Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

After the inner city guards were arranged, the next step was the outer city, which is the area in the southern city.

Although a city wall was built here during the Jiajing period, people in the capital still call it the Outer City to distinguish it from the Inner City.

However, if the Third Ring Road city wall is likely to be built, it is estimated that the Outer City will become another name for the Third Ring Road city wall, and this place will be specifically called the South City.

This area was originally located outside the city wall and developed independently as a pass outside the city, with very unreasonable planning.

Except for a few city gate streets such as Zhengyangmen, Chongwenmen, and Xuanwumen, there is almost no planning. The alleys and hutongs are crooked and look unsightly.

Zhu Youjian was determined to build the capital into a modern city, as a benchmark for the cities of the Ming Dynasty, and of course he would not allow such a phenomenon to exist. He decided to make a major overhaul of the southern city area and re-plan it:
"There is a river on the east side of Zhengyangmen Street, which is now Zhengyangmen South Road."

"After renovation, it can be used as a Biyong surrounding the Mingtang."

"I intend to demolish this area as a whole and use it to build a Mingtang for the convening of the National Assembly in the future."

"Opposite it, a temple of heroes was built to commemorate the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the Ming Dynasty and the heroes who left their names throughout the ages."

This is obviously a major project that requires the entire area south of Zhengyangmen to be demolished.

Thinking about the difficulty and the cost involved, Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyan said:
"It's fine to build a Mingtang, but I think the construction of a temple for heroes is worth discussing."

"The heroes of the Ming Dynasty can be enshrined as meritorious officials, and heroes with outstanding achievements throughout the dynasties can also be worshipped in the Confucian Temple and the Martial Temple."

"I think the Temple of Heroes and Martyrs can be built without construction, or it can be built after sufficient money and grain are available."

Obviously, he was not interested in the so-called Temple of Heroes and did not think there was any need to build it.

Minister of Rites Cheng Jiming, Minister of Works Shang Zhouzuo, Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Zaijin and others also held the same opinion.

They thought that building a Mingtang was enough and there was no need to build a temple for heroes.

However, Zhu Youjian insisted, because this was a major measure to win the hearts of the military and the people, just like a monument for future generations.

He said to his ministers:

"The three elements are heaven, earth and man. The imperial court has the Temple of Heaven for worshipping heaven and the Temple of Earth for worshipping earth, but there is no special temple for worshipping man."

"The Temple of Heroes I established is to honor those who sacrificed their lives for the country."

"They died heroically for their country and sacrificed their lives for the sake of justice."

"How can we not offer sacrifices to them? Why can't we let them enjoy the incense and be remembered forever by future generations?"

This series of words left the ministers speechless.

Recognizing the so-called Temple of Heroes and Martyrs was an important measure for the emperor to rectify the sacrificial rites.

The lesson of Emperor Jiajing's use of the Grand Ceremony to distinguish between friends and enemies was fresh in our memory. As long as the ministers did not want to go against the emperor, they basically did not dare to speak out against it.

What's more, the Temple of Heroes commemorates the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country. If the descendants of these people knew that they stopped the emperor from building the temple, they would probably start cursing first.

Only Bi Ziyan still said:
“The Temple of Heroes should be built, but not now.”

"The construction of Mingtang is a huge project, which will cost at least several million yuan."

"It would be difficult for the imperial court to afford to build a temple for heroes and martyrs at the same time."

Zhu Youjian knew that this was a practical problem and nodded:

“It’s a real problem.”

"But there is no need to rush the construction of Mingtang. The National Assembly is still under construction and it will take more than ten years."

"Whether to use wood or concrete for the Mingtang has not yet been determined. No matter which one is chosen, we need to prepare materials or verify the technology."

"I think we can first build a temple for heroes and martyrs, modeled after the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

This statement made the ministers present look at each other in bewilderment, thinking that the specifications of the Temple of Heroes and Martyrs that the emperor wanted to build were too high.

Zhu Youjian didn't care what they thought and continued:
"The Heroes Temple was built to honor heroes. It will display the names of heroes from the Ming Dynasty, as well as heroes from past dynasties who have left their names in history."

"Before his death, Wen Zhonglie left a last note:"

"Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Mencius said to pursue righteousness. Only when righteousness is fulfilled, benevolence is achieved."

"What have we learned from reading the books of the sages? From now on, I hope I will have nothing to regret!"

"How can we not praise such a loyal hero and build a temple to commemorate him?"

The affirmation from the emperor made some loyal ministers among the officials praise it.

Especially Li Banghua, who was also from Ji'an, Jiangxi, and regarded Wen Tianxiang as his role model, had already prostrated himself and said:
"Your Majesty, if you can think this way, I will have no regrets waiting for death."

"The imperial court is short of money and grain, and I am willing to donate one year's salary to build a temple for heroes and martyrs."

Yuan Keli and others also bowed down and expressed their willingness to donate money to build a temple for heroes.

