Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 5 Ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor
The mourning period for a late emperor is twenty-seven days.

Therefore, all civil and military officials and imperial edicts still had to go to the palace to pay homage as usual.

The chief minister Liu Jian, the second minister Li Dongyang, and the third minister Xie Qian naturally changed into mourning clothes and went to the coffin of the late emperor early the next morning.

At this time, a young eunuch who was sweeping the morning brush immediately bowed to Liu Jian and his companions when they passed by and said, "Greetings to the ministers."

Liu Jian threw a silver coin over and asked, "What did your majesty do last night?"

"To answer your question, sir, Liu Jin found ten beauties to accompany the emperor on the pretext that the crown prince, no, the emperor was too sad and needed to entertain himself. The western warm room where the emperor slept was brightly lit last night, and people danced all night long," the eunuch replied.

After hearing this, Sanfu Xie Qian couldn't help but sneer: "This new emperor is quite clever. He cries in front of people, but he still can't control himself behind their backs. With some eunuchs tempting him, he will undoubtedly be a tyrant in the future!"

"Without a tyrant ruler, how can there be wise ministers! If everyone is like the late emperor, and finally proposes to collect some commercial taxes and wants to replace us, then won't we have to change the dynasty again?"

Li Dongyang said with a smile at this time.

"Humph! How can a young man govern the country when he ascends the throne? Fortunately, the Imperial Household Department is now headed by the mature and prudent Wang Yue. We are in the cabinet, so he can't cause any trouble. The eunuchs around him can play with him, but we have to tell Wang Yue not to let these people take his position in the inner court."

Liu Jian then said, "After the new emperor ascends the throne, he will certainly have to choose a queen. Since your majesty likes beauties, you can choose some stunning beauties for him at that time, which will also be beneficial to the heir to the throne."

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right. To be honest, His Majesty is not worth our concern. He is just a leisurely person. As long as the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet are in our hands, he can't do anything. But the key now is that Ma Wensheng and his party are too loyal, especially Ma Wensheng, who insists on investigating the cause of death of the late emperor. Isn't this deliberately trying to find fault with us?"

Li Dongyang said.

"This old bastard! He still has the evil intention of wanting to join the cabinet! Only Hanlin scholars can enter the cabinet, so what qualifications does a vulgar person like him have!"

Liu Jian couldn't help but get angry when he thought about how Ma Wensheng had stolen his limelight and ruined his good fortune yesterday.

Xie Qian also said, "If you ask me, the pure and the turbid should not be in the same court. Ma Wensheng is old, and the emperor changes his ministers. It's time for him to retire."

At this time, the Minister of War Liu Daxia followed and said, "Don't worry, elders. I have already contacted the censors of the Censorate. When the emperor ascends the throne, I will report him for clinging to power despite his old age. Ma Wensheng has always cherished his reputation, so he will definitely retire on his own initiative!"

"So good!"

Liu Jian said this with a smile and went up the jade steps first.

……

When Zhu Houzhao saw this scene, he couldn't help but smile faintly. He hurriedly lowered the curtains, asked someone to change him into mourning clothes, and then came to the main hall of the late emperor's coffin and knelt down, fiddling with a nine-ring chain in his hand. After all, only in this way could he appear to be a playful young emperor.

After Liu Jian and others came in, they burst into tears again. Zhu Houzhao didn't know if they had smeared chili on their faces, but they burst into tears without any preparation.

Ma Wensheng and the others came in and knelt aside in acquiescence. When they saw Zhu Houzhao, they became sad and depressed: "Although your majesty is benevolent and filial, you are indeed too obsessed with material things. My late emperor, you shouldn't have left so early!"

Every day that followed, Zhu Houzhao mourned for Emperor Hongzhi according to the arrangements of the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Jian and others would come regularly to cry and then return to Wenyuan Pavilion to do work. Ma Wensheng and others would be disappointed to see that Zhu Houzhao did not behave like a wise ruler.

Zhu Houzhao also took advantage of these days to record all the modern knowledge he could remember. He naturally wanted to make money from these, otherwise even if he was the crown prince he would not be able to get money. In order to control the power of the court, he must have money and military power. Having money is a prerequisite for having military power, and making money can be said to be the most important thing for him now.

