golden scales

Zhu Cihong briefly repeated the offer of the prisoner, and informed Chongzhen of the reasons for his objection, and then quietly looked at his father, waiting for the holy order.

Chongzhen did not expect that offering prisoners would have something to do with the administration of officials and the hearts of the people, but he was still reluctant to let it go.He said: "There are some reasons, but in my opinion, your reasoning is not enough."

"Please enlighten my father."

"You only see that morale is demoralized, but have you never thought about reassuring the people?" Chongzhen said: "After the great chaos, the people's hearts can be stabilized by offering captives to a conclusion. Naturally, everyone works happily. Is this the truth?"

"The government of officials has been corrupted, how can the people's hearts be at peace? My son thinks this is putting the cart before the horse." Zhu Cihong said.

Chongzhen kept silent with a haughty face.

"However, if you perform the prisoner offering ceremony, you will be able to honor the face of the Holy Son of Heaven." Zhu Cihong suddenly said in a low voice.

Chongzhen panicked, his face flushed, and he said: "I don't mind this."

Zhou Hou seemed to be choking, and coughed lightly.

"Father doesn't care, but my son does." Zhu Cihong said.

Chongzhen was overjoyed in his heart, but said in his mouth: "It really doesn't matter."

"Well, since father insists so much, then that's all." Zhu Cihong said.

Chongzhen choked.

"It's really troublesome. The restructuring of the six central ministries has not yet been finalized. Money and food exchanges and government offices are all mixed up. Thinking about it gives me a headache." Zhu Cihong pretended to be helpless and tired.

"Why hasn't it been changed?" Chongzhen said solemnly: "Although it is said that governing a big country is like cooking a small dish, you must be cautious and prudent. But you must act vigorously and resolutely! Adding temples like this will be a redundant office at worst, and it will be abolished if it is useless. What do you deserve? Brother Chun is right not to be as frivolous as a young man, but he can't be so old that he is almost dead."

"I would like to follow the teachings of my father and emperor." Zhu Cihong got a pass for the reform of the temple, not the "re-discussion" and "let's see" last time.It's also a matter of mind.

The political arena is the same as the gambling table, there is no father and no son, and now you can make conditions.

"Father, my son still wants to ask for an errand." Zhu Cihong said.

"You are the second heir of the state, and now the government has reported too much to judge you, what more work do you need?" Chongzhen was taken aback.

"Family matters." Zhu Cihong smiled: "This national calamity has made my ministers see through the faces of some relatives. Even if the ancestors have the righteousness of relatives, my ministers can't take care of them."

Zhou Hou's hands stopped, not knowing who Zhu Cihong was referring to.

This national crisis, whether it is the emperor's relatives, or the vassal and county kings, is so embarrassing... King Qin even committed himself to trespassing, and his whereabouts are still unknown. These things will eventually be resolved.

"Do you have someone to choose?" Chongzhen has been emperor for 17 years.Is there anything I don't understand?Gritting his teeth, he decided to make the deal.

"Although Yujian, a concubine of the Tang Dynasty, was guilty, he was the only vassal king who dared to personally lead the guards at the time of the country's change. This kind of loyalty is really rare. My ministers want to restore his title, thinking that it is the order of the clan." Zhu Cihong saw Chongzhen There was no overly excited reaction, and he continued: "Other princes in the vassal can also order him to come to Beijing to take up the post of Zuo Zongzheng and Zuo Zongren."

Chongzhen looked at Zhu Cihuang, wondering what his son's plans were.

"Although the vassal is my Zhu family's business, it is also a major issue related to the survival of the country. It is because most of the land is acquired by the vassal that the people have no place to stand. Now that the country is newly established, it is still necessary to invite these 'relatives' to Beijing. It’s good to discuss and see how to create a balance.”

Chongzhen said: "The ancestors set up the vassal guards to guard the capital, not only because of the righteousness of relatives, but also because their own family members are more reliable. Among other things, your two brothers will also help you stabilize the place in the future. Knowing son is like father .I know you don't trust these relatives, but after all, you can't go too far."

