Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

After the imperial lecture ended, the ministers were still excited.

The emperor and his ministers sat down to discuss how to govern the country with rites and laws.

This was the image of a holy king that they had imagined, but they never expected it to come true in their lifetime.

Most of the ministers were excited and happy about this, and even urged Liu Zongzhou, Han Yu and others to formulate the "Ming Dynasty Succession Ceremony" as soon as possible for the emperor and the people of the world to follow.

But some people are not satisfied and sigh:

"It is good to govern the country with etiquette, but Your Majesty places too much emphasis on etiquette and law, which also leaves hidden dangers."

"Prince Fu once competed with Guang Miao for the throne. How could such a person be included in the royal family, and the fourth in line to the throne?"

I don't agree with the emperor's strict adherence to etiquette.

In response to this, Liu Zongzhou said seriously:
"If etiquette and laws are not followed, they can be changed at will."

"Why does Your Majesty need to formulate succession rituals and solemnly discuss the provisions?"

"If Prince Fu is truly guilty, he can be expelled from the royal family and excluded from the line of succession."

"But before he is fired, he should be listed as the fourth in line to the throne."

This was agreed by more people. Although they were dissatisfied with Prince Fu, they did not want to give him any chance.

But I am still deeply gratified that the emperor respects etiquette and laws so much.

If the emperor could still change the "Ming Dynasty Succession Ceremony" at will after it was formulated, then what was the difference from the previous court system? Why should they argue about those provisions?
Most of the officials felt the emperor's sincerity from this incident.

Even though Prince Fu once competed with Emperor Guangzong for the throne, the emperor still treated him with courtesy.

Some people even thought of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty enfeoffing Yong Chi, and believed that the emperor deliberately used Prince Fu as an example.

As for the possibility of Prince Fu succeeding to the throne, most people think that there is no possibility, unless the entire family of the current emperor dies suddenly, and the emperor has to be elected from Prince Fu's line.

However, some people thought that Prince Fu should be pursued relentlessly and not be given the slightest chance. Some civil officials had already thought about impeaching Prince Fu and expelling him from the capital or even sending him overseas.

Some time ago, the emperor conferred the title of Duke Cheng to the area around Wudehewei, and people thought that the bitter cold land north of Wudehewei was very suitable for the title of Prince Fu.

Send him to that place so that he won’t be an eyesore in the capital.

It can be said that the line of Prince Fu suffered an unexpected disaster because they were listed in the top five in the order of succession and were targeted by many civil officials.

Fortunately, it is the official selection period in August, and most of the officials are paying attention to this matter. Prince Fu can be safe in the capital for a while.

When mentioning this, we have to mention the resignation and appointment ceremony that the emperor ordered his ministers to prepare at the end of this imperial lecture. He wanted to hold a resignation ceremony for Huang Liji, the chief minister, and confer a title on him based on his merits. At the same time, he held an appointment ceremony for Han Yu, officially granting him the position of chief minister.

Therefore, this ceremony was also called the ceremony of conferring titles and appointing prime ministers by the ministers. Huang Liji and Han Yu, who participated in the ceremony, were extremely envious.

Whether there is a ceremony or not will not affect whether Huang Liji will be conferred a title or whether Han Yu will take over the position of Prime Minister.

However, the holding of this ceremony made them feel quite proud.

Being appointed as prime minister and being conferred titles based on merit can be said to be the highest pursuit for a minister.

The emperor held a ceremony specifically for this purpose, which greatly satisfied their vanity.

Therefore, the focus of the ministers' discussions quickly shifted from the inheritance of rites and laws to the ceremony of conferring titles and appointing prime ministers. They formulated corresponding ceremonies by referring to the ceremony of conferring titles at the beginning of the country and the ceremony of appointing prime ministers in the Tang and Song dynasties.

August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also the lunar new moon and full moon.

On this day, Zhu Youjian convened another court meeting, but the ministers did not go to the Huangji Hall, but came to the platform next to the Jianji Hall first.

