Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The problem discovered by Qian Qianyi was also discovered by many people.

Especially on the third day of the Fashion Festival, the fashionable clothes were exhibited, many of which were bizarre folk costumes, known as Su style.

The emperor called it fashion, or rather, fashion. He ordered the tailors recruited by the inner court to sort out many popular styles and design different types of fashion.

These costumes come in many varieties, many of which are inconsistent with the system of crowns and clothing.

Some people like it very much, while some people cannot accept it and think it is a kind of clothing demon.

The two groups engaged in a heated debate in the newspapers, which even extended to the court.

If it was just a harmless quarrel, Zhu Youjian would not care. He would even be happy to see this and divert people's attention from the reform of the guards.

However, after Qian Qianyi submitted a memorial proposing to reiterate the ban on clothing colors and prohibit the casual wearing of imperial robes from previous dynasties, many officials in the court realized that this was a major issue regarding clothing colors.

In conjunction with the new calendar promoted by the emperor, the idea of ​​"changing the calendar and clothing colors" also appeared in the minds of many officials.

"If we continue to make changes like this, will the Ming Dynasty still be the Ming Dynasty?"

This question arises in many people's minds.

These ministers, who were accustomed to the emperor changing the system in the court, still had this feeling.

It was even more difficult for those ministers who had just entered the court to accept it.

Huang Daozhou, who was summoned by the emperor several times, ended his mourning period and returned to Beijing to resume his post as editor of the Hanlin Academy, was one of them.

This man was later called "the Second Zhou" together with Liu Zongzhou because of his martyrdom.

Zhu Youjian knew his reputation and issued several imperial decrees to reinstate him, hoping that this famous official could work for him like Liu Zongzhou.

However, Huang Daozhou, who had not experienced the reform debates of the previous two years, expressed great discomfort with the new system of the current court after arriving in the capital.

He expressed great confusion about the current court system and hoped to return to the familiar ideal system.

Regarding this fashion festival, Huang Daozhou advised the emperor to learn from Emperor Muzong Longqing's frugality, rather than setting up a fashion festival to encourage people to wear a wide variety of clothing.

In his opinion, the current collapse of the Ming Dynasty's crown and clothing system is caused by the fact that the court system is not strictly enforced. As long as the emperor can take the lead in strictly enforcing relevant regulations, everything will not be a problem.

There were many people who thought the same as him, and they gathered together to submit memorials to the emperor, advising him to strictly enforce the crown and clothing system instead of changing it.
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Zhu Youjian looked at these memorials and sighed deeply.

He knew that what was coming was coming, and that conservatives who opposed reform were uniting and making their voices heard.

If left alone, these people will soon come up with more conservative ideas, or even restore the old system.

Just like Sima Guang of the early Song Dynasty, who abolished all new laws after coming to power.

The emergence of these people is inevitable, because as the reform goes deeper, more and more people will suffer losses. No matter how low their voices are, they can still make a sound.

Especially this time the reform of the garrisons affected too many interests and countless people were harmed.

There were many Jinshi (imperial scholar) and scholars among the hereditary officials of the Ming Dynasty's military garrisons. When their interests were not met, they naturally complained about the reform.

Zhu Youjian anticipated this, so he chose to cut the Gordian knot and did not discuss the reform of the guards on a larger scale. Later, he adopted a high-pressure policy to force civil and military officials to accept the reform.

The effect was quite good. The reform of the Beijing Guards had solved the most difficult problem of hereditary officials, and the rest were just details.

Even if someone says something weird afterwards, it won't hurt the overall situation.

Zhu Youjian still had some magnanimity and could tolerate this.

It’s just a pity for him that Huang Daozhou, whether intentionally or unintentionally, became a banner of the conservatives.

This disciple of Yuan Keli, who was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi, was someone Zhu Youjian originally intended to use:

"I thought I could be used by me like Liu Zongzhou."

"I didn't expect to be on the opposition side now."

"It's so unpredictable, even I can't predict everything!" Zhu Youjian originally intended to use loyal ministers like Huang Daozhou. Even if they were not good at practical affairs, they could be placed in the Censorate or the Supreme Court to frighten the treacherous ministers with their righteousness.

But Huang Daozhou is now standing on the opposite side of the reform, so he cannot be kept.

Otherwise, more and more people will unite around him.

In the future, he may be pushed into the cabinet and make a louder voice.

This made Zhu Youjian decide that Huang Daozhou must be driven out, just like Emperor Jiajing who repelled his opponents after winning the Great Ceremony Debate.

He had to show that he was treating the re-creation of rituals and music as a major ritual debate, so that more officials would not dare to stand on the opposite side.

The fate of those who failed in the Great Ceremony Debate will warn them not to stand against the emperor.

With all the ministers of Jianwen having their verdicts overturned, the losers of the Great Ceremony Debate could be said to be the most miserable group of people in the Ming Dynasty.

Until now they have not been completely rehabilitated. Zhu Youjian only pardoned and showed favor to a group of people who had made contributions to the ascension of Emperor Jiajing to the throne.

Instead, Zhang Fujing, the first meritorious official in discussing rituals, was listed in the Purple Pavilion by Zhu Youjian and became a meritorious official of the Purple Pavilion.

The two completely different outcomes will let officials know how to choose.
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Specifically regarding the matter of Huang Daozhou, Zhu Youjian did not carry out any targeted attack.

He knew that if he showed his intentions against Huang Daozhou, any punishment would increase his reputation.

Those opponents who were originally worried about who to let represent them will flock around him.

The Ming Dynasty's Huitui system also determined that the transfer of officials was not entirely determined by the emperor. Officials like Huang Daozhou were not afraid of being targeted by the emperor.

Even if the current emperor hates them, they can wait for the next emperor, just like Yuan Keli was abandoned during the Wanli reign and was reinstated during the Taichang reign.

If Zhu Youjian wanted to suppress Huang Daozhou after reinstating him, he had to do it without leaving any trace.

After thinking about it, he came up with a good idea.

At the regular court session on the 29th day of the lunar calendar, when the ministers were discussing the system of crowns and clothing, Zhu Youjian said:
"I understand what you all mean."

"Some people think that the system of crowns and clothing should be adjusted to suit the current situation of the Ming Dynasty."

"Some people believe that the court regulations should be strictly enforced, and strict restrictions should be imposed on crowns and costumes that are not included in the regulations."

"Which one is right? I think we can try it out."

"Those who insist on implementing the old system, please stand up. I want to see if you have the ability to implement it."

After he finished speaking, all the ministers looked at each other, wondering what the emperor was planning.

The emperor used this method many times to try it out, but it was all for the purpose of promoting the new system.

It is really confusing to try out the old system now.

This old system is the existing system. Is it still necessary to try it out?

However, the current reality of the Ming Dynasty told them that a trial was indeed necessary.

Because although many systems have clear provisions, they are not implemented at all.

For example, the imperial court's dragon robes were, according to regulations, giant pythons without legs or horns, and were not at all like the dragon robes of today.

However, even though the imperial court issued orders many times, the practice of prohibiting the wearing of bestowed robes such as dragon robes continued unabated.

Even now, some women wear dragon robes, and the shape of dragon robes is very similar to dragon robes, making it difficult to distinguish them.

This led Zhu Youjian to have to wear a dragon-patterned python robe to clearly distinguish it from a dragon robe.

Now some ministers wanted to strictly implement the old system, so Zhu Youjian assigned a district to each of them to see if they could implement it.

At the same time, they were asked to be responsible for the renovation of the streets and alleys, to see if they could restore the streets and alleys of the capital to the standards set by the system. (End of this chapter)