golden scales

Many outstanding politicians in the Ming Dynasty, or old foxes in the officialdom, have shown surprising pedantry on the issue of national unification.

For example, during the Jiajing period, there was a dispute over rituals and discussions.

Emperor Jiajing and the civil officials headed by Yang Tinghe waged a 17-year struggle over who is his father in the sense of patriarchal clan, what title he should enjoy, whether he can enter the Taimiao, and the regulation of temple visits, music and dances...In the end, Emperor Jiajing won the war in the court with his perseverance and cruel means, and for this reason he also bears the name of "tyrant".

During the Wanli period, Emperor Wanli favored Concubine Zheng, and at the instigation of Concubine Zheng wanted to establish Concubine Zheng's son Zhu Changxun instead of the eldest son Zhu Changluo, which triggered a 29-year national dispute.It wasn't until the stiletto attack happened that King Fu became a vassal, and the curtain came to an end.He was not as ruthless as his grandfather, so he was defeated by the Donglin Party.In the end, Guoben was the prince Zhu Changluo, who was Zhu Cihong's grandfather.

Whether it is fighting for the father or for the son, in the final analysis it is fighting for "national unification."

At first, Zhu Cihong could not understand the stubbornness of the emperor and civil servants.Only when he could really think about the problem from the way of thinking of Ming Dynasty people, Ming Dynasty emperors, and Ming Dynasty scholars did he understand the deep meaning.

Think about it, the relationship between the civil servants and Emperor Zhengde was not good at the beginning, and Jiajing was still a good young emperor in their eyes when he first came to the throne, at least he was not as nonsense as Emperor Zhengde.

King Xingxian himself has never offended civil servants, he is the fourth son of Xianzong, and he has passed away, so what if he is given the title of emperor?So what if it's a bit more pompous during the temple visit?So what if there are more dancers?

But, no!

Because under these appearances is the load-bearing wall of the Ming Empire and even Chinese society.

This load-bearing wall is: Gang Chang.

On the basis of Confucianism, the country, nation, and culture can be built layer by layer.If this foundation is destroyed, the values ​​of the entire society will collapse and the order will be destroyed.And once the order is broken.The rules of the game they have mastered will also be rewritten, and they may even lose the power to formulate rules.

Once the emperor intentionally or unintentionally attacked this cornerstone, this order, and this rule, the civil servants could only fight to the death.Unless they are willing to sit still.

When Dong Zhongshu presented the "Countermeasures for Promoting the Virtuous" to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was the Confucian scholars who proposed a very tempting one.At the same time, it is also full of contracts that bind the emperor.The emperors of all dynasties since Han Wu, whether they were virtuous kings or foolish kings, had to play political games in this paper contract.

After understanding this point, Zhu Cihong will be able to know what kind of opposing force he will face when he takes over the imperial power in the future.He must deal with this force, on the one hand to complete his career plan, on the other hand under the premise of social stability.Introduce opposing forces into the cage.

Now the status of the crown prince has given him enough protection, like a tiger crossing the street, everyone shouts to beat him, but no one dares to beat him.The next step is to give birth to a prince, who will be named the grandson of the emperor.Further stabilize your position and cut off the possibility of all vassal kings inheriting the ancestral temple.

This requires a big marriage.

In addition to the three Ming decrees that everyone knows, there are also Yi decrees sent by Queen Zhou and Queen Yi'an Zhang.These explicit or implicit wills all point to this problem.Naturally, Zhu Cihong couldn't, and there was no need to be unhappy with the whole family and the whole country on this issue.

After all his age is there.

According to the age counting habits of the Ming Dynasty people.Over the years, the crown prince is 17 years old.Even if it is a child of an ordinary rich family, a marriage should be established at this age.If there is no force majeure such as bereavement or imperial examination, it is definitely necessary to get married and have children.Even Wu Weiye, who passed the imperial examinations one after another, got married at the age of 22.Hou Fangyu also married his regular wife Chang's early on.

Among the young people in the East Palace system, only Liao Xing and Chen De were both eighteen or nineteen years old and not yet married.But that's because the family saw that they had a bright future, and in order to ensure that the main wife was a well-matched family, they were not in a hurry to find someone to hire.

After the meeting with the prefects of the second-class area, Zhu Cihong didn't delay any longer, and first galloped to Nanyang to comfort the soldiers of the guerrilla battalion, and then turned around and returned to Jinan by land.