According to the previously agreed etiquette, Zhu Youjian sat on the platform and specially summoned Huang Liji to come forward. He stood up and said cordially:

"The previous emperor died young, and I am forced to inherit the throne with trepidation."

"Fortunately, with the assistance of loyal ministers such as Huang Shoufu, we were able to eliminate the rebellious eunuchs and manage the government."

"This merit must be rewarded, and the regent Huang Liji will accept the title."

Gao Shiming, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, began to read out the decree that had been prepared long ago.

In addition to being the Supreme Pillar of the State, the Junior Tutor and the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, the Grand Scholar of the Zhongji Palace, and the Regent, Huang Liji was also awarded the title of second-class viscount for his contributions to ascending the throne and assisting the government, and the title of viscount was hereditary.

Huang Liji accepted the title and requested to resign from the position of Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall, officially stepping down from the cabinet.

However, the title of Regent Minister was still retained, and he was transferred to the Lifanyuan as the director, and he could still participate in the regular meetings.

Zhu Youjian needed him to establish a system so that the resigned Prime Minister would have a place to go, so that he would not have to return to his hometown after resigning and leave the center of power.

This will allow the Prime Minister to step down with greater peace of mind, while at the same time using the former Prime Minister to restrain the current Prime Minister.

All the officials knew the intention, but they did not object.

One reason is that this matter has been decided a long time ago and they have already accepted it in their hearts.

Secondly, this would strengthen the influence of civil officials on the Lifanyuan, so that this government office would not be left alone.

The emperor's statement a few days ago about appointing a member of the royal family as the head of the Lifanyuan scared them all.

They would be more accepting of having the former prime minister in charge of the Lifanyuan.

Along with Huang Liji, the Grand Secretary Zhang Ruitu also resigned. He had actually been kicked out of the court for writing a congratulatory message to Wei Zhongxian, but Zhu Youjian did not let him officially resign in order to avoid unrest.

Now, together with Huang Liji, he resigned from the post of Grand Secretary of Zhongji Palace and became a counselor.

Zhu Youjian did not treat him unfairly. He conferred him the title of first-class baron for his contributions to ascending the throne and formulating standardized characters, and made the title of baron hereditary.

Zhang Ruitu was very happy and bowed sincerely.

He had actually prepared himself to lose his integrity in his later years, but he did not expect that the emperor would keep him until now and even confer him a title.

This made him feel grateful for the emperor's grace, and at the same time ashamed of his previous flattery of Wei Zhongxian.

If it weren't for this incident, he might have been reused like Shi Fenglai and still been a Grand Secretary.

Fortunately, the current emperor attaches great importance to his ascension to the throne and has conferred a title on him.

Not only him, but also all the important officials of the court, such as the Grand Secretaries and the Nine Ministers when Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, who were not listed as the main culprits in the treason case, were conferred titles this time.

Even the main perpetrators of the rebellion who were not killed, such as Huo Weihua, Xu Dahua, Tian Ergeng, and Xu Xianchun, were awarded titles by him after they made contributions in Dongning.

He wanted to use this action to show that he was not a mean and ungrateful person, and that anyone who could make achievements for him would be rewarded.

Now that the Parliament of Nobles was being established and the laws of inheritance were being formulated, more and more people realized that the low-level title conferred by Zhu Youjian could also allow them to be related to the Ming Dynasty and the country.

These titles became increasingly valued and were sought after by many civil and military officials.

After the ceremony of conferring the title, there is the ceremony of appointing the Prime Minister, also known as the ceremony of appointing the Prime Minister, or the ceremony of announcing the hemp ceremony.

It was completely modeled after the Tang and Song dynasties' Xuan Ma Baixiang, with an edict written on white linen paper and announced to all the court officials.

Zhu Youjian showed through his actions that he regarded the chief minister as prime minister, but due to ancestral teachings, he did not use the title of prime minister.

As the first prime minister to be appointed, Han Yu was extremely excited.

He took the imperial edict solemnly and felt that this was the most glorious moment in his life.