It can be said that after the emperor brought Wen Tianxiang forward, these people no longer had any objections.

Some people even believe that the construction of the Temple of Heroes is more important than the Mingtang.

They actively donated money and materials, hoping to build the Temple of Heroes as soon as possible.

Zhu Youjian was also very happy to see that his ministers were so excited.

Because this represents that all the officials in the court, whether sincere or not, are advocating loyalty and righteousness.

Disloyal and unrighteous ministers will naturally be despised.

He stood up and walked to Li Banghua, personally helped up this man who also died for his country in the Jiashen Rebellion, and asked all the officials to stand up and said to them:
"I understand your intentions."

"The construction of the Temple of Heroes also accepts donations from the people."

"Li Qing will take more care and be responsible for the preparation of the Temple of Heroes."

"In the future, we want to let everyone in the world see the deeds of the martyrs."

Li Banghua was so excited that he accepted the task and decided to do a good job in this matter and pay tribute to Wen Tianxiang and other heroes.

Wen Tianxiang's name was so useful that Zhu Youjian set the date of his sacrifice to the day he died for his country:
"Emperor Wen Zhonglie was executed on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, exactly one day after the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month."

"In the future, during the eighty-nine-day holiday of the La Festival, we will not only hunt to offer sacrifices to our ancestors, but also to honor the heroes."

"There are ancient tombs in the mountains to the west of West Chang'an Street, which can be said to be an auspicious place. I have decided to designate that area as a martyrs' cemetery to bury the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country, and to set up a cenotaph for Wen Zhongliegong and others for the people to worship."

"We will arrange a guard to serve as the mausoleum guard according to the specifications of the imperial mausoleum, and there will also be special mausoleum households responsible for the maintenance of the martyrs' cemetery and as the guards of the martyrs' temple."

This specification is the same as that of the Temple of Heroes and Martyrs built according to the specifications of the Temple of Heaven. All the officials realized that the emperor treated the heroes and martyrs as his ancestors.

Although some people secretly complained, no one dared to raise any objections at this time.

Li Banghua also actively offered suggestions:
“The martyrs who sacrificed their lives for their country can be described as the most loyal and righteous.”

"I think we can use the loyal vanguard of the rear army governor's office as the guards of the martyrs' cemetery."

This was agreed by many people. After Zhu Youjian considered it, he said:
"Sacrificing for one's country requires not only loyalty but also courage."

"Duke Wen Zhonglie was a scholar, but he bravely raised an army when the sky was about to fall." "This can be called loyalty and righteousness, and it can also be called great courage."

"We should use the volunteers as the vanguard to guard the martyrs' cemetery and the temple of heroes."

He didn't want the people of the Ming Dynasty to commit suicide for their country when they encountered danger, and forget Wen Tianxiang's courage to rise up in rebellion.

Therefore, the Volunteer Guards were chosen to guard the Temple of Heroes.

I hope that when the country is in danger, people can bravely step forward to defend the country.

After deciding this, Zhu Youjian arranged a more basic sacrificial system under the Temple of Heroes and Martyrs.

That is to let each garrison build a cemetery and martyrs' cemetery, and move the cemeteries together when the garrisons are relocated.

This is the experience of establishing Dongningwei.

After the various guards in Dongning gradually stabilized, those who moved to Dongning to settle down began to want to move their ancestral graves there.

The first people to move there were the three guards of Zhuolu. They were all hereditary officials, and their ancestral tombs were easily moved there.

Then there were the immigrants from Shaanxi. Because the journey was too long, most of them could not afford to return home, so they could only ask the military and civil government to relocate the tombs as a whole.

It is easy to find graves for those who came from the garrisons, but it is really hard to find graves for the refugees who came from all over the place.

Today, the local government in Shaanxi is still busy with this matter, and has requested that the cemeteries occupying arable land be relocated and a public cemetery be established in the City God Temple.

Zhu Youjian took this into consideration during the reform of the garrisons. The graves of the garrisons in the capital were to be moved together and a public cemetery was to be established.

At the same time, a martyrs' cemetery will be set up in the cemetery to bury heroes and martyrs, so that those praised families will be more willing to move.

This made some ministers finally realize why the emperor established the Temple of Heroes.

It turned out that this was to rally the troops and reduce the resistance to the relocation of the garrison.

Even if there are hereditary officials of the garrison who are reluctant to give up their family property, they will not have the confidence to resist when faced with the great cause of their ancestors being enshrined in the temple and enjoying sacrifices.

Their status and wealth were earned by their ancestors. Now that their ancestors are to be praised and enshrined in the ancestral temple, how can they object?

Under the principle of filial piety, even if they did not want to migrate, they had to obey the court's orders.

In the future, the Temple of Heroes and the Shrine of Heroes will become the spiritual pillar of the soldiers of the garrison, inspiring them to have more courage when facing life and death choices on the battlefield.

