I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 50: Wenhua Palace Reward Discussion, Emperor Grants Name
The next day, the sky was slightly bright.

There is still a full day before the main sacrifice at the Circular Mound in the southern suburbs, and two full days before the grand banquet to celebrate the completion of the winter solstice sacrifice.

The heads of the main government offices responsible for preparing for the suburban sacrifices, such as the Ministry of Rites, Guanglu Temple, Taichang Temple, and Jinyiwei, have all sent people to inquire about the health of the young Wanli.

If little Wanli's condition improves significantly and he can participate in tomorrow's ceremony, they can all sleep well tonight.

If not.

They can only prepare all night long, and after they finish, they may be impeached and punished.

The front hall of the Ministry of Rites.

Minister of Rites Ma Ziqiang, and the left and right vice ministers Wang Tong and Lin Shizhang were also nervous and restless.

Soon, a young eunuch ran into the front hall.

"My Lords, His Majesty's condition has improved, and he is fully capable of participating in the Southern Suburbs Sacrifice tomorrow!"

Ma Ziqiang and the other two breathed a sigh of relief.

……

Half an hour later.

This news reached the Review Office of the Hanlin Academy.

Wang Zudi, Zhao Yongxian, Liu Chuxian, and Liu Kezhen all came to Shen Nian, stared at him, and looked him up and down, but did not speak.

Shen Nian felt scared when he was stared at.

"Four of you, why are you staring at me?"

Liu Kezheng murmured, "Ziheng, what good deeds did you do in your previous life that God would help you so much!"

"You know, you found Divine Doctor Li to treat His Majesty. The royal family owes you a favor, the cabinet owes you a favor, and the Ministry of Rites, Guanglu Temple, Taichang Temple, Jinyiwei and other officials responsible for preparing the suburban sacrifice ceremony all owe you a favor!"

"Rise straight to the top, just around the corner!"

"The key... the key is that you can also lecture. His Majesty likes you, the elders value you, and the compilers and editors in the next room are not as famous as you. You are the face of our young officials in the Hanlin Academy!" Liu Chuxian said.

His voice just fell.

Zhao Yongxian, who was always serious, murmured, "The key is that he is still young and handsome. We are in the same class as him. It's like dust meeting a pearl!"

"To tell you the truth!" Wang Zudi sighed and suddenly felt that his career ahead was bleak.

Shen Nian wasn't a thick-skinned person, but being praised like that still made his face burn. He couldn't help but say, "Four of you, please don't praise me like that. I was just a bit luckier. It was just a coincidence. It was mainly thanks to Doctor Li!"

Shen Nian was a little confused.

I don't know why his luck is so ridiculously good.

……

At dusk, the court was dismissed.

Shen Nian immediately returned home.

Aji told him that Shen Yaoshan and Li Shizhen had already left the capital.

Emperor Jiajing could not keep Li Shizhen, Emperor Longqing could not keep Li Shizhen, and naturally, Emperor Wanli and Zhang Juzheng could not keep them either.

at the same time.

Gu Yue'er took out a letter written by Shen Yaochen to Shen Nian.

Shen Nian tore open the envelope and took out a piece of paper from it. There was only one sentence on it: Son, be kind to your wife and do it less at night.

To put it simply, it means: take good care of Yue'er and stay up late less.

Shen Yaoshan is always so concise and to the point.

The letters I wrote to Shen Nian never exceeded twenty words.

……

The main sacrifice began early the next morning.

The young Wanli wore the imperial crown and robes and personally performed the grand sacrifice to the emperor of heaven at the Circular Mound in the southern suburbs.

Hundreds of officials gathered together.

Most people have to twist their thighs from time to time to maintain their posture and avoid falling asleep.

Shen Nian also forced himself to stay awake and persevered until almost noon, then the emperor and his ministers returned to the Huangji Palace and performed a celebration ceremony.

The court did not disperse until dusk.

This was not the end of it yet, for the next day was the Winter Solstice, and early in the morning all officials would pay their respects.

Each official had to write a congratulatory message of no less than 300 words to celebrate the suburban sacrifice.