"Father, don't worry, my ministers are very protective of their relatives. Otherwise, Jin, De, and Heng will not be allowed to invest in the gold mine." Zhu Cihong said.

Chongzhen thinks about it, but he also suspects that investing in a gold mine is actually a pitfall.It's just that there is no basis to question his son's character for no reason.

"The concubine of the Tang Dynasty also suffered so many years of imprisonment in Fengyang, and was once insulted by an eunuch. Now that the country is pacified, it is not a bad idea to let him out." Chongzhen said slowly: "But the patriarchal order is still too high. Some, you can give Zuo Zongzheng."

In the third year of Hongwu Emperor Taizu Gao set up the Dazong Zhengyuan, and in the 22nd year it was changed to the Zongren Mansion, and the five kings of Qin, Jin, Yan, Zhou and Chu served as the Zongren Linghe Zuo Zongzheng and Zuo Zongren.Although they are all official ranks of the first rank, this ranking is based on age, which can be regarded as determining the rank of officials in the clan's mansion.

Later, most of the officials in the clan mansion were held by princes and relatives, and later the actual affairs were assigned to the Ministry of Rites, and the clan mansion was just a signboard.This time the Ministry of Rites was restructured, and the work of the clan mansion still had to be managed by the clan.In fact, it is to preserve and manage the clan genealogy, and is responsible for such trivial matters as naming, inheriting the title, life and death, marriage and so on.

Zhu Cihong was quite satisfied with Zuo Zongzheng's position. By the way, he recommended Zhu Changjie, the king of Dongyuan who had been serving as the teaching post of King Ding and King Yong, as You Zongzheng, and Zhu Shenxuan, king of Jin, and Zhu Yihai, king of Lu, as Zuo Zongzheng.

Chongzhen agreed one by one.

In this way, the deal was concluded, and Zhu Cihong no longer obstructed the offering of prisoners at the Meridian Gate.

Instead of blocking, Zhu Cihong became very active.Every day, officials from Honglu Temple were called to inquire about the progress, and they personally reported to Emperor Chongzhen.

"Because the emperor is going to drive the Meridian Gate this time and be captured in person, the etiquette has more reference to the temple system." Zhu Cihong held the etiquette book and told Chongzhen about all the links.Although there were many prisoner offering ceremonies in Ming Dynasty, only Emperor Wanli was captured at the Meridian Gate recently, so using his etiquette system at least would not cause jokes.

"It's just that my son changed two things a little bit," Zhu Cihong said, "according to the Hongwu system, criminals are covered with red clothes and red hats. However, vermilion is the color of our country, even ordinary people can't wear it, how can prisoners wear it? What people thought before is not in line with today's situation, so my son thinks that he should be bald and sackclothed."

Chongzhen nodded: "Yes."

"Secondly, in September of the fifth year of Yongle, when Emperor Chengzu accepted Annan Li Jiyi, Li Cang, etc., when Fang Bin, the minister of the Ministry of War, read the Lubu, Emperor Chengzu asked: 'Is this the way of being a minister?'" Zhu Cihong said: "So this time The son-in-law changed it to the Duchayuan pronouncing Lubu, and then the father asked the crime."

Chongzhen felt that the crown prince's words were a bit awkward, so he found the problem after careful reading.The key is not the timing of the questioning, but Xuan Lubu's yamen.

"During the Taizu period, Lubu was proclaimed by the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and after Chengzu, it was proclaimed by the Ministry of War. Why is it proclaimed by the Metropolitan Procuratorate this time?" Chongzhen asked.

"The time of Taizu was the time when the country was founded and the Dingding was established. Chengzu's destruction of Annan was the achievement of opening up the frontier and expanding the land. Therefore, the Lubu was read out by the governor's office and the Ministry of War." Zhu Cihong said: "The pacification of the eastern captives this time is just that we are suffering from chaos on the frontier. Domestic crimes should be reported and prosecuted by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and ordered by the emperor."

Chongzhen felt that his son's obsession with the rule of law was almost equivalent to the obstinacy of the courtiers with the ritual system.How immature is this?However, considering that his son is only 17 years old, there is still time to sharpen him, so there is no need to argue about it.What's more, it sounds good to question and judge the captives in front of the people and the barbarians.

