Daming: If I find a great-grandson, I will teach an emperor through the ages

Chapter 209: After Zhu Xiong’s Heroes

Zhu Xiongying found Zhu Yuanzhang with the certificate of credence. After reading it to him, Lao Zhu was very happy.

This means that Zhu Di's establishment of a country in Europe is basically stable.

He has a grandson, a son, one who is in charge and one who is in charge of external affairs. Why worry that Ming Dynasty will not become more and more prosperous and powerful?

To be honest, Lao Zhu never dared to dream that the Ming Dynasty could become what it is today. His Ming Dynasty has far surpassed all previous dynasties! And everything was on track, even if he died, he was relieved.

But he doesn't want to leave so soon. If he can live one more day, he will first watch his eldest grandson get married...

Next,

In order to celebrate Zhu Di's founding of the country, Zhu Xiongying once again ordered to support the Sun and Moon Kingdom's 200,000 troops, 100,000 horses, and useless muskets and artillery, helping Zhu Di completely gain a foothold in Europe.

In the Ming Dynasty, everything was focused on steady development, and the development of agriculture, industry, and handicrafts was strongly promoted.

At the end of March of the fifth year of Yongwu, the new type of treasure banknotes jointly developed by You Qianyi and Yu Xin was finally completely completed. The complete completion here means that the court enacted new laws and improved the system, and the National Bank also had a mature production of treasure banknotes. of the assembly line.

With enough gold and silver as principal, the credibility of Ming Dynasty's new banknotes was immediately filled up. The problem of banknote replacement that had been thought about did not seem to exist at all. All the people of Ming Dynasty accepted the issuance of new banknotes with joy.

And since the number of new banknotes issued is carefully calculated and linked to domestic productivity, the inflationary pressure faced by the National Bank has dropped sharply after the issuance of new banknotes.

Cao Wei believes that a large part of the reason is that the Ming Dynasty's treasure banknotes used a lot of anti-counterfeiting technology, which has basically eliminated the occurrence of counterfeit banknotes among the people, so the inflation that had just begun to show signs of extinction died down.

The emergence of new banknotes is to completely replace the old banknotes. However, after more than ten years of circulation and use, the number of old banknotes among the people in the Ming Dynasty is also huge. It is impossible for the court to completely update the banknotes overnight, but the issuance of new banknotes , which means that old banknotes will no longer be produced and will be replaced by new banknotes in a very short period of time.

This process may take three to five years, or six or seven years. If the implementation is vigorous, the reform of new and old banknotes may be completed in two or three years.

The trend is like this. With the new banknotes, no one will give up and continue to use the old banknotes. They will spend the old banknotes in various transactions, and these old banknotes will eventually flow into the hands of the National Bank. , thus destroying them uniformly, and then producing new banknotes of equal amount and putting them on the market.

In short, as time goes by, the share of old banknotes in the private sector will become less and less. Then counterfeit banknote dealers will basically lose their profit in making old banknotes. They cannot do the various anti-counterfeiting technologies of new banknotes, and counterfeit banknotes will definitely Slowly reducing or even eradicating it completely is the reason why the market economy has gradually stabilized.

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye it was April. In one month, it would be the wedding of Emperor Zhu Xiongying of the Ming Dynasty.

The emperor's wedding, needless to say, has a lot to pay attention to.

After Cao Wei learned about it, he couldn't help but be stunned by the complicated etiquette.

Since the establishment of the Western Zhou etiquette system, the "Six Etiquettes" for weddings have been used by future generations. Even today, the emperor's weddings are still based on the ancient wedding regulations and must have the "Six Etiquettes".

However, it is impossible for the emperor to choose a match through "matchmaker's words" like in folk weddings, and it is even less possible for the emperor to "condescend" to the bride's family. He will not lead a team to the bride's home like Cao Wei did at the beginning, so the emperor's wedding ceremony is somewhat different. different.

The basic process starts with the steps of the emperor's "acceptance of queens", which are divided into: offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, Linxuan envoys, accepting gifts, asking for names, accepting gifts, accepting levies, reporting dates, telling temples, registering queens, and ordering. Make ceremonies such as welcome, stay in prison and join together.

