Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 85: Who is he trying to punish while the emperor is holding court? (Please read on)

The night had already begun, and officials of all ranks in the capital were not socializing like they had been the night before.

It’s been a long time since I last attended the court meeting, so I have to get up very early.

Because the Huangji Gate had not been repaired yet, the emperor held court at the Qianqing Gate, so he had to get up earlier.

The snow in the capital hasn't melted yet. How cold will it be before dawn?
You have to get up before the hour of Yin, put on your court robes, and wait outside the Meridian Gate to enter the palace.

That night, Zou Yi and Liu Ruoyu did not continue to work overtime, as the emperor also needed to get up early to make preparations.

At least one's manners when attending court should not be casual.

Although a small meeting had been held after the banquet for civil officials yesterday, Zhu Changluo was still unsure whether there would be any other unexpected events at the court meeting today.

Today's court meeting will be held at Qianqing Gate.

This place is not as tall and wide as the original Huangji Gate, and the area in front of the gate is not as big as outside the Huangji Gate.

The weather was very cold, and the palace had already shoveled away the snow there in advance and placed charcoal stoves in several locations.

Hearing the sound of drums coming from the south far away, Zhu Changluo was also thinking.

The time of the court meeting was set so early, mainly because of the daily routine at that time.

There is no electricity and not much entertainment at night, so it is normal to go to bed early.

Work at sunrise and rest at sunset. This is the time to discuss state affairs.

However, considering the commuting distance and time required by the ministers, everyone has to get up earlier.

It has to be said that court meetings are inefficient occasions, but they are necessary.

Because ordinary officials in Beijing could only hope to see the emperor during court meetings.

Transportation was inconvenient and travel required ceremonial guards. It was impossible for the emperor to easily visit certain ministries and government offices to "inspect work" or "inspect local areas" as he would in the future.

The emperor's favor is of vital importance, and everyone understands the importance of leaving an impression on the emperor and perhaps showing something on certain occasions.

Although serving a king is like serving a tiger, opportunities and risks coexist.

Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, it was decided that only a few matters would be reported at court meetings, and Emperor Daojun and Zhu Yijun did not meet with other ministers. This allowed important officials to further monopolize the opportunities for communication between the upper and lower levels and concentrate power.

Taking these into consideration, Zhu Changluo decided to be more diligent and insist on holding the court meeting even if it was inefficient.

Otherwise, how can he discover the power of the middle and lower levels?
In winter, the sun rises later.

Amid the palace lanterns of the Forbidden City, the ministers divided into two groups after entering the Forbidden City, circling the two sides of the three halls, passing the Wenlou and Wulou to the Qianqing Gate.

On the side of civil officials, it was Kong Shangxian who was walking in the front.

On the Wuchen side, Xu Wenbi took the lead.

After passing the three palaces, the civil officials passed through the Jingyun Gate and the military officials passed through the Longzong Gate. The court procession was in full swing.

A group of civil officials sighed for a moment: How long has it been since we held a court meeting?

The new emperor ascended the throne, and even though the edict of enthronement caused a lot of discussion, it really brought about a new atmosphere.

I wonder if he will be like his father and become lazy again after doing this for a short while.

They didn't know that someone else had quietly arrived nearby.

Zhu Changluo had just received the report, so he rushed to the outside of Yuehua Gate first.

"Grandmother, this is..."

Empress Dowager Li shook her head and said, "It has been a long time since we held a court meeting. So, your grandmother and your father went to Longdao Pavilion to watch from afar. Seeing the grand court meeting, knowing that the emperor would handle it properly, your grandmother and your father were relieved."

Zhu Changluo was speechless for a moment when he looked at Zhu Yijun who was covered with a thick quilt.

Why bother him?
But he soon figured it out and bowed: "Grandson, I understand."

Then he said to the eunuchs in Cining Palace: "The morning wind is cold and the Longdao Pavilion is high. You must be careful."

"The slaves obey the order."

If Zhu Yijun was not carried to the higher second floor, how could he see what was happening outside the Qianqing Gate?

Zhu Changluo estimated that when he was not in the Cining Palace, Zhu Yijun probably showed a good "health condition", which made Empress Dowager Li feel that she could carry him over to see him, which would further make her feel "at ease".

It doesn’t matter. At least Empress Dowager Li is considering that his governance will not be affected.

Although she was not aware that there might be huge waves today, it would not be as harmonious as she thought, with all officials submitting to her.

"The emperor ascends the throne, and all the ministers kneel to welcome him!"

A voice came from Qianqing Gate.

"Go." Empress Dowager Li smiled and gave an encouraging look.

Zhu Changluo bowed, saluted, and turned away.

Empress Dowager Li also walked into the side door of Longdao Pavilion and looked at her son who was being carried into the pavilion.

She knew that her son still had a lot of resentment in his heart.

Of course she could understand the feeling of becoming a powerless emperor in that way.

But she already knew about her grandson's hard work and diligence during this period of time. He was indeed working hard for the Ming Dynasty. The ministers and gentry would not welcome what was going to happen next. With the emperor still alive, who knew if there would be any other variables?
Such a change can only happen once.

If it happens again, and any other door is seized, there will definitely be a fight between our descendants.

The eunuchs walking at the back held their hands high, while those in the front bent their waists and almost crawled.

