Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 6 Chongzhen
On August 24, the seventh year of Tianqi, Zhu Youjian ascended the throne as emperor in the three main halls.

The three main halls of the Forbidden City were destroyed by thunder and fire in the 25th year of Wanli, and were not completely restored until August 20th, the 7th year of the Apocalypse. In just four days, Zhu Youjian will hold an ascension ceremony here, which will be a great test for the ceremony officer.

The officials of Honglu Temple were at a loss and the ceremony was rushed and messy. Until Zhu Youjian came to Jianji Hall wearing a gondola, the arrangement of the civil and military officials was still undecided.

Just at this time, Wei Liangqing, who was ordered to go to the southern suburbs to make a complaint, returned to report. Zhu Youjian said loudly: "I know!" His tone was very stern.

Then, with the support of a group of people, Zhu Youjian came from Jianji Hall to Zhongji Hall and climbed onto the ninth-level throne.

All civil and military officials, each wearing court uniforms, entered Danqi and stood in order to wait. Officials of Honglu Temple led the deacons into the Zhongji Hall to salute.

When he was about to salute, Zhu Youjian ordered all officials to refrain from congratulations and announcements, and to perform five bows and three kowtows.

After the ceremony, the official of Honglu Temple knelt down to ask for promotion to the palace. Zhu Youjian went out of the Zhongji Hall from the middle gate to the Huangji Hall, and ascended to the throne.

After a complicated ceremony, he officially ascended to the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.

When the sky suddenly chimed, the ministers thought it was good luck.

After ascending to the throne, the first thing for Zhu Youjian was to change his Yuan Dynasty.

The Ministry of Rites drafted four era names. When Zhu Youjian saw one of them, "Chongzhen", he changed "Zhen" to "Zhen" and decided on the "Chongzhen" era name. Taking next year as the first year of Chongzhen, the Ministry of Rites was ordered to issue the imperial edict to the throne as soon as possible.

He also ordered the Ministry of Rites to draft a posthumous title and a temple name for Emperor Daxing. Led by the great scholar Shi Fenglai, together with officials such as the eunuch of the Department of Liturgical Affairs, the Minister of the Ministry of Works, the doctor of the Second Department of Ligong, and the Supervisor of Qintian, they selected the mausoleum of Emperor Daxing.

After these things were arranged, Zhu You found that the ministers were exhausted. He had not eaten well or slept well in the past two days. He felt really tired, so he ended the court ceremony and returned to the harem.

After becoming the emperor, Zhu Youjian could already live in Qianqing Palace. No one in the palace knew his preferences or how to arrange them, so they asked Zhu Youjian to give personal guidance.

Zhu Youjian saw the relics of Emperor Tianqi in the Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, including many good play equipment. In order to avoid giving the impression that people were despondent with playing with things, he ordered them to be sealed and buried with the late emperor in the future.

He also sent people to Xinwang's Mansion, summoned Xu Yingyuan and other eunuchs from the palace, and brought commonly used items.

Finally entering the palace, Xu Yingyuan was very happy. Especially when he thought that King Xin was already the emperor, he was even more excited, thinking that his time was coming.

After meeting Zhu Youjian, Xu Yingyuan arranged for people to decorate the Qianqing Palace according to Zhu Youjian's preferences. Since he had not been appointed yet, he remembered that Zhu Youjian asked the princess to make wheat cakes before entering the palace, and said:
"Is Your Majesty worried about the food in the palace?"

"It is better to hold the pen in the hands of the king and hold the seal of the food supervisor."

When Zhu Youjian heard this, he thought of the eunuch who was inconspicuous in the palace and looked relatively simple, and asked:
"Is Wang Guotai qualified enough?"

"Is there anything wrong with being directly promoted to Bingbi and Shanshanjian Palm Seal?"

He is worried that if he appoints a private person as soon as he comes up, he will cause unrest among the old people in the palace, and even make them share the same hatred.

In particular, Supervisor Shangshan was one of the twelve eunuchs in the inner court, and eunuch Bingbi, the supervisor of rituals, was even comparable to the bachelor of the cabinet. Directly promoting Wang Guotai to Bingbi Eunuch and Shangshan Supervisor Zhangyin was promoted too quickly.

Even if he needs someone he can trust to prepare his meals, he can't just mess around.

Hearing that Zhu Youjian had no objection and just asked Wang Guotai if his qualifications were sufficient, Xu Yingyuan chuckled and said:
"Whether the qualifications are sufficient or not is not up to His Majesty."

