Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 305: Rumors! Struggle in front of the funeral hall! Approved!

When the emperor passed away, the funeral was held in an orderly manner.

Apart from the five new brigades of troops entering Nanjing City for garrison, the Ministry of Justice, Yingtian Prefecture, Jinyiwei, and the Imperial City Military Department also stepped up their vigilance, and the capital was calm.

Zhu Yunhuan had long been appointed crown prince, and had been in power for quite a long time, holding great power.

Now he has naturally succeeded to the throne and presided over the old emperor's funeral, and no one dared to challenge his authority.

However, all this is just superficial.

Beneath the calm water waves, undercurrents are surging.

The first piece of news to ferment was about the cause of death of the old emperor.

There are folk rumors that the old emperor was angered to death by the crown prince Zhu Yunhuan.

It is said that the old emperor was so angry that he took up his gun and sword and wanted to kill Zhu Yunhuan.

Because of his old age, he could not bear it for a while and finally died of anger.

This rumor is very detailed and vivid.

How angry the old emperor was, how he rushed from the Daming Academy of Sciences to the Eastern Palace, how he took a knife and tried to kill Zhu Yunhuan, and how he was so angry that he died...

Of course, rumors are just rumors.

After the news spreads, there are always people who add fuel to the fire.

Then, there were all kinds of different versions.

Some said that the old emperor was angered to death, some said that the old emperor was killed by assassins arranged in advance by His Royal Highness the Grandson, and some said that the Grandson ordered the imperial physician to poison the old emperor to death...

Privately, ordinary people are even arguing over different versions of the rumors.

Everyone claimed that his version was the truth of the matter, and they argued until their faces were red.

In addition, there are even more outrageous versions.

It is said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince fell in love with a famous beauty in the West Market and invited her to ride back to the East Palace in the same carriage.

Later, the old emperor also learned about this. When he saw the beauty, he was shocked and thought she was a goddess from heaven, so he wanted to possess her.

The beauty refused to obey, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was unwilling to do so. In the end, the grandfather and grandson fought, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince attacked his grandfather ruthlessly!
Since ancient times, beautiful women have been the source of disaster, bringing harm to the country and the people.

Although this version was outrageous, it hit the spot for some people’s gossipy minds and spread widely.

There are many variations and even erotic legends surrounding it, so there is no need to list them one by one.

While these strange rumors were spreading, another rumor was also spreading.

There is news that the old emperor did not die.

The body placed in the mourning hall of the imperial palace was not the remains of His Majesty, but a death row prisoner taken from the prison of the Ministry of Justice.

The old emperor was actually imprisoned in the harem of the imperial palace by the new emperor.

Therefore, the new emperor put a mask on the old emperor's body to prevent people from seeing his true face.

The imperial doctors who treated the old emperor and the palace maids and eunuchs who washed his body were also imprisoned in the harem by the new emperor.

A wall was built overnight to separate the imperial palace's harem from the front palace.

As for this rumor, not many ordinary people believed it.

One is that the content is too outrageous, and the other is that it is not outrageous enough.

It was too outrageous because the imperial court had already announced to the world that all subjects had to wear mourning clothes for three days. How could the news of the old emperor's death be false?

Do you really take the imperial court's decree as a joke?
Do you think all the civil and military officials are fools?

No, absolutely not.

Even the fact that a mask was put on the old emperor's body was not believed by most ordinary people.

What’s not outrageous enough is that this story is not as bizarre, erotic, or exciting as the story of a grandfather and grandson fighting over a “beauty”...it’s not very interesting to talk about.

Some people who think they are smart even sneer at it.

The story was ridiculed as being full of loopholes and not worth refuting.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seized the throne and became the new emperor. How could he possibly keep the old emperor as he pleased and not kill him but only imprison him?
How can one achieve great things with such a woman's kindness?

It’s unreliable, so unreliable!
It must be made up.

……

All kinds of rumors involve palace secrets, and the people are most willing to spread gossip.

In addition, there seems to be an invisible force driving the spread of these rumors.

Within a few days, the rumor spread throughout Jinling City and spread outside.

At this time, Zhu Yunhuan was still keeping vigil in the mourning hall.

According to etiquette, a filial grandson cannot eat or manage affairs for three days.

At the beginning, the predecessor was instructed by Lu to go to Zhu Biao and say that he was hungry and wanted something to eat during the funeral of Zhu Biao. Zhu Biao considered him "unfilial" and hated him from then on.

When the emperor passes away, the requirements become more stringent.