She watched silently as her son was carried up the stairs by the eunuchs with difficulty, and Empress Dowager Li followed behind with the support of the old eunuch.

At this time, a faint sound came from the Qianqing Gate.

"Your Majesty, I bow to you! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long, long live the Emperor!"

Zhu Yijun was unable to control his body at all, and his eyes were lifeless as he lay on the stretcher on the stairs.

It's so heartbreaking, isn't it?

The court meeting process has already begun over there.

After the people knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor and stood up, the officials from the Honglu Temple came out first to report to the emperor how many people were supposed to attend the ceremony, how many people actually arrived, and the reasons for those who did not arrive.

Today, among the 940 officials in the capital, the number of vacancies has exceeded 30%, and most of them are concentrated in the seventh rank and above - because there are a large number of censors at this level.

According to the Ming Dynasty system, people above the sixth rank in Beijing had to attend the court, and those below the sixth rank were not forced to do so, but they were also eligible. Of course, those wearing green robes would not come to make trouble.

The six categories of censors and imperial censors in Beijing would not be absent from every court meeting.

As for local officials outside the capital, only those of the fourth rank and above who were present in the capital during the court meeting could attend the court.

So now, when the officials of the Honglu Temple reported the number of people, they found that a large number of fifth, sixth and seventh grades were missing, most of whom were doctors, directors and censors of various departments.

According to the procedure, the next step is to report the officials who came to the capital to express gratitude or left the capital to resign, and ask the emperor whether to receive them or allow them to resign.

That's not necessary. Those who come to Beijing are mainly to attend the coronation ceremony, and the performance evaluation is still ongoing. It is a personnel freeze period, and no one has been sent out.

Next, the border reports should be submitted first.

The major ones were announced publicly, and the minor ones were reported in the form of memorials. All of them were announced in the morning court before any matters were reported. This was to enhance the country's prestige and show off its military achievements.

Therefore, at the court meetings, most of the reports from border areas were good news.

Tian Le went out to report on various border affairs, including that the bandit problem in Gushan, Liaodong had been quelled, the three borders had repelled the looting of a small group of northern barbarians, and the remnants of the rebellion in Bozhou had been wiped out.

Only then did Zhu Changluo begin the familiar session of reporting on affairs at court meetings.

"cough!"

Suddenly, several light coughs were heard, and Zhu Changluo couldn't help but look over.

According to convention, before reporting on matters, officials "all cough in advance", which is a greeting: I am going to go out to report on matters!

Wouldn't it be awkward if two of them showed up at the same time?

At this time, the officials from the Honglu Temple were responsible for maintaining order.

Shen Yiguan stood up and said helplessly, "I, the cabinet minister Shen Yiguan, petition Your Majesty: It is cold and the ground is frozen. Your Majesty has not been on the throne for long. You should follow the old practice and only select nine matters for your royal judgment."

This was the common will of the cabinet, so only he, the prime minister, could come forward and tell the ministers about it.

Zhu Changluo replied, "Your words make sense. Although I would like to hear the ministers' reports on state affairs, there are many old ministers. It would be bad if they caught a cold and fell ill. So I will only report the important matters. The rest of the ministers do not need to worry. From now on, the court meetings on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month and the regular court meetings will not be interrupted without reason!"

This is a guarantee from the new monarch, which sounds like it will take care of the health of the elderly and important officials while giving middle and low-ranking officials the opportunity to report to him in person.

Then, a very uniform voice rang out outside the Qianqing Gate: "Your Majesty is diligent in state affairs and attends court meetings without interruption. This is a blessing for the country and the people!"

It was so neat and tidy. It was obvious that after Wang Xijue proposed this idea yesterday, the cabinet ministers and the nine officials did some work on it after they returned.

The uniform voices reached Longdao Pavilion not far away. Zhu Yijun was quite disapproving in his heart: At the beginning, your father said and did the same thing!
Then, I don't know who came out and said something, followed by the voice of Tian Yi, the old servant, issuing an order.

The decree had to be read out to everyone, so the voice naturally couldn't be too low.

Zhu Yijun only vaguely heard: "... the treasury... to encourage all officials... the annual reward for hard work... 700,000 taels..."

After hearing the chaotic but obviously joyful cheers of "Long live the emperor", Zhu Yijun probably figured it out.

So I felt pain in my flesh, and was powerless and furious (trying hard to stay calm to avoid having a triple stroke).

spendthrift!
Confused!

Are we going to feed the huge treasury money to these greedy officials?
Trash!

If he could still speak, he would have cursed out loud.

If he could still walk, he would have rushed down and kicked the tyrant's son.

But Empress Dowager Li said softly: "Although this is a helpless move, it is time for all the ministers to return to their loyalty."

Zhu Yijun felt a chill in his heart: Yes, all the ministers accepted his money, which is very different from my usual stingy personality. So who would he side with?
But he used the money I left for him to buy people's hearts!
When you need money and need to look for it, you will know how difficult it is!

spendthrift!
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Please follow up on the reading data after the updates in the next two days. I am currently reading it on Sanjiang. I want to strongly recommend the new book and I also need PK to decide whether to publish it or not.

In addition: It is expected to be launched on Children's Day, and will start selling tens of thousands of units a day after it is launched.

(End of this chapter)