I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 506: The Court is Full of Politics
"Bang bang!"

At midnight on the first day of February in the first year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Siwei woke up as soon as the night watchman's call outside the yard sounded.

He lay on the bed with his eyes open for several minutes, but the concubine beside him didn't react at all.

Alas, it has been too long since I last attended court.

Although Emperor Jiajing was obsessed with Taoism and worshipping heaven, he never missed the morning court sessions. Since he passed the imperial examination and became a court official, he was eligible to enter the Meridian Gate to attend the court sessions. He would get up at midnight on the first and fifteenth day of every month.

Over the past decade, the concubines and maids had developed a habit of waking themselves up at midnight on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, helping them to dress and get ready to go to court.

During the Longqing reign, the late Emperor Longqing only lasted half a year before canceling the morning court session and asking the Crown Prince to take his place.

However, the prince was only the crown prince after all, and it was not legitimate for him to hold morning court, so he only summoned all the ministers to discuss matters in the Taiji Hall in the Western Garden. Most of those who were qualified to participate were practical officials from the six ministries and temples.

As a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, I am not allowed to go to the West Garden.

After two and a half years of delay, the concubines and maids all gave up the habit.

I told them what to do before going to bed last night, but I forgot.

Zhang Siwei looked at the top of the bed curtain. The patterns of Jiangnan embroidery were indeed beautiful, but he didn't want to look at it anymore. He coughed a few times. The concubine next to him suddenly woke up and said something.

"Master, I deserve to die. I was completely confused after sleeping. Wenju, Moqiu, get up quickly and help the master get up."

The maid in the outer room was woken up and came in with a copper basin, towel, toothbrush and green salt jar. She first helped Zhang Siwei wash up, and then brought him rice porridge for him to eat to fill his stomach.

Next is to wear court dress.

Today's morning court session was also the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Wanli. The cabinet issued an edict early on that the ceremony would be held in the Huangji Hall, and all civil and military officials must wear court robes.

Since the Chenghua and Hongzhi periods, the attire of officials in the morning court became chaotic and casual. As long as it was not a major ceremony such as New Year's Day or a major sacrifice, no one said anything if the officials wore official uniforms to court.

But it’s definitely not possible today, I have to wear court dress.

Served by concubines and maids, Zhang Siwei wore a white gauze inner garment, a red silk skirt with a blue collar, a blue-rimmed silk knee-length cape, a red and white silk belt, a sash, and white socks and black shoes.

Wearing a three-beam crown.

In order to indicate that it was still a period of national mourning, a white jacket was covered over a red silk robe, a leather belt was wrapped with white cloth, and the crown was covered with white cloth.

After everything was ready, Zhang Siwei sat in the chair for a while to rest.

Wait until the time is almost right before going out.

It was still very cold in Beijing at night in February. The north wind, carrying the lingering chill, whistled into Zhang Siwei's collar.

He couldn't help but shrink his neck, took a few quick steps, walked along the corridor to the front yard, quickly went into the sedan chair hall which was converted into a horse hall, and got into the waiting carriage.

With the coachman's shout, the sound of horse hooves broke the silence of Zhang's house and then gradually faded away.

There were hundreds of horse-drawn carriages lined up outside Chengtian Gate. Zhang Siwei was not a high-ranking official and did not receive any special treatment. He got off the carriage early, holding up his clothes, and walked along Chang'an Avenue.

All along the way, all I saw were people wearing white jackets and crowns hung with white gauze.

Everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts, so they greeted each other reluctantly and hurried on.

When we arrived at Chengtian Gate, everyone was queuing up and entering according to the order in which the different government offices were located.

After entering Chengtian Gate, we lined up to check our badges to enter Wumen.

Everyone was a little unhappy. In all previous dynasties, badges were checked at the Wumen Gate, but in the Wanli Dynasty, they had to be checked again at the Chengtian Gate, which was like taking off pants to fart.

However, both Chengtian Gate and Wumen Gate had left and right side doors and left and right wing doors. Although the procedures were more complicated, entering the gate was faster.