Therefore, although it would cost some money and grain to build a cemetery and mausoleum, the ministers agreed without hesitation.
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At this time, Li Banghua thought of a question and asked the emperor:
"Your Majesty, should the Temple of Heroes be placed on the east side?"

"It is swapped with the Mingtang and corresponds to the Taimiao."

This made Zhu Youjian frown, as he had never thought about this question.

Because the location of Mingtang was chosen by him based on the rivers in the capital. The only suitable place with a river on the central axis of the capital was the east side of Zhengyangmen South Road.

If the location of the temple is swapped with that of the Martyrs' Temple, then either a river should be dug across the Zhengyangmen South Road and a bridge should be built on the road, or water should be diverted from the moat and the temple should be built closer to the city wall.

Thinking of the height restriction measures just stipulated, Zhu Youjian said:
"The martyrs have gone west, it is not appropriate to put them on the east side."

“Also, build the Heroes Temple and the monument in a north-south direction so that people standing in the Mingtang can see them.”

"I want the members of Congress to see that the country and the people are protected by the heroes who sacrificed their lives. I hope that when they vote, they can do so with a clear conscience!"

This made the ministers secretly wipe their sweat and understand another purpose of setting up the Temple of Heroes.

With a monument dedicated to the heroes, I guess the members of Congress will be more careful when voting!

However, temples facing north and south are somewhat inconsistent with etiquette.

Especially some ministers, when they thought about standing in the Mingtang in the future, it was as if the martyrs were watching them.

This made them feel very uncomfortable, and they suggested that it should be built in an east-west direction, modeled after the Taimiao.

Facing these people's doubts, Zhu Youjian said:
"The Martyrs' Temple, the Martyrs' Monument and the Martyrs' Square cannot be viewed separately but as a whole."

"The monument to heroes and martyrs is the most central one, and should be placed on the line between the new clock tower and the Meridian Gate, right on the prime meridian."

"The meridian is north-south, so the Martyrs' Temple and the monument should also be north-south."

"It can also be farther away from Zhengyang Gate to prevent villains from using the Heroes Temple to attack the city gate."

This explanation finally convinced the ministers.

Li Banghua decided to write down the requirements when soliciting design proposals.

Regardless of whether the Temple of Heroes will be oriented north-south in the future, there is no doubt that the Monument to Heroes will be placed on the Prime Meridian.

After determining the location and guarding of the Temple of Heroes, the next step is the Mingtang.

Zhu Youjian said:
"Obviously, many grand ceremonies will be held in Mingtang in the future. Its guarding work will be undertaken by the mighty and majestic soldiers of Jinyiwei, Qishouwei and Jinwu Four Guards. This will help to increase the momentum during the ceremony."

"Four bridges should be built on the Biyong surrounding the Mingtang. Guards should be arranged on the bridges to prevent strangers from entering."

"Whether to build a wall inside Biyong and what style to adopt in the future will all be collected from the whole world."

“I hope that within ten years, the draft will be finalized and approved by the members of the National Assembly Organizing Office.”

This was another example of the emperor showing his importance to members of parliament, and he even handed over the design of the Mingtang to them.

Most of the ministers were delighted by this and believed that the emperor valued public opinion.

However, some officials were speechless, knowing that the emperor was taking the opportunity to recruit the former guards of the Jinwu Guard into the Jinyiwei.

After incorporating the Banner Bearer Guard and the Imperial Guards' Left and Right Guards into the Embroidered Uniform Guard a few days ago, the emperor was obviously not satisfied with this and wanted to incorporate the Imperial Guards' Front and Back Guards into it.

Yuan Keli said:

"The Left and Right Guards of the Imperial Guards have been transferred to the Imperial Uniform Guards, and soldiers can be drawn from them."

"But the Jinwu Front Guard belongs to... to the Central City Military Department, and cannot be lumped together with the Jinyi Four Guards."

After saying this, Yuan Keli realized that after the adjustment of the garrisons, the original affiliation no longer existed.

The guards belonging to the Wucheng Bingma Division were fine, as they had the corresponding Hujun Division to manage them. However, the guards of the imperial army that were not guarding the city gates were now ownerless.

Even though the emperor said that all the guards in the capital had to provide soldiers to the Shenshu Camp, he did not say that they would be managed by the Five Cities Bingma Division and the Hujun Division like the city gate guards.

At the same time, the Jinwu Left and Right Guards had previously been placed under the management of the Jinyiwei Supervisory Commissioner. It was obviously difficult for either the Five Cities Guards or the Guard Commander of the Shenshu Camp to interfere with them.

It would be even more difficult to intervene in other imperial guards that were not guarding the city gates. The emperor did not explicitly give the Shenshuying guards this power.

This made Yuan Keli hurriedly say:

"Your Majesty, the Wucheng Bingma Division has established a guard division. Other imperial guard posts should also have guard divisions."

"Otherwise, who should be responsible for their connection with the local guards?"

"In order to protect and supervise these guards, guards should also be established." (End of this chapter)