In addition, Zhu Houzhao felt that he could not live in the Qianqing Palace for the time being. He didn't know how many eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace were spies of the cabinet officials. Staying here was equivalent to staying under their noses, and he could not make any money by staying in the palace.

Therefore, he felt that he had to find an opportunity to escape from the Forbidden City. Only by escaping from the Forbidden City could he become a free emperor, rather than a puppet emperor under the watch of others.

Anyway, Zhu Houzhao's character is now that of a playful and ignorant young emperor, and he may even be regarded as a tyrant. It is not surprising that he did something unorthodox, such as moving to a villa outside the palace.

The mourning period of the late emperor on the 27th was soon over. Then, civil and military officials, elders and common people asked Zhu Houzhao to ascend the throne and become emperor.

These are all established cases.

Please.

Zhu Houzhao refused.

Second please.

Zhu Houzhao refused again.

After three requests, Zhu Houzhao instructed the Ministry of Rites as the Crown Prince to select an auspicious day for his ascension to the throne, and then prepared to announce it to the world that the reign would be changed to Zhengde the next year.

During this period, at the strong request of a group of officials including the Minister of Personnel Ma Wensheng, Zhang Yu, the chief of the Imperial Household Department, Shi Qin, the right minister in charge of the Imperial Medical Service, Liu Wentai, the judge of the Imperial Medical Service, and Gao Tinghe, the imperial physician, were imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard because of the death of Emperor Hongzhi.

But soon after Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, there was a clause of amnesty for the whole country when his ascension decree was announced to the world. Therefore, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and others strongly demanded that the death penalty of these people be pardoned and their sentences be changed to border defense.

Zhu Houzhao had been watching coldly the struggle between Liu Jian's party and Ma Wensheng's party over the death of Emperor Hongzhi. He listened to both Ma Wensheng and Liu Jian, which made many eunuchs and outsiders think that Zhu Houzhao was indeed a young emperor without his own opinion.

Officials became even more fearless, and corruption naturally became more serious.

Of course, many civil officials would blame this phenomenon on Zhu Houzhao, saying that Zhu Houzhao's neglect of state affairs and his devotion to cockfighting and horse riding led to this phenomenon.

But in fact, Zhu Houzhao had been playing the role of a "puppet emperor" honestly according to the arrangements of the civil servants.

As for the behavior of the Eight Tigers, it did not attract much attention, and Zhu Houzhao was not worried that their actions would fail. He believed that since these eight people were able to step onto the historical stage in later generations and defeat the civil service group, it was impossible for them to fail to complete these tasks.

"Your Majesty, the Leopard House is almost completed. When do you think we can move in?" Luo Xiang found Zhu Houzhao and said one day.

"We'll move tomorrow. I'll tell mother today. You should announce it to the public right now, saying that the emperor is tired of living in the palace and wants to live in the Leopard Room for a while to see tigers and lions! Then get all the beauties in the palace to go there!"

As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he picked up a box of drawings and handed it to Luo Xiang.

The next morning, Zhu Houzhao took his mother, Queen Zhang, and moved to the Leopard House on the pretext of avoiding the summer heat.

……

When the cabinet chief Liu Jian heard this, he was furious and even called out Zhu Houzhao's name: "What on earth does Zhu Houzhao want to do! If he wants to leave the palace, then leave. Does he still think he is the former crown prince?"

"Prime Minister, calm down. It's understandable that our new emperor had fun when he was the crown prince. But it's true that we can't control him now that he's out of the palace. We have to get him back in no matter what! We should immediately ask the censors to submit a memorial to advise him."

Li Dongyang calmed Liu Jian down and said, "We have to deal with things one by one. The court will be held the day after tomorrow. Liu Daxia has already found the censor and will impeach Ma Wensheng in front of all the officials. As long as we force Ma Wensheng back to his hometown, we will have the final say in the court. It will be easy for us to get the emperor back to the palace."

"What the Second Assistant said is very true. Doesn't Ma Wensheng claim to be loyal to the late emperor? Then let him see the character of the current emperor. When Ma Wensheng is disappointed, I don't believe he will still be in the mood to stay in the court," Xie Qian said with a smile.

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang laughed after hearing this. Liu Jian even suggested, "When the time comes, we should all send this veteran of four dynasties off. After all, we have worked together for such a long time."

Li Dongyang and Xie Qian both expressed their agreement with proud smiles on their faces.

(End of this chapter)