According to ritual, when a king is in mourning, sons, ministers, dukes, and all officials shall not eat for three days.

He sipped porridge, with a spill of rice in the morning and a spill of rice in the evening, and did not eat any vegetables or fruits.

This means that when the monarch dies, people all over the world cannot eat for three days. They can only drink a bowl of rice porridge in the morning and evening, and cannot eat any vegetables or fruits.

This is the Confucian etiquette.

The requirements are very strict.

For growing children, going hungry is naturally very unbearable.

In fact, even adults, although they can endure hunger, can easily suffer from hypoglycemia if they do not eat for a long time.

If hypoglycemia is not replenished with sugar immediately, it may lead to fainting or even death.

Many people believe that it takes seven days or even a month of not giving someone food to starve to death.

In fact, although this statement cannot be said to be completely wrong, it is at least very imprecise.

Everyone has a different physical constitution. For some people, blood sugar levels will drop rapidly after starving, until they faint from hypoglycemia. If they do not replenish food that can be converted into sugar in the human body, they may die.

This will result in a situation where a person can be "starved to death" just by skipping one meal.

If the person already has diabetes, the probability of death will be greatly increased.

However, the ancients did not understand the reason behind this and only thought that this person died of a sudden illness.

If he died at the funeral of his parents and relatives, he would be praised for being so filial and dying because he was too sad!
Zhu Yunhuan is no longer his previous incarnation, so he naturally found a solution long ago.

At Lu's funeral, although he cried so hard, he didn't even have a single meal hungry.

Just find a place where no one is around and eat it secretly.

Although filial sons have to guard the mourning hall, there are always times when they need to leave for a while.

For example, people have three urgent needs.

Now that Old Zhu has not really passed away, he will not let himself starve.

As for not being in charge.

The etiquette system stipulates that the king should speak about the king's affairs and not the affairs of the state.

The scholars and officials talk about public affairs, not family affairs.

The king's affairs refer to major events of the dynasty such as court visits, alliances, and conquests, and also refer generally to military and national affairs.

The state affairs here refer to general court affairs.

To put it bluntly, urgent and important matters within the court are still handled as normal.

Only put aside matters that are generally not urgent or important.

After all, as a monarch, it is impossible for him to really not take care of things.

Officials still have to work as normal.

The high-ranking officials of the imperial court were also keeping vigil in the mourning hall. Their office hours were very short, and they only dealt with urgent matters, leaving ordinary official business aside for the time being.

Three days passed in a flash.

Even for an emperor, the burial time is very short.

After all, the corpse will rot and stink if left outside, so it must be put into the coffin as soon as possible.

Before the body was officially buried, the craftsman presented the golden mask that had been made in three days.

Zhu Yunhuan picked up the mask and was about to put it on the body.

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded from below: "Wait!"

The sound was cold and clear, like the sound of metal and stone hitting each other.

Zhu Yunhuan turned around and saw that it was actually the Minister of Rites Chen Di.

The Ministry of Rites was in charge of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors, as well as royal weddings and funerals. Even how the mourning hall was decorated and how all officials performed the ceremony were decided by the Ministry of Rites.

Seeing that it was Chen Di, Zhu Yunhuan stopped.

The other officials also showed surprise.

There were many well-read people present. In addition to the military generals and nobles, the civil officials were all well versed in the Confucian funeral system.

According to etiquette, it should not be interrupted at this time.

But why did Chen Di shout to stop for no reason?

Everyone looked surprised, except Zhu Gaoxu, who showed a hint of surprise.

Chen Di walked forward a few steps, stepped out from the crowd, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I have been blessed by the grace of the late emperor, and have been promoted and appointed to the position of Minister of Rites today."

"Although I am a fool, I think every day of my life about serving my country and the late emperor."

"However, human power is limited. Even if I try my best, I will still be unable to accomplish anything great, and I will fail the expectations of the late emperor."

"Now that the late emperor has passed away, I beg Your Majesty to have mercy on me and allow me to see the late emperor's face once more."

Zhu Yunhuan's face suddenly darkened.

Although he had been keeping vigil in the mourning hall these days, he was not completely ignorant of what was happening in the outside world.

He would still spare a little time to secretly listen to his confidant report important matters in the inner room.

Of course, in order to follow the rules of filial piety, apart from the deployment of troops to the capital for defense and the imperial edict on how to deal with the late emperor's affairs, officials were not summoned for general matters to express their opinions. The rumor about whether Zhu Yuanzhang had really passed away had already been spread.