Because the ancients believed that the so-called "gods" existing in nature dominate everything in the world, worshiping the gods has become a top priority for a country.

As the saying goes, "The most important affairs of the country are sacrifice and military service."

The emperor who regarded himself as the "Son of Heaven" must also offer sacrifices to heaven and earth before holding a wedding. The main rituals were to offer sacrifices to Yuanqiu (god of heaven) and Fangze (god of earth).

Linxuan envoys are a ceremony in which the emperor appoints envoys to perform weddings in the main hall of the palace. In the emperor's wedding, envoys play an important role. Envoys such as chief envoys and deputy envoys represent the emperor in communicating with the bride's family.

After the ceremony began, the chief envoys and deputy envoys appointed by officials at all levels went to negotiate with the bride's family, and then the servant in charge read out the emperor's order and etiquette, and announced the emperor's order: "The daughter of a certain official and a certain surname will be the queen. , order the Duke and others to observe the etiquette and perform the etiquette of acceptance and acceptance."

Afterwards, after receiving the order, the envoys, deputy envoys, bookmakers and other officials immediately rode chariots, led the ceremonial guard and the propaganda team, and traveled between the palace and the future Hou family's home to arrange the wedding ceremony for the emperor. It is held in the owner's family temple or main hall.

The day before the reception, the palace guard, also called the palace guard order, was responsible for setting up tents, felt mats, and coffee tables. A tent should be set up on the right side of the gate of Hou's house for the envoys to rest temporarily.

On the day of acceptance, the chief envoy and deputy envoys and their entourage stopped in the curtain and were greeted by the Hou family's best man. The best man was the person in the host's family who received the envoys and guests.

The envoy entered the Hou family's house and read the emperor's letter to the owner. The owner here was the father of the Hou family and the father of the queen.

Making a letter means that the emperor appoints an envoy to propose marriage to the master of the later clan. After the owner accepts the making of the letter, he must also reply to the envoy with a reply form, which means to thank the emperor for his favor and agree to the marriage.

The four rituals of asking for the name, accepting the acknowledgment, accepting the levy, and announcing the date are the envoys such as the chief envoy and the deputy envoy going to the Hou family's house. They ask the Hou family's name and age by making a book, announce the good omen, grant gifts, and inform the specific date of the marriage.

The master of the Hou clan answered the form according to the contents of the book. Among the gifts given by the emperor to the master of the Hou clan, there must be wild geese, which means that the wild geese fly north and south and harmonize with yin and yang, which is a metaphor for the marriage of a man and a woman.

On the other hand, wild geese are loyal animals that often come in pairs and have only one mate in their lives. They have beautiful meanings and blessings for both parties, not counting the emperor, of course.

After that, there is the temple ceremony, which is to inform the ancestral temple and ancestors about the emperor's acceptance of the queen and the date of marriage.

The ceremony of canonizing the queen is also held by envoys such as Taishi, Zong Zhengqing and others at the Hou family's home.

Because it is the queen's canonization, the ceremony is even more solemn. During the ceremony of conferring the queen, the envoys still have to come to the throne again. The day before the queen is crowned, not only a temporary resting place for the envoys must be built outside the gate of the queen's house, but also the residence of the envoys. In addition to the bureau, a curtain must be built outside the Hou family's boudoir for the minister, that is, the female official.

On the day when the queen is canonized, the chief envoy, deputy envoy and other envoys first enter the resting place outside the gate of Hou's house, while the minister and other female officials enter and enter the curtain outside the boudoir, waiting to inform the master. The master wears court clothes and welcomes him out of the gate. , after bowing in the direction of the imperial city, the principal and deputy envoys entered the gate holding the canon certificates, supplies, etc. to prepare for the ceremony.

After the ceremony began, Shang Gong and other female officials first entered the boudoir, served the queen, put on the jewelry sent by the palace in advance, and changed the coat. The coat is a special dress for the queen and is embroidered with five-color pheasant patterns.

Under the guidance of the female officer, Hou Shi came out of the cabinet, stood in the courtyard, and knelt down facing the palace. The envoy read to Hou Shi the book. The content of the book was that the emperor ordered the envoy to confer a certain woman as the queen. The book contained the words "Teacher Dao Yu" The phrase "Sixth Palace, set an example to the world" means that the queen is required to be responsible for managing the affairs of the palace, becoming a model for the world, and the mother of the world.

