The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 90 Ministry of Rites (Please subscribe)

"Your Highness, news has come from outside the palace that Xu Wei and his mother have arrived and are now settled in."

Zhu Zaizhen was looking at Emperor Xuanzong's painting. It was really good. He never expected that his ancestor had this skill. He thought that his grandfather only knew how to fight crickets.

Unfortunately, all of Emperor Xuanzong's cricket jars were smashed and buried by order of Empress Dowager Zhang, otherwise he could have broadened his horizons.

Zhu Zaizhen had the painting put away safely, not in a hurry to have Xu Wei enter the palace to paint, as that would be too hasty and opportunistic. Different talents should be treated differently.

Zhang Juzheng had a smooth and successful career, and only ideals could move him, while Xu Wei was in dire straits and needed careful care and support.

Moreover, the longer this painting remained in his hands, the more his father would worry about it. The bond between father and son in the imperial family was no different from that between ordinary families; the more they cared for each other, the closer they became.

In this world, those who care about you the most are often your creditors, which can be considered a way to strengthen the bond between father and son.

"That's good. Let them rest well first. Da Ban picks out a few good books from my collection and sends them over. Oh, and send someone to deliver some ice as well."

After agreeing, Ma Dezhao said, "There is something about the Black Mountain Society."

"explain."

"Last night I went to see the Imperial Kitchen Director Hong, and he said that the money is enough and construction will officially begin the day after tomorrow. He plans to purchase another 100 acres of surrounding land and build a mountain road to construct the Huguo Temple."

In addition, there is a rumor that once everything is built and repaired, Minister Mai intends to ask Minister of Personnel Xu Jie to write an inscription for the stele.

Zhu Zaizhen frowned. Mai Fu's extensive construction of temples and land acquisitions was naturally intended to leave a legacy for future generations. Even if he had no children or grandchildren, at least his descendants would remember him well.

Given his status as Grand Secretary, it was impossible for him to ask an ordinary person to write an inscription and leave his name on a stone tablet. The person's status and calligraphy would have to be very high. The only people in the court who met these two conditions were Grand Secretary Yan Song and Minister Xu Jie.

Building ancestral halls and temples is never a bad thing, and Mai Fu would give face to either of the two people he invited.

But such news has already spread before the project has even started construction, which is clearly not right. Is he trying to curry favor with Prince Yu? Does Mai Fugao Zhong have the guts to do that?

Zhu Zaizhen's expression turned cold. He had made his stance clear: he had provided the money, and while he didn't expect them to rely entirely on him, they should at least remain neutral. Now, they were being ungrateful!

Do they really think that the position of Director of Ceremonial Affairs is something they can decide to pass on to whomever they want?

Zhu Zaizhen regained his composure: "Master, inform Yan Shifan about this matter and have him arrange for the Six Ministries to impeach him."

The charges against Gao Zhong were that, despite being in charge of the Imperial Horse Administration and the Twelve Battalions of the Beijing Garrison, he had been deeply favored by the Emperor but had been a mere figurehead, squandering the Imperial Treasury's silver reserves for many years. The Beijing Garrison soldiers were lax in their training, their weapons and armor were in a terrible state, their warhorses were weak, and there were thousands of vacancies in the army.

"With the borders currently unstable, if border guards were to suddenly arrive one day, how could such a poorly disciplined army possibly defend against foreign enemies and protect the capital?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Dezhao frowned slightly and advised in a low voice, "Your Highness, if we rely solely on these charges without concrete evidence, it may be difficult to shake Gao Zhong's reputation."

Zhu Zaizhen picked up the orange cat and said, "It's just a warning shot. If they behave themselves, fine. But if they don't, they'll be crushed by this memorial."

"promise.

After Daban left, Zhu Zaizhen held the orange cat and slowly scratched its head with his fingers. The orange cat squinted its eyes, made purring sounds in its throat, and lazily flicked its tail twice.

The two smaller cats that were chasing and biting each other saw that the orange cat was being pampered and ran over to rub against his robe. He picked up a cat toy specially made by the cat room, with a few dyed pheasant tail feathers tied to the top of the bamboo stick.

