Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The Emperor's birthday celebration in the fifth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign became a grand event.

This grand event remains in the memories of many people even years later:
The emperor personally attended the ceremony, sharing the joy with the people and bestowing blessings upon ten couples.

Several other individuals were also granted hereditary knighthoods.

All of this made the people of the capital envious.

The performances at the ten separate stages outside the palace broadened their horizons even further.

Led by Li Yu, Zhang Dai, and others, the position of director officially appeared in the Ming Dynasty.

They are responsible for the stage performance effects and oversee the entire show.

From the program and actors to the costumes and space, they personally directed everything, connecting the entire performance.

Under the guidance of these people, the performances on all ten stages generally surpassed those of the past.

The audience was pleasantly surprised, feeling that it was no longer a simple arrangement of traditional opera.

"This is art!"

"Although the plays on stage are not all the same, they are all about love, and people like to watch them."

"Excerpts from operas are much better than full-length operas!"

Enjoying the performance on one of the stages, Lu Wangdao.

He grew impatient staying in the palace and wandered between several theaters after leaving the palace.

Zhu Youjian was rather lenient about this, only instructing him not to do anything reckless.

He was even given a task: to keep the powerful and wealthy young men in check when they caused trouble.

At this time, Prince Lu came to the stage in the south of the city and thought that the performances on the stage were very good and the excerpts arranged were very innovative.

The form of excerpted opera, or "xiju" (excerpt from a classical Chinese opera), had existed before. However, it was only at this ceremony that it was elevated to a more refined level.

The current emperor dislikes plays that last for several days in a row, and most of the plays he orders to be rehearsed are completed within an hour.

Li Yu and others catered to the emperor's tastes by selecting the most exciting excerpts from plays and inviting him to directly enjoy the finest performances.

Zhu Youjian certainly preferred this, as did the ordinary people.

Compared to long and tedious dramas, people prefer to watch the highlights directly.

Just as short videos eventually triumphed over long videos, it was inevitable that short excerpts of traditional opera would defeat continuous performances.

However, how to arrange the excerpts and how to achieve good artistic effects while attracting the audience are a true test of a director's skill.

Prince Lu thought the director of this play was quite good, arranging the various love scenes perfectly.

After listening to the performance on the stage for a while, Prince Lu saw someone come out and sing the theme song—

This was also a clever idea of ​​the current emperor, who wrote a song as the theme song for this celebration.

Prince Lu listened to the singing and couldn't help but hum along:

"The floating clouds disperse, and the bright moon shines upon us."

Happy reunion, let's celebrate to the fullest today.

Mandarin ducks play in the shallow pond;
Red skirts and green canopies, twin lotus blossoms open.

They are a perfect couple, deeply in love.

This gentle breeze blows towards the beautiful flowers.
Tender love and affection fill the world...

A little tune in the style of Jiangnan (the region south of the Yangtze River) resounded in the capital.

The music is very fitting for the occasion; it's a blessing for the newlyweds.

The style of the piece was quite novel for that time.

The simultaneous release of new lyrics and music is particularly astonishing.
"I heard that the song was written by His Majesty. His Majesty is truly capable; he is indeed a god descended to earth."

"What's so special about this? You haven't heard the poems the Emperor wrote for the Empress, those are truly amazing!"

"The play 'The Female Scholar' was also written by the Emperor for the Empress, and I still love watching that play..."

The onlookers were buzzing with discussion about the news.

They generally love this song.

After the songstresses on stage sang the song several times, some of them, like Prince Lu, had already learned to hum along.

After she finished singing, Prince Lu praised her, saying:

"This person sings well, with a strong Southern opera flavor."

"reward!"

"Ask her where she's from?"

The eunuch beside him immediately went to inquire, and soon returned to report to Prince Lu:
"It was a merchant from Suzhou and Songjiang who found it on the Qinhuai River."

"Prepared to be presented to His Majesty, it is touted as 'the best of Southern music'."

Presented to the emperor?
The Prince of Lu lost interest as soon as he heard that.

