Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

In the small meeting hall, Wen Tiren, Qian Qianyi, and others were gathered together.

They are all members of the celebration committee, discussing matters related to this year's celebration.

Wen Tiren, as a Grand Secretary and the person in charge of this celebration, spoke first:
"This celebration of His Majesty's birthday is the first grand event held since His Majesty ascended the throne."

"Everyone must work together to ensure His Majesty is satisfied with this celebration."

Everyone responded in unison. Li Yu, who had been strongly supported by the emperor and included in the celebration committee, further stated:

"The Royal Orchestra will do its best to make this happen."

"If funds are insufficient, the band members are willing to donate."

They expressed their support for the emperor directly.

After the current emperor ascended the throne, he elevated the status of musicians and released them from the lowest social class.

The artists of the Royal Orchestra are under the emperor's protection and are highly supportive of the current emperor, readily offering their assistance.

In particular, Li Yu, as the orchestra's leader, has a position that affects the status of everyone in the orchestra.

Therefore, the Royal Orchestra artists unanimously decided to give the orchestra leader face, not only agreeing to perform for free but also planning to donate money to make the celebration even more spectacular.

Upon hearing this, Wen Tiren felt a surge of joy.

His biggest headache this time was that the emperor demanded that no revenue from the outer court be used, and the inner court only allocated 100,000 yuan.

In particular, after the emperor assured Yuan Keli, he asked him to recover the costs invested as much as possible, to show that no money was wasted on the celebration.

This gave Wen Tiren a major headache, because organizing a successful celebration would inevitably require spending more money.

The emperor not only allocated very little money, but also demanded that he recoup his costs, which was really difficult for him.

Now that the Royal Orchestra was willing to fund it, he exclaimed with delight:

“I will certainly report your sincere concern to His Majesty.”

"I wonder how much money Li Sile can raise?"

Li Yu pondered for a moment, but before he could utter a number, Liu Ruoyu, the representative sent by the inner court, cleared his throat and said:

"His Majesty once said that the court does not accept donations without a valid reason."

"If someone is willing to donate, they can donate one thousand silver dollars to become a duke, or even donate a noble title."

"His Majesty has permitted donations for this celebration, and all proceeds will be used for the celebration expenses."

This is the current emperor's consistent attitude: he does not accept things from others without a reason, and he always gives something in return.

After hearing this, Li Yu's mind raced, and he asked:
"If the orchestra makes a collective donation, can they be granted titles and land like the laborers of Suzhou and Songjiang?"

Liu Ruoyu did not answer, because he could not answer the question.

Granting titles and land to the workers of Suzhou and Songjiang was a policy set out during a special period, forcing the gentry of Jiangnan to compromise.

This incident caused a great backlash, with many nobles refusing to recognize the noble status of the members of the Susong Laborers Association and preventing them from participating in the noble council.

Granting the Royal Orchestra a collective knighthood would likely cause a major uproar. Liu Ruoyu advised:
"His Majesty's purpose in holding this celebration is not just to create a grand event, but also to plan something more."

"Your orchestra's task is to make the celebration a lively and exciting event; whether or not you donate is secondary."

"I will report the matter of the collective donation to His Majesty, but don't have too high hopes."

"If you wish, you can donate separately."

This disappointed Li Yu, because the Royal Orchestra wanted to form a music association and obtain a collective title in order to gain a higher status.

While individual donations might grant a knighthood to a single person, they wouldn't elevate the overall status of musicians, which didn't align with their objectives.

Perhaps, in the emperor's eyes, the status of musicians was far inferior to that of artisans, and he never even considered granting them titles.

Now is not the time for the imperial court to raise funds and provisions to fight the Jurchens, and their wealth is not enough to sway the emperor.

Despite having changed his mind, Li Yu still stated that the orchestra would donate no less than 100,000 taels of silver and would mobilize many artists to perform and raise funds.

These artists may not have high social status, but they are quite wealthy and have extensive social networks, enabling them to amass a large fortune.

Liu Ruoyu praised it a few times, and then said: "There is a special donation at this celebration."

"If any of you are interested, you can make preparations in advance."

Everyone was completely baffled, not knowing what he meant.

Liu Ruoyu explained:

"His Majesty intends to share the joy with the people during this Emperor's Birthday celebration, so it will not be a separate celebration."

"His Majesty plans to select ten couples to hold their weddings during the celebration and bestow blessings upon them."

“Weddings naturally require money, and donations are needed to secure a spot; this is the biggest source of income for the celebration.”

His words left everyone stunned and speechless, almost thinking they hadn't understood him.

Wen Tiren said in disbelief:
"The Emperor himself bestowed a blessing?"

"This...how can this be?"

They thought it was absurd; how could the emperor do things for money?
If the emperor were truly short of money, he would have countless ways to raise it; there was absolutely no need for him to condescend to do so.

Even the Prince of Lu disagreed, believing that it would damage the face of the royal family.

Liu Ruoyu said with a smile:

"It's just that the imperial decree bestowing the marriage was changed with the character '福' (fortune/blessing), which was handwritten by the emperor."

"If it weren't for the concern that having too many people would lower the value of the marriage, His Majesty would have liked to grant more marriages."

"Do you think His Majesty's 'Fu' character is worth ten thousand silver dollars?"

No one dared to say it wasn't worth it; in fact, many felt it was being sold off cheaply.

Because it was, after all, an imperial calligraphy, and should not have been sold at all.

If word gets out that the emperor is selling calligraphy and paintings, what face will his officials have left?
Qian Qianyi then subtly indicated that he could write it for him.

As a leading figure in the literary world, he earned a lot of money by writing epitaphs, and presumably people would also be willing to buy his calligraphy of the character "福" (fortune/blessing).

However, his status was far inferior to that of the emperor. Especially since bestowing blessings placed great emphasis on status, the price needed to be lowered.

Liu Ruoyu naturally did not agree; he smiled and said:
“Bestowing marriage and blessings is not just for the purpose of donations.”

"His Majesty intends to use this blessing as an opportunity to hold a wedding during the celebration and finalize the new wedding ceremony."

"Such a momentous matter of changing customs and traditions cannot be compared to mere money."

"The status of the City God at weddings depends on this celebration."

Explain the emperor's plans and related arrangements to everyone.

The emperor intended to entrust the wedding portion of this celebration to the City God Bureau.

The City God priest will represent the gods of heaven and earth to witness the newlyweds' marriage.

Once this ritual is accepted by the people, the status of the City God in weddings can be established.

In addition to the funeral arrangements that had already been finalized, the City God's Office will gain control over weddings and funerals.

That's why the emperor would bestow marriage and blessings upon the newlyweds, as he was the Son of Heaven and Earth.

Upon hearing this, Qian Qianyi finally seemed to understand.

Understanding the emperor's intentions, he knew this was an effort to establish the orthodox lineage—

The more stable the position of the City God, the more influential he is in sacrificial rites.

Sacrificial rites are an important part of the Taoist tradition and have a great influence among the people.

While the Datong Academy was indeed the emperor's assistant in upholding the orthodox tradition, so was the City God's Office.

This made him begin to consider how to incorporate the City God's Office and other religions into the Great Harmony Academy. (End of Chapter)