With just a slight flick of the wrist, all three cats tilted their heads back, their eyes following the movement of the feathers. One of them pounced impatiently, missed, rolled on the ground, and then leaped up again.

Once the cats were all sleepy, Zhu Zaizhen ordered them to be taken away, while he himself began copying Buddhist scriptures. This was a job that would ruin one's wrists, no wonder wealthy families would hire poor scholars to copy books.

Unsurprisingly, the impeachment by the six officials did not cause much of a stir in the court. However, Gao Zhong still had to kneel in front of Yongshou Palace for two hours before he was allowed to enter the palace.

In August, although the summer heat had not completely subsided, the mornings and evenings had begun to cool down considerably. At present, the two most pressing matters in the court were the upcoming Emperor's birthday celebration and the long-vacant position of Minister of Rites.

The Emperor's birthday is the birthday of the Emperor and his father, and it has always been the most important event in the court. Although the Emperor has refused to participate in the celebrations for the past six or seven years and has not accepted the homage of the civil and military officials, he has been worshipping Heaven and the gods and performing fasting and ritual ceremonies alone in the Western Garden.

But who can say for sure that His Majesty will be the same this year?

It wouldn't be good if His Majesty were in the mood this year, only to be told by everyone that he wasn't planning anything this year, and therefore hadn't made any preparations—

Therefore, no ceremonial regalia, memorials, rituals, music, and tributes were omitted. Fortunately, there were established precedents, so it was not a difficult task.

However, there was another coincidence: the Emperor's birthday and the anniversary of Empress Xiaoci Gao's death happened to fall on the same day.

In the second year of the Jiajing reign, the emperor personally decreed that the ceremony should be held first at the Temple of Filial Piety and Compassion, followed by the Emperor's birthday celebration, with the ceremony reduced by half and the music and dance simplified.

Even if the Emperor's birthday celebrations were simplified, the Empress Gao's sacrificial rites would still be held in grand style.

The two grand ceremonies were held together, with complex rituals and solemn ceremonies. From the arrangement of attendees and the prayers to the setup of the altars and temples and the order of events, everything required the Minister of Rites to coordinate and make decisions.

For this reason, everyone in the court, whether it was Yan Song's faction or Xu Jie's faction, was keeping a close eye on this vacant important position. That night, Yan Song sat at the head of the table, and the others took their seats. They first tasted Gu Zhu Zisun together. The tender buds before the rain were stored in a tin jar, and when drunk in August, they still had the fragrance of spring in Jiangnan.

"Oh my, it smells so good." Zhao Wenhua's expression was somewhat exaggerated, but he didn't care at all. His gaze was only on Yan Song and his son's faces, ignoring the rest.

Luo Longwen followed closely behind, chiming in with a smile, "Indeed, such fine tea can only be enjoyed at the Grand Secretary's residence."

"Judging by its condition, it's probably a gift from the imperial court?"

"His Majesty's fondness for the Grand Secretary is an honor unmatched by anyone in the court or the country."

Yan Song raised his hand and pressed down lightly, with a gentle smile on his face: "Alright, each of you take eight taels back later. Don't say I'm stingy, there aren't many of these imperial teas to begin with. After sharing them with you, I won't have many left for myself. Let's all share in His Majesty's divine aura."

Yan Song had always acted in this way: kind and generous, considerate and magnanimous towards his subordinates, never stingy with rewards and promotions.

It was precisely because of this method of winning people over that opportunists from both the government and the public flocked to him, forming a huge force known as the Yan Party.

"Thank you, Your Excellency. We will not stand on ceremony then."

Everyone stood up, clasped their hands in thanks, and smiled as they expressed their gratitude.

Yan Shifan didn't get up, but patted his protruding belly and laughed, "I'll send someone to deliver this year's new tea to you when it arrives."

Everyone no longer needed to get up, and directly bowed to Yan Shifan to express their gratitude. They were all in a harmonious and united manner. After a few rounds of tea, the idle talk gradually subsided, and they finally got to the main topic. Everyone at the table understood that the competition for the position of Minister of Rites had reached its final stage, and the results would be announced in the next few days.

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