The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 293: Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne.

Shortly after Zhu Youxiao's funeral, under the persuasion of all officials, Prince Xin Zhu Youjian held an enthronement ceremony in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The three main halls suffered a fire in the 25th year of Wanli's reign, and the emperor continued to repair them afterwards.

From Wanli to Taichang and then to Chongzhen, during the three major expeditions of Wanli and the Battle of Sarhu, during the countless difficult times of the old empire, these costly and labor-intensive projects in the Forbidden City never stopped.

The Huangji Hall, which symbolized the highest imperial power, had been burned down by Donglin bandits not long ago and was now reduced to rubble.

Except for the three main halls, the other palaces are not suitable for holding grand ceremonies such as coronation. At least no emperors before them had ascended the throne in other palaces.

As the grand ceremony was approaching, the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple were all extremely anxious.

Perhaps it was the blessing of Marquis Ping Liao (so the censors later said), on June 25th of the first year of Chongzhen, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which had been under construction for more than 20 years, was miraculously completed.

The specifications of the Hall of Supreme Harmony were slightly lower than those of the Hall of Imperial Supremacy, but due to the urgent situation, at the suggestion of Marquis Ping Liao, the coronation ceremony of the new emperor was carried out as scheduled three days after the completion of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

However, the rush left the officials planning the coronation ceremony somewhat bewildered and overwhelmed.

On the 28th, the officials of the Ministry of Rites, the historians on duty, the imperial carriage guides, the imperial censors, etc. were arranged in two rows, east and west.

Zhu Youjian came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony wearing a dragon robe with the sun, moon and stars on it. Marquis Ping Liao led all the officials to present congratulatory messages to congratulate the twelve-year-old new emperor.

Surrounded by a group of people, Zhu Youjian came from the Taihe Hall to the Zhongji Hall. The attendants on both sides bowed before the emperor and stood under the curtain. The curtain was rolled up, and Zhu Youjian climbed onto the nine-level throne.

After a series of ceremonies that were so tedious that they drove people to despair were completed, the new emperor's coronation ceremony was finally completed.

On December 30th, Zhu Youjian issued an edict of accession to the throne, announcing to all his subjects:

"I was shocked to hear of the tragic events in the capital, and I was deeply concerned about the heavy responsibility of inheriting the throne. The Marquis of Ping Liao, the civil and military officials, and the elders of the military and civilian communities all urged me to ascend the throne. After repeated attempts to refuse, I failed. So I obeyed the will and, on the twenty-eighth day of the sixth month, I announced to Heaven and Earth, the ancestral temples, and the country that I would ascend the throne."

In addition, the new emperor also emphasized the merits of Ping Liaohou's establishment of the state, and promoted him to the rank of Zuo Zhuguo and Taifu, with an annual salary of 300 dan of rice. He was also allowed to hold the hereditary position of Yi Nan, a position he had previously held, and concurrently serve as the Minister of War. He was allowed to use no name in his imperial edicts, no name in his praises, no need to rush into court, and to wear a sword and sandals when entering the palace.

In this succession edict, one of the passages reads as follows:

"Marquis Ping Liao personally received the late emperor's will to quell the rebellion and defeat the rebels, assisting me in my youth. Now that the world is in turmoil and alarms abound, we still need the Grand Tutor's support. All matters of state are entrusted to the Grand Tutor. The Grand Tutor's loyalty and great achievements are beyond my reach, nor can I repay him. Only our ancestors, the saints who have passed down their legacy, will bear witness to this and bless his descendants, ensuring peace and prosperity for the country for generations to come..."

Finally, Zhu Youjian announced that the next year would be the first year of Tianqi.

The choice of the year name was actually made after careful consideration.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the cabinet presented four reign titles for Zhu Youjian to choose from:

One is "Qian Sheng". Zhu Youjian said, "Qian means heaven, how dare I be a saint?"

The second is "Xingfu". Zhu Youjian said, "Zhongxing is very good, but I don't dare to take it."

The third is "Xian Jia", Zhu Youjian said "Xian is next to the spear, now we want to stop the war, don't use it."

The fourth is "Tianqi". Zhu Youjian said, "The Book of Rites says that the sky has revealed the new year. Now that the Ming Dynasty has Liu Taifu as regent, it will surely be a brand new era."

So Zhu Youjian personally copied the imperial edict and asked Wang Chengen, the eunuch in charge of writing it, to deliver it to the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

After receiving the imperial edict, Liu Zhaosun resolutely declined the position of regent and rejected all rewards.

Ping Liaohou's noble character was praised by all upright people from the Donglin Party, Chu Party, Zhejiang Party and Eunuch Party at that time.

Everyone compared Liu Zhaosun to Zhuge Liang of Shu Han and Yang Tinghe of our own dynasty. Some reformed Donglin Party members even expressed their desire to build a shrine for Ping Liaohou to honor his noble character and heroic deeds.

As the saying goes:
Zhou Gong was afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang remained courteous.

If I had died at the beginning, who would know the truth about my life?
In the end, Liu Zhaosun ignored the advice of his ministers and insisted on refusing all rewards. He even wanted to return the Grand Tutor's Mansion left by Zhang Jiangling to the court and the new emperor.

"I am moving back to the Zuo'anmen Wengcheng. I am the commander-in-chief of the Kaiyuan Army. I need to live with the soldiers."

