I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 494 Meridian Gate Ceremony
February [-]th, Forbidden City.

Today is a happy day for Zhu Youxiao.

Departing from Guiyang in December, Yang Zhaoji, Jiang Lin and others, who returned triumphantly, finally arrived in Beijing after more than two months of return.

According to the original planning and deliberations of the cabinet, a prisoner dedication ceremony was held as early as today at the Meridian Gate.

Zhu Youxiao had been looking forward to such a grand ceremony for a long time. He woke up early today, changed into his uniform under Zhang Yan's service, and prepared to go to Meridian Gate.

"After His Majesty came to the throne, he worked hard to quell the rebellion. The Beijing camp has lived up to everyone's expectations and returned triumphantly. Today is the Meridian Gate ceremony. I congratulate Your Majesty."

Zhang Yan naturally knew that the emperor was in a good mood, so after changing clothes for Zhu Youxiao, she and everyone in Kunning Palace bowed to congratulate Zhu Youxiao.Seeing the Queen like this, Zhu Youxiao immediately smiled and said:

"You still know how to speak. I'm in a good mood today. You can give some rewards to everyone in the palace later."

"My concubine obeys the order, please rest assured, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao nodded when he saw this, and then said goodbye to Zhang Yan briefly before leaving Kunning Palace, getting on the dragon boat and heading to the Meridian Gate.

When Zhu Youxiao was watching TV series in his previous life, he often heard the so-called "beheading outside the Meridian Gate".Therefore, many netizens have always thought that the Meridian Gate was the place where beheadings took place. After he traveled through time and briefly learned about it, he found that he was completely wrong.

The Meridian Gate can be said to be one of the main entrances to the Forbidden City, and it can be said to be the seat of the Emperor's majesty. How could anyone kill someone at their own doorstep?
Moreover, the Meridian Gate is not commonly used on weekdays, and only the emperor himself has the right to enter and exit the Meridian Gate when traveling.

In addition, the Meridian Gate will only be used during important events. At this time, some specific people will always be allowed to pass through the main entrance of the Meridian Gate.

For example, when the emperor is getting married, the queen can also pass through the main entrance of the Meridian Gate once when entering the palace. The top three candidates in the palace examination every three years are also eligible to enter and exit through the main entrance of the Meridian Gate.

Today there is also an important celebration held at the Meridian Gate, which is the prisoner presentation ceremony.

Since the Wanli Battle of Korea in the Ming Dynasty, prisoner presentation ceremonies have rarely been held.

Now that it is held here after more than 20 years, Zhu Youxiao naturally attaches great importance to it. This event can not only shock Xiaoxiao, but also promote the majesty of the imperial court. Why not do it.

Everyone in the cabinet also attached great importance to this. When Zhu Youxiao arrived at the Meridian Gate, he found that officials from the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple had already made arrangements.

As a guard of honor, the Jin Yiwei and the Han generals stood on the east and west sides of the royal road in front of the Meridian Gate.The Jiaofang Secretary responsible for rituals and music in the inner court also displays large music on the east and west sides south of the ceremonial guard, facing north.

Honglu Temple, which is responsible for national ceremonies, is no exception. Early in the morning, two officials of praise and a minister of rites, Wai Lang, stood in front of the Meridian Gate, facing each other from east to west, as the commander-in-chief.

As a rare grand ceremony for the imperial court, the civil and military officials cannot be absent. The civil officials are headed by Liu Yishui, and the military attachés are headed by the British Duke Zhang Weixian. They are located in the south of the imperial road in front of the Meridian Tower, arranged according to Wen Dong and Wu Xi.

On the east side of the imperial road in front of the Meridian Gate, there is a large case displaying a lubu (a proclamation of good news), with one publicity officer and two display officers.The prisoner-presenting officer of the Ministry of Punishment is located slightly south of the east side of the imperial road in front of the Meridian Gate, facing the west.