After reading out the text of the book, the envoy awarded the queen the book and the treasure ribbon, which is the queen's seal, and the ribbon tied to the seal button, as a token of the queen's identity.

At this point, the queen officially became the queen.

Then, she took her seat as the queen and accepted the salutations from the officials present. After saluting, Shang Yi knelt down to the queen and said, "The ceremony is over." The queen immediately left her seat and was led back to the palace by Shang Gong. Returning to the palace is to return to the queen's boudoir. On the other side, the envoys took the chariot back to the court to report to the emperor.

The envoys were invited to welcome the queen into the palace. The palace was on alert after dusk that day. The emperor sat in the palace wearing a crown, officials of fifth rank and above stood in front of the east and west halls, and the maids and guards held court orders. Ritual standing.

The welcoming envoys dressed in court clothes, holding etiquette in hand, rode in chariots, and once again led the honor guard to the gate of the queen's house, where the guards and traveling honor guards lined up to greet them.

After the ceremony began, the housewife walked out of the room first and stood on the west side, facing south. The civil and military officials who greeted the queen stood outside the door, with the civil officials in the east and the military attachés in the west. The queen was led by the Shang Palace, and Fu Mu guided her out of the palace and into the main room. The maids and other guards served the queen as if they were going to court in the palace. The envoys entered the courtyard and read the emperor's documents to their masters. They were guided by the female officials and attendants and drove out of the gate. The envoys and officials rode in cars or horses, surrounded by honor guards and guards, and drove into the palace in a majestic manner. .

At this time, the palace had already been furnished. A temporary "bedroom" for the queen was built on the east side of the entrance to the emperor's hall, facing south. An emperor's curtain was built in the southwest corner of the hall, facing east, with two layers of mats on the ground. , furnishing barrier.

All kinds of ritual utensils and ceremonial guards required for the ceremony must also be visited in advance and arranged in specific locations. When the queen enters the palace in a car, bells and drums will sound to inform both inside and outside the palace.

After being asked to get out of the car, the queen first went to the "bedroom" to tidy up her clothes, and then the female officer guided her to the door of the main hall and stood to the west. The officials on the other side invited the emperor to take his seat. The female official then guided the queen into the main hall, and then the emperor took the lead. Guide and enter the curtain with the queen to change clothes.

Finally, the emperor let the empress sit down at the table, and they sat down together. While eating, the emperor and empress also performed the rituals of "together with each other" and "together with each other".

After the banquet was over, Shang Gong first led the emperor into the east room, took off his crown and put on his regular clothes, and then led the queen into the curtain and changed her clothes.

At the end, Shang Gong guided the emperor into the curtain, and the wedding was over. It might take more than half a month to complete this process.

Fortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang had already arranged for many of the previous procedures to be completed. In April, Cao Wei was appointed, and he appointed Grand Master Cao Wei as the envoy to go to the Xu family to appoint the emperor as his concubine.

This is also regarded as recognition of Cao Wei. Letting others serve as envoys to the Fang family was at best meant to serve the emperor. However, Cao Wei was once Zhu Xiongying's adoptive father. If he was appointed as the envoy, he would become an uncle. Arrange marriage arrangements for your own children.

When Cao Wei received the appointment, he couldn't help grinning happily, "This decree must be the intention of the Supreme Emperor, hahahaha."

Zhu Hanming said from the side, "In this case, you must be more careful. Your Majesty's marriage cannot make any mistakes."

Cao Wei glared, "What are you talking about? Have you forgotten how I married you back in the first place? Did something go wrong?"

Zhu Hanming's soft and boneless hands stretched out, pinched Cao Wei's ribs and turned around. Cao Wei twisted his body and quickly surrendered. Concubine Han, who was holding Cao Lin at the side, covered her mouth and laughed. The little one in his arms Cao Lin also clapped her hands and laughed.

The first day of May.

Early in the morning, in the square where the military parade ceremony was held in the south of Yingtian City, all the civil and military officials had arrived early to wait.