After entering the Meridian Gate, the officials who had attended court found the court rooms of various government offices as if they were familiar with the place, gathered together and chatted in low voices.

Most of those standing aside, somewhat at a loss, were newly appointed officials who had never attended court.

Zhang Siwei looked at these people with his eyes tilted downwards.

He quickly walked into the court room of the Hanlin Academy. There were fewer colleagues there and they were in a low mood.

Among those who were suspended from their posts according to the Ministry of Personnel's Performance Evaluation System, the Hanlin Academy was the hardest hit, with one-third of the officials directly suspended, and the rest were also in a panic.

"Wang Jijin and his men were suspended from their posts. I heard that it was because Zhang Gebu used his position to seek personal gain!"

"Who told Wang Jijin and his men to impeach Zhang Gebu to death? A strange phenomenon has fallen from the sky. Who can bear this crime? And you even publicly submitted a petition at the imperial court meeting. If I don't punish you, who will I punish?"

"The seal of the government is in someone else's hands, how can you fight against him? It is better for you to be a hero who knows the current situation."

Several Hanlin scholars shook their heads and sighed.

The other Hanlin scholars nearby did not say anything, but there was a fierce look in their eyes, which was inadvertently noticed by Zhang Siwei.

Something big is going to happen today.

Zhang Siwei sighed in his heart.

There is a huge wave in the court, please don't let it sweep me away.

Suddenly, he saw Gao Gong and two other people standing in the dark in the distance.

Zhang Siwei tried to look a few times, but he only saw one figure, which was Ge Shouli. He couldn't see clearly who the other person was.

After a while, he saw Gao Gong and Ge Shouli coming over, but the other person was nowhere to be found.

Next to the Hanlin Academy was the Cabinet Court Room. After Gao Gong walked in, Li Chunfang, Zhao Zhenji, Zhang Juzheng, and Chen Yiqin who were sitting inside all looked at him meaningfully without saying a word.

Three sounds of street-cleansing whips rang out, and all the ministers came out of their rooms, crossed the Jinshui Bridge, passed the Huangji Gate, and came to the square in front of the Huangji Palace.

Everyone stood in their designated positions one by one. This time there were thirty-three more princes and dukes from the royal family.

Among thousands of princes and dukes of the royal family, only these thirty-three passed the examination and were qualified to attend the court meeting.

Three street-cleansing whip sounds were heard again, and the musicians began to play music. A sedan chair, escorted by a full array of ceremonial guards, was slowly carried in.

Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun wore a leather hat, a crimson gauze robe, a red skirt, a middle singlet, and a knee-length guard, all plain without any patterns. He accessorized with a jade pendant, a large belt, a large ribbon, and white socks and shoes, all the same as the imperial robes.

Cover with a plain white jacket.

He started fasting three days ago, and the day before yesterday he wore a crown and robes to go to the Temple of Heaven and Mountain and River Temple to worship heaven and earth. Yesterday he went to the Taimiao Temple to pay homage to his ancestors.

The throne was placed on the Danchi in front of the Huangji Hall. Zhu Yijun walked up the steps to the Danchi, turned around and sat down. The band stopped playing, the rites officials sang praises, and the civil and military officials turned around and faced north, knelt down, and formally saluted Zhu Yijun. After kneeling and saluting, Feng Bao read the imperial edict.

"The Emperor, by the Will of Heaven, proclaims:
The emperor has been on the throne for more than three years. His benevolence and virtue have been great throughout the country, and his divine power is rare in ancient times. He was compassionate to the people and worked hard to reform the government. He sought out the advantages and disadvantages and was about to make great reforms. However, his imperial edict had not yet been issued when he died. I prayed to heaven and earth, but nothing could stop me.

Now, the civil and military ministers and hundreds of officials have come together to persuade me to become the emperor and rule over the people. I will follow the wishes of my father and grandfather and take the throne of the emperor in the Huangji Palace. I will change the reign to Wanli and work with all the ministers to lay the foundation for eternal peace and benefit the people.
After his father and grandfather were honored as the Empress Dowager, his mother was honored as the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Xue was made Empress, the Empress Song was made Imperial Concubine, and the Empress Xu, the Empress Zeng, the Empress Wang, the Empress Dong, and the Empress Ge were made Concubines.
Issue a general amnesty to the entire nation, and order the Ministry of Justice to pardon those whose crimes are minor and who can be forgiven."

