I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 495 We are going to occupy the ideological position
In Fengxian Hall, Zhu Yijun led the civil and military officials to pay respectful tribute to the coffin and spirit tablet of Emperor Longqing.

Then the ceremony of welcoming the deity is held.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites sang praises on the side. After Zhu Yijun and the civil and military officials finished the ceremony, the civil and military officials knelt on both sides. Zhu Yijun walked out to the palace gate and greeted a ancestral tablet.

He took it with both hands, then respectfully brought it into the hall, placed it on the table, replacing the temporary ancestral tablet.

After the arrangement was completed, Zhu Yijun led all the civil and military officials to pay homage to the official ancestral tablet of Emperor Longqing.

"The Emperor of Heaven, Long Dao, Yuan Yi, Kuan Ren, Xian Wen, Guang Wu, Chun De, Hong Xiao Zhuang Shen Zong."

Emperor Qietian Longdao Yuanyi Kuanren Xianwen Guangwu Chunde Hongxiaozhuang is the posthumous title, which is the full name after Emperor Longqing. This long list of names is engraved on the tombstone of the imperial mausoleum.

Emperor Shenzong is his temple name, which means his serial number among the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty.

This is the same plaque that was worshipped in the Taimiao later on.

The ministers first proposed the temple name "Mu Zong". Mu means a person with pure virtue and profound ideas; Mu means a person with virtuous policies and harmonious governance.

Zhu Yijun had promised to give his father a good temple name, so how could Emperor Muzong show his deep filial piety?

The temple name "Shenzong" was directly proposed.

To govern the people without doing anything is called godliness; to show benevolence and conceal one’s usefulness is called godliness.

Only Emperor Shenzong is worthy of my father's aura and status!
I will let my father take the position of Emperor Shenzong first. After I am a hundred years old, if you want to play tricks in a sarcastic way, there will be no good position for you.

I'm so witty.

All the ministers are well-educated and know the mystery behind the temple name of Emperor Shenzong, but the prince is the biological son of the late emperor, so we must take into account his filial piety.

Shenzong is Shenzong!
The ceremony of welcoming the ancestral tablet has ended. Today is the first day of the first lunar month of the fourth year of Longqing's reign, and also the seventh day after the death of Emperor Longqing.

Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong represented the nobles, and Li Chunfang and Hu Zongxian represented the civil and military officials, and they submitted the third petition to persuade the emperor to ascend the throne.

"To inherit the orthodox lineage of hundreds of kings, there is nothing greater than to maintain the dignity of the emperor; to win the favor of all nations, one should first establish the throne. Only by embodying the origin and being upright can one respond to the will of heaven and follow the will of man.

The prince is a saint with a magnificent appearance and a great virtue. He carries on the legacy of the past and shines with great virtue. It is the Yang month, and the auspicious stars gather. He begins the auspicious beginning of the past and reigns forever in the glorious dawn.
We, the ministers, humbly hope that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will accept the imperial order, succeed the emperor, take the throne before the coffin, and rule over the people as he ascends the throne."

Zhu Yijun was no longer modest this time and asked Feng Bao to read the edict that he had prepared long ago.

"I have won the hearts and minds of the people with my cold and indifferent nature. You are all here to serve me with all your humbleness and fear. I have received the blessing of Heaven and the sincere wishes of the people. I will inherit the great cause and rule.

Thinking of the difficulty of establishing a king, I dare not take time off. Thanks to the saint's work, I have achieved moderate prosperity. Two decades of worry and hard work, ruling all nations
The reign was changed to Wanli, and an auspicious day was chosen for the enthronement ceremony."

After the recitation, a eunuch brought a throne, placed it in front of the spirit tablet of Emperor Longqing, and invited Zhu Yijun to sit down.

Zhu Xizhong, Zhang Rong, Li Chunfang, and Hu Zongxian led hundreds of nobles and civil and military officials, stepped forward to perform the ceremony of three kneelings and eight bows, and shouted "Long live the emperor!"

From then on, Zhu Yijun became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, with the reign title Wanli!
After all the officials knelt and ascended the throne in front of the late emperor's coffin, Zhu Yijun left Fengxian Hall and returned to Ziguang Pavilion in the Western Garden.

The officials left the Forbidden City, those who needed to go home for vacation went home, and those who needed to go back to the government office to work went on duty. After the first seven days, there was no need to keep vigil day and night.

Zhu Yijun only needs to kowtow every morning and evening.

After a hundred days of national mourning, an auspicious day will be chosen to transport the coffin and place it in the mausoleum.

As soon as the Minister of Works Zhu Heng left the Forbidden City, he changed his clothes and went straight to Zhaoling Mausoleum to inspect the finishing work of the mausoleum.