To the south of the desk where Lubu was placed was where the prisoners were held. More than 60 people including Xinan Shejia and Anjia were escorted here.These people's bodies were tied with ropes and they knelt on the ground. Jiang Lin and others from the Zhenwu Army who had suppressed the rebellion also stood on one side, responsible for guarding and escorting them later.

Although these rebels could not speak, the trembling of their bodies and the terror on their faces revealed the fear in their hearts.

"His Majesty is here!"

Zhu Youxiao slowly climbed up to the morning gate and sat on the throne that had been set up in advance.

This was Zhu Youxiao's first time on the Meridian Gate. After sitting on it, he couldn't help but sigh that the Meridian Gate was worthy of being the main entrance of the Forbidden City. Sitting here, he had a panoramic view and it was very broad.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

Zhu Youxiao nodded when he heard this, and Wei Zhongxian immediately stepped forward and shouted to everyone downstairs:

"Your Majesty wants to be freed!"

The emperor came and the Meridian Gate Ceremony officially began.

Zhu Youxiao sat motionless on it, and saw a big Han general below who began to crack his whip and silence the audience. The whole audience was solemn.

Then the salute officer from the Ministry of Rites came out and sang loudly to the outside: "Enter!"

I saw the officials who presented the Lubu (a message of good news) bowing four times to the Meridian Gate. The ritual music on both sides played again, and the music ended after Ping Ping's death.The officials held the good news in their hands, placed it on top of the major case, and returned to their positions.

Later, Jiang Lin, the commander-in-chief of the Zhenwu Army, Wen Yingkui, the deputy commander-in-chief of Yansui Town, Qin Liangyu, commander of Shizhu, Qin Minping, the commander-in-chief of Yongning, and others all came out.They escorted more than 60 people directly from the Yongning She family, the Shuixi Song family, and the Shuidong Song family to the Meridian Gate.

Followed by Zhenwu Army Staff Generals Huang Degong, Li Siwu, Zhu Daoxin, Sun Xinji and other six generals. They held six heads covered with red cloth. These were the killed She Chongming, An Bangyan, An Wugong and others. .

"Your Majesty, Yongning Xuanwei envoy She Chongming, Shuixi Xuanwei Tongzhi Anbangyan and others did not respect the king, secretly colluded, tried to rebel, and caused trouble in the southwest. Fortunately, His Majesty's destiny, the soldiers were able to suppress the rebellion, and today we succeeded, Specially dedicated to Your Majesty!"

At this time, Wang Zaijin, Minister of War, stood up, holding a tooth wat in his hand, walked up to the crowd, and loudly reported to Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Youxiao, who was sitting on the door of the Meridian Gate Tower, nodded when he heard this. "Can!"

Seeing that the emperor opened the jade opening, the salute officer from the Ministry of Rites below immediately stepped forward and sang "Enter the Lubu".

When Wang Zaijin heard the words, he immediately stepped forward, walked to the table where the dew cloth was placed, took the dew cloth, and knelt down to announce the dew cloth.The contents of the Lu Bu had been drafted by the Hanlin Academy a long time ago, and Wang Zaijin took a long time to read it.

Zhu Youxiao also understood. The content was nothing more than that She Chongming and others did not know what was good or bad and dared to rebel and rebel. Therefore, the imperial court sent elite soldiers to destroy them. This was destiny, and others should take it as a warning.

After Wang Zaijin finished reading, his main task was over. He immediately placed Lubu on the table, kowtowed to the emperor again, and then returned to his seat.

At this time Huang Kezhan, the Minister of Justice, stood up, walked slowly to the center, knelt down and said:
"Your Majesty, I have a message from Huang Kezhan: The rebels in the southwest rebelled in Guangning, Shuixi and other places and captured prisoners here. How should I deal with them?"

But just after he finished speaking, British Duke Zhang Weixian also stood up, also kneeling on the ground, and shouted loudly to Zhu Youxiao on the Meridian Gate:
"My minister Zhang Weixian has an original report: The rebels in the southwest are rebellious and do not respect the king, which has led to the destruction of life. If they are not severely punished, the people will not be angry! I am here to report that the rebels will be beheaded and they will go to the city to be executed together with Cao Cao. I request an order!"