The ministers were listening quietly below, and the more Zhang Siwei listened, the more he felt something was wrong.

Is this the official decree of accession to the throne?

Among the two ancestors' enthronement edicts, Emperor Taizu's was the simplest and most powerful!
"I am the ruler of China, and the reign of the Song Dynasty has ended. The Mandate of Heaven came to China from the desert and became the ruler of the world. It has been passed down to our descendants for more than a hundred years, but now it has also ended.

The emperor will be located in the southern suburbs, and the title of the world will be Da Ming. The second year of Wu will be the first year of Hongwu. On this day, he will respectfully go to the Taimiao and posthumously honor the father and mother of the four generations as emperor and empress. He will establish Taishe and Taiji in the capital. The announcement will be made to the world so that everyone will know! "

The accession edicts of the other emperors were longer than each other.

For example, the emperors such as Chengzu, Jingtai, Yingzong, and Shizong, who had their thrones in a roundabout way, would spend a long time talking about how legitimate their thrones were, and then go on to talk about how they would inherit the legacy and how they would strive to make new things.
For other emperors who have no problem with the succession to the throne, they would say what I will do after I ascend the throne, one, two, three, four, and five things. Some edicts would list dozens of items, which is roughly equivalent to the governing strategy of that dynasty.

The accession edict drafted by the cabinet was also in the same format, listing a total of sixteen items. It was simplified again and again and was directly rejected by Zhu Yijun.

I will still rule the Ming Dynasty for several more decades, and the national policies and strategies for these decades have all been clearly stated in the edict of accession to the throne. Am I not kidding you?

Besides, can my ideas on governing the country be written down in the edict of accession to the throne?

How can I boil a frog in warm water?
After Zhu Yijun personally revised it, it became the accession edict that Feng Bao is reading now, which greatly surprised the Hanlin scholars who were familiar with the classics of the imperial court.

The new emperor is so unconventional. Does he want to consider himself as equal to Emperor Taizu and not only conquer a vast new territory for the Ming Dynasty but also establish a new system for the Ming Dynasty?
The ministers remained silent.

When the imperial edict was finished, Feng Bao shouted: "If you have it, report it early. If you don't, leave the court!"

After a moment of silence, Zhang Siwei lowered his head and glanced around.

Wang Lin and his party have been suspended from their official positions and are not eligible to enter Huangji Gate to attend the morning court. No one should cause trouble.

At this time, officials from the Ministry of Personnel, Honglu Temple, and the Ministry of Rites came forward to report according to the prior report.

Who was appointed as the governor, which foreign vassal sent an envoy to pay tribute?
Suddenly, Wang Shizhen, the Left Vice-Chief Censor of the Censorate, came forward, knelt down in front of the steps of the throne, and said in a loud voice: "I have a memorial to submit!"

Zhang Siwei looked at Wang Shizhen's back in surprise and suddenly realized something.

"Play!"

"I would like to present the memorial "A memorial on the unknown omen sent by heaven to respond to the treacherous and treacherous officials and to follow the ancestral system and respect the orthodox teachings."

Wang Shizhen's voice was neither hurried nor slow, but clear and loud, echoing over the Huangji Palace Square.

His memorial was also an impeachment memorial, similar to those submitted by Wang Lin and others, except that it was more ornate and the wording was more severe. It directly pointed at the cabinet, the six ministries and the various temples, almost impeaching them all. He was just short of pointing at Zhu Yijun's nose and saying, "Your Majesty, please issue an edict of repentance!"
In the last part of the memorial, Wang Shizhen cried out: "God has given us a warning, but it is up to us to decide. I hope the emperor will follow the ancestral system, respect the orthodox teachings, correct his mind, strengthen the rules and regulations, clarify the way of governance, discipline the palace, and suppress power and luck.

