity more intuitively.

However, the three kneeling and nine kowtows in the Qing Dynasty were used whenever the emperor was seen, so that kowtow became a habit of the Qing Dynasty, and the ministers were jokingly called kowtow bugs.

In the Ming Dynasty, the five worships and three kowtows were only used for grand ceremonies and sacrifices after the mid-Ming Dynasty.

"On the day of the syzygy, the emperor is at the top, and the officials of the court often make three kowtows at one time, while the rest of the people stand outside the Fengtian Gate in order and perform five salutations and three kowtows."

After five bows and three kowtows became a "great ceremony", it was usually "not a great ceremony, and there was no need to bow down".

After the resurgence of Renwu, the general kneeling etiquette was abolished, and everyone usually bowed to the ceremony.

When subordinates meet their superiors, including the emperor, they should bow their heads slightly while bowing their hands, which is simpler than the Western royal etiquette of the same era.

Only when it comes to sacrifice to the ancestors of heaven and earth, the emperor will kneel together with his ministers, which is a cumbersome ceremony of five bows and three kowtows.

Zhu Jingyuan also instinctively followed everyone and bowed to say hello, and then heard a low cough:
"Cough cough... I'm safe... Let's all sit down."

The state of the other party seemed to be very bad. Zhu Jingyuan subconsciously raised his head and glanced at the old emperor, but was taken aback and subconsciously shouted:
"Grandpa... your hair... what's wrong with you..."

Zhu Jingyuan was born in the royal family, and there were a large number of uncles and brothers. In addition, Zhu Jingyuan was still in school, so he didn't have the opportunity to see the emperor often.

But we always have to see each other once during the Chinese New Year, and now it's just over a month after the New Year.

Zhu Jingyuan remembered that during the Chinese New Year, his grandfather had black and white hair, and his body seemed to be relatively tough, and he didn't need anyone to help him when he walked.

It's only been a month since I haven't seen her, and her hair has suddenly turned white, her face is also very bleak, and it seems that she can't stand still.

After the shock, Zhu Jingyuan quickly reacted.

My father is going to sign a contract, and he is worried about the infamy of losing ground and seeking peace, and the old emperor should also worry about it!
And no matter which official went to sign the contract, the emperor must finally approve the return, and the hat of losing ground and seeking peace must be put on the emperor's head.

After 30 years of painstaking efforts, trying to open up the territory for the Ming Dynasty again, the result not only failed to gain an inch of land, but caused public resentment to boil, and the vassal state was in jeopardy.

After more than 30 years of diligently governing, he finally ended in a dismal ending with the loss of land and seeking peace. The old emperor's mood can be imagined.

When the old emperor heard Zhu Jingyuan's voice, his cloudy eyes moved slightly, and he asked in a dazed way:
"Are you...whose child? What are you doing in the hall?"

Zhu Jingyuan was not surprised by the fact that his grandfather didn't know him.

His old man has more than 20 sons, and the number of grandchildren may have exceeded a hundred. His father is not favored in the first place, and it is normal for him not to know himself.

The emperor directly asked who his grandson was. It was a very normal thing in a big family. After listening to Zhu Jingyuan, he quickly bowed his hands and answered:
"Report to the grandfather of the emperor, the father and the second son of the emperor, who are taboo on the upper and lower, and the current minister of the Honglu Temple.

"Sun Chen Jingyuan, who has turned 15 this year, is attending the imperial meeting with his father today."

The old emperor moved his head slightly, as if remembering where the child came from, and waved his hand after a brief silence:

"The boy of the second family... go home, today... I have nothing to do with you.

"If you want to do something... Go back and find Uncle Jiu... Arrange..."

Zhu Jingyuan, Zhu Jianyan and his son, as well as the other princes and ministers at the scene, instantly understood what the old emperor meant.

Zhu Zhongliang should think that under the current situation, it is good for Zhu Jingyuan to think of doing things, but he doesn't want him to put today's events on his resume.

He also signaled that the ninth emperor who stayed at the scene, the heir he had already reserved in his heart, would arrange better errands for Zhu Jingyuan in the future.

"My son, take it down."

The ninth son of the emperor, Zhu Jianfeng, bowed and agreed, then turned to his nephew Zhu Jingyuan and said:

"Jingyuan, go home first, and I'll let someone find you later."

Zhu Jingyuan was suddenly a little stunned, and the development of things was unexpected again.

Zhu Jingyuan's idea was to first observe and wait until the discussion between the emperor and the ministers was over and they determined the direction and plan of the peace talks.

Only at the end, when the emperor arranges the person in charge of the negotiation, when his father Zhu Jianyan can't take the task, can he stand up and take the task for his father.

As a result, now, because he saw the appearance of the old emperor, he lost his temper, and then he was targeted by the old emperor. He was going to give a fat mess to drive him home...

However, Zhu Jingyuan quickly calmed down. An unknown so-called fat poor was completely incomparable with the book of real power that was booked.

The key is that only by standing up to the top is the perfect way to crack the father's crisis, so he can't go anyway.

So Zhu Jingyuan bowed his hands and bowed again, very solemnly and earnestly said loudly:

"Sun Chen has his own thoughts on the matter of peace. I hope to attend and participate in today's meeting. I implore the emperor to make it happen."

Quiet, the entire Wenhua Hall was quiet.

Before, when Zhu Jingyuan opened his mouth to speak, the surrounding princes and ministers were a little surprised, but they quickly relaxed.

Everyone began to look forward to a family warm play of the royal grandfather, grandfather and grandson, brother and brother Gong, and uncle and nephew.

It has been more than 150 years since the ancestor ascended the throne to the present, and the emperor has not killed his brother after he ascended the throne. The royal family has become a model of family harmony.

Emperor Shizu himself ascended the throne at the age of 15, and abdicated voluntarily at the age of 60. After abdication, he lived for another 30 years, and lived to the advanced age of 90.

He has always seen his grandchildren secure the throne, and his great-grandson died when he was an adult.

For more than 70 years, Emperor Shizu himself taught by example, educated members of the four generations of the royal family, and determined the order and rules of internal competition within the royal family.

The current emperor, Zhu Zhongliang, is the fifth emperor from Shizu. He still instinctively maintains the habits of Shizu's time, and his love for his descendants is still natural.

In the end, what everyone didn't expect was that the old emperor's actions were indeed as expected, but Zhu Jingyuan, a half-old child, refused.

The ninth son of the emperor, Zhu Jianfeng, was stunned when he heard Zhu Jingyuan's words, and then winked wildly at the father and son Zhu Jianyan and Zhu Jingyuan.

But the father and son were unmoved, and both understood why Zhu Jingyuan had to stay.

(End of this chapter)