Today is the time for Zhu Xiongying to lead hundreds of officials to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.

As the morning sun rose, a mighty honor guard slowly drove over at the gate of Yingtian City, and stopped at the foot of the square. Zhu Xiongying got off the dragon chariot, passed through two lines of hundreds of officials, and came to Altar.

The altar was already filled with various sacrifices of cattle, sheep and livestock. The waiters on the side handed incense and Zhu Xiongying began to recite the sacrificial words...

the other side,

Cao Wei, who was appointed as the envoy, was also not idle. He also changed into festive clothes early and came to the Royal Palace Etiquette Department.

Today he is the chief envoy, and there is also a deputy envoy. The deputy envoy is a cousin of the Chang family, named Chang Shiqing, who holds the position of Zongzheng in the court, and there is also a minister who serves as the official.

Seeing Cao Wei's arrival, Chang Shiqing and another servant named Liu came up to greet him and bowed their hands respectfully to Cao Wei, "I have met Grand Master Cao before."

Cao Wei smiled, waved his hand, and asked:

"Is everything ready?"

"Everything is ready. We are just waiting for the envoy to speak before we can set off."

Cao Wei nodded, "Happy events don't wait long, let's get started."

"It is up to you to make the decision."

Xuanzhi took out an imperial edict and read, "Now, by the emperor's order, the daughter of the Xu family, Duke of Wei, is adopted as the queen, and the Duke and others are ordered to observe the etiquette and honor the ceremony..."

Then, Cao Wei took the lead, riding in a chariot, leading an honor guard and an agitation team, starting from the palace without playing music, and rushed along the wide streets in the direction of Xu Mansion. Countless people stopped to watch along the way.

This way, Xu Mansion.

Xu Yungong and his entire family were already waiting at the entrance of the mansion, and outside the gate, curtains had been placed. The curtains were fully equipped with all the necessary equipment. They were used to allow Cao Wei, the envoy, deputy envoys, Xuan Zhi and others to stay tonight. A place to rest.

Zhu Xiongying wanted to marry Xu Miaojin as his queen, but Wei Guogong Xu Da died early, and his eldest brother was like his father. Xu Yungong, Xu's eldest son, took on the responsibility of the head of the family.

Xu Miaojin was nervous about today, but she had to stay in the boudoir all the time and no one knew.

Xu Yungong was also a little nervous. Previously, the Xu eldest daughter Xu Miaoyun married Zhu Di and became the princess. After today, his sister Xu Miaojin will become the queen again. What kind of favor is this?

If his father Xu Da hadn't risked his life on the battlefield, how could the Xu family have successively produced princesses and queens?

When Xu Miaojin enters the palace, the Xu family will truly enjoy the happiness of the royal family, without any water mixed in. As long as the Xu family does not do treacherous things such as rebellion in the future, it can be said that they will enjoy endless glory and wealth for generations to come.

Xu Yungong saw a large number of people and carriages appearing at the other end of the street. He knew that it was Cao Wei and the others who were coming. He immediately ordered all the family members to tidy up and wait for the envoy and deputy envoy.

Finally, the honor guard led by the chariot slowly stopped in front of Xu Yungong and others.

"Welcome the chief envoy, deputy envoy, and Xuanzhi." Xu Yungong saluted happily.

Xuanzhi took out the book and began to read out the sacred order. Everyone in the Xu family knelt on the ground. It was not until Xuanzhi finished reading the book that they got up.

"I have been favored by Your Majesty. Everyone in Xu Fu's family is grateful for Your Majesty's kindness. It is a blessing that my daughter can enter the palace as a queen..."

After Xu Yungong took over making the book, he also talked a lot, which meant that he agreed to the marriage and was grateful for the emperor's favor.

Then there are the four rituals of asking for names, accepting acknowledgment, receiving a petition, and announcing the date.

Cao Wei took out another copy of the book, asked about the name and age of the queen, and announced the good omen. Xu Yungong answered fluently. After the ceremony was over, Cao Wei waved his hand and began to award gifts.

"According to His Majesty's order, I informed the Xu family that the wedding date after the registration is May 20th..."

(End of this chapter)