The tombs of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were basically built as soon as they ascended the throne.

The longer you live, the slower you will do things; the shorter you live, the more you will be careless.

But no matter how sloppy you are, you still have to have the most basic cards.

Zhu Heng should just go and take a look on the spot, and not wait until the coffin is transported to the mausoleum to discover problems. Otherwise, he, as the chief foreman, will not be able to escape responsibility, and it will be a serious crime!
"What new situation has been reported from Datong? Has a fight broken out in the Tumed king's camp?" Zhu Yijun asked impatiently.

His face showed the excitement of watching the fun.

Li Chun replied, "Your Majesty, the urgent report from Datong said that they are closely monitoring the right wing of Mongolia. There is no new situation for the time being. It only said that the royal tent is preparing for the funeral of Altan Khan."

"The Honglu Temple sent officials to offer condolences. Although Altan Khan is the Shunyi King of the Ming Dynasty, he is actually a foreign vassal. We should still observe the proper etiquette of the Ming Dynasty."

"According to the order!"

As it was the New Year holiday, the central and local government offices were closed, so the number of government affairs reported to the emperor suddenly decreased. Only Shuntian Prefecture received the most reports, including an inventory of the disaster situation and a report on the progress of disaster relief.

In addition, Zhili reported on the disaster relief situation in some prefectures and counties.

Judging from the memorials received in the past few days, the source of the earthquake was indeed in the northwest of the capital, but the epicenter was not within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but outside Zhangjiakou Fort.

Urgent reports were also sent in from Fengning and Xinghua in Luanhe, saying that they were also affected by the earthquake, but the casualties were not serious.

Overall, the center of this earthquake may be in the Yongxiebu area of ​​the right wing of Mongolia, but the exact location is not yet known.

“The top priority now is disaster relief.

Ask the cabinet to write a letter, and the Ministry of Revenue will immediately allocate special funds for disaster relief. The Imperial Hospital will immediately organize a medical team to rush to the disaster-stricken prefectures and counties to help treat the wounded and prevent the epidemic.

After finishing his official duties, Feng Bao came in with a stack of documents.

"Your Majesty."

Yesterday you called him Your Highness, and now you call him Your Majesty.

These eunuchs changed their words so smoothly and fluently.

"This is a report from the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards."

Zhu Yijun read through them one by one and couldn't help laughing, "Issuing a self-criticism edict, these people are really bold."

Feng Bao was a little anxious.

My Lord! Do you know what this means?

The strange phenomenon from heaven, warning the people, has a huge influence at the moment. Many people, whether officials or civilians, believe in it.

This time, the Qingliu used this as an opportunity to create public opinion. If we don't take it seriously, it will cause unrest in the court and the country. The second ancestor and his ancestors also believed in this. For example, Emperor Jiajing, when he encountered a strange phenomenon from the sky, he hurriedly worshipped the heaven and earth.

In the past, the Qingliu people often used these as trump cards to deal with officials, civilians and the emperor, and they were always successful. Feng Bao carefully expressed his concerns, and Zhu Yijun was stunned.

A strange phenomenon from the sky?

Qingliu wants to use this thing to scare me, an atheist?
But when he saw the panic on Feng Bao's face, Zhu Yijun suddenly came to his senses.

Just because you are not afraid doesn’t mean others aren’t afraid.

Judging from their reactions when the earthquake occurred, Li Chunfang, Zhang Juzheng, Zhu Xizhong and others were all frightened. And the timing was just right, at the critical moment when his father passed away and he was about to ascend the throne.

The sudden earthquake, from the perspective of the general public, was indeed a warning from God. The Qingliu seized this opportunity and desperately attacked themselves for their previous misrule, their lack of benevolence and virtue, and their failure to follow the ancestral system, which led to this disaster.

Such remarks are very popular nowadays.

Although he was not afraid, the panic among the people in the court and the country was not a good thing.

He ascended the throne and caused panic among the people. What kind of thing is this?

Slap in the face, so embarrassing!
Zhu Yijun nodded, "I understand, and I have my own ideas. Feng Bao, you and Zhengming continue to keep an eye on these people."

"Yes!"

Well, it’s quite smooth for you to change your words.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said to Qi Yan, "Call here Cai Maochun, the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

"According to the order!"

An hour later, Cai Maochun was called in.

"I pay my respects to the Emperor!"

These ministers changed their tune quite smoothly.

"No need to be polite, please stand up. Please take a seat and serve tea."

This is when the goodness of Emperor Longqing is reflected.

He lived in the Forbidden City for three years, and all military and national affairs were handed over to Crown Prince Zhu Yijun.