He was too lazy to get involved in these things, so he went to watch other shows.
-
After finishing her song and seeing off Prince Lu and other dignitaries, Gu Mei, under Li Yu's arrangement, went to the palace to perform again. She was one of the ten singers chosen by Li Yu to sing the theme song.

Moreover, Li Yu thought highly of her, believing that her voice had the most Jiangnan charm.

Of the ten performances of the theme song on the various stages, her singing was the best, and she received a reward from the Prince of Lu.

Ultimately, she performed the theme song on the palace stage.

Soon, Gu Mei sang "A Perfect Union" in the palace.

After finishing the song, he bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, I wish you a long life, may the flowers always bloom, may people always be healthy, and may the moon always be full!"

He quoted Chao Duanli's "Xingxiangzi" and delivered a congratulatory message.

Hearing this, Zhu Youjian's face lit up with joy, and he praised:

Who is this woman?

"Is it with the Royal Orchestra?"

Liu Ruoyu, a member of the celebration committee, said:

"It was Gu Mei, presented by merchants from Suzhou and Songjiang."

"If Your Majesty is pleased, you may recruit him into the orchestra."

Being recruited into the music troupe meant becoming a palace maid, with the opportunity to gain the emperor's favor.

Zhu Youjian examined her appearance and nodded in satisfaction. He then gave the order:

"Let him stay with the Royal Orchestra for now!"

"Find a female official to teach her manners."

"When they reach the right age, they will be formally sent to the palace."

With such special instructions and the stipulation that she would be sent to the palace upon reaching adulthood, Liu Ruoyu immediately knew that this woman had caught the emperor's eye.

He made a mental note of this, fearing he might offend his future favorite concubine.

Zhu Youjian, on the other hand, was in a rather pleasant mood.

The woman before him, Gu Mei, was not only a stunning beauty but also Gu Hengbo, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. This reminded him of Liu Rushi, who had already entered the palace, and he felt a strange unease.
"With the emergence of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, the Ming Dynasty has reached its final, glorious period."

I wonder if my efforts will be enough to ensure this prosperity continues?

Suppressing border troubles and driving out the Tartars did not bring Zhu Youjian any relief.

Because he always remembered that the reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty was a popular uprising.

The disasters that had plagued the Ming Dynasty in the previous years were already severe enough. It took millions of people being emigrated to bring the famine under control.

However, compared to the peak of the Chongzhen drought a few years later, the disasters of the previous years were merely an appetizer.

Even with so many preparations, Zhu Youjian was not entirely confident that he could get through it.

"We must increase immigration and relocate as many people as possible!"

"It's better for immigrants to die abroad than for them to rebel from within."

"Those nobles who should be expelled should be expelled; there's no need to show them any respect."

"Continuing with the same gentle approach as before is simply too slow!"

The decision was made to strengthen immigration efforts and relocate more people overseas.

He is willing to support anything that benefits this point.

He was willing to tolerate even someone as ambitious as the grandson of the Tang emperor.

He plans to put other matters aside for now, focusing everything on immigration.

He only intended to seize the funds and provisions; he would leave the rest to the officials.

After years of analyzing the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, it's time for it to come into play.

Zhu Youjian planned to maintain stability for a few years and observe the current institutional practices.

Soon, Han Kuang and the others had a chance to demonstrate their abilities.

The saying "politics is decided by collective discussion, but sacrifices are done by the individual" has transformed from a proposal into practice.

All previously established systems were implemented by the Cabinet and the Five Houses. They were also included in the annual performance evaluations to promote or demote officials.

The Ming Dynasty's government underwent orderly reforms following the celebrations.

Many officials feel that the current emperor is delegating more power.

They were overjoyed, believing that a period of stability following the reforms of the Jiajing and Wanli emperors was about to arrive.

The people of the capital were still reminiscing about the celebration.

The opera troupe that the Royal Orchestra had invested in subsequently received a series of invitations to perform for wealthy families.

It seems that without inviting them to perform, the ceremony cannot be considered a proper celebration.

Everything was thriving; this was the situation Liu Zongzhou and Zhu Yujian witnessed upon arriving in the capital. (End of Chapter)