In order to avoid the incident that happened when Hai Rui presented the "Memorial on Public Security", all congratulatory messages were sent to the Ministry of Public Security only after being personally read by the superiors. If they were not well written, they would be sent back for rewriting.

After that, the emperor and his ministers would have a grand banquet, and the suburban sacrifice would be over only after they had eaten and dispersed.

At the banquet, many officials came to chat with Shen Nian. The fifth-rank officials all greeted him with smiles, which made the lower-level officials very envious.

……

Near dusk, inside the Wenhua Hall.

Little Wanli sat on top.

Zhang Juzheng, Lü Diaoyang, Zhang Siwei, Ma Ziqiang, and Feng Bao stood below.

Zhang Juzheng was the first to speak: "Your Majesty's recovery this time is entirely due to the Imperial Academy Reviewer Shen Nian finding Divine Doctor Li. He deserves a generous reward!"

Little Wanli nodded slightly.

Shen Nian's teaching was very much to his liking. Young Wanli hoped that Shen Nian would be promoted so that he could have more opportunities to lecture at the daily imperial lectures so that he could learn more comfortably.

"Prime Minister, I believe that Shen Jianchao is a top-notch official, a man, and a scholar. Could you please grant me a special decree to promote him?"

Swish!
Zhang Juzheng took a step forward, looked at the young Wanli, and shouted, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed!"

"Shen Nian's actions were not due to political achievements, and there is no precedent for special promotion!"

aside.

Lu Diaoyang, Zhang Siwei, Ma Ziqiang, and even Feng Bao all curled their lips slightly.

The promotion of officials was actually just a matter of a word from Zhang Juzheng.

Since Emperor Wanli ascended the throne, the person who did the most unprecedented things was Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng continued, "Your Majesty, Shen Nian is still young. It is not appropriate for him to take on a high position so soon. He still needs more experience."

Little Wanli stretched out his little hand and grabbed to the side, feeling helpless.

It was you who begged for a generous reward, and it was also you who refused it. What should I do then?

Little Wanli was helpless.

He finally said the words he was increasingly reluctant to say but Zhang Juzheng wanted to hear very much: "Prime Minister, what do you think we should do?"

Zhang Juzheng puffed out his chest.

"I believe that, although I won't promote you, I shouldn't give you a light reward either. Your Majesty's recovery is actually due to the fact that Shen Jiantao's wife is pregnant. How about, when Shen Jiantao has a son, Your Majesty can personally name him!"

For anyone in the Ming Dynasty, being given a name by the emperor was the highest honor.

It is equivalent to the offspring being influenced by the royal aura.

"Just do as the Prime Minister says!"

Little Wanli said the second sentence that he was increasingly reluctant to say, but which Zhang Juzheng really wanted to hear.

aside.

Lü Diaoyang, Zhang Siwei and Ma Ziqiang did not speak.

Whenever the young Wanli asked them what they thought about something Zhang Juzheng had thought of, they would almost always say: I second the proposal.

They have become accustomed to this feeling.

On the one hand, Zhang Juzheng had great power over the country, and on the other hand, Zhang Juzheng's decisions were indeed always correct.

For example, this time's reward for Shen Nian is actually the most appropriate.

……

November 13th, near dusk.

Shen Nian picked up his pen and wrote in the diary: "On the 13th, the emperor gave the assistant minister Zhang Juzheng 50 taels of silver, beans, leaves and eight treasures, and seven bottles of wine; and Lü Diaoyang and Zhang Siwei 40 taels of silver, beans, leaves and eight treasures, and five bottles of wine."

"Ma Ziqiang, the Minister of Rites and Imperial Academy Scholar, received 30 taels of silver, bean leaves, and eight treasures, and three bottles of wine; Wang Tong, the Left and Right Vice Ministers, and Lin Shizhang, each received 20 taels of silver, bean leaves, and eight treasures, and two bottles of wine."

"Hanlin Academy Censor Shen Nian offered ten liang of silver, bean leaves, and eight treasures, a bottle of wine, and a bolt of silk, and promised to give his son a name."

After finishing writing, Shen Nian curled his lips slightly.

"Doesn't this deprive me, as a father, of the right to name the child? If the name isn't to my liking, I definitely won't accept it!"

(End of this chapter)