Zhu Yijun had been ruling the country in Xiyuan for three years, and the officials had become accustomed to reporting to him and being responsible to him. Now that Emperor Longqing had passed away and Zhu Yijun had ascended the throne, the officials only needed to change their titles, and everything else remained the same.

Seamless transfer!

"Cai Qing, these days people in the market are saying that on the day of my wedding, a white rainbow pierced the sun, which is very unlucky. And a few days after the late emperor passed away, there was an earthquake and strange signs in the sky, which is very unlucky."

Cai Maochun immediately replied: "Your Majesty, this is a lie to confuse the people! As the Left Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, I failed to investigate and clear the tax in time, and I deserve death!

I sincerely ask Your Majesty to allow me to redeem myself for meritorious service, immediately investigate the source of the evil rumor, severely punish the spreader, eradicate the poison, and set things right!"

When encountering such a thing, the first thing Cai Maochun did was to state his position without hesitation!
These words of vision and warning are all lies!

I, Cai Maochun, not only do not believe these lies, but I am also irreconcilable with those who spread these lies!
"No matter where the source is, the Jinyiwei of the East Factory will investigate. But the mouth is on someone else's face and the ears are on someone else's head. It's not easy to stop what they say and hear.

Words come from the ears, thoughts come from the heart. We cannot stop what we hear and what we think.

Cai Qing, how do you think we should handle this matter?"

Cai Maochun replied confidently: "Your Majesty is wise!
It is impossible to stop it, just like Dayu's flood control, dredging is worse than blocking. Speech concerns people's hearts, blocking is not as good as guiding. I think the solution to this matter lies in guiding. "

Zhu Yijun's eyes lit up. It seemed that Cai Maochun had good experience in the Taichang Temple. Not only did he memorize his previous instructions, but he could also apply them to other situations.

it is good!
Zhu Yijun continued calmly, "How to guide?"

"Your Majesty, the strange phenomena from heaven are warnings to the common people. This is the theory of the connection between heaven and man, which has been around for thousands of years since the pre-Han Dynasty. If you try to persuade people now, saying that this theory of connection is absurd, it will not help, but will have the opposite effect.

I think it is better to follow the trend and send a strange sign from heaven to warn the people. Then where should this warning be placed? That will be very important. Those who have evil intentions use this to attack the court and even insult the emperor. They are so crazy!

They can say it, and so can we.

There are many historical records of rainbows piercing the sun, and earthquakes are even more common. Therefore, I think we should reduce the danger of these two phenomena and classify them as ordinary phenomena. "

Zhu Yijun understood.

Lower the level of the rainbow piercing the sun and the earthquake phenomena. Once they are lowered, they will have nothing to do with you.

If the new emperor is to write a letter of apology, there must at least be a total solar eclipse, a conjunction of nine planets, or other rare phenomena that are rare in a thousand years!
Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing.

well said!
Once the level of the anomaly is lowered and the warning target is someone else, there will be plenty of room for maneuver.

Cai Maochun continued, "We will further expose those with ulterior motives, who appear to be righteous on the surface, but are actually despicable. Therefore, why doesn't the strange phenomenon from heaven serve as a warning to the court that there are hypocrites who say one thing on the surface and another in secret.
Such things can naturally offset the crazy slander and accusations of those with ulterior motives, and can also divert the trouble away and give them a taste of their own medicine!"

Zhu Yijun nodded approvingly.

It is still the literati who understand the thoughts in the minds of literati better and know how to deal with their dirty tricks.

Zhu Yijun said: "The primary responsibility of the Taichang Temple is to spread the teachings. What is teaching? To spread virtue and kindness and educate the people. The key lies in speech and in people's minds.

Cai Qing, occupying the commanding heights of speech and thought and winning the hearts of the people is tantamount to a major battle to expel the northern barbarians. The Taichang Temple has a heavy responsibility!

Moreover, the battle of missionary work is a protracted war. It cannot be won in one day or one hour. It needs to be fought continuously for one year, five years, ten years, or fifty years. It needs to be fought one battle at a time and one position at a time.

Therefore, the capture of any position is related to the overall victory. Now that the strange phenomenon has occurred in the capital, it is a battle situation. The Taichang Temple must fight and win. "

Zhu Yijun said meaningfully: "Cai Qing, people's hearts and minds are very important positions, which are related to the Ming Dynasty for thousands of years.

If we don't occupy this position, the enemy will occupy it!"

Cai Maochun listened respectfully.

"Mr. Zhuo Wu will leave the Taichang Temple soon for another important assignment. Cai Qing must bravely take on the heavy responsibility of the Taichang Temple!"

Cai Maochun knelt on the ground and answered respectfully: "I will do my best to occupy this position for the emperor. I will do my best and die a thousand times to repay the emperor's grace!"

(End of this chapter)