Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

As the sun approaches noon, the palace complex appears even more dazzling.

Zhu Youtang left Renshou Palace and took the dragon chariot directly to Huagai Palace. This is a palace located in the middle of the three main halls. It is smaller in scale than Fengtian Hall. Above the main hall is a throne with dragons wrapped around pillars.

The court ritual music of Jiaofangsi started to play, and the music for the enthronement ceremony was being played.

Zhu Youtang sat down on the throne of Huagai Hall, but there were no officials in front of him. If it weren't for the ritual music coming from outside and the imperial guards and eunuchs standing around, this place would undoubtedly seem too deserted.

After Liang Fang, the eunuch in charge of the royal horse supervisor, invited Zhu Youtang, he shouted outside: "Every official is exempt from congratulations!"

The officials of Honglu Temple kneeling outside learned the decree and immediately passed it on word of mouth. The official of Honglu Temple in front of the sixth floor of Fengtian Hall carried out the decree and said: "No congratulations to all officials!"

"I would like to invite your Majesty to ascend to the palace. Long live my emperor!" The civil and military officials, headed by Wan An, the chief minister of the cabinet, had known this outcome and immediately knelt down at Fengtian Hall to pray.

Fengtian Hall is the first of the three main halls, so the route from Huagai Hall to Fengtian Hall is called Shengdian.

Zhu Youtang didn't know why he wanted to play this trick, but he still followed the etiquette and said: "According to the invitation of all officials!"

"Ride to the Fengtian Palace!" Liang Fang immediately sang after Zhu Youtang sat on the dragon chariot.

Today's honor guard was particularly solemn. Not only was there continuous palace music nearby, but there was also playing and playing along the way.

Zhu Youtang turned to look at Liu Jin, who had been accompanying him silently. Liu Jin saw Zhu Youtang stretching out a hand towards him, and immediately handed the "Accession Edict" that he had been holding in his arms to Zhu Youtang.

The enthronement edict is a document announcing the new emperor to the world. It can also be regarded as the governing program of each new emperor.

Zhu Youtang knew that in the original history, Emperor Hongzhi was deceived by those civil servants, or that Emperor Hongzhi had indeed been assimilated by the civil servant group.

History is always surprisingly consistent, and an identical "Edict of Accession" was presented by the cabinet.

Zhu Youtang opened the "Edict of Enthronement" drafted by the cabinet and saw the beginning: "My ancestors, inherited from the saints, followed the destiny of heaven, and are the masters of Huayi. They have established successful businesses, have miraculous merits, and are sincere. Time travels further and further into the past. As our emperor examines the lineage of the great emperor..."

Heir, this is already the undisputed qualification for inheritance, and it can also be regarded as the confidence for his ascension to the throne.

The Ming Dynasty's enthronement edicts had a fixed format. They usually stated the legality of their succession to the people of the world, and then announced an amnesty to calm people's hearts, and then some new policy provisions to benefit the people.

It is worth mentioning that amnesty does not mean the release of all imprisoned criminals, and the ten serious crimes are not included in the amnesty, so there is an idiom called "the heinous crimes will not be pardoned".

The first two clauses of the "Accession Edict" in Zhu Youtang's hand are exactly the specific contents of the amnesty.

1. Before the sixth day of September in the 23rd year of Chenghua, officials, soldiers and civilians committed crimes, except for conspiracy and rebellion: descendants murdered their grandparents and parents, wives and concubines killed their husbands, slaves killed their masters, murders were caused by murder, and poisons and evil spirits were poisoned. Except for murderers and robbers, the party's crimes will not be pardoned if they miss the opportunity. Others have been discovered or not discovered, have been corrected, and have not been corrected. All crimes, no matter how big or small, can be pardoned. Anyone who dares to apologize for past events will be punished for his crime.

2. The military attachés, supervisors, Zhiyin, Chengshi, banner troops, and the rest of the craftsmen school, etc., have performed meritorious service, such as transporting ash, transporting charcoal, chasing horses, doing work, nanometers, setting up stations, and frying salt. , frying iron, guarding sentries, serving as military companions, serving as cooks, etc., are all exempted, and everyone returns to their duties, and the Ning family stays with them. Those civil officials, supervisors, officials, and commission officials who were originally guilty of corruption will be sent back to their place of origin to serve as civilians; those who were military officials who were originally guilty of infringement, bullying, perversion of the law, and coercion and harm to the military will remain on the original guard posts and will not be allowed to take charge of military affairs.

Zhu Youtang knew that these two amnesty contents were based on the previous dynasty, so it was difficult to modify them and he had no intention of modifying them.

But when he saw the Third Regulation and the New Deal, he couldn't help but smile bitterly on his always stern face, and said with emotion: I really can't wait!