……

On December 17, the 29th year of Chongzhen, the Jinan Palace was decorated with lanterns and festoons, preparing for the New Year happily.This kind of festive atmosphere was very rare after the 11th year of Chongzhen. It was all thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who used his troops like a god to regain the land of Zhongzhou in one fell swoop.

"It's okay to be busy fighting outside during the Winter Solstice, and I won't be back until the Spring Festival and New Year's Day." Empress Zhou and Empress Yi'an Zhang sat opposite each other, playing with a string of jade beads in their hands, full of melancholy.

Empress Zhang comforted her and said, "Brother Chun is running around for the sake of the country. From his heart, how can he not want to come back? Alas, the country is now showing signs of rejuvenation, and it is all thanks to Brother Chun."

Empress Zhou felt a little relieved, and said with a little pride: "Brother Chun is not good at literature, but his ability to conquer the world really has the blood of Chengzu."

"It is a good skill to be able to fight and govern the country. My Zhu family dare not produce emperors like Zhao Songqin and Hui." Thinking of her husband, Empress Zhang couldn't help but lamented, "Brother Chun is because of the protection of the spirit of the ancestors in heaven." .”

Empress Zhou was quite careful, hearing Empress Zhang's grief, she said to herself: If Empress Yi'an had a concubine, it would not be her husband's turn to sit in this world, and her son would probably be crowned heir.But it's a coincidence that if there are changes in the sky, the son must also send troops from Shandong, and he still wants to conquer the world.

Empress Zhang was speechless for a while, Zhou Hou was thinking wildly in her mind, and the inner hall suddenly became quiet.

"Empress! Congratulations!" Aunt Liu appeared in a hurry, breaking the short silence of the inner hall, stepped forward to greet the two empresses, and said happily: "Master Qiantui has entered the city!"

"Amitabha, at least we've caught up!" Empress Zhou couldn't help standing up, stepped down from the desk, and said, "Is the bedroom ready? Brother Chun likes flat food stuffed with mutton, have you made it?"

"Go back to your mother, everything is ready." Aunt Liu said with a smile on her face, "The servants have been away several times, and the safekeeping has been properly arranged."

Empress Zhang also stood up and said: "This child is considered filial. But speaking of preparations, it is serious to let him choose a concubine early."

Zhou Hou smiled and said: "I was afraid that he would run away after the Chinese New Year, so I left him in the palace now." Zhou Hou paused and said, "I'm sorry, I don't want that child to live with his family. Reunion Year."

"It's nothing. After we enter the palace, how come we celebrate the New Year with our family?" Empress Zhang also said rather lonely: "Water thrown by a married girl has been like this since ancient times. What's more, Brother Chun is sensible. Everything is up to us to decide, that girl will only feel lucky."

Empress Zhou recalled the days when she was waiting for Xin Wang's choice in Xin Wang's mansion, which was the greatest torture in her life.Especially at that time, King Xin hadn't taken a fancy to his thin and weak self, and his eyes were sweeping around Concubine Tian, ​​which made people feel anxious and lost.If he hadn't been mentally prepared to be given coins to return to his hometown, he might have to cry on the spot.

Zhu Cihong rejected this method of selecting concubines for princes and princes early on, but insisted that Zhou Hou and Zhang Hou should choose for him.The reason is very simple, the crown princess cannot be from a wealthy family, and it will not have the slightest influence on politics and economy, so it will not have any impact on Zhu Cihong's career and work.

In Zhu Cihong's view, a person who has no influence on his career and work is an indifferent person.For a person who doesn't care, it is certainly not worth wasting time to choose.

Anyway, with whom do you not spend your whole life?If you can talk, get in touch more, and if you can't talk, get in touch less. The palace is so big, and it's enough to pay the public rations once a month.

"The girl this time is more pleasing to the eye than the previous Ning family." Empress Zhang said again: "Then Ning family has become a thief. Fortunately, such a woman with no integrity did not marry her."

"This kind of thing is all God's will." Empress Zhou didn't realize that Ning's sin was too great. At that time, there were many rich and powerful people in Beijing who didn't leave. Wouldn't her father also refuse to leave?

"It's just that there is no money in the house now, so I'm afraid it won't be a good thing if we really want to get married." Zhou Hou sighed again.

"There are still 1000 taels of makeup silver here, let's use it first." Queen Zhang said.

Ps:

Please recommend tickets~~Sorry, it's late today~~~