Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 450 The Big Wedding
January 10

suitable for marriage

Time flies, the years are like a shuttle.

Just as Zhu Cilang's arrangements, whether explicit or implicit, were being implemented one by one, the auspicious day chosen by the Imperial Observatory also arrived smoothly.

The emperor's wedding was certainly unusual, and even though the imperial edict had long stated that it should be "solemn, simple, and considerate of the people's strength," the cumbersome procedures had already been carried out for some time.

Before setting the wedding date, Qian Qianyi, on the instruction of Empress Dowager Zou, went to the ancestral temple and the Temple of Heaven and Earth to offer sacrifices in order to appease heaven and earth and pray for a happy marriage and prosperity of the country.

After that, the wedding procedures officially began. The six rituals of accepting the bride's proposal, asking for the bride's name, accepting the bride's blessing, accepting the bride's betrothal gifts, asking for the date, and welcoming the bride were carried out one by one. By the time the palace began to be decorated, there were only five days left to the wedding.

Honestly speaking, for such a huge empire, this amount of time was indeed a bit tight, but Zhu Cilang issued strict orders not to allow any extravagance or waste, and in the end the officials in the inner court only managed to arrange the palace in a reluctant manner, and did not extend the layout beyond the imperial city at all.

Some veteran officials have expressed different opinions on this.

In their view, the Ming Dynasty at this time had wiped out its earlier decline and not only defeated the Tartar army several times, but also maintained a strategic offensive against the Jiannu.

As the emperor who restored the Ming Dynasty, it is understandable that Emperor Jingwu spent more money on his wedding.

I have to say, their reasons are very sufficient.

At this time, the imperial court had not only just collected more than three million in agricultural taxes, but had also seized Zhang Xianzhong's property in Sichuan. If one took into account the income from Japan and the tariff profits, the amount of silver and money in Zhu Cilang's hands was almost tens of millions. Even spending a few hundred thousand on the wedding did not seem like a big deal.

Only those who are in charge of a household know how expensive firewood and rice are. As the territory expanded, the court's expenses have been increasing day by day.

To resettle the people, allocate military expenses, purchase food, and factory expenses.

Each of these items may seem insignificant individually, but when taken together, they are still somewhat short of what is needed for the Northern Expedition.

If we spend a little more here and add a little more there, the promotion of future political affairs will probably face a mountain of pressure.

This sentence sounded somewhat incoherent, but Zhu Cilang knew the connection behind it.

China has a vast territory, and since the emergence of a unified dynasty, the country's territory has been divided into rich and poor areas.

When the north was prosperous, the south was regarded as a burden. Later, as the weather gradually became colder and the tax collection area gradually moved south, the north became a burden in the eyes of some people.

This is human nature.

After all, whoever is richer has to pay more taxes, and the imperial court, as the national court, has to use these taxes in a balanced manner, which somewhat means taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

Such a situation would not be a big deal in times of peace, after all, the idea of ​​great unification is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. However, if war breaks out and the court regards the rich land as its foundation, then this contradiction will immediately become apparent.

Just like the Southern Song Dynasty, your emperor wanted to raise troops to the north, but he could not increase taxes in my place, otherwise various forces would surge undercurrents, and in the end the general who had fought many battles died inexplicably, and there would not even be a suitable reason to find.

Like during the time of Hongguang, if you want to stop the Tartars you have to train a new army and replenish money and food. But anyone with a discerning eye knows that this will inevitably greatly increase the burden on the local people. So you might as well not try to divide the country and rule separately, and the local people should just welcome the royal army.

Of course, the obstruction of the Northern Expedition by local forces in the Southern Song Dynasty and the surrender of Huaibei, Jiangsu and Zhejiang during the Hongguang period were relatively extreme examples. In normal times, they were just like Xuanzong's abandonment of Jiaozhi.

This is what Zhu Cilang is worried about.

On the surface, since he came to power, the Ming Dynasty has had a bit of a mentality of "civil servants die for remonstration and military servants die for battle". It seems that because of him, the Ming Dynasty, which was rotten to the core, has been transformed and has a new look.

But he himself knew very well that there was no essential difference between his Ming Dynasty and that of the Hongguang period, and the key to everything lay in the fact that "the emperor was rich."

Do not underestimate these four words. Since the emperor has money, local forces will not expect tax increases due to wars.

Since there was no such expectation, as long as the emperor did not do ridiculous things like equal distribution of land, the local forces south of the Yangtze River would not have much resistance to the court.

