Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian has seen the power of opera in cultural propaganda. In the absence of art forms such as film, it is the most effective form of propaganda.

Since the birth of Southern Opera in the Song Dynasty, the art form of drama has become more and more mature in China. Masters of drama such as Guan Hanqing and Ma Zhiyuan made this art form widely accepted by literati.

Wang Shizhen, Xu Wei and others have all created dramas. Tang Xianzu, who passed away more than ten years ago, is even known as the saint of drama.

Ling Yichu, who was recruited by Zhu Youjian, had a relationship with Tang Xianzu and created many plays, including the opera anthology "Nanyin Sanlai".

The drama of the Ming Dynasty was unprecedentedly prosperous. Zhu Youji thought of this and said to Liu Zongzhou and others:

"There is music in the drama, but do you think it can be considered music?"

As a lecturer, Liu Zongzhou thought for a moment and responded immediately:

"Of course theater is fun."

"Music is the source of sound. It is rooted in the human heart and the sense of things."

"Drama is made by people feeling things, so of course it can be regarded as entertainment."

Wen Tiren, Qian Qianyi and others who participated in the sutra banquet also believed that drama could be considered fun.

With this consensus, Zhu Youjian said:
"In this case, the Yuefu not only collects poems, music scores, and dance scores, but also plays."

"Nowadays, many of the dramas circulated among the people are good and bad. We need to organize people to sort them out and make corresponding modifications under the guidance of the Datong Thought."

"Dramas performed in public must promote righteousness and not violate public order and good customs. They should allow people to be both physically and mentally happy and educated while listening to the drama, and subtly improve their moral standards."

"To enter a world of great harmony in the future, everyone needs to have a very high moral level. Drama must be able to play a role in this process."

"Some things that do not meet the requirements for entering a world of great harmony will have to be modified by personnel."

Ideologically point out the direction of drama creation and let it serve for publicity.

Officials of the Ming Dynasty were very accepting of this. Because since drama can be regarded as entertainment, it must certainly serve the purpose of cultivating rituals and music. The emperor's request seemed to them a matter of course.

As the Minister of Rites, Wen Tiren was responsible for the establishment of Yuefu. After hearing this order, he asked:

"Who should be in charge of Yuefu, and how many officials should there be?"

Zhu Youjian did not intend to let these people become officials. After thinking about it, he said:
"Yuefu, like Daming News Agency, is regarded as a public institution and does not have officials to manage it."

"The Hanlin Academy will set up a literary and art museum and appoint a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy to take charge of the supervision work. They will also be responsible for the Yuefu."

"Members of the Yuefu invite everyone from poetry, composition, dance, and drama to join. For example, Ling Yichu, who is the editor-in-chief of a news agency, can be invited to work part-time."

"You can recommend the rest of the members."

With this said, many officials recommended local celebrities to the emperor. Ruan Dacheng and other DPRK officials who were good at drama were also recommended to take part-time jobs.

After all, the name Yuefu is still very popular among literati. Remaking rituals and music is a big deal, and there are countless people who want to participate in it.

Even Liu Zongzhou recommended someone to the emperor, and that was Li Yu, who went to Beijing with Zhou Maolan to write "Qing Zhongpu". He even mentioned this drama and asked it to be used as a model:
"The play "Qing Zhong Pu" is written entirely based on facts and is intended to promote righteousness and praise loyalty."

"I think I can serve as a model and be included in the Yuefu."

Zhu Youjian was very happy to see Liu Zongzhou respond so positively. But after hearing the content of "Qing Zhong Pu", he frowned slightly and thought about Liu Zongzhou's intention:

"Everything in "Qing Zhong Pu" is based on the facts, but it clearly contains praise and criticism. This is to conquer my army! 』

"If I don't handle it well, wouldn't I become a foolish king?" 』

In "Qing Zhong Pu", Wei Zhongxian and other eunuchs are obviously the villains, while Zhou Shunchang, Zhou Maolan and others are the protagonists of Qing Zhongyi.

Now the protagonist Zhou Maolan comes to the court to avenge her father Zhou Shunchang. Can the emperor Zhu Youjian refuse to agree to this?
Therefore, Zhu Youjian believed that Liu Zongzhou was using his own army when he mentioned this drama!
Compared with Huang Zongxi who was making trouble everywhere in the capital, Liu Zongzhou, the teacher, was obviously much more powerful. As long as Zhou Shunchang's case can be solved, will there be difficulties in the cases of Huang Zunsu and other Donglin gentlemen?

It can be said that Liu Zong's move on Monday was a decisive blow, leaving Zhu Youjian with no way out. As long as he doesn't want to become a fool who doesn't distinguish between right and wrong in the "Qing Zhongpu", he has to turn Zhou Shunchang's case over.

Zhu Youjian felt uncomfortable with this feeling of being forced by his ministers. But considering that he had promised to overturn the verdict of the murdered Donglin Party members, now he could leave a good name in the "Qing Zhongpu" just by making a show of it, so he followed the situation and said:
"Mr. Liu is in charge of the General Investigation Department. The case of Zhou Shunchang and others will be investigated by Mr. Liu and submitted to Dali Temple for finalization."

"My husband is famous all over the world. I believe he will not disappoint me."

"Let Li Yu rehearse "Qing Zhong Pu" carefully as a model play."

Leave the matter to Liu Zongzhou and see how he handles it.

Although Liu Zongzhou was not very involved in cliques, he was indeed included in the Donglin Party by the Eunuch Party and had close contacts with many Donglin Party members. When the eunuchs destroyed the academy and persecuted the gentlemen of Donglin, Liu Zongzhou once wrote poems and elegy in an attempt to attack the eunuchs. However, Gao Panlong dissuaded him and asked him to stay away from home.

Later, Gao Panlong was persecuted by the eunuchs and drowned himself in a pond. Huang Zunsu and others were also killed one after another. Liu Zongzhou felt that it was inevitable that in such a situation, he understood the knowledge of Shendu.

It can be said that he was extremely resentful towards the eunuchs in his heart and placed great emphasis on the distinction between good and evil.

At this time, seeing the emperor handing over the reversal of the verdict to him, Liu Zongzhou was relieved and at the same time, he immediately asked someone to impeach him, that is Ruan Dacheng, who had been recommended to join Yuefu:

"Ruan Dacheng fought for the official position and failed, so Wei Dazhong died in prison."

"Kill the great one Wei Jue, and the great one will kill his chief envoy."

"There is a letter from Wei Xuezhen, the son of Wei Dazhong, here. I invite your Majesty to take a look."

Zhu Youjian didn't know about this. He only knew that Ruan Dacheng was involved with the eunuchs, but he didn't know the specifics.

Now after listening to Liu Zongzhou's words, I know that Ruan Dacheng was the main messenger of Wei Dazhong's death. This crime was quite serious. According to the treatment policy he had set before, those who caused death like Ruan Dacheng would have to be dismissed from office and exiled even if they were not sentenced to death.

Thinking of his appointment of Ruan Dacheng as the young minister of Honglu Temple years ago, Zhu Youjian frowned, knowing that if he dealt with Ruan Dacheng, all the officials he had appointed before would be impeached.

So in his heart, he didn't want to deal with Ruan Dacheng at this time. Not to mention that Ruan Dacheng is a bit talented and can be called a drama talent.

But he could not ignore Liu Zongzhou's impeachment, so he could only take the letter he submitted and read it carefully. (End of chapter)