Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"Do you have any recommendations for candidates for the Purple Pavilion Heroes?"

After briefly mentioning the qualifications of worthy ministers, Zhu Youjian asked the ministers.

Compared with the large number of Purple Pavilion meritorious ministers, the emperor had clearly stated before that the less than twenty Purple Pavilion meritorious ministers were the focus of the ministers' attention.

It can even be said that many ministers have already made a list of the heroes of the Purple Pavilion.

It was only because the emperor had not mentioned this matter some time ago, and the government and the public were distracted by matters such as remaking rituals and music, that the matter of the Purple Pavilion hero did not arouse heated discussion.

Now that the emperor mentioned it in the Purple Pavilion, the officials immediately spoke actively. Huang Liji, the chief minister of the cabinet, said:
"His Majesty said that in the Purple Pavilion, the virtuous officials and meritorious officials who founded the country and came to peace are displayed."

"I believe that the most meritorious officials are none other than Sanyang. Sanyang joins the cabinet and assists in government affairs. The world will be peaceful and the government will not lose its power."

"Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu should be the heroes of the Purple Pavilion!"

As soon as this statement came out, the cabinet academicians all agreed.

As the person who established the cabinet status, it is natural to imagine Sanyang's status in the heart of the bachelor.

The cabinet has changed from an advisory body to a central government office that adjudicates matters. Today's bachelors have Sanyang to thank. It was they who completed this change by taking advantage of the fact that Emperor Yingzong was young and came to power during the Zhengtong years.

So the first thing Huang Liji mentioned was these three people.

Other civil servants also admired Sanyang very much and believed that these three people should be listed as the heroes of the Purple Pavilion. Even if there are objections, they just think that three people taking up three places are too many, and one with less merit should be subtracted. But whoever has the least merit has his own end. Most people think that they should be included at the same time.

Zhu Youjian was very dissatisfied with these three names. San Yang has a great reputation among civil servants, but in Zhu Youjian's view, he does not think they can be called heroes.

Sanyang was responsible for the loss of the Chief Secretary of Jiaozhi, the continuous battle of Luchuan, and the subsequent Tumu Fort Incident. It is precisely because they reject military warfare and do not pay enough attention to the frontier that they have caused so many troubles.

How can Sanyang, who abandoned his land and lost his land like this, be called a hero? When Taizu Chengzu comes back to life, I'm afraid he will whip them.

If Sanyang is taken as the first hero of Zige, I am afraid that Zige will be regarded as a joke like Zhaoxun Pavilion in Song Dynasty.

It was not necessary in Zhu Youjian's opinion to openly oppose the proposals of so many ministers, so after careful consideration, he said in a roundabout way:

"If San Yang can be listed as a hero of the Purple Pavilion, what about Hu Hui and Zhang Fu?"

"It's really inappropriate for the five of them to take up five places."

"And these people have been loyal to Chengzu most of the time, and they should be regarded as the heroes of Chengzu."

"I think we should imitate the Taizu Heroes Temple in Jilongshan, Nanjing, and build the Taizu Heroes Temple in a selected location in Beijing. The heroes who contributed to Jingnan and those who assisted Chengzu in governing the world should be included in the temple of heroes."

Use this method to veto Sanyang as a hero of the Purple Pavilion.

At the same time, it also had the intention of strengthening the status of the ancestor and stabilizing the inheritance rights of the King of Yan.

After all, he planned to divide the clan into feudal clans. In order to prevent the vassal kings from getting confused after they obtained the fiefdoms, he had to elevate Chengzu's status and emphasize that the current throne belonged to Chengzu's descendants.

Although the officials did not know the emperor's intention, they could not object to the establishment of the Chengzu Meritorious Officials Temple. Even if they had opinions about the Jingnan Campaign, they did not dare to express it openly in front of the emperor, thinking that Chengzu and the heroes of Jingnan were wrong.

He only raised objections to Sanyang being listed as a hero of the founding of the ancestors.

Zheng Yiwei, a bachelor of Dongge University, said:
"Although Sanyang served Chengzu, it was the time for them to uphold the country's virtues and orthodoxy."

"It seems inappropriate to list them as the heroes of the founding of the ancestors."

No matter how great San Yang's contribution was, he was still a junior when faced with the hero of Jingnan. When they entered the Chengzu Meritorious Ministers Temple, they had to queue at the back.

Maybe even Zhang Fu's ranking is higher than them.

Zhu Youjian wanted this effect. He didn't want people to praise Sanyang and follow these three people as examples, so he said:

"The rule of Renxuan was inherited from Chengzu."

"Furthermore, Renzong was in power for only nine months, and most of his achievements were made while supervising the country."

"So the rule of Renxuan should be called the rule of Chengxuan."

"This is another reign of the Ming Dynasty after Taizu's reign."