"What's more, Wang Guotai and Li Yongzhen are from the same generation. They have already been qualified based on their seniority. It is only because they have lived in Nanjing for twenty years that their promotion has been slow."

"But he was selected by Eunuch Wei and Mrs. Feng Sheng to join King Xin's residence as the eunuch Bingbi. No one in the palace talks much."

Nodding slightly, Zhu Youjian looked at Xu Yingyuan's expression and knew that Wang Guotai must be on his side. Both of them intend to take refuge in their new king and replace Wei Zhongxian in the future.

From this point of view, Wang Guotai, like Xu Yingyuan, is worthy of credit for the time being. Wanting to know more about the inner court, Zhu Youjian continued to ask:

"Eunuch Bingbi has no quota, so there is nothing wrong with promoting Wang Guotai to the top."

"But over there, Supervisor Shangshan, who is holding the seal now?"

Xu Yingyuan was ecstatic, knowing that Wang Guotai could be promoted to eunuch Bingbi, and he would definitely not be lower than him. Immediately he said hurriedly:

"The palm seal of the Supervisor of Shang Shan is now held by Wang Tigan. In addition to being the palm seal of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, he is also the palm seal of the Imperial Supervisor and the Supervisor of Shang Shan."

"There is nothing wrong with giving the Shangshan Supervisory Seal to Wang Guotai."

As he spoke, he explained carefully:

"The Superintendent of Shangri-La says he is in charge of the food in the palace, but in fact he only cares about other people."

"Your Majesty's daily meals are prepared by two or three people, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, who print and hold the pen, and who are in charge of the East Factory. They take turns preparing the meals on a monthly basis."

"Your Majesty can follow the ancestral system and let those close to you take turns serving meals."

Saying that, Xu Yingyuan looked at Zhu Youjian longingly, and said clearly that he and Wang Guotai would be eunuchs together and take turns preparing meals for you.

Zhu Youjian laughed secretly when he saw this, and immediately ordered:

"Then let Wang Guotai be the ceremonial supervisor, Bingbi eunuch, and Shanshan supervisor the palm seal."

"Xu Yingyuan is the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch of the ceremonial department, and the steward of the Qianqing Palace."

"The two of them take turns serving meals."

Xu Yingyuan was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately kowtowed to thank him. After finding Wang Guotai to express his gratitude, the two went to the Supervisor of Ceremonies together, obtained official documents and seals, and became senior eunuchs.

Soon, under the guidance of Wang Guotai, Zhu Youjian finally had his first hot meal in the palace. This made him sigh in his heart, and he decided to keep Wang Guotai alive no matter what happens in the future.

On Xu Yingyuan's side, it also depends on whether he is honest and whether he will be ambitious.

While he was thinking about it, Zhu Youjian saw Xu Yingyuan coming again and reported secretly:

"Tu Wenfu sent news that Liu Zhao, the governor of Jiliao, had raised three thousand troops and placed generals in Yi. He used Cui Chengxiu, his concubine, and Miyun general Xiao Wei to lead the cavalry and go directly to the capital."

"Fortunately, the city's gates were closed, and the British announced their defense in time, and no one secretly opened the door to answer the call."

"Now that His Majesty has ascended to power, Liu Zhao has led his troops to retreat."

Zhu Youjian was shocked when he heard this, and was really scared. Once Liu Zhao's troops enter Beijing, it will be an uncontrollable factor. Whether he wanted to be Wei Zhongxian's divine strategy army, or he was as ambitious as Dong Zhuo and tried to control the court after discovering that the capital camp was weak, it would be a great disaster for him.

Fortunately, the soldiers and horses retreated, which gave Zhu Youjian some peace of mind. However, in his heart, he has made up his mind to control an army of soldiers and horses, lest trouble comes and he has no power he can trust.

At the same time, Zhu Youjian was extremely resentful towards Liu Zhao and Wei Zhongxian and Cui Chengxiu who asked him to lead troops to Beijing, and decided to look for opportunities to deal with the eunuchs.

　"History of the Ming Dynasty": When he heard that the late emperor was dying, Liu Zhao, the governor of Jiliao, issued an order to assemble three thousand troops and replace them with generals. He used Xiao Weizhong, whom Cui Chengxiu was close to, to lead the postal cavalry and go directly to the capital.

　　"Little Knowledge of the Lie Huang": After the emperor ascended the throne, the court discussed changing the Yuan Dynasty, and the Ministry of Rites proposed four candidates: "Yongchang", "Shaoqing", "Xianning" and "Chongzhen". Yubi changed "Zhen" to "Zhen" and used it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)