"Father, how should these Tartars be sentenced in the end?" Zhu Cihong asked.

"Execution?"

Zhu Cihong nodded.

Except for the fact that the emperor kept talking about "offering captives at the Meridian Gate", in the notices of the various yamen in the capital, "Public Trial and Holy Judgment" was written in large ink characters.It's not just the names that are different.Its meaning is also different.However, few people pay attention to the difference between these two words. They only think that the former emphasizes the identity of the captive, while the latter emphasizes the nature of the ceremony.

It was the first time for Honglu Temple to handle such a large-scale ceremony without the guidance of the Ministry of Rites, and it seemed to be full of enthusiasm.In a rush of work, the entire prisoner offering-public trial process was formulated with reference to the Wanli prisoner offering ceremony and the ninth year of Chongzhen's prisoner offering ceremony.

On the third day of July in the 19th year of Chongzhen, Xiao Mo and Xiao Donglou completed the handover. From the east of Shanhaiguan to Ningyuan, all of them were the defense area of ​​the Second Guards Division.He led the First Guards Division back to Beijing.Stationed outside the city.

The fifth day is the prisoner offering ceremony.

……

"Daming is the Kingdom of Huanghuang after all. Although there are rogues and captives from the east, they can be pacified in the end." A man with a strange accent and wearing a costume of Ming Dynasty raised his wine glass and said with a smile: "In order for Daming to quell the chaos as soon as possible, everyone Please drink this cup to the full."

Those who sat at the same table with him raised their glasses and drank it down.

These people were wearing white clothes and black skirts, with the waist almost pulled to the chest.The net scarf worn on the head is also quite different from the Ming Dynasty style, it is Dongyi Korean costume.Because North Korea and Donglu formed a kingdom of monarchs and ministers, which is equivalent to a vassal state of Donglu, these Korean businessmen were able to live in Beijing all the time and experienced the repetitions of Ming Shun and Qing Ming.

"Jinpengtu. Now that you're back in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, how do you feel?" The man in the Ming Dynasty's costume called a person at the banquet by his name, but that person remained calm.

"Now that I have arrived in Daming, I know the customs of Shangguo. It really is a country of etiquette." Clothes work. The atmosphere of the kingdom of heaven is really enviable."

"Even the maid, she was dressed very decently, without showing her body." A young man beside Jin Pengtu said loudly, "It really is the Kingdom of Heaven!"

Jin Pengtu smiled slightly at the man, seeing that the table was full of people who didn't know him, he said, "This is Lin Yiguan Zaizhong who was born in China."

The others were all white men, and when they saw the middle-aged man, they all restrained their faces, put on expressions of reverence, and saluted like a ritual.Even the proprietor, who was wearing bright clothes before, couldn't help but be moved, which shows how strict the classification of classes in North Korea is.

"I'm not a real translator yet, I'm just ordered to help the angels translate documents." Lin Zaizhong laughed and said modestly.

"Being able to undertake the mission of the master is the same as a real official." The master said: "I am grateful and polite."

"Be courteous and courteous." Lin Zaizhong looked around and said, "I heard people from the Ming Dynasty say that the capital was badly damaged along the way. Now it seems that may not be the case."

"Officer Lin Yi didn't know that the capital used to have a population of over one million, and there were a lot of cars and horses. From the outbreak of the epidemic the year before last, to the invasion of the capital and the looting of the Tartars, the capital today is not as good as half of what it used to be."

Lin Zaizhong was speechless inwardly: "Even so, it's too big to be frightening. I really don't know how grand the prisoner offering trial tomorrow will be."

Jin Pengtu was familiar with him, so he let go a little, and said, "I heard that prisoner offering ceremonies are common in Ming Dynasty, and the Holy Son of Heaven only wears ordinary clothes to the Meridian Gate, even the ceremonial guards are similar to those in the Ping Dynasty."

Lin Zaizhong was slightly disappointed, and said: "It's rare to come to Daming once, and I really hope to see the most magnificent ritual system in Daming!" (To be continued...)

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