"Your Majesty, we're here!" Liang Fang reminded her softly when she noticed that Zhu Youtang was holding the "Edict on Enthronement" and was looking at it.

Zhu Youtang handed the "Accession Edict" in his hand to Liu Jin, who was only in his early twenties. Liu Jin was not a famous power eunuch in later generations, but a little eunuch who emptied the toilet for himself. It was rare that he was born as a minister. Prison.

Liu Jin knew that he was hugging the thickest thigh, and he received the "Edict of Enthronement" respectfully, guarding the "Edict of Enthronement" as if he were protecting his own life.

Zhu Youtang came to the Fengtian Hall, sat down on the gold-lacquered dragon throne, and looked down at the dark crowd of civil and military officials below the steps.

Snapped! Snapped! Snapped!

The Jin Yiwei waved a long whip in front of the Fengtian Hall. The sound of the long whip made people's scalp numb, and they were warning all the civil and military officials below.

"I bow to Your Majesty, long live my emperor!" All the civil and military officials present saluted one after another, making five bows and three kowtows like a roaring mountain and tsunami.

Zhu Youtang looked down at the more than 3,000 civil and military officials kneeling in front of him. At this moment, he truly felt that his status was different. He was already the legitimate lord of the world.

It's just that he knows very well the virtues of these civil servants. If you only promise to be a virtuous king, these civil servants will be as loyal as they are. But if you want to completely control the world, especially if you do something that infringes on their interests, these people must hope that they will go to hell, or even Committing regicide secretly.

At this moment, Jiaofangsi played court music again.

"Your Majesty, please issue the "Edict of Enthronement"!" Honglu Temple officials came out to greet Zhu Youtang on the throne.

In a sense, Zhu Youtang is now the legitimate emperor.

When Zhu Youtang saw Li Rong, the eunuch in charge of the seal, who was holding the jade seal, he nodded slightly and said: "Use the seal!"

Liu Jin kept holding the "Edict of Enthronement" tightly. When it was time to use the seal, he handed the "Edict of Enthronement" to Li Rong, who sealed it.

As the jade seal fell, the edict of Emperor Hongzhi's accession to the throne was freshly released.

Xu Pu, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, was an imperial edict. He received the "Edict of Accession" from Li Rong, the eunuch and eunuch, but for some reason Li Rong looked at him with complicated eyes.

The bells on the Meridian Gate Tower rang, which was a signal to all officials to leave.

All civil and military officials resigned, but they were going to Chengtianmen to obey the imperial edict.

Under the supervision of Zhu Ji, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, Xu Pu left Fengtian Hall holding the "Edict of Enthronement" as heavy as a mountain in both hands and walked steadily towards the Meridian Gate.

When I left, I was very particular, but I wanted to go the wrong way.

Xu Pu, the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, walked down the stairs, but he was afraid that the "Edict of Enthronement" in his hand would fall and affect his official career, so he walked extremely cautiously.

When he arrived at the Meridian Gate, there were guards in Jinyi waiting for the imperial edict, so he placed the "Edict on Enthronement" in a cloud and transported it, and then went all the way to Fengtian Gate.

Zhou Hongmo, the Minister of Rites who was responsible for reading the imperial edict, was already waiting here. After receiving the imperial edict, he immediately faced all the civil and military officials and said in a deep voice: "There is a system!"

"I have received this imperial edict, long live my emperor!" The chief minister of the cabinet, Wan An, and other officials immediately knelt down to greet the imperial edict.

Xu Pu naturally wanted to enter the ranks of civil and military officials and kneel down, but when he saw Zhou Hongmo was about to read out the "Edict of Accession to the Throne", the corners of his mouth couldn't help but raise slightly.

The two old guys in the cabinet were sensible this time, but they asked him to participate in the drafting of the "Edict of Accession", and even the entire "Edict of Accession" was written by themselves.

As long as this "Edict of Enthronement" is announced to the world, not to mention whether a "Hongzhi ZTE" can be created according to the New Deal, I will definitely become a hero in the eyes of the civil servants.

There are a total of 44 new regulations, including many of my own private goods. This "Edict of Enthronement" not only limited the imperial power through regulations, but also directly reduced the power of the eunuchs, and even restricted the emperor's relatives.

According to this idea of ​​governing, the new dynasty will definitely belong to the world of civil servants. As for the invitation of Zhang Yi, the great salt merchant brought by his favorite protégé, it will be a piece of cake.

Zhou Hongmo didn't know that Xu Pu, who was kneeling in front of him, had so much on his mind. After reading out the previous two amnesty decrees, he immediately continued to read out: "Third, salt, grain and state funds. In recent years, there have been many rewards, and They were sued by powerful people at home and abroad to buy the accumulated stock and cut off the private surplus, and they were mixed in with the cross-border sales and private traders, causing harm to the state and depriving the people of the country..."