If we add in the fact that the Tartars made money by enclosure and maritime trade, even though the emperor had a bad temper and would occasionally single out a few families to demonstrate the majesty of the imperial power, for the vast majority of Jiangnan gentry, Emperor Jingwu was an acceptable choice.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang had to maintain his image as a wealthy man, or at least prevent local forces from expecting that the court would increase taxes.

Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty, which seems to be thriving today, will inevitably encounter various incidents due to financial collapse as in the past, and the situation that has been hard-won will probably be short-lived.

It's hard to be poor.

While the palace maids were preparing her wedding dress, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The wedding was very expensive. Even though he had given many instructions and asked that everything be set up according to the lowest standards, it still ended up costing more than 600,000 taels of silver.

Of course, compared with the national celebrations of his predecessors, this time only the decorations were made in the palace, and the money spent was just a fraction, but he knew that the current situation was still somewhat unstable, and he felt a little painful facing such expenses.

"Your Majesty usually appears in military uniform, but today, wearing this imperial robe, he looks even more majestic."

There are twelve patterns embroidered on the imperial robes, namely the sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons, Hua insects, Zong Yi, algae, fire, powdered rice, fu, and fu. Each pattern represents a different meaning and symbol. When paired with the crown and jade belt, the emperor's majesty is immediately displayed to the fullest, and Xu Yu on the side couldn't help but sigh.

"This dress is very troublesome. I still prefer cloth armor."

In response to Zhu Cilang's complaints, Xu Yu simply smiled and did not preach as usual.

He was the first one to stand on Zhu Cilang's side. Although it had not been too long since Yingtian was besieged, so many things had happened one after another in this year or so that he felt like he had lived through half his life.

"Your Majesty, the ceremonial procession has arrived outside the palace gate. It will probably take another two sticks of incense to reach the Fengtian Hall."

"so slow?"

Just when Xu Yu's mind was a little distracted, Zhou Quan's report brought him back to reality. Zhu Cilang then asked a question in a puzzled manner, and as the master of ceremonies, he was obliged to give some guidance.

"Your Majesty, don't be slow. Miss Xu is the candidate for the queen. She must offer sacrifices to heaven and earth before entering the palace."

"Oh."

After replying rather helplessly, Zhu Cilang was finally freed from the hands of the eunuchs and palace maids. He then glanced at Xu Yu, and waited for the other party to give the next step hint before walking towards the palace gate.

"Your Majesty, please don't go out. Just wait at the door."

When Xu Yu reminded him, Zhu Cilang stopped.

Although he didn't show it on his face, he was somewhat nervous in his heart.

After all, this is a wedding, and with such a grand occasion, he could remain calm even in the face of thousands of troops, but at this time he became a puppet that was turned at the mercy of others.

As time passed, the sound of drums and music gradually became clearer. Seeing this, Zhu Cilang knew that the wedding procession had already arrived at Chengtian Gate, and then he looked at Xu Yu behind him.

"Your Majesty, please wait for a moment. You can leave the palace only after this old minister announces the queen's decree."

"Oh, I see."

After receiving Zhu Cilang's reply, Xu Yu walked out from the side door of Fengtian Hall. Then, there was a loud sound of drums and music outside the hall. After a song was finished, the vigorous and powerful voice came in.

"The Emperor

The system says:

I inherit the order of Heaven and carry on the great plan. I govern the country by putting family first and the relationship between husband and wife as well as the righteousness of heaven and earth.

Here is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei. She is virtuous, prudent and dignified, and possesses both talent and virtue. She should be the empress and the mother of the country.

I have specially ordered the ministers to hold the imperial seal and enthrone her as empress with proper ceremony.

I hope the Queen will abide by the code of conduct for women, assist me, and govern the country together with me.

Admire this! "

After the edict to establish the queen was read, the door of Chengtian Hall opened.

At this time, in the huge square in front of the temple, the bluestone road was dyed with a light golden color by the morning light, making it look particularly solemn and sacred.

Civil and military officials dressed in court robes stood solemnly on both sides of the square in order of rank. Some of them had solemn expressions, while others had expectant eyes, all showing their respect and attention for the upcoming ceremony of the new queen entering the palace.

The civil officials held tablets in their hands and wore official robes embroidered with bird patterns, appearing elegant and dignified; the military officials wore armor with swords hanging from their waists, looking heroic and demonstrating the majesty and power of the empire.

In the center of the square, a red carpet extends from the threshold of Chengtian Hall to the center of the square, like a festive bond connecting the royal family with the world.

The wedding procession was lined up neatly on the red carpet. After the gate of Chengtian Palace was opened, Xu Shaoyue, wearing a phoenix coronet and a bridal robe, slowly walked into the square with the help of palace maids and maids. The palace maids and eunuchs around her immediately scattered handfuls of flower petals into the air.