Although it was prepared in advance, Zhang Weixian had been preparing for these words for a long time, and his voice was loud and full of energy.

After he finished speaking, he stopped talking and bowed to the Meridian Gate.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Nanxing, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Wang Zaijin, the Minister of the Ministry of War, Sun Weifan, the Marquis of Huaining, Guo Yingqi, the Marquis of Wuding, and others all stood up and supported Zhang Weixian's proposal.

At this time, the entire audience was also solemn. Everyone held their breath and waited quietly for the oracle from the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City.

When those kneeling members of the She family, An family and other clansmen saw this, they were immediately frightened and their faces turned pale, and their bodies shook even more due to fear. The Jinyi guards and generals behind them immediately suppressed them hard to prevent them from moving at all.

Zhu Youxiao sat on the throne, looking at Zhang Weixian and others who were kneeling below, and then looked at the more than 60 prisoners kneeling behind him.

In the past, it was not like I had never crossed the mark and sentenced prisoners.

But at the Meridian Gate Ceremony, it was the first time for him to decide the life and death of so many people in front of so many people.

At this time, he seemed to understand what it means to have the Constitution in his mouth. This is the power of the emperor, the power given to him by the system.

But after a year of hard work, his mood is much more stable than before.After taking a few slow breaths, he calmed down and then slowly said:
"Take it!"

Zhang Weixian and others immediately stood up after the order, then turned to face the rebel prisoners kneeling on the ground, and then glared angrily:
"Your Majesty has a decree: if you are punished for treason, you can go to City Cao for execution! Take it!"

As soon as he said this, everyone around him also shouted in unison:

"Take it!"

The nearby ministers, as well as the Jin Yiwei and Han generals on both sides, also echoed.

From the top to the bottom of the Meridian Gate, from one to many, from far to near, the sound of being taken was endless. Finally, more than 500 Jinwu guards and Han generals guarding outside the Meridian Gate began to respond in unison.

The unique design of the square outside the Meridian Gate, surrounded on three sides, is not only majestic but also creates a very good sound concentration effect.

With the blessing of the Meridian Gate Square, everyone responded in unison, and the sound was as loud as thunder.

Not only were the rebels so powerful that they were so frightened that they collapsed on the ground, but even the imperial city and outer city outside the Forbidden City could hear it clearly, and they were so frightened that they knelt down and worshiped.

As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the Jin Yiwei and the Han generals came forward, dragged all these rebellious people out, and went directly to the West City for questioning.

With this, the main task of the Meridian Gate Hall has been completed, and now there is only one thing left.

Zhu Youxiao immediately gave Wei Zhongxian a look, and Wei Zhongxian immediately understood and stepped forward:

"An Wen, the son of the Shuixi'an clan, where is An Xiaoliang, the comfort envoy of Wusa Mansion?"

At this time, at the back of the team of hundreds of officials, an official from Honglu Temple led two people forward slowly. One was only about eight or nine years old, and the other looked burly and over thirty years old.

An Xiaoliang was also very uneasy now. After seeing this scene just now, he finally understood what the power of the court was and what the majesty of the emperor was. He also felt that his previous attempt to secretly rebel was ridiculous.

The She family, the An family, and the Song family are all famous chieftains in the southwest, and they are large families with inheritances ranging from thousands of years to hundreds of years.However, he secretly conspired to rebel and encountered the power of the imperial court. He was almost slaughtered and almost wiped out.

After such a comparison, he became more and more frightened.

However, he was also secretly happy in his heart. Fortunately, when An Bangyan came to him to discuss raising an army, he hesitated a little and did not follow him in the rebellion.Otherwise, he would be defeated and killed, or he would be beheaded on the way to the West City.

Thinking of this, An Xiaoliang suddenly felt that he would survive the disaster, and the slight rebelliousness he had before was now frightened away.

(End of this chapter)