The ministers looked at him with envy and jealousy, and all wanted to be specially appointed as prime minister by the emperor.

Even Huang Liji was quite envious and felt that his own viscount title was not so attractive anymore.

Precisely because he knew the aspirations of his ministers, Zhu Youjian did not easily bestow this honor on others.

Even the new Grand Secretary, Ting Tui, was put behind by him.

In the Huangji Hall, the ministers who had just experienced the ceremony of conferring titles and appointing prime ministers began another important event of the day, which was to recommend the grand secretaries.

In the current cabinet, after Huang Liji and Zhang Ruitu stepped down, there are six grand secretaries: Han Yu, Sun Chengzong, Shi Fenglai, Li Guopu, Xu Guangqi, and Zheng Yiwei.

Except for Sun Chengzong who was away in Liaodong to lead the army, the other five were in the court, so their number could not be said to be small.

However, the current emperor's strictness and the emphasis he places on official documents make the cabinet's tasks extremely heavy.

Moreover, Shi Fenglai and Xu Guangqi both worked in the Grand Council of the Cabinet, and rarely wrote drafts on matters other than military affairs.

This resulted in heavier tasks for Han Yu, Li Guopu and Zheng Yiwei, and they all requested to add two more grand secretaries.

Today's court meeting is to hold a court recommendation ceremony.

The candidates for the title of Grand Secretary were Yang Jingchen, Wen Tiren, Cheng Jiming, and Qian Xiangkun. All of them were from the Hanlin Academy and were qualified to serve as Grand Secretary.

Among them, Yang Jingchen can be said to be a remnant of the eunuch party, but he is not deeply involved with the eunuch party. Now he has long been regarded as an imperial party and a staunch loyal minister of the current emperor.

Zhu Youjian's original intention was to let him continue to be in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and constantly improve the administration of officials.

However, Yang Jingchen fell seriously ill in May and began to think about joining the cabinet and becoming a prime minister.

Zhu Youjian could not ignore the request of this loyal minister, so he listed him as a candidate for Grand Secretary.

Among the other three, Cheng Jiming was a disciple of Ye Xianggao and a fellow student of Yang Lian, and was undoubtedly a member of the Donglin Party.

Wen Tiren and Qian Xiangkun are both neutral, but Wen Tiren is now a bit anti-Donglin, while Qian Xiangkun is closer to the Donglin Party.

Zhu Youjian did not have much preference among these four candidates. Apart from hinting to the ministers to let Yang Jingchen join the cabinet, the other candidate was completely recommended by the ministers.

The final result of the imperial nomination was that Yang Jingchen and Wen Tiren became Grand Secretaries. Cheng Jiming and Qian Xiangkun, two members of the Donglin Party or those who were inclined towards the Donglin Party, were both defeated in the imperial nomination.

This shows that the court was still dominated by non-Donglin officials. With Han Yu, a Donglin member, serving as the prime minister, they were unwilling to have another Donglin Party minister in the cabinet, which would have repeated the situation in the early years of the Tianqi period.

Zhu Youjian was very satisfied with this and immediately appointed Yang Jingchen and Wen Tiren as Dongge Grand Secretaries. The edict was also written on white linen paper, but no special ceremony was held.

Among the two, Yang Jingchen was the head of the Nine Ministers and had long been given the title of Minister of State Council. This time he was promoted to Minister of State Affairs. As soon as he entered the cabinet, he was ranked after Li Guopu and before Xu Guangqi.

Wen Tiren was also a minister of state affairs, and was ranked ahead of Zheng Yiwei, who was still the prime minister.

This made Zheng Yiwei quite ashamed and angry, and the ministers also looked at him sideways.

The ranking of the four ministers was changed according to the order in which they entered the cabinet, rather than the original order in which they entered the cabinet. This was a change made after the emperor ascended the throne.

Grand Secretaries can no longer follow the routine to become Prime Ministers, and are ranked entirely by seniority. (End of this chapter)