Ping Liaohou's move caused panic in the court. Zhu Youjian and the ministers all believed that this was Liu Zhaosun's strategy of playing hard to get.

He wanted to retreat in order to advance and deliberately test the court's reaction.

If the emperor fails to react and accepts this request, more people in the capital will be assassinated by the Kaiyuan army.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see the clues. Liu Zhaosun's current power had reached the point of lawlessness.

Even without him giving the order, someone would take the initiative to do it for him and kill people for him.

What was even more terrifying was that these assassins had no connection to Kaiyuan at all. Thinking of this, how could the officials not be terrified?

These political veterans certainly don't believe in the time traveler's Buddhist attitude towards power.

They just regarded all this as Liu Zhaosun's routine.

And these routines have been performed countless times by Wang Mang's treacherous ministers and traitors.

Therefore, under the leadership of several cabinet members, a larger-scale campaign to persuade the emperor to ascend the throne began in the capital.

In early July, the voices urging him to ascend the throne rose and fell like a huge wave. Officials in Beijing jointly wrote a ten-thousand-word blood oath, cutting their fingers and using self-harm to write on white cloth:
If Heaven had not given birth to Marquis Ping Liao, the Great Ming would have been in darkness forever.

Holding up a letter written in blood, they braved the scorching heat and ran to the Grand Tutor's Mansion to "persuade" him.

Such disgusting flattery actually came from the mouth of the censor.

Liu Zhaosun had a new understanding of the lower limit of civil servants in the Ming Dynasty.

However, now is not the time for him to feel sentimental.

Emperor Tianqi sent imperial edicts to the Grand Tutor's Mansion one after another, and the words became more and more earnest.

After Liu Zhaosun received the imperial edict of reward, he asked Qiao Yiqi and Sun Chuanting to write a letter of refusal on his behalf.

Tianqi refused to give in and finally brought up Empress Feng and pleaded:

"To the Minister of the Secretariat, General Liu: I have received the instructions from Empress Yi'an (Empress Liu of the late Chongzhen Emperor): 'Tell General Liu that, although the major ceremonies are important, you (Zhu Youjian) are not yet in a position to make decisions on all other matters, both internal and external. Border affairs are particularly important. General Liu is a veteran of three dynasties, personally entrusted by the late Emperor, and a pillar of the nation. How can I bear to leave him? Wait until you are thirty years old, and then we can discuss this matter. General Liu, from now on, you must never harbor this thought (of refusing to serve as regent) again...'

When the edicts from Empress Yi'an and Emperor Tianqi arrived, hundreds of officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Household Department, and the Secretariat gathered at the gate of the Grand Tutor's Mansion. Those who didn't know thought that the Embroidered Uniform Guards had come to confiscate the house.

In fact, these people were all following the imperial order to urge Ping Liaohou to take up his post.

Led by Qiao Yiqi and Sun Chuanting, more than 200 generals and officers from Liaodong also knelt in front of Zhang Juzheng's mansion and refused to get up.

Thousands of people requested that the Marquis of Ping Liao take into account "the righteousness of the ruler and his subjects, and the common sense of human relations."

The great changes that took place in the Ming Dynasty attracted the attention of foreign envoys.

The envoys from the Chocheon Palace of Korea, Annan, Jiaozhi, Ryukyu and other countries in the Guild Hall of the Capital all urged this powerful Ming official to submit to the will of the Ming Emperor.

Under high pressure from all sides, Liu Zhaosun was forced to make concessions. After repeated refusals, he reluctantly accepted the titles of "Minister of War, Grand Tutor, and Pillar of the State".

He also refused the gold, silver, python mount, python robe and other gifts from the emperor.

In addition, he was also wary of the so-called highest courtesy of "not having a name in imperial edicts, not having a name in praises, not having to rush when entering the court, and wearing a sword and shoes when entering the palace," and resolutely refused to accept it.

Liu Zhaosun was well aware that most of the ministers who had obtained such privileges in history had already had the intention of usurping the throne, and the only step left before they could ascend the throne was the final step of receiving the Nine Gifts.

This means that he has reached the limit of his official position.

For example, Cao Cao was granted the title of King of Wei, the only king of a different surname in the late Han Dynasty. He was then granted the Nine Gifts and enjoyed the same ceremonial treatment as the emperor. All these privileges made it clear that Cao Cao was the de facto emperor, lacking only a title.

Therefore, in history, when Cao Cao added the Nine Gifts, loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty such as Xun Yu could not bear it.

Liu Zhaosun is not ready to become emperor yet, and he will not be blinded by the civil officials in the capital.

The real opponent is lurking in various places in the Ming Dynasty and is no longer in the capital.

So what you see before your eyes are just clouds and should not be taken seriously.

Once you become too inflated and do whatever you want, you will be doomed soon.

He needs to brake.

·······
Ping Liaohou bid farewell to his king and left the palace, and returned to the Grand Tutor's Mansion surrounded by guards.

Liu Zhaosun led Jin Yuji and her daughter to burn incense and worship in front of the tablet of their adoptive father Liu Jing.

"Foster father, I have finally fulfilled your wish and joined the Six Ministries. Next, I will conquer Japan and pacify Annan..."

Jin Yuji picked up her daughter and looked at the curling incense in front of her. She recalled the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of the past two years. Tears welled up in her eyes and she cried for her husband.

(End of this chapter)