The sage said: "Govern the people with laws and regulations, and regulate them with punishments, and the people will avoid punishment but will have no sense of shame. Govern the people with virtue and regulate them with rites, and they will have a sense of shame and will be upright."

The emperor is wise and the officials are honest, this is the will of heaven.
We should rectify the administration of officials and promote honesty, benevolence, fairness and diligence. We should make it so that the greedy and cowardly have no place to stay, and the honest and capable have something to encourage.
Carry out benevolent governance, give the people a rest, and reduce taxes and rents."

What he meant by this was, Your Majesty, I have already made it very clear what the content of the edict of repentance should be.

Zhu Yijun listened quietly on the throne.

Wang Shizhen's approach is nothing more than advocating that human rule is above the rule of law and morality is above everything else. No matter how ornate the words are, they are still clichés.

I didn’t expect that not only Wang Lin but also Wang Shizhen was blocked.

Wang Shizhen, a famous scholar in Wuzhong, had also tried hard to win him over.

such a pity!
Mr. Yangming said it well, it is easy to defeat the enemy in the mountains, but it is difficult to defeat the enemy in the heart!
After Wang Shizhen finished reading, he raised the memorial high with both hands.

Feng Bao received Zhu Yijun's signal and went down to take it.

Dozens of officials then stepped forward, some submitting impeachment memorials individually, some echoing Wang Shizhen. The main content of their remarks were directed at the five cabinet elders, the six ministers and the ministers of various temples.

Their intentions were clear: Your Majesty, if you want to protect these people, you should take responsibility and issue an edict of remorse.

After more than a minute of silence, Li Chunfang stepped forward and spoke loudly.

"I, Li Chunfang, the Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Palace, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, and the Chief Minister of the Cabinet, have this report."

"Play."

Li Chunfang stepped forward and read his memorial aloud: "I am a minister of limited talent and low moral character. I have been living a mediocre life and have not been able to make any contribution. I have been responsible for the food for a long time. If I continue to be greedy, I will be in danger and humiliation."

The content was very simple. He resigned as the Prime Minister, wanting to take all the responsibilities and protect the other cabinet ministers and chancellors.

All the ministers were stunned.

What a surprise! Wang Shizhen's remarks brought down the prime minister of the cabinet. Awesome!
We have been planning for so long, how can we just overthrow Li Chunfang? He is not our target, our target is Zhang Juzheng and the New Deal.

But the cabinet chief minister took the initiative to resign in response to the strange phenomenon from heaven, which was enough. Rainbows piercing the sun and earthquakes have never happened before? What else do you want?

The north wind was blowing, making the flags around the square flutter.

Is this the end of it?
Just as Feng Bao was about to call the end of the morning court session, Gao Gong stepped forward and said loudly, "I, Gao Gong, the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and the Minister of Revenue, feel that I have little talent and moral integrity. I ask the emperor to allow me to return to my hometown to study."

Everyone was shocked!

Then, the Minister of Rites Ge Shouli stepped forward to resign, and more than a dozen officials from the six ministries and temples, including assistant ministers, junior ministers, and doctors, also resigned.

Zhang Siwei suddenly realized that Gao Gong, Ge Shouli, Wang Shizhen and others were secretly colluding with each other.

Wang Shizhen submitted a petition to force the emperor to abdicate, and Li Chunfang resigned as the Prime Minister to resolve the situation. However, Gao Gong and Ge Shouli also resigned with their followers, which made Li Chunfang's efforts go to waste.

Now all the pressure is on Zhu Yijun.

Looking at the righteous expressions on the faces of Wang Shizhen and others.

Zhu Yijun knew that these people were doing the same thing as Wang Lin, but the essence was different.

Wang Lin and his people were purely motivated by their own interests. Although Wang Shizhen and his people also had their own interests, they were more motivated by their ambitions. They truly believed in the great principles and righteousness in the Four Books and Five Classics and regarded them as their guiding principles.

"The court is full of upright people!" Zhu Yijun sighed, "I have discovered today that the court is full of upright people!"

(End of this chapter)