He was not surprised that some ministers would stand up and raise questions at the funeral.

But what he didn't expect was that the person who stood up was the Minister of Rites Chen Di.

Below, the expressions of the ministers all became complicated and shocked.

Chen Di’s words were beautiful, but the core meaning was actually only one.

That is, he wanted to see the late emperor's face beneath the mask.

The new emperor had already issued an edict, saying that the late emperor had left a last will, forbidding outsiders to see his remains after his death.

Chen Di's current request is undoubtedly a disobedience to the imperial order.

Although the ministers have been keeping vigil for the late emperor for the past three days, they are not always in front of the coffin day and night. They will go out and take turns to rest.

You are not allowed to sleep while keeping vigil, you need to sleep outside.

Many people have also heard about the rumors outside.

Moreover, that day, His Majesty the Emperor broke into the Ming Academy of Sciences, chased and beat His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with a gun, and fell to the ground due to anger. Many ministers witnessed it with their own eyes.

Royal affairs are extremely delicate.

The ministers were all trembling with fear, and many of them repeatedly warned their families and servants not to bite their tongues at will.

Seeing Chen Di stand up and make this request, many ministers' faces turned pale.

I'm afraid that today's burial ceremony might lead to a massacre if things go wrong.

Just when everyone was shocked and frightened, they heard Zhu Yunhuan say calmly: "No!"

Chen Di bowed again, then knelt down and said, "I will never dishonor the late emperor's reputation. After viewing his remains, I am willing to follow him."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place suddenly became like a boiling pot.

There were sounds of heavy breathing coming from the crowd.

However, no one spoke, not even a whisper.

Everyone was looking at the Minister of Rites Chen Di, who was trying his best to see the late emperor's remains, in shock.

Whenever there was something going on in the court and it needed to be reported, some low-level censors would always be asked to take the lead.

Slowly the momentum gathers, and then the big guys go into battle with bayonets drawn.

Over time, a complete set of processes has gradually developed, which is called "skinning and boning".

The small officials peel the skin, and the big officials remove the bones.

This one is convenient for testing and can be released freely.

If the situation changes, the big guys behind can stand still and sacrifice pawns to save the chariot.

Secondly, the minor officials who wrote the letters were usually those who had just passed the imperial examination not long ago. They were full of righteousness, had a strong desire to serve their country, and were fearless of death.

To put it bluntly, they are easily deceived and impulsive.

As long as the big guys say a few nice words in private, express their devotion to the country and the people, and then paint a pie in the sky that is impossible to eat, there will always be some smart young people who think they are dying for their country and have no idea how deep the water is in the court, and they rush into battle and sacrifice themselves for "benevolence."

I was sold and still counted money for others!

With such a person taking the lead, the old foxes in officialdom would naturally be happy to cheer behind him and would never take a step forward easily.

Wait until the trend is set, then stand up and make the final decision.

Successfully reap the fruits of victory and win a good reputation throughout the world.

Afterwards, those young men who rushed to the front, if they were lucky enough not to die, would be grateful to the boss for saving them, be impressed by his character, and be willing to serve him at his beck and call and serve him until death.

If he is dead, you can offer sacrifices to him, shed a few tears, and earn the boss a reputation of valuing talent.

Like today, there was no minor official coming out to offer advice and suggestions, but the Minister of Rites came out personally. How could this not be surprising?

What's more, the first words he said were earth-shattering.

Especially the few officials who had a good personal relationship with Chen Di, they were so shocked that their jaws dropped to the ground.

How could Chen Di not discuss such an important matter with himself and others first?

What if I get implicated?

The joy on Zhu Gaoxu's lips was becoming increasingly unsuppressible.

Although the naughty kid has matured a bit, he is still far from being able to hide his emotions on his face.

After discussing with his father and brother that day, his proposal was rejected by his father and brother. Although he was hit hard, he did not give up.

After much thought, Zhu Gaoxu felt that brute force would not work, so he went looking for a suitable civil servant.

Since the Song Dynasty, the idea that a scholar should die for his remonstration and a soldier should die for his battle has gradually taken root in people's minds.

The old emperor was imprisoned, and the new emperor found a substitute and staged a trick of faking the old emperor's death. For such a big event, he didn't believe that the officials in the court would really sit idly by!

Especially those great scholars who are well-read and have a face full of Confucian etiquette!

Zhu Gaoxu quickly found the Minister of Rites Chen Di.

Although the Ministry of Rites is not the most powerful department among the six ministries, it is the most noble.