The petals fell lightly like colorful spring rain, adding a touch of tenderness and romance to this solemn occasion.

The air was filled with the faint fragrance of flowers and a festive atmosphere, which made everyone present feel happy, as if even the morning light was brighter.

Xu Shaoyue took every step dignified and gracefully. The pearls on the phoenix crown swayed gently with her movements, flashing a dazzling light, which contrasted with the gentle smile on her face, making people unable to take their eyes off.

As she walked forward, civil and military officials on both sides bowed and saluted. When she reached the end of the red carpet, the melodious sounds of bells and drums stopped abruptly, and then she bowed down in the watchful eyes of the crowd.

"I wish to work side by side with Your Majesty to govern the world together, nurture the people with a benevolent heart, and wish that our Ming Dynasty will prosper and the people will live and work in peace and contentment!"

"Long live the Queen!"

Xu Shaoyue's voice was not loud, but all the civil and military officials who had previously only bowed now bowed down.

This meant the recognition and blessing of the court officials, and also represented that the Ming Dynasty finally had a queen who was the mother of the country.

The ceremony reached this point, and it was finally time for Zhu Cilang to appear. When the cheers died down, he slowly walked down the steps at the reminder of the eunuchs.

At this time, the sunlight happened to shine through the clouds and shone directly on him. Seeing this, the civil and military officials bowed again, and the atmosphere in the field immediately became solemn again.

Looking at the woman lying in front of him, Zhu Cilang's heart couldn't help but be moved.

Honestly speaking, when he first learned that Queen Mother Zou had chosen the daughter of Duke Wei as the Crown Princess, he was mostly considering the interests in his mind.

At that time, he was only thinking about how to use the influence of the Duke of Wei to tie the nobles to his chariot, but he did not care too much about the girl who was about to become his wife.

But who would have thought that when he led his troops to Hangzhou, the figure that fell out of the carriage was imprinted in his mind. After meeting her several times later, he was not sure whether it was because they had similar interests or for other reasons, but he was extremely satisfied with the candidate for the Crown Princess, and secretly felt more grateful to Empress Dowager Zou.

If things had gone smoothly by then, the emperor and empress would have treated each other with respect.

But then the Liu Zongzhou incident happened. After seeing Zhu Cilang being questioned, the girl disobeyed her father in public, and Zhu Cilang's feelings towards her finally underwent a qualitative change.

She is my wife, and nothing will change in this life.

As his mind turned, time gradually passed. However, at this point, there were still many procedures to be completed one by one. His delay immediately made the court officials nervous.

"Cough cough."

Fortunately, Qian Qianyi, the chief minister of the cabinet, was close enough. After Zhu Cilang heard a light cough, he finally reacted.

"My Queen Shao Yue is now the Empress, which is a blessing for the Zhu family and all the people.

"I am willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with you, through thick and thin, and move forward hand in hand.

"I also hope that you will follow the example of a mother, show your benevolence and kindness, and nurture the people, so that all the people of the Ming Dynasty can enjoy the emperor's grace and share the peace of the prosperous times."

"I will definitely live up to your majesty's trust."

After the emperor and empress finished their conversation, the cheers of the civil and military officials once again echoed in the square. Zhu Cilang then gently helped Xu Shaoyue up, and the two of them walked straight up the steps to the Fengtian Hall.

At this point in the ceremony, the emperor and empress would have to wait until the banquet to appear again. But when all the civil and military officials were waiting for that moment with joy on their faces, Wang Fuping's face was full of confusion.

Money is a good thing. Wherever you spend it, there will be corresponding effects.

Earlier, the expansion of the Jinyiwei had hit a bottleneck due to financial constraints, but after Your Majesty increased the funding, it achieved results in Jiangbei within a month or two.

Two hours ago, he received news from Huai'an saying that a large group of Qing troops seemed to have been transferred from the north in recent days. The spies spent a lot of effort but failed to find out the whereabouts and details of this group of people.

Wang Fuping understood clearly that although His Majesty did not reject the Qing court's request for peace, such conditions were actually not much different from rejection.

Now that the Qing army had made such a mobilization, it was probably time for them to take some action.

If it were in the past, he would have reported the news to Zhu Cilang immediately, but now people are getting married, and his status does not seem to be enough to get close to His Majesty at this time.

Looking at the slowly closing gate of Chengtian Hall, Wang Fuping felt more and more conflicted: "Should I try to break in?"

(End of this chapter)