"San Yang, Hu Hui, Zhang Fu and others were all the heroes of the Chengxuan rule!" Taking advantage of the opportunity to talk about the heroes, the rule of Renxuan, which was highly praised by the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty, was changed to the rule of Chengxuan. Further strengthen Chengzu's status and change Chengzu's impression in people's minds.

Listening to the emperor's words, the ministers felt as if they had eaten flies. Because they didn't like Taizu becoming an ancestor very much.

How could such good emperors as Renzong and Xuanzong be connected with Chengzu?

Chengzu went to the Northern Expedition when he had nothing to do, causing chaos in the world. Renzong and Xuanzong stopped using troops and rested with the people. How could he be like Chengzu?

The current emperor links Chengzu, Renzong, and Xuanzong together, making them extremely uncomfortable.

Zhu Youjian was actually uncomfortable because he did not think that the achievements of Renzong and Xuanzong could compare with Chengzu.

These two emperors did not cultivate military equipment, which led to the loss of Jiaozhi, the rise of Luchuan, and the revival of Mongolia... The disasters they left behind broke out during the Zhengtong years, triggering the Tumubao Incident. The Ming Dynasty's booming momentum came to an abrupt end. Therefore, Zhu Youjian never believed that Renzong and Xuanzong could compare with Chengzu.

Unfortunately, the literati of the Ming Dynasty admired Renxuan and looked down upon Taizu Chengzu. Zhu Youjian could only connect Chengzu with Renzong and Xuanzong to create the "Chengxuan Rule".

To strengthen this concept, Zhu Youjian said:
"Zheng He's seven voyages to the West were all during the reign of Emperor Chengzu and Emperor Xuanzong."

"At that time, all the countries came to court, and the Ming Dynasty knew that all the countries would submit to the Ming Dynasty."

"I am still fascinated by it when I think about it."

"If the navy of the Ming Dynasty had always been so strong, how could there have been any Japanese troubles?"

"How can foreigners from the various countries in Thailand and the West dare to invade places like Dongning and Xiangshan'ao?"

"How can the foreigners who occupy Luzon dare to kill overseas people?"

I am fascinated by Zheng He's voyages to the West.

Even now, if the Ming Dynasty could have a naval force comparable to Zheng He's fleet, Zhu Youjian would dare to drive away the foreigners and implement enfeoffment, and move the Ming Dynasty's refugees to Southeast Asia to reduce population pressure.

It's just that the navy of Ming Dynasty has been in decline for a long time, and Zhu Youjian can only reorganize it at this time.

The ministers had different views on this. University scholar Zheng Yiwei said:
"The Three Treasures eunuchs' voyages to the West cost hundreds of thousands of money and food, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians died."

"Even if all the foreigners surrender and acquire countless treasures, what good will it do to the country?"

"This is a bad thing!"

Cheng Jiming, Li Biao, Liu Zongzhou and others also held this view and did not think that Zheng He's voyages to the West was a good thing.

Some people even advised the emperor not to be too happy with his achievements and pay too much attention to maritime affairs.

Zhu Youjian was too lazy to argue with them, and he didn't want to discuss with them overseas affairs that he could settle with one word, lest these people care about overseas affairs and cause another disturbance in overseas affairs. So he said directly:
"From Zheng He's voyages to the West, we can see that Renxuan's politics followed the founding of the ancestors."

“The same goes for the Chief Secretary of Cochin and other matters.”

"Therefore, I connect Chengzu with Renzong and Xuanzong. Do you have any objections?"

The ministers were speechless now, because the emperor's meaning was already clear. It is to forcefully use these things to connect Chengzu with Renzong and Xuanzong, and create a "Chengxuan rule".

Even Liu Zongzhou and others thought of the famous "Chengkang Zhi" of the Zhou Dynasty, thinking that the emperor wanted to use the name Chengxuanzhi as a reference to Chengkang's rule.

Even if they have objections to this kind of paying tribute to their ancestors, they can only hold it in.

At this moment, many people really understand why this dynasty does not revise its history. Who would believe the history books compiled like this?
Zhu Youjian ignored it. Seeing no one objected, he just assumed they acquiesced. Xiang Liji said:

"The book "Chronicles of the Imperial Dynasty" is to connect and write the events during the reigns of Chengzu, Renzong and Xuanzong."

"The rule of Chengxuan was inherited from the rule of Hongwu and was the first rule of the country."

"The heroes of these two periods should be worshiped in the Taizu Heroes Temple and Chengzu Heroes Temple."

"The list of Taizu's meritorious ministers temple must also be re-determined. Meritorious ministers should be added as much as possible."

Arrange the Ministry of Rites and Taichang Temple to determine the list of temples for Taizu's meritorious officials, and build a new temple for Taizu's meritorious officials in Beijing.

Then he continued to discuss with the officials the list of the heroes of the Purple Pavilion. (End of chapter)