Those who have served as the Minister of Rites in the past have all been prestigious scholars who acted prudently and had a good reputation.

Judging by Confucian morality, he is a person who is well-behaved, abides by etiquette and laws, and never makes mistakes.

Because the Ministry of Rites was responsible for presiding over the imperial examinations, the Minister of Rites was naturally a role model for scholars throughout the world.

In other words, the Minister of Rites was also recognized by the court as one of the people who most abided by Confucian etiquette.

Zhu Yunhuan's behavior was extremely treasonous and absolutely unacceptable according to Confucian etiquette and laws. How could he be the emperor?

Zhu Gaoxu originally thought that after Chen Di heard about this, he would be filled with righteous indignation and would slam the table.

Unexpectedly, the other party's reaction at that time was very calm.

Zhu Gaoxu wanted him to contact the ministers, take the lead in speaking about the matter, and verify the authenticity of the remains, but Chen Di sternly refused.

Zhu Gaoxu was very angry and scolded the old man angrily.

I thought the matter had fallen through, but unexpectedly, when the late emperor was buried today, Chen Di stood up and threatened to commit suicide.

This time Zhu Yunhuan is in a difficult situation, right?
Zhu Gaoxu was so happy that he wished he could stop laughing or go up and add fuel to the fire himself.

Above the mourning hall, Zhu Yunhuan's reaction was still extremely calm, and he only said two words: "No!"

There was no anger, no explanation, just the words "No".

There was silence in the mourning hall.

The ministers even held their breath unconsciously, as if they could hear their own heartbeats.

Chen Di threatened to commit suicide, but was still rejected.

Is the body in the mourning hall really that of the late emperor?

This thought was rising wildly in everyone's mind.

If there was only three points of doubt before, it has now rapidly risen to seven or eight points.

The atmosphere in the field became inexplicably tense.

Chen Di looked up and Zhu Yunhuan was also looking at him.

I thought this person would continue to press me, but unexpectedly, Chen Di said respectfully: "I obey your order."

Once these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked again.

He was threatening to commit suicide just now, but now he has stopped in the blink of an eye?

The corners of Zhu Gaoxu's mouth, which were raised just now, suddenly froze.

I just wanted to rush up and slap Chen Di a few times.

Zhu Yunhuan was also extremely surprised.

He gave up just by asking two questions. Isn't that too cooperative?
Could it be that Yang Rong secretly contacted this person and staged this drama on purpose?
His eyes couldn't help but look at Yang Rong who was not far away, but he saw that the expression on his face was also full of confusion.

At this time, Chen Di, who was kneeling on the ground, spoke again: "The late emperor passed away, and the Pan kings are all thousands of miles away. They are all sons of the late emperor, and they should show filial piety to their sons."

"I ask the emperor to allow the princes to come to Beijing to attend the funeral!"

The breathing of everyone present stagnated again.

All the princes are going to Beijing?

Although according to Confucian etiquette, it is natural for a son to return home to attend the funeral when his father dies.

But Confucian etiquette is not completely rigid and inflexible.

National affairs and the safety of the country must come before the relationship between father and son.

The princes guard the borders for the country. When the old emperor passed away, it was a time of great changes in the world, and they should guard the borders.

Even if he wanted to return to the court, he should wait until the new emperor held his coronation ceremony.

The best strategy would be to recall them one by one and have them come to Beijing in turns.

How could they be recalled all immediately after the old emperor passed away?

What's more, there are already regulations in the "Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions" formulated by the previous emperor.

When the emperor passes away, the princes are not allowed to return to the court, but have to continue guarding the border and wait for the imperial court to summon them.

Moreover, the princes were not allowed to return to Beijing collectively at any time.

Now Chen Di requested to recall all the princes, and his intention was obvious.

Wasn't the Lu family rebellion during the Han Dynasty suppressed by the various vassal states?
The previous emperor's "Huang Ming Zu Xun" also stipulates that when treacherous ministers appear in the country, causing the king to be incompetent and the government to be in the hands of treacherous people, the princes must go to the capital to purge the king!

Seeing that he can't do anything to Zhu Yunhuan, Chen Di wants to let the princes come to Beijing to fight him?
If all these people came, I'm afraid there would be real chaos!

It is not easy for ministers to come forward, but it is different for the princes.

Zhu Di was bribed by Zhu Yunhuan and had long since worshipped him as his teacher, but the other princes did not do so.

However, will the new emperor agree?

Zhu Yunxun looked at Chen Di deeply and said, "Approved!"

……

(End of this chapter)